Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 130
“Um… Shizuma?”
“What is it, Rent?”
“…I was just wondering, if only one person can be summoned, maybe it could be me… Is that not allowed?”
“Hmm… well…”
Honestly, Rent hasn’t been fully developed yet. In a game, even if she were sent out to gather materials, she wouldn’t bring back much—basically, she’s still in a state of being “unusable.”
Even so, she’s probably stronger than an ordinary resident of this world.
Does she have a reason she wants to be summoned?
“I want to be useful to Shizuma too. I’m weak and I’ve been left out, but I have strengths that only I have! Right now, if you try to take someone who can’t talk or respond properly, everyone else already knows someone and is an adult, so they probably can’t do detailed investigations. But I… I’m a child! Even though I’m an elf, they’ll think of me as a small child. That makes me convenient, I think.”
“Yes, that’s right. My master? This is convenient, especially ‘right after the war’ at this timing.”
I gestured for Still to continue, curious about what she meant.
“‘After checking on the safety of an acquaintance, you found the daughter of that acquaintance, who had become a war orphan, and decided to take her in. However, due to the deep emotional wounds, she lost her human-like emotions,’ you explain. With this excuse, it’s easy to justify having a silent person with you, isn’t it? And a silent child feels less strange than a silent adult.”
“I see… both of you are really smart.”
I couldn’t help but praise Rent and Still. But then—
“Wait a second? Still, when you built the foundation for this idea, don’t forget that I helped with advice… no, I solidified the basics. Shizuma, you should praise me too.”
“Hash… yeah, thank you, Hash.”
“You are truly infuriating… no, a delightful person, really.”
“Fufu, don’t praise me too much, Still. As thanks, shall I perform a hymn next time?”
“I’ll pass, thank you.”
…Do these two not get along? Their faces are fairly similar too.
Actually, I made Still by tweaking Hash’s create data.
“In any case, I’d like to adopt the three of your plans. I think I need to take the form of Rent at least once and fight at least once to be able to give orders, so I’ll do that tomorrow.”
“Yay! Finally, I can be useful too…! Shizuma, when you do it, fight until I can even use my basic magic with you. It’s convenient; it can be used for defense too.”
“True, gaining a ranged attack without having to swing a sword is a big advantage…”
“Right?!”
Perhaps Rent had been frustrated all along that she wasn’t being used, and at the same time felt upset.
The joy with which she pitched herself and got adopted made me realize that.
…I really shouldn’t have neglected her training. Why didn’t I develop her sooner?
“Alright, have we settled everything? Then let’s end it here. If Shizuma sleeps like this, your brains can’t rest.”
“Yes, please sleep properly, Shizuma.”
“It’s regrettable, but tea will have to wait for another time. Until then, my master.”
“Fufu, I’ll handle the BGM then. Good night, Shizuma.”
“Shizuma, before you sleep, may I say one more thing?”
At that moment, Same, who hadn’t spoken a word until now, spoke as if remembering something he had forgotten.
“Shizuma, while you were clearing dungeons and acting on your own, did your nails or beard grow at all? I know some people may be too young for a beard yet.”
“Hm? Let’s see… I filed my nails once, but the beard… well, it didn’t grow.”
I didn’t understand why Same was asking this.
“I see… then there’s nothing to worry about… but then why…”
“Same? What is it?”
“Well… I was thinking about the possibility that ‘summoned beings may have stopped time.’ Maybe Shizuma is also ageless.”
“Wha…!”
Ageless… that’s a bit frightening.
It’s like being left behind by the world, isn’t it? That’s what being ageless would be like.
Ah, the questions about nails and beard were to check metabolism and growth.
“Melt found ‘fried chicken’ and Shizuma’s ‘sports drink.’ Judging by their temperature and taste, I thought time might be stopped. And the bus too. Shizuma, haven’t you heard the phrase, ‘the battery is dead’?”
“Ah, now that you mention it, my dad might have said something about that.”
“Exactly. Even a short neglect of a month can make a car engine fail to start. This bus was left in such a cold place for over three months. For the engine to start, it’s a miracle.”
“Seriously… then the bus really had its time stopped…?”
That had escaped me. Probably, if Melt hadn’t found the fried chicken, I might never have noticed.
But at least my own time hasn’t stopped… what does that mean?
“Sorry for confusing you. I don’t fully understand it myself yet. Does it not apply to living things? No… but then… Shizuma, do you have a smartphone in this mental world?”
“Yes, I can normally take it out from the menu screen.”
“Ah, really. We can use it too then.”
I took out my smartphone. Maybe because I usually keep it stored in the menu, the battery still had plenty of charge left.
“Shizuma. Inside the Mansion of Greed, did the smartphone battery drain at all?”
“Ah—… sorry, I don’t think I remember that clearly.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s normal. …I’m stumped with this one.”
It wasn’t a problem that would cause any immediate inconvenience, but it was something that nagged at the back of my mind.
Just then, Sheele raised her hand, asking to speak.
…So now it’s turned into a hand-raising system, huh.
“Shizuma. Tomorrow, try walking around with your smartphone in your pocket. If the battery drains even a little, you can just put it back into storage.”
“Got it. Some kind of test, right?”
“Yes. To check whether it’s ‘that everything other than humans is frozen in time,’ or whether it’s ‘that time is only frozen when certain conditions aren’t met.’”
“Certain conditions?”
“Yes. But, this isn’t even developed enough to call it a hypothesis, so for now let’s leave it at that.”
Sheele suggested it with a thoughtful expression.
Hmm. Battery consumption and specific conditions… huh.
“Alright, now for real this time—I’m going to sleep. I wonder if I’ll just black out on my own?”
“Yes, most likely. Shizuma, if you finish the test related to Order Summoning, you can summon me. I’ll make you a meal.”
“Oh, that’s nice! Seira, I’ll count on you then.”
“Heeey, I can’t make anything for you though…”
Rent laughed, looking a little frustrated but still cheerful.
…Yeah. I really need to make sure I’m making use of everyone properly.
With that decision in mind, my consciousness gradually grew hazy, and sleepiness weighed down my eyelids.
—Ahh… having everyone here… really is nice—
I felt like my body was just a bit lighter than usual.
When I opened my eyes, the ceiling of the bus came into view. That’s right—I had fallen asleep on one of the bus seats we’d knocked over.
“Civilization sure is a blessing… well, maybe not that much, but it was still a lot more comfortable than a tent…”
Looking toward the back seat, Melt was still wrapped snugly in a blanket, fast asleep.
I don’t know… but I really think blankets suit beastmen so well.
Like, the way they curl up and sleep bundled up all fluffy—it just feels so natural.
We had plenty of housing items and furniture stored away too. I should try pulling out a kotatsu next time. Electricity probably won’t work, so I’ll have to find some kind of magical substitute though.
“Hey, Melt—time to get up.”
Outside the window, the sun was already high in the sky. Since we were heading toward Melt’s home and village today, I had to harden my heart and disturb the fluffy fox’s sleep.
“Nnnh… nooo… it’s so comfy here… all springy and bouncy…”
“…Want me to rev the engine?”
“Ughh…”
Not used to the roar of the engine, she squirmed and slowly sat up.
Alright, up and at ’em, up and at ’em.
“Good morning, Melt.”
“Good morning… I want this big chair at my house…”
“Yeah… well, we did have a few different kinds of sofas. Maybe I’ll test them out once we’re back.”
There was so much furniture stored away. I wanted to try out how it actually felt to use them.
“Okay then, let’s just eat the food we’ve got in storage.”
“Same’s storage is so convenient~ Time’s frozen inside, right?”
“Yeah, pretty much frozen.”
…Could it be that time has stopped on this bus as well? To help with Sheele’s verification, I moved my smartphone into my pocket.
Ah—before that, I needed to transform into Rent.
“Hey, Melt. Actually, I need to take on a slightly different form again. I’ll probably stay like that until we get to your house. I kind of want to try fighting in that form.”
“Oh, who is it, who is it? Are you going to be Sheele? Or maybe Silent?”
“Nope, this one’s a first. A magician.”
“Hee! You can even become a magician, huh~!”
And one more thing—since the body is small, I was hoping I might get full with less food.
There’s still a huge stockpile of ingredients and dishes stored in the item box on the menu screen, but even so, I want to save what I can.
I adjusted the character in the menu to Rent.
Wrapped in dazzling light, I felt my field of vision drop lower and lower.
When the light faded, I was Rent once again, and the bus ceiling now looked much higher.
Most likely, I was about 120 centimeters tall—give or take.
That should have been around the minimum height setting back in the game.
“Alright, transformation comple—whoa.”
“So tiny!”
The next moment, Melt clung to me.
My face was buried around Melt’s stomach. I can’t breathe!
“Small! You’re really small! You can turn into such a tiny little girl!”
“Stop, stop! I’m still me! I’m still Shizuma inside!”
“Eeeh~?”
“Today, the goal is to use magic in this form, so that Shizuma can use magic too. After that, I’ll try summoning this character like Sheele, walk around with her for a while, and run various tests.”
“Hm hm… so we’ll be together for a while? I’ll take care of you then!”
…Looks like Melt really likes little kids.
Honestly, I just hope that someday, the characters I summon will develop proper personalities of their own.