An approaching skeleton.
　It doesn't hesitate to swing its half-decayed, battered longsword down at me.
　I dispelled it calmly, took a step forward to thin the flesh, plunged my hand through the gap in the scaly ribs, and directly pulled out the magic core.
　At that moment, the skeleton can no longer compose itself and becomes a glowing grain and disappears.
　It's a backhanded special attack that can only be used by monsters with bare magical cores.

Good work, Jirou-sama. There are few skilled warriors who can steal a magic core as brilliantly as you can. Everyone has a certain amount of fear of monsters.

　Mr. Hetty claps his hands and raves about it.

'It's because of the way Hetty taught you,'
'I didn't teach anything in particular. If the teachers were good, it was probably the teachings of Becky and Shero Roth. Because being able to conquer your fears is potentially the biggest dividing line between being a warrior and not being one.
Is that so?

　I had the impression that people in this world didn't seem to have any aptitude for that part of the world, as much as they had a calling.
　It's like, "I have a calling = I'm talented, no questions asked - and that's it.

If you have a vocation, it doesn't necessarily mean that you can fight in a real battle. It's a test of a warrior's aptitude in the true sense of the word, to see if he or she can go into a real battle and survive. Even in the mercenary corps I was a part of, there were many people who died without that aptitude. Even if they were blessed with a vocation.
'So that's what it is: ....... I don't think I'm very good at it in that sense. You may be prepared to die, but to be honest, I don't think I'm ready to kill someone.
''Fufu ...... It's okay, Jirou-sama. In my opinion, you are the type of person who can kill without hesitation if the situation calls for you or your friends to be killed. You seem to be able to sit back and relax in one-sided situations like you did with your uncle Dida the other day.
So that's it.

　Maybe. I can fight against monsters with no problem, and I'm not afraid to kill them. Well, it's also because the opponent isn't a living creature.
　However, I have fought live monsters before. There are huge wild boars around here, so I have hunted them for both training and profit.
　Even then, I felt a little sorry for it, but I was able to kill it normally.
　In fact, it was fun.
　Maybe the rumor that hunting is a human instinct is true.

''But even so, the pace of the monsters springing up has increased.
'We've already started our Awasezukis, you know. We're going to pick up the pace even more.
'I see. ...... but for that, I don't seem to be getting any support from the Hunters Guild.

　Normally, Shero and the officials in charge of the town hall are supposed to deploy as many warriors as necessary in the course of the countermeasure against the Hitotsutsuzuki, but instead, no one has been sent in at all.
　Well, there's a squad of knights (or ex-mercenary warriors, if you will) stationed here at some point, so if the monsters spring up a bit, it's not a problem.

''It's certainly a bit strange. We're an irregular army, and Jirou-sama isn't officially asked by the mayor, right?　Usually, by the time Awasezukis start, most of the preparations are done. ......
Mmmm: ......

　Mr. Shero is often away from home, too.
　I wonder if there is a problem.



　◇◆◆◆◇



　The next day, I decided to meet with Yumegen-san.
　As if he was quite bored, Yumegen-san readily agreed to meet me in spite of my sudden appointment, and he arrived in his car as usual.

'Hi Michael,'

　Mr. Yumegen peeked out of the driver's seat and called out to me with a grin on his face.

'Who's Michael?'　But still, it's a different car.

　It's a pitch black foreign car, and compared to the Countach, it's an unassuming car.
　I think I've seen this car somewhere, but...

'No way, ....... That bare-bones response ...... seriously, you don't know what a Knight Rider is ......?
Knight Rider?　Oh, was it some kind of old American movie?　'Think of it every time you look up at the night sky.'
It's a d*mn shame!　This car is a replica of the super machine "Night 2000" from the American TV drama "Knight Rider" that has been on the air since 1987!　There are only a few dozen cars in Japan: ......, and if you're looking for the same buzz, you might as well be a DeLorean: ......
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't understand. ...... but it's cool!
You're a hard man to follow.

　No, well, ...... I think it's cool.
　It's black and shiny. I don't dislike the toy-like interior, but if you don't know the original, it's probably half as attractive. Originally, it was an American car called the Pontiac Trans Am.

　I get in the passenger seat and start driving. In some ways, it attracted more people's attention than the last Countach. This must be Yumegen's hobby.
　Along the way, he told us how interesting the drama of Knight Rider was, but we weren't that intrigued. After all, it's over 30 years old: ....... I'd watch it if I had the time, but I wonder if it's available on rental DVD to begin with. When I asked Mugen-san about it, he said, "Well, I'll lend you a DVD! I kept the tea muddled because it was going to be.
　'He's doing far more earthly things than I am, this guy.

'So, what's up with you today?'
Well, I've got a lot I wanted to talk to you about, but here's a little something for you.
'Souvenir ......?　I mean, oh!　That's Liliarum, man. I miss it.

　While we stopped at a traffic light, I showed her the souvenir and Yumegen-san's eyebrows dropped.
　I'm sure that even though she's adapted to Earth, she still misses some of the food that is only available there. I've got a basket of lilliarum for you, because there are a lot of fruits that don't look like Earth's.

I thought it smelled sweet and nostalgic. I'm glad to hear it, I'm sure our guys will be happy to hear it.
I'm sorry. I'm afraid you'd be so pleased with it. I'll bring it back. I'll listen to any requests you have.
Oh, and can you get me a fresh batch of Witchettis?　My wife says that sometimes she wants to eat it, but the taste is different here. I can't eat it in Japan.
'Witchetty was a caterpillar, I believe ....... Sometimes Deanna eats them at our house, too.
All elves like it, don't they?

　Well, it's only about 300 yen per fish, and if you bring about 20 of them in sawdust, you'll be fine.

　As we talked about it, we entered a coffee shop.
　Yumegen was really a gormless man, and as soon as he entered, he ordered a Neapolitan, a sandwich, and a cup of coffee. He's an energetic man.
　I cut him off after each drink arrived.

''About that spirit stone you mentioned before that you're willing to buy for me,''
Will you sell it to me?
Yes, well ....... 'Yes. Depending on the amount.

　Yumegen said he would buy the spirit stone for 100 million yen.

　100 million is a lot of money.
　It's a lot of money, but Mr. Yumeikan seems to be a bit unimaginably rich, and we shouldn't negotiate with him in the financial sense of the common man. Let's think of it as if we were negotiating with Bill Gates.
　...... Well, I don't have any intention of picking up the money because I owe Mr. Yumegami for fixing my mirror. It's just that the right amount of money is something that doesn't exist, so I just want to deal with a mutually acceptable amount.

As I said before, I'll buy a spirit stone of any kind for 100 million yen. I'll take care of all the taxes, and I'll make sure that I have 100 million left in hand.
So that's the real deal?
''Spirit stones are something you can't get in this world, no matter how much you try. To be honest, even a hundred million would be a whole lot cheaper.
Is: ......

　With 100 million, he says, he could live for the rest of his life if he continues to live a modest life.
　It's already a deal-breaker at this stage.
　Not so much the amount of money as it is the way I live my life.
　I don't have the human capacity to ask for more than this.
　Of course, if you think about it properly, you can have as much money as you want, and the range of things you can do with it will increase.
　But...

Okay, then.
Are you sure?

　Yumegen-san looks at me, who readily agrees, with a bit of suspicion.

''It's fine. I just have one request.
What?
I know there will be many more situations where I will need help, so I want you to help me. I don't mean in a financial sense, but in a different world.
No, you don't. I was planning on it.
Then that's it, please. We're the only ones on this side of the world who know what's out there.

　I held out my hand.
　It was a shake hand. I shake hands with a slightly flamboyant gringo in a coffee shop.
　The customers around me are watching, but it doesn't matter.

　Afterwards, I wrote a simple contract for the sale of spirit stones.
''I'd rather have a spirit contract,'' Yumegen joked, ''but honestly, even a contract is not really necessary. I have no choice but to trust Yumegen-san, and if he was going to betray me, I would have been out of control long ago.
　I gave him my account number and the transaction was completed without a hitch.
　He told me that the 100 million yen would be transferred to my account tomorrow. It's a lie.

　He said he wants to keep the spirit stone for emergencies, and that's why he wants the spirit stone even if he has to pay 100 million yen from me.
　It's a good idea to be able to have your own personal computer with you when you're in a position to do so.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're in the market.
　It's a bit scary to think that an individual would interfere like that, but I guess I can believe it.
　Because, according to Ms. Mugen, "I'm a human being designed by humans, so I'm essentially incapable of holding hostility toward humans, and my wife is the same way.
　From my point of view, Yumegen-san is nothing more than a human, but she may be conflicted because she knows her roots.

''--and how are things going over there lately?''

　After the deal was done, Yumegen-san cut in like a small talk.
　'I suppose that's what you mean by that side, in other words, life in another world.

It's time for me to be a Hitotsutsuzuki. It's my first time and I'm pretty scared, but I'm planning to join the war effort.
A sandhill crane. It's been a long time.
'You've fought quite a bit with Hitotsutsuki, haven't you, Mugen?　I heard that you killed a strong monster by yourself.

　He is a man of many heroic stories. There is no way that he has no experience with Hitotsutsuki.

There is no such thing as a single person. The Hitotsuzuki is, after all, a game for many people. It's true that there have been a few times when everyone else was beaten and I was the only one left. ...... Do you have the right number of people?
'I've heard that the warriors that are supposed to be provided by the city haven't arrived. Well, our knights are stationed there, so I'm sure it's fine .......
What's the alignment of the stars?

　There are several types of human cranes in the placement of the stars.

'Alignment?　...... Yeah, it's kind of hard to understand this time.
'Is it hard to understand?　I'm sure you've already started wagging your feet.　This could be bad.

　Yumegen's face changes to one that contains a sense of urgency.
　He was so handsome that he had the female waiter's attention all to himself.
　Incidentally, the number of times the waiter has come to pour a glass of cold water is five so far. That's a lot.

I'm not sure if it's ......?
Did you know that there are grades of sandhill cranes depending on the rotation of the stars?
Yes, the monsters that come out are different in strength, right?
Yes. That's why stargazing is so important to everyone on that world. And if they don't yet know the grade, then they're an unknown human crane--
?
"There is a possibility of a trotter.
Is it bad?
Shit.

　Mr. Dreamy Vision who says.
　It's bad. .......
　It was information I didn't want to hear: .......
　No, it's good to hear it.
　We can take measures in advance.

The 'Konogishi Meguri no Hitotsutsuki' is, you know, the third most difficult Hitotsutsuki set up.

　Yumegen said that in the past world, he received some sort of strategy book for Emespalette. It must have been written in it, or he must have heard it over there.

''Oh, so it's the third one?''
'Stupid, the second or first Hitotsutsuki, that's the kind of thing you managed to clear when there were a mountain of players, and even the third should be enough of a threat in that world with no players.
Oh, my God!
That's what I'm saying.

　Originally, Hitotsutsuzuki was an event in a game where all players had to clear it together.

　The Hitotsutsuki of Inferno, the hardest difficulty level, and then the Hitotsutsuki of Heaven, the second hardest.

　Then there was the hardest one, "The Hitotsutsuki of Heaven".

　...... I'm getting the feeling that I don't want to get involved in the name alone.
　Compared to this, a "tour of this shore" would be cute, but .......

It's not likely to be ......, you know, this hell or paradise, right?
'That part's all right. Those are two very special kind of vines, and the movement of the stars and the moon is extraordinary. I've seen it in the past when I've been there, too. Before paradise, the sky is white, and before hell, the sky is dark. There's no period of awasezuki. In the first place, the Great Spirit will make an announcement before the Hitotsutsuzuki.
It's a totally official game event.
So, yeah. The players had a field day in hell and heaven, because they made a lot of money. That's why they're so zealous about being able to die and come back to life.

　Wow.
　The difference in senses with the locals is awful.

"I helped a little bit too, but the monsters that come out of the Hitotsutsuki in the Pure Land of Paradise are a huge army of angels, you know. Hell is full of demons, devils, fallen angels and everything else. If these two Hitzukis appear in the current Emesparet, the human race will certainly be destroyed.
"There's no way in hell I'm going to let you go." ......

　But well, at least this time it seems to be a "tour of the shores".
　In any case, we should prepare carefully.

But how can't you tell it's Konohameguri?
'It's because we don't have a lot of data yet. At least when I was over there, it's only happened three times. Plus, the stars are aligned differently each time.
That's how you know it's all about kono-gaijin, isn't it?

　If the other Hitotsutsuzukis always had the same alignment, it would be easy to see why.

Even other Hitotsutsuzukis are often out of alignment. "Other Hitotsutsuzukis also often don't align, like the one in 'Encounter Time' when you think it's a pendulum drop.
So that could be it.
Of course, that may be so. It's a good thing that you're able to have a good idea of what you're looking for. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it. ...... Isn't it the same this time?　There's a lot of talent coming your way, right?　You're the first player in that world in a thousand years yourself. I feel like that's enough of a reason for Mother to stick it out.

　That being said, that's true, and I feel like there's nothing else to do but to tour this shore now.
　It's a good idea to do as much as possible to do what you can because quite powerful monsters will appear, according to Mugen-san.
　He said that what works on monsters are large weapons and magic weapons, and that normal attacks alone are not enough to be heartening.
　Indeed, the powerful monsters I've fought so far were bears, cyclops, and others that would be quicker to launch missiles at them.

'...... but well, we'll figure it out. Players grow at a different rate, you know. You've worked out a lot, too, haven't you?

　I say that while munching on a big pancake.

'I worked out, but what does it matter if I'm a player or not?'
'Yeah, I was more than a little shocked when I found out too, but the 5X growth rate is player only. Locals ...... i.e. NPCs, I'm guessing it's only twice or three times as fast at best.
Really?

　Shero definitely said that you're growing up too fast .......
　You're a very privileged ...... player.

　Afterwards, we parted ways with some small talk.
　We even promised to go away and play when Hitotsutsuzuki was done.
He said he would also introduce me to his "grandchildren," but I was adamant about that. If it's just Yumegen and his wife, but if his grandchildren (older than him) join them, we'll surely exceed our capacity!