Chapter 22

"Hey, Nana, get the butter."

"Sure thing."

Although Toka's sudden appearance caused a slight commotion, Rinko and I were still having breakfast.

"Is it okay for Toka not to eat breakfast?"

Toka came and went like the wind, but I was a little worried about her.

By the way, I think Rinko mentioned something about making plans for today while eating, but I guess that's fine too.

"That kid has already eaten. She's a good eater, despite her appearance."

"She's well-prepared."

"Even if we try to keep up with her pace, it's hard to reach Dualis by 12 o'clock after eating. But maybe we can make it with Nana as the fuel."

Rinko said this with a slightly troubled look.

"Is Dualis that far from the third town?"

"About two hours on foot, and about three hours if we fight along the way. The trip there will take a bit longer because of the boss, but the return trip will be about the same."

"Hmm... I think we have plenty of time."

Looking at the clock, it wasn't even 9 o'clock yet. If the travel time Rinko mentioned was accurate, it didn't seem too difficult for Toka to reach Dualis by noon.

When I said this, Rinko gently turned her eyes away and said:

"Did you forget? ...Toka is directionally challenged."

"Oh..."

That's what it was.

To give Toka credit, she can reach her destination if she has a map.

She doesn't get lost on her way to the school she's used to, and she managed to get to this apartment today.

However, dungeons have many branching paths and lack landmarks like modern cities, so Toka will likely move slowly, staring at her map.

It was uncertain whether she would arrive by noon.

"Well, she's gotten better with maps than she used to, so she'll probably manage."

Rinko cleared her throat and ended the conversation about Toka, then took a bite of her toast with only butter.

"By the way, I want you to play with Toka this afternoon."

"Sure. It's been a while, so I'm looking forward to it."

"We'll take a break at noon, but you can do whatever you want in the morning. You have something you want to try, right?"

"Right. I chose a new job, so I want to get used to it a bit."

The job I chose, "Shinto Priest," is a special job that allows me to specialize in physical skills by giving up all magical skills.

"By the way, what job did you choose? I didn't get to ask you yesterday."

"I chose 'Shinto Priest.'"

"Ah, I see. Nana can handle it, I'm sure."

"Does that mean not many people choose it?"

"It's too weak against area-of-effect spells. Plus, normal spells are too powerful... The drawbacks outweigh the benefits. It's quite extreme in a bad way."

Anyone who looks at the details of that job would think what Rinko said.

As she mentioned, area-of-effect spells are indeed a threat, but the fact that normal spells become super powerful attacks is a significant flaw.

I've only seen Rinko use lightning spells, but I remember they were quite fast, even if not as fast as real lightning.

In a one-on-one fight, you can dodge them, but when multiple enemies are involved, it can be quite troublesome.

"At least there are pieces of equipment that give bonuses to magic defense, so you could use those to compensate."

"True. I'll think about it if I get stuck."

"That's a good idea. Do what you want, Nana, and come to me if you need help."

I smiled back at Rinko's smile.

It looked like it would be a fun day.

☆

It was past 10 o'clock. After eating breakfast, I spent some time posting announcements and hanging laundry, and then, as I had declared yesterday, I started my live stream.

"It's only the third day, you know."

The familiar fantasy cityscape. In the bustling fountain square of the city, which seemed to be a holiday, I stretched.

"Hey, welcome. Please take your time and enjoy."

I sent a casual greeting to the comments that started trickling in.

Compared to the previous days when I was trying hard, today I felt more neutral about the live stream.

"Today, I'm going to try out my new job. My goal is the field just before the Forest of Evil."

"I see."

"Are you not going to the Forest of Evil?"

"I thought you might go to the swamp."

"Right, I'm playing with someone else this afternoon. Not Rinko, though. If we go into the dungeon, our schedules might not match up, so I thought I'd take a walk in the morning."

From the various comments, there were quite a few people hoping for a dungeon attack.

I was originally planning to go into the dungeon, but it would be too bad for Toka, who is making an effort to come to this city, if I wasn't there when she arrived.

After solidifying my plan, I started walking towards the North Gate, which is on the opposite side of the gate I entered yesterday, through the streets of Dualis.

"Wow, this is the famous street of stalls, huh?"

Seeing the various stalls scattered along the slightly widened road, I couldn't help but mutter.

Between the fountain square of Dualis and the North Gate, there is a market called the "Street of Stalls."

It's said that this place is lined with genuine player shops, not NPC shops.

Looking at the items for sale as I walked, they all seemed to have effects that were only slightly better than NPC items.

This is because almost all the sellers on this street in Dualis are production beginners.

"In the starting town, there's hardly any tutorial for production jobs, and you can't get production skills until you come to Dualis."

"Hmm."

"That's a bit strange."

"Maybe they want players to get used to VR."

Hearing my clumsy explanation, a small discussion started among the viewers.

According to Rinko, it's simply to distribute players.

Indeed, if everything was in the starting town, the town would be overwhelmed.

Production isn't as simple as pressing a button, and it takes up a lot of space. The shared workshops in Dualis are said to be on a massive scale.

There might be a chance to visit them someday.

Without buying anything, but interested in the items at the stalls, I walked towards the gate. Suddenly, a voice called out from below.

"Excuse me... Are you Sukuna-san...?"

The voice came, but the person wasn't immediately visible. Lowering my gaze, I saw a cute little girl with white hair looking at me with sleepy eyes.

"Yes, that's me. Who are you?"

"I'm 'Haruru'... I've been watching your stream... I really wanted to meet you..."

"Thank you. I'm Sukuna."

I extended my hand to shake, and it was enveloped by small hands.

Surprised by the sudden action, by the time the girl named Haruru let go, my right hand felt heavy. Haruru had given me a small iron weight as a throwing item.

"This is something I made... I want you to have it... I really want you to use it..."

"Hmm. But I can't just take it for free."

"It's free now... I'm here in the street of stalls all day... If you like it, I'd be happy if you visited me..."

With sleepy eyes, the little girl named Haruru said this and disappeared into the crowd.

Even I found it difficult to spot that small girl in the crowd.

"Um... Well..."

Standing there, unsure what to do, I put the weight in my pocket.