Huh....

What is the matter with you, sir, with your constant sighing?

That's not like your brother. Is something bothering you? Do you want to talk to us about it?

　The certificate was delivered and Esther was successfully promoted to an E rank. Now we are all ranked E.
　The sun was already starting to set, and we had digested all of our plans for the day, so we decided to stay at the inn.
　And after we finished our meals and baths, I was worried on my bed.

'Nah, I just felt like I wasn't good enough. You were struggling with all the new equipment you got, weren't you?

That's just because Lord Okura has no experience.

'Yes. We've been called out to fight, but your brother is a civilian to begin with.

　The battle of the Eagle Warrior Chief made me realize my inability to do anything about it. My equipment should have made me more than twice as fast, but I couldn't hit any attacks at all.
　If the effect of the Skull Ring hadn't been activated, I would have struggled a lot. The girls say it's because of their lack of experience, but it's still frustrating.

　Well, putting that aside, there is another meaning behind this sigh.

'And I just thought I haven't been doing that lately.

What do you mean by that?

Gotcha, gotcha.

　Yes, it's a gacha. The last time I drew it was before I summoned Esther. It's been a long time since I drew the gacha. I haven't hunted enough demons since then, so I currently only have four magic stones. This isn't good.
　If the campaign period comes to an end as it is now, I'll have to do that death march again.

''Esther!　It's a run!

What?

　Feeling threatened by my words, Noor runs to the door with Esther at his side.
　Are you going to run away and muddle through the tea for once?

　As it is, the moment she is about to touch the doorknob, she disappears as a particle of light along with Estelle. And immediately, the two of them appear in front of me, with light gathering in front of me.

''Peer!　Why, why is Okura-dono in front of you?

Huh, I planted a beacon in advance for just such an occasion.

　Noll screamed in surprise that I was suddenly in front of him.
　I had expected him to run away, so I had set up the beacon behind the bed with a cloth over it, just in case.
　And the moment they escaped, he operated his phone and moved Esther and Noll here with the squad movement of the beacon screen he had prepared in advance.

''That's why, it's time to resume collecting the magic stones.

　I strangled the confused Noll in a featherweight choke hold so she couldn't move. Before I know it, Estelle has slipped out of the side and is next to me.
　With her restrained, I sit on the bed. Noor also forced her to sit on my lap and tangled her legs together so that she couldn't move.

"What are you doing?　You must let go of her!　No, I don't want to!　I don't want to do that kind of hunting anymore!

Hey, Noll, calm down, will you? What's the matter with you, why are you in such a hurry?



　She wriggled around and tried to break free of my restraints. She flails around for a while, but gradually calms down when she realizes that she can't break free of her restraints.
　If it were true, it would be impossible for me to beat Noll, but if she's unarmed, it's a different story.
　She's dressed roughly before she goes to bed, so she doesn't have a weapon now. And I'm equipped with a power bracelet.
　It's all within the realm of possibility. The fact that I said it at this time was also a given from the beginning.

　When she told Esther about the last hunt, she looked at me with her zit eyes.
　Ugh, stop it, don't look at me like that. You're making me feel like I'm doing something bad.

'Brother, that's a bit much. I'm glad you let me out, but don't feel sorry for Noll.

'Mmm, that was just a reckless hunt because we didn't have a period. Don't worry, we'll be more conservative this time.

I don't feel safe.... Rather, I want you to strive to become more normal and strong.

　No, I'm going to try to be strong, okay?　But it's important to me to get a mess.
　And I'm not a demon either, and I'm not going to hunt as hard as I did last time.
　I've only set this up so far just to set up a place to talk about it first. I knew that if I brought up the subject of the mess, he would definitely run away.　

''Think about it. Wouldn't it be great to be able to collect magic stones while leveling up?　And Nol, what do you think you should do if you want to improve your party's strength?

'Wonderful ... isn't it?　Let's see, I would level up and raise my status.

'Hmm, that's one right choice. Secondly, Esther, what do you think?

Well, I'd add to the force by adding to our ranks.

'That's right too. But, you know, there was another option for the GC game. Do you see that?

　When I questioned them, Nol and Esther looked at each other and tilted their heads.
　Indeed, if I thought about it normally, I would first try raising the level and ability value in order to increase the strength of the battlefield.
　Now we can't do that in this case because we have too many secrets such as gacha, but it's also normal to consider adding new friends as well.

'It's a gacha. There was often a question about how to get stronger. And the best answer was, 'just play the gacha and arm yourself with strong weapons'.

It is strange, sir!　That is absolutely ridiculous!

　The shortcut to getting stronger within GC is to get strong weapons by spinning the gacha.
　It is true that there were many people who steadily leveled up and prepared their party. However, cultivating them also required magic stones with stamina recovery.
　If they were to do that, it was justice within the GC that all the distributed magic stones should be thrown into the gacha. Fortunately, the management gave us a good amount of magic stones so that even non-paying users could enjoy the game.

"Think about it. As long as you have strong weapons, you can defeat enemies efficiently and raise your level. And if you're lucky enough to get an UR unit as a by-product of the gacha, you can even get it. What could be more efficient than this?　You'll level up, get equipped, and have more friends. Isn't that nice?

'Hmmm ... it certainly sounds like you have a point.

'Esther!　I want you to get your shit together!　Okura-dono's pursuit of efficiency is out of line!　The time to stop is now!

　Besides, in this world, unlike GC, you can get magic stones while killing monsters. Raising the level of the game is also a way to accumulate the magical stones.
　In that case, this collecting of magic stones is very reasonable. What could be happier than this?

'It turns out that this mess has a campaign period. If we're going to dive into this place called the labyrinth from now on, I think it's imperative that we prepare our equipment. It's no good if you're struggling with the level of an eagle like that.

''That's right. Our equipment is UR, but your brother is only up to SSR. I feel sorry for him.

　Whoa, Esther's on board. This might be a chance to fold.
　In fact, I'm worried about the labyrinth, which is said to be a struggle even with the current strength of the B-rank and above. There may be a lot of people like the Chief Warrant Officer Eagle.
　Besides, our level is still low. First of all, we need to find an efficient place to get experience in the surrounding area, and then we need to collect the magical stones while improving our levels.

''If the campaign period comes when we don't have any magic stones, it will be disastrous.

It's not Okura-dono's fault...

''Look Noor, if you don't act now, then next time you'll have to demand an even harsher demon stone hunt. That's hard on you too, isn't it?　It's hard for me too.

''Ugh I don't like that. But I feel like I'm being cheated........

　I don't want to hunt like that anymore, either. I'm not even going to go that far this time.
　I started this topic with gacha, but raising the level is also an important goal.
　Yes, the act of pulling the gacha leads all the way.

That's why I'm going to find the most efficient magic stone excavation location and accumulate magic stones while raising the level. And now that Estelle is here, we can do a fishing range hunt.

I heard a very unpleasant name for it...

　I've heard that there are major hunting grounds in King's Landing in each of the three regions. The forest where the Eagle Warrior Chief was located is one of them.
　So, I will go to that hunting ground tomorrow to see how efficient the actual hunting is.
　Nevertheless, she has a very anxious mood. If I stay in this anxious emotion, I won't be able to sleep and it might affect tomorrow.

'Nole, you're tired. Estelle, let him sleep.

Yeah, I know.

'What, hey!　You both came to your senses....well....

　Estelle wags her finger and that black haze arises again and clings to Noll's face. She falls asleep directly on top of me, unable to move because she's restrained by me. Then I hold Noll in my arms and put her on the bed next to me.
　She was heavy when I carried her on my back before, but she's lighter without her armor. I feel a little sorry for him, but I'm going to force him to sleep.

'You must be really traumatized.

Hmm, I didn't expect them to be this frightened.

...What?

...hmm?

　When Esther heard my thoughts, she raised her voice of disbelief and stared at me with a stunned expression.
　Huh?　It's an idea that I thought was pretty modest, about half of what I did last time... but maybe it's out?

Hey, brother why don't you come and have a little chat with me, okay?

'Yes, um, Esther?　Wait, I can't move....

"Hmmm, don't worry. You'll feel much better once you get used to it.

　She smiled and wagged her finger at me, and my whole body stopped moving as if I was paralyzed. And as it was, she pushed me down towards my bed, with Esther riding her horse around the top of my stomach.
　Hey, wait!　It's disgusting!　What are you going to do that feels so good once you get used to it, hey, ahhh!