Chapter 52: Chatting with a Classmate

Original: Chapter 52: Chatting with a Classmate

Miss Tobisaki and her friend stopped walking. It was just the right distance for a chat. It seemed Miss Tobisaki was willing to talk with me.

“Hey there. Kinda surprising, maybe. So you come to the Dungeon too, Miss Chiyusaki?”

“Y-yeah. Actually, I come pretty much every day.”

“Whoa, me too!”

“R-really?”

“We’ve never really talked at school, but it turns out we have the same hobby.”

“That’s… a little surprising… You seem so quiet, Miss Tobisaki.”

“You seem the same way, Miss Chiyusaki.”

We both looked like the type who’d be terrible at sports, no matter how you looked at it.

“Are you okay with fighting Monsters, Miss Tobisaki?”

“Ah—I’m more of a support role. I leave the fighting entirely to this person.”

The girl next to Miss Tobisaki gave a very cheerful “Heya!” as a greeting. She had short hair and looked athletic. Unlike Miss Tobisaki and me, her skin was nicely tanned.

These two had ended up on different paths for high school, but they’d been together and best friends from first grade all the way through graduating middle school, they said. I didn’t have any close friends at the same school, so I honestly felt pretty envious.

“Do you fight alone, Miss Chiyusaki? You’re carrying a Hammer.”

“Yeah. I tried it and found it’s actually pretty fun.”

“Wow, you can enjoy it. That’s amazing. My impression of you might have changed.”

“I think so too.”

It’s me, one of the quietest people in class, fighting with a Bludgeon, instincts laid bare. It’s surprising, right?

“Are you heading off to fight for a Quest now, Miss Chiyusaki?”

I shook my head.

“No. I’m heading to the Red Zone, but I’m not fighting today. I have a Gathering Quest from a Dungeonfolk I’m indebted to, so I have to do that.”

“Huh…?”

Miss Tobisaki looked bewildered.

“Wait, what? You’re on good terms with Dungeonfolk people, Miss Chiyusaki?”

“Yeah. They’re nice to me.”

“I thought they were just people you buy and sell things from.”

“Really? I chat with them about all sorts of things.”

Apparently, Miss Tobisaki and her friend had never had conversations like that at all.

I often talk about school stuff or listen to stories about Miss Rilril’s family, though.

“And you said your destination is the Red Zone?”

“Yeah. The Danger Zone.”

“That’s the place where people drop like flies, right? Is it okay for a girl to go there alone?”

“I’ve managed so far. Well, you have to prepare properly or it’s dangerous.”

“That’s incredible. I’m only Level 6, so I’m way too weak to go there at all. I’ve come here tons and tons of times since school started, though.”

Huh, she’s still that low level? I’m Level 45. Our frequency of coming seems about the same, but there’s quite a gap between us.

“By any chance, are you on good terms with Miss Kurosuzu and them? They’re Hardcore Players too, right?”

Miss Kurosuzu… those hateful classmates who abandoned me in the Red Zone. They are definitely Hardcore Players, but…

“I dislike them.”

I stated it clearly. The thought of being considered friendly with them only filled me with disgust.

“Ah, I see… Sorry, that was a weird thing to ask.”

“It’s fine…”

“But, be careful.”

I tilted my head.

“Miss Kurosuzu and them… it seems something really unpleasant happened to them a little while ago. They seem kinda… on edge.”

Something unpleasant… That’s probably me selling a Potion to a Near-Death Miss Kurosuzu at a high price.

I should be their lifesaver, but from Miss Kurosuzu’s perspective, they’re probably furious. It seems they expected to get the Potion from me for free.

“By the way, what do you mean by ‘on edge’?”

So I’ve heard, Miss Tobisaki said, her expression tightening slightly as she glanced around once. Then, she leaned in close, as if to whisper.

“They deliberately provoke dangerous Monsters, then pretend to panic and run away, intentionally merging with other groups. Once the Monster’s attention shifts, Miss Kurosuzu and them just walk away laughing.”

“That’s worse than just being nasty…”

That would be unbearable if it happened to you. Too scary. If such a terrible thing were done to me, I think I’d reflexively bolt.

“Miss Chiyusaki, really, be careful.”

“Yeah. Thanks. You be careful too, Miss Tobisaki.”

Miss Tobisaki’s friend asked, “Shall we go?” Miss Tobisaki nodded. The two were apparently turning left at the next path. I was going straight ahead.

The fun chat time ended here. Miss Tobisaki gave a small wave.

“Well, I guess this is where we part ways.”

I agreed with a nod.

“Miss Chiyusaki, if you know how to beat Fire Ants, teach me next time. We’re struggling against those guys.”

“If you go ‘whoosh’ and dodge, then Attack with a ‘whack’ like in golf, that should work.”

“Ahaha, what’s that? Well, see you at school—”

“Yeah. Bye.”

We waved and parted. I watched their backs for a little while.

“… … … It’s been a while since I had a long conversation with a classmate.”

Today might be a good day. My heart feels light.

“But… there wasn’t any invitation like ‘Let’s do a Quest together next time’…”

It seems I haven’t earned enough trust from Miss Tobisaki yet for her to entrust her life to me.

I thought I need to interact more and earn that trust. Well, that’s something with a pretty high difficulty level for me, though.