It paid off, huh?

This idea has been stuck in my mind since yesterday, after I left the House. It paid off. There’s no doubt about it. It certainly did. My relationship with the girls changed for the better, and I had a lot of fun during dinner.

It almost couldn’t have gone any better. Part of me wishes they became super enamored with me right away, but that would be troublesome in its own way. If they all suddenly confessed to me, I’d have no idea what to do. I can already imagine me getting embarrassed and finding a way to ruin everything… In the end, our relationship got better, and I’m happy with that. If things ever progress past a simple friendship, it’s fine to let it develop naturally… I think…

Besides being accepted as one of them, I got something else out of the whole ordeal. Levels, skills, levels on skills, and skills for levels! Actually, scratch that last one. Not real, and it doesn’t make any sense. It’s been a while since I last took the time to properly look through my skills, so let me go over some of the highlights.

[Momentum – Agility Burst is now Lv.6]

[Momentum – Nimble is now Lv.7]

[Swordsmanship – Sword Mastery is now Lv.7]

[Swordsmanship – Slash Flurry is now Lv.6]

These four are my highest-level skills right now, and they’ve been growing nicely. I used them a lot, so that makes sense. Nimble and Sword Mastery are both passives, so any time I do anything in a fight, they’re helping in one way or another. Agility Burst and Slash Flurry are my bread and butter, so naturally, they also grow a lot.

Pretty much every single one of my skills has gained at least one level, but the one to focus on is definitely…

[Violence – Violence Impulse is now Lv.2]

Violence Impulse. The ominous-sounding skill that allows me to burn through endless fodder in a matter of seconds. I’m still not sure why the VISS Driver found it to be suitable for me or what that means, but I’m not complaining. It’s a great skill, and I’m glad to see it grow. I’m not really a violent person… And I’m not impulsive either… If anything, I’ve always been a bit of a coward. I’ve made some decisions recently that might make that hard to believe, but I stand by it. Everyone can do something a bit crazy when they’re pushed to the limit, right?

Either way, it’s good that Violence Impulse got another level. I was worried it wouldn’t grow because I used it to kill pretty much every single monster in the valley and nothing. Nothing changed. The army of fish seems to have made the difference, though. I think that since it cost 50 skill points to buy instead of the usual 10 or 20 it takes much longer to grow.

I’m level 23 after defeating the mermaid, and I have 60 skill points just lying around. Time to spend them! For this one, I decided to go with one new and one old.

[Skill – Parrying Strike acquired.]

[Skill – Butterfly's Wings acquired.]

Parrying Strike and Butterfly’s Wings, costing 20 and 30 skill points respectively. That’s pretty much all my skill points, but I think it’s worth it. Parrying Strike allows me to use some MP to enhance attacks intended for parries, deflects, and blocks. But that’s nothing new, I’ve seen it before. The one that’s a bit exciting is Butterfly’s Wings. It’s a bit hard to explain, though. I’m not sure how to describe it. When activated, Butterfly’s Wings, in exchange for MP, turns a slash into two slashes in a V shape. For example, if I swing down my sword at a wood panel, it’s gonna leave a single vertical scratch. With this skill, the original wouldn’t appear, and two scratches in the shape of a V would appear instead. Make sense? I hope so… How it works, I don’t really know, but it essentially allows me to cut twice with a single slash.

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The only other skill I really want right now is the Parkour skill, because it seems like it’d be really cool. Just like Wall Artist, I can’t imagine it being the most useful thing in the world, so I ended up prioritizing more combat-oriented skills. Kinda ironic to be thinking this considering how Wall Artist has already helped me multiple times now. But I just can’t see them in the same way as combat skills. Either way, Parkour costs 20 skill points, and I only have 10 remaining, so I’ll just save the rest for now.

Hmm… I got a lot more new skills last time, huh? I guess the rate at which I’m getting new levels is slowing down. That’s how it goes, but it still makes me kinda sad… The deeper I go down any of the skill trees, the more expensive the skills get, which also doesn’t help.

Whatever. I got my new skills and a bunch of level ups, so it’s just like I was saying. It paid off. There’s no other way to put it. It paid off. But… That’s also been bugging me. What is it exactly that paid off?

Was it because I saved Carol again? Was it because my help made a difference? Maybe it was because I rescued Narumi and took a hit for her. Or was it because I helped Katja when she couldn’t move? Well? What exactly was it? It’s not as cut-and-dry as it seems, is it? The outcome is clear. I got skills, I got girls, and I’m happy! But I still haven’t arrived at an answer.

Did chopping up the little army of fish do it? Was the outcome the result of my fight with the mermaid? What paid off? Was it a combination of all of those things? I think that would be the most sensible conclusion. But what if all that was a result of something else? I saved Carol as the result of something else, I saved Narumi as a result of something, and so on and so forth.

If I look at it that way, then what paid off was the fact that I showed up. I wasn’t really sure what was going on first, but I tried to help, and everything worked out. Trying is what made a different. It was all I needed to do, and that makes me think of something else…

I get up from my desk and open the blinds. Just enough to let a little morning light into my room. There’s no school on the weekends, so I’ve been enjoying catching up on games and anime since I’ve woken up. But that’s come to an end now. I can’t focus anymore. I reread the crumpled-up letter I got from Ririna. I can’t get it out of my mind.

I was so scared she had abandoned me after we couldn’t meet, that I tried to avoid thinking about it entirely. She wanted to talk, but I got inside my own head, thinking she was going to confess, and I ended up ruining everything. That’s what I thought, at least, but that conclusion was probably too hasty. She didn’t abandon me. She wasn’t even mad. She wanted to talk, but for some reason, we weren’t able to meet. Why was that? Well, I think I know exactly why now.

It’s because I gave up. I stopped trying. After she didn’t show up in Rocky Ridges for a few days, I got scared and stopped going. That’s obviously dumb on my part. In the situation with the mermaid, if trying is what paid off, then the reason I never met her is just as obvious. As is what I should do next…

“If we somehow end up missing each other, look for me in the capital.” That’s what she wrote at the end of her letter. If I want to find Ririna, I need to head to Ebrilyon’s capital. That’s exactly what I’m gonna do. I can’t easily fast-travel back and forth like them, so going to the capital is going to be a long journey. But I don’t care. It’s worth the effort. It’s time for me to leave Rocky Ridges behind…

I’ll spend the day at the House, I’ll sleepover, then I’ll set off next morning. I need to see Ririna again. I want to hear what she wanted to say from her own mouth. I won’t be able to rest until then.

Now that I know what I must do, there’s only one thing left to take care of. Me showing up at the House is what led to this great outcome. I tried to help, and I succeeded. But that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I only went there because she told me. She assured me that she was on my side and that everything was gonna be fine if I trusted her. And she was right. That’s the worst part. She was right. Like I’ve been dancing in the palm of her hand this entire time. I just can’t accept it. It’s time to address the elephant in the room. Miyuki.

She showed up at my door while I was depressed over Ririna at exactly the right time. She knew exactly what to say to get me running back to the House. It’s suspicious, but she might have just gotten lucky. What’s undeniable is that she slipped up at the end. She talked about portals. And I can’t let that go. No matter how many times she says she’s on my side, I don’t know if I can trust her without an explanation. Was she lying to me the whole time? How much does she know?

I sent her a message earlier asking her to meet up, and to my surprise, she didn’t say no.

“…” I looked at the clock and took a deep breath. “It’s about time… I guess I should get going.” I won’t let her weasel her way out of this one. Is she someone I can trust? Is she really on my side? I sure hope so…