by Okina Baba
Damn. She’s got me there, I guess.
“But… If you’re going out of your way to meet them, ma’am, does that mean…?”
“It sure doooes.”
“Well then, I suppose we simply must meet them.”
Katia and Filimøs continue the conversation on their own.
Sue and I don’t follow their meaning, so we simply look on in silence.
“Come along, then, Shun… Wait. Why the long face?”
“Oh, I just wasn’t sure what you were talking about…”
“Really? Sue I can understand, but you…”
Katia and our teacher both look at me pityingly.
C-come on, do you really have to make that face at me?
“I mean, I know she said it’d be good to meet them sooner rather than later, so I figured I’d go, but…”
“Shun, you’re something else.”
Katia presses a hand to her forehead as if fending off a headache.
“Do you really trust Ms. Oka that much?”
“Huh?”
I stare at Katia blankly, not understanding her pointed whisper.
Seeing this, Katia heaves a deep sigh.
“Ah, looks like we don’t have to go and find them after aaaall!”
I look up and follow the teacher’s gaze to see a boy and a girl approaching us.
The boy has dark brown hair that’s nearly black and eyes of the same color, with tough, masculine features.
The girl has wavy blonde hair and blue eyes with an air of mysterious beauty.
“Yo. So that puny elf is Ms. Oka?”
“Don’t be rude, Natsume. That’s no way to talk to a teacher! It’s good to see you, ma’am.”
Both of them are speaking Japanese.
With that, I finally realize what Katia and our teacher were getting at.
These two are reincarnations, like us.
“Good to see you, toooo! Natsume, Hasebe, I’m so very glad you’re wellll.”
Our teacher’s words reveal the pair’s original identities.
The boy’s name used to be Kengo Natsume, the de facto leader of the boys in our class.
Honestly, though, I never really liked Natsume much.
He was really athletic, with good reflexes, and while he never actually did anything violent, he had a tendency to show off his strength and use it to get people to do what he wanted. On top of being pushy, he came off sounding like he looked down on others.
Most kids in our class either followed his lead or did their best to avoid him.
I was always the latter.
“Ha-ha! Ms. Oka was always tiny, but now she shrank even more! That’s hilarious!”
“Natsume!”
The girl scolding Natsume was formerly Yuika Hasebe, who used to sit next to me.
Unlike Natsume, Hasebe never made much of an impression as being particularly good or bad.
Among the girls, the clique that stood out most was the one that included Fei, aka Mirei Shinohara. But Hasebe was closer with the relatively quiet girls, like Temarikawa and Furuta.
Of course, that’s just compared with Fei—she was still a pretty bright and active person herself—but Hasebe certainly never struck me as the type who secretly held the potential to be a saint or anything like that.
“I’m an elf, so I can’t help being small, you knooow. Besides, you’re not so much taller than me yourself now, Natsumeee.”
“I’m gonna have a huge growth spurt soon, just you wait. Anyway, this guy’s the prince of this country, right? Who’s in there?”
Natsume looks my way like a predator sizing up its prey.
His eyes glitter as if he might attack me at any moment.
I do remember this guy being pretty nasty in our former life, but did his eyes always seem this dangerous?
“Shunsuke Yamada.”
“And I’m Kanata Ooshima. Long time no see.”
After I answer, Katia steps forward deliberately to introduce herself.
“Huh? Ooshima?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m Ooshima. Big surprise, right? Guess I got reborn as a woman.”
Hasabe stares at Katia in shock.
From there, the conversation picks up, and Natsume looks away from me.
Thanks, Katia.
Natsume’s name may be Hugo Baint Renxandt now, but just like in our previous lives, I want as little to do with him as possible.
THE DUKE’S DAUGHTER AND HER TEACHER
“Ma’am, why exactly are you going to school in the first place?”
“Why, to enjoy my youth all over again, of course!”
“I’m serious, you know.”
“I’m joooking. I suppose you could say I’m trying to watch over those of you reincarnations whose social status is too high for me to take you into my care, you knooow.”
“I knew it.”
“Ooooh? You’d alllready guessed?”
“To an extent anyway, since so many of us reincarnations are in one place. I don’t know how you managed it, but I’m guessing you elves must’ve done some negotiating to gather all the reincarnations at this academy.”
“That’s true as far as Natsume goes, but Hasebe being here is sheer coincidence, honessst.”
“So you don’t entirely deny it.”
“That’s because I know I can’t fool you, clever Miss Katiaaa.”
“Well then, since I’m so clever, maybe you’ll let me ask you a question. Are the last six of us still alive?”
“…We know for certain that four have died. I’ve located the other two, but I have no way of going to them directly at the moment.”
“I see. I had a feeling…”
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s no reason for you to apologize, ma’am. Do you mind if I ask…the names of the ones who died?”
“Of course… Kouta Hayashi, Hiiro Wakaba, Naofumi Kogure, and Issei Sakurazaki.”
“…I see. Well, that does explain why you have the time to attend school like this. You don’t need to search for the others anymore.”
“That’s right, although I am still taking action to protect the other two, you knooow.”
“So who have they become that’s created a situation where you can’t get to them?”
“That’s a seeecret.”
“Ma’am, I’m being serious here.”
“I am, too. It seriously has to be a seeecret.”
“Does it have anything to do with why we can’t meet the others that you have been able to look after?”
“Hmm. That’s a different matter, sooo it’s not really related, nooo.”
“I see. Are they doing well, at least?”
“They’re fiiine.”
“And what are their names?”
“I caaan’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Well, you might find out eventually, but I don’t think now is the right time.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I’m sorry. But it’s how it has to be. And on that note, I have a warning for you.”
“What is it?”
“Please don’t train your skills too much.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t say.”
“Ma’am, I can only imagine what you’ve seen in the outside world, but you know Shun’s older brother is a hero, right? I’ve heard all about his work as a hero from Shun. How he protected a village from a horde of monsters all by himself and fended off a demon even after it made him drink poison. That sort of thing.”
“Whaaat about it?”
“This world is extremely dangerous. We may not be heroes, but Shun and I still have roles to play. It’s very possible we may have to stand on the battlefield ourselves someday. Since I’m a woman, those odds are still relatively low… But even if Shun’s royalty, he’s not the heir to the throne. It’s more than likely. So by telling us not to train our skills, aren’t you basically asking us to be killed in the future?”
; “Of course not!”
“Right. And I know you wouldn’t say a thing like that, ma’am. But without any reason or explanation, I can’t just agree, either.”
“I…suppose not.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so harsh.”
“No, it’s all right. I’m the one who’s keeping so many secrets.”
“And I’m guessing you can’t tell me why you have all these secrets, either?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Does it have something to do with the elves?”
“Hmm?”
“It’s pretty strange. Why would elves help protect us reincarnations? It seems like you’ve explained the situation to them, but can they really be trusted? They’re not forcing you to comply with some weird conditions or anything, are they?”
“Not at aaaall. You’ll just have to trust me on that, okaaay?”
“Even with all the secrets you’re keeping?”
“I’m afraid sooo.”
“I can’t just trust people based on gut instinct like Shun can. I want to trust you, of course, but as long as you’re keeping all these secrets, I can’t quite manage it.”
“I don’t think you’re wrong about thaaat. If anything, Shun is too trusting, you knooow?”
“Yeah, I agree. Sometimes I think he’d be lost without me, honestly.”
“Oh-ho-hooo? Perhaps not a bud yet, but is that a seed I smellll? What an interesting development that would beee.”
“Huh? What’re you talking about? Ma’am, please don’t smile so creepily. Since you look like a little girl now, it’s really disturbing.”
“Divine punishment tiiime!”
“Huh? Ow!”
MIDDLE STRATUM PLAY-THROUGH, START!
I’m here in the Middle Stratum! Yay!
Today I’m gonna start exploring it! Yay!
I haven’t perfected my long-range attack or my anti-heat measures yet, but here I go anyway! Yay!
Ugh… No way can I do this unless I hype myself up about it somehow.
It’s been several days since I first discovered the Middle Stratum.
In the meantime, I’ve been training my skills, and I’ve gotten pretty strong.
This is what my status looks like now.
Status: HP: 57/83 (green) MP: 181/181 (blue)
SP: 51/82 (yellow) 2UP : 82/82 (red) 2UP
Average Offensive Ability: 92 Average Defensive Ability: 92
Average Magical Ability: 135 Average Resistance Ability: 168
Average Speed Ability: 830 1UP
Skills:
[HP Auto-Recovery LV 5] [MP Recovery Speed LV 3] [MP Lessened Consumption LV 2] [SP Recovery Speed LV 2]
[SP Lessened Consumption LV 3 1UP] [Destruction Enhancement LV 1] [Cutting Enhancement LV 1] [Poison Enhancement LV 1]
[Mental Warfare LV 1] [Energy Conferment LV 2] [Deadly Poison Attack LV 3] [Poison Synthesis LV 7]
[Threadsmanship LV 3] [Spider Thread LV 9] [Cutting Thread LV 6] [Thread Control LV 8]
[Throw LV 6] [Hit LV 7] [Evasion LV 3] [Spatial Maneuvering LV 3]
[Stealth LV 7] [Concentration LV 9] [Prediction LV 8] [Parallel Thinking LV 4]
[Arithmetic Processing LV 6] [Appraisal LV 8] [Detection LV 6] [Heretic Magic LV 3]
[Shadow Magic LV 2] [Poison Magic LV 2] [Abyss Magic LV 10] [Destruction Resistance LV 1]
[Impact Resistance LV 2] [Cutting Resistance LV 3] [Fire Resistance LV 1] [Dark Resistance LV 1]
[Deadly Poison Resistance LV 2] [Paralysis Resistance LV 3] [Petrification Resistance LV 3] [Acid Resistance LV 4]
[Rot Resistance LV 3] [Faint Resistance LV 2] [Fear Resistance LV 7 1UP] [Heresy Resistance LV 3]
[Pain Nullification] [Pain Mitigation LV 7] [Vision Enhancement LV 8] [Night Vision LV 10]
[Vision Expansion LV 2] [Auditory Enhancement LV 8] [Olfactory Enhancement LV 7] [Taste Enhancement LV 4]
[Tactile Enhancement LV 6] [Life LV 7] [Magic Mass LV 8] [Instantaneous LV 8 1UP]
[Persistent LV 8 1UP] [Herculean Strength LV 3] [Sturdy LV 3] [Protection LV 3]
[Skanda LV 3] [Pride] [Overeating LV 7] [Hades]
[Taboo LV 4] [n% I = W]
Skill Points: 180
>
Man, I really have gotten pretty strong.
I’ve got quite a few new skills, too.
Since my beloved Appraisal has started displaying a list of skills I haven’t acquired yet, I’ve been setting my sights on anything that seems decent, then doing things related to that skill to earn proficiency and acquire it naturally.
So now my repertoire has increased considerably, including some additions I’ve had my eye on for a long time.
Though this is all probably thanks to the huge effect of Pride.
I collected all the MP- and SP-related skills.
Namely, Recovery Speed and Lessened Consumption.
Recovery Speed, of course, quickens natural recovery, and Lessened Consumption reduces the amount used.
SP Lessened Consumption seems to work on both red and yellow stamina, too.
Specifically, my red total stamina has gotten harder to reduce, and my yellow stamina decreases less when I’m running.
I also randomly got a new skill called Spatial Maneuvering.
I think because I built a home near the ceiling, I got the skill climbing up and down the wall.
As a result, I can jump around and stuff now.
I don’t need that, though. I was already able to do those things…
I guess I’ll explain the rest of the skills as they come.
Anyway, the little UP markers seem to indicate skills that have changed since the last time I looked at my Appraisal results.
This time, SP Lessened Consumption, Fear Resistance, Instantaneous, and Persistent all improved.
Instantaneous and Persistent are the SP version of Strength and that type of skill, with the former working on yellow SP and the latter on red SP.
Looks like my speed and SP stats rose, too.
In the past few days, I’ve figured out that, like skills, stats can actually increase outside of leveling up if I focus on training them.
This discovery came to me when I was running around to increase my Skanda skill and saw that my speed stat had also gotten better.
Why didn’t my stats make any progress before when I was being chased around by monsters and stuff? I probably didn’t run enough, or my growth rate has increased because of Pride.
It’s too hard to tell which is responsible, but one thing I can say for sure is that Pride is definitely working.
Since I constantly have Appraisal active, the display of an UP symbol must mean that the skill or stat in question increased very recently.
The UP display automatically disappears a little while after I’ve seen it, which means the skills and stats that rose this time must be due to whatever decisive action I just took.
Heh-heh-heh. It’s pretty amazing how much my skills and stats grew in one go, right?
Well, yeah.
That’s ’cause I was running at top speed. For my life.
Status: HP: 4,198/4,198 (green) MP: 3,339/3,654 (blue)
SP: 2,798/2,798 (yellow) : 2,995/3,112 (red)
Status Appraisal Failed
>
It’s a dragon.
Compared with the one I saw before, earth dragon Araba, this one comes off as a bit short and stout. And apparently, it’s more powerful to match.
Its wings are different from Araba’s.
The guy totally appeared out of nowhere.
Just as I was getting ready to go hunting like usual, my home was suddenly blown away behind me.
The aftershock alone was enough to send me tumbling, and then I caught sight of the earth dragon on the edge of my vision.
After that, I ran away at top speed, fleeing into the Middle Stratum, which is the real reason I’m here now.
; Ha-ha-ha. Yeah, I desperately ran for my life, all right.
But at least that desperation was enough to raise my skills and stats!
Anyway, damn, what is it with dragons and destroying my spiderwebs on sight?
That’s so scary.
Was the Lower Stratum actually an earth dragon den all along and I just never noticed?
That’s even scarier.
No, no, no. There’s no way there can be that many of those awful things just hanging around.
Now I’m remembering the glimpse I got of the beast’s status Appraisal.
It was all four-digit numbers. That’s just ridiculous. There’s no way I can beat that.
On top of that, even after it used a powerful attack that destroyed my entire home, its MP and SP were barely even diminished.
In other words, it could attack like that endlessly if it wanted to.
I can’t deal with that. What a horrifying monster. Earth dragons are scary.
Still, though, that one was different from the earth dragon Araba that I saw before.
While this one’s level was lower, I wasn’t able to Appraise Araba, so I don’t know which is stronger.
But regardless, it’s not like I’d stand a chance against either of them, so I guess it doesn’t matter.
I wonder if there’s some kind of connection between them, since they’re both called earth dragons?
Maybe they started out as the same species and evolved apart or something?
Ooh, that could be it.
Dragons are like the definition of a superior race, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they had a wide variety of evolutionary options.
Otherwise, maybe each earth dragon is its own unique species? That could be it, too.
Like, there are only a few because of how elite they are, but each individual is hyper-strong? That kind of thing.
I mean, “hyper-strong” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
If that’s the case, then it’s likely my odds of running into more are pretty low, at least…
No, wait a second.
That would mean that I’ve now been attacked twice by creatures I should have an extremely low chance of ever meeting.
Does that mean I just have ridiculously bad luck?
Th…th-th-th-that can’t be it, r-r-r-right…?
I’ve had plenty of near-death encounters before, but I always survive in the end, so that means I’m lucky, probably.