Chapter 63: A Long Journey Begins in the Home Garden
“M-My Gift…?”
At first, I couldn’t immediately grasp what Shifa was saying.
“Yes. With Geo’s Gift, long journeys would be so much easier,” she said with a confident nod.
“That’s it!”
Anii clapped her hands together with excitement.
“With that, we wouldn’t even need to ride a carriage to travel, and we wouldn’t have to carry any food with us. Plus, we could come back whenever we liked!”
“I-I see…” I murmured, trying to process her enthusiasm.
“Why didn’t I think of this sooner?! That’s the perfect Gift for traveling!”
When she put it that way, she wasn’t wrong. I had never even considered using my garden for travel. The thought hadn’t crossed my mind once.
“Um… this Gift you’re talking about… what exactly is it?”
Sarassa asked cautiously, a hint of curiosity and hesitation in her voice. Naturally, she didn’t know anything about my Gift.
“Geo, is it alright if I tell her? She seems trustworthy,” Shifa asked.
“Ah, yes. That’s fine,” I replied.
If Shifa said so, then it must be safe. Besides, from the way she looked, she didn’t seem like a bad person.
“I think it might be faster if she sees it in person,” I suggested.
So, we decided to head to my house for a demonstration.
“Meow!”
“Piip!”
As soon as we stepped through the front door, Milk and Pippi came dashing from the back, as if in a playful race.
“Whoa—hey…!?”
Before I could react, they leapt at me, and I tumbled backward.
“Ow… ow…”
“Meow meow!”
“Pip Pip!”
“Hey! I told you before, you can’t just jump at me out of nowhere!” I scolded, brushing myself off.
“Meow…” Milk whimpered softly, as if understanding my frustration.
Pippi tilted her head in confusion, but I’m sure she’d understand eventually. Hopefully. If they kept doing this as they grew bigger, I might not survive another surprise attack.
“…Hey, it looks like there’s one more than before,” Anii remarked from behind, noticing Pippi. I introduced her quickly.
“Oh, is this the first time? This little one is Pippi. She’s Milk’s younger sister.”
“Pip~”
“By the look of her, she’s not just an ordinary bird… another monster, huh?”
“Yeah. I don’t actually know what species she is,” I admitted.
“Are you sure she’s safe…? You’re not a tamer, after all…” Sarassa asked nervously.
“Don’t worry. See? She’s really attached to me,” I reassured her.
“Pip Pip!”
When I stroked her head, Pippi chirped happily, clearly enjoying it.
“…So cute,” Shifa whispered softly, and I didn’t miss it.
“Do you want to try petting him?” I offered.
“Really?” she asked, eyes wide.
“Yes. Pippi seems to be friendly with people,” I said.
Milk was generally wary of anyone except me, and even Sena hadn’t gained much of her trust yet. But Pippi should be fine.
“Then, if you don’t mind…” Shifa reached out tentatively.
“Pip?” Pippi tilted his head curiously at her hand, but didn’t shy away. Slowly, Shifa’s hand brushed gently against his feathers.
“…Wow. So soft…”
Compared to Milk’s fur, Pippi’s feathers were even finer. If Milk’s coat had a satisfying, bouncy fluffiness, Pippi’s felt like touching a cloud—delicate, airy, and impossibly soft.
Most of her body was covered in feathers, so much so that Shifa’s hand almost sank up to her wrist. No wonder she was so light for her size.
…Still, she couldn’t fly, though.
“Can I touch him too?”
“Me too, me too!”
Anii raised her hand, beaming with excitement as she prepared to pet Pippi. Watching Shifa’s blissful expression—I might have found my own bliss in that moment. Sena, you’re always petting him, so you don’t count.
“Ah, Sarassa, if you’d like to…?” I suggested.
“…Thank you for the offer… but what exactly is this Gift…?”
Ah, right. That was why we had come back here. I had almost forgotten amidst the chaos.
Still, I couldn’t help but notice Sarassa showing no interest in Pippi’s feathers…
“…I prefer things hard and muscular, you see…” she muttered softly to herself.
Hard and muscular…? That… well, never mind. Maybe Sarassa was just a bit unusual.
Then, I explained my Gift, [Home Garden], to Sarassa, showing her how it worked in practice.
“…Huh? That’s strange… did I pass out again during training from depleted mana…?” she murmured nervously.
“Escaping reality won’t help, Sarassa. Unfortunately, this is real… painfully real.”
The next day, we found ourselves outside the city.
Waiting for us was a carriage. It seemed the Adventurer’s Guild had prepared it for this long journey.
“Um… I guess I’ll give it a try,” I said hesitantly.
“Please, Geo,” Shifa replied, her voice filled with quiet anticipation.
〈Do you want to specify the garden?〉
I nodded to the voice echoing in my mind. Immediately, the ground beneath the carriage shifted. The weeds disappeared, replaced by freshly tilled, fertile soil. A perfect little garden had appeared.
I had assumed I could only create gardens on land I owned, but apparently, as long as the land wasn’t claimed or in use, I could summon one there. I had discovered this just yesterday during some experiments.
For example, I had tried creating a garden at Shifa’s house—but that had been impossible.
Technically, this land likely belonged to the local lord as well… but since it wasn’t actively used for anything, it seemed to pass the “safe” check.
We climbed aboard the carriage.
Shifa took the reins. With a command, the horses began to move slowly forward.
At the same time, I adjusted the garden’s position to move along with the carriage.
“…Hii-hin?”
One horse turned its head, confused. And understandably so—the carriage it was pulling seemed weightless.
Yet it continued moving forward easily, as if nothing were there. Since it looked like a normal carriage from the outside, the illusion remained intact… though, admittedly, the garden hovering beneath it did give a slightly unnatural impression.
“Where exactly is this ‘home garden’…?”
Sarassa peered at the moving ground beneath the carriage, a mixture of disbelief and amusement in her voice.