Chapter 176

Maa, it would be nice to decide on a goal, but I didn’t know where to start .

It would be fine if I went for a skill like something along the lines of『Brainwash』, that I knew .

However, I’ve never seen something like『Brainwash』before .

No, it would be better for me to have never seen it before .

It would be nice if I had something that I could reference, but I intuitively felt that it was somewhat different from the curse that the Princess of Retice put on us .

Rather than call it brainwashing, it was a curse .

I, who always used my intuition, could not adequately explain how it was different, but it just was .

After worrying about it up to there, I decided to stop thinking about it by myself for the time being .

As expected, I couldn’t do anything by myself .

Why don’t I try asking the others .

First, let’s hear from Hosoyama who actually acquired a skill through her own efforts .

「Eh? How to acquire a skill?」

During lunch time, in a place a slight distance away from the others, I decisively asked Hosoyama who was checking her equipment .

Raising her head, Hosoyama blinked her eyes in surprise .

「That’s right . I probably wouldn’t be able to get『Gluttony』, but I asked Tsuda for advice last night, and I thought of something . And so, I didn’t know how to turn that into a skill and reached an impasse . Is there a trick to it or something?」

I hadn’t used my brain this much ever since cramming everything that was covered on the last test several minutes before taking it .

The test results were, of course, miserable .

「I see, I thought that you guys were slow even though you were only washing things… . Nn–, a trick huh . I just practiced what the knights taught me when we were at the castle though . 」

I tilted my head in confusion .

Regarding our statuses and skills, we were basically each taught by the knights and specialists that accompanied us .

In other words, we were taught by different people, so what we learned differed as well .

Perhaps Tsuda wasn’t taught that either .

Otherwise, Tsuda probably would’ve told me yesterday .

「Ah– . I probably didn’t hear it . Since the most important thing for an animal trainer to do was to deepen their bonds with the animals that they trained . 」

It seems that the person who was assigned to me was not someone who was suited for teaching others .

Even if that weren’t the case, they probably didn’t have the free time to train people who had noncombatant occupations on top of having no fighting potential like those who were animal trainers .

Talented people were assigned to people like those guys who had occupations geared towards combat or those who were needed during a battle like Hosoyama .

Truly, in various ways, it was meritocracy, or perhaps I should say, classism .

Even though they had the same occupations, there was a difference in treatment between a samurai and a knight, and most likely, the same went for clerics and exorcists .

I had realized it after leaving that place, but I truly thought that it was good that we left the castle .

「Is that so? Then, let’s share information with everyone later . 」

By contrast, Hosayama’s impartiality was blinding .

Moreover, she was talented and amiable, and had a good appearance as well .

I no longer felt jealous .

The heavens bestowed upon Hosoyama and Satou one or two things too many .

「Firstly, you need a strong heart to acquire a skill . It’s not something that is visible, and in the first place, it differs from person to person, so there are many people who fail here, it seems . For us who lived in a scientifically-advanced world, it is not something that is easy to understand, and is not clear-cut . However, the knights who taught me told me that one’s status and heart are closely connected . 」

Though it seems that there are also people who specialized in researching things like that, Hosoyama muttered this and ended it there .

Come to think of it, it seemed like Tsuda also said something along those lines last night .

「So, you just have to feel it?」

「That’s not it, it probably happens in an instant . That’s how it was for me . 」

I tilted my head in confusion, but perhaps Hosoyama too couldn’t explain it any more than that, as she just said that and held up two fingers .

「Ok, the next thing . The second thing is magic power . Is it truly possible with the amount of magic power that you have . If the amount of magic power that you try to use exceeds that of what you possess, at best, your magic power would dry up and you wander between the line of life and death . At worst, you would disintegrate due to the magic power forcibly leaving your body . My『Gluttony』doesn’t consume that much magic power, so I don’t need to worry about that, but if the skill that Waki-kun is considering requires more magic power than what you possess, then I must stop you . 」

I gulped when she looked at me so seriously .

Come to think of it, this was the first time that I’ve talked with Hosoyama this closely, and it’s also the first time I’ve seen her eyes at such proximity .

I dumbfoundedly nodded, when faced with those eyes that sucked me in .

「Yesterday, Satou-kun said it to me, didn’t he? ‘I wouldn’t be able to take it if anyone here was gone’ . I feel the same way . I didn’t think about that until yesterday, but that’s already in the past, so Waki-kun, you need to make that promise too . 」

I see, I nodded .

Was Hosoyama’s reckless behavior when she used『Poison Testing』and『Gluttony』the result of self-sacrificing .

Seeing that I nodded, Hosoyama gave a smile that was full of satisfaction and held up three fingers .

「Lastly, is the existing skills . It seems that only those chosen by God can create new skills . 」

The first half of her words startled me who was trying to figure out what she meant, but more than that, the second half caught my attention .

「Those chosen by God? What the, how questionable . Is it some kind of religion or something?」

Hosoyama frowned at my words and shook her head .

「That’s not it . The only God in this world is the God of Creation, Aitel . Many people believe that Aitel exists . It doesn’t seem as if they’re particularly giving any offerings or praying, but even so, there are many people who believe that, so be careful with your words, especially when you’re talking to the elves . 」

It seems that there’s some kind of connection between the elves and Aitel .

And the ones who believe in Aitel the most were the elves .

Elves lived long lives and there was also the folklore that had been passed down from them .

That’s why, other races believed in Aitel as well .

This was because the elves had always been the most credible .

It seems that there were speculations that the demons’ traditions had been reset due to the northern part of the continent having been blown away, or that they couldn’t be trusted since the demon king was manipulating them from the shadows .

Did Amelia-san also believe that Aitel existed .

「Maa, putting that aside, let’s go back to what I was saying before . Even if you don’t know whether or not it’s an existing skill, if it’s a skill that doesn’t exist in this world, then you just won’t be able to acquire it, so don’t worry . Which means that, what Waki-kun should be worried about is the amount of magic power and how strong your heart is . If you could get a skill in a short period of time, then the people in this world would all be the strongest, and we too would be returning to Japan, so don’t think that it’s easy . If you’re stuck, I could give you advice as well . So do your best . 」

Winking, Hosoyama returned to where everyone else was with the equipment that she finished checking in hand .

In order to cool down the rising heat on my face, I used my hand to fan my cheeks .

「Uwah, this is the first time I’ve seen a girl who looks good when she winks . This was how Satou fell in love… . 」

I gave a wry smile when I thought of the sharp gaze that I felt the entire time I was talking to Hosoyama .

Although I was behind Tsuda’s shield, I survived being on the verge of death .

When we were in Japan, I could sense the gaze that I never understood the meaning of .

「Even so, he would definitely have no say in the relationship . 」

Thinking about the future of my classmates, a deep sigh that should not be coming from a young man escaped from my lips .