CFD – Chapter 11 – Monday

On Monday, I go to school. To be honest, it’s a hassle. I’m already turning 18, and once I do, I would like to quit school and become a full-time adventurer. However, it’s a bit daunting to be just a junior high school graduate, so I don’t plan to put it into action.

However, I have been thinking that even if I become a truant and focus on dungeon exploration, I might be able to graduate by March without any issues.

I probably won’t be able to put it into action anyways since my mother would oppose it.

While walking along my usual route to school, I noticed there are people whispering and glancing at me curiously. I wonder what’s going on.

I continued walking and finally arrived at the school building, entering my classroom.

For a moment, all eyes turned towards me. Some of them were engaged in some kind of conversation with their friends while staring at me.

“Hey there, King.” (Tsuguru)

As I took my seat and heard the remark from Shinooka, everything started to make sense.

“Did you watch the live stream?” (Yotsuka)

“I did. Yesterday’s and also the one when you saved Azami-chan. I happened to be watching it live. I gotta say, I was quite surprised by a lot of things. I mean, I had no idea you were doing live streams.” (Tsuguru)

“Well, it’s because of my parents. They wanted a way to confirm my safety even when I’m outside the dungeon. It was a condition they set in exchange for allowing me to go on dungeon explorations, so I reluctantly started doing it.” (Yotsuka)

“Oh, I see. That explains why you did not seem too enthusiastic about doing live streams. By the way, could it be that the only long-time viewer is actually your parent?” (Tsuguru)

“No, my parents ultimately decided not to watch because it was too stressful for them. That person is just a regular viewer. She found me around last year and has been tuning in to my live streams ever since.” (Yotsuka)

“Really? It’s impressive that she found you with just the title and channel name. The title only has the date written on it, and the channel name is simply ‘Dungeon Exploration’.” (Tsuguru)

“She said that she stumbled upon it by chance. Honestly, I find the people that were intentionally tracking me down to be even scarier.” (Yotsuka)

“Yeah, it’s impressive. I wonder how they manage to locate you.” (Tsuguru)

Now that I think about it, those viewers who appeared towards the end of the live stream when I rescued Azami, even though it was only a small increase, were most likely Azami’s own viewers who managed to find me.

I’m genuinely curious about what kind of technology they are using to do that.

“By the way, you are a lower-level explorer, huh?” (Tsuguru)

“Well, yeah.” (Yotsuka)

“Why didn’t you mention it before? Don’t you want to boast about it at least a little?” (Tsuguru)

“Well, imagine if, by some mistake, I died the next day. That would be incredibly embarrassing, wouldn’t it?” (Yotsuka)

“What’s up with that thought process?” (Tsuguru)

“Explorers are always living on the edge of death, you know.” (Yotsuka)

At first, Shinooka was laughing, but gradually, his smile faded as he absorbed my words.

“You have a professional mindset, huh?” (Tsuguru)

“Well, there are plenty of lower-level explorers out there, to begin with.” (Yotsuka)

“No, I think that is a rare trait. Especially if we are talking about solo explorers or high school students, they would be a very small minority.” (Tsuguru)

Honestly, there have been times when I wrestled with the desire to boast about my own abilities, as Shinooka mentioned. Mainly, for reasons like hoping it would make me more popular with girls.

But deep down, I realized that there are also people who would come after me out of jealousy or spite, so I chose to remain silent.

“So, what are you going to do as a streamer? Now that you’ve gained some attention, are you going to focus on that as well?” (Tsuguru)

“I don’t really plan on it, at least not for now. The income from lower-level exploration is sufficient for me… But maybe it could be a good opportunity to interact with other summoners?” (Yotsuka)

The latter part of what I said was somewhat of a soliloquy¹. I have had the desire to deepen connections with other summoners for a while now, but I haven’t had many opportunities. If I could interact with skilled summoners, we might be able to exchange information about lesser-known spirits that have not gained much public attention yet. That’s the intention behind it.

“Yeah, I think it’s important for summoners to have connections with others in the same job, after all.” (Tsuguru)

“If you want to progress further, I think it becomes important to have those connections. You might be able to exchange information about spirits that haven’t been widely recognized yet.” (Yotsuka)

“Are there really spirits like that?” (Tsuguru)

“I believe so. Even when I showed Ianga yesterday, it seemed like most people were unfamiliar with it. Even I have connected with spirits that don’t appear in online searches, so I think there are likely other summoners out there with hidden gems.” (Yotsuka)

“Are there still hidden gems out there?” (Tsuguru)

“I have not even used my strongest one in actual combat yet. There are some considerations regarding mana efficiency and such. It’s not that I deliberately want to hide it, though.” (Yotsuka)

Shinooka nodded in admiration.

Then, I looked around the classroom once again, taking it all in.

“It seems like you’re being watched.” (Tsuguru)

“…Well, they will get bored soon enough.” (Yotsuka)

“Can you show me a spirit as a little treat?” (Tsuguru)

“No, I can’t. Simply using them for that purpose would be too disrespectful.” (Yotsuka)

“Is that how it is?” (Tsuguru)

“From a non-summoner’s perspective, it might seem like we’re just using the spirits for our own benefit, but fundamentally, we are in a position where we ask for their cooperation. We can’t afford to be disrespectful.” (Yotsuka)

Although I say that, I feel like Rinnea would be happy to interact with my classmates if I were to summon her, and it wouldn’t be much of a problem to do so in the classroom. However, I would rather not call her out at the moment, as it might attract unwanted attention from those who are observing from a distance. So, I’ll refrain from summoning her for now.

“Oh, good morning, Azami-chan. Are you alright?” (Classmate)

At that moment, as I heard that voice, I looked towards the entrance of the classroom and saw Azami just arriving at school.

One by one, people gathered around her, expressing their concerns and joyfully celebrating her safety.

It’s quite the contrast that I am being observed from a distance, while Azami is being approached. Well, I suppose I’m not as approachable as she is.

After finishing her greetings with everyone, Azami headed straight towards me.

“Good morning, Yotsuka-kun.” (Azami)

“Good morning.” (Yotsuka)

“Once again, thank you for the other day. Hikari-chan woke up safely and she’s completely fine now.” (Azami)

“That’s good.” (Yotsuka)

“Hikari-chan and I would like to thank you for saving us. Is there anyone we can do for you?” (Azami)

“…No, it’s fine. It wasn’t much trouble.” (Yotsuka)

“Hmm… Well then, we will take it upon ourselves to prepare something. Will you accept it?” (Azami)

“Well, I suppose that is fine…” (Yotsuka)

“And also, um…” (Azami)

Azami briefly averted her gaze, displaying an uneasy demeanor. I wonder what it could be.

“This is not a request from me, or rather, it’s a request from the viewers… Would you be willing to appear as a guest on our live stream next time?” (Azami)

“A guest?” (Yotsuka)

“Many people are interested in hearing from Yotuka-kun as a Summoner. Of course, we will pay you properly, so what do you think?” (Azami)

“…A guest, huh.” (Yotsuka)

I thought about it for a while before responding to her.

“Okay.” (Yotsuka)

“That’s great!” (Azami)

“But I don’t need the payment.” (Yotsuka)

“Is that so? How about splitting the earnings from that live stream?” (Azami)

“That works too.” (Yotsuka)

I had reservations about accepting money from my classmates. With the income from dungeon explorations alone, I had enough, and it wasn’t a burden to appear as a guest for free, even just once.

“Understood. Then, are you available this coming Sunday?” (Azami)

“I’m fine.” (Yotsuka)

We decided to set the date of the live stream for that day.

“So, about the content… Should we do dungeon exploration with Hikari-chan as a trio, or have a casual talk stream at my place? Which one do you think is better?” (Azami)

“…If you want to see me actually summoning spirits, then the dungeon stream might be the way to go.” (Yotsuka)

“Then let’s go with the dungeon stream.” (Azami)

“I will discuss the specific details with Hikari-chan and let you know afterwards.” (Azami)

With that, Azami headed back to her seat.

“Hey, is that really ok?” (Tsuguru)

“Hmm?” (Yotsuka)

“That was your chance to visit Azami-chan’s house you know?” (Tsuguru)

“It’s not like doing that would change anything anyways.” (Yotsuka)

Nevertheless, being a guest on a live stream huh?

If it’s Azami’s channel, the number of viewers would likely be in the tens of thousands.

Since it’s a valuable opportunity, I wondered if there was something I could prepare to entertain the viewers and make it enjoyable for them.

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TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

Don’t we all wish we have a fairy companion to talk to, I mean it would be pretty fun if their personality was like Rinnea’s. You can bet there would be more summoners trying to summon fairies now.

Btw I have no idea if Hikari is supposed to be a heroine or not so I just put her as side character for now. Although, there was some odd stuff pointed out about her in earlier chapters by both Azami and MC, so there could be an interesting development.

That one viewer is not mentioned to be male or female, but let’s be honest, it’s most likely a female.

There will no chapters this weekend either, cause assignments and stuff again.

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Footnote:

1. Soliloquy – an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play.