I, Yamamoto Momoka, came to the Dungeon Bureau today for a part-time job.
And the job? It couldn’t be easier.
All I had to do was suck on candies.
That’s it.
And I get paid 1,200 yen an hour for it.
Plus, if I’m lucky, I might even learn a new skill!
There’s no way I’d turn down an offer like that.
「I wish Karen could’ve come too.」
Sumire-chan sighed.
「Kurumizato-san said she was too busy with work. She’s even taking on more shifts… I hope she’s okay.」
Even Kyou-san, who’s usually curt, looked concerned.
She really is a tsundere, isn’t she?
Karen-chan never complains about her job, though.
If anything, she actually praises it.
She always talks about a senpai who’s two years older than her, apparently, she’s kind, dependable, and really good at her job.
Maybe she’s the shift leader?
Speaking of which, I heard there’s a Bite Leader Wolf somewhere out there.
I once saw Team Messiah fighting one.
They were so cool back then…
Anyway, back to Karen-chan.
「Honjou-san, I bet you’re disappointed Karen couldn’t come.」
「Of course not! Why would I be disappointed!?」
「You totally looked down when you heard she couldn’t make it.」
Yukarin had a point, Honjou-san was clearly dejected when she found out.
She always complained about how Karen was too busy working to talk with her in class.
She probably thought today’s part-time job would be the perfect chance to chat.
Otherwise, there’d be no reason for Honjou-san to be here.
「You’re wrong! I came here for skills, not for a friend desu wa! Skills aren’t something you can just buy with money!」
「Skills, huh… But is it really true? That you can learn a skill just by sucking on candy?」
This morning, the Yamanashi Research Institute released a paper that threw society into a bit of a panic.
Apparently, some dungeon drops contain an extremely rare item called a Skill Bead, and if you suck on it until it fully dissolves, you might gain a skill.
However, even with Appraisal Skills, there was no way to tell a regular dungeon drop apart from a Skill Bead.
And so, we were called in as part-time workers to help verify this theory.
We were chosen as part of the Dungeon Bureau’s support program for student adventurers.
「Welcome, students of Dungeon Academy. I’m Maehara from the Dungeon Bureau. I’ll explain your job now, so please follow me.」
-0-
The staff, who seemed a bit tired, led us to our workplace…
Wait…?
Looking around, I noticed that all the other staff members looked completely exhausted.
「Ano… Everyone here looks pretty pale. Are you all okay?」
「Yeah, things are really hectic right now. We’re all swamped with work, it’s what you’d call a ‘happy problem’. Though at this point, we don’t even have the energy to scream about it anymore, haha…」
「I see…」
So, even though the Dungeon Bureau workers are government employees, their jobs seem really tough.
Maybe they’re short-staffed?
With that thought in mind, we were guided into a room.
「Alright, let me explain your task. I’ll be handing out candy, and all you have to do is suck on it until it completely dissolves, no biting. Then, check your status to see if you’ve learned a new skill.」
Sumire-chan raised her hand slightly and asked,
「I read about Skill Beads beforehand, but what if it gets small enough to swallow? Would that be a problem?」
That’s a good point.
If dissolving it is the key, wouldn’t swallowing it and letting stomach acid do the work be just as effective?
However,
「Swallowing is not allowed.」
Maehara-san stated firmly.
「According to the research published by Yamanashi Research Institute, Skill Beads need to be slowly dissolved by saliva so that the body can absorb them naturally. This minimizes side effects and allows the skill to integrate properly. That’s why you must let it dissolve completely in your mouth.」
「Understood.」
「Honjou-san, you sure you know how to suck on candy?」
「Don’t mock me, Akechi-san! When I had a cold, my butler gave me throat lozenges! I, Honjou Kizuna, will not lose to any of you when it comes to sucking on candy!」
This isn’t a candy-eating contest… there’s no winning or losing here.
「Alright, please take your first piece and put it in your mouth.」
Everyone took a piece from the tray and popped it into their mouths.
Oh, this is delicious.
It’s milk tea flavored.
There are similar candies sold in stores, but dungeon drops always taste better.
Is it really okay to get paid for something this enjoyable?
Everyone was rolling their candy around in their mouths, looking oddly entertained.
-0-
About ten minutes later, the first piece had completely dissolved.
「Now, please check your status.」
I checked my status.
But,
「No new skills…」
「Same here.」
「Me neither.」
「I didn’t learn anything either.」
「I have not acquired anything as well.」
Looks like they were all just regular dungeon drops.
「Alright, everyone, please try your second piece.」
I popped another candy into my mouth.
Huh, what is this flavor?
Hmm… carrot, maybe?
It’s actually pretty tasty.
.
.
.
.
.
「Now, onto piece number 17.」
This was harder than I expected.
To make the candy dissolve faster, I had to keep rolling it around in my mouth, and my jaw and tongue were getting tired.
On top of that, my taste buds were numb from all the sweetness.
I couldn’t even tell what flavor I was sucking on anymore.
And most importantly, none of us had learned a skill.
Between the five of us, we had already gone through eighty pieces of candy, yet not a single Skill Bead had appeared.
Do these things even exist?
It wasn’t just me, everyone else looked exhausted too.
And once again, the 17th piece yielded no skills.
We took a short break, rinsing our mouths with the antiseptic solution provided to prevent cavities and drinking some water to rehydrate.
「Ugh, this is just plain water, but it still tastes sweet… I think I could make drop candy juice without actually putting candy in the can.」
「Being forced to eat something you don’t want is torture… I swear, I will never eat foie gras again.」
「You don’t have to swear that… I’ve never even had foie gras, but honestly, I’d like to get at least one skill soon.」
「So you can learn a skill just by sucking on candy… Guess things don’t work out that conveniently, huh?」
Everyone was in a state of quiet despair.
This is bad.
But don’t worry! I’ve been setting the mood for fifteen years, it’s time for the class mood-maker Touka to step in!
「Ano, everyone! If you put Daranisuke in your mouth, the bitterness will make the sweetness more bearable!」
I said this while placing a piece in my mouth, but everyone just gave me lukewarm, pitying stares.
Areh? I thought that was a great idea?
-0-
「Alright, everyone. We’re on to piece number 18, and there’s a high chance that one of these is a hit.」
「Ano… what makes you say that?」
「These five pieces were handpicked by Beta-san of Team Messiah.」
Beta-san of Team Messiah!?
Beta-san, the Sharp Abnormal of Luck, said to have the highest luck stat in the entire world.
A dungeon drop chosen by that legendary person…
Just knowing that my candy was picked by Beta-san was already worth a fortune.
And if it was a Skill Bead on top of that…!
Everyone nodded and popped their 18th piece of candy into their mouths.
Sweet.
But just knowing that Beta-san had picked this made it taste hundreds of times better.
Strength surged through my body.
Could this be what it feels like to learn a skill?
Ah, I see.
The answer was already there from the moment I started sucking on it.
I get it now!
I’m definitely going to learn a skill,
「I’ve learned a skill!」
…It wasn’t me.
The lucky one was Honjou-san.
Mine was a dud.
But honestly, I didn’t mind losing this time.
After all, the skill she got was Basic Whip Technique, which suited her perfectly.
※ ※ ※
In the end, even after sucking on 20 pieces of dungeon drops, none of us learned another skill.
A one percent success rate.
And that’s with Beta-san’s help, so in reality, the chances were probably even lower.
Still, I earned 6,000 yen for five hours of work.
Some clever person might say, “You’re sucking on society if you get paid 6,000 yen just for sucking on 20 candies!”
But personally, I found it to be a tough job.
Not that I should be complaining.
Karen-chan’s job was probably much harder.
-0-
「So yeah, that’s what happened… huh? Karen-chan, what’s wrong?」
We were chatting in Class 2’s room about yesterday’s part-time job when I noticed Karen-chan looking uneasy.
「Ano… During my break yesterday, my senpai at work gave me a dungeon drop, and we each had one…」
「Oh, so you had one too, huh?」
「Yeah, and… I ended up learning this really useful skill called Time-Saving Technique. Senpai has it too, and it’s super handy….」
…Wait.
You learned a skill… after just one piece?
…Wait, what!?
I had twenty, and I didn’t get a single one!
The entire class went silent, staring at her with cold, dead eyes.
Even Honjou-san, the only other person who managed to learn a skill, was giving her the same look.
「I-I didn’t do anything wrong! And honestly, Time-Saving Technique just means I get assigned more work, so it’s not even making my job easier…Guys, stop looking at me like that!」
Karen-chan didn’t do anything wrong.
I knew that.
And yet…
It just felt so unfair.
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