Using Gacha to Increase My Companions and to Create the Strongest Girls' Army Corps Chapter 74

Published at 1st of May 2022 05:19:04 PM

Translator: Raizu

Editor: Sushi

Chapter 74 – Shopping with Estel

[Hey, why’d you suddenly speed up.]

[S, sorry. Err, anyway is there anywhere you want to go to?]

Feeling embarrassed from Estel’s words, I walked ahead at a quicker pace to let the heat in my face subside.
The heat simmered down as quickly as it came so I slowed my walking pace down, Estel caught up with me shortly, and angrily snapped at me as she grabbed the hem of my clothes.
Even though it was a happy moment for me, I ended up doing something bad to her.
I’m certainly happy when such positive words are directed at me, but it’s also embarrassing.

[Nnー, let’s see… how about we go to a clothing store?]

[Sure, let’s go.]

[Fufu, thanks. Ah, Onii-san, wanna eat some of that too(points at food stall) since we are here and all that?]

[Nn? Speaking of which… I’m feeling a little peckish.]

To my question, Estel replied after putting her hand on her cheek and thinking for a moment.
When I agreed, she then spoke of getting something to eat and pointed at the food stall.
Looking in the direction she was pointing at, there was a store selling what looks like diced fruits placed on a round wheat-colored base.
At a glance… I guess these can be considered to be pies?

[Here, don’t drop it.]

[Thank you. The cost…]

[Don’t mind it. What’s mine belongs to you girls too.]

We immediately went to the stall and bought some pies, then handed one to Estel.
I didn’t buy a full pie, just a few slices wrapped in some paper.
The size of the slices made them easy to eat as we walked.
Estel wanted to hand me money for the pie, though I told her not to.
Any money in my possession has been earned by all of us, so it counts as Estel’s money too.
There’s no real point to us doing this stuff related to money.

All that aside, when I was about to take a bite of my pie, Estel shoves the slice of pie in her hand near my face and stares silently at me.
Eh… is this that? She wants me to take a bite from the one she’s holding? Err… that’s kinda…

[Ermm… okay.]

Defeated by Estel’s unfaltering stare, I took a bite from the slice of pie she held almost in my face.
The still hot pie dough makes a nice crisp crunch, the sweet and sour flavor of fruits followed and spread in my mouth. The fruits had a taste resembling apple pie.

[How’s it taste?]

[Mnom… Oh, this is delicious.]

Estel shows a satisfied smile from hearing my comment about the snack. Why is she so happy about it anyway?

The pie wasn’t bad. Rather, it can be considered delicious. The sweetness is weaker compared to the Gacha Snacks, but it’s delicious nonetheless.
I wonder if the other girls would like this pie? …… Ah, maybe they have already eaten this by now.

While I was lost in thought about the pie I just ate, Estel smiles and looks at me expectantly.
Ah, is it that? She did it for me, so she‘s expecting me to do the same for her?

[Hoi here you go……]

[Mnomm…. Un, it’s delicious.]

This time I presented my slice of pie to Estel. She takes a bite of the pie, then covers her mouth with her hand as she savors it.
She praises the pie, after swallowing. So Estel likes this pie too.

After that exchange, we began walking toward the clothing store.
I have never done anything such as exchanging foodstuffs in my lifetime until now. I’m starting to feel embarrassed. Feels like my face might heat up again.
Actually, what’s with all them embarrassing events today? What’s going on.
That aside … What should I do about this. I let Estel take a bite of my pie in the heat of the moment, if I eat this as it is now… Ah, I shouldn’t be getting bothered about something like this at my age.

I think maybe Estel is the same as me, so I sneak a peek at her.
Estel was seemingly unfazed, as she slowly took bites from her pie she held with both hands.
I was the only one getting hot and bothered by this~！

[What’s up Onii-san? You’re not going to eat yours? It’ll get cold.]

[Eh…… Ah, I, I’m eating it.]

Estel noticed that I was looking at her, and looked at me in return while tilting her head.
Kuh, t, that’s right. I shouldn’t be getting bothered about this, I’ll get teased by Shisuha again.
I braced myself, then shoved the pie into my mouth.

Having victoriously consumed my pie, we arrived at the clothing store after a short walk…

[Hーmm, I wonder if this one suits you better? Oh, but this one’s good too.]

[Errー, I don’t mind coming to the clothing store, but weren’t we here to look at clothes you wanted, Estel?]

[Ara, but I never said I wanted to look at clothes for myself.]

Since entering the shop, I have become Estel’s dress up doll.
I assumed she was going to look for clothes she wanted… but well, she indeed didn’t go into specifics earlier.

[Onii-san doesn’t have many sets of clothes, right? This is a good opportunity, let’s choose some together.]

[Hーmm… that’s true. Like you said this is a good opportunity, I’ll let you do the choosing, Estel.]

[Yes, leave it to me.]

As Estel said, I only have 5 sets of clothing including my everyday wear and pjs.
Back in my original world, I really didn’t think too much about clothing and even less so for armor. Guess I’ll buy some now that we are here.

[Fufu, let’s go to the general store next.]

[Never thought we’d end up buying clothes for me…]

We spent quite some time in the clothing store after our entrance, we bought 10 sets of clothes in the end.
There were various patterns like white shirts and black suits. Did we really need to buy so much?
Well, I bought them because Estel said they were good but … I’ll put them in my Bag for now.

[Welcome! Oh, if it isn’t Onii-san from some time back. So, you’ve come back to Brunne.]

[Oh, ‘sup. It’s nice of you to have remembered me.]

[Why of course. You brought in all that Black Orc meat even when you were still a low ranker, you left quite the impression.]

After leaving the clothing store, we went to the general store.
I haven’t shown my face here yet since our return to Brunne, it gives me nostalgic vibes.
The same ol’ store owner greeted me like he used to. I’m glad that he still remembers me.

[I heard you went to the Capital, why’d you come back?]

[I came back and bought a house here in Brunne actually.]

[Ooh, I see. That’s good to hear. Should I get you something to celebrate?]

[Oh no please don’t, it’s not something worth fussing over.]

I thought I only told Mansan about my departure to the Capital, I see it managed to become a topic among the people who know me.
When I spoke of my buying a house here(in Brunne), the owner jokingly replied about giving me something to celebrate the event.
I’m happy about the gesture, but he really doesn’t need to do that for me.

[So, did you get any work done in the Capital’s Labyrinth? Didja get any interesting stuff?]

[Ahー, well, we didn’t do much hunting at the Labyrinth at all.]

[Aww that’s too bad… I was hoping I’d get to buy some stuff from you.]

I’ve heard that all kinds of weird things drop in the Labyrinth, but my priority back then was getting as deep as possible so we ignored alot of the mobs.
And, we also got a whole buncho stuff from the Gacha so there was no priority to go hunting in the Labyrinth… I’ll make a mental note to farm the Slimes the next time we do go there.

[Ah, but I do have a pair of boots that Slime dropped.]

[Slime… Slime you said!? If memory serves, I’ve heard Slimes are monsters that appear at the lower levels of the Labyrinth… I’m interested in the Boots you spoke of too, but do you still have any Slime Cores on hand?]

[Well, yes… I don’t have a lot but I do have some that I haven’t sold……]

When I mentioned the word “Slime”, the owner excitedly asked whether I had any Slime Cores.
The few Slime Cores I picked up were still sitting somewhere at the bottom of my bag since I didn’t sell them at the Capital, I took them out and lined them up on the counter.
I picked up various types of Cores, but they are all a similar white in color and I can’t tell the difference. Only the Steel Slime Core is silver in color, which made it easy to differentiate.
Lining them all up, there were 23 Cores in total. We really didn’t hunt much.

[Oooh … That’s quite a few Slime Cores…… And this, this one’s from a Steel Slime, no?]

[That’s right.]

Visit readel.me for extra chapters.

[Would you be willing to sell all these to me for a total of 420,000G, fo’ reals!]

Ueeh!? 420,000G for only this few?
It’s not a surprising amount at this point, but it’s a fairly large sum for so few Cores.
I still haven’t figured out what Slime Cores are used for too.

[Well sure… But why does so few fetch such a high price?]

[Ahh, there is demand for Slime Cores. The regular Slime Cores go for 10,000G each, the Steel Slime Core goes for 200,000G apiece.]

Whew, 10,000 each for the normal Slimes and 200,000 for the Steel. They cost quite the pretty penny.
Spawn farming the Steel Slime might prove to be profitable…… But nah, fighting that thing is bad for my heart so let’s not. That thing moves around at speeds similar to a ricocheting bullet, I don’t want to fight it more than what is required.

[What are the Slime Cores used for?]

[When you put em into water, the water turns into a sticky liquid that can be used in lots of different ways. As for the Steel Slime, it hardens into a metallic finish when you apply that version onto surfaces, which has lots of uses too. You don’t really see much of this circulating in Brunne, It’s much easier to get them at the Capital..]

[Ohhー, I didn’t know Slime Cores have such properties …]

A sticky liquid derived from Slime Cores… I don’t see myself using this.
It seems to be a substitute for glue, it might be unexpectedly useful.
The Steel Slime version sounds pretty amazing. Would you get a metal stick if you apply it onto a wooden stick? Does it work like metal plating?
This world is amazing in various ways.

[What about the boots?]

[Hーmm, I’m interested in that too… I’ll pass if it’s a normal pair of boots, but I’m sure it’s rare, isn’t it? I think it’s better if you take it to a proper equipment store.]

I wouldn’t have minded selling all the stuff to him, but I was told to go to the equipment store for the boots. The owner is still the same nice person he is.
It does look rare, so I’ll let Gantz-san have a look the next time we go to the equipment store.

[Do let me apologize though. I ended up talking about biz with you even though you looked busy with your companion.]

[Ah … I’m so sorry Estel!]

[Muuー, you’re terrible for ignoring me and doing your thing, you were supposed to be my escort.]

After I collected the gold for the Slimes, the owner apologized and pointed to the person behind me.
I turned around to see Estel, puffing up her cheeks and huffing, I totally forgot about her.
Geh…… I ended up getting sidetracked……

[Well enough about that. Hey Oji-san, what is this?]

[Hmm? That’s a Magic Gemstone that I procured recently.]

[M Stone!? Did you just say manastone!?]

[Calm down Onii-san, he said Magic Gemstone. How did you mishear that?]

Esther pointed at the necklace with a transparent jewel of about 1 cm that was displayed on the counter as she asked her question.
My brain processed the words as manastone for some reason and I reacted accordingly, but it wasn’t a manastone…… Too bad.

[W, what’s with you so suddenly bruh…… So Miss. Are you interested in this?]

[Yes, I get this mysterious feeling when I look at it.]

Estel replied enthusiastically, as she looked curiously at the necklace on the counter.
A mysterious necklace huh…… Is it something equipable? I guess this means there’s necklaces and rings in this world too, much like those that we get from the Gacha.

[Come to think of it, I remember you wearing an outfit similar to those of spellcasters the last time you came here… Am I right to presume you are a Mage?]

[Yes, that’s right. So, what is that Magic Gemstone?]

[This is as good a time as any.]

And so, the shop owner began his simple lecture on Magic Gemstones.
Monsters drop these stones very rarely. The size of the dropped stone is proportional to the strength of the monster, the one here on the necklace is of the smallest in size and is said to be dropped by Goblins.
Magic Gemstones are precious stones whose color and brilliance change depending on how much power a Mage channels into it. The stronger the mage’s power, the deeper the color and brighter the brilliance.
Some are also known to have special effects.
There are more opportunities to see Gemstones in the city of Querez, a city where mages are known to gather. You should be able to find some at the Capital too.

[This one here is too small, so it can only be used as a decorative necklace. I don’t think you’d be able to draw any power from this.]

[I see. This one’s small but just the right size. Mind selling it to me?]

It doesn’t have any special effects due to its small size, but Estel seems to like it and wants to buy it.
It’s a transparent gemstone now, but it might become something amazing when she pours in her magical power. I’m kinda interested to see how it goes.
It’s good enough as a necklace, even if it has no special effects.

[It costs 300,000G even at this size, you sure?]

[Ah, I’ll do the paying.]

It’s surprisingly expensive … How many days can you stay at an inn with just that… Well, it’s not as if I’m broke right now, the Slime Cores sold for a pretty penny.
I have been in Estel’s care on a daily basis, spending this much on her is acceptable.

[Wait Onii-san. I’m buying this with my own money.]

[Eh… but.]

[It’s fine, okay?]

[The Miss says she wants to, so why don’t you let her do as she pleases?]

[…… Alright.]

I was going to pay as I rummaged for my gold coins, but Estel stopped me and said she would pay with her own money.
I have been giving the girls enough pocket money for them to use for themselves, but even then 300,000G would put a big dent in their wallets.
Before I could butt in again, she cheerfully fetches 3 gold coins from her shoulder bag and completes the payment.
The owner also says to let her do what she wants, and hands the necklace to Estel. She receives the necklace, and smiles happily as she holds it.

…… Maybe this is that, the feeling of attachment to something you buy with your own money, and she certainly looks happy about it.
I would just be annoyed if I was too persistent about this, so I’ll let her do what she wants like what the owner said.

Chapter end