Chapter 78
The hot days continue.
I keep spending my days playing in the river.
It's hard on me, since I'm especially bad with heat.
...I'm bad with cold too, but the heat here is a little abnormal.
Today, too, I let the river carry me along... and stayed cool atop the amoeba.
Hm?
When I look to the side, there's an amoeba face?
When I look down, there's an amoeba face.
...There are more of them!
Could it have split?
I think I heard amoebas split, or... huh?
If that's the case, how many of them will there be?
Well, I looked around from Amoeba No. 1? and saw tons of them splitting off!
...I'll pretend I didn't see that.
I think peace of mind is important.
It's about time to eat.
Today, I decided to try making a makeshift nikujaga.
A version with lots of meat.
I added onion-like things and potato-like vegetables, making my first mock nikujaga in this world.
I can't wait.
I started making it this morning, and now I'm letting the flavors soak in.
I seriously want some rice.
I'll go check out that place that caught my attention when I was putting up the barrier... once it's a little less hot.
I can't right now.
...Huh? Do spiders really spin silk from places like that?
The one a little way away is Big Boss-san.
Three strands from its back?
From its forelegs too??
...This is another world. Yes, another world.
I won't worry about it!
...? When did Big Boss-san start producing silk too?
The imitation nikujaga was delicious.
Yeah, it was scary.
The struggle over food has been getting more intense lately. I'll double the amount I make... No, triple it.
Maybe I should get a bigger cooking pot.
...
Shuri has more holes now.
There are two holes near the house in the wide clearing.
Is one the entrance and the other the exit?
? The atmosphere around the holes feels a little different.
Shuri's hole gives off a feeling that makes me afraid to approach.
What is that feeling? It's as though I'd be swallowed up...
The new hole feels a little... gentler?
This sort of sensation is hard to describe.
When I approached, a reptile's face emerged from the hole instead of Shuri's!
...Something like a lizard came out!
That startled me.
I panicked, thinking it might attack me, but it only stuck its face out of the hole and stared intently at me.
Since it was watching me, I stared back.
Just staring wasn't interesting, so I tried waving.
It came closer. Oh no.
A lizard?
Its shape is slightly different from the lizards I know from Japan.
Well, this is another world, after all.
The creatures here look similar too, but they're all a little different.
I guess I can call it a lizard-like lizard.
...I can just call it a lizard, right? The heat is getting to me.
Shuri is delighted to see the lizard.
Core and the others touched noses, kind of like they were greeting it.
It feels like an exchange between different cultures.
...No, definitely not.
Chai and the others seemed a little frightened, but did they lie down?
Big Boss-san tapped the lizard's nose repeatedly with its foreleg, so I guess that was a greeting.
What is going on?
It seems to be getting along pretty well with Fuwafuwa.
They were flying together... Flying!
It doesn't have wings, but it's flying.
Ah, no—Fuwafuwa has wings, but it was flying without using them.
So they're the same.
Could they be the same species despite their different forms?
No way. Not a chance.
Anyway, it seems like a new companion has somehow joined us.
...
Oh, they're back.
All the dogs, our new companions, went out together today.
One of them was taking a long time to recover, so I was worried, but that one seems to be all right too.
That's good.
It's about time to think of names.