Chapter 38
I left the home improvement store and walked through town.
"Hmm..."
As I walked, I thought back to the conversation between those students earlier.
The increase in SP and JP from 'Early Bloomer.'
After comparing myself with others, I realized this Skill was apparently even more of a cheat ability than I'd thought.
"I only managed to acquire it because I was lucky, but now that things have turned out this way, I really want an explanation for the Skill..."
Even after acquiring Skills and Jobs, no descriptions appear on the Status Plate.
So I have no choice but to actually acquire them and try them out, or make a vague guess based on their names.
"I guess 'Appraisal' really is necessary for getting an explanation of Skills."
'Appraisal.'
A Skill for analyzing Skills.
It made me realize once again how necessary it was.
"I don't know what the acquisition conditions are, but it seems like an advanced Skill of 'Observation.'"
When I took the 'Spy' Job, I acquired the Skill 'Observation.'
Its current Level was 4.
If I raised it to LV 10, there was probably a good chance I'd obtain 'Appraisal,' too, right?
It was only a guess, but it was worth trying.
"I need to level up my detection-type Skills, and 'Observation,' too..."
I'd gotten by on intuition until now, but 'Early Bloomer' was a 'Unique Skill' to begin with.
That alone made it different from other Skills.
I needed to learn more about this Skill.
It looked like I had more things I needed to do now.
"Whiiine?"
Momo seemed to be asking me if I was all right.
Oops, I'd gotten completely absorbed in my thoughts.
"I'm fine, Momo. Don't worry about me."
I crouched down and petted Momo's head.
"...Woof."
It sounded like Momo was replying, 'Well, if you say so.'
I couldn't help but smile wryly.
Momo was such a worrywart. How cute.
"Hm? What's that...?"
When I happened to look over, I saw a slime.
There was a trash disposal area set up beside the wall.
Several slimes were mixed in with the garbage inside it.
So they were even in places like this.
Since neither 'Danger Sense' nor 'Enemy Sense' activated, I almost overlooked them.
They weren't doing anything in particular; they were just wobbling in place.
Ah, no, looking more closely, I saw that they were gradually dissolving some of the garbage.
These guys really did eat anything.
In fantasy novels, omnivorous slimes were a standard trope, but apparently real slimes were no exception.
Hmm, what should I do?
Hunting these guys was such a hassle...
And they offered so little benefit for the effort.
"Hm?"
Looking closely, I saw one differently colored slime among them.
The other slimes were blue, but that one was red.
Could it be an upper species of slime?
I kept watching it, but the red slime didn't seem to be doing anything, either. It was just sluggishly moving around in place.
"What a strange creature..."
In a way, it was the most mysterious monster of all.
Well, I might as well leave it alone for now.
It gave little experience, and it didn't seem harmful even if I left it alone.
"Oh, right."
A little curiosity welled up, and I took some 'garbage' out of the Item Box.
Things like the plastic containers from bento boxes after I'd eaten them.
I tossed it toward the slimes.
'...'
The slime didn't react―――no, it did react.
It was enveloping the garbage and dissolving it.
...Though it was doing so incredibly slowly.
"Huh..."
I found myself staring intently at what was happening.
After about ten minutes, the slime finished eating the garbage.
It trembled, then resumed devouring the garbage in the disposal area.
"They sure eat a lot."
It felt like I was watching a giant microorganism.
Hm? What's that?
The differently colored slime was slowly coming toward me.
Neither 'Enemy Sense' nor 'Danger Sense' reacted.
Even so, I took a precaution and put some distance between us.
Momo also readied itself to fight at any moment.
≪The Red Slime is looking at you as if it wants to join your party. Will you let it join?≫
The heavenly voice echoed in my head.
"Huh?"
For a moment, I thought I had misheard it.
≪The Red Slime is looking at you as if it wants to join your party. Will you let it join?≫
The heavenly voice echoed in my head again.
I hadn't misheard it.
Seriously? Even monsters could do this?
More importantly, I guess slimes really did have 'will' after all.
The slime trembled as it looked at me... or at least, that's what it seemed to be doing.
Could it have thought I'd given it food?
"Hmm..."
But still...
Honestly, it was kind of questionable.
In web novels, having a slime join your party was a classic, but in real life, this was a little...
As I watched the red slime standing in the garbage disposal area, I thought it over.
It didn't seem harmful, but it didn't offer any particular benefits, either.
More to the point, given the nature of my Skills, wouldn't having it around actually get in the way?
'Stealth' and 'Presence Concealment' only affected me. Momo, who could hide in 'Shadow,' was the exception.
Besides, it was slow, I'd have to carry it around, and it didn't seem like it would be useful in battle.
Even if it came along, it would literally be dead weight.
I selected No in my mind.
≪Request denied.≫
'...'
I felt as if the red slime had trembled a little sadly.
I wanted to believe I was imagining it.
It was definitely my imagination.
"L-let's go, Momo. Let's look for other monsters."
"...Woof."
Yeah, I wasn't wrong.
I couldn't be wrong.
As we started walking again, my stomach growled.
"...Come to think of it, it's almost lunchtime."
When I looked at my wristwatch, it was already past noon.
"Let's take a break for now, Momo."
"Woof."
I looked for a building that might make a good place to rest.
...Maybe that one.
There was a high-rise apartment building very close by.
Turning my back on the trembling slime behind me, Momo and I headed there.
Meanwhile, on the roof of an apartment building―――
"...As expected, there are fewer monsters within sight now."
'She' muttered while looking at the city through a scope.
It was the third day since monsters had begun overflowing into the world.
She hadn't left the apartment building even once, and had spent all her time sniping from here.
Thanks to that, her Level had risen considerably, and she'd acquired plenty of points.
But she was beginning to reach the limit of what she could do here.
The number of monsters appearing within firing range had begun to decrease.
"Maybe I should head out soon..."
Considering her Job and Skills, she would be better off staying here.
But it was obvious she'd hit a ceiling if she remained here.
"I'll spend some points to strengthen my Skills and stats, then find a promising building and hole up there again..."
She could find an apartment building or skyscraper that met her Job's conditions and make it her new base.
"It'd be nice to have some allies. ...Come to think of it, I wonder if that man and his dog are still alive."
She remembered the man and Shiba Inu who had come here yesterday.
He had an interesting Skill.
In the end, she hadn't been able to speak to him and had simply left.
"...Well, he seems like a scumbag, so I guess he's probably still alive."
No, rather than a scumbag, perhaps 'desperate to stay alive' would be more accurate.
That's what she'd thought from the way he fought at the supermarket and how he reacted here.
Why did she think that?
Because she was the same.
She didn't want to die. She wanted to live.
That's why she worked to defeat monsters, raise her Level, and secure her safety.
Still, she thought.
"That dog was so cute..."
The way it had pressed close to that man and wagged its tail.
How adorable.
She wanted to pet it, bury her hands in its fluffy fur, and soothe herself.
She wasn't a cat person; she was a dog person.
Shiba Inus in particular were exactly her type.
If pets hadn't been forbidden in this apartment building, she would have kept a cute dog like that herself.
A faint blush colored her cheeks.
She looked just like a maiden in love.
"I want to see that dog again..."
In her mind, the man's face had already become vague, while Momo had been made about two hundred times cuter.
Shy people generally don't remember other people's faces.
"―――'Map'"
When she murmured that, her Status Plate changed.
It became a map on which the cityscape was reproduced in three dimensions.
"...Yeah, this is the one."
A high-rise apartment building a little way from the home improvement store.
This place also met the conditions for her Job.
She would have to gather furniture and food all over again, but she supposed she could compromise on that.
"All right, then. I guess I'll get going."
She stood up, shouldering the long rifle that had become completely familiar in her hands.
And so, Ichinose Natsu set out into town in search of a new hunting ground.
In a corner of her heart, she prayed that she would meet that Shiba Inu again.