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Chapter 18
Chapter 1, Childhood Friend And I — Episode 18 : Unique Skill
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
I was perplexed.
I secretly watched a video that I shouldn’t have, titled『Weather lady’s wet forecast for the night,』and it started out the same way I’m doing now.
I have Marielle… no, I have ××.
Even if I was invited to join her, I must absolutely refuse.
「What do you want to do? Why don’t you come to my room?」
「I–If you just want to talk…」
I couldn’t refuse…
「So cute～ I thought high school kids these days would be more abrasive, but you’re so honest.」
I’m the one who’s kind of like a schoolboy, being patted on the head. This Onee-san’s clothes are clean and laundered, but they’re still the same as when she came over here, or maybe she’s not from another world.
The vertical lines of her knit sweater emphasize the fullness of the chest as voluminous… In addition to that, her bare legs peeking out from the flared skirt make my reason go out of the earthquake forecast.
I follow the Onee-san to her room, where handsome knights are dressed up like butlers. No–no, I don’t have any expectations! There’s no way a piggy like me would have anything to do with this Onee-san. I was too paranoid.
A butler with a prince-like air that looks like something out of an otherworldly romance offers us a coffee-like drink, and we bail him out.
As I was rinsing my mouth, Kashiwagi-san asked me with a troubled look on her face and a lowered eyebrow. She leaned her elbows on the table as if she was pressing closer to me. The power of the cleavage peeking out from her V-neck collar makes me swallow my coffee with saliva…
「Kirishima Kaname, right? Are you… Were you an otaku? Are you familiar with these worlds?」
Did she guess from my appearance? She was right, I am an otaku. I am familiar with various other worlds. I’m into light novels…
「Well, as far as I know…」
「I was, you see, having a hard time getting myself to ask that obnoxious woman～ That’s great.」
Perhaps intentionally, she used women’s weapons against kids like me. I don’t need them to do that, but I’m going to answer them. I let Kashiwagi-san explain everything I could understand. Then…
「Status open! And that’s fine, right?」
「Yes.」
Kashiwagi-san chanted and the status screen floated in the hollow. There was a column called “Slot” and “Storage” that I didn’t have.
Kashiwagi Rina【Human】
Unique Skill【Catastrophe】
Nature : Active
Skill :（STD）
Slot : 5
Storage : 20
It didn’t look like she had written anything in the skills section yet, because she hadn’t learned anything.
「What is this【Catastrophe?】I wonder if it’s just the way it is? Maybe you can manipulate the weather? Then maybe if you had used it when you were in our original world, you wouldn’t have been involved in all that…」
A deep sigh… escapes me and I fall on my cheekbones. For those who don’t know the other world, a place that is enjoyable to spend time in but where you don’t know what’s right or wrong can be stressful.
「It might be…」
I nodded in agreement with her.
「Oh, right! Can you try it? Please come with me for a moment.」
「Oh, okay. Wait, right here!?」
「Yes!」
I asked the knights for the appropriate place to fire her unique skills that suddenly seemed to be in trouble in the Royal Palace. We were told that there was a wasteland to the west of Royal Capital, so we moved on and gave it a try.
Kashiwagi-san looks like she is having fun while me and the knights look on.
「Earthquakes, lightning, fire, just like my papa～! I’m not afraid of my papa, though, fufu!」
He was very carefree and easy-going, without any sense of self-consciousness. By papa, does she mean, I’d like to think it’s not like a Compensated dating or sort.
「Here I gooooo—!!」
【Catastrophe】（The Heavenly Shores）
Kashiwagi-san held high the staff she had asked the knights to prepare for her. She was dressed in a hooded cloak and had a strong sense of being a cosplay beauty, so she looked more like a wizard than a brave warrior.
It’s like she told me what I expected based on her unique skills and she just cosplayed it. As I was thinking about this, clouds were gathering around Kashiwagi-san…
「Hyahn! I–I’m going to get wet……」
Just when I thought it had gone completely dark, a drop of water hit my cheek, and then all at once it turned into a heavy downpour.
The rain has penetrated her clothes, let alone her hood, and her hair and clothes are sticking to her skin like a nice, water dripping woman…
It was somehow, very, very naughty.
I was so nervous about this Onee-san, but when I looked around in the rain, I saw that it was clear without a cloud about two or three hundred meters ahead, and it was raining only here.
Surely the『soaking wet there,』is here…
Sometimes I remember the way Rina-onee-san struggles with her typhoon report. Keep up the good work! Weather Onee-san!!!
「Kirishima-kun～ Somehow, I’m getting a notification that a【Lightning Bolt is available,】what should I do?」
「Let’s use it! Wait, huh!?」
I thought I saw a flash between the dark clouds, and then, with a tremendous roar, a streak of lightning split like a seven-sided sword and struck in front of me.
「Hiieeeekk——!!」
I sit up and fall on my ass. It’s as if I’m being punished for looking at Onee-san in a perverted way…
I just don’t have any knowledge at all, but it was nice to learn about her unique skills while being swept away by Kashiwagi-san, who seems unaware to have ridiculous magical powers.
She may not have the power to make the whole country rain, but she’s powerful enough to cause local earthquakes and cause the earth to cave in and uplift.
It may be an amateur consideration, but if we team up with Shirakaba-san and form a joint front, we will not be so easily defeated by the monsters. I had a look at Kashiwagi-san’s unique skills and gave my own insights.
——At Rina’s room.
「What can you say about me? I’m not very good with machines or computers, and I can barely use a smartphone. Thank goodness there’s a girl like you who knows her stuff, Onee-san.」
When we returned to our room, relaxing and chatting, one butler-like knight interjected in Kashiwagi-san’s ear.
「Sorry, I think your girlfriend got jealous. Did I do something bad?」
Girlfriend? Who is it?
「Ah, no…」
I was thinking that ×× wasn’t over here, and then she came towards me with the butler.
「Marielle!?」
「Kaname-sama…」
Marielle seemed to be waiting for me… and unlike usual, I felt that she was somehow grumpy and puffed out her cheeks.
「Perhaps, Marielle. Are you jealous?」
「Yes! It’s sad that Kaname-sama, no matter how brave you are, was looking down his nose at Kashiwagi-sama. Kaname-sama is my…」
Kashiwagi-san did not miss Marielle, who was a little teary-eyed, and called out to her.
「Marielle, I have no intention of taking him from you. I’m sorry I made you worry. But being young is really nice～! I have…」
She was about to say so, but then she trailed off.
「Ahh～! I’m glad you’re here! You cupid director! If you come over here, I’ll give you a taste of my electric shock.」
I was apologizing to Mariel while she was complaining about the world she was in.
「Sorry… Next time I come here, Marielle will be with me.」
「Yes!」
She responded cheerfully with a big smile on her face. She seemed to have been in a bad mood because of a misunderstanding, but now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, she was humming a tune pleasantly. Just looking at Marielle was cheering me up.
「Yeah–yeah, Kashiwagi-san is a stranger, so you can call her Rina. They call her Rina-onee-san on TV, too.」
「Okay, I’ll take your word for it then… Rina-san.」
「Hmmm～! That’s good!」
She looked so happy. However, I was just amazed at how much she has changed since the first day of the transfer. After greeting Rina-san, I tell her to go to the other brave hero, Ootake-kun…
Marielle answered.
「Ehh, did they leave?」
「Yes… Ootake-sama asked if there was a place where he could train, so he took a few followers and dived into the dungeon.」
I see…
I was hoping we could interact… but that’s the way it’s got to be. After we had finished chatting and laughing, I got up to leave the room. There was a commotion behind the door.
「Please wait! You can’t come in here without permission.」
「Seize the hero!」
「Get out of my way!」
The door seemed to open violently, and the knights were apologizing to Rina-san, even though they were blown away and fell down.
「I am sorry, Funabashi-sam forced me to…」
「Man, why don’t all of you just have fun and don’t try to fight? Skills can be learned quickly, can’t they?」
It was as if they were eavesdropping on our conversation.
「Don’t you have any common sense? At least knock and come in!」
「Unfortunately, I didn’t grow up well, you know!」
Funabashi-san appeared, holding the shoulders of two thinly clad girls who looked like dancers. It was like some kind of mafia… He started to assert himself without taking up Rina-san’s story.
「You guys, look at this! This is my status!」
Funabashi Kouhei【Human】
Unique Skill【Mimic】
Nature : Active
Learn more
Pause
Unmute
Skill :（STD）
Slot : 5
Storage : 10
Nine Letter Demon Flame, Obsidian Bayonet, Back Tooth, Steel, Titan, Techniques
Wha—!?
I look at Funabashi-san’s status and I’m amazed. Why are there six skills listed in storage?
「How about that! Are you afraid? Kashiwagi Rina, if you want to be my woman, now’s the time. I’ll take care of you as much as these guys do～!」
Licking his tongue, he patted the asses of the girls he had brought with him. They were red in the face, but did not look satisfied.
But Rina-san sighed and was just aghast at Funabashi-san.
It’s not about that, it’s about skill.
Even though Marielle says it takes a certain amount of time to learn it, and even if you practice and learn it, it’s not something you can learn without talent.
「Ahhn? Oh, yeah, you’re wondering? Well, then, it’s just a matter of being a hero enough to be friendly with one another. I’ll give you a special lesson!」
「I don’t mind. Oh, no…」
「Well, just listen. I am——!」
Funabashi-san started bragging about it, but I already had an idea. I had already guessed that it was possible to acquire the skills I had seen so far.
「What a fool. Don’t deal with this guy, go, Kaname-kun.」
「Ehh!? Ehh!? O–Okay…」
Kashiwagi-san had turned back the way we came when she linked arms with me before Funabashi-san finished speaking.
「Ahh! You can’t, Kashiwagi-sama! I am Kaname-sama’s…」
「Then, Marielle-chan, let’s team up that way too!」
「Ehh!? Ah, yes…」
Unexpectedly, I was walking around with my left and right arms crossed by two beautiful women, one from the real world and the other from another, just like Funabashi-san.
Is this alright? This isn’t a dream, is it?
I heard a thump from behind me and turned to see Funabashi-san punching the wall as hard as he could and glaring at us with a furrowed brow.
As we left the room and walked to the garden to have a cup of tea, I looked out the window to see what was going on outside.
Ootake-kun had returned with a demon that looked like a reddish Komodo dragon on the back of his carriage. The town below the castle was filled with cheers that he had defeated the red dragon.
「Thank you! Hero——!!」
Such cheers echoed through the room, but Ootake did not respond as if he were meditating. Was he trying to say that a hero should be able to do this, or was he just trying to train?
Either way, there seems to be no doubt that he is a capable man. I can’t believe he’s going to take down a monster that strong… On the other hand, I haven’t even been able to defeat a small fry warrabbit.
————The next day.
I was in a hurry.
I saw how good the other heroes were, and I felt inadequate, struggling even against small fry monsters. I had come to the forest because Marielle had told them that some rarely acquire skills by going under the line of death.
I was confronted by…
Kobolds with gladiuses at the ready. It seemed that a skilled adventurer would be able to defeat them without much effort, but to me they looked pretty formidable.
But I’ve been trained by Shirakaba-san, and today I have a reassuring weapon! There is no way I can lose!
Alright!!!
Even I can defeat a monster. I was shaking with joy and confidence.
Bash!
Something like a thin log is lying in front of me.
That’s wrong!
The gund grenade I was carrying with me was also lying there. I couldn’t believe what had happened, so I checked to make sure…
From the elbow to the tip, it was gone. Blood was just dripping and pouring from the cross section of what looked like a ham on the bone.
「Uwaaaaahhhhhhnn———!!」
The pain is terrible, but the fact that my arm is gone scares me so much that I scream and my body shakes. My right hand flew off, and the Kobold seemed to be mocking me as he giggled and did a little leap.
「M–My arrrmmm—!!」
Shit! Shit! Shit!
I let my guard down! I have nothing but regrets, but this is the only one I will defeat! More outraged at the little fish monster for sending my arm flying than at the pain, I took a small tube full of gunk from my ammo belt with my left hand and pressed it against the Kobold’s throat.
With a flash of light, a tube full of gund seemed to crack, and then the magic unfolded.
I thought I heard a muffled boffo sound, and the kobold that had dropped my arm had a large wind tunnel in its belly and fell straight down. I slump in exhaustion and relief that I beat the guy who took my arm. I am out of breath even though I didn’t move too hard. I finally realized that the dripping blood had turned into a puddle.
I had to stop the bleeding…
I just think so, but my body doesn’t move at all.
What kind of punishment is this?
Being teased by Hanayama is nothing but child’s play.
I must not stay here. I need to get back to the palace as soon as possible and get Marielle to treat me… But when my anger subsides, I calm down and remember her words.
『Even a saint, by the grace of God, does not have the power to revive a body or restore a defect.』
Ahhhh……
I’m just so incompetent, and now I’m going to have to survive in this hard-mode different world with one arm…
「Uuuuooooogggghhhh——!!」
I am so sad that I wail in a lamentation that resembles a scream. I can’t… Instead of saving this world, I can’t even save or protect myself.
I’ve already tried to give up in a hopeless situation.
××, Marielle.
I might be screwed. I collapsed onto my back in a pessimistic situation where I could not find any hope. At that moment, the sky glowed red.
What the hell!?
A red light flashes like some kind of alert and won’t stop. I thought it might be, so I opened the status…
【Phantom Pain】has been triggered. There are items that can be combined.
What a display.
I swiveled over and looked at my shredded arm and saw fluorescent letters that read,
Combinable Item【Kirishima Kaname’s Arm】
It was on…
My arm is an item? Combinable? I have no idea what that means! Could it be that my arm was going to return to normal? That’s when I thought. The status read,
【Do you want to combine?】
Yes　　<——
No
And a statement that forces me to make a choice… Such a choice, I don’t even need to think about it. It’s obvious from the start!
KaiesV's notes:
I apologise for those who bought the advanced chapter even if it was still in draft. I'll release the finished version sooner.