Book 1: Chapter 18

My body was in a shock. It might be because I took in too many skills.

My body was twitching. My head was strangely clear, yet hot at the same time. Perhaps I have also learned brain enhancing type skills such as 【Arithmetic Enhancement】 or 【Memory Enhancement】 which are classified as “Intelligence characteristic” skills.

I recalled the battles I saw on the training ground.

…Yeah, no doubt. My memory is crystal clear. Wait, I can even clearly remember the nights I spent sleeping on trees. Is this perhaps the perfect memory ability?

(No matter how I think about it, this must surely be an ability of 【World Ruler】…)

Once again, I was greatly overwhelmed by the 10-star skill orb. It felt sort of like, “I don’t think I can live without World Ruler anymore.” I was in so much confusion. My body shuddered.

Such being the case, I was constantly asked「Are you okay? Did you catch a cold?」by Mimino-san as I ate dinner. I don’t really remember what I ate, but when I remembered that it was perfectly stored in my memory, I shuddered yet again.

…I wanna go to bed already.

「Joseph invited me out, so I’ll be out for a while.」

「…Joseph-san?」

「Yeah, he says he’s retired from being an adventurer and hired by the guild to educate newcomers. And that life sometimes gets lonely. Seems like even a stable life has its shortcomings. See you later.」Dante-san said, and stepped out. His movement was slightly heavy.

…He sure loves his alcohol.

「…Go to sleep already, Reiji. You’re obviously tired.」Raikira-san said.

「Yes, I will……」

Just as I said that, my mind went black. It seems that my body was seeking rest.

I woke up to a pitch black room. The door was just about closing.

…Huh? Oh, right, I was sleeping.

From the bed next to me, I heard Dante-san’s snore.

…Urgh, the smell of sake is so strong. Just how much did he drink?

…Which means, the person who left the room is Raikira-san?

I looked around, but Raikira-san’s bed seemed empty. The moonlight that leaked through the gaps in the poorly built window suggested that it was still night.

(Where is he going in the middle of the night? Toilet?)

But even as I kept waiting, Raikira-san did not return.

(Which reminds me, he was acting a little strange in the afternoon…)

Raikira-san has always been hard to read, but today it felt like his mind was just not there. Like when he said he was going to sleep in the room, but instead, he was at the training ground.

Feeling slightly uneasy, I stepped out of the room. I tried out 【Sprinting Technique】 to not make any footstep sounds. It worked magnificently! 【Sprinting Technique】 consumes stamina quickly, but it seems that you can eliminate the sound of footsteps and temporarily increase dash power. Super convenient.

There was no one in the corridor. Not even in the entrance lobby.

The front door was slightly ajar.

…Did he go outside?

Just as I was about to reach for the door, I heard a voice.

「…Is this enough?」

「Hehe… Thank you, boss. Let’s do this again.」

「…Cut it out!」

「…Are you really sure about that? My tongue might slip out the fact that you’re here.」

「……Aa?」

「…S-Sorry, I-I was just joking. Then, I’ll take my leave.」

As I peeked outside, Raikira-san was talking to someone in a black hood. He handed over a leather bag which made a clanking noise (Damn, 【Hearing Enhancement】 is amazing.), so it was definitely money.

(Who is that? Is Raikira-san being threatened or is he the one threatening…? No, why would you give money to the person you’re threatening?)

When the man in black hood turned to leave, my 【Eyesight Enhancement】 caught his hairy face. It was a beastmen.

(Ah! Raikira-san is coming over!)

I made full use of 【Sprinting Technique】 to move without making noise, and hid behind a small table by the counter.

Raikira-san came in through the door—and sighed.

「…Reiji, come out.」

He found out!!!

「I know you’re there. I have 【Smell Enhancement】.」

「…Ah, Raikira-san? What are you doing here this late at night? Me? I just came out to pee. The bladder sure gets smaller as you grow older. Well, I’ll go now.」

「Wait.」

He caught the back of my neck when I quickly tried to escape.

「What do you mean older, you 10 year-old!」

「No, I mean, hahaaha…」

「…Were you watching?」

「………」

As I kept silent, Raikira-san clicked his tongue and let go of me.

「…Come with me.」

Then I was taken out to the city.

The city hadn’t gone to sleep yet — the inn we were staying in was located in like a hotel street where many so-called inns were densely packed together. You could see that many of these “inns” were taverns which were open till sunrise, and you can spend time chatting and drinking with adult women who work there – the kind of places where I can 【Sprint】 through the “stairs of adulthood” by entering. The bustlings in those taverns even reached out to the main street.

A woman in a tight dress, standing under a pink lamp, was tempting passerbys (male only).

「You see that woman standing over there. She’s a mix of human and beastmen.」

「Eh… is that so?」

「You can tell just by looking, right?」

「Not really?」

「She has a lot of hair on her head, and hiding a fair amount of body hair under that dress.」

「It doesn’t really seem that way, though.」

I couldn’t see it at all. I could only see a normal lady.

…Oh, she noticed me and is waving to me. Ehehe…

「What are you so happy about!」

「I-It’s no big deal, right…」

「I was thinking that you liked short ones like Mimino, and yet here you are, hitting on a half-beastean. No loyalty at all.」

「What?! No, rather, aren’t you the one who likes Mimino-san?」

「The heck?! Where did that come from!?」

I mean he was “picked up” by Mimino-san, and he usually gets into mouth fights with her… just like a teenager in his puberty. If I say it out loud, he’ll get angry, right? I better not say it.

「Mimino is a no. While we’re on that, Non is also a no. Both are out of the question.」

「Huh? Just how high are your standards?」

Mimino-san is short, but she’s absurdly cute, and Non-san is cute + neat + dynamite, isn’t she? By dynamite, I mean an explosive that uses nitroglycerin, etc. It has no deeper meaning. Also, Non-san is scary.

「It doesn’t work for me unless they’re hairier.」

「!!」

What a declaration!

「I’m not saying no just because the shorty is “different race”. Do you know that Mimino’s arms are slippery smooth?」

「………」

I know. I saw it in the bath…

Ah! Is it because of 【World Ruler】 that I can clearly and distinctly remember every detail from that time?! Which means, I can never forget this!!!

「…Hey, sometimes you just look at the ground with a horrified look on your face, like now. What’s up with that? Do you have a grudge with the ground? Is it your faith or something?」

「You need not worry. So, how much hair would you say you like?」

「Well, when I run my hand through her back, it should feel soft and smooth, and it should feel like my hands are passing through– Wait! The hell are you making me say! It’s embarrassing!」

「Oh, uh…」

People have different tastes. I’m getting wiser.

「…The one you saw earlier, can’t even earn any money in this city, so I helped out.」

We got back to the main topic.