[I’m not a dog…]
“Hehe, let’s go for a walk~”
Millia skillfully attached the leash to Rue and tightened it. Rue, overwhelmed by the imminent horror of the walk, thrashed around like a weak tentacle that couldn’t even cast magic. With a defeated expression, Rue got up while still tied to the leash.
“Don’t wander too far!”
“Okay~!”
“Can, can you really handle the, the magic book like that…?”
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
Since Millia likes it, I have no reason to stop her. Rue seems to not mind it too much either.
“Only Johann would treat a magic book like that…”
“Am I the first, then?”
There’s no other statement that resonates with a gamer’s heart like that. This isn’t a game, so no achievements will pop up, but I watched Elisa, who was tidying the dishes with her head completely turned and fingers wiggling.
“Maybe…”
“So, what brings you here? I need to leave soon.”
“Well, um…”
Elisa started twisting her body while stealing glances at me in response to my question. What could she possibly want to say? I waited for her answer with slightly tense eyes. It felt like forever, but about three minutes later, the shy but determined Elisa finally spoke up.
“Um, there’s going to be a, a black market in a few days… Do you want to, um, maybe go together…?”
“Are you inviting me to the black market? Why?”
“That, um…”
Elisa stammered and began a lengthy explanation. To summarize her frustratingly slow and complicated story, it was just simple:
“I want to go to the black market because there’s something I want to buy, but I’m too scared to go alone.”
“Yes, yes…”
“Alright. I was planning to go anyway, so let’s go together.”
I was intending to check if there were any useful magical tools or materials anyway.
“R-really?”
Seeing Elisa’s surprised wide-eyed expression made me nod again. I stood up since I had a lot to do today and needed to move quickly.
“Let’s have dinner three nights from now and head out right after.”
“Yes, yes! Thank you!”
“Johann.”
I turned to see Karina calling me with a lovely voice. She looked a bit worried as she asked,
“Isn’t the black market dangerous?”
“As long as you stay close to me, you’ll be fine.”
“What if we take Renny along too?”
“Renny is meant to protect you. I understand your concern, but overly protective habits aren’t good either. It won’t just be the two of us, so don’t worry too much.”
“…But you still need to be careful, okay?”
Her cute worry made me chuckle as I replied.
“I’m the one with safety paranoia. I might not know much else, but you can relax about safety.”
“…Yes.”
“Weren’t we supposed to go together…?”
I shifted my gaze back to Elisa upon hearing the very disappointed voice coming from behind. With a gloomy face, she was glancing at me while fidgeting her hands faster. Did she really want to go just us two?
“I have a party to think about.”
“Is that so… Alright, then…”
With her shoulders drooping, Elisa left the cafeteria. I watched her for a moment, then greeted Karina and exited the cafeteria.
————————-
“Phew, it’s hot… One orange juice, please!”
Upon making my refreshing order, Sif plopped a thick stack of papers in front of me. As if to show off how hard she worked, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“That’s quite a lot.”
“I struggled hard to gather all that. I spent a ton of money, you know…”
As she said that, Sif glanced up at me slyly. The look in her eyes clearly said, ‘I worked hard, so give me a tip!’ I took out five gold coins from my pouch and handed them over.
“Whoa, you’re giving me five gold coins? Thanks!”
“If you’re thankful, you should work even harder.”
“Does that mean I’ll get paid more?”
“Depends on the results.”
“What? Did a new sugar daddy come along?”
“Yep.”
At my response, Sif’s eyes sparkled. It seemed she misunderstood thinking the new sugar daddy was her next sugar daddy. Considering her current low-ranking position, it wasn’t necessarily wrong.
“Wow, is he rich?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
I’m not sure how much the principal, Merlin, has in personal assets. With his age, he likely has a lot saved up, but I doubt he’d just pour money on me like that. He probably earned a ton, but spent most of it on his own research.
“Well, since they call him a sugar daddy, he must be wealthy… Ugh, I’m so tired.”
I glanced at her under-eyes, where dark circles faintly showed. Thinking of it, she looked a bit different today; there was a hint of makeup on her face. Is she sprucing up now that she’s made some money? Maybe I should buy something for the kids. But I have no idea how to choose cosmetics, so I’d need Sif’s help.
…Let’s finish the task first.
No deviating from the point.
I laid out the information Sif had gathered about dungeons from across the continent in a neat row on the table. There were about thirty pieces. The information Sif diligently gathered to have a fulfilling summer break was focused solely on unexplored dungeons.
There’s no need to go to dungeons where rewards have already been confirmed.
In fact, most of the dungeons I’ve found here were places I had cleared at least once when I was playing the game. Although I don’t remember much, the names do spark some recognition. And those places usually have lousy rewards.
To find the item needed to break Karina’s curse, it would be better to tour dungeons that were either hidden or discovered but unexplored for some reason. The merit of monopolizing the rewards is also huge. Furthermore…
[New Mission]
– Clear 5 unexplored dungeons.
Reward: 3 Trait Points
…It looks like the mission popped up as if it noticed my plan.
There’s no reason not to accept the offer of Trait Points.
“Johann, about the dungeons, are we going together?”
“I’m considering bringing a few people along.”
“How many?”
“Do you remember the students we escaped with from the rift?”
“Those guys? They were pretty strong for their age, though, was it really necessary?”
Sif sipped her giant cup of orange juice through a straw with a bored expression.
That cup is ridiculously huge. Who puts orange juice in a beer glass?
Should I get one too?
I called the waiter to order an orange juice and continued the conversation.
“They’re reliable. Once they graduate, they’ll come in handy.”
Of course, that was just an excuse. The real reason was that I wanted to grow the protagonist+heroine couple into enough strength to confront future incidents. Adding even one capable fighter expands tactical options.
There was also the reason I didn’t want to struggle alone. The one in front of me wasn’t much help in combat. Just a pack mule for buying odds and ends and collecting information… Well, not just odds and ends. Anyway, she’s a true worker who faithfully carries out her supportive duties.
I better treat them well, or I might get stabbed in the back.
“Hmm~ So you want to nurture talent for your own benefit, huh?”
“Bingo.”
“Then will I lose my job if we go to the dungeons later…?”
Sif’s face showed a hint of unease. Is she worried about getting fired someday? I spoke to reassure her.
“Don’t worry too much. I value your skills highly.”
“Heh, finding someone as good as me isn’t easy, you know?”
Her ears perked up at the compliment, and it was cute to see. Since I couldn’t say it outright, I enjoyed sipping my orange juice, which the waiter had just placed down. The acidity and sweetness danced on my palate, and the slightly sticky texture wasn’t bad at all.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take Elisa with me to the black market. She always has such a gloomy face, perhaps I should create a reason for her to smile at least once. Should I buy something for the kids, too?
…The more people I involve, the more I need to take care of.
Thinking about it, the number of people I’m already connected with has crossed into double digits.
Karina, Renny, Millia, Elisa, Sif, Lewis, Shuri, Perinne, Rue, and even Principal Merlin.
I’m bound to get entangled with more people in the future.
To see the true ending, the reasons remain unknown, so eventually, I’ll need to expand my connections.
Building a network that can respond to any situation will be my goal.
“Johann, why are you spacing out all of a sudden?”
“…I have a lot on my mind.”
“Is it because of all the dungeon info that’s making your head spin?”
“…I’ll go with that.”
I couldn’t share my worries with anyone.
No one would understand that this world was a game.
I started choosing a few sheets from the papers spread out, pushing the rest aside.
“Sif. Confirm additional information about these dungeons. I’ll give you one gold coin for a decent piece of information.”
“Really?!”
At my words, Sif jumped up, slapping the table. Perhaps my generous offer moved her; she stood there with her tail and ears perked up, looking eager. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her simplicity.
“Yeah. Gather as much as you can before the next black market opens.”
“Got it! Just you wait! I’ll bring back every scrap of information, known or unknown!”
I sipped the remaining orange juice while listening to Sif’s confident declaration.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.