Chapter 34: Everyday Conversations

“Hey, Yuta. How about going on an expedition soon?”

About ten days since they had planted seeds in the forest space had passed. Sylphy proposed the next level up.

“I don’t have a problem with going on an expedition since I also want to level up, but can we do it in two or three days?”

“That’s up to you, Yuta. Do you have any plans?”

“Well, it’s not really a plan, but if we go on an expedition, we won’t be able to come back for a while, right? Dolly said the vegetables should be ready for harvest soon. I want to harvest them at their best and eat them.”

“Oh, I see. It’s a bit earlier than planned. Is the soil okay?”

“Yeah, Turu and Tamamo consulted and took good care of it, so there’s no problem at all. Thanks to them, we’ve been taking care of it carefully every day.”

“Hehe, that’s good to hear. If you’ve been waiting for the vegetables, you should eat them properly before leaving. Otherwise, you might feel uneasy.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I used to be a meat lover when I was in Japan, but since I came to a place with no greens at all, I’ve been craving vegetables. I think it’s partly because I encounter zombies almost every day, and even if I want to eat meat, there’s none available, so I’m saved in a way.”

Well, the plan is to go to town and eat a lot of meat, but for now, it’s vegetables. We take a walk in the field every morning together and water the vegetables, watch Tamamo’s magic, and take care of them. The other seeds we sowed at the same time are also sprouting and shining green, although they are still small.

The first vegetable to sprout is growing day by day and now has lush green leaves. If Dolly hadn’t said it was better to wait a little longer, we would have already eaten it. To me, this vegetable looks like Chinese cabbage, but it’s called Oil Leaf. I want to make ohitashi (boiled spinach in soy sauce) with it, but I don’t have granulated soup stock, so I’m thinking about how to eat it.

“Hey, Yuta, were you listening to me?”

Sylphy’s voice brought me back to reality. Sylphy was pouting a little…she looked adorable.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry, Sylphy. I was just daydreaming about how to eat it.”

“Sigh. That can’t be helped. Well, you wouldn’t be able to concentrate on an expedition in your current state, so let’s go on the expedition after eating the vegetables.”

“I’m sorry for being selfish even though it’s for my sake.”

“For us spirits, two or three days is nothing. Don’t worry and take good care of the vegetables.”

“Haha, it’s better to leave it to the spirits since they can take care of them better than me.”

Sadly, I had been too eager with watering and almost crushed the newly sprouted buds, so lately I’ve been watching from a distance. Especially in the forest space, where there are no furrows, it’s quite dangerous.

Well, I don’t want to be completely uninvolved, so I carefully water only the nearby area.

“Well, those guys are spirits, so it’s natural that they can take better care of them than Yuta.”

“Haha, that’s right. They are spirits.”

The atmosphere became a bit strange. Let’s change the subject.

“Speaking of the expedition, maybe we’ll level up to the level needed for the contract in one shot. They said that the contract would become more flashy with a Great Spirit, but do we need anything specific?”

“There are a lot of enemies here that give good experience, so the likelihood of leveling up is quite high. The contract just has a few extra steps and doesn’t require anything special. As for the flashy stuff…we’ll have to wait and see.”

“I’m intrigued by the idea of something flashy. However, I’m also a bit scared because I have no idea how big of a scale we’re talking about when it comes to a Great Spirit.”

“You don’t have to get your hopes up too much. It’s best to keep a level head,” Sylphy replied.

“Is that so? Well, the fact that a Great Spirit is looking forward to something makes me think I should mentally prepare myself,” said Yuta.

“You call me a Great Spirit, but do you really understand how powerful we are, Yuuta?” the Great Spirit asked.

“I understand to some extent, but whenever I see Dyne, I can’t help but think that being a Great Spirit must be pretty amazing,” Yuuta replied.

“What do you mean by ‘pretty amazing’? Did Dyne do something?” Slyphy asked.

“Not really, but the other day when I woke up early and went for a walk, I saw Dyne floating in the spring like a dead body, fast asleep. I was really surprised and also thought, ‘Isn’t that kind of inappropriate for a spirit?’ I mean, can’t spirits just disappear or something?” Yuuta explained.

“Well, we don’t really disappear as much as we dissolve into our own attributes…but please be careful,” Dyne warned.

“I wasn’t talking about you. Why did Dyne suddenly appear?” Yuuta asked startled.

“I wasn’t really listening, I just had a feeling,” Dyne said.

Yuuta couldn’t help but wonder about the strange mixture of natural and wild instincts that Dyne possessed. “She’s a bit odd, isn’t she?” he thought to himself.

“What were you talking about? Dyne’s favorite things?”

Why is she so confident? Why is she boasting like that?

“No, we were talking about Dyne’s troublesome behavior,” Slyphy replied.

“What? Dyne doesn’t have any troublesome behavior. That’s just rude,” Dyne protested.

“The other day, Yuuta was taking a morning walk and he saw Dyne floating in the spring, fast asleep like a dead body. He said it was quite a sight,” Slyphy explained.

“Yuuta-chan, it’s not polite to look at a lady’s sleeping face,” Dyne scolded.

“Why am I being blamed for this?!” Yuuta protested.

“I’m not saying you shouldn´t sleep in the water, but if you´re going to sleep, you should do it somewhere less conspicuous. You do know that I can see spirits clearly, right?” Yuta continued.

“I don’t think it’s strange for a water spirit to sleep in water. In this case, it’s best if we both pretend we didn’t see anything, right?” Sylphy suggested.

“Why are you questioning me? Besides, Dyne didn’t even realize she was being watched. I was just the one who saw her,” Yuuta said.

“That’s not fair,” Dyne pouted.

“Why are you glaring at me? If someone is floating in the water and not moving, of course I’m going to check to see if they’re okay,” Yuuta defended himself.

“There are only spirits here, so Yuuta-chan is a deliberate offender. He is interested in Dyne,” Dyne teased.

While Dyne is beautiful, she also has a type of beauty that comes with a sense of disappointment. I no longer have any dreams about her.

“Heh,” Yuta scoffed.

“Oh, Sylphy-chan. Yuta laughed at me. It’s not good to look at me like that and scoff,” Dyne scolded.

“That’s right Yuta, even if Dyne is like that you should not scoff at her”, replied Slyphy.

“What do you mean by ‘like that’? Dyne is starting to feel sad,” Dyne said.

Oops, did I tease her too much? I’ll shift the conversation to comfort her.

“Well, you know how it is. Dyne is well-liked, so people tend to worry about her. When I saw you floating in the water like that, I was really worried”, Yuuta said.

“Yes. It’s true that people don’t bother to scold or worry about someone they don’t care about,” Slyphy added.

“I see… so you two are so in love with onee-chan that you couldn’t leave me alone”, Dyne professed.

Dyne left in a good mood.

“Sylphy, I don’t really understand what a great spirit is,” I said.

“Well, as long as you think it’s pretty impressive, that’s good enough for me,” Sylphy replied with a sigh. “I know that Dyne is a bit different, so I hope you can rest assured.”

“Okay, so…what were we talking about?” I asked.

“Oh, right, the contract. What do you want to do when you go to town?” Sylphy asked.

“I’m not sure what I can do, so I don’t have any specific plans. For now, I’d like to try some vegetables and maybe some meat. And I’d like to sleep in a soft bed, not in the sand,” I replied.

“That’s a pretty modest wish. Is that all?” Sylphy asked.

“That’s just the simplest desire I have. I also have other desires, like wanting to go on a journey, become an adventurer and make a name for myself, become a successful merchant, and so on,” I said.

“With your abilities and the multiple spirit contracts you have, I’m sure you could become a successful adventurer. As for being a merchant, I’m not sure about your talent in that area, but you could certainly learn. And speaking of learning, when you go to town, you should consider learning some general spirit magic so that you can use us better,” Sylphy said.

“I see. I feel like there’s a lot I still don’t know, so it’s probably a good idea to learn as much as I can. And I’ll be sure to call it magic instead of spirit magic when I’m in town,” I replied.

“But what about life magic? Isn’t that still magic?” I asked.

“Well, it’s not wrong to call it magic. Life magic is a fundamental ability that anyone can learn as long as they have magic. On the other hand, magic that uses technology to efficiently wield magic power is called magic. It’s popular among humans because it can produce powerful effects with less magic power. However, it has a lower degree of freedom than spirit magic,” Sylphy explained.

“I see. There are a lot of distinctions to be made. Well, I’ll try to learn as much as I can when I’m in town. I’m sure the norms here are quite different from those of my world,” I said.

“That’s the spirit. Think about where you want to go and what you want to do. I’ll do my best to guide you to places that meet your expectations,” Sylphy said.

“Thanks, I’m looking forward to it,” I replied.

I need to think carefully about my plans so that I can get to my desired destination.