[Day One of Recovery. Weather: Clear, probably?]
[Because my injuries haven't healed yet, I can't really move. So I'm lying on the ground, recording what's been happening over the past few days to kill time.]
[Honestly, I didn't expect to be hurt this badly. If only I could get my hands on guns or artillery. Unfortunately…]
[Forget it. Lunch time.]
[…Finished eating. I'm back. Miliarde handed me a chunk of pitch-black dried bread and a few slices of cured meat, saying this was "food humans often eat." I took one bite and almost cracked a tooth.]
[This thing is even harder than compressed rations. She ate it without changing expression, like her sense of taste was broken.]
[I really couldn't take it, so I dug a small bottle of chili powder and a packet of MSG out of my backpack and sprinkled them over the roasted meat.]
[Miliarde just stared at me.]
...
"What is this?" she asked.
"Seasoning." I handed her a piece.
She took a bite. Her pupils instantly dilated.
"…Incredible." She lowered her head, stared at the meat, then took another bite. "Is this some kind of lost magic?"
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
That night, she kept watch while I drifted into a daze. I was woken in the middle of the night by the howling of beasts. The campfire had gone out at some point, and the pile of firewood was more than ten meters away.
Miliarde was about to grope her way over in the dark when I stopped her, pulled out a flashlight from my pack, and pressed the switch—
A blinding white beam instantly lit up the entire campsite.
Miliarde jumped back a step.
"You… what kind of weapon is this?!"
"It's not a weapon. It's a lamp." I waved the beam around. The distant beasts retreated, letting out uneasy growls.
She stared at the flashlight, her expression caught between shock and caution.
"Your homeland… can even store light?"
"…Something like that."
She was silent for a long time before finally saying just one word:
"Impressive."
...
[Day Two. Weather: Overcast, Rain]
[It rained today.]
[Miliarde used some enormous leaves to build a simple shelter. I contributed my waterproof tarp (which she called "a soft metal skin").]
[Rainwater dripped along the edges as we squeezed in together. She studied my flashlight. I studied the history of this world.]
[It's unclear how many years have passed since this world was born, but one thing is certain—it's a world of swords and magic.]
[From our conversations, I learned that she's heading to a place on the Central Continent called the Unified Empire.]
[The Unified Empire… hmm, it sounds vaguely familiar. Probably just my imagination. She seems to have spent her whole life chasing interesting things. Apparently, a kind of wine called Emperor's Wine is famous there.]
[She said she would drink it no matter how many years it took. Ancient wine… probably nothing special. I pulled out some erguotou from my backpack.]
[As expected, it burned her so badly she kept complaining her tongue hurt, but she still forced down a sip—and promptly got dead drunk.]
[That night, she woke up and grilled some fish. Still no seasoning. I took out a small packet of instant soup base and poured it into boiling water.]
[Her eyes went wide.]
...
"Drink. It's not poisoned." I handed her a bowl.
She took a sip, smacked her lips lightly, savoring it.
"…What kind of magic is this?"
"Convenience food."
She drained the bowl in one go, then stared at the empty bowl, eyes unfocused.
"In your homeland… does all food taste this good?"
I shrugged. "More or less."
She was utterly shaken.
That night, she asked me to teach her how to use the flashlight.
I demonstrated a few times. She learned quickly, but kept shining it straight into her own eyes and then frowning when she got dazzled.
I laughed at her. She refused to accept it, suddenly pointed the flashlight at my face—
My vision went black, and I almost toppled over.
...
[Day Three. Weather: Clear]
[I can barely walk today.]
[Miliarde took me to the river to wash the bandages. I sat on a rock, sunbathing. Then suddenly, she stood up and took off her top.]
[I almost rolled off the rock.]
...
"W-What are you doing?!" I jerked my head away.
"Bathing," she said matter-of-factly, and then undid her belt.
"Wait! I'm still—"
"So?" She tilted her head. "Do you get embarrassed when a baby sees you bathe?"
"I'm not a baby!"
"To me, you're about the same."
She stepped into the water, her silver hair floating on the surface like a layer of moonlight.
After she finished washing, she walked back dripping wet and wrung out her hair right next to me, completely unconcerned. Only then did she unhurriedly put her clothes back on.
I was speechless.
...
[Day Four. Weather: Cloudy]
[Today we tried skinning.]
[Miliarde said the horned tiger's hide is also extremely valuable—highly resistant to magic and able to ward off extreme cold in winter.]
[I'll tentatively assume that's true. After all, I've never seen a creature where half its body turns to ash after death.]
[At the same time, I realized that magic beasts don't seem to rot. But even so, dragging this out until the fourth day… does this elf have procrastination issues…?]
[Thinking this, I quietly watched her. She actually looked like she was struggling.]
...
"Here." I handed her an alloy machete.
She put down the stone knife she'd made on the spot and hesitantly took it. "What is this?"
"A weapon." I gestured for her to use it to skin the hide.
"..."
As the sections where hide connected to muscle parted like tofu, disbelief flashed across her eyes.
"This is a divine artifact, isn't it?"
She turned to look at me.
I shrugged.
Who knows.
...
[Day Six. Weather: Clear]
[I've fully recovered today—no, more accurately, I can move freely now.]
[She handed me a set of clothes made from the horned tiger's hide we skinned the day before yesterday. Rougher than my stab-resistant gear, but surprisingly comfortable.]
"Your clothes are too strange," she said.
After I changed, she suddenly reached out and pinched my shoulder.
"Still too frail," she judged. "If you want to survive in this world, you'd better learn the ways of a warrior."
"A warrior?"
"A profession that stands alongside mages. You'll encounter them if you get the chance."
...
In the afternoon, she took me to gather herbs. I pulled out my phone (the screen was cracked, but it still worked).
I opened the camera and took photos of the plants. When Miliarde saw the frozen images on the screen, she nearly threw the herbs away.
"What is this?!"
"Photography—uh… basically saving what's in front of your eyes."
She stared at the phone. Her expression shifted from shock, to contemplation, and finally into a strange kind of longing.
"Yuhran."
"Hm?"
"Your homeland… can even capture time?"
I didn't know how to explain it, so I just nodded.
She gently touched the screen, her gaze softening for a brief moment.
That night, she packed her things, preparing to depart the next day.
But just then, she suddenly asked me:
"Yuhran, would you be willing to travel with me to the Unified Empire?"
What she meant was becoming companions—staying in this world.
I froze.
"…I don't know."
She didn't press further. She simply handed me a piece of roasted meat sprinkled with chili powder.
(Day Seven. Departure.)