Yo, Buddy, Let’s Shower Together!

I was a little worried that I would see a picture of the four of us getting into the police car on the campus forum, with a title like, <Shocking! Four young girls were doing THIS in an abandoned building late at night, and were all taken away by the police?!>.

That headline really had a certain… flavor to it.

The police dropped us off on campus and left. System-Hime’s cheerful and lively voice suddenly rang in my mind:

【Ding dong~~~ E-Rank livestream mission complete. Completion Rate: Perfect. Please select your reward~】

By the way, the “Ding dong~~~” was also shouted out by System-Hime in her sweet loli voice.

The mission completion rate was perfect, which of course made me very happy. But the problem was, the difficulty of this mission was only E-Rank? That should be the lowest rank, right?? It felt like I had worked so hard that my hairline had receded two centimeters to finally solve a difficult math problem, only to have the grading teacher tell me: “Perfect solution. Congratulations on completing this preschool entrance exam level math problem.”

What’s there to congratulate about completing a preschool entrance exam level math problem?!!

System-Hime ignored my inner monologue and continued in her loli voice that could tempt one into becoming a criminal:

【Each of you has the right to choose one reward. The rewards are divided into two main categories. One is the ‘Daily Life’ category, which can help you live better in your daily lives. The second is the ‘Combat’ category, which is used to enhance your combat power. Note, you can only choose one reward from both categories combined~~】

A semi-transparent panel suddenly appeared in front of me with two options: [Daily Life] and [Combat].

I first selected [Daily Life] to take a look. The first item on the drop-down list was [10,000 ¥]. Besides that, there were various skills beneficial to daily life.

These skills were all very common: [Beginner English], [Beginner Drawing], [Beginner Programming], [Beginner Bank Robbery], [Beginner Hostage Taking], [Beginner Method for Not Getting Shot by the Police After the Hostage is Shot], [Beginner Defense Speech for a Life Sentence], [Beginner Guide to Picking Up the Soap], [Beginner Guide to Writing a Last Will and Testament in Prison], etc…

Why did these daily life skills go off on a tangent into bank robbery??? Not only did it teach you how to rob a bank, but it also considered how to live out the rest of your life more gracefully after a failed robbery.

How thoughtful!!!

There’s nothing wrong with my brain. Of course I wouldn’t choose [Beginner Guide to Picking Up the Soap] and use it on Exusiai. I opened the [Combat] drop-down menu.

This menu was much simpler. There were only two options in total: [Permanently gain 1% of Kiriko-Kirito’s peak combat power] and [Burst with 33% of Kiriko-Kirito’s peak combat power for three minutes (single use only)].

The two options were simple and clear. First, Kiriko, or rather Kirito, had played many VR games, and his combat power varied in each game, which was why the option specified [Kiriko-Kirito’s peak combat power].

Option one was a permanent enhancement type, granting one percent of his combat power. To be honest, the reward wasn’t much, but considering the mission’s difficulty was only at the level of a preschool entrance exam, it wasn’t surprising.

As for option two, it was a one-time consumable. Like Ultraman, a true man for three minutes, and then limp after the three minutes were up. It could only be used in an emergency.

I was suddenly a little curious. Whether it was me as Kiriko or Exusiai and Saber, we were all characters who originally had combat abilities. But what about Yukino? Her character originally had no combat power. What kind of rewards could she get?

I voiced my question. Yukino tucked a strand of hair behind her delicate, fair ear and explained, “The combat-related rewards for me are a selection of various combat skills. Right now, they’re all realistic abilities, like Karate, traditional Japanese swordsmanship, and so on. As we complete more difficult missions in the future, I guess fantasy-based skills will appear, like the Kamehameha or something.”

The image of the elegant girl Yukino, legs apart, muscles bulging as she unleashed a Kamehameha… I really couldn’t imagine it.

Although none of us were particularly wealthy, we at least didn’t have to worry about food and drink, so the ‘Daily Life’ rewards were far less appealing to us than the ‘Combat’ ones.

Saber, who had the most authority on the subject of brawling, spoke up. She pinched her monocle and spoke like a heroic knight commander. “From a long-term perspective, everyone would naturally want to choose the option to permanently increase their combat power. That way, after a few missions, we’ll eventually be able to possess the full combat power of our original characters. But out of caution, I think at least one person should choose the ‘three-minute-man’ option. That way, if we encounter an irresistible danger in the next livestream, at least someone can step up to protect everyone while they retreat.”

Saber’s words made a lot of sense. I pulled Exusiai’s little hand, which had sneakily crept into my clothes again, out and held it in mine, nodding in agreement. “Yukino doesn’t have the ‘three-minute-man’ option, which means one of the three of us has to make a sacrifice and choose the ‘three-minute-man’ option to protect everyone, instead of permanently enhancing our combat power.”

Before I could even suggest using rock-paper-scissors, rolling dice, or seeing who could pee the farthest to decide who the unlucky one would be, Saber spoke up as if she had already made up her mind. “I’ll do it. I’ll choose this ‘three-minute-man’ option.”

A clear light flashed in her forest-lake-like eyes. She spoke quietly, truly like a knight whose duty was to protect. “My physical fitness is the best among us, so it’s still sufficient for now. I’m not in a hurry to get one percent of my original character’s combat power. I’ll choose this ‘three-minute-man’ reward and make a contribution to the club.”

…Although I was quite moved by what you said before, what’s with the “make a contribution to the club”? Are we some kind of evil organization?!

Men always come to an agreement quickly. We accepted Saber’s good intentions and chose our respective rewards.

Saber, as she said, obtained the ability to burst with 33% of the Servant Saber’s combat power for three minutes. Exusiai and I both chose to permanently gain one percent of our original character’s combat power. Yukino chose Karate, and her physical fitness was also enhanced accordingly.

After receiving the reward, I immediately felt my body become much lighter, more agile, and stronger. A few of Kirito’s combat techniques also appeared in my mind, though they were very few and very basic. In Sword Art Online, Kirito was able to go head-to-head with so many monstrously huge creatures. Even if I only gained one percent of his combat power, it was a very significant improvement for a weak, ordinary person like me.

System-Hime’s voice disappeared from my mind. The four of us stood in the silent campus and finally let out a heavy sigh of relief. Today’s events were finally over.

Exusiai, holding my hand, stretched lazily. Her pale white waist and small navel were revealed from under the hem of her shirt. She showed a bright and relaxed smile and said, “I’m all sweaty. Let’s go take a shower together!”