kscans

Chapter 77 - She's a Girl I See Around a Lot, Huh... ★

Apparently, Yoshino-san uses a sword that costs over one hundred million yen. While you could say that's to be expected of an A-rank, from a cost-performance perspective, I think she might be an idiot.

"How can you bring yourself to use a sword that costs over a hundred million... What will you do if it breaks?"

"My life is worth more than a hundred million. That's why everyone buys expensive healing potions."

I see. But I still can't bring myself to spend a hundred million. It'd be a different story if it were a magic sword that could shoot fire or something.

"Is Lin-san like that too?"

"Well, yeah. We're from the same dojo, or rather, we're childhood friends."

Which means Satsuki-san must know her too.

"High-rankers are stronger than I thought..."

I had expected them to be a bit weaker.

"You really look down on people, don't you? Why are you so arrogant?"

"I have absolute confidence in my sword. And to put it another way, it's the only thing I have to be proud of. I'm just a guy who got fired from his company at twenty-six, after all."

What's more, though I graduated from college, it wasn't a top-tier university, and I have no qualifications. I believed I wasn't at the bottom, but I couldn't say I was above the middle class either.

"So you're trying to one-up people... I'm sorry."

She apologized to me...

"Kaede-chan told me the same thing, maybe I should try to live more humbly..."

"You really are a no-good man, aren't you? Isn't Kaede spoiling you rotten?"

Come to think of it, she is incredibly kind. Even after we started living together, she dotes on me...

"Maybe it's because of what happened to me... This isn't good."

If I keep this up and become a high-ranker, I might be called the Cocky Tracksuit Man.

"Are you okay?"

Yoshino-san peered at me with concern.

"Alright! Yoshino-san, let's go to the next one! I'll do my best!"

"Is that your idea of being humble? Well, whatever."

I issued a ban on being cocky and decided to live humbly.

After that, I continued to defeat Skeletons without complaint, and when our total haul for the day, including morning and afternoon, reached thirty Skeleton swords, it was a good time to call it a day. Then, as we returned to the Gate, we saw Lin-san waiting in front of it amidst a large crowd of adventurers, so we approached her.

"Lin, where are the girls?"

When we reached Lin-san, Yoshino-san asked her.

"I sent them home first. They said to thank you."

"I see. Well, we're in the same guild, so we'll see them again. Oh, Okita-kun, thanks for today. Contact me again."

Yoshino-san, who had been talking to Lin-san, turned to look at me.

"No, thank you. Thanks to you, you've made me realize something important."

"Stop that. It's extremely counterproductive."

Does it sound like I'm mocking her?

"Really? This is harder than I thought."

"Just act normal."

"I'll consult with Kaede-chan. Well then, I'm heading home. Good work today."

"Yes, you too."

"Later."

With Yoshino-san and Lin-san seeing me off, I passed through the Gate and returned to the guild.

◆◇◆

"How was he?"

As Okita-kun passed through the Gate, Lin asked.

"Hmm, he's skilled. Said his swordsmanship level is six."

"Six!? What is that!?"

Lin was surprised. But that was only natural. I've never heard of a level six before.

"Same here. I thought he was just looking down on people, but he had the skills to back it up."

"It was the same when I approached him. He was completely at ease. And here I am, a B-rank."

"He probably doesn't know that. I mean, he kept calling you Lin-san. He probably doesn't even know your last name."

There's no doubt about it. Okita-kun doesn't know who Lin is. If he did, he wouldn't ask about her skills.

"Hmm, well, he's a late rookie, so he probably wasn't interested in our world."

"He knew who I was from the start, though."

"Of course he did."

Lin stared fixedly at my chest.

"I'm getting stared at a lot today."

"That's what's going to happen if you're with Okita-kun from now on. So? How was it? Did you invite him?"

Lin got to the main point.

"I did, but it's not looking good. He put me on hold."

"On hold? What a picky guy... What are his intentions?"

"I don't know. He said being alone was easier, but he was quite talkative, so I didn't get that impression."

He was a talkative one. He was even talking while fighting Skeletons. I'd normally warn a rookie about that.

"Hmm, what about the connection to the Witch?"

"That's also unclear, but I did find one thing."

"Hm? What is it?"

"He apparently bought a ten-kilogram Item Bag with money he borrowed from Kaede."

"Is Okita-kun okay? And Kaede too."

I can tell Lin is exasperated.

"But, Okita-kun defeated over twenty Skeletons and stored more than twenty Skeleton swords in his Item Bag. No matter how you look at it, that bag is more than ten kilograms."

Even if one sword is one kilogram, that's twenty kilograms. It's definitely not a ten-kilogram Item Bag.

"Is that... from Kaede?"

"I don't know. But at the very least, Okita-kun and Kaede have a connection to the Golden Witch."

"Have you reported it to the Headquarters Director?"

"Not yet. I don't want to make any rash moves and provoke her, and if the Witch is involved, we need to proceed with caution."

"Understood. For now, we'll wait and see."

First, we need to make contact with Eleanor Ocean and gain Okita-kun's trust... And I'll have Okita-kun act as a bridge between me and Satsuki-nee-san.

I wonder if Satsuki-nee-san will forgive me...