Two weeks had passed since I had gotten a sweeping view of the island from Suzaku’s back. The rest of the Divine Beastfolk must have gotten used to us, because others besides Luna and Elga were now also coming to visit our house to hang out. Though maybe “hang out” wasn’t quite accurate; the vast majority of them came because they had their eyes on Reina’s cooking. Elga and Luna had joined forces to prevent the others from coming (out of fear that their portions would be reduced), but some of the new guests broke through their defenses and came anyway. In all, they looked like they were having a lot of fun.
“There’s no need for them to waste their time fighting. We have plenty of Emperor Boar meat,” Reina said.
“Well, they look like they’re enjoying themselves, so it seems fine to me,” I said.
Reina often cooked outside instead of in the house, perhaps because she had learned how to cook out in nature. Apparently, it was also because she simply liked to use more heat. Meanwhile, I stood next to Reina and continued to sandwich seasoned slices of meat between pieces of white-colored bread—that was about all I could do. The food we were making was similar to a dish known as gua bao in my past life. The smell in the air was so savory that I wanted to take a bite as soon as I could.
“Just one can’t hurt...”
“Don’t, Arata.”
“O-Okay.” My appetite was severed cleanly in half by a sharp look from Reina.
“These are for the Divine Beastfolk, so control yourself for now,” she continued.
We were going to be bringing this food as a gift for them when we visited their village again tomorrow. Some, like Gaius—the warrior whose Ancestor was the Divine Beast Behemoth—could eat dozens all by themselves, so we had to make a large quantity of them.
As I endured the delicious smells and focused on sandwiching the meat, Reina seasoned the gua bao with liquid from a small container.
“Oh, we got that from the Divine Beastfolk a while back, didn’t we?” I said.
We had been interacting with them more lately, and part of that meant getting all sorts of condiments as gifts. According to Reina, they tasted completely different from those on the continent, but that also meant she could try out some new recipes, so she had been making various trades with the village.
“It sure was a happy accident that they had things like soy sauce and miso,” I said.
“Now that you mention it, you said that you had similar condiments where you’re from, right?” Reina said. “I haven’t decided how I’m going to use them yet, but if there are any recipes you know, could you tell me about them?”
“Of course. Well, I can only give you a vague outline, though...”
We could catch some fish and make sashimi, and I also wanted miso soup. However, it didn’t seem that there was any rice on the continent, so Reina didn’t have a very good grasp of that sort of cuisine.
“Next time I get the chance, I’ll have Livia teach me a few things,” she said.
This was Reina we were talking about. Whatever dish she made, it was sure to be magically delicious. And we’d be able to eat it while relaxing and being immersed in the abundant nature on this island.
“So incredibly indulgent...”
In my previous life, science had advanced to the point where it had seemed like the very concept of inconvenience was intolerable. There were some inconvenient aspects to my life here, of course, as I couldn’t rely on technology and had to do everything myself. But I had grown fond of this inconvenient life; it made me very conscious that things were different from before. No matter how convenient society may have been, I was much more fulfilled now compared to my life of feeling stressed every day.
“Is everyone really that stressed out where you’re from, Arata?” Reina asked.
“Well, not everyone. There wasn’t any war, and it’s a peaceful world with no monsters. It’s just...maybe things were too convenient, and that made it all the more difficult to relax.”
I had previously told Reina how I came to this world, but I hadn’t really mentioned much about my past life. But now, I was able to talk about it normally. That was no doubt because we had both come to want to learn more about each other.
“You called it a ‘phone’? It must be convenient to be able to talk to anyone, even when they’re far away.”
“But it can be surprisingly tough when things get too convenient. When you think about how anyone might contact you at any time, it’s impossible to relax.”
“You may be right. Yes, I think I’d go crazy from stress if my teacher could contact me anywhere.”
As we casually chatted, we headed to the beach where we had first met, thinking that we’d expand our usual area of activity. At times we went into the forest to pick vegetables or hunt magic beasts for their meat, but after talking about soy sauce I realized that I had hardly any opportunities to eat fish. The forest was rich in nature, and I could catch fish in the river there, of course, but when I thought about the future, I wanted to come up with ways to catch fish in the ocean, in part to increase the variety of the meals we ate.
And so, we arrived at the beach.
“Are those...people?” Reina asked.
We stumbled upon two people who looked to have washed up on the shore. When I hurriedly approached them, I saw that it was a man and a woman, both unconscious from having almost drowned in the ocean.
This is bad, I thought, and checked whether they were breathing. They weren’t, and both of them seemed to have inhaled water. They’ll die if I don’t give them artificial respiration right away!
“Reina, I’ll save this man, so you take the woman!”
“W-Will do!”
She appeared hesitant for some reason, but I didn’t have time to worry about that. I hurriedly began performing mouth-to-mouth. Pinching the man’s nose, I placed my lips over his and breathed air into his lungs. Then, I pressed on his abdomen and breathed air in again. When I did this with Reina, I had done it gingerly as it had been my first time, but as is often the case, success breeds confidence, and I performed everything quite smoothly.
“Ngaha!”
“All right!”
My swift action must have paid off, because the man quickly spat up water and began to gasp for air. He didn’t show any signs of regaining consciousness, but the crisis had been averted for now. Wondering how Reina was doing, I looked next to me, and—
“O lightning!”
The woman quietly groaned. “Ah... Ah...”
“All right, looking good. One more...”
Like beating a dead horse, Reina was shooting a lightning spell at the unconscious woman. Her hands crackled with electricity, and she looked eager to administer another shock.
“Wh-Wha?! Reina, what are you doing?!” I said.
“Huh? I’m just reviving her normally. Why do you ask?”
“You aren’t reviving her, you’re finishing her off!”
The woman quietly groaned again. Her body jerked and twitched, then went limp.
“Listen, Arata. When a magician loses consciousness, it’s standard to use lightning magic to revive them. It doesn’t work that often, but that’s just how it is. Everyone knows this.”
“Oh, reall— Wait a minute!”
I didn’t know what was common knowledge in this world, and for a moment, I almost agreed with her before shaking my head. If that was standard practice, then no one would ever be so stupid as to fall unconscious. It would be just awful if the moment you did, you were killed by one of your friends who was always by your side.
“But it’s the truth. Well, fine. I’ll take just a bit more, so don’t get in my way, okay?”
“No, that’s what I’m saying, don’t—”
“Hup!” Before I could stop her, Reina placed her sparking palm on the woman’s heart. Once again, her body twitched, and she let out a groan.
“Heenggh?!”
Though the word “twitch” sounded like nothing much, what Reina was doing was really quite brutal.
“Ah...” The woman let out another groan.
“Sh-She’s dead,” I said.
“Jeez, I’m telling you, she’s not dead!”
I was about to refute her, but suddenly the woman spat water out of her mouth. Though she was unconscious, she coughed several times, struggling to survive. By the looks of it, she had undeniably been restored to life.
“Hmph, look at that,” Reina said, smiling proudly.
I had no clue how to respond. Though I was absolutely certain she was doing something wrong, she had successfully revived the woman, so for now I just nodded.
“Well, actually, I wouldn’t have minded if she had just died,” Reina added.
“Huh? Is she an acquaintance?”
“She is. And not the sort of acquaintance I really want to see.”
As Reina spoke, the expression on her face was tinged with weariness.