The two people who had been unconscious on the beach were members of the Seven Celestial Archmages, just like Reina. Zelos had quite a wild air about him, with cropped hair that was a blend of scarlet and black. Merlyn had light blue, wavy hair that went down to her shoulders. Though both of them had sat up, they looked fatigued, probably because they weren’t yet back to full strength.
“Please, have some if you want,” I said, handing them cups of warm water.
Zelos stared at it with caution. Well, I guess that makes sense. This isn’t modern-day Japan, so I can see why he might be wary of a stranger. This body of mine could probably handle anything I was given to eat, but I shouldn’t assume it’s the same for them.
But then, despite what I thought, Merlyn drank the water without any hesitation.
“Hey, Merlyn! Do you get the situation we’re in?!” Zelos said. “What if there’s poison in there or something?!”
“It’s all right. There’s nothing suspicious in here; it’s just regular warm water.” Merlyn let out a breath; combined with her glamorous figure, she was quite alluring. And this was how she looked past fifty—she was on a whole different level from ageless beauty.
Zelos was looking at me with suspicion, but he must have been pretty thirsty. He gulped, then, bracing himself, took a drink. Unable to stop after a single sip, he quickly drained the cup, then held it out to me.
“Can I get more?”
“Of course,” I said. Then, I refilled their cups, and they seemed to finally settle down. “Now that that’s over with, I know about both of you from Reina, but could you introduce yourselves?”
“Yes. But, before that...” Merlyn suddenly bowed her head.
Zelos reacted with shock. “Huh?! Merlyn?!”
“You saved us, didn’t you? I’d like to thank you, first of all,” Merlyn said.
“Yeah. But Reina’s the one who saved you.”
“I see... Thanks, Reina.”
Reina paused. “No problem.”
From what I’d heard from Reina, she wasn’t on very friendly terms with them, so I was a bit surprised by how unexpectedly polite they were acting.
I think I’ll keep quiet about how Reina tried to finish Merlyn off with electricity...
According to Reina, that was how magicians resuscitated people, but I still didn’t believe her.
When I looked over to Zelos next to Merlyn, I saw that he had an awkward expression on his face. He seemed bothered by the fact that he had been so wary of the person who had saved him. It wasn’t like I had done it because I wanted thanks, so I was thinking about just moving on, but then Zelos turned to me and slowly lowered his head.
“Thanks. I’m in your debt.”
“Don’t mention it,” I said.
Now that I was talking with them, I felt like maybe they weren’t as bad as Reina had made them out to be. She had said that the Seven Celestial Archmages were willing to step on others to master their magic and become the strongest, but I didn’t really get that sort of impression from either of them.
Regardless, once the two had raised their heads, we all introduced ourselves.
“I’m Number Six of the Seven Celestial Archmages: Zelos Grinder, the Flame of Ruin.”
“I’m a Celestial Archmage too, and I’m Number Five: Merlyn Mareen, the Divine Water.”
Are they including the words “Celestial Archmage” in their introductions as if it’s only obvious because they take pride in it? I’d have no way of knowing what their title means if it weren’t for Reina’s stories, so it’s kind of hard to react when they emphasize it so much. Well, whatever.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said. “My name’s Arata. I’m a human who lives on this island.”
“Are you really a human, Arata?” Reina asked.
“Hey, that’s harsh, don’t you think?”
“Why don’t you reflect on everything you’ve done until now?”
She knows that I can’t say anything against that, but she said it anyway... That’s just unfair... Anyway, fire must be Zelos’s specialty, while water must be Merlyn’s. Then what’s Reina’s specialty? She said she can use all sorts of spells and doesn’t really struggle with any kind of magic.
“I got lost and wound up here around two months ago,” I continued, “and I’ve been living here since then. You don’t need Reina to introduce herself, do you?”
“No... But I didn’t think you survived,” Zelos said, looking at Reina as if she were a ghost.
It seemed that on the continent, she was presumed dead. She plans to keep living here, so that doesn’t seem like a problem to me, but won’t it be annoying if she ever changes her mind? But when I thought about it, she could probably make it anywhere, even without any legal documentation.
“Now, Mr. Arata...” Merlyn began.
“Just Arata is fine. Also, feel free to talk however is most comfortable for you,” I said. Though we were similar in having a discrepancy between our actual age and how we appeared, she was still older than me.
“All right, I’ll do that. Now, Arata, just what sort of place is this island?” Merlyn asked cautiously.
I wondered how to respond. It didn’t at all seem like she’d understand, no matter what I told her. Also, I’m not very good at explaining things...
“You must have all sorts of questions, but I think I’ll leave the explanations up to Reina,” I said. “I’m sure you’ll believe her more than someone you don’t know.”
After all, this island was like a vestige of a mythical world. They were unlikely to trust anything that came from an unfamiliar person like me, but a fellow Celestial Archmage should be able to explain things well.
“I’ll take a walk around the area, so do you think you could explain things to them?” I asked Reina.
“Sure. Not that I think they’ll believe me.” She smiled somewhat awkwardly, probably because she knew that she wouldn’t believe it either if their positions were reversed.
Still, in the end, they would have to believe whether they liked it or not. I wanted to do what I could so that they could prepare themselves to accept it, and it seemed that the presence of someone from who-knows-where would only make them more nervous.
“Okay then, thanks for taking care of the rest,” I said, then left the house.
“All right, what do I do now?” I asked myself.
I had told Reina that I would go on a stroll, but we had just gone to the ocean this morning. Honestly, walking around here by myself would just be boring.
“Oh well. I guess I’ll look for some fruits or vegetables we can use for dinner.”
Though we still had plenty of Emperor Boar meat left, we were supplementing most of our other ingredients with what Reina had in stock. We had been getting more foodstuffs from the Divine Beastfolk since interacting more with their village, but that was only because Reina was giving them her cooking in return. That was by no means endless, however, so if there was food to be gotten, we had to get it ourselves.
“But that’s easier said than done...”
I remembered Elga telling me about what we could and couldn’t eat in this area. I wished I had the ability to tell them apart, but unfortunately Reina couldn’t cast appraisal spells, so I hadn’t been able to learn any.
“Hmm... I don’t need these mushrooms.”
I uprooted the dangerous mushrooms that intensified one’s sexual arousal—called horny mushrooms—before Reina could unwittingly pick them. Memorizing these had been my top priority, so I was confident I wouldn’t mistake them. I smelled something that made me feel incredibly euphoric...but my instincts told me that this wasn’t anything good, so I shook my head, and the scent dispersed.
“I get it now... If it was anyone besides me, that would have been bad.”
According to Elga, the mushrooms did at least taste good, but I couldn’t expose Reina to danger just for that.
Then suddenly, I heard a familiar noise coming from the sky.
“Darliiing!”
“Hm?” Looking up, I saw a massive black dragon with its wings spread as it rapidly plunged toward me. “Oh, it’s Tailtiu.”
“I have arrived!” she said.
I extended my arms and stood at the ready. The dragon shone with light, transforming into a pretty, black-haired girl who dove into my grasp.
“Oof,” I grunted. “Have you been well? Oh, who am I kidding? That’s a dumb question.”
Tailtiu nuzzled her face up against my chest and giggled. “I certainly have! I’m always well!”
This sort of exchange had once embarrassed me, but I’d gotten used to it. I found her open affection sweet. I couldn’t shake the impression that this was like being cuddled by a large dog, but thanks to that, it didn’t arouse any strange desires in me.