108 104 Lets listen to the first episode. (1/2)

Tanaka Jiro, 28 years old, with a girlfriend

Her Suela Hendelberg

Memory Tris

Occupation Dungeon Tester (full-time)

Magical aptitude nine (quasi-magical grade)

Post Warriors

We moved a little way off the main road and up to a small plaza that is blinded by the stalls.

Amidst loud cheers, the sound of a lighter being lit could be heard louder than usual.

You put your mouth close to the lighted flame and take a deep breath, and your cigarette is lit.

The party is over. ......

Hearing Kanzaki's words, I think first of all.

It's good to help you, but I don't feel the need to give you advice here as I've been ignoring you and not communicating with you at a minimum.

Honestly, I just want to tell you to think for yourself.

How did you get to this point?

You don't need to ask him what he wants, for now.

If you can't hear it, ask him to help himself.

”Do you know that our party is for women?

”Oh, you'd be hard pressed not to know.

It's a party for one of the few female testers in my class.

Even when she was a soloist, she's heard at least a little bit of gossip from Suela and the other employees.

Her grades are a little above average, not outstanding, but stable.

I've heard that many testers have applied for a joint party because of the high looks of the party members.

I've been keeping my distance, but I never thought I'd see the day when I'd come in contact with you.

...... I don't know if it's because of that, but I've been getting a lot of calls from other testers lately, and one of the members said he's quitting the job because of it. I told him not to worry about it. ......

”Worse, you mean to say that the member was under more stress than expected?

Yeah, so the mood in the party was bad, and now we're a little behind in the dungeon attack.

Hear that, it makes sense.

So it's all about troublesome relationship troubles.

And Kanzaki, as the leader, is looking for a solution.

”Come with me for a moment before I figure out the problem.

”?　Where are you going to go?

”You've got such a horrible look on your face that if I tell you the solution, you'll see it in a negative light. Let's have a change of scenery.

”There's no time for that.

If you don't have one, you're the one you're talking about who wants to quit.

!

”You think I don't know that you don't notice that I'm a stranger, but I didn't understand how you could come to me for advice from a stranger: ...... Well, I'd say more.

”......

”Do something about the dark circles that are hidden underneath that makeup and then you can say.

When he pointed out the gesture with his hand under his eyes, he confirmed that he was telling a lie.

If I were to say, if you want to quit, you can quit. But I know you have circumstances that prevent you from quitting. But you can't tell your colleagues about those circumstances. So you came to me. Am I right?

”...... is no different.

After deciding that it was impossible to hide it any longer, Kanzaki walked out after me.

Here.

Thank you.

You buy a bottle of juice at a stall on the way and give it to Kanzaki.

He doesn't stop, but as he walks along, he asks her what happened.

Tell me as much as you can.

The status enhancement is appreciated at times like these.

It's because my hearing is enhanced enough to hear what I'm saying while looking ahead.

Actually, it's ......

I listen to what is said to me piece by piece.

I get the gist of what was said.

Yeah, that's how it works.

Meanwhile, the walk doesn't stop.

You pass by a stall and go down a straight road.

The arena is where you're headed.

Kanzaki understands that, but he follows you without saying anything.

I understand the situation ...... but there's something I can't figure out. Why did you consult with me?　Normally, it would have been better to have been a homos*xual Suela or something like that.

The Chief said I should talk to you about it.

”Suela~

I get a headache from her behavior as a man who takes the troubles of a woman of her age to me.

No, let's pretend that I'm from Earth and I'm the one who has a woman at the party, rather than Suela, an otherworlder who is at odds with common sense.

And let's summarize Kanzaki's situation.

Kanzaki's party is a stranger to me, but I'm not comfortable with the idea of being with a man, and I'm afraid of fighting alone, so I formed this party.

The relationship is more than a business associate and less than a friend.

Kanzaki is the leader by accident, but he doesn't have that much power, and at best he sets the guidelines.

But there are many cases of miscellaneous work being thrust upon him, and he rarely helps out with it.

And the male testers have been picking on me for some time now, and I'm starting to get jealous of them.

If you have all these conditions, you should be able to quit your job.

...... The need to earn a living is a bottleneck.

Yes.

Kanzaki is a struggling student who is attending a university in Tokyo at the behest of his parents.

At that time, I was required to earn my own living expenses.

There is no other company with such flexible hours and good pay as this one.

With proper money management and risk management, my life is considerably better.

So you can't quit even if you want to.

”You could join my party, but that wouldn't solve the problem in this case. Instead, it's going to add fuel to the fire.

It's troublesome that it's not simply a matter of changing departments.

Suppose I invited Kanzaki to my party like Kitamiya did.

That would cause the relationship between the party we left behind and Kanzaki to become strained, and the target of the other testers' relationship troubles would be my party.

It's not even a fireman's errand.

If it's not, it will be even worse.