Jiro Tanaka, 28 years old, has a girlfriend.
Girlfriend: Suella Hendelberg.
Memoria Tris.
Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Full-time employee).
Magic Aptitude: 9 (Quasi Demon Lord Class).
Position: Warrior.
The luxurious time of drinking sake with a beautiful woman and girl flanking me at the counter seats passed by. The content of our conversation was completely devoid of anything sensual, but it was fresh and interesting in its own way.
“It’s going to be a rather vulgar topic when it comes to the word ‘faith’, no… in this case, it’s about going against faith. What are the merits and demerits of believing in something?”
As the sake flowed and I began to feel a bit exhilarated, I voiced a thought that had crossed my mind. Ideally, one shouldn’t mix personal desires with religion for the sake of merit. To those involved in religion, wishes like winning the lottery or finding an ideal lover are probably desires steeped in greed. Well, perhaps prayers for a good harvest or for rain are, in a sense, humans trying to have their desires fulfilled by gods and Buddhas… but that would be an exception.
“That’s true.”
“…What could they be?”
A part of my mind wondered if I might be scolded for such disrespect, but they didn’t seem bothered. They slowly placed down their sake cups and began to think.
“Regarding the merits, the most common one would be protection, wouldn’t it?”
Memoria, who spoke first about the merits, pointed to her skin.
“We vampires, like the vampires in Jiro-san’s world, are weak to the sun, to the extent that it hinders our daily lives. However, by gaining protection, we can mitigate that physical trait.”
The skin Memoria pointed to was so white it was hard to believe we had gone on a business trip together to Isal, a place where the sun never sets. It was white enough that I wondered if even modern sunscreen could maintain such a hue.
“Protection manifests in various other forms as well, but fundamentally, it’s about having your body protected by the grace of the gods, in a way.”
“I see.”
Sunlight is indeed a disadvantage for vampires. If it can be negated or mitigated, it’s a significant merit.
“A famous exception would be the protection of a Hero. The gods grant them strong power, greatly increasing their luck and magic aptitude, and strengthening their bodies. As a consequence, many divine circumstances are incorporated into their lives, making them prone to getting caught up in troubles. So, even with high luck, it’s not all benefits.”
Seizing on that topic, Suella also spoke about the merits of protection. The famous case of the Hero’s protection was brought up, which was understandable given the profession of a hero, whose lives are often unorthodox due to the missions given by the gods. Suella, while explaining this, let out a wry smile and sipped her Japanese sake as if savoring it.
“As for the demerits… continuing one’s faith requires, to some extent, effort. Offering prayers. Offering sacrifices. Fulfilling missions. Demonstrating faith. The forms vary, but the stronger the protection, the higher the quality is also demanded.”
“The entities to whom one offers also have preferences, so there isn’t a single, universal method. Therefore, such knowledge is also necessary. Luina-sama determines the quality of protection through trials.”
“I see.”
It’s not a sweet deal to simply receive something for free. To gain profit, one must deliver and sell goods. Listening to Suella and Memoria’s explanations, I committed the merits and demerits to memory. Whether I needed them immediately or not, I had to properly organize information that was too valuable to simply let slide.
“Also, both when receiving and returning protection, one must follow proper procedures, or things can get quite bad. If procedures are carelessly omitted, the nature of the protection can reverse and become a curse.”
“A curse from a god? That’s no laughing matter.”
In work, unilaterally breaking a contract can lead to lawsuits. Similarly, whether human or divine, there’s a need for proper planning to ensure the other party is satisfied. Listening to Suella, I understood that while protection seems useful to have, one must keep maintenance firmly in mind. Earth’s myths are full of tales of heroes who were cursed and caused great calamities. While I listened to Suella’s story with a smile, it wouldn’t be funny if I were the one involved instead of an outsider. I thought that if I were to do it, I must think carefully, and as I took a gulp of Japanese sake, I felt warmth spread through my stomach.
“By the way, does the contract with spirits you mentioned earlier, Suella, fall under that faith?”
“It includes that. Contracts with spirits have various methods of agreement, such as faith, servitude, and equality. Generally, the higher the spirit, the more it becomes an object of faith; mid-level spirits are treated as equals; and lower-level spirits or fairies are taken into servitude. Here you go, Jiro-san.”
“Thank you… ah.”
Sake was poured into my empty cup. Grateful, I then took my time savoring it, rather than gulping it down.
“From what I’ve heard, it doesn’t seem like something you can achieve overnight.”
“That’s true. While it’s a common practice now, we’ve been doing it since we were children.”
“However, if you plan to challenge dungeons in the future, protection will be essential.”
“Perhaps.”
I might be fine now, but I don’t know about the future. It’s possible that progressing with sword techniques alone will have its limits. On that day, the difference between having protection as a hand to play and not having it might decide victory or defeat. As Suella said, it might not be something acquired in a day, but as Memoria mentioned, there’s a high probability it will become necessary in the future. At the very least, I decided that not trying it wasn’t an option. With that conclusion reached, I began to plan the schedule for my next job, thinking I should ask about something I wanted to inquire about.
“Suella, the supervisor mentioned something that caught my attention.”
As I was about to ask, I suddenly felt a sense of unease, and acting on instinct, not just myself but Suella and Memoria as well, took action. Each of us picked up our sake cups and containers of oden and stood up, quietly leaving our seats.
*BOOM!*
A second later, something shattered the door and slid across the counter table.
” ” “Whoa.” ” ”
“What, is there a fight?”
“It seems so.”
“This is troublesome.”
While covering their containers to prevent the flying debris from entering, I calmly analyzed what had happened. Seeing the object that flew in beyond the broken door, instead of panicking, I picked a piece of chikuwa from my container and popped it into my mouth. Suella quietly drank the Japanese sake she had secured, and Memoria sighed, casting her gaze towards the commotion outside. My gaze then shifted to the source of what had flown in. It was a male colleague I recognized. The shopkeeper, seeing him too, scowled and muttered a spell, causing the man to float and be moved towards the wall from the counter. In the process, the door fragments and dust were cleared, making it difficult to dine at that table for a while. The three of us, who had been eating earlier, despite being somewhat tipsy, managed to avoid the debris and were now heading outside the store with our oden and sake to watch the commotion. We, having nothing else to do standing there, followed suit, and peeking out from the broken door, we saw a brawl between testers in the distance.
More than that.
“Kaidou? What is that guy doing?”
One of them was not just recognizable, but Kaidou. He was single-handedly taking on four testers. Seeing him occasionally perform throws, I deduced that Kaidou was the one who sent the other man flying into the shop. The surrounding facility staff were cheering him on and egging them on. The drunken fools were clearly enjoying themselves, and I could tell without looking that Suella and Memoria’s moods were starting to sour. Fortunately, it seemed no weapons were being used, but to improve their moods, and as a colleague, I couldn’t leave them like this.
“…Sorry, I’ll be right back.”
“Shall I go with you?”
“No, it’s not a situation that requires Suella’s intervention. I’ll be back soon.”
I was also somewhat displeased at having my pleasant drinking session interrupted, so I decided to quickly resolve the cause. I gently held back Suella, who was about to intervene due to her position as supervisor, and pushed my way into the commotion. Soon, we could naturally hear what each other was saying.
“Don’t dodge, you coward!”
“Shut up! Why do I have to be hit when you guys started it?!”
“Shut up, you don’t even know what we’ve gone through!”
Perhaps they had been drinking, as their faces were flushed red as they exchanged insults and threw punches and kicks. Kaidou was focusing on defense, and intermittently throwing them to subdue them. Given the difference in stats, Kaidou had the advantage even against four opponents, but he was far from landing a decisive blow. If I just stood by and watched, it would eventually be settled. However, if I let it continue, it was obvious that things would escalate. Moreover, if people were to be left to their own devices in a place that was out of sight, it might be considered a dereliction of duty, leading to some kind of penalty.
“Haa, Kaidou, what are you doing?”
To prevent that, I intervened and stopped Kaidou’s fist, as well as the fist of the man who was about to punch him.
“Senpai!”
“Huh? Who are you?”
Kaidou was surprised by my sudden appearance, and the man, though surprised for a moment, quickly glared at me.
“Well, well, isn’t it the leader who favors cowards?”
“Who are you calling a coward?!”
The words, spat out slyly and maliciously, contained nothing but ill will. As if to support him, the other men grinned, their fighting spirit flaring up as if they had found their prey. Kaidou protested against the words, but the man’s eyes no longer saw Kaidou. It felt as if he had found someone to vent his stress on.
“Ah, so you seem to know me… And is there some kind of problem with our Kaidou?”
For now, acting purely out of emotion here was out of the question. I gently pushed Kaidou behind me, released his hand that I had been holding, and looked the man directly in the eyes.
“Problem? Your very existence is riddled with problems.”
“What?”
Judging by the smell of alcohol reaching my nose and the redness of his face, he had certainly consumed a significant amount. He was merely letting his emotions explode while under the influence. There was no point in using logic against such people. If I argued, I would only receive incoherent responses. So, for now, I decided to listen and extract as much information as possible.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Don’t play dumb!! We know!! We know that you guys are getting all kinds of special favors and earning money!”
The man, perhaps displeased with my attitude, suddenly yelled and tried to intimidate me, grabbing me by the collar.
“I have no idea… what you’re talking about.”
When he mentioned “favors,” the only thing that came to mind was that life-threatening dungeon tour? It’s true that other testers didn’t participate, and it was a job where I received significantly enhanced abilities. However, this guy said he was “earning money.” Unfortunately, while that tour made me stronger, it wasn’t that profitable considering the risk to my life. Compared to normal jobs, I received considerable danger pay, but that was it. The rest of the reward was priceless enhanced stats. I felt like his idea of “favors” was different.
“Senpai, senpai, they think we cheated to raise our stats. That’s what they were saying when I got involved.”
“Haa?”
And so, my prediction was completely wrong. Do these people think we received some special treatment and became the strongest overnight? If so, I have to say they are gravely mistaken. Hearing Kaidou’s words, I almost blurted out that such a thing was impossible, but…
“We’re desperately challenging dungeons, and you guys are laughing and goofing around, and the supervisor and other staff only praise you. I’ve always been annoyed by that!!”
My brief glance towards Kaidou seemed to have provoked him further. He pulled me by the collar and shook me, and the next moment, I felt a shock on my cheek.
“Haa, are you satisfied? If you’re satisfied, then scram.”
“Wh-wh-what-”
However, the punch thrown by the man driven by emotion was neither painful nor itchy to me. Without staggering, I glared at him with the fist still on my cheek, and the man took a step or two back. The difference in our stats was obvious; if I laid a hand on him, I would definitely win. But if I did, trouble was inevitable. It’s not that I’m a pacifist… but it feels like ending it here is the best course of action. Now then… what should I do?
Jiro Tanaka, 28 years old, has a girlfriend.
Girlfriend: Suella Hendelberg.
Memoria Tris.
Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Full-time employee).
Magic Aptitude: 9 (Quasi Demon Lord Class).
Position: Warrior.
Quote of the day:
I was having a perfectly good time drinking… what am I supposed to do now?
This is all for today, but I may re-post it.
Thank you for your continued support of this work.
