Volume 5, Chapter 26 – The Mystery of EXP

We returned to the base set up at the site of the former Fu Yie Village.

All the other mountain hunting parties had already returned.

It seemed there were no injuries, so that was a relief.

Work on the base was progressing bit by bit; the fences had been firmly reinforced.

Furthermore, the area where the village chief’s house once stood had been completely cleared, and foundation work for rebuilding the house appeared to have begun.

I provided lumber, replenished the mana in the weapons of the units returning from the hunt, and re-applied Enchants to those whose effects had completely worn off.

Once I finished all my work, I sat down for a slightly late lunch.

“Thank you for your hard work, Fiene-sama.”

“Thank you. But it’s my job, after all.”

“Onee-sama! Let’s eat, hurry up!”

Lu-chan took my hand and led me toward the eating area—or rather, she practically abducted me.

“Lu-chan, the food isn’t going anywhere, you know?”

“Onee-sama doesn’t get it! The food we eat now can only be eaten now !”

Hmm? I’m not quite sure what she means. Has Lu-chan awakened to some sort of philosophy?

“Here! This is your portion, Onee-sama.”

“Thank you, Lu-chan.”

As usual, Lu-chan served me the exact amount I wanted to eat, and I thanked her.

I wondered if Lu-chan’s true calling was actually being the owner of a restaurant… no, that’s impossible.

She’d probably eat everything herself before she could serve the customers.

“Itadakimasu.”

I began my lunch.

Today’s menu consisted of rice flour that had been kneaded, flattened thinner than noodles, and steamed, along with some leafy vegetables with a slightly bitter taste that I didn’t know the name of, topped with vinegar, chili oil, and sesame, and a soup with tofu, mushrooms, and coriander (shanzai).

It wasn’t incredibly delicious, but for a meal in a place lacking infrastructure, the taste was decent.

In particular, the chewy texture of the kneaded rice flour was almost addictive.

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“Fiene-dono, regarding the conversation from earlier…”

“Yes? What was the conversation from earlier again?”

I tilted my head curiously, and Shizuku-san stared at me with a suspicious, almost exasperated look.

“…Ah, perhaps you mean the talk about your EXP increasing?”

“As I thought, you had forgotten…”

Shizuku-san placed a hand slightly above her forehead in an exaggerated “what am I supposed to do with you?” pose.

Or maybe she was just exasperated?

“Sigh. I have thought this for some time, but it is better not to put off your questions, is it not?”

“Eh? Ahaha, you’re right. But I just tend to forget.”

“Good grief, it cannot be helped. Now, continuing from before, is Fiene-dono’s EXP not still increasing even now?”

“Eh? But I don’t hear the General’s spirited shouting?”

I answered and looked around for the General.

It seemed the General was sitting a short distance away from us, eating alone.

Then, in the corner of my vision, I spotted Yihua-san hiding in the shadow of a building.

It looked like she was peeking at the General.

Seriously, she doesn’t have to hide in a corner like some kind of stalker. She could just go talk to him.

“…I would appreciate it if you moved away from the General.”

Shizuku-san’s voice pulled me back.

“Um, if it’s not the General’s spirited shouting, then why is the EXP increasing?”

“That is the question—”

“What are you talking about? Onee-sama! Shizuku-san!”

Turning around, I saw Lu-chan with a second helping and Chris-san, who seemed to have just received her meal.

“Look, we’re talking about how the EXP was increasing on its own.”

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“Ah, the thing that increases with that person’s shouting!”

“That was quite shocking. I was surprised the General possessed such a power.”

Lu-chan said it innocently, and Chris-san said it with a serious face, but seeing this, Shizuku-san put her head in her hands.

Her ears drooped sideways and spread out like airplane wings, and her tail hung limp.

“What’s wrong? Oh, if you’re hungry, I’ll go get you a second helping!”

“Shizuku-dono?”

“…Ah, I am fine. For now, since we are making no progress, I would like both of you to move away from the General’s voice.”

“Hmm?”

“What does that mean?”

Both of them looked puzzled, but it seemed the conversation could finally move forward.

“First, Fiene-dono, has your EXP increased any further since then?”

“Um, let me check.”

▽ ▽ ▽

【Name】: Fiene Argentata

【Exp】: 135,110 → 135,350

▽ ▽ ▽

“Ah, for some reason it increased by 240. I wonder what’s happening?”

“Eh? Even though that person isn’t shouting?”

“Strange. I was acting within sight of the General, yet I saw no such thing.”

“I! SAID! Move! Away!”

“A-Ah.”

“Eeeh? But…?”

“If you cannot move away, then remain silent. This concerns Fiene-dono!”

“Okay~”

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Lu-chan agreed, albeit reluctantly.

However, the moment she put the rice flour food into her mouth, her face instantly returned to one of absolute bliss.

As for Chris-san, she had a complicated expression that was hard to read.

It felt as if she were desperately trying to understand something incomprehensible.

“This is but a hypothesis of mine, but I suspect that when an enemy is defeated by a weapon Fiene-dono has given a Blessing to, that EXP is also being awarded to Fiene-dono.”

“Hmm? Does that mean if I make a ton of Enchanted weapons and hand them out, I can get lots of EXP without having to do anything?”

“…If my hypothesis is correct, that would be the case.”

“Munch munch, gulp. Onee-sama is amazing! Munch munch munch.”

“I see. That makes a certain amount of sense. EXP is something gained by the person who delivers the finishing blow to an enemy. If we consider that Fiene-sama’s Purification Magic was riding on that final strike, it wouldn’t be strange to think that Fiene-sama was deeply involved in the finishing blow. However, I have never heard of EXP being distributed like this.”

I see. Come to think of it, the reason Healers’ levels don’t go up was because they can’t deliver the finishing blow. So, if you’re deeply involved in the finishing blow in this way, you can receive EXP.

“Nonetheless, as this is merely a hypothesis, I would like you to check your EXP the next time someone defeats that Undying Beast.”

“Understood.”

It happened right then. With incredibly convenient timing, the voices of the soldiers echoed.

“That beast is attacking! Anyone free, take up the weapons blessed by Saint-sama and fight!”

“”Right!””

The soldiers each grabbed their weapons and ran toward the gate.

“Um, those kids are in this plaza, so… Barrier.”

To protect the non-combatants—Chunlin-chan, Duyinxi-kun, and Yihua-san—I cast a Barrier just in case.

“Status Open.”

I opened my status again to check the EXP.

My EXP, which had been 135,350, increased to 135,410, 135,475, 135,550, 135,620, and 135,685—a total of five increases—and then stopped.

After waiting a while, the General returned from the North Gate, and the soldiers returned from the South Gate.

“General, thank you for your hard work. How many did you defeat?”

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“Hmph, there were only three small fry. Replenish the mana just in case.”

“Yes, yes.”

I replenished the mana in the General’s weapon and then called out to the soldiers who had come from the south.

“Thank you all for your hard work. How many did you defeat?”

“Ah! Saint-sama! Thanks to your weapons, we were able to defeat one wolf and one bear! Thank you very much!”

“Not at all. I’ll replenish the mana just in case.”

“Thank you!”

The soldiers gave me a salute.

They really don’t have to go that far…

“Fiene-dono, how was it?”

“My EXP increased five times, and it seems five Undying Beasts were defeated, so I think it’s just as Shizuku-san said.”

“Onee-sama, so it wasn’t that person’s shouting!”

Seriously. For a moment, I wondered what was going to happen, but I’m glad it wasn’t that.

“Fiene-sama, you have found a new way to Level Up. Congratulations.”

“I suppose so. Thank you, Chris-san.”

Ah, this is probably in reference to how I struggled to raise my level back in the Royal Capital.

Really, Chris-san remembers so many things about me and is always so considerate.

Even if she jumps to conclusions, doesn’t listen to people properly, and is a total muscle-head.

Thinking about it, I felt like thanking her again.

“Yeah, Chris-san, thank you for everything.”

“? You’re welcome?”

She looked a bit puzzled, but Chris-san gave me a bright smile.