"Still, I suppose I should go up once."

The stairs are quite steep and narrow, so I take them one step at a time, holding hands with Ai-chan.

Ai-chan is far superior to me as a living being, and when I hold her hand, I can feel her strength and reliability. Though she looks like a relaxed mascot character, this child is a proper "monster."

That's exactly why I must take responsibility for bringing her out into the world—and why I must protect her.

(Then again... I've simulated raising living creatures many times, but never thought it'd actually come true like this...)

My parents weren't fond of animals, so I never had a pet at home. Well, they said "you can have one" sometimes, but after my dog was once abandoned, I just couldn't trust them anymore.

I had dreamed of leaving home after graduating high school and raising my favorite animals to my heart's content, but being chosen for reincarnation in another world crushed that dream—my entire life plan was destroyed.

—Or so I thought. Even in this world, I can still keep animals. With the ability to communicate with them, their care level has dropped dramatically, so maybe I don't need to overcomplicate things.

I could even reunite with Hii-chan.

Incidentally, this communication isn't like having everything completely transparent.

It only transmits the intent to convey something or strong emotions, not every single thought flooding out uncontrollably.

Still, emotions do come through a bit—hunger, happiness, excitement, discomfort, anger, and so on.

Aichan seems to like being stroked, and her happiness is palpable, making me feel happy in return.

I don't really understand the ecology of the Evil Eye Ball, but despite not showing any apparent social behavior, she somehow seems to be "attached" to me.

Maybe she sees me as a pair-bonded companion.

I can't even tell if Aichan is male or female.

But if a prey were to attack, she wouldn't show any anger—indeed, it seems she feels nothing at all.

Not quite to the point of thinking of it as "something, something" like that large hawk does, but close enough.

To her, a prey is nothing more than food, so naturally she doesn't react emotionally.

While thinking along these lines, I walk up the stairs.

It's already an incredibly high altitude—such a view that someone with acrophobia would be frozen in place with fear. It must easily exceed hundreds of meters.

And there's still quite a bit more to go up to the top...

"Ah, Aichan, are you okay? Not scared?"

—High and beautiful

—Incredible

—Aichan blinks rapidly, savoring the scenery.

She really is exceptionally smart; she has the emotional sensitivity to appreciate such a view.

Climbing step by step for four hours,

we finally reached the very top.

"Truly... it's... absolutely amazing..."

The view is breathtaking.

It brings to mind the scenery of the Grand Canyon seen on television.

It might even be a famous tourist spot known for its spectacular views.

The stairs had been climbed all the way to the top, but were blocked by a stage-like structure that protruded outward, making further ascent impossible.

The stage was about 20 meters wide, with a protruding section of roughly 3 meters.

I had thought there might be a small entrance, but there was none.

"Hmm, I'm stuck. I'll have to rely on A-chan. A-chan, can you carry me up onto this platform and fly?"

— Simple

— Ride on

— A-chan floated gently, hovering like a balance ball.

I lay face-down on top of her, and she securely held me in place with her tendrils.

Then, floating gently away from the stairs, we soared up toward the cliff's edge—

(Eeep! Scary! But also kind of nice!)

An unprecedented sensation. Though it's a dizzying height, I'm safely secured by A-chan, so I feel reassured as A-chan and I finally reach the top of the cliff.

The cover, jutting out like a stage, appears to be a drawbridge-like structure, with a stone fortress-like structure at the other end, connected by two sturdy chains.

"Is anyone there?"

— Probably not.

It seems this drawbridge was built solely for this purpose, not part of a town or castle.

I'm not sure why such a thing was made, but I'm glad I haven't encountered anyone yet.

I took a quick look around the structure, but it only has a small room resembling a dressing room, with no signs of human presence. Judging by the thick layer of dust, it hasn't been used much.

I pulled out the world map and checked my current location.

"Ring Pill Continent · Prosgen Highlands, Bridge of the Abyss"

Population density in the surrounding area is 1 out of 10.

Danger level is rated at 2 out of 6.

The nearest human settlement is "Jes Village," located 8 kilometers away in a straight line.

"The Bridge of the Abyss...?"

So this is the entrance. I came out from this entrance.

If there had been people around, I would have definitely caused a commotion.

"Eight kilometers to the nearest village... Close, I suppose, but the direction isn't right..."

To reach Jes Village, I'd have to go further north from here.

My destination lies much further southeast.

But eight kilometers is quite close. If there's a fortress here, there must be a path. If I'm lucky, I could reach it in less than an hour.

That said, I'm definitely worn out, so I'll take it easy today. I'll borrow this fortress.

There's no one here, and I won't have to worry about outside attacks. I should be able to rest comfortably. There's even a simple cot, and I can summon a makeshift mat with crystal—my body will finally get some rest.

It's already evening now.

Starting tomorrow, I'll go back down and gather spirit stones again.

I want to stock up on them—enough to use up all the points I earned when Ai-chan joined our group.

I'll have to rely on locally sourced food for a while, but that's no problem. If I really can't stand it, I'll just use crystal to solve it.

◇◆◆◆◇

Ten days have passed since then.

I never returned to the fortress with Aichan, instead using the base of the stairs as our camp and hunting all the creatures around us.

Whenever Aichan hunted, a bit of spirit energy seemed to flow into me, and I gradually became more monster-like, making movement easier—kind of like a game, which was fun. I might have stayed too long.

We started with ten points, but now only four remain.

I exchanged three points for a small magic bag to store spirit stones, used one point to activate a barrier stone in a dangerous situation, traded two points for a bow and arrows as weapons, and the rest gradually diminished due to my food, bedding, underwear, and other necessities.

The magic bag is the one that sealed the "Shadow Bag" technique used by Hii-chan, exchanged due to the spirit stone inventory becoming too heavy.

It can fit around a hundred items and feels completely weightless.

I was able to observe A-chan's abilities in various ways, and since I wanted to conserve bullets for my own gun, I also got plenty of practice with archery.

Assuming we reunite with Hii-chan, the roles I could reasonably take on would be either healing or long-range attack.

I've seen footage of the battle against the Demon King, and it seemed they struggled badly due to lacking anyone capable of long-range attacks.

Incidentally, I had already learned the basics of archery during the two-week training period before coming here, spending just a few hours each day, so I at least knew the fundamentals.

Arrows can be retrieved and used over and over again. As long as the tips aren't crushed, they're still usable—even if they've pierced a bird.

"Ah, Serika-chan, are you watching? Thanks to you, camping hasn't been a burden at all. It seems I might actually survive out here. I'm ready, so I'm heading off to meet Hii-chan now."

I spoke into the void.

The viewer count is quite high. Everyone must be interested in survival, and of course, Ai-chan's cuteness doesn't hurt either.

She's surely become a household idol, with tons of merchandise being made and a massive fan frenzy.

I'm also gaining viewers thanks to Ai-chan's popularity—truly, I owe everything to her.

I climbed the stone steps with Ai-chan, rode on her back just as I had last time, and dodged the swinging bridge to emerge in front of the fortress.

Ai-chan's food, the spirit stones, had accumulated to the point where I couldn't even count them. Over a hundred of them—enough to eat or sell, no matter what.

Spirit stones from the great lizard, especially, would likely fetch a high price.

—Something's coming

"Huh?"

A sharp tension radiated from Ai-chan.

Something, meaning a living creature, of course.

—Just like Nami and me

—A person?

"Eh? Eh?!"

I had let my guard down, since the fortress looked unchanged.

There was no place here to hide, like behind the cliff's edge. If someone came, they were probably after this fortress… no, more likely the stairs leading down.

Should I try handling this alone, hiding Aichan? Since Aichan can fly, she could hide on the other side of the cliff and we'd manage for now. Or will her being seen be the true test of whether this is a bad idea? What if I just

knocked everyone out? No, if they're people like the ultra-high-level explorers I saw in Hii-chan's video, I'd just get thoroughly beaten. I guess I really have no choice but to

try to get through this peacefully. "Aichan, become

invisible. We'll decide what to do based on the situation. Basically, no fighting... but since I don't know what kind of opponents we're dealing with, stay alert

." I could always retreat again down the stairs beneath the stage, but if the stairs were the actual goal, that would lead to a painfully awkward collision.

Or should I just go down all the way at once? If I have Ai-chan carry me, I could reach the bottom in less than an hour. But even then, if my luck is bad, I'll still be found. So I should have just used the barrier stone from the start—

Just as I was thinking this, they appeared atop the hill.