Chapter 10

Pichi, pichi, chu, chu.

When I opened my eyes drowsily, there was a small bird hopping on the grass. This bird is called a Jappiru, and it eats insects from trees. It’s not a particularly rare bird, but since they are usually timid, it’s unusual for one to come this close.

As usual, I took some breadcrumbs out of my pocket and tossed them to the little visitor. It chirped a cute "chu" as if saying thank you, took the crumbs in its beak, and flew away.

"Such a cute bird. Oh, I think Kazuhiro has fed birds before."

"Hehe, when there are birds around. Good morning, Marie, did you sleep well?"

The girl, who was lying with her head on my arm, looked up at me. When I met her gaze, I realized we were closer than I thought, and I felt my cheeks warm up a bit. Elves are so beautiful that they wake you up just by looking at them in the morning.

Marie yawned cutely. Then she decided to get up and pulled me along.

Looking around, we saw a vast grassland, and in the distance, fields could be seen. There must be a village nearby.

"That’s right, it got dark last night, so we just fell asleep. When I’m with you, I end up camping out, which is a bit of a problem."

"Hehe, you were laughing at me at first. Here, Marie, your drink and lunch box."

"Thank you," she said, taking them and putting them away in her bag. We’ve done this a few times, so we’re getting quite good at it.

Now that we’ve packed up our sleeping bags and other things, I spread out a rough map and showed it to her.

"Okay, our destination for leveling up is here. The ruins of Ujar Peak, which is in the next two countries."

"…You can’t be serious. It would take over a week by carriage."

"No, I’ll use a movement skill. Since I travel a lot, my movement skills have improved quite a bit."

To put it simply, I have two movement skills: "Long-distance movement" and "Short-distance movement." Long-distance movement allows me to move once a day to a travel stone monument where I’ve registered my name.

The other short-distance movement skill is supposed to allow movement within the line of sight, but I’ve modified it so much that it’s not suitable for this trip.

"Hmm, you’ve been improving unusual skills. Normally, people would focus on skills that are more useful in battle."

"Um, I think movement skills are strong too. Maybe it’s just that merchants tend to take them, so they have a bad reputation. Anyway, there’s a weight limit, but Marie is light, so it should be fine."

When I touched my bracelet, a status screen appeared.

Thinking about it, the game-like elements in this world made me forget that it was a different reality.

The residents are so used to it that they use it as a matter of course, but this world itself feels like it has been tampered with by someone. Well, there’s no way to investigate that, so I’ll leave it alone, but I’d like to uncover the truth someday.

"Okay, let’s go, Marie. Hold on tight."

"Yes, please. But it’s rare to be able to move between two countries. It must be quite expensive, right?"

"Nope, I don’t want to work even in my dreams. So… [Guide of the Journey]"

Kyaa—…

Hearing Marie’s long, thin scream, we fell into a lower world.

This is a world beyond human control, the domain of the god [Efumehe], who is said to guide the dead and protect travelers.

Goo—…

The feeling of moving at high speed in the dark space is somewhat like riding a subway. However, from the fact that Marie’s hair barely moved, it was clear that the wind and acceleration were gentle.

She seemed to have finally gotten used to it and slowly opened her eyes.

"Wow…, amazing… It feels like we’re moving at high speed in the dark. Do merchants always see this?"

"Some do. It takes a long time to master, so you have to choose to become a traveling merchant from a young age."

If you’re born a merchant, that’s a possibility.

I told her to stay close to me, and the elf nodded. There’s a weight limit, but I’m not sure what would happen if we got too far apart. After all, I usually travel alone.

The surroundings were dark, and we were moving at high speed with a droning sound. Occasionally, light from outside would leak in, but it would quickly flow away behind us.

"How long does it take to reach our destination?"

"About 20 minutes for this distance. There’s some variation, and I’ve heard of people spending a year here."

She was taken aback.

Well, gods are usually whimsical, so it can’t be helped.

"It’s not a laughing matter… Ah, we’re different. If something happens, we can go back to Japan."

"That’s right. So, can I see Marie’s status screen now? I want to level up efficiently."

"Sure, but don’t tell anyone else. I have many rivals, and it causes me a lot of stress."

The Mage Guild is scary. Good thing we don’t get too close to towns.

So, when Marie rubbed her wrist ornament, a blue-white monitor appeared in the air. She was giving me permission to view it.

The hazy light gradually turned into text, allowing me to see Mariabel’s abilities.

"Hey, can I see Kazuhiro’s status too? I’ve never seen level 72 before, so I’m curious. And about the party request…"

"Of course, sure. Oh, we don’t need to form a party. Soloing is much more efficient in terms of experience points."

"Huh, but we’re going to fight together, right? We need to form a party…"

Well, it’s probably better to teach her as we go.

So, we placed our status screens side by side and peered at them.

"Hmm, as expected, Marie is specialized in spirits and magic. When you level up, try to get this experience boost skill."

"Um, as I said, I have many rivals. I need to improve quickly, understand?"

"No, no, if you don’t need it, you can change it back when you level up. It’s up to you, but I recommend it."

After hesitating, Marie looked at me intently and nodded.

I’m a bit excited because I rarely level up with someone else. I haven’t done it before, but maybe online games are like this. You consult with each other, cooperate, and get lost in the game while chatting.

"…Hey, your job, [Illusory Swordsman], what is it? I’ve never heard of it."

"Really? Well, it’s kind of like… a con artist… I guess. It’s quirky and really interesting."

"Hehe, because you look so sleepy, I thought you fought while sleeping."

"This is innate. But since it’s a world in dreams, it’s not entirely wrong."

We chuckled together.

According to her, the most popular advanced jobs are derived from [Knight]. They don’t own land but can earn a stable income by affiliating with a kingdom. They excel in war rather than fighting monsters.

As for me, I might have grown up quite differently because I didn’t go to places that teach such skills. I’ve never fought anyone at my level, and I’m not sure how strong I am.

On the other hand, Marie’s [Mage] and related jobs are tasked with uncovering ancient secret arts and are employed by the state to ensure they don’t fall behind other countries in technology. In some cases, they provide the most firepower in war.

"War, that’s scary. I’ve been to it a few times, but it’s a bit difficult since I know this world isn’t a dream."

"I don’t want to participate either. If it happens, I’ll quit the guild."

I was a bit surprised by her words.

Leaving the guild comes with significant risks. The higher your rank, the more pronounced the risks, which are meant to prevent people from moving to other countries.

I guess with her rank, it could be resolved with money, but…

"Oh, you’ll be fine with dragon scales."

"That would be a waste. …Hey, what about this [Fishing LV59]? Are you taking this world lightly?"

"Ugh! Well, no, it’s… my hobby. There’s no doubt that fishing is the best way to enjoy the grandeur of nature."

I tried to look serious, but she gave me a look that said, "Men are so stupid."

Well, I could remove it, but it’s hard to do so. It has helped me a lot… but let’s leave that aside for now.

"Hey, how about we plan a trip to Japan? There’s a holiday coming up soon. It doesn’t have to be luxurious, but what do you think about a trip?"

"Oh, that sounds nice. Ah, it would be great if we could bring money from this world. And if we could bring magic books, there would be no better place to study."

She’s even studying in her dreams.

Elves are long-lived, so they could separate work and play and take it easy.

After that, we studied Japanese and occasionally tried to teach her the joy of fishing, but that didn’t go well.

We started to feel a vibration.

It seems we’re approaching our destination, so we closed our status screens. The recommended leveling ruins, Ujar Peak, should be about an hour’s walk from there.