The Forum's Fury and a Sudden Date
The forum was on fire.
“Haa.”
A sigh escaped me as I read through the posts on the forum. Yeah, I knew I was a character who hadn't received a single vote. Still, wasn't this reaction a bit too much? It wasn't even a pickup banner. The game company was distributing him for free, and that was enough to cause this much controversy?
At least there was one silver lining. My actions were properly influencing the game's updates. The fact that my rank, which had been 1-star on the Japanese server, had been upgraded to 3-star here was proof of that. Did that mean I could grow to the level of the main characters instead of just being another random mob?
“There's no point in looking at the forum anymore…”
For a while it would be nothing but complaints about me. No matter how much I read, I wouldn't get any useful information. I decided to put gathering intel through the forum on hold for now. It was time to reassess my current situation. I needed to figure out how to spend the roughly fifty million credits I'd earned from winning the tryout.
First, let's check my equipment.
The green protective suit I'd bought while working as a Helper was a little scorched but still in decent shape.
Yeah, it would be a shame if something I spent good money on broke so quickly. My bag looked fine too. Everything I'd brought with me to Shion still seemed okay. The thing I needed to worry about most right now wasn't my gear.
System Helper Installation in Progress (15%)
It was this mysterious thing. While I was finishing the naming ceremony, the installation had already reached fifteen percent. At this rate, it would probably finish tomorrow or the day after. I wanted to find out what it was, but I'd already used up all my search attempts so it was impossible right now.
“System Helper, huh…”
Judging by the name alone, it was probably some kind of guide. It would be nice if it taught me how to use the Mother Box. As long as it wasn't something weird, I'd be happy.
If I wanted to remove it now, I'd have to give up ownership of the Mother Box. I'd gone through a lot to get my hands on it. I had no intention of throwing it away easily. Besides, it was going to be a stable source of income for me.
I'd heard from hunters that monochrome mana stones traded for extremely high prices. With the power of the Mother Box, I could create as many as I wanted, so money wouldn't be an issue. The real problem was finding a steady job that would let me earn those stones reliably.
“The pamphlet only lists important facilities…”
If I'd joined a guild, I could've gotten help finding decent work. Unfortunately, I was currently an unemployed freeloader. So for now, the only option was to take on requests from the Hunter Guild and slowly raise my rank. It wasn't likely that some miraculous opportunity would fall into the lap of a rookie who'd just arrived in the city.
“It'd be nice to get a decent weapon too.”
I couldn't keep fighting bare-handed forever. I'd love to buy a gun, but owning firearms in Shion required a license. Either way, tomorrow I'd have to head to the Hunter Guild. I had my promise with Estelle to keep, and I needed to find work. Once I woke up, I'd look into what this System Helper thing actually was.
I had a mountain of things to do. I'd thought I'd overcome the biggest hurdle, but it turned out that was only the beginning. Feeling overwhelmed, I glanced back at the forum. Maybe the flames had died down a little by now?
“...?”
What the hell? Why had the mood suddenly flipped? The forum that had been viciously cursing both me and the game company was now filled with bizarre, over-the-top praise for me. What was going on?
“Ah.”
After skimming through the posts, I finally understood the situation. The game company had chosen to distribute 3-star selector tickets instead of me. Considering I was supposed to be the free character given after completing the tutorial, that was a huge deal. It meant there was no longer any need to create new accounts over and over until you got what you wanted. No more so-called rerolling. That was why the forum was suddenly flooded with these ridiculously over-the-top praise posts for me.
“Well, it's not a bad thing.”
Thinking back to how no one even knew my name before, just having people recognize it was a massive achievement. Sure, ninety percent of it was jokes, but posts praising me had still appeared on the forum. Maybe a few users had actually started to like me a little?
“For now… I should get some sleep.”
I'd poured everything into the tryout test, so I didn't even have the strength to lift a finger. I'd eat something after I woke up. And with that, I ended my first day in Shion on a reasonably comfortable bed. It was a much better start than I'd initially expected. After all, I'd been prepared to spend the night on the streets.
“Mmm…”
What woke me on my first morning in Shion was a phone call from someone. Still half-asleep, I answered, and the voice I heard instantly chased away all traces of sleep.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
“...Estelle?”
It was Estelle. She must have sensed my confusion even through the phone, because she let out a soft laugh and made me an offer I couldn't possibly refuse.
“You haven't eaten yet, have you?”
“I just woke up.”
“Hehe, I thought so. Then, how about you come to the café in front of the guild like we talked about before? I'll buy you breakfast.”
“I'll be right there.”
If someone was offering to buy me food, I had to go immediately. I hurried over to the café beneath the Hunter Guild, but no matter where I looked, I couldn't see Estelle anywhere. Wasn't she supposed to be wearing her black suit?
As I tilted my head in confusion, I heard Estelle's voice coming from a corner of the café.
“Over here, over here.”
“Estelle?”
The person there wasn't the Estelle I remembered in her black combat suit. Instead, she was wearing casual clothes. With a beret on her head and a cozy-looking outfit, she seemed like an entirely different person. This was the first time I'd seen her like this.
The strongest hunter in Shion and the final weapon of the Hunter Guild, always cool-headed and composed while carrying out missions. That was the Estelle I knew. But the Estelle sitting in front of me felt overwhelmingly real. She waved at me with a flutter of her hand. I sat down across from her, and she smiled like she'd successfully pulled off a prank.
“Did you really not recognize me?”
“I didn't expect you to be in casual clothes.”
“It's my day off today. I'm not the kind of woman who wears her combat uniform even when she's resting.”
Estelle spoke in a light, humming tone, then immediately ordered food.
“Two brunch sets, please. Oh, and one coffee. Would you like coffee too?”
“I'm not really a fan of coffee. Just give me milk, please.”
“Really? That's unexpected.”
“The artificial taste… how should I put it? It's a bit off-putting? That's why.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
While we waited for our food, Estelle clapped her hands lightly and congratulated me.
“Congratulations on becoming a citizen of Shion. I really didn't think you'd pull it off.”
“I just got lucky.”
“In Shion, luck is the most important skill of all. No matter how strong you are, if you don't have luck you'll disappear in the blink of an eye.”
Having said that, Estelle casually brought up a sensitive topic.
“So. Where exactly did you get those gauntlets?”
“Well… I got lucky.”
“Are you sure it was just luck?”
“Of course. Let's call it my skill.”
It seemed Estelle was curious about the Mother Box. That was only natural. It wasn't the kind of item a rookie hunter who'd just entered Shion should be carrying.
“Skill… can we really call that skill?”
But it looked like my excuse wasn't enough. Estelle seemed to know something about the Mother Box. She looked at me calmly, as if evaluating me.
“Then let me change the question. If, hypothetically, a terrible disaster were to strike… what would you do?”
“A disaster?”
“Yes. You have the ability to stop it, but to do so you'd have to risk your life in battle. In that case, would you still fight to stop the disaster?”
It was a sudden question. Was this some kind of trolley problem thought experiment? But the look in Estelle's eyes was anything but casual. I could tell that giving the wrong answer here would lead straight to a bad ending.
My gaze naturally drifted toward the forum, but of course there was no answer for a situation like this there. Whatever she interpreted my glance to mean, the killing intent radiating from Estelle grew even stronger.
“Was the question too difficult?”
“No. It's just… I've never really thought about it before. Um, if it were me…”
Obviously, if I could run away, I'd want to run. But I couldn't say that out loud. Users probably wouldn't like an answer like that.
“I wouldn't run. Why would I run away?”
“Oh? Why not? There are plenty of other people who could stop the disaster. Do you really have to be the one to fight?”
“Then someone else would steal the spotlight. It's the perfect chance to gain popularity. Why would I run away?”
“...To gain popularity?”
Combining an honest answer with one that users would like had resulted in this strange reply. But it really was the perfect opportunity. High risk, high return. It was only natural.
“That's an interesting answer.”
“Is it?”
Estelle burst into laughter at my words, then withdrew the killing intent she'd been emitting. Good. I'd avoided the bad ending. As I let out a mental sigh of relief, Estelle smiled brightly and said something completely unexpected.
“It really does seem like you're moving according to your own will.”
“Huh?”
“I'll tell you more about that later. Anyway, if you want to gain popularity, I can help you with that.”
“What do you mean?”
“A rising rookie clears a request that no one else could solve. There's no better story than that, is there?”
“Are you saying you'll introduce me to a request?”
“That's right. How about it?”
No matter how I thought about it, this didn't sound like an ordinary request. Was she testing me by giving me one? It looked like she'd bring me something with an absurdly high difficulty.
“Sure. What kind of request is it?”
This was also an opportunity. If I could pull it off, I'd draw a ton of attention just like Estelle said. I nodded, steeling myself, but Estelle gave me an absurd answer once again.
“Well then. This is your first request. Your first request is to go on a date with me.”
“...Excuse me?”