Chapter 25: Don't just give weird nicknames to schoolgirls, it's a sensitive age.
Day 20 – Afternoon, Omui Guild.
How should I put it, isn't this another world? An adventurers guild in another world? A life-threatening job? Why are all of the requests so plain and boring? Isn't it a super stable and steady job? Where are all the dreams, and hopes, and money? Isn't this just a job search billboard? Ah, it's the mortal enemy of NEETs!!
Construction work, I don't mind it, but the pay is low and it's under the sun.
Transportation work, the same as above.
Escort mission, it takes many days and… It's cheap?
Extermination of harmful animals, gobs, wolves. Pay per head is low, so I guess it's about numbers?
Wouldn't it normally be like『Eeeh?! There are dragons in this world!!』or 『THERE IS SUCH A MONSTER!』, requests that can instantly make you rich. There is no romance to this. They even have working hours written. What is this, an office job?
「Haruka-san, is there something you are looking for among requests?」
Ah, it's the most proper receptionist lady even among the other receptionist ladies. Not the one to get scolded, but the one to give scoldings. A president of receptionist ladies?
「Well, I don't have money, so I thought I'd quietly kill some monsters and sneakily get the reward for them through the girls? 」
Wha-what! This lady is also a flat gaze user! So she indeed was president of receptionist ladies!
The president's scornful gaze in the morning.
And the receptionist lady's scornful gaze in the afternoon.
What about the night? Where should I head at night? Maybe some suspicious store that opens only after dark? Will I be able to find a wonderful flat gaze there that a high school boy will be able to appreciate? I really want to go.
「Please, don't just say that, and actually try to be stealthy about this. You are openly checking the billeting board without care for who might see you.」
「No? I mean, no one is looking my way in this guild, so there is no chance that anyone would see me?」
Yup, looking around, there is not a single person looking at me. No one met my gaze. The conclusion – there is no problem.
「And, didn't you receive 8 million ere yesterday…… You don't have that?」
「Ah, that? Well, after that the spear old man told me that he knew a good place, so I went with him and stayed at that suspicious store until late at night, and all 8 million disappeared? Kind of?」
For some reason, the spear old man that had just entered the guild was apprehended by the receptionists and dragged to the second floor? Just what did he do? Such a troublesome old man.
To leave the town I'd need identification papers, without them, I'd have to pay an entry fee once again. But, since I couldn't become an adventurer, I don't have a guild card, and since I'm not living here, I don't have a citizen card. Since I'm not engaged in commerce, I obviously can't enter the merchants guild. And what’s a NEET supposed to do?
Since I have no ID, I need money, but to go hunting to earn that money, I have to pay money, which I don't have, so I can't go out to hunt to earn the money which I have to pay to go to hunt. NEET spiral.
Since I can't leave the town, I can't hunt, and I don't have money, and the allowance is too small. What a bind, as I thought, the city life is tough.
Okay. Let's sneak out and then sneak back in.
The town is surrounded by a 2 meters tall wall. I can easily get over it with Air Walk.
The problem is that I will be scolded if I get caught. First by the gatekeepers and then by the president. I don't have any dried fruits left.
The Cloak? that I'm wearing at the moment has in it『Invisibility Cloak – Makes one harder to detect』, that I bought the other day. Or rather, they are already combined.
I don't quite get how this effect is supposed to work. It's not like it makes the user invisible, just harder to notice.
I won't be seen if I'm sneaky, I won't be caught if I'm tricky. I'll just go out and get back immediately, it's fine. 3 seconds rule, long version.
Activating Erase Presence and Stealth, putting on the hood and 『Black Hat – Defense + 30, Erase Presence, Stealth Up』, and then……
「Hakura-kun? Are you a suspicious person? Should we report you? Why are you sneaking out of town instead of sneaking in?」
「Uwwa! Ah, it's just Febreze Girl, mind not jumpscaring me like that?」
I was wondering who it could be, but turns out it's just the rhythmic gymnastics girl, and volleyball girl A and B. Eh? What about the Nudist Girl? Even though she is the part of the Big Four of muscle brains? Is it because she was the weakest? Did she get taken out in the early episodes? But I saw her last evening, asking for an additional serving?
「Forget about Febreze! And if you say a thing about light poles, I will turn you into cinders.」
Volleyball Girl A and B are glaring at me super hard. Looks like they are disgruntled at being called Twin Light poles on TV.
Good grief, don't give weird nicknames to schoolgirls, they are at a sensitive age, what a pity…… Eh? I'm the one getting glared at?
「Where is Nudist Girl? Did she finally got arrested for indecent exposure?」
「No, we are looking for her as well… And she wouldn't strip in the middle of the town, so I don't think she got caught?」
Learning Detect Presence the girls became able to locate people to some extent…… But as one would expect, they still can't tell who is who from the presence alone.
What do we have nearby…… Is that it?
「Not yet nude, but there is someone very eager to strip.」
Running around the clothes store with clothes in hands. A bargain? Outlet? So she has enough sense to not start changing clothes in front of the store? I wish she had the same amount of common sense around me.
「Nudist girl, aren't you going to strip anyway, why bother buying clothes? Even though you are a nudist?」
「Stop saying such things! I'm not a nudist! I'M WEARING CLOTHES…… I'M WEARING THEM!」
Aah, yeah, I recall her having some kind of a trauma over this? What was it? Getting caught with public indecency?
「Oh, these are cute clothes, they will surely suit you, I guess?」
Her eyes looked dead, so I tried to change the topic. Well, for clothes of this world they are sure cute. She seems to be having a hard time choosing, having two outfits in her hands, but both of them look good.
「Re-re-re-really? You think so? They'll look good on me?」
I see, she found nice clothes and took a bit of detour, but was panicking since the dressing room was occupied. That's a close one, we found her just in time. She probably was on the verge of stripping.
「I think both suit you, you don't know which one to pick?」
「Buying both will be over my budget, but I can't pick one, and both are of just the right size, and I just don't know what to do anymore, so I thought I'll try them on, but there is no open dressing room.」
Not checking the size, but trying to find out which one will suit her better, as expected of a girl.
「Why don't you buy both of them? I'll lend you money. But you will have to return them tenfold plus interest.」
「Isn't this worse than illegal? The type of loan you absolutely shouldn't take? N-no way? In case I won't be able to pay, are you to tell me to pay with my body?! So that is your goal!!」
「Nevermind, forget it.」
「That's true……That's to be expected……I not worth enough even to cover……interest……」
For some reason, she looks like she is about to die. For now, I give her one silver coin, making her buy the clothes. The other three also charged into the bargain sale, so I lent them money as well.
「Then, let's put you to work to pay off the debt.」
「「「「We knew it! You were after our bodies! Are you going to sell us to some suspicious shop?」」」」
「It's going to be okay. And Nudist Girl is suspicious enough even without being sold to suspicious shops.」
「I've been thinking for a while, but your 『Okay』usually isn't okay at all. And I'm not a nudist, I bought clothes.」
She makes it sound like she was buying clothes naked. She is really going to get arrested one of those days.
After that, I make the four of them leave the town. Of course, since they have guild cards, there is no problem with that. I sneak out behind their backs. Since I'm sneaking, there is also no problem.
「「「「Why didn't they notice you?」」」」
「Well, that's because I snuck out so they wouldn't notice me?」
「「「「You just openly walked out? Absolutely casually?! 」」」」
And after going some distance from the town we look for pocket money. If possible I'd like a pack of pocket money. A big one. Pocket money massacre.
Found them. 「Goblin Lv 2」tch.
No good. This one is 500 ere at best. And it's alone on top of that. *Whack!*
More valuable pocket money. It has to be a large group of them. *Whack! Thud!*
I also wanted to test the new weapon, but I have no target for that. *Bam! Thud! Crack!*
The Big Four of muscle brains must be troubled as well since they won't be able to pay back their debts at this rate. *Thudadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada!*
Along the road, there are levels 1 to 3? Nothing but goblins and green wolves. *Thud! Guh! Gigya! Gaah!*
If we split this among the five of us it won't amount even to pocket change. *GYA! GUGI! GI! GYA! GIi! GUUh!*
Last night, *GYA! GUGI! GI! GYA! GIi! GUUh!*
I tried to combine the new staff with the Staff?, *GUba! GIi! Guuh! GYA! GIi! Guuuguguu!*
And as I pulled things out the Item Bag, *Begya! Gii! Uuuuh! Guue!! Gouah! Gii! Gigya!*
I accidentally combined 『Magic Katana』, which I bought because it looks cool, despite being unable to use, with *GYA! GUGI! GI! GYA! GIi! GUUh!*
『Staff?』that I had in my hand. Even though it's a katana? *GYA! GUGI! GI! GYA! Guuuguguu!*
It requires level 30, will I be able to use it? *Begya! Gii! Uuuuh! GI! GYA! GIi! GUUh!*
Hm, looks like I can. The more mana I pour in the better it cuts. *Begya! Gii! Uuuuh! Guue!! Gouah! Gii! Gigya!*
Even though it's a wooden staff? It cuts nicely. *GYA! GUGI! GI! GYA! GIi! GUUh!*
Did the required level from katana disappear because the staff has no level requirements? *GYARAAARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH*
Aaah, how noisy, people are trying to think here, can't you be massacred more quietly?
「Hmm, I'd like to give it a proper test…… But a target…… If there was something more like……… Tougher? More like……」
「「「「Stop annihilating monsters on your own while mumbling under your breath! We can't keep up with the collection of magic stones!!」」」」
They got mad. Is it because I lack affection points with the opposite sex? Looks like I have to purchase it… 『Pheromone Ring』, but it's 2,600,000 ere…… Well, time to haggle then?!
In the end, we didn't earn even 20,000 per person…… Will I be able to haggle it down enough?
And since it's nothing but small fries, the level doesn't go up as well.
Well, the girls repaid their debts on day one, so they were able to avoid going to a suspicious store, no, not like I had any intentions to sell them to begin with. But one of them is going to strip even without being sold off…… How suspicious.