Translator: Shizukuku

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 121 – Quota Reward System

“Remember, your exams start this Friday. Make sure to study hard!”

Hearing my homeroom teacher’s interminable encouragement, I quickly prepared to leave.

Yuuta also packed a few textbooks into his normally empty bag.

“Hey, Yuuta, are you actually going to study? It’s rare to see you with a textbook.”

“Hmm? Ah, if I can get a good grade on this test, I’ll get an increase in my allowance. Then, I can spend money on ADO.”

“Oh, a present for Yui, huh? Good luck.”

I sighed at Yuuta’s mention of in-app purchases.

ADO had a pay-to-play system where, by making payments, you could increase the number of characters available and manipulate their facial features. It was based on your existing face, with just a few changes. I thought it was quite student-friendly in that there weren’t special items or powerful gear you could only buy with real money. If there were exclusive items available only through purchases, poor students like us would have to swallow our tears and either give up or spend our meager allowances. Yuuta seemed to be paying just to increase the number of characters. He seemed to have progressed further and probably had access to exceptional equipment in the frontier town.

I pretty much never made in-game purchases. My allowance was meager and I preferred to exercise restraint and be free to play ADO, rather than working part-time to make money for it.

Yuuta probably felt the same way, so he was willing to study a bit more if he could get more money that way instead.

“Hey, Kengo, weren’t you just going to wing it with your current ability?”

As Yuuta looked down at my bulging bag, I replied, “It’s more of a makeshift skill, but is there something wrong with that?”

“More importantly, aren’t the lottery results going to be announced next Wednesday?”

“Oh, that’s right.”

The lottery for the Game Fest that I registered for in advance was also supposed to announce the results at the same time as the end of the tests.

“But I don’t think I’m going to get it, so I’ve half given up on that.”

“I see. Yui, Masuda, and Brave all managed to register properly, so it would be great if at least one of us gets selected.”

“By the way, how did Masuda manage to register? Our homeroom teacher was absolutely against it, right?”

“Masuda had an appointment with the dentist that morning, so he got permission from the school and came to class late. It looks like he deliberately scheduled the appointment on that day, considering it would definitely be prohibited by the school.”

“Wow, Masuda is quite cunning, huh?”

“He’s pretty clever.”

Um, Masuda, who teared up after receiving a present from Brave, was being called cunning… That was kind of scary.

Just as we were saying that, Masuda’s voice came from the classroom door, saying, “Oh, are you two going home already?” We couldn’t help but flinch.

Seeing our reaction, Masuda narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“You were talking about me, huh? Is it something bad? Is my timid nature causing bad rumors?”

“N-No, it’s not like that. Just talking about Game Fest registration.”

“Oh, that. I heard at the infirmary that Gouno sprained his leg. I was thinking, ‘Gouno, you’re really putting your body on the line to get that reservation.'”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!”

This person has a knack for gossip! What was he saying while we were still in the classroom?

It was a good thing there were only a few people in the class, really.

We decided to go home together and headed for the entrance to the school.

“Are you going to study with Yui-chan today, Takahashi?”

“Nah, not a chance. Masuda, on the other hand, is probably going to have a study session with Brave. That’ll probably turn into a different kind of studying and you won’t make any progress.”

“It’s okay. It’s a quota reward system.”

Masuda, who casually replied, appeared very mature in my eyes…

What’s with this quota reward system?!

Did Masuda do such mature things every time?

Even Yuuta, who nonchalantly responded to Masuda with, “It could also be fun if you got carried away and said you weren’t going to study at all, and then had a punishment system instead,” sounded more mature than I expected.

On the way, we parted ways with Masuda, who was heading towards the station, and I continued on with Yuuta, discussing ADO, and then returned home. Carrying a drink in my hand, I headed towards my room.

As I sat in my chair and pulled out my textbooks from my bag, I suddenly remembered Masuda’s mature-sounding words.

“A quote reward system, huh…”

Maybe I should also implement a quota reward system for myself, like logging in to see Vidello-san’s face after studying for a certain amount of time.

Then I might be able to study harder, or at least stay focused.

Maybe after the testing is over, we could have sex as my reward… 

But I was afraid I might start having certain physical side effects soon. If the side effects occurred when I was feeling really excited, I probably wouldn’t be able to emotionally recover from it.

“Well, let’s try it out. If I can finish 5 pages of classic literature and 10 pages of math, I’ll go see Vidello-san’s face as a reward.”

Simply seeing his face was enough. If we were to meet, I would probably talk to him and take him back to the workshop after work. Even if Vidello-san was tired, he would still go with me. So, I just wanted to see him.

I opened my textbook and notebook and started to work.

“It’s finished…”

After a couple of hours of working on my quota, I stretched and leaned back in my chair. The chair I’d been using since elementary school creaked.

It was time to get my reward. With that, I turned towards the bed and reached for the gear that was placed on the charger.

After the sensation of floating away, I awoke in my workshop.

I stretched my body over here, too, and went out into the darkening city streets.

When I arrived near the gate, I checked to see which gatekeepers were on duty today.

“Hey, Vidello-san isn’t here.”

I instinctively ran over and called out to the gatekeepers. There was one standing on either side of the gate.

“Good evening. Um…” 

“Oh! Mac! Hey, ring the bell!” 

“Got it. Mac, hold on a second.” 

With just a few words, the gatekeepers showed mysterious coordination and rang the bell to summon Vidello-san.

What was this coordination? I didn’t even have a chance to interject my voice.

I mean, I was planning to go home right away after seeing his face, but now that they were going through so much trouble to summon him… 

“Did you get the news that Vidello is back? I’m calling him right now, so just hang on a second.” The words came out in a rush, as if the gatekeeper was worried I’d leave. 

“Ah, yes.” 

“By the way, Mac hasn’t been coming through this gate lately,” the other gatekeeper remarked. 

“The guy at the north gate said Mac has been heading north lately.” 

“Uh…” 

“You should come to the south gate instead. Vidello is back so you would get to see him, too.” 

“By the way, has the bluetail left the nest yet? Did you get a chance to ask around about it?” 

“Uh, no.” 

“Speaking of the south, about the Tre forest. It seems like you can gather a lot of materials in Tre Forest recently.” 

“That’s because the foreigners who were doing most of the gathering have all flocked to Quattro.” 

“So, going south to the forest is quite beneficial now.” 

“Is that so?” 

Various topics came up in rapid succession, and I was only able to say a couple of words in reply.

As I was desperately trying to keep up with the conversation, I was suddenly embraced from behind.

At the same time, I heard Vidello-san’s voice calling “Mac” in my ear.

There was no mistaking the feeling of those strong arms around me.

When I turned around happily, there stood Vidello-san wearing a radiant smile.

“I’m glad you came to see me…”

And the gatekeepers both watched us with sly, knowing grins on their faces. I was a little embarrassed by them, but I also couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

“You had a day off today?”

“Yeah. I got today off because I hardly had any time off over there, so they made arrangements for me. But I knew Mac was busy, so I rested in my room all day.”

“Did you manage to relax? I brought the fragrance stone because I forgot to give it to you yesterday. It’s supposed to have a relaxing effect.”

“For now, come to my room.”

Still in his embrace, I was pulled into the compact space.

Hey, I was planning to leave after seeing his face. But I couldn’t bring myself to say that. I had lost the desire to go home.

Vidello-san took me by the hand and led me down the corridor.

We passed through a nostalgic door and entered Vidello-san’s space.

I couldn’t say I was leaving after coming this far, could I?

There was no way I could leave when he was patting the bed and asking me to come over.

I didn’t bring the [ Growth Activator ] with me. But I would probably be too nervous to do it in the same building as the other gatekeepers. Anyways. 

After seeing off Vidello-san, who went to get us drinks, I looked at his bookshelf.

There were books of heroic tales, basic swordsmanship, and other things that were typical of Vidello-san.

There were also books on herbalism, and I was a little impressed to see that gatekeepers also read about such things.

It seemed like, in this world, there were no fantasy fiction books, only tales of the Demon King and the Heroes. They seemed more like biographies than entertainment. Even in libraries, I didn’t see any books for entertainment. Maybe it was because books were too expensive to be used for entertainment. However, there were quite a few volumes of the biographies on the Demon King and the Heroes. I’d seen the story of the defeat of the Demon King before in Tre’s library. I was always there looking for other things, so I’d never read them, but I wondered if this book contained information about Emily-san and her family. 15 years ago, that was when Vidello-san was still a child, so I wondered if it was possible that the volumes contained sentences about people I knew. It was kind of strange to think about.

I gently picked up a book about some random heroic tale and opened it.

Inside, there was an illustration of a large black mass and a person with red hair confronting each other. I briefly flipped through the pages, but the illustration seemed to be the only one of its kind.

It was a pity that Emily-san wasn’t in the illustration.

As soon as I turned the page to read what was inside, the door to the room opened.

“Are you enjoying the books?”

“Welcome back, Vidello-san. Yeah, I was actually looking at some of the tales about heroes. Truth be told, I’ve never read one.”

“If you’re interested, want me to lend it to you?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.”

I thanked him as he handed me a cup of steaming hot tea. Vidello-san took a cup for himself, too, and urged me to sit down. 

Putting the book in my hand back on the shelf, I followed and sat down next to him.

“Come to think of it, I did promise to invite you here and show you some books.”

“That’s right. I was curious about what kind of books Vidello-san would be reading.”

“I’ve only read ordinary books. I’m sorry I don’t have the kind of books Mac would be looking for.”

“It’s not about that. I just want to know what you like, Vidello-san.”

Because, truth be told, I didn’t know much about Vidello-san’s hobbies or what he liked.

I wanted to know more.

When I told him that, Vidello-san’s face lit up with happiness.