Modern Civilization Sure Is Something

I yanked the bathroom door shut and dropped into a chair at the table.

My heart was slamming against my ribs like it wanted out. The image of Aria's bare, shapely back wouldn't get out of my head no matter how hard I tried.

Crack. Crack.

Alright. First things first—calm this thing down.

I shut my eyes and started meditating.

I have no sexual desire. I saw nothing.

I don't know how long I sat there.

A careful creak came from the bathroom door. I cracked one eye open and found Aria shuffling out with her head bowed, her face flushed a brilliant red. She sat down quietly in the chair across from me.

She was still wearing the same clothes as before, of course. Threadbare, stained, and filthy all over—a jarring contrast to the freshly washed glow of her face.

"……"

An awkward silence settled over the table.

"Anything happen while I was gone?"

"No… nothing… in particular…"

Aria still couldn't meet my eyes. Her voice was so small it barely made it across the table.

"Where's Kiki? I haven't seen him."

"Ah—there's a training ground behind the building. He's probably practicing there."

That's my Kiki. What a champ.

"Why are you still wearing those? Couldn't you just buy something with the Points we got from the last mission?"

Aria gave a weak little shake of her head.

"There's nothing you can do with a hundred Points. Even a meal at the dining hall costs five hundred at the minimum…"

"Wait, it's that expensive?"

What the hell happened to inflation?

We'd earned a hundred Points for taking down ten goblins. If a single meal ran five hundred, how did these prices make any sense?

"I looked into it, and they say the rewards jump significantly starting from D-Rank missions. The baseline is thousands of Points."

The gap was that wide?

Then E-Rank missions were basically just an extension of the tutorial.

So the real work starts at D-Rank, is that it?

Not that I was surprised. That goblin-clearing job last time had been ridiculously easy. Those bastards Bren and Eden had gone on about how even E-Rank was terrifying. Still pissed me off thinking about it.

Anyway, if we wanted to crawl out of this poverty trap, we were going to have to try a D-Rank mission.

The door banged open, and Kiki came in.

"Kerek?"

The little guy was dripping with sweat. The second he spotted me, he started bouncing up and down like he couldn't contain himself.

"Hey. You two eaten yet?"

"Not yet. We were just about to. I already boiled some water."

"Kerek…"

Perfect timing.

"Yeah? Hold on, then. I'll cook you something good."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠headed for the kitchen as I said it.

So that's why the water had been boiling. They'd been about to cook those grassy-smelling grains in it.

I pulled a retort pouch of galbitang—short rib soup—and a pack of instant rice from the supplies I'd organized, dropped both packs straight into the boiling water, and left them to heat. Then I set up the gas burner and a frying pan. Once the pan was hot, I cracked open a few tins of luncheon meat, sliced them roughly with the can lid, and laid the pieces in the oil.

A sharp sizzle filled the room, and a salty, savory aroma rolled through the air until the whole place was swimming in it.

"W-what is that smell?"

Aria drifted over like she'd been put under a spell. At the table, Kiki was staring a hole through the pan, drool running down his chin.

Yeah. Nobody holds out against this smell.

"Alright, it's done. Sit."

I laid out the seared luncheon meat, the steaming galbitang, and a mound of white rice still trailing wisps of vapor. Instant food and canned meat, every last bit of it—but stacked against the state of those grains they'd been about to eat, this might as well have been a royal banquet.

Aria picked up her spoon with trembling fingers and took a sip of the broth.

"……!"

Her eyes went round as saucers. The spoon clattered onto the table.

"M-Minwoo… Minwoo, are you… royalty…?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I am nobility myself, but… I've never eaten anything like this in my life. Am I even allowed to have such a precious dish?"

Royalty. Over a pouch of instant short rib soup.

Modern civilization really was something else.

"Royalty? I'm a commoner if anything—closer to the bottom of the ladder. I only brought this so easily thanks to the Subspace Bag."

I glanced sideways. Kiki had already taken leave of his senses. Broth, luncheon meat—he was inhaling all of it.

Aria stared at me like she couldn't believe it.

"In your world… can anyone eat food like this…?"

"Well, civilizations develop differently. Anyway, it's not that precious, so don't feel guilty. Eat as much as you want."

The words had barely left my mouth before Aria started tearing into the food like a woman possessed, packing her cheeks until they looked ready to burst. She ate like someone who hadn't seen a real meal in days.

Then again, after more than two weeks of that garbage they'd been living on, I couldn't blame her.

Damn. She can really put it away…

It had cost me a fortune, but watching them eat like this, I didn't regret a single won.

Should I bring pizza or fried chicken next time?

They wouldn't die from how good it tasted, right?

"Oh, and I've stacked plenty more of this—and other stuff—over by the kitchen, so don't be shy about grabbing it even when I'm not around. I'll bring more next time."

"Thank you…"

"Kerek! Kerek!"

Once the meal was done, I took Aria into the quarters and handed her the clothes I'd laid out.

"I bought you some things to change into, too."

What I gave her was a sports bra and panties, plus a sleeveless tank with good range of motion and a pair of dolphin shorts. Aria took the gray underwear I'd so thoughtfully picked out, and her face turned a red so deep I thought it might burst.

"Y-you chose these yourself, Minwoo…?"

"Yeah. I eyeballed the size, so if they don't fit, just tell me. We can exchange them."

I told her to go ahead and change and stepped out of the room. Outside, I stuffed Kiki into a children's tracksuit set.

"Kerek! Kerek!"

"Wow, you actually look like an elementary schooler. Heh. That's genuinely cute."

The red skin and the kobold face threw the whole look off, though. He had the vibe of a grade-schooler who'd crawled out of a burning hell.

A moment later, the door opened and Aria came out.

"Oh……"

Below the short dolphin shorts, her long, pale legs were on full display. The tight sleeveless top left the slender lines of her figure with nowhere to hide. Aria squirmed under my undisguised stare, twisting in place like she had no idea what to do with herself.

"Um… Minwoo… isn't the exposure a bit much…? It feels like I'm only wearing underwear…"

"No it's not. Where I come from, everyone dresses like this. Perfectly ordinary clothes, really."

"I-is that so…?"

"Of course. Why would I lie? And it looks great on you. You're gorgeous."

"R-really…?"

I caught the faintest lift at the corners of her mouth. No woman alive doesn't like being told she's pretty.

"It might get chilly outside, though, so wear this when it does."

I pulled a windbreaker from the Subspace Bag and held it out to her.

"Alright. Shall ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we get going?"

We left the Base Camp and headed for the Quest Office.

I'd been tense the whole way, half-expecting someone from Bren and Eden's district to pick a fight—but we made it there without incident.

We stopped in front of the request board and went straight to the D-Rank listings.

"What? Why are there only two D-Rank missions?"

"D-Rank missions are very popular with Participants, so…"

Hah… now what?

Two was generous phrasing, anyway. The assassination job had a four-person minimum, which meant we couldn't even accept it. That left the linked mission as our only option…

And more than anything, that "support the Deep Investigation party" line sat wrong with me. We'd just gotten stabbed in the back by Bren and Eden. Getting tangled up with another group of Participants already?

"Hmm. What do we do…"

I asked the receptionist for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the details. The other party had already set out half a day ago, she said. All we had to do was find them and clear the trash mobs that might get in the way of their investigation.

Well… that should be fine, right?

Last time, Bren and Eden had inserted themselves into a mission that was ours. This time it was the opposite—we'd be heading out to support a mission another party was already running.

"Hah. Let's just take this one."

"Yes, Minwoo. I'll go register it right away."

Come to think of it, Aria had gotten remarkably obedient. She'd pulled that boneheaded stunt last time—maybe it'd actually taught her something.

Or maybe eating real food had restored her brain to working order.

I was turning that over when a murmur drifted over from somewhere nearby.

"Isn't that the mission the Witch is on?"

"They don't seem to know. Should ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we tell them?"

"Eh, they'll figure it out. Garon's there too."

What were they on about?

I whipped around, but nobody was looking our way. So it probably wasn't about us.

Anyway, Aria registered the mission, and we started back toward the Base Camp to get underway.

"Um… Minwoo…"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"About last time… I'm truly sorry. Everything you said was right, and I was so foolish…"

Aria bowed her head as she apologized. Then she lifted a hand and brushed her hair back—

Hhk—!

The pale, flawless skin of Aria's underarm came into view.

They didn't have laser hair removal in her world, did they? So how was it that smooth, without a single hair?

Crack! Crack!!

This is bad. The lust just—

Slap—!

Primordial Power, you lunatic!!

Before I knew what I was doing, I'd smacked Aria on the ass.

"Kyaah!! Minwoo… nnngh…♡"

What was that?

I could've sworn I heard a weird sound just now.

Must've been my imagination.

Anyway, damage control. Fast. At this rate I was going to get arrested for sexual harassment in progress, and I wouldn't have a single thing to say for myself.

"Aria, the way I see it, going through something like that actually made us trust each other more. So don't dwell on what happened. We're the soul trio, right?"

For something I'd pulled out of thin air, that was a pretty mature save, if I did say so myself.

Did it land…?

"Yes… thank you, Minwoo. From now on, I'll listen to everything you say."

Yes! It landed!

Having successfully avoided arrest, I arrived at the Base Camp and picked out a weapon.

Do these things infinitely regenerate, or what?

After using them a few times, I'd come to realize the starter weapons weren't exactly high quality. There was a blacksmith at the Gathering Hall—once I'd saved up some Points, I should look into a new sword.

Ding!

A flash of light swallowed everything.

My vision shifted.

This time, we'd been dropped inside a dilapidated building. A high ceiling, and a statue of a goddess standing at the far end. It had the feel of an old church, or a cathedral.

"Oh, the support party's already here?"

A group gathered deeper in the church spotted us and started over. The man in front was wearing heavy, solid armor, and the gear on the people behind him didn't look ordinary either. The seasoned air coming off them was a world apart from the likes of Bren and Eden.

They approached with easy, likable smiles.

We run into another party the second we arrive? So they've been sitting here waiting for us this whole time?

Something smelled off.

If they tried even the slightest trick…

I would kill every last one of them.