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Chihiro was standing restlessly at the entryway of the base, nervously peeking outside.

Lanpeach wasn’t coming back even though it is going to be night soon.

Even if he became the boss of a small base in the slums, he is half-baked as an explorer. That’s her objective evaluation of Lanpeach.

That’s why she was flustered when Lanpeach said he would go earn cash and was wondering if to stop him.

But…

(This base is done for no matter how you think about it. It really was  impossible with just children.) (Chihiro)

Chihiro looked at the children that were watching the outside from the shadow of the building.

Even she thinks it is impossible with this team.

(Did Lanpeach run away? Died…? Doubt that’s the case. We are talking about the crafty Lanpeach here. He ran away then. It would be easy for him to survive if he threw away the baggage that’s us after all.) (Chihiro)

She had that feeling since morning, and the heart of Chihiro dropped more and more into despair. It would be the end if she were to be abandoned. It would be certain she would just die in a corner.

Tears rolled down from her eyes and, just when she was about to crumble in tears…

“Boss came back!”

She hurriedly raised her face at the cheerful voice, and she saw Lanpeach carrying a paper bag in her vision blurred with tears.

“Lan!” (Chihiro)

He came back.

She showed her happiness and was about to run towards him, but…

“What kind of Spirit User are you, Peach-oniichan? Tell Dry. This is Dry’s first time seeing a Spirit User other than Dry.” (Dry)

“What’s with that Peach-oniichan? Am I a princess kidnapped by a turtle?” (Lanpeach)

Chihiro saw an unfamiliar pretty girl hanging around Lanpeach and her face stiffened.

◇◇

Lanpeach earned 360,000 Ele in a day.

He did a bit of a money maker strategy with his game knowledge. It is honestly pennies, so it is even written on walkthroughs that this is not a recommended money making method.

And so, he only thought of it as having earned a dollar or two. He didn’t feel like he did anything impressive.

This game, or more like, pretty much other games as well, have inflation that surpasses all inflations, hyperinflation, when it comes to weapons and such.

It is just like when you can buy the strongest sword in the early game with 180 gold, and yet, the strongest weapon sold in the store at the end is 80,000 gold. Hundreds of times more expensive.

You could say it is an insane price when thinking about it realistically.

“E-Excuse me, is it okay to get this much?” (Chihiro)

That’s why Lanpeach didn’t think much of it even when Chihiro asked him with her trembling hand holding the bills.

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, let’s eat cup ramen. Cup ramen.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach poured hot water into the almighty nutrition food tailored for the poor, Gadokurie Ramen.

He was happy about finally getting to eat.

He considers this better than the foul Gadokurie Mate he ate in the morning, and he was also excited because of the rare experience that is tasting game food.

He placed the chopsticks on top of the cup ramen and was impatiently waiting for the 3 minutes to go by.

He looked like a poor crook with how impatient he looked.

The children around poured hot water as well and were waiting in anticipation. It seems they didn’t even dream that Lanpeach would buy them food.

“Uhm… Lan, where did you get this money? There’s 100,000 Ele here, you know?” (Chihiro)

“Yeah, please manage the food expenses for around a week with that. Sorry that it is not much, but I have to work as an explorer.” (Lanpeach)

“I-I see. With this… U-Understood. Please leave it to me!”

But it was a fortune for Chihiro.

The weight of the money in the hands of this panicking girl was heavier than her desire to ask.

100,000 Ele is a fortune in the slums. The funds of a stolen base are only around 300,000 Ele. She knows the secret savings of Lanpeach are only 50,000 Ele, so she didn’t expect him to earn this much of a fortune in one day.

“Ununu… It is within acceptable boundaries, I guess? It is that… The chicken’s… Hmm… I feel like it will run out in 3 days.” (Lanpeach)

She looked at the face of Lanpeach that was making an expression as if he found the taste questionable, and her unrest grew stronger.

(He has never cared about the taste until now… The alcohol is also of questionable origin… Is it okay to use this much in a week? Well, maybe he just earned a whole lot by coincidence today. I am sure he is saying something so generous because he is in a good mood. Let’s use it sparingly and with care.) (Chihiro)

She has been feeling there’s something since yesterday, but Chihiro thought that asking this would be poking a snake, so she decided to not ask.

But she had one more question.

“There’s a variety of flavors for this. Dry likes the curry flavored one. Which one do you like, Peach-oniichan?” (Dry)

“Seriously? This ramen had flavors? I messed up. Hey, what flavors are there?” (Lanpeach)

She endured her face from turning grim at the girl that is following around Lanpeach like a puppy.

(Is she a new team member? What’s that? She is awfully close to him… What will happen to me if he ends up liking that girl…? I have no choice but to watch and think carefully about whether it is okay to show jealousy here.) (Chihiro)

Lanpeach might end up hating her if she were to show plain jealousy. She knows that he only lets her stay by his side because he likes her looks, so there’s a high chance she will be thrown away.

Chihiro can’t live without the protection of Lanpeach. There’s no love in it. It is pure cold calculation.

…There’s none, but when Chihiro saw Lanpeach come back, her heart was throbbing violently and felt relieved. She didn’t know what that was about, so she spoke to Lanpeach with a smile as if saying she won’t give her the position of favorite.

The children were also surprised by the action of Lanpeach, and were grateful that they could eat.

They were moved by the fact that they could have a warm meal in the cold of winter. That fact doesn’t change even if it is the cheapest ramen for the slums.

The children who were chased away from the orphanage know this plenty well.

Steam came out as they took off the cover. A nice smell filled the place and they gulped.

They put their chopsticks in, scoop it, and begin to slurp. The heat and taste of soy sauce spread inside their mouth. Their cold bodies began to regain heat, their cheeks flushed, and their faces loosened from the tastiness.

“It is so tasty and warm.”

“Right. I am glad we came to this base. I was worried that you might come back injured, but you only had a single bump on the head.”

The girl by the boy’s side smiled and slurped the noodles with glee.

The boy thought ‘that’s true’ as he ate the ramen.

He thought that they would probably say this was a test and beat him up. But the reality was that he didn’t get any noteworthy injuries, and managed to join this base’s team.

“It is sho good!”

The youngest girl in the group that he thought would be dying first was grabbing the chopsticks like a stick and earnestly eating the ramen.

A gentle smile surfaced in the face of the boy, thinking that she at least won’t be dying today or tomorrow.

“The boss must be kind despite appearances.”

He mumbled ‘He only looks like a crook no matter how you see him though’ as he watched Lanpeach eat ramen.

The boy was thinking about what he could do in order to protect this base.

It is all noisy. The children sounded happy which unconsciously made Lanpeach show a happy face himself.

He really hated scenes where children died even if it was inside a game. Well, you could say that’s normal.

[Give me ramen later as well! Ramen!] (Libra)

(You can eat?) (Lanpeach)

[Obviously! Why do you think an Artificial Spirit can’t eat? I can eat even if there’s no point to it. It is like a hobby.] (Libra)

(I am impressed that you can say that when we are in poverty.) (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach looked baffled at Libra who placed her hands on her waist and cutely exhaled grandly as if to display her indignation.

But she did say that there’s the need for affection rate, so he decided to stealthily give her some later.

“Is it okay to eat a second one, Peach-oniichan?” (Dry)

“Not today. More importantly, what’s this about Peach-oniichan? Weren’t we trying to kill each other just a moment ago?” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach looked at Dry, who put her hand on a cup ramen that hasn’t been opened, with narrowed eyes, and Chihiro choked.

Tried to kill each other? -is what she must have thought as she lost her composure, but Lanpeach decided to act as if he didn’t see that. What’s more important is the matter of Dry.

Dry herself tilted her head, wondering what he was talking about here.

“Peach-oniichan didn’t kill Dry. Didn’t do that in a deathmatch. Dry will enter the team as thanks.” (Dry)

In the slums, it is impossible to not kill the person that tried to kill you and have them leave without doing anything.

If that happened, you would be seen as soft by your surroundings, looked down upon, taken advantage of, and attacked.

“Eh? You are cute after all. Your appearance is to my liking as well, so it is impossible for me to kill you.” (Lanpeach)

“Uh, aw… That so… Got it.” (Dry)

Lanpeach didn’t really think too deeply about it. The only thought in his head is that it is impossible for him to kill a character he liked in the game.

And so, Dry blushed and began to fidget for some reason when he answered with a dumbfounded expression. Also, he felt  pressure by his side, but ignored it, thinking it was just his imagination.

He had something far more important to talk about. He narrowed his eyes and put down the cup ramen he had finished eating.

“More importantly, Dry, there’s something I would like to ask. When did you meet Fenrir?” (Lanpeach)

Meeting Fenrir…no, meeting a Spirit is the opening of the respective protagonists.

His beginning was nasty, so he was distracted, but he didn’t expect the story to have already begun even though it is winter.

If the game has begun, it would mean that the convenient and all-purpose minor villain Lanpeach’s death flags have begun to stand as well.

And so, he tried to confirm this, but…

“Hm? Around spring.” (Dry)

“S-Spring~?! You took close to a year to save 50,000?!” (Lanpeach)

What Dry said with a straight face was unexpected. Everyone looked at the shouting Lanpeach, but they thought it was better to not get involved, so they returned to eating.

And then, both Lanpeach and Dry puckered their lips. Lanpeach in a face of disbelief and Dry with an offended face.

“50,000 was hard. Dry did her best to save.” (Dry)

Lanpeach groaned, seeing that there’s no lie in the face of Dry while wondering why things ended up like that.

(I see. The setting of Dry is that she is the only one from the slums, can’t read, and is stupid. There are theories saying the start is rough, so they added the event of the Frost Bracelet…) (Lanpeach)

In the game, the setting of Dry was just that, a setting. The player wouldn’t do stupid actions. They would earn money efficiently and would take the shortest routes to finish quests.

Not only would they not do stupid actions, they would take the optimal ones. Even normal players would take the path of least resistance.

(If I remember correctly, seasons change every 10 days in the game. If you were to switch that to reality and move Dry in a lore accurate fashion… She is from the slums, so it is possible.) (Lanpeach)

“Hey hey, Peach-oniichan, how long did it take you to save 50,000?” (Dry)

“3 hours. More importantly, I am thinking right now, so can you please not interrupt me?” (Lanpeach)

He waved his hand and resumed his thinking.

(In that case, it is possible the other protagonists have gone even further ahead. No, the other protagonists have their own share of troublesome settings. Lanpeach hasn’t died, so the story hasn’t progressed that much…? I don’t know. I need to investigate in order to see whether the story quests have happened.) (Lanpeach)

It is still winter, so there’s still time until the game starts. Is what he was thinking, but it seems like it might be beyond late.

(Well, even Dry who can move the most freely is level 3. I want to believe the other protagonists have not become that strong.) (Lanpeach)

He sighed, did a faint smile, and sprawled on the chair.

“There’s no point in hurrying here.” (Lanpeach)

The advantage of Lanpeach is the EXP reward x5, 3 Inherent Skills, and the fact that he knows the main story.

Lanpeach stared at the ceiling while thinking it was still possible to catch up even if he began late. He was determined to become stronger.

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