ch201-ch220 · 210-ch210

Chapter 210: What Comes Out of Your Mouth Won't Be Just Sugar

The air had just started turning uneasy when Soushi and the others got back from their shopping run, and disaster was averted.

Soushi said he'd make omurice, and Kasumi-san's mood seemed to recover—but then he drew a ketchup heart on MY omurice alone, so the hate shifted to Soushi...

"Could it be... exactly as that Souma person said...?"

That's a joke, a joke.

I was surprised Kasumi-san even knew Souma-san's name—is this intel from Aikawa?

Just what IS Aikawa telling her...

"I knew Haruki was an idiot, but with Kasumi-san right there, why would you do that?"

Post-lunch break.

Reporting on the morning while planning the afternoon.

They asked about the Flirting Strategy, I answered honestly, and THIS is what I get.

"I want details on how you got those Copper Golems to come out!"

"Ask me about that tonight or sometime."

"Huh? Tonight? Toniiight... I'd kinda like to sleep earrrly..."

Aikawa, all fired up to hear the story, tones down—remembering last night's interrogation, maybe.

Today's interrogation turn is Mia-san's, so get some good sleep.

"Haruki-san, about this afternoon—I'd like you to level up before we push on. As things stand, we can't say we're fighting at the appropriate level."

Kasumi-san puts in her proposal for the afternoon's adventuring.

Appropriate level... the basics for adventurers.

The "don't advance until your level matches the floor number" rule.

Going to Floor 34? Not until Level 34.

In this case, "level up" doesn't mean Kasumi-san's level—it means mine.

We're on Floor 33 and I'm Level 32—already one short.

"Floor 33 now, huh... Two whole floors before noon. Is the fighting getting rough?"

Mia-san chimes in with a question too.

"During combat I'm boosted with self-buffs, so it doesn't FEEL rough—but if my MP ran out, even Sand Golems would probably be too much for me. When the MP's gone, that's the end of that day's adventuring."

In my case, no MP also means no weapon enhancement.

"That's unbelievable too, but... factoring in the trip home, normally once you're under half, it's time to think about closing up shop, you know?"

Fair.

This is probably part of why our leveling is so fast.

Even if you take your time reaching your appropriate floor, if you have to head home once your MP drops a certain amount, the time you can spend leveling shrinks accordingly.

"For me, it's borderline. At the very least, if I don't raise my level in step with the appropriate numbers, Sand Golems aside, the thought of running into metal golems leaves me uneasy."

"Ehh? Even Watanabe-san is fighting at over her head? Those golems are THAT strong... Ah—do you need buffs? If it's just dancing in the back, I could probably manage..."

"Don't. Weren't you listening? These two are deliberately gathering enemies. If even one leaks through and lands a single hit, what comes out of their mouths won't stop at sugar."

"Out of the mouth"... sugar...?

Saying that, Mia-san put THREE sugar cubes in her after-meal coffee...

Isn't that too much?

Also, we're not "deliberately" doing anything.

The Flirting Strategy hasn't even started yet...

"Isn't a golem something you take on five-to-one in the first place? That's how it was in the videos I've seen?"

"If you're hunting magic stones, sure. You spot a 【Mimicry】-ing golem, surround it as a party, and take it down—probably. Well, what WE'RE doing is leveling, and if lots of them come to us, that's even more convenient... Looks like we'll be leveling on Floor 33 for a while. Mia-san, what's your afternoon plan?"

Answering Soushi's question while also asking after the others' afternoon plans.

"The two of them are working hard, but there's a mountain of stuff. It'll still be a while before I can start on weapons. Even if you ordered one, I couldn't make a proper one yet. Forget OUR leveling today—put Haruki's leveling first."

I'd put in requests for all sorts of new weapons over lunch, but apparently she can't make them here yet.

Soushi and Aikawa said no rush, so today we'll focus on our own leveling.

︙

︙

Name: Kasugano Haruki

Job: 【Charge Shielder】【Charge Spearman】【Scout】

Lv: 33

HP: 2400/2475

MP: 130/660

Strength: 132

Endurance: 165

Agility: 115

Magic: 66

Skills: 【Gate】【Charge・Shield・High】【Charge・Shield・Armor Enhancement・Shield・High】【Charge・Shield・Strength Up・High】【Charge・Shield・Endurance Up・High】【Charge・Shield・Agility Up・High】【Charge・Shield・Magic Up・High】【Charge・Spear】【Charge・Spear・Weapon Enhancement・Spear】【Charge・Spear・Strength Up】【Charge・Spear・Endurance Up】【Charge・Spear・Agility Up】【Charge・Spear・Magic Up】【Charge・Spear・Aiming】【Presence Concealment】【Presence Detection】【Scouting】【Night Vision】

Skill Points: 1

A few hours of leveling near the Floor 33 summit.

I thought it'd be better to trip up the golems coming down from above, but Kasumi-san said fighting golems slowly climbing up from below was easier, so we decided to fight at the summit.

Golems are bad at uphills too, not just downhills...

They say weight is strength, but it's a weakness as well, huh.

And so, as it started getting dark, my level finally hit 33.

"Levels really do rise. Two in a single day... Well, if you fight at the pace of mowing down orcs, they would."

Maybe because there's no one else around, a little attentiveness during our break got judged as flirting, and they came swarming again.

"The magic stone count is amazing too, but can we cash them in?"

Since we're not moving from here, I had a bucket brought over and they're piled in it.

About half I just crushed as-is, but even so there are 100-plus.

Value-wise, 10,000-and-some yen apiece...

So a hundred-some stones—a million-plus yen, all told. Should we really cash it in...?

"Little by little, I'd say. As long as we're not short on money, let's cash them in slowly. Now then, let's call it a day."

Flirting it may have been, but distance-and-decorum flirting, so everything that attacked us was Sand Golems.

The appropriate level for the next floor is 34, so tomorrow will be more leveling here too, I guess?