Gacha Kingdom Building

While we were at home, I allowed Licia to help me a little with dinner.

I wasn't sure about letting her try the oven just yet, but she was able to handle the rest quite easily.

With her help, dinner ended up coming a bit earlier today.

She didn't ask for a reward for her help but there was something she was expectant about.

Licia: "Will you share new skills with me yet?"

Miwen: "Don't you think it's better to wait until after I finish using my Gift? That way you can choose the better ones..."

Licia: "That's true..."

Miwen: "Also, I think I wanna try something else today, so do you mind giving me a hand?"

I had a few plans for today's roll. Another test if you will.

She blushed hearing that I had something to ask.

However, she still seemed willing to listen.

Licia: "I'm content to oblige, but what is it that you need of me?"

Miwen: "Well..."

Since she was like that, I felt like teasing a bit and intentionally delayed responding, filling the room with an air of anticipation.

But whatever she had in mind was most definitely wrong since I myself had just recently decided on it.

Miwen: "Sam just told me that she won't be able to go the dungeon tomorrow, it seems like she needs to visit her mother."

Licia: "And so?"

Miwen: "And so Roy decided to take tomorrow off too..."

Licia: "I see, so, will you take tomorrow off too?"

While Licia is probably capable of going solo, I wouldn't like to risk something like that, and since she already understands that I'm quite cautious, she reached this conclusion.

Sadly, I had something else in mind.

Miwen: "Not exactly. Do you remember the monster we encountered today?"

Licia: "The Noble Hobgoblin."

Miwen: "Yes, that one. That thing was stronger than the floor boss we had just faced by a mile. And even the weaker floor boss was only so easily handled because you were with us."

Quite frankly, even if I wasn't there, I think she could've held out until Sam and Roy won against their opponents.

It was quite incredible what she managed to do even in a body much weaker than what she's used to.

Licia: "Mhm... I indeed took the lead, but you guys would do fine even without me, you were more than capable."

She seemed happy to hear me complimenting her performance.

And again, while she's right that the three of us could probably have won too even without her, the fact is that her presence there made things go way more smoothly.

Before her arrival, I was expecting this battle to result in at least some injuries.

Licia: "So, do you want to raid the dungeon tomorrow, just me and you? I think we could handle the second floor as long as we don't get ahead of ourselves."

The two of us do make a good pair, and being alone with her would give me a lot of chances to improve since I would welcome any criticism she had.

We would probably face some troubles though...

Miwen: "I also believe that we would be capable of doing so, but there's something else I have planned. I'll use my Gift for something, and I'd appreciate it if you could help me with it."

She seemed a bit confused about what I was talking about.

Given that she knows already that I could do a bunch of different things, she probably thought I was going to ask for something she hadn't seen before, but the truth was it wasn't all that new for her.

She would just see it from a different perspective.

Miwen: "For now, I'll get the new skills, and I'll allow you to choose one among them."

Licia: "Eh? Only one?"

She seemed a bit disappointed with this, probably expecting at least two since I was going to get 7 Kingdom Points and 4 tickets thanks to the increase in our levels.

Miwen: "You'll understand why later in my room."

I intentionally left it vague since I knew she'd show me a good reaction.

However, her usual doll-like face turned bright red.

And yet, the words that came out of her mouth later also had the same impact on me.

Licia: "W-well if that's what you wish for... I... I'll... only a little..."

She spoke in a quiet and soft voice, almost as if she didn't intend for me to hear it. As a matter of fact, I do think I didn't manage to catch everything.

I wasn't as dense as to not understand what this implied, but since I started this with just the intention of teasing her a little, it became difficult to contain my own desires.

However, I still had to explain to her that this wasn't what I was thinking about.

But that only made her even more embarrassed. She even looked a bit frustrated, probably thinking she was the only one who had thought about my words in an amorous way since although I explained to her it was a misunderstanding, I left out the part where the teasing was intentional.

Alas, she agreed to follow me.

Licia: "If things take a turn for the worse, you can count on me you know?"

Miwen: "Seriously? You've grown to trust me a lot in just a short period of time huh?"

I thought that to be a bit strange since I hadn't done anything particularly nice for her.

Perhaps the skills I shared with her, but those benefited me as well.

Licia: "Well... you never gave me a reason to distrust you after all, and I'm also quite confident in my ability to judge others. I can see that you're working hard to make me comfortable and that you care about my choices and opinions..."

Surprisingly, I didn't think much about that.

I was the one to bring her here, without anything she could rely on. Taking care of her was just the minimum I could do, especially since I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary.

Licia: "You're also... important to me. I don't know or understand much of this world, nor if my life is tied to your Gift or not, so... I need to protect you, right? Or rather... it would be good if we could take care of each other..."

Her words were quite heartfelt. I could tell she really meant them.

I did feel a little bad seeing that her trust in me was growing so quickly while I still had my reservations.

Although that was probably a difference in our personalities. While I do not mind being kind to others, I tend to prevent myself from doing so until I know them better.

I've seen enough examples of what happens when you extend your hand to everyone without thinking about it to develop this practice.

And yet, I feel differently about her.

For some reason, she seems much more innocent to me. Perhaps it's because of how much control I have in comparison to her, and the fact that she has no reason to lie to me, especially considering that, as she said, it's unknown whether or not she's able to live without me.

This, paired with how responsible I feel for her, brought out my kind side a little more than usual.

It's not a feeling I dislike though. It's been a while since I've been able to act with such honesty.

Still, once things had calmed down a bit, I went and used my Gift.

Three gacha tickets were directed to the [Skills Banner], and after dozing off like always, I took a look at the [Current Skills] to see what were the results this time around.

On the list, three new skills appeared:

[Mental Resistance

Increases the user's resistance to mental attacks and debuffs, if weak enough, it's possible to even negate the effects of mental attacks and debuffs on the user. Since this is a passive skill, it's always active, but the user may decide to deactivate it at any time.]

[X Slash

Active skill. Can be done with both one-handed and two-handed bladed weapons. When used with only one weapon, boosts the speed of the attack and its strength, and when used with two weapons boosts the speed and gives an increased strength boost. Every two uses of this skill cost the user one mana point.]

[Focused Strike

Active skill. Based on the user's intelligence, increases the strength of the following attack. May cause [Mental Fatigue] and [Body Fatigue] after being used. Repeated uses of this skill in succession may cause stronger and more severe debuffs. Costs one point per use.]

Miwen: "And that's all I got today, so, which skill are you interested in?"

Licia: "For now [Sight Enhancement] would be the most useful since it doesn't require mana. After, I'll go for [Unending Determination] if you save some points for me."

[Unending Determination] had a different cost, at 3 Kingdom Points, so I told her to pick another, and she ended up deciding on [Sight Enhancement].

It's like I couldn't afford it, but... it would become a problem considering what I had planned for today.

The [Skills Banner] had proved to be quite good this time around. Maybe all it needed to recover was me getting mad at it.

The timing was also good since my mana pool had increased and I was able to use active skills without worrying as much.

Miwen: "And there you go. Shall we head to my room now?"

I waited for her to check if she got the skill she wanted. And after getting her heads up, I suggested we continue on to the next step.

Licia: "I'm gonna grab this one too, just in case..."

She decided to bring the sword with her.

I thought it might be too much, but... perhaps it was better to be prepared for the worst.

And so, in my room, the most important roll of the was about to take place.

I had not planned this from the beginning, but seeing Sam's and Roy's messages, I felt this was a good opportunity to take another shot at increasing the prospects of the Kingdom.

Taking into account the danger of the second floor, even though it's true that Licia and I would be able to earn experience there, the amount would result in only small gains.

Especially considering we wouldn't be able to venture too deep inside.

With that in mind, I thought about what would be the best use of my time tomorrow.

And I arrived at one single answer... [Companions Banner].

If it happens to be the same as Licia, they'll be summoned at level one.

In case they agree to become a [Citizen], I'd potentially earn another strong ally for us, which would give us an easier time not only on the current floor but also on all subsequent ones.

However, I would need to get them to a good level if I wanted to bring them there.

There's also the possibility they decide to not stay with me for long since, like with Licia, I plan on giving them the choice of whether or not to stay.

The only difference was that this time I came a little more prepared.

As for danger... well, it's inherent since I still haven't acquired any tool to help me persuade or control summoned companions effectively.

But, with me at level 4 and Licia at level 3, they would have to have quite a strong Gift to overpower the two of us together, especially considering she brought a weapon with her.

And in the worst-case scenario, if they are able to do it, we can just run to the Kingdom together.

So, having come to a decision, I focused on the [Companions Banner] and gave it my last ticket of today.

I had high expectations and was a little anxious about it, but all these feelings soon went away as I once again felt my consciousness drifting for a moment.

In front of me, there were two girls. The first was Licia, the companion who I've been developing a nice, amicable relationship.

And to her left side... a girl I didn't recognize.

On her knees, it seemed like she had just run a marathon. Her body was sweating, and she was panting hard.

It was strange considering that... by no means did she get here by running.

Even in that state, I could not help but admire her for a bit.

Her red twintails only worked to complement a beautiful, young-looking face.

If not for her pale expression that showed pure fright, I might've fallen for her instantly.

Licia was a bit taller than her, and their bodies were quite different. In breast size, she was utterly defeated, but from the waist down, it was a completely different story.

It's not like Licia wasn't respectable there too, but... this girl seemed to up her by a margin.

I couldn't help but think they were both very different from each other, and yet, still beautiful.

Thinking about such things wasn't going to do me any favor though.

???: "... huh?"

Her expression changed, from one filled with fear and anxiety to pure confusion.

???: "Why am I alive...? Where is Pervial?"

She spoke of names I did not know and became agitated.

Licia readied her sword, but I signaled for her to not do anything.

???: "Who are you? Where am I ?!"

She took notice of me with that movement.

Instantly, she became suspicious. No... her face was actually showing ire, and it looked like she was ready to jump me at a moment's notice.

???: "I'll have you know that no kidnapper will have their way with me! Brace yourself, you now face the power of Claire Ashbrodd, The Continental Burn!"

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