🞛 That might be true, but a normal person won’t call this an answer to this problem
Translator: Skythewood
Editor: Hiiro
Day 12 Morning Before the Cave, Tent.
「Good Morning, breakfast is ready, please get up.」
Hmm~ What’s with this situation? The beautiful childhood friend from next door? Or my cute little sister? No, neither applies to me… Who is that?
I open my eyes and before me is an unfamiliar High School girl. This is way beyond the issue of the ceiling!
<TL: Unfamiliar ceiling meme>
The tent is cramped, and there is no space with one person sleeping inside. Even so, why are you pressing on me? Your face is so close!!
「Oh~ Good morning. I’m getting up… in about 30 minutes?」
「That’s not getting up, you obviously want to sleep in.」
No, I can’t get up from this position, be it physically or biologically as a High School Boy.
「What’s for breakfast?」
「Grill fish and mushroom.」
I bounce right up, sending the anonymous High School girl rolling out of my tent.
「Grill fish! Where!!? Hurry Hurry Hurry Hurry Hurry Hurry!」
「Stop saying hurry, it’s annoying! Why are you still talking about fish after knocking me over!?」
「No, the fish is more important than that trivial matter!」
「Just how much do you like fish! And am I just a trivial matter!?」
It’s fish. So yummy.
「Ehh─ Why are you crying and eating at the same time?」
「Huh, it’s fish, you know!? Fish!」
「Aren’t you staying in front of the river?」
「That’s right! So I’m looking at the fish as I eat mushrooms every day...」
「「「「......?」」」」
Our conversation is out of sync, so the Monitress’ group have been eating fish, I’m so envious. Quite a number of them can use lightning magic so they can catch fish. However, they don’t have salt.
The Geeks would occasionally hunt deers or boars, but their main staple is fish. Interestingly, they couldn’t pick mushrooms since they grow in places where the Goblins move around in large groups, so that’s a precious ingredient. Most importantly, it’s really tough without salt. Damn, I should have bartered our items earlier.
By the way, the girls were crying when they ate mushroom salad with herbs last night.
Commerce is important, although my borders are shut.
Everyone around me gives me one fish for unknown reasons. After the meal, I treated everyone to juice to return the favour, resulting in a happy uproar, some of them even cried. They have a separate stomach for desserts, huh.
「Monitress, have you all decided on what to do? If you want to use this place as a base, I will need to do some renovation.」
My goal is the Imperial Hotel!! I think it can be done with the rocky terrain of the Cave.
「I’m afraid we will have to pass on your good will offer. It’s not confirmed yet, but we want to head towards Town after raising our levels.」
「Oh, speaking of which, the Mean Gals want to hunt the Geeks in town.」
「I already said plenty of times that we want to apologize and thank them! Why do you! Say that we want to hunt them! Every single time!? And they are Oda-kun’s group! We are also not Mean Gals!!」
The Mean Gals shouted unhappily.
「Don’t you want to visit town, Haruka-kun?」
「Living in town sounds like a pain. I might take a look, but I don’t want to stay there.」
「Normally, it will be tougher to live in the forest surrounded by monsters… But after seeing your place, that might be true...」
「The Geeks want to be Adventurers, but that’s difficult for me.」
「But I heard Oda-kun say that almost anyone can be an Adventurer?」
「Well~ I can’t get stronger so I can’t be one.」
「「「「......?」」」」
I explained my situation.
「That’s weird! You don’t have any proper Skills and is Level 5, so how did you defeat the horde of Kobolds and the Kobold Leader?」
「Who’s Kobold Leader? A friend of Mean Gals Leader?」
「Who are you calling a friend of Kobold Leader! Why would the boss of the monsters be an ally!? And I said my name is not Mean Gals Leader! So your Status screen still says Mean Gals Leader!?」
Naggy, noisy and annoying, why are they always behind me?
「Oh, speaking of which, there’s something I need to return to you, here. This is the bangle of that Kobold Leader.」
Bangle? It looks similar to mine. I-It’s a pair! Made for lovers!? Since I’m wearing one, and you give me the other, then no one will be paired with me? Well, I’m really a Loner, huh.
「The monster bangle of the Kobold Leader, increases your SpE if you inject mana into it.」
「Huh? Mine is PoW＋1% though?」
I showed my bangle and asked.
「So you defeated a Goblin Leader… The Goblin Leader’s bangle increases PoW, while the Kobold Leader’s bangle enhance SpE, that’s what I heard from Oda-kun’s group.」
「Goblin Leader? Another friend of Mean Gals Leader?」
「Why are you! Making all of them! My friends!? 『Another』 my ass! Is this a Leader conference!? Will I get invited to a meeting between monsters!? No, and I’m not a Mean Gals Leader! How many times do I need to tell you! To make you understand!?」
Hmm, if she’s so noisy, the monsters won’t want to invite her. And the Kobolds won’t want to meet this scary mass murderer.
「You are Level 5 even though you are so strong? Why? We can’t win even with our Cheats, so how did you do it at Level 5?」
「You can win any battles if you hit your enemy until they die?」
「That might be true, but a normal person won’t call this an answer to this problem.」
Why is everyone staring at me like that? Have I finally become popular? No, that’s not what those Scornful Eyes mean, but what’s wrong with my answer? Other than whacking them til they die, what other methods are there? We reached the river as we chatted.
「Okay~ Let me demonstrate~ Watch carefully okay~?」
Vice Monitress B raised her right hand, and a ball of lightning appeared on it. And that thing is shaking!!
「Wait! Hold that stance! Don’t move!」
「Huh~! What~!? Erm, why!?」
I use 『Package』 around the lightning ball created by Vice Monitress B. Good, can I move it?
I slowly moved the lightning ball to the river… and throw it at a fish. It worked, the fish is floating up!
「Got it─ I got a fish and Lightning Magic!」
I immediately checked my Status. I got Lightning Magic in just one try.
「Huh~! Ehh~!? Why~!? My Magic is~?」
Vice Monitress B is wavering, and it’s shaking really hard. Don’t ask me what is shaking!
「Ehh─? Haruka-kun? What did you just do? And where are you looking at?」
Monitress who is watching from the side has scary eyes, and there is killing content in that last bit!
「I’m not looking at anything. I’m just learning Lightning Magic, really?」
「You sound stiff, and phrased it as a question to… What was that just now?」
「Oh─ I wrap the spell with my Package Magic. It can wrap something and move it around. I can then obtain the corresponding elemental spell. Possibly? Maybe?」
「You can learn it just like that… That’s cheating! Just moving a spell around is amazing enough!」
「No, that’s probably the effect of Master of None? I can obtain the spell but can’t raise the level easily?」
「Just learning the spell so easily is plenty amazing. And that’s anti-magic!?」
「Anti-magic?」
「Yes, you can interfere with the spell that your opponent cast, right? If you can throw your opponent’s spell back at them, that’s anti-magic. Even just deflecting the spell is really good… That’s what I heard.」
I see, since the Goblins and Kobolds can’t attack with magic, I didn’t think of this point. I can interfere with the opponent’s spell with Package. I was wondering why the Monitress knew that, so it was the Geeks who taught her.
「But it’s hard to use it as an anti-magic though, I need time to package a spell.」
I can’t be sure yet, but I got Mana Wrap from packing my body, and I can use that Martial Art instantly. Maybe I can learn anti-magic one day?
That’s not important, I have to get the fish floating in the water! I need to practice Lightning Magic at home, use 「の」 to build a basement, and I haven’t check my Status after leveling up too. There’s plenty of reasons for me to stay home. But right now, I’m outside even though I’m a Shut-in, a NEET even though I’m helping others to raise their Level, and a Loner when I’m escorting 20 High School girls and acting as their mushroom guide.
I lead the long line of people and whack the Goblins that keep showing up.
I cut off the enemies’ club along with its arm, and the High School girl behind me took turns to deal the finishing blow. This is the first time I’m out with a girl, and it’s in a forest. But this picnic trip sure is filled killing tensions.
Goblin, Goblin, mushroom, mushroom, Goblin, Goblin, mushroom, mushroom. Behind me is kill, kill, harvest, harvest, kill, harvest harvest. Hmm, this picnic with girls is different from how I imagined it in my dreams!
「Haruka-kun, how come you can cut down the Goblins with a stick?」
「Oh, you mean this move? The Geeks taught me about that. I told them I can only use Staff Wielding, so they taught me 『Thrust like a spear, sweep like a naginata, slash like a sword, the staff’s attack has no blind spots』. I can slash by following this advice?」
「I don’t think it’s asking you to literally slash though?」
「But you are firing spells rapidly with your staff when you saved us, aren’t you a mage?」
「Well… I don’t have a Job.」
「...... I see.」
「Haruka-kun, you said you don’t have any proper Skills, but your instantaneous move is either 『Accelerate』 or 『Distance Reduce』?」
<Raw is 縮地, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shukuchi>
「That quick action is actually 『Movement』 and 『Walking』.」
「Huh, you mean the Skill that makes you proficient in walking and the spell that assist with your movement?」
「It’s some kind of combination of those two.」
「Some kind of… But it’s really useful. Huh, what exactly is a Cheat then?」
With so many people in the forest, the rabbits won’t show up.
The girls seem to be following either the Vice Monitress group or the Mean Gals group, while the Monitress is following me separately. I keep weakening the Goblins and advancing.
When there are a lot of enemies, I will use snipe and pull away, and then continue hunting.
「Hmm~ further ahead will be enemies around level 15, what should we do?」
「Level 15… Can we win?」
「Sneak up on them from behind, then hit them with all your might to finish them off in one hit?」
「I see, so while everyone has been battling the monsters, you have been hunting them one sidedly.」
「Those without Cheats can’t fight against opponents above Lv 15 directly, right? After all, I’m very weak.」
「Even if we are high leveled and have Cheats, it’s still impossible. We can’t win right now, shall we head back?」
「Understood, we will take a detour back to base and continue hunting mobs.」
「If we keep this up, we might wipe out the Goblins.」
「Well, the Goblins will come back just fine tomorrow.」
「If you know that, that means you wiped out the Goblins before...」
We keep hunting until it gets dark before heading home. Don’t look down on my 11 years in the Go-Home Club!
「「「「「「Thank you for your hard work!」」」」」」
「Ohh… Good work?」
Everyone seems tired, so I will prepare the bath water.
I filled the Jacuzzi with water and raised the Temperature, using Temperature Magic to heat it up just right.
「「「「「「Bath time! Hyaaa!」」」」」」
「Don’t strip! You bunch of lewd girls─!」
It’s hopeless, their life in the forest regressed them into savages, their girl power has been turned into muscle power.
I flee from the bath to the place I’m planning to build a new storage room, and start expanding the Cave. An eight person room is about 12 tatami, if they are staying with their cliques, I should make 4 rooms? After making a room, I connect it to a corridor, then make another room… I’m done. I’m tired from over exertion of my MP, and feel sleepy.
As I walk wobbly back to my room─
「Wait, Haruka-kun! Everyone, wear your clothes properly─!」
It seems we have an exibitionist in class, her girl power is beyond hope now… And the Monitress is now a Mama Monitress.
「You can come in now, Haruka-kun. Dinner is ready.」
She is totally a mother.
Dinner is fish as usual, and the girls have a mushroom party… that name sounds so wrong!
「Haruka-kun, what were you doing in there?」
「Hmm~ room expansion? Building extension? Or excavation work? Anyway, it’s a new room.」
「I see, Haruka-kun is troubled because you don’t have a room. Sorry that we took your place.」
「No, it’s the room for you girls. I can’t make individual rooms, but I made eight of them, so different cliques can stay together. It must be stifling to be together all the time, right?」
The moment I said that, the girls charge in to see the rooms, while Mama shouts at them...
「Haruka-kun, you are sleeping outside again? Since there’s a room, why don’t you stay with us?」
「No no, I caught a glimpse of someone running around undressed just now. Besides, the boys assaulted you before, right? After finally settling down, someone won’t be able to take staying with a boy.」
「... That’s true, but that’s asking too much of you. Hmm~ if it’s Haruka-kun, everyone should be fine with that, right?」
「No, I’m the one who won’t be able to take it!」
They might seem fine outside, but that doesn’t mean there’s no psychological trauma. The boy's assault failed, but a mental wound won’t heal so quickly.
「I’m going to rest then, thank you for the meal.」
I set up a tent outside, and naturally made it really big.
Let’s check things out, I will be very disappointed if my level didn’t rise.
「Status.」
Woahh~ This is the first time my level increased by 2, my stats should be in the 3 digits on my next level up. I didn’t feel anything when I fought the Goblins today, is it because I leveled up? I have been fighting in the forest for ten days now, and only reached level 7 after defeating so many enemies. The Monitress’ group prioritize leveling up the weaker ones, and their levels range from 16~21, leaving me in the dust.
After a few more live battles, the one holding them back will be me. By then, the girls will be strong enough for them to head to town, and this rowdy lifestyle will end in a few days.
「Haruka-kun, may I come in?」
That’s right, rowdy. I made the tent bigger, but it’s still cramped for some reason. It should be big enough to comfortably fit 4 people, but it’s still too small. Is business booming? Six customers, please come this way.
「Erm─ what is it?」
The customers are the Monitress, Vice Monitress A, B, Mean Gals Leader and… the Fishy McFish girl who woke me up this morning, and… Ehh─? Ah, Exhibitionist Girl! Out of all the High School girls in the entire world, she is the top candidate to be barred from a High School boy’s tent!
「Well, how should I put this… we are here to apologize...」
「Please listen to what Chika has to say… I want to apologize for testing you too.」
Exhibitionist Girl said after that. Who’s Chika?
「Well~ Erm, I heard that it’s my fault that you can’t go into the room, so I want to apologize in the morning, and I ended up… getting thrown out?」
「Oh~ Chika is Fishy Mcfish Girl! I thought the screen is flickering when you keep saying chira chira.」
「「「「Who is Fishy Mcfish Girl!? Are Chika’s parents fishes!? Why did you give her such a weird name! And what’s with the flickering screen, there’s no broken television here!」」」」
Why are the girls in class all so good at retorting? Is it a Skill?
「Isn’t she responsible for informing me that you have caught fish? I wonder whether her parents will say fishy fishy.」
「「「「We didn’t assign such a job! Her parents won’t say fishy fishy!! Probably? And why did you throw a girl out!?」」」」
But─ it’s fish, you know, grilled fish! Monitress explains the situation to me amidst the confusion. She’s really active, taking the roles of explainer, mother and Monitress.
Simply put, the boys assaulted Fishy Mcfish Girl… Hmm, that’s wrong? What’s her name again? Fish girl is traumatized from that, so the girls have been so guarded towards me to protect Fish Girl. She thought I was chased out because of that, and worked hard to wake me up as an apology.
「I see, you have it hard too, Fish Girl. Don’t take it to heart, I got my fish anyway.」
「「「「Why aren’t you calling her Fishy Mcfish Girl, and changed it to Fish Girl? You have no intention of remembering her name, right!?」」」」
Looks like I got the wrong name. Huh, didn’t we just talk about her parents being fishes, and she’s a fish girl or something?
「Hmm─ but why is Exhibitionist Girl apologizing too?」
「「「 Who is Exhibitionist Girl, why are you giving girls strange names!?」」」
「But she did strip though?」
「「「What did you do, Fukunuki-san? You stripped?」」」
「Ohh! About that! Because I want to know if he is a trustworthy man, so I stripped in the bath for him to see… but he didn’t even glance my way… Not even… Once...」
「「「「Ehh...」」」」
「No, I just heard someone say the grilled fish is done. And the Exhibitionist Girl who suddenly stripped and the Mean Gals are scary, you know?」
「It has nothing to do with Mean Gals! Nothing at all!! No, I already told you I’m not a Mean Gal─!!」
「Mea… Ahem~ Shimazaki-san is here to speak up for Haruka-kun~ Don’t bully her~」
I got admonished by Vice Monitress B, and she shook angrily. No, nothing! Don’t glare at me, I didn’t see anything. That’s right, that scene just happened to play out before my eyeballs?
「Did you just say Mea… No, nothing. Hmm─ Speak up for me?」
Why am I being glared at? I didn’t do anything.
「Think about it, we got tamed by you, but you didn’t do anything weird to us or give us strange orders… You didn’t give any orders… Nothing at all… And wants to abandon us? You don’t even remember our names… So it’s fine… Hmm? Is that really… fine?」
Huh, if you want to back me up, and do it all the way. You sound less and less confident towards the end… Everyone is glaring at me with Scornful Eyes? Thanks.
Day 12 Night Cave, Girl’s Meeting
「Well then… last agenda… regarding Haruka-kun...」
For some reason, I’m still called the Monitress after coming to a Different World, and has to manage everyone...
「Although his personality, character and even humanity have problems, but I think he can be trusted.」
Was that speaking up for Haruka-kun? Her words bore a hint of personal grudge at being called Vice Monitress A. It must be the A part that she couldn’t accept.
「That’s right, even though I’m the reason he didn’t stay in the cave… But he forgave me… Because of the fish?」
Chika’s words of support too… Because of the fish.
「That’s right, even my naked body… is completely ignored by him...」
Is Fukunuki-san supporting him? This sounds like a mental trauma on a different level… Her pride as a girl is in danger.
「That guy might be infuriating, but he saved us… he said we can’t apologize if we died… it would be a waste of their good will, so we have to meet them properly and thank them… Even though he tamed us, but he still called me Mean Gals Leader...!?」
Unfortunately, the first half might sound good, but… Haruka-kun, please remember other people’s names properly. Even though you only call me Monitress...
Everyone spoke up for Haruka-kun even if he has faults, and we reached a common consensus to move together with him, there are no objections. This is trust and gratitude towards him… Right? However, the problem lies with Haruka-kun. 「No way, I’m just level 7 after defeating so many Kobolds, so I will just hold you back.」 He refused to cooperate. I try to convince him 「It’s fine even if that is true, everyone is very grateful towards you.」, he replied 「The Geeks said that too, I’m grateful for your kind gesture, but I can’t form teams because of my 『Loner』 title. If I join your group, I think a new 『Sponging Off Girls』 title will pop up? Thanks but no thanks.」 He turned me down without any hesitation.
Haruka-kun’s stats might be low, but these stats are high for his level. However it’s hard for him to level up. But no one wants to leave him, why can’t he understand? When we are hopeless and lost, and on the verge of giving up, he helped and saved us. Both our lives… and soul...
When we arrive here, everyone is finally able to smile. We were in despair and disappointment before, and can’t even hold on to any hope.
And after one night, everyone’s eyes have brightened. For the first time, it feels that we can find a solution, and that we should try again. Because he showed us a life and attitude that says all this is to be expected, and even said 「Isn’t it the basics of life to live normally and happily?」. As if all that is natural and to be expected.
Isn’t there any way to make up the cruel gap in stats? Why did god do something so harsh to Haruka-kun? Haruka-kun said 「I bullied the old man and he got mad」, why did he bully god? He even made god sit in seiza...
But he is willing to accompany us to town, so we just need to stop him from going back.
He said casually: 「My level is hard and slow to increase, but it will still go up. In two or three years, I can reach level 20 to 30, then I live in town. Things will work out somehow, I guess?」 But I can’t let him stay alone in a Cave for 2 to 3 years.
After suddenly arriving in a Different World, we moved somewhere else without realizing someone is missing, causing him to end up alone. His Skills are weaker than any of us, but he still survives alone and even saves us. I will never ever leave him behind, if it can’t be helped, what’s wrong for him to sponge off girls!?
We will soon be level 20 and reach 30 in no time, but it will take Haruka-kun years to do so.
I heard god said that the difference in level in this world is absolute. Before long, even us can wipe out the Goblins and Kobolds. But before that, a level 7 person without Cheat Skills and is supposedly weak is already massacring them! Who knows how strong he will get when he turns level 20 or 30, he is obviously really good at fighting!
He explains that it’s a close shave, and he will die if he gets hit once. If that is true, then I will protect him, we will protect him. That’s right, just like how he protected us, and is continuing to protect us.
So we ask to raise our level today too. Even though we still feel scared and disgusted, we still have to fight while Haruka-kun protects us. If Haruka-kun can’t get stronger, then we will get stronger.
Because that’s what everyone decided.
🞛 I already said they will bite, but they reprimanded me when I reminded them.
Day 13 Morning Cave
The fish in the morning is delicious too.
Fish Girl woke me up this morning too, so she really is the person in charge of the fish.
The girls are hyped and excited this morning, because they have the goal of going to town.
The day before the Geeks head into town, they were noisy like High School boys too. The girls are holding meetings frequently, are they into wild beast ear boys? Are they in the same league as the Geeks? If they are aiming for young boys, I will have to summon Mr Policeman.
We are in the forest, and we have reached a rather deep spot. The girls have formed proper groups, and high level Goblins are no longer their match. I will only support them with fire bullets if they are in danger of being surrounded. How boring.
Let’s switch the targets In the afternoon to Kobolds. They are speed type monsters, which are good for training and they yield more experience points too. And I’m bored.
I use my free time to prepare lunch─ make a simple grilling pit with Earth Magic, and by using Fire Magic, I can make hotplate fish and mushroom grill! The day I have been dreaming of has come. I wrap the fish with herbs and grill it, the refreshing and slightly bitter taste of the herb will absorb the fishy smell, turning it into a delicious meal. I can last a year with this taste, my love for fish is the real thing! The girls gave rave reviews too, but it’s for the mushrooms. Even though the fish is so tasty?
After lunch, we start searching for Mr Kobold. It will be difficult to fight a high level one right out of the gates, so a Kobold under level 10 will be better. I told them the tactics for fighting a Kobold. They are fast, they will bite, and they will howl.
After finding the perfect Lv 6, 8 and 9 opponents, it’s time for battle. Everyone goes in for the start to get a feel. Let's fight the Kobold!
It turned into hell. They almost got bitten before getting the feel of things?
The speed of the Kobolds confused the girls, and their coordination and feints broke the girls’ formation, letting me roam about freely. There are 20 of them, but they got surrounded by 3 Kobolds.Let's face the crisis?
The Kobold’s SpE is less than 40, while the girls have double of that. But they couldn’t keep up. The Mean Gals fended them off calmly, barely keeping the defence line up. This has nothing to do with numbers, just the pure reaction speed and power of feral beasts. Hmm~ but they should be able to deal with it~?
「Kyaa─ Don’t just stand there, help… I’m about to get bitten!」
「It’s there, no, here… Huh─ where!?」
「No way no way no way, I’m scared of dogs… I can’t do it!」
「Ehh~ Oh~... Huh~?」
Is that last person doing alright or panicking? Or is she shak…? No, don’t glare at me, look at the Kobold, you are actually doing okay, right?
Even if I don’t do anything, they can resolve this by themselves─ I don’t deny that is what I thought, but I will get scolded if I don’t do anything, so I will take out one Kobold.
Only the Lv 9 Kobold A has the coordinate Skill, so they can win easily if he is gone. I think that will be too easy, but the girls are glaring at me, so I should do something.
I learned the new Skill Parallel thinking, probably from that time when I made loads of fire bullets and then sprayed them out randomly. But I can’t do that now, I will definitely get scolded if I fire randomly in this chaos! Another thing I want to try is the Four Elemental magic that rose by two levels, and Movement. I have enough practice with Lightning Magic through fishing, so that’s not necessary.
I have not tried using Movement at full power recently, so my klutz title will be making a come back. I don’t want to shout 「Wooooaaaahhhh」 in front of the girls. No, I don’t want to do that when I’m alone either!
I tried chasing Kobold A from behind, have a taste of being pursued! ...I poke its back with my stick when I catch up… Kobold A didn’t retaliate, and increased its speed… I accelerated and poke again… speed up… and keep speeding up? The both of us ran circles around the girls.
Kobold B and C can’t keep up, and after losing their coordination, the Mean Gals got them… It’s all over if you see the Mean Gals’ glare! Those eyes are… I better pretend I didn’t see anything!
Kobold A suddenly stops, turns around and attacks me with its claws. Hmmp, foolish, how foolish… There’s no way I can stop on a dime!
I kept the same posture and accelerated to evade Kobold A’s claw, causing a traffic accident, sending the both of us rolling. I push the staff to the dog’s head on impact, so Kobold A died from a fatal traffic accident. Kobold B and C also died after receiving even harsher treatment─ What a naggy description.
「I told you they are fast, they will bite, and they will howl?」
The battle conference is restarted, and everyone is scolding me for some reason.
「We can’t win against a strong monster out of the blue!」
「You only say it’s fast, but we don’t know what to do...」
「What kind of advise is ‘it can bite’?」
「Why did you run in circles with the Kobolds?」
「The only information is they are fast, will bite and will howl, what can we do with that?」
Huh? I’m being targeted? But the Kobolds really are fast, will bite and howl?
「Well, the only thing I heard from the Geeks is that they are blue, slender, and look like dogs. It’s more useful to know that they are fast and will bite, right? I even added howl in.」
The place is a ruckus, it’s no longer clear whether it’s a riot or a discussion.
「you want to fight lower level monsters, but that means going upstream. You might run into the boys, are you fine with that?」
Everyone quiet down. Even the Geeks ran away since they can’t deal with that.
It’s hard to build the resolve to kill, so I can’t let them go upstream yet.
Not all the boys have turned strange, but we can’t tell who is normal and who will assault the girls, and there’s no way to find out. The best option is to not meet them and go straight to town. Those people aren’t high leveled enough to pass through the depths of the forest, so the only route is to go pass the riverbank beside the Cave.
If we blockade that place, the Geeks and girls will never see those people, which will work in the short term. I don’t know if I can really kill them, maybe I can do it at the spur of the moment. But I won’t regret it, let those boys do the regretting.
The results of the meeting is 「Start with just two, their levels have to be lower. If there are three or they are too strong, then come in and help immediately. Playing tag is banned!」.
Everyone then continued hunting the Kobolds, and got used to it by evening. A team can defeat two of them with ease, and their level increases a lot.
The trip back is done in live combat mode, even if there are Kobolds or Goblins, I won’t tell them. The girls will Detect the Enemies by themselves, stay on guard, and advance to engage the monsters. Yes, they have gotten strong enough to fight properly, I can retire soon.
Back in the Cave, I made beds and simple furniture. It won’t be used for long, but since I’m hosting my guests, I will serve them til the very end.
I learned Ice Magic by the river just by using Package. After dinner, I put hot water in the bath and call it a day. I should make the tent bigger. Since a one-man tent, four-men tent and eight-men tent aren’t enough, I will set it to a twelve-men tent size.
It is almost as big as a building with a round ceiling.
I return to my tent after my bath… and already notice people are in the tent with my Sense Presence.
「Kyaa─! It’s so big, so big!」
「Huh? Why is the size always different when I visit?」
「If we had such a big tent, then we won’t have to squeeze inside cramped tents...」
「Haruka-kun is back. I told everyone that you are pitching a big tent, so they all came over.」
「Hey, come on in, there’s mushroom tea.」
Mushroom tea… Why do the girls like mushrooms so much? Are they saying it in a lewd way? Is this going to be a suspicious party? Okay, let’s observe from afar! I wanted to run, but got captured. No, I’m just looking. The amount of bare skin in the tent is too much for a healthy High School boy!
「... Erm, may I ask what’s going on?」
「「「This is an after action review meeting?」」」
For some reason, I’m sitting in the center while hugging my knees, and before me is the Monitress chairing the meeting and saying 「Even though their SpE is 40...」. She’s really close as usual. Beside her is Vice Monitress A in shorts who is glaring at me, her legs are so long! Besides her is Vice Monitress B who is nodding her head and shaking… It’s a trap! It’s all over if I look! On my right is Vice Monitress C and Exhibitionist Girl who are rolling around in shorts. What do I do? It’s a sin for me to look anywhere, it’s a trap! It’s a trap.
On my left is Fish Girl and… Who are these two? Ah, they are the musclebrain girls A and B from the volleyball club. Behind me is the usual Mean Gals, why are they always behind me? Oh no, I’m surrounded. Around me are the members of non-sport clubs. How cramped, even though I’m a Loner? 「...And so, I think one person is needed to slow it down.」 Monitress, do you need so many people for an after action review? The people rolling around are definitely not listening, right? 「After that...」 What is a Loner?
Day 13 Night Cave, girls meeting
For the persuading Haruka-kun to stay plan, we are discussing the intel we got from our earlier force recon.
「Yes, his eyes keep wavering, so he is interested in girls. BL (Boy’s Love) won’t work.」
「He is always been staring at breasts and thighs, so that’s for certain.」
「My naked body… was completely… ignored, you know?」
「No, it will be more of a problem if he keeps staring.」
After we arrived here─ arrived in this world, for a long time… for many days… we didn’t smile.
Everyone is finally smiling now. A lot happened today, but we are still smiling. We can be at ease when Haruka-kun is around, but that’s not because he is very strong.
It’s fine even if he’s weak, as long as he is around, everyone can smile.
So everyone is thinking up a plan to persuade him to stay… huh?
「...Tch, so BL won’t work!」
「He’s worried about that time when we got assaulted. Despite how he used to be...」
「Is he a tits man or legs man? This is a problem… O-Or he is going for both!」
「Not just girls, he doesn’t get involved with anyone… Even if you leave him alone, he probably won’t mind either?」
「「「「「Ehh~...」」」」」
The Persuade Haruka-kun to stay plan continues late into the night… BL doesn’t seem to work.
🞛 No, it’s fine, I’m not complaining
Day 14 Morning Cave
Breakfast, fish, a celebration of fish, a plentiful harvest of fish.
I want some meat, but with so many people, I can’t find any rabbit. I have never seen deers or boars at all.
Another thing I have never seen is Orcs, which seem to be a stronger and smarter version of Goblins.
No, anyone will be smarter than Goblins. Maybe the fish is also smarter than the Goblins? That must be true!
But we will need to try fighting it first. Both the girls and I will feel scared about facing unfamiliar opponents. It’s dangerous because we don’t know about it, if we can build up experiences, it will be better to do so safely.
The girls won’t be sticking together all the time, and will be working separately after they become Adventurers. In that case, it will be safer to fight now, the experience will definitely be useful.
We move upstream along the riverbank. We might run into the boys upstream , but the Orcs are strong and we are moving some distance away from the old camp, so the boys probably won’t come near.
When we are searching, I keep my guard up with Farsight, Sense Presence and Detect Enemy. I need to keep it secret that I’m also using Appraise to search for food. Not just monsters and animals, I need to keep a lookout for humans.
The naughty kids won’t go anywhere dangerous, and the normal boys who assaulted the girls didn’t raise their levels seriously, so they probably won’t come. If they do, the Monitress will beat them off instead?
The problem is the Sports club idiots group. According to the Geeks and the Monitress, they have been strangely quiet. Even though they are always acting without thinking, as if they are just moving on reflex.
Are they isolating themselves and staying put? Or are they following behind the Geeks and fighting? Impossible, those guys are idiots and can only charge ahead. Be it monsters or a cliff, they will charge and then think about it, before forgetting the whole thing again. This feels strange to me, at least under the current circumstances, they definitely won’t leave the Geeks to their fate.
Maybe they changed after coming to this Different World, which isn’t surprising at all. After all, this is a matter of life and death, anyone would be more cautious and not trust the people around them. But not them, they wouldn’t become like that.
Because they are idiots. I have never seen an Orc, but since it is smarter than Goblins, then an Orc should be smarter than those idiots? Those idiots might even be more retarded than the Goblins. The personality of such a person changing, become more cautious? Suspect the people around them? Frankly speaking, they can’t think of something that complicated.
Maybe they have their reasons, or something is holding them back. It is still a fact that they didn’t help the Geeks and the girls, so I should stay on guard.
An Orc appeared. There is just one, it seems the intel that Orcs basically move alone is accurate, there aren't any monsters or idiots around here.
「I will go probe, stay hidden and watch.」
After saying that, I walk forth alone. After watching a battle once, you can learn the attacks and movement of the enemy. With this as reference, future battles will be easier, and you can also formulate tactics.
「Yes, thank you, be careful.」
「Watch carefully, and don’t complain afterwards, okay?」
I said quietly to the girls, then activated Hide Presence and Covert before approaching.
The Geeks said that the Orcs have strong physical resistance, and they only won by focused spell attacks. I used 『Appraise』.
It’s strong, having twice the ViT and PoW of Goblins, its SpE and DeX are high too.
Its InT is eight… It’s stupid, but much, much smarter than the Goblins. So it’s smarter than those idiots. I have to give it a try, at least its stats are much lower than mine, although my Level is lower...
I erase my presence and charge the Orc at top speed, then whack it at full force with my momentum, then whack and whack… Wahaha─! Huh, it’s dead? Isn’t it really strong? I heard physical attacks aren’t effective? Really now, it’s not my fault.
「「「None of that! Can serve! As a reference! Charging to the back of an Orc and walloping it… What is that!? What kind of move is that? Which part are we supposed to reference!? No one can replicate that! The Orc died before it can do anything!」」」
It’s not my fault, but after reflecting on this, I decided to attack with Magic next time, that will work. I’m supposed to attack it with spells in the first place.
The next one is a level 12 Orc, which has similar stats to the previous one. I sneak behind its back while the girls look from afar with Scornful Eyes. I lose if I get bothered by that.
The fire bullets are small and sprayed out in large quantities, can I fire one big round instead?
I activate Covert, and approach it from behind without being detected. I made one fire bullet and injected mana in, making it sharper, harder, stronger… Go!!
I fired another immediately, again! Again, again, again, again again again againagainagain─ Huh, it’s dead? I sense Scornful Eyes once more!
No, I heard it’s hard to kill it with spells, you know? Its hide is really thick… Is it really dead?
「Did I kill it? Let’s try raising a flag?」
「「「Did you kill it!? You did that long ago! It’s not moving after your first shot, and the second shot blew its brains out! You are still saying 『Did I kill it?』 It’s already in pieces!」」」
They told me I don’t need to go first for the next one, even though it’s not my fault?
I quietly search for an Orc. Come on out…? Behind me… are 40 Scornful Eyes...
I’m in the forest with 20 High School girls, but the one I want to meet is an Orc… No, it’s fine, I didn’t say anything. Oh, I finally found one, I missed you, Mr Orc.
「Let’s go, everyone, and put an end to this─ I guess?」
The girls are flying in the air, is that some kind of Skill… No, they were hit and sent flying. The shieldbearers got pushed back, while the swords, spears and arrows are not effective. The Orc’s HP is falling slowly because of the spell attacks, but it has a lot of HP, and the healing team is running all over the place.
I will probably get scolded if I don’t do anything, so I knock away the Orc’s club with a fire bullet.
Ah, no good. The Orc is trying to grab the girls with his bare hands. Oh no… It has a level 3 『Ravage』 Skill, and its lecherous eyes look dangerous!?
<The raw is actually 絶倫: Full of energy, and have intercourse multiple times>
I charged in and cut off its hands. Although I’m holding a 『Staff of Tree?』, it still cut through?
Even so, the Orc didn’t fall. They just need to beat him up, so I leave that to the girls… Still not done… Still not down, huh~ Are you done yet? Hmm, let’s prepare lunch. Yes, I will do that.
We are in a forest and the weather is good, so this is a good time for a barbeque! A barbeque with only fish and mushrooms.
「Why is there the fragrance of food from your side when everyone’s fighitng an Orc? Why are you grilling food with a gleeful face? Why did you prepare the table and chairs? And when did you pick the flowers and made such a gaudy decoration!?」
It seems they finally won, that took so long, their opponent is just Lv 9, you know?
「Well~ I think everyone’s hungry? Aren’t the flowers beautiful?」
「「「「Yes, the flowers are beautiful… And so?」」」」
I got scolded? How unreasonable… even though I made delicious food and waited for them… And they are enjoying their meal too?
We killed Goblins and Kobolds on the way to raise our levels, and tomorrow will be a revenge match against an Orc.
「So we need a strong attack move after all?」
「If I can cut off its hand...」
「We need stronger spells!」
「Anyway, we need a way to defeat it normally...」
They had an after action review discussion on the way back. Really now, I already demonstrated to them twice… No, it’s nothing, I’m not complaining.
「As for a hit and run, with so many of us, we can’t use Movement Skills.」
「It’s hard to cast spells while retreating.」
「No, we need to address the problem that we can’t slash it...」
「We can’t fight a melee battle… It has the Ravage skill!」
They can’t decide on a tactic. In times like this, they need to return to the basics. That’s right, just hit it til death! … No, I don’t have any opinions. Yes, I will shut up!
And so, they keep attacking Goblins and Kobolds to raise their levels in 4 groups of 5 until it gets dark.
This is no longer a battle, but a one sided massacre… Alright, I will shut up.
My mouth turned into a cross, like a certain rabbit. I want to eat rabbit, where are the deers and boars?
<TL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miffy>
<TL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miffy>
Day 14 Night Cave, girl’s meeting
If Haruka-kun can’t get stronger, then it will be fine if we get stronger. This time, we will protect him.
That should be the agenda of meeting, but… huh?
「What’s with him! Why!!」
「An assassin specialized in magic cum berserker? What kind of Job is that? What does Jobless mean?」
「If that’s not a Cheat… then what are Cheats? Does he need something like that?」
「No, god said the difference in levels is absolute in this world… But what is that?」
「I’m a swordsman with sword Skills, but I can’t slash the Orc… why can he slash them with a stick?」
「My fire magic can’t defeat the Orc too, so why can he blow its head up?」
「We need a decisive move to win… but he defeated it in one hit!?」
「We said that we will protect him… but he don’t need any protection at all!?」
Huh? So it’s fine to leave him alone?
No, we can’t just leave him by himself. Which is it?
Day 14 Night In front of the Cave, Tent
The tent can fit 20 people without any problems, and that’s the maximum number of people around here, but no one will come. Well, I’m a Loner after all. It’s been so long since I’m so relaxed… Oh, Status.
My Level increased to 8, my HP and MP is over 100, and my stats have all reached 3 digits. I have grown proficient with Appraise, Farsight, Sense Presence, Detect Enemy and moving sneakily in a casual way, just what kind of character am I building? A stalker? An Orc stalker!?
Hmm, there’s also a 『Serial Thinking』 Skill… So firing consecutively is serial thinking?
I also used fire bullets when I fought the Kobolds, but I created multiple bullets for scatter shots, so that’s not serial? I also have Manipulate Magic, I hope it will become a powerful move.
Tch, Blockhead leveled up, it’s probably because the girls bullied me. Are they talking about me being a blockhead? Girls meetings are scary!
🞛 High School can’t understand Wabi-Sabi after all?
Day 15 Morning Before the Cave, Tent
Okay, we will be fighting Orcs today too, the girls want a grudge match. They had a discussion last night and ran a simulation battle.
They can head to town after this training is done, so everyone is full of drive. The quickest Kobolds are no longer a match for them, they can fight a group of Goblins too. The only thing left is the strongest monster in the forest, an Orc.
They can get good weapons in town, and learn how to fight. Unlike me, their levels rose quickly. Once they improve enough to defeat an Orc, they won’t have anything more to learn in this forest. I think we can finish this today.
I will send them to town since I want to take a look too. Also, a group of 20 pretty girls will be very prominent. Even if they can defeat monsters, it’s not clear if the girls can fight bandits and other humans… And the Mean Gals are going to town to apologize and thank the Geeks, I hope the Geeks won’t get chased out of town.
No one asked me to eat breakfast yet, so I did some practice.
I swing my staff as I walk, moving continuously while I swing. I can’t stop, speed is my only advantage, my power and defence are weak. I need to to be faster and chain my attacks and move together to make me quicker.
I extend my staff, holding it at the center, thrusting with the two ends and spin it around. At times, I will hold on to one end and make a wide swing, and then switch back to holding the center to thrust. The actions flow into each other smoothly and the momentum is preserved.
I can’t stop moving as I use the momentum of my steps to swing the stick, and thrust when I sidestep.
I will be surrounded and killed if I stop, and I can’t defeat the enemy without momentum. So I have to attack rapidly and quickly.
「「「Wow~ (Clap clap clap)」」」
They saw me, I was too engrossed in my training… Fortunately, I didn’t use my signature pose… I-I didn’t, right?
「Haruka-kun, have you learned martial arts before?」
Fish Girl seems to think this is martial art, is it because when I extended my staff, it looks similar to the practice of Shaolin monks?
「No, I have never learned any martial arts. I thought this up myself.」
「I see… It feels like the real thing though.」
The cool battle I’m imagining for my practice will be a secret though. So will my signature pose, I’m serious!
「Breakfast? Is breakfast ready?」
「Of course, it’s fish.」
This is a wonderful day too. The fish is delicious.
We hunted the Goblins and Kobolds as we advanced in the forest, today’s mushroom harvest is great too.
「I think the mushrooms are the food of the monsters. Because someone almost wiped out the monsters, that’s why there are so many mushroom.」
I see, that’s why there are so many monsters in the forest. There are mushrooms that can recover HP and MP around the Cave, so the monsters there are stronger. That does make sense.
「A lot of mushrooms resulted in a lot of monsters, and having more monsters caused the number of animals to drop? Then I have to wipe out the Goblins.」
We continue to hunt as we chat and go further in. Everyone's over level 30, it seems the area around the Cave is very suitable for raising levels. I’m the only one who didn’t level up despite living here… I finally found an Orc, Lv16, a bit too tough?
「Found it, can I take the first one?」
「Yes, be careful… I guess?」
For some reason, the Monitress sent me off with a question.
I walk normally to the front of the Orc without sneaking around or charging in. I use the right end of my extended staff to parry the club swinging down at me, then turn and attack with the left end while I sweep at the Orc’s legs with a spin. It didn’t fall, but it's stumbling. I thrust at its eyes, and when it blocked its club, I attacked the exposed legs instead.
I block the movement of its legs and flank to its back while I stab at its hand holding the club. I alternate between attacking high and low, aiming for the eyes, legs and weapon. I hold the initiative with my attacks, and the Orc can only defend.
The Monitress’ group are troubled since they can’t launch a big attack, so they should aim for the weak points instead, and defeat whatever options the Orc might have. If the enemy doesn't attack, then suppress it with a flurry of attacks, then seize victory with a surprise strike.
I throw a fireball at the Orc’s face, and close in to strike when it flinches. I poke out the Orc’s eyes, knock away the club, immobilize its arms and leave it stumbling with a limp.
「I will leave the finishing touches to you, want to try using a big attack?」
「Thank you, Haruka-kun, today’s battle is a good reference.」
After saying that, everyone runs to surround the Orc. I’m substituting out because I’m tired of fighting the Orc, but I can’t say that.
But what do you mean by 「today」? What happened yesterday wasn’t my fault.
The Geeks provided the information… Monitress is really… As I’m grumbling about that─
「Stay back everyone~ Hee~!」
They use a big attack with Magic, firing the offensive spells they prepared at the same time. An overkill.
「Good work everyone─」
I hand out juice to everyone, and as expected of their girl power, they are fast! Their reaction to sweet food is completely different, did someone just use Distance Reduce?
The second Orc is Lv10, a good economical price point. The girls surrounded it as they fought, working together and showing no signs of being in danger. Unlike yesterday, they understand each other’s responsibilities and attack effectively and efficiently. They aim for the eyes with arrows and spells, when the Orc defend its eyes, they attack its legs fiercely. The Orc swings its club to protect its legs, and its eyes get hit and its arms are in tatters. Victory is assured now.
No one is screaming hysterically, so let’s prepare lunch. I got scolded for the BBQ yesterday, so today I will make salted mushroom fish soup.
They admonished me for decorating with flowers yesterday, so I won’t make the same mistake. Unlike the Geeks, I’m a High School boy who can read the mood. That’s right, I shouldn’t aim for extravagance, Japanese people should aim for the humble aesthetics of Wabi-Sabi!
<侘び寂: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi, some word play on lonely and shut-in.>
I collected dry wood, and after smoking and washing them, I dry them completely with Temperature Magic to make wooden bowls and plates. Thin branches are straightened with Package with the ends narrowed to make chopsticks. I cut off a part of a log to make bowls, the rest are made into a dining table and chairs. At this moment, the girls seem to be done too.
「Welcome back, lunch is ready.」
I prepared a basin for them to wash their hands.
「「I’m home─ Why are you always spreading the fragrance of food when we are fighting!?」」
I got scolded? Can’t the girls understand the beauty of Wabi-Sabi? Hey~ tell your teacher to come here! That’s me! Why do I get scolded every time? Is this the effect of Blockhead?
Despite what they said, all of them asked for a refill. I think I’m going to get a new title of bullied kid.
After defeating a Lv 8 Orc, followed by a Lv 11 Orc, the last one is Lv 15, a tough character, and it’s Ravage is Lv 5!
「Hey, his eyes seem lecherous?」
「That guy… is targeting girls with big breasts?」
「Kyaa… Ehh, it’s not coming!? What is the meaning of this!!」
「Fufufu… Ignoring me? I will kill him!」
「Kyaa~ Why~... is it coming… my way~?」
「「「「Oh─ I see, it must be hard on you?」」」」
「... You traitor!」
「Fufufu… Damn it!!」
「Why… is he… ignoring me?」
It’s over, they are having an internal strife. The Orc is broken, but so is the friendship between the girls.
And of course, the culprit is Vice Monitress B. It’s getting dark, let’s go back. Hmm, the air seems heavy and scary!?
「Really now, be it a certain someone or that Orc just now, if you like breasts so much then get transported to Planet Breasts!」
「I’m… completely ignored? Even the Orc… ignored...」
「Hmm~? Why am I the only one that’s not ignored~? Huh~?」
「「「「Oh─ I see, it must be hard on you.」」」」
Friendship between girls is really fragile. If I have to choose between the forest and Planet breasts, I will probably choose the latter.
After dinner, they took turns to take a bath and hold a meeting. The participants are 20 girls plus one Loner.
「We will be heading downstream tomorrow, if we don’t get out of the forest by noon, we will come back, is that okay?」
「Yes, we don’t know if we can find a town that quickly, so let’s spend half a day searching. If we see a town or a road, we will continue.」
「Then bring all your equipment, you can put the excess luggage in my Item Bag, bring them all over.」
「「「「Okay─」」」」
The twenty girls can all fit into Villager A’s Magic Tent, I can make camp with a sleeping bag or a normal tent. I already made plenty of dried fish, and there are plenty of mushrooms, enough to last us for a while in the event that we get stranded. There are so many mushrooms that it is challenging the storage limits of the Item Bag.
If we leave the forests for so many days, this place will be full of mushrooms… and Goblins.
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