Chapter 231 - Fam, Samaim, and a Night in Richelle
I walked through the darkened streets of Richelle with Samaim on my back. The moonlight cast a pale, bluish glow over the city. Looking up, I saw it was a full moon. In this world, too, it was the harvest moon viewing season—no, if I were to equate this place with my original world, it would be the Harvest Moon. The next full moon would probably be the one. I wondered if they had any moon-viewing events here.
The streetlights were few and far between. The stone-paved road was difficult to walk on. It had deteriorated with age, the stones' corners worn down, and ruts had formed. There should have been bumps and dips, but the moonlight erased their shadows. The carriages in this world, of course, had wooden wheels. Still, enough of them must have passed down this road to wear down the stone itself.
I remembered the anxiety I felt when I carried Fam to the church, the warmth of her on my back as I walked to the inn. Now, she was walking beside me. It had become such a normal sight. Thinking about it, the cityscape of Richelle seemed nostalgic.
Seeing the sign for the Asuka Inn, my eyes unexpectedly grew hot.
"This is where I graduated from being a virgin."
"What are you suddenly saying?!"
Fam's face turned beet red in response. Was it because of the torchlight hanging on the inn's sign?
"You lost yours here too!"
"I said, please stop! What would you do if Sam was awake?!"
She listened for Samaim's breathing, who had her head buried in my shoulder, and let out a sigh of relief.
"Later, let's all check our phones, including Samaim."
"N-no, thank you."
Leaving her flustered, I went inside. The first floor, which served as both a tavern and a dining hall, was filled with lively voices. Among them, I spotted Mizuki and Marmie.
After laying Samaim down in our room, I returned to the first floor, got dinner and an ale, and sat down next to Mizuki and the others.
"Where did Petra go?"
"She said she's staying at Aidan-san's place."
Listening to Mizuki, I split a long, coiled sausage with Fam. It seemed a bit salty, so I took a swig of ale to dilute it in my mouth.
"She went to Aidan's?"
Mizuki nodded in response to my question. Her face was neither smiling nor angry. It was that composed look that felt off to me.
"Mizuki, let me see your Storage for a second."
"Wh-why do I have to show you, Mash?! More importantly, is it okay to leave Samaim all alone?"
Mizuki was frantically trying to change the subject. She had definitely restocked her alcohol supply. Why was she so eager to drink?
"Mash... I'm keeping my promise to you, and I only drink when you're around!"
I wondered what she meant by "I only," and glanced at Fam, who was biting into the long sausage next to me. It was about as thick as three fingers and over thirty centimeters long. Was she planning to slurp it up like udon noodles? After a moment, Fam froze with her mouth full and turned to look at me. She seemed to be pleading for help, but there was nothing I could do for her.
"Samaim will be fine. Probably."
I ignored Fam and answered Mizuki. Even if she woke up, she wouldn't be able to do much in her current state. I was thinking lightly that Fam could just persuade her later. I was more worried about Yuuki and his group. I shifted my gaze to Marmie. She had finished her meal and was drinking a beverage from a mug, holding it with both hands. It was probably grape juice.
"Marmie, I want to go back to Migul right now."
"...Impossible."
Her reply was a single word.
"If we summon Racshell and have her carry us with her spear..."
Mizuki and Marmie both turned their gazes toward me at my words.
"Wouldn't your Mana run out, Mash...?" Mizuki replied.
"Why? We were able to travel from that dungeon to Racshell's home space."
It was dark, so I couldn't get a good sense of it, but we should have traveled a long distance at a considerable speed.
"The World of the Sacred Oil Jar is like outer space with no air and no gravity, right? With no friction, you can travel long distances at high speeds with just the force of acceleration. In this world, you're affected by friction, air resistance, and gravity. Wouldn't that require a huge amount of Mana?"
I stared at Mizuki. It didn't take much thought to remember she was an active student. She was supposed to be smarter than me, so I resolved to be more careful about saying strange things in front of her.
"But there's resistance in the World of the Sacred Oil Jar, right? Isn't it filled with Mana?"
"...Mana has no physical structure. It doesn't interact with other substances. Its existence can only be perceived through magical power."
This time, Marmie answered. If we experimented with having Racshell transport us and it failed, it would take time to summon her again. It would be better to think of another way. But then again, there was summoning magic. Racshell and anyone else who answered a summons must be traversing space by some method.
"...Mash, Lady Racshell said that special skills are a conceptual power. So..."
"So if you say 'this exists,' then 'it exists'...?"
Marmie started speaking as if she'd read my mind, and when I finished her thought, she gave a small nod. Was there no other way? I looked at Mizuki.
"That's it. Mizuki, the booze."
"What about the booze?"
"The Storage. It's another dimension. I think Maira said that the contents of a dead person's Storage are sometimes found in dungeons. That means the world inside the Storage is the 'World of the Sacred Oil Jar.'"
If I summoned Racshell from inside my Storage, couldn't I access her temple or the Leafclout dungeon again? However, Marmie shook her head at my words.
"...There's a restriction that living beings cannot enter. Even if you could, the walls of a Storage are like dungeon walls; no one can break them."
"But my arm can go in."
I opened my Storage and took out an ear of corn. When putting things in or taking them out, my arm could go in up to the elbow. But no further. Since I could imagine what I wanted to retrieve and it would appear near the entrance, there was no need to put any other body parts inside.
The last option was the adventurer skill that allows one to move from a dungeon's entrance to a previously visited floor. However, I couldn't think of a way to use that ability to travel to another dungeon or Racshell's space; it seemed too difficult.
"I feel like there was some other spatial transfer magic..."
I wracked my brain for a while, but nothing came to mind.
When we returned to the room, Samaim was fast asleep, still in the same position we had left her. Fam stroked her cheek to check on her, but there was no sign of her waking up. She would probably be awake by morning.
Two beds, larger than double size, were lined up next to each other. One was a permanent fixture, and the other seemed to have been brought in hastily. As a result, the room was almost entirely occupied by beds, and the desk and four chairs were pushed into a corner. I wanted to move to the large room we had stayed in before tomorrow.
"Master, please sleep next to her tonight."
"I-is that okay?!"
I couldn't help but gasp. Was this the first time Fam had given me permission for such an act?
"I don't know what's 'okay' about it, but no!"
"Then what's not okay?!"
"That's fine, just please be as gentle with Sam as you were with me!"
"In that case..."
I reached for her chest, intending to confirm the sensation I had felt on my back. Fam swatted my hand away.
"How does it come to this?!"
She didn't know the truth—that she herself had had her chest fondled.
"I get it, but shouldn't we check something first?"
"What do we need to check?"
"Whether she's a virgin or not. It would be a nightmare if she woke up in the morning screaming that I took it from her."
My words made her freeze for a moment.
"Sam might be..." she started, then quickly shook her head. "What are you talking about?! And how do you plan on checking?"
Fam rephrased her question.
"Well, one thrust with my thing should do the trick."
"That's the point, one thrust and it's over!"
Her cheeks were puffed out. It seemed I should probably stop teasing her.
"Alright. Let's get to sleep."
I said that and lay down next to Samaim. Fam then slipped in next to me. The other bed was for Mizuki and Marmie. Mizuki and Marmie seemed like an odd pairing, but Mizuki generally didn't fight with anyone. Unlike me, she was a sociable type. So why did she get so angry only with me, accusing me of being a pervert? As I pondered such things, I closed my eyes.
I awoke with a start. The room had a small window. It was a wooden lattice, and moonlight streamed through it. Just as when I had been carrying Samaim, the room was bathed in a pale, bluish light. Summer was fading recently, and the nights had become much colder. The scene in the room felt even colder.
I could hear Samaim's breathing along with Fam's. I turned my body towards her as if to roll over. Her chest rose and fell gently with her breath. Her sleeping face was peaceful. There was none of the harshness or killing intent she had shown in Migul or the Leafclout dungeon.
I remembered Fam's words: 'To me, she's like the sun. Energetic, always with me, kind, straightforward, quick-tempered, dazzling, warm, reassuring, a source of courage, my idol, but also a little lecherous...' Indeed, just as she had said, there was a warmth to Samaim's body. A warmth like the sun, warming a cold night. Just as I thought I'd like to see her smile, a single tear fell from her eye. I caught the tear with my finger.
I wondered why Yuuki would make a girl like this fight in battles, and then I remembered the warmth behind me. I was one to talk. I had dragged Fam into all of this. I couldn't imagine life without her. Perhaps Yuuki felt the same way about Samaim. For her sake, I hoped so. If that were the case, then perhaps, as Mizuki wished, we could reconcile with him. However, unlike Fam, Samaim was not wearing the light blue item. Seeing Fam, it wasn't hard to imagine what that meant for the dog-eared race.
As I was thinking about these things, Fam hugged me from behind. Come to think of it, her breathing had stopped some time ago.
"Master, do you understand now? Sam is warm."
As she spoke, she buried her face in my back and tightened her arms.
"Fam... you're playing dirty."
"You're the one who told me to think of a way to get Sam back, Master. I wanted you to know about Sam."
In the end, even though I had left Samaim's matter to Fam, she had returned it to me. I sighed and closed my eyes. But it seemed that falling asleep again would be difficult.
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