CH 62

“I’m really sorry.”



When I finish changing, Ichinose-san apologizes while performing a dogeza.



“Ah… well, don’t sweat it. It’s already in the past.” To some minority, being puked on by a beautiful girl might even be a reward; however, I do not possess such peculiar fetish. But since we’re going to be in the same party from now on, I shouldn’t get worked up over trivial things… with that said, I don’t think I’ll ever forget about this experience. As for her vomit, Aka ate it all up. For Aka, the vomit of a beautiful girl must be some kind of a prize. As a source of food, of course.



I did change my outfit, but in the first place, most of it landed on Aka… Secretly, I am slightly hesitant about wearing Aka anymore in its mimicked form. She looks apologetic even whilst her head is turned.



“Sorry, I’m not sure what kind of expression I’m supposed to have in this kind of scenarios.” “Right…”



‘Facing someone you threw up over, I don’t know what kind of expression one should have either.’ “…that was how I expected you to reply.” “Then I apologize for not meeting your expectations.” I give her a vague smile. This kid has a surprisingly bright character. It’s to the extent where I can’t fathom her being a Hiki Komori.



“Let’s move on to another topic. So, regarding what we’ll be doing from now on—” “Oh, yes. Hmmm… for the time being, how ‘bout we hunt first?” Don’t say that so casually… To hunt for the time being… this girl, she’s slightly dangerous.



“Wan!”



Moreover, Momo seems kind of excited!? No, Momo! Don’t be like this!



“Kuun~?”



E-even if you look at me with such pleading eyes, it’s still not okay! Safety first. This, absolute. I pat Momo who seems disappointed. So cute. I feel healed.



“Before that, can we check up on each other’s occupations and skills?” We’re going to be in the same party, so it’s better to understand each other’s skills. I sneak a peek at the gun that Ichinose-san is holding. It’s a huge rifle that normal civilians shouldn’t be able to get their hands on. Where on earth did she get it?



“You have a point there.”



Feeling convinced, she caresses her weapon.



“… As expected, are you curious about this?” “It would be a lie if I say no.” Previously, she has stated that her occupation is . For such an occupation, the rifle seems totally out of place. When I wait for her reply, I notice her complexion turning worse. H-hey, wait a second… “…Sorry. Please wait a little while.” While holding her mouth, Ichinose-san beckons at Momo.



“Kuun~?”



‘What?’ Momo approaches. Momo, it seems like she’s on good terms with Ichinose-san. I’m a bit jealous.



“Fuuu. This calms my mind.”



Ichinose-san puts Momo on her lap and mofu-mofus her. She has a blissful look. I understand. I totally understand her feelings. The healing effect that comes from mofu-mofuing Momo far surpasses that of any modern healing goods. Momo also narrows her eyes as if it is soothing. Eventually, Ichinose-san calms down enough to start stalking.



“Truth be told, I hold two occupations. The first one is , which I’ve told you before. The other one is called .” “Hee~.”



I am slightly stunned by her words. Two occupations. Does that mean she raised to the maximum level? That can’t be true. She’s only level 20. According to one of Nishino’s friends, people normally gain one JP every time they level up. At level 20, one wouldn’t have enough points to cap an occupation… No. Just like skills, is it possible to raise the levels of occupations with enough proficiency? Or is there another way to obtain the second occupation without raising the first one to its maximum level?



“ was the one that I decided on first.” “This might sound rude, but why did you choose such an occupation?” When I ask her, Ichinose-san averts her eyes uneas — she wasn’t looking here to begin with.



“I thought it wasn’t real…”



Ah, I see. Certainly, suddenly waking up to such a world, anyone would think that they are dreaming.



“It was four days ago—”



While mofu-mofuing Momo, she explains how she raised her level so rapidly. It was four days ago that she gained her first level. It was precisely the day that I killed the Shadow Wolf with my car. On that day, she was in her apartment playing an online game in one of the rooms. Having gone without any sleep for three days, she decided to take a shower because she was getting tired. When she came out of the bath, she realized that the windows were open. Apparently, she was negligent and forgot to lock them. Then, she heard a strange sound from within. Curious of what it was, she turned towards the source of the sound. There, she saw a giant fly the size of a person’s fist.



Was it an insect-type monster? I didn’t know those things existed. Anyways, seeing the gigantic fly, she felt alarmed and scared. However, she didn’t run away. Instead, she rolled up a magazine that was nearby and bashed the fly with all her might… this girl’s seriously amazing. The moment the fly got squashed, a voice rang in her head, telling her that she leveled up.



“Leveled… up?”



However, at the time, she thought she was hallucinating. The corpse of the fly started to disappear. Having witnessed all these events, she came to the conclusion that she was seeing things due to sleep deprivation. However, just as she started gaming again, ‘that’ appeared as she tried to look at her character’s status. In front of her eyes, her status screen had popped up.



“What’s this? Select an occupation?” Without much consideration, she chose “Hiki Komori”. Right afterwards, her status decreased exponentially. In return, she received some interesting skills: “Cognitive Impediment” and “Gacha”.



“Gacha” seems to be a skill where the user can obtain various goods by spending SP. The skill’s nature is befitting of a Hiki Komori.



“On my first attempt, I was lucky enough to acquire a ‘Sniper Set’.” Simultaneously, was added in her occupation column. The skills and the gun were bonuses that came with the occupation. Hee~… so occupations that are acquired through skills are automatically added. While there is gambling involved, anyone can acquire convenient abilities as long as their luck is decent.



Since Ichinose-san believed that it was all a dream, she started slaying monsters with her gun. After hunting, hunting, and hunting some more, the reality dawned on her. After throwing up, throwing up, and throwing up some more, she wondered what she should do in order to survive. She arrived at the same conclusion as I did: become powerful by raising levels and look for suitable allies. All of this led to our current situation where we became acquainted.



“— that is all.”



Despite struggling in her delivery, she conveys to me how desperate she was. The fact that she explained all this while fighting against the urge to throw up moved me… but that didn’t stop me from putting enough distance between us so that nothing would go wrong even if she threw up.



“Is that so. It must have been tough.” “It really was…”



She nods.



“But is this okay? I know that I’m the one who asked, but is it okay to so easily reveal your jobs and skills?



In this new world, information about someone’s levels, jobs, and skills are highly confidential. She should know this as well. Why is she willing to reveal this much information… “It’s… fine.”



While saying this, she faces me ever so slightly for the first time.



“I-I, you know… believe in… Kudou-san and Momo-chan.” She says this upfront.



“Uh, yes. Thank you very much.” I become embarrassed and inadvertently look away. Seriously, why was this girl a Hiki Komori? Thanks to her, my body feels a bit hot. Ichinose-san also realizes what she has just said and turns away.



“…”



“…”



It’s becomes very awkward. The mood leaves no s.p.a.ce for speech. I want to ask her various questions regarding topics such as why she trusts me so deeply and what we should do in the future, but words fail to escape my mouth. It’s more awkward than that time when she threw up. But the awkwardness is immediately lifted when I detect something with “Enemy Detection”. Monsters.



“Ichinose-san, we should put our conversation on hold.” “Eh?”



While looking past Ichinose-san who is stunned, I glance at Momo.



“Uuuu…!”



Momo jumps off from Ichinose-san’s knees and prepares for battle. This presence… this number… there’s no mistake. I readjust my state of mind and put on a serious expression.



“A pack of Shadow Wolves are approaching. We should leave this area for now.” Damn it. Learn to read the mood, monsters!