I sighed. We decided it was best to go somewhere else so we wouldn’t get in the way of training. There were other rest areas all over the place, after all.
We found a table with an umbrella and could finally relax as the server brought us fresh orange juice. The look in Marie’s eyes returned to normal, and I silently thanked the server.
I glanced at the woman in a maid outfit walking away with a tray. If I remembered correctly, she had guided us to Zera’s manor. That must mean some of the servants here had been brought from Arilai. They had been severely short-staffed since the raid teams started using this place. Even though Lizardmen were all over the place, they still didn’t have enough help.
“As you’ve seen, the skills you have in this world make a huge difference. You can freely choose from close-range, long-range, Sorcery, and Spirit Magic, but specializing in one thing is generally the most efficient way to go about it,” I explained.
“You even learned things like languages and fishing,” pointed out Marie.
“W-Well, yes. They’re part of the secret to having fun on journeys and can become useful at times. For one thing, it allowed me to eat tasty fish whenever I wanted.”
Toru seemed to understand what the stats were all about after my explanation. He made a thoughtful noise as he stroked the accessory on his arm. By acquiring skills over time, one could eventually learn a Primary Skill, which could be considered a reflection of one’s individuality. Skills grew stronger by leveling up, and repeatedly increasing one’s level was the main way of improving one’s skill. Depending on the compatibility between skills, one could easily overpower an enemy or be defeated no matter how much they’d refined their skill. I had emerged victorious over enemies that were twice my level in the past.
“Huh, I see,” said Toru. “Can you fly too?”
“Fly? Hmm, I’m not sure. I generally avoided human settlements, so I’m not too familiar with noncombat skills and Sorcery,” I said.
Marie answered for me instead. “Normally, I don’t think it would be possible with a skill. But there are ways to do seemingly impossible things, like your Trayn, the Journey’s Guide, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a way. Still, I think it would be a lot more realistic with Sorcery.”
“Nice, magic! Can I learn it too?” asked Toru.
Regrettably, we didn’t know the answer. People considered Sorcerers the cream of the crop on a battlefield and extremely valuable. Not only did you need talent to handle magic, but you needed good memory and patience to retain and obtain that knowledge, no matter how long it took. There were far too many requirements to get your foot in the door, and if you weren’t naturally gifted with those traits, you needed a long lifespan like an elf.
“You should know if you have the talent after a year or so of training,” related Marie.
Toru looked dejected. “I guess it wouldn’t be so easy. It’s pretty harsh here for a dream world.”
“If you want to fly, there’s a way,” I told him. “We have a Magic Stone called Roon, and you can fly freely as long as you’re on this floor. Though, it’s not a skill, of course.”
“This dream is amazing!”
We had piqued his interest in skills and leveling up. I concluded that he should experience it firsthand, so I suggested, “Why don’t we go to a nearby hunting ground and try leveling up? I’ve tried it with Marie before, and if it goes well, you could get up to level 20.”
That would be quite impressive since getting to level 20 in a single day was unheard of. He might even acquire a Primary Skill, and I was curious to find out what unique character another Japanese person would develop. I was quite excited as I suggested this, but his reaction wasn’t what I had hoped.
“Is your boyfriend okay? His eyes are glittering,” Toru said to Marie.
“I’m sorry, he can be like this. Wait, you’ve already heard that we’re dating?”
He nodded. “Yeah, when we went to drink earlier. He seemed to care about you a lot, so I wanted to hear more about you two. I sincerely suspected you were underage.”
“You’re mistaken. I’m actually much older than him. I’m over a hundred years old!” said Marie as she rose to her feet.
“No way,” he muttered. Elves lived far longer than humans, and it was hard to determine their age from their looks alone. I once heard from her father that mental maturity rather than age affected their appearance. That was why elves who left their village grew up quickly.
“Yes, she’s far older than me. We actually met over a decade ago,” I said.
“Wow, that’s a surprise. A hundred-year-old half-fairy elf. Huh, I think I get it now. You two have a serious, healthy relationship, then.”
“Of course,” said Marie and I in unison, blushing. Our declaration had come out more serious than intended, which was sort of embarrassing. She pinched my thigh, but it only tickled.
Toru gave us a moment to calm down, then said, “I’m glad you two are happy with each other. Now, I can wholeheartedly give you my support. Not only will I tell you about some hole-in-the-wall restaurants and travel destinations, but I’ll help you with anything you need in Japan.”
He winked at me, and I assumed he was talking about Marie’s citizenship. He was keeping it vague so she wouldn’t worry, and I appreciated how considerate he was being. Next to my grandfather, he was the second person in Japan who truly understood me, which meant a lot to me.
But some adults weren’t understanding, namely, the old man called Gaston, who was now stomping toward us with his legs splayed and a grumpy look on his face. He was more short-tempered than anyone I knew and had no qualms about getting in my face, even though I was a child in this world.
“Hey, you little shit! Who do you think you are, bailing on my training like that? After all that time I’ve been spending, kindly teaching you how to improve your crappy energy control!” yelled Gaston.
“It’s not like that! An important guest is here today, so we’ve been showing him around,” I said desperately. I wanted to avoid training with him. Not that I didn’t like training, but energy training was rigorous because it was only effective when you pushed your body to its absolute limit. I worked enough in the real world, so I didn’t want to push myself like that in my dreams. And I couldn’t be the only one who thought that way. I figured Gaston would understand since we had a guest, but I was a fool to think so.