"It’s morning!"
"Nn..."
When I opened my eyes, Kormi was floating directly in front of me.
Right... I had returned to the Sea of Trees yesterday. We had stayed up late talking about everything that had happened since I left this base, and I must have just crashed in one of the spare rooms.
It had been obvious from the moment he greeted me, but Kormi had clearly been waiting for my return with his neck craned. He had even been pulling my memories and projecting them onto the room as illusions, watching my experiences like a movie.
Even when summarized, several weeks' worth of stories made for a long tale. Actually, the fact that we finished by midnight was probably on the faster side.
"There’s water and breakfast!"
"Oh, such hospitality. I’ve been eating nothing but retort pouches during my travels, so this makes me happy."
A basin filled with water and a plate holding what looked like bacon and eggs drifted through the door, which had opened on its own. He must have used the ingredients I left in the kitchen yesterday. Since both arrived at once, I hesitated for a second on which to reach for first, but I ultimately chose to eat before the meal went cold.
"Ngh."
"Is it not good?"
"No, it’s plenty good."
It was a bit burnt and a little too salty, but it wasn't inedible. If I thought of it as a first attempt by a child, it was a job well done. I didn't have kids in my previous life, so I had no real point of comparison, but... Come to think of it, did Kormi have a sense of taste or smell?
"I can tell if I read the memories of the person who ate it. But I don't know directly, so I can't do things like taste-testing. I just tried to imitate what I saw in your head for today's meal."
"In that case, let's cook together next time. Once you get used to it, I think you'll start to understand the portions for the seasonings and the flavors."
"Yeah!"
After finishing breakfast and getting ready while we chatted, it was time to move on to the next order of business. I had managed to tell him everything up until my return, so now it was time to discuss the future—starting with the "Interaction Curse," Kormi’s long-cherished wish to connect with the world outside.
"I’ll get straight to the point. I’m thinking of preparing a house or room outside the Sea of Trees and treating it as an Annex. This house, your main body, will be the Main Residence. My plan is to cast the spell on the Annex."
"Having two houses is fine, but will that help with the spell?"
"It’s less about it 'helping' and more about 'how I’ll make it work.'"
Up until now, my thoughts had centered on how to "bring him out"—or rather, how to do something to Kormi himself—so he could interact with the outside world. However, I was also hesitant to tamper with him too much because of the potential risks. It was a contradiction.
If I prepared an Annex and cast the spell there, however, I could modify it as much as I wanted. At the very least, it would be lower risk than tampering with Kormi directly; as long as the main body remained safe, the risk was minimal. It also fit the image that would serve as the basis for the Curse Magic.
"It’s more of an answer than a hint, but the inspiration is the 'Kamidana' I had installed at the shop."
The moment I had entered the laundry shop and saw Jane-san exchanging the water offered to the Shinto shelf, it had hit me. The laundry shop was a chain with multiple branches now—different shops, yet the same shop. Once I realized that, the image fit perfectly.
"I’ll let you read the fine details from my heart, but in short, I’ll prepare a house separate from this one and make it a place where you can reside whenever you like, acting as a substitute for a Shinto shelf. Since we’ll be using an entire building, you can even think of it like a shrine. You'll be able to go back and forth between this house and the Annex to interact with people."
I had always thought of Kormi's main body as the house itself, and because houses can't be moved, I felt stuck. But if I thought of it as moving the contents of the house, it felt possible. More specifically, Kormi was currently floating a "child's body" in front of me to talk. It would be enough if I could just send that body to the Annex.
"I see! Like a remote-controlled car! Or a robot! Or a game!"
"Exactly. The idea is to create that mana body at the Annex and operate it remotely. In Taming Magic, we connect lines of mana to exchange senses and information with monsters, so it shouldn't be impossible to do the same here. It will just come down to the mental image and the amount of mana—my skill as a caster, essentially.
To interact with others, we'll have to have them come to the Annex. At first, it'll probably just be people I know, but we can change the Annex's purpose as we see how things go."
We could start a new shop, or we might even build the school Kormi wanted. I'd have to hire people who could teach, so we'd probably start small, like a Cram School... but if it’s just about gathering people, there are plenty of ways.
"Really!? Can I become a library or a hospital too!?"
"It depends on the finished spell, but I don't think it's impossible. As long as we succeed."
"Then let's do it!"
"Wait, wait. If we go straight to the real thing, I'll have to go outside the Sea of Trees again. First, let's try a few experiments here."
"Okay! What are we doing!?"
The way his eyes were sparkling was putting a lot of pressure on me, but honestly, I hadn't struggled with Curse Magic so far. I could probably manage it. The more experiments we did, the higher the success rate of the real thing would be.
"For now, let's try to prevent monsters from intruding around this house. I'll stretch the Beast-warding Ropes I made around the area where the ruins of the village I demolished were. I want to treat this area as my territory and see if I can extend your range of motion to that boundary.
Just to confirm, your main body was originally the village chief’s house, right? Then it was expanded over time as the residents remodeled it to hold out during a siege, eventually becoming this base."
"That's right! Walls and fences and all sorts of things were added!"
"Which means extending your range is possible. Even if it wasn't intentional back then, there's a precedent. While it's not realistic to keep expanding until it reaches the edge of the Sea of Trees, it seems possible to expand your range slightly using Curse Magic.
By the way, for the image... do you know the Jamil Ducal Mansion?"
"I do! It's super big!"
"Exactly. That mansion has massive grounds. The front garden from the gate to the mansion is huge. There’s a well-maintained courtyard, and the backyard where you can let tamed monsters roam is practically a mountain. It's like I'm building a new garden for you."
"I get it! I'm going to be a house with a big garden too!"
Except for the fact that the subject was a house, he sounded exactly like a child declaring he was going to grow up to be something great. It was heartwarming. Kormi's motivation was more than sufficient, so we began working together to iron out the details.
"If we succeed in extending the grounds, I'd like to try creating a few satellite points even further out. Since it's for experimentation, they'll be simple structures for now. I've been steadily restocking Tiger Rope, so let's also test if the Beast-warding Rope works on the monsters around here."
"In that case, should we make them at the Spice Field or the Water Source? If we do, I might be able to take care of the field even when you aren't here, Ryoma."
"Ah, that would be a big help. It would give you more to do, too. Let’s go with that."
With the policy for the Interaction Curse decided, I wanted to move on to the Curse Removal Lost Magic. I had given a rough explanation yesterday, but—
"I'm fine with that! I can see the movement of Magic Elements, and I can manipulate them! I don't know the specifics of Lost Magic, but if you show me how to use it, I'll probably understand the problems the gods mentioned and be able to give advice!"
"I thought so. You’re a real lifesaver."
We finished exchanging opinions on how to make the spell succeed, and I prepared to head outside to start the experiment. However...
"Looking at it again, the grass is incredibly overgrown. Isn't the growth a bit too fast?"
Looking out from the gate, my vision was blocked by grass taller than my head. I had completely weeded the area around the mansion when I cleared the ruins before I left. It was natural for weeds to grow back, but I hadn't expected them to get this tall in just a few weeks.
"Hmm... it doesn't seem to grow this much elsewhere, but I guess it's normal here. I only know about the area around this house, but even if a big monster gouges out the ground, it grows back right away."
"Well, since it's actually like this, I suppose that’s just how things work here."
"This tall grass falls over under its own weight and withers once it reaches a certain height. Then mold grows and decomposes it in no time, so it never gets any taller!
Also, that mold very rarely breeds in massive amounts. When that happens, all the grass in the area disappears. That mold is pure white, so it looks like the 'snow' from your memories has piled up. The plants are always especially healthy the next day!"
"Heh, Snow of the Great Forest, huh... Sounds like a mechanism to increase the area's metabolism. This is a meta-level guess based on knowing this is Fernobelia's Experiment Ground, but it sounds like a mold designed to return nutrients to the soil. I’d like to investigate it sometime, but is it harmful to people?"
"I don't think there’s any problem. It happened a few times back when people lived here, but no one ever got sick.
Besides, the massive blooms are just rare; the mold is always there decomposing withered grass. If it were harmful, I think you would have shown symptoms by the time you got here."
"That’s a relief."
Kormi generously shared the knowledge he had gained from his long years in the Sea of Trees. Part of it was likely because he was starved for interaction, but he truly seemed to enjoy the act of speaking. It was educational for me as well.
Still, we wouldn't make any progress just by talking. To ensure visibility and safety for the experiments, I had to start by clearing the surrounding area.
"It's no different from what I was doing just the other day."
I used Weed Slimes as lawnmowers, had Soil Slimes dig them up by the roots with Slime Magic, and used the Emperor Scavenger to dispose of the waste. I was well-practiced in this kind of labor.
The only difference was that monsters attacked frequently, but with magic and slimes, that wasn't a major issue. The work was intermittent but steady, and by noon, the weeding was finished, leaving a clear view around the mansion.
I continued with the territory work next. I didn't have the help of Jeff and the others, but I just had the Soil Slimes dig holes at regular intervals, inserted the stakes I had Huge Rock Slimes make, and stretched the cursed Tiger Ropes between them.
Judging from the reactions of the monsters that attacked, the rope's curse was effective even here. However, since Raptors attack in packs, the leaders would often be pushed over the rope by the momentum of those behind them even if they tried to stop.
Still, the ropes had many uses, such as limiting the approach and guiding enemies to where it was easy to fight. It was an incredibly convenient spell.
"Now then, that should do it."
I finished marking the territory around the mansion, and the experiment began.
The target of the curse would be the "land"—the area inside the boundary under my management. Conscious of the connection through mana between Kormi and me via Taming Magic, I visualized connecting Kormi with the land outside using my own mana, as if inviting him over.
As I cast the spell, I felt a solid sensation of mana permeating the ground.
However, the spell was a significant drain on my mana. It wasn't quite as bad as the Hand of Kesho, but the larger the area, the more it required. I could also tell that if I didn't pour in enough mana, the connection wouldn't be strong enough to support Kormi.
"I have to walk around and concentrate. Ensuring safety beforehand is an absolute requirement."
In the end, going around the mansion just once used up nearly a quarter of my total mana. If I were to cast this over a wider range, it would take days. I’d need to think about work plans before casting, but I’d worry about that later.
"Kormi, I'm done. Can you come out?"
"Yeah..."
Facing the gate, Kormi hesitated. He didn't look afraid, but he couldn't quite take that first step.
He had probably tried to leave many times over the years and failed. That experience was likely causing this hesitation.
"It's okay."
I wanted to cheer him on, but I didn't want to rush him, so I waited silently.
Finally, Kormi made up his mind.
The tip of his right foot reached out, crossed the boundary—and stepped onto the earth.
"!!"
"Alright!"
"I’m out! I’m finally out!"
"I see you! You’re definitely out, Kormi!"
I couldn't help but shout along with him. Immediately after, Kormi ran across the ground with his whole body, his excitement sending him flying into the air. I caught him just before he hit my chest and ended up spinning him around and around until he calmed down.
Once I had the right mental image, the solution felt relatively simple... but this was truly what Kormi had wanted. Even though it was only a few meters, seeing his joy made me truly glad I had succeeded.
After that, I took a calm Kormi to other locations to repeat the process. As a result, he became able to send an Avatar to the Spice Field Site and the Watering Hole where I had met Rino. The results were perfect. I gained a sense of satisfaction from the experiment, and Kormi gained a newfound hope for connecting with the world.