Chapter 6: Makoto Takatsuki Makes Preparations
◇ Aya Sasaki's Perspective ◇
"How's it going, Sasa? Think you'll manage Stealth?" Takatsuki asked me this as I practiced the skill in question.
"Yeah, I think I've got a handle on it. It's difficult though."
We were currently in the middle layer of Labyrinthos, in a space behind a big waterfall. I used to love this place, but now it kept reminding me of my family, so being here was depressing.
At that moment though, I wasn't sad.
I looked to my side and saw Takatsuki with his hand open in the air, mumbling something.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm speaking to the elementals around here. Trying to build a relationship."
"Uh, does that make your elemental magic stronger?"
He responded with a rueful smile. "Yup, it's pretty idiosyncratic as far as magic goes."
"So it's going well?"
"Yeah, they're all pretty friendly here. Easy to speak with as well."
"Hmm..." I couldn't see any of these elementals, so it didn't quite feel real to me, but at least he was having fun.
A while ago, I'd thought that Takatsuki would feel right at home in this world, and it seems that I'd been correct. I kept watching him idly as I practiced Stealth some more. The time passed peacefully, with me closing my eyes periodically to practice the skill.
Suddenly, Takatsuki's sharp voice shattered the silence. "Sasa! Harpies!"
I gasped as a thrill ran up my back, and the slight excitement that had buoyed my heart froze. I could see several harpies circling in the air above the cave as if they were looking for prey. My teeth ground together.
They're flying around like they own the place, but this was lamiae
territory!
Takatsuki seemed to guess what I was feeling, and he called out calmly to me. "Sasa, we'll make sure we're ready and take them down."
"Right," I answered after a moment.
"By the way, do they always appear from over there?"
"Uh... As far as I can remember, they come from the direction of the big hole, the one toward the light."
"So, that means they might live around there, right?" he asked.
"We can't fly though, so we can't get to them..." I'd also thought that their nest was up toward the ceiling, probably over the lake. There
wasn't a path to reach it though.
"We'll talk it over with everyone else later... The harpies are gone."
He was right—they'd flown off further into the caves around the lake.
"It's fine now." "Yeah."
We returned to our original actions, mostly just training quietly and making sure we weren't noticed by monsters. But compared to how it'd felt when I'd been alone in this dungeon, this was much more pleasant.
Still... I thought to myself. I didn't feel entirely at ease; something was bothering me. We are on our own at least.
Keeping my voice as nonchalant as possible, I spoke to Takatsuki. "Hey, what kind of relationship do you have with Lucy?"
"Eh? What brings that up?" he asked, turning to look at me blankly.
Oops, that might have been a bit blunt. Did it put him off? I'm just so curious though!
The red-headed elf in his party was beautiful, and even though she'd been a bit standoffish at first, she was actually really nice to talk to. Also, she had so much of her body on display. I was a girl and even my heart skipped a beat at the sight.
However, the biggest thing on my mind was the fact that she was the only person in Takatsuki's party.
The only one! I'd never even seen him speak with a girl besides me, whether it was in middle or high school! Maybe he had gotten used to girls since he'd come to this world?
"I'm not sure what to tell you. She's my friend, and we've been in a party together for about half a year."
"J-Just the two of you, right?"
"We sometimes joined up with Fujiyan or other adventurers, but for the majority of my time here, I guess I was mostly solo."
"Solo... You mean you were on your own?"
"It was fun. I'm a pro at goblin hunting, you know." He snorted, looking vaguely smug for some reason. It was exactly the same look he used to wear when he'd spent his entire break playing games on his own.
He hasn't changed at all, I thought nostalgically. What a relief.
"Still, we've got you now, so it's a three-person party."
"What?" I asked, shocked at the sudden statement. "Oh? Did you not want to join?"
"No! Of course I do!" I was stunned. Honestly, I'd thought that I would need to ask to join them.
But no, I'm already in the party!
"I should probably talk to Lucy about it, though." I gave him a flat look.
"It'll be fine," he assured me. "I doubt she'll have a problem with it." "R...Right."
He seemed so free when talking about her and using her first name. As far as I knew, he'd never been quite that comfortable when around girls or when talking about them. I guessed that he must be pretty close with her.
Although, it looks like the first name thing is normal in this world...
Lucy had called me Aya to begin with, after all.
Maybe I should start calling him Makoto? Though changing how I talk to him out of nowhere would seem pretty strange... Hmm.
I glanced over at him and saw that he was still training his elemental magic, face locked in a serious expression.
With some conflicted feelings still present in my heart, I continued honing my own skills.
◇ Lucy's Perspective ◇
"Let's get to practicing then!" I said to Makoto after we'd finished dinner and had left the town.
I'd spent the whole day with Fujiyan and Nina.
We'd gone to gather info on the harpy queen from the guild and had even asked some merchants, but we hadn't gotten much. All the
current rumors were focused on the blight dragon, the Soleil Knights, and the Hero of Light.
"Did you find out anything interesting?" Makoto asked while practicing his water magic.
"Apparently, the Soleil Knights will be heading out to kill the blight dragon in two or three days."
"Oh, maybe the monsters in Labyrinthos will calm down once they're done."
"That's the rumor. Everyone's saying that the dragon appearing on the upper layer means fewer expeditions, so business is bad."
"Yeah, that sounds about right." As he spoke, Makoto created a tiny water dragon and made it flutter around the area. That trick had been a standard Waterball until recently! He was getting much more detailed with his magic.
"What about you, Lucy? How many Stone Shots can you create now?"
"Only three..." I admitted.
"Oh, well done, you're getting better."
Said the guy with ten mini water dragons flying around... I couldn't really take any joy from his praise.
"How can you manage all that detail?"
"I figured it out once I got my water magic mastery over 120."
"Forget I ever asked," I said after blinking. That wasn't helpful at all. Over 120? What the hell?
My mastery for fire magic was 15, and it was 11 for ground magic. The reason ground magic was easier for me to use was because of my staff. Well, more accurately, it was thanks to the magic that the giant had imbued my staff with.
Right now, I was training a combination of ground and fire magic to increase the number of Meteos I could cast.
We were going to be up against harpies, and lots of them, so our aim was to take out as many as possible with our opener. That's what Makoto had said at least.
The harpy queen... She's the enemy of the lamiae and Aya Sasaki's foe as well.
Our adventure this time had come about because of a lamia girl that I'd just gotten to know. She'd come from another world and had been reincarnated as a monster. She was also Makoto's friend.
I wonder what kind of relationship they had.
He'd originally told us that "she was a friend I studied with in school."
Makoto had laughed and said that she'd used to be much quieter, which had made her smack him on the back of the head and yell, "What's that supposed to mean?!"
They seemed much closer than classmates that just happened to get along. It was obvious by their interactions that they'd spent a lot of time together.
And they were alone in the dungeon today... Plus, he invited her to our party.
I didn't exactly have any complaints about that. She was Makoto and Fujiyan's friend, and there was no one else in this world that she knew. She'd also been reincarnated as a monster, so she couldn't exactly stay with people that didn't understand the circumstances.
So of course we'd help her. Still, there was something that bothered me.
I think she might have feelings for Makoto...maybe.
The way she looked at him...it was the look of someone who carried affection for the object of their gaze.
It was the same way I looked at him.
"By the way, Lucy, mind going around the town with Sasa tomorrow?"
"What? Ahh!" The sudden question made me drop the Stone Shots
I'd been controlling, and the heated rocks fell to the ground. "A-Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just me, though? What are you doing?"
"I'm going to keep building relationships with the elementals." "Will you be all right in Labyrinthos on your own?" I asked.
"I've mapped out all the escape routes, so I should be fine. I want you to teach her how to shop and use the money here."
"G-Got it."
On my own with Aya? What would we talk about?
We finished training and the day drew to an end, though my feelings were still conflicted.
The next day, Aya showed up at the place we'd chosen to meet. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she said.
Her hair was tied into two tails, and she was wearing a shirt adorned with ribbons, along with a skirt. She looked pretty plain at a glance, but the garments all seemed quite stylish in the fine details.
Was that the fashion in her world?
"Let's head off then," I suggested, and the pair of us began to walk around the town.
"So, this is the money..." I explained when it came up. "The market price for this is around..."
"Hmm, I get it," Aya said once I'd finished explaining. "And what about this?"
"Well, that..." I answered her questions as they cropped up. "I feel like I get it now. Thank you, Lucy."
We spent a while looking at all the different things on sale, and I taught Aya about how much our currency was worth and what kind of things you could buy in the shops.
She was quick on the uptake and soon had the essentials down.
Afterward, we went to a restaurant for lunch. Aya and I ordered pasta with tomato sauce and bacon, along with some tea to drink.
"Wow! That looks great," Aya exclaimed. "Hey, Lucy, they have pasta here as well!"
"They do. It was an otherworlder that made it popular in the first place."
"Oh, that makes sense."
Aya was happily packing the pasta away.
Cute... She was like a hamster, and I wanted to protect her. Well, she's about as strong as Nina... In other words, just as strong as a gold rank adventurer. Or rather, far, far stronger than me.
Once we'd finished lunch and were eating our desserts and drinking tea, I explained how things worked in this world.
But then, the question came up. "What were you doing this morning by the way?" I asked. She'd told me that she had some plans for the morning, so we'd need to leave later.
"Er, well, I was making lunch for Takatsuki to take into the dungeon."
"What?" I'd never even thought of that! Seriously? We'd been adventuring so many times and I'd never done something like that...
"R-Right... What kind of things does he like?" I always saw him eating onigiri and skewers back in Macallan, so he must like those at least.
Maybe I could make him some onigiri... Not that I knew how.
"Hmm, well, he likes junk food, so anything with heavy seasoning... I heard adventurers have a pretty unbalanced diet though, so today, I gave him sandwiches with lots of vegetables."
I had no words.
Just how thoughtful was she? Had I already lost? Afterward, we kept talking about quite a lot of things, but...
"Takatsuki didn't really make many friends at school," she said. "He was so nervous when I first spoke to him too. I was shocked the first time I saw his room. There wasn't anything in it! He either sold or threw out stuff he didn't use. You know, he was always pretty laid- back, but he's gotten even cooler in this world. I think he mentioned a Calm Mind skill? I want that too."
Everything she had to say was about Makoto. She and I didn't have anything in common to talk about, so I'd asked her about what he used to be like. But she just didn't stop talking!
She likes him way too much! A-And we're going to be in the same party? My heart shuddered at that thought.
She's his old friend, and she knows a ton about his past...
Makoto had been so happy when he'd met her again.
It felt as if, before I knew it, those two would be like Jean and Emily, dating, and I'd be left on my own... I-I don't want that! Forget Jean, I just don't want Makoto dating any other girl! No!
I was in his party first! And he'd said I was his first teammate as well! But..if things keep up like this...
"Takatsuki... It's been so long." "Too long, I've missed you, Sasa."
"I'm so happy!" She hugged him. "What about Lucy, though?" "What about her?"
"I'm sure she has feelings for you."
"She does? But you're the only one I feel that way for." His teeth sparkled.
"Takatsuki...I love you!" She grabbed him tightly. "I love you too." He held her back.
Noooooo!!!
Just imagining it was so depressing.
It all felt so real! Makoto couldn't feel that way! Would that future come to pass...?
I-I need to do something... I vowed.
◇ Aya Sasaki's Perspective ◇
Lucy and I had gone around the town.
It was the first time I'd had any contact with the culture of this world, and everything was so new. I couldn't just gawk like a tourist forever. Takatsuki had invited me to join his party, so I needed to be useful!
Still though... It's so gooood.
The food in this human town was delicious! It was completely different from lamia cuisine!
Tomato pasta, apple pie, sugary milk tea!
I'm so glad that I'm still alive...
Well, technically, I'd been reborn, but I'd gotten to meet Takatsuki again, and had eaten so much tasty food! There were a lot of things to overcome, but I was glad I hadn't given up... I'd lived through it!
I bit into the joys of life with much relish.
"You look like you're really enjoying that," Lucy commented.
"I-I do?" I asked, my heart jolting as Lucy looked at me with a smile. Her bright, wine-red eyes were framed by glossy crimson hair.
Her face was a little sharp, but still attractive, and her pointed ears that poked out were the sign that she was an elf.
Right, Lucy was an elf. She's so pretty.
I was a girl myself, and even I was taken with how beautiful she was. And this was Takatsuki's teammate. Right, his teammate...not his partner.
Adventurers often spend days with only each other for company though, right?
Could some mistake have happened during that time? Or was my worldview just different from the prevailing one here? Takatsuki was a guy though, so surely he'd have grown feelings for such a cute girl, especially if he'd spent so much time with her.
"The Makoto you describe feels a bit different than the one I know," Lucy commented.
She was right—he did give off a different impression now compared to when we'd been in school.
"What's he like now then?" I asked idly.
"I'll never forget when I first met him. I was being attacked by a big ogre and he dashed in and just took it out, even though apparently they're supposed to be beyond the skill of bronze rank adventurers!"
She continued the tales of Takatsuki's victories. "He let himself get hurt while battling a griffin, just so he could use his magic to defeat it! We also fought a chimera in a dungeon and..."
That question had prompted a machine-gun barrage of praise from Lucy. Her cheeks were flushed as she excitedly talked about him.
Wh-Whoa... Lucy's head over heels for Takatsuki...
She wasn't even trying to hide how she felt. Were they really not dating? Maybe they just hadn't told me?
"Hey, Makoto? Aren't you going to tell Aya about us?"
"Sasa isn't used to this world yet, so I'll tell her once she's relaxed a bit."
"You can't use that as an excuse to cheat, you hear?"
"Don't be silly, I've only got eyes for you." His gaze glinted. "Makoto... I love you..." She hugged him tightly.
"I love you too." He hugged her back.
Argh! I imagined the whole thing!
It's...it's fine, right? Takatsuki had said they were teammates. And so, I kept my conflicted feelings in my chest while we continued our shopping.
◇ Meanwhile... Makoto Takatsuki's Perspective ◇
"Sorry to drag you into this, Nina," I said.
"No worries'h. The boss told me to help you as much as I can'h."
We weren't in Labyrinthos, but outside of it, and we were looking for the ceiling of the lake. It was just Nina and me because we were the only two that could use Stealth. Sasa was still learning it. We'd spent
three whole days using Mapping in the dungeon and we still hadn't found a path to the harpy nest.
They were flying monsters though, so there might not even be one.
Therefore, we were looking for the hole, the one above the lake that opened to the sky.
"There are so many weeds," I grumbled. The area of the forest outside of the dungeon had been left to grow wild.
"Mister Takatsuki, please be careful. We aren't inside the dungeon, but there still might be monsters around'h."
"Right, we should use my Scouting skill and your Eavesdropping skill to keep a lookout."
Nina was a rabbit beastwoman, so she had particularly keen hearing, even compared to other beastmen. With her ears, she could probably hear things that were several kilometers away.
"There's a monster," I commented. "Right, let's go around it'h."
We didn't want to get into any avoidable battles, so we constantly took detours when we sensed monsters. That, however, made our journey take quite a bit of time.
We continued silently, cutting through the greenery and progressing onward.
Ugh, it hurts not being able to carry on a decent conversation with her.
If it'd been Fujiyan here instead of Nina, I wouldn't have struggled at all. Just as the thought passed through my mind, Nina brought up a topic.
"Mister Takatsuki, you were friends with the boss in your original world, weren't you'h?"
"I was, though only for about a year," I admitted.
Still, he'd been so helpful to me. I couldn't thank him enough. "There's something I'd like to ask you'h."
"What is it?" Something about Fujiyan?
"What kind of woman does the boss like'h?"
So that was what she wanted to know...and she was asking someone like me, who'd been single as long as he'd lived. Still, Nina had been a great deal of help to me, so I'd answer her as best I could.
"Fujiyan likes girls with animal ears."
That was true, without a doubt. After all, he'd talked my ears off about them often enough when we'd gone drinking in the Catgirl Cantina...
"I know that already'h..." she muttered, her long ears drooping. "Is something bothering you?" I asked.
"He never takes me up on it, no matter what moves I make'h." I had no words.
"I went to his room wearing something pretty risque, but he didn't do anything'h..."
This was way more adult than I'd expected! I-I can't...it's too much for me.
Fujiyan, the hell are you doing?! Nina's super cute, isn't she?!
"Maybe he hasn't realized how I feel'h..."
"Nah, I doubt that." He's definitely noticed, so you're all good! He can read minds, after all.
"Now that it's come to this, maybe I'll have to just pay him a
visit'h..."
Whoa...she's practically a predator, even though she's a rabbit!
"The Macallan girl seems to have feelings for him as well'h." "Oh, Christina, right?"
"That filthy bitch'h!" Nina said angrily. "She made so many demands in exchange for helping the boss with his airship'h!"
Well, that's what a sponsor did.
"I'll get it out of him at some point," I told her. "Please do'h!"
I didn't think much about the promise, but maybe that was for the best.
As we talked, we reached our goal.
"According to my Mapping, we should now be right above the lake," I said.
"Your skill is quite something. Especially because it can cover such a wide area'h."
"It is?" I hadn't thought much about it, but still... "Let's stop here. I can sense some harpies."
"Seems like they're lookouts'h. I hear three of them'h."
My Scouting had only picked up two, so I was really glad I'd brought Nina along.
We kept watch on them for a while, and the harpies on guard duty swapped with other harpies that came out from the hole. They must nest somewhere around there...
"Looks like we've pinned down a location," I commented. "These lookouts will be annoying'h."
"Let's head back for now."
Quietly, so they didn't notice us, we started back toward the town.
That evening, I addressed our group. "It looks like we were right— they have a nest right above the lake."
"That's where they are..." Lucy murmured, her eyes sharpening.
"I do have one piece of good news," Fujiyan added. "Apparently, Sir Sakurai—or rather, the Soleil Knights—successfully killed the blight dragon."
"Oh! I did think the guild seemed a bit lively. So that's why," said
Lucy with a clap. She'd been spending a lot of her time at the guild, mostly gathering information and training.
"Well, that's Sakurai for you," I mused. "Not even a week and he's done."
But then, Fujiyan corrected me. "Well, it would appear that he is not
'done.'"
"What do you mean, Boss'h?" "There were three blight dragons." "What?!"
Wasn't that more like bad news?
"Then the monsters must still be acting weird..." Lucy said, slumping. I guess she was disappointed that she hadn't been able to go into the dungeon recently.
"When are we taking out the harpy queen, then?" Sasa asked, voice hard.
"I believe the safest option would be to wait until the blight dragons have all been defeated..." answered Fujiyan.
"When will that be?"
"I do not know..."
The Soleil Knights had taken out the first one quickly enough, but that didn't mean the second would fall quite so easily.
Labyrinthos was huge, and there was no guarantee that the knights would win. Considering Sasa's feelings, though, there was no way we could just kick our heels up until then.
"Let's go for it in three days," I announced. "I need to strengthen my elemental magic, and we need to wait until Lucy's finished her
training."
"Lucy, can you get there in three days?" Aya asked.
"Aya, you look scary..." said Lucy. "All right! You can count on me." Nina glanced around at us. "I think it's decided'h."
"Three days," I said definitively. "Then we'll head for the harpy queen."
◇
It was the eve of our battle, and I was dreaming. In front of me was a space containing nothing...the goddess's room.
Feels like it's been a while. I knelt down and put my hands together in prayer.
When she appeared, she was sucking on a Popsicle and fanning herself. On top of that, she was wearing a pretty sloppy outfit—a t- shirt and leggings. It was just a bit erotic...but that didn't make her appearance any less untidy.
H-Hmm...she doesn't look divine at all.
"Oh, you're here?" she asked, fanning her chest as she turned toward me.
You could at least dress properly when you meet your believers...it ruins your good looks.
"I can hear that," she commented. "Your outfit's all sloppy, Goddess."
"Oh, how cheeky, you said it aloud. Perhaps you just aren't devoted enough."
"I pray every day."
"Well, I know that." She pouted.
That was enough playing around. "Thank you. It's because of your help that I got to meet Sasa again."
She chuckled, Popsicle still in her mouth as she replied. "You should
be thankful. By the way, why aren't you making friends with that hero boy?"
Huh?
"He's a follower of one of the goddesses you hate," I pointed out. "Should I really be making friends with him?"
"Don't worry about all that. If you're close, it'll make him easier to use later, right?"
"Well, you..." I started without meaning to. She was always so
cynical. "I don't exactly want to use my classmates." I was against it emotionally.
"Sakurai will be one of the key players on the continent. Quit your complaining and get in good with him. Remember, the last time you did what I said, you got to meet your friend again."
"And I'm grateful for that..."
"Aya Sasaki is a good friend to have. She's as tough as any hero. Lucy's magic is getting much stronger too, so your party's looking good."
"Which makes me the weakest link." Everyone else was stronger.
"Stats are for show," the goddess replied. "You just need to be able to turn things around! Keep training your elemental magic."
She'd been much more specific with her advice lately.
Then, I felt my hair get stroked, and some kind of strength seemed to flow into me. "Make sure you don't lose to those songbirds," she said.
Maybe she'd brought me here to offer some support.
"You can count on me, Goddess," I bowed, and by the time I lifted my head, she'd vanished.