Chapter 17 - Solving with Food
"Whine…"
Picked up? Rescued? The wolf-like animal was probably still a pup. Its paws were large for its body.
I managed to bring it to the tent, but just leaving it on the ground wouldn't do. For now, I'll gather some driftwood and make a makeshift bed.
"Oh, wait, can it drink water first?"
I poured water purified by [Purification] magic into the crude wooden cup I made for myself and offered it to the pup… It started to lap it up, and I felt relieved.
I'm glad it drank properly!
"IRO is amazing, isn't it? I felt like I'd really picked up a puppy, and I panicked a lot."
It really is. Watching it was nerve-wracking too.
Now, for dinner… I took rabbit meat from my inventory and placed it in front of the pup… wolf pup. After sniffing it, it took a tiny bite from the edge.
Isn't the meat too big?
"Oh, right. Thanks."
You're welcome.
Um, I want to cut it somewhere, but I don't have a cutting board!
"Just a minute."
I dashed off, scoured the eastern coastline, and grabbed a reasonably large, flat stone. I tucked it under my arm and dashed back.
"Thanks for waiting. This will serve as a cutting board…"
I washed it with [Purification] magic, then placed the rabbit meat on it. Finely… should I just mince it?
I figured I'd get it eventually, so I acquired [Cooking: Lv1]! Now, please don't let me fail at mincing rabbit meat with this…
I chopped it into chunks with my beginner's dagger… This should be about right?
"Can you eat this?"
When I served it on a wooden plate and held it to its nose, it slowly but deliciously started to eat.
So cute~
"They're especially cute when they're small, aren't they?"
My older sister scares both dogs and cats, so we can't have pets at home. I wonder if I can keep this one in IRO? Taming? [Taming]?
"Woof."
"Oh, feeling better?"
I took out another piece of rabbit meat and minced it. It was a crude chop, but it should be fine even if it wasn't neatly minced like what you buy in a pack.
Shou-kun, you're very caring, aren't you? Like making dinner for your sister.
"Eh? Really?"
It's less 'caring' and more 'been forced to take care of things so much that it's become normal,' or something… I'm starting to feel sad.
Shou-kun?
"Ah, it's nothing. Well, I guess I'll go continue exploring the west side."
Okay!
And I need to go replenish the rabbit meat for this guy, too.
I wandered around the area where the wolf pup? was, but no monsters that seemed to have injured it appeared.
I gathered some Hermit Bamboo Grass that seemed usable as bandages. While I was at it, I headed to the east side and got two Bicobits.
Returning to the tent, the wolf pup was sleeping soundly, as if reassured.
It seemed it would be fine if it just rested quietly, which made me relieved.
"I'll call it a day here."
Okay. Good work, Shou-kun.
"See you tomorrow, I guess?"
Yes, I'll be waiting at the station.
Ah, right.
I meant in the game, but oh well.
I logged out of IRO and returned to real view. Bell-buchou was offline now too.
"Brother!"
"Ah, wait a minute."
I took off my VR HMD and got out of bed. I envied the gaming chair in the club room. Those kind don't make you as tired, do they?
Getting up and opening my door, my silly sister—Miki—was there, holding her own VR HMD, looking puzzled.
"What's up?"
"No, has your sage mode already ended?"
"You… Anyway, what do you want?"
When I asked, Miki sat in my chair and put on her VR HMD. Well, I guess she meant for me to put mine on too.
"Isn't the person shown here you, Brother?"
Miki confirmed I had put mine on, then pulled up a video and played it. That video was…
"Ah… you haven't told anyone about this, have you? You haven't tweeted about it, have you?"
"Mm, I kept quiet because I thought it was you, Brother. Besides, I came to confirm if this girl was the one Older Sister was talking about?"
"Phew, you saved me. I was about to be exposed in such a trivial way. Still, how did you figure it out?"
My IRO character name is Shou as usual, but it's a game character with a different hairstyle and hair color, so I didn't think I'd be found out just by my voice.
"Kukukuku, don't think you can deceive my eyes. Besides, I created a character in IRO but couldn't find Brother."
"You started too?"
"I wanted to play with you, Brother, but it's a dilemma…"
Miki kept appealing with quick glances.
"That's a club activity, so it would help if you kept quiet about it…"
"That would depend on the compensation, wouldn't it?"
"…What do you want to eat tomorrow?"
"Sirloin steak."
She said, grinned, and held out her hand, so I shook it.
It'll be way over budget, but I'll charge my dad for it. It'll probably pass if I say it's for Miki.
"Well, that's good, but the view count and subscriber numbers are incredible. It's unusual content, but it's a video that makes people look forward to the next one."
When she said that, I checked.
"What, over 100,000 views?! Subscribers are almost at 3,000 too!"
The growth since I checked after school was insane. Holy crap…
"I've subscribed too. So, when will the next video be posted?"
"Hmm, I don't know. She was editing today, so I think it'll be up tomorrow or the day after. …This is a secret too, okay?"
"I understand. I suppose there's no need to spread it on my Saezutter?"
"Ah, honestly, I didn't expect the first video to take off like this."
The plan was more of a gradual climb, you know?
I told Miki about what happened at club today and let her know that my gameplay was mainly focused on a slow life.
"Hmm. But if I go to the island where my brother is, you'll play with me, won't you?"
"Like I said before, if you can get there?"
"Hmm. I probably won't be able to go right away, but I have a goal for playing IRO now. I made a character, but I couldn't find Brother, and I was wondering how to play, so this is good."
She said, and laughed.
"Ah, sorry. I shouldn't have said anything weird. By the way, aren't you going to play with your friends or something?"
"I'm a test taker, you know?"
"Oh, right."
Everyone around her is picking up the pace for high school entrance exams, so inviting her to an MMORPG, or rather, a game now, is a bit…
"And I haven't heard the important part yet?"
"Hm? Was there something else?"
"This Mion, she's the girl in question, isn't she?"
"Yes…"
In the end, Miki drilled me with questions about Mion, and by the time she was done, the date had changed. Time to take a bath and go to sleep…