Reunion with the Child of the World, Shimada Yousuke

"You're called Yoru Machi? That's a strange name, but it doesn't matter now—can you answer my earlier question first?"

The Elf Maiden was genuinely curious about the "magic" Yoru Machi had used earlier. She had seen quite a bit in her time, yet not a single spell he cast was familiar to her.

What's more, even her own magic barrier had been corroded by the Poisonous Demon Dragon's toxic mist, yet Yoru Machi's magic had defended perfectly... No, only now did the Elf Maiden realize that even without using magic defense, Yoru Machi, standing right in the midst of the poison mist, seemed completely unaffected!

"The magic I use... could be considered a rather unique system. You can call it 'Kidō.' As of now, I'm probably the only one in this world who wields this system—think of it as a kind of secret art. As for why the Poisonous Demon Dragon's poison mist doesn't affect me, it's because I have the ability 'Magic Immunity.' No matter how strong the Poisonous Demon Dragon's mist is, it's still constructed from magic, so it's only natural it can't affect me."

When she heard that Yoru Machi possessed such a broken skill as "Magic Immunity," the Elf Maiden didn't believe it at first. After all, most people in this world could use magic. If what Yoru Machi said was true, then with his Magic Immunity, he would be nearly invincible in this world.

"Stop lying! Earlier, when facing the Poisonous Demon Dragon's mist breath, you clearly used that secret-art-like magic of yours to defend."

Obviously, the Elf Maiden was referring to the moment when Yoru Machi had used the Kidō spell "Severing Sky" to block the Poisonous Demon Dragon's mist breath at close range.

"Oh, you mean that? That's because while my body can completely nullify the effects of magic, my clothes can't. That Poisonous Demon Dragon's breath is highly corrosive. If it had sprayed me directly at close range, I'd probably be in the same state as you right now."

Hearing Yoru Machi bring that up again, the Elf Maiden's face flushed red all the way to her ears.

Just as she was about to say something else, a third party suddenly appeared in this place!

Logically, this was a desolate wilderness, and with the Poisonous Demon Dragon inhabiting the area, the villagers from nearby settlements had long since marked it as a forbidden zone. No one else should have been coming here at this time.

Yet as Yoru Machi and the Elf Maiden tensed up, watching the figure gradually becoming clearer through the poison mist, their wary expressions began to shift in different directions.

Yoru Machi: "(￣￣) Shimada Yousuke?" Elf Maiden: "(_; Half-beastman?"

That's right—the one who suddenly broke through the poison mist and appeared here was none other than Shimada Yousuke, the other otherworldly traveler who had parted ways with Yoru Machi about a week ago.

He was now wearing a tattered white casual outfit, with a red cloth strip wrapped around his neck like a scarf.

As for why Yoru Machi spoke with a questioning tone when seeing Shimada Yousuke after only a week apart—it was because, in just that short time, the changes in Yousuke's appearance were absolutely massive!

Originally, Shimada Yousuke could be considered plain-looking in this other world full of handsome men and beautiful women, but at least he was average. Now, however, he was nothing but skin and bones, with sunken cheekbones, looking at least twenty years older than before!

If Yoru Machi didn't have such a strong impression of Yousuke, he probably wouldn't have recognized him as that ordinary-looking young man from another world.

"Yoru Machi! You're here too—looks like you must have taken down that boss first. And this is... Sorry, seems like I'm interrupting. I'll take my leave."

Meeting Yoru Machi again after ten days, Shimada Yousuke was initially quite happy. After all, as fellow visitors from another world, Yoru Machi was practically his hometown buddy. Yousuke had wanted to catch up and maybe show off how he'd survived and made a good start.

But when he saw the golden triangular crystal standing in the poison mist and the tattered-clothed Elf Maiden inside it, Yousuke instantly wore a knowing expression and turned to leave.

He might not know much about such matters, but as a healthy young man, he understood the situation. And Yousuke thought this scene was perfectly normal—like the standard ending of a game. The player goes through hell to slay the evil dragon and rescue the princess, then naturally marries her and lives happily ever after. Sega had games like that too, so Yousuke didn't find it strange at all.

"Wait right there! I think you're misunderstanding something! I have nothing to do with this guy!"

"Yousuke, don't rush off. I was actually planning to check on you in the city after finishing this quest. From the looks of it, you've changed quite a bit compared to ten days ago... ah."

The first line was shouted by the Elf Maiden, because she felt that if this misunderstanding wasn't cleared up, her innocence would be ruined. As for the latter, spoken in a carefree tone, that was naturally Yoru Machi. In his view, nothing had really happened, so there was nothing to explain. Besides, he figured that a pure game otaku like Yousuke wouldn't care about such things anyway.

Quickly pulling a piece of clothing from her storage space and changing, the Elf Maiden walked back in front of Shimada Yousuke, extended her hand, and emphasized, "Half-beastman, I'm telling you, I have no relationship with this money-grubber. Sure, he saved me, but nothing like what you're imagining happened between us. And this guy is both greedy and snobbish. Even if he is good-looking and strong, I would never like someone like him."

Hearing the Elf Maiden's defense, Shimada Yousuke didn't show an understanding expression. Instead, his gaze toward the girl turned somewhat displeased, and he said, "Miss, I think what you're saying is a bit too much. No matter what, Yoru Machi saved your life, didn't he? Even if you don't like him, you shouldn't call him greedy and snobbish. In games, clearing a stage gives you a reward, and completing a quest gives you money or equipment—that's perfectly normal. Besides, I think Yoru Machi is a good person. He saved me once too, and even split his meager money with me."

The Elf Maiden was clearly a tsundere, but the era Shimada Yousuke had crossed over from, while also a modern society, apparently hadn't yet seen the rise of the "tsundere" archetype. So at this moment, Yousuke naturally found the Elf Maiden somewhat unreasonable.