I wake up. It was a good sleep. Just in case, I check whether there is any monster around us. “Enemy Detection” is not responding, so it should be safe.
“Aka, please cancel your mimicry”
“Furu Furu.”
After having Aka cancel its mimicry, I stretch my body.
“Momo, Aka, good morning!”
“Wan!”
“Furu Furu”
Of course, Momo seems to have woken up earlier than I did. As for Aka… do slimes even fall asleep? When I ask Aka the question, it shudders, indicating that it isn’t sure either. Then oh well. It doesn’t really matter as long as Aka’s fine.
Now then, today is the day that Ichinose-san formerly becomes our companion. Umu… as expected, I’m getting nervous. Because of some turn of events, she will be our first human companion. Furthermore, she’s female, which makes me uneasy. Is my hair alright? Have I drooled during my sleep?
“Oh, before that, I should check up on when and where we’re going to meet.” I send a mail to Ichinose-san, and a reply comes back immediately. 1 hour later at a nearby apartment.
“There is still some time until then.” Since that’s the case, I should first get breakfast out of the way. I take out some food from the “Item Box” and have my first meal of the day. Bread, fruits, salad, and milk. Dog food for Momo. When I finish eating, I give Aka the rubbish for absorption [TN: Like the wrappers I’m assuming]. Not only is it eco-friendly, Aka enjoys it as well.
Afterwards, I wash my face, shave, and check for any signs that might show bad sleeping habits. Well, it’s that. I’m just fixing my appearance. When I look into the mirror, I can see the dull face that I see every day.
Damn it.
It isn’t time yet, so should I explore a bit more? Anyways, the location where we promised to meet is only a few minutes’ walk from here. Even if I look around the shopping mall, I should be able to arrive in time. Now that the orcs are gone… “Now that I think about it, did the skeletons from yesterday get attracted here because of the orcs’ absence? Otherwise, I can’t think of an explanation for their timely arrival.” “And it seems like there are conflicts between different monsters too…” The orcs that I encountered before were being chased by a pack of Shadow Wolves. In other words, relationships between monsters are deadly as well. Well, this doesn’t change the fact that I will be hunting them. After all, it’s kill or be killed.
With that in mind, I recommence our search of the mall. We mainly go around places that we weren’t able to visit yesterday. While doing so, I take anything that I find useful. I repeat this process by walking back and forth in the parking lot. There are a lot of cars that were abandoned. Of course, they are all absorbed into the “Item Box”. Parts of destroyed pillars are taken in as well. After all, they can serve as weapons too.
“There aren’t many corpses…”
I didn’t see any dead bodies on the second floor and in the parking lot. As I thought, does the ‘mountain’ of corpse include everyone that was killed in this shopping the mall? But then again, what is the purpose of gathering all of them in one place? Now that I think about it, the monsters’ physical bodies disappear after defeating them, leaving behind only experience and magic stones. On the other hand, when humans are killed, their bodies remain. What is with this difference?
“The more I think about it, the more I realize how enigmatic this world’s system is.
Abruptly, monsters started appearing in massive numbers, and a game-like system was implemented. In the first place, why did the monsters appear? What exactly are magic stones? There are too many things that I can’t comprehend. There are too many contradictions that I can’t just accept answers like “it just IS”. For example, physical laws and stuff aren’t being kept… “Hmm?” While pondering, “Enemy Detection” picks up a response. It’s a human. Is it possibly… a survivor? No, that isn’t plausible. Considering the orcs’ superior sense of smell, it is impossible to hide from them. Without skills like “Odorless” or “Attention Cutoff” that I possess, a person will eventually be found.
“Does that mean that he or she came in from outside?” Was the person waiting for the orcs to leave, just like the skeletons? For now, let’s check who it is. After hiding Momo in the shadows, I activate “Odorless”, “Attention Cutoff”, and “Silent Operation” as I approach the location.
“…there”
They are near an entrance that is opposite from the one which I use to enter the building. There, I see two females. They’re young. They are either in their early 20s or their late teens.
“Hello? Is anyone here?”
“Hey, why don’t we turn back? I’m sure everyone has already fled.” “It’s fine. Unlike before, we have raised our levels. This time, we wo…won’t be done in by the likes of monsters. We will notice them.” “If you say that while trembling, it doesn’t sound convincing in the least…” The two women wander into the store while holding backpacks and wielding weapons that look like Sasumata.
“Oh?”
One of them looks familiar. I stare at that woman’s face from the corner of a shelf. A black haired beauty that can be characterized by the mole under her eyes. There is no doubt. She is the newlywed who was my neighbor. So she is alive… Is she searching for her husband? While having a bad premonition, I decide to watch over the girls’ actions.
While all of this is happening –
“This is bad… my stomach hurts…”
Ichinose Natsu was crawling in the room of a certain apartment. In the end, she wasn’t able to calm down after an entire day of preparation.
“Ugh… I’m nervous.”
Rather, she became more anxious as time passed, and she wasn’t able to get any sleep at night. ‘What should I do if he makes fun of me when we meet? What if he doesn’t like me? Am I a source of annoyance? Have I sent too many mails? Did I mofu-mofu too much?’ Morning came while she was having these pessimistic thoughts.
“But, in order to meet Momo-chan… I’ll try my best!” To encourage herself, she took a “Let’s do it” pose. Even so, the thought of speaking to a stranger was nerve-wracking. Her mental health wasn’t faring well. For several reasons, she hadn’t attended high school for an entire year. After rejecting outside contact, her life as a Hikikomori made her incapable of interacting with strangers. Even after the world was infested with monsters, this aspect of hers didn’t change.
“I had no problem meeting with him when he was unconscious but…” A recovery potion that she acquired through Gacha. When she approached the man to heal him with the potion, she must have been in a weird state. She noticed only after she calmed down how embarrassing it was.
“What kind of expression should I have when I meet him later…” Perhaps the man might think otherwise, but she believed that it will be awkward.
“I… should be more determined… more determined…” If… if she overcame this predicament, she would be able to travel with the dog. She wanted to mofu-mofu. She wanted to be healed. With that in mind, she stood up. Even if she is afraid of meeting strangers, she must overcome it. This was all for the sake of a new companion. All for the sake of one dog.
“Wait for me, Momo-chan… I will try my best!” With her partner, the rifle, she opened the door of the apartment. The expression on her face was like that of a warrior’s, a warrior who has decided to enter a bloody battlefield.
Please remember though, Ichinose was just leaving the room to meet someone.