As I’d expected, Amel ended up buying quite a lot at Alice’s shop. In addition to the colored contacts and bandages, she took a particular liking to some special stickers and bought them in bulk.
They were a lot like the tattoo stickers back in Japan—featuring cool designs and patterns—but with a twist: they became transparent and invisible as soon as they were applied to the skin. The trick was that the patterns would manifest whenever mana was channeled into them.
Since the stickers themselves were made of mana, they would automatically decompose back into atmospheric energy after about sixteen hours. They were remarkably eco-friendly items that left no mess behind.
In any case, the place was packed with items that tickled a chuunibyou’s fancy, and Amel was having the time of her life. I picked up a few things myself, like some Illusion Magic Balls to toss around and a retail version of that Magic Spinning Top I’d been eyeing for a while. Alice’s store might very well have set a new record for daily sales today.
“Sworn Friend! To merely display the radiance of these new secret treasures upon a shelf and admire them is insufficient! To unleash their true luster, I believe they must be set into motion within a fitting arena!”
“U-Umm... well, I’m definitely itching to try out my new stuff too, but it’d be a nuisance to do it in the middle of the city. If there’s a wide-open space somewhere...”
It seemed Amel wanted to test her purchases immediately. However, items like the Illusion Balls were quite flashy, so using them in town was out of the question. While the garden at my house was spacious, I felt like a more open area, like a park, would be better for this kind of thing.
As I replied with that thought in mind, Amel placed a hand over her chest with an expression that seemed to say she had been waiting for those exact words.
“Then leave it to me, Sworn Friend! Come, let us depart for the Promised Land!!”
“Depart? Do you have a place in mind? Then let’s step outside for a moment.”
Following Amel’s lead, we left the general store instead of heading back to my house. While I was tilting my head in wonder at what she planned to do next, a pair of hands suddenly slid under my armpits from behind. Her hands clasped together in front of my chest... resulting in a position where she was essentially giving me a back-hug.
If you were to ask if this was a romantic development, the answer was a flat no. In fact, I had nothing but a bad premonition.
“Have no fear, Sworn Friend! I am the Black Gale; we shall reach our destination in the blink of an eye!”
“...Ah, so that’s what you meant by 'heading there.'”
Sure enough, my premonition became reality. I heard the loud snap of wings flapping behind me, and I was hoisted into the air. It felt a little nostalgic. This was the exact same way Kuro had carried me through the sky shortly after I first arrived in this world.
“...By the way, Amel, where is this destination?”
“The Arclesia Empire Mountain Range!”
“I see... Wouldn’t it be better to teleport to the Empire first and then—”
“Then let us go! For this moment, I shall be my Sworn Friend's wings!!”
Unfortunately, she was so excited that she wasn't listening to a word I said. It would have been fine if we were just flying at a leisurely pace... but the Arclesia Empire was far away. That meant she was going to floor it, didn't it? She was going to fly at that "black flash" speed of hers.
I’d seen several magic circles manifesting around me earlier, so she’d likely applied countermeasure formulas to protect me from wind pressure, but those did nothing against the psychological terror of it all.
“Now, to the Promised Land!!”
“—!?”
Immediately after, a sound like a firework exploding echoed behind me, and the scenery simply vanished.
...So fast! I knew it was coming, but this was absurd. We were moving so quickly that I couldn't even see the landscape properly; being dangled in the air like this was terrifying.
I remembered the roller coaster at Shiro-san’s amusement park hitting Mach 10. This felt significantly faster than that, so we had to be moving at some truly astronomical speed.
However, although I was panicked at first, once you pass a certain threshold, you actually start to feel a strange sense of calm. My dynamic vision couldn’t track the scenery at all, and the magic prevented any wind or noise from reaching me, so the sense of speed eventually faded. If anything, this was far better than Alice’s "transportation methods."
I couldn't enjoy the view, but considering the distance, we’d probably arrive in just a few minutes. It wasn't a problem.
Except for one thing... when you’re in a state where you can't see anything, feel no wind, and hear almost no sound, it’s only natural to become hyper-aware of the sensations that are available.
Specifically, I became acutely aware of the warmth against my back—and a certain soft sensation. The more I told myself not to think about it, the more I couldn’t help but notice. It was incredibly awkward, and I found myself wishing we’d hurry up and arrive.
Serious-senpai: “Come to think of it, what happens after this Amel arc? Do we time-skip to the wedding?”
???: “No, the wedding is still a while off. We’ll probably stick to daily life chapters for now. Also, it sounds like someone wants to eat sweets.”
Serious-senpai: “Then go eat them yourself! Don’t try to drag me down with you!!”