"Whew, finally done!"

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, I wiped the sweat from my forehead with my arm.

"Ahaha, I get what you mean, but it’s not over yet. In fact, it’s just beginning."

"Yeah, I know… But that felt kinda like submitting a marriage registration in Japan, didn’t it?"

"Huh…?"

Rio’s eyes widened, and she froze. I waited, but there was no response. I waved my hand in front of her face—still nothing. Maybe the term ‘marriage registration’ hadn’t fully sunk in yet. Oh, now her face was turning red.

"M-Marriage registration…?"

"In Japan, once you submit it, you’re… well, officially husband and wife, so I guess it’s a little different. But in this world, submitting documents like that only means one thing."

"Y-Yeah…"

She looked down, trying to hide her reddened face, but even her ears were completely flushed.

"Well, all that’s left now is the actual ceremony!"

"Yeah!"

Rio lifted her head with a bright expression.

"Wafuu!"

Nir chimed in as well. This guy definitely understands words. Maybe I should test it out later.

"Alright, let’s head back and mess around with metal using earth magic!"

"Ahaha!"

"We’re running low on iron ore, too. Maybe it’s time for another trip to the mines."

"Yeah, I’d like to restock as well."

"Also, I really want to practice teleportation magic."

"Oh, right. That spell exists."

It was the same spell that damn princess had tried and failed to activate. If I could master it, it’d be incredibly useful.

"Especially in case we get trapped in a cave-in while mining. I could blow through the tunnels, sure, but if I ended up burying myself even deeper, that’d be a disaster."

"Yeah, that would be no joke…"

"Right? I always thought of it as that damn princess’s magic, but honestly, being able to use it would be pretty handy."

"That’s true… Alright, I’ll practice too."

With that decided, we immediately started our training.

"Ugh, teleportation is really tough…"

Three days had passed, but we still hadn’t successfully teleported.

We had a vague idea of how it should work, but it remained just that—vague.

"We can transport objects now, but moving ourselves is another matter entirely…"

"Yeah, I just want to shift a little bit, even just a step…"

We’d managed to make small objects disappear from our hands and reappear a short distance away, or even summon them back. This was probably an extension of our ability to use spatial storage. But when it came to teleporting ourselves, the difficulty level skyrocketed.

After all, we couldn’t store ourselves inside our spatial storage.

"Hmm, maybe I need to think about it more logically."

Like… connecting the space I’m in with my destination? But that makes it feel like I’d still have to physically move through it. I want to be able to just—bam—shift instantly.

Oh, by the way, ever since Nir became my familiar, that strange presence I’d been sensing had disappeared.

Whenever we practiced magic outside, Nir would sometimes get bored and disappear for a bit, like he was going for a stroll. Not that he literally said so, but I could just tell.

And when he did, that ominous presence would also vanish. Maybe Nir had sensed that I found it annoying and decided to do something about it.

"By the way, where is Nir today? He’s been gone for a while."

"Yeah, he’s out for a walk again. He seems to get bored watching us practice magic."

"I guess that makes sense… I feel kind of bad."

"Ahaha, maybe we should play with him later."

"Alright, get ready… On your marks!"

At Rio’s cue, I lined up beside Nir, drawing my right foot back and gathering magic power in preparation to sprint. Nir, too, lowered his stance, brimming with energy.

"Ready…"

It all started when I was tinkering with metal using earth magic, and Nir playfully pounced on me. He must have been really bored. Since he clearly wanted to play, I decided to test his speed.

I could feel his excitement—he was practically shouting, "Let’s run, let’s run!"

"Go!"

At the signal, I unleashed the built-up power in my legs, launching myself forward. Nir took off with a thunderous burst, already ahead of me.

"Damn it, I’m not gonna lose!"

We were heading west, straight toward the Fenrir Forest. If we kept going, we’d crash right into it. Nir was gradually pulling ahead, so I decided to take to the sky.

Activating wind magic, I leaped off the ground and transitioned into flight, rapidly accelerating. As I started to overtake Nir, he suddenly noticed and—

—began running up into the air.

Wait, what?

I was flying, but Nir was… walking on air? Was that some kind of skill?

While pondering that, I realized we’d already reached the treetops of the forest.

Yeah, there was no way I could beat Nir on the ground. Four legs were just unfair. But in the air, it was a different story. I’d never actually pushed my flight speed to the limit before.

"I win!"

After passing Nir, I came to a stop mid-air, waiting for him. As he leapt toward me, I caught him.

"Whoa—hey, stop it!"

He started licking my face furiously.

"Ahaha!"

Rio arrived shortly after and immediately burst into laughter.

"I think he’s sulking a little."

"Yeah, I get that feeling too."

I could sense his determination—"Next time, I’ll win!"—and so, our days passed as we awaited the completion of our furniture.