Ch.256This Year’s Outstanding Employee, Shota (3)

Pink Beard looked around.

He had eliminated all of Galactica’s forces, but there were signs of someone inside. A monitor’s light was glowing from within the dimly lit room.

Pink Beard went straight inside.

“Ah!! Dad!! I told you not to come into my room without permission!!”

A fat man shouted loudly as he turned his head toward the door.

“Sorry, but your father is dead.”

Pink Beard said.

“Oh… it’s Mr. Pink Beard. You’re a celebrity.”

The fat man immediately grasped the situation.

And he promptly posted on social media.

‘Meeting with the super famous Mr. Pink Beard’

‘I’m so tired from not getting enough sleep. Is this the hardship of being an industry professional?’

His wording was impressive, using terms like “meeting” and “industry professional” to hide the fact that he was just a jobless freeloader. The subtle way he crafted statements that weren’t technically lies was quite sophisticated.

As soon as he posted, there was an overwhelming response.

“Hehehe.”

The fat man burst into laughter.

“By the way, if Dad’s dead, whose backbone am I going to suck dry now?”

The man suddenly seemed concerned about this issue.

“You’re famous. Galactica’s idiot son… Galactinteen.”

Pink Beard said while wiping blood from his body.

He was a blood pressure-inducing guest on the popular television program “Such Things Happen in the Galaxy.”

At 35 years old, he had the impressive credential of never having held a job in his life.

Being Galactica’s son gave him recognition, and his parasitic behavior had garnered him tremendous popularity.

Among Galactica’s famous quotes was: “Dad is a person too! A person!! Not an ATM!!!”

And among Galactinteen’s statements were: “There’s a person in here!!!” and “High-end figurines are hard to afford on an office worker’s salary. I need to save money to go to Romania.” The gap between this and his online persona as a corporate employee was laughable.

Anyway, he was an idiot.

“Don’t you want to avenge your father or something like that?”

Pink Beard looked at Galactinteen with exasperation.

“Ah. Not really? I didn’t like my father much.”

Galactinteen said.

“I see. I have to choose whether to kill you or not. What do you want me to do?”

Pink Beard raised his fist.

“What do I need to do for you not to kill me?”

Galactinteen asked while posting to social media every ten minutes.

“Go to Earth and kill someone, and I’ll give you enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life. Enough to keep showing off on social media like you do now.”

Pink Beard said.

“I know you possess powerful psychic abilities. You can attack people’s minds based on their memories, right?”

Pink Beard continued.

“How did you know that?”

Galactinteen asked with a smile.

“I remembered because I was amazed that someone with such abilities could live such a pathetic life.”

Pink Beard replied.

“Fine. Who’s the target?”

Galactinteen asked.

“Sashisuseso Aiueo… no, not him. I’ll deal with him personally. Arigiri Shota. He’s the second-in-command. Kill him and all his associates.”

Pink Beard said.

“Hmm… let me investigate.”

Galactinteen immediately began researching Arigiri Shota using his own information network. Spending all day on the internet had at least allowed him to build that much.

“………”

Soon, Galactinteen’s expression hardened.

Shota was perfectly adapted to society and had many beautiful girlfriends. Galactinteen felt intense inferiority toward this seemingly happy person.

“I’m motivated now. I’ll definitely kill him.”

Galactinteen said.

“Good.”

After hearing this, Pink Beard decided to spare Galactinteen’s life. It was something like a momentary whim.

Galactinteen examined Arigiri Shota’s girlfriends on the screen.

“They are pretty… Earth women really are the best.”

Galactinteen gave a vulgar smile.

“I’ll take them.”

Galactinteen began planning his departure for Earth.

———-

Back to Shota’s perspective.

Having finally escaped my girlfriends’ onslaught, I headed to the hideout with Madoka. Naturally, she was wrapped in a blanket in my arms. I was conscious of the stares from passersby, but Madoka and I had already entered our own little world.

“Oppa. You’re so skinny.”

Madoka said.

“Ah. This gets better if you spray water on it.”

I replied. I knew this from previous experience.

“Ahaha! That’s funny! When we get home, I’ll spray water on you!”

Madoka laughed brightly, flapping her arms and legs.

That Sunday, Madoka and I spent a leisurely time together.

——–

That night, I fell asleep holding Madoka like a doll.

Naturally, I opened my eyes in the dream dungeon.

Sashis and Frill were in the dream dungeon.

“Hey!! Sashis! It’s hard to see your face these days!!”

I greeted Sashis.

“Yeah….”

Sashis responded with a sullen expression. He was completely fused with Frill.

“When you fall in love… does friendship become meaningless…”

I felt an inexplicable bitterness.

I missed Sashis, who once lived in my underwear, in this late August. Those were good times.

“There’s the September dungeon… but first, the final exams.”

Sashis said.

“How are the exams going?”

I asked Sashis.

“Well, it’s tough teaching Frill… but exams are just business as usual for me.”

Sashis said with a languid expression.

Oh, so cool. Someone who didn’t know him might think so, but as a master of recognizing try-hards, I could see through Sashis’s facade.

The corner of Sashis’s mouth was twitching. He was intoxicated with himself for naturally getting high scores while pretending it was no big deal. Even his languid expression was the result of numerous rehearsals and trial and error.

Sashis… if he were from the original world, he’d be the type to use anime male character profile pictures despite being male himself. The kind of character who lacks motivation in everyday life but shows enthusiasm in important moments. He was the real deal. How do I know? Because I was like that in middle school.

“Anyway, let’s explore the dungeon today.”

Sashis immediately took his sword and led Frill into the dungeon.

I was thinking I should explore the dungeon too when—

“Shota. I have something to tell you.”

Blue Beard said.

“What is it?”

I approached Blue Beard.

“Are you giving me another psycho-robo?”

Pinocchio was already quite useful now… basically a weapon with infinite durability. I was envious of Sashis who could summon something like a Stand and unleash attacks!

“No, that’s not it… I have something to say about Sashis.”

Blue Beard cleared his throat and said.

“Sashis is the chosen savior of this world. You know he grows stronger by awakening new powers through the strength of relationships, right?”

Blue Beard said.

“Of course.”

How many ridiculous things had I done because of that? From the duel tournament to doing a butt show at an English kindergarten.

“The problem is, Sashis hasn’t been building any bonds lately.”

Blue Beard said.

“No way!!”

Damn! Is he slacking off?

“To be precise… it’s because he’s fallen in love. Being with Frill all day means he’s not developing bonds with other humans. It’s troublesome.”

Blue Beard said.

Something feels suspicious…

“Arigiri Shota! You must raise Sashis’s community level. I’ll link Sashis’s community with yours. Only you can do this.”

Blue Beard stated firmly.

“Hey!! I’m not a proxy service!!”

I immediately protested. You get banned for unauthorized proxy services!!

I’ve never heard of relationship proxying before!!

“This is for the world!! It’s an opportunity to contribute to the world. Be grateful.”

At that moment, Violet immediately started selling me on it.

“Hehehe. Violet. Do you think that kind of talk works on a beast like me?”

I laughed and curled my fingers.

“I’ll do the proxy work if there’s compensation. Otherwise, I won’t.”

I stated firmly. I had to be tough here.

“What do you want? I’ll grant anything except giving you a psycho-robo. Within reason.”

Blue Beard said.

Yes!! I got a commitment. Now what should I ask for?

I looked at Violet.

“Let me borrow Violet for a day.”

I said.

I want to go on a date with Violet-chan.

“Fine. Go ahead.”

Blue Beard coolly sold out his subordinate.

“Blue Beard, sir!!!!”

Violet looked at Blue Beard.

“It’s for the sake of the world.”

Violet was speechless at Blue Beard’s words.

“Now, now, Violet-chan. Tell me your name and age?”

I said to Violet.

“What’s with that disgusting way of talking?”

Violet looked at me like I was a bug.

“It’s just my style.”

I shrugged.

Anyway, I ended up taking over Sashis’s community duties. He really was a protagonist who needed too much help. But Sashis was the protagonist destined to save the world. I had no choice but to help him.

Even if the only horse available is sick, you still have to ride it. That’s a bit of an odd metaphor, but still.

——-

Anyway, I immediately explored the daily dungeon, the Witches’ Mansion.

Ding!

My level had stagnated in the mid-80s. The daily dungeons were starting to reach their limits. The level cap in this game was the JRPG standard of 99. In fact, my character build was almost complete.

After completing one round of the daily dungeon, I headed straight to the Dagger Dungeon.

There was a mini-game-like quest to rescue survivors. Since I was feeling motivated to rescue more this time, I eagerly headed deeper inside.