Chapter 9: A Fight Between These Two Housemates!

  Part 1

  When I woke up the next morning, I was filled with despair.

  It didn't take long for the memories from last night to come back to me.

  Thinking it was a dream, I propositioned Aqua.

  I even got a 'Traumatized' condition because of it.

  "Ah… It's over."

  I didn't feel like getting up, but I also didn't want to see Aqua in the morning.

  After eating breakfast, I headed over to school.

  "Eh?! Senpai, you don't look so good…"

  Rin said, when she saw me.

  "Something horrible happened to me last night…"

  "Oh, no… Do you mind telling me what happened?"

  I almost cried again thinking about it.

  "Ah…! Sorry, you don't have to tell me! Senpai, if you want, we don't have to watch the movie this Sunday if you're not feeling well…"

  "That's not necessary."

  More than ever, I needed this date with Rin.

  Throughout the school day, I tried my best to focus in class while not thinking about what almost happened with Aqua.

  The fact that she almost went through with it was the most surprising part.

  Even if she always goes on about her purity and how sacred she was, Aqua was the kind of girl who was swayed by money and the mood.

  The thing was, if she wasn't such a complete irritant and liability, I would have done all kinds of things with her.

  After all, she's a top-tier beauty with looks that surpasses even actresses and idols.

  But her rotten personality, her complete lack of intelligence and common sense, was a huge turn-off.

  When class was finally over, I dragged my feet to the soccer field.

  Playing in a game was the last thing I wanted to do, with the depressed mood I was in, but I wanted to avoid going home as much as possible.

  "...Satou, what's wrong with you?"

  Mitsurugi asked, looking at me with concerned eyes.

  This guy who thought of Aqua as a high-class lady wouldn't understand my pain.

  If he was in my position last night, he'd probably cry tears of joy.

  "You can have her. I don't care."

  "What are you talking about?"

  He was confused by my vague statement.

  After doing our warmups, the coach gathered us to give an inspirational speech.

  "No matter what happens today… Just know that in my heart, I consider all of you as champions!"

  He was talking about this game as if we were in the nationals already.

  It was just an ordinary game.

  We ran the same '4-2-3-1' formation as last time, with me as the Attacking Midfielder.

  When we were lining up across the opposing team, one of the players, a guy who had a buzz cut, approached Mitsurugi.

  "Hoh… If it isn't my rival. I'll make sure to shut you down this time, Mitsurugi…"

  "Heh, may the best man win."

  A rival character to Mitsurugi showed up.

  I ignored their exchange because I seriously didn't care.

  "Players line up!"

  We lined up against the opposition and bowed.

  Unlike in the previous match, none of the opposing players were concerned about me. All of them were focused on the rivalry between Mitsurugi and the buzz cut guy.

  The match started with our possession, with Mitsurugi kicking it off to me.

  "Let's just get this over with…"

  I figured that it was best to get a quick goal like last time, so I wouldn't have to work hard for the rest of the match.

  Since I wasn't that confident in my dribbling, I passed it to the winger that I had some good plays with last time.

  He was a flashy dude who was normally the loudest guy in the locker room. I found him annoying, but he was surprisingly calm when he was playing.

  After making a series of dribbles that didn't go anywhere, he made a back pass to a Defensive Midfielder who moved up to form a triangle between us.

  The DM passed it back to me, and I moved as if I was about to make a pass to the winger again.

  That was just a trick. While looking at the winger, I chipped it ahead to Mitsurugi.

  He controlled the pass even if it was slightly off the mark. He shot me an annoyed look but did his job in holding the ball anyway.

  He was holding the ball up, making the buzz cut guy come up to contest him.

  While Mitsurugi was holding the ball using that strength of his…

  "[Lurk]..."

  I hid my presence from everyone else.

  Cutting behind Mitsurugi and the buzz cut boy, I made an overlapping run and deactivated [Lurk], raising my hand up to Mitsurugi.

  "Oi, pass, pass…"

  His eyes lit up in recognition and made a pass to me.

  Since he knew my control sucked, he made sure to make it a gentle pass without much spin.

  I was wide open, anyway, so I was able to control the ball successfully.

  "[Escape]."

  I sped myself up from the frontline who was chasing after me.

  They didn't know that the effect of [Escape] would decrease if they stopped chasing after me.

  The opposing backline moved in position, stopping me and the wingers from developing any plays.

  "Let's try this out…"

  I tried out the early cross that I had been practicing since the last match.

  It turned out as one of my better passes. Maybe I perform better when it counts?

  The early cross went sailing over the heads of the midfielders and ended up in the possession of the Left Back who joined the attack.

  The Left Back did a one-two with the Left Winger to free himself and moved up the side, looking for a cross.

  I used [Lurk] again to escape notice and made a diagonal cut along the center.

  "I'm open."

  The Left Back was surprised to see me, but crossed the ball to me as soon as he did.

  I tried to control the ball with my chest.

  "Ah."

  But I accidentally knocked it away from my reach.

  "...We're working on your ball control even more, Satou!"

  Mitsurugi ran up and managed to get possession of the ball that I almost lost.

  The buzz cut was hot on his trail, trying to tackle him.

  "I won't let you dribble it up, Mitsurugi!"

  "You can't stop me!"

  While everyone was paying attention to the Ace vs. Ace standoff…

  I used [Lurk] again to hide my presence.

  Once I was in the middle of both the opposing defense, I raised my hand and deactivated [Lurk].

  Mitsurugi recognized the play.

  He passed the ball to me, this time close to my feet, so I could control it.

  "...?! Where did he come from?!"

  I could just turn around and shoot the ball, but I wasn't confident in my finishing at all.

  Instead, I let the defenders converge around me, before passing it to the Right Winger who made a smart cut towards the goal.

  I made a pass from a holding position and found the cutting winger.

  The Right Winger controlled my pass and shot it away from the goalkeeper's dive.

  My teammates crowded around us and the audience went wild.

  "The last game wasn't a fluke! That new CAM is amazing!"

  "Having Mitsurugi drop back deeper as a False 9… That midfielder really understands the formation's strengths really well…"

  "If only he was a bit more attractive, I'd ask for his number after the game…"

  The audience were saying things that were pissing me off.

  Why could I hear what the audience was saying, anyway?

  Once the team dispersed to go back to play, Mitsurugi said,

  "Oi… You keep using your skills…"

  "It's fine, it's fine. I mean, you're likely using some passive skills to bolster your athleticism, anyway."

  "They're passive skills, I can't help it! But you keep using active skills over and over!"

  He had a point.

  Once we had a 1-0 lead, we transitioned to defense and didn't let the opponent score the entire match.

  All your 'Physical' stats increased by +2!

  With that boost, all my 'Physical' stats were that of an average person's now.

  Most importantly, my 'Attractiveness' stat was finally at the 50s range…

  I went to the audience and sought out girls who might be interested in the new me.

  "Sorry… You need to be at least a 7/10 for me to consider you… you're more like a 5/10…"

  So that's how it's graded, huh?

  Part 2

  With the game over and done with, I tried to head home right away.

  "Oi, Satou, wait up!"

  Only for Mitsurugi to stop me as I was on my way out the school gate.

  "...What is it?"

  "Erm… Well… I have a skill called [Ally Reading]… And it let me see the 'condition' you have…"

  "..."

  Ah, this guy saw the 'Traumatized' condition and assumed that I was in some kind of rough spot.

  "J-Just to let you know, Satou! Um… I know we're not exactly that close, but… If you're going through something, you can talk to me!"

  This was incredibly awkward.

  "No, no, it's not what you think…"

  He shook his head and placed his hand on my shoulder.

  "You don't need to tough it out, Satou. If something's bothering you, it's better to tell someone about it."

  What kind of sappy Hurt/Comfort scenario is this?

  I could just lie to him, but I didn't really want to do that to someone who was genuinely concerned about me.

  "Fine, I'll tell you, but I can't tell you all the details."

  "That's fine with me."

  "...Let's just say that I almost had an intimate moment with a girl… But I realized midway through that I didn't really want to do it."

  "I see… Um… D-Did Rin-san insist on doing it even after you said no? She didn't seem the type, but…"

  "Ah? No, it's not about her."

  "It's not?! Satou, how many girls do you have?!"

  He kept having all these misunderstandings.

  "Don't speculate!"

  It would be hell if he found out it was Aqua.

  "A-Alright. Sorry. It's none of my business, anyway."

  "And yet you're bugging me to talk about my problems…"

  "This and that are different!"

  We ended up having to sit on a bench near the school. Mitsurugi bought me some juice from a vending machine, then gestured for me to keep talking. I said,

  "At first, I was all set to do it, but I guess I kinda lost interest midway through…"

  "I see… Then, did the girl insist and… do something you weren't comfortable with?"

  "No, not really. I told her to buzz off."

  "...I-I see."

  In his eyes, I could tell that he was thinking this was one messed up relationship.

  Well, he wasn't that far off.

  "And what made you lose interest in this girl?"

  "She's hot, but she's about as intelligent as a summer ant, and at least those things have some kind of middling purpose in their natural habitat."

  "S-Satou, that's no way to speak about women!"

  "Ahh… You're right… Talking about this is making me feel better…"

  "I feel like I helped the wrong person! I should talk to the girl instead!"

  Your 'Traumatized' condition has been removed!

  "Thanks Mitsurugi… You really helped me out a lot."

  "...I'm kinda regretting it now, though."

  After solving my problem, Mitsurugi left me alone.

  Your bond with Mitsurugi Kyouya has deepened!

  Mitsurugi Kyouya (Soccer Club Ace), Bond Rank: 4

  At Rank 4, Mitsurugi Kyouya will view you as a teammate who he can rely on and talk about personal problems with. He will gladly do favors for you if you help him get closer with Aqua. He will give you tips when it comes to the dungeon if you ask, even if he's busy. Even though he thinks that you're kind of scummy, he is starting to see you as a friend that he can confide in. Staying on the soccer team and working hard in practice will deepen your bond with him.

  Bond Reward: You learn the [Signature Weapon] skill!

  [Signature Weapon] Skill Rank: 1, Passive Skill

  Assign one of the weapons in your inventory as your 'Signature Weapon'. This weapon gains +5 durability. This weapon won't be destroyed even if it falls below 0 'Durability', but you can't use it again until you fix it.

  This guy keeps giving useful rank-up rewards…

  Also, it was embarrassing as hell that I was actually getting closer to him.

  Even though he was a pretty boy normie…

  I chose Chunchunmaru as my signature weapon.

  Even though it had a weird name, I was becoming rather fond of it.

  Part 3

  After that, I headed back home, no longer dreading seeing Aqua.

  I found her lazing around on the sofa again.

  "I'm home…"

  "Ah… It's that guy who got cold feet last night."

  She immediately brought it up.

  "Hmph… I guess I was backed up or something. I'll never make that mistake again."

  "You lost your once in a lifetime chance, Kazuma! Even though a beautiful goddess like me was willing to help you out…"

  "Would a goddess even perform lewd acts for some money?"

  "...It's called charity! I was willing to receive your donation, and in exchange, I was willing to help you out!"

  What a stupid excuse.

  "By the way, Kazuma, I sensed some kind of intruder last night…"

  By intruder, did she mean…?

  "I actually set up a holy barrier around this house to prevent intruders from coming in. Praise me!"

  "So it was your fault?! Why did you put up a stupid barrier around the house?! Ahh… You always mess things up!"

  I was wondering why the succubus never entered my room. It was Aqua who did that…

  "Why are you mad at me?! I was only protecting our home?!"

  "Well…"

  I couldn't tell her about the succubus at all, especially with how she reacted negatively to smelling a devil's scent on me.

  It probably had to do with her being a goddess.

  If I told her about the Succubus Shop, she might go down there and exorcise everyone.

  "I-It's inconvenient! Tell me next time if you do something like that!"

  "I don't get it! Even though I've been so nice to Kazuma recently, you don't appreciate my efforts at all!"

  I suppose in her perspective, she was just protecting me and my family. She even tried to help me out when she thought I was backed up last night…

  "..."

  Wasn't Aqua being rather good to me?

  "Listen, Aqua…"

  "Forget it! You're really ungrateful, Kazuma! Don't talk to me for a while!"

  Warning! Your relationship with Aqua has reached a stalling point! You cannot rank-up your relationship with Aqua until a reconciliation condition is met! Additionally, saying the wrong thing will make your bond rank with her decrease!

  After getting a warning message like that from my phone, I decided not to push things.

  If I said the wrong thing, it could ruin things between us.

  I respected her wishes and went upstairs to my room, leaving her alone in the living room.

  …I never thought that I'd actually feel bad over getting into a fight with Aqua.

  All this time, I was treating her like she was just a dumbass who wouldn't leave me alone.

  Even though our bond was progressing, I was still treating her like the selfish goddess from before.

  The fact that she was a goddess made me treat her like she wasn't human.

  She was just a normal girl, in the end, even with all the divinity stuff.

  She liked to eat snacks, watch TV and liked to drink things that went 'shuwa, shuwa'.

  She could even get caught up in a horny mood and offer to do lewd things for a guy she trusted.

  That was essentially what happened last night, right?

  Even though I didn't want to admit it to myself.

  …In the perspective of a normal girl, she had her advances rejected the previous night, then got yelled at for protecting the same guy who rejected her.

  Maybe I'm the asshole?

  Your 'Intuition' has increased by +1!

  Damn this app!

  …

  …

  Later that night, I went out into the red-light district.

  I used [Lurk] to hide from cops, who would question a high school student like me for hanging around in the red-light district.

  After sneaking around, I made it to the Succubus Shop.

  Once I opened the door, the Receptionist Succubus who helped me last time saw me and hurried over.

  "Kazuma-sama! I'm sorry for yesterday! W-We sent a rather inexperienced succubus to assist you last night and she failed her task! She even got discovered by someone in your home… This is unforgivable!"

  "Ah, no… It's my fault because I didn't tell you that I had an Arch-Priest roommate…"

  "An Arch-Priest?! Such a rare advanced class… That explains it…"

  "So, yeah, I just wanted to clear the misunderstanding. I'll go now…"

  "Wouldn't Kazuma-sama like to try out our service free of charge? To make up for the mistake last time… Of course, we'll also give you a refund for yesterday."

  "..."

  Since I didn't get any action last night, I was suffering from a major case of blue balls.

  "Ah, well, like I said, my house isn't safe…"

  "Then please take a nap in our break room! The succubus in charge of you last night will assist you!"

  "..."

  How could I refuse such an offer?

  "I'll be in your care."

  "Please follow me!"

  She led me to the back, where the succubus living quarters were.

  I got turned on from seeing all kinds of sexy succubi in casual clothes, taking their break.

  The lewd costumes they wore when working were hot, too, but the gap of seeing such erotic creatures wearing pajamas and other casual wear was even more of a turn on.

  "Maybe you should have something like a casual day when you don't wear uniforms…"

  I suggested this to the Receptionist Succubus.

  "Ah… Perhaps that would please the customers! We'll definitely consider it!"

  After receiving my suggestion, she gestured to the break room and said,

  "I will call her to this room. Please wait here, Kazuma-sama…"

  I nodded and entered the room.

  It was a simple room with not a lot of decorations. There was a plain desk with writing materials on it, as well as a dresser by the wall.

  I went up to the dresser and tried opening it to see if there were some underwear inside…

  "Um… K-Kazuma-sama… I'm here…"

  I heard a voice beyond the door.

  I took my hand away from the drawer and used [Versatile Actor] to make my voice cooler.

  "Come in…"

  "Wah… W-What a cool voice…! Oh…"

  There was a note of disappointment in her voice when she opened the door and saw me standing there. Perhaps she was thinking that the voice didn't match the face.

  She was a rather petite, young-looking succubus. I knew better, since legends say that devils are immortal beings who have lived for centuries, even eons.

  She had light pink hair and a cute heart-shaped tail that nervously swayed behind her.

  "Um… You can just call me Rorisa! I'm so sorry for what happened last night, Kazuma-sama!"

  She bowed deeply to me.

  "No, it's fine… It was my fault for not giving you a warning…"

  "T-That was truly a powerful barrier… Kazuma-sama is lucky to have such a talented Arch-Priest as a companion."

  I didn't really want to think about my strained relationship with Aqua and changed the subject.

  "I was told you'll help me directly this time?"

  "Yes! Normally, we go to the client's home since it's more convenient for them, but that isn't the case for Kazuma-sama. After filling the form out again, Kazuma-sama can go to sleep on that bed and I can help you achieve the perfect lewd dream right away!"

  Having an innocent looking girl like her talking about lewd dreams…

  What a wonderful gap.

  I took the form from her and went to the desk to write.

  "..."

  Although, it was rather hard with her looking over my shoulder.

  In more ways than one.

  "Um… Some privacy, please…"

  "But… I'll end up reading it anyway."

  Fair point.

  While trying not to blush, I wrote my request on the form.

  "Ah… I see… I can certainly do that!"

  Thankfully, she didn't make any comments about my request.

  After handing the form over to Rorisa, I went to the bed and laid down.

  It took a few minutes, but I was eventually able to fall asleep.

  Part 4

  "...I get it, Kazuma. You're so backed up that you need a helping hand, huh?"

  When I opened my eyes again, I was back in my room, with Aqua smiling at me.

  The request I asked for…

  …Was a continuation of last night.

  A part of me was curious. What if I didn't stop her?

  Did I really find Aqua that repulsive, or did I just massively overreact from finding out that it wasn't a dream?

  I looked at the dream version of Aqua and gave her a gentle smile that I could never give her in real life.

  "If you don't mind helping me out, sure."

  She blinked in surprise.

  "Y-You're surprisingly gentle this time, Kazuma… Do you really want it this much?!"

  I couldn't help but chuckle. Since this was based on my memories, even the dream version of Aqua reacted like her normal self.

  A girl I could laugh with… I had to admit that Aqua's antics were amusing at times.

  Did that mean that I felt some kind of romantic feelings for her? I wasn't really sure about that.

  But seeing these sides of her, even if it was just a dream…

  I started to see Aqua as a girl. Just a little bit.

  I took my pajama bottoms down, leaving me in my boxers. I sensed Aqua staring at me as I undressed. Even though it was just a dream, I felt my heart drumming against my chest.

  She was blushing, too. I didn't expect her to actually feel embarrassed. Was this how she'd actually act in real life, or was this just my imagination forcing an image on her?

  My curiosity kept increasing. Eventually, I managed to get my boxers down.

  "...Well… It's bigger than I thought it'd be."

  She said, looking at my member in surprise.

  A better reaction than I expected.

  Or was that just my own ego forcing this dream copy to react this way?

  I shook my head, trying not to compare the dream version from the real version.

  In the end, this was just a fantasy, a way to deal with the opportunity I missed last night.

  It was kind of stupid. Even if it was just Aqua, a girl was offering to take care of my sexual needs, yet I rejected her.

  The fact that I didn't just go along with the situation… It was probably a defense mechanism, an attempt to hide my own embarrassment and lack of experience with such things.

  Even if this was a dream… I wanted to train my virgin self to get used to such scenarios.

  With those thoughts in mind, I watched as dream Aqua reached down to wrap her right hand around my member.

  "...!"

  Even if it was just a dream… It really felt like a girl was touching me.

  "I can't believe I'm actually doing this with Kazuma…"

  That condescending hesitation… It felt like something she'd say.

  "You accepted the money after all! It's too late!"

  I replied appropriately.

  After getting used to the feel of my shaft around her hand, she started slowly rubbing it, pumping up and down.

  I couldn't help but grunt. It felt way different from jerking off alone. Her hand was soft and her fingers were delicate. And she was surprisingly gentle.

  I looked at Aqua. Despite what I thought about her personality, she was still a beautiful being who surpassed the mortal standard of beauty.

  Such a beautiful girl was jerking me off…

  Why the hell did I reject her in real life?!

  The feeling of her hand, seeing her gorgeous face so close to me as she looked down at my member, the knowledge that this otherworldly beauty was willingly giving me a handjob…

  …With a look of concentration in her eyes, she wanted me to feel good.

  "Hnnnnngh!"

  I couldn't handle it and let out long ropes of seed, which landed all over her hands and face.

  Was I able to shoot that much, that far, normally? Was this just the effect of the dream, or would getting a handjob from Aqua actually let me shoot out like that, even in reality?

  While I was having such random thoughts, I came down from my climax, watching through half-lidded eyes Aqua's shocked reaction at me spraying her all over with my seed.

  "E-Ewww! You should have warned me at least, Kazuma! It's all over me!"

  Covering such a beautiful girl with my seed…

  I actually missed out on such a rare chance.

  …

  …

  When I woke up in the Succubus Shop's break room, I saw that I was wearing a different set of pants.

  "Um… Your pants got all sticky and wet… I cleaned it up and gave Kazuma-sama a new pair of pants!"

  Exciting things happened to me in reality as well, it seemed.

  Too bad I missed out on it.

  "...I didn't think it'd feel that good."

  Rorisa smiled and said,

  "Are you talking about the dream service, or… your particular request?"

  I blushed and sat up.

  "Thanks for that… Erm… I suppose I'll see you again when I come next time."

  What a poor choice of words.

  "I'm looking forward to it! I hope we get along from now on!"

  Rorisa showed me a happy smile while seeing me out of the shop.

  While I was heading out into the night, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

  I hurriedly took it out, hoping it was from Aqua.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  You developed a bond with the Rookie Succubus, Rorisa!

  Rorisa (Rookie Succubus), Bond Rank: 1

  At Rank 1, Rorisa will see you as a kind customer who forgave her even when she screwed things up. She thinks that it's cute how you're dishonest about your growing feelings towards your housemate. Continually using the dream service will deepen your bond with her.

  …This girl had some serious misunderstandings about me!

  What was that about growing feelings?!

  Part 5

  "Huh? You actually want to go to school, Kazuma?"

  My father was surprised when I stopped him from calling the school to give me a day-off on Saturday.

  After that dream I had of Aqua, I couldn't possibly spend the rest of the day alone with her.

  She was oddly perceptive at times. She'd definitely notice, somehow.

  At the same time, I didn't want to just walk around idly in the city.

  I thought about going to that Wiz Magic Item Store that I've been meaning to go to, but I wanted to save my money for the date with Rin.

  Even with everything happening around Aqua, I didn't want to miss my chance at getting closer with Rin.

  Especially since I felt firsthand how good it actually was to be with a girl…

  There was no way I'd miss any more chances.

  "Kazuma… I'm so proud of you! You're really taking school seriously, huh?!

  My father got the wrong idea, though.

  On my way to school…

  "Senpai? Ah, what a surprise! I normally don't see you here on Saturday!"

  "Ah, well… I'm feeling better this week…"

  "I heard you did well in the game yesterday, too! I'm impressed! Sorry, I wanted to watch, but I was on-duty at the library after school…"

  "It's fine, it's fine. Most of the action happened only in the first several minutes, anyway."

  The rest of the game, after the goal, we switched to a purely defensive formation. It was honestly quite boring, playing keep away.

  "I'm excited for the movie tomorrow! You got the receipt for the e-ticket I bought, right?"

  "Ah, yeah. Thanks…"

  I was planning to impress her by buying tickets for her, but she already bought and reserved a seat for the both of us.

  "Sorry if I went ahead and bought them ahead of time. I'm just so excited for it!"

  "It's fine. Ah, but you'll have to let me treat you to lunch afterwards."

  "You got yourself a deal!"

  Your 'Charisma' and 'Attractiveness' increased by +1!

  Thankfully, I said the right thing.

  I was getting better with the whole flirting thing as my stats increased.

  I'd prefer it if they gave me dialogue options, though. Like in an eroge.

  …Although I suppose that would take the fun out of having a normal conversation.

  After splitting off from Rin, I went through the school day like normal.

  During lunchtime, I overheard my classmates talking.

  "Hey, the mystery sandwich event is on now. Let's go to the cafeteria!"

  "Don't bother… I heard you need a lot of 'Luck' in order to get the rare sandwich…"

  I witnessed an actual NPC conversation in real life.

  I followed the obvious plot hook and headed over to the cafeteria.

  The place was filled with students trying to get the rare sandwich.

  Since I never went to school on Saturdays, I was missing out on this event.

  I lined up and bought the mystery bread. It was carefully wrapped to not show any hint as to what was inside.

  When I took off the wrapping…

  Congratulations! You got a rare Katsu Sando'!

  Deluxe Katsu Sandwich - Food (Rare)

  This chicken cutlet sandwich is sought after by many students during the mystery sandwich event, but only a lucky few get it. Enjoy the privilege of this luxurious sandwich… Although no one really knows what makes it so luxurious. Eating this sandwich will double the EXP you gain in the next hour.

  Sells for: 10,000 yen

  …It sold for the same amount as the white panties.

  The EXP bonus seemed nice, but…

  I sold the sandwich for 10,000 yen.

  Unlike the white panties, this so-called deluxe sandwich didn't have any value to me aside from its effect.

  …

  …

  "Oh, Satou… You're actually here for Saturday practice."

  Mitsurugi said, when he saw me showing up.

  I noticed him taking a long look at me. He was probably using the [Ally Reading] skill to see if I had any conditions again…

  "Oi, stop staring."

  "Ah… My bad."

  Speaking of that skill…

  "By the way, how come I never unlocked that [Ally Reading] skill?"

  "...Maybe because you lack empathy towards other people."

  "Hah? Say that again, bastard!"

  "See what I mean?!"

  Maybe I was a bit mean to other people…

  Which reminded me about Aqua.

  I shook my head, trying not to think about that.

  This time, Mitsurugi wanted me to work on my ball control.

  Not only controlling the ball with my feet, but controlling the ball with my chest and my head.

  "If you're going to have me play the False 9 position on occasion, that means that you'll have to play as the Center Forward, Satou. On occasion."

  He kept saying 'on occasion', as if I wanted to take the striker spot away from him.

  "I don't care about being the striker, or anything. Besides, that play only worked because that buzz cut rival of yours had a hard on for you."

  "Why are you so crude, Satou…"

  He didn't deny it, though.

  Regardless, he had me focus on all types of ball control skills.

  Your 'Dexterity' and 'Creativity' increased by +1!

  Trying out all kinds of different ball control improved my 'Creativity' as well.

  Part 6

  After practice, I had a decision to make.

  Should I just bite the bullet and come back home, and face the awkwardness of having to see Aqua?

  I also had a lot of money, now. I could check out that Wiz Magic Item Store…

  Taking out the Service Locator app, I followed the directions to the store.

  Even though the store was in a busy part of town, looking through the windows, I saw that there weren't any customers inside.

  I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, since it was likely a store meant to serve app users like myself. That meant the general populous wouldn't just wander in.

  When I entered the store, I saw that there was no one manning the counter. I went up to it and rang the bell.

  "...A-Ah… A customer…"

  "...!"

  I saw a beautiful woman with wavy brown hair hanging down her shoulders. She wore purple robes that accentuated her very well endowed chest.

  While I was admiring her looks, I noticed the deathly pale skin she had, and the way she was walking over, as if she was about to collapse.

  In fact, her presence almost felt frail, as if she was about to fade away.

  "S-Should I call the ambulance?!"

  I said, running over to help her.

  "N-No, it's fine… Please just hand me that bottle of water and sugar…"

  I looked over to the counter and saw the bottle.

  Needing sugar… Was she diabetic?

  Knowing how serious that condition was, I rushed over and gave her the bottle. She hurriedly drank it down.

  Color returned to her skin somewhat, although she still looked very pale.

  "Thank you so much…! My presence was very weak… It's a good thing I got all my calories for the day after drinking that water and sugar!"

  What kind of insane diet was she doing?

  After drinking from the bottle, she took her place behind the counter. She smiled at me and said,

  "Welcome to Wiz's Magic Item Store! I'm Wiz! How can I help you?"

  She was acting as if that whole near death experience didn't happen.

  Also, what kind of name was 'Wiz'? Was she a foreigner, like Darkness? She sure looked like one.

  "Well… Just making sure, but you sell magic items to app users, right?"

  "That's right! I sell some things I got from exploring the dungeon!"

  Looking at her robes… She was probably a mage of some sort.

  "Alright… Well, I'm on a bit of a budget. Can you show me your most affordable item?"

  "Of course! This is a magic item I got from one of the low level floors."

  She dug around behind the counter and took out a ring.

  I held it and examined the ring.

  "What does it do?"

  "This is the 'Ring of Invisibility'! Wearing this ring will make the user invisible!"

  "Ohh! That's really useful! How much is it?!"

  "Since you helped me out earlier, I'll give you a discount!"

  "I appreciate that!"

  She took out a calculator and held it out to me.

  It said 50,000,000 yen.

  "...Um, I think you made a mistake there."

  There seemed to be a few extra zeroes.

  "No, this is the right amount…"

  "You said you got this from a low level floor… Which one exactly?"

  "I got it from Floor 50!"

  Was that considered a low level floor?!

  Beginners will die instantly if they go there!

  "T-This is too expensive for me… You said it was your cheapest item, right?"

  "Y-Yes… Um… Oh, would you like to try it on?! Maybe if you see how effective it is, you'll change your mind!"

  "Oh, sure…"

  "Ah, just keep in mind that if you put it on, you'll be permanently invisible, even if you take the ring off."

  "Why did you tell me to put it on?!"

  I placed the ring on the counter, after I almost placed it around my finger.

  "S-Sorry! I didn't think that you'd hate being invisible…!"

  "...Let me guess. Something about my face made you believe that I'd want to be invisible forever, so I can sneak into the women's baths all I want, huh?"

  "W-Well…"

  She weakly chuckled and avoided my gaze.

  Should I just get surgery on my face?

  "...If this is your cheapest item, I guess I can't afford anything. Later."

  "Please, wait?!"

  She grabbed my wrist before I could leave the store.

  The way she was bending over the counter, with her chest hanging down as she reached over to grab me…

  "I'm listening."

  I said, while eyeing her chest.

  "F-For some reason, my business isn't doing that well! Even though I have all these powerful magic items in the store… No one is willing to buy them!"

  "It's not that they're not willing… They just can't."

  Mitsurugi seemed pretty high level, but I doubted he could afford this ring.

  If he had that kind of money laying around, he wouldn't bother going to school.

  "...What do you want me to do? I'm only willing to spend, at most, 10,000 yen on a magic item. Your cheapest item is worth 5,000 times my budget."

  "I-I can see how that's a problem…! Ah! Um… If you have a weapon you want me to enchant, I can do that!"

  "Oh?"

  I was about to force myself out of her grip, but she caught my attention.

  "An enchantment… What are you thinking of?"

  "Well, I can increase the sharpness of a sword, for example. That way, it will do more damage!"

  "Sounds interesting… How much are you charging?"

  "I can do this service for the low price of 50,000 yen!"

  "Good luck with your future endeavors."

  I turned around to leave.

  "P-Please wait! A-Ah! Um… Customer-san…"

  "I'm Kazuma."

  "Then… Kazuma-san! You said your budget is 10,000 yen, right? I'll do it! I'll enchant your weapon for 10,000 yen!"

  "That will do."

  After successfully bargaining, I took out the katana from my inventory.

  "Um… 'Chunchunmaru'...?"

  Wiz was confused when she saw the name of the weapon.

  When I didn't elaborate, she went to work on the weapon. She gathered a bunch of crystals and other materials and placed it around the weapon.

  "...[Enchant Weapon]!"

  She held her hands over the sword laid on the countertop. A blue light descended on the sword, making the materials disappear along with it as the light faded away.

  "It's done! You now have an enchanted weapon, Kazuma-san!"

  "Oh! Thanks, Wiz!"

  I grabbed the sword and scanned it with the app.

  "Huh?"

  I looked at the description closely.

  This weapon is enchanted. It can emit a dim light in a 5 foot radius.

  "Wiz… What kind of useless enchantment is this?!"

  I said, staring at the enchantment she gave me.

  "B-But… It's useful in the dungeon because there's lots of dark places, especially when you go to floor 50 and beyond!"

  "I'm currently still exploring floor 2! Not only that, I already have the [Night Vision] skill! This is useless to me! All it'll do is prevent me from sneaking up on monsters because it's glowing!"

  It wasn't even a strong light, it was a dim light, too. It's beyond useless.

  "W-Wah! I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

  "What happened to sharpening the blade?! You said that you can make my weapon do extra damage!"

  "W-Well… You only paid 10,000 yen, so…"

  I understood why this store was empty.

  I had her take away the enchantment and give me back my money.

  "Um… Disenchanting it will actually cost about 2,000 yen."

  "For not telling me that you're using a different enchantment than advertised, I hope you'll disenchant it free of charge."

  "Y-Yes… I suppose I can do that…"

  Seeing her with teary eyes made me pity her.

  "...But I guess I can give you a tip."

  "...! Really?! Thank you so much!"

  I ended up giving her a 1,000 yen tip.

  Even if she was a bad shopkeeper, she was still an incredibly beautiful woman. Her looks swayed my opinion of her.

  After I left the store, I checked my phone and saw a new notification.

  You have formed a bond with the Lich Shopkeeper, Wiz!

  Wiz (Lich Shopkeeper), Bond Rank: 1

  At Rank 1, Wiz sees you as a cheap customer who doesn't buy any of her items. While she is grateful for the tip, and you helping her feed herself, she wishes that you will actually buy the items from her shop. Shopping in the store will deepen your bond with her.

  …Wait, did that say 'Lich'?

  No wonder why she considered floor 50 a low level floor.

  Part 7

  Since I wanted to delay going home as much as possible, I headed over to the dungeon.

  On the first floor, there were signs all around, written by Chris telling people not to hunt the monsters yet, as they were in the middle of repopulating.

  With such cute handwriting, I doubted that there was anyone who'd ignore the signs.

  Just as I was thinking that…

  I saw a certain girl in overalls, carrying a bucket.

  "...Did you not learn your lesson?!"

  I went up to her and took the bucket away from her.

  Only to see it filled with live creatures.

  Megumin turned around and screamed.

  "A-A pervert is…!"

  "Oi… I'm not gonna do anything to you…"

  "Ah, sorry… I thought it was some pervert who wanted to assault me… Oh, no, it's Kazuma!"

  She started running away.

  I caught up to her and stopped her from running.

  Maybe I really did need to get face surgery.

  "Megumin… What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're still hunting critters after what happened last time…"

  "I learned my lesson. As you can see, these ones are live. I captured them outside and I'm bringing them here to feed the monsters."

  As she said that, she took the bucket back and dumped the critters she gathered onto the dungeon floor.

  After seeing that she wasn't up to no good, I let her go.

  "What are you doing here, Kazuma?"

  "I'm just here to get some EXP on the second floor."

  "I see. Let me come with you."

  "No way."

  "Can't you see that I learned my lesson?! Besides, if you really think I'm up to no good, it's in your best interest if you can keep an eye on me."

  "I guess that makes sense."

  She convinced me to let her tag along as I went up to the second floor.

  When we passed by what was formerly the Giant Toad area, Megumin went silent. She hadn't gotten over the bad memories from last time.

  The area was already fixed, although the grass hadn't begun to grow yet. The walls were repaired by the dungeon and we could walk through the area without having to worry about tripping over rubble.

  After we made it through the area, Megumin let out a breath and stood a bit taller.

  Once we reached the door to the second floor, I led the way while Megumin took out her staff from her inventory.

  "Are you actually planning on hitting monsters with that?"

  I asked while looking at the staff.

  "I'm relying on you to give me the last hit."

  "You do realize that I came here to raise my own levels, right?"

  "I'm relying on you to give me the last hit."

  She just repeated herself.

  As we were moving, I sensed a monster ahead.

  Looking around the corner, I saw a vaguely humanoid creature with rotting flesh. It was almost like a zombie, except there was some kind of sickly, green aura emanating from its body.

  It used its freakishly long limbs and claws to tear apart the carcass of an unidentifiable creature, bringing the torn flesh into its mouth to feed on it.

  [Enemy Reading] told me that it was a 'Ghoul'.

  Using [Lurk], I hid my presence before taking out my shortbow.

  Then I used [Snipe], aiming for its head.

  The arrow pierced its head, making runny, green blood pour out from the side of its temple.

  I expected it to fall over, but it turned its head to look at me, sensing my presence after I revealed myself with the attack.

  "...Urgggh."

  It let out a low groan before dashing towards me with its long limbs.

  "It's not dead yet?! It was a clear headshot!"

  I said, while running with Megumin following me.

  "...I guess it's an undead of some sort. It won't die unless you drop its hit points to 0."

  "What a pain in the ass!"

  Since I didn't have any problems last time I was on the second floor, I thought that I could handle the monsters there.

  But last time, I had Chris and Darkness with me.

  Even though Darkness couldn't hit anything to save her life, she could also tank everything and even relished the pain.

  …Come to think of it, she even survived the lethal dose of poison those slimes gave her.

  "Kazuma… You were so reliable last time. Why are we just running away?"

  "Stop talking, keep running!"

  Once we passed a sharp corner in the maze, I turned around and faced my palm to the ground.

  "[Create Water]! [Freeze]!"

  After creating a puddle of water, I immediately froze it.

  "Urrggghk!"

  The ghoul couldn't stop in time and slipped on the ice.

  Inertia made it slide all the way against the wall, slamming against it and halting its movements.

  I took out Chunchunmaru and dealt the final strike, beheading the Ghoul.

  As we watched its ugly head fall off its body, Megumin said,

  "You were supposed to give me the final blow."

  "...Those who didn't contribute should shut up."

  I gained 15 EXP from that encounter.

  After reluctantly harvesting the Ghoul for parts, I found that its claws were a useful material.

  Ghoul Claws (Common)

  Claws that can be made into arrows, spears, daggers or traps. Has a Paralyzing effect that will go against the target's 'Willpower' stat (30% effective).

  Sells for: 1,000 yen

  …It would have been incredibly dangerous if I got hit by those claws.

  "I see that Chunchunmaru is serving you well."

  Megumin said, nodding in approval.

  "...I still haven't forgiven you for that."

  "I believe the name suits its owner."

  "You haven't even seen it yet!"

  The dream Aqua gave it a good rating!

  "That said, Kazuma, next time you should let me have the killing blow."

  "If you have the chance, go for it, but I'm not risking my life just to let you leech EXP from me."

  When I said 'risking my life', Megumin's demeanor changed. She looked down at her shoes.

  "Sorry about that, Kazuma."

  I sighed and said,

  "...I'll let you have the next one."

  "Thank you..."

  There was an awkward silence as we proceeded to explore the second floor.

  Like with the first floor, I took out my notebook and drew a detailed map of the second floor.

  There were much more branches and forks on the second floor than the first floor. It was easy to get lost.

  While we were walking along, [Trap Detection] gave me a warning. I held my hand out to stop Megumin and looked down.

  There was a trip wire ahead of us.

  [Enemy Detection] activated at the same time and told me that there were ten threats hiding just ahead.

  However, when I looked at the area ahead, I didn't see any monsters there.

  When I told Megumin, she said,

  "Maybe they're invisible?"

  "Maybe."

  Since it was a possibility, I used [Create Earth] to make a handful of dirt in my hand.

  Then I used [Wind Breath] to spray the dirt all over the area.

  If there were invisible enemies, then the dirt would cling to them and show their outlines.

  While that didn't happen, I noticed something else.

  The gust of wind caused the dirt on the walls to fall away.

  I noticed right away that there were panels in the walls, originally camouflaged by the dirt.

  The panels had hinges on one side, like a trapdoor.

  Furthermore, I noticed claw marks around the panels, likely a result of the monsters constructing this trap, scratching the walls.

  "I see… It's like that…"

  I examined the wire trap and saw that it led to one of the trapdoors. I assumed that it was meant to alert the monsters hiding within if there were intruders around.

  I took out the claws that I got from the ghouls, then started to crush them with the hilt of Chunchunmaru.

  "...What are you doing?"

  Megumin said, while watching me crushing the claws into small pieces.

  "I have a [Smithing] skill that lets me craft items… Now let me focus or this might not turn out well."

  She kept quiet while I tried to craft the trap item I had in mind.

  Thankfully, since my 'Creativity' was decently high, a blue light washed over the materials and they formed into the item I had in mind.

  "I see what you're planning now, Kazuma. You really are a cunning guy…"

  The app made sure I was reminded of that everyday.

  Very carefully, I took the newly made caltrops that were crafted from the ghoul claws. Thankfully, I was wearing gloves that protected my hands from them.

  With Megumin's help, we tossed them around the area ahead.

  Once the trap was set, Megumin and I took position, then I set off the wire trap.

  Just like I expected, I heard a loud ringing of a bell.

  The trap doors opened and the half-dog, half-human creatures known as kobolds came out jumping from the trap doors.

  "Wan! Wan, wannnn?!"

  They started barking and hollering as they landed on the paralyzing ghoul caltrops we laid out.

  None of them had a high enough willpower to resist the paralyzing effect.

  I used [Wind Breath] again to clear away the caltrops on the ground, allowing Megumin and I to safely finish the kobolds off.

  There were ten kobolds in total. If I hadn't sensed the trap, it would have likely been a lethal encounter.

  …Wasn't the jump in difficulty from floor 1 to floor 2 a bit too drastic?

  I killed 6 kobolds while Megumin killed 4.

  It was just enough EXP for me to level up.

  You have reached Level 5!

  You have gained 1 Skill Point!

  Since I still had that quest about maxing out the [Enemy Detection] skill, I went ahead and spent my skill point on it.

  [Enemy Detection] has reached its maximum rank!

  [Enemy Detection] Skill Rank: 5 (MAX), Passive Skill

  You can focus your senses to detect enemies within a 30 foot radius around you. Your 'Intuition' score (64) will go up against the enemy creature's 'Cunning' score when determining if the enemy creature is detected by you. If there is more than one enemy detected by this skill, you can determine the exact number. You can determine the threat level of enemy creatures. You can sometimes sense any form of danger, as if you have a sixth-sense, even if it's from an unexpected source.

  Quest Completed! You have maxed out [Enemy Detection]! Quest Rewards: Skill-Up Potion

  Skill-Up Potion (Super Rare)

  Drinking this potion will give you 1 skill point.

  Sells For: 50,000 yen

  …A ridiculous item just appeared!

  "Hm? What have you been staring at, Kazuma?"

  I hurriedly hid the potion in my pocket.

  "Nothing… Haha…"

  I didn't want to risk letting Megumin see this potion.

  She might steal it from me to upgrade her explosion magic power.

  After that, we gathered the weapons the kobolds were using, which were just crude, bone daggers.

  We managed to make a decent profit from them, though. I made 3,000 yen with my share of the loot.

  New Quests available!

  Kill the second floor boss! Quest Rewards: Random Loot Box

  Give Chris her panties back! Quest Rewards: +2 Speed, +2 Bravery

  Reconcile with Aqua! Quest Rewards: +2 Faith, +2 Willpower

  A series of impossible quests came out.