Ch.105[Chapter 105] Lord Dominic VS Hime

“Is this correct?”

“It’s correct, so let’s continue.”

In truth, Sir Dominic was too surprised by this remarkable game allowance to notice, but Hime and Major Joseph continued to maintain eye contact.

Actually, Hime had no intention of attacking Alice.

She did feel something like jealousy toward the woman who stood beside Sir Dominic before her, but Hime’s gentle nature itself wasn’t enough reason for her to act so ‘aggressively.’

Then why was Hime throwing kunai at Alice and coldly confronting Sir Dominic?

‘I agreed to help strengthen Sir Dominic’s story!’

‘I didn’t know I had to be this aggressive about it!’

That’s right.

In Gacha Land, there exist stories known as ‘relationship stories’ or ‘background settings.’

These are devices that create immersion for Stars and Pioneers by showcasing what this citizen has accomplished in Gacha Land, encouraging them to develop affection for the character.

People are curious about how famous individuals have lived and continue to live.

Therefore, the more these small stories unfold, the stronger the affection for the character becomes, making them feel as familiar as if they were really beside you.

…or so claims the Star I’m Not Little.

Hime leaped backward to distance herself from Sir Dominic who was charging with his shield, and threw the kunai in her hand.

While Sir Dominic deflected the kunai with his shield, Hime, who had retreated to a safe distance, suddenly realized there was a forest behind her.

Yes. She had been driven to the edge of Sir Dominic’s residential facility.

If she went any further back, she would have to take the portal straight to downtown.

Actually, she could have exited at this point without issue, but Hime had a strange tendency to be unnecessarily stubborn in certain situations.

In front of her was Sir Dominic with his shield. Behind her was the portal.

Here, Hime made a gamble.

She suddenly began rushing toward Sir Dominic’s arms.

“What is this!”

Sir Dominic swung his shield to strike Hime away.

No, he attempted to strike her away.

Hime passed through Sir Dominic’s shield, then through Sir Dominic himself like a ghost, ending up behind him.

[Phase Shift].

This could be applied not only to objects but to Hime herself.

Phase Shift, being a technique that traverses between the material and spiritual realms, is originally quite risky.

Side effects like losing one’s soul in the spiritual realm or being shattered when returning to the material realm are quite common.

Bodily distortion or absorption of spirits clinging to the soul are also frequent occurrences.

Therefore, it’s a forbidden technique that shouldn’t be used on living beings.

But Hime used this technique on herself.

Why?

In fact, this is because this is Gacha Land.

All skills have what’s called a tooltip.

This usually explains important elements about the skill.

In the past, Hime noticed something.

Although [Phase Shift] is dangerous, there wasn’t a single warning sentence about its risks in the tooltip.

Then perhaps it could be used on living beings without side effects?

Hime had made a potentially life-threatening gamble based on this fact.

And the gamble succeeded brilliantly.

Of course, there were some minor side effects, and warnings were quietly inserted into the tooltip through a submarine patch, but since Hime didn’t know about this yet, it was a trivial matter.

After escaping from the corner, Hime merely confronted Sir Dominic without taking any further action.

In fact, this was also thanks to Major Joseph signaling that it was enough.

“Impressive.”

Major Joseph applauded, praising Sir Dominic.

She grinned and secretly signaled to Hime behind Sir Dominic’s back.

The moment Hime saw the agreed-upon signal, she instantly appeared beside Joseph.

Leaves scattered in a wind that blew from somewhere.

“I never imagined you had a hidden move like that. I’m truly surprised.”

The reason Major Joseph was smiling so brightly was because she had obtained quite good information.

There are essential options and optional ones for a tank.

Essential options include ‘how well can they block enemy damage and protect allies?’ while optional ones include ‘crowd control skills,’ ‘provocation,’ ‘existence of undeniable skills,’ ‘mobility skills,’ etc.

Currently, Sir Dominic was nearly perfect in terms of essential options, performing exceptionally well for a 2-tier character.

However, Pioneers and Stars who had actually used him expressed one regret.

The absence of optional features.

Sir Dominic himself was quite a good character, but looking at his skill composition, it felt a bit plain.

Usable anywhere, but somehow lacking that final 2%.

But if he had a mobility skill, that would change everything.

Based on what she just witnessed, he could be a definitive ranged damage dealer assassin and perfect shield.

Major Joseph completed her analysis with remarkable strategy in a split second!

But Sir Dominic himself was rather bewildered.

“Hidden move?”

“You don’t need to hide it anymore.”

Sir Dominic pondered for a while about what Major Joseph meant before finally realizing Alice’s existence.

Didn’t someone say it was rare for a person to become equipment?

If so, her reaction made sense.

“You have a good eye.”

“How could I miss it when you displayed it so openly?”

Fair enough. He had dropped too many hints that Alice was equipment.

Like how Sir Dominic took damage instead of Alice and such.

“Let’s end it here for now and head back. Next time, I’ll come fully prepared—”

“Wait, wait.”

Sir Dominic interrupted Major Joseph who was making exaggerated gestures.

“I still don’t understand this situation. Why is Lady Hime attacking me alongside you?”

The rabbit ears on Major Joseph’s hat perked up.

She just realized that they had been attacking without explanation, without providing any proper context.

And Hime felt the same way.

“Um… didn’t I explain that?”

Major Joseph laughed awkwardly.

“You did not.”

Sir Dominic lowered his shield and nodded.

“Well… it’s a bit awkward for a third party to explain…”

Major Joseph glanced at Hime.

It was a signal asking if she could speak on her behalf.

Hime thought for a moment before nodding.

After all, Hime was still shy and introverted.

Having received Hime’s permission, Major Joseph spoke sheepishly to Sir Dominic.

“Well, you can see that Hime has joined our secret society, the Yo.Han.Won, right?”

Sir Dominic stared at Hime.

The uniform of the Johann Shepherd Expedition.

The evidence was clear.

Sir Dominic nodded.

“That’s right.”

“Then did you know she joined our Johann Shepherd Expedition because she had a wish?”

Sir Dominic shook his head.

This was clearly a one-sided love. Major Joseph thought as she sighed deeply.

Although she hadn’t known Hime for long, Major Joseph understood Hime’s personality well.

It was thanks to her excellent strategy and analytical skills.

Can’t be helped. I’ll have to ask directly.

With that thought, Major Joseph opened her mouth.

“Well… the truth is, Hime—”

Just then.

A bell sound rang from Sir Dominic’s pocket.

He usually kept it on vibrate, but since he had removed his phone during morning training, he had temporarily changed the setting.

“Please wait a moment.”

“Ah, yes. Take your time.”

Major Joseph nodded awkwardly.

Sir Dominic took out his phone and checked the caller.

A call from Sir Dominica.

A slime was bouncing up and down holding a sign that read “Sir Dominica.”

Sir Dominic pressed the answer button and took the call.

As naturally as possible.

“Good to hear from you, Sir Dominica.”

[“Sir Dominic? Is the same thing happening there?”]

“What do you mean? …Ah.”

Sir Dominic glanced at Hime and Major Joseph.

“Is something similar happening there?”

[“Tsuki suddenly invaded my house with someone called Captain Iosif and started a knife fight.”]

“If that’s what you mean… yes.”

The two nodded while holding their phones.

Both seemed to be in troublesome situations.

[“So I called to see if you had any idea what’s going on.”]

“For that, please wait a moment. I was just about to hear about it.”

Sir Dominic turned his head to look at Major Joseph.

“Please continue what you were saying earlier.”

“Ah, yes.”

Major Joseph cleared her throat with a “hmm hmm,” placed her left hand on her chest, raised her right hand high, and spoke in an exaggerated theatrical tone.

“Hime has been…”

[“Yes, Sir Dominic?”]

Sir Dominica somehow pressed her ear to the receiver with great interest.

“…in love with you.”

Good heavens!

Sir Dominic made a foolish expression, shocked by words he never imagined hearing.

Of course, Hime’s frozen face behind him was also bright red, trying to contain her embarrassment.