Chapter 76 - Chapter 68: Don't Forget to Study
“Evening.”
“Good evening.”
I entered the [Virtual Club Room] just before 8 PM.
During dinner, I’d talked to [Miki] and asked if it was okay to have [Natto] and [Iincho] join us.
“Mhm. Those two are quite comfortable to be around, so they are most welcome,” she’d said.
“By the way, what are their character names?”
“Huh? [Natto] is just [Natto] as usual, but [Iincho]… I haven’t asked her.”
She let out a huge sigh at my answer.
No, I'd seen [Iincho]’s appearance—an [Elf] with a serious demeanor much like hers—and I even asked about her skill build. But for some reason, I just hadn't asked her character name…
“Your brother really is just like Father in those aspects.”
“Don’t give me that disappointed look… Anyway, [Mion] should have contacted [Iincho], and if you’re okay with it, I’ll send a message to [Natto].”
That was the outcome.
“Shou-kun. I got a reply from [Kashima-san]; she’s going with [Natto].”
“Thanks. Is Bell-san already in [IRO]?”
“Yes. She said she’ll leave it to [Seth]-chan and the others and work on a separate matter herself.”
Well, [Majo Bell] wanted to hide from the people at school, so perhaps it’s better for her not to be there, just in case. But what separate matter, I wonder?
“And, Brother, is there a need to stream?”
“Ah, right. Should we at least say hello?”
“Yes. I’d like to see both of them.”
“Mhm, understood. Then, I shall be off.”
As [Miki]’s avatar disappeared, [Yata-sensei] appeared.
“Good evening~.”
“Good evening.”
“Evening. Oh… well, never mind.”
[Natto] and [Iincho] probably didn’t know that [Yata-sensei]—[Kumano-sensei]—might be watching the live stream.
An invitation to a room-exclusive stream popped up from [Seth (Miki)].
“What’s wrong~?”
“Oh, well, we’re just going to watch [Seth]’s stream.”
I clicked it open, and of course, [Seth] appeared.
“Ah, ah, Brother, can you see me?”
“I can see you!”
“I can see you!”
“Mhm mhm. Then, let’s go to the [Capital Plaza] for our meeting.”
[Yata-sensei] seemed to understand the situation. She probably didn't know what was about to happen from here.
[Seth] walked briskly, and I could tell glances were flying at her from all over.
The area near the plaza was close to the starting point, so there were many beginner players, and [Seth]’s equipment really stood out.
“Mmm, it seems that’s them.”
[Seth], walking faster, headed towards a handsome blonde man who seemed to be getting scolded by a beautiful [Elf].
“Excuse me. I take it you are Brother’s good friend, Natto-dono?”
“Oh? Seth-chan, is that you? Great! See, I told you it’d be fine!”
“Haaah…”
[Iincho] sighed deeply and shook her head. Her usual demeanor was reassuring.
[Natto] probably had no idea what [Seth] looked like for their meeting, and [Iincho] was likely scolding him for it.
“Long time no see, Seth-chan. Um, my name is Polly here.”
“Mhm mhm, Iincho-dono, no, Polly-dono. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
[Iincho] gave a wry smile at her reply.
So her name was [Polly]. I’ll remember that.
“Now, first, let’s form a party.”
[Seth] invited the two of them to a party.
Huh, so that’s the procedure. I won’t ever use it, but still…
“Hey, [Natto], can you hear me?”
“Oh, Shou? Ah, Seth-chan is streaming, so you’re watching, huh?”
“Polly-san, good evening.”
“Ah, M-Mion-san is here too. …Are you okay?”
What do you mean, ‘Are you okay!?’ I wanted to retort, but a torrent of counter-attacks would come, so I endured it.
“I’m fine.”
“Well, I just wanted to say hi, and we’re heading to the uninhabited island now.”
I thought [Seth] would handle things well from here, and I should just quickly retreat, but then,
“Are both of you enjoying yourselves~?”
“Eh…?”
“Sensei?”
“Yes~. When you play, play hard~. And don’t forget to study~.”
“Y-yes, sir…”
“Y-yes, ma’am!”
[Yata-sensei] smiled broadly.
I thought she was going to be silent, but she was just waiting for the perfect timing, wasn’t she?
Well, they looked pathetic, so I should just release them quickly.
“Alright, [Seth], I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Mhm, I’ve got it!”
“Then, please excuse us.”
I closed the stream and let out a sigh of relief.
I glanced at [Yata-sensei], and she looked very satisfied… Glad you enjoyed it.
*
“Haaah…”
I washed [Lupi]’s dishes with [Purification Magic].
She eats so cleanly, and since it’s a game, if someone asked if it was even necessary to wash them, I’d be hesitant to answer.
“What’s wrong?”
“This… aren’t I going to get scolded again tomorrow?”
“It’s alright. Tomorrow’s Saturday, so there’s no school, is there?”
Oh, right.
“Both of them were really surprised, weren’t they? But it was Shou-kun who decided ‘well, whatever’ when Sensei showed up, wasn’t it?”
“Yes…”
But I couldn’t really tell [Yata-sensei] to keep quiet there either.
…Well, I had mentioned that [Yata-sensei] was the [Cybernetics Club] advisor, so it was the two of them who were careless.
“Are you continuing blacksmithing today?”
“Maybe. Before that, I’ll go check on the river.”
“Understood.”
“[Lupi], let’s go!”
“Woof!”
The small [river] on the east side of the cave entrance, a little ways down the cliff, had been muddy due to the rain last time.
If it had returned to normal by now, we could even go there for tomorrow’s live stream…
“Oh, it’s back to being a clean river.”
“Now we can eat [Flower Trout] again.”
“Yeah, yeah, I was thinking of doing that during the live stream.”
“That’s great!”
Some parts of the enclosure trap I set earlier had collapsed, so I fixed them. [Lupi] was looking at me with a face that asked, “Can I swim?”…
“Downstream is fine. Just don’t get carried away, okay?”
“Woof~!”
She charged into the water at my words.
[Lupi] is quite the clean freak, isn’t she?
“Speaking of which, [Lupi]’s status hasn’t changed from ‘[Wolf?]’ What should I do? Will I understand if my [Appraisal Skill] goes up?”
“Perhaps you need to know something as a prerequisite?”
“Ah, I see…”
That sounded very plausible.
“Also, I don’t know if it’s related, but you mentioned before that you couldn’t acquire Botany skill and others. Do you want to hear the reason…?”
“Oh, yeah, I want to hear it.”
I appreciated her consideration for my dislike of spoilers, but for this, I really couldn’t figure it out without a hint anymore…
“It seems you either need to ask someone who already has the skill, or you need a book on that academic field.”
“Ah, I see. So you can’t get them without a teacher or a textbook.”
That made sense, in a way… but I couldn’t see a future where I’d actually acquire them!