Chapter 68

Day 2.

"Hehehe, today it's my turn! I even borrowed the bracelet from Noll, so I'm all set!"

"Wow, Sisaha, you're really fired up. That's great to see."

"I just prefer to take them down! Since it's just me and Ooka-san, I don't have to hold back, and it feels much more relaxed!"

Today, Noll went with Estelle to the northern cave, while Sisaha and I went to hunt orcs. Now, after seeing Estelle off, Sisaha and I are at the orc forest.

Yesterday, she seemed very tired from the scorpion fishing, but today she's full of energy. She's so eager to start hunting that she's fidgeting.

Since the power bracelet isn't necessary for Noll, who does the fishing, I had Sisaha take it and prepare for the hunt. With this, she should be able to take down a black orc with just two attacks.

"Alright, let's start the hunt then."

"Yes! Let's do our best!"

First, I need to teach her the order in which to circle the respawn points. So, before we start hunting separately, I'll hunt with Sisaha.

We'll hunt goblins and orcs to spawn black orcs and take them down. I'll explain this process to her, and I'll head to a respawn point a little ways away to start hunting.

"Haha, hahaha—! Ah, this is so much fun!"

As we were hunting, Sisaha's laughter suddenly echoed through the forest. I couldn't help but look in her direction, and the goblins that were about to attack me were also stunned by her.

She was running through the trees at incredible speed, laughing as she took down the goblins one by one. She was smashing the heads of goblins and orcs with her staff and instantly killing black orcs with two strikes. She was even faster than me, who has the Excalibur buff.

This is scary!? She has that aura of someone you shouldn't get involved with...

It seems she was holding back in the dungeon because she didn't know what might happen, but here, with no danger, she's completely let loose.

...Yeah, I'll pretend I didn't see that.

"Hey! Sisaha! It's time to head back!"

After confirming that Sisaha was in a frenzy, quite some time had passed.

The sun was about to set, so we decided to end today's hunt. We collected 104 magic stones, bringing the total to 132.

I went to Sisaha, who was happily punching the faces of goblins. When she turned around, she had a full smile. I've never seen anyone look so happy. It was that good of a smile.

"Huh? Is it that time already? Oh, it's getting dark, isn't it?"

"You seemed to have a lot of fun..."

"Well, I was stressed from being chased by scorpions yesterday. Those scorpions were completely unaffected by my attacks."

"You... attacked them?"

"Well, it was frustrating. I prefer chasing them rather than being chased."

Mmm, Sisaha sniffed in satisfaction.

She attacked the scorpions while fishing... How aggressive can she be?

She hunted for nearly 10 hours without getting tired. It seems she won't turn into a Noll.

"Sisaha, are you okay?"

"Yes! If Noll-san says it's fine, I'd like to do this again tomorrow!"

"Is that so? I don't mind, but is it okay with Ooka-san?"

We went to pick up Estelle and returned home.

Noll seemed to have endured today without any issues. It seems that being the fisher doesn't put as much mental strain on her.

I was thinking of alternating every day, but it seems better to keep it fixed. Sisaha doesn't seem to be suited for the fishing role, so there must be a role that suits her.

"I don't mind... It was a bit scary, though."

"Scary? Did Sisaha do something?"

"What? I just hunted normally, that's all."

I don't think normal people laugh and hunt like that. Even the monsters were taken aback.

"Well, let's put that aside. This time, we'll let Muffet draw."

"Muffet, it's up to you!"

This time, we're drawing in order of luck. We want to finish as soon as possible.

Noll lifted Muffet as usual and placed him on the table.

Muffet walked to the smartphone and tapped the 11-gacha.

A treasure chest appeared on the screen. The chest stopped at silver, gold, and white.

[R Snack, SR Beacon, R Plushie, SR Luxury Lamp, R Tear Gas, SR Platinum Plate, R Hot Ring, R Naginata, SR Skull Ring, R Shampoo, SSR Power Bracelet]

"Damn... We got an SSR, but..."

"Next time, next time!"

We got an SSR, but it wasn't the Dimension Room.

It's good to have luck, but when you're aiming for one specific item, it's not that easy.

Muffet tapped the 11-gacha again without hesitation.

A treasure chest appeared on the screen. The chest stopped at silver and gold.

[R Food, R Sleeping Bag, SR Philosopher's Stone, R Potion x10, SR Life Gem, SR Nike's Boots, SR Eclipse Sword, R Flame Rod, SR Excalibur, R Hard Cover, SR Board Game Set]

"Even Muffet couldn't do it!?"

"Damn... This complete gacha is too harsh..."

Ugh... Maybe this plan was too ambitious. We can draw twice a day, so we have 6 more draws left.

To increase it to 3 draws, we'd need to add 50 more stones... Impossible. No matter how you look at it, it's impossible.

The only thing we can do is hunt a bit more in the orc forest and adjust to draw 3 times on the final day.

"Phew, I accepted this because you said anything, but this is mentally draining."

"You seem tired. Here, drink this to regain your energy."

"Oh, thank you, big brother."

Estelle seemed even more tired than yesterday, sighing and slumping. She seemed to regret agreeing to this.

I gave her the nutrient supplement from the gacha. She drank it all in one go.

Yeah, I hope this helps her push through.

Day 3.

"We managed to get over 100 today... This time, this time..."

"Really, I hope it ends soon..."

"Well, it was a fulfilling day."

We finished hunting and returned home. The current total of magic stones is 143.

Today, we collected 111 magic stones. Estelle's group was a bit slower, having only 98 by the evening, but Sisaha and I managed to gather more.

It was tiring, but it's for the gacha, so it can't be helped.

Still...

"Estelle?"

Since we got home, Estelle hasn't said a word. She sat in a chair, looking down silently.

The atmosphere suggested that she didn't want to be disturbed, as she was extremely tired.

But I was worried, so I called out to her.

She still didn't respond.

"Hey, Estelle."

"...Huh? What?"

"I just thought you seemed a bit spaced out."

"Oh, really? Sorry."

I went up to her and waved my hand in front of her face, and she finally noticed me and responded.

She has the least stamina in the party, and this hunt was a bit too much for her. It's only the third day, but I need to pay more attention to her.

"It seems I wasn't in good form today. I almost got caught in the attack myself."

"That was dangerous. Be careful, okay?"

"Sorry. After a few attacks, my aim started to waver. I'm fine, though."

"Yeah, well, don't push yourself. If you feel like you can't do it, take a break. Noll, if it gets bad, please take over."

"Understood."

It seems Estelle wasn't in good form, which slightly reduced the efficiency of magic stone collection.

She said she was fine, but I told her to take a break if she felt too bad.

With Noll around, she should be able to handle it if it gets really bad.

"Alright, it's time for today's gacha."

"What will we do today?"

"Hmm... Let's have Estelle do it this time."

"Huh... Okay."

I wanted to cheer her up by having her do the gacha, but she responded in a dark tone I've never heard before.

She took the smartphone from me and lightly tapped the 11-gacha, looking unenergetic.

A treasure chest appeared on the screen. The chest stopped at silver, gold, and white.

[R Universal Medicine, SR Seasoning Set, R Bento Box, R Vacuum Cleaner, SR Guardian Ring, R Magic Dynamite, SR Cursed Rod, R Perfume, R Tiara, R Flash Ball, SSR Wall Shoes]

"Oh..."

"Damn, no luck. Estelle, let's try again!"

"Okay..."

We got an SSR, but it wasn't the item we wanted. This is frustrating.

I wanted to lift her spirits, but Estelle's expression didn't change. She was speaking less.

She briefly responded to me and tapped the 11-gacha again.

A treasure chest appeared on the screen. The chest stopped at silver and gold.

[R Snack, R Rinse, R Estock, SR Waist Pouch, R Steel Axe, R Universal Medicine, R Ice Rod, R Plushie, SR Francisca, R Sandals, SR Spiked Shoulder Pads]

"Mmm... This complete gacha... What a terrifying thing..."

"Estelle, are you okay? You seem more tired than yesterday."

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine."

After finishing the gacha, Estelle held the smartphone tightly with both hands, trembling and muttering something.

I couldn't tell if she was frustrated or feeling something else.

I had a bad feeling about this, but I'll see how she is tomorrow and consider reducing the hunting time.

Sisaha and I can make up for the difference.