Chapter 71

“Hmm, mmmm, I see. Well, onto more important things. Like our next destination.”

“Wait-wait-wait. Really? That’s it?”

“Hmm? Aye, it is finished. Or did you have more to tell me?”

“Uh, no, but. Don’t you want to know why I hadn’t told you? Or what this other world is like.”

“So, why were you silent?”

“I don’t know. Never found the right timing.”

“And what is this other world like?”

“There is no magic or monsters, but it’s a world with advanced science and technology.”

“Yes, interesting. Now, I think we should head to the Empire next.”

“The Empire. Alright.”

I have a loved one who is ridiculously indifferent. Where do I call for help?

Oh well. I thought that I was making a personal confession of a lifetime, but she was not interested. It was making me a little depressed, but then she sighed and added:

“Asagi. If we know that there is one person here from another world, would it not be natural to assume that there may be others? Should the fact that it happened to be you, change anything?”

“Not…really.”

“You see? It does not matter to me where you are from, you are still the person that I love. Regardless of what things are like over there, it is here that we are living. I am sure that I will ask to hear about it sometime later, but for now, we should discuss our next destination. Am I wrong?”

“Mm…no, you’re right. Sorry…I was just sulking a bit.”

It was as she said, and I felt a little embarrassed about it all now. It was childish to have high expectations and then be disappointed because they didn’t turn out the way I wanted. As I reflected on this, something blocked my vision and Daniela’s scent became stronger. Apparently, she was holding my head in her arms. My shoulders shuddered with surprise.

“No, it was me. Do you mind if I say something very off-putting?”

“I’m not sure it’s possible for you.”

“Hmm… Well, there is something very precious about you when you are down. Perhaps it is because it is such a rare sight. It was cute.”

“Daniela… I, I’m still an adult you know. This is not exactly the treatment I…”

Well, this was even more embarrassing. My ears felt hot. And sensitive. Daniela’s mouth came down and whispered.

“And yet it is me who is your elder. Let me indulge you.”

To be honest, I convulsed. We spent the whole day at the inn then. Preparations for our journey had to be made on the following day. It could not be helped. It could definitely not be helped.

□ □ □ □

We told Joshua, the master of the Silver Sky inn that we would be leaving tomorrow.

“I understand. It saddens me to see you go, but it is also my duty to see you off in the best possible state. And should you find yourselves in this city again, I hope that you will consider the Silver Sky.”

It was a brief exchange, but the words were enough to express Joshua’s good nature. I was glad, from the bottom of my heart, that we had chosen this place. As our schedule was full until tomorrow morning, we handed him the keys to our rooms and thanked him.

Once we were out, we immediately started to make preparations. I had a completely baseless feeling that the hollow bag had increased in capacity, and so we decided to buy ingredients so we could cook food while on the road. Buying premade food just wasn’t satisfying. At this point, I wanted to introduce Daniela to some family recipes to strengthen her infatuation. I had hardly done any cooking when I was on the night shift. But since coming here, I at least think that I’ve become reacquainted with the act of boiling, broiling, and frying. I was confident that I just needed the right ingredients to make something great, and this was the time to do it.

And so we were now in the market. Old men and women were shouting at the top of their lungs and calling to customers. Fruits of many colors crowded tables, along with freshly picked vegetables, and of course, Daniela’s favorite. Meat.

“The freshest beef in all of Spiris!”

An old man with little hair on his head called to us. Hmm, it did look fresh. But was it really beef?

We checked prices as we moved from one store to the next. When we were able to find a good seller, we raided their stock of good vegetables, fruits, and fresh meat. There was not much fish to be found here. The closest river was the one that ran down from Mount Alessa to the south. It wasn’t a very wide river either, and there were hardly any fishermen. Anyone who wanted could just take their fishing pole there and fish. It was not something to make a business out of.

But that didn’t mean there was none at all. Even if it was not sold for much, there were still people who bought it, and so there were a few fishermen selling fish at the market. And they went straight into my bag.

“Fish, huh… The bones are not good.”

“Don’t be childish.”

You shouldn’t have a problem as you’re a carnivore! And so I bought a few extra.

Now, we were good in terms of food supplies. The hollow bag had an enchantment on it cast with dimension magic. This caused time to stop inside, meaning that food could be stored without spoiling. It was the most useful, awesome thing, dimension magic.

“Dimension magic is an incredibly unstable form of magic.”

“I can tell. Just by looking at that dimension stone. I’m not brave enough to touch it.”

“Yes. Even novice-level spells consume an enormous amount of energy. And the results of losing control over it are severe. This meddling with time and space. What do you think would happen?”

“Uh… I don’t even want to imagine… Is there a precedent?”

Daniela smiled an evil looking smile and whispered.

“It was long ago. A certain palace magician was renowned as a young genius. A magician with the thickest dimension colors. However, a magical experiment ended in failure one day, causing it to rebound. Whole areas of the palace were carved away, and the magician became a wizened elder through the effects of the distortion of time.”

Woah…what the hell…

“You must be quite relieved that you did not touch it now?”

“Of course…ah, the horror. The horror.”

My spine continued to feel chilly as we left the market and walked towards the guard house of the western district. We called for Harold at the front desk, and he came flying.

“Ho, if it isn’t Asagi! It’s been too long!”

“It’s good to see that you’re well. We came by to tell you something.”

He scratched his neck.

“We decided to leave this city tomorrow.”

“You what… Oh, that is too bad.”

“You’ve been really good to us, so I just wanted to thank you.”

“Is that right! You came all the way here for that… I won’t forget this until the day I die!”

Passionate as ever. But we really owed him a lot. It was due to him that we found an inn, and he had also helped that time when I returned after fighting the wyvern. Even this armor, was mostly because of his generosity. I could hardly thank him enough.

“Well, we’ll meet again. Definitely!”

“Aye! I hope that you and Daniela have a great journey!”

He offered a refined salute as he saw us leave. His eyes seemed a little red. You didn’t meet people like that too often. I would definitely come to meet him if we ever found ourselves in Spiris again.

After parting with Harold, we headed for the guild. Fiona aside, it was necessary for us to notify Bordow. It made you feel sad, saying goodbye to people who have helped you. I wanted to think that it wasn’t forever, but you never knew what would happen in this world. It was very possible that we would not meet these people again.

It was the same with Fhiraldo. I would try to say my farewells to as many people as I could before leaving. And while good manners were important, I also found the idea of dying in this world without parts of me remaining as a memory, to be too bleak. I wanted to exist in the corner of people’s minds. And so a small part of this regrettable emotion was contained in every farewell.

“Excuse me, is Fiona here?”

The guild seemed like the same place as always, as I went to the counter and asked for Fiona.

After waiting with Daniela for a few minutes, we were led to the drawing room.

“Coming in.”

We entered the room and saw not only Fiona, but the uninvited Bordow. Well, we wanted to meet him anyway, so it was convenient, I guess.

Fiona looked at me with a smile.

“I had an idea of what this would be about, and so I called the guild master.”

It looked like she knew everything. I scratched at my cheeks and took a seat.

“I guess you’re used to hearing it from me now.”

“You can say that! Do you think there is anything about you that I don’t know?”

“This is getting horrifying.”

We laughed together. It was a warm atmosphere, but I couldn’t ignore the sadness there as well. Bordow stared at us for a while before crossing his legs and smiling.

“So, where are you two headed?”

“Daniela and I’ve talked about it, and we decided to go to the Empire to the south.”

“Hoho. Then we must contact the guild there!”

“Please don’t do anything so far in advance!”

It wasn’t serious, and everyone laughed. Bordow looked at me and Daniela and nodded as he got to his feet and left. And then some final words:

“Take care. And come back.”

There was a bit of a snuffle in there. I wasn’t the only one here who hated goodbyes.

“And so you two are leaving yet again.”

“Our purpose was to travel…”

We had parted before. It was almost miraculous that we met again. But now we were leaving. The silence was painful. Daniela broke it.

“Fiona. I will return. With Asagi as well.”

“Daniela… Uhh… I’m fine with it just being Asagi who returns.”

“Oh?”

I looked uncomfortably at their faces, but they at least seemed to be enjoying this exchange. Friends? Rivals? But there was a relationship there that felt right.

“I told you that we’d come back, didn’t I? I might even send some letters.”

“Hmph. I will wait with no expectations. I foresee that you will forget, as you are too busy cuddling with Daniela. I’m not stupid.”

“That is correct. Asagi will not be given time to think about other women.”

“At least allow me some freedom when it comes to my friends…”

I say with a sigh, but my face is a smile. These bonds would not erase. We would be friends forever. No matter where we went, no matter the distance. Nothing would change. If ever I return to this city, Daniela and Fiona will be here too. It was already decided.

We dragged Fiona out of the guild house and to the Fang & Claw. And just as we had planned, we drank and talked until the morning. About what had happened until now, about what was to come. We looked forward to reuniting just as much as we regretted parting. Partway, Rex and his companions and Pinzoro came, after hearing that we were leaving. And the party went into full swing.

And then it was the next day. With many words of farewell behind us, Daniela and I left Spiris and started on a new journey.