I’m writing down on a piece of paper the stats I’ve gained from rolling the gacha these last few days, so I can show them.
Of course, I’m leaving out my level. She wouldn’t believe me if I said I have these stats at level one… Actually, she might, but I want to keep the existence of Level Gacha to myself for a while longer.
I don’t know why, but I just somehow feel like I should.
“This… Your stats are completely different from what I heard.”
“From Aki?”
“Yes. I’ve known about you for about two years now. Well, by that, I mean I knew just what my sister told me.”
“I-I see…”
It’s kind of embarrassing.
Just what was she saying about me?
“My sister said, ‘He’s an interesting and weird guy. No matter how hard he works, he stays just as weak. But he never gives up, takes it all, and looks like he has fun hunting slime.’.
And she would brag about how many slime you defeated that day, and how many magic stones you delivered. And that when she had to take days off, the assessment counter was flooded with magic stones. Fufu, first it was about once a week, then once every three days, then two, and at some point, I was hearing about it every day…”
“Well… I guess you couldn’t help but be curious.”
Aki… How much did she brag? Every day is way too much!
“Fufu. And so, I wanted to meet the one she talked about so much. And see what he was like.”
“Ah, and now that you’ve met him…?”
“I think he’s a very lovely person!”
“Uuh!”
That’s an unfair amount of cute!
And that smile is so bright!!
“…Ah, so you’ve been wanting to meet me for about half a year, right?”
“Ah, yes! That’s right. I asked my sister if she could call you here.”
“So that’s what it was. All of a sudden she started asking me if I wouldn’t make more money if I went to another dungeon. I thought it was weird that someone so unmotivated suddenly started talking about business.”
“Fufufu.”
Actually, I didn’t just think it, I said it. And she sulked like crazy.
She laid off the business talk for a few days after that, and then all of a sudden it became a daily thing. I thought it was just flattery, but apparently it was a request from her sister.
But since she couldn’t force me to go, or tell me why she was really saying it, all she could do was tell me that every day.
Aki can be so awkward too.
“Aki sure loves you, Maki.”
“Yes, and it’s mutual.”
“Haha, that’s nice to hear. Let me tell you about skills next.”
“Y-yes.”
I write down every skill excluding Level Gacha, but including Swift.
“…Wow. You have so many skills, and some more than once… Even high ranking adventurers don’t have this many.”
“That’s what I figured.”
Super Strength and Swift. And also Foresight. I thought it when I saw how much they’re worth, but strong skills really are crazy expensive. Maybe that’s just how useful they are, but judging by the prices, I think it’s more that there’s very little supply, and they don’t reach the people that need them.
The branch manager said Super Strength being up for auction was something that brought in a lot of people, so I imagine it’s a rare occasion.
“Shouta, can I ask you a few questions?”
“Sure, I’ll answer if I can.”
“You encountered two rare monsters in two days, and defeated them. And you managed to get two skill orbs.”
“…I did.”
“Was it on purpose?”
“…Yes.”
“…”
Maki closes her eyes, and looks like she’s thinking.
And so, I stay quiet until she finds an answer.
“Shouta.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t reveal how you do that just yet.”
“…Are you sure? I figured the association would be desperate to know about this.”
“Yes, it would be profitable, and my mother… The branch manager, and people above her would certainly want it. Maybe it could even decrease accidents involving adventurers.
But you’re the one who found this method, so it’s yours to make you stronger. I don’t mind if you only reveal it when you’re satisfied.”
I didn’t expect that. Among the secrets I know, that’s second only to Level Gacha. I didn’t expect her to be okay with me not revealing it.
By the way, the third biggest secret is my Luck.
“You look puzzled.”
“It’s surprising. I didn’t expect you to say that.”
I commend Maki for her concern over the safety of adventurers, but information about how rare monsters appear could be a matter of life or death. I figured she’d definitely want to know.
“Of course I would. You’re the most important thing to me right now. I’d do anything for you to not die.”
“Maki… Thanks, that makes me super happy.”
But… I see…
Limiting dangers can only be a good thing, and if it reduces accidents, it might really be best to reveal it.
“I get how you feel, but I don’t want to twist your convictions. I care about you the same way you care about me. If holding back on that will make you suffer, it’s something I need to care about too.”
“Shouta…”
“So there’s one thing I want to tell you. I don’t think it will harm me. Even if you think it will be bad for me, don’t keep it to yourself, reveal it.”
“…All right.”
First, I tell her that when a rare monster appears, the smoke starts acting oddly.
Then it moves to a specific location, and that’s where the rare monster appears.
“Moving fog? Yes, there was information about that in the main office… Please continue.”
I also tell her that other monsters are scared of this fog. If monsters are running, and care even more about escaping than attacking people, they should be careful.
That’s all I have to say, and she nods deeply.
“…Shouta, thank you for the valuable information. I want to make sure it doesn’t go to waste, and adventurers are equipped with it to protect them from danger.”
“If you want help to make sure they believe it, you can count on me.”
“Yes, thank you.”
That little smile is so charming.
As I think about how deeply moving it is for me to see so many different expressions from her today, the clock on the wall rings. It looks like it’s already 7 o’clock.
“Ah, it’s this late already. Shouta, hum… Do you want to go have dinner?”
“Eh!? Ah… It’s not that I don’t really want to, but we’d run into Aki for sure. I can already imagine her making fun of us, and you’re not even officially my exclusive yet, so we better not. We’ll leave that for when I deliver an item on the same level as Swift.”
“A-all right. I’ll look forward to it.”
“Yes. A-and what I said earlier… Aki…”
“Yes. I’ll keep it a secret.”
She says instantly.
I appreciate the thought, but I know very well she loves her sister, so she doesn’t need to be reserved with me.
“Maki… Do you trust your sister? Do you believe she definitely won’t tell?”
“Of course. I trust her more than anyone else in the world… Well, you too.”
Hearing her say that while looking at me directly really makes me feel embarrassed.
If she trusts her that much, I have to trust her too.
“Hahaha, thank you. If you trust her, you can tell her.”
“Shouta…! Thank you. I’ll prepare things for tomorrow! I’ll think about everything along with my sister!”
“Thanks, I can’t wait. Money isn’t an issue. If it’s not enough, I can earn more.”
“Yes! Ah, that’s right. You bought a boxed lunch in the convenience store today, right? I can make one for you tomorrow if you want.”
“Eh, really?”
“Yes, really?”
“Uwa, that’s great. That really makes me feel motivated!!”
“Fufufu.”
I say goodbye to Maki, and head home feeling cheerful.
Oh, I completely forgot to talk about the stalkers.
Well, nevermind them. The matter of who Maki picks as an exclusive has pretty much been settled. And I have better things to think about.
So I’m going to eat Maki’s packed lunch from now on… Oh, and I need to think about hunting in the dungeon too.
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I’m writing down on a piece of paper the stats I’ve gained from rolling the gacha these last few days, so I can show them. -> I’m writing down on a piece of paper the stats I’ve gained from rolling the gacha these last few days, so I can show her.
Thanks.
Character interactions in this are so abrupt and jarring I hope the story focuses more on the dungeon stuff instead.