"Hmm, 'spirited away,' is it? I suppose that’s a possibility. Apparently, there was someone else who came from another world about two hundred years ago... Oh, your porridge is going to get cold, so eat up!"
It appeared Adriana had gone to the trouble of making porridge for Shuuki.
"Though really, I just poured some soup over the leftovers and heated it through," she added.
Shuuki wanted to retort that it was more of an ojiya than porridge, but he felt it would be ungrateful to complain about a meal she had specially prepared for him. He swallowed the remark along with the food.
"...Hm?"
"What is it? Does it taste bad?"
"No, this flavor... Ah, I see."
It felt a bit lackluster, and he realized it was because no dashi—soup stock—had been used.
However, Shuuki was not so immature as to criticize a meal provided by the woman who had saved his life.
"Thank you for the meal."
"You’re quite welcome."
Adriana didn't seem to find the phrase Shuuki used strange at all.
"Would you like some tea?"
She even offered him an after-meal drink. She poured two cups, intending to join him.
"...Anyway, as I was saying, it seems there have been two or three people from other worlds in the past. The most recent case was roughly two hundred years ago, though."
"I see. And what happened to them?"
"This world is called 'Ars,' you know? Apparently, those people brought all sorts of benefits to the Ars world."
Shuuki found that surprising. In a world governed by a mysterious power like magic, he wondered what a person like him could possibly offer.
"One of them supposedly taught us how to cultivate 'rice.' The porridge you just ate was made from it. It can only be grown much further south, but I heard the yields were far greater than the grains we used to grow before that."
Ah, so that’s how they contributed, Shuuki thought, feeling enlightened.
The etiquette of saying "thank you for the meal" had likely been passed down from those travelers as well.
He let his thoughts wander further. The presence of magic likely meant that the development of other fields of study had been stifled. However...
"It might be interesting to see a Fusion of magic and science."
The words slipped out unintentionally, but Adriana latched onto them with more enthusiasm than he expected.
"That sounds fascinating!" she exclaimed. "Say, Shuuki. What do you plan to do now?"
"Even if you ask me..."
He was at a loss. Having been cast alone into another world, he couldn't even begin to guess how he would survive.
Perhaps sensing his predicament, Adriana added apologetically, "I'm sorry... You want to go back home, don't you?"
"Well... yes, I do."
To be honest, he did. He wanted to see his parents, his sisters, and his friends again.
"As of right now, there isn't any magic or magic tool that allows travel between worlds."
Adriana looked truly regretful. Shuuki asked her another question.
"What is a magic tool, exactly?"
"Eh? Oh... think of it as a device powered by mana. They're convenient because you don't have to cast a spell yourself every single time."
"I see, I understand. Which means that, for the time being, I have no way to return home."
"Yes. I’m truly sorry..."
But Shuuki offered her a kind smile.
"It’s not something you need to apologize for, Ms. Adriana. I should have died back there, but I survived by coming to this world. I should be the one feeling grateful."
"...Shuuki, you really are a kind soul."
Shuuki's heart gave a small throb when Adriana looked at him with slightly misty eyes.
She was beautiful—certainly more so than any woman Shuuki had ever met. She had blonde hair and emerald eyes, but her features held a certain nostalgic quality. To his eyes, she looked almost East Asian.
While they were biologically the same species, it likely meant that her race wasn't a perfect match for those on Earth.
"If it's alright with you, Ms. Adriana, would you let me stay here?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Shuuki’s face flushed. He realized how incredibly bold it was to ask to live in the home of a woman who appeared to live alone.
"Sure, that's fine."
To his surprise, Adriana agreed without hesitation.
"Really?"
"You seem to know a lot of things I don't, Shuuki. In exchange for staying, you'll have to help me with my research, okay?"
She laughed and promised that she would eventually develop magic to cross between worlds.
"Alright, Shuuki, you can use this room."
It turned out the bed Shuuki had been using until now actually belonged to Adriana.
The two of them were currently cleaning a room across the hallway. It was an arduous task, as dust had been allowed to pile up everywhere.
"Ms. Adriana, isn't there any magic you can use for something like this?" Shuuki asked as he swept under the old bed, his face partially covered by a cloth.
"Hmm... There is 'Cleanup' magic, but that mostly just removes stains. You know, like how I got the mud and blood off your clothes."
In short, there was no magic specifically designed for general cleaning. It was more inconvenient than he had imagined.
"...That's not quite what I meant. I was wondering if there was magic—or maybe a magic tool—that could do the labor for us."
"...Eh?"
Shuuki recalled a scene from a manga owned by his landlord's child where a magic-user used an enchanted broom to clean a room.
However, Adriana’s mind jumped to a different conclusion.
"...A 'magi-doll'... No, that wouldn't be enough... In that case..."
Something seemed to click in her mind, and she stopped working to mutter to herself.
Watching her with a wry smile, Shuuki continued cleaning the room on his own.
"...Sorry, Shuuki. I ended up leaving all the cleaning to you."
Adriana had been lost in thought until he was nearly finished.
"It's fine. I'm the one who's going to be in your debt, after all."
"Even so..."
Adriana looked thoughtful for a moment.
"By the way, Shuuki, do you always talk so formally?"
"Pardon?"
"I have a bit of a... well, a very blunt personality, so I've been calling you 'Shuuki' from the start. But you keep calling me 'Ms. Adriana,' don't you?"
"Well, yes."
"I'm not a fan of it."
"Even if you say that..."
As far as Shuuki was concerned, Adriana was the eccentric one for letting a complete stranger move into her house. He kept the thought to himself, though.
"I'm the youngest of seven, and my six older siblings are all brothers. I think that's why I turned out like this. So, I’d be happy if you were a bit more informal."
"I see..."
Shuuki couldn't help but think she was far too trusting.
"I’m the middle child of five. I have two older sisters and two younger sisters, so this way of speaking is just second nature to me."
"Then let's start by dropping the honorifics."
"Well, I can manage that much. Ms. Adriana."
"See! There you go again!"
"Ah, sorry... Adriana."
"Perfect!"
And so, the domestic life of Shuuki and Adriana began.