22 - Commotion

The prairie is illuminated by the brilliant sun.

On a large rock, high enough to see it all.

I was now immersed in a pool of slime.

It was cool and soft under the shining sun, and I felt so comfortable that I even felt sleepy.

Maa, it was just a feeling though.

I thought I was dead when the slime took me in, but it didn’t melt me, instead it just wrapped me and didn’t move.

Only my head was sticking out, and my body was floating in the slime.

A slime bed, so to speak.

I had a vague idea of what happened.

The slime wanted to escape. It took in what I gave it and was able to escape. That’s all there is to it.

“Well, Subordinate taming.”

It succeeded, as it should.

After that, I went back to the library through the meadow while hunting, and the petite slime that appeared on the way was easily devoured by the hands of the big slime.

It’s easy for it to spit out a clean core.

There was no one in the library, and it seemed that both Reinya and Old Man had gone somewhere.

I lay down on the bed and logged out.

I went downstairs and found a sign in front of the refrigerator, written in round letters.

“To my beloved Onie-chan, I ate lunch first. From your sister Aya.”

Apparently, Aya ate her lunch first and I’m afraid I made her wait. I thought, but I quickly ate and finished my chores.

Finally, I check the mail I got from Taku.

The meeting place is in front of the east gate, and the time is almost up.

I can afford to relax a little, so let’s go there while collecting.

“Open Gate.“

My consciousness was cut off.

◇

I arrived at the meeting place while collecting in the city.

What was waiting there was Senri and Yumi, who were of course, being picked up.

The three guys who were picking on them are familiar to me.

I see, if they’re playing this game to pick up girls, it’s no wonder their level is so low.

Are the three of them even aware of it in the first place?

The possibility that the girls may also have changed their appearance, just like me.

….I bet they didn’t realize that possibility.

That said, it’s time for me to come in and help.

Senri was smiling, and Yumi, on the other hand, was expressionless, a dangerous sign.

“Hey—-”

“Guys! Those girls are in trouble, stop them!”

“What, gee! The silver loli!?”

“Whoa! A noble!?”

“Damn it! You’re gonna remember this!”

The three of them retreated at the speed of light.

I don’t know what to feel about the silver loli, but what do you mean by noble?

When I looked sideways at the other person, there was a man with blond hair.

He was dressed in a rather pricey metal armor sold in stores, and carried a wide sword on his back that I had never seen before.

Behind him were three girls who seemed to be members of his party.

One of them was a tall, shapely woman with expensive metal armor and shield that was also sold in stores.

The other is a fluffy woman wearing a priest-like robe (that is sold in stores and is expensive) and is carrying a tin staff (which you can also buy and it’s a bit expensive).

The last one has a pale face with a wizard-like pointy hat (slightly raised) and a black cloak (raised) with a long iron wand (raised).

The party is well balanced with a swordsman, a vanguard, a rear guard monk and a wizard.

I’ll appraise the sword for now.

Old Sword Wine Quality:C Rarity:? Durability:A

Note: This old sword is made of hard metal and has a certain elegance to it.

It’s a pretty good sword, but I don’t know where he got it.

Senri is talking to a young man who has been nicknamed “the nobleman”. It was a social call of “Thank you for your help” and “I’m sorry for talking to you so suddenly.”

The fact that they have smiles on each other’s faces is what makes this fishy.

There’s nothing suspicious about it except that the three girls are looking at Senri as if they’re observing her and they’re all glancing at me.

And——

“Everyone, sorry for…. What’s the situation?”

—Taku arrived.

“Ooh, aren’t you Taku-kun the ‘Dual Swordsman’? Are you hunting in the east too?”

“Yeah, that’s right, well then—–”

“Haha, it’s just me and you, don’t be shy, we’re the same age aren’t we?”

“Right, then—-”

“If you’re hunting in the east, why don’t you join us?”

“Y, yeah, I’ll have to talk to my friends.”

“I’ll wait for a good answer then.”

I can read what Taku’s thinking behind his smile, like, it’s so annoying~. I’m sure he’s thinking that.

We briefly discussed our opinions, and when I mentioned that I was interested in what other players do, we decided to hunt together.

“Well, we decided to go together. Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you, Taku-kun!”

The nobleman smiled happily, and I wondered what made him so happy.

“We’ll split the catch 50/50 and help each other out in a pinch, right?”

“Yes, that’s reasonable.”

It hit me when he said that the 50-50 split was probably due to the experience and materials available to each party.

So I briefly explained Legion to everyone.

“How can such a…function be….”

“That’s amazing! As expected of Taku’s friend!”

The two of them look at each other with interest.

When we were about to form a legion, one of them objected.

The monk.

“But that means that all the experience will be split up as well, right~?”

Then she looked at me.

“Uu~mm~what’s your skill set~?”

The one who was annoyed by this was Taku, and Kiritto-san, the one with the shield, objected.

“It’s bad manners to ask about other people’s skill sets. Sorry for my party members.”

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“But~, I mean it’s not my fault if they’re gonna slow us down.”

What can I say, this monk has a good personality. I kind of like him.

However, our two girls didn’t seem to like it that much.

“Aah, my main skills are ‘Summoning’ and ‘Alchemy’.”

The monk looked blatantly disgusted when I answered that.

“You’re gonna be a burden to us~”

“Nn, slow and useless.”

The wizard nodded in agreement, and Kiritto-san had a subtle expression.

Our girls started complaining and arguing.

“If you say that, why don’t you just decide with PVP.”

It was decided with a single sentence from the Wizard.

PVP is a dueling system in Another.

After shaking each other’s hands and swearing an oath, a blue membrane is put on the surface of the body.

At the end of the fight, the membrane pops off and the winner is determined.

“The strongest person in the duel, if you show your ability that you won’t slow us down, you win.”

When the wizard said that, the nobleman stepped forward.

The other three retreated backwards.

“I’m sorry it had to come to this, but I’ve always wanted to fight you, the so-called Dual Swordsman!”

“Haa…? I see, then you’ll fight me.”

“He?”

When I said that, the other three, including Taku, went back. Well, that was logical.

Of course, it was the other four who showed their dumb faces.

“Let’s do it then?”

“A, ah, no, why you?”

“Because…. I’m the strongest?”

What else would be the reason?

“No, but.”

“Maa, you’ll understand soon.”

“Hmmm…Can’t help it.”

The nobleman is rather understanding, isn’t he?

We extended our hands to each other and shook them.

“Then, ‘Thank you, God of War. Duel’.”

“Thank you, God of War. Duel.”