CHAPTER 3

The Different Parties

Part I: The Runemaker

I rested in the room for a little while, then Theresia accompanied me when I went to visit Millais’s room.

“Excuse me, do you have a moment? I was hoping to ask you something,” I said.

“Of course. I am happy to answer if I can. If I am unable to answer, then I can ask my coworkers as well,” replied Millais, sitting at a fancy table with carved wooden legs along with two other Maids. The furniture in the Maids’ waiting room wasn’t any less extravagant than the furniture in the rest of the mansion.

“Would you happen to know a skilled blacksmith? I was hoping to go to one as soon as possible.”

“I do know of a very skilled blacksmith; they normally handle repairs to our knives and such. If you like, I can show you the location on your license’s map?”

“Yes please.” I took out my license and displayed the map of District Eight. Millais stood next to me and looked down at my license while she pointed to a spot near the top of the display.

“If you head west down this road from the central square, you’ll find the workshop near the district boundary here,” she explained.

“District boundary… Is that the wall here?” I asked.

“Yes. The Labyrinth Country is almost entirely encircled by the city walls, and then each of the districts is divided with these walls, which are the district boundaries. It starts with District One at the top and then continues clockwise to District Two and so on, so in the east, you will find the district boundary dividing this district from District One. The wall is thicker, and the security more severe than for the wall in the west.”

“I assume that even if you could use your skills to get past the wall, they’d remove you immediately if you weren’t supposed to be there.”

“I believe so, yes. I have heard that it is impossible to use teleportation-type magic to move past the wall if you don’t follow the proper procedures. The actual district boundary does stop at a certain height, but you will be returned to your original location if you try to find a way over the wall.”

There was the system that transported you to the chest-opening rooms, so the Labyrinth Country did use teleportation in a variety of different ways. You could say that the Labyrinth Country wouldn’t be what it was today if it didn’t have teleportation.

Even if District One and Eight were divided by a wall, people would be able to get over the walls and go to the other district using various skills if there wasn’t some sort of ceiling blocking entry on the whole thing. Even if they didn’t have the skills to fly, they could theoretically use magic to scale the vertical wall. But anyway, I now knew, thanks to Millais, that it wasn’t possible to jump the walls like that. I bet you probably couldn’t dig under them, either.

Still, everything had its flaws. There were always exceptions to the rules—me, for instance—which probably meant there were other people with unknown jobs and skills they could use to beat the system. They could go to the higher districts to try out the stronger but more profitable labyrinths if they had strong skills that let them do so despite being at a low level. Personally, I thought it was better to steadily increase my level and keep moving, but you couldn’t pass your rivals by if you played it too safe.

If someone has a strong job and is a high level…was this really a place where they would linger around? Those Seekers rarely come to the lower districts, probably because the competition is so fierce in the higher ones.

Elitia’s appearance in District Eight was such a strange sight that it caused a bit of an uproar. Maybe there wasn’t much a Seeker could gain from going to a low district after having climbed their way to the higher ones. Elitia had joined our party and done some incredible things in battle but still only gained one level.

“Mr. Atobe, if you like, I can show you to the workshop?” offered Millais.

“Oh, no, thank you… I should be fine. You already told us how to get there. What’s the name of the place?”

“It is called the Mistral Forge. The blacksmith there is nicknamed the Armored Smith since they are always wearing full plate armor. You may be surprised when you first see them, but the Mistral Forge’s blacksmith is a very kind individual. I hope you won’t be frightened.”

Rikerton and Melissa were pretty strange themselves. I was starting to feel like all craftspeople here were eccentrics. Actually, no, I shouldn’t assume this blacksmith was an oddball just because they wore armor all the time.

I thanked Millais, and we left the mansion. Theresia lagged behind me for a little while, but she seemed to realize she was falling behind and so caught up until she was walking by my side.

“……”

“Watch your step; they’re still repairing the city. We should also keep an eye out for what’s overhead, too,” I cautioned. There were people around who seemed to have architecture-related skills, because they were working on repairing the places that had been damaged by the monsters’ attacks. At this rate, it’d only take a few more days for the city to return to its normal state.

We arrived at the location indicated on the map and saw a stone building with a sign out front that read MISTRAL FORGE. Most of the city’s buildings were built so close that there wasn’t much space between them, but perhaps because this was a forge, which would use fire, there were canals running on either side of the building.

I rang the doorbell and heard the heavy clank, clank of metal shoes coming our way. The door opened, and I was faced with a figure who was slightly larger than me and entirely encased in plate mail.

“Hmm, you’re not the appointment I was waiting for. My name is Steiner. I’m the blacksmith in this here forge. What can I do for you today?” said the suit of armor. The voice didn’t come from inside the armor, though; I could hear it as if it were spoken directly into my head. It sounded throaty, not at all deep and booming like I’d expect from armor so massive, and I had trouble identifying if the speaker was male or female.

“Ah, you must be surprised by the sight of me,” continued Steiner. “Please pay no mind. Equipment enhanced with magic stones is a necessity to protect from the heat of the forge and to avoid damage to the eyes.”

“Right…,” I replied. I had heard that when using the old tatara furnaces, the workers had to constantly observe the light of the fire that heated the iron, and many of them lost sight in one of their eyes in their old age. I guess it was plausible that full body armor would help against that. If it had some heat protection modification, then it wouldn’t be nearly as uncomfortable as it looked.

“……”

“Hmm? …What’s wrong, Theresia?” I asked. She seemed on guard, wary of something in the shop behind Steiner. Maybe there was someone else in back.

“Your companion is a lizardman… It seems you have no prejudices against demi-humans, sir. Is that correct?”

“Yes, Theresia is a good friend of mine,” I replied without hesitation. Theresia looked at me, clenching her fist to her chest. I wished I could tell her somehow that I really meant it.

“That is wonderful. It is one of my desires that there be more people who interact with demi-humans without prejudice. Sir, may I ask your name?”

“Oh, right. Sorry for not introducing myself. I’m Arihito Atobe.”

“Thank you, Mr. Atobe. And welcome again to Mistral Forge. Please come this way.” Steiner opened the door wide and beckoned for us to enter. Immediately inside was a room for customers to wait in while the work was being done. Steiner suddenly asked me a question as they showed us into the forge.

“By the way, what sort of work have you come for today?”

“I was hoping to have some weapons strengthened with magic stones and ores. I’d also like to have a rune placed in a rune slot…”

“Aha… A rune!” came another voice. A small girl appeared from back in the forge. She wore a robe with a hood pulled up, which made her look like a magic user. I somehow felt like she was different from a normal human. Her hair was a pale yellow, and her eyes were the deep green of forest trees.

“Oh, darn it. I just jumped out, didn’t I? And Steiner was supposed to be the one in charge of dealing with customers,” she said.

“N-nice to meet you… Um, Steiner, may I ask who this little girl is?”

“I am not a ‘little girl’! Believe it or not, I’m actually your elder. You don’t seem to have anything against nonhumans, so I suppose I can give it to you straight. I, Ceres Mistral, am the proprietor of Mistral Forge!” The girl threw her hood back to reveal her pointed ears. They were like elf ears.

“Your ears… Oh, you must be a race native to this world,” I said.

“Indeed. Most reincarnates call us elves, but we’re called jades because of the color of our eyes,” she explained.

“Jades… All right.”

“We are able to work in jobs that reincarnates are not able to choose. In my case, that would be Runemaker,” Ceres went on. “And this is a set of armor that works using runes. Golem makers are also capable of rendering nonliving objects animate, but what’s different here is that Steiner is their own being.”

“I am strong, as my looks may imply, so I am responsible for the smithing work. My master oversees all rune work,” said Steiner. They didn’t seem to mind that Ceres had just revealed their identity. If Steiner was closer to something like living armor than an iron golem, maybe that meant their armor was empty inside?

“Oh, as a side note, there is something inside Steiner’s armor. Wouldn’t want you to get the wrong idea and think you could mess with ’em because there’s nothing in there,” said Ceres.

“Um… N-no, Master, there really isn’t anything inside. I am nothing more than moving armor.” Their conversation just made me all the more curious about what was in there. Were they like a doll given life with runes? Either way, Steiner didn’t seem to want to reveal it, so I shouldn’t push it.

Part II: Black Magical Slingshot

Ceres came up to me and smiled happily as she looked back and forth between me and Theresia. She seemed friendly, but her features were just a little too perfect, and it made me feel nervous as she stared at us.

“This human’s especially fascinating. It’s one thing to hire a demi-human mercenary, but you don’t see many people willing to just go for a stroll around town with one… And she seems quite attached to you. She’s stood where she can protect you ever since I came out,” said Ceres.

“……”

“Theresia, you don’t need to be wary of Ceres… Or actually, maybe you should be. It’s probably normal to assume there’s something behind someone who uses animate armor to run a blacksmith shop.”

“Precisely— Wait, what am I saying? I wouldn’t reveal myself so easily if I had something to hide. I only decided to tell you who I am ’cause you piqued my interest. How could you be so cold?!” Ceres grumbled as she stroked her braided, flaxen-colored hair, looking nothing like a blacksmith and everything like a little girl.

“Sir, it is incredibly rare for my master to show herself. I understand why you might have your suspicions, but I ask that you put your trust in her. I promise you will get more than your money’s worth if you do.” Steiner clapped a fist to their chest like a knight would. It looked a bit like a salute.

“No, I don’t actually think you’re suspicious,” I said. “I just sort of wondered whether it was okay for you to tell me your secrets… Are you sure you can trust me, considering we just met?”

“I wouldn’t quite call them secrets. To put it plainly, I quite like you. You have no problems letting yourself be seen walking around the city with a demi-human, and the two of you quite obviously care for each other. You don’t seem to understand how rare it is to see something like that,” explained Ceres.

“It’s never really bothered me that Theresia’s a demi-human. I’m not just satisfied with how she is right now; I want to help her return to her original form.”

“…That is quite incredible. Master, this person…,” said Steiner.

“Hmph. That is not an easy road you walk, but should your intentions be true, then I will be happy to assist where I can. What work would you like us to do for you?”

I showed Ceres and Steiner the ores, magic stones, and rune I had with me.

“Yes, two elmina iron, a poison crystal, two gaze stones, a confusion stone… And this rune—it’s a magia rune,” observed Ceres.

“Magia… What does that do if you apply it to a weapon?” I asked.

“You will be able to change your weapon’s attack from a physical attack to a magical one. It is useful against monsters who, for example, respond with horrific counterattacks when hit with a physical attack, but you can also increase its capabilities by combining it with other runes. Though, you would need a weapon with at least two rune slots for that,” explained Ceres.

You could draw out the runes’ true power when enhancing weapons if you combined multiple runes. Anyway, for now, I’d just have her put the magia rune on my slingshot. Igarashi’s armor and weapon each had one rune slot, so I’d like to eventually fill those up, too.

“I have this ebony slingshot—could you place the rune in this?”

“Yes, if you wish. I can also add up to three magic stones, so shall I go ahead and do that as well? The abnormal status effects will work regardless of whether you’re using physical or magical attacks.”

“Yes please. What can the elmina iron be used for?”

“Reinforcing armor. It could be used for strengthening weapons also, but elmina iron’s greatest strengths are in its durability and light weight.”

“I see… But I didn’t bring my companions’ armor with me. What should I do?”

“You can really only ask the Carriers to bring it here for you. If you are the party leader, you can display your allies’ equipment on your license. You select which you’d like to be modified, and we will handle the rest.”

“Thank you. Is there anything from this list that you think would benefit most from the reinforcement?”

“Let’s see… These two will see the greatest increase in defensive power if you reinforce their armor.”

Igarashi’s armor and Theresia’s armor were already fairly strong, so they wouldn’t see much of an increase, but Misaki and Suzuna would see a significant improvement if we modified theirs. They were going to add a chest guard to Suzuna’s upper body armor, which would make it easier for her to shoot her bow, and I asked them to modify Misaki’s while they were at it. Both would become +1 armor, their defense would increase, and they would become lightweight.

“We will work on your weapon until the armor is delivered,” said Steiner.

“Yes, first, I will place the rune in the rune slot. When you wish it to be removed, don’t try to force it out yourself. Leave it to the experts. Those strong enough to get their hands on something like this don’t usually stay long in this district,” noted Ceres.

“I’d like to bring my equipment here as much as possible. One of my companions is a Merchant, which I believe will allow us to place orders remotely,” I said.

“Happy to hear it. Well then, feel free to call us when you find yourself with another valuable rune. It’ll be safer that way,” said Ceres with a smile, but her face turned serious as she took my weapon and started to place the rune in it.

“Words of power, become one with this object… Enchant Rune!”

“Whoa… That’s completely different from when magic stones are added…,” I said.

“Looks like it went well… It’s said that weapons change their very nature when runes are added. It is a different process from adding magic stones at the most basic level,” explained Ceres.

“Next, I will embed the magic stones into the handle. Quite useful to be able to use three status effect attacks,” said Steiner, activating a skill called Insert Magic Stone and embedding the stones into the slingshot with a dexterity I wouldn’t have expected from looking at them. The process added pluses to it, so it became a Black Magical Slingshot +3. It looked like it was significantly more powerful than before, but the actual damage it did hadn’t really increased that much.

With this, though, everyone would be able to attack with status ailments if I used Attack Support 2. I wanted to test out exactly what effect it would have during our next seek. The purple stone was poison, the pink was confusion, and the black was gaze, otherwise known as a Stun effect.

“You should transfer over the rune when you find a more powerful weapon. Magia runes are not that uncommon, but there’s usually only about one found every three months in Districts Eight and Seven. Even if you tried to compress magic stones to make one, it’d take a decent amount of time and luck to do it,” said Ceres.

“Thank you for the information. We still have one more gaze stone… Theresia, which would you prefer: to defend against Stun or to inflict Stun?”

“……”

Theresia held up her short sword to say she would like to add the Stun effect to her weapon.

“I’m happy for you, Theresia. It’d be a shame for you to come all this way with your master and not receive any presents,” observed Steiner.

“Ngh…”

Theresia seemed surprised and shook her head vigorously. She was being really hesitant in accepting a present. I did understand why she might, but her reaction was a bit over the top.

“……!”

“Y-yeah, I get it. You’re saying that strengthening your equipment isn’t really a present, right?” I vocalized.

“……”

I had been trying to support her, but she just seemed upset. Guess she really did want a present and just panicked because she felt bad about accepting.

“Don’t be ridiculous! A present is a present, no matter what form it comes in. You should graciously accept,” urged Ceres.

“……”

Theresia had turned red again, but when she got the modified short sword back, she traced over the magic stone in the hilt with her finger. The action almost seemed loving, but maybe that was just projection on my part.

“I think she’s saying she’ll treasure it. Arihito, I do think I like the two of you. Watching you express yourselves to each other shows me that the world isn’t just full of hopeless things,” said Ceres.

“It’s been a long time since Master has taken a liking to a human. She always lets me deal with the customers, but now she is so talkative…,” added Steiner.

“I talk more when I’m in a good mood. Well then, we will have the rest of the equipment delivered to your residence when it has been finished. Where would that be—? Ah, of course, the highest-ranking lodging in the district,” said Ceres admiringly as I wrote down the Lady Ollerus Mansion’s address. She really did look so innocent that I just wanted to ask…but it could come off as rude, so I’d need to be careful how I worded my question.

“Um, Ceres…,” I started.

“I’ll be a hundred and fifteen years old this year, though I stopped aging at fifteen. Or was it before that…? The longer I live, the fuzzier my memories get,” she said.

“A hundred… So does that mean you’re basically immortal?”

“Time flows for every race. Simply by living, the fusion between a being’s soul and its body weakens over time until the soul separates and is reborn in a new body. The cycle merely takes longer with my race than others.”

When I was reincarnated, it had seemed like my body and appearance hadn’t changed, but I had felt much more full of life, like I had actually been reborn. Perhaps that was because my soul had moved to a new body. The Labyrinth Country had proved that souls really do exist, which meant it wasn’t over when you died; you still got more chances.

“I have heard that the highest-ranking Seekers in the Labyrinth Country can even choose their reincarnation. I’ve also heard there’s a limit of a thousand years of cumulative life, though. Which means it’s not only my species that is long-lived. Any race can do it, if they are prepared to fight for it,” said Ceres.

“That’s amazing… Ceres, can you live for hundreds of years?” I asked.

“Hmm, I wonder. It would mean looking like this at one hundred and fifty, then dying of old age while still being young. I’d like to have a family before that, though… Mm?” Theresia stood in front of me with her two arms spread wide to each side— Was she protecting me? In any case, I didn’t think that’s what Ceres was getting at.

“Ha-ha… Don’t worry; no matter how much I said I like him, I wouldn’t think of that after just one day. Besides, I doubt Arihito could think of me as a woman with this girlish body.”

“Uh, um… I’m not really sure how to respond to that…,” I said.

“See, he sees me as just a child… But it’s surprisingly fun to tease young men like this.” She covered her mouth with her sleeve as she laughed, which was somehow both childish and flirtatious… Something that came with her kind of longevity, I guess.

The doorbell rang just then, and Steiner went to answer it. Somehow, the equipment had already arrived for modification. It had both Suzuna’s and Misaki’s upper body armor.

“…It’s all women’s armor. Arihito, there’s nothing wrong with recruiting allies who suit your preferences, but you need to show self-restraint so that you don’t injure your hips. A Seeker needs their hips!” cried Ceres.

“Look, even I thought it was weird my entire party is female, but it wasn’t an intentional choice… Right, Theresia?”

“……”

“That face says you’re annoyed by how much of a womanizer your master is, yes?” Ceres asked Theresia. “If it makes you so frustrated, you should just lock your master down by getting it on with him. Men turn to putty if you do that, or so I’ve heard.”

“Ngh…”

I had no idea what Ceres was talking about, but Theresia suddenly turned bright red and walked out of the shop, stopping outside the door to stare back at me.

“This is one area in which Master has some issues, but I hope you’ll be open-minded enough to work with us again. I’ll provide a discount for any troubles caused,” said Steiner with a tap on their chest plate. I didn’t think my relationship with Theresia had been seriously damaged, but it was true that Theresia was acting incredibly awkward.

Part III: The Swordswoman’s Tears

I thanked Ceres and Steiner once the modifications were done and headed back to the Lady Ollerus Mansion with Theresia. Just then, I overheard a conversation taking place:

“…Hey, you hear that Polaris is taking the promotion exam now?”

“Word has it that not many people are gonna pass ’cause there’ll be a Named Monster in the Shrieking Wood. Think they’ll be okay?”

“They’re at the top of District Eight. No way they can just skip the test. Wonder if we’ll make it to the top someday…”

Georg, the leader of Polaris, had known they’d fallen from first place in the ranking because it showed on his license, but it sounded like the other Seekers didn’t know we had stolen the top spot.

“Has it seriously been ten years since I got reincarnated? Man, time flies. Maybe it’s time I give up on climbing the ranks and instead try to find a nice girl to settle down with.”

“We gotta work at it some more first. Income and quality of life’s so much better in the higher districts. Even the top of District Eight’s like a totally different world from what we’ve got.”

I’d jumped from lodging to lodging in a short span of time, so I could sympathize. Though, I’d been lucky to get a nice enough place to sleep right from the beginning. Anyway, more important than that, one thing I noticed was that a Named Monster had appeared in the labyrinth that Polaris was taking their test in. Without any specific information about what kind of monster this was, I had no details to go on. I wondered if the Seekers that came up against it were killed or if they had to just run away.

Juggernaut was a similar case of an absurdly strong specimen that seemed to have gone through a sudden mutation of some sort. But Polaris had been the top-ranked party in District Eight, and they had confidence in their abilities. It’d hurt their pride if we suddenly barged in.

“……”

“Oh, sorry… I was just worried about something,” I said, realizing I’d stopped walking, and Theresia was looking at me in concern.

There were a lot of times when someone lost their life to a monster, and that was it: There was no saving them. People who ended up as a demi-human in the Mercenary Office lost their ability to live their life as they saw fit. You couldn’t really say that everything was fine as long as they were alive. I couldn’t help feeling angry and powerless when I imagined the first time Theresia died, even though I didn’t really know what happened.

It was arrogant to think I could save all Seekers, and I wasn’t going to allow myself to think that way. But at the very least, I wanted to save the ones I knew. I couldn’t really see what good it’d do for me to be safe and succeed in life if I couldn’t even accomplish that much.

Georg from Polaris was a good guy. I couldn’t help myself from wanting to see the people I met in the Labyrinth Country survive.

“…Okay, sorry, Theresia. I’d wanted to prepare for the test tomorrow and then rest, but plans have changed. We’ll go home and then go to the labyrinth, and we’ll just take the people who seem up to it. I don’t want anyone to feel like they’re obligated to come along.”

“……”

Theresia nodded. Then she thought for a moment before taking my hand and squeezing it. Her hand looked like she was wearing fingerless, scaly gloves, but it wasn’t a piece of equipment—it was a part of her body since she was a lizardman. Between the scales, though, was her pale skin, which had a human warmth.

“…Oh, and another thing. When we get back, we’ll ask Madoka if she can get you some throwing weapons. Otherwise, you won’t be able to use your new skill, right?”

“……”

“Um… Are you okay with your hand like that? You’re not embarrassed?”

“…!”

I must have seemed worried, because I think she was squeezing my hand to reassure me, but she hadn’t let go, which was starting to get embarrasing.

She yanked her hand away, then turned her back to me, pressing her hands to her lizard mask. I could tell she was blushing even from behind. She shyly turned back to face me, and I tried my hardest to flash her a reassuring smile. Her face grew visibly less red, even if only just barely.

…I think she might’ve just been the type who blushed easily. I got that sense from the beginning that she was pretty sincere.

I really had no idea what kind of person the human Theresia had been. If she hadn’t changed just because she wasn’t able to talk, then her personality probably wouldn’t have changed when she became a demi-human. Not that it mattered whether she stayed the same Theresia or there was a big change when she turned back into a human. I’d be fine with either.

“……”

“Hey, looks like you’ve calmed down a bit. All right, let’s go.”

Theresia nodded. She walked alongside me, her steps making no sound. There weren’t many people who seemed surprised to see us walking together, maybe because they’d all seen the two of us so many times before.

We returned home and told Madoka we wanted some throwing knives. She suggested a small dirk, explaining that small knives would probably be the best option. Apparently, weapons for the robber-type jobs were in high demand, so it would be difficult to get a large number of them, but we were able to buy six knives for ten silver. I wanted to buy an even number, since they were for her to use with Double Throw.

Video games never really seemed to be concerned with the weight of throwing knives, but similar to bullets, the weight of metal knives was not insignificant. We also bought a belt with a holder for the knives. Theresia quickly tried it on to see how it felt. Misaki’s and Suzuna’s modified armor had also arrived, so the two of them put it on with Madoka’s help.

Millais must have seen us arrive, because she brought some tea up. Elitia and Theresia were taking a rest. Igarashi was still sleeping, but she would probably wake up soon. Melissa had apparently taken a liking to Cion, because she’d come over from the Dissection Center and was playing with her in the garden. She always seemed a bit eccentric considering how obsessed she was with dissecting monsters, but I’d never met an animal lover who was a bad person. Maybe I was just biased.

“Soon, it’ll be more efficient for us to seek in District Seven than here in District Eight. I think we’re moving up at just the right time,” said Elitia.

“And thinking of your friend, we want to move up as fast as we can… Though, it still looks like it’ll take some time,” I said.

“…The Guild still hasn’t received any word that the Shining Simian Lord my previous party fought has been defeated,” continued Elitia. “That monster is known to capture the humans it defeats and enslave them… Many Seekers have fallen into its clutches.”

“Simian… So it’s a monkey monster?” I asked.

Enslaving people was something only a creature with a fairly high intelligence could accomplish. Among all the monsters we’d fought so far, even the bipedal orcs, I hadn’t really felt any significant intelligence from them. But in the future, we might encounter monsters that were capable of strategic thought.

Demi-Harpies, for example, could annihilate a group of Seekers by coordinating their attacks. Speaking of which, those three Demi-Harpies I’d defeated were still at the Monster Ranch. I’d have to stop by so that we could use their Lullaby in battle.

“…But if it enslaves them…that means it sees some value in keeping the people that it defeated alive. That means your friend probably isn’t dead,” I said to Elitia. That’s why she was trying to make it back to the place where she had lost her friend, but just because they were living, it didn’t mean we’d be able to easily save them. Elitia looked down, squeezing and pulling her golden pigtails in clenched fists in front of her chest.

“…I’ll never forgive that foul beast… I swear… I’m gonna kill that thing… How dare it…!”

“Elitia…!”

The cursed sword Elitia wielded was partly to blame for the dramatic shift in her personality during battle, but there was another reason, and that was pure rage. For her to harbor this much hatred toward the monster meant she probably saw it terrorizing her friend. Her face was twisted with anger, but Suzuna had come back into the room and wrapped her arms around her from behind in a hug.

“…It must hurt so much to think about. But it’s going to be okay. Everything will be okay…,” Suzuna consoled her.

“…Ah…,” uttered Elitia as Suzuna unclenched Elitia’s fists on her own hair, lifting one finger at a time. Misaki watched them sadly, then tried to smooth Elitia’s hair with her hands, stroking it back to its normal straightness.

“…You do that, and you’ll accidentally perm your pigtails. I mean, that’s probably cute, too, buuut I think you look better with your silky-smooth hair, y’know. Right, Arihito?” said Misaki.

“Yeah. I’m not sure how to put this, but…I worry that if you let your anger get the best of you, you’ll do something reckless. You need to take care of yourself first and foremost—mind, body, all of it.”

“You shouldn’t try to harm yourself… If you’re hurting, you can mess with my hair instead,” offered Suzuna as she held out her black tresses. Elitia put her hand on Suzuna’s, and her shoulders started to shake, tears streaming from her eyes.

“Ugh… Guh… Th-thank…you… I’m s-such a child…and so weak… I couldn’t save my friend… I just ran… I couldn’t do anything…,” she said between sobs.

“…Even so, you decided to go back and save this friend of yours. You’re doing what you can,” I reassured her. “You’ve decided you’re going back no matter what, even though this monster is so powerful that not even the high-ranking Seekers can take it on. We’ve only been able to get this far because you’ve been with us. I say we show this monkey just how strong humans can be.”

“…That monster’s really tough… It eats the men… And the women…”

“It’s awful that so many people have been defeated and eaten by this thing. But if we’re careful enough, we can beat it. We’ll do it safely, take it seriously, and get out with as few injuries as possible. The way I see it, that’s the shortest route… But I guess I sound a bit full of myself, telling that to someone so much more experienced, like you.”

Elitia rubbed her red eyes and looked at me. There was no blame in those eyes; she just looked at me like she was clinging to me, asking me to help her with her body language. She was a level-9 Swordswoman. She’d seen the fiercest battles and come out on the other side, so it wasn’t surprising she would feel such desperation when she came against an enemy that she had no chance of winning against on her own, one that she couldn’t save her friend from.

There’s no way we could win as we were. If everyone got to level 10, or if we tried to fight it with more than one party, maybe. It was better to have more allies. The people from District Eight aiming for the top like us, or those already fighting in the higher districts… There was nothing in the rules saying we couldn’t gather them for a big fight against a boss.

“Suzu’s hugs are really calming, but in times like these, you want an adult’s broad-mindedness, riiight? Oh, don’t just stand there all indifferent, Arihito! Go!” said Misaki.

“N-no, I’m not… Igarashi’s way more tolerant than me.”

“Huh… Wh-what? Tolerant…? What are you talking about?” asked Igarashi, who had finally woken up. Igarashi noticed how red Elitia’s eyes were when Elitia turned around. She shot me a look, one that didn’t imply I’d made her cry, but more along the lines of What’s going on?

“…Um… I’m not really following all this, but you shouldn’t blame yourself, Ellie. If you’re feeling bad, you should talk to Kyouka. She may be a lower level, but she has more life experience.”

“…Thanks. I’ll do that.”

“Huh? …Wait, what? What’s going on all of a sudden? What should I do…?” said Igarashi.

“Give her a hug; that’s the best thing for Ellie right now. Even Arihito agrees,” urged Misaki.

“Uh, really…? You sure you want a hug from me…?” said Igarashi, but she obeyed and leaned over to hug Elitia where she sat. She was wearing her favorite knit sweater as loungewear, pressing her ample chest against Elitia. If Igarashi were a dental hygienist, I’d probably go to get my teeth cleaned all the time even if I didn’t really need it.

“…Th-thanks… Um, I’m getting kind of hot, so can you let go now?” said Elitia.

“R-really? Well, you seem like you’re back to your usual self, so that’s good,” replied Igarashi, and Elitia stood up. I thought it’d be good for Elitia to take a bit of a rest, but instead, she came over to me and handed me her license that displayed her skills.

“…Are you sure?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter what my level is or how much experience I have; I’m still a member of your party. Treat me the same as everyone else,” she said.

“Oh… All right. With skills, I might ask you to take certain ones, but in general, you should focus on what you want.”

“Okay. But I want to take your opinions into consideration as much as possible,” she replied. She looked almost afraid of what was displayed on her license. Was that how incredible the skills associated with the Cursed Blade were?

Some of these I’d seen her use before while others were new to me. I could look at the details of the skills she’d already taken, but first, I wanted to make sure I understood the information this display was giving me. The ones with the × were probably Swordswoman skills that she couldn’t select now that she’d become a Cursed Blade.

…Some of the Cursed Blade skills like Berserk have this symbol, which I’m guessing indicates some sort of inherent risk. And Bloody Roar, huh… We won’t know its drawbacks until we select it.

Even so, Elitia’d already taken one of those skills with the symbol: Berserk. I wonder why?

“Secrets of the Sword 2 unleashes the hidden strengths of a sword… When I had to draw out this sword’s power, it made me automatically acquire the Berserk skill,” explained Elitia. So Berserk was a skill that the Scarlet Emperor forced on her, and there was no way for the person to get away from the curse. On the other hand, I felt like Red Eye was probably a Cursed Blade skill, but it didn’t have the .

“Is Blossom Blade a skill you’ve acquired since you became a Cursed Blade?” I asked Elitia.

“Yeah. It needed four skill points, but I chose to take it myself. The Brigade members praised it as the power of a cursed sword… They just chose to ignore the Berserk part of it.”

“…Even though they knew they’d be at risk if they went along with you into battle?”

“Yeah… I was part of their ‘experiment.’ The Brigade believed they would scale the Labyrinth Country’s top ranks if they could harness the power of cursed weapons without the risks. They said that I gave in to Berserk because of my own psychological weakness, and that I might be able to overcome it if I grew stronger… But…”

That possibility is what eats away at Elitia’s psyche. It pains her to know that she might hurt one of her friends.

“…As far as I can tell, Red Eye probably doesn’t have any curse risks. Blossom Blade doesn’t have that symbol next to it, so I think it’s safe to assume Red Eye is no different. But there are a lot of other interesting skills, too. Should we hold on to skill points for you to use when you return to a Swordswoman?” I asked.

“…No. I’ll take Red Eye. At the end of the day, I want to help the party however I can.”

“All right.”

“Although… The first time I use it, please make sure you’re not close to me.”

Everyone nodded in response. Elitia then took Red Eye of her own volition.

“…I really should have chosen this skill, Hit and Away, before I was cursed… Then I could’ve earned Suzuna experience points more efficiently.”

Hit and Away would’ve boosted Suzuna’s accuracy with a bow and arrow so she could have landed the killing blow. Suzuna could have grown much more quickly even if it had just been the two of them.

One plus side was that once she took a skill, she could always use it. That meant if she returned to a Swordswoman, we could assume she’d probably still be able to use Blossom Blade.

“All righty, now that you’re done talking with Ellie about her skills, it’s me and Suzu’s tuuurn!” exclaimed Misaki.

“I haven’t gone yet, either. Should we just do the three of us in one go?” Igarashi suggested.

“All right, we’ll get it out of the way… There’s something I wanna run by everyone, too. Today’s a rest day, so I want you all to choose for yourselves what to do next,” I said.

I told them I wanted to go into the Shrieking Wood after this. I explained why, and none of them said they would be staying behind. I double-checked whether or not Morale Support was working now that we were done resting, and we decided to choose our skills, then go try out a new labyrinth.

Part IV: Skill Selection

Igarashi showed me her license first. I tried to get up, but she insisted, flustered, that I stay sitting and came over to me.

“You’re always on the go. You don’t have to keep fussing over me like that,” she said.

“She’s right; you can just sit there and not move a muscle. We’ll even feed you. Oh, and if you want, we can all take a nap together, tooo!” suggested Misaki.

“…You sure that’s not just something only you want to do?” asked Igarashi.

“Ha-ha…”

She didn’t deny it, and based on her strained smile, I got the impression she was worried about Polaris as well. We didn’t have time to waste.

“Seriously… Kids these days. I can’t tell if you’re being serious,” said Igarashi.

“Um, but weren’t you gonna do something, too? Like, as a way to say thanks for everything,” teased Misaki.

“Hey, hey—I’m the one Igarashi’s supposed to get mad at, so quit pushing it—”

“…Um, I—I mean, she’s right,” admitted Igarashi. “You let me take a nice long rest, and I’m grateful…for, like, everything…”

“Uh…”

She then went around behind me. I had no idea what she was going to do as she placed her hands gently on my shoulders. I practically jumped when she started massaging them.

“Y-you don’t need to be so surprised. I just thought your shoulders looked tense… You’re probably on edge all the time because you’re always surrounded by girls,” she reasoned.

“N-no… I wouldn’t say I’m on edge…” Igarashi wasn’t exactly amazing at giving massages, but her technique was effective. She had a gentle touch, and before I knew it, I started to feel a little strange.

“…You’re more relaxed than I thought. It doesn’t hurt to get a massage when you’re not tense?”

“N-no… It feels fine.”

“Good. Next, you’ll feel a light tapping. How’s that?”

“Uh… Yeah, that works better. Thank you…”

The vibrations from the tapping felt good in a different way. It reminded me of the salons that would give you a massage after cutting your hair. But the fact that Igarashi was trying to relax me was starting to show in her physical affection, and I could see Misaki and Suzuna were starting to feel uncomfortable.

“I’m happy you’re feeling relaxed, Arihito. I’ll have to think of something I can do for you…,” said Suzuna.

“Suzu’s good at massages, too,” Misaki volunteered. “Apparently, she used to do it for her grandma and grandpa… And the one time she did it to me was really nice.”

“R-really? …I mean, you all help me out, too, so there’s no need to spoil me like this…,” I said.

“…Is this spoiling? It feels weird when you put it like that… But I’ve already started, so I’ll only stop when you’re happy,” said Igarashi.

…There’s something kinda pillowy… Oh, sh-she’s really getting in there… Is this really okay…?

Igarashi started using her elbow to tap my shoulders, which, for some reason, brought her closer to me than when she was using her hands.

“…Uh, um… Kyouka… That’s sort of…,” stammered Suzuna.

“Shhh, Suzu. Don’t say anything,” hushed Misaki. “But whoa, Kyouka’s—! Must feel nice to have that as a neck pillow.”

“Neck pillow? I didn’t hear the first part, but that really brings me back,” said Igarashi.

I used to use a neck pillow all the time, but they were never this soft. She was pressed up against me so I could even feel the texture of the lace on her bra. Igarashi was calm the whole time, so she probably hadn’t noticed what she was doing.

“I’ve gotta do this side, too. Otherwise, your balance will be off.”

Maybe she doesn’t have a problem with pressing up like that, since it’s a massage? That thought made it even worse for me, so I tried to meditate, trying to make my mind go blank. As the soft pressure moved from the left to the right, I couldn’t stop my mind from drifting: Guess I really do like ’em bigger.

“…Just having big ones is all men need to feel happy,” observed Suzuna.

“Even me and Suzu combined couldn’t compete with Kyouka; no waaay!” added Misaki. “What’d you eat to get like that, seeeriously?! Must’ve been tons of milk, I bet.”

I had the feeling that drinking milk to make them bigger was an old wives’ tale. Apparently, drinking too much soy milk wasn’t good for you, either, so it was probably best to just leave things to nature.

“Kyouka, what’re your favorite drinks?” asked Misaki.

“I’d like some black tea right about now. It’s nice and refreshing with a little bit of juice in it… But there’s no black tea here, is there?”

“Ha-ha… Ummm, I’ll go ask if they have anything like it. You can talk about skills while I’m gone. Don’t make out or anything,” said Misaki.

“M-Misaki! …Sorry, I think I’ll go, too,” offered Suzuna as she stood up suddenly and followed Misaki out. We were left in a bit of an awkward silence, and I decided to actually follow Misaki’s suggestion.

“We’re not making out or anything. Seriously, that girl…,” I said.

“…Are your shoulders less tense now? Or should I keep going?” asked Igarashi.

“Uh… No thank you; they’re pretty relaxed now. It’s weird if you keep standing; sit down.”

“O-oh, okay. Um, here…”

At my suggestion, she came over to the chair next to me and hesitantly took a seat. She opened the skills page on her license and held it out to me.

“It looks like the Valkyrie job can choose from at least three main roles,” I said.

“There’s so many things I can do that I can’t decide which would be the best…and there’s no way to practice the skills so you can use them properly in battle,” stated Igarashi.

“Yeah. There may be some skills you can use in combination with your other skills. Like, could you use Spinning Spear with Double Attack…”

“I want to test that as well, but the level-two skills need two skills points…” While she was talking, her eyes were glued on one particular skill, Wolf Pack, which wasn’t at all surprising considering her love of dogs. That skill would probably have the most noticeable effect when you put as many guard dogs in the party as possible. It did seem that my skills were the only ones that let me see the values in number; all the others seemed to be very vague about the amounts.

“All right, how about you take Wolf Pack and one other skill?”

“Uh… Are you sure? We only have Cion right now, so it probably won’t make that big a difference.”

“Even if it’s a small amount, it’s a constant improvement to your abilities, so I think it’ll be effective. I also just think the skill really suits you.”

“…Th-thanks. How about Ether Ice? I think it’d be useful if I choose skills that no one else can do.”

“I don’t think you should take that right now. The Ether skills summon an ether, which is like an object that responds to attacks with a certain attribute,” interjected Elitia. I thought she was going to go rest, but she’d come back to give us some advice. Misaki and Suzuna came back then as well and gave us the herbal tea they brought back.

“We definitely think you should go for Dance of the Warrior Maiden 1. More girl power, then,” said Misaki.

“You think…? I wonder what kind of dance it is… Do Valkyries dance?” asked Igarashi.

“It’s not that weird; you have Mirage Step. Dances are made up of steps,” I said. If monsters had genders, too, then it would be interesting to be able to catch a strong male enemy off guard.

“Were you in a dance club before, Kyouka?” asked Suzuna.

“Yeah, my first year in high school… But I changed to a different club in my second year, so I wasn’t in it very long.” Everyone seemed to guess why Igarashi changed clubs. I did, too, but I kind of wished I could have seen her in her dance club.

“What d’you think, Atobe? Is it better to save the points? I also wanted to take Piercing Strike sometime.”

“Yeah… How about we save one point for now, then,” I suggested.

“All right, I’ll take Wolf Pack… Oh. Wow, I just felt like some strength flowed into me.” Apparently, at this level, the amount it went up with just one guard dog in the party was large enough for her to feel it. If that was the case, then taking Wolf Pack was the right decision.

“I’m neeext! I didn’t take any skills at level two, so I have tooons of skill points,” said Misaki.

Ack… Risky skills galore!

“Ha-ha! Seeee, there’s tons of exciting-looking skills. Like this Magic—”

“W-wait a minute,” I interrupted Misaki. “Don’t you think this Lucky Seven is a good idea? You’re always rolling two dice anyway,” I said.

“I guess… And if I use it with Dice Trick, then I could guarantee a seven every time.”

“Even if a skill doesn’t explicitly say it used magic, it can still wear you down. And there’s usually a cooldown period before you can cast it again, so you wouldn’t be able to keep using the skill back-to-back,” explained Elitia. She was still able to give us relevant advice even without viewing Misaki’s license.

“Atobe, what’s wrong? You don’t look so hot…”

The Magic Number skill was basically the same thing as Truth or Dare. Nothing good would come from that skill if Misaki acquired it.

“Right, how about I take the first three and then Bad Luck?” suggested Misaki. “I wanna help you guys out somehow.”

“…F-fine, but…make sure you only use this second skill when it’s appropriate,” I added.

“It’ll toootally be useful! I can’t believe there’s all these fun skills to pick from! I’m sooo glad I wrote down Gambler for my job!”

“You seem like you’re really enjoying yourself, Misaki… I’m glad you got some good skills,” said Suzuna.

“Thanks, Suzu! Get excited, ’cause I’m sure these skills will help you out, too!”

Well, I suppose Misaki’s a good girl at heart… No harm done as long as she doesn’t abuse Magic Number.

I’d have to keep an eye on Misaki to make sure she didn’t start causing trouble. She wasn’t necessarily going to use it for something like Truth or Dare, so I couldn’t claim it was an entirely problematic skill.

Last up was Suzuna. She came over to sit next to me and showed me her license. Unlike Misaki, whose skills had the potential to cause so much trouble, Suzuna’s new skills were very reassuring.

Part V: The Monster Ranch

Suzuna came to sit next to me, and the rest of the party went to the other rooms for a moment to get ready for the next expedition. Maybe they felt like they weren’t going to gain anything from observing us. There were even more skills on Suzuna’s license that really suited a Shrine Maiden. In the Labyrinth Country, the job was obviously geared toward support.

“Handwash… I wonder if that’s anything like when you wash your hands before entering a shrine,” I said.

“I think it is. Incredible that this lets you purify water just by scooping it up… It’s like magic,” replied Suzuna.

“I don’t think this is what it’s intended for, but it could be really useful in making sure we have water to drink. But High-Angle Shot seems powerful, too… I’m not sure what to go with.”

We could take something now, but they all seemed like they had their uses. It might be better to take them when we needed them, like we did with Salt Laying. I decided we’d hold off for the time being and pick the skills we needed when we knew what we should take.

It’d be best if we could take all our skills, but that won’t be possible unless we get fewer new skills as our levels increase. Elitia hadn’t been aware of any other method for obtaining skill points, so at the very least, I can assume that if a way exists, it’s as unknown by the general populace as the Hidden Gods are.

“Atobe, we’re ready,” announced Igarashi.

“We just finished looking at skills, too. I’ll go get changed,” I said.

“Check it out, Suzu! I got the chest part reinforced, so now it’s more like Kyouka’s and Elitia’s armor!” exclaimed Misaki.

“Gamblers can only equip light armor, so don’t do anything reckless just because your armor is stronger. There’s a limit to the amount I can cover for you,” warned Elitia.

“Yuuup, I’ll be careful!”

Elitia was trying to tell Misaki what was best for her, but Misaki didn’t seem to understand the danger she might get herself in… I was a little worried.

“You sure you’ll be all right…? You can’t tap out now that you’ve come this far,” I said.

“Hee-hee… I just wanna be with you, Arihito, so I’m gonna keep working as hard as I can,” replied Misaki. I couldn’t tell if she was being sincere, but no one teased her for it, and she started to blush.

“……”

“Mm? …Theresia, do you mean you feel the same way?” I asked.

“Us too. I imagine it’ll be necessary for us to be put on the bench sometimes, but we’d rather fight together than be left behind,” said Igarashi.

As you might expect from someone who chose Valkyrie, Igarashi had fought some incredibly powerful enemies so far without ever getting scared. I sort of understood why she could learn the skill Mist of Bravery, which got rid of her allies’ Fear. Perhaps Valkyries were resistant to Fear? If there really were secret abilities, it meant that every job in the Labyrinth Country had incredible hidden potential.

Our current party had seven members as well as Cion, our guard dog. I had Madoka and Melissa make our second party and wait in town. As the leader, I could manage up to sixteen parties, so the other two still appeared on my license. However, as a two-star Seeker, I was limited to two parties for the time being.

Melissa had a butcher’s knife equipped, which was apparently quite a powerful close-combat weapon. I wanted to see it in action, but I’d have to wait on that.

“Arihito, everyone, I pray for your success in the upcoming expedition,” said Madoka.

“…Take me along the next time you get the chance. I want to do some on-site dissection, too,” added Melissa.

She and Madoka had decided to stay behind. Apparently, they would be working in the small workshop that was in the courtyard of the mansion.

“If you nab a rare monster, bring it back right away,” said Melissa.

“Will do. And give our regards to Rikerton,” I replied, and the two saw us off as we headed toward the Monster Ranch.

We needed to teleport to the Monster Ranch the same way we did for the storage units. We walked from the mansion for about five minutes, then came across a sign that said RANCH INFORMATION OFFICE. The building looked too small to fit all of us comfortably, so I went in alone, and the rest finished getting ready to go into the Shrieking Wood. We’d meet back up afterward.

“Hello, my name is Atobe,” I called, knocking on the door. A moment later, a white-haired but healthy-seeming elderly man came to the door. He had on a cap and protective leathers and sported a thick beard.

“Welcome, Mr. Atobe. I am the Manager of the Seventeenth Monster Ranch, William Christensen. Have you come to register the Demi-Harpies you sent earlier for summoning?” he asked.

“Yes. If possible, I’d like to register them immediately. Will that take a while?”

“That will depend on whether or not the Demi-Harpies are already obedient to you. You can summon them whenever you like as long as they have equipment that will respond to the summoning stones. My granddaughter can explain the details further; she’s in the ranch at the moment. This way, please.” He guided me down the stairs where, as I suspected, we came upon a teleportation door, though this one seemed to have only one possible destination.

“Due to the nature of the Labyrinth Country’s Monster Ranches, we are required to care for and manage the lives of the monsters left in our care. The first week of care is free, but there is a fee after that,” explained William.

“All right. Does the fee vary depending on the monster?” I asked.

“It does, yes. The large monsters require larger spaces, and we have to provide appropriate feed. If males and females are kept in the same area, the monster numbers may increase, which would also require an appropriately large space. There aren’t many who capture monsters in District Eight, so our ranch here always has space available.”

“That’s good to know, as long as you’re not feeling overwhelmed by the monsters I leave in your care.” William seemed happy, in a way, to hear it. I wondered why, but he started explaining.

“Whenever there’s a fee involved, there are those who decide they wish to dispose of or free the monsters we have in our care. There’s nothing to gain from paying for the care of a monster that can’t help you in battle. Anyway, when that happens, we Zoologists take in the monsters in order to study them. I prefer to study live monsters wherever possible to learn about their biology. That was actually the reason I requested approval to open this Monster Ranch.”

“Huh, really?”

“There are so few people who select jobs when they reincarnate that allow them to speak with monsters, and then it’s even rarer for there to be people who are suited to the Monster Tamer job. My granddaughter is one. She used to be affiliated with a Seeker party and would bring back monsters for me.”

“Your granddaughter was a Seeker? And you…?”

“Yes. I had quite an embarrassing record in the end, but I spent many a day and night in the labyrinth. It was all spent studying monsters in their natural habitat, though,” said William with a sheepish smile. I was interested in learning about monsters, too, but our chat was coming to an end, and he indicated I should touch the teleportation door.

“Oh, William. I’ve thought about it a little, and I’d like to have all three of the Demi-Harpies I captured stay here for summoning. I imagine they’d get lonely if I kept only one,” I said.

“Ah… I think the girls will be happy to hear that. They seemed on edge, since they weren’t certain what would become of them,” he replied, making it sound like it was possible to communicate with the monsters. I’d have to ask his granddaughter as well, since she was a Monster Tamer.

The door opened, and I was instantly teleported upon passing through. In front of me now was a calm ranch spreading as far as I could see. I’d gotten used to dramatic changes of scenery when teleporting, and I thought this ranch looked almost exactly how I expected… But I looked up at the sky, and something just felt wrong. It looked like a blue sky stretched above us, but it felt like it was just an illusion. I was able to see it thanks to my Hawk Eyes. The grass that spread to the horizon was also a trick of the eye; it stopped eventually. What that meant was that this space was really a rectangular “room” in much the same way as our storage units were.

I guess that’s to be expected… If this were an open-air-type labyrinth, monsters would be coming out of nowhere. This is just a man-made space somewhere in the Labyrinth Country that was made to look like a field.

William must have put his own money into making this or modified an existing facility. Either way, the feeling of the dirt below my feet felt real, and the air that filled my lungs was cleaner than that in the city, which made it feel all the more realistic.

I saw some cow-like animals enclosed in a fence—maybe they were the Marsh Oxen I’d heard about before. Feeding the cows was a young girl wearing a cap with cow-like horns sprouting from it. She was wearing leathers similar to William’s, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t keep my eyes from resting in a certain place.

A cow tail…? Some sort of decoration, maybe?

The girl noticed me and came over. She jumped the fence and gave me a bow. I bowed back, and her face split into a kind, gentle smile.

“Welcome. My name’s Millith; I’m the caretaker here at the ranch,” she said.

“Hello, I’m Atobe. I came to, um…register the Demi-Harpies for…um, summoning.”

“Oh, they’re playing in the woods over there. Please wait a moment; it’s feeding time for these guys here.”

The reason I suddenly stumbled over my words was that I was shocked by her huge breasts, which bounced up and down with the slightest movement. She looked exactly like those anime girls that were based on cows. I couldn’t very well point out how funny it was that a cow girl would be taking care of cows, but that’s really the only way I could describe the situation. I berated myself for thinking such stupid thoughts and stared at the blue sky to get it out of my head.

“Sorry for the wait. I was just feeding the last one when you came. Let’s go then,” said Millith, setting down the bucket that had the feed in it and leading me toward the Demi-Harpies. As I followed her, I suddenly realized something: Her tail was swishing back and forth.

“Oh, sorry, did I hit you?” she said as I stared.

“N-no… I was just thinking that it almost looks like you’ve got a tail.”

“Oh, Gramps didn’t tell you? My dad’s a human, but my mom’s a monster called a Minotaur.”

“…What?”

So the tail wasn’t a moving accessory. I’d just assumed something like that existed, since there were so many magical tools here… But this was totally beyond what I could have imagined.

“My dad’s a Monster Tamer. He and my mom were seeking companions. And then… Well, stuff happened, and I was born.”

“I—I see… Sorry, I’m just surprised.”

“I think it’s pretty incredible, too. But female Minotaurs aren’t like male Minotaurs in that they’re not really that much like cows. That’s why I’m not super, super monstery… Oh, I’m sorry. Are you uncomfortable around people with horns?”

I had thought she was wearing a hat with horns on it, but the horns were as real as her tail. Those and her breasts were probably characteristics of a Minotaur, but otherwise, she was completely human-looking.

“One of my friends is a lizardman. So I don’t have anything against demi-humans or half-monster half-humans, either,” I replied.

“Oh… That’s good. Gee, a lizardman friend…”

We reached the woods while we were talking. Millith took out a flute and blew on it, and the Demi-Harpies that had been sitting in the trees came flying in our direction.

“……”

The Demi-Harpies looked frightened when they saw me. The one who’d been intimidated by Cion’s mom had gone completely pale and started to shake… I guess she was still afraid she might be eaten.

“Oh… I’m sorry, it seems they’re still afraid from when you fought,” said Millith.

“I was pretty rough with them… It was wrong to scare them into being obedient. It’s my fault.”

“When humanoid monsters are captured, they’re often put into circus-like shows, or people just strip the parts off them that can be used as materials. I think that’s what they’re afraid of.”

I had thought they’d need to be trained and tamed so I could summon them…but thinking about it that way, I realized the only goal there was to use them. If possible, I wanted them to help us voluntarily. I couldn’t really tell them we’d take time to build a trusting relationship, but I could try to tell them how I felt.

I gathered my thoughts and stepped up in front of the Demi-Harpies. They seemed afraid and eyed me timidly.

“You three gave us a hard fight. In the beginning, I thought our only choice was to kill you. And maybe it’s just my arrogance, but I won’t kill or do terrible things to monsters that are similar to humans. I promise you this: Even if I stop needing to summon you and I end the summoning contract, I will set you free, back to where you came from.”

Each of the Demi-Harpies had individuality in their appearances. The first one I fought, the one I’d jumped off the roof with, felt like the middle sister, if I thought about the three as sisters.

“…Do you understand what I said?” I asked, and the oldest-sister-looking one responded for the group with a nod. She had an indescribable allure. Her long, brown hair covered one eye and only one of her breasts. It was obviously normal for monsters to be naked, so neither she nor Millith seemed to care that one was visible, but it just seemed a little strange to me. The second oldest had hair just long enough to brush her shoulders, with an innocent, childlike face, and she was a little smaller overall than the oldest. The youngest looked like a ten-year-old girl—I decided I couldn’t stare at them even though they were monsters, so I needed to take care when sizing her up.

“You can let me know if you have any other requests. I don’t want to say it’s in exchange for that, but I hope you will help me sometimes,” I said.

The middle sister wrapped the youngest in her shaking wings, but they seemed to listen to what I had to say because the eldest stepped up toward me, pressed one hand to her chest hesitantly, and nodded.

“Good… Right, then we have a deal. I’ll mostly have you use Lullaby when I summon you. You should probably do regular voice training,” I said.

“…”

““…!””

The eldest nodded, and the other two looked surprised, but then all three bowed their heads to me.

Looking at them, I suddenly realized something. They couldn’t speak, but that didn’t mean they were incapable of expressing themselves. And they were called Demi-Harpies.

Is it possible…that these girls are demi-humans?

“Oh, how nice. Do you understand what voice training is? It’s singing practice, but don’t put me to sleep! All right, next is equipping them with an accessory that will respond to your summoning stone. Which would you like to go with, Mr. Atobe?” asked Millith. The choices were earrings, necklaces, bracelets, or anklets… I thought it might be better to have the three choose their preferred accessory. They probably had their own preferences, and it was always good to let them choose that.

I asked them to choose one, and the eldest picked a pair of earrings, the middle one took a bracelet, and the youngest selected an anklet. All of them were made of a silver metal, and the bracelets and anklets had leather on the inside where they contacted skin.

“This is the summoning stone. Here’s some earrings you can use with it, or a bracelet…,” said Millith. The summoning stone wasn’t very big, and it was fitted into metal to make a pendant, so I could attach it to myself there. The item information was displayed on my license as the following:

So it even has effects as equipment. I wonder how I can raise their Trust Levels?

“Ms. Millith, can I ask you something?”

“Oh… Um, you can just call me Millith. Being called Ms. makes me feel a little uncomfortable; you don’t have to be that formal with me.”

“Oh… Right, Millith, then. How can I raise a monster’s Trust Level?”

“You can give them presents or work with them for a long time; there’s quite a few different ways. Different monsters like different things, so you’ll have to observe them to find out what to do.”

If that was the case, the first thing I could do was give them some equipment, though I wasn’t certain they’d like that. I asked Millith’s opinion, telling her that I was hoping I could give them something that covered their chests and she could give them some clothing that they’d be able to wear even though they had wings. I gave her the money for the clothes and left the ranch.

Having done that, I’d be able to use the summoning stone to call them at any time. With more trump cards, we ought to be able to manage from here on out. I thought about it as I hurried back to meet with my friends.