After dinner, I was rushed outside by Meneo’s impatience.
“Mikron remembers the location, so we’ll have him take us there.”
“Okay! Stay behind for the watch, Mashiro!”
Mashiro, who had poked his head out from the Fenrir hut, barked in acknowledgment.
Mikron approached at a speed that left no trace of wind behind; I stroked him before mounting up.
I took the lead position on his back, with Meneo clinging to me right behind.
As expected, the sensation of her breasts pressing against my back made me tense up.
“Well then, Mikron, please take us to that spot from earlier.”
Nodding affirmatively, Mikron lifted off into the air.
He headed straight for where the invisible barrier was located.
“Go go, Mikron! A straight line to Shire’s place!”
“It’s nice that there’s nothing to get in the way when you’re up in the sky; we can just go in a dead straight line.”
Honestly, the mobility of our spirit beasts is a godsend.
Even for an ordinary student, exploring a forest on foot has its limits.
Once you set up base camp, you have to be back before it gets dark, which naturally narrows your range of exploration. If you’re being cautious enough not to get lost, that radius shrinks even further.
Naturally, the variety of materials you can collect is severely limited as a result.
I remember how we spent the early days eating nothing but mushrooms.
Even if new resources spawn, if they’re outside your operating radius, there’s no way to grab them.
But that’s not a worry for us.
We’ve got Mashiro and Mikuron on our side.
“Thanks a lot, Mikuron.”
Surged by gratitude, I reached out to pet the fluffy black dragon.
“Huh? Sure, Mikuron is a good girl, but what’s with that suddenly?!”
“Nah, I’m just feeling really grateful for it.”
“That’s definitely true… Hm? Wait, if you’re thanking him for that, doesn’t that mean I deserve some gratitude too for calling him out?”
“That’s right. Having Meko here has been a huge help.”
It goes without saying that her positivity and cheerful demeanor contribute significantly to the party’s bright atmosphere.
“Mm-fufu. I’m glad I got to see Sougo again too.”
With those words, Meko pressed herself tightly against me.
He flew through the sky, happiness radiating from his back, for a while.
Mikuron began his descent.
“Looks like it’s around here.”
“It’s just a normal forest, isn’t it?”
“Aah. Barriers are invisible.”
“Oh~. In manga and such, you can see them as transparent barriers, right? But I know that’s just for the reader’s convenience so they can understand what’s happening.”
“Totally. It’s a visual effect for the readers; in the actual story, it’s treated as invisible.”
Since depicting the reality within the work directly would fail to convey the meaning to the reader if it weren’t visible, I’m pro-using such visual effects.
Besides, drawings of a barrier being deployed are just cool looking anyway.
Anyway, unfortunately, the barrier in the Dream Realm is invisible to the eye.
Since Mikron brought us down near the ground, we both hopped off.
Feeling my way around in the dark for the boundary, I quickly hit something with my hand.
“Oh, this is it. You can’t see it, but there’s definitely a wall there.”
Seeing me tap and poke at the void, Shouko reached out into the empty air as well.
”…Oh! It’s real. Wha— weird feeling. So you’re on the other side, Yorina?”
In an instant, both arms extended from beyond the boundary, grabbing me and Shouko and yanking us through.
“Ugh!”
“Kyaa!”
I was a bit startled, but since it wasn’t my first time, I wasn’t confused.
Shouko seemed pretty shocked, but seeing the person standing before her, her expression quickly brightened.
”…You’re really Shouko.”
“Yoriinaa!”
Shouko hugged Yorina tight in the dream world, nearly rubbing cheeks against her. “That’s gross, that’s gross. Let go.”
“Ugh. Yorina, you’ve gotten so thin…”
“Shut up, I was always like this. You know that.”
“Your uniform is all wrinkled too…”
“I hand-washed it and wrung it out dry; that’s how it got like this. Plus, why is yours looking brand new?”
“Mine stays clean because Sou helps me keep it neat.”
“Huh?”
I haven’t explained the mechanic yet where rearranging storage causes dirt and such to fall off.
She shot me a sharp look, so I gave an explanation, and in return received the compliment, ”…Takano’s abilities are way too convenient.”
“Serina is amazing too! Having the power to create barriers and all!”
”…Well, it’s nice that I don’t get interrupted, but honestly, it’s a hassle.”
In modern-day Japan, it would be possible to live a convenient life with minimal interaction with other people.
However, such a convenient lifestyle is sustained by the labor of others, even if you never meet them face-to-face.
On this desert island, if I were truly completely alone, I suppose my life would simply settle into one free from interruptions but full of inconveniences.
“This might be obvious, but is Serina alone?”
“Obviously. Some people try to recruit teammates for events and stuff, but I’m not going to get mixed up with that.”
“Recruit teammates?”
Dreamworld nodded in response to the words that slipped out of me unintentionally.
“You guys didn’t encounter them? Sehou became a leader and was trying to form teams.”
Sehou Suzuka is the head of one of the two major female groups, ranking alongside Yobiko.
The two main factions are the Shouko Group, comprising individuals like Shouko, Shi-on, and Muikai, and the Jouho Group.
While there were unaffiliated or neutral parties—such as Roa and her friends—the majority tended to align with one side or the other.
For reference, Chiyu was also unaffiliated.
It wasn’t that they were on bad terms, but Jouho seemed to harbor a competitive spirit against Shouko’s group.
“I see… so that’s why there were fewer people at the events.”
The reason so few were chasing the light orbs became clear: a faction was busy recruiting members over there.
“Our leader is Sou-suke~”
“Shouko, you’ve been worried about Kuuno, haven’t you?”
“D-don’t…! You can’t bring that up right now?!”
Shouko’s face was bright red.
Even though it was something I already knew, I felt my own face heat up.
“Anyway, let’s talk about the transaction.”
“Don’t try to brush it off with an ‘anyway’! Just say it!”
“I get that you’re Shouko’s ally and that you trust Kuuno. The terms Kuuno proposed are appreciated on our end too. But this power isn’t infinite, right?”
“Are there limits to the area it can cover, or the distance from the caster?”
”…You’re quick on the uptake. Well, that’s pretty much it. So, here’s our proposal.”
To summarize Yume-kai’s terms—.
・Move to one of the bases and deploy a barrier there.
・I have no intention of proposing we live together, but I request that both parties be free to move within the barrier.
・In addition to meal rations, please keep my uniform clean from time to time.
That was the entirety of it.
It was something like… too modest. “Um, um, look, um, Yume-kai.” “What? Too much to ask?”
“It’s the opposite. Ah, Moe-chan. Please explain our basic terms and conditions.”
“Absolutely! Since we have a big house, everyone gets their own room! The room comes with a bed, warm futons, a desk, and a lantern! Meals are three times a day, Shii-chan’s homemade cooking is super delicious! We have underclothes and pajamas too! You can bathe every single day, and Sougo makes soap, shampoo, lotion, and everything else! If you get tired or injured, Sengyuchi-chan’s magic will recover you in a snap! Minori-sensei can explain most things if you ask, and recently Roach-chan maid joined us too! Fenrir’s Mashiro and Black Dragon’s Miku-n are super fluffy! We have lots of chickens so unlimited eggs! Everyone works together, so there’s plenty of meat, vegetables, mushrooms, and fruit! All of this is the standard for members!”
Yume-kai froze as the terms were rattled off at a torrential pace.
After ten seconds, twenty seconds passed and worry set in, Moe-chan gave him a nudge on the shoulder, and he snapped back to reality.
“Sorry, I think I was having a dream where I was being told about a utopia. What were you saying about the terms?”
「Yume-kai, what you heard wasn’t a dream.」
「Huh? I mean, sure, having the team’s cooperation is nice, but isn’t the cornerstone of this lifestyle Arakino’s ability? The workload and the compensation don’t add up. What, are you saying I pay the difference with my body?」
「S-so-so-so… Sora-suke would never say something like that?」
Thanks for looking out for me, Yumeko, but I wish you could have said it without freaking out so much.
Yume-kai misunderstood and hugged herself protectively, stepping back.
「…To be honest, there are still some things I haven’t mentioned, but I will never ask my comrades to offer up their bodies, so please put your mind at ease.」
「Terina, this is the truth. Sora-suke doesn’t operate based on gains and losses.」
「…Well, let’s say I believe that. The problem is I can’t come to terms with it myself. Generally, I prefer a state of no debts and no credits. If I owe too much, I get uncomfortable, you know?」
I wasn’t entirely out of touch with that feeling.
“The boundary barrier ability is more important than Dream Realm realizes. You might already know this, but abilities grow stronger the more you use them.”
“That’s… right.”
It seemed Dream Realm had experience with that too.
Well, if she had been maintaining a barrier continuously up until the seventh day, it’s plausible that it grew stronger.
「Yume-kai, whenever you expand the range or strength of your barrier, please apply that change. That way, we can expand the area where we can explore safely, and live days where we can sleep without fear of monster attacks.
This is a benefit so significant that all my comrades were convinced to welcome you aboard.」 Terina looked at Yumeko.
“Right, right! Everyone was in favor of making Serina part of the group!”
”…I see. So they’re valuing the utility of your barrier abilities, not just the fact that you’re Miko’s friend. …Even so, I still feel like I’m getting a bit too much for free. But I guess it means there’s room to repay them later.”
Every time the barrier is strengthened, Yume’s contribution score goes up.
If things go that way, maybe someday she’ll reach a point where she feels her treatment as a teammate is fair.
“So, well, nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you.”
“Yay! Serina’s part of the team now!”
“We’re not teammates. We’re trading partners.”
Yume seems to have a bit of resistance to the word “teammate.”
“Eh? But we’re friends, aren’t we?”
“That’s irrelevant.”
“How could you!”
”…By the way, how many people are on your side of the deal?”
Peeling off the clinging Miko, Yume looked at me.
“Including Yume, there are seven of us.”
”…Given what you just said, that means everyone except Iku’s female, right?”
”…Yeah, that checks out.”
Yume took another step back.
“N-N-No no no, that’s not it, Serina! Sōsuke doesn’t only pick girls to be his teammates!”
Meiko, I appreciate you covering for me again, but I wish you’d been a bit more level-headed about it.
Yume-kyō was completely horrified by it.
”…That was just a joke, though. Since I watch guys during events too, I know better than to make someone like that my partner. You picked people who could work with you and had the right abilities, based on your criteria, didn’t you?”
Regarding their abilities, honestly, it’s not an absolute guarantee…
Well, I guess there’s no need to make a big fuss denying it now.
“I’ll do my best to put in work that matches what I’m being paid.”
“We welcome you, Yume-kyō.”
A classmate capable of deploying barriers had become an ally—or at least a business partner.
At first, they put on a cold, detached front, but as the bond deepens, they gradually let their guard down and open up emotionally…
…is the kind of dynamic I love.
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