Translator: Shizukuku

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 135 – I Just Wanted to See the Statue…

“Hey Crash, you look well. Bye.”

“Wait, don’t just say ‘bye’! Mac, can you come in the store for a minute?”

Just as I was about to casually walk away, Crash’s quick move caught me. 

The players all watched as I was dragged into the store. 

The store was also overflowing with players, completely changing the usual atmosphere of Crash’s store.

Seeing me being dragged by Crash, the players gave me pitying looks. It felt like they were saying, “You’re his next target,” but I probably wasn’t getting kicked out.

“I have some business with this guy, so could you all leave the store for a bit? Or do you want to be forcibly thrown out like before?”

Crash pointed at me like I was about to be scolded.

As the players slowly filed out, passersby glanced at me with looks that seemed to say, “Hang in there.” Some even patted me on the shoulder and gave me a thumbs-up.

Eh, I didn’t do anything though? Crash, you used me as an excuse. Well, fine.

As soon as the last person had left, Crash quickly locked the door and drew a magic circle on it to seal it.

“You’re having a hard time, Crash.”

“Yeah, really.”

Crash replied to my words bitterly.

Then, instead of leading me through the store, he guided me to the living quarters in the back.

“Seriously, it’s been like this since last night. Nothing but interference with business.” 

“Yeah… I’m afraid this place has become a bit of a hot topic among the foreigners.”

Crash sighed deeply as he drank his tea and raised his eyebrows when I said that. 

“Huh?! Why is my shop being talked about? I don’t get it. They’re all so rude. Asking to meet my mother, wanting to be friends, and asking me to sign things! A signature, seriously? Do they think they can trick me into some unfair contract or something? It’s really annoying. Do they really think they can easily deceive me like that?”

Signature… Ah, they were probably asking for his autograph, like you would ask a celebrity. 

“I don’t think they want your signature for a contract.”

“Huh? If it’s not for a contract, wouldn’t the signature be meaningless?”

“I suppose it means something to that person. There are a lot of people who want signatures of famous people.”

“Hmm, foreigners sure are strange. What’s the point in wanting something like that?”

Crash dismissed the psychology of fans outright. But he wasn’t wrong. Some people just liked to brag about having a celebrity’s autograph.

“And they just gather here without buying anything. Real customers can’t even get into the store. It’s such a nuisance.”

“I think it’s fine to just kick them out. There are probably people who come because they want to get thrown out by Crash.”

Vil-san also properly warned them that they might get beaten up. People who caused trouble weren’t customers, so they deserved whatever harsh treatment Crash gave them.

But when I told him that, Crash frowned even more and shuddered, saying, “There were perverts mixed in too…”

“More importantly, Crash. Does this store sell alcohol?”

“Alcohol? We have it. But I can’t sell it to you, Mac, because you’re still underage.”

Oh, so there were rules like that here too.

So I could only buy and drink it once I became an adult? Hmm, what should I do then?

“Do you need it for something? If so, I can sell it to you under Vidello’s name. You won’t be drinking it anyway, right?”

“Huh, under Vidello-san’s name? Isn’t that a bad idea?”

“It’ll be fine. Vidello is an adult. If it’s under Vidello’s name, you won’t let your curiosity get the better of you, drink the alcohol, and make a fool of yourself. After all, it would cause trouble for Vidello.”

“Uh… no, I wasn’t planning to drink it regardless. But if it might cause trouble for Vidello-san, I can’t buy it so easily.”

“Other places are even less likely to sell it to you. Unless you have a good reason. By the way, what do you need the alcohol for? Oh, are you planning to get Vidello to drink it and create a fait accompli¹ with Vidello when he’s drunk and more willing to give in to you…?”

I gave Crash a light chop on the top of his head to shut him up as he grinned.

Too bad, we’d already had a fait accompli. I stuck my tongue out at him in my mind.

“No, it’s for the statue.”

“The statue…?”

“Yeah, the cursed statue.”

Crash furrowed his brow, pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up.

“The one in the cave deep in the Tre Forest. That thing curses you if you touch it. Why would you need alcohol for that?”

“It seems that pouring alcohol on it temporarily lifts the statue’s curse. Plus, the person the statue represents liked alcohol. I’m going to need quite a bit.”

“Alcohol can lift the curse…? Not the church?”

“I think it’s a different kind of curse from the ones we deal with. But when we poured alcohol on the statue, it started moving and talking. It turns back into stone when it dries, so I’m planning to bring a considerable amount.”

“Heh, so it lifts the curse…”

A look of surprise crossed Crash’s face, triggering something within me.

Come to think of it, I’d never seen an item that could break a curse.

“Your store doesn’t carry items that break curses, does it?”

I asked Crash on a whim and he looked at me with a dubious expression. It was as if he was thinking, “What’s this guy talking about?”

“Going to a church is the only way to get a curse lifted. There’s no way an item could lift a curse so easily.”

Just as I suspected. Perhaps I’d found a starting point for the prime minister’s quest.

The problem was that if I used rare items for it, I’d have to start all over again. But I was prepared for that. First, I had to get to the statue.

I took the magic-saving doily out of my inventory.

I ask Crash to tie it around my arm.

With this, I might be able to jump all the way to the statue by myself.

“How much do you need? If it’s not enough, I’ll go restock at the store down the street.”

“How much do you have? I want to bring as much as possible.”

“About two barrels of wine, I guess. Not many people come here to buy alcohol anyway.”

“Can I have both barrels? How much?”

“Thank you for your continued patronage.”

I quickly bought two barrels of wine from Crash and stuffed them into my inventory.

“Alright, I’m off.”

I was about to draw a magic circle when suddenly Crash stopped my arm.

“Wait, Mac. Are you sure it’s safe to go alone? Since the shop is closed, should I come with you? I mean, it could be dangerous if you get cursed.”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Worst case scenario, I can respawn.”

“…That just makes me even more reluctant to let you go alone. How about going with Vidello at least?”

“Vidello-san said he’s working today.”

I didn’t think it was that dangerous. The statue seemed to be a nice person. As I was considering it, Crash grabbed me and quickly drew a magic circle with his finger.

In an instant, we were in front of the cave.

Crash had come with almost no equipment, so I hoped he would be okay.

“I’ve never been beyond this point. So, I’ll leave it to you to take us from here, Mac.”

Crash, eager to get to the statue, urged me on.

Wait…could it be…

“Crash, did you just want to see the statue…?”

“N-no, that’s not it at all. I’m worried about you, Mac.”

Even as he said that, his eyes were darting around.

Laughing at Crash’s attitude, I used my magic circle this time, and we both jumped to the room with the statue.

“Wow… This is a stone statue of a beastman… As expected of a beastman, it’s really impressive.”

“There’s a bracelet with a name written on its arm.”

“Oh, you’re right. It says [ Jhal・Gar ]. We’re supposed to pour alcohol on the statue? But how? Given our height, we’ll only reach its stomach.”

“One of us can act as a footstool while the other climbs on top and pours the alcohol.”

“Even then, we probably won’t be tall enough.”

“As long as it gets on there, it should be fine.”

For the time being, I took one of the barrels out of my inventory and placed it in front of the statue with a thud.

I took out a camping cup and filled it with wine poured from the barrel’s spout.

“As long as it gets on there, right?”

Crash said this, snatched the cup from me, and splashed the alcohol onto the statue.

It was just like one of those dramas where the woman splashes water on someone’s face in a restaurant. 

That’s wild, Crash. Between the way he had drop-kicked the player out earlier and the way he tossed the alcohol, he was wilder than he looked.

The stone statue, which had been splashed with Crash’s alcohol, gradually lost its stone texture and returned to its original appearance.

“Wow, this is fun.”

All I could do was watch as Crash continued to douse the statue with alcohol, as if venting some frustration.

Then, when the alcohol reached the statue’s face, the stone texture began to fade from it.

[ Thank you for the delicious drink. ]

The statue licked its lips and produced a deep, bass sound that reverberated through the area.