"So, what is it you want to talk about?"
I faced Snow again.
"About summoning other spirits."
Ah, right. I had heard there were other spirits besides Snow.
"Should I summon more spirits to increase our fighting power?"
I was thinking about various mobile games, where you'd summon heroes to strengthen your party. Right now, my party consists of just Snow and me, who isn't much of a combatant. If we had more battle-ready spirits, we might be able to tackle high-difficulty dungeons more easily.
...But then again, thinking about Snow's strength, it's like having a level 99 hero in the party from the start. She uses magic, so I guess she's a mage. Well, it doesn't really matter. Still, I wonder if we would ever need more power than what we already have.
"For now, we don't need to summon any more. In fact, it's better if we don't."
"Why not?"
Snow looked down bashfully.
Huh? Is she saying she wants to be alone with me?
"My energy consumption isn't exactly great."
"...Oh, I see."
I understood what she meant. My faint hopes were dashed. And now, "energy consumption"?
"You mean... magic power?"
"Yes. Your magic is a lot higher than expected. Normally, even summoning several spirits would only be a minor problem. But that excess magic is actually causing issues."
"...So having a lot isn't a good thing?"
I've never really understood if my magic power is considered high or low. It's only something Snow has told me, and magic isn't something you'd typically hear about in daily life. I've only encountered the term in games before.
"In most cases, it's great. But with all that excess magic, you can summon powerful spirits. And, to be honest, I'm one of the highest-tier spirits. Summoning several like me would be impossible."
"Why is that?"
"Even if you had 100 party points, you'd still struggle to operate two members that cost 60 points each at the same time."
"...Got it."
It's a pretty simple comparison, but it makes sense. I can't afford two high-tier spirits like Snow at the same time.
"Maybe it's possible, but I can't say for sure. I don't really understand your magic levels, just that they're high."
"Why not?"
Snow thought for a moment, resting her chin in her hand. Even this casual gesture looked cute, which made me realize how much of an advantage being beautiful is.
"...It might be because I haven't incarnated for a long time. But if we reach capacity, we won't be able to fight properly until your magic catches up. At that point, even if you became an Explorer, you'd be a useless NEET."
What she was saying sounded harsh, but I understood it.
"How do you increase magic power?"
"There are two ways."
"Two ways, huh?"
"One is for you to enter a dungeon and just keep defeating monsters."
"Keep defeating them?"
"To put it more gently, you kill them."
"...Well, that sounds better, but..."
It seems to confirm the theory that entering a dungeon helps you level up, which I've heard people whisper about.
"And the second way?"
"There's... something else, but I'll explain that later. Either way, it will be necessary eventually."
For some reason, Snow was vague about the second method.
...Well, if she wasn't explaining it now, it probably wasn't an urgent matter.
While I was thinking about this, my stomach growled. I hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and after all the things that had happened, I was extra hungry.
"Do spirits need to eat?"
"Before I incarnated, I didn't need food... and actually, I couldn't eat. But now, I can eat, and I get hungry."
"Then, shall I make something?"
"Can you cook?"
"As a typical college student living alone, I can manage."
I usually make simple dishes like fried rice or stir-fried vegetables. I'm not much of a big eater, but I sometimes cook in bulk and eat leftovers for a few days. So, making food for Snow wouldn't be an issue.
"Then I'll take you up on that."
"Sure thing."
Looking in the fridge, I found only ham and eggs. Also, I had some leftover rice from yesterday, which I had planned to use for lunch and dinner.
...This looks like it's going to be an omelette rice.
While chopping up the ham, I felt a strange gaze on me. I looked up, and Snow was staring at me.
"What's up?"
"After everything that happened, you're still so calm. Isn't this a pretty unusual situation?"
"...Now that you mention it, yeah."
I returned to chopping the ham.
I had been caught up in the birth of a dungeon, summoned a beautiful spirit using a skill book, almost died, kissed her, conquered the dungeon, and now she was in my room, and I was making dinner.
"I guess I've gotten numb to all the craziness."
"I see, either you're a big deal or just an idiot."
"I hope I'm the former."
I heated up the frying pan with oil. Then, a thought crossed my mind.
"By the way, Snow, can you handle hot food or baths?"
I imagined her over-heating in a hot bath, but Snow gave me a look that seemed to say, "What are you talking about?"
"I don't have any trouble with daily life. If you're talking about fire-element spirits, they'd catch fire as soon as they incarnated."
"Ah, I see."
"Well, maybe you'll find that the temperature that feels slightly cold to you is perfect for me, or I might prefer a bath at 39°C over 42°C, something like that. Humans have preferences, too."
"Got it. So, taking a bath isn't a problem?"
"Pervert."
"Why the heck would you say that?"
Still, I couldn't completely deny the thought of her in the bath since it was the kind of thing I was imagining.
After a while, the omelette rice was ready. I put a heart-shaped ketchup design on top, curious to see how Snow would react.
I was hoping for a response, but instead, Snow just swapped her plate with mine in silence. She didn't seem interested in making any remarks.
"Mm... it's delicious!"
Snow took a bite and her eyes lit up.
Wow, I didn't expect such a straightforward reaction. I did have a bit of confidence in this dish, though.
I love omelette rice, and it's easy to make, with minimal ingredients and little cleanup. I tend to make it a lot, so I'd say I've mastered it to a decent level.
"This is the best thing I've eaten in a while."
"You mentioned you couldn't eat before, but you've had food before, right?"
"In the world I was born in, we ate normally. Generally, we could survive on the magic power in the air."
"Wow... other worlds are amazing."
"In this world, there's no magic power floating in the air. If more people awakened their magic, maybe the world would be like that, too. But still, this is really delicious. I didn't expect you to have such a skill, Yuma. It's the only thing you can be proud of."
"Why do you say it's the only thing?"
Well, it's kind of true.
"By the way, based on what we were talking about earlier, this room has a bath, right?"
"Yeah, it does."
For the rent, it's actually a pretty decent bath. It's nice to be able to stretch out in a tub.
"I want to take a bath."
"Alright."
As the "master" in this situation, I figured I'd prepare the bath.