Chapter 62
I'm sorry.
After changing clothes, Ichinose-san knelt in dogeza before me and apologized.
"Ah, no, it's fine. It's already in the past..."
Being vomited on by a beautiful girl might be a reward in certain circles, but unfortunately, I don't have any such unusual proclivities.
Still, we'll be forming a party from now on, so I'll try not to worry about the little things.
...Though I probably won't be able to forget it.
Incidentally, Aka ate all of her vomit.
From Aka's perspective, a beautiful girl's vomit was apparently a reward. Mainly in the sense of it being food.
Fortunately, most of the vomit had landed on the parts Aka had been disguising.
I changed clothes, just in case.
...It's a secret that, deep down, I briefly thought I didn't want to wear clothes Aka had mimicked.
Ichinose-san looked away and lowered her head apologetically.
"I'm sorry... I don't know what kind of expression I'm supposed to make at a time like this."
"Yeah."
I have no idea what kind of face to make when facing someone I've vomited on, either.
"...I was hoping you'd say that line."
"Sorry I couldn't meet your expectations."
I could give her an ambiguous smile, though.
This girl has a surprisingly sharp personality.
She really doesn't seem like a shut-in.
"Anyway, let's put this subject aside for now. As for what we're going to do from here―――"
"Ah, right. Um... Shall we go hunting for a bit?"
Don't phrase it like Monster Hunter...
Going hunting just for the sake of it? This girl is dangerous.
"Woof!"
And Momo is actually kind of enthusiastic about it!
"No, Momo! Absolutely not!"
"Whiiine?"
Even those watery eyes won't change my mind!
Safety first. Absolutely.
I pet Momo, who has gone all dejected.
So cute. So soothing.
"Ah, no, before that, shouldn't we confirm each other's Skills and Jobs?"
We're going to form a party from now on.
It would be better for us to know each other's Skills.
I cast a sidelong glance at the gun Ichinose-san had slung over her shoulder.
It's an enormous rifle that an ordinary person would have no hope of obtaining.
Just where had she gotten that gun?
"Oh, yes, that's true."
As if she'd come to an understanding, she stroked her weapon.
"...This does make you curious, doesn't it?"
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't."
She had said that her Job was 'Shut-In.'
That Job was far too mismatched with her weapon.
As I waited for her answer, Ichinose-san's face grew paler and paler.
W-Wait a second...
"...U-urp. I'm sorry. Please wait a moment."
She covered her mouth and beckoned Momo over.
"Whine?"
What's up? Momo trotted over to her.
Momo's surprisingly taken to her. I'm a little jealous.
"Phew... I feel calmer when I do this."
Ichinose-san placed Momo on her lap and reveled in its fluff.
She looked incredibly happy.
I understand. I really understand that feeling.
Momo's fluffy healing effect far surpasses that of the latest therapeutic gadgets.
Perhaps enjoying the feel of her hands, Momo happily narrowed its eyes.
Once she had calmed down, she opened her mouth.
"Actually, I have two Jobs. One is the 'Shut-In' Job I mentioned earlier. The other is a Job called 'Sniper.'"
"Oh..."
Her words surprised me quite a bit.
Two Jobs.
Did that mean she had maxed out 'Shut-In'?
No, her level was 20.
According to what Nishino-kun's companions had told me, ordinary people received one JP every time their level increased.
Level 20 shouldn't be enough to max out a Job.
...No, perhaps it was possible by raising proficiency, as with Skills?
Or maybe there was some way to obtain a second Job besides maxing out one's first Job...?
"The first Job I chose was 'Shut-In.'"
"Um... This might be rude of me to ask, but why did you choose such a joke Job?"
When I asked her that, she awkwardly looked away―――or rather, she had already been looking away.
"...I didn't think this was real."
Ah, I see.
It was true that, at first, anyone would assume a world like this was some kind of dream.
"That was four days ago―――"
While petting Momo's fluff, she explained how she had raised her level.
The first time her level increased was four days ago.
The same day I ran over a Shadow Wolf.
Apparently, she had been playing an online game in her apartment.
She had entered her third straight all-nighter and was finally getting tired, so she took a break and showered.
When she returned to her room after her bath, the window was apparently open.
She had forgotten to lock it. What a careless thing to do.
Then, when she listened carefully, she heard an eerie flapping sound.
When she turned to look, there was a gigantic fly about the size of a fist.
I see. So there were insect-type monsters, too.
I guess those existed as well.
When she saw the enormous fly, she was surprised, and then frightened.
But instead of running away, she rolled up a nearby magazine and slammed it into the fly with all her might. ...This girl is incredible.
The moment the fly was crushed, a voice announcing her level-up rang out in her head, she said.
'...Did I level up?'
At first, however, she thought it was an auditory hallucination.
The fly's corpse had disappeared, too.
She concluded that, after three all-nighters in a row, she must have been seeing things that weren't there.
But when she tried to check her character's status on the screen before resuming her online game, it appeared.
Her own status screen had appeared right in front of her eyes.
'...What's this? Select a Job...?'
And apparently, she ended up selecting 'Shut-In.'
The moment she did, her stats decreased dramatically.
In exchange, however, she acquired some interesting Skills.
Those were 'Recognition Interference' and 'Gacha.'
'Gacha' was a Skill that let her obtain various useful items in exchange for SP. It certainly sounded like a Shut-In Skill.
"On my first Gacha pull, I was lucky enough to obtain something called the 'Sniper Set.'"
Apparently, the Sniper Job had been added to her list of Jobs the moment she pulled that Gacha.
The Sniper Job apparently came with its associated Skills and a gun as bonus rewards.
So a Job obtained through a Skill gets added directly, huh.
It sounded like a highly gambling-oriented Skill, but with enough luck, it seemed possible to obtain some incredibly useful abilities.
Since it was a dream anyway, she apparently used that gun to hunt monsters like crazy.
She hunted, hunted, and hunted some more, until she eventually realized that this was not a dream but reality.
She vomited, vomited, and vomited some more, until she eventually began thinking about what she needed to do to survive.
Apparently, she reached the same conclusion as me.
Raise her level and become stronger.
If possible, find someone she could cooperate with.
That led to her meeting us, bringing us to the present.
"―――That's everything."
Her explanation was halting, but her earnestness came through.
Seeing her earnestly explain herself while fighting nausea, I couldn't help but be moved. ...I also put a little distance between us so I wouldn't get vomited on again.
"I see... You had a really hard time."
"Yes..."
She nodded.
"Um, but are you sure? I know I asked, but... isn't it a little too easy to tell me about your Jobs and Skills...?"
She must have understood how important information about one's level, Skills, and Job was in the current world.
So why was she telling me all this so easily?
"It... isn't a problem."
For the first time, she turned slightly toward me.
"...I-I... um... I trust K...Kudo-san and Momo-chan..."
She said it clearly.
"Ah... yes. Um... thank you."
Embarrassed, I ended up looking away.
Why had this girl ever shut herself in?
I felt a little flushed.
Apparently, Ichinose-san realized what she'd said too, because she abruptly turned away and lowered her head.
"..."
"..."
T-This is awkward.
A strange, awkward atmosphere filled the air.
I had so many things I wanted to ask her, like why she trusted me so much and what our plans were from here on out, but I couldn't get any words out.
This was even more awkward than when she vomited on me.
But the awkwardness vanished the very next moment.
'Enemy Search' picked up a reaction.
It was the presence of monsters.
"...Ichinose-san, I'm sorry, but let's put this conversation on hold for now."
"Huh?"
As Ichinose-san stared at me blankly, I looked toward Momo.
"Grrr...!"
Momo also hopped down from her lap and was already in a battle stance.
This presence... this number... there was no mistaking it.
I switched gears and put on a serious expression.
"A pack of Shadow Wolves is approaching us. Let's leave this place for now."
Damn it, monsters! Read the room!