The next morning. Oh, by the way, this city does have proper nighttime.
So it's not bright all the time.
After eating breakfast and getting ready, we split into two groups.
"Be careful out there."
"You be careful too."
Pakira and I said it in unison, and the two of them shared a wry smile.
We decided to explore the opposite side from the train group.
Once we passed beyond the area where we'd placed the reaction stones, we emerged onto a wide road.
The destination we'd decided on yesterday was on the far side of that. I used my Relic, Danger Discernment.
Four red dots on the opposite side.
One of them showed two black spherical mannequins lurking in the passageway.
Black spherical mannequins are best dealt with in close combat.
"—Spotted them. Demon-Severing Blade!"
"Woof woof, waaaagh! Skull-Piercing Slash Claw!"
Bid and Juicy took them down in the blink of an eye.
Wait, hold on—Bid. Demon-Severing Blade… he could actually use that?
Demon-Severing Blade is a sword technique, the same kind as One Step.
As far as techniques go, it's not that difficult.
You just put your resolve into it and bring the blade down. That's all there is to it.
But even so, it's strong.
The swings are also classified into five types based on their flow and momentum: fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning.
Agaro's is fire and mine is water. Bid's is wind.
Juicy really knows how to use those Banish claws.
But as a duke's daughter, even if she's acting like a dog, I think she should stop running on all fours.
It was the same running style as the dog at my family home in my past life memories. Fast, though.
Beyond that, countless white spheres were floating.
They weren't uniontons. These were white spheres with lenses in the center.
I shoot them down with Ballistic 6.
This is a strange knife that can fire six knife blades, which I received from the knife goddess.
Juicy shoots with a bow, and Bid shoots with a crossbow.
"Something like this is easy, though."
Bid smiled wryly.
The white spheres that were shot down began to vanish.
Haiyarn spoke with a hint of disappointment.
"So they do disappear after all."
"That's what happens when you defeat them."
The destination is not much further.
"Still... it's quiet."
Haiyarn muttered. That's right. There was nothing but our sounds.
Juicy nodded.
"Um, um... it feels kind of lonely."
"Yeah, it does."
"………"
I knew this sort of atmosphere.
Come to think of it, that was where I first met her.
"Do you remember, Bidd?"
"What about it?"
"The Hydrangea dungeon. The great temple at the very bottom."
"Of course I remember. I could never forget. I wonder what happened to that place, though. But what about it?"
"Didn't the atmosphere there feel similar to this? The air."
"Now that you mention it... yeah, it does."
That didn't make this place the same as the great temple, of course.
Still, this desolate feeling in the air... bore a faint resemblance to the mood that drifts through a graveyard.
A graveyard. A burial ground. In a sense, maybe that was exactly what this was.
"All right. We're here."
Our destination was a large, square building.
It even had a vast parking lot. We entered through the main entrance, staying on guard.
Not a single car was parked in the lot.
Come to think of it, that was strange. We hadn't seen a single car on the roads along the way, either.
"Hoh... the entrance opened on its own."
"There's electricity running, huh."
"So this is the general store?"
"Yep. It's a general store."
"There's, there's so many things here! Woof!"
"There's a ton of stuff..."
It was filled with all manner of everyday tools, special tools, and rare tools.
And countless utensils, daily necessities, furniture, and specialty items were crammed onto every shelf.
It was packed from one end to the other.
This was a home center, just like in my memories from my past life.
A home center, but... something about it felt off.
"The Junkyard, huh."
Oops—I'd said that out loud without thinking.
"The Junkyard, is that what it's called?"
"Ah, no, it just... gave me that sort of vibe."
There were no mountains of garbage, and the merchandise wasn't scattered around.
It was clearly a home center—a proper, genuine home center.
And yet, somehow, that's the impression I got.
"Wof. You're up."
"Right then, let's get right to it."
I activate the Relic, Fortune's Circle.
And out it comes, and out it comes. A sea of green light that fills my entire field of vision.
"Whoa!"
The sheer flood of green light overwhelms me and I can't help but cry out.
"Um, Wof?"
"What's wrong?"
"No, I'm just going to try that again."
There was way too much green light — I couldn't see any yellow or blue light at all.
This time, I exclude the green light.
Yellow light appears here and there, and blue light is… oh, oh, there are scattered traces of it.
Incredible. The numbers are overwhelmingly smaller, but there are multiple super ultra rare ones.
Hmm? On the ceiling too? Right — there's a second floor.
And there's a huge blue light that's practically overflowing from the wall.
What is that light? Next door? An exhibit? Ah, I get it.
"There are cars here."
The sign said "Classic Car Exhibition."
Got it. I move, and Haiyaan looks at me and asks.
"What is it, Wof?"
"This place is a treasure trove."
"A treasure trove?!"
"Woof woof, woof!"
Bid reacted fast, and Juicy was already in full dig-here mode.
Yeah, we're not digging.
"Na?"
That's when I suddenly heard a cry that felt oddly familiar.
Slowly, the knife on my hip belt slipped off on its own.
The somewhat clumsy-looking knife hit the ground and—turned into a small animal.
About the size of a cat, maybe.
A pure-white, fluffy, downy-soft little body.
Faint purple spiral markings across its fur.
A long white tail that curled in a gentle arc. Like Pakira's tail.
Four slender ears, the outer pair looking somewhat like wings.
Large, almond-shaped red eyes set at a slight angle, catlike.
A teardrop-shaped purple gemstone sat on its forehead, resembling a third eye.
It rubbed its drowsy eyes and yawned.
I was stunned. Everyone else was silent too.
So it was here. Dagaa.
"Na... na!?"
It was surprised. Seriously surprised.
Can't blame it.
Also, hmm? Aren't you getting a little fat again?
A slightly chubby goblin.