Chapter 25

For about 580 days until I met Akari, I depleted my magic power completely almost every day. During those 580 days, there were two seasons of severe winter, each lasting 180 days, when I couldn't even leave the cave. During those 360 days, I depleted my magic power up to three times a day. Each time, my whole body was wracked with pain, headaches, joint pain, sore throat, palpitations, and shortness of breath, among other things, in random order.

But, perhaps thanks to that, when my magic power was low, it used to recover in about eight hours of sleep, but now it only recovers halfway. It wasn't hard to imagine that my maximum magic power had increased.

When Akari heard this, she opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish.

"Well, eat while it's hot."

With that, Kuraudo clapped his hands and first picked up the imitation karaage. The meat had a texture like chicken gizzard, firm and yet the oil seeped out slowly.

He tasted salt and pepper for the first time in a year and a half.

He then started on the soup. It was a light soup, with the gamey smell of the bird eliminated by wild herbs, seasoned only with salt and pepper.

The black bread shaped like a kopi pan was hard. It couldn't be helped since it was something that kept well.

He tore off a piece of the black bread forcefully, dipped it in the soup, and ate it. The saltiness of the soup soaked into the black bread, making it delicious.

"Hmm, not bad, not great."

It seemed to suggest that this was what a man's cooking was like. It was a complete prejudice, of course.

Despite her somewhat unsatisfied expression, Akari started to eat.

"...It's delicious."

It probably included a lot of flattery, but she started to eat with a mouthful. A diet of only white meat from hunting didn't seem to suit her.

The two of them ate in silence for a while, but then Akari spoke up.

"Really, you depleted your magic completely every day?"

Kuraudo stopped his chopsticks and nodded.

Akari's cheek twitched.

"Isn't it like weight training?"

"It's completely different. It's a matter of life and death."

Kuraudo gave a deflated response.

"Normally, you don't do such dangerous training without support. When your magic power is depleted, your bodily functions, including your internal organs, decline, and you can die if you make a wrong step. It's thought that you use surplus life force, i.e., magic power, to make your internal organs function efficiently. Normally, you stop just before depletion and rest for a while. Even if it's not as much as depletion, your magic power supply and maximum value increase. And the pain isn't that bad."

"Hmm~"

"That's too light!"

"Still, I could eat right after fainting, so it wasn't a problem."

"That, that's... c, coincidence... There's no way that could happen a thousand times in a row, right?"

The two of them scratched their heads.

The difference between Kuraudo and the inhabitants of this world was that magic power existed from the moment of birth and maintained the body's functions.

In Japan, on Earth, magic power did not exist, so Kuraudo maintained his bodily functions with the strength of his own body. Therefore, even when his magic power was depleted, it only hurt as much as the pain when the container for storing magic power expanded.

In that sense, this was true for all summoners, but because they were immediately given magic education after being summoned, they thought they had to use the same training methods as the inhabitants of the magic world. They probably never even imagined such a method existed.

And unless Kuraudo verified it, it would likely never be proven.

"Still, as a hunter, it seems my affinity is disappointing, so I'm not sure if I can make effective use of it."

"Did you take the aptitude test?"

"Yeah, I think—"

"—Wait."

Kuraudo recalled the time of the aptitude test as he spoke.

"Darkness, then ice, followed by earth, water, wind, lightning, and fire, and then light. My affinity for darkness is overwhelmingly high, and my compatibility with light is the worst."

"Ah, I see. In that case, you might be shunned by hunters who adhere to elemental magic. But Maxim said that you should judge not only by elemental magic but also by autonomous magic, life essence magic, tools, weapons, and how you handle your body."

"I was told something similar. So, what's your aptitude, Akari?"

"Before that, it's better not to talk about the aptitude test to anyone. They can read a lot from your hand and compatibility. This world isn't that safe."

Kuraudo nodded, intimidated by Akari's sternness.

"Ah, sorry. If that's the case, I shouldn't—"

"—That's a different matter. Since you told me, I'll tell you too. I have the best compatibility with light. Then, lightning, fire, wind, water, ice, earth, and the worst with darkness."

"Not exactly the opposite, but quite different."

Akari looked a bit troubled.

"Actually, except for one person, and you, Kuraudo, all summoners have similar affinities. They have poor compatibility with the spirits of darkness and ice."

"Who's the exception?"

"...Ichihara Hayato."

Kuraudo's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Hard to say, but as you know, Ichihara has two blessings. One is a blessing he only calls 'Holy Sword,' but the other is very famous."

Akari put down her chopsticks and clasped her hands. She seemed full.

"...'Beloved of the Spirits.' It's said he can see, hear, and touch the spirits. And most importantly, his compatibility with all spirits except the spirit of darkness, which can be judged, broke all the records in Elpis."

"...So, he can cast the highest-level elemental magic except for darkness."

Kuraudo had studied the textbooks to some extent.

To cast the highest-level elemental magic, there were several internal and external conditions.

One of them was a certain level of compatibility with the spirits. Normally, a person might be able to handle one highest-level magic based on their compatibility alone, but Hayato could use all of them except for darkness.

"But why is his compatibility with darkness low? From the name of the blessing, it should be all of them."

"It's speculated that it's related to the other blessing."

"Because of the 'Holy Sword,' his compatibility with darkness is bad. Well, whatever. I don't care about him. By the way—"

"—Do you really not care?"

Akari looked at Kuraudo as if seeking confirmation.

"...So, I don't—"

"—I want to hear the truth."

Akari's eyes didn't leave Kuraudo.

Kuraudo sighed deeply.

"...To be honest, I don't like it."

Akari's eyes darkened.

"But, I don't blame them for not looking for me. It would just be petty resentment. First, I want to live peacefully in this world. I couldn't do it in Japan, but since I got a fresh start, I want to enjoy life. So, I don't really want to get involved with them. I'll definitely be dragged into trouble."

"...I'm sorry."

"Well, honestly, I feel like they dragged me into trouble, but I had to go to a world with people eventually, and I was curious about what happened to the other summoners. So, I don't really have bad feelings toward Akari. You didn't do anything, and a sixteen-year-old high school girl couldn't do much anyway."

"..."

"Just—"

Kuraudo's eyes were cold, his expression thin and sharp, but to Akari, he looked fragile, like a brittle blade.

"—I won't forgive him, and I won't give in to them even a step. That's for sure."

Kuraudo never forgot the moment it was stolen, the expressions of those around him at that time.

After saying that, Kuraudo started to clean up after the meal.

After finishing the cleanup, Kuraudo, along with Akari, organized the supplies.

The iron hand axe, knife, and shovel were placed in the corner of the room, and the rope, burlap sack, and leather bag were hung on the wall.

Salt, cheap alcohol, flour, brown sugar, pepper, and chili were stuffed into the moss-green backpack. The portable food and water in this backpack wouldn't rot as long as they were in it.

Incidentally, this backpack, except for the magic textbook and the large knife that were in it at first, wouldn't fit anything else, and nothing larger than the backpack's opening would fit. Kuraudo had tried putting various things in it, but after a certain point, even food wouldn't fit.

"Wh-What is that? It doesn't look like anything is in it."

"This? It's the backpack that had a year's worth of food and water when I first got it. It seems to hold about a year's worth of food for one person, roughly. Don't you have something like an item box or a magic bag here?"

"No, autonomous magic is generally sold as magical items, but I've never heard of such an item."

"Hehe, maybe my blessing is this 'food backpack'... It's not very reliable, though."

Akari said with a slightly apologetic look at the slightly proud Kuraudo.

"...This is also hard to say, but there's one second-year student with a blessing called 'Item Box.' That person works in transportation and trade, and it seems there are no restrictions on what can be put in it."

"..."

The shirts, undergarments, pants, and leather outfits were divided between Kuraudo and Akari. Incidentally, there was almost no distinction between men's and women's clothing, just different sizes.

"S-Sorry for the trouble."

She blushed and bowed her head, like a girl.

It was natural for her to be embarrassed, having a man buy her undergarments.

"You should take a bath. You've been wearing the same clothes since the day before yesterday, right?"

Akari blushed even more, grabbed her clothes, and ran to the bathroom with a quick "tat-tat-tat."

A tail strike from behind.

When Kuraudo turned around, Yukishiro seemed to be saying, "You said too much."