Ch. 21 A Week with Friends
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 21 – A Week with Friends
Inside the spacious room of the U.P. building.
There, I took a deep breath and connected the Mana Thread to Doll 505 (6th Generation), which I had prepared in advance.
“…Doll 505, activate!”
As always, with a shout to steady my mind, I began controlling the doll. Doll 505, which had been lying face down, pushed itself up with its “arms” and stood up.
Up until now, Doll 505 had been a one-armed doll to accommodate the dagger, but starting with the 6th Generation, it had both arms intact.
The reason was simple. I wasn’t weak enough to need a dagger anymore!
Once upright, Doll 505 waddled over to a firmly placed log in response to my commands.
Though they shared the same origin, Doll 505, reborn as a wooden doll under my hands, and the log that hadn’t been transformed.
That small difference had determined their fates.
“Go-!”
With a spirited shout, Doll 505’s chopstick-like arm swung high into the air. The arm, now raised, soon came crashing down fiercely toward the log.
Crack-!
The moment the strike landed, the log didn’t just split in half—it shattered into pieces, unable to withstand the impact.
If we were to judge purely by durability, Doll 505’s arm should have broken instead!
But Doll 505’s arm was perfectly fine. Not a single scratch or dent…!
The sheer power from such a thin arm was unbelievable! This was all thanks to having learned Mana Sensitivity and, at the same time, mastering the art of reinforcing dolls using the Mana Thread.
Honestly, Hosanna deserved a lot of credit for this too. Thanks to the experience of reinforcing a doll with his unstable mana, I was able to master doll reinforcement shortly after learning Mana Sensitivity.
If I hadn’t had that experience, it would have taken me much longer to learn doll reinforcement after mastering Mana Sensitivity.
In any case, I couldn’t help but smile proudly as I turned my head.
There, the three people I had spent the past week with—Hosanna, Yuika, and even Ulrika—were gathered, watching as I destroyed the log with Doll 505.
Now that the demonstration had ended successfully, what more needed to be said?
Instead of speaking to them, I proudly stretched out my arms and pointed at Doll 505.
The weak Doll 505 that had once lost to rabbits no longer existed.
In its place stood the kin-slaying weapon, Doll 505, capable of mercilessly slaughtering even its own kind…!
“…Wow, wow! Amazing~ You two should say something too.”
“Hmm, ah, yeah. Well done. You’re the best…”
“…I thought you’d learn Mana Sensitivity in three days, but you took a full week.”
While Yuika was enthusiastically praising me, the reactions of the other two were lukewarm at best.
Hosanna even seemed a little critical. But I chose to ignore that and held my head high.
After all, it was true that Doll 505 and I had made significant progress compared to a week ago!
Humming to myself, I retrieved Doll 505 and deactivated the Mana Thread. Hosanna approached and said,
“Regardless of expectations, congratulations. Now you can aim for the 2nd Floor instead of just the 1st.”
“Ah, no. I’m not ready for that yet…”
I shrunk my shoulders as if to say, “Who said I was feeling proud?”
The 2nd Floor was home to terrifying beasts. Beasts on a completely different level from the rabbits of the 1st Floor.
Honestly, someone like me, who had just taken my first steps, would be resurrected in the cathedral in no time if I went to the 2nd Floor.
Seeing my timid response, Hosanna shook his head and said,
“Come on, there’s no need to be so scared. There’s not much difference between the 1st and 2nd Floors anyway.”
“T-That’s because you have a cheat job…”
I grumbled under my breath, but Hosanna heard me and let out a sigh.
“Hmph. It’s true that I have a cheat job, but you really don’t need to be so scared. And after spending a week together, it’s a little disappointing that you’re still calling me ‘Mr. Hosanna’.”
“S-Sorry… But it’s still more comfortable for me this way…”
I did feel like I had grown closer to the three of them compared to the beginning.
But that didn’t mean I was comfortable acting all chummy. It still felt a bit presumptuous. Of course, all three of them were kind, so they probably wouldn’t think that way.
And, isn’t it weird to get super close after just a week? That’s something only people with strong social skills or naturally good personalities can do.
Someone like me, who has no social skills, is gloomy, and can’t even speak properly, can’t do that. As I was thinking this, Hosanna snorted and said,
“Yet you call Yuika by her name just fine.”
“Uh, that’s…”
“Hoho~ Maybe it means you feel more comfortable with me than with the Director? Plus, unlike the two of you, I’m the same gender as Mari. And most importantly, I’m from the same country as Mari, so it’s not unreasonable for her to feel more at ease with me.”
“How are you from the same country when we’re from different worlds?”
“Hmph, but in the grand scheme of things, we’re from the same country!”
Ulrika interjected, but Yuika kept her victorious smile.
To be honest, the real reason I started feeling more comfortable with Yuika wasn’t because of that.
For some reason, perhaps because my body had regressed, I had no resistance to sweet things. I’ve always liked sweets, but it felt like my tolerance had gotten worse.
Whether she noticed this or not, Yuika would always bring me sweet snacks or apple juice whenever I came to the U.P. building.
Even though I knew accepting them would make me feel guilty, my hands couldn’t refuse them.
Ugh… Why can’t I resist sweet food, me…!
At the same time, the more she did this, the more guilty I felt. Despite what she said, I wasn’t the same gender as Yuika, nor was I from the same country.
Every time Yuika treated me kindly, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was deceiving her.
No, I was actually deceiving her. There had been many opportunities to tell the truth, but I hadn’t.
And the reason I couldn’t bring myself to tell the truth was that I was afraid Yuika’s attitude toward me would change.
“Mari? Why are you making that face all of a sudden?”
“Ah, uh, it’s nothing…”
At Yuika’s question, I quickly composed myself and forced an awkward smile.
Hosanna, seeing me like this, shrugged and said,
“Anyway, good job this past week. If you need help again, just request it from U.P.”
“Okay…”
“You look like you’re thinking that won’t happen.”
“Ah, no. It’s not that…”
“Well, even if you don’t need help, that’s fine. Come by sometime and chat with these two. Ulrika might be a bit much, but Yuika isn’t that intimidating, right?”
“I’ll try…”
It felt like I was receiving advice from someone much older than me, so I instinctively bowed my head politely.
Come to think of it, he really was older. His boyish appearance made me forget, but Hosanna was actually over thirty.
As I was thinking this, Hosanna chuckled and patted my head.
Wait, even so, patting my head is a bit… I subtly dodged his hand, and he shrugged and continued.
“It’d be nice if we could go hunting together someday. But for that, you’ll need to work hard to get stronger… Is that too much to ask?”
“Uh… Probably, yeah…”
“Don’t take it too seriously, it’s just a thought. Well, then. See you for now.”
“Okay… Huh? Where are you going?”
“I told you. I’m heading back to the 5th Floor.”
Now that I thought about it, he had mentioned that. He said that even if I didn’t learn Mana Sensitivity, he’d head back to the 5th Floor after a week.
From the 5th Floor onward, the areas were quite far from the village, so he had prepared supplies to stay there for several days.
For some reason, the thought of not seeing Hosanna for a few days made me feel strangely complicated.
“What, you pushed me away saying I was a burden, but now you’re sad you won’t see me for a while?”
“T-That’s not it…!”
Perhaps my thoughts showed on my face, as Hosanna pretended to wipe away tears with a playful expression.
“Even though you act like it’s nothing, the fact that you’ve grown close to me makes this old man really happy…”
“I said that’s not it…!”
“But don’t worry. I’ll leave these two behind, so you won’t be alone.”
He’s not listening to me at all.
Seeing Hosanna acting like I was some elementary school kid, I gave up on explaining and slumped my shoulders.
Hosanna chuckled and patted my shoulder before turning his attention to Ulrika and Yuika.
“You two, work hard while I’m gone.”
“I’m always working hard. It’s the Director who needs to work harder…”
“I’d rather go hunting than stay in the village. Can’t you take me with you, Director?”
“I’m the one making money. And Ulrika, you’re not ready yet. Let’s go together once we break through the 6th Floor.”
“Tch, Fine.”
Ulrika grumbled but agreed. Hosanna smiled at him and then turned back to me.
“Let’s see… I’ll be back in about a week, so let’s meet then. Don’t act like I’m a stranger when we meet again, okay?”
“Okay…”
Honestly, I wasn’t confident about that.
Even Andreina-nim, whom I’ve known for much longer than Hosanna, still feels unfamiliar at times. I couldn’t imagine not feeling that way when meeting him again after a week.
I’ll just have to do my best. As I was making this resolution to myself, Hosanna raised his hand toward us and said,
“Well then, see you all later.”
We saw Hosanna off as he left first.
After the highest-ranking member of U.P. left, I quietly glanced at the two remaining and tentatively spoke up.
“Um, I should get going too…”
“Huh? You’re leaving already? Stay a bit longer.”
“Well, there’s no reason for me to stay here anymore…”
I had already achieved my goal of learning Mana Sensitivity, and I didn’t need any more help, so there was no reason to stay.
I answered timidly and then bowed my head to the two of them.
“Thank you for the past week…”
“Why are you saying goodbye like we’ll never see each other again? Come by often.”
“Ah, okay…”
I flinched at Ulrika’s words, and Yuika added in a disappointed tone,
“That’s right. Come visit often. You’re always welcome, Mari. Or maybe we can visit you instead. Would that be okay?”
“Ah…”
‘That’s a bit…’ As I hesitated, Yuika pouted.
“No?”
“Ah, it’s not that… It’s just…”
“Then it’s settled?”
Finally smiling brightly, I had no choice but to nod reluctantly.
Maybe I should think about moving…
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
…But isn’t it easy to get along very often?The refutation is correct.
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
Extreme violence on the girlfailure!Let’s see how she suffers!
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