18. Adventure Again

When I rejected Jinguuji's high-handed demands, Vice-President Nanami lowered his head and pleaded for my cooperation.

It was a common tactic in detective dramas, where a pushy young detective would go all out, and then a veteran detective would soothe things over and try to get a confession.

The cheap psychological negotiation tactics in their words and actions were infuriating.

I had read psychology books too, and I wanted to tell them not to underestimate me, but I couldn't kick down someone who was clinging to me in a city where negative actions were prohibited.

Nanami's face, as he earnestly begged for my cooperation, also showed fatigue. The Nanami Shuichi I knew should have been a more perfect and composed man.

I felt a little sympathy for that. Seki and the others were safe because they were maintaining order, so I guess I could at least tell them the bare minimum.

"Alright. I won't join the student council, but I'll tell you the locations of traps and monsters. Is that okay?"

"Thank you, Shinjo Wataru-kun, thank you so much..."

Perhaps the last words he uttered were Nanami's true feelings.

On the ninth day since Genocide Reality had begun, even Nanami Shuichi, who was playing the perfect leader, might have been starting to lose his mask.

Jinguuji would never suggest dividing gold coins among the weak who couldn't leave the city, so it was probably Nanami's own decision.

No matter how superficial and hypocritical it seemed, it was certainly out of goodwill. And Nanami had no choice but to suppress the dissatisfaction that arose from his decisions by playing the perfect leader in front of over a hundred survivors.

I was amazed at how he willingly carried such a heavy burden.

The map Nanami handed me was written in a notebook and was tattered.

"This is a terrible map. Did the mop-head write this?"

"Yes, Mikagami Ryuji-kun wrote it. We don't have any other information..."

The locations of traps and monsters on the mop-head's map were too rough, and the deeper you went, the more mistakes there were.

If they had trusted something like this and proceeded, there would have been a succession of deaths.

I tried to carefully correct it with a red pen, but it quickly turned completely red.

After all, I was the administrator of one of only three攻略 websites in Japan. Once I started the mapping work, I got into the swing of it.

"Why is this road so winding? They should at least have a ruler! I have to rewrite all of this!"

"I'm sorry, you're a real lifesaver."

Even though I gave them detailed information, I only wrote down the grinding spots on the third floor to make it convenient for their survival.

Of course, I didn't tell them about the Garden, a safe hiding area, or the places where rare items could be obtained, information I wanted to keep secret.

But if I didn't at least make it possible for them to earn gold properly, people might really starve to death.

Even the ruthless me wasn't happy about people dying needlessly.

After I fixed the map for them, Nanami thanked me many times and left.

"Phew... I hope they're satisfied with this and leave me alone."

"Shinjo-kun, what is it?"

Perhaps Seki, with his sharp hearing, heard my small mutter.

"No, it's nothing. Hey Seki, don't you feel like leaving the city?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's a safe zone underground. It's safer than being in the city, and I thought it might be better for you."

"Hmm, well, I still have things to do in the city, and I want to help everyone in my own way."

He wanted to help everyone, huh. Yeah, Seki was that kind of guy.

I had thought that the safe Garden could be used to shelter Seki, but he wasn't the type of person who would be okay with being in a safe place alone.

"But, and I'm saying this seriously, I think I made Jinguuji my enemy with this. Are you really okay with being in the city?"

I didn't know the situation in the city or the upper floors of the dungeon.

If there was danger, I would tie Seki up with a rope and drag him to the Garden.

"I see, it's no wonder you're worried, Shinjo-kun. But it's okay, the Student Council Guidance Department (SS) isn't that strong."

"Not strong, you say?"

They had seemed to have the power to control the student council, but was that also a bluff?

"Since they manage the gold coins that are distributed, ordinary students are afraid of them, but the strongest people who are adventuring with Nanami-kun, like Mikami Naotsugu, don't like Jinguuji-kun's methods, so they won't move."

"I see, the peerless Mikami, huh."

I had only talked to him once since coming to Genoria, but indeed, that straightforward personality of his didn't seem compatible with Jinguuji.

Come to think of it, when I saw Nanami's party, they were all clustered together, members of the sports clubs. Did Jinguuji not have any influence over them?

"Also, Kujo-san's girls' group is quite strong. I'm more on their side. The faction led by Jinguuji-kun acts high and mighty in the city because they manage the gold coins, but they only have a large number of people, and their combat ability is barely third place at this stage, so they can't do anything too reckless."

"Hmm, you really see things clearly."

Seki's observational skills were not to be underestimated.

Even though he wasn't a student council officer like Kumiko, he saw the power structure of the city well enough to know it in detail.

"Besides, I've already become a Friar. I'm one of the stronger ones in the city, so I can manage."

"You're wrong, Seki. If you're going to say that, it's 'Sister'."

Seki, who had been continuing his training in the city, had already advanced from 'Layperson' to 'Head of the Parish' and had already reached the third stage, 'Sister'.

By the way, the third stage of the Priest rank was Sister, regardless of gender. Genoria really understood things well.

"Hey Seki, there are Sister's habits in the shop, and apparently wearing them increases the potion creation rate."

"Ugh, I'll get angry if you say any more."

He clenched his small fist and raised his slender arm. Oh, scary, scary.

It was a shame because I thought it would definitely suit him. Many of the rare priest-type equipment had designs for women. I would definitely make him wear one someday.

Anyway, even though the Priest rank was easy to level up in the lower jobs, reaching the third stage already was quite a rapid promotion.

It might even be faster than the people who were out adventuring.

At this rate, the day he could change jobs to Bishop, a higher-level job by mastering the Priest rank, wouldn't be far off.

He was already able to reliably create mid-level potions, so he was helping everyone even while staying in the city.

Seki was establishing his own foothold in the city in his own way.

At this rate, maybe things would be alright.

The fact that he honestly accepted the money I gave him was probably because he wasn't going to use it himself anyway.

Knowing Seki, he was probably sharing it with those who were struggling with money.

I guessed as much, so I didn't ask.

If I asked him in detail what he was using the money for, he would probably say something out of left field like, "Because Shinjo-kun isn't honest, I helped instead."

What a complete do-gooder, but for some reason, I couldn't dislike that about Seki.

The kindness Seki showed to others wasn't useless either. Those kinds of connections could also be insurance in a pinch.

That's why I was giving Seki extra gold coins.

It would be terrible if Seki ran out of money to use.

"Well, whatever. I'm hungry, let's go grab some food."

"There's a Japanese restaurant too. Shinjo-kun, you can't just eat fast food all the time. Your nutrition will be unbalanced."

I wanted to eat junk food for the first time in nine days, but Seki was quite particular about that kind of thing.

I thought he was like my mother, but since it was always fast food, I went into the Japanese restaurant that Seki recommended.

The city of Genoria had an endless repertoire of eateries, and the variety of food was unusually abundant. Of course, the abundance of food types had absolutely no game-related meaning.

When we went inside through the noren curtain, the interior was overly emphasized in a Japanese style, like a soba shop that the owner had started after quitting his office job.

We sat at a four-person table, me, Seki, Kumiko, and Wooser.

Menu panels with 'Udon, Soba, Oden, Fried Chicken, Gyoza, Taiyaki, Sukiyaki, Tempura, Fujiyama Geisha' were lined up on the table.

A haphazard and cluttered menu with the names of Japanese dishes that Americans knew, randomly arranged.

Why were fried chicken and gyoza in a Japanese restaurant? Their sense was as bad as ever.

Putting aside the Fujiyama Geisha as a cold joke, it was some kind of torture that there were so many side dishes but no rice dishes at all.

"Hey... what is 'Fujiyama Geisha'?"

Seki touched on the taboo that everyone had avoided.

"Stop it!" "Please stop."

Kumiko and Wooser said in unison.

I didn't know what they wanted me to stop, but I agreed that it was better to avoid it.

If a geisha NPC appeared, it would be troublesome again.

It was funny to see Seki shrug his shoulders, being blamed by everyone, but I was also hungry, so I should stop playing around and order.

"I'll have udon and oden."

"Shinjo-kun, isn't that a strange combination...? I'll have soba."

Seki said that with an amazed look.

Udon and oden, was that really that strange? It was a balanced meal with a side dish and a main dish.

Wooser kept spamming the taiyaki order button and was silently eating a mountain of them. She had a small mouth but was a big eater.

Moreover, she seemed to have quite a sweet tooth. I wondered if she wouldn't get heartburn from eating so much taiyaki.

"This fish is sweet and delicious, desu. Master, will you eat some too? I'll feed you, aah."

"I see, good for you, Wooser. I don't need any."

Wooser seemed to think that taiyaki was a sweet fish.

Well, if an otherworldly person who didn't know anko saw it, it wouldn't be strange for them to mistake it for some kind of fish.

Of course, it was too much trouble, so I didn't bother to explain in detail.

"Hey, why isn't there any lemon with the fried chicken? I think that's unbelievable."

"I don't know. This is this kind of world, so we should be grateful that it even comes with tomato ketchup."

Kumiko seemed to be the type who liked to squeeze lemon juice, and while poking at the fried chicken that had come out with her chopsticks, she grumbled, "Without lemon, or at least sudachi, it's tasteless."

Was Kumiko trying to act like a connoisseur, or was it a protest against the lack of lemon juice? She ate the fried chicken with a small amount of pepper and salt sprinkled on it, without using ketchup.

I didn't think it made any difference whether you put lemon juice on fried chicken or not.

Was my palate too rough?

By the way, the udon I ordered tasted completely like tonkotsu ramen.

The oden was normal, so why?

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Once we finished eating, there was no stopping the flow of things leading to the inn.

Wooser, who had witnessed the intense breeding of the human race earlier, was overly excited.

She was folding and unfolding her rabbit ears, swinging her fists around, and doing something I didn't quite understand, but her excitement was reaching a fever pitch.

There was no way to gloss over this.

I decided to at least ask Wooser what she wanted and offered to rent the finest royal suite for her.

"Hey Wooser, if I asked you to stay in the city until the adventure is over, would you obediently follow my request?"

"No, desu yo. Watashi can fight, masu, and watashi is always with my husband, masu."

I see, she had no intention of obediently listening to what I said.

Then, there was no choice...

I gently stroked Wooser's shoulder as she leaned against me and spoke to her.

It was a line that made even my teeth float, but it couldn't be helped.

"Wooser, tonight is our first night as a married couple."

"Finally, breeding, desu ne!"

Wooser, her azure eyes almost tearful, hugged me tightly, tightly.

Her breasts were so big that it was really painful to be hugged.

Her breasts and butt were too big...

I suppressed the urge to quickly push her away as much as possible.

I tried my best to gently push Wooser's shoulders back slowly and gave her the most gentlemanly smile I could muster.

Why did she start undressing?

This girl was rushing the breeding process too much.

"Haha, Wooser, wait, wait, don't undress yet. Stay, stay, breeding won't run away, so calm down a little."

"Watashi, watashi! Watashi wants to have lots and lots of my husband's babies and make a big family big enough to build a rabbit pole, masu, so please take care of this clumsy watashi!"

"What the heck is a rabbit pole?"

"A rabbit pole is, desu ne..."

Apparently, it was a popular game among the Rabitta Rabbit tribe, a competition that was a mix of survival game and pole toppling, where sixty-four people on each side aimed to knock down the enemy's pole.

Sixty-four people? How much did they intend to breed? I couldn't keep up.

"Alright, you go take a bath first. Take your time as much as possible, polish yourself up. Come out when you're ready..."

"Yes, my husband..."

I tried my best to gently stroke Wooser's long hair, ears, and hands. She was in a daze with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Was this enough? Because I was fawning over her with all my might, the unsuspecting Wooser went to the bath alone without any suspicion.

Heh, just as planned...

If I used breeding as bait, Wooser would obediently listen.

Alright, that should do it.

I quickly packed my things in my rucksack.

"Wataru-kun, what are you doing..."

I was startled, thinking Wooser had already come out, but it was Kumiko.

She was peeking out from under the large pink double bed. What the heck were you doing in a place like that?

"You're the one who came out of nowhere! No, more importantly, how long have you been under the bed?!"

Oh yeah, she was a ninja.

Infiltration was her forte, huh. I was so desperate to deceive Wooser that I let my guard down.

"I thought you'd be alright, Wataru-kun, but there's always a chance of something happening. I was going to stop you if that wicked rabbit overpowered you and started breeding."

"I see. As you predicted, I'm not going to breed, so rest assured. That's right, Kumiko, I'm going to stay in the same room as you guys tonight, so if Wooser gets upset and starts causing trouble, could you stop her?"

Kumiko, who had crawled out from under the bed, smiled broadly and patted her flat chest with her fist, saying, "Leave it to me!"

Alright, it was a bit unexpected, but using Kumiko to stall Wooser was killing two birds with one stone.

I put on my luggage and went into the room where Kumiko and Seki were staying.

"Ah, you came here after all. So you're rejecting marital relations."

Seki seemed to be making a large amount of potions on the hotel table with Kumiko's friend... what was her name again... a gentle girl, and a girl with blunt bangs.

They stopped their work and greeted me with wry smiles.

"Yeah, I'm going back to the dungeon now, so can I have some of those potions?"

"I was making potions to give to Shinjo-kun. I can reliably make mid-level ones, and even some high-level ones... wait, did you say 'going to the dungeon now'? Aren't you going to rest for the night first?"

I guess I should accept Seki's kindness. I gathered the colorful mid-level potions that Seki and the others had made and stuffed them into my rucksack.

I felt a little guilty about disappearing silently on Kumiko and the others, so I was glad I could ask Seki to pass on a message.

"If I stayed at the inn anyway, Wooser and Kumiko would probably make a fuss about which room to sleep in. In that case, I'd rather sleep on the dungeon floor; it would be much more restful."

"No, that's a problem! Well, maybe that's okay for you, Shinjo-kun, but how am I supposed to explain it to them?"

What did he think I was contributing money for? Wasn't this the time for Teacher Seki to step up?

I patted Seki's shoulder and asked with a smile.

"You're the one who has to stop those two and buy me as much time as possible. Well, I'm going to head to the dungeon for a bit, so please, I'm counting on you!"

"Uwaaa, even if you ask me to do that, stopping those two is impossible! Impossible! Shinjo-kun, wait!"

There's no idiot who waits when told to wait.

I quickly made a full-speed dash to escape.

I had no intention of watching a heroine's sword fight like in a light novel, and even less intention of engaging in breeding activities with Wooser! That's the story.

At the tender age of sixteen or so, I had no intention of becoming a parent. I didn't even want to imagine a world in Genoria filled with children who looked just like me but with rabbit ears.

I couldn't stay in a place full of bitches like this.

I was going back to the dungeon.