Yukitaka and the woman adventurer Iris had been walking underground for about an hour.
Now and then they ran into powerful monsters, but Yukitaka's umbrella took them out easily. Every time, Iris was left staring.
She knew it already, but Yukitaka's moves were still those of an amateur, and every monster he flattened without trying left her staring.
"I'm a Gold Rank adventurer, but I keep getting saved. And you saved me back then, and you're still with me now, so part of me feels safe," Iris said it out loud, as if reading off what Yukitaka had been thinking.
And yet when this amateur swung what looked like a holy sword, an umbrella that was probably a Divine Artifact, the monsters died with no way to fight back. They were taken out by shockwaves or one powerful hit, so Iris's reaction was only natural.
Yukitaka used the magic storage built into what looked like a handbag, which was probably another Divine Artifact. "I'll collect this one too, okay," In no time he stored away the giant monster.
Even though she was getting used to it, the seemingly endless capacity still left Iris stunned.
"I'm not being any help at all, am I," Iris gave a bitter smile.
Right now, Iris had not done anything.
Yukitaka leaned in. "No, you're telling me about this world, so you're a big help to me. I thought I was gathering information in the Royal Capital too, but there's a lot I don't know."
Yukitaka gave his thanks, but his real thanks was for Iris's presence itself, and in this underground place where he would have been lonely, having her by his side let him feel safe. Just that was enough to be helpful, Yukitaka thought inside.
"Ah, she said it first," Yukitaka's heart jumped. "I-I feel the same way! Just having you with me makes me feel stronger!"
Since he'd been turned down when he asked to form a party, Yukitaka was being careful not to push too hard. Iris's words gave him courage, and he went along with it.
"Tee hee. Flattery won't get you anywhere. More importantly, there's no place to climb down this cliff," Iris dusted off her knees and studied the rock wall.
"I'm not flattering you," Yukitaka let it hang there. "Yeah, it'd be nice if we could fly or something," His eyes went distant. "Now that I think about it, there was an old movie where someone flew with an umbrella."
Yukitaka remembered the movie, opened his umbrella, caught the wind blowing through the underground, and showed a pose like he was floating.
And then, as if following his words, Yukitaka's body shot straight up into the air.
"Whaa!" Yukitaka's voice cracked in the echo of the tunnel.
Yukitaka was shocked that he floated, and Iris was shocked that Yukitaka's joke had come true.
Instead of being scared of the sudden rise, Yukitaka found comfort in the feeling of his body being gently wrapped by something as it floated up.
But soon he remembered he was leaving Iris behind, so he stopped rising and went back down.
Iris, who had looked small, gradually grew bigger, her mouth falling open. "I rose that fast in an instant. This umbrella is amazing..."
Yukitaka landed softly and gently beside Iris.
"Ms. Iris, could you grab this handle?"
Iris swallowed hard. "O-okay!"
Iris remembered how Yukitaka had floated up and become tiny in an instant. Thinking she would become like that too made her nervous.
Just in case, Yukitaka wondered if there was something to tie their bodies together. The thought crossed his mind.
Then his necktie stretched out smoothly and wrapped around Iris's waist.
"Huh?" Yukitaka looked at her.
The two looked at each other in surprise.
"I thought about how it'd be good to have something to tie us together, so Ms. Iris would be safe, and this happened."
"I see. That helps," Iris worked up her courage. "Mr. Goto, then, please go ahead."
Once Iris understood the situation, she took a breath and held on.
Yukitaka also wasn't sure if the two of them could fly, so he nodded nervously. "O-okay!"
And then, just like before, he caught the wind blowing through the underground with the umbrella.
Then in an instant, the two of them danced into the sky.
They shot up, and the underground quickly disappeared from sight.
Even so, it took time to reach the surface.
After floating up for a while, he felt the umbrella grab a different wind, and they rose even more.
Yukitaka gradually got used to handling the umbrella.
During that time, Iris clung to Yukitaka.
It wasn't that she felt like she'd be shaken off. But the feeling of rising with nothing under her feet scared her.
Yukitaka blushed at the soft feeling of Iris, who seemed lighter than she looked. He kept rising toward the surface.
Yukitaka and Iris flew with the umbrella up the cliff that seemed like it would go on forever, until finally they reached the surface.
When they landed gently on the ground, Iris's stiff body went limp.
Because of that, she ended up leaning on Yukitaka, and Yukitaka caught her.
With a sigh of relief from both of them, their eyes met and they gasped.
"S-sorry!" The two blushed and quickly moved apart.
Yukitaka took a deep breath to calm down, then looked around. "Where are we?"
But they were in a forest, so there was no way to check.
"When we flew up, I could see a little of the area around us," Iris shaded her eyes against the sun. "So this is just a guess, but I think we're in the territory of the Kingdom of Karlsen, the country next to the Kingdom of Thordein. I saw what looked like a border town for a moment nearby."
Iris seemed to remember a town she had been to before.
"Another country? So that means we won't be targeted anymore," Iris let out a breath.
Yukitaka felt relieved without thinking.
After all, he had almost been killed in the Kingdom of Thordein, so the relief was only natural.
Iris had heard about the situation, so she nodded silently.
"Then, shall we go to the border town of Kyogai?" She pointed off through the trees. "Ah, but Mr. Goto, your outfit stands out. Should I go ahead and buy you some clothes to change into?"
"That's right. But this might protect me, so I'm not sure," Yukitaka tugged at his collar.
Then Yukitaka suddenly imagined the common clothes of this world and compared them to his Suit.
Iris was surprised, looking at Yukitaka's clothes. "Huh? Mr. Goto, your clothes!"
"Yes? Wait, huh!" Yukitaka froze mid-sentence, and looked down at himself.
Yukitaka noticed his own clothes had changed into the common things of this world he had just imagined.
It seemed the whole Suit set had a transformation effect on everything he was wearing.
His necktie had changed into a cross-knot tie, and his dress shirt had changed into an undershirt.
His Business Backpack had become a backpack of this world, and his handbag had become a tote bag.
"This is amazing! I don't need to buy clothes!" Yukitaka was overjoyed, and he turned in a circle to look himself over.
"That's an enviable ability. I haven't been able to take care of my gear for the past two weeks," Iris let out a serious worry for a woman, a common thing among adventurers. "And thanks to the water from Mr. Goto's canteen, I've been wearing the same underwear for days because I couldn't wash it."
She had learned over the past few days that everything Yukitaka wore never got dirty.
On top of that, if their designs could change freely, there was really no need to buy anything.
"But with this, we can enter the town without being noticed as Rare Visitors," Yukitaka felt very relieved. For better or worse, he had an ordinary appearance with no standout features, so as long as his clothes blended in, he should not stand out.
"Ah! I need to take off my mask," Yukitaka clapped a hand to his face.
Iris took off the mask she had gotten from Yukitaka and carefully stored it in her magic storage.
Yukitaka noticed too and took off his mask. He stored it in the tote bag, which was what his handbag had changed into, and put that into his backpack.
Trivia:
- Yukitaka's real reason for thanking Iris is not her knowledge but her company. He was afraid of being alone underground.
- Iris admitting she feels safe with Yukitaka mirrors his own hidden thought, which is why he reacts with surprise that she said it first.
- The necktie wrapping around Iris's waist hints that Yukitaka's artifacts respond not just to words but to his intent to protect.
Notes:
• Yukitaka - First given name of Yukitaka Goto. He is a twenty-five-year-old salaryman summoned to another world without receiving a skill, who maxed out his level at 99 in half a day without gaining meaningful power, spent about three months at the royal palace before being pushed toward the frontier, and discovered that his black-rimmed glasses let him appraise objects.
• Iris - A Gold-rank adventurer. She is used to butchering monsters and pulling out magic stones. She explains the adventurer rank system to Yukitaka and hesitates at first to eat monster meat, but ends up enjoying it. Carries salt and a plate, and owns a magic storage. A Gold-rank woman adventurer. She was saved by Yukitaka from a dangerous situation and now travels with him. She has a magic storage and knows about the world. She is calm but gets flustered in close contact. She has not been able to wash her gear properly for half a month. She wears light armor that hides a soft build. A female adventurer who spends the night in the den with Yukitaka. She is honest and sincere, and she warns Yukitaka to keep his Divine Artifacts a secret. She has lost trust in people because her comrades betrayed her. She is good-natured and pure-hearted. The only Gold-rank adventurer of the Silver-rank team 'Platinum Fang.' Good-natured and hardworking, but often used by her comrades. Betrayed and left as bait for a monster, then saved by Yukitaka. Left distrustful of people.
• Goto - First given name of Yukitaka Goto. He is a twenty-five-year-old salaryman summoned to another world without receiving a skill, who maxed out his level at 99 in half a day without gaining meaningful power, spent about three months at the royal palace before being pushed toward the frontier, and discovered that his black-rimmed glasses let him appraise objects.