Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! Volume 5 - ebook

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EPISODE 9: TO THE LAND OF DREAMS AND MAGIC

Birds could be heard chirping from the other side of the curtain. The sunlight peered through its opening, and I began to open my eyes from its brightness.

It was seven o’clock in the morning. The air on weekend mornings seemed to have a gentler feel to it than usual. Maybe it felt that way because it was the first sunny day in some time. We were still smack dab in the middle of the rainy season, but we were blessed with good weather today. The one who had predicted this was a draconian woman, which made me reflect on how strange my circle of friends was.

Strangely, I’d been able to journey into a dream world whenever I went to sleep for as long as I could remember. I would enjoy my dreams to my heart’s content, then head to work when I woke up. Even when I came to find out that it wasn’t just my dreams, but a fantasy world that actually existed, my lifestyle didn’t end up changing much.

No, actually, I couldn’t say it was exactly the same. Ever since waking up in this room with a certain elf girl, I felt my world changing bit by bit. I had come to know many people, headed into an ancient labyrinth, and not only did I befriend a dragon, but I eventually became friends with the floor master that I was supposed to defeat, Shirley. You could say I hung around some strange company.

“Haah... But what should I do about this…?”

I let out a sigh that wasn’t fitting for such a beautiful morning. There was actually one thing troubling me about my acquaintances.

I looked down to find a lump in my blankets. It was about the size of a person, and I felt the weight of something soft upon my chest. If it was just as I had seen in my dream... No, the golden hair that spilled out from under the blanket was all the confirmation I needed to know this was a continuation of the events from last night’s dream. Sun-tanned skin and long ears like that of an elf. A member of the notorious race of dark elves was sleeping soundly right here with me.

Her nose brushed up against my neck, tickling me as she exhaled softly in her slumber. The signature sweet scent of a woman wafted up from beneath the blankets, and I couldn’t keep my heart from beating harder.

_I-I can’t just move around carelessly here. What should I do?!_

But a dark elf truly was an uncommon sight. I’d spent about twenty years in the dream world, but I’d only seen one a few times. The dark elves I’d heard about in stories possessed incredible and terrifying power. And from what I had heard, their thoughts were always tainted with evil.

I hadn’t really talked to one in earnest myself, so it was hard for me to say whether they were good or evil. Regardless, she seemed quite comfortable as she slept, breathing quietly in regular intervals. It was hard to believe that in my dream, she had just perished from getting impaled through the heart.

Supposedly, her name was Eve. I had heard as such just before dying in the dream world.

She was lucky. I just so happened to be right where she landed, and we just so happened to die at the same time. My ability to travel between the dream world and this one activated at just that moment, and I woke up to find her here with me. Thinking back, it was such a fortunate set of coincidences that I let out a sigh of relief.

The one who had pointed his wicked sword at me was a man named Zarish, who was also known as the hero candidate. But it wasn’t as if he had a grudge against me. In fact, I didn’t remember ever having a proper conversation with him. Judging from what he was saying, he was more interested in Wridra and Marie than my life.

I figured he simply wanted to increase the collective power of his party by recruiting a powerful draconian and an elf that was proficient in Spirit Sorcery. As such, he must have decided I was in the way and drew his sword on me.

I couldn’t even put up a fight with a 60 level difference, and I was honestly annoyed that I was killed within seconds. But it didn’t end there; Zarish even killed Eve, his own ally.

“So we both died at the same time, and we woke up here together...”

I let out a troubled sigh. I couldn’t tell whether I should have been relieved that things ended without any major incidents, or lament the fact that such a troublesome man had set his sights on me. No, this was definitely better than having this girl die without even knowing what was going on. I would have felt bad for her if that happened.

“Though, I don’t know which one she would have preferred...”

Maybe Eve heard what I said, because her long ears twitched, and then I heard her sniffing. She must have sensed an unfamiliar smell, and she slowly raised her face until her chin was resting on my chest.

Despite her sleepy state, there was a sense of strength to the look in her eyes, which I noticed were a beautiful blue color. She had a healthy skin tone on her well-toned muscles, too. I couldn’t let my guard down with her, but I casually looked away from the contrast of light and shadow on her sunlit chest. This went without saying, but she was definitely a grown woman. Though, now wasn’t the time to be thinking of such things.

“Just so you know, this isn’t my fault.” As soon as I made my excuse, I felt her elbow press down against my throat. Of course, since I was a complete amateur when it came to ground fighting, all I could do was let out a muffled cry. She quickly mounted me despite my struggling, further restricting my movement. She had me restrained with what seemed like martial arts used by the military, and I was completely subdued within moments. Eve shifted her weight onto my throat, causing the bed to creak loudly.

“Nnnnnn!”

“Did you think you had me captured?! At least you get to see something nice before you die... Wait, why am I alive?” She asked in a puzzled tone.

Maybe she remembered a bit of what had happened in the dream world. The thought seemed to distract her, and she let up the pressure just a little bit. I seized this chance to quickly take in a fresh breath of air. It was still hard to breathe with her on top of me, but I managed to avoid choking to death. I continued to take in shallow breaths and spoke to her while averting my eyes from her naked body.

“You died, Eve. You died with me and we woke up together.” I told her as such in Elvish, and her eyebrows shot up. It seemed my explanation exceeded her capacity to understand. If she didn’t stop to consider my words here, I may have really been killed.

I wasn’t going to do anything to her or put up a fight. I showed her my open hands to convey this, and she let a little more weight off of my throat. My vision was going red, and I was on the brink of losing consciousness, so I coughed for some time.

“Y-You may not be able to tell with me being an adult now, but I’m Kazuhiho.”

“Huh? The hell are you talking about? That’s some crazy talk, coming from such a sleepy-looking face. You may have the same black hair, black eyes, face, and voice, but… Wait, it really is you!”

She ripped my pajamas open, leaving me dumbfounded. Well, she was a type I’d never encountered before. The corner of my mouth twitched.

“There’s no wound...!”

“Oh, you wanted to see my wound? Yours should be healed, too.”

She touched her own chest while maintaining her surprised expression. The wound from getting her heart pierced through was now completely gone. She may have just woken up from a dream, but there was no mistaking that it had actually happened. It was up to her whether to interpret it as a nightmare.

Meanwhile, I had cold sweat pouring down my face. I thought she was going to strip me naked too, and I had no idea what she would do next. It seemed this dark elf was very impulsive and tended to take action before thinking about it, which made her completely unpredictable.

Not only that, but she made no move to cover her bare chest, which I found quite troubling. As in, I didn’t know where I was supposed to look as I talked to her.

Although it was an extremely tense situation, I wanted to go get Marie as soon as possible, since I had left her behind in the dream world. There was just one problem. There was no way I could go back to sleep in this situation.

Well, Wridra was with her the last time I saw her, so she probably wouldn’t have been in too much trouble if I was a bit late in going to get her.

“E-Eve, would you mind covering up right about now?”

“Huh? Ah! Wh-What are you looking at?!” She slammed a pillow down on my face. I wasn’t even looking! In fact, I was trying my hardest not to look, so that was rather unfair of her.

I thought she felt somewhat familiar, but maybe that was because she reminded me of the kids these days. She was unpredictable, for one thing, but her tanned skin was reminiscent of gyarus, even though she was a resident of the fantasy world.

“Well, just give me some time to explain. I’ll bring you something to drink, so I’d be relievedif you’d pick out an outfit from that closet in the meantime. Are you okay with sweet drinks, Eve?”

“Yeah, but... Why are you acting all familiar all of a sudden?” Maybe it was because I was only able to see her as a modern young girl now. Her race had a huge gap between their appearance and their actual age, but I still couldn’t help but feel like she was younger than me mentally. But these thoughts probably would have been considered pretty rude, so I made sure not to voice them out loud.

The mention of a sweet drink seemed to pique her interest. I was relieved to find that she had covered herself up with the blanket, as requested. Her eyebrows were still furrowed, and she maintained that scary look in her eyes, but I found that I didn’t mind too much when I convinced myself she was still young.

I woke up, still in my torn up pajamas, and decided to languidly walk over to the kitchen. I lived in a 1DK condo, so there were no room partitions, and I could hear Eve moving around behind me.

“Ahhhhhh!!!”

I nearly jumped at the sudden, historic cry. It was loud enough that it could’ve startled the neighbors, so I turned around in a panic.

“What now?!”

I found her staring at her finger, with her dark-skinned back turned toward me.

“It’s gone! It’s gone! My precious ring!”

“Ring...? Oh, I did see Zarish taking it, and you can’t bring anything other than food or drinks into this world, anyway.” I couldn’t even tell if Eve had heard me. She remained there, motionless, for some time, so I let out a sigh and walked back toward the fridge. I took some milk out and poured it into a mug, then put it into the microwave. By the time it started moving, I heard the sound of sobbing.

“Uuu... He abandoned me... Even though I’ve been with him the longest...” She crumpled up and laid face-down on a pillow, and I couldn’t find the right words to say to her. No, it was probably best not to say anything now. I was still an outsider who didn’t understand the circumstances.

The microwave beeped to let me know the hot milk was done, so I slowly looked away from her back.

I placed the mug on the table, then opened the closet to look for something in Eve’s size. The problem was, she still hadn’t started looking for clothes to wear. Considering I was a healthy male, one would think the woman would be the one who would care about her appearance. Though, there was no time for complaints.

Come to think of it, none of Marie’s clothing would have fit her. Left with no other choice, I decided to choose from one of my smaller hoodies. I placed it in front of Eve as she continued to cry, and she looked up at me with puffy eyes. She even had mucus running down her nose, and the juxtaposition of her feeble expression compared to her earlier attitude was quite shocking.

I liked to think I knew how it felt to be abandoned. Because of all the pain I had gone through as a child, I had a soft spot for people like her. Maybe that was why my voice was much gentler as I spoke to her.

“Here, put this on and join me at that table over there.”

“...”

I turned away and headed back to the table before she could reply. I sat down on the wooden chair and absently watched the blue sky through the window. After some time, I heard the sound of rustling fabric from behind me. The sound of pained breathing mixed with sobbing and weeping was making my heart ache. She cried as quietly as possible, and I couldn’t help but think about what kind of environment she had been in up until now.

Now, I decided to think about what had happened while Eve was getting dressed.

Why had Wridra proposed her challenge in the first place? She had pretty much provoked the hero candidate, causing him to turn his blade on her. Knowing her, she probably could have found a way to avoid conflict, beat him down, or give advice so we didn’t end up clashing. But she had chosen one of the branching paths of fate. I was attacked by Zarish as a result, but she had let this happen knowing I wouldn’t die.

Does that mean Wridra wanted me to fight him? Against a Level 140 monster like him? A 60-level difference was like the power difference between a full-grown adult and a child. But it was unlikely that she wanted me to lose. I knew this because we supported each other, and she was both my teacher and my friend. The path she’d cselectedosen was probably the right one. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like one day I would understand.

“Hmm. Then, she probably won’t tell me even if I ask...”

“...Why are you talking to yourself?” I turned around to find Eve wiping her eyes with a sleeve. My eyes widened, seeing the front of her hoodie wide open, then beckoned her over. I grabbed the fastener and pulled it up a bit for her.

“You close it by pulling it up just like that. Think of it like a new button. Be careful not to pinch your skin.”

“Huh? Whoa, this is actually really nice.” She blinked her big eyes, and her surprise at the modern clothing helped hold back her tears a bit. Ah, but I wished she’d stop exposing and hiding her cleavage by pulling it up and down. I could almost hear them jiggling, and she really needed to understand that I was someone of the opposite sex. Watching me internal debate on whether or not to stop her, Eve looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I placed the mug of hot milk in front of her, and she quietly sat down across from me. Maybe it was because she had cried so much earlier, but she seemed completely different now, like a child that would obediently listen to whatever I had to say.

“The sky here is a different color. Is this Eden?”

“No, this is a country that’s not on your maps, called Japan. I don’t think you’ve heard of it,” I said to her as she looked around curiously.

Eden was the realm where people were said to go after death in the other world. Nobody knew if it really existed, but everyone believed in it. But if this really were Eden, she probably would have accepted it without protest. Even the glass window was unfamiliar to her, and she was clearly bewildered by the three-flavor furikake seasoning on the table. Well, at least they helped her stop crying.

“If you want, we can go back to your world, too. I personally think it might be a good idea to stay here and calm yourself down a bit more.”

“What?! But... I don’t have anywhere to go even if I went back...” Eve stood up suddenly, then remembered what had happened and sat back down. Her emotions seemed to have a lot of peaks and valleys. Eve peered into her mug and took a whiff of its contents. She seemed to be drawn by its sweet scent, and I watched her take a small sip like a curious animal. She seemed to enjoy the hot milk with honey. Her blue eyes widened as she continued taking small sips, alternating between saying, “Hot,” and “Mmm.”

“Well, you don’t need to decide right away. Luckily, we have plenty of time, and you dark elves live so long that we humans envy you.”

“Come to think of it, why do you know how to speak Elvish? I haven’t seen very many humans go out of their way to learn it. It’s really hard to pronounce, too.”

“I didn’t need to learn it or anything. I wanted to learn how to speak it because I didn’t know how to.”

“Huh? I don’t get it. I hate how humans say weird stuff like that. You wanna sound smart or something?”

“Hmm, but don’t you think it’d be kinda cool if you could speak five languages?”

“Oh, well, I do get that, but I’d think a person who could do that would be really weird.” I chuckled. I kept this a secret because it was kind of embarrassing, but I greatly admired the Elvish language. It was said that a person could speak it to convey their thoughts to spirits, too, and that those with a disposition for it could actually see and speak to spirits. How could I not have learned it after hearing something like that? But it did make me feel a bit self-conscious to speak about it passionately like that.

“Well, even a guy like me could put in the effort for the sake of living... Though, I do remember having a lot of fun learning. What about you, Eve? Did you not like learning the human language?”

“I didn’t hate it. He taught me back then, and it was... fun studying...” The ends of her eyebrows drooped downward, and big beads of tears began welling up in her eyes again. She must have been remembering her past. I felt bad for the pain she was going through as she recalled her many memories. I watched Eve sob again, and then I decided to open my mouth.

“Do you mind if I ask you for a favor?” Eve wiped tears away from her eyes and looked up.

“I’m gonna go pick up Marie and Wridra, so I’d like you to wait here for a bit. I don’t intend to keep you trapped here, of course, but I think you still need some time to settle down.”

“What do you mean, pick them up?”

“I don’t really get it either, so it’s kinda hard to explain. You can just sit there and watch.” She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. I wanted to avoid letting her know about my ability to travel to the dream world since she was connected to Zarish, but I had no choice. And so, I had secretly set my resolve. Until I settled my matter with Zarish, I wouldn’t bring her back to him. I almost seemed like the bad guy, plotting such things.

§

It was my second time awakening today, and I couldn’t sit up upon waking once again. It was no wonder, considering a white-haired girl was using my arm as her pillow with her soft cheek pressed against it.

I usually would have waited for her to wake up, but today was a day off that I’d been waiting for for a long time, and I had to be conscious of people watching us. I whispered that it was morning into her long ear, and her pale purple eyes opened sleepily.

“Morning... Umm, today was...” I almost expected Mariabelle’s big eyes to make audible noises as they blinked, and she gazed right at me. Then, she slowly brushed aside the blanket and turned her back toward me, which was surprising, considering her low blood pressure.

Hair still a mess, she let out a “Wow,” in a dazed voice. A vast expanse of the blue sky could be seen past the fluttering curtains, revealing clear weather that contradicted the weather report.

She began shifting around to get up, then looked up while sitting with her legs folded in front of her. With her back turned toward me, I couldn’t tell what kind of expression she wore. But with the tips of her long ears drooping and her hair gently swaying in the wind, I had a feeling she was enjoying the moment. Anyone would have smiled at such a sight, and I was glad I had already set plans to go out today.

“Hm, so the weather cleared, as I thought. My hunches are not to be underestimated.” I turned around to face the voice that came from behind to find a black-haired woman yawning. It did somewhat detract from her beauty, but I thought she was just fine like this.

“I don’t think you can call it just a hunch when it comes to you, Wridra. You were even expecting me when I woke up at the riverbed.”

“I have become far too accustomed to your scent already. Finding out where you will appear is a simple task.”

Indeed, when I returned to the dream world, I found myself at a riverbed that was far away from my original location. When I opened my eyes, the two girls had been squatting over me, and they poked my cheek with a finger.

“I’m glad about that. We were able to come back quickly thanks to you.” There were no devices like smartphones over here, but we had the Mind Link Chat. The dream world worked in strange ways, but it was a good thing we could avoid getting separated from others.

But the time to be talking leisurely was over. The blanket that had been hanging on Marie’s shoulder slipped down to her thigh, revealing her collarbones. I quickly moved her neck back to her original position. Marie then squeezed her eyes shut.

“Hah, hah, it seems you are doing just as Marie ordered. You are quite diligent, for a male.”

“Well, ‘ordered’ is quite a rude way to put it. Any man who doesn’t take good care of women is unattractive, and I think you should start learning to wear sensible clothing.” It was pitch dark, but I could hear the two talking from behind and in front of me. It seemed Marie had more to say, but decided to talk to the person next to her instead.

“Oh, Eve, was it? It’s a good thing you made it out safely. I’d like to point out that you just so happened to be lucky that time, so you shouldn’t do anything reckless from now on.”

“Wh-Wh-Wha...?!” Although I couldn’t see in the dark, I could tell what sort of expression was on Eve’s face right now. Seeing us appear in the bed suddenly, she was probably pointing right at us and flapping her lips. I didn’t feel like explaining in detail, and it wasn’t like I could have done a good job of it, anyway. Not to mention, with all the fuss going on, we were way past our expected departure time. So, I wanted to get right into enjoying the precious weekend.

“Okay, everyone, today we go have fun. Let’s wash our faces and get changed.”

“Ohh, I can’t wait! I just love this moment when we’re about to go out. It makes my heart beat with excitement!”

“Mmph! Yes, yes, I understand. This is indeed an exhilarating feeling. I cannot help but smile as if a delicious meal has been laid out before me.” I heard a cute little clapping noise, which I figured was Marie and Wridra high-fiving each other. Personally, I wanted them to go get changed already so I could start making breakfast. But before that, I spoke to Eve, who must’ve been sitting there without any idea of what was going on.

“Umm, you’re free to wait here while we go out, but if you wouldn’t mind, how would you like to go with us? I guarantee it’ll be a fun weekend that’ll surprise you.”

“Huh? Hang out? ...Where?”

“Grimlaaand!”

Ah, the other two ladies had answered for me. It was a giant theme park that was the pride of Kanto, so maybe their excitement was to be expected. It was near the city center, and was large enough to fit twenty Tokyo Domes within its perimeters, with over 20,000,000 attendees each year. They had been looking forward to this day during the long rainy season, so they probably couldn’t wait a moment longer.

I wasn’t just inviting her on a whim, either. Eve had suffered a deep trauma, and she needed time to heal. Just like how her tears had stopped when she saw the three-flavor furikake, Grimland was sure to help her just as much, if not moreso. It wasn’t just that I didn’t want to miss out on this sunny day within the rainy reason.

The girls went to the washroom while chatting excitedly amongst themselves, and I was finally allowed to open my eyes. There stood Eve, still in my hoodie, with her eyes wide open. She seemed confused on what to be surprised about first, and I smiled at her as her eyes darted around the room.

“This is kind of a regular thing, so let me say this. Eve, welcome to Japan, a land full of recreation, fun, food, and culture. You aren’t gonna get bored until you go to sleep, just so you know.” It felt refreshing to see her blinking her blue eyes, considering she nearly choked me to death not too long ago.

I opened the rice cooker, and a cloud of white steam filled my vision. I scooped some rice with the scooper, letting out quiet yelps of “Hot, hot,” as I shaped them into rice balls.

Meanwhile, the girls continued to prepare for the outing, and I could hear their cheerful chatter from the dressing area. I envied how much fun they seemed to be having, but it wasn’t like I could have joined them. To us guys, a girl’s changing room was like a strange, alternate world that we were never allowed to step foot into.

I continued making rice balls in silence, and the first one to come out was the half-fairy elf, Mariabelle. She slid the door open, blinked her purple eyes a few times, and showed off her collared shirt and favorite navy skirt. The skirt with a suspender was adorable and made her look like she was going to a piano recital. The satisfied look on her face was quite cute, too.

“That looks nice on you. Would you mind if I got a closer look at the adorable Ms. Elf?”

“Hehe, I don’t mind. Since you’ve always treated me so well, you get the privilege of looking all you want. Look, it even has a cute little ribbon on it.” With that, she held up the corner of her skirt with two fingers and walked toward me, clearly in a good mood. But mid-way through her walk, she shouted, “Rice balls!” with her purple eyes glimmering, and seemed to have already forgotten about her promise to show me her outfit. She then wrapped her arms around me from under my arms, but I couldn’t hug her back with rice all over my hands.

“Hey, could you make extra tuna mayo ones? I’ve always envied how Wridra gets to eat a bunch of them.” It made me happy that she requested tuna mayo rice balls, but it was also strange, in a way. I’d thought elves mainly ate things like nuts, but such notions were completely invalidated in the past few months. Actually, maybe things hadn’t changed too much since we started spending time together so I could learn more Elvish. I could feel her excitement to go to Grimland, and her contagious energy was getting me excited, too. The blue sky behind her made it hard to believe it was still the rainy season, and it was as if the skies themselves were celebrating this day. I watched the sunny scenery and opened my mouth to speak.

“The weather really is nice today. The report said it was gonna rain.”

“Of course. We’re destined to go out today, and not even rain clouds can get in our way. So, since you’re making rice balls, are we taking the car today?” Marie’s conjecture was right. We could get there faster taking the train, but with Eve having just arrived here, I wasn’t too keen on having her walk through heavy traffic at the stations and streets. Marie and Wridra got used to it right away, but Eve had a sense of wildness to her, so I had a feeling she might stir up trouble a couple times. I wanted her to focus on having fun, and preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble.

“We could still get there in about thirty minutes or so. Oh, looks like they’re ready, too.” The door slid open again, and Wridra and Eve stepped out. The tan-skinned Eve had her ears completely covered, and her healthy thighs were in full display between her short short and knee-high socks.

“Oh, you’re gonna keep that hoodie on? You could wear whatever you want, you know.”

“Oh, but this is nice and comfy. It’s yours, right? Mind if I have it?” I didn’t mind, if she didn’t mind that it was a men’s hoodie. Maybe it was an elf thing, but Eve was sniffing the hoodie with her nose against the sleeve as I answered her.

The oversized hat covering her head was likely prepared by Wridra. It was the same russet color as the hoodie, and had a sort of modern look to it. Though, her blonde hair, blue eyes, and hourglass body were likely to draw a lot of attention. Such thoughts went through my mind as I watched her, and she turned around.

“But that really was amazing. Wridra, was it? How do you make things like hats so quickly?”

“Hah, hah, I have been alive for many long years. That was nothing.” Wridra smiled, and Eve let out an affirmative noise without questioning it further. But I wondered how Eve would have reacted if she found out she was talking to an Arkdragon that was over level 1000.

The dragon in question blurted out, “Rice balls!” and skipped over to me, so I completely missed the chance to introduce her.

“Mmf, my favorite! Hmhm, all tuna mayos belong to me!”

“No no, you need to share. Oh, did you get new clothes again? You seem to be into that gothic vibe lately,” I pointed out, noticing the new long-sleeve shirt peeking out from the shoulder of her vest. The wide skirt that extended below her knees was black, her favorite color. The black-haired beauty nodded and peered over from beside me. Not at me, but at the rice balls.

“I did go through the trouble of learning clothing designs. It would be a waste not to show it off. Just as how it would be a waste to leave any rice balls uneaten.” Wridra smiled as she said so around my eye level, but it felt like rice balls weren’t really on par with what we were talking about.

With her pale complexion, just putting on a little lipstick accentuated her beauty quite a lot. People said that women had the ability to transform themselves, but it really did seem that way. But no matter how much her outfit may stand out, we were going to a flashy and lively amusement park, so she wouldn’t seem out of place. We didn’t have time to waste, either. I stuffed my bag with rice balls and tea, then turned to the others who were waiting for departure.

“Okay, looks like we’re all ready to go. We didn’t forget anything, right?”

“Good,”

“To,”

“Go. Wait, what?”

One of them seemed to be having a hard time catching up, but I decided not to worry about it. We all headed toward the front door. Once we got our shoes on, it was time to leave.

“Eve, I’ll give you the honors of wearing the sneakers I really like. They’re very light and durable, so you can run very fast in them.”

“Huh. Whoa, it really is light. These are nice. I can have them?”

“No, I’m just letting you borrow them! I like them a lot, so I take good care of them.” Eve looked surprised as Marie bared her teeth like an upset cat. Judging by the fine features of Marie’s face, Eve seemed to think she was a mild-mannered girl. But Marie was actually quite the opposite. She never went against her own beliefs, and she pursued her thirst for knowledge and curiosity without holding back.

Realizing this, Eve stared at her with a curious look and said, “Hm. You’re gonna let me borrow these when you like them so much?”

“Yes, of course I don’t mind. But just take good care of them. I’ll get upset if you treat them roughly.”

Come to think of it, those shoes were the first things I bought for Marie when she came to this world. I remember being a bit embarrassed when trying to buy women’s clothing and shoes for her. I was glad she liked them so much, but it made it hard to bring up the fact that they were actually pretty cheap. Yeah, it was best not to say anything.

“Oh, these are nice! They’re a bit small, but I like the fit. I feel like I can run even faster than usual.” Hearing her speak cheerfully, I remembered just how powerful Eve’s legs were. When she stole the jewels last time, I had a hard time catching up to her even while using my teleportation skill. The way she tapped the ground with her toes as she deftly jumped around vaguely was reminiscent me of sports athletes.

“You were really fast, Eve. What class are you?”

“You know, I don’t want you asking things like that so lightheartedly. You really think I’d just tell you? People can strategize against you based on your class alone. You wouldn’t want people asking you about yours, would you?”

“Huh, I don’t mind. My class is Illusory Swordsman, but... You’re probably not familiar with it, right?”

“Huh? No, never heard of it.” She shot me a dubious look because of my extremely obscure class. I couldn’t blame her, though. It was a class I had finally attained after about twenty years of solo play. I had no idea what the conditions were for unlocking it now.

Then I noticed Eve looking at her surroundings with her mouth agape.

“Whoaaa, there are so many of the same rooms lined up next to each other! How did they make this building? It’s obviously not made of wood, and it’s so high up... Ah! There are more of the same rooms above and below us! How many people are living here?!”

“A lot. Eve, you aren’t going to last if you’re surprised by something like this. She’s going to bother the neighbors like this, so we should go downstairs already,” Marie suggested as she pointed toward the staircase, so I agreed and adjusted the backpack on my back. If we got on the elevator with someone else, she’d probably start screaming about it moving on its own.

But come to think of it, Marie was really getting used to handling visitors from the other world. Such thoughts went through my mind as I went down the stairs after her. Moments later, Eve came running toward us, yelling, “Wait for me!”

“Nnnh, such clear weather!” Wridra had descended the stairs before us and was stretching with both arms spread out wide. The way she avoided inconveniences and got from point A to point B quicker than everyone else hadn’t changed since she was in her black cat form.

When I caught up to her, I found myself surrounded by the clear blue sky, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the weather now that the rain was gone. The girls were right; you just couldn’t beat that moment just before going out. I was full of excitement, and Marie was all smiles as she called for me to hurry.

I felt a faint vibration in my chest pocket, and I looked at the smartphone screen to find a message of encouragement from Kaoruko that read, “Today is the day! Have fun!” I couldn’t help but smile. She probably happened to see us leave from the floor above.

I had gone through strategy meetings with her to make sure our day atGrimland would be enjoyed to its full potential. I may have been from Aomori, but I had a duty to ensure the visitors from the other world would have the time of their lives here in Tokyo.

The sight of Marie happily holding onto Wridra’s arm was as bright as the blue skies. Any time I wasn’t sleeping was once filled with boredom, but my days were so full of life now. The change was staggering. The girls that had brought this change about probably didn’t even realize it. As I considered these thoughts, I noticed one of the women was staring right at me.

“Hm, I didn’t expect you to make a face like that,” Eve said.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Look, your Mariabelle is calling for you.”

What did she mean by “your”? And what sort of face was I making just now? But there was no time to think about such things. Marie was urging me to hurry from the entrance of the parking lot. It was already past the park’s opening time. We had to leave quickly, or I could get scolded by a certain elf.

And so, I reached out and grabbed the car’s door handle, but there was no way the dark elf wasn’t going to react to a modern vehicle. She stared at the car wide-eyed, and I felt the urge to say, “I didn’t expect you to make a face like that,” but decided against it.

“What’s this, what’s this? Are we supposed to ride this thing?”

“Leave such comments for later! Get on, Eve!” Wridra pushed Eve’s butt from behind as she stared into the car’s interior, and she let out a cry as she was forced into the vehicle. I wanted to tell her not to use violence, but I understood her rush. Marie and I raised a thumb of approval, and I climbed into my seat too.

It was time to depart.

The car began accelerating slowly, and I could hear weird “Oh, oh, oh!” noises from the back seat. I didn’t have to turn around to know Eve was surprised. Marie and I looked at each other, and I had the feeling Eve was thinking something cliché.

“You’re probably going to say, ‘What the?! It’s moving without a horse!’” Marie said.

“Huh?! I didn’t say anything yet!” She was probably thinking it, though. This was pretty much a given, and something they all went through once. Wridra also chuckled from beside her. Eve, who seemed to have a rather competitive personality, furrowed her brows in reaction. Thankfully, she copied the rest of us and put her seatbelt on, and we were ready to go.

The car slowly left the parking lot and began driving on the road that was now free of rain. Then, the music started playing right on cue, and I looked over to find Marie had just started playing a CD.

The melody that began to play had a distinctive Showa flavor to it. It was perfect for a trip through Japan, and the lyrics full of emotion still had a strong core following. Marie and Wridra had sung their hearts out to it last time. They seemed to remember this, and I sensed someone suddenly sit upright in the back seat.

“Hrm! Yes, this is it! This drives my sense of adventure like none other.”

“Doesn’t it? I can’t enjoy a Japan trip to the fullest without this music.”

Hm, I thought it was a bit too local to call it a “trip.” But I supposed it could be considered a mini-trip, and I smiled as the girls shook their heads along to the rhythm and sang together.

“I really don’t get you guys...” Eve muttered to herself, but the other two were too into it to hear her. Of course, I couldn’t help but join them from all the excitement, too.

And so, we continued driving down the road. With our spirits high from the wonderfully blue sky, we were headed for the land of dreams and magic.

It was said that nostalgic songs were called “golden oldies.” But to people who were visiting this world for the first time, it probably sounded like a fresh melody. Rice balls and barley tea in a bottle were passed around as we enjoyed the moody music, and I could tell the elf and the Arkdragon were getting even cheerier.

Meanwhile, there was one passenger who was as quiet as a lamb. The tan-skinned woman was sitting directly behind the driver’s seat, sweating profusely and clutching both her knees as she stared at the big bus that drove by outside the window.

“Eep! It’s gonna crush me! It’s so big and fast! Are the monsters in this world all like that?!”

“I-It’s okay. Eve, why don’t you try one of those rice balls? We won’t be eating for a while, and the last tuna mayo is about to disappear.”

“I-I can’t eat like this! Wah! What’s that huge thing?! How many people can that thing fit?!”

A giant tour bus drove by. It could probably have fit about fifty people or so inside, and it was heading toward the same amusement park as us. I wanted to take my time to explain, but we couldn’t bring food into the park, and we had quite some time until lunch. I glanced over to Mariabelle in the passenger seat, and she nodded with her mouth full of rice.

“Eve, look. Here, this is a tuna mayo rice ball. And I’ll leave some tea right here. I know you’re surprised, but you can still eat, right?” Marie made her hold the items, and the fragrant scent of seaweed seemed to draw Eve’s attention, as her nose started to twitch. Maybe dark elves also had a sharp sense of smell, being so closely related to Mariabelle. Since she had just arrived from the other world, the scenery around us must have been quite shocking. But it seemed she couldn’t beat the allure of the fragrance, and she opened her mouth to take a big bite.

“Hm...! Ah, what is this?!”

“It’s a rice ball. A portable meal, and the pride of Japan. Tuna mayo is especially popular among them, and everyone reaches for these first. You need to get them quickly, or Wridra will devour them all,” Mariabelle said like an older sister. They seemed quite different in appearance, but it was clear to see she was a kind girl who liked taking care of others. As a side note, since Eve couldn’t speak Japanese, we had been speaking Elvish throughout the whole car ride.

“Well? Is it good?” Eve couldn’t speak with her mouth full of food, so she simply nodded earnestly. The rice ball was made of white rice, seaweed, and tuna mayo, and its creamy flavor and umami filled one’s mouth with every bite. White rice was full of sweetness to begin with, so its delicious taste could be enjoyed right up to the point where you swallow it.

Eve took a swig of the tea, then closed her eyes and cried out, “Mmmmmm, delicious! This is that thing you were making earlier, right? You made it look so easy! How’d you make it?”

“I’ll teach you how to make it when we get back, if you’d like. But I’m glad you’re okay with rice, Eve. The dishes in this country are all based on complementing rice, so I would’ve been in trouble if you didn’t like it.”

“I’m totally fine with it. Actually, I like it. It’s squishy and has a nice texture, and the sour-sweet flavor is kinda addicting. And I like how the black stuff wrapped around it smells, too.”

Oh, it seemed she really enjoyed it. In response, I noticed Wridra wearing a smug expression as she sat back down in the back seat.

“Hah, hah, even I have yet to see the depths of this country’s food culture. If I was to express it in levels, rice balls would be about level 5. Of course, 99 isn’t the level limit.”

“Whaaat?! No way. You’re just trying to mess with me because I’m from the country.” Eve shot back, but I thought that level 5 sounded about right for rice balls. Marie and I glanced at each other as I thought it over. In any case, I didn’t actually know if there were distinctive country-born and city-born elves.

“Are there different kinds of elves? Her body structure seems a lot different from yours, and come to think of it, I really don’t know much about dark elves.”

“Umm, well. I’m from a forest tribe, and I suppose Eve is from an ocean tribe? Hmm, yes, I thought so when I first saw her. It’s true that dark skin is a characteristic of dark elves, but in many cases, they were regular elves just like me to start with,” Marie pointed at herself as she explained.

“For example, in my case, forest elves tend to seek knowledge. Their lifestyles usually don’t change much, and they tend to spend a lot of time reading books or learning Spirit Magic. Elves that live by the ocean, both male and female, tend to be physically stronger, so you should be able to tell them apart pretty easily.”

Hm, she was right that the elves I saw in forests were usually on the slender side. Their height and build varied, and after speaking to them, I felt like Marie was comparatively more intelligent. I now understood that there were differences based on where they were from, but now I was curious about the dark elves themselves.

“I’m what they call a dark elf. We use spirits the wrong way,” Eve explained.

“The wrong way? What do you mean?” I asked, and Marie made a face like she was deep in thought.

“That’s what they say, generally, but I don’t know if I agree that it’s wrong, per se. You take spirits into your body to enhance it, right? I think that’s a logical method, too.”

“Come to think of it, you guys aren’t afraid of me at all for some reason. And you seem to know a decent amount about dark elves. Hey, do you have any more rice balls?” Eve asked, and it seemed to me like one of the walls she had up in her heart had been broken down in this conversation.

“If you’re from an ocean tribe, maybe you’d like some cod roe,” Marie said as she handed over a rice ball, and the expression on Eve’s face confirmed my thoughts. Marie licked a piece of rice on her finger and smiled.

“Yes, my mother was a dark elf, after all. She was very scary when she got angry, but she’s my kind mother that I’m proud of. So I have absolutely no prejudice in that sense.”

“Oh, you mean Sharsha. That brings me back. You’re right, she was very scary when she was angry,” I said.

“She’d always pinch my cheeks whenever I did anything bad. She could easily catch up to me even when I ran away as fast as I could. I can’t remember how many times I screamed as I tried to flee.” We chuckled with each other as Eve watched us, wide-eyed. Sharsha was a woman who had taken care of me when I was learning Elvish, and I remembered her being absolutely wonderful. If I ever had the chance, I wanted to go see her again.

But if I was to do that, I had to reassess my understanding. Maybe there just weren’t a lot of them out there, or they were living in hiding, because it was very rare to run into dark elves. Yet, I still heard rumors about them, and they were often referred to as a race cursed by the gods. But according to Marie’s explanation earlier, it seemed like they had only enhanced their physical prowess by taking spirits into their bodies.

“So that’s where she got that incredible leg strength from,” I thought to myself as I glanced at the rear view mirror. Just then, our eyes met.

Eve drank some more tea, then wore a rather uncomfortable expression on her face. I wondered what was wrong, then she hesitantly opened her mouth.

“...Hey, when are you gonna ask me about Zarish? He did such horrible things, and you did nearly die, after all. You must be wondering about his objectives and his abilities, right?”

“Huh? I don’t have any intention of asking about that stuff,” I replied.

“Indeed. This is our day of leisure that we had been waiting for for so long. I forbid you to mention that man’s name from now on,” Wridra added.

“I agree. I don’t even want to think about such a creepy man.”

With all three of us hitting her with a disinterested reply, Eve was left dumbfounded, her blue eyes bulging wide. I couldn’t have left such a dangerous man alone, of course, but I would have been able to think of how to deal with him after we had our fill of fun.

As our conversation went on, we started seeing glimpses of hotels around the amusement park area. And as the excitement in the car grew, we merged onto the road that specifically led to the park.

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