Elfaria Chapter 7

007. Good luck.

　I had taken on the task of exterminating vermin in the underground waterway of Hanaria through a variety of thoughts and circumstances, but I could never have imagined that I would be faced with such a situation.

　In front of me was a mysterious object(?) jittering around in a net.

　Although it was called for help, I was unable to act immediately, and could only stand there for a few moments.

「Ah~...... Um, let me think. Are you some kind of a "Haniwa" or something?」

　When I asked it, it became furious.

「What part of me looks like a Haniwa!? I may look like this, but I'm a treasure hunter from the venerable "Dogu clan", y'know!? I also belong to the Fixers Guild!」

　It showed me the tag hanging from its neck, but I never thought I would encounter such a strange creature(?), no matter how different the world is.

　It didn't look like a bad guy ......, but I couldn't decide whether I should lend a hand so easily or not. Then, 

「Uooo~ Please help me~ I finally became a member of the guild after all these years. No one would join my party. I had no choice but to come to the underground waterway by myself, but I couldn't even defeat the slimes. And to top it all off, I got caught in a trap like this. It's too sad~~~!」

　Haniwa was still writhing in the net and half crying.

　I was still troubled, but I felt sorry to abandon it, so I cut the net with my sword and rescued it. Then, 

「Ooh! Thanks a lot!」

　Haniwa thanked me in a very easygoing voice, but was it my imagination that it didn't seem very happy?

「By the way, what's your name? My name is Osada, by the way!」

「...... Yuuto. Yuuto Orihara.」

「Yuuto, huh? What a nice name! What are you doing here by the way? Yuuto seems to be a member of the guild like me ― are you looking for something?」

「Nope. Simply contracted to exterminate vermin.」

「Oh, wow. That's awesome!」

「Is that so?」

「Yeah. Because you see, I'm not very good at fighting, I'm not very strong, and ...... no one is going to form a party with me. ......」

　Osada-kun's voice gradually faded, but it is true that there are probably only a few who would want to work with such a dubious existence.

　On the other hand, the words "Dogu clan" and "treasure hunters" are intriguing.

　According to Osada-kun, the Dogu clan is one of the races derived from the "Great Spirits of the Earth" in the past, and they are quite rare.

　Originally, they lived in the forest with elves and other people, but they came to Hanaria because they longed for the outside world.

「However, things didn't go as well as I had hoped. The people in the guild are very cold to me, saying, 'We can only give a reasonable response to those who can't produce results". What do you think I should do?」

「Even if you ask me that」

　What in the world do you expect from me?

「Well, everyone is suited for "different things", and you should do your best, Osada-kun.」

　Well then―With that said, I was about to walk away.

「Woah! Wait a minute! Don't leave me here! We're already "comrades", aren't we?」

　When I was told that, I let out a weird "Huuuuhhh!?".

「No. Because you saved me, right? There's an old saying, 'Two are better than one".」

「But that said, why should I party with Osada-kun? To put it bluntly, I don't see how it would benefit me.」

　On the other hand, if there is some "benefit" to me, I'm willing to party with Osada-kun.

　I understand that sooner or later there will come a limit to going it alone, and from what I saw, Osada-kun seemed to feel some debt of gratitude for the "fact" that I was saved him.

　And although I got the impression from our conversation that he was somewhat good-natured, he didn't seem to be the kind of person who would think of doing something bad.

「In any case, it's not like we're just standing around here talking. Let's go above ground for now!」

　Osada-kun urged me on, and I tried to move on, carrying a sack of sacks that had swelled up from the search so far.

「Ah! Should I carry your luggage?」

　Osada-kun opened his mouth wide and literally swallowed the sack.

「Aaaah! Hey! What are you doing!」

　I thought my luggage had been eaten, so I stuck my hands in Osada-kun's mouth, pulled him up and down, left and right, and tried to make him spit it back up...

「Hoeee! What are you doing!」

　After my outburst, Osada-kun backed away from me.

「I forgot to mention that I have a special ability called [S-Dimensional Pocket]!」 [宇次元胃袋]」

　I stopped moving and stared at Osada-kun.

「S-Dimensional Pocket?」

「Yeah. To be precise, it's called "Space Dimensional Pocket" [宇宙次元胃袋]. I omitted it because it was too long.」 

「Not much was omitted!」

　I accidentally put tsukkomi in it, but it seems to be a storage type of ability.

　In fact, he spits out my bag of sacks and showed them to me, and considering the fact that this is a fantasy-like alternate world, I guess this kind of thing is possible. However

「If you have such an ability, you might be useful for carrying luggage and so on. By the way, how much can it hold?」

「No idea?」

　"No idea," he said――No, could it be.

　Since the word "Space" was mentioned, I came to the conclusion that it might be able to store an unlimited amount of things.

「Are there any other restrictions or conditions?」

　When I asked, Osada-kun told me about his abilities.

　To sum them up briefly.

　※Can't swallow things that are too big.

　※If it is judged as "food or drink," it can be digested by those that fit. It is absorbed as a force.

　※It can be locked so that it is not absorbed.

　※It is not affected by the passage of time.

　※Living beings cannot be swallowed. ※Excluding exceptions

　※Things with too much force cannot be swallowed.

「Other than that――If I disappear, the only thing I can say is that whatever I swallowed until then will never be taken out again, I suppose」

　I don't know what will happen to the things inside after that, though,...... Osada-kun said with a laugh.

(...... No, no. That's unbelievable, you know? What's with that ton of ability?)

　It's like Doraemon's Dimensional Pocket, but if he really has such an ability ― and it's too fortunate for me that those around me are unaware of that fact.

　As I mentioned earlier, his ability to carry luggage ― In other words, his ability in terms of transportation is clearly beyond the norm.

　If he can easily transport large quantities of goods and other items, there is no telling how much profit he can make in terms of military and business, and if word of his abilities were to get out, there would undoubtedly be a bloody war over him.

　As for his reputation for being useless in battle, he could be more than a sufficient asset if he were creative.

「Osada-kun, there is only one condition. As much as possible, please do not tell others about this [Space Dimensional Pocket]. If you must, explain to them that it has a "limited capacity", or that it is "limited to three times its volume". As long as you keep that in mind, I'll be happy to add you to my party.」

「Ehh!? Are you for real!?」

「Yes. For real」

　When I said that with a smile, Osada-kun said, "Whoo-hoo! Yay!" and he jumped up and down, exploding with emotion.

　I, on the other hand, was thinking about how I could make the most of him in my mind―While thinking of my own black-heartedness.

「Osada-kun. Let's support each other from now on!」

「Sure!」

　I shook hands firmly with my first comrade in this world.

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