Ch.177The Party NPC Running Without NPCs (2)

“N-No, no way!!”

“…Are you saying I still have that much room for growth?”

[It may be hard to believe, but what my master sees and what I see are almost identical.]

After reading the text Gorg wrote with his slime body saying “So when Ragni hunts monsters, she’s just exposing herself to danger,” I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

Level? I’m not exactly sure what that is, but apparently among us, I’m closest to Jack’s level. So I can’t get stronger even if I take risks. After hearing that Rey’s level is now in the mid-200s, and the dungeons here are suitable for early 300 levels, meaning Rey could aim for much higher places than now, I seriously began to wonder if Gorg was trying to exclude me…

‘But there’s no reason for that. It’s already decided that I’ll follow Jack, and having me remain weak wouldn’t benefit either Gorg or Ira.’

Gorg isn’t stupid. She’s smarter than Jack, at least.

Would someone like her lie just to satisfy her personal desire to eliminate me based on her emotions? If something serious happened to Ira or me because of that, she’d be the one facing Jack’s wrath.

There’s no way she wouldn’t know that. Having reached this conclusion in the blink of an eye, I rubbed my face.

“Ragni…”

[Don’t be so disheartened. It’s not like there’s no way for Ragni to become stronger in her own way.]

“…Huh?”

While Rey was expressing concern for me, Gorg continued speaking as if it were nothing special.

[Ragni, do you know that my master was afraid of you?]

“…Yeah, I know.”

Because of my [Skills] that he saw.

It’s something I already knew, which is why I told Jack everything I had discovered. And I even accepted his order to completely seal my abilities when it came to his allies and family.

After explaining that much to them, both women raised question marks asking “When exactly?” but that wasn’t the important part.

“Don’t tell me you want me to increase the number of humans who obey me?”

[…You really do know everything.]

“Eh? O-Obey?! Ah. Are you saying that if more people obey Ragni, they become her strength?”

“No. A skill that steals the abilities of those who submit to me. That’s my ability.”

“Ehhh?!!”

Besides that, I can also learn almost any fighting technique after seeing it once, as well as read others’ movements.

These abilities are so dangerously absurd even to me that I’ve been hiding them until now, but I confessed everything to the two women.

[…My master tends to be less communicative about these things, so I didn’t expect you to know everything already.]

“So you knew about it too?”

“Then, does that mean Ragni can get stronger just by watching other people fight?”

“It’s not that simple. Even if I mimic someone else’s actions, I’m still doing it with my own body, my own stamina, my own strength. If I don’t become stronger myself, I’ll never get beyond a superficial level of skill.”

After explaining what I already knew to them, Rey suddenly exclaimed as if she’d realized something.

“W-When you were a princess, if you had known about these abilities…!!”

“Haha… If I had increased the number of humans who obeyed me and stolen everyone’s combat techniques. I certainly would have become a monster that even Jack would fear.”

[That’s right. That’s why my master felt fear toward you.]

I knew from the beginning. If I had known I possessed these abilities, I probably wouldn’t have set out to find Jack in the first place.

Perhaps…

‘I might have just pushed aside even Father with my own hands…’

Neither the Prime Minister nor Father would have been a match for me.

They never succeeded in trapping me after I was around six years old, and even then, I was cornered only because my physical strength was too weak.

If I had known that I could compensate for that with weapons like guns and skills, I wouldn’t have lived being manipulated for so long.

‘…Am I going too far thinking Jack knew this fact?’

Thinking that he could foresee something so close to the future just by seeing my skills in the brief moment he knelt before me seems like my own paranoia, so I dismiss the thought.

“But I think it was better that I didn’t know about this back then.”

“What?”

[What?]

While Rey was expressing concern, Gorg continued as if it were nothing important.

If I had known this then, I might not have been struggling to find ways to become stronger now, but more than that.

“If I had continued being a princess while fully utilizing all these skills, I wouldn’t have met Jack, Ira, or you. So I’m glad I found out about this now.”

“…Hehe. That’s right. If Ragni hadn’t come looking for Jack, we would have had a hard time without a brain in our group.”

[I’m quite intelligent myself, you know.]

“Heh. Still no match for me though, right?”

As the atmosphere lightened a bit, I smiled at Gorg, and she smiled back slightly.

Hmm, being in a golem body, she used to have almost no facial expressions. But lately, she’s starting to look quite human.

[However, regarding how you can become stronger, I think I’ve figured it out faster.]

“Huh?”

Gorg immediately shared her plan for strengthening me, and I genuinely clapped my hands.

That was a complete blind spot!!!

[What do you think? This should work, right?]

“G-Gorg is definitely one of the brainy ones.”

“Ha! That’s right. It’s something I completely overlooked. Thank you.”

After our conversation, we drank the tea Gorg had prepared and each headed to our rooms to prepare for tomorrow. When I entered my room…

-Soft breathing sounds.

“Hehe, really. It seems like it’s going to be a fulfilling time even without him around.”

With Jack’s second-floor room left empty, the cute red-haired girl, Ira, had come to my room and fallen asleep.

This was also something we had decided among ourselves. While we all thought the clever Ira would be fine sleeping alone, there was no reason to make her do so.

So from today, we decided to take turns sleeping with her in our respective rooms. And today was my turn.

I quietly lay down beside Ira, gently brushed her bangs away from her eyes, covered her with the blanket, and gazed at her.

“…Hehe. She’s really so cute, just like her brother.”

-Soft breathing sounds.

I think I understand one more reason why Jack is so devoted to his sister. Ira looks like an absolute angel when she’s asleep.

And so, their first night without Jack passed.

*

“♬~ ♬~”

With her hair neatly tied up and wearing a clean elementary division academy uniform, Ira was humming happily while holding our hands as we walked.

“You seem to be in a good mood this morning?”

“Yes! My brother said I’ll make friends when I go to the academy!!”

[He also mentioned you should make girlfriends specifically.]

“Hehehe. I’m sure Miss Ira could make over 100 friends!”

“100 friends?”

“You don’t need to make that many. Deeper relationships with fewer people are easier to manage than shallow relationships with many. Unless you really want to become a leader somewhere, it’s better to have few—”

[What a hopeless thing to say.]

“…Ragni, Ira is only 12. She should enjoy her academy life, right?”

“Hmm, that’s true. Ira, your brother would be happy if you made 100 friends.”

“Really?”

[Yes. He would be very pleased. Of course, it would be better if male friends don’t exceed 10% of the total.]

“10%… 10% of 100 is 10? So I should only make friends with 10 boys?”

Ira tilting her head and asking is incredibly cute.

If Ira decided to reach out and make friends with boys, surely they would all flock to her. The three women came to the same conclusion and answered with slight smiles.

“”Even 10 is a bit much. How about just 3?””

[It’s better not to associate with boys who are less intelligent than Ragni or weaker than my master.]

“Hmm. Boys stronger than my brother and smarter than Ragni… Okay! Got it!!”

“Ah, additionally, avoid guys who are only nice to girls.”

“And it’s better to choose someone who’s as handsome as Jack or has the potential to be!”

[I think appearance doesn’t matter as long as Ira likes them, but they should not be lacking in money. The minimum would be assets at the level my master currently has.]

The three women who had been advising Ira for her enjoyable school life suddenly began imposing crazy conditions on her “male friends” as if it were their own business.

Of course, all three believed such a man couldn’t possibly exist in this world, but at the very least, any man who approached Ira without meeting Jack’s standards might bid farewell to this world the moment Jack caught them.

‘Yes, this is also for their sake.’

‘Ira’s future husband… Considering she’s 12, it’s a bit early, but in three years, Ira will be able to bear children! We can’t let some worthless guy get to her!!’

[Ira will surely understand all the conditions I’ve set. This should keep her safe until the master returns.]

As the three women began setting conditions for men around Ira, she simply responded with “Yes, yes!” finding it amusing. As they headed toward the academy…

“…What nonsense are you all spouting to a child so early in the morning?”

“Hm? Headmistress?”

“Ah, good morning.”

“Good morning!!”

-Bow.

A woman with red hair much darker than Ira’s. Headmistress Naika spoke to them as if she had been waiting at the school gate, out of sight.

“Nonsense? We were just giving our Ira some advice for her future.”

“Yes! The sisters were advising me about what to be careful of at the academy!!”

“…And this advice is to find a boyfriend who’s rich, handsome, not nice to other women but warm to you, with leadership, intelligence, consideration, and sometimes shows a slightly bad side?”

“Yes! That’s right!!”

When the headmistress recited the conditions they had been setting, the three women realized how absurd their conditions were and felt slightly embarrassed. However…

”’But Jack (Master) really is like that?”’

Except for the intelligence part, he fits all those criteria. Moreover, his sister Ira is also cute and intelligent.

She’s a cute girl now, but it’s clear to anyone that she’ll grow into a beautiful woman. Furthermore, her talents have been developing explosively recently. She will surely become the excellent magician and spirit master that Jack hopes for.

…Wait? When you list it all out like this, isn’t it natural for Ira to want such a man?

“Sigh… Enough. Stop this useless talk and follow me.”

“Eh? Headmistress. The entrance ceremony is supposed to be in the training hall, right?”

“…Yes, don’t worry. I’m planning to go to the training hall.”

When Ira tilted her head and asked, the headmistress smiled bitterly, patted Ira’s head, and began leading the way.

Now, Ira’s academy life begins.