Chapter 109

To comfort the shocked Sierra, I offered her a lot of sweets.

Not cheap candies from a 100 yen shop, but cookies and chocolates from a convenience store, and finally, some fresh sweets.

After devouring a cream puff filled with plenty of custard and whipped cream, Sierra declared with a smile:

“I’ve decided! I’ll travel with you, Tohma !”

“Why would that happen!?”

I hastily interjected as Sierra, with her nose in the air and puffing out her chest, gave a huff.

“Because, it’s hard to level up on my own, and the mythical beasts, the holy beasts… I don’t understand any of that! If people find out I’m such a rare existence, they’ll definitely come after me! Without the magical tools I borrowed from you, Tohma , I’ll be dragged back right away!”

“Alright, I’ll give you the Ring of [Recognition Inhibition]. With this, you won’t be found. Good luck!”

“That’s cold! That’s too cold, Tohma ! I can’t accept such an expensive thing! And if I part from you, I won’t be able to eat all those delicious meats and sweets anymore!”

“Wasn’t that the whole point?!”

With a tug on the hem of my clothes and tearful eyes, Sierra pleaded. That’s cheating. Look, even Ketsue was looking up at me with moist eyes.

“I want to travel this world freely!”

“I’ll help with traveling sales too!”

“I want to earn in dungeons too!”

“I’ll dive into dungeons with you!”

“Huh?”

“Ketsue, you little… Saying you’ll take care of things… So cute and kind!”

A sigh, as if in exasperation, echoed in the room. It seemed like the communication mirror was still connected.

‘It’s fine, Tohma . Take her with you.’

“Rei-san! Thank you!”

“Hey, Rei. What are you doing, making decisions like that…”

‘The holy beasts can purify lands tainted by demons, you know?’

“…Purify?”

“Yes. They’re not as powerful as the divine beasts, but holy beasts are also creatures blessed by the Creator God. Their sacred power can purify, and be a trump card against demons.”

“Hmm…”

This is good news for my summoned hero cousins too.

Though still weak, as a small chick, if she levels up, she might evolve into a being that can fight demons. It’s a reassuring thought since I’ve decided to support my cousins.

‘And above all, the little chick is cute.’

“Well, I can’t disagree with that… Ah.”

“Cute? Am I cute?”

Sierra’s eyes lit up as she attempted her third [Beastification] of the day. There wasn’t even time to stop her.

From under her clothes, a small, rounded creature emerged, chirping cheerfully, “Chui!”

A small, pure-white bird with fluffy feathers on its chest fluttered up and perched on my shoulder.

Its round eyes were a beautiful aquamarine color.

It snuggled against my cheek and chirped sweetly in my ear—this is a kind of cuteness no one could resist.

“So cute.”

“Chii? Chi?”

The way she tilted her head up at me with those big eyes was nothing short of temptation.

Before I realized it, I was holding her gently with both hands, rubbing my cheek against her.

“Too cute, Shimaenaga.”

“Pyoh?!”

“No, there’s no way you could not love this. The feathers are so soft…”

I kept rubbing, rubbing.

The little bird, who had been stiff, snapped back to her senses and started smacking me with her wings, but it only felt pleasant.

The strange sense of happiness, like when you pet a cat’s tail, made me feel blissful.

‘Tohma , isn’t that sexual harassment?’

A calm voice from the golden dragon snapped me back to reality.

I made eye contact with Rei, who was glaring at me through the mirror, and quickly released the Shimaenaga.

Sierra flew away, landing on Ketsue’s head. Double the cuteness.

“WHAT!?”

“Ugh, sorry. My bad, Ketsue. Sierra, sorry too?”

“Chichi!”

After being scolded by my beloved cat, I hurriedly apologized.

The Shimaenaga seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood, grooming herself.

“Cheer up, Sierra. I’ll allow you to join the journey.”

“Pyoh?”

Her voice, sounding like a little chick, seemed surprised. I barely managed to suppress my urge to melt from the cuteness and kept a serious expression.

“You want to travel with me, right? If you can keep a secret, I’ll allow you to join.”

The Shimaenaga, overjoyed, hopped up and danced on Ketsue’s head, stepping lightly while singing a busy “Chichichi!”

I quickly grabbed my phone to capture the moment.

I couldn’t let such a cute scene pass without recording it!

‘Ah… Tohma . If the problem is solved, I’ll disconnect the communication. I’m busy too.’

“Sorry, Rei. Thanks for the advice. How long do you think it’ll take over there?”

‘The demon invasion is more intense than expected. There’s a dungeon stampede to deal with, so it’ll take about another half month.’

It seems that being a divine beast is hard work.

I felt a little sympathy for Rei’s tiredness.

If I could send items like my cousins with an [Item Box], I’d send her some meat dishes and sweets.

“We’re about to move out soon. We’re heading for the sea next, so finish up your work and join us. I’ll treat you to the best seafood dishes.”

‘Hmm… I’ll wrap it up as quickly as I can. I want to eat sashimi.’

“I’ll make sure you eat your fill.”

When I dangled food in front of him, it seemed to boost his enthusiasm. And for some reason, even the bird and cat seemed happy.

Well, cats do love fish.

I can’t really picture the Shimaenaga eating seafood, though.

◆◇◆

And so, a new travel companion was added.

Sierra, the winged human. A cute girl who’s carnivorous (literally).

When she introduced herself again, I was surprised to learn that she was eighteen years old.

(I thought she was around fifteen…)

I muttered this quietly in my mind, not wanting to say it aloud since she might sulk. The girl, who had poor nutrition in her past, probably grew slowly as well.

However, in this world, where the legal age of adulthood is fifteen, she is a full-grown woman.

It would be rude to keep treating her like a little sister.

Or so I thought, but then…

“Ah, Ketsue! That’s my meat! Give it back!”

“Nya!”

Watching the cat seriously fight over fried chicken with Sierra, she looked like a small child.

“Come on, there’s more, so don’t fight.”

“More!”

“Nyaa!”

She was skilled at cooking in the forest as well.

As I fried food in a deep pan, I fed both Sierra and the cat.

Two days after learning Sierra’s secret, we left the town we had been staying in.

We had earned a fair amount of the local currency, which was our initial goal, and were now heading toward the next destination: the sea.

We decided to avoid the main road and take a longer, detoured route through the forest, both to level up Sierra and to ensure a good night’s sleep.

We would hunt magical beasts and monsters in the forest to secure meat, and sell other materials to the adventurer’s guild in a coastal town.

Rather than camping on the roadside or staying in a village inn, we chose this route because we wanted to spend our nights in a more comfortable house.

A more comfortable house—We were traveling with a tiny house. Originally, I wanted to use a container house, but it would have attracted too much attention, so we spent the nights in a wooden tiny house.

I shared my secret with Sierra using a contract magic book that we found in the lower levels of the Great Forest dungeon.

In exchange for keeping her secret about [Beastification], I asked her to keep mine secret as well.

I told her about my rare skill and how I could summon items from another world.

Sierra, being the honest person she was, was surprised, but since she had already tasted exotic sweets and seasonings, she simply nodded and that was the end of it.

(Doesn’t she want to ask more about the other world? Normally, I would expect more questions!)

“Wow, that’s so convenient!” she said with a smile, and that was it. She had become more eager to ask for sweets from the other world, but that was all.

(Well, I’m fine with that. It’s better if she doesn’t ask too much…)

I wanted to keep my connection to the heroes summoned from another world a secret.

“Tohma! The fried chicken is delicious!”

“Yeah. Eat as much as you want.”

But right now…

I focused on frying the meat, determined to protect the happy expression on Sierra’s face as she bit into the fried chicken.