kscans

Chapter 76 - Why?! My Gaze Won't Move?!

From the afternoon, I found myself adventuring with Saegusa-san, who was popular with guys all over the country.

"Well then, shall we go?"

"Hey, before that, can we drop the formal language? We're the same age, right?"

That was a good point.

"You're right. Must be a habit from my corporate days."

"Well, I mean, that's normal, but also, you should call me by my first name too. Why am I the only one you call Saegusa-san? You call Kaede by her first name, not to mention Satsuki-nee-san and Lin."

I don't know Lin-san's last name. Wait, could she be famous? Someone I should know? I'll look her up when I get home...

"Alright! Follow me, Yoshino!"

"Huh? The distance between us just shrank in an instant, but I feel like you're looking down on me."

Shut up. Level four swordsmanship should keep quiet.

"Just come on. I'm heading home at four."

The plan was five, but I need to consult with Satsuki-san.

"Oh, well. Let's go then... Oh, by the way, did you find the Fluffy Grass?"

"I did, I did. It was super fluffy."

That stuff is addictive.

"I found some after that too, and it was amazing."

"So you ended up looking for it?"

"The rookies got really interested in it."

I see. It's true that it would pique your curiosity.

"Hmm, maybe I should bring some back for Kaede-chan."

"The grass? Get her flowers."

Flowers are a bit embarrassing... I could give them to her at home, but at the guild reception... a bit much.

"Oh well. Let's go."

"Mm."

Yoshino-san and I started walking in search of Skeletons.

A short walk later, a single Skeleton came into view ahead.

"Yoshino-san, you wanna take it?"

"No, I'll leave it to you. You need a hundred, right?"

"Then I'll take it."

I drew my katana from its sheath and started walking. When the distance between me and the Skeleton was about ten meters, it noticed me too and came running slowly, its bones rattling.

I stopped, raised my sword, and waited for the Skeleton to enter my range. Then, as it entered my striking distance, I stepped in and slashed down from its shoulder. The Skeleton split in two and immediately vanished into smoke.

"Impressive."

As I was picking up the dropped Skeleton sword, Yoshino-san called out to me.

"You could do that much too, Yoshino-san."

It has nothing to do with being A-rank or what your level is. If you've practiced swordsmanship, you can do at least this much. Especially since Skeletons are so slow.

"Well, yeah. Anyway, that really was an Item Bag, wasn't it."

Yoshino-san pointed at my bag. Well, it's obvious when I store a Skeleton's sword in it.

"Yep."

"Where did you get that? Dropped by a Slime?"

What a funny joke. Even though Eleanor-san was the one who started it.

"It's a ten-kilogram one I bought from Eleanor-san."

Let's just go with that.

"Huh... Through Kaede?"

"That's right. For one million yen."

That should be a reasonable price. In reality, if I were to sell a ten-kilogram one, that's the price I'd sell it for.

"You've got quite a bit of money, don't you."

"I borrowed it from Kaede-chan."

"...Are you, by any chance, a no-good bum?"

I told a lie and now I'm being treated like a freeloader.

"I'll pay her back soon. Once I defeat a hundred Skeletons, that's five hundred thousand!"

"Well, yeah. But you should save up, you know."

"I know."

I already have about two billion yen. ...Actually, thinking about it myself, that's really amazing.

I continued to hunt Skeletons after that, defeating ten in total. Here, a problem arose. With Yoshino-san around, I couldn't drink a potion to recover my stamina.

"Aren't you going to fight, Yoshino-san?"

After defeating the eleventh Skeleton, I turned around and asked Yoshino-san.

"Hm? Are you tired? Want me to take over?"

Somehow, that's annoying...

"No, I want to see what level four is capable of."

"Level four? .........Huh? How do you know my swordsmanship level?"

Oh! A direct hit!

"Satsuki-san is five, right? So if you're lower than that, you must be four."

"Hmm, Satsuki-nee-san told you that? Normally, she wouldn't say, even after retiring."

"Hmph."

I snorted.

"...What's your swordsmanship level?"

"Six."

"Huh? Why were you a salaryman until now?"

"Leave me alone."

I'm already thinking I should have started sooner.

"Six... This has gotten awkward... Well then, I'll take the next one."

As Yoshino-san stepped forward, I used the opportunity to take a Healing Potion from my bag and chug it down. I immediately put the empty flask back in my bag.

Next time, I should prepare some in a regular plastic bottle... The flask stands out, so I can't drink it in front of people.

As we continued walking, a Skeleton soon came into view.

"Yoshino, go!"

Show me what level four can do!

"Now I see why you call me by my first name without any honorifics..."

Yoshino-san sounded exasperated, but she drew her sword and took a stance. Her sword was different from my katana, it was a double-edged short sword.

Yoshino-san stepped towards the approaching Skeleton and sliced off the arm holding the sword. Then, with a horizontal sweep of her sword, the Skeleton crumbled and vanished into smoke.

Yoshino-san's movements were all fluid and beautiful.

"Amazing. Are you really level four? You're not lying, are you?"

I called out to the back of Yoshino-san, who was picking up the dropped Skeleton sword.

"It's true... Well, our levels are different, and the performance of our swords is different too. My sword is worth over a hundred million."

A hundred million!? Are you an idiot!?