As I silently sat back down on the log, Reina had a cheery smile on her face. But her expression was terrifying, not unlike how animals might smile as an intense display of aggression.
“Hey, Arata...”
“Y-Yes?”
She was giving off a ferocity that made it clear I mustn’t disobey her. As a magician in a fantasy world, she was sure to be incredibly powerful.
“I’ve never seen a human send a monster flying out of sight before,” she said. “Do you think you could tell me how you did that?”
“W-With magic...maybe?”
The instant I said that, Reina’s smile froze. “Even if I used all my mana to enhance my physical strength, something like that would be beyond me. So you’re saying you must be more of an expert magician than I, one of the Seven Celestial Archmages, then? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Not at all! Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever seen magic in my life,” I said in a hurry. I’d really messed up, and trying to smooth things over with lies would only make things worse. There hadn’t been any magic in my past life, and the first person I’d met in this world was Reina.
But though I had answered her honestly, her cheek just twitched and she gave no reply. From how she responded, she seemed to be quite a powerful magician, and proud of it.
Still, I was confident in my ability to read people, and I could tell that she was a reasonable person. If I continued the conversation while minding that pride of hers, we would surely come to an understanding.
“I’m not a magician. That isn’t a lie,” I insisted.
“So you can do all that without even using magic, huh?”
“Uh...”
Needless to say, even a truthful answer could lead her to draw unfavorable conclusions. I was just awful at choosing the right thing to say.
What do I do? Should I just admit everything? I wondered.
Then, Reina abruptly stopped smiling, and her expression changed to an apologetic one.
“Look, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to attack you. It’s just...I was so surprised, and well...”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. I get that I’m weird.”
“But you saved my life. And though you weren’t hurt, you protected me earlier too. Now I’m just...”
After reflecting on her attitude, she seemed to have succumbed to self-loathing.
I’m at a loss, I thought. Having just reincarnated from another world, I had no clue what was typical here, but I was at least aware that my previous actions had been abnormal. Reina’s suspicion was only natural. And, though I currently appeared close in age to her, I used to be thirty years old and had a fair amount of experience as a working adult—I couldn’t very well make a girl who was still young enough to be a student concern herself over me. As an adult, I had to do something for her.
“Hey, Reina, don’t make that face, okay? It’s not like I’m angry or anything.”
“Are you treating me like a kid?”
“No, not at all.”
“Well, whatever.”
Her expression got a bit brighter, maybe because me casually speaking to her had distracted her somewhat.
Even if we had some misunderstandings, it would be all right as long as we made an effort to get to know each other. Communication was important, and so were smiles. By being attentive in how we spoke to and treated each other, we could lift our spirits. We could feel better by sharing unpleasantness and celebrating joy. Because as humans, gifted with language, that was how we nurtured happiness.
“So, are these Seven Celestial Archmages really all that amazing?” I asked.
“What?!”
I swore I could see a vein on her forehead bulging with anger. It seemed I had said the wrong thing once again. Words could be used to deepen our mutual understanding, but I had forgotten that they could also be used to hurt others.
It had completely slipped my mind that I’d wished to be reincarnated in a place without any people because I was bad at communicating.
“You don’t know the Seven Celestial Archmages? Have you been living under a rock?” Reina said.
“Ah, ha ha. My memory’s just... I mean, you know...” I said, making an excuse that even I knew was hard to swallow.
Reina looked at me wearily. “That’s some awfully convenient amnesia. But if you’re really that clueless, then I’ll have to thoroughly train you.”
“I-In what?”
“Common knowledge on the continent, of course.”
According to Reina, whose mood had suddenly changed, the title of Celestial Archmage was given only to the continent’s greatest magicians. Any one of them was powerful enough to take on a dragon alone, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that they were admired by everyone in the land. And the youngest person to ever become one of those illustrious magicians was none other than Reina.
“Whoa, that’s incredible.”
“You don’t sound all that impressed, but fine,” Reina said. “Just know that I really am that strong of a magician. But even if I used all my power to strengthen my body, I still wouldn’t be able to do what you did.”
That must be why she’s so hung up on how abnormal I am, I thought. I still didn’t quite know what magicians were really like, but I got the impression that one of their goals was to seek further knowledge. There was a chance that if I went to this continent she mentioned, they would dissect me for research.
“All right, I’m never leaving this island.”
“How did you come to that conclusion from our conversation just now?” Reina said, mystified.
I hoped she would let it pass without further comment.
Regardless, I fully comprehended that she was an amazing person who was brimming with talent, so I decided that I would count on her for the time being.
“Uh-oh. We can’t rest here any longer,” Reina said. “We have to find water and a place to sleep, quickly, before the both of us starve and end up as some monster’s meal.”
“Good point. Why don’t we head in that direction?” I suggested.
“Why there?”
“I just feel like I can hear the sound of running water for some reason.”
“I don’t hear anything...”
It seemed that my body’s senses were top-notch as well; if I focused, I could pick up sounds from quite a long distance away. When I consciously listened in the direction I gave, I could hear some sort of running water, like a waterfall or a river.
We finished our break and headed toward the source of that noise, finding a leisurely stream that cut through the forest. The water was completely clear, and it gave off a pure and cool air.
“You were right... But it took us a while to reach this place. How did you hear such a quiet sound from so far away?” Reina asked. Honestly, I was just as surprised as she was.
If I had known I could do this, I would’ve been able to secure water for myself yesterday. Although, if I had, Reina would’ve died. From that perspective, I should have considered myself lucky. Anyway, what was more important right now was making sure that this water was drinkable.
“Hmm.” I tried putting a finger into the water, and it was cold. My body was immune to injury and illness, so I was pretty sure I’d be fine even if the water was full of bacteria, but Reina was another story. I scooped up some water in my hands and tried taking a sip.
The forest was thick and strangely humid. Maybe it was because we’d just walked through all that, but this water quenched my thirst and tasted better than anything I’d ever had before. This must be what it means to say “it really hits the spot.”
“Okay, Reina, I think this is safe for you to drink,” I said.
Reina was sitting in a chair and pouring water into what looked like a pot, then boiling it over a fire—none of which had been there just moments ago. There was even some food lined up beside her. She was briskly preparing it all, looking eager to get cooking.
This is weird. This is unbelievably weird.
“Hey...Reina?”
“Yes?” she replied without looking my way. There was a serious expression on her face as she handled her cooking tools like a world-class chef. The way she looked at her knife was particularly striking. She was a professional, without a doubt.
“Where did you get all that from?” I asked.
“Huh? I just had it in my Storage spell. What about it?”
“I-I see...”
Shame on me for not asking what kinds of things this world’s magic could do in the first place. I’d only been thinking about offensive spells for combat, like magic in a video game. This Storage spell had to be like a portable warehouse, allowing you to put things in and take them out wherever you were. I had absolutely no grasp of the theory behind it, but I supposed I should have been glad that she had something so convenient. And unlike me, she had a place to go home to. Anything that she could use to get back was welcome, however minor it was.
“But still...”
As Reina made full use of her modern conveniences in this untouched forest, she looked just like an outdoorsy young person who had come to enjoy some camping. I had watched videos about camping and routinely fantasized about doing something like that when I got a day off, so I couldn’t help but feel jealous. So, I went up to her and...
“I want to do something too.”
“I get it, but this isn’t safe. Talk to me later.”
My aspiration was flatly rejected by Reina as she expertly used a knife to prepare each of the ingredients.