Chapter 16
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Translator: Xrecker
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: First Friend (2)
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'Wh-what, what, what should I do! I-it's not weird, right? No, someone like me is weird and unappealing to begin with, but, but...!'
The day after the entrance exam.
Pamela checked her appearance in the mirror she had brought from her inn room.
It was her first time doing a quest with a friend.
At the very least, she wanted to avoid a situation where he would be turned off because her clothes were strange.
But no matter how much she checked the mirror, Pamela couldn't erase the thought that she was not good enough, no matter how much she tried.
'Wh-what if Mr. Shih-han sees me and...!'
Imagining a fictional Ishihan, an ominous thought crossed Pamela's mind.
-What's with that getup? It's repulsive. The quest is off, and we're no longer friends. I don't want to call a person like you my friend.
'N-no...! Aaaaaaaah...!'
To Pamela, Ishihan was truly a miracle.
In the waiting line for the entrance exam, where she felt like she was going to throw up from nervousness.
There, by chance, Ishihan was standing behind her.
Pamela only knew one other kind person who had worried about her and encouraged her to do her best on the test: her master.
She had never gotten along with children her age, and the only one who had ever comforted her was her master, who had raised and taught her.
Pamela, who had grown up under her master without parents and had been learning to be a witch.
Having been teased as creepy, gloomy, and dull by the other children in her village since she was young, Pamela had extremely low self-esteem.
For Pamela, her impression of herself was mostly derived from the teasing directed at her.
Since she was mostly alone when not with her master, she talked to herself more and more.
Even when she tried to get closer to the other children by showing off the knowledge of potions or the herbs and insects that became medicinal ingredients that she had learned from her master.
-That's boring.
-Gross! I don't want to know about that! Go away!
In the first place, children would not have been interested in such things.
Pamela had been treated as an even more unapproachable weirdo by the other children her age, and in fact, Pamela had never had a friend.
For such a Pamela.
-I think of you as a friend. What do you think?
Ishihan was the only person who had gone beyond worrying and cheering for her, who had offered a handshake first and thought of her as a friend first.
Looking back on it now, Pamela had said a lot of useless things in front of Ishihan, even in her own opinion.
But Ishihan had ignored them and accepted them.
He didn't ask why she talked to herself so much.
He didn't tell her to stop muttering creepily.
He didn't just say he didn't want to talk and leave.
That was why Pamela didn't want to look strange in front of Ishihan.
She had even boasted in the letter she had already sent to her master that she had made a friend for the first time.
If Ishihan were to say he wanted to end their friendship, she was sure she would fall into such despair that she wouldn't be able to eat properly for a month.
Pamela paid as much attention to her clothes as possible, checked herself in the mirror several times, and then left the room.
When she went downstairs, Ishihan was waiting.
Ishihan turned his head towards Pamela as she came down the stairs.
"Good morning, Pamela."
'H-he said good morning to me first! Amazing! This is... a-a friend! Ah, I-I have to say hello too! As naturally as possible, without being awkward!'
"G-g-good morning, Mr. Shih-han!"
"Yes. Let's have a meal first before we take on the quest."
"Y-yes!"
After leaving the inn, Pamela walked to a restaurant with Ishihan, glancing at him from time to time.
'Ah, since he's not saying anything, it must be okay, right? No, but Mr. Shih-han is kind, so maybe he's not saying anything even if I look shabby...!'
"Pamela."
"...!"
When Ishihan stopped walking, Pamela's heart pounded with nervousness and anxiety.
'Why did he stop? Could it be that I really look strange? To the point where he couldn't just ignore it? Is he going to say he wants to end our friendship...!?'
"Is there something you wanted to say to me?"
"Huh?"
"No? I must have been mistaken."
"N-no! Th-there is!"
Pamela thought it would be better to ask Ishihan quickly rather than just letting it go.
She thought that way, she could fix it if Ishihan had a complaint about her.
"D-do I not look... strange right now?"
"What about you?"
"My clothes, or my hair... um... d-do I not look unappealing or unpleasant...?"
"Hmm? No, you don't look strange. Did you change your fashion from yesterday?"
Hearing Ishihan's words, Pamela could feel that Ishihan didn't think she was strange.
"N-no! If you say no, then it's fine!"
'Ah, even I think this is really strange. He must think I'm a weirdo. He must think I'm a creepy person who asks strange questions.'
"I see."
'Huh?'
Contrary to Pamela's expectations, Ishihan didn't say anything else and started walking again, which made Pamela feel both puzzled and relieved.
'Th-thank goodness....'
I had breakfast with Pamela at a restaurant.
Seeing Pamela's gloomy and anxious side, which was true to her character, from the morning, I was able to start the morning in a good mood as a user.
Pamela, who asked if she looked strange even though there was no particular difference from yesterday.
The way she was wrapped up in unnecessary anxiety because of her low self-esteem, even though there was no problem, was exactly as I had seen in the game.
"It's delicious."
"Th-that's right. I-it costs a bit, but... it's delicious."
The meals at the restaurants in Lucadia were more sophisticated and had a better quality of ingredients than the food I had eaten in Valendia.
The price was about 20% more expensive than in Valendia, though....
'To the academy people who use this place, this much is probably nothing.'
Considering the lore, the students at the academy could use the warp stones to travel to various countries immediately and hunt various types of monsters to gather materials.
And since there was no end to the buyers who wanted the monsters' magic stones and materials, they could probably earn a lot of money as well.
After finishing the meal moderately, I decided to move on to the most necessary procedure before taking on the quest.
"Pamela, I have a few things I'd like to ask you now."
"Wh-what is it?"
"You have an adventurer's badge, right?"
"Y-yes! I have it. I-I paid for my travel expenses by taking on quests until I got here. Though it was just things like gathering medicinal herbs...."
"Alright. Then do you have any combat experience?"
"I-I've defeated goblins that were attacking a carriage...."
I was worried that she might not have any at all, seeing how nervous she was before the entrance exam, but that didn't seem to be the case.
The next question was a really important one.
"Pamela, since we're doing a quest together, we need to coordinate as a party. So it would be good to share information about the skills we use, so I'd like you to tell me about the abilities you use."
"Ah, okay! What my master taught me is...."
Pamela didn't show any wariness or refusal and immediately told me about the skills she used.
I learned two things from this.
"The skills I use are V-vines of Tenacity, and Nail of Shattering...."
One was that Pamela mentioned the word "skill."
I had thought that "skill" was just in-game terminology, but the concept of skills also existed in this world.
I didn't have to be careful not to say the word "skill" out of habit.
And the most important second thing.
"I-I have Hand of Grudge."
That Pamela, a gacha character, had obtained all her skills up to her ultimate.
Originally, gacha characters had all their skills, up to their ultimate, unlocked from the beginning, but it was uncertain if they could use them all in this world.
'No cooldown, and she can use her ultimate skill....'
This meant there were many more ways to use her.
But just as the cooldown had been removed, there might be other penalties.
"How many times can you use it?"
"Huh? Ah, um... S-Sword of Loss, even if I use it consecutively, I can only use it six times. O-of course, if I rest and recover my magic power, I can use it again!"
'As I thought.'
I had suspected it since there was a magic stat in her stats.
It seemed that in this world, you needed magic power to use skills.
No, in Pamela's case, since she was a magic-user, she used magic power, but it might be different for skills that involved direct physical movement, like a spearman's skills.
'This too, I'll just have to get a skill myself and experiment with it.'
"I see. But what are the effects of your skills?"
"I-I'm sorry. Just saying the names doesn't tell you what they are, does it! I'm sorry for being so clueless and stupid! I-I'll tell you!"
The effects of the skills Pamela used were similar to what I knew.
Sword of Loss weakened the opponent's strength, and Nail of Shattering weakened the opponent's defensive power. The effects were vague without any precise numbers, but the fundamentals were the same.
"Hmm, very good."
"Huh? I-is it good?"
"Yes. Pamela, your skills have good synergy with mine. It would be good to go with a combination where you weaken the enemy and I finish them off."
"S-synergy is good. He, hehe, hehehehehe...."
"Then, I'll tell you my skills this time."
If I were to list what I had, it was only the passive skills Penetration and Spearmanship Mastery.
But it was unclear whether a passive skill, not an active one, would be accepted as a given.
Therefore, I explained Double Pierce and Screw Sting, which I could reproduce without using a skill, and Half-Moon Spear, which was just a big horizontal swing of the spear.
"Most of my skills are for attacking. I'll mainly take on the role of being in the front and defeating enemies. Of course, I'll make sure to protect you in the back, so don't worry."
In Lu-Fan, you could switch characters immediately, but not here.
Still, it was common sense that the front line should protect the back line.
"Y-yes! I-I'll trust you! Because we're friends. He, hehe, hehehe."
Pamela, who would grin gloomily every time she mentioned the word "friend."
"Yes."
The more I saw it, the more I was satisfied, and I looked warmly at Pamela's characteristic smile.