**Day 11: The Cave**
Breakfast today was the usual otherworld-style sauté of seasonal mushrooms and medicinal herbs mixed with dried meat (preserved rations), plus the occasional salted rabbit grilled otherworld-style.
I was sick of it.
I still hadn't made any progress verifying my mystery abilities, and my main combat skill, Staff Arts Lv5, gave off a strong "wait, that's supposed to be staff technique?" vibe.
Anyway, I needed information. The info-packed otaku had already left for town, and I wanted nothing to do with the messy, unstable class group.
If those guys discovered my stylish modern mid-century cave home, they'd definitely move in and act like they owned the place.
From what I'd heard about how they treated the otaku, getting involved could only mean trouble. The only otherworld, skill, and monster info I had was what the otaku told me.
Searching for the town seemed safest, but I had zero confidence I could get along with people whose common sense and culture I didn't understand. Don't underestimate a loner—I'm already Lv3 now (smug).
The best plan was still "life is precious." I needed to get strong enough to protect myself for sure. My level was lower than the other transferred people, probably because it was hard to raise. With Jack of All Trades Lv1 and Useless Blockhead Lv1 dragging me down, I'd only reached Lv5 from Lv1. If the required experience kept increasing, the future looked terrifying.
Still, the transferred people I'd seen were at Lv11, and even the otaku at Lv16 said their specialized stats had broken into triple digits—maybe 160–170? If my stats kept rising at the current rate, I'd probably hit 120–150 by Lv10, and by Lv16 I might even reach 200. Games usually slow the growth rate, but up to Lv5 it felt the same or even slightly faster.
Beyond stats, the otaku at Lv16—who had been forced into constant combat for a whole week after arriving—still struggled against five goblins. Even accounting for running out of MP and having only one frontline fighter in their four-person party, four Lv16 cheat holders had nearly been taken out by two goblins attacking from behind. Maybe real combat experience mattered more than level?
Appraising other otherworlders or locals would let me compare, but there was no guarantee they wouldn't attack me. Even if I was stronger, I could still fall into traps.
The otaku had also said that slave magic, items, Charm, theft, and instant-death skills were the most dangerous things in this world. Without resistance, even poison or sleep could end you.
Humans seemed more dangerous than monsters. Did that mean my only option was to stay a hikikomori NEET loner?
Yet the otaku had still gone to town, no matter how dangerous it was. Yeah, because they were high school boys! Thank you. Their goal was clearly just girls.
Apparently kemonomimi slave harems, ero-elf beautiful girls, and legal-loli dwarf girls were waiting there… Weren't they supposed to be running away from the JKs? Well, good luck, I guess.
Deeper into the forest… I hadn't gone that far since spotting the wannabe delinquents. After hearing the otaku's story, I wanted to go even less.
But with the otaku gone, that group was in bad shape.
Even if the wannabes' Charm and Puppet were sealed, they might still have other cheat skills. If they turned to violence, the situation could get dangerous now that the otaku weren't there.
Those guys could drop dead for all I cared. Still, even if I was a loner, we were former classmates. There were a few I at least hoped were safe—maybe five or six? The rest I didn't care about, or actively thought "they should just die."
Especially the wannabes and the bitches—I wouldn't mind siccing kobolds on them. Actually, get bitten! It hurts like hell! Speaking from experience.
Maybe I should go check once. The otaku had seemed worried about the class rep, and she was a beautiful girl.
Hm, this area was still nothing but mushrooms. Lots of varieties, but all mushrooms.
There were probably different ingredients deeper in. I could gather food, train, experiment, and scout while I was at it. Expanding the Map info by moving around was also a good idea.
Today's plan: deeper into the forest. If their base was by the river, heading upstream made sense. The wannabes had said they never left their base, so it was probably somewhere ahead. Upstream, huh… I wonder if I could catch fish? I seriously wanted lightning magic.
I walked through the forest along the river. The riverside itself was too risky to be spotted on, and there was no food there anyway.
This should be about the right area, but there was no food. Had they eaten everything?
There were still plenty of goblins, but they were no problem at all. Seriously weak.
They came in groups of five or six, so I stayed alert, but at Lv3–4 they were slow and had no power.
I tried trading blows for training, but goblins that couldn't even win a contest of strength were beneath notice. They were too weak even for staff technique practice, but if I called it staff technique, then it was staff technique. I had objections too, though.
Then the kobolds. Still sporting those dog faces. I re-wrapped magic power around my staff and approached. Hm? Lv2 and 3?
Ah, the otaku's info was right. A little stronger than goblins—only a little stronger than the Lv3–4 small-fry goblins.
They were fast, sure, but they just charged straight in. Were they goblins? They even stopped moving to attack with their sticks. These would make good practice partners.
While sparring with two kobolds, I noticed something. These guys barely had any skills. No wonder they didn't coordinate. But they did have Bite!
If the otaku had gotten used to these, they wouldn't have struggled against the goblins near the cave. These were completely different.
If these were normal kobolds, then what the hell were those kobolds I fought earlier…? I glared at them without thinking, and the kobold backed away.
It was true that people had always said I had scary eyes, dangerous eyes, all sorts of insults and gossip. I was aware of it.
But still, don't let monsters get scared of me! Were my eyes monster-level? What kind of eyes scare monsters? I'm human, right? That actually hurts my feelings. Why are you tucking your tail between your legs?
I smashed the kobold in a fit of anger. You should be the one reflecting.
I thought I'd been living peacefully by the cave, but that area was apparently a pretty dangerous zone.
Next up were orcs. Could I handle them? The strongest monsters around here—stronger and tougher than goblins, and they could use club techniques.
But if they were just stronger than the local goblins and kobolds with a few skills, weren't they basically the usual goblins?
The Lv16 otaku would struggle against these. This wasn't going to be useful real-combat training. These were levels I could solo.
・
・
・
With Clairvoyance I spotted what looked like the classmates' base, but the fences and tents were falling apart. Had no one been maintaining them since the otaku left? Even so, it looked dangerous, and there were no signs of people.
Had they moved? No, that didn't seem likely.
From the otaku's story, the group wasn't in any state to move together. Even if they'd split, it was strange that no one was left behind.
I approached the base while staying alert. Sure enough, no one was there. Where had they gone? What happened?
I scanned the base and the surrounding forest, searching for any traces or clues.
Suddenly I staggered.
Something had flashed into view, and the information slammed into my head like a shock. Honestly, it hurt!
A new skill? I'd check later.
I looked again—at the base, the forest, the riverside… There were two scars on the base. One was concentrated in the back, probably where the otaku had been attacked. The magic traces there were older than the other.
The second scar led from the base to the riverside and into the forest. The magic traces were fresher… "Magic." So this was from fighting other people.
I didn't know what skill this was, but for now these eyes were my best bet. I followed the traces into the forest.
After running for about half an hour, I finally picked up presences.
It looked like the lead group that had been circling around while fleeing was heading this way.
Should I hide and watch? Or help?
I looked. The group fleeing from pursuers was bleeding. I couldn't see their figures yet, but I could perceive them.
If the ones running were the bad guys, should I block their path?
If the pursuers were the bad guys, should I block their path?
Conclusion: both sides were bad guys.
…Alright, time to go home.
What should I have for dinner tonight~? Mushrooms~? Or maybe mushrooms~? Or—wait—mushrooms?
Ah, just a little more— "Hey! You!! Wait right there!!" …Ugh, noisy.
"Ehh, good day? Bitch-san? Well then~"
Well then, maybe I'll pick up some berries on the way back… "I said wait!!" "That's not a 'well then~'!!" "Who are you calling a bitch!" Gyaa~s, gyaa~s! Should I go get them…?
Gyaa~s? Is something called gyas crying somewhere? Let's leave the gyas behind and head home♪
"""We said don't go!!"""
Haaah. Of all people, it was the bitches. If they were fresh JKs I might wait, but bitchy JKs? No thanks.
"I mean, why are you even here?" "Don't tell me you're with those guys!?" "Hey you—" "What's going on?" "Do something already!!" "Why are you just standing there?"
Annoying, annoying, annoying. What was with these girls? So loud. What were they even saying?
"Look, what do you mean 'what's going on'? And 'why are you here'? You're the ones who came this way! And 'with those guys'? Which guys? Also, I don't have any companions! I'm a loner! Don't make me say it!!"
Whoever was chasing them, there was no way I was helping. They suddenly appear and go "do something!!"? What?
Whatever. Time to head home quickly.
"""So wait!!"" …Please."
Huh? Did I just hear a hallucination? The bitches were being so loud my ears must be broken!?
"Please, just listen. Please."
Danger! I got hit with a status abnormality! What skill was that? I definitely heard "please."
"I don't know why you're in this world, but you were on okay terms with Oda and the others, right? We're looking for them. If you know anything, please tell us. Please."
The one who looked like the bitch leader. Was this an illusion? The queen bitch, the manufacturing machine for selfishness, complaints, and verbal abuse. With her high pride, she was the main cause of the class splitting apart. There was no way the word "please" existed in her dictionary.
"Who are you?"
"What!? We're in the same class! You don't know!?"
Ah, she snapped. Wait, that snapping style was definitely the bitch leader's.
"The real one?"
"What do you mean 'the real one'!? What's wrong with you!?"
Yeah, this was the real bitch leader.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I heard something like 'please' and thought it was a fake bitch leader."
"Who are you calling bitch leader!? And… it wasn't a hallucination… Please, if you know anything, tell us."
"Who the hell are you!?"
"I'm the real one!"
"Eh? The real bitch leader?"
"That's right! —Wait, no!! I said I'm real but not the bitch leader!!"
"? Which is it?"
"Fine, call me bitch leader! Zeh-zeh-zeh-"
Yeah, she was the real one. No one could imitate that use of exclamation marks.
"So, who's Oda?"
"Why don't you know!! You talked to him sometimes!"
"Oda? Oda? Oda and the others? Ohhh, you mean the otaku! Say otaku properly. I don't even know their nicknames."
"Oda is his name!!! Zeh-zeh-zeh-"
Eh? They weren't otaku? A shocking truth revealed! Well, otaku is fine.
"So why are you looking for the otaku? To make them run errands? Or to hunt them?"
While saying that, I looked into the bitches' eyes. Wait, why are you flinching just from eye contact? I'm still traumatized enough from the kobold thing, thanks.
Well, I guess glaring makes sense after hearing the otaku's story. Especially if they were chasing them… "…We want to apologize…" Eh?
"No, so you're going to catch them and make them run errands? Hand them over to the wannabe delinquents? Or…" "That's why, we want to apologize…" "…For real?"
"Just apologize properly. It's not like I think they'll forgive us or help us… We understand what we did. Or rather, we finally understood… So we're not thinking about being forgiven, and even if apologizing won't fix anything, it's the only thing we can do now. At least… we have to apologize to them properly…"
"We should have died long ago without being able to do anything. Living in a place like this is impossible. We know we only survived this long because they helped us. We finally realized it… So… just… we want to apologize properly at the end… Please, if you know anything, tell us."
"""Please."""
I never thought these girls would bow their heads and beg. Ah… they had either reformed or given up on living. That's why, at the very end, after surviving a week… only the otaku had helped them. Abandoned by everyone, they gave up, and the last thing they thought of was gratitude and apology to the otaku—a settlement for all their past stupidity. This was basically a last will.
"I know which direction they went, but not exactly where. Besides, you guys couldn't catch up anyway, right? They're cutting straight through the forest. Can you fight? No way, right?"
I had no idea whether the otaku would be happy or angry if these girls apologized. Normally they'd probably snap and say "don't mess with me." But those guys were soft-hearted. Still, that also meant they might not abandon them and could end up going down together. But I didn't need to worry about that.
"Either way, you can't chase them or catch up. Chasing now won't mean anything anymore."
The bitches looked down, trembling. It must have been a desperate resolve. Something they had to do before dying—their own closure. It was way too late, though.
"Even so, please tell us. Not to give up, but at least to apologize… Even if we can't reach them. Please. Please."
This was basically a religion. They were going to die, so at the end they wanted to thank the people who had helped them. It was the guilty conscience for bullying, exploiting, and abandoning their saviors. A pilgrimage of atonement… If they couldn't reach it, they would die there.
Having everything from their previous lives stolen, losing it all in one week, then being abandoned and learning their own end was near—these few days of upheaval must have changed their personalities completely.
"I roughly heard from the otaku what happened and what you guys did. Before the otaku, did you apologize to the class rep and the others?"
"Yeah. But everyone had already split up, and the boys attacked us. Everything was a mess… The class rep said 'I accept your words, but the ones we should apologize to are Oda-kun and the others'… The other girls just apologized, and then… to Oda and the others…"
Ah, they had already reached that point. The wannabe delinquents who used to act tough at school were gone. The otaku who had suddenly become strong in this world were gone. The class rep was no longer directing things. As a result, instead of uniting or fighting monsters, some boys went berserk out of despair and desire, attacking the girls. The class rep's group repelled them, and things spiraled.
The bitches fled from the boys, were abandoned by the class rep's group, had nowhere left to go, and finally understood what they had done. Before dying, they decided to apologize—and express gratitude—to the only ones who had ever helped them, the otaku.
"Um, first of all, you're being chased. Probably by one of the boys' groups, right? So you can't escape, and you can't reach the otaku. Second, as I said earlier, if you keep going you'll just get eaten by monsters, so obviously you can't reach the otaku. And third, you blast away the horny monkey boys in heat, crush the monsters, and mow them down on your way to apologize to the otaku. Which one do you want?"
"Th-that's impossible!" "We can't…" "There's nothing we can do…" "Just tell us already…" "That's not…"
They were only asking to be told. Please.
I got just a tiny, really tiny bit angry, so I glared.
They all teared up instantly, fell on their butts with pale faces, and trembled violently. Whatever.
"Reflecting, reforming, confessing, regretting, apologizing, repenting, gratitude? I don't know anything about your resolve! I'm not interested! Whether you're evil bitches, reformed bitches, or corrected bitches, I don't care!! Are you going to apologize to the otaku or not!? Are you going to make excuses and give up!? Which is it!?"
"Th-that's not—" "I'm asking which!!!"
Good, that exclamation mark was bitch-level. Was this learning ability thanks to Jack of All Trades?
Alright, I'm going to master exclamation marks!
"Listen! You guys bullied and made fun of the otaku, yet they kept helping you the whole time! They helped you!! They were trying to teach you how to survive here! How not to die!! Even when you ignored them! Even when you cursed at them! Right up until the moment they couldn't stay there anymore!! They helped you—the ones who bullied, mocked, and cursed them!!"
Good, that was "16!" To truly master it I wanted to reach bitch-leader level "20!"
"You were helped and now you're going to die! They kept helping you and now you're going to die! Is it fine if everything they did was meaningless!? They risked their lives to help you and it's fine if it meant nothing!? You're going to die without even knowing what they wanted to teach you! How to live! How not to die! You're going to ignore the otaku's feelings and die!! Is that your apology!? Satisfy yourselves in your hearts without telling them anything!!!"
I surpassed it. I went beyond the limit! I had exceeded the bitch leader's natural skill "20!" I had gone past the ultimate! I did it, burning pure white… Wait, huh? Oh no, did that mysterious passionate skill the old man had somehow transfer to me? Come to think of it, my character has been changing lately?
"Uwaaaah, I don't want to die!! There's no way I want to die!! I wanted to live! I still want to live! They helped us, so I want to say thank you while I'm alive!! I want to meet them properly and apologize! But we never listened, never did anything, never learned anything, and just said we couldn't and it couldn't be helped! Even when they were about to die or were nearly killed, we were too stupid and only made fun of people, couldn't do anything, couldn't say it was scary, couldn't say help us… We never once said sorry… or thank you…!! I don't want to die! I absolutely don't want to die like this!!!"
Damn, what an exclamation mark! "21!" So my "!" was just an imitation after all? With Jack of All Trades I could only copy, never reach the true essence. Something like Useless Blockhead could never surpass it. What the… Huh?
For some reason the bitches were crying and screaming? What happened? What was going on?
Whoa, their makeup-free, messy-haired, childish faces were now completely crumpled, and their entire faces were a mess of tears and snot. Yeah, pure pandemonium, a hellish picture of tiny bitch kids. How did it come to this?
When something doesn't make sense, retrace the steps and the situation and its meaning should become clear.
I had been having an extreme "!!" battle with the bitch leader. The end. Q.E.D.
Wait, something feels missing? From the middle it felt like I was possessed by some tennis player, so I have no memory of anything except the "!" battle.
Yeah, no good. I can't grasp the situation. Let's ask honestly.
"Um, well… so, what happened exactly?"
The bitches all turned their messy faces toward me at once. Their eyes had a ghastly, intense look. Oh crap, scary!
"""""We were idiots and never learned any way to survive. We can't die like this! We absolutely can't die!! Please, teach us! Help us! Teach us the skills and knowledge to survive until we can apologize to everyone, to Oda-kun and the others! Please, give us the power to atone for our sins, the power to repay their kindness! Please!!"""""
"…Yes!?"
Oh no, I accidentally answered.
・
・
Ah… I'll tell you exactly what happened!
You probably won't understand what I'm saying,
but I didn't understand what was done to me either…
My head felt like it was going crazy… Puppet or Charm or whatever,
it was nothing so cheap.
I got a glimpse of something far more terrifying…
It was "Servitude Lv1."
How did it come to this!?
Below my status:
Servitude: Bitch Leader, Bitch A, Bitch B, Bitch C, Bitch D
What is this? I already had Servitude Lv1. I figured it was probably a skill to tame monsters. Until now: monster, everyone, massacre. Ah, I had never tried it even once.
Suddenly taming five bitches at once? Was I becoming a Bitch Master? No way!
Maybe the bitch leader was an evolved form?
There was a scumbag who tried to control girls with Puppet.
There was a lowlife who tried to keep girls as servants with Charm.
And then there was me, who used Servitude on girls!?
Uwaaaah! A hikikomori NEET loner used Servitude on five high school girls.
It reeks of crime! If someone like that existed, people would summon the police with "Officer, it's this guy."
You probably won't understand what I'm saying, but I don't either! Give-up melon. The game ends here.
I walked through the forest groaning, with Bitch Leader, Bitch A, Bitch B, Bitch C, and Bitch D following.
Worrying as I walked through the forest, with Bitch Leader, Bitch A, Bitch B, Bitch C, and Bitch D following.
Regretting as I walked through the forest, with Bitch Leader, Bitch A, Bitch B, Bitch C, and Bitch D following.
Was I a mother duck or something!?
Any goblins that appeared I skewered with the otaku mage's "Earth Lance" and kept moving.
Any kobolds that appeared I sniped with the improved Fireball—now "Fire Bullet"—and kept moving.
They were watching intently with serious eyes. They were probably trying to learn how to fight. Even if they learned, I was still a Lv5 unemployed guy?
Turning around to look behind me was scary, so I just looked forward and kept walking.
Where was I even trying to go? I didn't know. But I kept going. I wasn't allowed to stop or look back. The bitches' eyes were scary! They were staring at me with the kind of eyes cult followers probably have. It was terrifying.
I marched straight ahead as if I had a destination, mowing down the increasing number of kobolds that appeared without caring. The presences grew thicker the farther I went, but I couldn't turn back anymore—because the bitches were following right behind me!
I advanced as if fleeing. Actually, I was fleeing. It was already full of kobolds ahead—the kobold pack at the front gate, the bitches at the back gate. Kobolds it was. "Please pass on."
Silently, Bitch Leader, Bitch A, Bitch B, Bitch C, and Bitch D followed.
Calmly, Bitch Leader, Bitch A, Bitch B, Bitch C, and Bitch D followed.
What should I do?
Up ahead was a kobold nest. The presences were insane. But turning back was not allowed. The ones behind me were scarier!
They must have learned by watching. They pulled out the magic stones from the monsters I defeated and handed them to me. They were still clumsy, gouging them out messily, covered in blood, and their eyes looked even more gone… Scary. It was like a bloody bitch army marching, relentlessly following behind. What was this? Seriously terrifying. And I was the one crying here?
Thanks to Servitude's "Experience Distribution" effect, the bitches' levels were rising. I thinned out some kobolds, weakened a few, and let them flow backward. The bitches silently swarmed them, stabbing with swords and thrusting with spears. I had never seen kobolds look so pitiful or so utterly terrified. I was probably making the same face. Scary things!
At some point the horny monkey high school boys who had been chasing from behind disappeared. Whether they were chased by kobolds or killed, I didn't know and didn't care! Because of those horny monkeys I was having this terrifying experience, and because of those horny monkeys the kobolds were having this terrifying experience! Go ahead and kill them, kobolds! Even if we're enemies, our hearts are one! Wait, does that make the kobolds my comrades?
Well, after seeing the bitches now, no one would think of attacking them. The scariest thing in this otherworld turned out to be my classmates. Before that it was the passionate old man who possessed me. Apparently the original world was more vicious than the dangerous monsters of this one.
Kobolds kept appearing, both in number and spread. I didn't add power to Fire Bullet, just made as many as possible, showering the endless kobolds with them one after another. Create and shoot, create and shoot. They were made and fired the moment they formed, no power but enough stopping force to halt the kobolds' charges and overwhelm them with sheer numbers.
The low-level kobolds, whose only strength was charging and who were weak to hits, kept getting showered with Fire Bullets like horizontal rain. They rapidly lost speed, were pierced, weakened, and fell. The ones that reached me in a dying state became food for the bitches and perished.
Whether thirty or forty, an even greater red rain of light poured down and kept piercing them. Behind me the bitches were probably raining blood.
And the very last one, covered in the rain of Fire Bullets and ragged, opened its mouth to bite with fangs bared, reached right in front of me with its mouth wide open… and collapsed.
Amid the mountain of kobold corpses, the bitches continued endlessly delivering the finishing blows and pulling out magic stones.
Beyond that, a group that had been fighting while surrounded by a large kobold pack was staring at us.
They were covered in wounds and blood but didn't seem to have any major injuries.
"HP Potion. Drink it and you'll recover… It tastes like mushrooms, though?"
I called out, but no one moved. Was the mushroom taste really that bad? It probably wasn't suited for girls. Well, even guys would hate it. I hated it too. I could drink bitter vegetable juice, but this made me spit it out the moment it touched my tongue. I never imagined stamina mushrooms and medicinal herbs could create such a perfect harmony of flavor and astringency.
"Haruka…-kun…?"
"No, it really doesn't taste like mushrooms, right? It's awful if you drink it, and if you pour it on yourself it smells like mushrooms?"
Behind me the bitches were still silently gouging out magic stones while covered in blood. Just a few days ago they refused to listen to anyone, hated fighting, and wouldn't go near monsters. These were the bitches who would scream at the sight of blood, yet now they silently, in perfect sync, ran while delivering finishing blows, covered in blood, not caring how dirty they got as they kept gouging out magic stones.
It was certainly a shocking sight. It was normal not to believe it even if you saw it. They looked like completely different people, and their eyes were gone too?
The strangely behaving bitches, once they had gathered the magic stones, ran over to me, silently handed them over without a word, then ran back and resumed working single-mindedly. Way too suspicious. Just a few days ago they had been making a huge fuss about Charm and Puppet. Especially the girls—they would have imagined what would happen to them if those were used and been terrified. Seeing this scene now, it was natural to feel terror. Because even I was terrified! No, seriously scary.
Even if the worst selfish bitches from a few days ago said they had changed their hearts, no one would believe it. Even seeing it with your own eyes, it was hard to believe. And the change was too abnormal—they weren't just different people, they were the complete opposite. Seeing this, no one would think "reformed." It would look like brainwashing or domination.
Who would drink something offered by a guy leading around bitches in such an abnormal state? And it tasted like mushrooms! Anyone would see it as a trap by Zhuge Liang. Who would drink that!? Way too dangerous. Both the drink and the guy were way too dangerous. And mushrooms were such a suspiciously flying-off ingredient. What? This guy is the worst! Definitely a dangerous person. His eyes are dangerous too! …Wait, that part was just hotpot.
Yeah, with trust at an extreme negative and the taste awful, even the smell alone would make it impossible. Maybe I should have flavored it with sweet berries? The color was also… how should I put it, a bit more…? You know, the "this can't be right~" feeling? Especially from a JK perspective? No, more like… actually…
"Ooooi, Haruka-kun. Come baaack~"
Uwooooh! I was startled! It was a close-up of the class rep. Bad for the heart. Too close, my heart was pounding! Size-wise.
"Um, can I have that potion for now?"
"Ehhhh!? You're drinking it!?"
"Eh, I told you to drink it, right? Why are you surprised?"
"No, normally, when a stranger offers you a suspicious drink, a JK would be like 'is this okay?' or something. You know, toward someone you don't know… "We're classmates! Why don't you know!?" …Ouch?"
It was the class rep's inner class rep comeback. Her beautiful face in close-up made the destructive power incredible.
"Um, Class Rep-sama?"
"That's not my name!! And why are you adding -sama!?"
First I should probably explain the bitches behind me? It was extremely suspicious. But even if I explained, I didn't understand what was going on either. Actually, I wanted an explanation. How should I say it? "I used Servitude on them~"? That was the worst! It wouldn't clear up the misunderstanding—it would confirm I was the culprit.
"Haruka-kun. Um, what happened to Shimazaki-san and the others behind you? Huh? Why are they with you?"
"Ehh, if I explain it'll be a long story that's not actually that long but still pretty long… Um, I used Servitude on them?"
"What did you dooo!! Also, that was short!"
The class rep's scream. Dangerous title. I almost ordered it. A messenger summon was about to start. If it was one-click I would have pressed it. Even though I'm a minor, is that okay?
"Why did you use Servitude!? I mean, that's a skill for monsters, right? Why are you using it on your female classmates!?"
I wanted to know why I used it too. Preferably the method to return them to where they originally were. If I said "Go back to the forest," would they go? The class rep looked like she was about to break. Should I fulfill my duty to explain? For now, I needed to confirm something.
"Who's Shimazaki? The person with dawn-like romantic principles?"
"Why don't you know after using Servitude on them!! And normally it would be from Wakana's group, right? Why did you suddenly jump all the way to dawn!!"
Continued class rep scream. It was a series. A trilogy? Of course I'll buy it. Would there be bonuses if I bought the box set? Good, now was the time for summoning…
"You came to help together, right? For some reason you used Servitude, right? Why don't you know their names? We're classmates, right!!?"
It was a trilogy.
"No, because in the status it only shows Bitch Leader, Bitch A, Bitch B, Bitch C, Bitch D?"
"What kind of names are you giving your female classmates!! That's treating them like monsters!! What are you thinking!"
It looked like there would be more volumes. I should consider a subscription to the Scream Chronicles!
Whoa, the eyes of the girls behind the class rep were cold. Cold enough that there was probably an ice magic user among them. Should I warm them with Temperature magic? On their eyeballs!?
"Shimazaki-san and the others, thank you for coming to help. We're saved."
The class rep bowed to the bitch leader.
"W-we only followed…"
"Even so, thank you. We were saved."
"…Yeah."
"Ahhh, Shimazaki is the bitch leader! I didn't realize because you gave her a name like Fujimura. It was confusing~?"
""Shimazaki is her family name! You didn't give it!! And what do you mean bitch leader!""
For some reason I was the one getting yelled at? The status name was Bitch Leader, so there was no mistake.
"Look, normally when you tame a monster you give it a name. The tamer calls it by that name, so it becomes the status name. So… you tamed them without knowing their names, and this is what you named them—!!"
I got scolded. But she was the bitch leader, right? Why? It felt like I was the one in the wrong?
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Whoa, fifteen girls were looking at me, and five bitches were looking at me from behind.
I understood how people with gaze phobia felt. This shredded the spirit.
They were probably waiting for me to say something? Did I have to say something? Um, some closing remark?
"Well then, good work everyone~. See ya."
Good, I said it. Phew, I'm tired. Let's go home.
"""""Why are you leaving!!"""""
I got yelled at in a big chorus. Eh, why? I can't go home? I'm a hikikomori, though?
"Um, for now, thanks for the potion. Everyone seems okay now. And like I said earlier, thanks for coming to help."
The class rep came to thank me. Wait, she actually drank it? She was a hero. She definitely had the Hero title!
"You found this place well? We were running around and didn't even know where we were."
"Ahh, I just happened to pass by."
"Why were you passing by a place like this?"
"More like, when I was running away I ended up here?"
"Haruka-kun was running? From what!"
"Well, the bitches were following me?"
"You're the one who used Servitude on them!! Why is the tamer running away!?"
"Eh, because they're scary?"
"..."
The class rep scream series seemed to have concluded. She was staring at me in complete silence. Th-this was a glare! Class Rep-sama's glare! To think I would get to see a real glare with my own eyes, and moreover an up-close beautiful-girl glare. What a supreme honor. Nothing could be better about coming to this otherworld.
"Um, Haruka-kun. Talking with you doesn't seem to get anything done, so I'm going to compare information with Shimazaki-san and the others for a bit. Stay right there, okay? Don't go home."
With that, a girls' meeting of twenty girls began. I stayed put.
For some reason some of the girls hugged the bitches. I stayed put.
The class rep said something and everyone laughed. I stayed put.
Wait, bullying! I was being bullied! So because the otaku ran away, the target shifted to me.
Well, being a loner was normal. But just staying still was boring. Time for the classic "の" character. It was a sure thing, so this had to be the correct answer.
I wrote "の" on the ground. Not very interesting. I wrote it with more force, but the ground was hard and left no trace. I reinforced my finger with Magic Wrap and wrote. Ah! A faint "の" trace… It worked!
I focused magic power on my fingertip and wrote "の." My finger sank into the ground. I made the "の" bigger while concentrating even more magic power into my fingertip. Was Earth Magic activating too? The ground was gouged out in the shape of "の." Magic power lines spiraled out from the "の" I wrote with my finger, and the ground sank as if collapsing. This could dig a vertical hole! I could expand my home! I concentrated and sharpened the magic power even more, imagining spiraling magic power as I kept writing "の." The magic lines grew stronger and stronger until the vortex of magic power…
"Haruka-kuuuun! Why are you buried!? I told you to stay still, right? Why are you buried!?"
The class rep was talking to me from above, or rather glaring down at me. Thank you?
"Well, I was bored?"
"Don't get buried just because you're bored!! I saw magic power suddenly start spiraling and glowing and thought something happened!?"
"I was bored so I wrote 'の' and kind of got absorbed?"
"For that reason!? …Sorry."
At some point it had become a hole about five meters deep. I was surprised. Yeah, it was hard to climb out.
"Um, I roughly heard from Shimazaki-san and the others. You came to help Oda-kun and the others, and Shimazaki-san and the others, and us too. Thank you so much. Really, we should have been the ones going to help lonely Haruka-kun… Sorry. And thank you."
"Um, who's Oda again?"
"Why don't you know Oda-kun!! You talked to him at school sometimes, and you helped him, right!? You met him while running away too, right!? Why don't you know his name!!"
The class rep scream series, again. Coming soon—or rather, it was already here. When did pre-orders start? What were the reservation bonuses?
"Ah, the otaku, right? Yeah, I met them. The bitch leader kept saying Oda Oda so I wondered who it was, but they were doing fine."
"Oda-kun is his real name!!! There's no way he's Otaku-kun! And you already forgot Shimazaki-san's name agaaaain!! Zeh-zeh-zeh-"
The class rep seemed tired. Apparently Oda was the otaku's real name? She was still going zeh-zeh, so the fatigue must have built up. No wonder.
"It's fine, Class Rep. Suddenly thrown into this world, and you still worked so hard to hold the class together for over a week. It's okay. You're tired. You worked hard."
"It's because of Haruka-kun that I'm tired!! Talking with Haruka-kun in this world is the most exhausting thing!"
Apparently it was my fault. How unreasonable.
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"So, you were trying to go home earlier, but what are you planning to do with Shimazaki-san and the others?"
Vice Class Rep A asked while glaring. Let me explain: Vice Class Rep means Class Rep's companion A~C. I don't know who the actual vice class rep is.
"What do you mean what? Return them to where I found them? Something like that?"
"Return them—what!? They're not stray cats! Besides, you're the one who used Servitude on them, right?"
"Eh? Since I used Servitude, if I say 'Go back to the forest' won't they go?"
"What do you think Shimazaki-san and the others are!! Why would they live in the forest!?"
For some reason Vice Class Rep A started screaming. Was this a spin-off of the Class Rep scream? Vice Class Rep A had slightly more modest chest armor than the class rep but was still a beauty almost as tall, called the cool beauty. Chest-armor fans weren't as into her, but leg-propulsion fans loved her immensely. As part of the series, I probably needed to secure the spin-off too? I was looking forward to the bonus goods.
"…For now, you have no intention of taking them home with you, right?"
"None at all!"
"Why none at all!! Take them with you! You said to make them stronger, right? Why the instant answer!? Why is only that part not a question!!"
Uwooh, the bitch leader who had been completely silent until now was screaming. She seemed to have broken out of cult-follower mode. Maybe joining up gave her some mental breathing room. When she revived, she was noisy again.
"But it's a pain… I mean, you already reconciled properly, right? Besides, look at their status. They can already fight normally, and they're stronger than the otaku were the last time I saw them?"
Yeah, thanks to Servitude's Experience Distribution effect, the bitches had leveled up and were now at Lv19, surpassing the otaku's Lv16. With that berserk mode where they toyed with and slaughtered kobolds, they probably had no enemies. I would run.
"Their levels are already high and they have skill points saved up, so if they activate their cheat skills they should be plenty strong. With five of them, they could hunt monsters or horny monkey boys. They might even be able to hunt the otaku?"
"Why would they apologize and say thank you for helping them all this time, then hunt them!!"
"Ehh, momentum?"
"""..."""
The silent stares hurt.
And behind them, the class rep and the others were holding a meeting with tired faces.
"Well~ well~ calm down~ From Haruka-kun's behavior it doesn't look like he has any intention of doing anything weird to Shimazaki-san and the others~. Right?"
Vice Class Rep B seemed to be following up. As expected of a good person. It made sense she was ranked number one in the good-person ranking. But don't be fooled by that B in her name! In chest armor she surpassed the class rep and was called a god by chest-armor believers. She was nodding "un un" at her own words. They were swaying "un un" together. Oh, what a terrifying child!!
"'Doesn't look like'—I mean, he clearly doesn't, right? Treating popular model Shimazaki-chan like that…"
Vice Class Rep A, you complained when I said I had no intention of doing anything weird, and now you're complaining when I say I don't? A two-sided complaint? How much do you love complaints? I don't want complaints!! Wait, if it was flirty complaint complaint then please!!
"'Treating'—it sounds like Haruka-kun is treating his classmates the same as monsters?"
Vice Class Rep C also seemed to have complaints. Even though she was tiny. Vice Class Rep C would never be treated like a monster. She looked like a tiny animal. Her chest armor was also tiny… Uwooooh, she glared at me with incredible eyes! As a small animal she probably had a crisis-detection skill?
"I've been in the same class as her since first grade for eleven straight years, but now that I think about it, I've only ever been called… Class Rep!!?"
What were they talking about? The class rep looked like she was doing an orz pose? She really was tired. She must have worked hard.
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I was bored. The girls' meeting was still going. As expected, girls' conversations were long. With twenty of them, deciding what to eat for lunch alone would probably take a week. There would be starvation victims.
"It's getting dark soon, so I'll leave the rest to you young people and take my leave…" "We're classmates so Haruka-kun is young too!!" "…Yeah."
I still couldn't go home. Since I was bored I sniped the kobolds and goblins that approached. When I glanced earlier their levels had gone up, and the detection range had extended to 20–30 meters, but I had no attack methods. I might get yelled at again, so I secretly used Wind Magic, but Air Bullet dispersed midway and failed. Air Cutter didn't fly and turned into just wind after about five meters. Thanks to the level up the distance had increased, but it still didn't reach.
Could I send Earth Magic far away? I placed my hand on the ground and extended magic power, then from directly below the goblin… Earth Needle! Yes! It worked. Skewered. But I couldn't move while doing this~ It would be impossible in combat. I had to concentrate on both detection and magic, and the magic efficiency was worse than expected even though the distance increased. But I was bored~?
"Class Rep, it's seriously getting dark. Can I go home?"
I raised my hand and asked.
"Everyone has nowhere to go, so we're discussing… Now that I think about it, where were you trying to go home to, Haruka-kun?"
Ah, the class rep's base was falling apart. Some tents were still intact, but the horny monkeys were probably targeting them nearby. But even if we discussed it, there was nothing we could do, right?
"Eh, home?"
"Why do you have a home in another world!? Are you from this world!?"
"Eh, I made it because I was bored?"
The girls' meeting resumed.
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"By the way, how many people can it hold~?"
"Dunno~? It's for one person, and only the otaku have ever been inside?"
Was this a housing survey? If I answered, would the class rep try to sell me a mansion or something? The otherworld was surprisingly formidable.
"Um, in a tent it's packed like sushi, about half a tatami per person? If there are two tatami for three people it feels spacious with one tatami each?"
"Hm~ how much is it?"
I'd always been alone, so I'd never packed people into the cave. Right now the area without furniture was… about 40 tatami or a bit more?
"Um, in the worst case if we sleep packed with knees up, maybe five or six per tatami?"
One tatami for six people. Easy calculation.
"If one tatami holds six, then 240 people? For five it would be about 200? If we remove furniture maybe a bit more, around 300? There's also the kitchen, bath, toilet, and… the half-built storage space~…"
"200… 240 people… Just how big a mansion are you living in alone!! Why does a single person have 40 tatami!? A separate kitchen, bath, and toilet—what were you doing in the otherworld!?"
"What do you mean? Living? I just made some adjustments here and there and it kind of expanded?"
"Why are you living comfortably and elegantly in the otherworld!? This is supposed to be a survival situation!? Why did you casually build a mansion!?"
The class rep and the others seemed angry about the otherworld housing situation. Yeah, the people of this otherworld were really inconsiderate and troublesome.
"Haruka-kun, please."
""""Please."""""
Uwooooh, what now? The class rep and the others all bowed their heads at once. D-don't tell me they wanted me to publish an otherworld housing information magazine? A high school boy running a mansion management business with a construction plan that was constructively constructive…
"Because of what happened with Oda-kun and the others, we know we shouldn't be asking you this, but… could you let everyone stay just for tonight?"
Haaah!? High school girls staying over at a lone high school boy's room in another world!? Young girls these days are shameless. Such immoral, corrupt public morals, such outrageous misconduct with sleepovers…
"Of course, we'll handle night watch, gathering food, cooking, cleaning, tending the fire—everything. We won't do anything like what we did to Oda-kun and the others! …I know you probably won't believe us saying this, but… just for tonight, please."
So that was it. Their base and tents were gone, they had nowhere to return to and nowhere to sleep tonight. That was all.
That was all, but they couldn't say it.
It was about the otaku. The otaku had built the base, made defensive fences, pitched tents, prepared campfires, gathered and collected food, cooked meals, cleaned, provided protection, night watch, and defense—all of it. They had just lived there. They had simply been protected there. Thanks to that they had survived, yet they had driven the otaku out.
In reality the otaku had run away. But it was no different from driving them out.
So now they couldn't ask me to provide a home. They didn't have the right. They didn't have the trust. They couldn't say it themselves.
That was why this time they couldn't bring themselves to ask.
They had driven out the otaku who had done everything for them. Now they were asking another loner for shelter. Even if it was just for one night, they knew how shameless it was. They had no right, no trust, and no face to ask.
So instead they bowed their heads and said "please" with everything they had left.
I stared at the twenty girls.
The class rep and her group looked exhausted but determined. The five bitches stood a little apart, still bloodstained, eyes downcast, but no longer in that terrifying cult mode.
I sighed.
"…Fine. Just for tonight. But I'm not running a hotel. You handle your own food, watch, cleaning, everything. And no weird stuff."
The moment I said it, the tension broke.
A wave of relieved sighs and quiet "thank you"s rippled through the group. Some of the girls looked like they were about to cry again.
The class rep gave me a small, tired smile. "Thank you, Haruka-kun. Really."
I turned and started walking back toward the cave, the entire procession of twenty girls trailing behind me like a weird school field trip that had gone horribly wrong.
Behind me I could hear quiet conversations starting up again, but this time they sounded… normal. Tired, but normal.
I kept my eyes forward the whole way.
Because if I looked back at the five blood-covered, formerly-bitchy girls silently following like loyal retainers, I was pretty sure I would scream.