Strongest Gamer; Let's Play in Another World Volume 2

by Shinobu Yuuki

  Nice. I wouldn't even have to cook today.

  ◇

  As soon as the girls and I finished our task of carrying the mountain of barrels up from the ravine, the three of us returned to our quiet little life. The only difference now was that, instead of it being just the three of us all the time, we went to eat breakfast and dinner at the construction site, chatting with the villagers. I felt a little antsy thinking about the construction going on while I was just taking it easy in the cabin, but it wouldn't help any for me to try to rush things. And I realized I had a favor to ask of Mary, now that we found ourselves with more time on our hands.

  "There's something I hoped you could help me with, since you're a knight---well, no, actually, since you were raised as a noble."

  "Of course. What can I do for you?"

  I'd been a bit hesitant, but Mary's warm response put my mind at ease.

  "It's about Ann. Do you think you could teach her to be a lady? She used to live with her aunt, who didn't exactly help with that, and it's not something I can teach her. I just want her to grow into a proper woman."

  It wasn't exactly my place to worry about these things. I mean, who was I supposed to be, her father? But the thing was, I just couldn't deal with it anymore! The way she acted around me was driving me mad with temptation, and I needed any help I could get.

  "I see. I'll do what I can."

  Mary looked uncertain about the task she'd just signed up for, but she reluctantly agreed.

  A few hours later, Mary returned to me dripping wet, with Ann in tow.

  "Aoi, I have nothing left to teach Ann."

  Already?! No, no, I had to at least hear her out.

  "Mhm. So, what did you teach her so far?"

  "I knew already that I had nothing to teach her regarding either personal grooming or attitude. Her manners may not be as refined as a human noble's, but they are more than sufficient for one who was born a peasant."

  "Oh, huh. Well, I guess she wasn't unrefined to begin with. Ann, did someone teach you etiquette?"

  "Yep! Sara taught me all about it when she studied manners."

  Sara did act like a proper lady, despite living in a tiny village. If Ann had learned from her, she probably did have a decent grasp on it.

  "Next, I attempted to teach her about cooking, cleaning, and laundry. The domestic skills. As a noblewoman, I have little experience in such things, so I could only teach her the basics. However, I must admit that I am not exactly gifted in those pursuits, and though I gave it my all, I burned the food, broke the broom, and fell into the spring while attempting to do laundry. Humiliating though it is to admit, I required Ann's assistance with every task."

  Mary reported her failure in painstaking detail, tears shimmering at the corners of her eyes, a little quiver in her lips. I found myself unable to do anything but listen. I'd realized she wasn't exactly great at housework, but I'd never imaged she would be that bad.

  "That's gotta be just because you don't have enough practice. Like, you know, you're great with swords and all because you practiced a ton, right? You'll be great in no time if you just practice cooking and cleaning, I'm sure of it! I'm not any good at them either, so let's have Aoi teach both of us!"

  "Thank you, Ann. Yes, I'd like that."

  Ann's attitude towards Mary had changed remarkably in the few hours since I'd seen them. She used to look up to her like a wise master who could do no wrong, but now she was acting more like a little sister who had to cover for her klutzy older sister. Not exactly how I'd expected this whole thing to go, but you know, maybe it was for the best in the end. Sadly, this meant I was still the one in the house with the highest level of Mom Power. I was glad they relied on me and all, but the irony of it made me weep.

  From that day on, I observed as Ann instructed Mary in housework. Ann had always been a fast learner, but it seemed she was also an excellent teacher. Her lesson on peeling potatoes was impressively thorough.

  "Okay, watch how I do it! You gotta hold the knife like this, and the potato like this. See? And then the trick is, you move the potato instead of the knife to cut it."

  Ann demonstrated with a little twist.

  "Okay, now it's your turn. First, show me how you hold it. Just like that, perfect! Okay, now try cutting it.

  "That's it! You're so good at it!"

  "Really? But I'm peeling off so much of the potato along with the skin."

  "Nah, you're doing great. First, you gotta focus on getting rid of the parts you can't eat. Like, with potatoes, it's important to cut out the sprouts and stuff. You'll get better at peeling off less of the meat with practice."

  "I-Is that so. Oh, this is such a relief. I'd convinced myself I simply had no talent for these pursuits, but if you believe I can do it, then it must be true."

  A little lesson, and then a heaping helping of praise. Ann's teaching strategy put a big smile on Mary's face. When I'd started teaching Ann how to play games, I'd remembered something a veteran had once told me. People don't learn unless you show them how to do something, let them do it themselves, and then praise them when they do it right. That was how I'd taught Ann, and now she was paying it forward.

  "Check this out, Mary!"

  Ann had run off to hang our clean laundry on the makeshift clothesline we'd put up in the sunniest place in the ravine. Mary turned to me.

  "She's such a sweet girl."

  "Isn't she? Ann is a handful, but she's worth it, and more."

  "To think I once believed her less than human. At best, I used to see the Daemons back home as servants, never as people."

  "That's just how you were raised. I can't blame you."

  It would be natural enough to fault her for holding that viewpoint in the past, but this world was far removed from my own. And hell, my own world had gone through its own crises with discrimination, and still did today. Who was I to lecture her?

  "Yes, it's a view shared among humans, especially in my country. But seeing Ann has forced me to rethink it. I once took pride in being a knight, and in supplying servants... No, in kidnapping. I've extinguished many a smile under the pretense of ensuring prosperity for my fellow humans."

  What a tangled situation. This world had ethnic conflict, ideological conflict, and racial differences to divide them. It was hard to find a right answer to this, if there even was such a thing.

  "You know, Mary, I'm just a labyrinth manager. Just one of the Great Dark Lord's lackeys. And hell, I'm not even from here. So I don't know much about the conflict between humans and Daemons, and this may not sound terribly convincing as a result, but I think it's wonderful that you've opened your eyes and started making your own decisions, rather than just believing what you've been told. Thinking for yourself about what's right and what's wrong is a good start."

  Of its own volition, my hand plopped down on Mary's head, so I decided to go with it and stroke her hair. Seeing her down in the dumps helped me realize, for the first time, that she wasn't just a knight. She was also a girl, a little younger than me, and sometimes she needed to be cheered up.

  "I'd appreciate if you didn't treat me like a child. I do not approve of this."

  And yet, in spite of her complaints, she didn't shake my hand off.

  ◇

  "Ann, I wish to repay your kindness for teaching me. Is there anything I can do for you?" Mary suddenly asked Ann one day, just after we'd returned from the construction site.

  Our regular walks out to the site still had us talking to the villagers, eating, and hearing a progress report from Barry each day. As we ate, I'd noticed that Mary seemed a little restless. It seemed she'd been steeling herself to ask Ann this question.

  "Umm. Something you can do for me? Hmm."

  I tried to tell myself that the long pause was coming from her thinking of so many things she could ask for, rather than from her not feeling confident that Mary could actually do any of them. The thought of Mary breaking down and crying in shame over her uselessness was not a pleasant
one.

  "Yes, anything within my power."

  "Okay, I got it! Teach me how to fight!"

  Say what now?

  "Huh? You want to learn how to fight?"

  Mary shared my confusion.

  "Yeah! I wanna learn how to use weapons so I can protect Aoi if he's in danger!"

  I had mixed feelings about the ongoing inversion of gender stereotypes, but I was happy she felt that way!

  "Well, you heard her Aoi. What do you think?"

  Mary seemed conflicted.

  "I'm okay with it. In fact, I'd really appreciate it if you would. The question of her protecting me aside, I'd like Ann to be able to defend herself."

  Ann's stats were way higher than those of the villagers, but since she didn't know how to fight, she wasn't that much more capable than a normal person. True, she was savage in online games, but all she really would've learned from that would be to never lose hope and to keep her focus, and maybe an instinct for when to run away.

  "Ann's a very pretty girl. She's perfectly safe with the villagers back in Milt, but I worry about her all the same."

  Despite the way she tormented me at night, she was quite innocent, and she had a knack for putting herself into risky situations.

  "You make a good point. It would be good for Ann to learn some self-defense."

  It seemed Mary was on board.

  "Ann, I'd like you to choose a weapon that suits you, and I'll teach you combat technique. We'll use sheathed weapons and wrap them in cloth or leather, but you'll still be learning with the genuine article."

  Ah, right, we'd have to procure a weapon for Ann. I had the cursed sword back in the warehouse, but if something happened, only one of us could use it. Besides, the whole point of the cursed sword was that it bestowed skill and technique on you, even if you were a novice. It wasn't exactly a good tool for learning.

  "What do you think, Ann?"

  Ann opened up Tundra and flipped through the catalog. Magical swords were expensive, but I could afford to splurge a bit and buy something decent. I still remembered back when I'd first gotten here and bought a cheap wooden lance that lasted for maybe half a day. Now that was quality.

  "Um. Hmmmm. Lemme see. Oh, here we go! Can we get this one?"

  Ann's face broke into a grin as she rotated the window towards me. It looked a whole lot like Ann's favorite weapon from Gun Gust: a big, freaking poleaxe. Apparently she'd taken a shine to it. 80,000 DL? Pretty good price, honestly. Maybe because only the little bladed part was made out of cast metal?

  "Don't worry, no price is too high for your safety."

  I stroked Ann's hair and ordered the poleaxe from the catalog, plus a little something extra. I took out a few coins and put them into the porcelain Tundra piggie. So, I was finally buying a gift for Ann, but instead of it being a cute hairpin or a pretty dress, it was a polearm. That's my Ann, I guess.

  "Thank you for your purchase! Have a good day!"

  A long thin cardboard box fell to the ground with a thump. Impressive turnaround time, as always.

  "Go ahead and open it. Careful not to cut yourself."

  Ann looked excited as a kid on Christmas.

  "Woof!"

  She was so happy she popped into kobold form. In a frenzy, Ann tore apart the box and worked her way through all the cardboard protecting the edge of the blade.

  "Wow, it looks just like the one from the game!"

  She carefully pried away the last protective strip, and when it was all uncovered, she turned the poleaxe over and over, admiring it from every angle.

  "I see, a poleaxe. Truth be told, these tend to be difficult for women to wield, but with Ann's staggering strength, I believe it may just work."

  I could see Mary glancing back and forth between Ann's slender arms and the ludicrously big axe, doubt in her eyes, but she'd also seen the raw power Ann had displayed at the construction site. I could certainly understand her concern.

  "One more thing, Ann."

  There was still that something extra that I'd ordered, a leather bag tucked into a corner of the box the poleaxe had come in. I pulled it out and handed it to Ann. Inside there was a hand axe, Ann's sub-weapon in Gun Gust. Not only was it a lovely weapon both for throwing at distant enemies and for surprising an opponent who had you on the ropes, it was also a convenient tool for cutting firewood and whatnot, even in games.

  "Oh wow, thanks!"

  She gave me the sweetest smile, the poleaxe in one hand and the hand axe in the other. I couldn't help but smile back.

  Though seriously, seeing the real Ann with a poleaxe was kinda scary. Man, what was I thinking? I obviously should've told her to use a longsword back when we started Gun Gust.

  ◇

  The clang of metal on metal echoed down the walls of the ravine. The weapons had been sheathed and wrapped in leather to prevent training accidents. Mary only defended and dodged Ann's clumsy attacks. Her moves were a sloppy imitation of the techniques she'd seen time and time again while playing Gun Gust. She followed a simple pattern: swing, swing, swing, as fast as you can. The axe suited her in that, at least; it emphasized power and speed over skill. Mary fended off her every attack, a look of concentration on her face. Each time their weapons came together with a clash, the clamor it raised was so intense I could hardly believe they were sheathed and wrapped.

  "That's enough for today. It's hard work, using a weapon you're not used to. You'll need to build your stabilizer muscles."

  They trained for about thirty minutes, I think?

  "Yes, ma'am!"

  As Ann skipped away to clean and care for her poleaxe, I turned to Mary.

  "What do you think? Pretty good for her first time, in my opinion."

  "...Is she gone?"

  "Uh, yeah. I think she went back to the cabin so she could polish her poleaxe or something."

  It made me happy to see that she'd taken to heart my lesson about caring for your weapon, back when I'd first been teaching her Gun Gust.

  "Oh, thank goodness."

  She sighed in relief and sat down on the spot.

  "What's wrong? You're not getting sick, are you?"

  "No, no, I just need to rest. I'm exhausted! I can't recall the last time my sword arm was this sore. Aoi, Ann will become a splendid warrior. She shows great promise."

  Mary had looked so in control of the situation, but it seemed she'd been having a tough time of it. Ann's offensive barrage must have been taxing to withstand, considering her abnormal strength. I sure as hell didn't want to be on the receiving end of it.

  "Thanks for doing this. What do you say I get you a nice shield to show my appreciation for your ongoing lessons? That should make things easier for you, right?"

  "Are you sure?"

  "Let's just say I'm buying it for the labyrinth, and you're borrowing it from me while you're here. Oh, but you can buy it from me any time, if you want."

  I opened the Tundra catalog, selected the military equipment category, and turned the display to Mary.

  "My, so many of them look simply wonderful. I'd only be borrowing it? Oh, but you said I can buy it afterwards, hmm. I'll have to choose carefully."

  Nearly an hour later, Mary finally settled on a high-quality shield that cost 1.8 million DL. It wasn't magic or anything---that was just the price you paid for top-of-the-line goods. Mary seemed satisfied and in a good mood as she pressed the purchase button on the shield, but if she really intended to buy it off me later, she'd have to delay her return home quite a bit to save up enough.

  ...

  How convenient.

  ◇

  I had a good reason for not participating in the labyrinth's construction.

  I really had wanted to join the kobolds and dwarves in digging up the underground. In fact, it was killing me, not getting to be part of the team! I'd told Barry to at least be sure to call me if they hit bedrock, or a particularly large boulder, but I had to dry my tears and give up my hopes of joining in the fun. You see, I had to m
ake the potions we'd be using to bait hunters into challenging the labyrinth in the first place.

  "Hmm. The fundamentals of alchemy are much the same as the fundamentals of cooking. Combine a few ingredients and cook them, and you can end up with something very different. There are rules to the changes things undergo, but the talent, condition, and fortitude of the alchemist has a huge impact on the quality of the end product. Moreover, the rules aren't all that clear, or even completely deterministic in alchemy, which makes things even more difficult. It's like I'm going through online guides for a game and they're giving me conflicting info."

  It wasn't all that efficient for me to mix everything myself, so I'd been thinking about teaching the girls how to help me make magic potions. But even though I knew the basic recipe, I felt like I wouldn't do a good job of explaining the process of making them, so I'd ordered an alchemy book from Tundra. The author was a labyrinth manager who'd undertaken a great deal of field research.