"The conversation changes, but has Hikaru already made a contract with spirit magic?"

After a while of silence, Alex spoke again.

It seemed he had been waiting for me to calm down.

Indeed, fellow transferees. He seemed eager to talk about many things.

"I finally saved up enough money to make the contract. I wasted my first point allocation on increasing spirit power—didn't even understand what it meant, and ended up turning it into a death skill."

"I took it when I transferred—Shadow Spirit Magic."

"You took it first? That was a waste. You could've made the contract for about ten silver coins, so spending ten points on it right away was a loss. Well, you wouldn't know that at first, so it's a trap, really. By the way, I chose fire."

"Fire? I don't recall seeing much fire spirit magic around. How's it going?"

"Well, it's actually kind of boring compared to what I expected—weak and useless in actual combat. But I did learn something surprising about my fellow spirit mage... that guy Jar. He's actually pretty strong. I guess I just have to keep practicing. Even though it's just the initial contract, the power seems surprisingly strong thanks to the spirit energy boost."

I was honestly grateful Alex didn't bring up the message.

Spirit magic contracts seem possible at the Grand Spirit Temple by paying money, but despite having been in this town since the beginning, I still feel like I'm behind in making one.

Maybe I'm just not ready yet—maybe the cost of living and gear is too high, or perhaps my companions advised me to wait until I had some extra funds.

After all, as the person himself said, the initial technique isn't very effective and can only be used a few times a day.

"Still, being chosen for a world transfer was terrifying. At first, I was really worried about what would happen, but making companions was a huge relief. I think I'd still be struggling if it weren't for them. Since Hikaru's participating as a Porter, that means you've got some pretty strong allies, right?"

"……Yeah. They're strong—completely out of my league."

"I've been doing combat training with my companion, Kanibear, but I can't even keep up! I mean, he's Silver-ranked, so it's expected, but we're Earth's representatives, so we can't afford to lose, right?"

Alex chuckled lightly, speaking casually like a peer, eager to chat about various things.

At first, it seemed silly to be wary of Alex, who turned out to be just an ordinary young man his age, chatting about things like not having a girlfriend yet or how much he missed junk food.

Perhaps because we were constantly on guard against the Demon King, our advance was slow.

We were still on the second floor, but due to the darkness of the stage, progress was painfully slow—almost at a standstill.

While we paused, we kept encountering orcs and goblins, but thankfully, the explorers behind us would come out and eliminate them.

I decided to ask Alex about something that interested me.

"Alex, what floor are you currently on?"

"Still on the third. I've tried the fourth a few times, but it's terrifying—suddenly a Sahagin jumps out from underwater! It nearly stopped my heart."

"That's intense."

I’ve experienced the surprise attack car myself, but without Dark Sense, I’d have been seriously startled. Even

without that, the fourth floor is dark and confined, making sudden monster attacks prone to causing panic. "Where’s Hikaru

?" "I’m still on the

third floor." "With that gear,

even the third floor might be tough. Want me to introduce you to a weapon shop?" Compared

to Alex’s impressive equipment, mine probably looks like nothing more than self-defense gear. "No,

I’m fine with this. I don’t have much strength." "So you’re

relying mainly on spirit magic? What kind of dark magic do you have?" "Mostly supportive

spells. They’re pretty useful in the labyrinth, but might be tough to handle solo." While I wasn’t sure

if it was appropriate to talk about the favor of spirits, I wasn’t certain about the dark spirit magic either.

Maybe someone watching will spill the beans about me in a message, but we'll deal with that when it happens. No need to blurt everything out myself.

"I never thought spirit magic would be this helpful. Jar can use water spirit magic more times than usual, and thanks to that, I've saved my life more than once."

"The number of uses matters a lot. Plus, we can exchange spirit crystals for potions, so we're way better off than locals."

"Yeah, I get called Zuri by the party members too."

"Huh? ...Alex, you really told the party members about exchanging crystals?"

"Huh? Did I do something wrong?"

"No... "

The word 'reckless' flashed through my mind, but I wasn't sure.

Well, they're not that stupid, and their party members are probably trustworthy people. But if they weren't, once the powerful know about their existence, they could easily be caught in a chain reaction.

I lower my voice so the people around won't hear.

"Alex, I'm not saying I doubt your party members, but you shouldn't casually talk about crystals or points. You can even get something like the 'Great Healing Scroll,' which can restore missing body parts with points. Imagine if the authorities found out about that... You get it, right?"

"So they'll come asking to buy it?"

Is he really that clueless?

Alex looks genuinely confused, as if he doesn't understand at all.

"No, that's not right. If they find out about the points, we could end up being detained until they force us to reveal the scroll—there are even rumors of that happening. After all, a thousand transmigrants have arrived in this world. That means someone among the locals is bound to learn about crystals and the point system. In fact, it's safer to assume that's already happened. If that information spreads among the powerful, they might even put transmigrants on a wanted list. We need to think ahead and act accordingly. What if a bounty was placed on transmigrants here in this town?"

Alex stared at me, completely dumbfounded.

　

"S-so, that means the story about coming from another world...?"

"Of course, we should keep it as secret as possible. It's fine to tell someone we trust, but spreading it casually is basically suicide."

"Y-yeah... I never really thought about it. Come to think of it, I did get warnings from the other side a few times, telling me to be careful."

"No way."

He's good-looking, but definitely laid-back.

Of course, information doesn't spread that quickly, but we're outsiders.

You can't be too cautious—otherwise, you never know when someone's going to trip you up.

"Thanks, Hikaru. I had no idea. I'll make sure the others keep quiet."

"That's better."

"But... isn't it hard not being able to talk about your roots? How are you doing, Hikaru?"

"I... haven't told anyone yet."

"Damn, Hikaru. You're strong."

Not strong at all. I just can't talk about it because I'm weak.

Trusting people takes courage.