Lucy and Emily's Crush Competition
◇ Lucy's Perspective ◇
I had agreed to meet up with somebody.
"Well? What'd you call me out for?" I asked.
I'd arrived at a posh cafe in the guild near the Macallan church and was now staring at my former party member.
"Oh, come on! Enough with the hostility, Lucy. I'm trying to be friends with you."
Emily's tone sounded like I'd already gotten on her nerves, so it
didn't seem like she was trying very hard. Regardless, I took a seat across from her, propped my chin up on my arm, and ordered a black tea.
"Not with Jean today?"
"He's...out training," Emily replied. "Huh, just like Makoto."
The moment Emily heard my response, she snapped and glared at me. "Yeah, he is!" Emily declared, slamming her hand against the tabletop. "Jean's completely taken after Makoto, so all he does anymore is train!
"O-Okay..." I said nervously. "So, did you invite me here because you were feeling lonely?"
"Got a problem with that?" Emily shot back. She was in a foul mood. "Well then, what'd you want to talk about?" I asked.
Emily took a long pause before answering. "Lucy... You're dating Makoto, right?"
"Huh?!" I blurted out loudly. "Wha-Wha-Wha-Wha... What are you talking about?!"
"Ah, right. You're a wuss, so I suppose not."
"Oh, it's on!" I announced. "I'm gonna ask out Makoto right now! You can keep having cold feet for all I care!"
"Excuse me? Jean and I grew up in the same orphanage! You'd better believe I'll get a 'yes' out of him before you do!"
Emily and I glared and growled at each other from point-blank range.
"Hey you two, no fighting in the guild!" Mary scolded as she drove us out.
"All right then, whoever asks out their crush first in the next three days wins," Emily said, throwing down the gauntlet.
"You're on! Loser has to pick up the winner's tab!"
And so, we were now competing to see who could ask out their crush first.
Wait... How did it come to this, again?
◇
"Not feelin' hungry, Lucy?"
I didn't answer. Across from me was Makoto, who had just finished his trai— No, he was still training during his meal. There were shards of ice floating around him.
"Hey... Are you free later?" I asked.
"Besides the part where I train until I fall asleep, yeah, totally free," Makoto answered. Did this guy have some disease that would kill him if he wasn't training?
"Wanna go for a walk?" I asked. "Sure thing."
I led Makoto outside. "Where to?" he asked.
"Uhhh, let's go to the park!" I suggested. I figured that the park
would have just the atmosphere I needed at this time of night. It'd also be quiet enough for us to have a conversation.
"Huh?" Makoto responded with a contorted, confused look. I didn't understand his response at the time, but I got it once we arrived at the park ten minutes later.
What the heck?! I thought. What're so many lovey-dovey couples doing in the park at night?!
Just being romantic would've been one thing... But couples were going, uh, well beyond that in plain view.
"So, um, Lucy?" Makoto asked. He was visibly nervous. I probably was too.
But, for real? Was I really going to ask him out in a place like this? Wouldn't it insinuate that I expected our night to go...a certain way?
"H-Hey, uh, Makoto..." I began.
"Y-Yeah?" stammered Makoto, his face actually showing an emotion for once. But just then...
"Aaah!" came a woman's moan from behind some nearby bushes. Makoto and I shared a look of panic. His face was beet-red. Mine probably resembled a tomato.
Nope, nope, nope! There was no way I could ask him out here! I grabbed Makoto by the hand and we hastily left the park.
◇
Emily and I heaved heavy sighs. "How'd yours go?" I asked.
"Do I need to spell it out?"
Ah, things weren't going well. Our lonesome ladies' night out continued late into the evening.
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The Guild Receptionist Is a Heavy Drinker
"Hey, mind if I join you?"
I was at my regular skewer stand when, suddenly, a woman appeared behind me and asked me a question.
"Oh, Mary, done with work? By all means, go ahead," I answered.
Mary was a receptionist for the adventurer's guild, and I'd talked with her a lot ever since I'd accepted my first quest. Speaking with people I didn't know made me nervous, so I always stood in the line for Mary's counter whenever she was working. As of now, she was one of the few women who I could hold a conversation with.
"So, what did you get on today's hunt?" she asked. "Just goblins, as usual. Also a few horned rabbits."
"Thanks again, by the way," the chef interjected with a laugh. He also placed a glass right in front of me. Wait, had I even ordered anything?
"It's on the house!" added the chef with a smile.
"Why, thank you," I said as I brought the glass to my lips.
Damn, this is strong! I thought. Uh, did the chef mean to serve me something this alcoholic? Guess I just needed to take smaller sips!
"Whew!" Mary exclaimed. "Chef, gimme a refill!" Yikes, she downed that glass in an instant!
◇
"Guhhh... I got so drunk..."
Mary was currently clinging to me and wouldn't let go. Every one of the guild's stalls had already closed. I'd wound up having to guide Mary back to her home, but I didn't even know where that was.
"One more spot! I've still got it in me!" she cheered.
"Really?" I questioned. "I think you oughta call it a night. Don't you have work tomorrow?"
"Aww, I'll be fiiine!"
Unable to resist Mary's arm-twisting, I followed her to a large pub that was open until sunrise. The place was packed with all kinds of folk, from adventurers and merchants to townspeople who'd just gotten off work. Mary and I took seats in the corner.
"Yeah, cheers!" Mary shouted.
"You sure are a heavy drinker," I remarked.
"Awww, no I aaain't," she said while casually leaning into me. Agh, she smelled nice. I tried to focus on the food to distract myself from my pounding heart, until...
"Hey Mary, that you?"
"How 'bout joining us instead?"
"Sure is one young fella you got with ya, eh?"
A handful of adventurers had called out to Mary. Were they
acquaintances of hers? These men clearly weren't rookies. My knee- jerk reaction was that I didn't want to drink with people I didn't know, but Mary...
"Sorryyy, but toniiight, it's just me and Makoto," she said, turning them down before I got the chance.
"Aww, oh well." "C'mon, let's go."
"Some other time, then!"
The men didn't persist any further and left. "Mary, are you sure about that?" I asked.
"Totally sure," she said. "Those guys will hit up aaany woman they see around here. Loook, they're already onto their next shot over there."
I peered in the direction she was pointing and, sure enough, saw that the group was chatting up a pair of women. Man, was I gonna act like that someday?
"Makotooo, you better not end up like that," Mary said. "Huh?" I blurted out. Had she read my mind?
"You're puuure, Makoto. You're better off that way." "Maybe, but I kinda wish I had a girlfriend..."
"Want me to do it?"
"Ha ha... Yeah, sure, wouldn't that be nice." Even if it'd been just a drunken joke, I did appreciate the sentiment.
"Come onnn, I'm not even joking... Oh, I know! Makoto, when you hit gold rank, I'll be your girlfriend!" Mary announced with a grin.
"Gold rank, huh..." My adventurer rank was currently stone, the lowest of them all. In other words, she was asking for the impossible.
But, hey, I'd take it.
"Guess I'm aiming for gold rank now," I stated.
"Tee hee, good luuuck," Mary said as she patted my head.
...Even if gold rank was out of reach, I could at least aim for iron rank—the point at which adventurers were finally considered mid- level.
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The Clerk at the Fujiwara Trading Company
"Oh? Well hi there, Mr. Takatsuki'h!"
A girl with bunny ears hopped toward me.
"Oh, hello there, Nina," I greeted her. She was carrying some big boxes in both hands that looked fairly hefty.
"Let me help," I offered.
"Uhh... They're pretty heavy'h," Nina responded.
Perhaps, but I couldn't let a girl hold them alone while I walked empty-hande—
"Urgh, this is heavy!" I stood corrected... I couldn't handle this.
"A ha ha, that's what happens when you pack fifty bottles of
Macallan flaming cocktails in a box," Nina chuckled. "I think it'd be a bit too much for a human."
Ah, right. Nina was a beastwoman, a race many times stronger than any human.
"You're a nice person, Mr. Takatsuki'h. You actually offered to help a beastwoman like me."
"That makes me nice?" I asked.
"Sure does. A lot of humans wouldn't blink at the sight of a beastman doing hard labor."
Guess it was a difference in otherworld culture. I could never treat a cutie like Nina or any of the cat-eared girls as nothing more than some hired muscle.
"The boss is just like you. You people from the otherworld are all so kind," Nina said. Her expression mellowed. Fujiyan sure had one dedicated partner.
"I see that Fujiyan isn't around today," I noted. Nina's responding expression was somber.
"He...said he had an appointment with the daughter of a Macallan lord for some business negotiations today."
"Wow..." He was already meeting people that high up? Fujiyan sure had connections.
"By the way, will he be available today?" I asked. I figured that Nina would have a general idea of his schedule.
"No... I'm afraid he has a banquet to attend with that noble lady!" Nina pouted. She seemed jealous.
That darn playboy...
"Well, it's a shame, but some other time, then," I said. "Mr. Takatsuki! You're free today, ain't ya'h?"
"Huh?"
"Please, could ya give me some company'h?"
And so, for some reason, I wound up having dinner with the clerk of Fujiyan's shop.
◇ In the adventurer's guild, near the stalls by the entrance ◇
"The noblewomen, those Catgirl Cantina waitresses, the boss is
always actin' sweet on everyone! He doesn't pay a bit of attention to how I feel!"
Nina followed her complaint up by downing a tall pint glass in one gulp. She could really handle her drinks.
"Hey, uh, Makoto?" Lucy whispered into my ear. "Don't you think Nina's drinking a bit too much?"
"Hmm..." I pondered. "I mean, I thought that beastmen are all pretty good at handling their liquor."
It was something I'd heard from Fujiyan. Incidentally, I was way too shy to handle a dinner with Nina alone, so I'd called Lucy for some backup.
"Mr. Takatsuki! How do I tell the boss what I feel'h?" Nina asked. "Uh, well, let me think..."
I was the only one who knew that Fujiyan's Waifu Game Player skill allowed him to read minds. Meaning that there was a one hundred percent chance that Fujiyan knew about Nina's affection.
But what do I tell her? I wondered.
"Don't worry, Nina," Lucy consoled her. "You're cute, so you'll be fine."
It was kinda rare to see Lucy being so considerate.
"Wahhh... You really think so, Miss Lucyyy?" Nina asked before suddenly collapsing onto the table with a thud. She was now drawing the deep, slow breaths of someone fast asleep.
After a brief silence, Lucy and I glanced at each other. Since we couldn't just leave her behind, we decided to wait for a while. But I couldn't help noticing that...
"Fujiyan sure is popular, huh," my tongue slipped with unsubtle jealousy.
"I-I mean, you've got people who like you too..." "Hm? You say something, Lucy?" I asked.
"Nope, not a word!"
For some reason, I was now being smacked on the head. What'd I do? Well, no big deal—I'd just drink in silence. And maybe keep
Nina's gripes in mind the next time I felt like pulling Fujiyan's leg. "Anything you wanna eat, Lucy?"
"Hmm, let's see..."
The stalls at the guild entrance were flooded with liquored-up adventurers. The night was still young.
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My First Trip to the Catgirl Cantina
"W-Whoa..."
The moment I walked through those doors, my jaw dropped. Fujiyan had just taken me into a place I'd never been before: the Catgirl Cantina. The staff all had cat ears. And they were cute.
W-Wait, was this some kind of adult shop?
"My esteemed Tackie..." Fujiyan explained with disappointment. "This is no brothel. They don't offer that sort of service..."
"...You just read my mind, didn't you?" I accused. Please don't, it's embarrassing!
"Think of it as a maid cafe."
"Oh, I see." So the point of the place was just to look at the cute girls.
"Welcome to the Catgirl Cantina!" A wide-eyed cat-eared waitress greeted us before showing Fujiyan and me to our seats. Her skirt was short. And underneath that skirt swayed a cat tail.
I-I was being tempted... No, keep it together. Calm Mind skill, activate!
"Oh, my esteemed Tackie..." "Got a problem?"
We were led to a luxurious table in the back.
"Thanks for everything, Meowster Fujiwara! Is it your companion's first trip here? By all means, take your time!" The cat-eared waitress welcomed us with a smile, took our drink orders, and disappeared into the kitchen.
"So they do make cat puns," I remarked.
"Heavens no! She's the only waitress here who does so." "Huh?" For real? Our drinks were delivered as we continued this
discussion, and we said our cheers. Entrees were soon brought out plate by plate.
"This is some good food!" I exclaimed.
"Indeed it is," Fujiyan agreed. "The impeccable quality does not stop at the service staff—the food is exquisite as well!"
"But it must be expensive."
"Oh, my friend, you'll be quite surprised by what they charge..." Fujiyan slipped me a number.
"Wow, that's pricey!" I couldn't help but remark. "What?"
"...What?"
Fujiyan and I stared at each other. Ah, we'd just hit upon a difference in perspective; of course a rookie adventurer and a successful businessman would think about the value of money very differently. Things got a little awkward.
"Er, may I ask what you typically dine upon, my esteemed Tackie?"
"I guess I just go to the food stalls in the guild every day," I responded. "I can get a full stomach for a few hundred gald."
"That is indeed cheap... But I've heard that almost all of the stalls in the guild primarily serve drinks."
"Yep, it's all bar food." But I liked junk food, so it wasn't a problem for me.
"Well now, are you fellas talking about work? Mister Fujiwara, this friend of yours is an adventurer?" The cute, cat-eared waitress
chatted along as she poured us drinks. A-A little too close for my comfort...
◇
The time flew by, and before I knew it, I'd drunk way too much.
"C'mooon, Mister Fujiwara, you can stay until morning, caaan't you?"
"Ah ha ha! But of course!" Fujiyan replied. "Come, my esteemed Tackie, we've much more drinking to do!"
Fujiyan was still partying hard.
"Uh... Sure..." I was tired. Honestly, I wanted to head back to the adventurer's guild and get some sleep. I couldn't handle my liquor as well as Fujiyan, after all.
"Mister Fujiwara, I want to drink that luxury wine..." "Can I have some fruits?"
"I want to try that wine too..."
Fujiyan was surrounded by catgirls wearing skimpy dresses. Wait, weren't those skirts a little too short? It was starting to feel like the type of venue that wasn't quite a brothel... Right, a cabaret club.
At just that moment...
I froze. A shiver that I still struggle to describe raced up my spine. "Hey...Boss? Didn't you say you'd come home tonight'h?"
I turned around to see a bunny-eared girl standing imposingly before us. The cat-eared girls instantly scattered away like mice.
"Er... Well, you see, about that... My trusted Nina, I have a perfectly reasonable explanation..." Fujiyan stammered as he tried to come up with an excuse.
"My apologies, Mr. Takatsuki, but the boss has some unfinished business'h. Would you mind wrapping up your evening here'h?"
"...Nope, go right ahead."
If anything, I was so sleepy that I appreciated the assist. But did Fujiyan really spend the night with me when he still had work to do? Then again, he was the one who'd invited me to go drinking. Oh well, good enough for me.
I returned to the adventurer's guild and fell fast asleep.
Come to think of it, what was that bunny-eared clerk's name, again?
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A Chat between a Goddess and Her Believer
"Hey, Makoto?"
"Yes, what is it, Goddess?"
I turned around while practicing my water magic.
"I think you could at least give the training a rest while you're
dreaming. I mean, I'm right here!" The goddess pouted as she puffed out her cheeks in an adorable way.
"I just need one more level to top out my water magic mastery at 99. Then I can get my max-out bonus!"
"O-Oh... Well, have fun, then." The goddess was looking at me with disinterest. But, why?
Meanwhile, she seemed to be holding...ice cream?
"Wait, is that Haa*en-Dazs?" I asked. Where'd she get that?
"Hmm, from a Japanese online store, I guess?" she responded.
"...They deliver here?" Was this the true power of the goddess? It was a mystery...
"Oh, I can do plenty more than this!" the goddess boasted before showing me...a copy of Weekly Shonen J*mp?! I-I wanna read that!
"No can do," she declined, chucking the magazine away. It vanished into thin air.
"Aww..." I at least wanted to check out the latest chapter of One P*ece...
"Wanna know how all the manga in your old world is going?" the goddess teased as a sneer snuck onto her face. She had a rotten personality.
"Well, yeah. Thinking about how I can never read them again makes me start to miss them," I said. But oh well, this was another world. Best to just give up on it.
"Hey, you're the one who's got it good here!" the goddess said. "You can travel anywhere in the world you want. I, on the other hand,
have been stuck here for hundreds of years, in case you forgot."
"Here? This place with nothing in it?" I asked. This blank area where I met the goddess stretched as far as the eye could see.
"I meant the Seafloor Temple where I'm being held! In terms of places humans can actually reach, it's located at the end of the dungeon at the deepest point in the world."
"Guess I oughta start swimming, then." It was hard not to have some compassion for someone who'd been all alone this whole time.
"Don't worry, take your time. I'll wait patiently for as many years or centuries as it takes."
"Humans kinda don't live that long, though..." I pointed out.
Come to think of it, how old was the goddess? She looked pretty much like a teenage girl, but was she actually an old lad—
"Well now, is this believer of mine thinking something incredibly rude?"
"Ow, that hurts," I pleaded as the goddess tugged on my cheeks. I guess asking about her age was heretical.
We both remained silent for a bit.
"Hey, Makoto, talk to me about something," the goddess demanded.
"There's nothing I hate being told to do more than that." If I could come up with fun things to talk about at the drop of a hat, I would've had way more friends!
"Hmph. That's what you get for asking my age."
"Oh... I must have angered you," I said before apologizing to the goddess.
"Okay then, it's about time for you to head back," she said. Her smile had returned, so maybe she wasn't too mad about it.
"...By the way, what'd you call me for?" I asked. I hadn't gotten any directions or anything.
"Huh? I was just bored and wanted someone to talk to."
I was speechless. That was it? Ah well, I could let it slide. The goddess I worshipped chose to spend her spare time with me, after all.
"Well, I've got a fantasy world to full-clear."
"Indeed. Within your limits, of course. Your life comes first." The goddess bid me farewell, waving her hand back and forth and using a phrase that I felt like I'd heard before.
Either way, tomorrow was gonna be another day of work here in Macallan.
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