Chapter 35

Summary of the previous episode ------------------------------------------------------

Yuki and Nagatsuki reunite after finishing work.

I gave them some dried meat and dindles as a gift, considering their poor diet.

"Well, it seems both of you are full now. Shall we discuss what to do next?"

"Oh, right. That's important."

"By the way, the reason I told Yuki to keep quiet was just to avoid trouble. Don't worry, our friendship level hasn't changed."

"Eh, now you're following up!? I'm happy, but...!"

Yuki showed a rather awkward expression at Haruka's belated follow-up.

While Haruka probably didn't think she was treating Yuki and Nagatsuki differently, hearing it now made me feel suspicious. Was I the only one?

"When you say 'trouble,' do you mean you didn't want to stand out?"

"Yes. Yuki was kind of in a mascot position, and if I was close to someone like that, it would have raised a flag for trouble, right?"

"That's possible. You've become even more beautiful, and with Shou and Toya around, some people might make baseless accusations."

"Also, former classmates. If you have the [Help] skill, you know there are a lot of landmine skills, right?"

"Landmine skills? You put it well. But I think the chances of them getting involved are low."

"Really?"

"Yes. Right after we arrived, I made myself quite noticeable by walking back and forth on the main street. Since then, I've been working here..."

"If they intended to make contact, they would have done so already."

"I think the troublesome skill users have probably been weeded out by now."

"Hey, listen. Nagatsuki called someone with [Skill Theft] a bonus character?"

"Isn't that a bit much?" Yuki asked.

"Indeed. A bonus character."

"You're good with words."

"Really, a bonus character? Maybe I made a mistake?"

"You're one of us too!?"

Yuki looked at us with a "Why!?" expression, but Nagatsuki's naming was spot on.

Considering Yuki and Nagatsuki's specs from their original world, they probably have as many points as I do, if not more.

If they use those points to get skills, unless they make a really bad allocation, using [Skill Theft] would instantly drain the target's lifespan.

In other words, the skill just disappears for a moment, but the user's lifespan increases.

They really are bonus characters.

We should have tried to stand out more... but we were already dead when we arrived in town, so it wouldn't have mattered.

"It seems you were the minority, 'Bonus Character'?"

"Wh-What!?"

All three of us exclaimed in surprise.

Haruka stood up, grabbed Yuki's shoulders, and shook her.

"Yuki! You don't have [Skill Theft], do you!?"

"Ah, ah, no! I have [Skill Copy]. Nagatsuki, don't say confusing things!"

"You're both pretty careless, though. Yuki, don't worry. I told you not to use it, so it hasn't caused any fatal issues."

"R-Really...? I'm glad I don't have to abandon Yuki."

Haruka let go of Yuki's shoulders and sighed in relief, but Yuki looked shocked.

"What!? I could have been abandoned!?"

"Depending on the situation, yes."

Haruka tilted her head and answered nonchalantly.

"I thought you were my best friend!"

"Well, if Yuki had been copying skills indiscriminately and couldn't learn any normal skills, what would you do?"

"At the very least, it would be too dangerous to take her on adventures."

I gave a reasonable response when asked for my opinion.

If Yuki had been copying skills indiscriminately from people in town, she would have sealed off all the essential skills for a normal adventurer.

That would have been the end of her adventuring career.

"Well, if that had happened, Yuki would have stayed in town. Maybe she could have been a housewife?"

"But if she copied skills from ordinary people, wouldn't she have lost all her cooking and life-related skills? What about a terrible housewife?"

Toya pointed this out, and Haruka looked uncomfortable.

"Ah, in that case, a general laborer?"

"Harsh... but I can't argue with that!"

"Alright, alright. We avoided such a future, so it's all good. You should be grateful to me. Thank you, Nagatsuki! Really!"

Yuki bowed deeply to Nagatsuki, who was grinning mischievously.

Apparently, Nagatsuki had strictly forbidden the use of [Skill Copy] and only allowed Yuki to copy skills that could be taught, and Yuki had actually learned a few.

"Once I copied them, I learned them quite easily. [Skill Copy] seems to be quite convenient if used properly. If I learn from you guys, I might become a lower-level version of all of you."

"Lower-level version!? That sounds bad!"

"Then... 'Jack of all trades'?"

After thinking for a moment, Nagatsuki suggested this, but Yuki was still unsatisfied.

"A bit better, but still negative! At least call me a 'multiplayer' or something cool!"

"Alright, got it. Multiplayer (laughs) Yuki."

"Multiplayer (laughs) Yuki, we welcome you to our group."

"You'll need to work hard to keep up with us, Multiplayer (laughs) Yuki."

"It still sounds like you're making fun of me!"

Well, you know?

"Multiplayer" is a bit awkward too.

"Super Multi-Creator" or something like that has a unique charm, but it makes you want to pat the person on the shoulder and say, "Don't push it."

"Alright, let's stop teasing Yuki. Both of you, are you sure you want to come with us? If you want to continue working here, we'll respect that."

When Haruka confirmed, Nagatsuki and Yuki nodded.

"No, please let us join you. To be honest, the working conditions here are not good."

"Right. There's no future here, and it could go bankrupt at any moment. Even with room and board, we work a full day for 100 rea! Can you believe it?"

"Wow, a real black company!"

"Especially with that food. I'd break down in three days."

"Even as an apprentice, zero salary is possible... but isn't that too low? Didn't you have other job options?"

In the past, it was common to provide room and board and teach a job in exchange for no salary, like an apprentice.

However, in Yuki and Nagatsuki's case, there was no compensation for clothing, and their job was essentially waitressing.

The contract was so unstable that they could be fired at any time.

Considering the daily wage of 100 rea, it was low even for a different world.

"That's because this town is small and there are few job opportunities. Also, we didn't have time to look because we didn't get days off."

"Actually, we were charged for food and lodging on days off."

"But today was the first time Nagatsuki took a day off to look for a job. Did you find anything?"

"No, not really. There were some jobs outside the town, but..."

Like the jobs we had taken, there were some jobs outside the town, such as gathering, hunting, and monster slaying.

However, for Yuki and Nagatsuki to take on these jobs, it would be dangerous.

Nagatsuki had [Spear Mastery Lv.4] and [Martial Arts Lv.3], which were probably more powerful than ours, but Yuki only had [Martial Arts Lv.1].

She could use earth magic at level 1, but considering the dangers, including human malice, it was risky for two girls to take on such jobs.

On the other hand, continuing to work here with a daily wage of 100 rea would not provide a stable life.

Nagatsuki and Yuki had been hoping to join us, but if we didn't come soon, they would have had to take on such dangerous jobs.

"Because we couldn't even buy proper clothes to change into. If the clothes we initially had weren't durable, we would have been in serious trouble."

"Right. Speaking of which, there was a time when Yuki, without any clothes to change into, sneaked into my futon naked—"

"Hey, you didn't need to say that!?"

Yuki quickly interrupted Nagatsuki, who was making a crying face.

"So, Yuki is into yuri?"

"Yuki and Nagatsuki level yuri is acceptable as a viewing subject."

"Yuki, I'm normal."

While saying this, Haruka sat a bit away from Yuki.

"Me too! And Toya, don't say unsettling things! Besides, at that time, we were both washing and drying our clothes, so we decided to sleep together, right!?"

"Was that the case? I've been busy lately, so my memory is a bit... "

Nagatsuki tilted her head and Yuki grabbed her shoulder.

"You remember, right!? No matter how busy we were, Nagatsuki's memory wouldn't get that bad!"

"Well, we were in a tight spot. So, we're very happy to join you."

I removed her hand calmly, feeling a bit of a chill.

Yuki, you need to support her more.

"Anyway, let's put Yuki's yuri suspicions aside. When can you be ready to leave? Honestly, we want to get back to Lafan's town as soon as possible..."

"Put them aside!? That's not okay!"

"Contract-wise, we can leave tomorrow, but to be polite, how about the day after tomorrow?"

"Oh, that's fine. We can wait a bit longer."

"That's okay. We've already told them we might leave suddenly, and it's a request through the Adventurer's Guild."

This situation is like a mix of direct employment and indirect employment through a staffing agency in the original world.

On the other hand, it also means they can be easily fired without any compensation.

And it's a bit sad that Yuki is being ignored.

"Yuki, are you okay with that?"

"Of course. And I'm not into yuri!"

With Yuki's strong assertion, the discussion for the day came to an end.