Shaking off a sense of foreboding deja vu after leaving the Fairy and Silver Coin, I headed towards Benny’s workshop, just like I told Ellie.
I was worried about Eve’s disappearance and the risk of corruption—it was a big deal—but honestly, worrying doesn’t change the fact that I can’t do anything about it.
I lack the ability to actively search for Eve, so I need to make her come looking for me. In that case, I laid out the best plan I could.
Now, all that’s left is to do my part and wait for Eve to return.
“That’s why I came to see you, Benny!”
“…Did you expect me to welcome you after talking about a person like she’s homework?!”
“Oh come on, homework? It’s not like I’m forcing myself to do it; I was planning to come see you from the start!”
“Well, from what I’ve heard, it sounds like that Eve person has disappeared and is trying to stick her problems on me instead.”
“Oh dear, I can’t stand sharp kids like you, Benny.”
“Who are you calling a kid?! Who?!”
Despite her shouting, Benny was clearly intent on serving me tea, handing over a steaming cup.
It was a bit concerning that it was in a potion bottle rather than a teacup, but it smelled unmistakably like herbal tea, so I decided to drink it without hesitation.
Of course, I briefly entertained the thought that Benny might have added something to the herbal tea, but…
Regardless of what drug she might have used, thanks to the Gluttonous Stomach ability, I’d digest it perfectly, so it didn’t really matter in the end.
“What, what’s wrong? Is it that bad? Why do you look like that while drinking?”
“Nothing at all. I just had a slightly boring thought.”
I tried to reassure Benny with a big smile and changed the subject.
“By the way, Benny, how’s that thing with Shadow you mentioned before?”
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I’m just saying, I don’t mean to absolutely cut ties with Shadow like before. I realize there’s a lot I don’t know.”
“What do you not know?”
“About the relationship between Shadow and me. And what it wants from me.”
Benny sighed deeply as she looked at Shadow wriggling around inside a large glass container.
Even though Shadow doesn’t seem to die, it doesn’t mean it’s invulnerable.
After being quite roughly subdued by Hippolyte in the last battle, it’s now in a pitiful state, simply recovering like that.
From the moment I entered, its tentacles twitched actively, but I guess Shadow knew its condition wasn’t good, as it didn’t try to come out of the glass.
Feeling a bit proud of that, I tapped the glass, greeting it, and asked, “Can you give a more detailed explanation?”
“Detailed or whatever… I always treated Shadow as just a phenomenon. It’s not really alive, you know.”
Benny said she approached Shadow by looking for patterns in its behavior, comparing it with other friends who were sacrificed, and exploring ways to control it firmly.
In truth, up until now, Shadow responded to simple patterns and seemed more like a beast left with only emotional remnants and instinct than anything with reasoning.
“But after listening to you, Jonah, and meeting it again, a lot has changed.”
“Changed? You mean it’s not just that you’re starting to see things you didn’t see before?”
“Yeah. It’s changed. I don’t know if this change happened after I met you, or if it was because I named it Shadow, or maybe it was because it got isolated by Morgana’s barrier, which severed our connection… whatever the case, Shadow is definitely not the same as before.”
Benny nodded firmly, adding, “And maybe I’ve changed a bit too.”
As Benny spun on her toes to glance at me, she looked like she was having trouble staring for too long.
It’s kind of cute.
I couldn’t help but pinch her cheeks with both hands.
“Hey!”
Squish, squish!
“Wha-what are you doing?!”
Benny protested vigorously, resisting fiercely, but that was only below the neck.
It seemed she didn’t dislike it too much, as she obediently let me enjoy her soft and squishy cheeks.
Benny’s cheeks changed shape with my ministrations, and she kept pouting her lips like a duck’s while trying to speak.
I chuckled and opened my mouth again. “So, both you and Shadow have changed in some way, but don’t know how, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then let’s take our time to find out. If possible, I’d like to join you.”
“Huh?”
With a quizzical blink, Benny nodded seriously a moment later.
“Well, you seem to have your own issues too… You’re not gonna share them, are you?”
“Uh… Not just yet, but what I meant was that I want us to learn about the future of you, Benny, and Shadow together, you know?”
“…”
“…”
Did I hit a nerve? Benny’s face turned beet red as she slammed her eyes shut in embarrassment.
I too, awkwardly pulled my hands away from her face.
…But thinking deeper, it’s true.
Since I reincarnated in this Pan Continent, the deepest conversation I’ve shared has been with Benny of all people.
Technically, it’s not my story but the stories I’ve written…
But I can’t deny that they touch upon my very essence.
So if, someday, I were to be fully understood by someone else, or if a day came when I spill all my thoughts…
That person would most likely be Benny.
Suddenly—
The Goddess statue in my robe pocket vibrated on its own.
Oh right, I have the Goddess of Love too.
In this case, I wouldn’t even need to confess; she probably knows everything about me already, so it’s a bit different.
With a deep sigh, I pretended to draw a cross, and the statue quieted down.
Confirming that, I poked Benny’s side, who was still tightly shutting her eyes and fidgeting her legs.
“Yikes! What, what is it?!”
“Oh, I just figured it’s time to get back to the main topic.”
“Main topic… Right. You came to ask me for help with those feelings?”
“That’s right. It’s about the Moonlight-infused crystal…”
I pulled out a gently glowing crystal from my robe pocket and handed it to Benny.
“Moonlight-infused crystal? I’ve heard the name, but what was it again?”
Benny examined the crystal I gave her, but since she couldn’t discern anything visually, she discreetly released some of her mana on it.
“Hmm. It’s clear that there’s some kind of energy contained inside. And it’s quite a lot, and it’s purity is amusingly high. At this point, just holding onto it should keep minor illnesses away.”
“Oh, could we make a magical device to give immunity to diseases?”
“What? It’s not at that kind of level. More importantly, it’s just pure and clean energy that’s good for you; it doesn’t have sterilizing abilities.”
“If it had sterilizing properties, it might actually be harmful since it would continuously emit weak death energy.”
“…That’s a refreshing perspective.”
With a smirk, Benny handed the crystal back to me and began rummaging through the bookshelf.
Oddly, she crouched down to look at the bottom shelf first, then started climbing up one shelf at a time.
But she seemed to be struggling to find what she was looking for, moving higher and higher.
At one point, she started standing on her tiptoes, and soon enough, she was jumping up to glance at book titles.
“Hey, don’t you have a chair or something at home, Benny?”
“Nope! Usually, I change Shadow’s tentacles to a chair and sit there.”
“……”
Thinking back, I remember sitting on a tentacle chair the first time I came to the workshop.
Guess that’s just something she regularly does.
With a deep sigh, I patted Benny’s shoulder.
“Move aside.”
“Huh? What’s going on all of a sudden? Just to let you know, you and I have about the same height?”
“Not that! I mean, I’ll lie down so you can climb on me and look for it.”
“……Huh?”
Benny stiffened up for a moment, but soon she shook her head in denial, possibly having realized what I meant.
“H-how can I step on a boy?!”
“Oh, then would you like a piggyback ride? Since we’re about the same height, it might be a bit tricky to balance, though.”
“The problem is that I’m the one riding, not you! I’d rather be the stepping stool, so you climb up! I’ll tell you the book titles!”
“What? …Ah.”
That’s when I finally understood why Benny was so flustered.
From an earthly perspective, it sounded like a young girl was asking a boy to step on her.
Goodness. No matter how small I am or how light I am, it’s something I couldn’t agree to.
Nodding, I spoke, “Alright. Then you lie down.”
“Okay. This works.”
Benny nodded proudly and got down on all fours in front of me.
Maybe it’s due to the dress clinging perfectly to her body, revealing the curves of her back and backside.
It dawned on me—this meant I was the one who would stepping on a tiny girl, huh?
But I have a principle of never refusing a request to step on me. I decided to stick to that from today.
Suppressing the thumping of my heart, which was filled with guilt, I placed one foot on Benny’s waist.
“…W-wait a moment.”
Only then did Benny realize how odd it was to use someone as a footstool and started to say something, but it was too late.
“Oops!”
With that, I shifted my weight and climbed on top of Benny.
Her small frame creaked and swayed under my weight but soon regained its balance.
Well, Benny is a high-ranking adventurer, so she should be quite strong despite being a mage.
Perhaps it was momentarily unbalanced because my weight was added to her already light form.
The sensation of standing on Benny felt surprisingly nice.
“Ooooh.”
Better than I expected.
…I wonder if I can ask her to do it again later?
