ALL NOVEL The Strongest Solo Gamer with Terrible Social Skills Reincarnates as a Hated NPC in a VRMMO Chapter 18
18: Let’s Change Our Way of Addressing Each Other?
――SIDE: Akane――
“…Sorry, everyone. I caused you trouble because of my actions.”
“It’s not your fault, Akane. It was one-sided, with Ishizuru (that guy) treating us as enemies.”
“No, it’s my fault for getting entangled in the conflict with him…”
“Hey,――do you like Ishizuru or something?”
“Huh?”
“I thought you were worried about him, so…”
“I…”
You can tell when someone is worried.
But――
“I don’t particularly like him. We’re just childhood friends, and it’s unsettling to see him die in front of me. That’s all.”
“…Complicated, isn’t it?”
Mr. Aiba nodded in understanding.
“――Hey! Let’s change our way of addressing each other?”
“Huh?”
East Cloud-san suddenly proposed this to us, as if trying to change the darkening atmosphere. But being told to change our way of addressing each other out of the blue was puzzling.
Communication was not my strong suit, and neither was it for Kagasaki-kun, so we both wore sour faces. However, Touma-san didn’t mind at all and continued to talk with an overbearing tone.
“Hey, let’s all call each other by our first names! No last names allowed! I think it’ll help build camaraderie.”
“Ahh, then… Kaion?”
Aiba-kun was the first to agree with Touma-san’s proposal. Given his personality, it was no surprise that he wouldn’t reject this kind of atmosphere.
“That’s right! I’ll call you Kaion, and you can call me Sōji! Kagasaki-kun can be Ayumu! That sounds good?”
“Do as you please…”
“Hey, Hanae-chan too!”
“Eh, umm…”
Prompted, I scratched my cheek to hide my embarrassment.
“Kaion, Sōji, and Ayumu?… Is that okay?”
“Yeah! That’s perfect!”
It seemed like they were satisfied.
I felt exhausted for some reason.
“What’s with you, Kaion?”
“Well, I thought it was unfair that only Hanae-chan calls you ‘Akane-chan’!”
“Ahh, I see.”
In other words, this was all because of Shōma’s doing?
He really was a troublesome guy.
“Well, it’s a shame about the Akane thing.”
“Ahh, don’t bring that up again?”
“No, I want to hear about the student council president and stuff. I don’t believe that about Tenjōin and… I mean, it’s hard to believe for me…”
“Did you know about the student council president, Sōji-kun?”
“…We’ve met before. But the other person doesn’t even remember me…”
Sōji scratched his head and chuckled lightly.
“…Is it a love triangle or something?”
“Ugh! Don’t say something weird like that, Ayumu!?”
“But it’s surprising that the president, who has an attitude like that towards you, Sōji-kun, has taken an interest in Akane-kun. Maybe there’s some connection or something?”
The three of them, deep in thought, turned to me, who had a deep connection with Shōma.
“N-no… I don’t know anything! I’m surprised too!?”
I had seen that video too.
Probably, every student in the school had seen it.
The student council president, Tenjōin, and Shōma’s kiss scene.
One side of the face was extremely beautiful, but if you looked closely, Shōma was pale and fainting. It was probably an unexpected event for him too.
“Is it just the president’s preference? There was no indication of any prior connection or anything?”
“That’s right…”
“So, it’s a one-sided love from the president? That’s somehow romantic!”
“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you, Touma?”
“Kaion, Ayumu-kun?”
“…Even though it’s free time, time is limited. Let’s head to the shop soon.”
Ayumu-kun quickly left for the shop, and the remaining Kaion let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders. “This is tough…”
“Isn’t it tough for Hou to suddenly get close to people because he’s really wary of others?”
“Yeah, that’s true. Does General-kun know Hou-kun well? You were in the same school before, right?”
“We were fellow disciples at the same kendo dojo. I kept talking to him persistently, and eventually, he started to open up to me.”
“I kind of knew that, but you’re really good at communication, aren’t you? Normally, if someone doesn’t want to talk, you wouldn’t give up, right? I’m impressed by your persistence.”
“I think it’s normal, though.”
As we chatted, we followed Hou-kun.
In the corner of the large hall, which was the transfer area, various shops had set up stalls, including weapon shops, armor shops, and item shops.
Hou-kun had stopped in front of a weapon shop called “Toraneko-ya” with various swords and bows on display. A senior student, dressed in a uniform with wide sleeves and carrying a harisen, was enthusiastically promoting the shop.
“Welcome, welcome! Please take a look! Toraneko-ya, the top weapon shop! Our outlet has a wide selection of weapons at affordable prices! Perfect for beginners! What do you think of our starter weapons?”
She looked like a merchant from another era, wearing a uniform with wide sleeves and carrying a harisen. Even her senior, the shopkeeper, had a somewhat feline appearance, with short, dark brown hair and a sharp gaze.
Wait, isn’t that… Shouma!?
“I’ll take this sword.”
“Okay, okay. It’s a rapier, right? Iron weapons are expensive for beginners. I recommend wooden weapons, which are easier to replace.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll take this one.”
“Then, the price will be 8,000 MP.”
――Whoa, that’s expensive!!
But, thinking about it, if I could buy a rapier for 8,000 yen, it would be a steal…? I was shocked that I had spent almost 80% of my initial 10,000 MP on a single weapon.
It seemed that others had the same reaction. General, who was observing the transaction from behind, approached us.
“Hou-kun is standing in front of the shop, so I thought something was up… but it looks like Shouma is making a big purchase?”
“I think he’s not allocating his budget well. If he spends too much on weapons, he won’t have enough for armor and items.”
“Umm… maybe someone should teach him?”
The three of us were worried. They were kind, but Shouma seemed to be hostile towards us. There was no need to give him advice.
Just then, General suddenly approached Shouma without hesitation.
“Hey, why are you buying such an expensive weapon? Didn’t they tell you that wooden weapons are recommended for beginners?”
Shouma, who was checking his sword belt, looked up at General.
“If I can trust my life to a cheap weapon, then that’s fine, right? What’s necessary in the early stages is attack power. If I can defeat enemies with one hit, then I don’t need armor or recovery, do I? It’s just a waste of space, and the ‘dimensional storage’ function of our terminals isn’t that spacious to begin with.”
――
Shouma answered General’s question calmly, without looking up. His response was more serious than we expected, and we were shocked by the amount of information he revealed.