In a cramped, rickety room barely the size of 6 tatami mats, the soft, rhythmic breathing of a handsome young man echoed evenly. That sound, combined with the patter of rain against the window, the croaking of three-eyed frogs, and the occasional clatter of cargo carts on the street, created an orchestra that was bizarre yet oddly catchy.
But like any orchestra, it eventually had to come to an end. A firm knock on the door rang out, carrying a hint of old age in the accompanying voice.
"Wake up, kid! It's noon already!"
"Okay..."
Still no sun today... Sigh.
That was when I opened my eyes, welcoming this gloomy, sunless world with an indescribable sense of boredom.
Even though I can't remember how many times I've said this, but I hate this weather.
The situation was exactly as Talhand had predicted; on our sixth day here, the rain began to fall. Initially, it was just a few drops pattering outside the window; the clouds were a bit gloomy, but there was still some warm sunlight after it stopped. Then the very next day, the weather abruptly turned into a downpour that seemed endless.
The early days of the rainy season passed quite peacefully. The pace of life for the people here barely changed; they went about their daily work, and the adventurers kept waiting. Then, after a week had passed, the rain started getting heavier, the pattering sometimes turning into a roar during peak downpours. The miserable part was that this peak usually hit at dawn, right when I was just starting to get some decent sleep.
Surprisingly, there was one advantage to this: the constant lack of sunlight and the dampened usual noise of a marketplace inn made it much easier for me to fall asleep. Sometimes I slept so well that I completely forgot my appointments to do quests with Isolde. As a result, she had to come all the way to my room to wake me up, and um... a few slightly awkward situations occurred due to physiological issues, so that was the only time I ever dared to be late meeting her.
That was why I asked the innkeeper to wake me up every noon. I had to pay him a bit extra for that, obviously. But I'm rich, so one Millis copper coin a day is no big deal.
But despite all that, those mornings of sleeping to the incredibly chill sound of rain didn't last long. By the tenth day of the rainy season, the water level in the Great Forest began to rise, and monsters started appearing. An inn far from the combat zones shouldn't have been affected by this, but every so often (and by that I mean once or twice a day), a monster would get swept away by the water all the way here. Once, there was even a Water Snake lying right outside my bedroom window. Or sometimes, a Mist Lizard would miraculously appear right on my stomach—which was only weird because it was already dead.
This place reminded me of Australia.
Or even worse, Brazil.
Also thanks to the rainy season, the workload for adventurers skyrocketed. Isolde and I were already C rank, incredibly fast. At this rate, we might even hit B or even A rank by the time the rain stops.
"Sigh... Do we have to deal with this for the next two months?"
But for some reason, I didn't feel very happy or excited about it. Maybe because of the lack of sun? The dark clouds obscured the blue sky, and the warm sunlight I always looked forward to at the start of each day was gone. Whenever *tsuyu* (the rainy season) or winter hit in Japan, this used to happen too; if it dragged on, I'd easily fall into a state of depression. People call it Seasonal Affective Disorder or something.
So, after a weary sigh, I slapped my face with both hands, calling upon the alertness and energy of a swordsman to return. I knew full well that sitting here complaining wouldn't help. The rain would keep falling, and the sky would stay gloomy. Because those are the laws of nature. But at the very least, I could solve the problem of my starving stomach.
So I had to sit up, leaving that old but seductively cozy bed. The creaking of the floorboards, which had slightly worried me about collapsing the place in the early days, was no longer a concern. After finishing my daily basics like washing my face, brushing my teeth, and changing clothes, I headed down to the inn's dining room.
Usually, this place would be loud and crowded, with dozens of people filling up the tables and chairs, eating and talking, sometimes even arguing or fighting. But probably because the rainy season had arrived and most of the tenants were adventurers, they had left early to do quests.
However, that didn't mean the place was completely empty. There was still a party gathered together discussing matters near the entrance. Another group of people, dressed nothing like adventurers, were casually and enjoyably eating their meal; they were probably merchants. From what I overheard, they planned to head to Millishion after the rainy season, so maybe I should try asking them if we could tag along. Because the horses in Zant Port had all been sold out, or were being offered at exorbitant prices. Carriage services were fully booked too. So having a merchant caravan like that to travel with would be a blessing from Saint Millis.
Besides the people I just mentioned, there really shouldn't have been anything else particularly noteworthy here. Generally speaking, the place was deserted and quite boring.
And that's why it's absolutely wonderful.
With the meal Isolde had prepared for me, I slowly enjoyed its taste and warmth while watching the rain outside the window. Even though I said I hated the rain, I had to admit that at times like this, it gave off a very poetic vibe, making me want to write a poem.
But since I had things to do, I ate quickly and then headed back upstairs. First, I went back to my room and rummaged through my luggage to take out a few scrolls. Then I left my room and went straight to the door directly opposite mine, quite close by.
After three knocks, a gentle, feminine yet childish voice called out.
"Who is it?"
"It's me," I replied.
"Atur? Wait a moment."
I heard some clattering inside the room. About a minute or two later, the door opened.
Facing me was a girl who looked like a middle schooler, with dark blue hair tied in braids. She was wearing a rather plain, loose white nightgown, which only made her childish appearance even more pronounced.
It was Roxy, my traveling companion and also the master of my good 'compatriot' friend, Rudeus.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Um... come in."
"Pardon the intrusion." I gave a slight bow.
Even though Roxy always told me there was no need to be formal, it seemed my stubbornness and rigidity had made her accustomed to it. Anyway, this was how a Japanese person like me greeted someone of a higher status. You can take the Japanese out of Japan, but you can't take Japan out of the Japanese.
So I stepped inside.
I'm not sure if the innkeeper was sexist or what, but Roxy's room looked significantly newer. The floor wasn't rotting, there were no leaks, and the bed in the corner even had a canopy, making it look quite private. Not to mention the place seemed larger than my room.
Even though the rent was the same? What the hell?
Though, a guy entering another girl's room like this is a bit suspicious, isn't it? Especially a teenage guy in the prime of puberty who enthusiastically needs to exercise his arm muscles twice every night just to fall asleep. And Roxy was even in her pajamas, clearly severely underprepared; to some, this scene would surely seem ambiguous and seductive.
If Eris were here, I'd definitely get punched.
However.
It's not a date, please don't misunderstand. Perhaps saying this would break Roxy's heart, but I have no interest in girls with her 'proportions'. The reason I like eternal lolis is simply because I like the concept, it's not a sexual preference. Those are two different things. No matter what, I still prefer big boobs and big butts.
Sometimes sweaty armpits, toned muscles.
And occasionally, JK uniforms.
Meanwhile, Roxy probably didn't see me as an adult at all either. She treated me like a kid, so let's just consider that a point we both mutually agreed upon regarding each other.
As for why I was here? Well, it's simple. The answer lay in the scrolls I was carrying. They were magic scrolls containing magic circles.
That's right, I was here for an academic discussion on holy-tier magic.
The thing is, ever since we first met in Uchihaha, Roxy had been quite impressed by the fact that I knew how to use fire magic up to the Emperor rank, and could even analyze God-tier magic (even though I used magic circles, since I knew how to draw them, let's just count it as knowing how to use it). So when we got temporarily stuck here in Zant Port, Roxy proposed that I teach her fire magic, and in return, she would teach me and Isolde Saint-tier Water magic 'Cumulonimbus', and even King-tier 'Lightning'. Even though I didn't have enough mana, since Roxy said she had memorized the magic circles for the spells she knew, I wasn't stupid enough to refuse.
After all, learning more is only beneficial; you don't lose anything. Besides, my goal was to revive the school of magic that uses magic circles anyway. So I had to try to gather more knowledge and pass it on further to those who were interested.
"This is the magic circle for the Plasma Ball. King-tier Fire magic." I placed a circle on the floor and explained.
"Um... What is Plasma?" Roxy frowned slightly upon hearing the term.
"Plasma is a state where matter is in its purest and most powerful form of energy. You could say a fire that reaches this state is the strongest kind of all. Ah, actually, this spell doesn't have a name, so I just call it that."
"I see... But how do you know these things? This is the first time I heard about it." Roxy immediately noted down what I had just said.
"Lord Lan Xin taught me."
"I see," Roxy nodded.
Honestly, everything I just spouted was pure bullshit.
As for the plasma part, it goes without saying; what I said wasn't exactly wrong, but scientifically, it was nonsense. But I didn't think I should bother explaining things like ionization, electrons, atoms, and nuclei to Roxy. I didn't want to be considered crazy.
As for the name, this spell did have a name; it was created by Lord Lan Xin, and he named it "Super Mega Awesome Blazing Fireball," or also known as "Super Fireball." But because the name was so lame, I suggested calling it "Plasma Ball" instead. Because fundamentally, what it creates might actually be plasma... Maybe. I'm not sure. Because there's no way to test it without specialized equipment.
But since fire is partially ionized plasma anyway, right? So if I said all fire magic is plasma, no one could really argue with it.
"Do you need me to explain this magic circle?" I asked.
"Yes," Roxy nodded. "Please do."
So I began sitting there, analyzing every single point in the magic circle to break down this type of magic. Being a King-tier spell, it was quite complex.
Afterward, I also wrote down the incantation for Roxy so she could practice.
Even though it sounds simple, we spent the whole afternoon, even into the evening, just explaining the basic theory of this magic. Because it was quite complicated, to use it reliably, she had to practice. And given our current location, there was only one place to do that.
So in the afternoon, Roxy went out to the coast to practice.
I didn't go with her.
Aside from the fact that I hate the sea, as you know, I didn't need to go watch her practice either. Since I couldn't cast the spell myself anyway, going along would be completely useless.
A month later, Roxy learned how to use Grand Exodus Flame. Before the rainy season ended, she also fired her first Plasma Ball into the sea, creating a massive explosion.
And thanks to that event, Zant Port discovered a dish called 'seawater-grilled seafood' that would become famous for years to come.