They're the Best Companions Ever!
“Hey, look at that.”
“Whoa, amazing.”
“No doubt about it.”
The next day, while I was walking the streets of the royal capital with Aqua and Milfie, we noticed the surrounding area was abuzz.
Come to think of it, Luna did say elves were rare.
Still, it’s impressive that everyone around us can tell just by the pointed ears.
As expected of people from this world.
“He’s walking with two hotties, just one guy?”
“Man, that’s one hell of a harem.”
“I wish I had ears like that too!”
No, they’ve got it all wrong.
They’re just cute, that’s all.
By the way, Bridget had been called to the guild, so she left a note.
She always seems busy.
After we returned from seeing the night view, I strangely fell into a deep sleep.
There wasn’t any kind of reward when I woke up, but I was wrapped in a nostalgic feeling.
I’m no longer in doubt.
I must’ve really been on a journey back then.
“Aqua, what kind of magic do you use, meow?”
“I can use most basic types of magic. But things like brainwashing, charm, or curses aren’t compatible with me, so I can’t use those.”
Looking at Aqua’s profile, I could tell just how well-defined her features were.
Yesterday I was too surprised to notice, but she’s insanely beautiful.
Damn it, past me... what kind of amazing life were you living...? I want those memories back...
“—Mister Tabito?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, sorry. I was calling out to you, but you didn’t respond.”
“I was thinking about the past. Wondering what kind of relationship we had.”
I’m not lying. Not really.
“That makes sense... I only have fragmented memories myself, but since we were fighting the General of Death together, I’d say we probably had a pretty good relationship.”
“Haha, I’d like that.”
This is great. Just great.
“But… can we really get our memories back just by traveling?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve heard there’s magic that can restore memories, but I don’t know if it really exists.”
“If there is, that’d solve everything.—Oh, let’s stop here. I found a really good place.”
—
[Royal Capital Adventurer's General Store]
4.7 ★★★★☆ (7147 reviews)
A-Rank Adventurer
★★★★☆
I always shop here before heading out on a journey.
You can eat inside too.
B-Rank Adventurer
★★★★☆
They have everything from rations to games.
If you’re ever in trouble, come here.
Carlo
★★★★☆
I usually come here before going into a dungeon.
They even have toys kids would love.
—
This was the biggest store we’ve entered so far.
In the royal capital, they’ve got a sort of cutting-edge eat-in area, and there’s even a café inside.
We came here to stock up on travel essentials.
Milfie usually only carries the bare minimum.
But since we’ll be taking a boat to the next country across the sea, we’ll need to prepare quite a bit.
We’ll likely have to sleep outdoors too.
A tent would be ideal, but that’s probably too much to hope for.
“Wow, it’s huge!”
“I’m surprised. I had no idea a place like this existed.”
“Yeah. By the way, Aqua, why did you come to the royal capital?”
“Learning magic is my hobby. I came here to look for magic books, but then I saw the photo of you all at the end of the guidebook, and… well, here I am.”
Magic books are texts that describe magic.
The more complex or older ones are written in script.
When it’s something too difficult to express with words, they still write it down that way even now.
“I see. In that case, I know a good place that sells magic books. I’ll tell you later.”
“Really!? Ehehe, that makes me so happy!”
Aqua beamed with a wide smile.
That must be her true self.
I used to collect figures too, so I get how she feels.
“Alright, let’s get clothes and some firewood too.”
“Yeah. The more, the better.”
“We should also stock up on plenty of food, just in case we don’t find any game.”
“Got it, meow!”
Then we went through the wooden shelves, grabbing what we needed and tossing it into the basket.
“I’m getting this too, meow!”
“Okay!”
“Milfie, I want this...”
“Nope, don’t need it, meow.”
We were just like a couple.
Before we knew it, we had a mountain of stuff.
But when I looked over, Aqua was frowning slightly.
“Did we overdo it and freak you out?”
“Eh? Ah, no, not at all! Umm, it’s just… do you always travel by carriage? I was wondering how you carry all this stuff.”
Oh, right—I never explained about the travel bag.
I told her I’d explain later and after buying everything, we headed over to the dining corner.
The royal capital is famous for its milk bread, so we ordered drinks and sat down.
“Wow, this bread’s so soft, meow.”
“Yeah. We should’ve come sooner.”
“It’s delicious!”
It’s fluffy and soft, with plenty of fresh cream inside.
As we chatted, I casually packed all our stuff into the travel bag.
Seeing that, Aqua accidentally dropped her bread on the table.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, this is my travel bag. Here, take a look inside.”
“... S-Spatial magic!? Inside such a small pouch!?”
“Yeah, though I don’t really understand how it works—”
“Can I see it!? Amazing… there’s a subspace inside. But how does the magic theory behind this work...?”
Aqua ignored her milk bread, completely absorbed in curiosity.
She said she collects magic books, and it turns out she might love magic even more than I imagined.
Even if this was just a short journey, I wonder if we were always this lively.
I really want to remember—nothing weird about that.
I bet we had tons of great memories together.
"Back then too, I wonder if everyone talked like this together."
At that moment, Milfie muttered quietly.
Looks like she was thinking the exact same thing as me.
"Maybe."
"Wow, this magic... could it be that inside the bag—"
◇
After finishing our shopping, we were walking back, eating sweets since the reviews were good.
Aqua looked completely satisfied.
"This chocolate is delicious."
"It's such a shame we won’t be able to eat it anymore, meow."
"Yeah. But hey, we can always come back. Don’t you remember?"
"Oh, right!"
"Also, from the next country, let’s try operating as merchants too. Check prices and popular products, and once we've gathered enough info, we can start purchasing goods."
"That sounds fun too. Ehehe, I'm gonna earn lots, meow."
As we chatted, Aqua tilted her head again.
Come to think of it, we hadn’t explained Free Pins or Area Pins to her yet.
"Hey, uh, Aqua—"
Just then, soldiers were rushing about in a panic.
It was just like when we went to subjugate the Named enemy before.
Wondering what was going on, Bridget appeared.
She seemed to be in a real hurry.
"Miss Bridget, what’s going on?"
"—Tabito. It's an emergency."
"What happened?"
"You remember the river where we fought the Named enemy? Near there, a shared carriage was attacked. Apparently, one of the children was taken by slave traders."
At those words, Milfie’s face turned pale.
"I'm heading there right now."
"I’ll go too."
"Thanks. But we have to move fast. Don’t fall behind."
I quickly checked the map.
I’d already retrieved the Free Pin.
No problem.
"I’ve marked it. I’m going too."
"Marked it? What do you mean?"
"No time to explain. Please, grab my hand."
"What are you saying?"
"Miss Bridget, hold Tabito’s hand."
"... Alright."
Then I hurried and clicked.
[Transferring in 10 seconds. Transfer will be canceled if combat begins.]"I’m going too. I can’t ignore something so terrible."
"Aqua.—Got it. Hold Milfie’s hand. Quickly now."
"Eh? Okay."
And in the next moment, our surroundings changed.
In front of us was the river.
Bridget and Aqua both raised their voices in surprise at the sudden scenery.
"What is this... how are we here?"
"Teleportation... magic!? And with multiple people!? … Impossible."
"I’ll explain later. First, the carriage—"
"Tabito, the tracks behind the wheels—these are new!!"
A little ahead, Milfie was already crouching down.
Bridget hurried to follow and confirmed from the tracks that the carriage wasn’t from the capital.
"I’ll hear the explanation later. We’re moving!"
And so we ran.
Catching up to a carriage might be crazy.
But then Aqua said—
"—Speed-enhancing magic. I poured in all my mana. This should be faster than the carriage. However, I’ll be totally exhausted after, so be prepared."
Hah, as expected—former comrade indeed!
As we moved forward, I found the carriage on the guide map.
I shouted with all I had.
"It’s up ahead. We’re close!"
"—Milfie, let’s go!"
"Yes, meow!"
Then the two of them picked up a terrifying speed.
Aqua and I followed, but it was incredible.
Finally, we saw the carriage.
Bridget, still running, drew her sword.
The guide map showed someone inside—probably the child.
"—Wind Slash."
Bridget swung her sword while running. The wind extended like a whip.
It slammed into the wheel, and in the next moment, the whole thing broke apart violently.
It was like it disintegrated—the carriage burst into pieces.
At that moment, Milfie leapt and caught the child who’d been flung into the air from the wagon bed.
It was like a circus act.
She landed and called out that the child was safe.
But it wasn’t over yet.
There were four men—likely the slave traders.
Each of them was injured, but already had their swords drawn.
There was a lot of blood, but they probably couldn’t feel the pain thanks to the adrenaline.
“Damn it, who the hell are you?”
“Kill them!”
But I was more fired up than you guys.
—You bastards.
“You’re dead, meow.”
“Yeah, damn right.”
Then Bridget and Milfie stepped forward.
They finished them in an instant.
Apparently, the men didn’t even have time to scream.
… So anticlimactic.
But I noticed one guy hiding behind a rock.
I walked over and found the terrified man.
"Too bad. You can’t hide from my map."
"H-hiii!"
I knocked him out with a bonk to the head.
Mission complete.
When I looked back, Aqua was healing the child with recovery magic.
They must have been a little hurt.
Lian, who I’d once partied with in a dungeon, used chants, but I’d heard that very few people could use healing magic.
Even after using that acceleration magic, she was moving quickly with what must have been a small reserve of mana—this really showed how skilled Aqua was.
Ah, I see. We really were amazing comrades.
"The injuries were minor, but everything’s fine now."
"Thanks, Aqua."
"No, but please tell me... that teleport ability just now—was incredible!"
And of course, the Area Pin on the way back also left everyone stunned, needless to say.
—
Milfie
★★★★★
So glad the child was saved, meow.
Aqua’s movement magic and Bridget were amazing.
Reliable comrades, meow!
Bridget
★★★★★
Teleportation magic and speed-enhancing magic...
Truly talented allies.
Aqua
★★★★★
Amazing.
I was traveling with people this cool...
I’m so happy.
Tabito
★★★★★
Everyone’s too amazing.
Makes me doubt I actually defeated the Death General.
Still, I’m proud I was part of such a top-tier team.
What do you think about this chapter?
