Chapter 33: Picnic

In order to get on good terms with the Fourth Princess 【Lusyan】 who suddenly showed up at our house, I suggested that we go on a picnic to a nearby mountain.

And so, later that day, with our bento in hand we made our way up the mountain—only to find that there wasn’t a single soul around.

This mountain is supposed to be the most famous picnic spot in Rozy, yet once we got there, we hadn’t seen anyone at all.

Why on earth?

“Well, you see, there was that huge incident just last week. Tons of people died, and only a truly peculiar person would be itching to go on a picnic so soon.”

I see.

So that’s why it was completely empty.

“But isn’t it more fun when there’s no one around? I haven’t been on a picnic in ages, so I’m gonna have an absolute blast!”

“Same here—I’m gonna let loose for the first time in forever!”

Sylha and Professor Zenon skipped up the mountain path, beaming.

“Princess, aren’t you tired?”

I mean, she is a princess.

She was, no doubt, pampered and well cared for all her life.

Up until now, she’d have had a carriage do all the work of climbing a mountain like this—and maybe even gotten around inside the castle on a Segway for extra comfort.

Not that I’m sure Segways even exist in this world…

I assumed she must be even more of a wimp than I am, so I kept checking on her condition.

“Oh no, I’m fine! In fact, I could use a bit more of a workout. You should’ve added some extra weight to my backpack, you know.”

For some reason, the princess wasn’t acting like a wimp at all. Instead, she was keeping pace with us while doing squats.

I’ve never seen anyone do squats while climbing a mountain before!

And she says that still isn’t enough weight? How hard on herself can she be!

Apparently—even if it’s a secret kept from the citizens—the princess really loves strength training.

The calves she showed us during our break were impressively muscular.

I heard that inside the castle there’s even a gym exclusively for the royals, and that she’s been training there since she was a child.

Are all the royals in Rozy like this—practically athletes?

I wondered if every member of Rozy’s royal family had their own gym, but when I asked Liluria directly, she shot down the idea with a “no way.”

So it seems it’s just Rozy’s royals who are a bit off.

“…How about giving me a piggyback ride? It’s bound to be a pretty solid workout for you, you know.”

And I, a commoner who hardly ever exercises, was already exhausted from climbing the mountain.

Even though it’s only a small mountain—about an hour’s climb to the top—my feeble stamina was about to give out.

“That’s a nice idea indeed! Now, climb onto my back.”

Apparently, my suggestion to take it easy turned out to be a brilliant one.

【Lusyan】 adjusted her backpack onto her chest, turning her bare back toward me.

And with my legs already completely shot from fatigue, I didn’t hesitate for a second and leaned in.

“Yoiisho!”

When 【Lusyan】 stood up, my view suddenly got a whole lot higher than usual.

It was autumn, and a breathtaking panorama of fall colors spread out before me.

“Is that really okay with you…?”

Liluria looked at me with a twisted expression as she watched me being carried by Princess 【Lusyan】.

Well, it was a bit embarrassing, but there’s no denying it was much easier.

I could easily accept this level of embarrassment.

“Uoooo! I can practically hear my muscles screaming!”

And then, for some reason, getting me a piggyback ride got 【Lusyan】 so hyped up that she suddenly started running.

“Uoooo, w-w-wait! Stop! Stop! Please, no running!”

Being run on while getting a piggyback ride is absolutely terrifying.

The distance between us and the ground felt much greater than usual, and the jolts from her running hit like a magnitude‑5 earthquake.

“The wind! I’m becoming the wind!”

Oh man, this kid just won’t listen!

I tried tapping my head repeatedly to get her attention, but it had no effect whatsoever.

There we were—【Lusyan】 running on relentlessly like a broken toy with me on her back, and Liluria dashing after us.

Looking at the scene, it hardly felt like we were on a picnic at all.

In the end, without even noticing my calls to stop, 【Lusyan】 carried me all the way to the summit.

“Hah… honestly. You brought this on yourself.”

～～～～～～

The view from the summit was absolutely breathtaking.

Red. Brown. Orange.

The mountain trees were beautifully colored, creating a scene that looked straight out of a painting.

“This rolled omelet is so good! Hey, Zenon! You’re a great cook, huh!”

“Of course! They don’t call me the Sage who can do anything for nothing!”

“Honestly, every dish in this bento is delicious. You could probably open a restaurant with these!”

We spread out our leisure sheet and enjoyed the bento Professor Zenon had prepared for us.

Every single dish was a masterpiece, making our taste buds sing.

“It’s truly delicious, isn’t it? I might even give the castle’s head chef a run for her money.”

That’s high praise coming from Lusyan, who’s probably been savoring delicious food since the day she was born.

“As expected of Zenon. When it comes to you, everything goes smoothly.”

“No, really! If you keep praising me like that, I’ll only pay out about a million…?”

“A million?! Giving me that much money just for praising me is more than enough!”

“I really love autumn leaves. I think the sight of vivid leaves being blown and scattered by the wind is the most breathtaking view—rivaling any scenery in the world.”

Lusyan murmured that, lost in the enchantment of the view.

“Really? Then I’ll show you something even better!”

I came here to get closer to Lusyan. I figured I’d do my part for her.

“Something even better…? N-no, Hero! There’s no way I’m going to strip naked in broad daylight!”

“I never said you should go completely naked!”

What could be so great about me stripping naked? There’s no way I’d show something so indecent while we’re eating!

“I was sure you’d go naked too.”

“Me too…”

“Me too…”

How badly do you all expect me to be naked?! No way! Just because we’re alone on the mountaintop doesn’t mean I should go completely naked!

“Alright, just watch closely—it’s only for a moment, okay?”

I pulled myself together and focused. I closed my eyes, shutting off all visual input. And then, I shouted,

“Stop!”

Pita!

At that moment, the trees and falling autumn leaves within a ten-meter radius of me suddenly froze in place. It was as if the scene had been captured in a photograph—it was utterly surreal.

“S-beautiful~!”

Good. It seems Lusyan liked the view. She kept murmuring “beautiful” repeatedly, staring at the scene as if etching it into her memory.

And not just Lusyan. Liluria, Sylha, and Zenon too—everyone expressed their amazement at this otherworldly view.

But the miraculous moment didn’t last long. My internal magical power is extremely limited, after all. The effect of my time magic lasted only about ten seconds, and soon everything returned to normal.

“Haa haa haa. I’m… exhausted.”

“Good job.”

Liluria, having exhausted her magic power, handed me a towel as I was drenched in sweat.

“I don’t think anyone but Ao would use time magic like this.”

Sylha handed me some cold water.

“But I’m glad everyone enjoyed it,” I said. Liluria and Sylha smiled warmly in response to my words.

However, Zenon and Lusyan furrowed their brows. “Huh? Did I do something wrong again?”

After a while, Zenon finally spoke up,
“Eh, so you, Hero, are also a time magician!?”

Ah, that was what got her. I figured that if we’re going to live together harmoniously from now on, it might not be a good idea to keep secrets. So I used my time magic here not only to show everyone the most amazing view, but also to reveal its existence to the princess.

“D-d-d-Darling, you can use time magic!?”

Then, just like Lusyan, Zenon widened her small eyes in surprise.

…Now that I think about it, I forgot to mention it to Zenon. It’s been quite a while since she joined us, but now that I think about it, I never mentioned it. I initially kept it secret because I couldn’t trust others, but now I have no such worries.

These four girls here are, in effect, the only family I have in this world. I don’t mind sharing any secret with them, and I even think that for their sake, I can do things that aren’t exactly NEET-like.

“Hey, Darling!? You definitely forgot to tell me that secret, didn’t you!?”

“Alright, alright. Ao, you’ve got your timing issues, too.”

“That’s right, isn’t it? Well, I’ve known for ages,” someone adds.

“Ahwawawawa. I-I ended up coming to a place with an unbelievable person.”

I looked at the faces of the four who were making a ruckus and thought, This other world isn’t so bad after all. When I suddenly died and was thrown into another world, I didn’t know what to do—but this world is surprisingly fun, isn’t it?

From now on, we’ll probably get caught up in incidents and travel to various places. But I’m sure that with these four, I’ll have a great time. I’m that sure. And although there are still many obstacles, someday, I will definitely make it. I’ll become the ultimate NEET!

Come on! Our NEET life is just beginning!

    THE END