Chapter 72

"Since we've finished organizing, all that's left is to register Luna with the Adventurer's Guild and confirm her abilities."

"Moo... Do I really have to register?"

"Hmm? Since we're forming a party from now on, yeah. Is there a problem?"

After confirming the items from the gacha, we all sat back down and gathered around the table again. When I mentioned the two remaining plans for today, Luna had a clearly displeased look on her face.

What's wrong? Is there something she's against?

"Lord Ohtsuka, I think it would be better to wait before registering Luna with the Adventurer's Guild."

"Huh, why?"

"Luna looks even younger than I do. Can she even register as an adventurer?"

As Estelle said, Luna looks quite young. If we were to think of her as a human, she would be around 10 years old.

Adding a girl like her to the party to hunt monsters, huh.

"Yeah, that's not going to work."

If we did that, I'd probably get caught by the town guards and thrown into jail. It would be a serious issue.

In my world, I'd definitely be taken to the station without any questions. Even with my gentlemanly demeanor, it would be hard to explain.

"That reaction is kind of annoying. But if we don't have to register, that's fine."

When I said it wouldn't work while staring at Luna, she leaned on the table with her cheek resting on her hand, looking dissatisfied.

However, not registering with the Adventurer's Guild seemed to be convenient for her, so she didn't say anything about it.

Does she dislike joining any organization? Hmm, I don't really understand.

"Wouldn't it be okay if we told them she's a vampire?"

"Hmm... Is it really okay to say she's a vampire?"

If we told them she's a vampire and showed them her powers, they might let her register despite her young appearance.

But, is it really okay to say that? Since coming to this world, I haven't seen any demi-humans—like those with animal ears or tails, or elves with long ears—like in fantasy settings.

There were both in GC... but are they in this world?

"Well, either way, we need to gather information first."

"Hmm... I guess there's no choice. Let's give up on registering at the Adventurer's Guild today."

Even if there are demi-humans in this world, we don't know their status.

It might be better not to mention Luna's situation rashly.

Since she looks like a normal young girl, it's unlikely anyone would find out if we don't say anything, so I'll keep quiet about it.

Besides, I became an adventurer to earn money by collecting magic stones and to gather information. We're already registered, so there's no need to force Luna to register.

One of our plans for today is canceled, so we'll just check Luna's abilities today.

"Then—"

"Wait a moment!"

Just as I was about to stand up, Noelle raised her hand to stop me.

I feel like I haven't heard her say that in a while.

"What's up?"

"We'll check Luna's abilities another time. She said she's not very good with sunlight, and we also need to prepare Lord Ohtsuka's and Luna's rooms today, right?"

"Oh, Noelle, that's a good point. I like you."

For some reason, Noelle is saying 'wait' or 'stop' a lot today... It all sounds reasonable, but there's something off about it.

Luna isn't very good with sunlight, but checking her abilities could be done on a cloudy day. Plus, we do need to prepare the rooms.

If we go hunting and then prepare the rooms, it might get a bit complicated.

Still, Luna seems unusually happy that Noelle suggested postponing it.

There might be some other reason besides avoiding sunlight.

"Alright... Let's just prepare the rooms today. Is that okay with you, Luna?"

"Sure. I'm not particularly bad with sunlight, but if you insist, it's fine. Personally, I'd appreciate it if you prepared the room for me."

She folded her arms and responded as if she was only doing it because she was asked.

Luna also wants the room prepared, so that's settled for today.

"To be honest, I'm pretty tired of the recent flow of events. How many times did I want to go home during the hunt... I'd like to take it easy for a while."

"Yeah. Big Brother, can we take a break for a while? Sis Ha must be tired too, right?"

"Uh... Ah, yes. I'm tired too, yes."

"Really, you guys were doing such tiring things?"

Now that we've come to an agreement, Noelle started talking about what she was thinking. Estelle agreed and said she wanted a break.

When asked if Sis Ha was tired, she hesitated a bit but then corrected herself under Estelle's silent gaze.

Luna, who was just summoned, tilted her head in confusion.

Reflecting on recent events... the Great Hunt, House Extension, Goblin Dungeon, and the forced march for the gacha... it's been intense.

"Come to think of it, it has been pretty packed. I'm sorry I didn't notice."

"No, don't apologize. Still, Lord Ohtsuka, you're quite resilient."

"Yeah, I guess being a guy helps."

We've been so busy, and I had you guys collecting magic stones for the gacha. I should have been more considerate. I need to reflect on that.

Noelle seems impressed, but it's not something to be impressed about.

I can't be the first to give up, so I just keep pushing. I hope you can understand that my spirit is stronger than my body.

"So, Luna, I'm sorry for summoning you, but it looks like we'll be taking a break for a while."

"That's fine. I don't particularly enjoy fighting. In fact, I'd rather stay in the room and enjoy the darkness."

"That's not good! If you do that, I'll... uh, don't be so defensive..."

If we keep doing something and don't get a break, it'll be a problem. So, I plan to let Noelle and the others take a break for a while.

I felt bad that Luna was summoned without any chance to shine, but she seemed happy, folding her arms and smiling.

Staying in the room and enjoying the darkness... Could it be that she doesn't want to work? No, that would be a problem.

When Sis Ha tried to stand up to get closer to Luna, her smile turned into a growl, showing her fangs. She's clearly on guard.

"Anyway, let's take a break today, okay?"

"Yeah, take a break for a while."

"Thank you. Actually, this is just the lead-in... I have something to talk about with Lord Ohtsuka today."

"Hmm? Talk?"

Noelle confirmed with me again, thanked me, and then said she had something to talk about.

That was quite a long lead-in. It's rare for Noelle to say she has something to talk about. What could it be?

"Estelle and I discussed this during the hunt. Right, Estelle?"

"Yes, that's right. And, Big Brother, there's something we want you to think about."

It seems Estelle is also involved in this talk.

They must have discussed it during the forced march for the gacha.

"It's fine... What is it?"

"It's about magic stones."

"Magic stones! Noelle, are you finally taking the gacha seriously?"

"Kyaa!?"

Magic stones... Noelle says it's about the gacha.

So, my enthusiasm finally got through to her. Estelle thinking the same way is wonderful.

Overjoyed, I stood up and grabbed Noelle's hand.

"No, no, no! That's not it! Stop it!"

"Ah!? ...Then what is it?"

Noelle screamed and slapped my hand away with her free hand.

What... I thought she was finally on the same page...

"Anyway, through this experience, I think both Estelle and Sis Ha have realized what would happen if Lord Ohtsuka gets cornered by the gacha. So, we need to think of a way to prevent that from happening!"

"I finally understand why Noelle was so desperate to stop you... I'm sorry for thinking you were exaggerating."

"Uh, I'm fine... Ah, no, it was tough, yes."

Noelle, clenching her fists, spoke passionately.

Her motivation for collecting magic stones seems to be to avoid it as much as possible. It's like working hard to make things easier.

Estelle also realized why Noelle was so upset through this experience.

Sis Ha, looking confused, started to say she was fine but was quickly silenced by Noelle and Estelle's intense gazes.

She shrank back, nodding that it was tough.

This space is terrifying!

"...This doesn't seem to concern me."

"It does. If we keep this up, Luna will eventually experience Lord Ohtsuka's gacha addiction. I want to prevent that. Even if you haven't experienced it, I hope you'll listen to the story."

"Sure, I can listen... But, what's that on Noelle's lap?"

"Oh, I haven't introduced it yet. It's a Fluffy Rabbit named Mofu."

Luna, who had been bored, joined the conversation.

She was just summoned and might not understand much, but Noelle asked her to listen anyway.

However, Luna seemed more interested in Mofu.

"Noelle, can I hold it while we talk?"

"Sure. Please be gentle with it."

"Thanks. ...Wow, its fur is as soft as its name... It's so cute."

Noelle handed Mofu to Luna, who blushed and held it happily.

She seemed cold at first, but she has a cute side too.

"Haah... Luna..."

"Sis Ha, if you don't calm down, I'll do something."

"Ah! ...Sorry..."

I was watching Luna calmly, but then I heard a strange voice from beside me. Sis Ha was breathing heavily and staring at Luna.

She's a complete pervert. I could easily report her to the police.

But when Estelle, expressionless, made sparks fly from her finger, Sis Ha screamed and became quiet.

This is the line that shouldn't be crossed. If she goes further, Estelle will lose her temper, so she won't do it again.

"Ah, um... So, what's the talk about magic stones?"

"Oh, sorry. It's about how to collect magic stones."

"Collecting them? What's there to talk about?"

The conversation had drifted, so I asked about the magic stones again.

Collecting magic stones... Is there really something to discuss about it now?

"Until now, we've been collecting them ourselves, right? But there's a limit to that, and it's been tough for us. So, I thought, can we collect magic stones from other adventurers who hunt monsters?"

Estelle took over, explaining that they were considering whether they could collect magic stones from other adventurers who hunt monsters.

But is it worth thinking about? Can't we just form a party and fight together?

"Why not just form a party?"

"That's not what I mean. I'm talking about getting magic stones even when we're not fighting together."

...Huh? I don't understand. Getting magic stones when we're not hunting together?

"How would that work? The magic stones don't just appear, you know."

"That's why we need to think about it. We've never tried it before."

"We've never thought about how magic stones are obtained. If we know the conditions, what I said earlier might be possible. So, let's discuss it today."

Magic stones automatically enter my phone when I defeat a monster.

I just assumed it was a given and never questioned it.

But if we can get magic stones from other adventurers who hunt monsters, we might not have to go through such a forced march.

But how would we do that?

"Conditions... Is it just that we need to defeat rare monsters?"

"That's one condition. That's about all we know for sure."

"Are there other conditions?"

"Another thing we know is that magic stones can enter Big Brother's phone even if the rare monster is defeated far away. But isn't that strange? Why do they enter Big Brother's phone when we defeat them far away?"

Until the Goblin Dungeon, we never hunted far apart.

But the dungeon experience made us realize that we could get magic stones even when far apart.

That's why we thought about hunting separately this time.

I thought it was just about defeating rare monsters, but there might be more to it.

"Is it just because we're in a party?"

"It's possible that it's because Lord Ohtsuka summoned us. We don't know if it's because of the party."

"If it's because of the party, we might be able to use it to our advantage. If we can get magic stones from adventurers who aren't with us, it's worth exploring the conditions."

Now that you mention it, it's possible that Noelle and the others can get magic stones because I summoned them.

We call ourselves a party, but there's no party formation option in the app. We just assume we're a party.

But Noelle's and my buffs are applied, so we are recognized as a party.

If magic stones are obtained because of the party, we might be able to get them even when not hunting together.

That's worth considering.

There's still a lot to confirm...

"We should have checked during the Great Hunt, but did you, Big Brother?"

"...No, I didn't."

We should have checked when fighting with Deus and the others, but I didn't.

I wasn't thinking about it at the time... Damn, I should have realized sooner.

But Deus and the others were also affected by my buffs, so they were treated as part of the party.

If we might need to rely on other adventurers in the future, we should verify this properly.