Chapter 157
Ah, it really was a volcano.
I rode on Shion's back as Shion brought me closer to the volcano.
I'd only ever seen one on TV back in Japan.
The volcano must be quite a distance from where I am, but I can still feel the heat.
Wow, it's a real volcano!
And this volcano is huge.
...Its summit sticks up above the clouds.
I could see it from my house even though it looked small, so it must be huge.
...About as big as Mount Fuji?
...I don't know how big Mount Fuji is...
...
Come to think of it... magma is flowing down.
Was there a sound when it erupted?
...Was I too far from the volcano to notice?
Judging by the amount of magma, this seems like it would be a fairly large eruption...
What's going on?
Huh?
...Magma is hot... right?
I saw footage in Japan of forests catching fire from the heat of magma... So what's going on?
Magma is flowing through the forest, but the trees around it aren't burning.
The trees are a little way from the magma's path, but... they should still be affected.
...Is that magma not hot?
Hmm... I guess that's just how things work in another world?
It doesn't sit right with me...
Oh, my little sister mentioned this—this is what they call plot convenience!
What was it again? Something incredibly convenient happens just for the protagonist... I think.
The protagonist... is it this forest?
...Well, the most important thing is that nothing gets damaged.
Right, everything else must just be normal in this world.
I'll just assume that's the case.
Following the magma flowing through the forest, I can see it enter a cave... That's all I can make out from up here.
Hmm? ...That cave the magma flowed into looks familiar...
That enormous, spacious cave...
So that place was a path for magma.
No wonder it was so spacious.
Come to think of it, I saw amoebas there too.
But now that I've gotten closer, I can tell there's an incredible amount of magic coming from this volcano.
...I feel like I recognize this magic... Whose was it again?
Eek!
No, seriously?
I can see the shape of a dragon inside the volcano... but its magic... is it Ball of Yarn's?
I had figured it was the Fire Dragon, but... oh, right. The magic I felt from the volcano was similar to Ball of Yarn's.
Oh... it's coming out.
So I was right about it being Ball of Yarn.
Amazing, it's safe even inside a volcano.
Yeah... let's cool you off a little.
Because if you keep rubbing up against me like that, I might be in trouble.
"Good morning."
It leans its face toward me as I sit on Shion's back.
It's cute how it narrows its eyes contentedly when I pet it.
You were inside the volcano... weren't you hot?
...Maybe it's resistant to fire and heat because it's a Fire Dragon.
Ah... are those amoebas?
So the amoebas can live in magma too.
...It looks like they're swimming in the magma. Amazing.
Hmm? They seem to be looking this way...
...I can't exactly go over there.
I'm just an ordinary human, after all.
...No, wait. Didn't I become something nonhuman?
Even so, magma's still out of the question!
I came to see a volcano, but this was even more shocking.
I never imagined there were creatures that could withstand magma.
That's another world for you!
Ball of Yarn goes back inside the volcano.
Its bright red color made me think of fire, and I was right.
...In that case, Marshmallow needed snow, so maybe a snowy mountain?
I look around, but there isn't a snowy mountain.
...Could a snowy mountain appear from now on?
The volcano appeared before I knew it, too.
A snowy mountain, huh? I'm kind of looking forward to it.