Chapter 8 : Shizuku’s Friend (?) and Player Home


“Is she here yet?”

After eating lunch, I logged into FFO and leveled up as Shizuku had told me to. I was now sitting on a bench located in the center square of the base camp, staring fixatedly at the in-game clock.
There were still 30 minutes left until the appointed time Shizuku had given me, but I was curious about what kind of person Shizuku’s friend was, so I stopped raising my level.
My inner thoughts wouldn’t calm down as I dangled my legs restlessly. The inside of my head continued to turn and spin, trying to envision who would appear.

“Hmm~, Shizuku would deny it but…… I can’t imagine that girl making many friends after all……”

It was a pretty awful evaluation if I do say so myself, but in the past, Shizuku really disliked speaking in public.
No matter where she went, she would always cling onto my back and whenever someone would approach closer, she’d quickly hide behind me. She was also afraid of sleeping alone at night, so she would come slipping into my futon…… Uehehe, it sure was cute.

Whoops, not good. My thoughts got side-tracked there. If I keep this up, the VR gear will detect something unusual and force me to log out again.
Let’s see, what was I thinking about again? Oh right, Shizuku’s friend.

“If so, maybe it was Ranka’s friend? In her case, she probably had a lot of friends in different games I didn’t know about.”

Yeah, that train of thought seems pretty reasonable. She plays with Shizuku sometimes after all. Surely they’d have to have mutual friends too.
Gununu. Without my knowledge, the number of Shizuku’s acquaintances were increasing…… Jealousy.
I’ll have to definitely get stronger and enter her circle of friends too!

“Hm? What’s this?”

While I was thinking to myself, Po-n. The already familiar sound had chimed.
Upon opening the message screen, a friend request appeared, sent from a player by the name of
“Tia.”

“Ah, this, it’s Shizuku’s account!”

Having immediately guessed that, a complacent smile shows on my face.
I was worried since I made her a bit upset towards the end, but she really did become friends with me. Even though it’s just in game, it makes me happy to be associated with Shizuku. Would it be okay if I sent her a message back as well? Uehehe.
With that in mind, when I opened the message to accept the request, there was a short comment attached to it.

[I said a little too much earlier, sorry.]

“Fufuu, she’s seriously cute, that Shizuku.”

If it’s about what was said earlier, it’s likely to be the part where she shouted at me to die. It’s a fairly common word in arguments, but to us sisters, it was a bit heavy. So that’s probably why she was feeling a bit of remorse over impulsively saying it.
The way the words weren’t converted into kanji and the concise writing style was really just like Shizuku, who couldn’t say what she had honestly thought. I couldn’t help but break into a smile due to her charm.

If I wanted to, I felt like I could spend 30 minutes alone just staring at this message, but I shouldn’t take too long since she was probably feeling a little guilty and disheartened over it. I’d feel bad if that continued, so let’s quickly write up a response. [I don’t mind it at all, so cheer up!].

Several seconds after I accepted the friend request and replied, another message was came flying over.
Perhaps she wrote it in a hurry again, but the words are once again in hiragana. [It’s not like I was feeling down about it!]. The contents of the letter were somewhat amusing.

“Ahaha, it’s also cute how Shizuku gets immediately worked up over stuff like this. Hm, one more message?”

While I thought to compose and send another message back, an additional message was sent from Tia as if to keep me from doing so.
The message wrote, [My friend will be there soon.]

“T-that’s faster than I expected. Well then, I wonder what kind of girl she’ll be.”

Once again, I swung my legs back and forth, restlessly observing the people walking down the street as I looked for the person I was waiting for.
And since that person happened to be someone who was going to make equipment, my eyes were naturally drawn towards the equipment everyone was wearing.

There were people with commonly seen western-styled armor as well as people who wore samurai-like helmets. Some also wore dresses that a princess would seemingly be seen in and a few others took on the appearance of a ninja.
It was an varied scene that looked like it belonged to a cosplay venue. While I was having fun looking around…… Among them, I found something that particularly stood out.
If I could express it in one word, it was.

“…… Ears?”

Within the crowd of people, light-brown bunny ears could be seen sprouting out from the shadows of a compact shop that resembled a stall.
I took a closer look, wondering what it was exactly. Apparently, they were also glancing and peeking over in my direction, causing our eyes to meet dead-on.

“What’s the matter? Can I help you?”

I was curious, so I approached closer and extended my voice. The girl with the bunny ears hesitantly lets her eyes wander for a bit before timidly showing her face.

“…… Bell, right?”

“Yep, I’m Bell! If you know that name, then are you Tia’s friend?”

“That’s right. I’m Cocoa. I’m glad to know we were able to meet up without any trouble.”

The player who introduced herself as Cocoa placed her hand on her chest as to indicate her relief.
Her long hair was the same chocolate-brown color as her rabbit ears. In some respects, her drooping eyes which showed a lack of confidence appeared cute.
She looked to be considerably small and her cowering posture made her seem even more so, but if she stood up, she would probably be around the height of a junior high school student. Just about the same as Shizuku maybe?

“…………”

“Hm? What’s wrong Cocoa-chan”

While I was having such impressions, Cocoa-chan was again staring at me surprisingly.
I tilt my head to the side, then Cocoa-chan opens her mouth and speaks a bit, “No, umm.”

“Bell was……. I heard that you were in high school in real life, so I didn’t expect you to be smaller than me.”

“Ahaha, you heard from Tia? I gave it my best to make this character because I thought Tia would like it. It ended up taking me 8 hours, you know.”

“8 hours!?”

As she widened her eyes, Cocoa-chan made a astonished face and said something similar to what Shizuku would say. “What were you even doing, this Baka-ane……”
Well, it was one of the reasons that led me to confuse ATK and INT, so I can’t really deny something like that. Ahaha.

“But, I think it’s worth it since it became a super cute looking avatar. How is it? From Cocoa-chan’s perspective, is it cute?”

“Eh? Aah, yeah…… It’s cute, I guess……?”

“Ehehe, what a relief! Yep, if Cocoa-chan says so, then Tia would probably think so too. Thank you.”

She assumed an attitude that seemed like she only answered because she was asked, but it looked like she couldn’t help but be interested since she kept glancing at my appearance. Upon seeing Cocoa-chan’s reaction, I performed a fist pump in my mind.
I didn’t know the exact age of my avatar’s outward appearance, but judging from the way it spoke, it doesn’t seem to be too far off from Shizuku’s age. The mood was similar too. Also, if she reacted like this, it was likely that Shizuku would take a liking towards it as well.

As I was thinking to myself, for some reason, Cocoa-chan seemed to have gotten flustered and began to chatter.

“L-leaving that aside! I heard this from Tia, but you wanted equipment for a battlemage class right? I’ll make it, so come over here”

“Ah, yes! Thank you!

With Cocoa-chan taking the lead, we left the base camp. Even though it was just to craft equipment, I tilted my head in confusion as to why we needed to visit the field in which the monsters roamed. Thus, Cocoa-chan gives me an explanation.

“The concept of this game was mainly reclaiming the frontier and discovering your own safe haven. That’s why the biggest feature of the game was being able to set up a home in a preferred spot out in the field. My home was located outside as well.

There were some restrictions included with it, but I nodded along to what Cocoa-chan was saying, replying with, “Hmm~, I see~.”
My own haven, huh…… In other words, I could build a house in a place where no one would be able to disturb me. That means, I’d be able to create a love nest for just me and Shizuku!? What the heck, that’s amazing!!

“Gufu, gufufu……!”

“What are you laughing about…… Nevermind, it’s better if you don’t say it. I feel like I’d develop a headache once I heard it.”

While I was grinning at the future I’d envisioned, Cocoa-chan places a hand on her head in a troubled manner.
At first, I thought she’d be a shy girl, but when I actually spoke to her, she was surprisingly friendly. Or rather, she was a girl who was quite mercilessly blunt.
Was it because I was Tia’s sister? Hmm, that doesn’t appear to be the only reason however……?

“…… What’s the matter?”

When I was wondering so, Cocoa-chan became suspicious.
I flapped my hand around in a hurry and answered back, “It’s nothing.”

“How should I say this, it doesn’t feel like it’s the first time I’ve met with Cocoa-chan. By any chance, have we met somewhere before in real life?”

“…! I-I don’t think that’s the case at all though?”

Hmm? She’s trembling a whole lot. Suspicious.

“Really?”

“I-It’s true, I swear”

Stareee. She quickly averted her eyes as I questioned and gazed intently at her.
Fumu, I see.

“I understand. If so, then once again, I’ll be in your care Cocoa-chan.”

“S-Sure, let’s get along.”

Cocoa lets out a small sigh of relief once I’d said that with a satisfied smile on my face.
I didn’t know the reason, but I wouldn’t want to pry into someone else’s real life, so let’s not think too much about it for now.

“A-At any rate, you can build a house wherever you preferred in this game, but that doesn’t mean the monsters will disappear from there, so you’ll have to be careful of that……”

“Gugya, gyaa!”

Right after she’d said that, a sand goblin came charging with its battered sword at the ready.
Upon seeing that, Cocoa-chan takes out a pendant.
The equipment with the cross served as proof that she was a «Priest», a class that supported other party members. In addition to heals, buffs, and protection, they also appeared to possess magic that had the effect of weakening the enemy monsters.

“Bell, I’ll support you, so don’t do anything too crazy-……”

“Teiyaaah!!”

Still, it was a waste to spend MP each and every time on enemies such as these, so I rushed out in front without hesitation. I twisted my body to evade the worn-out sword that the sand goblin had swung and promptly bashed its face in with my staff, quickly defeating it.

“Okay, nice!”

“…… Hey, you’re a battlemage, right Bell? How were you allocating your stats? What level are you now?”

“Eh? Level 15 maybe. As for my stats, everything was being placed into ATK for the time being.”

In the beginning, I was increasing my levels rapidly, but after I’d passed 10, the gain had been getting worse. Regarding my status, it wasn’t as if I felt like the other stats were lacking, so I figured it was fine.
Though, is something the matter?

“…… Then AGI was practically at its base value…… You also don’t use the system correction, yet you can dodge a sword right in front of you and counter-attack too…… Just how…….”

“Cocoa-chan?”

For some reason, Cocoa-chan started murmuring to herself while holding her head with her hand. When I called out to her in a concerned voice, she replied with a response that I couldn’t really follow. “I’m fine, I just encountered a spectacle that seemed too unrealistic.” Was she really okay?

“Anyways, it’s over here.”

After that, I was again guided by Cocoa-chan who somehow appeared to have distant look in her eyes while I was pummeling all the goblins in our way as we proceeded along. We reached our destination, but it was the same old barren plains as usual.

“We’re here, it’s my home.”

“Eh, there’s nothing here though?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

Cocoa-chan fiddles with the menu and when she taps some kind of button, the same static noise that I’d seen when I previously fought the boss golem had shown up in my vision again.
Once it settled down, I noticed that a compact prefabricated hut had appeared.
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief as though I’d just been deceived by a fox. I wonder if Cocoa-chan found my reaction amusing considering that she had softly giggled.

“Depending on your home settings, you could choose whether or not it’ll be displayed to other players. At first, it was disabled for anyone besides myself, but I just set it to approve friends too.”

“Hmm~, I see.”

I stepped foot inside while receiving said explanation.
From the outside, it looked to be a hut that was fairly worn-down, but the inside was properly installed with furniture such as an anvil, a large kiln, a box to store items, and incidentally, there was a small table for 2 along with a minimum amount of equipment prepared.

“How do you get your hands on a home like this?”

“Some quest rewards give them out, but for the most part, you’ll have to pay an NPC or a player with an architecture skill to make it for you. It was cheaper to ask an NPC, but there’d be limitations on the interior design and where it could be built.

“Speaking of which, what about this hut?”

“An NPC product. It’s a manufacturing hut with all sorts of equipment intended for production classes. One house costed 50,000 credits.”

“50,000!?”

Upon hearing the price, I instantly looked over towards my own menu screen.
I sold the drop items I’d obtained from overhunting monsters at the NPC shop after I had lunch earlier, but even then, I only had 9,000 right now. It’s not enough at all.

“Uu-, I wanted to live together in a isolated lakeside house with Shizuku though…… Or should I say, Tia. If this was the price of just a hut, it seems like I’ve got a long road ahead of me.”

Well, I didn’t know if a lake shore really existed in this plains-ridden continent to begin with anyways. Still, there seemed to be a forest area so if I searched, I might run into one. Maybe.

Besides, before the house, I’ll have to get her to play with me first. Becoming friends was one step forward, but if we don’t at least become party members and fight together, my dreams of a love-dovey sisters lifestyle won’t be realized!!

“…… I wouldn’t mind buying it for you though……”

“Eh, did you say something?”

“Nothing at all.”

While delusions were unfolding in my mind, I noticed that Cocoa had mumbled something, but I couldn’t hear it very well.

Well, she herself said it was nothing, so no use worrying about it I guess.

“More importantly, let’s talk equipment! What does Bell want in terms of equipment? Any requests?”

Cocoa-chan raises her voice to get us back on topic and urges me to sit at the table.
Whoops, I almost forgot about my objective there.

“Hmm, let’s see~. In any case, something that does a lot of damage sounds nice!”

I answered as I quietly took a seat down on the chair. Cocoa-chan proceeded to pull up a seat opposite of me and showed a wry smile.

“Something specialized in firepower, huh…… Still, the only equipment battlemages could use were within the staff category and you can’t really increase anything but MP and INT for staffs.”

“Ah, is that so? That’s alright though, I have a skill called «Magic Strike» that allows me to transfer INT into ATK!”

“What with that muscle-brained skill? So that kind of skill existed too…… But well, if that’s the case then we’ll employ INT as its main stat…… Also, since you’re using it to strike, it’s better if it had length right?”

“Yes, please! By the way, could armor increase one’s ATK?”

“It usually depends on the armor, but almost all of them generally affect HP, DEF, and MIND. Because the «Magician» class could only use cloth-type armor, it’s mostly just MIND……”

The two of us continued to contemplate over my desired equipment accordingly with the questions we tackled here and there.
If it was too high-quality, there’d be restrictions on the level needed to equip it, so I was told that beginners typically didn’t have much strong equipment. We kept coming up with ideas together and after discussing what should be prioritized and what should be left out, the main idea of it was solidified.

“Alright, I think I’ll be able to make something like this and the raw materials should somehow be manageable too, so rest assured.”

“That’s a relief. Ah, I forgot. How much does this all cost?”

“If its market price, the weapon and armor would be 40,000 credits in total.”

“Bufu!?”

I involuntarily sputtered when Cocoa-chan had mentioned that number so nonchalantly.
Eh, 40,000? That’s almost no different from the prefabricated hut though!?

“Don’t have enough?”

“Yeah, not enough at all! What should I do……”

Although I’m asking, I already knew that I’ll have no choice but to hunt more monsters if I want to earn money in the end.
Umumu, I needed equipment to hunt monsters and to obtain that equipment, I needed to defeat monsters…… What a harsh world.

“…… Right. There is one method, so it’s not like you were all out of options.”

“Eh, what’s this method? Tell me, tell me!”

“C-Close, you’re too close!”

I started to plead before she could even finish speaking and Cocoa-chan’s face turns red as she leaned her body back away from me.
Oops, I got a bit too giddy. Today was pretty much my first time meeting Cocoa-chan after all, so I should be holding back a little.
Believing so, I placed some distance between us which for some reason, caused Cocoa-chan to display an expression that looked disappointed.
I tilted my head at that matter, but the reason behind that reaction soon became clear.

“The idea was…… Bell, just for today, how about making some money with your body?”

“Eh?”

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