Ch.64 All The Members Gathered on Time

"However, please do not disclose any of my personal information to anyone."

Anyone would be scared and frightened if a complete stranger knew something about them.

You might wonder where it leaked from and thought "Are you a detective?"

At what time did you go into a coffee shop with someone, eat pasta with all your might, your mouth turning black, and then for dessert you order a vanilla shake at another bar, but you can't quite drink it and leave it for a while... No, that's not true.

Don't go investigating on your own, that's not me.

There's always a chance a friend you trust talks to another friend without your permission. Even if the person they're talking to is someone you know or a mutual friend, it's still a problem if you haven't given permission, even more so if you don't know the person.

It's not good to just give away others' personal information to a third party without their permission. The moment you do that, the trust of your friend would fall to the ground.

Going back to the point, what I want to say is exactly as I said it: please do not share this with third parties without my permission. It's that simple.

"That's obvious. I wouldn't tell without permission."

"Exactly. That would be a crime. Uhh, crime is a bit of an exaggeration, but it's close to that. I wouldn't tell on my own."

I know you two are like that.

We only became friends a few days or even hours ago, so it's too short a period to know everything. Still, I don't think they would tell anyone about it without permission. That's how I feel, and I understand that's just how they are as a person.

"Yes. Although it is only a short period of time, I have gotten to know the two of you to a certain extent , and I know that you two are not the type of people who would do something like that on your own. So this is just to make sure that you understand once again, or rather, to confirm."

"Ah, I see."

"Checking is an important thing to do, after all."

Even though it's just a verbal promise, I'm sure they'll keep it.

In particular, Sakidori Midori-san is known to be tight-lipped, as she didn't tell Mimia-san and the others that my HP and MP are merged into 1 stat. Takemaru-san is the same.

Such people are trustworthy, reassuring, and easy to talk to.

Whether or not you can build a relationship where you can rely on others and be relied on depends on whether or not the other person can do the same. Trust comes next.

"That's right. Oh, Takemaru-san and the others are already here."

A little way ahead is the Explorer's Guild, and Takemaru-san and the others are standing in front of it. They are gesturing and appear to be chatting.

"Looks like they're faster than us."

"It's about the right amount of time."

It took exactly one hour for us to separate after entering town, went to the public bath, and then meet up at the Explorer's Guild.

We didn't arrive early, but we didn't arrive late either. I'm glad we made it in time.

"Oh, have you finished your business?"

As we approached the meeting place, Takemaru-san called out to us.

"We only took a bath. We can do our own businesses after everyone has dispersed."

"I see. We also only quickly took a shower. I met Shuuto and Kaito on the way, so we went together."

"Not dirty, right?" he asks, spreading his hands out.

The protective gear he was wearing had been removed and he was now wearing clean civilian clothes. There was no trace of sweat, dust, or blood left behind immediately after the battle.

The same goes for Shuuto-san and Kaito-san.

"Yeah, you're not dirty nor do you smell. That's a good attitude for Takemaru."

"That's not a compliment, is it? Don't act like I don't bathe all the time."

"After going hunting, you always have to take care of business first, so you don't go to the bath right away, right? So I thought this is unusual for you."

"Was that so?...Hmm, I'm starting to think that was the case."

Takemaru-san can't remember what he did. Although he has questions in his head, he seems to accept that it may have been that way.

"You guys have also taken a bath, huh."

Mimia-san approaches Shuuto-san and Kaito-san to talk.

I didn't notice it because we were far away, but they both had the clean smell that comes from just taking a bath.

I'm sure Mimia-san has a similar scent, but so do I. In fact, we use the same skincare products, so I'm sure we smell exactly the same.

However, if you get used to smelling something, your nose will get used to it and you will no longer notice it, just like you don't notice your own body odor or the smell in your room.

"Yeah, Takemaru-san invited us."

"It was just down the street after leaving the weapon shop."

"I see."

Shuuto-san and Kaito-san replied to Mimia-san, but their eyes kept glancing my way.

Is there anything you're curious about?

Maybe my hair is exploding... That's not it. I try moving my hand slightly above my head, but I can't feel any hair touching it.

Hmm, I don't know.

"Are you okay?"

"What's okay... Ah, that food stall? I haven't been there."

A food stall? Is that the shop they mentioned before going our separate ways that was in that rip-off place? I think it was obanyaki?

"I told you it's okay because I'm there, right? We went to another stall."

"Oh, so you did go to the food stalls. The party is about to begin. What did you eat and how much did it cost?"

"It's a small amount, you know? Well, whatever. It's a pack of 8 takoyaki that costs me 28 Monies."

Wow, that's cheap. 28 Monies means 280 yen. That's a pretty good food stall, isn't it?

"That's... cheap. Maybe it was just a small piece."

It can be unsettling when the price is lower than what you know as common sense.

Or rather, one pack for two people? They're good friends. Maybe they took 4 each with the celebration party in mind.

"It was a normal size. 2 packs would have been too much, so we just got one and shared it between the two of us."

"Hmm, I see."

"More importantly, there's something I've been wondering- "I'm also curious" -about. Hey... I haven't said anything yet. I see that you've become good friends with Vester-san."

Is that a comedy skit? You guys are so funny.

"Eh? Ah, yeah, that's what happened. Right, Vester-san?"

Mimia-san turns her head to her right and smiles at me.

As was the case on the way here, the range of motion of the human neck is limited, so it is not possible to see directly what is on her own shoulder.

If she really want to see me, she has to move her eyes too...

"Yeah, scary- Oops, excuse me."

Sorry, that slipped out of my mouth.

It's not that Mimia-san is scary, it's just that her eye movements, or rather the way she looks at me, is scary... huh? Am I saying the same thing...?

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

〘Consumable Item: Takoyaki〙

A spherical food made by baking dough made from a mixture of flour, cabbage, and other ingredients, with an octopus placed in the middle halfway through.

It is usually eaten with mayonnaise, sauce, and bonito flakes on top. However, it varies from person to person, with some people adding green laver or dashi stock.

The filling may not always be octopus, but may also include cheese, sausages, or monster meat.

Particularly popular are the ones containing monster meat.

Items made from monster materials tend to have good buffs.

Even if there is something other than octopus inside, many stores will still call it takoyaki.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Previous | ToC | Next