Chapter 23

Stepping into Tiars, we continued to advance through the city using the "Teleportation" the next day as well.

Of course, Elicia, Eriq, Helwhite, and Yuri were with me.

"We're going to head straight for Ars Island!"

"Yes!"

We would try to cover as much distance as possible using my "Teleportation."

When the path split, we would use "Invisibility" to hide and check the map before proceeding.

With "Invisibility" in effect, no monsters approached us.

If we didn't make any noise, "Invisibility" should work... but a Death Snake was approaching, probably due to the smell.

We immediately teleported and continued heading for Ars Island.

Gradually, the horizon came into view.

As we got closer to the sea, Elicia finally spoke up.

"That's our destination island, right?"

In the middle of a vast bay, a single island floated.

I dismounted from Helwhite on the shore and observed the island.

It was a rather large island, larger than a single dot. The center was like a hill, but the land was mostly flat, with enough space for about ten thousand people to live.

On it stood dense forests and ruins of stone buildings.

Yuri muttered softly.

"It seems like someone could still be living there..."

"Undead might appear, Yuri," Elicia said.

"Y-You're scaring me, Elicia!"

Yuri shuddered at Elicia's smile.

I thought Elicia and Yuri called each other with the "-san" suffix.

Did they become closer last night?

"Well, it wouldn't be strange if someone was there... but at first glance, there doesn't seem to be anything living here."

"Yes... although Arrowcrows were perched on some rooftops. But not many," Elicia reported.

"Then, let's land and check it out."

"Understood. Whenever you're ready."

Elicia drew her sword, and Yuri nodded, her hand trembling slightly as she gripped her mace.

I immediately teleported us to a place that looked like a port on the island.

Before us lay a cobblestone street and buildings with peeling plaster.

We immediately used "Invisibility" to hide.

"There's nothing on the ground."

"But if we walk, something might come out from inside the houses..."

Yuri's voice trembled, clearly unnerved by Elicia's mention of Undead.

Elicia asked me,

"So, which way now?"

"There should be an administrative district in the center of the island. We'll check there first to see if we can find any information. There might be a map of the island or the Tiars region."

I started moving along the coastal street.

The island is quite large, so we need to be careful not to get lost. The administrative district is probably in the center, but that's just a guess.

However, if we find a main street and head inland, we should see a large building that looks like the administrative district.

We soon found a main street along the coast and started walking down it.

The wide street had nothing left on it, except for scattered bones of birds and fish.

"Only birds come here now, I guess."

"Yeah. Birds that ate other birds that caught and ate fish... maybe even larger birds."

Those larger birds were Arrowcrows.

"Birds are okay, but..."

"Yuri, you're big, but you're such a coward."

"Hey, it's because Elicia says weird things! ...But I brought extra underwear just in case—ah!"

Yuri's body shuddered.

A rustling sound came from behind us.

Turning around, we saw an Arrowcrow flying straight toward us.

"Did it notice us...? No."

Looking closely, I saw a small creature running toward us on the ground.

"A rat... they can be found even in such places."

Animals that live in human settlements and raid food supplies. If there are humans, they can be found anywhere.

But there are no humans here. Perhaps these are survivors from when the empire withdrew.

In any case, the Arrowcrow was flying straight toward us.

It hasn't noticed us yet.

If it keeps going, it will collide with us, so I'll take it down quickly.

"I'll take it down. Elicia and the others, stay alert."

I shot down the Arrowcrow with "Dark Slash" and immediately stored its corpse in the "Pandora Box."

A little blood spilled...

A moment later, a cry rose from the sky. Other Arrowcrows must have noticed.

Still, there weren't more than ten.

I decided to take a few down for today's food.

I started taking down the approaching Arrowcrows. Elicia also cut down the Arrowcrows that charged at us with her sword.

"Stay back! Huh, huh!"

Yuri just swung her mace around. Despite her cool appearance, she had a rather disappointing aura.

The battle was over in less than a minute.

"For now, that's all of them."

I collected the fallen Arrowcrows.

But we couldn't take our time.

More would likely be drawn by the smell of blood soon.

"Let's keep moving."

"Yes!"

We hid ourselves with "Invisibility" again and headed for the administrative district.

However, Elicia suddenly noticed something and turned around.

"Huh? That rat from earlier?"

At the corner of a building, a rat was cautiously watching us.

"Maybe it's trying to get food from us. If it gets noticed by the Arrowcrows again, it will be troublesome. I'll take care of it!"

Yuri said confidently, thinking she could take down the rat herself.

"Wait, Yuri. This rat is smart. It might have noticed our scent and rubbed against us earlier."

It's quite a nuisance, but it's a very intelligent rat.

"I'm a bit curious. Let's catch it."

"Yes! Leave it to me."

Yuri tried to catch the rat.

But the rat was too quick and couldn't be caught.

"Ugh, ugh! Don't run! Ah!"

Unable to bear seeing Yuri's struggle, the slime Eriq covered the rat.

The rat was quickly absorbed by Eriq, with only its head exposed to allow it to breathe.

Eriq, having lived in the capital, must have seen rats before and is probably used to catching them.

Elicia smiled at this.

"Good job, Eriq."

"Moo... losing to a slime..."

Yuri puffed out her cheeks, looking regretful.

"Well, rats are really quick... Anyway."

I crouched down and looked at the rat's face.

The rat seemed to be panicking, as if it didn't want to die.

"I won't kill you. But this place is dangerous... so, will you become my familiar?"

The rat suddenly stopped moving and stared at me intently.

After a moment, it nodded.

At that instant, the rat began to glow.

When the light faded, there was—

"A rat..."

The same rat as before—no, it was different.

Its body was several times larger than before. It could stand on its hind legs without any difficulty.

And there was one clear difference.

"–What the heck is this!?"

The rat spoke in a loud human voice.