Chapter 4

"Attacking people is just plain wrong, isn't it?"

At my words, Silent, who was perched on my head, stirred slightly. Despite being a shadow-like, weightless entity, for some reason, I could feel a definite sensation on my head. I came to accept that it would be too much to nitpick about such details.

Silent said in a slightly exasperated tone,

"…Well, if you’re fine with it, I don’t care."

Having completed our objective, we returned to the guild before anyone could spot us. Just as I stepped into the Guild of Callers, a familiar voice reached my ears.

"St-stop it! Please!"

Nanashino was surrounded by five men, like a lump of sugar surrounded by ants.

A single Iris Cavalier was scurrying around at her feet, trying to protect her, but the men were summoners, and they had their own familiars with them. Some of these familiars were of a higher rarity than the Cavalier. Nanashino’s Cavalier, which hadn’t been properly raised, stood no chance against them. The summoners’ job was to slay monsters, and the men surrounding Nanashino looked tough, while her voice was weak and trembling.

I sighed and muttered,

"…Well, you can do it, can’t you?"

How cliché…

"…To think you’d have such a reaction to that, Master, is impressive."

"Maybe she’s trying to get me to listen to her and pay her some money."

"There’s no way that’s it."

Even if you say that, there’s no way I can understand what a girl her age is thinking. I’m already twenty-four, after all.

The receptionist was just watching, not doing anything to intervene. There were a few other NPCs in the tavern, but none of them showed any signs of helping. They just looked tense and watched the scene unfold. From this, it seemed that such behavior was tacitly accepted to some extent.

As I was thinking this, Nanashino looked at me and let out a cry that sounded like a scream.

"B-Blogger! H-help me!"

"Maybe it would be better if I just took her in."

You were aware that you were drawing attention, so defend yourself.

At my words, Nanashino’s face turned pale. The men were blocking her, so she couldn’t move a step.

I sighed, looking at the men’s familiars.

"I told you, you should have rerolled."

Abicor is a pay-to-win game. Those who get strong familiars naturally win. If you had a powerful familiar, this wouldn’t even be a problem.

"A-Are you telling me to die!?"

"No, not to die, but to delete your account and re-register."

"H-how do I do that!?"

In Abicor, there’s no concept of death for players. If anything, deleting an account could be considered death. So, in this world, deleting an account is equivalent to death, and my theory is sound.

As I was thinking this, one of the men approached with a smirk. He was the NPC who had been staring at me when I first came to the guild. He had seen me before, but he asked as if he hadn’t.

"Huh? Are you with her?"

"No, Nanashino is with me."

"…That doesn’t matter!"

The man shouted at me. I’m slender, but the man in front of me was much larger, almost comically so for a summoner. His slightly faded reddish-brown robe looked like a testament to his many battles. Behind him was a familiar as large as a lion.

His murky brown eyes looked down at me.

"Sorry, but can you leave?"

Hearing his rough, gravelly voice, I thought for a moment before answering.

"Pedophile."

"!?"

The man was taken aback, and his familiar growled.

There was no benefit to helping, but there was also no benefit to not helping. There was something I needed to confirm first.

"Are you a player?"

"W-What did you say!?"

"So, you’re an NPC after all…"

What a waste of AI.

Most male characters in Abicor are muscular. My appearance hasn’t changed since I came here, and I don’t need to look up to see men, so they’re probably not players.

So, this must be a quest…

In Abicor, you don’t get attacked by NPC summoners for no reason. Quests are events that players can take on, such as dungeon exploration, incidents, and requests. I don’t remember this particular quest, but there are as many quests as there are familiars, so even I can’t remember all the lower-level ones. Quests are usually accepted at the guild, but spontaneous ones are not uncommon.

The quest name is probably something like "Rescue the Girl." Combat quests are the most popular. The cliché situation is probably because it’s a quest.

I observed the men’s familiars, ignoring the red-faced man.

"What’s the reward…? It doesn’t seem to be a high-level quest."

The summoners’ familiars… if you rerolled, you could beat them even at the start. Quest rewards increase with difficulty, so I don’t expect much.

Focusing on the familiars, their names, levels, and HP bars appeared above their heads. The men’s heads showed nothing, like nameless mob characters.

The nameless mob in front of me said with a creepy expression,

"W-What’s he talking about?"

"Since it’s the first one, let’s just take it…"

Silent, who had understood from my words, jumped down in front of me and grew to human size.

At that moment, a small man ran over and stared at my face in shock.

"Hey, bro, there’s something on his face…"

Only then did I realize something was stuck to my cheek. When I touched it with my fingertips, a slimy sensation remained.

It didn’t hurt. I complained to Silent about the slimy drop of blood.

"Hey, Silent, I told you not to leave a mark."

"Well, it’s your fault for being in the wrong place."

What a troublesome familiar.

I wiped the blood off my palm and straightened up. I’d wash it properly later.

"Come on, attack me."

"Ah… bro…"

"Don’t be scared! We’re five against one!"

The man who was called "bro" shouted, echoing the words of a scared person. He seemed to have forgotten about Nanashino.

I calmly observed everyone, focusing on Nanashino last.

Sure enough, her name, player level, and stamina bar were displayed above her head.

Nanashino Aoba. Level 1.

Looking around, I saw no other names and levels displayed. …So, Nanashino is the only player. I wish there was a more mature player.

The men surrounded me. Nanashino, who had been freed, let out a small cry.

I pointed at their familiars one by one.

"Raging Wind Angry Hawk. Flexible Iron Streaming Metal. Crying in the Underworld Black Banshee. Knight of Thanatos Dark Knight. And the Beast King Elite Blade Chimera."

The names I said appeared above their heads. The men murmured.

I had seen these names countless times. Generally, familiars with decorative names at the beginning are bad. They’re just padding the number of familiars. It’s frustrating.

I sighed, then gestured with my chin.

"And I would definitely ‘reroll.’”

§

Abicor was a game where you hit each other with wads of cash. The battle was over in an instant. With such a huge difference in rarity, it wasn’t even a contest. The men’s familiars were at the maximum level, but it wasn’t enough to make up the difference. They couldn’t avoid the multiple arms of Silent that stretched out immediately.

After everything was over, Nanashino, who had been silent, gasped and whispered,

"Amazing…"

"Using my power, it’s nothing."

The familiars impaled on the floor were still alive, but their HP was reduced by 90%, making them unable to act. In Abicor, the degree of HP depletion affects status and actions. The men, who had been so confident moments ago, now stared at me as if I were a monster.

The practice was already done, so the battle ended quickly. I ignored the man who had fainted and looked around.

"Where do we get the reward?"

"What are you talking about, Master?"

"Maybe just experience points? It’s a bland quest."

I’m not even sure if there are experience points… Even if it’s an early quest, I think I should at least get some rufs (the currency in Abicor).

Nanashino, who had been frozen, stumbled over to me, glancing at the familiars impaled on the floor. The Iris Cavalier was still with her, unharmed.

Good for you, you didn’t die.

Nanashino hesitated for a moment but then bowed slightly.

"Um… thank you."

"I told you it would be a hassle…"

"S-Sorry…"

Well, it doesn’t matter now.

I felt several pairs of eyes watching me from a distance. The receptionist, who had been silent, was now staring at me with wide eyes. I ignored the troublesome gazes and said to Nanashino,

"Since we’ve got enough money for a room, let’s stay here tonight."

"Ah… okay."

There’s no way to get back to the original world, so we might as well take it easy and assess the situation.

§ § §

It was scary.

Not the men who had aggressively tried to hit on her, but the young man called Blogger, who showed no interest in her, was terrifying.

Nanashino Aoba had been raised carefully. Born into a wealthy family, she had attended schools with children of similar backgrounds. Her strict parents didn’t spoil her, but with her good looks and excellent grades, the people who naturally gathered around her were mostly pleasant.

So, the first person she met in this world, who was in the same situation as her, was a type of person she had never encountered before. Someone without any empathy, refinement, or delicacy, who just did what they wanted.

Nanashino was confident in her ability to read people. The gaze directed at her, excited by the new world, held no emotion. It was as if she were looking at an inanimate object—compared to that, the men who had approached her with lustful intentions were almost better.

The room in the inn she had entered was so similar to a real-world room that it was hard to believe it was in a game world.

From what Nanashino could see, there was almost no difference between this world and the real world. The Japanese language worked, and the town didn’t feel out of place. There were probably many differences if you looked closely, but for now…

A bed, a side table, a lamp on the desk, a room with a shower and toilet—it felt like a hotel, and it helped to ease her tired mind. The fatigue seemed to melt away as she showered.

Nanashino had always had friends and family around her. This was the first time she had been in a situation where no one she knew was around, but the presence of her familiar, the Iris Cavalier, made her feel less lonely.

The white-armored familiar, though only half her size and with no visible expression, seemed to be concerned for her from its actions. Even in a foreign land, having even one ally was a comfort to Nanashino.

Sitting on the clean bed—white sheets—and petting the Iris Cavalier, she expressed her gratitude for its efforts to protect her.

The Iris Cavalier, without a word, nodded in acknowledgment. Nanashino sighed wistfully.

"Ichi, … can you start talking soon?"

Blogger was a cold person, but there was no sign of confusion in his actions. The knowledge he claimed to have from the game was believable. The story that it could talk if raised was probably true as well.

Even if it wasn’t, Nanashino would have believed it. The Iris Cavalier had become such a source of comfort in this lonely world.

After gazing at her familiar for a while, Nanashino said softly,

"…