— What I like are cola and potato chips.
The nostalgia for wanting to drink it doesn’t really matter. It’s not like I’ll never be able to drink cola again. If I keep progressing in this world, I’ll come across it eventually.
It’ll probably be after I conquer the ancient city dungeon. That dungeon, known for its machine-based monsters, contains facilities capable of producing items from Earth’s civilization. If I retrieve a working one, or train a “Mechanic” to repair the broken ones, I’ll be able to drink all the cola I want.
Thinking this far, I let the thought drift away.
“Ah, damn… This is infuriating. I immediately think of a solution… I already know the answers, leaving no room for trial and error. I can’t enjoy it at all…”
No matter what, it feels like just going through the motions. Only performing the steps I already know. I’m always forced onto the shortest path. There’s no room for detours.
That’s right. That’s why I, who was planning to work in a so-called low-tier job like “Bounty Hunter,” begged Cotton to become a “Maid,” so I wouldn’t lose her so early on.
The “Maid” has a skill that nullifies charm from everyone except her chosen master. It also includes resistances to charm and brainwashing.
The “Saint” doesn’t have it. Despite the grand name, that’s just an extension of the healer class.
My heart trembles with a sense of looming despair.
At this rate, I’ll grow bored of this world again… If I don’t take care of that helpless girl and keep making her smile, I’ll lose interest in this world.
I crave something. Something new.
“A major update… or even some new DLC I don’t know about would be fine… Isn’t there anything? Something in this world?”
This world is identical to the one I know from Professional Hero.
At best, the only difference is the realistic touch.
There’s no talk of the Demon Lord’s defeat. It probably takes place some years before or after the main storyline, and even the visible changes are limited to slight environmental shifts. In this world, I’ve experienced it all before.
So my only source of entertainment is sleeping with women, drinking, and numbing my brain with pleasure.
I envy the web novel protagonists I read in my past life.
They gain incredible power, conquer the world by the third chapter, and still somehow enjoy this world leisurely.
If they’re the strongest, it shouldn’t matter what they kill or obtain. They can annihilate everything with just one overwhelming ability. I wonder, doesn’t everything they obtain seem utterly worthless?
Living a “slow life” while recklessly working themselves to the bone… Don’t they ever worry they’ll run out of things to do?
As for me… well, I take it easy.
I accepted the risk of being suspected of being a criminal by the citizens—well, naturally, they’d think that if you loiter around the city walls. I secretly explored the city walls, hunting Maimai at full throttle, and could’ve gained the “Corrosion (Young)” skill in three days, but instead, I took on a request, and obtained it by taking a roundabout month-long detour.
Probably, even that was stalling. I did it unconsciously, giving myself time to accept being rejected by Cotton. Or maybe I was just hoping she’d come back to me.
Ah, but, I’ve acquired it—the ultimate offensive skill.
The Corrosion skill. Its use feels the same as before. Exactly like in my past life.
I can’t stall any longer.
I can’t deceive myself. That’s why I started exploring the forest and began leveling up.
It’s terrifying.
Just being here is enough to rapidly boost my level.
Soon, I’ll obtain the strongest anti-human skill. I have to. This world is dangerous, so not obtaining it isn’t an option. But once I have it, there will be no human that can stand against me. No one who could kill me. It’ll be another step toward completing the world’s conquest.
“………….”
Elena is watching me from the bed. Looking at her eyes, I can tell she’s listening to me curiously.
Does Elena even understand what I’m saying? No, just listening quietly is enough.
The only time I shared this with Cotton was that first night I embraced her. Even when I told her I knew everything, she only gave me a blank, puzzled look… Eventually, I gave up trying to make her understand my despair.
“Elena, I… I’m afraid. I’m going to grow bored of this world again. I want to know something I don’t know.”
In this world, there’s nothing new.
The wine’s alcohol won’t even make me drunk.
Cotton, who used to praise me, is no longer here.
Imagining the dreary, colorless world that stretches out in my life ahead, I sink into despair once again—
“So… Ed, are you saying you know everything I like and dislike?”
“Huh…?”
When I asked, Elena immediately looked at me, her eyes wide with excitement, and began speaking rapidly.
“Does this mean you know everything about me, Ed? Wow! You’re amazing, Ed, really amazing! I never thought you knew this much about me!! Oh, but you already knew all my favorite spots too, didn’t you? I knew it… Ed, you really are special.”
No, I don’t. I have no idea what Elena likes or dislikes. I only found ways to give her pleasure by relying on experience.
But Elena was gazing at me, her eyes shining. Was she noticing my surprise? Or was she oblivious? I couldn’t tell.
I don’t really know this girl. I never did.
And at that moment, a tiny bit of color crept into my otherwise gray world.
As my mind regained its calm, I let my thoughts drift, trying to recall what little I did know about Elena. She’s from the same village as me, has the “Sage” occupation, and her grandmother was a druid with knowledge of the forest. She’s a girl I’ve been with a few times before. I don’t know her birthday, her favorite foods, or what she dislikes. I was surprised to learn she even knew urban manners. Is that it? I wondered what else she liked. For some reason, I felt guilty, masking it with a confident act. I had claimed to know everything, and I couldn’t say now that I knew nothing.
“…Elena, I’ll share more about you over time. It’d probably creep you out if I told you everything now. Anyway, let’s sleep. I feel a bit better now that I’ve vented.”
“Oh… okay? I wanted to hear more about you, though.”
As I slipped back into bed and put my arm around her shoulder, Elena spoke those words with a hint of disappointment.
“Uh, Elena… you like me, right?”
I asked, a bit nervously. Elena grinned mischievously.
“Wrong.”
“What…? You’re kidding.”
Seeing my reaction, Elena’s face broke into a relaxed, playful smile—an expression I’d never seen on her before.
“The correct answer is, I really like you, Ed!”
At that, I breathed a sigh of relief, though only on the inside. So I hadn’t been wrong after all.
“Don’t scare me like that.”
I thought to myself, holding the gray-haired girl close as I fell asleep.
That night, I dreamed of the first time Cotton ever praised me.
