I punched the emperor boar out of our sight, and now Elga and Luna are glaring at me.
“Hey! What did you do with the emperor boar meat?”
“That was so mean, mister.”
“S-sorry.”
I try my best to apologize to them, with the part of the forest that was destroyed by the super giant boar’s charge behind me.
That said, it was kind of unavoidable. I actually wanted to try that emperor boar meat too, after they hyped it up so much.
This isn’t some sort of gag manga, so how could I have known a single punch was going to do that?
“Now now you, lunch is ready. Please forgive Arata.”
“It smells good… Mister, you are forgiven out of respect for this.”
“…Oh all right then.”
After hearing Reina, they forgive me so easily that it’s like nothing even happened.
If they were acting that way because of food, it stands to reason that food would fix it, but it really came at the right time.
I look at Reina, thanking her with my eyes, and she looks a little embarrassed.
“…You’re the one who saved me before.”
She whispers, but I hear it anyway. I’m sure she’s just going to get embarrassed again if I respond, so I pretend I didn’t hear it.
And so, we get ready to have lunch. It looks like curry.
Once again, it’s something that looks like it would take a while to cook. How did she have it ready so fast?
I guess I could just get closer and watch while she cooks, but it’s hard to get too close when the way she handles that kitchen knife makes her look like such a pro.
What’s inside the pot looks less like retort-pouch curry and more orange, and I sense just a hint of a sweet citrus smell.
As a former Japanese person, I’d love to have some rice too, but that’s asking too much.
I try having it with the bread that Reina prepared at the same time, which looks like naan.
“Uoh!”
It’s not as spicy as I expected, but instead, the slight citrus fragrance and flavor matches the curry, and creates something I’ve never tasted before.
It also wraps around the naan, enhances the natural sweetness of the bread, and goes down very easily.
“What is this!? I-t’s s-o g-o-o-d!”
“T-a-s-t-y!”
After copying me because they weren’t sure how to eat it, the two have a bite and yell at the sky while suddenly getting up.
I smile awkwardly as I watch that same reaction again.
“Good grief, you’re exaggerating.”
Says Reina, but I’m guessing she’s happy that people are enjoying the food she cooked so much, because despite what she says, her tone sounds very bright.
“But this really is good. There’s something similar to this where I came from, but what is this called?”
“Curre… Do you actually not know it? It’s a staple of home cooking everywhere on the continent.”
“E-eh… By the way, where I come from it’s called curry, so I guess it depends on the region.”
That name actually just complicates things. It would be understandable if it was a completely different name, but the fact that it’s so close makes me wonder if I’m not the first one to reincarnate here.
But now that I think about it, god told me there weren’t any more, so I’m going to assume it’s a coincidence.
Still, Reina really is a good cook. I don’t know how much food she has in that storage magic of hers, but I’m looking forward to more meals.
“…A long time ago, my master made me cook a lot at his place, so I know a little.”
I think it’s well beyond a little, but her expression tells me she doesn’t want to remember that, and I don’t question it any more.
“But now I really wish I got the chance to taste that emperor board cooked by you.”
“I’ve never prepared a boar that big, so I don’t even know if I could…”
Not to mention that something that big would last us months if it was just the two of us eating. Even if you add the other two, it would buy us quite a few days.
I feel sorry about letting that get away, and making it so we have to resort to using Reina’s food.
“We will try again if we see another one. Just don’t blow it away.”
“Don’t, mister!”
“I’ll bring it by too if I find one, so take care of it then.”
I smile awkwardly at their reactions. Luna just wants to eat, and it sounds like Elga is going to bring us ingredients.
I don’t know what other divine beast people are like, but it looks like these two don’t have a problem with welcoming outsiders.
We keep chatting while we eat, and when we’re done, I help Reina clean up.
Just like this morning, Luna and Elga are holding their stomachs while lying on the ground.
“Well then, continuing the conversation from before… You want to live on this island, right?”
“Yes… But the way you talked made it sound like it wasn’t possible.”
“That’s just if you were human.”
I guess I’ve been categorized as a non-human and didn’t realize it.
“I’m human, you know?”
“Did ya know? Humans can’t stop a charge from an emperor boar, or send it flying with one punch.”
“That’s because you don’t know humans, Elga. Humans can do that nowadays.”
I don’t know anything about this world, but I say that anyway. A surprised expression forms on Elga’s face, which tells me he believes it.
Luna also looks surprised, because I guess she also doesn’t know anything other than this island.
“Hey, are you serious… When did humans outside become that kind of monster?”
“Humans sound awesome. Luna’s never seen one aside from you two. What about you, Elga?”
“Nope, now that you mention it… My grandpa told me about them, but that’s how things are like outside nowadays, uh… I gotta stop underestimating humans.
They say, sounding serious, and I start to think I messed up. They totally bought it.
They might get really mad if I tell them I was lying.
I look at Reina, asking for help, and she looks at me with an exasperated expression.
We’ve only known each other for two days, but I’m sure she’ll come to my rescue.
“Elga, Luna, you’re being tricked.”
“What!?”
“Eeh!?”
“Traitor!”
“It’s your fault for lying, Arata.”
That is correct.
I apologize to the condemning eyes pointed my way, and they forgive me. I need to be careful, because they really know nothing of the world outside this island.
“Reina, is there really no one else who can do that sort of thing?”
“No.”
“I see…”
Maybe I really should give up on being human.
Well, I don’t have any complaints about the body god gave me, and there’s no point in me fretting over being human or not, since I’m not going to be living with humans, but still…
“Reina, is he really human?”
“Probably. I think that’s how he would be classified…”
When she puts it like that, I don’t know what expression to make. Why is that?
“Well, forget it. It doesn’t matter if ya really think about it. By the way, Arata…”
“Hn?”
“If you really want to live on this island, stay here for the time being. This place is full of nature, so you don’t have to worry ’bout food, and sometimes tasty meat like that emperor boar shows up.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, you’re pretty weird and funny, and Luna likes you too.”
Says Elga with a cheerful smile while roughly patting Luna’s head.
“Are you going to live here, mister?”
“If you two say I can, sure.”
“You too?”
“Yes. I don’t have any way to go back for now, and I can’t say I think I can survive alone on this island, so I’m staying with Arata for now.”
Luna looks at me and Reina, and when she hears our responses, her eyes shine bright and she raises her hands.
“Yay! Then we get to play lots more! And eat more tasty food!”
“Just don’t get in their way, Luna.”
“Of course, geez! Yay! This is great!”
Luna expresses happiness with her whole body, as her ears and tail keep moving, and looking at her makes me happy too.
Then she runs and hugs Reina. What an adorable sight.
It’s my second day in this world, and I’m glad that it’s looking like I’ll be able to settle down and build a base.
“By the way Reina, what do you think that is?”
“Eh?”
I say while pointing to the sky, where I sent the emperor boar flying.
It’s far away, but I can see a giant shadow approaching and big wings flapping.
“Hey hey… Is that…”
“Hold on, is it…”
Elga sounds different than he has so far, and a little flustered.
It looks like the shadow is headed this way. By the time I see what it is, the other side also has a good grasp on what’s here.
That body is covered in scales that look so sharp, they would probably cut skin just by touching them.
The tail growing out of that lustrous black body also looks sharp, and its claws are holding the emperor boar I sent flying before.
I can only describe it with one word.
“…A dragon?”
It’s looking like my second day in this world is far from winding down.
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