**Day 25 Morning Omui Guild**
I ran away because I was getting yelled at.
And yet...
"Why hasn't a single request changed? Does this guild even have any motivation? The bulletin board guy isn't working, right? He's slacking worse than a NEET, right? I have no money, you know? I lost my allowance, you know? When is a properly profitable request finally gonna show up? Where the heck is my one-shot big score?"
"Seriously, when are you going to start sneaking around properly? The profitable requests are for adventurers, you know? You haven't actually become an adventurer, have you? Why do you keep coming back here...? ...Where have you been? Everyone was really worried about you, you know."
It's been a while since I got the classic receptionist-class-rep dead-fish stare. Man, yesterday there was zero jito-me component—everyone was straight-up glaring daggers.
The girls were mad at me even though I did nothing wrong!? W-Wait, is it actually bad that I came back alive!? No, surely not that extreme... Oh! Souvenirs! It must be because I didn't bring souvenirs! Yeah, that's it! My favorability is in danger—if I don't raise it, I'll get lecture-killed!
"Maybe there's money hidden somewhere~?"
"If it's just lying around, fine, but don't go stealing hidden stuff—that's straight-up thief logic now! ..."
Oof. Full jito mode. Not the teary glaring kind—definitely the classic jito. Definitely something the cave never had.
Ugh, I'm sleepy, but if I go back to the inn I'll get yelled at again.
No money even if I wander the town.
The otakus are useless, as always.
The idiots are bedridden. Because they're idiots.
I mean, come on, aren't they way too stupid? They were on the verge of death, limbs torn off, barely survived, limbs regrew, staggered out in tatters, then apparently ran all the way to this town without sleeping, without resting, gnawing on HP mushrooms the whole way, collapsed at the gate, and got picked up by the guards... They're idiots, right? Like, maximum idiot levels?
Even if they rushed, there was nothing they could've done. They should've known rushing wouldn't help—especially since they were half-dead, so why run at all!? They're not even close to recovered!
While wandering around town, that cute maid from before... is waving? ...At me? Beckoning me over? ...It's definitely me! ...This is it! Finally, the classic high-school-boy fantasy of this-and-that with a maid is—
I got caught.
Suddenly surrounded by soldier uncles! Should've been the maids doing the surrounding! This is Kongming's trap! Using a high-school boy's instincts against him... Kongming, you scary genius.
It was Merumeru-san. (Wait, no.)
"I figured you might get caught if I tried, but why did you get caught so easily? We couldn't find you anywhere... even with the maids..."
"Well~ she was waving? And beckoning?"
You would go, right? Normally??
"If soldiers did that you'd run away!"
But come on? They're uncles? You'd run, right? Normally??
"Also, stop making that 'who are you?' face! It's Merielle! It's written on your pass too! Not Merimeri, not Merumeru—Merielle!"
"Ah~ uh? But your mom was called Murimuri-san? She said 'Merimeru's mom' or something?"
"...Even Mom forgot my name... Fine. Call me Merumeru from now on... Or just Meru is fine..."
Got scolded by the butler.
That's why I kept saying maids are better... Uh, never mind.
"After that, Father and Mother were looking for you to give thanks, but we couldn't tell if you were gone, hiding, or avoiding us, so today we set a trap... and you were here?"
"Well, I got back last night? Midnight? But couldn't get in, so... got caught by the gate guards when I tried?"
"...Haaah. Anyway, thank you! You saved Father and Mother—our whole family owes you our lives. Thank you so much. Father and Mother have already left for the neighboring town again, so on their behalf—... Are you even listening? Really? ...Anyway! This is a small token of our gratitude. Please accept it."
Yay, I got money.
Helping an attacked carriage really does pay better?
"They're heading to the neighboring town again—think they'll get attacked soon? Like, any moment now?"
"Why do they get attacked every time they leave!? What are you even waiting for with 'soon'!? The noble behind the attacks has already been captured! It's safe now!"
Apparently no more attacks, so no more easy money.
My favorability remains eternally distant.
Got money, so time to wander town.
Ended up at the weapon shop that's slowly turning into a club-only specialty store. Uncle blacksmith—is this really okay for you?
"Ojii-san~? A goblin leader club dropped—wanna buy it?"
The second I showed the club he sprinted to the back and came out with a money bag. Easy.
"Sell me as many as this can buy!! Wait, why the hell are these things just lying around normally!?"
"Well~? Like, collision? Accidental death? Club dropped? Kinda?"
"...You're saying 'dropped' like it's unrelated, but you killed him, right? You're not unrelated—you're the killer, right?"
I mean, a person falls from the sky and he charges in swinging a club— isn't that way too stupid? That's not my fault, right?
"Eh~ well, like... it just dropped? Kinda?"
Ojii-san is hemming and hawing while appraising clubs. Clubs are selling pretty well here. This town might be dangerous.
(I actually have King and Emperor ones too, but telling him would bankrupt him, so no.)
For some reason, whenever a shop in this town is about to go bankrupt, they blame me. What a terrifying custom. What kind of town is this?
The general store onee-san unfortunately still hasn't recovered from mushroom addiction. Seems worse than I thought.
If you want mushrooms so bad, just go find rice—when I Marie Antoinette'd her she burst into real tears, so I sold her some for cash + dried fruit. She was rubbing her cheek on the mushrooms while crying. Terminal stage? The visual is way too suspicious—please stop, seriously.
The shady peddler hasn't come back to town yet. My favorability isn't coming back either. My pheromones are missing...
Anyway, class rep and the others are in the dungeon. Something about needing to file applications, so they had to go. Safe until night, coming back at night. Meaning that raging storm of lectures and yelling is coming back.
The cookies I made in the cave to kill time were kinda meh because no butter, but I fed some to the inn signboard girl as bait and she loved them—started doing some mysterious pitter-patter dance. Sugar's still rare so sweets aren't common yet. I've got dried fruit too—maybe if I make fruitcake it'll help when I get yelled at. Actually, going back means lecture round two is guaranteed. Running away made it way worse.
Not bringing souvenirs this time was definitely the problem. That's why I got yelled at so hard. Honki-kun's weapon or whatever wasn't enough. Gotta be sweets. At this rate Billy-taichou is gonna get summoned by the girls too... One more set!
So yeah, fruitcake it is. No butter so it'll probably end up like sweet bread, but it's fruitcake.
Borrowed the inn kitchen—signboard girl is already bought off, so safe.
Flour, dried fruit, milk (dunno what kind, just milk). If it turns into bread I'll steam it and pass it off as steamed buns. Anyway, right now everyone except the idiots is in the dungeon—they won't be back till night. When they get back the lectures restart. I need fruitcake before then! It's a race against time. The only way to prove I'm not at fault is fruitcake! Because I'm not at fault!!
Actually my clothes and gear are still perfectly intact, injuries healed with mushroom potions, but I was pretty wrecked—especially that last flight into town and crash-landing. Almost dead. Didn't sleep at all. Yet here I am baking fruitcake nonstop to avoid getting yelled at. Sieving flour, whipping, kneading, resting, idiots are sleeping while I bake and steam—should I burn the otakus' heads too? Why aren't they helping? Didn't they say they'd repay me when they got to town? They're here but nowhere to be found? Not saving me from lectures? Read the damn room! ...I'm aerating the batter by reading the room. Why am I the only one working this hard? I'm supposed to be a NEET...
...
...
...
Victory. Total victory. Overwhelming victory, even. I proved my innocence. It really was a false accusation every time. If this keeps up I'm gonna turn into the Count of Monte Cristo—but I already live in a cave, so who do I get revenge on? Otakus first, obviously.
The girls are chomping on the fruitcake-ish steamed-bread-whatever. Some look ready to yell "marukabiri!" any second.
Some are eating while crying. Others silently latched on and swallowed. Good thing I cut them up—if I'd left a whole chunk in the middle it'd be a death game right now. For some reason everyone's crying... while laughing... I didn't put mushrooms in, okay? Was there something bad in it? Smiling through tears.
Straight into dinner, everyone making a huge racket as usual. Even the idiots came down, so conversation is pure chaos. No one knows what anyone's talking about anymore. I sure don't. Names unknown.
Eventually took turns in the bath and partied till midnight. Noisy bunch as always. Class rep is close as usual, bitches pressuring from behind, sports girls going wild, signboard girl panicking, idiots clinging and saying stupid stuff, otakus ignoring conversation to do otaku things, vice-rep A glancing glares, vice-rep C getting fed everywhere, vice-rep B still jiggling... Uh, I didn't see anything! Why is everyone glaring at once!? Why did everyone suddenly go silent!? Jito infection spreading!? Almost—twelve people would be twenty-four jito eyes, legendary stuff, but forty jito eyes is destructive force too high. Even signboard girl caught the jito. As usual: noisy, lively, rowdy, lewd. You're second-years already—get some common sense already, seriously.
Anyway, night got deep, finally back to my room and passed out like I fainted... Pretty sure I just fainted. I'm exhausted.
**Day 25 ended**