Day 16 In front of the cave.

We take an early breakfast, check the baggage, lock the doors.

Using Earth Magic I create a boulder for that.

Will a mountain king come out if we hold a party outside?[1. TL Note: Im at a loss as to what this reference is. It could be a popular trope of King in the Mountain or to Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, who by some bizarre turn of events was officially dubbed so in Japanese.] If a pretty goddess shows up lets lock her up, lets be shut-ins together![2. TL Note: Amaterasu, Japanese goddess of the Sun, decided to seclude herself in a cave. Only partying moderately hard in front of her cave was able to lure her outside.]

Then, well? Onwards downstream? Onwards to a town? Onwards to hunt geeks?

Why! Do! You! Insist! On hunting Oda-kun and the others! So much?! Just why!

And with this and that we march through the forest.

For some reason, there are no monsters near the river. Are they going to die if splashed with water? Or do they have rabies? Crap, I got bitten by kobolds earlier.

Haruka-kun, do you have a moment?

Mm, while we are at it, how about going ahead with the two of us?

Once again, we are going to be responsible for interception and scouting. Today Im not impaling anyone, so no one should get upset.

Listen.

Is it about the athletic meatheads?

Y-yes. Meatheads You met them, right?

Yeah, forgot to tell you. They asked to apologize to you and others for them.

Eh? Err Well Sorry.

The president lowered her head with great momentum. A bit closer and she wouldve knocked me down with a headbutt.

I wanted to tell you But couldnt

Aaah? Its okay, I knew anyway.

She looks surprised? Eh? Wouldnt you notice that, normally? Why?

S-s-since when? Ho-ho-how did you learn about that?

No, wouldnt you normally notice? Ah, but the meatheads and goblins are idiots, so it seems they didnt realize though? Kind of?

Well, I didnt ask goblins, but they probably dont realize as well. Or perhaps goblins are smarter than the idiots, and just dont know because no one told them anything? Well, I never talked to them though.

Or rather, was it supposed to be a secret?

You shouldve told me that it is a secret in advance! If you are going to be so troubled it will trouble me as well. I didnt know that it was a secret? No, I didnt tell anyone though?

No, why do you know about that? The geeks wouldnt have told anyone and they also said that I shouldnt tell anyone as well!

Plunderis an ability that allows one to steal skills from others. Its probably the most powerful, villainous, and menacing ability. Having it makes it the greatest cheat, but to others, its the greatest threat. Stay near such a person, and the lifeline of this world, your skills, might disappear without your knowledge. Try to touch such a person, and you might get robbed. And the thief would become even stronger, even more dangerous.

But thats still cute. Aside from stealing and copying, Plunder actually has another approach, which is taking skills after killing. This might be the most common way to trigger it. And the most dangerous.

So getting your skills targeted would mean death. Its not about precautions anymore. The skill is dangerous enough that it leads to deathmatches, since one might consider killing the other person before they get killed to be the only way out.

No one would approach a person that is known to have Plunder. And wouldnt allow them to approach as well, quite contrary, no one would be able to relax unless they kill the person with such a dangerous skill. Thus, its taboo. You cant tell anyone about it and others learning about it might mean death, A forbidden skill Plunder.

And If you knew Then why? Why did you help me? Arent you scared? I wouldnt even be able to complain if you told me not to get near you? Even if I were abandoned, or hated? After all I have the ability to steal the skills of other people

No, why would I be scared of that? Were the geeks scared? They werent, right? Then why would you think that I would be?

But, there is no telling when your skills will get stolen

As I said, I have no problem with that, okay?

Eh? But Plunder I have it

Okay, do you want something? Do you need any of my skills?

Aah! AAaaAa Im sorry.

Who would even wantLoner, orNEET, orHikikomori, orMuppet, orJack of All Trades, orReportInformConsult[3. TL Note: Changed from Communication. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho-Ren-So]? Id be happy to give them away?Is there skillDistributionsomewhere?

Yeah, Im not scared of Plunderat all. Quite the contrary, the stealer would be the one concerned. Good grief, what a troublesome skill, Plunder. Yeeah.

Errr, Im sorry, somehow But But you know The others, the other people

As, I, said. The geeks werent afraid, right? Do you get it?

I dont get what the problem is, and I also dont get what she is worrying about, but she seems to be worried about something? Is there some kind of problem with the interpretation of other worlds languages? We are talking in Japanese though?

Eeehm, do I get What?

It means that everyone felt at ease since you had that skill.

Eh?!

Everyone was paranoid about who had Charm and Puppetry, but ultimately were able to relax only after sealing them. But no one tried to seal Plunder, right?

Eh?

If those meatheads, that stand on the peak of stupidity, managed to notice that, there is no way the others did not. Since everyone is thinking that the matter is as good as solved, then doesnt that mean there is no problem? Since the geeks and I didnt say anything, everyone thoughtAh, its the president.. What is the problem here?

First of all, I knew that the geeks didnt have it. They were on the brink of death after getting surrounded by goblins, which means they had no Detect Presence. Detect Presence can be stolen from from kobolds, so if they had Plunder, there is no way they wouldnt do it. Which means that they dont have Plunder.

There is no way that the geeks, being so knowledgeable about the skills, wouldnt be wary about Plunder. They would search for it before anything else, and would warn others. But they didnt say or do anything.

Then this is what it means. They were cool with it, seeing it as safe. If they, who went through a lot of unjust treatment both at school and in this world, put their trust there, then its certainly okay.

This reassuring seal of quality isnt something cheap like certified by JIS or ISO, no, its OTA seal. There is no harsher inspection standard than that. [4. TL Note: JSI Japanese Industrial Standards, are the standards used for industrial activities in Japan, coordinated by the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee. ISO International Organization for Standardization. OTA, short for Otaku geek.]

Arent you crying a lot lately?

Thats all your fault, Haruka-kun, definitely.

That is a false accusation! I didnt do it!

Mmmm, you did though. Thank you

Eh? Are we talking about the same thing? Is she thanking me for making her cry? Or rather, what did I do? At the very least, its surely not something lewd. If I could do such a thing I would have had Hero among my titles already. Im not bragging, but I dont have such guts. Not to even mention, there are 20 enemies I will lose before the battle even starts! Could it be that there is Sun Tzu[5. TL Note: For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill (c) Sun Tzu, 6th century BC.] among my classmates?

The good fighters first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then wait for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.was it? Eh? So I already lost after all?

But how you managed to persuade them without telling anything?

Hm? Ah, you mean the idiots? I just said that its fine, they replied Okay, and went back. They are idiots after all.

What exactly is fine here?!

No, even if I explained it to them? They are idiots anyway.

And why did they just accept this?! They are treated like fools! And you are being very mean to them! Not like you dont know it anyway!

Looks like the president was freaking out too hard to realize.

You call say that its mean, but earlier you said The geeks wouldnt tell anyonesaying geeks yourself.

Really? Sorry, Oda-kun, looks like I got brainwashed without realizing?

Brainwashed? Please dont put the blame on me. Death game wouldve started if I had such a skill. Seriously.

My Plunder Triggers on killing the target So I absolutely shouldnt tell anyone Is whatO, da, kun, said!

I see, So you took it That thing, from goblins and orcs?

Yes, actually, the president, has High Sexual Vigorand Insatiable Libido.

KYAAAAAAaAAaAaaAAAAAAAaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaAAA! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

The presidents deafening wail resounds through the woods of another world. Did she break?

The girls dashed to us from behind and were very mad. Really mad. Even though I didnt do anything? Even though I didnt get the title of Hero? Its true?

Time for lunch, its BBQ from fish and mushrooms once again! Putting fish and mushrooms on skewers I fry them.

The president is giving me a flat gaze.

As the skewers are getting grilled, I turn them to the other side.

The president is staring at me with a flat gaze.

Since they got grilled from both sides, I put them on plates and sprinkle them with salt.

The president is staring at me with a flat gaze.

I quietly put a plate in front of the president.

The president is staring at me with a flat gaze.

Whats this? She looks over expectantly, hoping to become friends[6. TL Note: Dragon Quest reference, youd get such a message when a monster is willing to join you.] That doesnt seem to be the case here.

President, come back. Time for a meal and a meeting?

The president is staring at me with a flat gaze.

Looks like I have to say something nice here.

Eeehm, President. Are you okay? You didnt get Slutin your titles yet? GOUGH! (thud)

Looks like the president knows how to use Shukuchi As expected of a cheater. (pass out)

Now, what should we do? Putting the matter with the president aside, it doesnt seem like we can get out of the forest yet. In two or three hours we should run out of time.

Using Farsight, I still see nothing but the forest. Were we to get to grasslands we might be able to spot a town or a road though? What a bind.

Uncertain, I glance at the president, who is staring at me with a flat gaze.

Even though we were able to reach an understanding after having that passionate talk aboutPlunder, when it comes to High Sexual Vigorand Insatiable Libido, she uses violence to shut down any discussion.

So reaching an understanding through talking is but a silly pipedream after all. That attack after Shukuchi! Cant she defeat an orc by herself? Well, she defeated me after all.

Vice A, should we go a bit further?

Who is Vice A? And Im not A!

Then, Vice B, what should we do?

Eh? Im Vice B? But Im not B?

Yes, indeed, that is far from B The president is looking at me with the eyes of a killer I-Im not looking Im not looking at anything?

We kept going for another hour but still couldnt see the end of the forest. I guess we are going to camp in the woods.

In the end, it seems that getting out of the woods would take at least a whole day. There isnt much difference in repeating this tomorrow or camping here.

Thats right, lets vote. Democracy! The rule of the people! Since we cant have a discussion, thats the only option left.

The reason why we cant have a discussion is because the president is staring at me with that flat gaze. Before we have democracy, can I have some human rights? Even the basic stuff will do.

The result was that the majority were for returning to the cave. Lets return home.

There is an option of going back the way we came and going through the forest, leveling up, but its going to get dark by the time we get back. There is no point to this if it will affect tomorrows schedule, so lets hurry home.

After all, camping is being prepared for it and camping just because it turned out that way is very different mentally. That person staring at me must be of the same opinion.

I pry open the entrance that I sealed with the boulder. Okay, looks like there is no one there.

What should we have for dinner? Since I have a chance to make it at home, lets go with herb-wrapped fried fish.

And make a bath as well, we might not be able to take a bath from tomorrow on.

Looking at Map, I see that though we followed the river, we made a huge turn to the right. It might be better to take a shortcut, but entering the forest we might waste time on fighting monsters.

Its a problem that we cant discuss it, not being able to hold an assembly is a problem, being too scared to hold one is a problem, the problem is that the president is a problem.

Its always uncomfortable here, but today its extremely awkward.

I escape, scramming back to the tent, then take a walk into the forest. There are no idiots today, but gobs didnt go anywhere. Im tired, both physically and mentally. So since Im scared, lets do some goblin rush.Thud!

Since my stress and a huge number of goblins died in a gob rush, I guess Ill go back to the tent?

This presence? Its not idiots Its Stare?

Uuh, my name changed from president to Stare Sorry about today I was just too embarrassed So?

The president, revised to Stare-san, lowered her head. Its unfair, how can I not forgive her after this. I mean, look at that chest!

Err, well, do your best?

I tried to cheer her up.

That sounded like you couldnt care less, are you angry?

Its just a joke though? Are you done discussing plans for tomorrow?

Yes, for now, we want to keep going for 3 days.

Well, I also do have to find the geeks.

The ge Oda-kun and the others?

As expected of the president. She managed to hold back at the very last moment.

Yeah, I have to shove the bitches onto them.

They recovered quite a bit, but a certain strain still can be felt. It probably wont go away until they meet the geeks. For the bitches the matter is not settled yet.

During battles they are recklessly getting in the front, trying to shield others, always risking their lives. Even though everyone has forgiven, and acknowledged them as comrades already.

Even so, they couldnt forgive themselves. They became stronger, but this is still dangerous.

I have to get them to meet the geeks. No matter what the result may be, if they wont accept anything else, then Ill do just that. No matter if they will be forgiven or not, nothing will happen unless we get there.

Yes, you are right. Ah, and dont shove them onto geeks! We also want to apologize together with Shimazaki-san and others. And I wanted to thank them.

Who is Shimazaki? A new character? After coming this far? Who could it be? A person from a town? Ah, Im getting stared at again. She is Stare-san after all.

16th Day Over.