『World Tree-sama’s Dungeon』 Area 6-1, the snow area.
Inside the igloo we built ourselves, Nana-san and I were idly relaxing.
「It would be nice to grill some mochi」
「That does sound nice」
We had placed an IH magic tool in the center of the igloo, boiling water and making tea, but somehow I started to feel like grilling mochi.
Having lived as an elf for so long, I rarely crave Japanese food in this elf body.
But today, for some reason, the atmosphere made me want to grill mochi.
「By the way, Master」
「Hm?」
「Is it really fine to keep relaxing like this? We have been doing nothing for quite a while now」
「Do not keep saying I am just relaxing…」
It makes it sound like I am always spacing out.
「Shall we do something else?」
「Hmm? Like what?」
「For example, shall we try sledding? I brought one, just in case」
「A sled, huh」
Well, I do see quite a few people sliding down the snowy slopes on sleds.
「For your information, I am quite good at it」
「Is there really such a thing as being good or bad at sledding?」
「Of course there is. You can control it to some extent using your weight and your feet. And since I have the 『Riding』 skill, I am particularly good at it」
「I see」
That 『Riding』 skill really is versatile. I kind of want to test just how far it applies someday.
「Speaking of which, Master, you still have that float ring, right?」
「Eh…? Well, yes, I do…」
「You could probably use the float ring for sledding as well, could you not?」
「Hmm…」
Well, it is true I have seen people doing that. I have seen people happily sliding down snowy slopes using float rings.
Those are probably the float rings I made for the lake area. Using them as sleds, they are sliding down at quite a speed.
「But they are spinning around quite a lot…」
They are spinning while going down…
With barely anything to hold onto, they are rotating rapidly while sliding down at high speed…
「It sounds thrilling」
「It looks terrifying just watching…」
I do not really want to try that… I can only imagine being thrown off and tumbling down.
Everyone else probably does it because they would not get hurt even if they fell, but…
「By the way, there is skiing too」
「It seems so. Apparently, it’s been around for a while.」
It seems skiing already existed in this world. I can see people gracefully sliding down the slopes on long skis.
「So Nana-san, are you good at skiing too?」
「I think I would be, but… I have never tried it, so I cannot say for sure」
「Areh? You have not tried it?」
「There are no skis available」
「Ah, I see」
Well, this area does not get much snow, and skiing was probably not very common, so there are not many skis in the village. That is why none have made their way to Nana-san.
「Right now, Jerepapa-san is working desperately to produce them」
「Ah, really…」
「It seems he is going through quite a hellish time」
「…………」
I see… I feel a bit bad now…
I never thought something like that was happening while I was away on my journey…
「Maybe I should go check on Jered-papa-san later…」
「Are you planning to join him in that hell?」
「Well… I guess so…」
「I see. I will support you from the shadows」
「…………」
That sounds so detached. Even though it is partly our fault that Jered-papa is going through all that…
Nana-san also has the 『Woodworking』 skill, so she could probably help, but…
Well, Nana-san and Jered-papa do not get along at all, so it is a bit complicated.
「Anyway, since we cannot ski, what will you do? Want to try the sled? If you do not like the float ring, you can borrow mine」
「Hmm… What should I do… I wish I could run up the slope like everyone else」
Whether sledding or skiing, you have to climb the slope first. Everyone is casually carrying their boards and running up the hill without any trouble. No lifts needed for them.
There is no way I can climb like that.
I would have to slowly make my way up… and the looks I would get would probably be painful.
「…No, I think I will just stay here and relax in the igloo. I have already moved enough today」
「Well, that is something…」
Nana-san looked at me like I was a hopeless case.
But that is fine. Today is for relaxing in the igloo. I am enjoying this in my own way.
This is still me fully enjoying the snow area.
◇
Still relaxing inside the igloo.
Since we do not have mochi, I am grilling bread instead. I watch the bread as it toasts, just idly spacing out.
「Even though Friedrich-kun, the giant rat, is running around energetically, Master is quite the opposite」
「He really is energetic, Friedrich-kun」
At first, the three of us were inside the igloo, but it seems Friedrich-kun wanted to feel the snow more directly.
I noticed how restless he was, so I told him 『Go on』 and sent him outside.
After that, Friedrich-kun began running happily across the snowy field, clearly enjoying himself.
He is usually calm and composed, but right now he looks like he is having a lot of fun. Maybe he has found his childlike side.
「Ah, right. Speaking of Friedrich-kun…」
「Yes?」
「I can, have a conversation with Friedrich-kun」
「…Yes?」
「A conversation with Friedrich-kun」
「…No, what do you mean? I thought you were already talking with Friedrich-kun before」
Hmm. It would be better to explain this step by step.
「Well, you know about D-mail, right? The 『Dungeon Menu』」
I spoke the usual words and opened the dungeon menu in front of me.
The dungeon name displayed there, right now it is 『Parry Dungeon』.
…Ah, that must be from when I found out about acquiring 『Parry』 yesterday and sent a message of excitement.
「This dungeon name, currently set as 『Parry Dungeon』, Friedrich-kun can change it too」
Back when I was exchanging D-mails with Nana-san, I had Friedrich-kun input something once.
That is when I realized he can see the dungeon menu and even interact with it.
「By using this dungeon name function, I can have a conversation with Friedrich-kun, like written communication」
Until now, I was just loosely interpreting things myself, but with this, Friedrich-kun can properly convey his own words.
「I see」
「Huh?」
…Her reaction is kind of underwhelming.
Why? Is this not amazing? Even in my previous life, when a toy that could translate dog language was released, it became a hot topic.
It apparently sold quite well, even became a smartphone app, and even won some award that you could not really tell was prestigious or not.
「I have already been using written communication with Friedrich-kun for a while」
「Eh, really?」
「We often act together, so during those times, we used the menu to communicate」
「Ah, I see…」
So that is how it is. She was already doing it…
…That is a bit embarrassing. I thought I had made a groundbreaking discovery, only to find out it is already outdated.
「…Hm? No, but I never noticed. I do not remember seeing the dungeon name change in a way that showed you two communicating like that」
「That is because we were not using the dungeon name, but the 『Memo』 function」
「…Memo?」
「The 『Memo function』 in the menu」
「Memo function…?」
What is that…? Was there something like that? I have never used it.
「It is in the 『Detailed Settings』 section」
「Ah…」
It seems the memo function is hidden somewhere in that terrifyingly long list of detailed settings.
「Please wait a moment, I will open it now.『Dungeon Menu』」
Nana-san also spoke the command and summoned her own dungeon menu.
Two parts appeared. The display and the keyboard.
She operated the display smoothly with her fingers, then showed it to me.
「This is it. This is the memo function. This is what I use to communicate with Friedrich-kun」
Part of Nana-san’s menu had become a rectangular blank space. This is the memo function, where text can be entered.
「By typing like this, 」
As Nana-san tapped on the keyboard, the empty space that had nothing written in it displayed,
『＊You are in the snow＊』
…What is that ominous message, like when a warp fails.
Well, we are inside an igloo, so saying 『in the snow』 is not exactly wrong…
「Huh? By the way, what is with that symbol?」
「It is an asterisk」
「An asterisk…? No, I am not asking the name of the symbol. You can type symbols too?」
「Yes, you can」
Saying that, Nana-san typed on the keyboard again,
『Make peace with the cat (ΦωΦ)』
Even emoticons… And what is with that message…
「Maybe you can type punctuation too?」
「Of course you can. It is a memo, after all」
Well, that makes sense. It is a memo, so it works differently from the dungeon name.
「I see… That does sound useful. So where exactly is this memo function in the detailed settings?」
「May I?」
As I tried to open my own dungeon menu and searched through the absurdly long list of detailed settings, Nana-san reached over from the side.
She began sliding through the options with her finger… rapidly scrolling, then suddenly stopping.
There it was, 『Memo Pad』.
「Here it is」
「…………」
This is not good.
You should not hide a memo pad in such an inconvenient place…
There is no way anyone could casually use it. You would forget what you wanted to write before even finding it…
Still, since she found it, I went ahead and opened the memo pad,
『＊You are in the snow＊』
『Make peace with the cat (ΦωΦ)』
――Those messages appeared.
「So the memo is shared too」
「It seems so. That is why it would be wise not to leave any private notes here, Master」
「I see…」
「More importantly, it would be a problem for me, so please refrain」
It is not like I was planning to write anything like that anyway…
「More importantly, the location of this memo function is the issue. It is way too hard to find」
「If it were in a more accessible place, it could have been used as D-mail」
「You can use symbols and punctuation too, so it would have been convenient…」
You can even insert line breaks, and it does not add 『Dungeon』 at the end. It could have been a superior version of D-mail, a 『True D-mail』.
But unfortunately, like this, it is not usable. I am not even sure I would be able to find this memo function again…
next chapter: Third World Journey
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