The well-Balanced Yamamoto-san Gets Caught up in a Death Game

Chapter 24

“Hmm, what should I do…”

Despite having more options now, there’s a sense of being at an impasse with nothing to do.

When playing RPGs, you usually progress smoothly up to a certain point, but then suddenly the monsters get stronger or you need better equipment, forcing you to halt, right?

This situation feels similar.

As I was pondering what to do, I got a chat from Tatsu-san. Of course, I’ll respond!

“Hello hello, Tatsu-san. What’s up?”

“Yama-chan, are you free right now?”

“Yep, I’m free!”

I have lots of issues, but none that are about to explode right now! No problems here!

“We’re thinking of aiming for the next area soon.”

“I see.”

“I was wondering if you’d like to join us.”

“I see. The next area, huh?”

To go to the next area, we need to defeat the area boss, right?

I’m a bit uneasy about fighting an area boss alone, to be honest.

After all, the pain is real here.

Even if my stats far exceed the area boss’s attack power, I could easily end up writhing from the pain of a small attack and get beaten to a pulp.

If it were just a game, I could charge in prepared to take hits and just heal my HP, but…

In this game, painful attacks really hurt, so you can’t fight normally expecting to take hits.

That’s why Tatsu-san’s invitation is very welcome. If Tatsu-san is okay with it, I’d even want to ask him myself.

But Tatsu-san said “we,” didn’t he?

If it were just Tatsu-san, I’d decide immediately without hesitation, but is it okay to team up with people I don’t know?

“Tatsu-san, I think you know me pretty well, but there are others I don’t know, right?”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. We’re thinking of having you do healing, so you probably won’t be directly involved in combat much.”

I see. A healer role, huh?

I can use [Light Magic], and I have plenty of [Regeneration Potions] and [Potions].

Plus, I’ve learned support magic that can help the party too.

If they’d asked me to be a physical attacker that needs to coordinate movements, I might have refused, but if it’s just healing from the back as a healer, I could accept that.

And that way, I’m less likely to be exposed as Yamamoto.

“Hmm. Alright then. I’ll join.”

“Really? That’s a big help. We were short on people and having trouble.”

From what Tatsu-san tells me, only four people, including Tatsu-san and me, will be participating in this area conquest.

Tatsu-san usually forms parties with various people as a pickup player, but these two are fixed party members who always work together.

But they’re not bad people, so they accepted this area conquest proposal, but…

“It wasn’t your idea, Tatsu-san?”

“I’m the type who wants to support various people and have them enjoy this game as much as possible, rather than treating it as a death game. I’ve been involved with this game since development, so I’d hate for players to be left with only bitter memories because of the death game aspect… So I’m not that interested in conquest itself.”

I see.

That makes sense.

Probably, if LIA is conquered, it’ll become the worst game ever, one that can never be played again.

So rather than having those memories completely painted over with sadness, wanting people to think there were some fun times too – that’s very like Tatsu-san.

“Those two have wanted to go to the next area for a while, but they were uneasy about going just the two of them. They’ve been asking around the guild to see if anyone wants to join the conquest.”

“But they couldn’t gather enough people?”

“Yeah. Well, there are various reasons…”

Apparently, reasons like not having enough levels, weak equipment, concerns about party composition, doubts about coordination, and so on.

Because they usually play just the two of them, there were doubts about their skills, which also made it hard to gather participants.

“You’re good for joining, Tatsu-san.”

“Well, it seemed like they might try to challenge it alone if left to their own devices. We can’t have two suicides, can we?”

“Suicides… Are their abilities that problematic?”

“Their abilities are probably normal. But they’re both frontline attackers. It’s reckless to charge in without a healer, isn’t it?”

I see.

In a game where pain is real, going without a healer is tough.

So that’s why they picked me.

…………

Wait, I’m a production class though!

“Alright, I understand. I’ll be the healer even though I’m a production class. So, when are we conquering?”

“After defeating an EOD, you can’t really insist you’re just a production class anymore, can you?”

“Tatsu-san, do you want me to refuse this offer?”

“Ah, you probably need time to prepare too, right? I need to explain to the others as well, so how about the day after tomorrow?”

I’m glad Tatsu-san is reasonable.

Still, do I need a whole day to prepare?

Ah, but we might camp out, so I might need to prepare for that?

Come to think of it, I’ve never stayed outdoors, so I don’t have any of that kind of equipment.

I’ll use [Divine Artifact Creation] to make camping gear and prepare. Camping gear made by paying 1000 MP must be super luxurious!

So, after discussing with Tatsu-san, we decided to use one day for preparation and meet with the conquest members on the first floor of the Adventurers’ Guild first thing in the morning the day after tomorrow!

It’s a bit exciting!

■□■

Now, on the day of the area conquest challenge.

I headed to the Adventurers’ Guild, fully prepared.

By fully prepared, I mean empty-handed!

Normal players start with a [Storage Bag] at the beginning.

It can stock about a hundred types of items, but in my case, in addition to that [Storage Bag], I’ve also acquired the [Storage] skill.

The [Storage] skill increases the number of items that can be stocked according to the skill level, and has convenient features like stopping time progression for items inside.

Overall, its performance is better than the [Storage Bag].

So I find it very useful.

Additionally, I have the carriage, which is currently becoming a storage space.

The reason I can hoard massive amounts of [Compounding], [Alchemy], and [Smithing] items and materials while always being lightly equipped is largely due to this outstanding storage capacity.

So, I enter the Adventurers’ Guild, still lightly equipped.

Perhaps because I came early in the morning out of excitement, there are still few people in the first floor area that doubles as a tavern.

Not wanting to get caught up in anything strange, I use [Invisibility] and sit down at an empty seat.

I brew some pine needle tea I brought and enjoy it leisurely.

Pine trees were growing near Gaga-san’s workshop (apparently for charcoal material), so I borrowed some to make tea leaves. It has a strong aroma and is slightly bitter. It’s not exactly delicious, but it’s not bad when you want something in your mouth.

Above all, it’s suitable for killing time slowly. You can’t gulp it down because it’s bitter.

As I was waiting for time to pass leisurely like that…

For some reason, I’m now sharing a table with two elderly people.

“Iko-san, it’s good weather today. Perfect for an outing.”

“Yes, indeed, Grandpa Gobuzou.”

“…………”

Well, time has passed, and the guild has gotten a bit more crowded, you know?

And in such a situation, if you use [Invisibility], people might unknowingly sit at the same table.

But these two, probably, recognize me.

They maintain their smiling faces, but occasionally glance at me.

By the way, the old man called Gobuzou has green skin and looks like Yoda from Star Wars. He’s wearing what appears to be tattered rags, just like that character. Maybe there’s a fan among the designers.

But since his name is Gobuzou, he’s probably of the Goblin race. Just a guess.

On the other hand, the old woman called Iko is a refined beastkin lady with floppy dog ears? fox ears? growing on her head. She has pure white, fluffy hair, a face like a human old woman, and is wearing something like a kimono.

Hmm. In this game, beastkin are classified as monsters, huh?

Quite a few games include beastkin as part of the human races, so I was a bit surprised.

Well, I guess how the developers view beastkin, whether as human or monster, affects how they’re treated…

Anyway, Iko-san’s gaze has been fixed on my pine needle tea for a while now.

Maybe she noticed the tea’s scent and saw through my [Invisibility].

Beastkin probably have good noses too.

But being stared at like this makes it hard to drink.

So I decide to ask.

“Um, would you like some tea?”

“Oh my, is that alright? I’d love some, thank you.”

“Now, now, Iko-san. You shouldn’t mooch like that.”

“No, no, it’s fine. Would you like some too, sir?”

The ingredients were free, after all.

If anything, I was wondering how to use it up because it’s a bit too bitter!

I’d be glad if they drink it!

“Is that so? Well then, I’ll have a little.”

And so, the three of us have a tea break.

What’s this feeling, like relaxing on a veranda?

I mean, the surroundings look like a bar, but this area feels like a space of tranquility.

“My, this is a nostalgic taste, isn’t it, old man?”

“Indeed it is. Brings back memories, old woman.”

I’m glad the two seem to be enjoying the tea I served.

I was prepared for the worst, thinking they might say it tastes bad and throw the tea at me.

Well, if that happened, I’d dodge it.

As I’m killing time in this warm atmosphere, a sudden realization hits me.

“Could you two possibly be the party members Tatsu-san mentioned!?”

“「?」”

Seems I’m completely off the mark.

…………

Come on, intuition, do your job!

This is super embarrassing for me!