When I woke up, there was a familiar ceiling above me. And I was the only one sleeping.
That really was a dream... No. The scent still lingered.
The smell of flowers, sweat, and all sorts of other scents had seeped into the bedsheets.
"It wasn't a dream..."
The vivid sensation still lingered in my body and limbs.
"...I'm hungry."
I happened to glance toward the kitchen... and there were black bread-beans, scrambled eggs, and thick-cut bacon.
Everything was arranged on a single plate.
Had someone prepared this for me?
But it had gone cold in the time that passed.
Even the thick-cut bacon had gone stiff.
I drizzled oil into a frying pan, heated it up, and lightly stir-fried the bacon and black bread-beans.
Then, when the timing was right, I placed them on top of the scrambled eggs. That way, the residual heat worked wonders.
"Delicious."
Good thing I stir-fried the black bread together with them. The bread had soaked up the bacon fat, making it taste great.
I sliced the thick-cut bacon thin, mixed it into the scrambled eggs, and ate.
This bacon was really good. A light sear kept it tender. The juices and the flavor both hit the mark.
The balance of meat and salt wasn't bad either. In between bites, I sipped tea from my canteen's crescent-shaped cup.
The citrus tea left my mouth feeling fresh and clean.
After finishing the meal, I brushed my teeth, changed clothes, and headed to the lab first.
"Hiyann?"
She wasn't here today either.
"Oh, Wof-san."
"Hello, Lupinus."
*'I am here as well.'*
"Right."
A shield speaking. That was Karm, the AI of Karm's shield.
Actually, was this one a Phantom Unit too, maybe?
"Wof-san… what's wrong?"
Whatever.
"Lupinus, were you training?"
"Yes, we just finished."
*'Indeed. My lady improves every day.'*
"My lady?"
*'I have decided to live as Miss Lupinus's butler.'*
"A… butler…?"
"Somehow, that's how things turned out."
Lupinus smiled shyly.
Well, it suits her, I guess… Karm. Quite the change.
"Wof, are you heading to Heinzen?"
"Yeah."
"If so, would you mind taking me along? I was thinking of meeting up with everyone soon."
"Sure. Let's go."
I had Nekia pilot the Etrange from the lab's hangar.
This whole thing, riding around on a ship called the Etrange.
It was just like airship travel in the RPGs from my past life memories.
Being able to fly freely across the world — it felt like we'd already reached the endgame.
Lupinus spoke, sounding impressed.
"Even so, teleporting that distance in an instant is quite remarkable."
"Yeah, I guess so."
Hearing her say that, I gave a wry smile.
Since I'd been making the trip almost every day, my sense of distance was bugged out, and it all just felt completely normal.
We arrived at Heinzen, and Lupinus and I headed toward the Zen Zera main residence, since we shared the same destination.
However, Lupinus split off to meet up with Pakira and the others.
I had come here to see Seiran.
"My, you certainly seem to be in a rush."
In the sitting room, Seiran saw me and wagged her tanuki tail.
"Yeah... ha ha ha."
I put on a dry grin and drank the tea that Giiza had brewed for me.
"I'm leaving everything regarding the Forbidden Land and the Phantom Units to Wof."
"Thank you. There are quite a few Phantom Units to deal with."
"I'm entrusting you with the disposal of all of them."
"Understood."
I felt like I'd been stuck with the dirty work, but having it entrusted to me so cleanly was a relief this time around.
"Wof, how are you going to deal with the Phantom Units?"
Giiza asked.
I explained while keeping the elixir a secret.
I told her about using the witch's water. To shorten it, witch water.
"I see. You'll submerge the Phantom Units in a pool of that witch's water to purify them?"
"That should be foolproof."
Everyone's trust in witch water was that high.
I promised to relay the plan to the Poor Man's Club and the Slayer Guild, and that was the end of it.
I left the Zenzel main residence and started walking, considering whether to head to the dungeon or not.
A single dog — or rather, Juicyi — came bounding toward me from up ahead.
"H-hey, woof! Sir Wof!"
"Whoa!?"
Juicyi had come flying in with a 'One Step,' so I hurried to catch him.
This is exactly the kind of thing that makes One Step dangerous.
Juicyi was wagging his tail with such force it looked like it might come clean off.
His wolf ears were every bit as entertaining to watch as a dog's, twitching around nonstop.
"Um, um, woof woof, Master Wof!"
"W-wait, wait, Juicyi, calm down."
All over, really. Especially against my chest — the guy had absolutely no sense of personal space.
But more than anything, he was just like the dog from my family home in my past life memories.
So I ended up petting his head without thinking.
"Um, um um, woof. Woof. Woof?"
Juicyi's momentum stopped all at once.
He started sniffing at me.
"Juicyi?"
"Woof. Um, I can smell... the fox... the witch... Munieka... Shiro..."
"Huh? Oh, right — I met up with three people yesterday."
Since it wasn't a lie, I just told him straight.
Juicyi put on a thoughtful expression and quietly moved away from me.
"Um, um um, Master Wof, do you have anywhere to be from here?"
"Huh? No, not really... nothing in particular."
"Um, um um, in that case, I... I'd like to go for a walk with you, Master Wof."
A walk... with a dog... Well, it's true I haven't gotten around to exploring much of Heisen.
There are still plenty of places I don't know well. If that's the case, this might be a good chance.
"Sure, let's. Let's go for a walk."
"Um, um, oh, yes. Woof!"
"Why'd you bark just now?"
"Woof?"
"Huh? Narcissus?"
There was Narcissus, munching away on a meat skewer she'd picked up to eat on the go.
"Um, um, hello."
"What a coincidence, running into you here. Wof. Puppy."
"Um, um, I'm Juicy."
"I know. Puppy."
"Um, what are you eating there?"
"A meat skewer. Puppy, you want some? Oh, I can't say no."
She handed the meat skewer she was holding over to Juicy.
"Um, you're giving it to me?"
"It's yummy."
Munching away, she bit off a chunk of meat from the skewer and chewed.
Juicy gnawed on the meat too.
"Um, woof, it's delicious!"
"Why'd you bark just now?"
"Woof?"
Same as always.
"Um, it's delicious. Thank you so much!"
"It's fine. These are good too, but over there they have some rare skewers."
"Um um, rare ones?"
"Fish skewers. Come on, over here. They're special! This Ura's treating you!"
Seriously?
"Um, um um!"
Narcissus grabbed Juicy's arm and started pulling her along.
I followed after them. The fish skewer stall had all sorts of seafood skewers on display.
"Hey, come on in!"
An old man was grilling dozens of skewers over a wire-mesh iron plate.
"This, this one's good. Grilled shellfish skewers."
"Um um, they all look delicious."
"...They have octopus too?"
"We got squid as well, y'know."
"Well then. Let's go with crab skewers!"
"W-welcome. Thanks as always."
What's with the "well then."
I also picked out a skewer that caught my eye, and she treated me to it.
After that, we went around the stall street and I bought a few more skewers that I liked.
"The view from here is the best!"
The shore on the western side of Hyzen.
Blue sky. White clouds. The sun blazing directly overhead. The cries of birds could be heard.
Standing proudly at the end of the breakwater, holding paper bags, Narcissus said:
"Um, um, um, there are a lot of ships."
From the breakwater, countless merchant ships could be seen entering and leaving Lake Hyzen.
Narcissus handed over the seafood skewers we had each ordered from her paper bags.
"Um, um, um, yours is the sweet simmered shellfish skewer, Wof."
"That's right."
"Hee, you ordered something weird."
No, no, I think this is pretty standard.
"Weird... What's your skewer, Juicy?"
"Oh, it's eel! Woof!"
"Why did you just bark?"
"Woof?"
Eel, huh. Eating a whole one is a bit bold, but Juicy was munching away happily.
Narcissus had finished her crab skewer and was now eating a grilled chicken skewer.
"Narcissus, do you do this kind of thing often?"
"Walking around and eating at stalls is recent. Today's my first time here!"
First time, huh.
"So, 'the view from here is the best,' huh?"
Why does this person give off the vibe of having been here dozens of times?
"Oh, oh, it's such a lovely view! And the skewers are delicious!"
Juicy wags her tail, beaming with a radiant smile.
I can't help but smile along.
Even so, she's really making the most of this.
We're all sitting on the embankment eating skewers, watching the various trading ships sailing along the horizon.
And doing it together with a beautiful woman and a beautiful girl... it's a scene that doesn't even exist in my memories from my past life.
I look up from the trading ships toward the blue sky above. Youth, huh.
"Um, there's something I'd like to ask Narcissus."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I want to make my Relic — Banish — stronger. I'd like your advice."
As I made the request, Narcissus casually popped a grilled liver skewer into her mouth.
She choked.