by Tôwa
“I actually didn’t know it was normal to give your party a name. I’ll have to talk to my party about it later.”
Georg patted me on the shoulder with a grin. I wondered if he’d been injured in one of the labyrinths since he had what looked like a bandage over his nose. He had a similar build as me and gave off the impression of being a frank and honest guy. Seeing as his party had been first in District Eight until recently, I could safely assume he was a fairly strong person.
“By the way… I saw this gorgeous girl walk by a minute ago. She in your party?” he asked.
“Oh yeah. That’s Kyouka. I guess it’s not only Japanese people who think she’s pretty.”
“A beauty like that’s got to be a handful. In any case, what d’you say I show you a good place to have some fun as a token of our budding friendship? I’m sure you’ve made plenty of money to spend on that kinda thing, right?”
“Fun, huh… You’ve got places like that in the Labyrinth Country, too?” I asked. Georg didn’t say anything, but he just grinned in confirmation.
I was once invited a long time ago by some friends at my part-time job to a place like that, but I was saving up money at the time to get my certification, so I didn’t go. Not that I wasn’t interested in Georg’s offer, but I was sure the party wouldn’t react well if they found out. It could break down all the trust I’d built with them so far.
“Hey, only if you’re in the mood. If that mood happens to strike you, let me know. Like I said, I know a good place,” repeated Georg.
“Uh, yeah… If I get the chance.” It might be normal for Seekers in the Labyrinth Country to go together to the red-light district… If that was the case, I might someday end up going, but as of right now, it would be difficult to make it work. Actually, it was pretty much out of the question.
“Atobe, you know that guy? The two of you were chatting like old friends.” Igarashi suddenly spoke up.
“Erk… I-Igarashi. How long have you been listening?”
“I just got here, so I didn’t hear what you were talking about. I don’t really want to look around on my own, so would you mind coming with me?”
Georg picked up on the situation, flashed me a thumbs-up that only I could see, and then left the mansion.
“Atobe, I thought you were supposed to be talking with everyone else about their skills? You can’t just wander off, you know. You need to make sure you check them all over,” said Igarashi. She seemed happy for some reason. Maybe she was trying to imply that she was glad I followed her… That thought put me on edge.
“I decided to take a break for today and continue discussing skills another time,” I replied.
“Oh… Well, I guess you’ll talk with Suzuna later tonight.”
“I don’t think we’ll stay up too late; we’ll just be going over the most important stuff.”
In reality, I wasn’t sure what else I could talk to Suzuna about besides skills. I hoped there wouldn’t be too much of a generation gap between us that we couldn’t chat.
“Where in the mansion have you looked so far, Igarashi?”
“Just around out front a bit. Next, I was thinking of taking that exit to check out the courtyard.”
“All right, sounds good. Let’s go.”
I walked next to Igarashi, who was in her old clothes from before she reincarnated. We passed a Maid who smiled at the sight of the two of us. I think she might have misunderstood, but Igarashi didn’t seem to notice at all.
“The carpet in this hallway is so beautiful. Reminds me of a Persian rug. Are you interested in that sort of thing at all, Atobe?”
“Yeah, a little bit. We’ve started to make some money, so someday, I’d like to buy a permanent home for us, and we can decorate it however we like.”
“…When we do, can we get a pet? I promise I’ll do all the work to take care of it.”
“Of course. We’ll get your favorite kind of animal.”
It was much easier to talk with Igarashi than I ever thought it could be in our old world. As I thought about how easily she ran from hot to cold, I decided that times like these were also quite nice.
The dinner provided to us consisted of a white sauce–topped rice pilaf–type dish with crab, made using a Bubble Crab monster that lived in the marshes, and a seafood soup with Mud Shrimp.
“I would’ve thought that the crab would absorb some unpleasant mud flavors since it lives in the marsh, but it’s been prepped well,” I said.
“Mm, you’re right. I’ve never had seasonings like this, but it’s really quite nice,” added Igarashi.
The soft crab meat and plentiful cream sauce worked very well with the rice, which had been cooked with seasonings and spices. The food we ate before in the tavern was nice enough, but it was a more rustic cooking style. What the mansion offered was much more elegant. This style seemed to suit Igarashi’s tastes, because she was in a great mood. Suzuna didn’t seem picky about her food, but Misaki didn’t seem to be a huge fan of shrimp and so pushed her soup bowl toward Theresia, who was sitting next to her and munching away at her meal like always.
“Misaki, you’ll never grow if you’re so picky with your food,” scolded Elitia.
“Whaaat? But I’m already taller than you!” retorted Misaki.
“Urgh… My height varies from day to day. Today’s just one of my bad days!” replied Elitia. Meanwhile, she was picking out all of the fresh herbs in her soup—it looked like she didn’t really like them. She also didn’t seem to like some vegetables, because she’d very carefully picked out all the bell pepper–looking things from her salad.
“Ellie, do you not like vegetables? I’ll eat them if you won’t,” said Suzuna.
“Uh… No, it’s okay. I was planning on eating them all in one go afterward.”
“You’ll be less stressed if you only eat food you like. All sorts of different things will give you the nutrition you need.”
“…O-okay… Would you mind eating half of them, then?” said Elitia, a little embarrassed, perhaps because she’d just been reprimanding Misaki for the same thing, and took advantage of Suzuna’s kind nature. Suzuna couldn’t finish her pilaf, so she passed it over to Theresia. Demi-humans really could eat a lot—or perhaps that was just something particular to Theresia.
“…Mm…”
Mealtimes were some of the few instances Theresia, who was mute, made a sound that was as close to a voice as she probably could. Everyone noticed and was paying close attention to her in their surprise.
“Arihito, can Theresia communicate through writing?” wondered Elitia.
“I don’t think so. She can read and listen to people and understand the words, but she can’t express herself through words.”
“…I want to hear Theresia’s voice. It’s not like I can hear the voice of her soul with my skills,” said Suzuna. Even if Suzuna could use Spirit Detection to read Theresia’s emotions, it wouldn’t be the same as hearing it in her own voice.
“……”
Theresia looked at the food, then looked at Suzuna. After a moment, she gave a nod.
“Ah… Theresia, are you saying the food is good? I think so, too,” replied Suzuna.
“……”
If she could express her intentions, then even the strange-looking lizard mask wasn’t a hindrance to her communication. I was sure it wasn’t just me who felt that way.
“Oh right. Arihito, there’s a bathroom in the suite—do you wanna take a bath first?” asked Misaki.
“I can take one after everyone else. There’s nothing wrong with being the first to take a bath, but when I lived alone, I’d just take a quick shower in the morning anyway.”
“I’d probably do the same if I lived alone, since I always get light-headed taking hot baths. Suzu’s pretty good at not doing that, though,” said Misaki.
Misaki and Suzuna had been good enough friends that they were going on a ski trip together, so they probably took shared baths. It must have been nice to take a nice
soak with your friends.
“Theresia, since we’re sharing a room, should we take a bath together? It’ll take a lot of time if all six of us go in separately,” suggested Igarashi.
“……”
“T-Theresia, you should go with her, since she’s offering anyway,” I urged, but she didn’t respond. I was nervous that she was about to shake her head, but she gave a tiny nod instead. I might have just been seeing things, but she looked a little sad. She was starting to eat more slowly, and even her lizard mask looked somehow upset. I wasn’t the only one who thought this, because Igarashi seemed concerned as she talked to her.
“Theresia, would you prefer to take a bath alone? That’s fine, too,” she guessed.
“……”
“That’s not it, then… Do you want to take a bath with someone other than me?” Suddenly, Theresia shot a glance in my direction. The eyes of her mask locked onto mine and didn’t look away.
“He’s always helping you out… Right, is that what you’re saying? I know you don’t mean anything by it, but I feel like washing a man’s back is just a liiittle too forward,” said Misaki.
“…I won’t stop you if Arihito says it’s all right,” added Elitia.
“W-well… Theresia’s the one who wants to do it,” argued Suzuna. Theresia was starting to turn red now that everyone’s attention was focused on her. Igarashi started to blush, too— It’d bring things full circle if I joined in.
“…I’ll be all alone if you two take a bath together…,” said Igarashi.
“Huh? …Is that what you were worried about?” I asked.
“O-obviously, I’m not exactly comfortable with a man and a woman taking a bath together, but Theresia seems sad. If she likes you that much, there’s really nothing I can do about it…”
The red in Theresia’s face started to slowly fade, and then she stared at Igarashi. Whatever emotions were behind her face were the subtle ones of a girl’s heart, and I just could not read them at all.
“Oh… I know! Theresia, wait for a moment. If I can get a bathing suit or something like that, then there won’t be anything strange if you two do bathe together,” suggested Igarashi.
“If we do that, too, then we can all take a bath together! And I’d get to play with Arihito in the bath—although I guess that’d be a little awkward. Even I have a sense of shame, believe it or not,” said Misaki. I actually thought it was quite normal to find bathing together awkward. I found it refreshing to hear Misaki say she was embarrassed by something, though, since she normally just said and did whatever she liked… Was it rude to think that?
“…I suppose I shouldn’t mention that we have swimsuit-like equipment, huh?” I said.
“B-body armor doesn’t count as swimwear! Besides, even if we did get a bathing suit, I feel like taking a bath together is a whole separate issue. You should make note of that, Arihito,” said Elitia.
“Y-yeah. I mean, we don’t have to go through all the trouble so we can take a bath together…,” I replied.
“Well, it’s a problem because Theresia’s sad. You don’t have the right to refuse, Atobe.”
Igarashi had way too much faith in the bathing suits. It didn’t really manner if she was in one or naked… It would work only to my benefit, even if I could technically see more in one than the other.
Anyway, we split into three groups for the day and decided that I would take my bath last, alone, and that way, I could take my time testing out the tub in the royal suite.
Part VIII: Night Consultation
This world had a variety of different bath styles. This royal suite had a standalone bathtub instead of one built into the room. There was a shower made by storing hot water in a barrel and turning a tap on to let it out. The water was lukewarm, but that was better than if it were too hot. It was more convenient than what we had in the previous suite, so I was perfectly happy.
I can’t help feeling the technology here is a little hit-or-miss even though there’re so many reincarnates… It wouldn’t be impossible to implement science and technology if a reincarnate did come along with the necessary skills, though.
I lay soaking in the tub with my thoughts. Being last meant I could stay as long as I wanted without having to worry about anyone getting in after me. I eventually got out and decided to leave the cleaning for the Maid tomorrow. The Maids had skills that made cleaning easier, so I imagined it wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience for them.
I wasn’t normally the kind of person to take long baths, so I didn’t spend a whole lot of time soaking. Theresia had come out flushed red from her bath. I had felt bad for forgetting to tell Igarashi that Theresia wasn’t good with the heat. Thankfully, Igarashi had noticed quickly and splashed cool water on her to bring her temperature down.
Perhaps she wouldn’t get overheated as much once we turned her back into a human. Or perhaps her demi-human characteristics would remain to a degree. Either way, I was eager to find out how to get her back to her original form as quickly as possible.
If we go to the cathedral in District Four, we will find how to turn a demi-human back into a human…theoretically. Lady Ollerus, who built this mansion, and her party were forced to retire at a labyrinth in District Four. Exactly what kind of labyrinth is this Corridor of Failure that it could destroy a party who could use a shield that amazing…?
I wiped down my body and dried my hair as much as possible. I assumed I’d have to dry by hand, but there was actually a heat-blast shell present, which was a conch-like thing that blew warm air out of a hole. It wasn’t incredibly hot, but it could be used as a dryer.
They had been able to recreate a certain amount of modern appliances through the use of magic stones. This, too, was probably made by reincarnates who wanted a blow-dryer. I couldn’t be more grateful to the people who’d developed the black sphere, the “temperature control ball,” in the living room.
I went into the living room and stood nonchalantly behind Theresia while I chatted with Misaki, who didn’t seem tired at all. Standing there let me heal Theresia’s vitality; she lost a little bit when she got overheated. Temperature changes were a literal threat to life for a lizardman.
Theresia seemed to be feeling better, then went into the bedroom that Igarashi was in so that it was just me and Misaki in the living room.
“Phewww… We had a lot going on today, seriously. I still feel so worked up; I don’t think I can sleep!” said Misaki. It was she who led us to enter the hidden fourth floor of the Field of Dawn, defeat the Named Monster, and meet Ariadne… A lot did happen today. I felt like I needed to carefully take note of it all in my brain.
“Ellie’s already in bed. I’ll probably sleep fine. If not, I might go bug Suzu,” continued Misaki. Suzuna’s Purification spell calmed people down, so it would probably help her fall asleep. Even with me nearby, they’d probably be fine sleeping as two friends sharing a bed.
“Tomorrow, I’ll…be staying behind, won’t I?” asked Misaki.
“We’ll be at eight people with you, Melissa, and Cion, so you could still come,” I said. “I’d just be worried about you being the only person still at level two—your vitality will be lower.”
“Then I won’t do anything in battle. Could Melissa and I just follow behind? Like…a detached squad or something.”
Apparently, that was an option, too. My support worked as long as I was behind that person, so if the rear squad was engaged in battle, I could support them just by turning around. It would depend on how strong Melissa was, but it seemed like it would be a good idea to put some close-combat members in the back as well.
“Even if I join, the only thing I can do is increase your luck… So I guess if you want me to, I will. I don’t even have any other useful sorts of skills,” said Misaki, her expression upset as she pulled her license from her pajama pocket and showed me.
♦Acquired Skills♦
Increased Drop Rate:
Slightly increases enemies’ rare item drop rate
.
Child of Luck:
Slightly increases probability of finding a Chest after battle.
♦Available Skills♦
Dice Trick:
Guarantees a designated number from a dice roll.
Russian Roulette 1:
Chooses a random target among both allies and enemies and halves their vitality.
Poker Face:
Renders facial expressions unreadable.
Lucky Guess 1:
Allows you to vaguely sense which action will lead to good results.
Coin Toss:
Increases luck if the coin lands on the face chosen by an ally.
Remaining Skill Points: 2
These available skills would be great in a casino… Though, I bet if there were a “dealer” job, their skills would be able to nullify these.
Russian Roulette 1 would probably not end up hitting an ally very often since the Gambler’s luck was good, but the risk was just too great. Lucky Guess 1 didn’t have any drawbacks. Misaki had already taken the skills that were obviously beneficial. We’d already been blessed thanks to her Increased Drop Rate and Child of Luck.
“Lucky Guess 1 looks good, but I don’t think it’s something you need to take immediately. How about you wait a level and see what skills you get then?” I suggested.
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I want to really take advantage of my luck-improving skills. Make it so I can just walk around and find a giant pot of gold sitting on the ground,” she said.
“I dunno about a pot of gold, but you do have skills that can help you get stuff. It’s really neat to see everyone’s different skills.”
“Ha-ha! Well, I’m glad you have fun with it. All right, I think I’m off to my room. Niiight!”
“Good night.”
Hopefully, Misaki could acquire some skills that were useful for battle, but it seemed like Gambler was a job specialized in support skills related to luck and had a positive effect on the party. Thinking about it that way, it was pretty similar to my job.