The sun was setting—that very same day, Zelos and Merlyn had come bringing their tents.
“Welcome, you two,” Reina said.
“Hey. Thanks for letting us stay with you guys,” Zelos said.
“Thank you, Reina, Arata,” Merlyn said.
They decided on a spot some distance away from our home but still within sight of us, then got to work setting up. Now that they’d gotten used to the island, their next step was to be together with us most of the time, except for when we slept.
With two men working, the tents didn’t take long to set up. We speedily finished up then all ate dinner together, and after that Reina and Merlyn took a bath. It was an open-air bath where you could see the night sky. It had been built with walls to keep anyone on the outside from seeing in, of course, but it would be an issue if they were attacked by monsters while vulnerable, so I was made to stand guard outside while Reina was bathing. Zelos was also accompanying me on my watch, so I took the opportunity then to bring up what I’d talked about with Reina that afternoon—about the uses of fire and water magic.
As we sat by a fire, Zelos looked at me with exasperation.
“Who do you think we are? The Seven Celestial Archmages can do more than just cooking and cleaning.”
“What am I supposed to think? I don’t know the first thing about you guys.”
Even so, he didn’t get angry, probably because he fully understood that his common sense didn’t apply on this island.
“Although...” I began.
“Huh? Why’re you staring at me?”
“I was just thinking, you sure look young.”
Apparently he was already more than fifty years old, but he appeared only a bit older than me. Magicians sure are amazing.
“Yeah, but Luna treated me like a middle-aged man.”
“Ha ha ha, that was pretty funny.”
“You’re only laughing because she calls you ‘mister.’ Let me tell you, it was pretty shocking.”
Now that I was talking with Zelos, he was surprisingly friendly and approachable. The constant tension and excitement after coming to the island must have seriously stressed him out.
“Anyway, if I’m being honest, I was worried about how I was going to live in this place. So I’ll be grateful for any role you give me, even if it’s only temporary.” He chuckled. “And even if it’s just managing the cooking fire.”
He may be a veteran magician, but this part of him is like any ordinary person.
“By the way, what would you have done if we hadn’t invited you to live near us?” I asked.
Reina and I had already decided to live on this island, so without thinking of leaving, we were always coming up with ways to make the best of our time. But for Zelos and Merlyn, who had only arrived here recently, escape must have been on their minds the whole time.
“We were just thinking about how to survive. But we’ll have to find some way to get back to the continent...”
“That’s what I thought. But Elga said that he doesn’t know how to leave.”
“Elga... He’s that wolf-looking Beastfolk, right?”
“Yeah. He’s a good guy, and always considerate. Oh, but he’s a Divine Beastfolk, so you probably shouldn’t call him ‘Beastfolk.’”
Elga hadn’t cared about the difference between Beastfolk and Divine Beastfolk when we had visited their village, but that hardly meant he would appreciate being called by the name of a different species.
“Oh, that’s right. I’ll be careful.”
“I don’t think he’ll get angry at you for something so minor, but I just thought I’d mention it.”
Zelos’s expression was somewhat stiff, which I assumed was because he had experienced Elga’s strength firsthand. Reina had also been quite tense around Elga in the beginning, so maybe magicians were sensitive to that sort of thing.
“You’re the weird one here,” Zelos said. “Any ordinary human would get the jitters around someone they know they could never beat.”
“I see.” Maybe my practically invincible cheat body was the reason I hadn’t felt fear toward anyone or anything I’d encountered on the island so far. “I did feel a bit apprehensive around Suzaku and Mina, though...”
“Uhh, I’m scared to even ask, but is there actually someone out there you’re afraid of?”
“Huh? Well, I wasn’t afraid exactly, but they did feel different from the others.”
“You’ve gotta be joking... I’ll make sure I stay far away from them.”
Now that I really thought about it, the two of them had truly felt exceptional, even compared to everyone else I’d met here. Though I guess it was only natural that an ancient True Ancestor and an original Divine Beast would be different from descendants like Elga or Tailtiu.
“But they aren’t bad people,” I said. “They just like to tease others a bit, I mean—”
“Oho... So that’s your opinion of me? I must not be past my prime yet, for a monster like you to rate me so highly.”
It was a voice as quiet as a whisper, yet it lingered strangely in my ears.
When I looked up, there was Mina, floating in the air and wearing her usual witch outfit. In her eyes she had the look of a child who had found a new plaything.
“Ah...ah...” Zelos was unable to hide his terror in the presence of a being shrouded in such powerful mana.
“Anyway, that’s Mina,” I said, briefly introducing her, even though he probably couldn’t hear me.
If I had to describe what kind of person Wilhelmina Vermilion Vauheim was, I would no doubt say that she was a bit of a nuisance. She’d randomly come to visit, then destroy something and leave, like some annoying character in a video game.
“Why do I get the sense that you are comparing me to something incredibly disagreeable?” she said.
“You’re just imagining things,” I said, getting to my feet and walking over to the bath.
“Hey, Arata? Why are you standing between me and the bath?”
“Because I really wouldn’t be able to take it if you destroyed the fence again.”
“Tch.” She clicked her tongue in frustration.
Unlike ordinary vampires, a True Ancestor like her could be active even in sunlight. Despite that, she made all sorts of excuses like being too tired when I asked her to come during the day, so this visit was without a doubt because she was here to pester us.
“I’ve already said this, but could you stop targeting Reina when she’s taking a bath already?”
“Hm? Surely you know that’s impossible.”
“It’s just incredible to me that you can look so confused by that.”
Mina had apparently taken a liking to Reina, and always came right when Reina was bathing to try and force a rom-com style scene between me and her. I’d succeeded in fending her off every day except the very first, but she had been changing up her methods lately, so it was becoming quite the headache. The previous time had been an especially awful experience. That was partially my fault, of course, but what was I supposed to do when she pulled such an underhanded tactic?
“Listen, Arata. You want to see Reina’s face go red with embarrassment too, don’t you? I’m not asking you to do anything yourself. You just have to get out of the way. Then you can blame everything on me, and enjoy the sight to your heart’s content.”
“You sound like a demon coming to me with a bargain, but what you’re saying is just awful.”
“I see, so that isn’t enough? Long ago, a hero resisted me, even after I offered to give him half the world...but he knelt before me once I said I’d show him the saint’s naked body. It seems that you’re more strong-willed than he was.”
“You really are horrible!”
Still, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see a hero give in like that!
Regardless, Mina’s precise targeting of a man’s desires really did make her a nuisance. She’d also been quite well-known on the continent long ago, and obviously for less-than-savory reasons.
“Mwa ha ha...”
I mean, at this very moment she looked like she was absolutely delighted to watch my confusion.
“Good grief... I say this every time, but what’s wrong is wrong,” I said.
“You jerk.”
“I’m not a jerk.”
Mina had said herself that monsters who lived for a long time did everything in their power to distract themselves from their boredom. Suzaku, a Divine Beast, had said something similar, so this was probably a trait characteristic to all long-lived races.