I left Queen Alpheria's room and moved through the castle looking for a place with no people around.
After walking around for about twenty minutes, I found what looked like a big round dance hall.
"Hey, like, what are you gonna do?" Shirakawa asked, looking around.
"I'm thinking we practice magic until dinner," I answered.
I believe that if I use this Item Box's magic, I can get back to Japan. But for that, I'll probably need to learn how to use it properly and level it up.
"To get back to Japan, I need to be able to teleport while someone's inside. There's probably a distance limit at first, so I want to try it out starting with short distances," I explained, turning to face her.
"Got it. So I should, like, get out, right?" Shirakawa asked, tilting her head.
"No, that's not it. First, Shirakawa stays inside, I go out, and I try pulling it toward me from a little ways away," I clarified.
Basically, this is how the Item Box is supposed to be used. But this is a test to see if it still works when a person is inside.
"Okay, I'll step out for now and try pulling it from about 5 meters away. Tell me what it looks like from inside," I said, stepping backward.
"Got it, totally," Shirakawa nodded inside.
I left Shirakawa inside the Item Box and stepped into the dance hall by myself. Up until now, I'd mostly been moving around while still inside the Item Box, so when my footsteps echoed on the hall floor, it startled me. I pulled myself together, closed the Item Box, moved about 5 meters away, turned around, and opened the Item Box right in front of me.
"Whoa, that, like, scared me... Kuroi just popped up right in front of me," Shirakawa gasped as I opened it.
"Even when I'm outside, could you still see what's going on out here from inside?" I asked, checking on her.
"Yeah, I could see that. But I thought you turned this way, and then you just teleported right in front of me. That, like, totally freaked me out," Shirakawa replied, wide-eyed.
"Alright, first stage cleared," I muttered to myself.
Honestly, I thought that if I moved the Item Box with a person inside, the person might pass out from the intense G-force. If I ever passed out and couldn't use the Item Box, Shirakawa might get captured too. But that's just the official story. The truth is, I used Shirakawa as a test subject. Of course, I didn't tell her there was any danger. I made it seem like everything was going according to plan. Even so, if the contents of the Item Box got shaken up, the water bottles and stuff would've been broken already. I was pretty sure it would work, though.
"Like, what are we doing next?" Shirakawa asked, peering out.
"Next, I'll try teleporting while I'm inside," I answered directly.
"If you can do that, like, can we go back to Japan?" Shirakawa asked hopefully.
"No, that's still a long way off. It's not about visible distance. I need to be able to move to a place I picture in my head, or I can't get back to Japan," I shook my head and replied.
There's no way to see what Japan looks like from this world. And if I can't fly to a place I imagine, there's no point. It's like a level above moving with Magic Power instead of walking.
"Whoa... yeah, okay, this is, like, kinda scary," Shirakawa murmured, holding on tightly.
"Right, right? The whole world just changes out of nowhere, so it's scary," I agreed, nodding.
The result was that even with me and Shirakawa inside, the Item Box could still teleport. However, the max distance it could move at once was about 7 meters.
"That's weird..." I muttered, scratching my head.
"Huh, like, what's wrong?" Shirakawa asked, noticing my expression.
"When I put just objects in, there's no distance limit like this..." I explained to her.
The separate space where I'd put mats and water pots closed in a completely different place, but it still opened here without any problem. There's no way that was within 7 meters. If anything, it was over 100 meters away.
"Maybe it's because there are living people inside, or because there are two people? Like, some kind of condition, you know?" Shirakawa suggested thoughtfully.
"I see..." I nodded slowly.
True enough, when I pulled just Shirakawa toward me, I could teleport it from over 10 meters away. But I still couldn't move it more than 15 meters, so there must be some kind of limit.
"So I guess it won't be, like, that easy to get home," Shirakawa sighed.
"How many days do you think it'll, like, take?" Shirakawa asked, looking at me.
"Beats me. It's only my second day using magic. I have no idea," I replied with a shrug.
"Right, totally..." Shirakawa murmured softly.
"But it's not all bad. We've seen that if I grow this ability, there's a chance I can get back to Japan. That's something to be happy about, not get down about," I encouraged her, pointing out the upside.
"Oh, right, like, you're so right!" Shirakawa brightened up.
After that, we kept practicing splitting the Item Box even more and quickly opening and closing the entrance to the outside. About the entrance to the outside-I thought if I closed it while an arm or leg was sticking out, I might be able to slice it right off. But it turns out the entrance just won't close. If I could cut things off, I was thinking I could use it as a weapon, so that was a bit disappointing.
Right now, I'm safe as long as I'm inside the Item Box. But when I'm outside, I'm just a regular high school kid with basically zero fighting power. Even if I'm gonna take out Queen Alpheria and the soldiers, I want to get some kind of attack option.
"Alright, let's move," I said, stretching my arms.
"Like, where are we going?" Shirakawa asked, following my gaze.
"I'm gonna poke around the armory. Right now I've only got one knife as a weapon. Let's see if there's anything useful," I answered, checking my gear.
"Should I, like, carry something for self-defense too?" Shirakawa asked nervously.
"Hmm... other than places we've confirmed are safe, you should probably stay inside, Shirakawa," I advised her carefully.
"But I wanna be, like, useful too..." Shirakawa pouted slightly.
"You're already plenty useful, Shirakawa. I'd be in trouble if you were gone," I reassured her earnestly.
"Huh, r-really... then you better, like, protect me properly, okay?" Shirakawa blushed and squeaked out.
"Don't worry. As long as you're in here, I won't let anyone touch you," I promised her without hesitation.
"Hau... o-okay, like, please take care of me..." Shirakawa stammered, looking away.
Seriously, why does she have to get so clingy? If she grabs my left arm and presses up against it like that, it's gonna be hard to walk again...
Trivia:
- Kuroi's internal admission that he used Shirakawa as a test subject without telling her about the danger shows he is willing to manipulate people he cares about to achieve his goal of returning to Japan.
- The distance limit of 7 meters when living people are inside the Item Box, compared to over 100 meters for objects, suggests the box has rules tied to living beings that Kuroi does not yet understand.
- Kuroi's thought that he might be able to use the Item Box entrance as a cutting weapon reveals a growing desire for combat capability, hinting he expects to fight rather than just escape.
Notes:
• Alpheria - Heavy-makeup woman in gaudy clothes who greets the summoned group as heroes of another world. Explains they were summoned to defeat an evil dragon. Her face twitches when interrupted.
• Shirakawa - Family name of Shirakawa Kiyoka, the dark-skinned gyaru and classmate of the protagonist who was summoned alongside him to another world.
• Kuroi - First-person narrator and Item Box user. Male protagonist summoned to another world. Has killed three people. Pragmatic and self-preserving, prioritizing his own safety and return to Japan over helping strangers. Plans to loot the castle and escape. Possesses an Item Box skill that lets him hide and store things, and keeps it constantly active, which may be why his leveling is faster. Cynical and rational, with a forgettable presence that he uses to his advantage. He knows the people of this world are trash and plans to return to Japan. He is a virgin and gets flustered easily by Shirakawa's teasing, often struggling to stay calm when she presses against him.