Sustenance Above All
People often say the essentials for human survival are food, clothing, and shelter. But if someone asked me which of the three takes top priority, I'd pick food without hesitation.
Lacking clothes might not pose an immediate threat to life. And without a home, you could always wander and scrape by somehow. But without food, humans starve to death.
In that sense, this Fairy Realm still had some shortcomings when it came to sustaining human life.
"It doesn't look like there's anything we can eat right away...."
I nodded along.
Until now, other pressing matters had kept me from focusing on it, but according to Veronica, she hadn't eaten a thing since we'd met.
So before diving into serious magic lessons, I figured we'd handle meals first. I poked around the Fairy Realm, but all I found were thick bamboo groves growing like fences and a few pieces of clothing in the thatched hut's single room—plus the sunflower Veronica had just bloomed.
"I'm sorry... I've already squeezed out every last drop of mana, so I don't think I can do more."
"Whaaat...? Well, can't be helped."
I'd planned to use the seeds from this sunflower as seedlings anyway. It'd be a waste to devour it for just one meal.
"Looks like we'll have to go outside after all."
"Yeah."
And so, the first field trip of Veronica's Magic Classroom Session #1 was decided: foraging for food beyond the Fairy Realm.
Dimension Corridor was a skill that created a passage linking to the Fairy Realm.
The key point here was that it made a path to the Fairy Realm. In other words, using Dimension Corridor inside the Fairy Realm itself did nothing.
Why? Because you were already there. At first, I'd worried we might be trapped forever, starving to death. But then...
"This must be the way out, right...?"
"Probably?"
Exploring the Fairy Realm with Veronica, we discovered a massive rift—about two meters across—tucked between the bamboo groves behind the thatched hut.
Still, charging out unprepared could mean facing wolves bare-handed.
"I'll... put you out there...?"
"Yeah."
First, we needed to check if the outside was safe.
Veronica cautiously extended the flower in her hand beyond the rift.
We waited like that for about ten seconds. Then she pulled the sunflower back inside and confirmed no changes to the petals.
Of course, that didn't guarantee safety on its own.
Whiiiir—
This time, I landed on the sunflower and gave Veronica a small nod. She met my eyes, then carefully poked the flower's head out through the rift again.
Whoosh—!
The moment I passed through, thick darkness flooded my vision.
'...Does time flow differently between the Fairy Realm and outside?'
Or maybe the Fairy Realm simply had no such thing as night.
In the moonlit forest, I blinked to adjust to the dark.
Dark Adaptationlv.1 → lv.2
The Dark Adaptation skill leveled up, and the surroundings gradually came into view.
Unlike my guess that the rift connected to the sunflower field, it actually led near the tree stump where I'd first stayed.
'...Nothing special otherwise.'
I scanned the area for anything noteworthy.
Dimension Corridor lv.1
Saved Respawn Zones: 1/1
Remove saved respawn zone?
A status window popped up, asking if I wanted to remove the rift connected to the Fairy Realm.
'Can I only have one exit?'
Or maybe leveling it up would allow more respawn zones. I wanted to test deleting it and recreating one, but...
'Better hold off for now.'
If I couldn't make a new one, we'd be trapped in the Fairy Realm for good.
Best to leave it alone until I could set more zones. As I mulled this over, time passed.
Sluuurp. "H-how was it...?"
Veronica pulled back the sunflower stem and asked timidly.
'No big time difference between Fairy Realm and outside.'
I'd told her to count to a hundred before pulling back.
Our counting speeds wouldn't match perfectly, so there was a slight gap, but nothing major.
"F-Fairy...?"
Lost in thought, I saw her anxiety flaring up again, so...
"Yeah, safe to go out."
I replied casually, flashing a charming smile.
Diana returned from scouting with a bright smile.
"Good."
Veronica's lips curved into a soft smile at Diana's clumsy Elenika pronunciation.
"Th-then, shall we go...!" "Let's go."
Diana fluttered her wings atop the flower, pointing at the rift. Veronica barely suppressed the urge to pet her and stepped forward cautiously.
Passing through, the dark-painted forest filled their view.
"Wh-where is this...?"
Confusion and unease flickered briefly at the unfamiliar space—not the expected yellow flower field.
"Veronica, here, food!"
Diana lifted off the flower, her wings glowing faint green to pierce the darkness.
'...Pretty.'
Unaware or not of her own glow, Diana traced beautiful arcs through the sky before landing in a forest thicket.
Drawn by the light, Veronica approached and spotted small red berries clustered there.
"Wild strawberries?" "Food, edible, Diana checked."
Pop.
Diana puffed out her chest proudly, plucked one, and...
Nom nom.
...demonstrated by taking a bite from the fruit cupped in her hands, then offered the rest to Veronica.
The sight purified Veronica's heart, but trouble creased her brow.
"F-Fairy?" "?" "N-no, it's nothing.... W-wow, looks delicious."
Tiny as a pinky nail. Veronica uttered a robotic exclamation like from a textbook, then popped the strawberry into her mouth.
Not fully ripe, it mixed faint sourness and astringency with the sweetness. She barely savored it before it was gone.
Of the berries on the bush, barely a dozen were ripe enough to eat.
Even for a child as slender as Veronica, it was nowhere near enough. Far from sating her hunger...
Grr rumble... "Ah, um, that..."
Her empty stomach activated, growling louder. She tried to excuse it, but...
Grr rumble, grrr—. "......"
Failing to silence her body's betrayal, she clamped her mouth shut. Blushing in shame, she couldn't lift her head.
Only then did Diana realize the tree fruits were woefully insufficient for Veronica. She scratched her cheek, set down another berry, and tugged Veronica's sleeve.
"Diana knows, food, good. Lots."
"A-a good spot...?" "Let's go, good spot, food, lots."
Doubt briefly crossed Veronica's face.
'Does she know a fruit tree grove?'
She'd resigned to fasting another day and hunting small game at dawn tomorrow. No reason not to follow.
Squirrels and elephants eat different amounts, just like fairies and humans.
'This won't cut it.'
Even other fruit trees wouldn't change much.
Veronica was slim, but asking a starving child to last the night on a handful of berries was cruel.
'If only I could hunt...'
I clenched and unclenched my empty hands, feeling the absence of my wilderness companion.
If I had my friend Fork, I could've shown off my hunting skills to Veronica.
'...But without that deep stab, the wolf might've finished me. Yeah, noble sacrifice.'
Gathering fruits or hunting both proved tricky.
'But it's not impossible.'
I knew one spot in this forest with plenty of food.
Time had passed, so it might be a bust. Still, better than scrounging dubious fruits or futile hunting.
'Might salvage a few jars of preserves if lucky.'
Packaged food could evade wild animals. Even if empty-handed, saving my new friend made it worthwhile.
Plus...
'...Before magic lessons, I need to verify her at minimum.'
Was she trustworthy, or not?
"Follow me." "...Yes!"
To judge that, I led Veronica to the 'spot with likely food'—the wreckage clearing.