Chapter 3 – I Talked About Japan

A normal ship would take five days to reach the royal capital from Fort Port.

But with Blaznir’s speed, it was expected to arrive by noon tomorrow.

That’s very fast.

But when I went out on the deck, I found that the wind was not that strong. When I looked closely, I saw that the ship was surrounded by what looked like a faint blue barrier.

This was probably to block the effect of the wind.

Looking at the view from the rear of the deck, Fort Port was already getting smaller.

“…Oh!”

I involuntarily raised my voice.

“What’s wrong?”

Iris, who was standing next to me, looking at the view, called out to me.

“Did you forget something?”

“Speaking of forgetting something, I guess I did.”

There was a large casino in Fort Port that offered not only basic games such as cards and roulette but also athletic games with prizes, a huge maze that took up an entire floor, a mystery-solving event where you try to escape from the basement, and many other things.

If I were to use an analogy, it would be the otherworldly version of a comprehensive amusement facility.

My original plan was to go there for fun, but I was caught up in a pirate ruckus as soon as I arrived in the city, and when I went to investigate Mahoros Island, we came across a volcano that was on the verge of erupting.

“I should have gone out to play at least once.”

“Well, why don’t we stop by on the way back from the royal capital?”

“That would be fine too.”

This trip was not a one-way ticket to go away and never return.

After the awards ceremony, I planned to head back to Aunen, and on the way there, we could stop at the casino in Fort Port. 

“I want to go back to the hot springs in Surier, as well.”

“And I’d love a meat meat sandwich.”

“That sounds good.”

The “meat meat sandwich” is one of Toue’s specialties. It is a sandwich consisting of a Toue beef hamburger steak sandwiched between two pieces of Toue beef steaks.

It is not a sandwich in the strict sense of the word because it does not use bread, but I like it because it was an exquisite menu item that flooded me with the flavor of the meat.

“Then, on the way back from the royal capital, shall we retrace our route in reverse?”

“I’m all for it. It had been a bit of a hectic trip, so I’d like to take it easy on the way back.”

“I agree. …Well, first, we have to arrive safely in the royal capital.”

Iris and I were alone, watching the scenery flow by for a while.

Eventually, back on board, we ran into Milia. 

“Kou-san, Iris-san. Excuse me for interrupting your date.”

We weren’t really on a date. Well, since it was Milia, I guess she was trying to make a light joke.

I smiled and asked her, letting her go through with it.

“What’s the matter? Do you need something?”

“Surara-san said he wanted you to come to the lab to discuss something. Can you come now?”

“Of course. Iris is okay with that, right?”

“Yes. The repair of the recording crystal should have been finished this morning, right?”

“Maybe we will talk about the contents of the recording crystal.”

So I took Iris and Milia to the ship’s laboratory.

There, not only Surara, but also Leticia, Relic, and Lily are all there.

“Sorry, did I keep you waiting?”

“It’s alright. I just came in a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, I’m so curious about the contents of the recording crystal! I’m looking forward to it! I’m looking forward to it!”

Relic couldn’t seem to hide his excitement and was sniffling wildly.

Lily, on the other hand, was scurrying around the lab for some reason.

“Are you looking for something?”

“Where did Glasses Slime-san go?”

“Come to think of it, I don’t see him.”

The glasses slime was working on repairing the recording crystal with Surara. Certainly, he should have been here, but where did he go?

“If it’s Glasses Slime, he’s sleeping in his room!”

It was Surara who answered my question.

“I think he’s a little tired from all the detailed work we had to do on the repairs.”

Surara asked, “Should I go wake him up?” But I shook my head.

“No, let him sleep. Is he all right?”

“Yeah. But I’m going to bed early today! Then, let’s get started!”

Saying this, Surara held up the recording crystal above his head.

Light was emitted from the crystal ball, and images floated in the air.

The images were all still pictures, with text written in white letters on a black background.

Of course, it was all in an ancient language.

Important passages were highlighted in red, bold, or underlined.

Let me see.

I have seen something similar in Japan. Isn’t this some kind of presentation material?

Ancient civilizations have many similarities with modern Japan, but I never imagined that they shared the same concept of presentation.

Frankly, I am surprised.

Putting aside my personal impressions, let’s move on to the contents of the presentation material.

It seems that the people of ancient civilizations made various preparations to fight against calamities.

One of them was a “plan to summon [Transmigrator],” and the document reported on the progress of this plan.

There were three types of [Transmigrator], or natural enemies of calamity: the hero, the demon king, and the sage.

One of them would be summoned from another world and asked to save the world.

That was the general framework of the [Transmigrator] Summoning Plan.

What can I say… I thought that this was a common setting in fantasy anime and games.

Perhaps if there were other modern Japanese here, they would have had the same impression as I did. But unfortunately, the plan seems to have failed.

A very large-scale ritual was required to open the door to connect to another world and summon a [Transmigrator].

During the ceremony, an accidental outburst of magic power occurred, and more than 300 magicians who were present at the ceremony fell into a coma.

In addition, the facility “The No. 0 Underground City,”… which was used to support the summoned [Transmigrator], was destroyed by a monster attack, and even rebuilding it was impossible.

The document ended with the following words: “Considering the current situation, we have no choice but to cancel the ‘[Transmigrator] Summoning Plan.’ The situation is hopeless, but we must not give up.

As I said earlier, all the documents are written in an ancient language.

Only Surara, who was created around the time of the ancient civilization, and I, whose [Transmigrator] title provided a translation function, could decipher them.

For the time being, I translated the documents and explained them to everyone.

After we finished talking, Relic muttered thoughtfully.

“Kou-san. The “No. 0 Underground City” mentioned in the documents refers to the underground city of Aunen, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, that should be it.”

I nodded and looked at Surara for confirmation.

“Master-san is right. The official name of the underground city where I lived is the ” No. 0 Underground City.” According to the documents, it was destroyed and can no longer be rebuilt…”

“That’s a contradiction, isn’t it?”

Relic says.

“The underground city of Aunen has not been destroyed at all and is still functioning perfectly. When the Black Dragon returned, it was a tremendous help to the residents as a place of refuge.”

“Strange, isn’t it?”

The situation we know about the underground city and the contents of the documents are completely different.

What is the meaning of this?

There are other questions as well.

“According to the documents, the “[Transmigrator] summoning plan” has been canceled. …Then why am I here?”

When I said this, everyone’s reaction was divided into two.

Iris, Lily, Leticia, and Surara, who knew that I was a [Transmigrator], seemed to be wondering the same thing, nodding their heads in agreement.

On the other hand, Relic and Milia, who knew nothing about the situation, had puzzled looks on their faces. These two are trustworthy people, and it’s okay to reveal things to them.

“I’ve got this skill called [Transmigrator] that was mentioned in the documents. I’m from a completely different world where magic and monsters don’t exist.”

“…’Thou who art from a faraway land, empty thy vessel if thou wilt challenge the dragon..'”

It was Milia who muttered those words.

“The “faraway land” written in the spirit ring, does it mean another world?”

“That is what it means. …I’m sorry I didn’t tell you until now.”

“It’s all right.”

Milia puts on a warm, enveloping smile.

“It doesn’t matter to me. I understand that you are a good person, no matter where you were born. Please tell me the story of where you lived next time.”

“It’s not that interesting a place.”

“I’m interested in it, even if it is. So are you too, right, Relic-san? …Relic-san?”

Relic did not reply.

His mouth tightened into a single line, and he turned his gaze toward me. Furthermore, he was trembling and shaking for some reason.

“Ko-Kou-san.”

“…What is it?”

“If this is a world without magic, then magic tools don’t exist either, right? Then how on earth did you establish your civilization? Wow, I want to know! I want to know!”

Relic was not only an archaeologist but also an inventor of magic tools. If he was told that a civilization developed without magic tools, it would be natural for him to be curious.

I wouldn’t mind telling him about Japan, but that can wait until later.

So, we decided to continue our examination of the documents.

“I have one thing on my mind.”

Iris raised her hand in a small gesture.

“According to the documents, either the hero, the demon king, or the sage, was supposed to be summoned, right? So which one of them does Kou fall under?”

“It’s a delicate question. I would say none of them apply to me, but also all of them apply to me.”

“…What do you mean?

Iris tilted her head, and I began to explain.

The first is that Leticia had taught me this before, based on her knowledge as a calamity.

There are three natural enemies of calamities.

The first is the hero who possesses the [Dexterity], the second is the sage who possesses the [Magic Ingenuity], and the last is the demon king who possesses the [Calamity Summoning].

I have the [Dexterity] and the [Calamity Summoning], and my [Full Assist] also has the [Magic Ingenuity].

In other words, I alone possess the power of a hero, a demon king, and a sage.

In addition to that, I also have the power of [Creation], which is a big difference from the way the [Transmigrator] was originally supposed to be summoned.

“…It’s truly an out-of-this-world existence.”

After listening to my story, Iris muttered to herself.

“After all, Master-san is an amazing person!”

In addition, Surara shouted innocently.

…Hmm?

Wait a minute.

I suddenly recall the first time I visited the underground city of Aunen.

There was a vast space there, and the person who became the master… that is, me, was supposed to build the city using the [Building Instructions] skill.

But the announcement I heard in my mind at that time was as follows.

If you fall under the category of hero, demon king, or sage, [Building Instructions] will be added to your skills. Only when you do not fall under any of these categories and possess [Creation] the function of [Creation] will be extended as a special exception.

In other words, the underground city system was designed with the possibility of the holder of [Creation] becoming a master.

But on the other hand, what about the Helper Slimes?

They were extremely surprised that I have [Creation], even though they are supposed to work closely with the underground city system.

How could there be such a discrepancy?

I decided to ask Surara.

“Surely, it doesn’t seem right.”

Surara raised his eyebrows thoughtfully and nodded his head, forming a “へ” shape in his mouth.

“We, the Helper Slimes, are supposed to support the master, so we should know more about [Creation], shouldn’t we?”

“Um.”

Lily opened her mouth while muttering, “This may be unrelated, but…”

“This document doesn’t mention [Creation] at all. That also bothers me a little.”

“I’m just guessing.”

Leticia, who had been silent all this time, opened her mouth.

“The original plan to summon the [Transmigrator] was to summon either the hero, the demon king, or the sage, without considering [Creation] at all. It was probably at this time that Surara-sama and the other Helper Slimes were created.”

“So you are saying that this is why Surara and the others don’t know much about [Creation].”

“Yes. The documents say that the plan was canceled, but it makes sense to think that the plan was resumed afterward in consideration of [Creation].”

I see.

If we adopt Leticia’s hypothesis, it would explain the existence of the underground city, which was supposed to be destroyed by monsters, and the fact that its system would be compatible with the [Creation] owner.

“However, I don’t understand why Kou-sama was summoned now and not 4,000 years ago.”

“It’s strange, isn’t it?”

Iris agrees.

“If Kou had been summoned 4,000 years ago, the ancient civilization would not have been destroyed.”

“I doubt it.”

The reason I was able to defeat the Black Dragon and the Gluttonous Dragon was because Iris and Lily lent me a hand.

What’s more, it seems that at that time, 4,000 years ago, multiple calamities were appearing at the same time.

“For example, if a Black Dragon and a Gluttonous Dragon had appeared at the same time, I don’t think I could have won.”

“Conversely, it may have been a mechanism whereby the [Transmigrator] were summoned at a time when it would be possible to defeat each one individually.”

“…It is possible.”

The ancient civilization had magical technology that we can’t even imagine today, so it would not be impossible for them to establish a ritual separated by the mind-boggling time of 4,000 years.

After that, we continued to examine the documents for a while, but we concluded that the “[Transmigrator] Summoning Plan” must have been resumed at some point in time.

I felt that the information on the ancient civilization, which had been only in fragments until then, was finally beginning to form a picture.

According to Relic’s story, several unread ancient documents were stored at the academy in the royal capital.

If we decipher them, we may be able to find out a lot more.

* * *

By the time we left the lab, it was already dusk.

We were told that dinner was ready, so we all headed straight for the ship’s restaurant.

“Welcome, Master-san!”

A slime wearing a chef’s hat welcomed us.

“I was so excited to cook that I overdid it! Please eat whatever you like, as much as you like!”

Looking around the restaurant, we see a large table in the center of the room with a variety of dishes on it.

Salads, soups, breads, pastas, pizzas, fish dishes, meat dishes, fruits, cakes, and so on.

It looked like a buffet, where you take what you like and eat it on your plate.

“Whoa! It’s like a dinner party in the castle!”

Relic was the first to speak up.

“We’re the only guests, aren’t we? We don’t have to greet the other nobles or engage in an endless boring conversation, do we? Yay!”

“Relic must have had a hard time…”

“Well, I’m a member of the duke’s family too! When you’re in the royal palace, I will indeed behave as I should. But because of that, I always miss out on the food I want to eat, which stresses me out!”

“I understand exactly how you feel, Relic-sama.”

It was Leticia who nodded her head. 

“When I was in my home country, I used to smile fondly and give a friendly nod as I watched the delicious-looking cakes being snatched away by the other nobles.”

It seems that royalty and nobility are in a rather troublesome position.

“Both of you, please don’t hesitate to eat tonight.”

“Of course! Thank you, Kou-san!”

“I thank you as well. Fufu, now, shall we start with the food?”

After finishing the conversation, Relic began to secure the meat dishes with a plate in his hand at a furious pace. He is probably trying to make amends for his past disappointments at the royal banquet.

On the other hand, Leticia was looking around with empty dishes in hand.

She seemed to have decided to enjoy the food with her eyes first.

The way people move at a buffet varies rather a lot from person to person, doesn’t it?

Surara, for example, plated up various dishes a little at a time.

Maybe he intended to taste all the menu options.

Iris and Lily were walking around together, both taking larger plates of food. When they return to the table, they may be planning to share more with each other.

“Kou-san, Kou-san!”

I turned around slowly when I heard a voice call out from behind me.

The voice was Milia.

“What’s the matter? Is there something you need?”

“I thought I hadn’t thanked you properly yet.”

Milia smiled brightly and bowed her head.

“Thank you so much for not only giving me a ride on your ship this time but also for treating me to such a wonderful meal.”

“I don’t mind. When I was in Aunen, Miria took good care of me too.”

“Was I of any help to you?”

“Of course.”

I nodded and looked back at my memories.

“I remember the first time I went to the Adventurers’ Guild. Milia answered me at the counter, didn’t she?”

“Eh?”

Milia raised her voice as if puzzled.

“That’s normal, isn’t it?”

“But the clerk at the other counter said, ‘I have a chronic disease…’ and ran away.”

At the time, I was wearing armor with the head of an Armored Bear on my left shoulder, so it’s not hard to understand why the clerk would want to run away.

When I told this to Milia, she giggled.

“Come to think of it, Kou-san was pretty wild that time.”

“Wasn’t Milia scared?”

“Hmm.”

Milia put the index finger of her right hand to her mouth and thought for a moment before answering.

“I didn’t have that impression. I could tell from your face that you are not a bad person.”

“That is very kind of you to say.”

“I knew that you were not an ordinary person, but I was surprised to know that you were from another world. By the way, you said you would tell me about your hometown later, didn’t you? I’m really looking forward to it. Please don’t forget.”

“I understand. Well, let’s talk about it after dinner, shall we?”

“Yes, by all means.”

When I returned to the table after taking the food, everyone was already seated.

The special white grape juice from the underground city of Aunen had been prepared, and we poured it into each other’s glasses.

“Cheers to a safe journey to the royal capital!”

“”””””Cheers!””””””

The seven of us, including me, echoed through the restaurant, and the meal began in a lively atmosphere.

“Kou-san, Kou-san!”

“What’s the matter, Relic?”

“This corn soup is so creamy! I love it! I love it! I’m going to get some more!”

“Don’t fall down.”

“The bread, it’s all so soft and fluffy. I could eat as many as I want.”

“…The cheese gratin is so good and melty.”

“Really. Lily-chan is right. Why don’t you try some too, Kou?”

“If Iris says so, I’ll have some.”

“Yes, here you go.”

“Thank you. …Delicious.”

“I’m in the mood for pizza today! Crunch, crunch, munch, munch! Crunch, crunch, munch, munch.“

“Surara-san. You’re going to choke if you eat so fast.”

“It’s all right, Milia-oneesan! …Cough, cough!“

“Let me rub your back.”

“Thank you!”

“Corn soup is so good! It’s so good! I’m getting the third bowl!”

“Relic-sama, you must really like corn soup. Please fetch me a bowl of corn soup as well.”

“Sure thing! Here you go!”

“…The cheese fondue is delicious.”

“Hey, Leticia. Can I have some of that bread?”

“Of course. You’re going to put the cheese on it, aren’t you?”

“You’re right. Oh, can I have some for Kou?”

“Fufu, you two are really getting along, aren’t you?”

* * *

“Yay! Thanks for eating so much! Please come again!”

After finishing our meal, we left the restaurant, being escorted out by a Chef-Cap Helper Slime.

We were all here, but it would have been tasteless to leave things as they were. So we decided to go to the bar at the rear of the ship.

“Welcome…”

At the counter, there was a bartender in a shirt and vest. However, he was not a human but a Helper Slime.

His body was about two times larger than the others, and he had a dandy mustache around his mouth.

“I wondered if Helper Slimes could grow beards.”

“No, Master-san.”

Surara shouted at my feet.

“That’s a fake mustache! I bet he’s dressed up to match the mood of the bar!”

“Surara-san. You’ll ruin the mood if you say that…”

The fake bearded slime muttered with a troubled expression on his face.

“Master-san. You can call me the bearded slime. The place is vacant, so please feel free to sit anywhere.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

I nodded and stepped into the back of the bar.

“It’s an adult world…!”

Lily was looking around the store with a twinkle in her eye. It must be the first time for her to come to this kind of place.

Well, that’s understandable.

Whenever we went out for a drink in Fort Port, it was always just Iris and me, and Lily always went back to the inn with Leticia. 

“Kou-san, where would you like to sit?”

“Right…”

I’m the type of person who usually sits at the counter, but this time there were many people.

Oh…

How about the tables over there? Sofas are placed around the table in a “U” shape, and it looks like there is plenty of room for seven people.

The nearby wall is made of glass, so we can look out over the starry sky and the sea at night.

“All right, let’s go over there.”

“Yes!”

Lily seemed to be more excited than ever and made a short run for the table.

Surara followed behind her, jumping up and down.

“Yay! It’s a bar! I’m an adult slime!”

“Lily-san and Surara-san are both so cute and innocent.”

Milia muttered with a smiling face.

“Kou-san is a strong drinker, isn’t he?”

“I don’t think so.”

Well, just a little bit stronger than others. Not so much a heavy drinker… probably. 

By the way, I have never had a hangover since I came to this world.

One of the effects of being a [Transmigrator] is to “nullify abnormalities,” and I’m sure this is the reason for that.

The bar had a full range of alcoholic beverages, including wine.

It seemed that fresh fruits were brought from the underground city, and fruit cocktails were also available.

I ordered something refreshing and dessert-like from the bearded slime and was served a frozen strawberry cocktail.

Two small strawberries were displayed on the rim of the glass.

“It’s kind of stylish, isn’t it?”

Said Iris, sitting next to me on my left, holding up her glass. She ordered the same thing as I did.

“I am also matching with you.”

Lily also has a frozen strawberry cocktail in her hand, but this one is non-alcoholic.

She is only 15 years old. Still, it seems to be enough to make her feel like an adult, and Lily seems happy.

“I’ve never been to a bar before in my life.”

Relic was looking around with a curious look on his face.

“I’m the type of person who generally goes out on my own, but I’m always a little nervous when I go into a bar like this. I’m very grateful to have had such a good experience. Thank you, thank you.”

After snapping his hands together, Relic began to worship me.

“…Are you drunk?”

“Oh, no, I’m not drunk at all! You know!”

While spouting a completely unconvincing line, Relic sipped his whiskey.

He seems to be the type of person who gets drunk very quickly. In a sense, he has good fuel efficiency, which makes me a little envious of him.

“Master-san. This cheese is very delicious!”

Surara ordered a cup of hot milk and ate all the cheese on his plate with a crunchy mouth.

…It’s all dairy products, isn’t it?

Next to him, Milia was squeezing a lemon wedge into the blue cocktail and stirring it around with a straw.

Hmm?

What is that?

The blue cocktail turned pink in no time at all.

As I was surprised, Milia smiled and spoke to me.

“It’s interesting, isn’t it? This one.”

“What’s the principle behind it?”

“I don’t know either. Should we ask bearded slime-san about it?”

“Wait a minute. I’ll try to get an evaluation.”

Hmm… Hmm…

I see.

If we apply modern scientific knowledge to this cocktail, it seems that the pigments contained in this cocktail change color according to the properties of the liquid, such as acidity and alkalinity.

It is like a litmus test paper from a science experiment.

The lemon juice must have made the cocktail acidic and changed its color from blue to pink.

I called up the bearded slime to check, and it seemed that I was right.

“Kou-san, that’s amazing.”

“It’s all thanks to my [Appraisal] and the knowledge I learned in my homeland.”

“…Kou-sama, may I say one thing?”

Leticia, sitting across from me, calls out to me while sipping a cup of tea with brandy. 

“Since this is a good opportunity, why don’t you tell us about your hometown? Everyone is interested too, right?”

At Laetitia’s words, everyone looked at me and nodded their heads.

“…Alright.”

I don’t know if I can explain it well, but it’s nothing to hide.

I coughed and started talking about Japan──.

* * *

A world where there are no monsters and magic does not exist.

Humanity has significantly developed through the power of science, and if we wanted to, we could communicate with people worldwide with a single smartphone.

I explained this information step by step, making it as simple and easy to understand as possible.

“Master-san, your hometown is similar to an ancient civilization, isn’t it?”

“As one would expect, there are no orichalcum golems there.”

However, they may eventually develop a giant robot that can walk on two legs. The speed of technological development cannot be underestimated.

Even the Internet has spread at a rapid pace in just a decade or so.

Before I knew it, the topic of conversation had shifted from the world I lived in to my own life.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a firefighter. The job was to put out fires and rescue people who were left behind.”

“That sounds like the perfect job for you, Kou-sama.”

Leticia nodded in agreement as she sipped her third cup of brandy-infused tea.

“So, were you a firefighter in that world?”

“No. I’m ashamed to say that I gave it up halfway through.”

“…What is it, what happened?”

Milia asked with a probing expression.

“Ah. If there are any circumstances that make it difficult for you to tell us, please don’t force yourself.”

“It’s fine. I don’t have any deep reason for it.”

It’s not that I’ve experienced any dramatic setbacks.

It’s hard to become a firefighter, and somehow it didn’t seem like it was for me, so I went on with my job search as if I was being swept along by those around me.

I finally found a job at a reasonably well-known IT company that handled bank data.

However, because of the company’s large scale, there were a lot of flare-ups. The construction of the system was delayed by several months, the person in charge of the project fell ill, or a customer gave a reckless order.

There was a department within the company that specialized in putting out fires, and I was assigned to that department.

Apparently, I had the aptitude for the job, and after solving a few cases, I was promoted somewhat and became a leader of the team.

“Wow, that’s great!”

It was Relic, who was finally sober enough to speak up. He was leaning against Surara, who was on his lap as if he were going to fall down on him.

“In other words, you have been you since the time you were in that world, haven’t you?”

“What do you mean by that?”

I tilted my head and asked back.

But no answer came back.

“Suhh… Suhhh…”

All I could hear was Relic sleeping. He was asleep using Surara as a pillow.

He looked very comfortable.

As for Surara, he is saying, “Relic-oniisan’s helpless.”

“…I understand what Relic-san is trying to say.”

Lily said as she sipped her second non-alcoholic strawberry cocktail.

“Kou-san has helped many people in Aunen, Toue, Surier, and then Fort Port. …You’ve been doing the same thing in that world, too, haven’t you?”

“Well, in terms of helping people, I guess it’s kind of the same thing.”

When I answered that…

“Wait a minute.”

Iris suddenly shouted as if she had noticed something.

“When you were in that world, you didn’t have a job where you had to fight with a sword or an axe or any other kind of weapon, did you?”

“Yeah.”

At most, I used a keyboard, a tablet, and a smartphone.

…It’s all brilliantly electronic devices, isn’t it?

“So when was the first time you held a weapon in your hand and fought?”

“It was when I rescued a merchant, Chrome-san. It was against an Armored Bear. I think it was a high-ranked monster.”

“Yes. It’s not something a novice can win against. …Were you scared of it?”

“Of course, I was scared.”

I answered, thinking back to those days.

“But I had [Dexterity], and I had a powerful weapon thanks to [Creation]. …More importantly, I didn’t want to do something like abandoning someone.”

“…Truly, everything is out of the ordinary.”

Iris says with a small chuckle.

“The same goes for skills. A person who until yesterday had never held a weapon in their hands, no matter how strong their skills are, would not normally be able to choose to fight on their own.”

“It is only when one has great power that one’s true nature is revealed.”

Leticia said in a calm voice as she put the cup of tea on the table.

“Even if you have extraordinary skills, you use them not for yourself but to help others, so I think you are a good person to the fullest.”

“Perhaps Kou’s good-naturedness is the reason he was summoned to this world.”

“…I see.”

I was embarrassed to be called good-natured directly, as you would expect.

I answered shortly and drank the remaining cocktail at the bottom of my glass.

Seeing me like that, Iris, on my left side, leaned her shoulder toward me and murmured.

“Are you embarrassed?”

“…Well, you know.”

“Fufufu.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s no big deal. I’m just glad it was you who was summoned. I thought so.”

Iris looked up at me and relaxed her expression.

I drank the water that the bearded slime had just served me, feeling the temperature of our shoulders as we touched.