Chapter 114: Then I’ll let you copy from me again, so come to my place tonight even

[A/N: Posting two extra bonus Chapters for reaching another weekly milestone!]

Before being asked the business, Kazui stated the business himself.

"Then first let me check your Orb." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Hearing Lumia’s words, Kazui held out the back of his left hand onto the counter.

"Excuse me."

Lumia touched Authenticas, which she had taken out at some point, to Kazui’s Orb for several seconds.

Then various information recorded on Kazui’s Orb was marked on Authenticas as if printed.

Checking Authenticas, Lumia raised a surprised voice.

"Ah, Kazu-kun... your skills increased!"

"So it did succeed."

Hearing Lumia’s voice, with a face that wanted to say "I knew it," Yuri muttered.

"Ah! Should I not have said that?"

From Yuri’s words Lumia guessed the circumstances and added.

"I thought you had already told Yuri-kun..."

"No, well... it’s fine."

Feeling awkward, Kazui answered Lumia.

"Even though Lumia-san advised that if you’re in a party you should share information about skills, this guy was hiding it."

"Don’t snitch!"

After glaring at Yuri and declaring that, Kazui told Lumia the reason he had been hiding it.

"See, my Replication... given the activation condition, it’s hard to tell people I copied."

"Well, I understand the feeling, but I think you should trust your party companion properly and share information."

Kazui nodded at Lumia’s advice.

"You have to tell Yuri-kun properly about the new skill Skill Concealer too, and about Assault Mirage that I copied to you."

Hearing Lumia’s words, not only Kazui but Yuri too almost burst out from surprise.

Neither Kazui nor Yuri had thought Lumia would say herself that she had let Kazui copy a skill.

"No, um... Lumia-san, is that... all right to tell Yuri?"

In a flustered state, Kazui asked.

"If it weren’t all right I wouldn’t say it."

A little embarrassed but in a calm state, Lumia continued answering.

"I often talk here the three of us together with Yuri-kun who’s in a party with Kazu-kun, so talking while hiding it seems like a hassle in various ways. I thought it was better to tell him."

Lumia added.

"Leaving only Yuri-kun out like last time is bad too, right?"

"That might be true, but..."

"Besides, yesterday morning when we met near the wall, Yuri-kun... felt like he had noticed the relationship between me and Kazu-kun, so I also felt hiding it was pointless."

When they met yesterday morning, Yuri had noticed the change in the relationship between Kazui and Lumia.

And Lumia had also noticed that Yuri had probably noticed.

—-

"This guy is dull about other things, but only about that kind of vulgar stuff he’s strangely sharp, from way back!"

Looking at Yuri with half-lidded eyes, Kazui continued.

"He’s a lowlife. A lowlife!"

"Who’s a lowlife! Better than Kazu whose instincts about that kind of thing are kid-level dull!"

"Yes, yes, both of you... don’t fight over that."

Scolded by Lumia, Kazui and Yuri fell silent awkwardly.

"I trusted Yuri-kun and talked about me and Kazu-kun, so Yuri-kun keep the secret too."

After inserting a gesture of holding up only the index finger of her right hand by her mouth, showing it was a secret talk, Lumia added.

"I don’t know how it was in your world, but not keeping this kind of secret is a manners violation in this world, so if you don’t keep it... you’ll receive a corresponding social sanction."

"I’ll keep the secret. In the Japan we lived in that kind of thing was a manners violation too."

Hearing Yuri’s words, Lumia nodded as if convinced.

"Then I’ll tell Yuri-kun too about the two new skills Kazu-kun obtained, Assault Mirage and Skill Concealer."

Kazui already knew, so Lumia explained the two skills to Yuri.

Even as far as that Assault Mirage could not be used by Kazui for a while yet, but when he reached a usable level she intended to instruct him in how to use it.

"...But Skill Concealer, Kazu-kun... you obtained a good skill."

"It seems useful for hiding Sexual Appraisal, but is this a good skill?"

At Kazui’s question, Lumia nodded.

"It’s a convenient skill when you need to temporarily group for work with someone you don’t know well and can’t trust, or when doing infiltration-type work."

"I see..."

Kazui was convinced by Lumia’s explanation.

Kazui, who still had no experience with that kind of work, had not arrived at Skill Concealer’s convenience.

"It’s a fairly rare skill. In our Guild, a female adventurer who has Skill Concealer... wait, prying into that is a manners violation."

She almost ended up prying into the partner Kazui might have copied the skill from, and hurriedly restrained herself.

"Even so, copying a skill from another woman this fast... Kazu-kun, are you quite the... womanizer?"

"I’m not! It was just incredibly good luck and thanks to Sexual Appraisal!"

Kazui returned words of his true feelings.

"The method of looking for people in a frustrated state with Sexual Appraisal worked?"

At Lumia’s question, Kazui nodded.

"At this rate it looks like Kazu-kun can keep increasing skills."

"No, this time it just happened to go miraculously well. There’s no way it’ll keep going that smoothly."

"I see."

"Women who’ll let me copy aren’t that easy to find."

"Then I’ll let you copy from me again, so come to my place tonight even."

A little embarrassed, Lumia said that kind of proposal.

"I barely have any unarmed combat skills, but I still have all kinds of skills that seem useful for Kazu-kun."

On the day he had Lumia let him copy a skill, Kazui had been told by Lumia that "there would be another chance."

In short, between Kazui and Lumia, having her let him copy a skill through sex was not a one-time thing.

That was why Kazui was not surprised at the talk of Lumia letting him copy a skill again.

He did think it was welcome.

But he was bewildered that Lumia said that talk so calmly with Yuri there.

"Um... I feel like talking about that with Yuri here is bad..."

To the awkward Kazui, Yuri called out.

"It’s fine. If it’s a secret I’ll keep it."

Yuri continued.

"Kazu increasing skills is welcome for me too, so I won’t do anything that would trouble someone cooperating with that."

"Really?"

Yuri nodded at the question, and Kazui moved his gaze from him to Lumia.

"No, but... Lumia-san, is it really all right? Taking on someone like me again?"

Lumia nodded and answered with an embarrassed expression.

"I’m the one who advised Kazu-kun to concentrate on increasing skills, so I have to cooperate."

"If that’s how it is, please."

Kazui decided to accept Lumia’s proposal honestly.

"What time does work end today?"

"Today until seven, so come to my house around eight."

Kazui nodded at Lumia’s words.

"Then it’s late, but I’ll finish paying the reward, so submit the contract card."

The contract card Lumia said was like a contract the Guild issued to the one who requested the work.

When adventurers fulfilled the work they received a signed contract card from the requesting side.

When they handed the received contract card to the Guild, the adventurers could receive their pay.

"Ah, before that let me check Yuri-kun’s Orb."

Told that by Lumia, Yuri held out the back of his left hand to Lumia.

"Excuse me."

Lumia touched Authenticas to Yuri’s Orb for several seconds.

Then various information about Yuri was marked on Authenticas as if rising to the surface.

"Yuri-kun’s Leonization is no longer unused, so as expected experience has become considerably easier to increase than until now."

While checking Authenticas, Lumia continued.

"The experience you couldn’t earn until now because it was suppressed by Leonization will also be added over about the next year, so you’re in a state where experience increases a little more easily than an ordinary new adventurer."

That kind of thing was known from records of past Leonization owners left at the Guild.

"With this, finishing being a trainee is just a matter of time?"

"I hope so."

Yuri returned words to Lumia looking happy.