I enter the cafe with the girl with the fluttering twintails in front, and the disquieting maid behind me.
This is a place customized to serve adventurers, so there are private booths.
The orders are made on a touchscreen panel, and they are delivered through a conveyor belt. And payment can be done through the dungeon communication application. This whole system is so no one can bother us.
“Fufu, now we can talk at our leisure.”
Says the girl with the twintails as she sits in front of me. But I don’t think I’m going to be relaxing.
“I’m not running away, so can you do something about the maid behind me? She’s distracting me,”
“Oh? You noticed her presence? It seems you’re better than I thought.”
“Hn? Presence… I can clearly see her.”
If I turn around, it’s not like she has a low presence or I see her faintly or anything like that. I just see a beautiful… Well, a woman that’s a little older than me and has kind of strong eyes and intensity.
“Lady, once I am detected, my skill will not work on that person for a while. I approached him while invisible, but he spotted me immediately. Therefore, he has been watching me the whole time.”
I didn’t turn around until now, but she’s saying I’ve been watching her the whole time. Is she referring to Hawk Eye?
Hawk Eye has no physical form, and doesn’t mean I’m actually watching with my own eyes. So if she can tell I was using it, she really must be a high level maid.
“Oh, I see. Aira, come sit down. It seems Mister Shouta will listen.”
“As you wish.”
The maid named Aira sits next to the girl. She also has blonde hair, so she looks like an older sister that’s a few years ahead of her.
Well then, what’s coming… I want some sugar to calm me down.
I reach out, but the maid gets to the touchscreen first.
“Aira, please order the usual. Will you be having black tea with three sugar cubes, Mister Shouta?”
“Eh, y-yes.”
So she looked into what I like. I don’t remember having a stalker.
I drink the black tea, and take a breather.
“So, what do you want with me?”
Honestly, I want to get this over quickly and go to the dungeon. The first floor isn’t suited for rare monster hunting, but I’ve yet to see two of them on the second floor.
I want to fill the map while checking where they spawn, and if possible, check if a powdered up one spawns.
And since I want to have a clear idea of what to do in the morning, I want to finish this quickly.
“It is very simple.
Even the simple gesture of taking a sip of her black tea looks refined and elegant, and makes my heart throb a little. This is a real young lady. Maki could fall under that category too, but Aki is far from it.
“Marry me.”
“…Ah?”
D-did I mishear her?
That was so sudden… Eh? My brain can’t process it.
What did she just say?
“Ah, I’m sorry. I made a small mistake.”
Ah, that’s good. It was just a mistake.
“Let us have children!”
“That’s even worse!”
What is this girl saying after showing up all of a sudden? The maid isn’t saying anything about it either. Isn’t it your job to stop your master when she’s going crazy!?
I’m not one to talk, but I feel like a lot of steps are being skipped here.
Well, I mean, I became close to Maki just two days after meeting her, stayed at her place on the third, went on a date on the fourth, and got her mother’s approval on the fifth. Looking back, I might’ve rushed things just a tad too.
But what’s going through her mind?
I mean, why me!?
“My lady, he seems very confused. Perhaps you should explain a little bit more.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. Oh dear me…”
What do you mean more? There was nothing.
“Mister Shouta, do you know of the second generation?”
“…Ones who were born after the dungeons appeared. No, more precisely, children born from adventurers, right?”
“Yes. The higher ranking the adventurers, the better stats the children have, and the better skills they inherit. Of course, everyone is level one at birth, but it is said they will outperform their parents once they start getting strong.”
I just happened to hear about that because it’s become a talking point since the dungeons appeared.
People born before the dungeons appeared evolve their stats through their hard work and talent, completely unrelated to their parents’ stats. But I’ve heard that there’s a gap from birth when it comes to the second generation.
Well, those parents are human too, so a lot of them don’t want to cause an unnecessary fuss. Not many make their children’s stats public, so for the time being, it’s not certain just how big that gap is.
Also, this is just a rumor, but once in a while, a child is born that’s so overwhelmingly strong that it’s clear they’re second generation.
But they need to have high ranking adventurers as parents. That means that it was only very recently that these children with high stats were discovered.
However, even if their starting stats are high, their progression and amount of SP received with each level up is still a mystery. It’s not like children that aren’t even ten years old are going to dungeons.
That’s why, for now at least, there isn’t a lot of importance being placed on this second generation. Current adventurers are more interested in getting stronger and doing well.
“Why are you bringing that up?”
“Geez, you’re not very sharp. It has been ten years since the dungeons first appeared, and no one has been able to reliably obtain skill orbs. And yet, in less than a week, how many did you obtain in a beginner dungeon? Both the number you use on yourself and what you deliver are clearly abnormal.”
“…I think there’s been a misunderstanding, I only delivered that one Super Strength.”
“Please don’t attempt to hide it. I have come to learn that you delivered seven to today’s auction. No F rank should be able to do this. I felt very lucky to learn about you. You are worthy of being my spouse! And yet, it seems adventurers around here look down on you. That tells me you are hiding your power. Are you keeping quiet so no one tries to use you? But fear not. With the backing of my family, you will be able to stand proud. And by marrying me, you will have strong children.”
The girl prattles on and on, and I’m dumbfounded.
It’s all crazy… But I kind of get it. She probably caught on to the fact that I have abnormal abilities, and wants to get to me before anyone else can. Despite her real objective being, you know…
She must have some sort of goal or aspiration in mind, to want to have children that inherit my power…
A week ago, I might have gladly jumped on this opportunity, but now I have two very important people, so…
“Now take my hand, and let me make you happy.”
My mouth loosens, but I bite my lip and shake my head.
“That’s a very tempting offer, but I have to say no.”
“…Eh? W-why!?”
She gets up, surprised. It sounds like she really wasn’t expecting to be turned down.
“I already have two girlfriends I’m dating with marriage in mind, so I can’t accept your offer… And I’m not even strong like you say. My original stats were the weakest, and the SP I gain is the lowest amount.
That means that even if we had children, they would be normal kids, not like the second generation you have in mind.
Sorry to get your hopes up, but I can’t help you with your aspirations.”
I’m more interested in completely conquering the dungeon closest to me than that kind of future right now.
“N-no way! I heard you were not together with them yet!”
“Yes, it happened yesterday. I confessed to them, and got their mother’s approval. So, sorry, but I can’t marry you.”
“Shock!”
The way she vocalizes that sound effect almost makes me laugh, but I hold it back, and get up.
“And so, sorry.”
I leave the dumbfounded girl, and the cafe.
The maid stares at me until I leave, but says nothing, and shows no sign that she’ll follow me.
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That is some indecent proposal.
Thanks.