Chapter 109 - Uncommon and Rare
Friday
"Thanks for the meal!"
Lunch on the first day of the long weekend was sauce yakisoba with plenty of pork bits and vegetables.
Miki refusing to eat carrots unless they were thinly sliced was a hassle.
"You're welcome. More importantly, Miki, has [Mashiro]-nee contacted you about when she's coming home?"
"No, there's been no such talk at all."
She said, then guzzled down her apple juice.
Hmm, there's the issue of preparing meals and such, so I wish she'd at least contact us about when she's coming back.
"Could it be that she has no intention of coming back?"
"That too is unknown. Besides, my sister wouldn't act according to schedule in the first place."
No, that's true, but... oh, I forgot!
"Miki. Are you free next Wednesday?"
"Hmm, I have no particular plans during the long weekend. All my classmates are at cram school lessons, so I have no one to play with but you, Brother."
"Well, I suppose. No, in that case, it's perfect. I've been invited to [Mion]'s house, and I was hoping you'd come with me."
Miki's eyes widened at those words.
It feels like it's been a long time since I saw her surprised...
"Are you finally going to ask for 'her daughter's hand'!?"
"No!"
When I replied, Miki started giggling.
"Well, if you're going to visit, then of course I shall accompany you!"
"Ah, that's the gist of it. Though I'll have to explain a bit about the club activities."
I also told her that because of the club activities = part-time job situation, I had to meet [Mion]'s mother. It would get troublesome if she found out later.
"Hoh~. Then, I shall accompany you as your guardian."
Miki started smirking as she said that, but if I argued here, I'd just end up being outtalked.
It's best to quickly change the subject.
"Speaking of which, was yesterday's live stream just a town walk the whole time?"
"Indeed. The aim was to highlight the areas that are currently lacking, while walking through the town."
I see.
[Bell-san] helping with the stone wall construction must have had that intention. ...Though 90% was probably for the show.
"I sort of get it, but are there any fields that are actually lacking?"
"If it were just a matter of insufficient manpower, it would be fine. But in fact, neither players nor NPCs with the [Civil Engineering Skill] have been found."
"Huh? [Civil Engineering Skill]?"
I didn't even know it existed, so it's not a skill a normal player would take, is it?
"No, what exactly does the [Civil Engineering Skill] refer to in the first place?"
"Brother, Mother would get angry if you said such a thing, you know? What Mother does is precisely [Civil Engineering]."
"Huh? Mom does design work, right?"
"Brother, you still seem to be mistaken. Mother's 'design' isn't about drawing lines on paper, you know? It's about designing development plans for an entire region."
"Huh, so that means urban planning? Ah, is that why she rarely comes home...?"
It's so embarrassing to have been mistaken about what kind of job my parent does.
"Now, now, there's no need to be depressed. Even Sister is under the same misconception."
Miki said, laughing.
[Mashiro]-nee, she's a university student, and she's still mistaken?
No, wait.
"My misunderstanding was because [Mashiro]-nee told me, 'She's someone who draws house blueprints or something, right?'"
"That's right. I heard that too and thought, 'There's no way an assignment would last that long for something so trivial,' so I asked Father."
Ugh, she's my sister, but too smart...
No, that wasn't the point right now.
"Well, let's just say I'm an idiot for that. But what is [Civil Engineering Skill]? No, I understand civil engineering work at least."
"Well, roughly speaking, it's all general living infrastructure. Architecture refers to buildings, but [Civil Engineering Skill] encompasses everything else."
"Living infrastructure means, essentially, the technology... or skill... to build roads, bridges, tunnels, right? Don't people who have [Carpentry] have it?"
"It seems to have some kind of prerequisite, so it's unobtainable."
"Seriously...?"
Prerequisites are needed for some Uncommon or Rare skills...
But why isn't a seemingly normal skill like [Civil Engineering Skill] a common skill?
"You have an idea why it's unobtainable, right?"
"Hmm. For now, it's nothing more than a guess."
Miki prefaced her explanation by saying that the skill classifications in the world of IRO not only have names but also actual meanings.
"A 'Common Skill' would, by its meaning, be 'general technology'. That is, technology everyone knows. Hence, anyone can learn it.
Next is 'Uncommon', meaning 'unusual' or 'wonderful'.
Above that is 'Rare', which is higher than Uncommon, meaning 'scarce' or 'supreme'."
"So, Uncommon and Rare skills are rare and precious technologies even in that world, right?"
"Indeed. Technologies, or skills, that ordinary people in that world wouldn't know. Though rarely, some NPCs might know them."
It's not just "Common," "Uncommon," or "Rare" like in games, based solely on rarity or drop rates.
"If you've speculated that far, then you must have some basis for it, right?"
"Indeed. The Uncommon skill [Noble Etiquette] that I acquired was taught to me by a teacher introduced by [Viscount Edward Amiera]."
"What are you even doing...?"
Miki, probably wearing a smug expression, laughed at me as I instinctively slumped onto the table.
Apparently, out of the 20 [BP] she got when her character reached level 10, she used 4 as [SP] for that Noble Etiquette skill.
Apparently, the Viscount had approached her, saying it might be necessary for guarding [Lady Emily].
"If that logic holds, does that mean there might be NPCs knowledgeable about [Civil Engineering Skill]?"
"I have absolutely no idea about that. Rather, I'm looking forward to your screw-ups, Brother."
"No, that's impossible... Still, it's impressive that roads and bridges exist despite there being no [Civil Engineering Skill]."
At the very least, the [Capital Wolkel] I saw in Miki's live stream had beautiful [Stone Pavement] roads.
I thought I saw bridges in PVs too, and I assumed civil engineering work was being done normally.
"Apparently, those have been repaired and continuously used since the era of [Ancient Magic Civilization].
Well, roads and bridges can be managed by imitation, but underground sewers and such seem to have become [Lost] technology.
The [Capital Wolkel] uses what has been there since ancient times, but new villages only have enough for digging ditches."
Hmm, in that case, it wouldn't be strange for [Civil Engineering Skill] to be an Uncommon or Rare skill...
"But what would the prerequisite be? Do you have any ideas?"
"[Elemental Magic], which includes dirt walls and stone walls. [Spirit Magic] that can control earth spirits. Or perhaps both..."
"An [Elf] who can control earth spirits and takes [Elemental Magic] would probably meet the requirements, wouldn't they?"
"Indeed."
Well, I could verify it if I could contract with an earth spirit.