Chapter 289: A Strange Forest and a New Companion

[ Master, this is super delicious! ]

The delighted voice was just as adorable as the original Mochi’s.

Unable to resist, Qiu Nuoya broke into a broad smile and affectionately stroked the second Mochi all over.

"By the way, Mochi, can you make a Slime Barrier?"

[ A Slime Barrier? What’s that? ]

"Um, it’s like creating an invisible wall of magical energy that can repel monsters when they attack."

The second Mochi seemed to ponder the question, stretching and contracting several times. After a little while, its body began to swell and puff up.

[ Is this right? ]

The magical barrier it created wasn’t something that enclosed Qiu Nuoya. Instead, it was a wall of magical energy designed to protect Mochi itself. When Qiu Nuoya poked it with his finger, Mochi’s body felt slightly harder than usual.

"I’d like you to let me inside it too. Can you do that?"

[ Hmm, I can, but you’ll melt, Master. ]

Apparently, the second Mochi’s abilities differed from those of the original. Even things the first Mochi could do without any trouble weren’t necessarily possible for the second one.

Qiu Nuoya fell into thought as he considered this difference.

After having a snack and taking a short break, Qiu Nuoya finally steeled himself and stood up. No matter how long he waited, Long still had not arrived, and there was no sign of the situation changing.

This meant that either Qiu Nuoya had been transported too far away for Long to reach him, or he was in a place where some kind of force prevented the sound of the dragon flute from reaching Long.

Wondering if Long might have returned to the Elysium, Qiu Nuoya tried turning the key. However, for some reason, the magical door showed no sign of appearing either. He could only sigh, wondering if it had broken.

Qiu Nuoya considered the possibility that this forest might be a place where magic could not be used. He tried casting various spells, excluding fire magic, but found that he could use them all without any problems. Relieved, he concluded that magic was not completely unusable here.

If he had lost the ability to use magic as well, surviving in the wilderness would have become considerably more difficult. Even though his magic bag contained a reasonable supply of everyday necessities, there was only so much he could do with them.

"If only there were some kind of settlement nearby..."

As Qiu Nuoya muttered helplessly, Mochi No. 2 stretched as if waking from a nap, then tilted its head.

[ Hey, there are people over that way. ]

"What!? There are people here?"

[ Mm-hmm! Lots of people live near a big tree. ]

Surprisingly, Mochi No. 2 told him that a settlement was located not too far from where they were. Now that he thought about it, although Mochi No. 2 had said it did not know the name of the forest, it had never claimed that nobody lived there.

"Mochi, can you take me there?"

[ Okay~! ]

With that, Mochi No. 2 began bouncing energetically ahead, leading the way. Qiu Nuoya hurried to follow.

If he lost sight of Mochi, he would be right back where he started, lost in the forest once again.

"By the way, Mochi, what kind of people live there?"

[ What kind? ]

Mochi No. 2 seemed unable to understand what Qiu Nuoya meant. It stopped moving, stretching and contracting as it bounced back toward him with a puzzled air.

However, Qiu Nuoya had not intended his question to carry any particular significance, so he found himself at a loss for words.

"Ah, well... I mean, what do they do to make a living?"

The reason he had asked was simple enough. Although Mochi had said they were people, Qiu Nuoya would have a problem if they were actually demons. And if the settlement’s inhabitants were unfriendly toward outsiders, approaching them could be dangerous.

Still, expecting Mochi, who probably had no more than the intelligence of a small child, to understand these concerns was asking too much.

"Um, they always pray to a big tree~"

"They pray to a tree?"

What exactly did that mean? Was it some kind of religious practice? Qiu Nuoya had no idea, but at the very least, the big tree Mochi had mentioned seemed to be important to the settlement.

The forest was so dense that he could not see the enormous tree anywhere in his field of vision. Pushing those thoughts aside, he resumed walking alongside Mochi.

They had been walking for several minutes when Qiu Nuoya suddenly felt something brush against his body. A few seconds later, the sensation dispersed.

He recognized that feeling. It was the lingering trace of magical energy left behind by a search spell called Search.

The spell belonged to the wind magic category. By enveloping its target in wind, it allowed the caster to detect their location.

Perhaps someone from the settlement had sensed his presence and was now keeping an eye on him. Qiu Nuoya tensed slightly, preparing himself for the possibility that the inhabitants might be wary of outsiders.

[ Master, what’s wrong? ]

Mochi seemed completely unaware of the spell and gazed up at Qiu Nuoya in confusion. The reason he had been able to detect the magic was probably his high level of magical perception.

It was possible that the other person had not yet realized Qiu Nuoya had noticed their presence. If he cast Search in return, he might provoke them unnecessarily.

"Nothing to worry about," Qiu Nuoya replied to Mochi before continuing to walk as though nothing had happened.

However, just because Qiu Nuoya had no hostile intentions did not mean the other person felt the same way. He needed to proceed with greater caution. Without drawing attention to himself, he reached into his robe and took hold of the staff he usually kept there, gripping it firmly so he would be ready to react to anything that might happen.

He also mentally replayed his recent blunder: I can’t use fire magic.

He had nearly tried to cast an offensive fire spell without even thinking about it.