When I passed through the boss's room, I saw a confident Amber who didn't seem to be worried in the slightest.
　By the way, I remembered that the boss room can be bypassed if you have already passed through it once. If it was waiting for us first, does that mean it's a loophole?

'So you're done. That was quicker than I thought.

'I was about to get hit with a big move, so it was like a time attack at the end.'

　With a sigh, I change my weapon from the gauntlet to the meteor impact.
　I was convinced by the battle just now. Although bare-knuckle fighting is very useful in boss fights, it is a skill that should be used when you are not the target of hate.
　It's better to use it against normal monsters because of the weight of the blow. To be honest, I'd like to get a one-handed mace, though.

'Trillia is coming soon. Skuna's never been to Trillia before, right?　You'd be surprised.'

'Surprise?'

　Amber suddenly said this when the exit to the forest was in sight.
　I don't think Lin had said anything in particular, but I wonder if it meant that there was something going on in Trillia, the third city.


　As we passed through the forest, we could see the city a few hundred meters away. There's something strange about it, the outer wall of that city is much lower than the city of beginnings or Dualis.
　But even from a distance, it was easy to understand why.
　A wall to prevent monsters from entering is purely unnecessary.
　From where I was looking. Because the third city was built on a lake.

'That's Trillia, the fortress city on the lake. It's also called the City of Water.

'Wow, ...... is amazing.'

　When we walked to the edge of the lake, we found that the lake was so huge that there was still room to enclose the city.
　While I was looking at Trillia as if I were falling in love with it, something suddenly jumped out of the lake and splashed me with water.

'Cur-r-r-r!

'Whoa, what?

　I was jumped on and pushed down, and I ended up underneath a rather powerful mysterious creature.

'Isn't that the child of a water dragon? It's unusual for it to appear in such shallow water.

'A water dragon?　Oh, oh, oh. ...... Don't lick it, don't lick it, it's rough.

　I managed to get rid of the mysterious creature that was licking my face, as if it was unusually friendly or pining for me.
　The creature, which was called a water dragon, had a long, slender body that looked more like a snake than an Emirati dragon, and although I got rid of it, it wrapped itself around my body again.
　There was no indication of its level or HP. That means it's not a monster.

'Water dragons are very smart and are very common creatures in Trillia. At the very least, they're gentle creatures that don't attack people.



'Am I being attacked right now?

'No, I think you're just flirting with me. Maybe you're hungry.'

'Is that so?'

'Curll.'

　The water dragon nodded in reply, and I stroked its head.
　Its scales are very smooth. When I stroked its head, the water dragon squinted its eyes as if it felt good.
　I took out a magical mushroom that I had collected in the Demon Forest, and the water dragon swallowed it after checking it several times with the tip of its tongue.

　When the water dragon had devoured all the magical mushrooms I had on hand, it wrapped itself around me as if it wanted more and more. I had more than 20 of them.

'It's gone ......'.

'Squeak!

'Whoa!

　I thought I'd at least see him off, but the water dragon came right back. It threw something in its mouth at me, made a sound, and then disappeared into the bottom of the lake with great force.

　When I looked at what it had caught, I saw that it was a large blue glass-like sphere.

'What is this?

'It's a ...... water dragonglass. It's pretty big too.

'Dragonglass?

'It's a crystal that dragons are born with in their bodies. As they grow, they become larger and more pure. At this size, it's ......100 years old. It's probably from a deceased water dragon that the girl kept.

'Hmm ...... is this a good one?'

'For people, it's useful because it can be used to add attributes to armor. I'm sure it's also important for dragons who like shiny things, but it's a luxury item. Maybe that's why he gave it to me as a thank you.

　The crystal is the size of a baseball. ...... It's more like a crystal. If you look closely, you can see the liquid shaking inside.
　Magical mushrooms are a bit of a waste, but maybe you got a good one.

　Still, it was the first time for me to be fondled by an animal, and it left me feeling a little regretful.
　I have rarely been in contact with animals in my life, not just pets. I don't know why, but they always run away from me.

　Perhaps in a game, I could interact with them. As for the little water dragon, it wasn't even a monster.

'It was cute: ......'

'Sukuna's sensibility is unique.

　Please leave me alone.


☆




'Hey, that's ......'

'Whoa, I'm serious.'

'It's nice, isn't it ......'

'That's cool: ......'

　Before entering Trillia, as we lined up for the checkpoint, we noticed that the eyes of the people around us were looking at us.

　As a fortified city, Trillia had its fair share of checkpoints.
　Criminals aren't allowed in the city, but it's more of a pose.
　Players aren't the only ones entering and exiting the city, so I guess you could call it a checkpoint for NPCs.

　Now, they are looking at me, and it is not me they are looking at, but Amber.
　It seems that Amber is quite famous among the NPCs, according to the whispered voices.
　What is it ......?

'Amber in ......?

'Hmm, well, I guess that's what they call it sometimes.

　Amber is a little embarrassed.
　I guess you could call it a nickname, but it's pretty cool to be famous among ...... NPCs.
　I was about to ask her how it came about, but she started talking about it herself.

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not. At that time, I was entrusted with the protection of the Imperial City. I think its name was ...... 'Alma the Wriggling Old Castle'. It was a monster of a moving castle, but ...... in a moment of youthful indiscretion, I crushed its walls to pieces, and that's how I came to be known by two names.

'I see. ...... "Breaking the Castle".

　No, I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. .......

　The walls?　Shattered?　Shattered?　In a fit of youthful indiscretion?
　You're smiling embarrassingly, but I think it's a little outrageous.
　Can we really call it human work? ...... No, we are not pure human beings, but .......

'You can do it if you want to.

'No, I don't know. ......'

'No, you can. If I can do it, there's no reason you can't.'

　These straightforward words, which made me stretch my back, made me feel somewhat uncomfortable.
　It wasn't so much a feeling of discomfort as it was an insignificant feeling of unease. Even though I knew that it was not something that I would feel for someone I had just met, I still thought that the assertion was 'out of character'.

'Hey, don't you think that Amber can defeat ...... a nomad like Aria by herself?

　It was meant as a joke.
　But Amber shook her head and denied it in a very serious voice.

'I can't do that.

'Why not?

'I have a wish. So I cannot die until I have seen it. I need to risk my life in a fight with a famous person.'



　Amber was looking at me with the expression of a dreamy girl.
　Despite such a dazzling expression, Amber's eyes are like a dark and gloomy darkness that sends chills down my spine.
　What dwelt in those eyes were envy and jealousy, but they were also emotions like mud that could not be fully expressed.


　Oh, I see. I finally understand. The reason why Amber cares about me. The reason why she went to the trouble of saving me, and the reason why she's telling me all this.
　I saw her at the teahouse and followed her, but she didn't talk to me right away, just watched me from a distance until I almost died.
　I wondered why, if not why it was strange.

'Let's change places. It's a bit of a long story.'

'Yeah, okay.

　What is Amber, a person living in this world, dealing with?
　The beginning of the story was announced by the system announcement.

　"Extra Quest: Onihime Shoukei Kitan" will begin.