The office door swings open, and in come Milk and Ayame, both still in their school uniforms.
Ah, I get it—they’re curious about the new recruit.
Understandable, really.
「This is my classmate, Mizuno Mai-san. She won’t be going into dungeons, but she’ll be supporting us as a blacksmith.」
「Nice to meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about you, Milk-chan and Ayame-chan. Ehto… is there something on my face?」
Milk and Ayame are staring at Mizuno-san.
Their expressions are wary, almost as if they’re sizing her up.
「A girl… and a classmate… They’ll be spending a lot of time together…」
「She’s cute… but her name is Mizuno… Is this happening again?」
Ayame seems oddly hung up on the name ‘Mizuno’.
What’s going on with her?
「Ayame, what’s up?」
「What’s up is that I’m feeling left out! Look, we’ve got Ichino, Makino, Oshino, Mizuno… I’m the only one without a ‘no’ in my name!」
Ah, her surname is Azuma.
Now that she’s mentioned it, I guess it is a bit strange.
I hadn’t thought much of it, but given the sheer coincidence of the situation, I can see why it’s bothering her.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to change that.
I can’t just go around renaming her to Azumano Ayame.
Just as I’m mulling this over, Mizuno-san quietly slips over to Ayame and whispers something in her ear.
「Ayame-chan, how about this?」
「U-Um… Th-That’s fine…」
Ayame responds, her face turning crimson as she nods—she even stumbles over her words.
What did Mizuno-san say to her?
Whatever it was, it’s a mystery.
It’s not like there’s an easy way to change your surname.
「Anyway, as I was saying, I’m just Ichino-kun’s classmate… and a friend. My name is Mai Mizuno, and I’m looking forward to working with you.」
For some reason, Mizuno-san’s statement seems to put Milk at ease, too. Her wariness fades from her face.
「Ah… So that’s the angle you’re going with, Mai. Well, that works for us.」
Hime says, as if she’s arrived at some private understanding.
Then she turns to me, eyes probing.
「So, Taira. How much of your secret have you told her?」
「Ichino-kun’s secret? Hime-chan, what do you mean by that?」
「Taira, despite how he appears, is incredibly secretive. Honestly, it’s frustrating how many secrets he has, and finding out what they are just makes it worse.」
Haha, can’t deny that.
「Ehto, does everyone else know about Ichino-kun’s secrets? Like… why he has so many experience potions?」
「We know part of the reason—bits and pieces. But not everything.」
Hime answers.
She’s likely talking about my luck stat and the simple concoction skill.
The thing they don’t know about is my PD skill.
「I haven’t told her much, but I think it’s okay to share whatever the three of you already know. We just had her sign a non-disclosure agreement anyway.」
「True. If she’s going to be working with us, it wouldn’t be fair to leave her out.」
So, I began to share the secrets that are still unknown to the public.
1. My Luck stat is abnormally high.
2. I possess a skill called Detailed Appraisal, which only I can use.
3. Using Detailed Appraisal, I’ve figured out how to open D-cans.
4. Inside the D-cans are Skill Beads—candy-like beads that allow you to acquire new skills.
5. I am the mysterious masked man who once single-handedly stopped the monsters pouring out of Mt. Fuji.
6. Kuro’s true identity is a Darkness Wolf.
7. We were the ones the government hired to investigate the dungeon at Kusaka Amusement Park.
「…….I figured you had a lot of secrets, but this is more than I imagined. Especially Kuro-chan—so he’s actually a monster?」
「Sorry for not telling you. Mizuno-san, I remember you said you were scared of monsters. Are you okay with this?」
「Yeah. The ones that scare me are the aggressive, dangerous monsters. Kuro-chan is sweet and cute, so I’m totally fine.」
Good.
She seemed to mean it, not just out of politeness.
If this caused a rift between Mizuno and Kuro, I’d be the one Kuro would blame.
「But still, with all these incredible secrets, it makes me wonder—what’s the secret you can’t tell us?」
「Hahaha.」
「Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. You’re my benefactor, after all. Forget I asked. I won’t worry about it.」
That’s a relief.
Not mentioning PD is because it wouldn’t benefit anyone to know.
Telling them wouldn’t make them stronger.
「So, D-cans… Did you all receive one from Ichino-kun?」
When Mizuno asked, everyone nodded and pulled out their D-cans. All of them had already been opened.
「Yeah, I got mine last Sunday and opened it right away.」
「…Same here.」
「Me too.」
It’s only been three days.
I gave them out thinking they might take some time, but they’ve already opened them.
And now, they each revealed what was inside.
「I ran a full marathon while holding the D-can, and what came out was this bracelet. I haven’t worn it yet, though.」
「…I carried mine around the shrine and got five consecutive ‘bad luck’ fortunes… The D-can was already open when I got back. I’ve never pulled anything other than ‘bad luck’ before, so it seems like it accounted for that. The content was a charm.」
「I had to memorize a 100-digit number to open mine. Inside was a candy. Is this a Skill Bead?」
Wow. Impressive.
Milk has always had terrible luck with lottery-type things, so I thought it might be possible… and it actually worked out.
「So the conditions to open D-cans are pretty varied, huh.」
「Mizuno-san, I’ll ask for your help with them next time, too.」
「Ugh, please go easy on me.」
So, I used Detailed Appraisal to check them one by one. Starting with Hime’s bracelet.
【Endurance Anklet: An anklet that makes you less fatigued while wearing it.】
Ah, so it’s for a marathon after all.
And it’s for the ankle, not the wrist.
「It’s called an Endurance Anklet. It helps reduce fatigue.」
「An anklet, huh. That sounds useful. I’ll start using it.」
Next, Milk’s charm.
It’s pink with some writing on it, but I couldn’t read the text.
Perhaps it’s written in an otherworldly language?
Since it’s a charm, maybe it boosts luck or something similar.
【Love Fulfillment Charm: A charm that might help fulfill romantic wishes. It has only a minimal effect.】
…Ah.
Even with Detailed Appraisal, it seems it doesn’t boost stats or provide resistances.
「How was it, Taira? Did it increase your luck or something?」
「It’s a Love Fulfillment Charm. It seems it has a minimal effect at best…」
「Got it! I’ll cherish it!」
Huh? Somehow, she seems really happy about it.
Ayame looks at it with envy as well.
Well, it might be better than a charm for safe childbirth.
Now, for Ayame’s turn—
「Yeah, it’s a Skill Bead. You can learn a skill by licking it. Just make sure not to bite it.」
「Is it okay for me to have it?」
「Of course.」
Milk and Hime remember this, too.
It’s Ayame’s turn now.
While Ayame is licking the bead, I hand out the next set of D-cans.
I’ve picked out ones that should be easier for everyone to open.
I give each of them a D-can with instructions on how to open it attached with a sticky note.
Finally, for Mizuno-san—
「Here’s one for you, Mizuno-san—」
「D-can, old games, and batteries? Why are there two game consoles? And this cable…」
「P〇kémon Red and Green. If you collect all 150 P〇kémon, the D-can will open. Good luck! You have to collect them all by yourself, no help from anyone else.」
「Really? I’ve never played games before, though.」
「Do your best! It’s okay to use strategy guides.」
「…Alright, I’ll do my best without letting my younger siblings find out.」
I have a feeling there’s something good inside.
I hope Mizuno-san enjoys the challenge.
「Ano, if you have younger siblings, I have some old games I used to play. Do you want to borrow them? If they found out that only their oneechan plays, they might think it’s unfair.」
「Really? Thank you! I’d love to borrow them!」
With that settled, Ayame finishes licking the candy.
「I’ve learned a skill!」
「What skill did you get?」
「Ehto, Learning… It seems to be a skill that lets you memorize and use the magic or special abilities of monsters.」
That’s quite an impressive skill.
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