Chapter 174 - Chapter 154 Unreasonable Demands
Monday
"Morning."
"Morning. You were the one who broke the skill level cap yesterday, right?"
"Ah, yeah."
According to Nat, on the official forums, it's pretty much 99% certain it was me. What a pain… However, opinions were divided on which skill I had broken the cap for. They were saying it was probably [Taming], [Cooking], or [Material Processing], but all of them were wrong. I explained to Nat that my [Presence Concealment] skill was level 7, got a +4 bonus from equipment, making it 11, which broke the cap.
"Seriously? Area Boss materials really are amazing, huh?"
"Didn't you get anything during that last raid?"
"Oh yeah. I got an Uruk Fang!"
A fang, huh? Wait, Seth (Miki) got a horn, right?
"Horns and fangs are different, right?"
"Of course. Horns are the two things on the head, and fangs are the two things growing out of the mouth."
"I think you should have it made into some kind of accessory. I can't go into details, but a fang would probably make a good pendant, don't you think?"
"Oh, really? I'll ask a friend!"
"Be careful, [Material Processing] might be important too."
I even thought of suggesting the Silver Manor, but Nat is in Rashad Territory, right? They said there were two player guilds there.
"Alright, everyone~, good morning~."
Kumano-sensei appeared, and morning homeroom began. Now that I think about it, while Nat and I were chatting, Mion and Iincho were also talking about something, I wonder what it was…
＊＊＊
Lunch with the usual members. The sun was getting strong, so rooftop lunches might only last until the end of the month. The rainy season would probably start too.
"So, how were your tests, you two?"
"No problems."
"Yeah, me too."
It was the first one since starting high school, and nothing was particularly difficult. Well, there were some silly mistakes, but…
"So, no remedial classes this afternoon then?"
Today and tomorrow morning were for returning tests and explanations. Those who failed would have remedial classes in the afternoon, but I don't think anyone in our class did.
"Club activities this afternoon for the first time in a while!"
"It's been a while since before the long holiday, hasn't it?"
Ah, the two from the sports club didn't have club activities during the holidays, so it's been a while for them. For us, our club activities really begin after we get home and eat… Mion tugged at my sleeve a few times, yeah, that thing.
"Yesterday's IRO seemed to be in an uproar, Iincho, do you know anything about it?"
"Eh? Haven't you heard from Miki-chan?"
"No, Miki seemed to be playing IRO right up until the last minute last night, fell asleep before I could talk to her, and she was groggy this morning, so…"
I'd ask Club President Bell during club activities this afternoon, but I wanted to hear Iincho's unbiased opinion first.
"I wasn't too deeply involved, but according to Yuki-san, they were given some pretty unreasonable demands."
What she told me, with a troubled expression, were indeed outrageous demands. First, to hand over ownership of the Ancient Ruins with the ore deposit to them. Also, to pay a fixed fee when using the area, and to hand over half of all excavated ore to them.
"That's outrageous, right? Wasn't Miki-chan furious?"
"She was an agent, so she endured it. But Bell-san was even more…"
"Ugh."
After all, Club President Bell is the type whose emotions show easily. Apparently, she really cried when Princess Anshia beat her up…
"Did you accept those demands?"
"No, she merely acted as an agent and pushed through with, 'I have received your proposal. I will take it back and report it to my superiors.'"
"Awesome! That's a mature response!"
I wondered how she managed to push through with such a response, and apparently, it was advice from Jinbee-sensei. He apparently told her to deflect anything she had trouble answering with that phrase.
"But in reality, that place is Viscount Amiera's territory, so they can't just decide things on their own, right?"
"That's where it gets a little tricky."
""Eh?""
Nat and I asked again, not quite understanding what "tricky" meant. According to Iincho, their claim was that the Ancient Ruins belonged to the Dragonkin who possessed the northern mountain range, and they were merely their envoys.
"Dragonkin means dragons, right?"
"They might just be saying that on their own, you know?"
"That's true, but…"
Apparently, no one knew the truth of it, so there was no way to answer. So it came down to having to ask the Viscount, she said.
"What a pain."
"Yeah."
"If things get troublesome, you can just come to the settlement in Rashad Territory where we are."
Nat said, waving his hand.
"It's not that simple. We're taking on a job as a guild, after all."
Seriously, Iincho is so earnest. I'm sure some people think, "It's just a game," but with full-dive VR and human-like NPCs, it's hard to be disrespectful.
"So, no conclusion for now?"
"Yes, it was decided for a later date."
At least it happened after exam period, I guess? It doesn't seem like I can help with anything this time, so all I can do is cheer Miki on…
＊＊＊
Shou-kun, please check the video we're releasing tomorrow.
"Ah, yeah. Sorry for always leaving it to you."
Mion always makes great videos even though I just play however I like. At first, I thought it was strange, or maybe it was her hobby, but it must be talent. The content was a compilation of the stone storehouse and Mountain Cabin renovations. I'd already shown the finished product on stream, but the parts before and during construction were properly recorded, which made it interesting. Also, the incredibly fast recovery from my mantle was subtly skipped, too…
"Yeah, it's perfect. Really well made."
That's good.
"It's funny, I made all this myself. It'd be interesting if dirt floor areas or multi-functional stone kilns became popular because of this…"
Wouldn't they become popular? [Material Processing] became popular, and apparently, everyone in production skills learned rope-making.
"Whoa, seriously…"
Is it because the goal of developing undeveloped land aligns with island survival? Well, there's no point in worrying about it too much.
Still, the club president hasn't arrived, has she?
"Yeah. …Remedial classes, maybe?"
Surely, the teacher wouldn't…
Right? If you made the usually gentle Yata-sensei angry… it's a bit chilling to think about.