Akatsuki Translations

“Sorry. I was called twice,” Misuzu apologized to Yuuta while kissing him. Make up your mind whether you’re apologizing or kissing. Ah, I want to be lovey-dovey with Yuuta too. But I didn’t say anything because I thought we absolutely wouldn’t succeed if we didn’t concentrate.

Everything had gone according to plan so far. We annihilated all three scouting Goblin Rider groups from one settlement, then attacked the neighboring settlement and hunted down their Goblin Riders. We repeated this ten more times.

In total, we took down about 500 level 12 Goblin Riders. It took three days, and we’re now at level 9.

“I’m surprised. I heard it would take much longer even to get this far,” I said.

“…chu” They continued kissing, ignoring me.

“Well, we were able to do this because of the information Yuuta taught us,” I said, approaching Yuuta and pinching his butt firmly. It meant ‘cut it out’. Still, Misuzu wouldn’t let go of Yuuta. Her boldness is increasing. Has she gained some confidence? It’s making me even more irritated.

“M-Misuzu, that’s enough,” Yuuta finally said.

“Mmm,” Misuzu pouted.

Don’t ‘mmm’ me. I can’t even get anything because I’m conscious of your eyes, so don’t make such a dissatisfied face just because your kiss was interrupted. I tried to return from America as quickly as possible, but no matter how hard I tried, I could only manage to get back just in time.

If I had extended my break by one more day, Misuzu would have surely started wondering why. I want to say I’m ready to face her if she finds out, but Yuuta seems to like Misuzu more than me, and it might really lead to a breakup talk with Yuuta.

That’s what I feared most.

I was afraid of Yuuta saying “goodbye” to me.

I know Yuuta wouldn’t say such a thing to me so easily. Yet I felt like he might just casually say it.

I want to make Misuzu accept the harem quickly. Then I could feel at ease. But so far, I can’t think of a good way. If things turn out like last time, it would be unbearable. I spent the whole time in America thinking about why that happened.

And I realized one thing. It was a very simple answer.

Yes.

I have no experience in love.

I’ve never dated anyone other than Yuuta. I’ve never even thought I liked anyone else. In other words, I’ve never experienced the give and take of love. It’s my first time.

I thought I could handle it because I’ve been honing my skills in the modeling world, but apparently, I was an amateur when it came to love. That’s the only thing I understood clearly while I was in America.

After all, I was just waiting for Yuuta to contact me, and in the end, I was too scared to contact him myself.

I canceled my work in Japan.

Normally, I would never do such a foolish thing.

That’s why May called me, worried.

I told May that I was an amateur in love.

“You just realized that now? Every time I heard you talk, I thought, ‘What an innocent girl,’” May had said.

“If you thought that, you should have told me,” I replied.

“My sister is your rival, you know. I can’t actively help you. Rather, I wonder why you’re consulting me, Misuzu’s sister,” she pointed out.

“Come to think of it, that’s true,” I realized.

“Seriously. You didn’t even notice me before,” May said.

“We’ve talked before, haven’t we?” I defended.

“We have. But to me, even though you said you were modeling in America, you were still a distant figure. Evie, always aloof and gloomy despite being only 15. It’s strange how love can turn you into such a klutz,” she teased.

“Tell me about it,” I sighed.

“And you don’t even get my sarcasm,” she added.

Come to think of it, I only started talking to May like this after entering the dungeon in America. And these kinds of conversations have only become recent.

“May. Love isn’t something you should do. Nothing goes as planned. Me, being third place. I’m desperately trying not to be thrown away despite being treated like that. On top of that, I flew all the way to America for Yuuta, and he’s not even here. The only man who was happy was my boss who could make me work. I ended up crying in America. You can laugh at me too, May. Mark even apologized while laughing, so I really thought about firing him,” I confessed.

“I won’t laugh. You’re becoming more human-like,” May said.

“May. Your voice is laughing,” I pointed out.

“Hehe, Evie. You’ve become cute,” she giggled.

“You two seem to be getting along well,” Misuzu suddenly said, bringing me back to the present.

“Well, yeah,” I replied.

Misuzu was blushing and looking happy.

We’ve all reached level 9. Our appearances have changed quite a bit. Yuuta changed the most, finally surpassing Misuzu’s charm. Even though I’ve lived in a world full of beautiful people, I’ve rarely seen such a handsome man.

“Yuuta was gentle,” Misuzu said innocently, seemingly without malice. So they’re already that close? I thought their intimacy was different from before…

Feeling annoyed, I ignored her and spoke to Yuuta instead.

“Yuuta. Did you hear what I was saying?”

Is it okay to just hold hands? I want to be hugged tightly.

“Ah, yes, Evie. If you think you can’t do it, you do it in a way you can’t. If you think you can do it, you do it in a way you can. Maybe that’s how it is,” Yuuta replied.

Good. Yuuta listened to what I was saying properly.

“It’s the same with gymnastics techniques. Even without leveling up, what people used to do looks like child’s play to today’s athletes. But the moment you realize you can do it, suddenly more people can do techniques they couldn’t before. That information about high-level explorers all getting S-rank judgments. I wish I had known that on the second floor. Looking back now, I think there might have been a way for me to get an S too,” I explained.

While bothered by Misuzu holding Yuuta’s hand, I decided to focus on leveling up for now. Yuuta had been in New York with Nagumo. Apparently, he consulted about several things regarding the dungeon during that time.

Yuuta apparently asked Nagumo about quest judgments too, and Nagumo had said:

“All the guys who become high-level explorers get S-rank on quests in the Stone Area, floors 1-10. You did too, right?”

“Y-yes,” Yuuta had replied.

“Thought so.”

“But Nagumo-san, isn’t there a famous story about only the Bow God getting an S-rank on the archer job quest on the second floor?”

“I don’t know about that. That guy told me he’s never missed getting an S-rank on a quest. Same for me. In fact, all of the Twelve Heroes are like that.”

“N-Nagumo-san, you’ve never missed getting an S-rank on a quest?”

“That’s right.”

Honestly, those words were shocking. Yuuta seemed to hesitate about whether to tell us or not. But if he didn’t tell us, we might have settled for less on quests again. So Yuuta told us.

If Misuzu and I received this information and still couldn’t get S-rank on quests, we should give up on becoming high-level explorers. That’s the kind of world it is. No, even that’s not accurate.

To be precise, only I should give up. Misuzu can be forgiven even with an A-rank. Apparently, even Tanaka often only got A-ranks on quests. He even failed some quests entirely.

But Tanaka supposedly transformed when he got a rainbow capsule.

In other words, I’m the weakest in this party. I was carried away with being a rare job like a summoner. I thought Kain became one of the Twelve Heroes alone. But something is still missing. Lean and Rai are working hard too.

But it’s still not enough. Even if it can’t be helped that Lean is inferior to Yuuta, I wish she could catch up to him just a little more. Rai loses to Yuuta when he casts acceleration. It loses even though it specializes in movement.

I need something too. A rainbow capsule like Misuzu. Gacha luck like Yuuta. A summoned beast for me. That’s how it should be, but I can’t shake the feeling that just leveling up like this isn’t enough.

Summoner. A rare job everyone envies. Yet there aren’t many stories of great success. On the other hand, the story of Kain, who entered the dungeon alone and succeeded, shines so brightly.

I think Yuuta probably asked Nagumo about Kain too, but he’s not telling us.

“Maybe we wasted the second floor quest?” Misuzu spoke up.

“That’s already over,” I replied, trying to keep my voice from sounding sharp. I’ve learned that always picking fights like that leads to trouble. Both Misuzu and I were desperate to keep up with Yuuta now. Just the difference between an A-rank and S-rank quest.

It was just that, but the gap is starting to show.

Yuuta was able to raise the most important stats for close combat by 6. Plus, he can equip three exclusive items. I could only raise mine by 3. Misuzu too. Without exclusive equipment, there’s no base stat increase.

We have to get S-rank. The worse the quest results, the more we lack the most important stats for our job. That makes the next quest even harder to complete.

As a result of this screening process, very few can become high-level explorers. I realized again how narrow the gate to becoming a high-level explorer is.

“Let’s go. If we fail this time, it’s over,” I said.

Level 9. We’re almost at our first goal. But we still couldn’t see beyond that. I mounted Rai, who had transformed into a lion. Misuzu got on behind me. Incidentally, we two have the lowest agility.

“Evie, are you angry that I’m a woman with strong possessiveness?” Misuzu brought up that topic again. This isn’t the time for that. We’re at the brink of whether we can keep up or not. I felt irritated.

“Not at all,” I replied curtly.

“I think I’ll sleep well after this is over,” she said.

“I see,” I responded.

“I’ll probably sleep so deeply that I won’t wake up no matter what happens around me,” she added.

“…”

“Evie. I don’t hate you, you know,” Misuzu said.

“…Me neither,” I replied.

Is she saying she’ll allow Yuuta and me? Rai started running. No good. I need to concentrate. Misuzu suddenly said something unlike her, and now my head is full of that. How far is she allowing?

Will she say nothing no matter what we do?

Can I finally be embraced by Yuuta again?

I’ve been holding back even though I want to be held so tightly it hurts.

But the surrounding situation didn’t allow me to keep thinking about such things. Goblin Riders. I couldn’t face them with a lovesick brain. It was a matter of life and death.

“Here they come,” Yuuta warned.

“Misuzu, absolutely stay at a distance for sniping. Don’t get close. If they get close, don’t hesitate to kill them with the rifle. Evie, ride Rai with Lean and fight a little behind me. If you think it’s too much, you can escape on Rai,” Yuuta instructed.

“I won’t run away. If I did that, you’d die,” I protested.

“I won’t run either. I’d rather not be the only one to survive. Don’t worry. I’ll shoot down any dangerous ones that get close with my bow,” Misuzu added.

“…Let’s go,” Yuuta said.

Yuuta didn’t say anything more to us. We can talk as much as we want when it’s over. That’s how it is. I’ve come to understand Yuuta that much now. I made eye contact with a Goblin Rider. They were all Red Goblins.

“GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

“GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

The goblins let out a battle cry. Yuuta stomped the ground. Rai followed. First, Misuzu added 【Precision Double Shot】 to her 【Sturdy Bow】, and two arrows flew like beams of light towards Yuuta.

“Yuuta!” Misuzu shouted.

At Misuzu’s voice, Yuuta lowered his body. The arrows appeared from behind him and hit the foreheads of two Red Goblins. From there, Misuzu’s barrage began. Misuzu’s arrows, which might be more powerful than an assault rifle.

A rain-like barrage.

I thought it was beautiful.

I thought I wanted to live in this forever.

The barrage I found beautiful. But even with this, they were still coming.

“Damn it!” Misuzu cursed.

Misuzu had bought a mountain of arrows in her magic bag. If all of them hit, the battle would probably end quickly. But they didn’t hit. The Red Goblins were deflecting all of Misuzu’s sharp incoming arrows. As expected, normal methods don’t hit.

“That’s what we’re here for! 【Fire Arrow Formation】!” I cast my newly acquired spell.

An upgraded version of fire ball, it shoots fire arrows depending on magical power. Not as fast as Misuzu’s arrows. So they can be dodged. But this makes our attack two-pronged. With my magic power, Fire Arrow Formation produces two arrows. A Red Goblin appeared that got hit by Misuzu’s arrow.

But at level 12, they become tougher. They keep moving even after being hit like that. Finally, Yuuta and Lean moved. A Red Goblin blocked Yuuta’s double strike skill. But this time, Yuuta was holding a katana in his left hand too.

He unleashed another double strike.

“No wonder they say it’s convenient,” I thought.

Double strike is said to be one of the most convenient Stone skills. You can use it with your right hand and immediately with your left. Essentially, you can easily do a four-hit combo. A Red Goblin’s head flew off. We killed one rider first. With Misuzu’s, that makes three.

I couldn’t lose here either. Lean, acting as my sword, attacked a Goblin Rider that was stunned by my next【Fire Arrow Formation】. A sharp halberd strike that didn’t seem possible from such a small body. But it was blocked.

“【Summon Beast Enhancement】” I called out.

“Gya!” Lean cried as she pushed forward. Her strength increased, but she was still evenly matched. Lean opened her mouth and,

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” she unleashed her special ability【Roar】.

It’s a sound wave attack with a wide area of effect. Getting hit by this makes the opponent stagger. Lean pushed even harder. Her halberd dug into the goblin’s shoulder and cut through the back of the lion it was riding.

But another Red Goblin appeared from the side, slashing at Lean. The timing of the attack was bad. Normally, this would kill Lean. She has decent agility but isn’t very dexterous, so she relies on brute force. As a result, Lean has many openings.

“【Rock Bullet】!” Yuuta shot through the head of the Red Goblin attacking Lean. Then he cast 【Acceleration】, and three Red Goblins sank to the ground. Yuuta was getting stronger and stronger. The exclusive equipment plays a big part.

That’s why he can get S-rank on quests.

Because he gets S-rank, the next quest becomes S-rank too. That’s how Yuuta can keep getting stronger. It’s unfair. I feel a little jealous of Yuuta. Yuuta says the dungeon is a blessing because the dungeon loves him.

If Misuzu were to get a rainbow capsule now…

Don’t be negative in the middle of a battle. I have my summoned beasts.

“【Fire Arrow Formation】” I shot fire arrows to support Lean. Lean sliced off a Red Goblin’s head. Five Red Goblins were coming towards me. They don’t approach Yuuta. These guys don’t just target anyone.

They target the weakest one first.