The next day, we woke up early and ate the breakfast we had bought the day before.
“Udon is good too.”
Elvis happily slurped up his udon.
“It’s really good. Come to think of it, I’ve heard that udon is different between the east and west.”
“It’s been ten years, so I obviously don’t remember.”
“Yeah. But it’s good.”
After breakfast, we gathered our things and prepared to leave.
We checked out in the first-floor lobby, then boarded a streetcar.
“This is my first time riding a streetcar.”
“Me too. It’s amazing that trains can run on roads.”
I wonder how the traffic signals work with these things.
We watched the view with great interest, but soon reached our stop. From there, we transferred to a regular train bound for the station where we had first arrived.
“There aren’t many people riding.”
Since it was still early, only a few people were on board.
Most were elderly, and none looked like the rough crowd we had seen the day before.
“This is much easier. A packed train would have been troublesome, so leaving early was the right call.”
“See? Although the real problem starts after we get off.”
Less than an hour later, we arrived at yesterday’s station.
We got off the train and began walking along the road where the Self-Defense Forces members had dropped us off.
“Hmm… If we keep going straight, we’ll end up at Mount Aso.”
“We’ll have to take a detour somewhere.”
First, we had to return to where we had left the car.
“Heading north… The map says twelve hours on foot.”
“That assumes we can follow the direct route. Since we have to avoid the Self-Defense Forces, it’ll probably take longer.”
That might be true…
“We might have to stay somewhere along the way.”
“We don’t have much choice. We can’t exactly steal a car.”
True.
“Well, let’s take it slowly. We decided yesterday not to rush.”
“Exactly.”
We kept walking.
Since we were away from the city center, there weren’t many people around, and cars only passed occasionally.
At first, I blamed the lack of traffic on the countryside. But after about three hours, signs of life abruptly vanished even though we were still technically within the outskirts of the city.
“There aren’t any cars coming.”
“There aren’t any people either… Maybe nobody lives around here anymore? We’re already getting close to Mount Aso.”
Large mountains occasionally came into view.
Smoke was even rising from one of them.
Was the volcano about to erupt?
“Wouldn’t it be okay to borrow a bicycle or something?”
“Well, stealing is still stealing, but I guess we don’t have much choice… Yuu-kun, hide!”
Ayaka shouted, so I quickly hid behind a nearby apartment building.
Then I heard a buzzing engine sound, and a vehicle passed by.
“The Self-Defense Forces…”
It was a camouflaged Self-Defense Forces vehicle.
“They said they were patrolling the area. Yeah, bicycles are out. We couldn’t react quickly if something happened.”
On foot, we could respond to danger much faster.
Especially after becoming stronger in the other world.
“Got it. Also, let’s avoid open areas like rice fields as much as possible.”
There would be nowhere to hide.
“Understood. Then let’s go.”
We returned to the road and continued walking.
While checking the map app, we avoided flat open areas and moved along mountain paths.
We saw Self-Defense Forces vehicles several times, but Ayaka noticed them quickly each time, allowing us to hide before being discovered.
“Good thing it isn’t summer.”
“Seriously. But Japan has a lot of mountains.”
The other world had a lot more flat land.
“It’s three in the afternoon… Eight hours left. By car, it would’ve taken only about an hour.”
“Yeah… So where are we staying tonight?”
“If everything goes smoothly, we should reach a settlement around 7 or 8 PM. Maybe there.”
“Got it. Elvis—are you alive?”
Ayaka called out toward my pocket.
“I’m alive.”
That was good.
“Hm? They’re coming again. Hide!”
Ayaka noticed something, so we moved into the mountains.
A vehicle passed by, but it wasn’t a Self-Defense Forces vehicle. It was a box van like the one we had been riding in.
“Wasn’t the Self-Defense Forces?”
“I don’t know. The Self-Defense Forces don’t exclusively use military vehicles.”
Hmm… Well, whatever.
“Let’s keep moving.”
“Yeah.”
We returned to the road and continued walking.
Then, after 6 PM, the surroundings gradually began to darken.
“Hmm… Looks like we really will be walking at night.”
“Well, if you think about it, nighttime is actually easier to move around.”
Cars would stand out because of their headlights, while we would be difficult to spot.
“Don’t stay up all night. We should always keep ourselves in the best condition possible. We don’t know what might happen.”
Elvis poked his head out from my pocket.
“That’s true.”
We continued walking after that, and once it passed 7 PM, the surroundings had become completely dark.
There were streetlights here and there, but since none of them were turned on, we were relying almost entirely on the light of the moon.
“We’re almost there. The settlement is beyond that tunnel.”
That was what the map app showed.
“Let’s go.”
There was nowhere to hide inside the tunnel, so we ran through it and emerged into a settlement surrounded by mountains and rivers.
The buildings had no lights on, so it seemed like nobody lived here either.
“The doors are locked, right?”
“Probably…”
For the record, Elvis’s house hadn’t been locked.
“You two worry about this stuff way too much… It’s fine, isn’t it?”
Maybe that was normal for Elvis, but…
No, well, let’s just accept that it couldn’t be helped.
We headed toward the residential area and chose a house that was positioned as far from the road as possible.
Then, just in case, we tried ringing the doorbell.
“No response.”
“I don’t sense any mana.”
“There’s no presence either. I’m sure nobody is here.”
I tried the doorknob, but the door was locked.
“What should we do?”
“Well, should we check the windows or something?”
I felt like a burglar.
“I’ll do it.”
Elvis came out of my pocket and returned to his original size.
Then he formed a glowing blade about thirty centimeters long from his fingertip and slipped it into the gap beside the door.
He apparently cut through the lock, because the door opened with ease.
“That’s impressive.”
“That’s why my house didn’t have a lock.”
Ah, right.
His house had originally belonged to a human.
Naturally, it should have had a lock.
He must have destroyed its lock with the same magic, which explained why the door could no longer be secured.
“Let’s go inside. Do you think the lights will work?”
“Probably not.”
I pressed a nearby switch, but it remained dark.
“Don’t. The Self-Defense Forces are probably still patrolling at night, and we’ll stand out.”
That made sense.
“Well, we’re just sleeping anyway. Let’s wait until we reach Beppu before taking a bath.”
A hot spring, huh.
That sounded nice.
“You two go in first. I’ll smoke before I come in.”
He had been holding back for a long time.
“Okay.”
Ayaka and I left Elvis behind and went deeper into the house.
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