Chapter 78

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

I asked Diora about skills that use magic power other than magic.

I heard about things like physical enhancement and magic swords.

I was also warned about robbers targeting magic bags.

The first time I visited the adventurer guild's reference room, it was honestly much poorer than I could have imagined from the name.

The room, which was less than 4 and a half tatami mats, had only four small desks and chairs. There were only four booklets on the desks. The titles were "Surrounding Creatures and Monsters," "East Forest," "South Forest," and "Herbs and Others," which were rather bland and uninteresting. They weren't very thick either.

"This is... more than I expected..."

"Yeah? Natsuki apparently read them all in one day."

"Sure, I could probably read them if I tried hard enough. Whether I can actually absorb the information is another matter."

I think I can finish reading them by today. I don't know how much I'll remember, but I'll rely on the [Appraisal] skill for that.

"Like a memo... or a kind of memory skill?"

If I can read through them once and the information is reflected in [Appraisal], it would be quite convenient. The downside is that I need to see the object and use [Appraisal] to know the information.

If I have the knowledge, I can recall "herbs that cure a certain disease." But if I rely on [Appraisal], I need to see the herb, use [Appraisal], and read the description to know. Of course, even that is very convenient, and since the information is displayed in a window, the possibility of a memory error (probably) doesn't exist, which is a significant advantage.

"But physical enhancement... I can see some hope now! Maybe I can also say 'Slash something!' and cut down enemies?"

"Shout it? A somewhat embarrassing skill name? On purpose?"

"...Is it really embarrassing?"

"If Toya wants to do it, I won't stop you. Using it during adventures is fine. But... if you do it in front of others, I might pretend I don't know you."

"Aw, man! 'Who is the swordsman who can use such an amazing skill?' It could be a chance to get a girl with animal ears!"

"First of all, what kind of situation is that, Toya? Using it in front of someone who might become your target?"

"Well... in a template, a beautiful girl being attacked by a thug in the city, a beautiful girl in a carriage being attacked by bandits on the road, me winning a tournament in a fighting competition, and a beautiful girl who came to watch me, or something like that?"

"Too much dreaming. You just heard that it's dangerous to draw weapons in the city. If you use 'Slash something!' in the city and cause damage, you'll be arrested."

Dealing with such special enemies without causing collateral damage is probably impossible. And if you can handle the situation without causing damage, you probably won't need to use 'Slash something!'.

"Regarding the carriage, I'm not sure. The people who came with Tommy... who were they?"

"Hey, remember their names. Hmm... Tanaka and Takahashi."

"Isn't that similar to Toya? Even if it doesn't end up like that, the chances of it going well are low."

What kind of situation would it be for a carriage to be attacked by bandits?

Dangerous roads traveled by merchants or travelers, or nobles with reasons to be attacked. That's probably it.

Bandits aren't stupid—well, that's debatable—but they usually don't attack unless they can win.

What would happen if we joined such a situation? If the numbers are close, we might be able to fight a fierce battle and repel them. But can we say we won't have any casualties?

Even if the victims are beautiful girls or children, if there's a possibility that my companions might be sacrificed, I would avoid the fight. My egoism is that my acquaintances are more important than heroism like 'saving women and children.'

Especially for nobles, it goes without saying.

If we face attackers who can kill the target by slaying trained guards, there's a high probability of casualties. It's also questionable whether the nobles would recognize us as allies if we suddenly joined the fight.

To perform template-like rescues, we probably need template-like cheat abilities.

"As for the fighting competition, if you want to stand out, you need to reach the top 16 or something. That level is probably impossible for us in the entire country. Besides, we don't even know if there is a fighting competition."

"That's tough to hear! In the long term, maybe, but when you're young..."

Without cheats, we can only become strong through regular training.

If we face veterans who have trained for decades, we'll probably lose.

If we continue training, we might be able to win, but if it takes decades, it won't align with Toya's goal of being adored by beautiful girls and maybe...

"Wait, think about it. The population in this world is different from ours. If you consider that, 'the best in the country' might be equivalent to 'winning a county or city competition.' That makes it more possible..."

"True, but... in a city with a population over a million, or a county with several million, the population of this country is probably smaller. But..."

"No, it's impossible."

"Why?"

"First, the proportion of people who participate in competitions (if they exist) is different. In a world with monsters, a significant portion of the population can fight."

"True."

"Second, even if the number of people is small, if the overall level doesn't decrease, it doesn't matter."

Whether there are 100 or 1,000 people at the level of a fighting competition, it doesn't matter if we don't have that level of skill. If we're competing for the top spots, the population would also affect it.

"Hmm. Indeed, it's possible for national champions to participate in county competitions. The level of the competition isn't necessarily low."

In team competitions, having a larger population makes it easier to gather strong individuals.

Ultimately, we need to train hard to become strong. Standing out in a fighting competition isn't something that can be achieved overnight.

"But! The most unrealistic part is that everyone is a beautiful girl! Such a convenient situation is impossible!!"

All characters being beautiful girls is only in convenience-driven games and novels.

To be honest, the only beautiful girl I've met since coming to this world is Aela.

Most of the people I've met are middle-aged men and women. I've never met a beautiful signboard girl. If I have to say, there was a serving girl at the inn in Saarstadt, but she wasn't particularly beautiful.

Among the places I've visited, the only place with young staff was a slightly upscale café in this city.

Diora, who I'm closest to, could be considered an older sister, but she has a very ordinary appearance and isn't particularly beautiful.

"Well, you have to dream! Imagining cheers from middle-aged men with 'wooo!!' in rough voices is pointless, right?"

"But the ratio of beautiful girls isn't that high. Look at reality. The probability of encountering a beautiful girl in a standard event is probably less than 1%."

It might even be 0.1%.

Especially for merchants traveling on dangerous roads, the likelihood of having a girl of that age is very low. And if she is a beautiful girl? Even less likely.

"In this city, there are cute girls walking around normally. It's just that we don't have a connection with them. I think Naoh's standards for beautiful girls are too high."

"Is that so?"

I don't really mean to...

"Think about it... Naoh, what do you think of the dozens of idol groups on TV? Are they beautiful girls?"

"Hmm... I'm not really interested, so I haven't paid much attention... I don't really think so."

I'm not saying they're unattractive, but they're not particularly 'beautiful girls.' Also, are they even in the 'girl' age range? I'm not interested, so I don't know their ages.

"That's what I thought. Generally, they are considered beautiful girls. It's a matter of personal preference, though."

"Is that so..."

I don't usually look at idols on TV with that perspective.

To be honest, I'm not very interested.

For singers, if their songs are good, I don't really care about their appearance. In fact, I only look at the lyrics in the booklet, so I don't even associate the song with the singer's face.

It's fine, right? I just want to listen to the songs.

"Naoh, the problem is that you have Haruka nearby. And Yuki and Natsuki. Your standards are based on them."

"I can't deny that... but it's the same for Toya."

Even from my perspective, knowing them for a long time and considering them like family, I think Haruka has a beautiful appearance. The same goes for Yuki and Natsuki.

If I'm unconsciously comparing them, I can't deny it. But if you say that, Toya, who is almost always with them, should be the same.

"I... well, Haruka and the others are cute. But that's aside. Other girls are cute too. In a different category."

"What's that supposed to mean...? Well, it doesn't matter. Let's read the materials. We didn't come here to have such a silly conversation."

"That's true. Why did we start talking about this... Ah, it was from the physical enhancement discussion."

"Right, it started when Toya said he wanted to become strong through physical enhancement to be popular with girls."

"It's a bit different..."

Toya looks a bit dissatisfied, but the main point is correct.

Well, if he's willing to put in the effort to learn 'Slash something!', that's fine.

However, if physical enhancement through magic power is possible, maybe Haruka and I can learn it more easily?

I don't think I would lose to Toya, who can't use magic, in magic power manipulation.

Since my raw strength is much lower, I need to boost it with magic to compete—wait, strength boost?

"Hey, Toya, I just thought of something. Isn't the [Strength Enhancement] that Tommy has a form of physical enhancement?"

"Indeed! I don't know if it uses magic power, but it definitely increases strength several times. Should we go ask him?"

As Toya started to stand up, I pulled him back and made him sit down.

"Wait, calm down. Tommy is working. Do you want to bother him after he finally got a job?"

"Oops, right. We're not like freelancers."

"Freelancer... it's a bit of a mixed term..."

There are freelancers who earn a decent living... but there are also freelancers who are just unemployed and call themselves freelancers, which is a bit awkward.

"Tommy will probably move to the Drowsy Bear Inn soon. We can ask him then."

"Really?"

I hadn't heard that. We haven't met since we separated initially.

Toya has met him a few times since introducing him to Shovel and helping him get a job.

"Yeah. His current place is pretty bad. He wants to move when he has some spare time. The food is apparently terrible."

"The food in this world is tough for Japanese people. Ah, places like Aela's inn are good, though."

"But Tommy said he can 'drink ale to some extent.'"

"Really? 'Can drink if I try hard enough'?"

"To me, I can drink it if I have to, but I wouldn't pay for it. I'd rather pay for water. And at the Drowsy Bear Inn, water is free, so there's no reason to buy ale."

"His current inn's food is bad, and the food at the Drowsy Bear Inn was good, so it might be a matter of taste or because he's a dwarf."

"Dwarf... that makes sense."

My image of dwarves is that they can drink any alcohol, even methyl alcohol.

"Well, if he can act according to his character, it's not a bad thing. 'I don't drink ale. I'll ask for water,' right?"

"Considering he took [Python], it's not surprising. I'll talk to him when he comes. Maybe we can learn physical enhancement."

"If Naoh can learn it, it will help me too. It's easier to learn from you than from Tommy."

"I'll try if it's possible. But for now, let's finish reading these."

"Right, let's do that."

Toya picked up the "South Forest" material.

Hmm. Has he already read "East Forest"? I'll read "Surrounding Creatures and Monsters" then.