Chapter 100
I got a reply from Nishino-kun.
The email listed the meeting place and time.
Normally, we should have headed straight there, but—
"Let's take a break here for now."
Saying that, I pointed to a nearby mixed-use building.
It had had no tenants since before the world changed.
I didn't sense any monsters nearby, so we might as well rest here for a while.
I still had plenty of energy left, but—
"Huff... huff... oof... haaah... haaah... urp..."
The person making those dying noises was Ichinose-san.
Her face was deathly pale, and she looked like she was about to throw up.
Yeah, I knew this would happen.
If I traveled without carrying her, of course this would happen.
Even with the 'Physical Enhancement' Skill, Ichinose-san's stats were far lower than mine and Rikka-chan's.
It had been obvious that keeping pace with us would leave her like this.
And yet—
'A-a piggyback ride? That's so embarrassing... I can't let Rikka-chan see me looking this pathetic.'
Saying that, Ichinose-san stubbornly refused my offer to carry her.
So we had to travel on foot normally.
And this was the result.
"A-are you okay, Nattsun? Are you going to throw up? Want me to rub your back?"
"I-I'm fine... huff, huff... It's no problem..."
She'd clung to her pride, only to end up looking even more pathetic.
This was Ichinose-san for you. What a hopeless girl.
...Wouldn't it have been better if I'd just carried her?
But Ichinose-san always wants to put on a strangely brave front in front of Rikka-chan...
Just as I was thinking that, Ichinose-san came over to me.
(...Sorry. From now on, please just give me a piggyback ride... urp.)
(...Yeah, yeah. Got it.)
Apparently, she had stopped being stubborn.
Good. It's nice to see her being honest.
We entered the mixed-use building.
We found a suitable room and secured a place to rest.
"This should be safe enough. Ichinose-san, get some rest."
"Yes... I'm sorry..."
Breathing heavily, Ichinose-san sat down in one of the chairs provided.
She seemed considerably better than she had a moment ago.
It was the moment we entered the building.
Could this be the effect of the Job 'Shut-In'?
I hadn't noticed it because I'd always carried her or used the motorcycle whenever we traveled outside, but perhaps 'Shut-In' imposed a penalty on outdoor activity—or simply on moving around outside?
After all, it was 'Shut-In.'
Ichinose-san had the 'Physical Enhancement' Skill, so she seemed fine moving normally, but the moment she ran or traveled a long distance, her weakness showed.
I lightly stepped on my 'Shadow.'
"Momo, come out."
"Woof!"
Momo emerged from the shadow and answered.
And of course, I took the opportunity to pet her fluffy fur, too. Heh.
"I'm going to search the inside of this building. Stay by the two of them while I'm gone."
"Woof!"
With 'Recognition Interference' active, the building should be almost completely safe, but better safe than sorry.
If anything happened, Momo would let us know.
"Search...? But Kudo-san's 'Search' didn't detect anything—"
"Just in case. Just in case. And also—"
I approached Ichinose-san and whispered softly into her ear.
(My Skill's range doesn't extend to around the rooftop. If there's anything you want to talk about with her, don't you think this is the perfect opportunity?)
(...!)
Ichinose-san's shoulders jerked at those words.
"What's wrong, Nattsun?"
"N-nothing."
I watched Ichinose-san fidget with a grin.
I was probably wearing the most disgusting expression imaginable right then.
"Well then, get plenty of rest."
(I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about, so take your time and chat.)
"Th-thank you... I... I will..."
Ichinose-san seemed to have understood the message behind my words perfectly.
Waving my hand, I left the room.
"Now then, I wonder how this will turn out..."
With that muttered, I headed for the rooftop.
After Kazuto left, only Ichinose and Rikka remained in the room.
Momo sat near the window, staring intently at the two of them without moving.
"That older guy is kind of amazing, huh?"
Rikka was the first to speak.
Sitting in an office chair, she spun around and looked toward Ichinose.
"Amazing...? What is?"
"Well, lots of things. His Level and Skills, for one, and he casually takes down monsters that would give me a hard time. Oh, but I guess Nattsun's the same way."
"Huh?"
"Because Nattsun's like a completely different person when she's fighting monsters. It's like the light just drains out of her eyes, and she gets this vibe like she's about to say something like, 'I am but a single bullet.'"
"Sorry, but I don't really understand that comparison..."
"Huh? Didn't you read light novels, Nattsun?"
"Not really novels... I read manga, though."
"Oh, I see."
"Yeah."
"..."
"..."
The conversation came to a halt.
They couldn't keep it going.
Ichinose was growing anxious inside.
This was strange.
There were so many things she wanted to talk about, yet no words would come out.
They were best friends who had reunited after a year.
And they had still been at cross-purposes—actually, Ichinose had known beforehand, for 'certain reasons,' about Rikka and the cause of the bullying—and even after reuniting, they had yet to find a chance to talk calmly because of fighting monsters and traveling.
(Ugh, what do I do...? Kazuto-san went to all this trouble to set things up for us...)
No, wait. Wasn't this situation inherently too difficult for someone as socially inept as me? I mean, we'd have to talk face-to-face, right? Of course I'd be nervous. My stomach was cramping painfully, and nausea was rising in my throat. No, hang in there, me. Are you really going to embarrass yourself not only in front of Kazuto-san, but in front of your best friend too? But then what am I supposed to do? Oh, right, 'Mail.' We could talk through 'Mail.' Then the words would come pouring out... No, that's ridiculous when she's sitting right in front of me. What am I, an idiot? If only there were a 'Communication' Skill...
As this was happening, a tiny Ichinose inside her head was teary-eyed and fretting,
"...Hey, Nattsun, there's just one thing I want to ask you."
Looking over, she saw Rikka gazing at her with a serious expression.
"...What?"
Sensing something unusual in the atmosphere, Ichinose straightened her posture.
"Nattsun, after this... I mean, once you meet up with Nissy and the others, what are you going to do?"
"What do you mean...?"
"Are you going to keep traveling with them?"
"..."
Faced with that question, Ichinose fell silent for a different reason than before.
It was something she had been thinking about all along, too.
Rikka was with Ichinose and the others right now under the pretext of searching for and reuniting with her companions.
But what would happen after that was accomplished?
Would they continue traveling together?
(Probably... not.)
Ichinose shook her head inwardly.
Kazuto's and her own fighting styles were specialized for solo combat, not group battles.
They had both acted that way until they formed a party, so in a sense, it couldn't be helped.
More than anything, though, the two of them had far too many secrets they wanted to keep hidden from others.
The Item Box, a dog that used Skills, and a Slime that could mimic others.
Anyone who learned about the food in their Item Box would be desperate to get their hands on it, and many people would probably refuse to accept Momo and Aka on the grounds that they were no different from monsters and therefore dangerous.
And above all, neither she nor Kazuto was good at being one of the 'faceless masses.'
It wasn't that they disliked people; they just couldn't stand that peculiar atmosphere within a group.
The more people there were, the bolder they became.
There would surely be people who tried to force them to do things they didn't want to do.
Because they had Skills and were strong.
So the 'group' would force them to be useful to 'everyone.'
Even though they were supposed to be the weaker side.
It was something Kazuto had worried about before, too.
"...I see. So we're not going to travel together after all."
Perhaps taking her silence as agreement, Rikka's expression turned sad.
"Huh? No, Rikka-chan, it's just..."
"It's okay, it's okay. I get it. Besides, with Nattsun being so hopeless at talking to people, you'd totally stand out even after meeting up with Nissy and the others."
Rikka giggled impishly, and Ichinose felt a little irritated.
"Th-that's not true! I can—"
"You can?"
"I... If I tried, I could talk to people... normally, I think... yes."
"For someone who says that, your words sure trailed off a lot, young lady."
"Mmm!"
As Ichinose puffed out her cheeks, Rikka laughed even louder.
"That's mean, Rikka-chan!"
"Ahaha, sorry, sorry. Your reaction was just way too funny, Nattsun."
After laughing for a while, she said,
"But yeah, I get it, I get it. So basically, Nattsun would rather stay with that older guy, huh?"
"Th-that's not—how did it turn into that?"
Ichinose's face grew faintly red.
"Because it's written all over your face, Nattsun."
"Huh?"
Ichinose reflexively rubbed her face vigorously.
"Haha, you're way too easy to read, Nattsun."
"Wha—!?"
Ichinose finally realized she had been teased.
"Ahaha... I see, I see. So that's how it is with you, huh, Nattsun? ...Man, I'm jealous of that older guy. He managed to make you completely lovestruck in just a few days."
"No, 'lovestruck'...? That's not it. It's not like that—"
"Then—"
Cutting off Ichinose's words, Rikka continued.
Her serious expression made her earlier smile seem like a lie.
She looked straight at Ichinose, then clasped her hand tightly,
"—Would it be okay if I stayed with you guys as a member of your party from now on?"
"Huh...?"
Ichinose stared at Rikka with wide eyes.
She immediately realized that Rikka was serious, not joking.
"Now then, I wonder what those two are talking about..."
I muttered as I leaned my back against the rooftop fence.
I couldn't hear their conversation.
But the truth was that I could hear them even from this distance.
My Unique Skill, 'Job Enhancement.'
By using it to enhance my Skills, I could make out the conversation of the two people downstairs even from this distance.
But I deliberately chose not to.
Because that would have been an unmistakable betrayal of Ichinose-san.
Even if we were in the same party... no, precisely because we were in the same party, we had to respect rules like that.
We all had things we didn't want to talk about and things we didn't want others to hear.
If we crossed that line, we'd lose the ability to trust anyone, and no one would trust us.
That went for Momo and Aka, too.
It was ironic that rules mattered in a lawless world.
(I figure they're discussing what to do from here on out...)
Whether they would travel together after meeting up with Nishino-kun and the others, or go their separate ways.
I suspected that was what Rikka-chan was worried about.
Even on the way here, she had looked toward Ichinose-san over and over.
"Maybe she's asking Ichinose-san to join her group..."
And if Ichinose-san accepted—
"Then I'll deal with it when it happens."
Whatever conclusion Ichinose-san reached, I would respect it.
Even if it meant disbanding the party.
It would be a little... no, quite lonely, but there wasn't much to be done about that.
"Hm...?"
As I looked around through the fence, I spotted a monster.
"That's the first time I've seen that monster."
It was a zombie dressed in armor reminiscent of a Roman warrior.
Its face was hidden behind a full-face helmet, its exposed skin was red-black and rotting, and it wielded a huge shield and sword.
"Zombie Knight... no, should I call it a Death Knight?"
It was probably an evolved species of zombie.
The Death Knight was heading straight toward me.
"...Should I hunt it?"
Judging by the response from 'Danger Sense,' it was probably about as strong as a Shadow Wolf or an Orc. It didn't seem to have any companions with it, either, so it was a good target.
We had only just arranged a chance for them to talk, but it couldn't be helped.
I immediately sent a signal to Ichinose-san and the others downstairs.