**Day 16: Before the Cave**
We ate an early breakfast, double-checked our gear, and finally made sure the place was properly locked up.
I used Earth Magic to create a solid rock door over the entrance.
If we threw a big party out in the open, would the Count of Monte Cristo show up? If it was a beautiful goddess, though, I'd just trap her inside and we could be shut-ins together!
"So, uh… should we head downstream along the river? Or straight to town? Or, y'know, start the otaku hunt?"
"Why?! Why are you so eager to go hunting Oda and the others?! What's wrong with you?!"
And so, with that lively exchange, we set off marching through the forest.
For some reason, there weren't any monsters near the riverbank. Did they die if you splashed water on them? Or maybe they had rabies? Oh crap, did that mean I got bitten by a kobold earlier?
"Haruka-kun, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Hmm? Since we're at it anyway, want the class rep and me to take point and scout ahead?"
Back to being the reconnaissance and intercept team. At least I didn't skewer anyone today, so she probably wouldn't get mad.
"…Um, listen?"
"You mean the muscle-brained idiots?"
"Y-Yeah… muscle-brained… so you really did meet them?"
"Yeah. Oh, right—I forgot to mention. They wanted me to apologize to you guys for them."
"Eh? Um… well… I'm sorry."
The class rep bowed her head so deeply and so fast that if she'd been any closer, she probably would've headbutted me unconscious.
"I was planning to tell you properly, Haruka-kun, but I just couldn't bring myself to say it…"
"Huh? It's fine. I already knew anyway."
She looked completely shocked. Wait, why? Isn't that obvious?
"S-So… since when? H-How did you know?"
"I mean, it's pretty obvious, right? The muscle-brains and the goblins were too stupid to figure it out, though."
I hadn't actually asked the goblins, but they probably didn't get it either. Maybe the goblins were secretly smarter than the muscle-heads, but since they never said anything, who knows? Not like I've ever talked to them.
Apparently it was supposed to be a secret, though.
"Then you should've said it was a secret first! If it causes problems, it causes problems for me too, you know? I didn't know it was a secret. Well, I haven't told anyone."
"But how did you even find out?! The otaku guys said not to tell anyone and that it was absolutely forbidden!"
"Plunder." The ability to steal other people's skills. Probably the most powerful, vicious, and threatening ability out there. If you had it, you'd be the ultimate cheat. But if someone else had it, it was the worst possible threat. If they got close, your precious lifeline skills in this world could vanish without you even noticing. Or they could just touch you and take them. And the person who stole them would only grow stronger and more dangerous.
Even that was the better version. There was also the kind that killed you to steal your skills. That one was probably the most common—and by far the most lethal.
Having your skills targeted meant you were going to be killed. It wasn't just a matter of being cautious. It was a skill so dangerous that the only real option was to kill the holder before they could steal anything from you. Pure mutual slaughter.
If someone admitted they had "Plunder," no one would come near them. Getting close wouldn't even be allowed. In fact, you'd feel safer killing them first. That's why it was taboo. You couldn't tell anyone. If you did, you might end up getting killed instead. The forbidden skill: Plunder.
"So… if you knew… then why? Why did you help me? Aren't you scared? It wouldn't be weird if people told you to stay away. It wouldn't be strange if they hated me or left me behind. Because I… I have the power to steal people's skills…"
"Why would I be scared? Were the otaku guys scared? Nope. So why would you think I'd be scared?"
"Because anytime I could steal your skills…"
"Exactly. So I don't have any problem with it, right?"
"Eh? But I have… Plunder…"
"So? Do you want something? Want any of my abilities?"
"Ah! Aaaah… sorry!"
In what world would anyone want skills like "loner," "NEET," "shut-in," "useless blockhead," "jack of all trades, master of none," or "proper communication"? I'd practically want to give them away. Is there a "Distribution" skill or something?
Yeah, "Plunder" didn't bother me at all. If anything, Plunder itself was the one that should be worried. What a troublesome skill. Yep.
"Um… I'm really sorry… but… but… other people… for other people…"
"That's why I said the otaku guys weren't scared either, remember? That's exactly it."
I didn't understand what the problem was or what she was even worrying about, but she seemed to be worrying about something she couldn't quite grasp. Was this an otherworld language translation issue? No, we're speaking Japanese, though.
"Um… what do you mean… exactly?"
"What do I mean? Everyone felt relieved once they knew the class rep had it."
"Eh?!"
"Everyone was paranoid, wondering who had Puppetry, Charm, or Plunder. Then they sealed Puppetry and Charm and felt at ease. See? No one tried to seal Plunder, right?"
"Eh?"
"Those ultimate muscle-brained idiots noticed it. There's no way everyone else wouldn't. So when they all thought the problem was solved, that means there is no problem. I just figured 'Oh, so it's the class rep' because the otaku guys never said anything. What's the issue?"
First of all, I already knew the otaku guys didn't have it. They'd been surrounded by goblins and were on the verge of death, which meant they didn't have Presence Detection. Since you could steal Presence Detection from kobolds, if they had Plunder they would've taken it immediately. So they didn't have it.
Those skill-obsessed otaku guys wouldn't just ignore Plunder. They would've searched for it first and warned everyone. But they didn't do or say anything.
So that settled it. It was safe. It was reassuring. In school and in this other world, they'd always been hit with unreasonable, unfair, horrible situations. If those guys could still trust her despite that, then it was absolutely fine.
It was the ultimate seal of approval. Way stricter than any JIS or ISO standard. It was the OTA mark of safety. There was no inspection criterion harsher than that.
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"Hey, the class rep has been crying a lot lately, hasn't she?"
"That's probably your fault, Haruka-kun."
"False accusation! I didn't do anything!"
"No, you did a lot. Thank you…"
Huh? The conversation wasn't matching up. She was thanking me for making her cry? Wait, what exactly did I do? At the very least, it wasn't anything erotic. If I could pull that off, I'd probably have the Hero title. Not that I'm bragging, but I don't have the guts for that. Especially against twenty opponents… I'd lose before the fight even started! Do we have Sun Tzu in our class or something?
"The skillful fighter puts himself into a position that cannot be defeated, but does not guarantee victory over the enemy." Wait… yeah, I'm still the one losing here, aren't I?
"But how did you manage to convince them without explaining anything?"
"Hm? Oh, the idiots? I just told them it was fine, and they went 'Oh, okay' and left. Because they're idiots."
"What exactly was 'fine' about it?!"
"I mean, even if I explained, they're idiots, so…"
"Why did they just accept it?! You're completely treating them like morons! That's actually pretty harsh, you know! And not even subtly!"
As expected, the class rep was too flustered to notice.
"Class rep, you were calling them harsh earlier, but just now you said 'the otaku guys said not to tell anyone' and accidentally called them 'otaku guys' again."
"…Seriously? …Sorry, Oda-kun. Looks like I got brainwashed at some point?"
Please don't blame the brainwashing on me. If I got a skill like that, it'd turn into a death game for real.
"My Plunder… is the kind that kills to steal… so I was told I absolutely couldn't tell anyone… and then Oda-kun…!"
"Oh, so you stole it, huh… the goblin's 'that' and the orc's 'that'?"
Yes, the class rep actually had the "Sexual Tyrant" and "Endless Stamina" skills.
"......Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa— Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!"
In the middle of the otherworld forest, the class rep let out a wail of pure despair. Had she broken?
The girls who came running from behind scolded me like crazy. Seriously? I didn't do anything! I don't even have the Hero title! It's true!
Lunchtime. Fish and mushroom BBQ again! We skewered the fish and mushrooms and grilled them.
The class rep glared at me with jito eyes the whole time.
I flipped the skewers to cook the other side.
The class rep glared at me with jito eyes.
Once both sides were nicely browned, I sprinkled salt and plated them.
The class rep glared at me with jito eyes.
I gently placed a plate in front of her.
The class rep glared at me with jito eyes.
She didn't look like she wanted to join us or anything… apparently.
"Class reeeep~ Come back~ It's time for food and a meeting~!"
The class rep glared at me with jito eyes.
Looked like I had to say something nice.
"Um, class rep. It's okay, you know? You still don't have the 'Slut' title or anything… Gack! …(Thud)"
Ugh, apparently the class rep could use Shrinking Ground too… As expected of a cheat user. (Collapse)
Now then, what to do? Never mind the class rep for a moment—we still hadn't made it out of the forest. Even if we kept going, we'd probably hit the time limit in another two or three hours.
Even with Far Sight, it was still nothing but forest. If we could just reach some plains, there'd probably be a town or a road. This was annoying.
While I was worrying, I glanced over and saw the class rep still glaring at me with jito eyes.
We'd had that incredibly intense, heartfelt conversation about Plunder and truly understood each other, yet any discussion about "Sexual Tyrant" and "Endless Stamina" had been ended with violence.
Yeah, the idea that "talking things out will make everything clear" was probably just naïve flower-field nonsense. That slash from Shrinking Ground! She could take down an orc by herself, right? Yep. I was the one who got taken down.
"Vice A, want to push forward a bit more?"
"Who's Vice A?! I'm not A!"
"…Then how about Vice B?"
"Ehh~? Am I Vice B~? But I'm not even B~?"
Yeah, this definitely wasn't B territory anymore… The class rep was glaring with the eyes of a murderer… I-I didn't see anything… Didn't see anything, okay?
We advanced for about an hour, but the end of the forest was nowhere in sight. Looked like we'd be camping inside the woods tonight.
In the end, getting through the entire forest would definitely take more than a full day. Even if we continued tomorrow, camping along the way wouldn't make much difference.
Right—majority vote. Democracy! Since talking things out was impossible, that was the only option left.
The reason talking was impossible was because the class rep kept glaring at me with jito eyes. Before democracy, I'd really like some basic human rights.
Result: Majority in favor of returning to the cave. We're heading home.
We trudged back along the path we came. We could've tried leveling up in the forest, but we'd end up returning in the middle of the night. That would affect tomorrow, so it was pointless. Better to head back early.
After all, there was a big mental difference between camping because you were prepared for it and camping because you got stuck. The person glaring at me with jito eyes probably felt the same.
We opened the rock door we had so carefully sealed. Good, no one was inside.
What should we have for dinner? Since we were home, let's go with grilled fish wrapped in medicinal herbs.
I should heat up the bath too. Starting tomorrow we might only be able to bathe in the river.
Using the Map skill, I checked and saw that the river downstream curved quite a bit, making a large right turn. Taking a shortcut through the forest looked faster, but fighting monsters would slow us down.
The real problem was that we couldn't hold a proper meeting. We couldn't convene parliament. The reason we couldn't convene it was because I was too scared to call it. And the biggest problem was that the chairperson was the problem?
The atmosphere was always awkward, but today it was downright brutal.
I crawled pathetically back to my tent and went for a walk in the forest. There didn't seem to be any idiots around today, but there were goblins. I was tired. Mentally exhausted. So tired… Goblin rush~ (Bonk!)
My stress and the souls of countless goblins ascended to heaven, so I returned to the tent?
"This presence… not an idiot… but jito?"
"Ugh… my name changed from class rep to Jito… Sorry about today. I was so embarrassed… I just…"
The former class rep, now Jito-san, bowed her head. That's unfair. I had no choice but to forgive her. Especially with that chest view! Seriously.
"Um, well… good luck?"
I tried encouraging her.
"Your encouragement is so half-hearted~ Are you mad~?"
"Just kidding. So, is the meeting for tomorrow finished?"
"Yeah. For now, we decided to push forward for about three days."
"Well, we do have to find the otaku guys."
"O… Oda-kun and the others?"
As expected of the class rep. She barely managed to stop herself.
"Yeah. Gotta foist those bitches off on them."
She'd gotten a lot better, but she was still forcing herself. It probably wouldn't end until she met the otaku guys. In bitch terms, she still hadn't settled things.
Even in battle she kept trying to rush forward, offering herself as a shield, always trying to protect someone, always putting herself on the line. She'd already been forgiven ages ago. She was already accepted as a comrade.
But she still couldn't forgive herself. She still couldn't accept herself. She had definitely gotten stronger. But it was still dangerous.
I'd let her meet the otaku guys. No matter the result, that was the only way she could truly accept it. Whether she was forgiven or not, she couldn't move forward until she went there.
"Yeah, that's right. But we shouldn't just foist them off—we also need to apologize together with Shimazaki-san and the others. And I want to say thank you too."
Who's Shimazaki? A new character appearing now? Some townsperson? …Ah, there were the jito eyes again. It was Jito-san after all.