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A New Meeting
Haaa, the weather’s great today.
While basking in the sunlight flooding from the sky, I’m living the laidback life.
Three days have passed since then, but not a single person has dropped by. But I don’t have a single bit of impatience. Because just basking in the sun is happiness enough.
If it was the time before now, since my Points would be slowly but steadily reducing, I don’t doubt that I’d be living in mild dread. But now my Points are increasing.
The reason for this is that on top of my head. A new Function and addition of a slightly slanted roof with a solar panel attached. With this, on sunny days I’ll store up Points without doing anything.
See, choosing to rank up was the correct choice! –tte, there’s nobody around, so why am I trying to justify it?
It seems this solar panel was originally intended to conserve energy and for times of emergencies. For me it’s quite efficient; if the weather is good, I can gather 10 Points every hour. If I can earn Points from the sky, then I have more than enough to survive.
Within these three days, thanks to be re-checking my abilities, first I devoted my time to investigating that two hour transformation limit. The thing I knew is that if it’s the form I had when I was reincarnated, I can stay in it no matter how many hours pass. The thing that I came know is, to sum it up, by leaving my outer appearance like this, if I only change the Functions inside, then there’s no time limit.
To sum it up, even if I use the half cup ramen selling Function, it won’t trigger the time limit.
If there’s nothing pressing, like this I can just quietly pass the time, but. U,u-n, with one worry settled, now it’s desire that surfaces.
To be honest, I’m bored. I’m not sure if it’s because I got so used to the vending machine body, but if I don’t sell something to someone, I can’t calm down.
The Maze Level really isn’t popular. I should have asked Hyurumi to tell me a little more about the details, but it’s too late for that. And it’s not like I had a method to ask her.
Ramis lost consciousness, but she’s probably ok. The Obaa-san regular is there, so she can heal the wounds; there probably won’t be any after effects.
Haa, recently I’ve been passing every single day in busy-ness, so days where I don’t meet anyone all throughout the day are a little lonely. In front and in back are gigantic walls and you can see the sky, but that’s it.
There’s nothing to do, so like always I’m surveying my surroundings when, in the direction of the faraway passage, I catch a glimpse of something moving.
Replaying the recording I took from the sky with the security camera, I’m pretty sure that to my left is the entrance of the maze. So that means, I can have some high expectations, probably. It would be the best if it was help that came from the level above, but I don’t care if it’s other Hunters.
It would be nice if it wasn’t a group with bad behavior, though.
Something is gradually getting bigger; I can just barely make out that shape.
Walking on two feet, that’s a – small black bear … no wait, cat, tanukiracoon dog? It has a face that’s difficult to distinguish.
There are four of them. They’re all matching, wearing vivid green leather jackets, na. Although they’re not wearing pants, they’re wearing shoes, huh? Above the neckline of the jacket, the pit of the throat can be seen, but there’s a white crescent moon mark. A small asiatic black bear?
They’re probably in the same category as the Bear President. But man, they’re small.
The face and pelt are all completely black, but the inside of the black nose and the ears standing up are pink. There’s also whiskers so it looks like a cat. So that means it’s not a bear? Maa, whichever the case, it’s cute the adorable face. For me, whose love for cats is only second to my love for vending machines, I’m a little restless.
Wh,what is this, this adorable little troupe? I really want to be able to look more closely at them in the time span it takes them to select and purchase a product, but it seems that I’m not their concern right now. Burdened with backpacks on their backs, they’re earnestly running for their lives.
Right behind them are three monsters with slack bodies and pig faces swinging clubs and chasing them. Run, run bear-cats … –tte, it’s like I’m calling them pandas; well, whatever.
Though the ones chasing them have over three times their stature, their legs didn’t lose in swiftness at all, but one of the bear-cats legs seems to be hurt; since it’s running while hanging on the shoulders of another, the distance between them and their chasers isn’t widening in the slightest.
The monsters with the pig faces are, I’m pretty sure they should be the ones called the yutabutama. When the people on the Seiryu Lake Level make fun of fat people, I heard them mention it then.
There’s still some distance between me and them, but please manage to get away from them somehow before you reach me. If you do, I’ll be able to see if I can do something.
“Buaaaaa-!”
“Go awaaaaay”
“Leave me behind!”
“There’s no way we’re going to leave you -!”
Completely contrary to their impressions, their hoarse voices and their faces when their large mouths are open are freaking scary-!
Their mouths largely split their faces, and there’s sharp fangs peeking out.
The one that’s injured is an individual with droopy ears like a scottish fold cat. From her voice, it seems like she’s a female. As for the one she’s hanging on, it’s blackish-brown and, compared to the others, it’s a tall bear-cat.
The one who was trying to intimidate while running is slender. The one running at the very back is plump and fluffy.
Even though they seem to be the same types of creatures, they’re quite different when you look at them. Maa, just like that, come here, come here; if they keep it up like that, looks like they’ll make it past me somehow. The distance between them and the yutabutama in the back are about ten meters, huh?
The question is, exactly how am I going to help out the bear-cats? It seems it’s time to show off the method I thought of, while bored to tears, for a vending machine to attack.
I changed into a type of vending machine that doesn’t have a flap on the product-retrieval opening and dropped a number of glass-bottled beverages. I changed the color of the vending machine to match the surrounding walls and assimilated to the wall.
At a quick glance, I probably just look like another part of the wall. In this situation, they probably don’t really have the opportunity to look carefully anyway, na.
The bear-cats made it past, and shortly behind them, when the yutabutama draw close to in front of me – – Bottled Juice Splash!
With <Barrier>, I ejected the bottled juice outside of the barrier. As it is, the bottled beverages with some speed behind them made direct hits on two of the three pigmen. It seems like it totally didn’t do any damage, but both the bottles that missed and the ones that hit are scattered all around, so my opponents stop their feet and observe me.
Well then, I’ll release my camouflage and play “Congratulations. You have won another bottle,” over and over.
“What’s this, oink.”
“Maze’s trap, *grunt*.”
These guys have “oink” attached to the end of their words; it’s easy to understand. So these monsters have some intelligence to be able to talk, huh? The Bear President and these bear-cats seem similar; the mammals that walk on two legs might have high intelligence.
“Was there a trap here, oink?”
In the time that the yutabutama are analyzing me, the bear-cats have gained quite a bit of distance. And here I invoke a trap. I’m pretty sure pigs are omnivorous. I’ve heard that they eat anything.
I change into the vegetable selling vending machine that I’ve used a lot recently, uncovered the glass lids on the vegetable bins, and ejected them all outside with <Barrier>.
“Oink, food came out, *grunt*!”
“It’s food, it’s food, oink!”
Without a spec of suspicion, they crunched down like that and ate. Seems like they were quite hungry.
Carefreely turning their backs towards me, they’re greedily eating. Completely losing interest in the bear-cats, they single-mindedly picked up the scattered vegetables and tossed them into their mouths.
During that time, I changed into a vending machine with a short height that’s often placed at children’s themeparks and returned my coloration to match the walls.
After watching for some time, they ate up everything and were satisfied; smacking their bellies, the yutabutama sluggishly stood.
“So full, oink.”
“Oi, the box that shoots vegetables is gone, oink.”
They turned and looked this way and that, but even if they looked at me, right in front of them and the same color as the wall, they didn’t realize it.
They tilted their heads, but since it seems that their observational skills had dulled with their swollen stomachs, they left like that and returned from where they came.
I somehow managed to let the bear-cats escape, but that means that they left too. Dammit, I wanted to admire them more. But I’m satisfied with saving them so, maa, it’s all good.
But man, those bear-cats were so cute. They were about the size of small children. But I wonder what those bear-cats were trying to do, coming here. If they were a monster that lived in the maze, I felt fear rather than murderous intent.
It seems that they’re mutually hostile to those yutabutama. They’re like the Bear President in that they seem that they’d live alongside humans well. It seems like we can understand each others’ words, so they seem like they’d be great customers. How unfortunate.
But you know, even though here is a different world, the beastkins and monsters all resembled creatures from earth somehow or other, but I wonder what those bear-cats were. Just where have I heard of them, I feel like, somewhere a long time ago when I was young I might have seen them but … what were they called?
I feel like is a name that was really nerdy. When I was in middle school the name caught my eye …
“Did they really go back …”
“When we continue inwards, the monsters get stronger …”
“They might still be alive in a trap…”
Oo-, I can hear the voices of those bear-cats from earlier.
Cautious of the direction the yutabutama when off in the entire time, without noticing, they came closer and closer.
Their lines of vision flickering all over while being wary of their surrounds, the four bear-cats came walking over.
Now then, what should I do? With me looking like the wall like this, there’s a chance they won’t realize I’m here, so let’s return to the colors of the usual vending machine. The size is fine just to leave it for children’s use. For the bear-cats’ stature, this way would make it easier for them to use.
Aa, their legs and arms are so short and, whoa, calm down.
“What’s that?”
“I wonder.”
“It might be the trap that caught the yutabutama from earlier.”
The hurt one with the floppy ears stared fixedly at me from a distance. The fluffily plump bear-cat also readied himself in the rear. The other two seem to be deeply interested, and with soft steps they crept closer and hyu~ stretched out their forelegs, I mean hands, poking me.
It doesn’t hurt at all; I think they just wanted to see what I would do. Really, their cat-ish qualities aren’t limited to appearance but also a vigorous inquisitiveness. They surrounded me and sniff sniff, sniffed me with their noses.
A, I am currently exceedingly happy. Like this, blissfully surrounded by bear-cats, I’d like to my time happily, but that won’t do either. How unfortunate.
“Welcome.”
“Buooooo-!?”
The bear-cats sprang back all at once and took some distance. Like I said, that cry and those faces are scary. That was my bad; I scared them.
“Buaaaa-!”
The blackish-brown one aggressively opened his mouth wide and tried to intimidate.
The other two slowly backed away. Like this, they’re going to run away. Here I did a form change, heated up some kara’age, and dropped it down. My speed had increased, so in the blink of an eye it was all heated up.
“It lit up and stretched out!”
“E,everyone, be on alert-!”
“Isn’t it better to run? Nee, isn’t it better to run?”
The three in the back became further panicked.
The slender one is probably the leader; he urged his comrades to be cautious. The plump cowardly one was the furthest in the back, and fell further back.
Dammit, their frightened behavior is also too damn cute.
“E-, this smell is meat?”
The blackish-brown one noticed the smell and his nose twitched.
When you’re talking about cats, you usually think about fish, but actually they like poultry more than fish. The cat I used to keep, whether its raw poultry or pillaging kara’age, it ate it all. Maa, if that’s a bear, then meat would be its favorite.
He’s wary against it being a trap, but his inquisitiveness and appetite keeps him from moving away.
“Welcome. Please insert the coins.”
“Buaaaaa – …a? This is, is this a box that sells stuff?”
O, the droopy-eared one realized it.
“Suko, don’t be tricked. It’s a trap that uses things to lure you in, I bet.”
The thin one really is cautious. Even though the hot and tender smell is drawing him unsteadily in.
“Pel, you can’t get close. Shote too, take some distance.”
“Got it, Mikene.”
O, all the bear-cats that have made an appearance have had their names established. The slender leader’s name is Mikene, the droopy-eared female-like one is Suko. The plump one is Pel, and the blackish-brown aggressive-looking one is Shote.
I have to lead the bear-cats to buy my products somehow.