kscans

Chapter 54 - Are You Reading Something?

Convinced by Nanapon, I gave up on acquiring a new skill and decided to focus on leveling up.

We entered the mine, and Nanapon created a torch with her fire magic, just like before. Seeing this, I took an electric lantern from my bag and hung it on the side.

"Oh, you brought a light today."

Nanapon glanced at the lantern.

"Yeah. I can't see when you use your magic. Honestly, my eyes get tired when it keeps getting brighter and darker."

"Frontier is extra tiring, after all. And it's brighter with two light sources."

It was certainly brighter than the last time we were here.

"Alright! Let's hunt some Hide Skeletons. Nanaka-san, where are the enemies?"

"Over there. Let's do our best."

We took turns hunting skeletons, just as we had before. An hour or so passed since we started.

"Hmm, my level isn't going up."

I looked at my Status Card, tilting my head at the unchanging number 6.

"It won't go up that easily. We've only been hunting Hide Skeletons."

"What level are you?"

"I'm still at 8."

I want to catch up to Nanapon. I don't want to lose to a nineteen year old. But, when I think about it, since we're adventuring together, isn't it impossible to catch up?

"Does the person who defeats the monster get the experience points?"

I was pretty sure I read that online.

"Basically, yes. But it seems you can also get experience from using magic. There have been cases of people's levels going up even though they only ever used healing magic."

Huh. In that case, Nanapon, who's keeping a fire lit as a torch, is also earning experience points right now. This is bad. The gap is widening.

"I feel like I don't get any experience points for making items with Alchemy."

"Is that so?"

"The ingredients are cheap, so I've been making a ton of stuff for no reason. But my level doesn't go up. What about you? You're using Clairvoyance, right?"

"I use Clairvoyance all the time, but my level doesn't go up either."

What a closet pervert. What have you been looking at? I'm so jealous.

"I can't use magic, so I guess I'll just have to do it the hard way."

I'll have Okita-kun go to Frontier while Nanapon is at university. He hasn't been at all recently.

"Good luck. If you come up with a new recipe, it might sell."

Right. I'll get to it.

We continued hunting Hide Skeletons after that. When it got late, we decided to take a break, leaving the mine to rest at the worn out table in front of the shack.

"I have an Item Bag, maybe I should buy a table and some chairs for our breaks?"

This table looks like it's about to break, and the chairs are making creaking noises.

"I think that's a good idea. I wouldn't like it, but I hear high rankers sometimes stay overnight."

"Like an expedition?"

"Exactly. The areas we can go to are pretty small, but other places are vast, and some are still unexplored. I think it's romantic, but I hate camping out."

Nanapon is so picky.

"Doesn't it sound fun if you think of it as camping?"

"I did something like that for a school trip in elementary school. I hate bugs."

Such a girl. She should just put up with a few bugs.

"Well, I'm sure you wouldn't want to share a tent with just me, Nanaka-san."

She has a mild fear of men, after all.

"With you, Eleanor-san, it would be fine."

Nanapon said something unexpected.

"Really? I'm sorry. I already have Kaede-chan..."

"If it were Okita-san, I'd bite my tongue off."

That stings a little.

"Hey, you need to stop giving Eleanor-san special treatment."

"Please watch your language. Eleanor-san doesn't speak like that."

Seriously. This girl is completely separating Okita-kun and Eleanor-san.

"Let's go adventuring with Okita-kun next time."

"No way. Okita-san is scary."

"What part of him!?"

"The part where he needlessly lops off skeleton heads."

But Eleanor-san is the one who does that. This girl sees all the bad parts as Okita-kun and all the good parts as Eleanor-san. No wonder Okita-kun is so disliked.

"I won't do it anymore. I'll fight normally."

"Please do. More importantly, the auction starts today, right?"

Nanapon gets a cut, so she's intensely interested.

"It starts at noon today, so it's already begun. It ends Friday at 11,59 PM."

To be precise, Friday at 11,59,59 PM.

"Did you see the estimated winning bid? They say it's between seven and eight hundred million!"

"I saw, I saw. It's incredible, isn't it?"

"Since there are two, that's around 1.5 billion. My share is ten percent, so that's 150 million yen! Wh, what should I do!?"

The normally timid Nanapon was extremely excited. This was the magic of gold.

"Why not entrust it to your parents?"

"What? No way. This is my money."

Money changes people. Or maybe she was like this all along.

"Go buy that staff you wanted. But you should stop splurging. You'll stand out."

"Asakura-san warned me about that too. She said a certain senpai of hers, despite being unemployed, suddenly had a lot of money and was telling a blatant lie about winning the lottery."

That girl really spills the beans. Don't use me as a cautionary tale.

"...Well, that's what happens, so be careful."

"I will. But I'm buying a staff and some armor. It's dangerous otherwise."

"True. You're always in normal clothes."

Nanapon always wears black pants, a white T-shirt, and a red cardigan. Forget the staff, she doesn't look like an Adventurer at all.

"I choose clothes that are easy to move in and that I don't mind getting dirty."

Eleanor-san, who has only ever worn a black robe and a tracksuit, wouldn't understand. The only easy-to-move-in clothes in my head are tracksuits.

"Want to buy a black robe?"

"No way. I'd be matching with you, Eleanor-san, and it would look heavy on me."

"Heavy?"

Robes aren't heavy at all.

"I'm talking about fashion."

I wanted to say, who cares, but I held my tongue. I don't want to be branded as an old man.

"Then what will you do? Buy an inner suit?"

I wear an inner suit under my black robe. It's a mysterious piece of gear that has it all, lightweight, easy to move in, and sturdy.

"I'll buy one of those. As for what's on top... well, I could stay like this, but since I have the chance, maybe I'll buy something... hmmm."

Nanapon was lost in thought.

"Well, take your time. In your case, you won't be ambushed, and I'll eliminate any enemy that gets close to you."

"Eleanor-san, you're so cool!"

See? Whenever she praises someone, she definitely says Eleanor-san. And when she's belittling or making fun of someone, she says Okita-san.

"Thank you. By the way, about this week, let's go adventuring the day after tomorrow, on Wednesday. Let's take the other days off."

"I'm fine with that, but is one day really enough? Last week was because of my schedule, but you haven't been going much at all, have you?"

Well, Nanapon is a student, so it can't be helped. She probably cheats on her tests, but she has attendance to worry about and should prioritize university.

"There's the auction, and I have to tidy up my room for personal reasons."

"Is it that messy? I think it's shabby, though."

Say it has character.

"I'm moving next week."

"Ah... the mysterious cohabitation..."

What's so mysterious about it?

"It's just a boyfriend and girlfriend moving in together."

"Okita-san, are you alright? Are you sure you're not just completely convinced in your own head that you're dating?"

Of course we are. We're dating. We went on a trip together and linked arms.

"A child like you wouldn't understand."

"Well, I suppose you should do as you please. Where are you moving?"

"Nerima. It's a pretty nice area. By the way, where do you live?"

"Okita-san, your tone, your tone."

Whoops, it changed because the topic turned to moving in with Kaede-chan.

"Where are you? Nakano?"

She said to Nakano Station when I tried to send her home in a taxi before. Of course, since I was the one who got kidnapped, I ended up making her go home alone.

"That's right. I started living alone when I entered university. But maybe I should move too... it's just a studio apartment."

"Unless you're really unhappy with it, you'd be better off not. A bigger place is a pain to manage, and what would you tell your parents?"

I bet her parents are the ones renting that apartment for her anyway.

"That's true. Well, whatever. Anyway, I understand the plan for this week."

"How about we have a celebration after the auction ends? I'll invite you over to the new place."

It would be fine to have a separate party from the one with just me and Kaede-chan. As for Satsuki-san... having her over seems like it would be a pain.

"In that case, please be Eleanor-san, without fail."

"Do you hate Okita-kun that much?"

This is starting to hurt. I'm in the middle of mental recovery here.

"No, that's not it. I just don't like visiting the home of a man and woman who are living together... It feels kind of sordid."

This girl really is a closet pervert. I bet she reads dirty manga.

"Fine, I'll be me for you."

"Please do."

"Alright, alright. Well, that's enough of a break. Shall we get back to it..."

"Yes."

After our break, we resumed hunting Hide Skeletons. And once we had hunted a fair number of them, evening fell. I had Nanapon head back first, and we parted ways there.