kscans

Chapter 39 - The Suspicious NPC

For some reason, the atmosphere between Esha and Diite had become explosive, so Hayato decided to stop them.

He wanted to know if Diite was strong, but a fight with Esha would cause immense damage. That had to be avoided.

Hayato stood between the two of them.

"Hey, both of you—"

"Ah."

"Eh?"

Esha let out a surprised sound, and a ball of light shot from her gun, piercing Hayato’s abdomen. Since he had turned his body toward Esha to intervene, he had been shot head-on.

There was no pain, but his HP instantly dropped to zero. Hayato collapsed on the spot, but he was still conscious. Two options appeared before his eyes, "Wait" and "Revive".

When a player’s HP reaches zero, they have two courses of action.

One is to remain where they fell.

In this state, they can receive a resurrection spell from Holy Magic and revive on the spot. However, they revive with only one HP. It could be said this is dangerous when reviving in the middle of a battle with monsters.

Another option is to revive at a base, church, or temple.

Unlike magical resurrection, this method restores HP to full, and since there are no hostile monsters nearby, it can be called a safe revival. However, since you are moved from the hunting ground to the revival point, it can be a hassle to travel back to the hunting ground again.

Naturally, the action Hayato took this time was to revive.

He hadn’t fallen in a hunting ground, just inside his base. There was no death penalty that temporarily lowered stats upon revival, so there was no demerit to reviving at the base.

Hayato selected "Revive," and in the next moment, he was in his room.

Players can’t damage each other outside of a Clan War, but it seems NPCs can. Well, I had my HP reduced when one grabbed me by the collar, so I kind of figured, but I wonder what the mechanics are.

Thinking that, Hayato left the room. He hurried back to the dining hall.

He had stepped in to stop Esha and Diite from fighting in the first place. If they continued to fight, he would have died for nothing, even if there was no penalty.

But there was no need to worry. The atmosphere between the two was different from before, and they were both behaving themselves.

"Have you both calmed down?"

"It seems I became rather childish. I apologize, Hayato-kun. I am sorry."

"I am deeply sorry, master."

Diite’s apology still carried a somewhat haughty tone, but Esha bowed her head before Hayato. Unlike her usual playful self, she seemed genuinely sorry.

"Ah, no, it’s fine. I just got knocked down for a bit, so don’t worry about it."

At those words, Esha looked up with a complicated expression. He had forgiven her, so Hayato was the one who felt complicated about why she was making such a face.

"Master, in times like these, you are supposed to say, ‘How do you plan to take responsibility, guhehehe?’ It was a chance to gain the upper hand, but you are so timid it is actually scary."

"Esha, what do you think of me?"

"I do not see you as a romantic interest, so I have no answer."

"I’m not asking if you like me or not. I mean, what kind of person do you think I am. Consider the flow of the conversation."

"Words are difficult, are they not."

Feeling like he had been rejected without even confessing, Hayato was a little shocked, but then he reminded himself she was an NPC and shifted his focus to Diite. And he was a little surprised.

For some reason, Diite was in a good mood. The way she was happily watching Hayato and Esha was like an elder fondly watching over the young.

"You two are interesting. I have become even more interested in Hayato-kun."

"Well, thank you. For now, please stop fighting, both of you—right, Diite-chan, could I see your skill composition?"

He had learned from Esha’s case that it was possible to see an NPC’s skill composition. Hayato tried to check Diite’s skills in the same way. That way, he could get a general idea of her strength.

"You wish to judge my strength from that. Very well, give me a moment—alright, you may check if I will be a valuable asset."

With Diite’s permission, Hayato checked her skill composition.

Her skill composition is more normal than I expected. There’s nothing particularly special about it. She has Holy Magic, anatomical knowledge, and various other magic skills. It’s more of a mage’s skill set than a cleric’s—wait a minute. Why does she have Holy Magic at 100 and Necromancy at 100? You shouldn’t be able to learn both of those skills…?

Holy Magic and Necromancy were opposing skills, so it was impossible to learn both at the same time. This meant that Diite, like Esha, was deviating from the game’s skill system.

"How can you use both Holy Magic and Necromancy? You can’t learn those at the same time, can you?"

"Come to think of it, that is true. I was being careless. But what do you think? I do not believe it is a particularly weak skill composition."

She had been nothing but careless since she arrived, but he had no idea how one could be so careless as to end up in that situation. And it didn’t seem like Diite had any intention of talking about it.

Hayato thought.

In the battles to come, they would need a member who could use recovery magic. Relying solely on potions would become tough. In that case, having Diite, whose skill composition was outside the norm, as a companion wasn’t a bad idea. At the very least, with Holy Magic at 100, she was a candidate for recruitment.

He couldn’t fully trust her since she seemed to have secrets, but it felt like she would work diligently as long as she was interested. There was a high probability that she was connected to the admins, but Hayato wasn’t doing anything improper.

There was a possibility that recruiting a suspicious NPC could lead to a game-breaking situation, but there were only a few Clan Wars left. In that case, he decided to make Diite a companion.

"I understand your strength, Diite-chan. I’d really like you to join us."

"It seems I am not trusted, but you seek strength for the future. You are quite the gambler. But are you sure? Esha-kun seems quite wary."

Hayato looked at Esha beside him. She did indeed have an expression that said she didn’t think it was a good idea to let her into the clan. Her brow was furrowed in deep caution.

"Esha, are you against it?"

"I do not wish to say this in front of her, but my intuition is telling me she is quite dangerous. She may be strong, but there is a possibility she will betray us. I too would betray you if I could no longer eat chocolate parfaits, though."

"Rest assured, I will not betray you. That would be no fun."

Does that mean she will betray us if it’s fun? Hayato thought, then reconsidered.

Esha or Diite, who should he trust?

Considering everything up to now, he should probably trust Esha. In one way or another, Esha had helped him many times. Ignoring Esha’s words to accept Diite, who he had just met today, just because she would be a valuable asset felt disrespectful.

And unlike before, Esha was wary of Diite. Esha hadn’t shown any particular objection when Mist joined the clan, let alone Ash and the others, but this time she was clearly showing reluctance.

Esha could be trusted in battle. It might not be a wild instinct, but he felt he could trust her nose for danger.

Hayato thought this and made his decision.

"Diite-chan, I’m sorry. I think I’ll pass on having you join the clan after all. I know I’m the one who suggested it, which is rude."

"Hmm, so you will trust Esha-kun—Hayato-kun, you are an even more wonderful person than I thought. Rest assured, I do not think it is rude at all. In fact, I am glad to know that you trust her."

True to her words, Diite’s smile remained, and she didn’t seem angry.

"However, it is frustrating to back down like this. I suppose if I earn your trust, I might have a chance to join the clan? May I come and visit here for a while? If you have time, I would like to make a request for work, and conversely, I could take on a request. If I manage to earn your trust, please let me join the clan then."

"Of course. Once I get to know you better and see there are no problems, I’d be happy to welcome you as a member. Esha, is that okay with you too?"

"If she can be trusted, I believe it is fine."

"Then it is decided. It may not be possible for the next Clan War, but I would like to participate in the one after that. Now then, it has gotten quite late, so I shall take my leave for today."

With that, Diite left the base without waiting for Hayato and Esha’s reply.

Only Hayato and Esha were left in the dining hall.

Hayato was a little troubled. For some reason, he didn’t want to look at Esha. But that was a vain hope.

Esha was beside Hayato, her hands clasped behind her back, bending slightly at the waist to peer at him from the side. And she had a smirk on her face.

"It has been proven that you are ‘dere’ for me, master, just like during the Clan War. I will say this much, you will get burned if you fall for me."

He wasn’t ‘dere’, but he did trust her. However, saying it or admitting it was embarrassing. He felt like he was overthinking things for an NPC, but it was still awkward.

"Um, that’s not really it."

"Is that so. Then, please be ‘dere’ for Ashley-sama instead. Tsundere is also acceptable."

"Why did it come to that. What happened just now was simply that I trust Esha’s intuition more than my own. By the way, on a serious note, is Diite-chan dangerous? I have a feeling something is off about her too."

Hayato felt like Diite had said something that felt off. But he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. That’s why he felt uneasy.

Seeing that Hayato was thinking seriously, Esha’s smirking face turned serious, and she crossed her arms.

"To be honest, I do not know if she is dangerous. However, I feel like I have met that girl, Diite, before. But I cannot remember when or where I met her at all. That is what feels so unsettling. I also feel like I should not remember… What could this be?"

"I don’t know either, but was it a bad idea to let Diite-chan come here?"

"I believe not getting involved would have been best, but leaving her alone also seems problematic. In that case, would it not be better to talk with her and find out what kind of person she is to ascertain her true nature? Perhaps I might remember something in the process."

"I see. So it’s fine for her to visit, but what do you think about her actually joining the clan?"

"If you think it is fine, master, then would that not be alright? It seems we are already marked, so it is probably too late, and she will not participate in the next Clan War, correct? For just the two Clan Wars after that, I think it will be fine. Besides, if she betrays us, I will eliminate her. If we plan with the assumption she will betray us, it will work out somehow."

Esha’s face twisted into a mischievous grin. Hayato thought it suited her, and at the same time, felt she was dependable.

"Alright. Let’s talk with her a little more before we decide. It seems Esha will protect me if it comes to that—wait, are you ‘dere’ for me, Esha?"

As if getting revenge for before, Hayato also showed Esha a smirk.

But it had no effect on Esha at all. He had expected her to blush and protest, but instead, her face was blank. She looked at him with an expression that said, ‘What are you talking about,’ and Hayato’s stomach hurt.

"What I am ‘dere’ for is the chocolate parfait you make, master. And cake."

"Oh, right. I shouldn’t try things I’m not used to. My stomach hurts from saying something unnecessary."

"Could it be a lingering effect from being shot with the gun earlier? You should drink a potion."

"That’s not what I mean. You’re deliberately misunderstanding the flow of the conversation, aren’t you? …Anyway, I’m leaving the shop to you again. I’m going to my room to prepare for the next Clan War."

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Hayato left Esha in the dining hall and returned to his room as if escaping.