Chapter 65

"Shouldn't you greet her? Are you trying to push a difficult child onto me?"

Hime asked cautiously.

"I would never do such a thing. I have my own dedicated blacksmith. I simply wanted to offer an opportunity out of pure goodwill."

The consort, despite being accused, showed no concern—rather, it seemed she was used to such light-hearted banter and laughed it off.

"Alright, alright. Thank you. Send me the student's information. I'll reach out to him."

With that, the remote call ended.

The student was a 20-year-old male from Hyogo Prefecture. He had awakened as a blacksmith three years ago but had not registered as an awakened blacksmith to focus on his studies. His family ran a temple, and he had a good reputation in the community. He specialized in monster biology and had already received a job offer from a research institute in Hyogo. He chose this institute because a respected scholar worked there, but the pay was quite low. He was looking for a part-time job with a Kansai EPO corporation to work as a blacksmith. Leveling up in the dungeon was not a problem; in fact, he was eager to do it as it would be a good opportunity to study the ecology of monsters. However, if he were to start working, it would be more than a year from now, as the consort had mentioned.

"Not bad for someone the consort recommended. I'll have Ako reach out to him."

"Ah, yeah."

"What's wrong? Don't you want a man to join?"

"Not at all. In fact, I think it would be more relaxed. With four women and one man, it's less stressful."

I said this honestly. Having a man around does make things easier. There are certainly issues that only men can understand. I had thought about inviting Aoki many times, but I prefer our current relationship and don't want to talk about work at school.

"Then what's the problem?"

"Well, actually, I know someone who recently awakened as a blacksmith and was considering whether to become one."

"First time hearing about it. There must be a reason you didn't mention it before."

"He's afraid of fighting monsters."

"Pretty common reason," Hime said.

She had mentioned before that blacksmiths generally specialize in attack stats and have low defense. They are different from other awakened individuals who have one outstanding stat and average others. Even with a safety margin, dungeons are dangerous, and for blacksmiths, it can be life-threatening.

"What do you want to do, Taiga?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."

"Since you're hesitating, he must be important to you. Another girl?"

"Another girl? No, just a girl."

Don't make me sound like some guy who only cares about girls. It's just that I've met a lot of girls recently. I don't think I care that much. If there really is a god in this world, I just hope he can save Mizuno-san.

"By the way, you don't need a low-level blacksmith. He needs to be at least level 10 and have some skills before I can even assign him menial tasks. If you say, 'I'll protect you with my life, so trust me and follow me!' he might come, right?"

"Can't say something that embarrassing."

"Taiga, do you even realize how many embarrassing things you say normally?"

Hime looked at me with half-lidded eyes.

Do I say something weird normally? I don't remember anything.

"If you really want him, why don't you hire him personally?"

"Personally? But I'm just a regular high school student."

"Everyone knows you're not regular, but with your earnings, you can afford a personal blacksmith. Leave the details to Ako. She can handle it. We're planning to hire more staff anyway."

Indeed, I put more than enough money into the household, yet my savings continue to grow. I can afford to hire Mizuno-san. However, his fear of fighting monsters is not something money can solve. Even with the substitute bracelet, it's not completely safe. It only takes 100 HP for you, so if you take a hit that reduces 150 HP, the bracelet will break, and you'll take 50 damage.

What should I do?

"I almost forgot. I have something to give you."

I took out a D-can from my inventory.

"Is this the can from last time? I was told it was just a candy, so I brought it back."

"Yeah, I prepared a dummy, but it was anticlimactic."

"A dummy? What do you mean?"

"This isn't just a candy. I discovered it by chance at first—"

I explained the effect of the skill orb. Hime was surprised, exasperated, and then stared at the skill orb.

"Could the milk's healing magic be—"

"Yeah, I learned it from the skill orb. The rest are my detailed appraisal and hellfire magic."

"The secret to your strength. Why are you telling me this?"

I explained the skills that can be learned from the skill orb. There is a causal relationship between the skill and the D-can's opening condition. If it's a skill that someone with high agility can learn, it's likely a skill Hime needs.

"An agility-related skill... I want skills like 'Weiden' (Swiftfoot), 'Emergency Evasion,' 'Speed is Strength,' and 'Speedstar.'"

I nodded.

"I rewatched the comments from the last stream. The ones Ako didn't let through were mostly positive. There were some jealous comments about you, but most were supportive of us. However, there were comments saying I was the most boring leader, which really got to me..."

She looked very creepy, grinning widely.

Is she that happy about getting a unique skill? It's not even certain she'll get one yet. She put the candy in her mouth and started licking it. I tried to say something, but she stopped me, insisting that she shouldn't talk or chew.

Bored, I watched a video stream of Aoki, who was in the dungeon with Kyō-san in male form today. They were stomping on walking mushrooms on the second floor, mimicking a plumber. I smiled dryly at their silly antics.

"Taiga, what are you watching?"

Hime leaned in from behind, peering at my phone.

"Oh, a stream by someone I know—"

"Interesting," Hime said, looking at me from the front.

Wait, there are two Himes?

"Surprised?"

"To be honest, yes. Is this a skill?"

"Yes, a clone skill—a unique skill without data registration!"

"Even a ninja technique! I never thought I could become a real ninja!"

"Amazing that it works outside the dungeon too!"

The two Himes stood in front of me, taking turns speaking.

Wow.

I can't tell the difference between the clone and the real one. Both have shadows, and there are no differences like being reversed or having different eye colors.

"So, the Hime behind me was the real one, and the one in front was the clone?"

"The opposite. The one behind was the clone. The clone isn't an illusion; it has a physical form."

They made a mysterious hand sign as they explained. Being able to create a physical clone is amazing.

"Can I touch it?"

"A little is fine."

The clone gave permission. I touched the clone's cheek. It was soft and squishy. I stroked its head. It must have just washed her hair; it was smooth and felt good.

"Hey, Taiga. I'm a clone, but you're touching me a bit too much, aren't you?"

"The clone's memories will flash back to the original when they merge, so don't touch too much. It'll be embarrassing later."

The original warned me, and I pulled my hand back.

"Amazing, right?"

"It's like the Shadow Clone Jutsu."

The two Himes said proudly. I genuinely thought it was amazing. If it works outside the dungeon, it has the best possible use.

"Perfect for buying eggs with a one-pack limit."

"Exactly!"

It's a crucial point.

---

**Bonus:**

I received a comment that there are too many flags and I might forget them. Here's an update on the ongoing stories and comments from the characters involved.

1. **Milk's Yakiniku Date**

Milk: "I missed my chance and don't have the courage to ask again."

(Waiting for the right moment)

2. **Dumple's Nara and Fuji Dungeons**

Dumple: "Planning events. The world will surely become interested in dungeons."

(Coming soon?)

3. **Ushizou's Current Status**

Ushizou: "I keep in touch with Milk through letters. She's searching for a holy maiden's elixir to cure me, but I tell her not to worry. I'm doing well in the dungeon, but the American dungeon is different. I didn't expect to find a hot dog stand inside. What kind of meat do they use?"

(Enjoying the New York dungeon while receiving magical treatment to stop the curse's progression)

4. **Kyō and Aoki's Stream**

Aoki: "It's fun! But I'm getting a lot of comments asking for more cross-dressing, which is confusing. It's not my hobby."

Kyō: "Yeah, I can't keep up with it twice a week."

Aoki: "Why Kyō?"

(Having fun)

5. **King and Dumple's Relationship and Dumple's Goals**

King: "No comment."

(The biggest mystery)

6. **Kusaka Amusement Park D**

Shingen: "Data up to the 40th floor has already been provided to the government. The deeper the floor, the more special the monsters, so we need to plan and explore multiple times. Once we reach the 50th floor, it will be opened to the public with a safety margin."

(It will be a while before it's available for daily use)

7. **Love Stories**

Taiga: "Did someone fall in love?"

(Sorry, I'm a bit dense)

If you have any other questions like, "What happened to that?" or "What's that person doing now?" please leave them in the comments. I might update the flag status in the next chapter.