Part 55: Two Big Eaters

Two large commercial pots are warmed on camping stoves.

Inside: "Oden Curry," a dish I developed just moments ago.

A large quantity of ready-made rice is also secured.

About two hours had passed since the mysterious girl's attack.

It had been a challenge dealing with the zombies drawn in by her loud disturbance, but it seemed the general store might still serve as a makeshift bedchamber.

The top-tier bed ended up in shambles, though.

"……huh?"

"Good morning."

"……uh, ah."

The small assailant groans, much like a zombie.

I've never experienced magic depletion before, but this is what it feels like.

I need to be more careful from now on.

"……hmm."

The girl sniffs softly.

"……curry?"

"Yes. There's some for you too."

Suddenly, the girl shot upright from the bed.

"Uuu... curry..."

She was nothing short of an animal driven by immediate desire.

Turning toward me, the one who had just moments ago been her enemy, she approached without a trace of caution.

Placing rice on a large plate, pouring on the curry sauce, and handing it to her, I said,

"Hmm? What's this?"

"It's oden curry. I invented it myself."

"Ani-chan..."

The girl looked at me with a serious expression.

"Doing something so terrible to curry..."

Hmph.

So she doesn't like my home-cooked meal, does she?

"I won't give it to someone who complains."

"Sorry, I'm sorry!"

Before she even finished speaking, the girl started devouring the curry with wild enthusiasm.

"Man, when you're hungry, anything tastes good!"

What an impolite little brat.

Of course, I won't back down, and I start eating my curry too.

Common sense like "I just ate a moment ago" no longer applies to me.

It seemed my stomach had somehow connected to another dimension.

Ah, right.

By the way, let me summarize the skills I just acquired:

《Defense I》, 《Magic Resistance I》, 《Iron Armor》, 《Defense II》, 《Defense III》, 《Defense IV》

That’s about it.

Yep. Unexpectedly, I went all-in on defense.

I'm not entirely sure, but as long as her title is "Just Fighter," she probably won't kill anyone.

It seemed to me that the quickest way to convince her would be to do exactly as she said—taking a hundred punches—rather than forcing my will upon her.

For a while, both of them remained silent, simply chewing their curry.

"Second helping! Or actually, I'd love the whole pot!"

Yeah, yeah

I may not be the one to say this, but this girl sure does eat a lot.

Is it true that those who use skill powers are generally all big eaters?

After quickly finishing the large pot of curry, we dive into our snack—potato chips.

"Light salt! Ah, I love light salt!"

"Well, I've come to realize that chicken broth is truly the ultimate."

"I love chicken broth too!"

"...Want some tea?"

"Drinking it!"

Two girls chugging down a 2-liter bottle in quick, forceful gulps.

Come to think of it, it's quite a bizarre sight.

"Puhaa! I'm back to life!"

"You have the Hunger Resistance ability, right?"

"Huh? I took two levels of it?"

So you're only at the medium Hunger Resistance level, then.

"That explains why you ran out of magic power. You should probably take one more level when you level up next time?"

"Ugh. It's fine, really. There's food everywhere, after all."

"That kind of thinking is dangerous....After all, you lost to me, didn't you?"

"Is that so?"

The girl tilts her head repeatedly.

"Just so you know, you could've easily been killed....Consider yourself lucky that I'm a kind-hearted girl."

"……hmmph"

The girl pouts slightly but still twists open another bottle cap.

She gulps down the drink in three quick swallows,

"Time to sleep!"

And without another word, she heads off to the bed in the sleeping area.

"Um... we were supposed to talk..."

"Tomorrow, I promise! I'm sleepy now, so I'm going to bed!"

"Shouldn't you go to the bathroom first?"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!!"

Yelling like a rebellious teenager, the girl buries herself under the blanket.

Well, well.

Honestly, it's impressive how calmly you can sleep right next to someone you just challenged to a fight.

That takes serious nerve.

Well, I suppose I’m not exactly shy when it comes to boldness, either.

▼

After saying goodbye to the Pikanyan mascot suit and changing into my usual red jersey, I have a single cup of tea for breakfast.

Last night, since there was no drain on my magical energy, I’m not hungry at all.

《Hunger Resistance (Strong)》 — truly impressive.

Just as I thought that, the girl in question appeared, rubbing her eyes.

...Good morning.

The girl says something, her tone slightly annoyed.

Good morning

She looked away, then fell into thought for a while.

Huh? Where am I?

Looks like they're half-asleep.

Sighing,

There's a bath if you don't mind using the leftover water—would you like to take one?

I propose it.

Yeah... it goes in...

Compared to her appearance yesterday, she looked utterly dejected.

Had losing such a heavy impact on her?

Supporting the wobbling girl, the two of them head toward the rooftop of the general store.

Still dazed, the girl removes her clothes and steps into the bath.

"How's the water temperature?"

"Hmm... not bad... I mean, quite comfortable..."

"Since we're at it, let's wash your clothes together too."

"Sure, go ahead―――――"

I'm starting to feel like a maid serving this girl.

I gather up the clothes scattered on the floor and toss them into the bucket filled with detergent.

"By the way, if you want your clothes back, you'll have to answer a few questions."

"What?"

"What's your name?"

"Harukiri Saeba."

"What's your purpose?"

"All kinds of things..."

Is this girl still half-asleep?

仕方ない。正気に戻るまで、洗濯に集中しますか。

そして、三十分経過。

「…………んむ？」

突然、彩葉ちゃんが呟きました。

「あーし、いまなにやってんの？」

「お風呂に入ってます」

応えると、彩葉ちゃん急に立ち上がって、当たりを見回しました。

「なんじゃこりゃ……」

「？」

「なんじゃこりゃあああああああああああああああああああああああああ！」

「何を言って……」

Damn it, give back my clothes! Aaaahhh!

It's fine, but I'm doing the laundry. What about the spare clothes?

One more time, you idiot! Aaaaaaa!

Sighs.

I'll find something suitable to wear, so please wait a moment.

Fortunately, there were mountains of pajamas piled here.

▼

Then, thirty minutes passed while waiting for Ayame Saya to calm down.

It took another hour to hear the full story from her.

"I see... So you were deceived by that mysterious woman, is that it?"

"Deceived? Well, it might still be the truth, for all we know."

Saya turned her face away, refusing to admit she had made a mistake.

"Anyway, I don't mind what you think of me. How about I head over to 'Sakagura High' right now? I'm sure you're not as much of a pariah as you claim."

Probably.

"Mmm... I guess you could be right. The older sister doesn't seem like a bad person. Now that I think about it, that woman seemed suspicious—off somehow."

"Off how?"

"I don't know... like she wasn't fully present? Or anxious? At the time, I thought it was just because she was being chased by those 'zombies.'"

But vaguely...

I have a hunch about the culprit.

Besides, there's really only one person right now who'd have a reason to attack me.

"The wicked slave master."

Sure, there could be some new character hiding somewhere, targeting me specifically.

Hmm.

I think it's safer to assume the battle has already begun.

Ugh. This is annoying. So troublesome.

Honestly, I just never liked getting involved in conflicts.