The Next Day

  Felmina is up before me. She’s standing at the vanity mirror, carefully putting on makeup. I don’t think she wants me to see her without it.

  I get up.

  “Don’t look.”

  “I won’t.”

  Roka stirs in bed. She’s wearing only panties and a pajama button-up shirt, lying on top of the covers.

  …So erotic.

  Wait—

  I’m sure she had pants on last night.

  She doesn’t seem to care about makeup at all.

  “You can look now, I’m done.”

  Felmina gets up. I look. She turns.

  She’s wearing a nightgown.

  She was definitely wearing pajamas last night.

  What is this?

  Ah—my nose is bleeding.

  Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. I really didn’t think this through.

  Roka sits up and rubs her eyes. A few of her top buttons are loose.

  I’m going to lift off and die of blood loss at this rate.

  I cover my eyes and feel my way toward the door. I can feel their curious stares burning into my back.

  Just before I open it, I stop.

  “Listen, you two. I’ll see you after lunch.”

  “Why?” they ask in unison.

  Why!? Why!?

  I take a deep breath.

  “Because looking like that, I might attack you two before the honeymoon.”

  Yes. Like that.

  I leave immediately.

  Roka and Felmina

  Felmina blushes.

  Roka is still half asleep.

  They sit back down and continue reading.

  The Diary (Continuation)

  I’ve been harvesting plants more often recently. They don’t sell for much, but I’ve noticed a continual increase in quality for the stamina flowers I harvest in the afternoons. I actually noticed it a while ago—I just remembered to record it now.

  I now know it has to do with my stamina bar. When it drops below ten percent, the quality spikes dramatically.

  I tried to see if I could do the same with HP and MP plants.

  Success.

  But I almost died when I lowered my HP to harvest. I had to level up—those wolves nearly killed me. I’ll buy some stronger monster repellent tomorrow.

  The monster repellent is working. Now I dig up the stamina plants—roots and all—and harvest everything together once my stamina drops below ten percent.

  So efficient.

  I’m making a killing at the wholesaler, and I’ve started making my own HP, MP, and SP potions. They sell for a lot.

  I forgot my lunch today and almost passed out, but some other adventurers found me. There was a huge guy with them. On the way back to town, we were attacked.

  We all survived, but the big guy was seriously injured. They fed him around four HP potions, but his HP was still only about a quarter full.

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  There must be a reason for this.

  His level was 125.

  I need to investigate further.

  I met a woman today—a fellow forager named Steph. She got super close, and she keeps touching me when we talk. She’s kind of hot. She wants to go foraging together.

  She’s very curious about my techniques, and whenever I try to object or ask more about her, she pushes her boobs against my arm.

  I can’t help answering.

  I haven’t seen her in a while now—it’s been almost two months. It looked like she liked me. Was it something I said? Did I mess up?

  To make things worse, the prices for my goods have dropped significantly. The shopkeeper says there’s been an overstock lately.

  That bitch.

  It turns out her name’s Lilith or something, and she’s the daughter of a merchant with a big business in town. According to a guard, they undercut my products.

  Screw this. I’m staking out their business starting tomorrow. I can’t let them get away with this.

  They nearly caught and killed me.

  I got away, but I think they’re onto me now.

  I’m leaving tonight.

  I can’t stay here.

  I heard about the Shadowfall Kingdom in the north. I think I’ll go there.

  I thought about the big adventurer guy from before. I think potion potency varies by individual. The heavier you are, the more you need.

  I need to test this somehow.

  I arrived in the Shadowfall Kingdom, and they have these boards they use for carrying loads. They’ve got magic circles carved into them.

  When I asked, they said it’s an anti-gravity enchantment. It makes the load lighter.

  So I bought one and tested it.

  My theory was correct—I need far less of any potion.

  I poisoned myself again—same method as when harvesting HP plants—and I only needed a single drop of Ambrosia, even though it’s ridiculously expensive.

  I saved the king’s life today.

  First, I had to take down an Orc that was around level 100. Its blade was poisoned. The king wouldn’t have made it to town in time—he would’ve died within the hour.

  His guards tried to stop me, but I knocked them all out.

  The red-haired female knight gave me some trouble. She was level 208.

  I tried using Sleep on her, but it didn’t work. It seems the target needs to trust you, at least to some extent, for it to take effect.

  In the end, I used their own anti-gravity board, placed the king on it, and activated it.

  I used about half a bottle of Ambrosia before his HP bar shifted from purple to red.

  Once he woke up, I gave him one of my homemade, super-strong HP potions.

  I hope I get rewarded properly for this.

  I’m currently staying in the palace. They said I can make a few requests regarding my reward.

  I don’t really know what to ask for. Money, maybe.

  I found a door.

  I need this door.

  But I can’t ask for it without sounding crazy.

  It’s the door to the women’s bathroom.

  Why does this world have indoor plumbing?

  As far as I can tell, this world doesn’t use electricity—but it does have lightning magic. That probably explains why my phone suddenly became a brick.

  The lights they use indoors run on magic stones, kind of like batteries.

  I need to investigate this further.

  The door seems to deal –1 damage, like the door from that game.

  I’ll ask for another door to make it seem less suspicious.

  Knock knock.

  “He’s back!"

  Kaijuu Ryu

  I came back. I have lunch. I’m not sure how far they got.

  Better prepare myself for the questions.

  I take a breath, set the lunches down, and knock.

  They open the door. I bring the food inside.

  They’re both dressed.

  Thank heavens.

  We eat.

  “How far did you get?”

  Roka looks refreshed. Felmina looks exhausted—her head is practically steaming again.

  “We’re at that door.”

  “Who’s at the door?”

  She looks at me like I’m an idiot.

  “That door.”

  She points at the women’s bathroom.

  “Do you understand everything so far?”

  “Not really,” I admit. “But I’ll ask later if I remember.”

  “No more!”

  Felmina flips the table.

  “I can’t read anymore!”

  She looks completely spent.

  Roka turns to her.

  “Felmina-nee-san, let’s take a long break and continue tonight.”

  Felmina nods, still breathing heavily from the table flip.