First, I asked to see Igarashi-san's license. When I was about to get up from my seat, Igarashi-san hurriedly restrained me and brought it to me himself.

'You're on the move all the time, Rear-kun, so you don't have to be so careful.
'Yes, if you want, we can feed you food and stuff like that without you sitting down and not moving a bit, and you can even sleep with your brother if you want, right?
''Well isn't that just something Misaki-chan wants to do personally?''
Haha.

　I won't deny it, and looking at Misaki's carefree smile, it relieves my nerves about the 'Arctic Star' thing, too. However, I can't take it easy.

''Utterly........young kids these days. I don't know how serious they are.
'Talking like that, Kyouka's sister looks like she wants to do something too! As a token of her gratitude.
''Hey, come on. I'm the one who's going to be angry with Igarashi-san, so that kind of agitation...
''Well, well, that's for sure. I've had a good rest, and I'm grateful... well, I mean, I always do...
.........

　Igarashi-san turns behind me where she is sitting. I still wasn't expecting what she was going to do, and I winced when she softly placed her hands on my shoulders and squeezed them gingerly.

'Well, don't be so surprised. I thought your shoulders might be a bit stiff... and since they're all girls, I'm sure you're going to have a hard time keeping up with them.
'No, no that's, well, not so much a hassle as a hassle, but...'

　Good, it's not so much that it's good - it's not so much that it works quite well, but the way Igarashi-san touches me is gentle, and I can't help but feel strange.

''........It seems softer than I thought. Doesn't it hurt when you massage it when it's not stiff?
No, no it's working like normal.
'Well that's good. Next time I'll give you a light smack. How's that?
'Well yeah, this one works better. Thank you........

　There's a different kind of comfort in being given a tantrum and vibration. When I go to get my hair cut, there's a place where I get a massage at the end of the day, and I'm getting closer and closer to that feeling.

　However, I can feel Igarashi-san working on me by the way she touches me, and I'm quite embarrassed when Misaki and Suzuna see me.

'Good for you, Arihito-san. I'll have to think of something I can do for Arihito-san too...''
"Suzu-chan is very good at it too, though. She used to be very filial to her grandmother... I had my grandmother do it for me too, and it feels great.
'Oh, well no, I don't need to spoil it too much because I'm indebted to everyone else too...'
"...Is this spoiling it?　That being said, I'm kind of uncomfortable with that... although once I start, I'll do it until I'm satisfied.

........?

　Mr. Igarashi puts his elbow on my shoulder and gives me a vibration. Then what happens is that the pause becomes closer than when I'm doing it with my hands.


"Shh, Suzu-chan, let's not say that.
A neck pillow?　I didn't hear much before that, but I've missed it.

　If it's a neck pillow, I used to love it too, but it's not that level of softness. It's been hitting me all the time, so I can feel the unevenness of the lace part of the bra - although Igarashi-san is extremely calm, so I probably don't notice it.

'We should do this side too. If you only have one side, it's not balanced well.

　Is the idea that since it is a massage, it doesn't matter if it hits you? That would be a bad idea to be aware of, so I try to let my mind go blank. While the soft elasticity is being pressed against me from the left and right alternately, I wonder in my fuzzy head if I still like the big one.


If it was just me and Suzu, we couldn't compete with her sister!　What do I have to eat to get that much? Only for Moe, is milk still the answer?

　It seems to be a superstition that milk makes you grow up, and I heard that drinking too much soy milk is not good for you, so it's best to let nature take its course.

"Kyouka-sister, do you have a favorite drink?
'I'd like a cup of tea now. I'd like something refreshing with fruit juice but you don't have tea, do you?
'Haha I'll go ask if there's anything close. In the meantime, please talk to me about your skills. You can't flirt with them.
Misaki-chan..........sorry, I'll go with you.

　Misaki and Suzuna leave the table once they are taken away. There was a subtle silence, and I decided to follow up on Misaki's random comments for now.

''It's not like we're flirting or anything. Totally, he's always........
Does your shoulder feel better?　Or do you want to continue for a bit longer?
''Eh........ha, yes, it's much easier. Igarashi-san is also standing, so please sit down.
'Yeah, yeah. Then this.....

　Pulling out the chair next to me, Igarashi-san sits down hesitantly and opens the skills section of the license and holds it out in front of me.


　Skills Learned◆

　Double Attack Thunderbolt
　Blink Step decoy doll, decoy.
　snow-covered skin

　Skills that can be acquired

　Skill Level 2
　The number of guarding beasts in your team improves your ability.
　Spinning Spear: When attacking, your blows will be strengthened by the amount of spears you spin.

　Skill Level 1.
　Aether Ice: Installs an icy aether.
　War Maiden's Glossy Dance 1: When an enemy is of the opposite s*x, a low percentage of attacks will be canceled.
　Penetrating Strike 1: When equipped with a spear, some of the blows ignore the enemy's defenses.
　Brave Mist: Removes fear from allies.
　Freeze Thorn: Freezes the enemy's legs, slowing them down.
　Bullet Repellent 1: Makes enemies' indirect attacks slightly harder to hit.

　Remaining skill points: 3


The Valkyrie seems to be able to establish about three different roles.
'There's so much I can do, I can't decide which one to do... I need to practice my new skills so I can use them properly in a real battle.
'Yes. I think there are skills that can be used by one person to create combos, or rather, coordination (synergy). Can you do a double attack with Spinning Spear........?
''I'd like to try that too, but a level 2 skill requires two points...''

　What Igarashi-san was looking at passionately even as she spoke was the 'swarming wolf stance' as she was a dog lover.

　This kind of skill seems to finally have a visible effect when you add escort beasts to the party to the maximum - after all, skills other than mine are often masked in numbers, or rather a rough representation.

''Well, let's take 'Swarming Stance' and one of the others, shall we?'''
'What ... are you sure?　Wouldn't it be so different if it was just Zion-chan?
'I think it's effective if it always adds to your abilities, even if it's just a little bit. Besides, I think it's a good fit for Igarashi-san.
"...Oh, thank you. Also, 'Aether Ice'?　It would be more useful to take a skill that others don't have, wouldn't it?
I don't think we need to take that for now. 'Aether Fatty' is a skill that summons a kind of ornament called 'Aether' that responds to attribute attacks and such.

　We thought we had gone on vacation, but Elitia had come out to give us some advice. Misaki and Suzuna also came back and served us the herbal tea they brought with them.

'If it were me, I'd definitely take 'War Maiden's Glossy Dance 1'. It's going to boost my girl power.
'Is that how it works...?　What kind of dance is the glossy dance? Is a valkyrie something you dance?
Igarashi-san has a 'blink step', so it's no wonder, though. And there's something in common between step and dance.

　If demons have a gender, it's interesting that even powerful enemies can make a suki if they're male.

'Kyouka sister, were you in the dance club or something?'
'Yeah, my freshman year of high school I moved to another club my sophomore year, so it was a short time.

　Everyone looks convinced as to why they moved the club - I feel like I would have liked to see Igarashi-san from the dance club as well as me.

'What do you think, Rearward-kun?　I wonder if I should leave some points on the table. I'm hoping to get a 'penetration attack' someday, too.
'Well I guess I'll leave you with one point.
Then I'll take the 'swarming wolf stance'........oh. Hey, I feel like I'm getting some strength.

　At his current level, even the amount of increase due to a single escort beast might seem large. If that's the case, it was the right decision to take a swarming wolf stance.

''I'll be next! I didn't take the skill when I was level 2, so I have a lot of points!''

　Skills Acquired

　Drop Rate Increase: Chances of enemies dropping rare drops will increase slightly.
　Lucky dwarf: Your odds of finding a box after a battle will increase slightly.

　Skills you can acquire

　Lucky Seven 1: A roll of two dice, totaling 7, has a positive effect.
　Magic Number 1: roll a number at random to each member of the party, and the one chosen as the winning number may force the others to do so only once.
　Dice Trick: The player will be able to roll the dice he or she has chosen.
　Russian Roulette 1: halve the health of any player you hit, friend or foe.
　Poker Face: Your opponent will no longer be able to read your emotions.
　Lucky Prediction 1: sense the direction of good things to come.
　Coin Toss: Have your teammates guess the flip side of a coin, and a hit will increase your luck.
　Bad Luck: Reduces enemy's luck value a bit.

　Remaining skill points: 4

Geez.........no matter how you look at it, there are some dangerous people in the mix.......

'Haha, there's something interesting here. This magic.....
Well, wait a minute. Wouldn't it be nice to have this Lucky Seven or something?　And Misaki always throws two dice.
'Yes - if you combine it with the dice trick, you could always do 7 or something like that.
'Using a skill, even one that doesn't specifically say 'consumes magic,' can wear out, and there's a reuse (recast) time, so you might not be able to use it continuously.'

　Elitia hasn't seen Misaki's license, but she gives me advice as we speak.

'Rear-kun, what's up?　There's something wrong with you, but...

　The magic number, this is obviously like a skilled version of the "King's Game". If Misaki took this, there would be an accident.

Then, can I take the above three and Bad Luck?　I want to help everyone as much as I can!
Well, I don't mind, but don't use this second skill only when it's appropriate.
'It's definitely useful! It's such a fun skill... I'm glad I wrote gambler.
'Misaki, you look like you're having so much fun I'm glad you got some good skills.
'Yeah, thanks Suz. I'm sure it will help you, Suzu, so look forward to it.

(Well, for what it's worth, he's a good root... and if you don't abuse it, the 'magic number' is harmless.)

　I have to watch Misaki carefully to make sure she doesn't let her mischievousness out. It's not a king's game kind of use, but it's not a skill that's only a problem because there are other uses for it.

　Finally, it's Suzuna, who comes up beside me and shows me her license. Compared to the tumultuous Misaki, her new skill was a great comfort to me.