Chapter 65: Rapid Growth

――――The 13th day of training.

The carriage trip that we spent the past week with was over, and my nostalgic daily life is back. I’m sorry for making you wait, my house. I missed you, my bed!

「「We are home!」」

We opened the door, and voila! We were greeted by our sanctuary, our great living room. What’s with this tension, you ask? It’s the mood. Also, there’s a good reason for this.

「Haha, it’s a lucky thing that I’m exempted from work for a while because of this expedition. I can concentrate on training you!」

「Good for you, Shishō! I still don’t know what your job is, though!」

Yeah, the work this time was unexpectedly appreciated, and the troublesome works that Canon brought are gone. I usually started working at night after night before I know it, but now I don’t have to cut down my sleep time. Or rather, they should have exempted me from work if they wanted to leave Haru in my care. My~, all hail our great Nell-sama.

「By the way, Deris’s job is unraveling the unexplained magic items, laying foundations, and investigating the characteristics of the collected monsters’ materials. Despite being a magician, he’s better than researchers and technicians in the castle, so he’s being used for good. Even so, his salary is fairly high.」

「Hee, is that so? Shishō, so you were an elite!」

「Well, if I decided to, I will raise my skills regardless of my job… but hey, why are you guys here?」

「I-I’m sorry for the intrusion…」

Nell and Chinatsu, who should have parted way earlier, were sitting on the sofa as if they owned the place (especially Nell).

「Good. Put it on the tray and carry it gently――」

「…… Gobu.」

Then, Gobuo-kun serves tea to Nell and Chinatsu. His atmosphere is as if saying ‘Well, drink this and take your time’. Is it the influence of Haru’s mother power? More importantly, he sure is quick to learn…

「Thank you. Um, Nell-shishō brought me here.」

「It’s not that you will lose anything, so it’s fine, isn’t it? Also, I brought some sweets. Ara, this tea is delicious too.」

「Of course, the tea that Haru makes is delicious after all. No, I mean… you just headed to the castle to report the result, didn’t you? Have you finished already?」

「As for the report to the king, well, I left it to Daganov. Besides, I went together on the expedition, you know? Since I have never failed, the success was promised as soon as we went. Therefore, the reward was also prepared at that time. Here you go.」

Saying so, Nell placed a large bag full of money on the table. Haru and Chinatsu had never seen a money pouch of this size before, so they were speechless at that moment.

「U-Um, Nell-san. How much money is in this bag…?」

Haru asked nervously.

「I’m not sure how much. Well, if you live normally, you can live playing for several generations, I guess?」

「「T-That much!?」」

「This is not surprising. It would cost a lot more to send an army to annihilate a swarm of monsters of that level, you know? Compared to that, this much is super cheap. It’s rather stingy.」

「B-But…」

Haru glances up at me. It’s as if she’s saying ‘What are we going to use this for?’. Of course, we are going to use all for notable scrolls. Haru might be angry if the money is gone overnight, but having too much money will cause trouble. It’s better to replace the money with items and use them as soon as possible. Also, Haru’s dark magic is growing, so we have to buy scrolls that match her ability again.

「Ah, that’s right. Haru, it’s the usual thing, but you haven’t checked your status yet, right?」

「Yes, I haven’t!」

Yep, let’s give up on having her check it voluntarily.

「Ara, that’s right, I also want to check Chinatsu’s status. While we are at it, let’s check it together.」

「Hey, it might be too late, but are you fine with displaying it openly?」

「Checking each other’s growth would be a good stimulus for each other! is what you said, right?」

「… Did I say so?」

「That’s right. In fact, we did it when we were adventurers, right? We were competing with each other. To be honest, I can’t deny the fact that it was effective.」

…… Well, I guess there was something like that. Now that I think about it, getting worked up against someone younger than me was immature. Still, against Haru who shows rapid growth, will it become a plus for Chinatsu? If things go bad, there’s a chance that she will be disheartened.

「Are you sure? Haru is quite peculiar, you know?」

「Don’t worry about it. Whatever happens, I will train Chinatsu.」

「Huh, why I feel chilly…?」

It seems that she intends to forcibly train her more than Haru no matter what. It can’t be helped then.

「Wait a minute. I’ll take the tool.」

I bring the supposedly retired Sacred Stone from the warehouse. This is the quickest way to show the status to everyone.

「Who’s first?」

「Then, I will do it first!」

As Hal held her hand over the Sacred Stone, the letters gradually emerged.

==============================

Katsuragi Haruna | 16 years old | Female | Human

Job: Magician LV4

HP: 1225/1225

MP: 420/420 (+100)

Strength: 350

Endurance: 244

Agility: 274

Magic Power: 276 (+60)

Intelligence: 65

Dexterity: 242

Luck: 1

Skill Slot

◇ Hand-to-Hand Combat LV84

◆ Dark Magic LV64

◆ Staff Arts LV87

◇ Pleasant Sleep LV36

◇ Evasion LV63

◇ Throwing LV89

◇ Not set

◇ Not set

==============================

Let’s express it in one word. Wow. The last time I checked her status was about a week ago, I guess? As a matter of course, her job level and all of her skills leveled up. Her Hand-to-hand Combat, Staff Arts, and Throwing are just about to rank up. If she adds skills for a magician in the unused slots, her job can reach level 5 soon. I’m sure that no one would think of her as a girl who was despised as a common village girl until just two weeks ago. Even I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t have prior knowledge about it.

「Hee…」

「Haruna is amazing after all…!」

「Ehehe~」

Chinatsu was surprisingly calm. If anything, she looked happy. Was her reaction like that because she’s her childhood friend? On the contrary, Nell is burning with the fighting spirit and that makes me worried.

「Next, Chinatsu. Beat it.」

「Y-Yes.」

No, is there a need to beat the Sacred Stone? No matter how much effort you put into it, the result will be the same. Oh, here’s Chinatsu’s status.

==============================

Rokusai Chinatsu | 16 years old | Female | Human

Job: Priest LV5

HP: 275/275

MP: 620/620

Strength: 128

Endurance: 20

Agility: 340

Magic Power: 378 (+100)n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Intelligence: 688 (+100)

Dexterity: 84

Luck: 227

Skill Slot

◆ Light Magic LV100

L Radiant Magic LV7

◆ Calculation LV100

L Fast Thinking LV3

◇ Evasion LV64

◇ Danger Detection LV69

◇ Sword Arts LV49

◇ Not set

==============================

…… O-Ohh? Although not on the same level as Haru, Chinatsu has also grown quite tremendously. Her job level went up to level 5, her light magic and calculation skill have ranked up, and her sword arts skill, which was almost at its initial level, has skyrocketed. It’s splendid. I’m sorry for Chinatsu to say this, but it was quite unexpected.

「Wow! Chinatsu-chan, you have some amazing skills!」

「Yes, I think I learned it during the expedition. I think the skill will be derived when it reaches level 100.」

Unlike Haru, she seems to check her status frequently. Will she really be a good rival?