“You’re a hard one to please, shadow girl.”

  “I mean, we tried to stick up for her, but it was shocking how many people wanted to pick on her.”

  Yamikage still holds a grudge, huh. Didn’t I apologize already? Fine. Next time something like that comes up, I’ll make sure to call her first.

  “So, sis. If you’re gonna go as far as to sleep in a tent with no padding, just come over to the castle.”

  Jokes aside, I should get the full story.

  Just thinking about what mom and dad would do if they found out my sister was roughing it outside while the rest of us were living in luxury... That was a mess just waiting to happen.

  “B-But... A big sister shouldn’t be relying on her little sisters...”

  “Little brother, thank you very much.”

  Even if I’d been forced into a little girl avatar in game, that didn’t mean I’d given up on being a guy. Don’t include me as one of those little sisters of yours.

  “Wait, sis. Don’t tell me this is one of those pride things where you couldn’t get yourself to ask us for help?” Tsumugi asked, barely holding back her laughter.

  Enough laughing already. Keep it up, and we’ll both be in hot water after this.

  “Erk...”

  “Alto, details. If you don’t spill it, I’ll consider switching agents.”

  “You’re even worse than me when you have the upper hand... According to reports, she treats herself to the crab buffet once every few days.”

  “I see... Splurging every few days. Then I’m guessing you’ve been skimping out on your daily meals. Are you eating properly?”

  “Urgh...”

  Kanade flinched. I’d hit the nail on the head.

  She was cutting corners, perhaps saving up for a piece of gear. She’d done something similar in real life before—hoarding her wealth for a high-spec PC and the latest console that was set to release in six months.

  Those were rough times...even disregarding the parts where she dragged me into it.

  So she’s a regular at the crab buffet that our guild...well, mainly Alto hosts...

  I felt a bit conflicted, imagining a family member unknowingly stuffing their face at a place run by me...

  “Anyway, you can put on airs all you want, but it’s an issue if it makes us look bad by association. Come with us. Got it?”

  “Got it...”

  “We’re taking you in, sis!”

  And with that, we headed straight to the castle.

  Chapter 8: Fixed Notions

  I had my older sister sit in one of the chairs of the castle’s grand hall—after making sure she took a bath first. She seemed a lot more refreshed than she’d been when we found her.

  With that said...looking at her equipment...isn’t it worse than the last time I saw it? How is it lower quality than what she had during the Demon Lord’s invasion...?

  “Hmm... So you were Kizuna’s older sister,” mused Romina. We’d regrouped with her after returning to the castle.

  “Ah, err, hello...”

  Romina was a well-known player who did a lot of crafting for the front lines; it made sense that she was already acquainted with my sister.

  “I was wondering why you hadn’t been showing up at the shop lately.”

  “Umm, well...”

  My sister averted her eyes, unsure of what to say. She was clearly guilty about something—what exactly, I couldn’t say.

  “Is it one of those things?” asked Romina. “You didn’t want to receive preferential treatment for being related to Kizuna, so you switched to another blacksmith? It doesn’t really bother me.”

  “Romina, my sister’s not the sort to be that reserved, although she’s not as brazen as Tsumugi, and she does care about appearances.”

  If she’d been the kind of earnest person to act out of obligation, she wouldn’t have been put in this situation to begin with.

  “More likely she stopped going because your shop’s too expensive or hard to book, or something dumb like that. Plus, considering the life of poverty she’s been leading, maybe she was scared that you’d tip us off.”

  “Erk...”

  Bull’s-eye. It was probably a combination of a few of those reasons.

  “She didn’t want you guys to find out, huh?”

  “She’s always trying to save face, see. That’s why we had to catch her in the act and drag her in. So, sis, why were you living like that? You used to...you know? Weren’t you hanging out with a lot of in-game friends? What happened?”

  In Dimension Wave’s current iteration, there were guilds and player housing. Most players spent their time adventuring with friends, defeating monsters, and having fun. Just like Tsumugi, my older sister had people she played with regularly—right?

  The moment I brought it up, Kanade clenched her fist and began shaking.

  “Argh...fine. I’ll tell you. They stopped inviting me out to hunt because they said I wasn’t contributing enough DPS. Just because I fell a bit behind on my gear upgrades!”

  “So they were the competitive types, huh?”

  “The guild leader used to manage everything really well, and I could just do what I wanted. But then, we completed a quest, and she disappeared without a trace. We couldn’t get in contact, and a new person took over, and then everything started going downhill.”

  “That sounds...familiar.”

  Everyone’s eyes turned to me.

  Yeah, yeah. So it’s just like the Cal Mira Development quest, where the party leader vanishes and cuts off all contact... Meaning that person might be stuck in a special situation right now.

  “Oh, her.”

  “So your group started falling apart once that girl with the funny name went missing.”

  Therese and L’Arc both seemed to know exactly who she was talking about. Those two really did know everyone.

  “Her successor is just one huge lump of ambition and doesn’t pay attention to anyone. The pressure ended up falling on me and a handful of other players, and when we couldn’t keep up, we got left behind.”

  Even with all their freedom, MMOs tended to be tougher on solo players. They usually placed an emphasis on party play.

  That was mainly what the hubs like the one we found her in were meant to combat. But even there, players were expected to meet a minimum strength requirement.

  “They said my attack power was pathetic and kept bragging about their own gear. So I figured, if I could just get some gear as good as theirs, I could join a different guild and show them...”

  “So what did you do?”

  “I-I tried...enhancing...”

  Ah, that vagueness—that’s her classic way of trying to dodge the question.

  Romina seemed to pick up on it immediately.

  “I see. You tried overenhancing and went bankrupt.”

  “Th-That’s right! What’s wrong with that?! You can’t make money if your gear’s weak. If you want to make money, you need to spend money.”

  “So your gear’s weak, which means you can’t earn money. And since you can’t earn money, you can’t upgrade your gear. You can’t go to the tougher areas, so your level is falling behind... Does that about sum it up?”

  “A common dilemma, I daresay.”

  “But fighting isn’t everything, y’know?” Alto chimed in. “If you want money, there are plenty of part-time jobs now.”

  Well, yeah. She was hearing it from a merchant who didn’t intend to fight a single battle in his entire playthrough. The man still managed to reach the top of the merchant scene and was never strapped for cash.

  Romina, despite being a top-tier blacksmith, could still hold her own in a fight.

  Equipment definitely made a huge difference at our point in the game.

  It was just as Alto explained; it wasn’t that complicated.

  “Is it really worth clinging to overenhancement with the way things are right now?”

  With Romina—the one in charge of all of our enhancements—saying that, my sister no longer had a leg to stand on.

  “For someone to sell that kind of nonsense to Kizuna’s sister...deplorable,” said Alto.

  “It might not be the blacksmith’s fault,” I suggested. “Those fixed notions of those players who mocked her could have spread.”

  “What weapon did you have your eyes on anyway, sis?” Tsumugi asked her.

  She turned her face away and mumbled something quietly.

  “Huh? The Habenburg Cutlass?”

  Without a word, Romina slapped a hand to her forehead... Wait, is that a vein bulging on her temple?

  “Let me show you what I just finished crafting,” she said, taking out a weapon and showing it to my sister.

  “Wait, what the heck is this?! Are you bragging or something?! Of course you people have stuff on that level.”

  “Kanade, you’re under a massive misunderstanding. Kizuna’s equipment is certainly made of rare materials, but it has no excessive enhancements. Tsumugi’s gear isn’t that elaborate either.”

  Sure enough, Tsumugi wasn’t wearing anything too fancy. In fact, I was the one using one-off, custom-made gear, and almost all of it had been crafted by Romina. It was barely enhanced at all.

  “This was made purely through materials gathered with dismantling, not boss drops. The cutlass you’re after is more special—a derivation of the Pirate Captain’s Saber. At most, it requires a few lord materials...but it only takes a few boss runs to get it.”

  “Sis,” said Tsumugi, “to be blunt, that cutlass is going to be outdated by the next update. You’ll just have to do it all again. It’s not the be-all and end-all strongest weapon in the game.”

  “It besmirches my pride as a craftsman when people treat something like that as an ultimate goal.”

  Romina got quite fussy when it came to weapons.

  “You’re better off maintaining your lifestyle and saving up while waiting for something decent in the next update.”

  Yet again, it was a common theme of MMOs. What was once top-tier could end up obsolete only a week later. Sometimes, it wasn’t just gear, but characters too.

  “But everyone says that one’s amazing! They’re saying it’ll be the new benchmark for everything to come! They say crab gear’s already reached its limit!”

  “Who’s spreading that nonsense... Some shady merchant?”

  So said the shadiest merchant I knew.

  “The cutlass isn’t the be-all and end-all, Kanade. You should treasure the gear that’s brought you here...or else, your equipment will cry.”

  It seemed my sister hadn’t been blessed with the right party. Not that I was in any position to talk, but her access to information seemed incredibly limited. She needed to broaden her perspective. Presumably, that former guild leader of hers had been especially good at taking the helm.

  “You sounded like a real craftsman just now, Romina.”

  “I didn’t say anything wrong, did I? Enhancing the gear that’s stuck with you for a long time gives better bonuses.”

  Romina then handed the Blue Shark dagger she’d made as a test piece over to my sister.

  “Besides, with some of the materials Kizuna brought in from the new area, I’ve already been able to make this.”

  “Th-This is... It might not beat the cutlass, but...”

  She seemed to recognize just how powerful it was at a glance.

  The materials were a bit of a pain to gather, but compared to boss drops, it was a little easier to put together.

  “As a craftsman, let me make this clear: The cutlass isn’t everything. We’re already at a point where we can make weapons that match it. You should broaden your horizons, don’t you think?”

  “Anyway, enough of this nonsense about trying to get back at them or whatever. You’re sticking with us for the time being. And no more using that field hub. It’s off-limits.”

  My sister had a weird stubborn streak going for her. If I didn’t step in, I could see her living like a homeless person until the server shut down.

  Games were meant to be enjoyed. If you stuck around with people who said things like “We’re not playing around here!” you’d just get burned.

  First and foremost, the whole idea of showing them up was fundamentally flawed. People like that would never praise her even if she did prove them wrong—they’d refuse to acknowledge it and look down on her anyway. It was a waste to give them the time of day.

  “I’ll pick out some equipment for you,” said Romina. “The castle warehouse is full of things I’ve crafted.”

  “No, I could never... Taking from Kizuna and Tsumugi is one thing, but...”

  She’s still holding back? Now? And why are me and Tsumugi okay?

  “Very well, then I’ll hire you with the gear as your payment. You need only follow my instructions for a while. Don’t worry—I won’t ask you to fight monsters. You’ll see a huge boost to your trapping skills, and your fishing skills as well—though you won’t be anywhere near Kizuna’s level. As for your wages...”

  Alto began negotiating with my sister.

  What was he going to make her do? That was hardly a question—everyone here already had a very good idea of the job he was talking about.

  “Th-That much? I’ll have to neglect level grinding, but...if it’s just for a little bit...”

  “Kanade! You mustn’t fall for his temptations!”

  “Don’t take handouts, sis. You need to work and earn your gear properly!”

  Shouko and Tsumugi chimed in with their objections. Shouko was speaking from her sincere conscience, while Tsumugi just wanted someone to share in her misery. What a terrible little sister.

  “Sir Alto’s work is incredible, I daresay. Thanks to him, I performed wonderfully in the last event. You will gain valuable experience you won’t ever get from a public square party, I daresay.”

  Even Yamikage—with clouded eyes—was taking Tsumugi’s side.

  Et tu, Yamikage? You really want to drag her down that badly?

  “I know it’s not a lie, Yamikage, but you shouldn’t be encouraging this!” Shouko pleaded. “Kanade’s already been through a lot!”

  “Ha ha, how fun. I wanna watch more of this.”

  “This guild is packed with entertainment. If only we could join in.”

  L’Arc and Therese watched from the sidelines, treating it completely as someone else’s business.

  Huh? Come to think of it, where’s Sheryl? She’s not here... Is she in the workshop or something?

  “Well, my sister has this annoying pride that keeps her from relying on others, so maybe it’d be easier to just have her work for our Merchant of Death?”

  It was starting to feel like a pain, and Kanade seemed satisfied with the arrangement anyway. Maybe a bit of physical labor would do her well. She was the type who preferred hands-on testing and validation anyway.

  “I-I don’t really get it, but fine! I’ll do whatever kind of job it is!”

  “Just so we’re clear, it’s not anything pervy, okay? If it wasn’t completely wholesome, Kizuna would fire me on the spot.”

  The way he says it...makes it sound like he handles less-than-wholesome jobs too. This Merchant of Death...he really has cast a wide net in this game.

  “Well, if she’s okay with it, I’m not going to stop her. But either way, distance yourself from that so-called craftsman who’s trying to use you to make a cutlass,” Romina warned her one more time.

  Well, yeah—she’d better stay away from someone who used her as a guinea pig to practice overenhancing.

  Romina was expensive, but skilled. Since we were welcoming Kanade in as a family member, Romina would be more than happy to craft for her. Problem solved.

  “Kanade, your equipment is a simple sword, correct?”

  “Yes, I use it with a shield.”

  Kanade showed her equipment: what barely qualified as crab gear. It was the sort of cheap, generic equipment you could find on any budget list.

  Even the sword was a dime-a-dozen item going for throwaway prices. And, when Romina looked at her shield, she murmured, “Hmm...the shield seems to be the only piece that’s seen any attachment. That might be worth enhancing. We’ll have an easier time fighting if she can fill the role of a proper tank.”

  “A proper tank?” muttered Shouko.

  What’s wrong?

  “The Brave Pekkle that Kizuna employs is a different story, but your style has a lot of quirks, Shouko. It works fine in smaller groups but becomes a liability in larger battles, right?”

  For as long as we’d partied together, Shouko would run around, quite literally smacking aside enemy attacks to nullify them and protect us. She had to rely on mobility, without any skills to actually draw enemy attention. When times got tough, she, Yamikage, and I would use our Spirit natures to brute-force our way through fights by eating up the damage.

  More recently, we’d gotten Brave Pekkle to endure attacks for us, but he couldn’t be maintained in prolonged battles.

  “I do have a skill to draw aggro. And to block too.”

  In that sense, my sister was definitely a proper tank. No acrobatic dodging—just a reliable shield on the front lines. It wasn’t a role that stood out, but it was certainly dependable.

  Now then... I better confirm it with her, just in case.

  “Sis, did you level up any noncombat skills? Like crafting or anything like that?” I asked.

  “Hmm... I’d say my gathering and cooking are pretty high level.”

  “Gathering...?”

  “Yes, it rose when I was picking my own herbs to save on healing potions. Cooking too—I was making my own meals to cut down on expenses. I’ve always been good at it, right?”

  Although Tsumugi was the only person in our household who couldn’t cook, the task usually went to Kanade. It made sense that she’d carry that hobby into the game.

  “If I may dare ask, can you cook anything that isn’t fish?”

  Yamikage’s eyes lit up.

  Well sorry for all the fish.

  “I can, but... Kizuna...? What exactly have you been feeding these girls every day?”

  “What do you mean? I just cooked up and served the fish I caught.”

  “It ain’t too bad, sis. There’s a decent variety, so it’s not boring. Plus, we have Therese to help out.”

 

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