Chapter 23 Narumi Honoka ⑩
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Nooooooo!”
I woke up. I had a really horrible dream. I don’t remember the details, but I remember it was a very unpleasant dream.
The pajamas I’m wearing are soaking wet with sweat. Especially around the lower abdomen, it’s wet with something other than sweat.
…No way, did I wet the bed at this age?
I thought that, but fortunately it wasn’t the case, so I felt a moment of relief. No, it’s not a relief, it’s not pee, it’s this lewd, slimy liquid…
What kind of dream was I having, me…
Anyway, my throat is parched. I get out of bed, pour water from the pitcher on the stand into a glass, and finally regain my composure by gulping it all down.
I stripped off the pajamas and panties that had become disgusting from being wet with sweat (and lewd slime), wiped off the sweat, and was just about to put on new panties.
”Honoka-san! Are you okay! I heard a loud scream… just… now…”
Koganei-kun opened the door and entered without even knocking.
Time completely stopped; it was one of those moments.
”…”
”…”
Right now, I am completely stark naked. My boobs, and even down there where nothing has grown yet, are all exposed…
”Noooooooo! Idiot! Pervert! Don’t just come in whenever you want!!”
”Whoa-whoa-whoa, sorry!”
I threw whatever was nearby at Koganei-kun.
”Gugyah!”
Ah, something hard made a clean hit.
* * *
After that, I changed into my everyday clothes and sat at a table in the downstairs dining room (by the way, I wonder why inns in other worlds mostly have the same layout?) having breakfast, but an awkward atmosphere was flowing.
Well, although there are other reasons, the cause is me and Koganei-kun. I’m sure I must have a quite displeased look on my face.
”You screamed like that so I got worried, and then…”
”…”
”Um, I’ll apologize for entering without knocking, so…”
”…”
”Besides, I’ve seen it many times… bubbe!”
I throw the plate with soup in it right at his face.
”Wait, what are you saying! Lewd! Idiot! Pervert!”
”…Koganei, that was really lacking in delicacy,” Yuuko said.
”Ugh… sorry.”
Yuuko is glaring at Koganei-kun with jito-me¹ eyes. I hear there are some otaku in the world who say ‘being glared at with jito-me is a treat,’ but I just can’t understand that. Putting that aside.
”Listen, there’s a total difference between being seen suddenly and, well, being seen when you’re doing it. For example… Koganei, how would you feel if Honoka suddenly visited your room?”
”Eh? Well, I’d be happy.”
”What if the room was a mess?”
”……Ah, I’d hate that. …Ah, so that’s what it means. My bad, I’ll seriously be careful from now on.”
Yuuko’s example is a bit much, but it’s easy to understand. It seems Koganei-kun realized that what he said just now was a slip of the tongue, and he bowed his head and apologized sincerely.
Even though his face was covered in soup.
”Sigh, fine already. More importantly…”
”Yeah, this part is a problem for all of us,” Akiyama-kun said.
Akiyama-kun puts on a serious face.
”The deadline for repaying the debt is today… but there is no prospect of full repayment at all.”
Yes, right now we are short on cash; rather, we had a massive debt.
Heroes can use public facilities like lodging for free. For example, the inn we are staying at now is like that.
But you’d think that would make it impossible to run the business, but apparently, the fact that a Hero stayed there adds prestige to the inn, and they actually make more money. In other words, a win-win relationship is established.
However, when it comes to armor shops and tool shops, it doesn’t go that way.
There’s a reason for this. There are various feuds between the Hero Church and the Merchant Guild, and they are on quite bad terms with each other.
This is something I learned before setting out as a Hero, but two hundred years ago, in the time of the Hero two generations before us, a certain hunter supposedly bought a sword for a large sum of money, and the Hero snatched it away. The hunter pleaded for it back since he was the one who bought it, but the Hero wouldn’t listen, and what’s more, the Hero said with a very superior attitude that he could do anything to defeat the Demon King, so he would make beneficial use of it.
Initially the hunter thought to settle things peacefully, but he was infuriated by this and challenged the Hero to a duel, but naturally, he was no match and the Hero won overwhelmingly; the hunter left the scene spitting curses.
And this story has an incredible punchline. The next day, that Hero was found as a gruesome corpse. The murder weapon was a sword thrust into his heart. Yes, it was that sword the Hero had forcibly taken.
The Hero Church, naturally, concluded that the hunter was the culprit. Even though the hunter had an alibi, they forcibly captured and executed him.
The Hunters’ Guild and the Merchant Guild, angered by this, reacted fiercely and said they would not cooperate with the Hero at all. Especially on the Merchant Guild side, since they had been providing medicine and such for free until then, it became quite a blow, and they were in a touch-and-go state with each other.
The one who resolved that was a different Hero. That Hero apologized sincerely and promised that from then on, they would purchase everything from weapons and armor to items at fair prices, and if they unjustly took someone’s things, they could be given appropriate punishment.
The Hero Church complained, “What are you doing on your own?” but the Hero dismissed them, saying that even as a Hero, there are things you can and cannot do, and that point should be made clear. Moreover, because that Hero later ended up defeating the Demon King, they couldn’t stand up to him even more…
By the way, the feud with the Hunters’ Guild has been resolved. Apparently, the fighting power of a Hero is nothing to sneeze at. That’s clear just from looking at us. Though our treatment has become the same as ordinary hunters.
And, well, thanks to that Hero, the feud with the Merchant Guild was resolved to some extent, and we became able to buy things, but the relationship between the two remains sour. So when Tatei-kun was summoned, they were like, ‘This is great, we don’t need to rely on the Merchant Guild anymore!’ and were quite happy inside, but since Sasaki-kun died, he left this castle.
When it comes to that, I think now it might have been a mistake to abandon Sasaki-kun and pin all the blame on him, but it’s too late. The current state of being broke is also the result of our actions coming back to haunt us.
”So, how much was it again?”
”Fifteen gold coins.”
”Ugh, a debt of 150 million yen for four people. Not funny.”
If it were just items, it wouldn’t have come to this much. My and Yuuko’s equipment was somewhat expensive, but combined it was about five large silver coins. The problem was Akiyama-kun and Koganei-kun’s equipment.
Akiyama-kun had four Mythril-Alloy swords. And armor and a shield made of White Magi-Metal. White Magi-Metal has the property of blocking magic to some extent, and equipping White Magi-Metal armor and a shield is an excellent item that reduces magic damage by 50%; naturally, its physical defense is also high. Akiyama-kun’s alone cost six gold coins.
And Koganei-kun. Two Mythril daggers, a Lightning Wyvern breastplate, Assassin’s Gloves, Gale Boots, and a Gale Cloak. The Lightning Wyvern breastplate is light and reduces lightning-attribute damage; the Assassin’s Gloves greatly increase DEX, and the Gale Boots and Cloak greatly increase AGI. Actually, Koganei-kun’s equipment is more expensive.
All of them are first-class items, being rare metals or having high effects. Moreover, since they are popular and there was a fear they would run out of stock quickly, we borrowed money from a proper place and purchased them, but…
Naturally, it was impossible to repay fifteen gold coins in six months. A payment plan would have been fine, but Koganei-kun, without thinking, said, “In a lump sum!”…
”So, what are we going to do?”
I glare at Koganei-kun, who ended up creating this unpayable debt. Since a feeling of exasperation is coming out strongly, I’m probably making jito-me eyes.
”Ah—well, it’s not like I don’t have a lead. Rather, this is the only way.”
Koganei-kun says something like it’ll work out, but I don’t know, I have nothing but a bad feeling. Most likely something that won’t be good for me. I feel like something happened before too, but I can’t remember.
”We have no choice but to sell someone. But if we all go, it’ll interfere with combat, so just one person…”
So saying, Koganei-kun looks toward me. And Akiyama-kun and Yuuko too.
”Eh, me?”
”Sorry! If it’s me, Akiyama, or Oshiro, it’ll interfere with combat. Think of it as saving us! Please!”
”…Eh!?”
Koganei-kun pleaded with me to sell myself.
”Sorry. Both Koganei and I will earn money as gladiators, so please endure until then.”
”From me too… I’ll take on lots of requests and buy you back as soon as possible,” Yuuko added.
Akiyama-kun and Yuuko also bow their heads.
…Why is it that I can’t refuse when people ask me like this?
”Muu, I get it. But earn money as quickly as possible and release me, okay?”
That day, as requested by everyone, I fell into slavery.
* * *
Hi, it’s Natsumi. I haven’t had a turn lately so I took over the afterword.
You say I’m appearing as Shin? Well, that’s true, but as ‘me’ I haven’t appeared at all.
More importantly, how was it?
What? The development of the story is forced?
Look, this is inside a dream. Because it’s a dream named Nightmare. Please overlook it a little bit.
Now, what kind of fate awaits Honoka, who has fallen into slavery? Are you looking forward to it? Are you?
But that’s a treat for next time.
See you then.
—
Summary:
Honoka wakes up from a disturbing ‘nightmare’ where the party is drowning in massive debt due to expensive equipment purchases. To settle the 15 gold coin debt by the deadline, the party decides to sell Honoka into slavery while the others work to buy her back. The chapter ends with Honoka accepting her fate as a slave.
—
Character Insight:
Honoka’s inability to refuse her friends’ pleas is her primary character flaw here, leading her into a submissive role. The other characters, particularly Koganei, show a pragmatic yet cold willingness to sacrifice a comrade for the group’s financial survival.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The author uses Natsumi to break the fourth wall, acknowledging that the plot feels ‘forced’ because it is explicitly framed as a ‘Nightmare’ sequence.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Honoka – A member of the relief team with healing magic. Despite her cute, short, ‘transistor glamour’ appearance, she is cold-hearted and mocks Sasaki.
• Koganei – Height 166 cm, weight 56 kg. A mood-maker in the baseball club. He was only after Honoka’s body and worked with Oshiro to steal her from Akiyama.
• Yuuko – A female student and best friend of Narumi Honoka. She is a manager for the baseball club. Described as proactive and quite a beauty. She has her hair in a ponytail and is always stuck like glue to Ryuya.
• Sasaki – The protagonist. Height 168 to 171 cm, weight 57 to 59 kg. He has a baby face, but he hides his eyes with his bangs. He was bullied by the Sugita gang just because his name sounded like a girl’s name.
• Tatei – Tatei Kozoo. Height 186 cm, weight 52 kg. Natsumi’s otaku friend. Originally a tall and sturdy man, but he became skin and bones due to anorexia. Possesses the skill ‘Materialization Alchemy’. Created equipment for the class.
• Natsumi – The protagonist. Height 168 to 171 cm, weight 57 to 59 kg. He has a baby face, but he hides his eyes with his bangs. He was bullied by the Sugita gang just because his name sounded like a girl’s name.
• Shin – A level 18 greatsword user and Hunter from Rubia. Jade rank.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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