Chapter 29

At some point, it went from grotesque, weird stories to some action and even emotional tales from other worlds. Listening to her was surprisingly fun. It was certainly better compared to sitting in silence for several hours.

Traveling the space between Tettorokata and Kastoria took a couple of days. This meant sleeping in the wilds a couple of times.

Their carriage pulled to a halt. They had reached their rest spot for the night.

John and Leyla hopped off. They began setting up their camp. They had purchased a small tent in Tettorokata. Since they hadn't confirmed the location of the next chair, they might need to camp out several times. Purchasing a tent made sense.

“It would be nice if the fifth chair is somewhere in the capital, though,” John murmured as he entered. They had purchased a nice one, just in case they had to camp often.

They also purchased new and better sleeping bags, different from the ones they used back in the dungeon. The tent was large enough to provide ample space between the two as they slept.

“Yeah, we can get things done, and I can go back.”

“... Curious question,” John said. “What will you do once you can return?”

He spoke in a soft tone, as if asking that question to himself.

“It’ll be business as usual for me, checking people that pass through, hoping they didn't destroy the other chair.”

John let out a wry smile at her response.

“How about you? Isn't that the more interesting question?”

“I guess…”

… What should I do?

He had yet to think about that. He didn't come here with any super ability, so he would need to work hard to get by.

Oh, wait, there's that chair thing, right?

He would be given one of the chairs once he completed his mission. One of them should allow him to live a comfortable life. Which one, though?

“If you can pick one of the chairs, which one will you choose?” John asked.

“None of them,” Leyla answered. “I just want my sister's chair.”

“I guess you don't need anything, huh? Must be nice.”

“Easy for you to say. How about you? Out of the four we recovered so far, which will you pick?”

John thought about it for a moment, but before he could answer, Leyla added, “You'll definitely go for the pink chair, right?”

The pink chair, the first chair they recovered. The chair that made everyone love them.

“No-” John was about to answer, but decided to think about it more carefully. All things considered, the pink chair wasn't bad at all. It should get him a lot of people who were willing to devote their lives to him, and connections are important, even when in a different world.

Of course, that also meant sitting on the chair constantly, which didn't seem that fun.

“You won't be lonely anymore.” She teased.

“What kind of person do you think I am?”

“A lonely person,” she spat.

“I'm not lonely.”

John used to be a lone wolf back on Earth. Not because he couldn't interact with other people, but because he didn't want to. He couldn't imagine interacting with other people all the time just because of the chair. It would be exhausting.

“You can get a noble on your side,” Leyla whispered. “Imagine that. Marrying into the royal family or something, just because of the chair.”

“No, that's definitely a bad idea.”

The effects of the chair only lasted while he sat on it. He could use it for certain opportunities, but marriage meant staying together for life, especially with the royal family. He couldn't remain seated in the chair until the end.

“I could imagine you getting executed because of that.” Leyla giggled. “You accidentally stand up, everyone realizes you're messing with them, and off to the guillotine you go.”

“Why do you sound so happy?”

“Because imagining it is funny. I'll ask her to let me down to watch you die.”

John groaned. Imagining the chopping board with him there made him shudder.

“You're evil.”

“I'm not. Anyone would laugh.”

“You don't laugh when your frie- ally is on the chopping board.”

“Friend?”

“I've annulled it.”

“Eh… So you've thought of me as a friend now? Interesting,” she teased. “Should I start treating you like my dog?”

“You're supposed to support me.”

“I'm going to sleep.”

“Don't run away!”

Leyla ignored him and turned to the other side.

•••

A girl sat in front of a simple wooden house. The sound of her hammer echoed through the sky. The nail disappeared into the wood, locking it in place. She wiped the sweat off her head, a smile on her face. She reached out for another piece.

“Here…? No, here…” She adjusted the angle, then picked up her hammer and began her work, hammering away at the nail.

Leyla appeared in front of the wooden house.

“What are you doing?” she asked, looking at the chair that had begun to take shape. The chair was a simple, if rather crude, wooden chair.

“I'm making this chair,” she said with pride. Leyla could see that. That wasn't what she meant when she asked her question.

“Why?”

“This is for you!” She handed the chair over. It didn't look all that strong. Leyla wasn't heavy, so she could probably sit on it without it collapsing. Still, it looked so bad that it might crumble under its own weight.

“Umm… thanks.”

Should I even use this?

It looked more like a trophy than an actual chair. A poorly made trophy.

“... Why a chair, specifically?”

“Hmm? You sit a lot up there, right?”

“Yeah, but we already have a chair.”

You should know. Leyla thought. She did come from the same place as her.

“You could never have enough chairs.” She laughed. “Well, that's a joke. I just thought that you might want a change every so often.”

I won't even sit on this…

“So, what are you doing here? Did you come to visit me?” She asked all of a sudden.

Leyla shook her head. “I had a job.”

One of the residents of this world did experiments that messed up the balance. Leyla came here to fix it.

She, meanwhile, sat there, working on this chair while chaos happened on the other side of the planet. Leyla couldn’t believe it.

“Aren’t you worried?”

“About what?” she asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“About that.” With her thumb, she pointed to the landscape behind her. She had just finished her job and would teleport back after this. “Do you really know nothing of what’s going on back there?”

Granted, it happened far away. That said, this world already had advanced communication technology, so she should have heard the news.

“Oh… I just don’t care, I guess?” she answered casually. Leyla sighed.

“I’ll get you some tea.”

“No nee-”

“I’ll be right back.” She stood up and disappeared behind the door. Leyla stared at the door that never opened again.