We snuck into the castle kitchen with Shirakawa and secured some drinking water. We filled a jar of a handy size with water, and Shirakawa purified it with Magic. We swiped a cup too so it'd be easy to drink, and put it on top of the jar's lid. While we were at it, we also grabbed some bread, fruit, dried fruit, and nuts.
"Anyway, how are we even gonna carry all this?" Shirakawa asked, looking at the pile of supplies.
"This stuff goes on the shelf right above our heads," I explained.
"Wait, haaah?!" she blurted out.
I built a shelf above the space where we stay inside the Item Box2, and we started loading the jars and stuff onto it. I made a divider and put bags next to the jars, too.
"Ugh, I'm totally gonna bump my head..," Shirakawa grumbled, ducking down slightly.
"Wait, like, you're taller than I thought," I remarked.
"It's more convenient being short right now, but the space should expand before long. Even now, it's grown to about twice its original capacity," I told her.
"Wait, for real? So should I be using more Magic, too?" she asked, turning her head toward me.
"Probably. This is just a guess, but once your Magic levels up, I bet you'll be able to purify poison and curses, too," I answered thoughtfully.
"Seriously? Alright, I'm gonna Clean everything! Honestly, there's nothing but clean stuff in here anyway..," Shirakawa declared eagerly.
"Don't worry, after this, I'll have you clean the hell out of everything," I reassured her.
The place I went to with Shirakawa was one of the many storage rooms in the castle, but it was dark and I couldn't see inside well. From inside the Item Box, you can see what's going on outside, but the brightness depends on the outside environment. In other words, if it's pitch black outside, it's pitch black inside the Item Box, too.
"Kuroi, let me swipe that light!" Shirakawa pointed out suddenly.
I ripped a nightlight off the wall at the end of an empty hallway.
"What is this... a magic tool?" I wondered out loud.
"Wait, for real? Like, let me see, let me see!" Shirakawa chimed in, leaning over my shoulder.
The light I ripped off was about the size of a vertically held nameplate, with a square case about 5 or 6 centimeters on each side attached to the bottom. When I opened the case, there was an amber-colored translucent stone inside.
"Ah, wait, it went out..," Shirakawa noted with a frown.
"Is that, like, a battery?" she speculated.
"Ah, I think it's a magic stone," I corrected. When I put the stone back in the case, the light came on again. "This secures us some light, but I guess we still can't project light from inside the Item Box to the outside."
Light from outside comes into the Item Box, but light from inside doesn't leak out. When we lit it in a dark place, the wall glowed white, and we couldn't see outside well anymore.
"Magic isn't all-powerful... I guess," Shirakawa sighed softly.
"Well, probably not. But depending on how creative we get, there might be workarounds, and if the Level goes up, maybe we can remove those restrictions," I reasoned.
If we can't, I won't be able to go back to Japan. I don't even want to think about that, and eventually I plan to enjoy going back and forth between the Other World and Japan.
"Hey, like, what are we doing after this?" Shirakawa asked, breaking the silence.
"I was thinking we'd rummage through the storage rooms and look for a futon5 because we need one so we can actually sleep tonight," I explained.
"A futon?" Shirakawa repeated, blinking. "I mean, a castle this huge, there's gotta be some unused rooms, right?"
"I'm sure there are, but if someone suddenly walks in and catches us, it's game over. Just so you know, I've already killed three people," I reminded her grimly.
"Right, then let's just swipe a mattress from a bed in an empty room! The temperature in here is fine like this, right?" Shirakawa suggested.
"Right, let's do that," I agreed.
Taking Shirakawa's suggestion, we decided to swipe a mattress from a bed in an unused room.
"Crap, there's someone there... wait, can they not even see us?!" Shirakawa gasped, shrinking back.
"Only as long as we stay inside. Once you step outside, you'll be spotted easily, so be careful," I warned her.
"Anyway, I can't open the walls, so I can't get out unless you open it for me, Kuroi," she pointed out.
"That's true, but even after you go outside, it's dangerous if you act like you're still in here," I noted.
"Oh right, like, if I walk around super confident out of habit, that'd be bad," she admitted with a slight chuckle.
While in the Item Box, we can pass right in front of guards while chatting away like this with zero problems. Even more, we can pass freely through firmly locked gates and doors.
"I'm still totally not used to passing through doors like this. It literally makes me flinch!" Shirakawa confessed, shaking her head.
"Isn't that what ghosts are like?" I joked.
"Ah, like, maybe," she giggled.
While Shirakawa and I were wandering around the castle without a care, things got noisy outside. When I got close to the window, the noise seemed to be coming from the direction of the soldiers' barracks.
"Looks like they found the bodies," I observed grimly.
"Are the others okay?" Shirakawa asked quietly.
"They're probably not. But we can't save them right now. Besides, if we get caught, the subjugation team won't even know, and there'll be no one left to help them," I answered truthfully.
"Right..," Shirakawa murmured, looking down.
I said that, but honestly, I care about my own skin. If my safety is secured, I'll lend a hand as much as needed, but I have no obligation to risk my life to save them. In Shirakawa's case, part of it was that her cleaning Magic was needed, but she was also emotional. If Shirakawa hadn't been able to get into the Item Box, things would've gotten really bad.
"Hey, what's gonna happen to us from now on?" Shirakawa asked softly.
"It's decided. We screw over the guys here, take a ton of treasure, and go back to Japan," I replied firmly.
Shirakawa, who had been looking up at me with worried eyes, curled her lips into a grin.
"Totally! I'll never forgive those guys. I'll cut them down!" she declared fiercely.
"Whoa... scary," I muttered with a faint smirk.
After that, we got a mattress in an empty room, Shirakawa cast Cleaning Magic on it, and we crawled into the Item Box that we'd rebuilt sideways and slept. Because of the space, we were pressed right up against each other, and I thought there was no way I'd sleep, but I guess we were worn out from one unusual situation after another, because I dropped right off.
Trivia:
- Kuroi casually mentions having killed 3 people, but the narrative never explains who or why, leaving a dark gap in his backstory that contrasts with his otherwise laid-back tone.
- The Item Box has asymmetric light behavior: outside light enters freely, but inside light cannot escape, meaning the box is essentially a one-way visual conduit that could be weaponized or become a trap.
- Shirakawa's cleaning Magic is implied to have potential beyond simple cleaning, possibly evolving into curse and poison purification, making her not just a freeloader but a future strategic asset.
Notes:
• 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.