I wake up the next morning, and Reina is already getting ready for today.
Apparently she’s preparing the food we’ll be taking to the divine beast people’s village.
“Good morning Reina.”
“Good morning Arata. Geez, your hair is all messy. Go straighten yourself in the river.”
“Yes.”
She says like a mother talking to her child, and I do as she says.
There were a lot of trees around here a week ago, but not anymore.
We figured we should have a path we can use, so we took down some of them.
That means now we have a small path to the river, and it’s easier to walk over here.
That said, the ground is still uneven, so we still can’t really walk normally.
I have the body and stamina of a monster, but this still isn’t good enough for a regular human like Reina.”
“Yes, I should fix it too while I’m at it.”
Reina’s been teaching me basic magic this last week. Or I guess I should say she’s been letting me copy it from her.
But that helps a lot in this place that doesn’t have any of the conveniences of my previous, modern world.
“So… Put my hand on the ground, and then the magic energy…”
Reina told me that theory and mental images are very important when it comes to magic, but I haven’t had much contact with magic, so the theoretical side is pretty much completely lost on me.
But still, the magic she showed me was very clean and smooth, so I just picture the way she used it, and make magic energy flow to the ground.
“Oh, that looks good.”
The lumpy ground starts moving, and turns into a flat path.
Apparently I have a lot of magic energy, so this isn’t enough to tire me at all, and I figure I might as well do this all the way to the river.
“But this is kind of inefficient…”
I’m talking about putting my hand on the ground, fixing it, moving a bit forward, and repeating.
At this rate, the sun’s going to reach its highest point by the time I reach the river.
“Ah, I know…”
If I can touch the ground with my fist, wouldn’t my bare feet work too?
I take off my shoes to execute this idea, infuse my feet with magic energy, and walk forward.
And the path is cleaned perfectly.
“All right, this will work!”
I might be a genius.
And so, I walk like this to the river, feeling proud of myself.
The path is made clean as I walk forward, and I feel something similar to the refreshing feeling I get when I’m done cleaning.
“Ahh…”
When I do reach the river, I wash my face.
This clear water is rich in natural minerals, and feels really good in the morning. I feel it permeating throughout my whole body when I drink it.
At first there were a lot of beasts here, but lately they’ve been staying away, probably because I’m here.
All living beings on this island are strong on their own to a certain extent, but there are much scarier beings here, so they are quick to know when someone or something is stronger.
That’s why none of them have attacked the tent. I think beasts here see me as something they absolutely shouldn’t mess with.
“Well then.”
I can see my reflection perfectly on this clear river.
This body is younger than my original one, and my facial features are a little milder, but still more chiseled like a foreigner.
And at the same time, it still retains my overall looks. It’s because of this that it doesn’t feel all that weird, and I got used to it pretty quickly.
“All right, let’s do our best today.”
◇ ◇ ◇
I return from the river, and see Reina cooking with a serious expression on her face, like always.
I honestly find it hard to go near her when she’s cooking.
Actually, even the self-proclaimed strongest dragon, Tiltue, ran away crying when Reina glared at her.
Even if I tell her I want to do something too, there are times when she doesn’t even hear me.
“I’m back.”
“…Ah, welcome back.”
I try not to bother her, but she actually raises her head and notices me right away.
Apparently she just happened to be finishing her preparations before cooking.
“I think what we take to the divine beast people’s village should be something as substantial as possible in terms of quantity. What do you think?”
“I agree, but there are about a hundred people there. It’d be tough to make enough for everyone.”
“Yes, and that’s why I was thinking of making something light, like tonkatsu sandwiches…”
Making tonkatsu sandwiches still sounds tough.
We still have plenty of emperor boar meat, but covering them in wheat flour and frying them in oil sounds like a lot of work.
“I’ll help. I can at least prepare the bread or something.”
“…Yes, then please do.”
Says Reina before taking a lot of bread out of her storage magic. It’s clearly more than enough for a hundred.
“Reina? Isn’t that a bit too much?”
“Eh? I imagine each person is going to eat five of them, so we have to make enough to not leave them feeling unsatisfied.”
“Ah… Yes.”
She tilts her head, but I quickly realize she’s not joking. I guess I’m the one who was being naive.
She allows zero compromises when it comes to cooking.
I keep it to myself that I thought she was making just one for each person, and silently put the meat in the bread one after the other.
Preparing food with a beautiful girl sure sounds like the sort of thing that would make people jealous, but putting the meat in the bread next to a silent Reina that’s exuding pressure the whole way through, is a scarier experience than anything that happened on this island so far.
“I-it’s done…”
The sun has reached its peak by the time I’m finally released.
I did it! All the meat is in the bread!
When I put them a bit out of place, I felt a sharp look flying in from the side, but I’m sure that was all just in my head!
“Good job, and thank you for your help.”
“Yes… I’m really tired.”
“It’s because you don’t usually cook.”
I can’t tell her it’s because of all that pressure next to me.
“Now that I think about it, Luna will probably get here soon to take us there…”
As I say that, I turn around and see Luna reaching towards tonkatsu sandwiches.
So she erased her presence to get close and grab a bite.
“…Ah.”
“Luna… What do you have to say for yourself?”
“…Thanks for the food!”
Nope. Not that.
But she snatches sandwiches very quickly with both hands, and stuffs them in her mouth like a hamster.
“Tashdy!”
“Geez, Luna. At least save whatever it is you want to say until after your mouth is empty.”
Reina sounds exasperated, and takes a drink out of her storage magic to give to Luna.
Luna happily takes it, and then turns to us with a smile on her face.
“T-a-s-t-y!”
She yells like always.
“…Good grief…”
Reina looks at Luna with just a bit of joy visible on her face, as she puts all the other tonkatsu sandwiches in her storage magic.
“Ah! Luna’s…!”
“This isn’t yours, it’s what we will be taking to the divine beast people’s village.”
“Uu…”
Luna has a sad face that I can’t quite describe, but there’s so much of it, that I’m sure Luna will get to eat sandwiches later too.
“We have plenty of emperor boar meat, so come by anytime you want to eat it.”
“Really!?”
“Sure.”
Luna’s drooping fox tail points up as her face is painted with bliss. I guess she’s feeling better.
Her big smile is as bright as the sun. A smile really does fit her face better.
“Well then, will you take us there?”
“Yes! This way!”
And so, she starts moving forward with light movements, leaving us behind.
“…She really went without giving it any thought, didn’t she?”
Asks Reina.
“Yes…”
Anyway, we walk in the direction that Luna went, and since this path is pretty rough, it must be tough for Reina.
I focus on sound to make sure we don’t lose Luna, until eventually she realizes she left us behind, and comes back.
“Hehehe… Sorry.”
“Geez…”
I can’t work up the strength to get mad at her when she looks so charming speaking with that light tone and smiling.
And so, under Luna’s guidance, we eventually reach the divine beast people’s village.
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