–Congratulations! You obtained the ‘Co-op’ achievement!
–Congratulations! You obtained the ‘Man-eating Tiger Subjugation’ achievement!
–Congratulations! Your level has increased!
–Congratulations! Your level has increased!
–Congratulations! Your level has increased!
–Congratulations! Your level has increased!
The usual ‘congratulations’ rush, huh?
“Wow! So many level ups!” Iroha cheered.
Seems like she already recovered from the damage that the monster gave her… We’re really getting farther and farther from what a human is, aren’t we?
“Ah… I don’t wanna do anything more today.” I muttered.
“Huh!?” Iroha exclaimed.
“I wanna take a bath…” I told her.
“Oh, that’s a good idea! We’re heroes, so it’s fine to indulge in some extravagance!
“Ah, but you should wash your body first before entering the bath, sis, you’re covered in blood and you’re smelling a lot.” Iroha told me plainly.
“Okaay…” I replied.
Dizzily, we returned to the supermarket that Iroha used as a base.
It probably felt cramped for many people to live together there, but it was way too big for just the two of us.
In this deserted store, we prepared the things for the bath.
We carried the bathtub from a section called ‘Single Life Support’ and took it to the kitchen to get some hot water for it.
We were pretty used to it by now, and in no time, the bath was filled with hot water.
After thoroughly cleaning up the monster blood, I plunged into the bathtub.
I breathed out a sigh of relief, then started checking the results of today’s battle while bathing, since Iroha said she was fine with me bathing first.
I guess I’ll save the leveling skills for the battle against the Evil Slave Master, as I’ll be able to choose what is needed on the spot according to the situation.
So instead, let’s look at the Achievements.
Though if the items received are too big, I’ll probably need to leave it for later, as it would be hard to carry them around.
Well, let’s see what we got.
–Choose a reward for the ‘Gluttony’ achievement
–Predator’s Knife
–Predator’s Shield
–Predator’s Armor
–Predator’s Knife can make any animal meat edible.
–Predator’s Shield imitates a human’s head. Feeding food to it increases its resilience.
–Predator’s Armor is heavy and difficult to move in, but you can eat anything while wearing it.
“Mmmm…” I pondered out loud.
“What’s up?” Iroha, who was cooking on the other side of the kitchen, asked me.
“Iroha, did you get the ‘Gluttony’ achievement?” I asked her.
“Mmm…? Ah, the one with the predator items?” She asked back.
Oh, so she did get it already.
“I got the knife. It lets you eat rotten meat, so it can be quite convenient.” Iroha told me.
“Ohou!” I exclaimed.
It’s the kind of thing that I could take back to the Miyabigaoka high school.
Besides, a shield and an armor would both be too hard to carry, so… “Knife, please.”
A knife wrapped in bandages fell near me.
For now, I’m happy with getting things that are easy to carry.
Then, next one.
–Chose the reward for the ‘Co-op’ achievement.
–Friendship Ring
–Love Ring
–Betrayal Ring
–Wearing the Friendship Ring at the same time as your partner player lets the two of you share one of your skills with the other.
–If you put the Love Ring on the finger of your partner player, you may transfer two of your skills to that player.
–If you put the Betrayal Ring on the finger of your partner player, you may forcefully steal one of their skills.
Mmm… “Hey, Iroha.”
“What?” She asked.
“Can I trust you that you won’t betray me?” I asked back.
“Uhn, sure?” She replied.
“Will you trust me too?” I asked next.
“What’s up with you all of a sudden?” She asked.
“You’ll understand if you go choose your achievements.” I told her.
“Mmm?” She then stayed silent for a small bit, “Ah, so that’s what you mean?” Iroha then stopped cooking and moved closer to me, “Here, Friendship Ring.”
She gave me a ring that had a sparkling blue gem in it.
Even if she shows it to me like that, I have no way of knowing if it is or isn’t a Friendship Ring, but… I think I understand Iroha’s personality by now.
I don’t think she’ll betray me here… Alright, let’s trust her.
I selected the Friendship Ring option, gave it to her, and put the ring that she gave me on my little finger.
–Choose a skill to share with the Justice Martial Artist.
Guess I was right to believe her, “So… Are there any skills that you want?”
After some discussion, we decided to share Defense I and Quick Step I.
Ideally, I’d have liked to share Defense IV with her, but apparently, we can only share the first level of backwards-compatible skills.
Now then, onwards to the last achievement.
–Choose a reward for the ‘Man-eating Tiger Subjugation’ achievement.
–Proof of Tiger Hunting
–Tiger Mask
–Tiger Cloak
–Proof of Tiger Hunting gives you a badge that allows you to scare weaker feline creatures by wearing it.
–Wearing the Tiger Mask strengthens your Martial Arts and allows you to specialize in grappling techniques.
–Wearing the Tiger Cloak makes you intimidate others to some extent. This doesn’t affect Players.
… I don’t need any of that.
I’m not planning on taking Martial Arts to begin with, and while the Proof of Tiger Hunting is probably the easiest one to carry, there isn’t really any benefit in scaring cats away.
Or rather, it would just be a net loss.
For Iroha the Tiger Mask might be useful, but wearing a mask all the time would be really silly.
And just as I thought that, “Hey, sis! Look at me! This cloak is so cool!” Iroha came close to me to show off her new cloak.
“Eh? Iroha, you chose the Tiger Cloak?” I asked just in case.
“Yeah! It makes me look like a hero!” She exclaimed.
Well… Whatever she takes is up to her, I guess.
“Though this seems to intimidate others, so you shouldn’t be wearing it willy-nilly, or you’ll scare people that you don’t really know.” I told her.
“I know, I know!” Iroha answered with a hearty laugh.
I just sighed at that, then climbed out of the bathtub and put on my bathrobe, “So, Iroha, after you have a bath, should we go eat dinner?”
“Okay!” She replied.
So, what should we eat for dinner today?
Just when I started thinking about that, “Uhn…” A small, frightened voice echoed in the kitchen, “Excuse me, but who are you?” the voice asked me.
“Aah!” Iroha jumped in place, “Aunt Satonaka!”
A slightly overweight middle-aged lady entered the kitchen.
“You’re alive!” Iroha ran towards the woman and hugged her.
“Iroha!” Miss Satonaka smiled as she hugged Iroha back.
Meanwhile, I just watched them from afar, as I had just gotten out of the bath.
I guess she is one of the people that Iroha helped while they lived in this supermarket?
“I’m so glad! I’m so glad…!” Iroha exclaimed and buried her head on miss Satonaka’s chest.
“As expected of you, Iroha. Auntie knew that you wouldn’t die so easily. I believed in you…” Miss Satonaka gently caressed Iroha’s hair.
It was quite the touching reunion.
… Ah, but Iroha was still wearing the Tiger Cloak.
… Should I point her blunder out? I guess I shouldn’t…
The two of them kept on hugging each other for quite a while.