Overloaded With Attributes Chapter 49

The Plain Jane

I was just trying to give Shouko-san a little nudge, you know? "Don't be reckless," "Be careful not to get hurt," that kind of thing. Next thing I know, I'm in full-on "lecturing old man" mode, and by the end, I'm not even sure what I'm talking about.

...Then again, I get sidetracked all the time, so that's fine.

Anyway! Changing the subject! (Or... getting back on subject?)

The reason Rokujou-san was waiting for me in the parking lot. The reason Shouko-san and her cousin chased me down like something out of an action movie.

"Okay, so... the short version is: you guys are worried I'm going to 'do something' if I'm left alone. So, you want to 'assign me a partner' until my regular party members recover from their mana sickness. Is that about right?"

"Yuugiri-san," Shouko cut in, "'Partner' is a bit... loaded. They might get the wrong idea. Please be more... businesslike. For example, 'that woman,' or 'hey,' or 'you,' or perhaps even 'sl—'"

"That's what that idiot used to call you, isn't it..."

"Shouko, please don't. I might actually snap and punch someone. Besides, Kazura-san and... 'her'... aren't middle schoolers. They're not going to 'fall in love' with a fifteen-year-old kid just from talking to him."

"I don't know about Takatsukasa-san, but I'm still plenty 'pure'!" the other woman protested.

"Kazura, love has nothing to do with age," Rokujou-san mused.

"...Ahem. Yes, Kashiwagi-san, your summary is... largely correct. However... there has been a... slight complication."

Rokujou-san put on a troubled face. God, she's good at that.

And the "complication"?

Apparently, Shouko-san had already called in her cousin, Kazura... while LAB had already prepared their own agent (the "her" Kazura-san mentioned). Both of them showed up before anyone bothered to tell me.

...Communication. It's important, people.

And, of course, this is all about me, but I'm the last one to know. Couldn't someone have... I dunno... consulted me?

...Then again, if they had, I'd have just said, "Handle it," so whatever.

"Anyway, isn't this all a bit much? I mean, as you can see, I'm not really the type to cause trouble or be a bother, right?"

"Eh?" (Shouko)

"Eh?" (Rokujou)

"Eh?" (Kazura)

"Eh?" (The other lady)

"Eh?" (My teacher)

...Why is everyone looking at me like I just grew a second head? I've never even met that plain-looking woman from the Labyrinth Bureau... oh. They gave her a dossier on me?

...That's just rude.

"W-Well," Rokujou said, "setting aside the... slight discrepancy in Kashiwagi-san's self-assessment... You are free to take both of them with you, but—"

"No," Kazura snapped. "If Kazura is here, you don't need her."

"...As you can see from that remark, this Explorer, Takatsukasa Kazura... is, much like Kashiwagi-san... a bit of a problem child."

"'Much like' me? What does... you know what, never mind. I don't want to know."

...I mean, she's not wrong. Just watching Kazura-san, she does seem self-centered and willful. The type to do whatever she wants.

...Why do I feel insulted?

"Therefore, we'd like you to choose which of them is more suitable. Ah, and please, no favoritism just because one is an acquaintance of your housemate."

"Kazura doesn't care either way," Kazura-san shrugged. "Frankly, if you're just pottering around the first or second floor, Ms. Unreliable over there is probably good enough."

"...I see. So, I just need to decide which of these ladies is 'more attractive'?"

"That is not what I—! ...Yuugiri-san, you're getting sidetracked! This is a question of 'which woman is less of a liability'. If you say things like that, one of them might... mistakenly think... 'Oh, he chose me? (thump-thump)'."

"Like Kazura said, Kazura doesn't do 'mistakenly'," Kazura-san huffed.

"And I... I would never think such 'impure' thoughts in a dungeon!" the plain woman sputtered.

"You must abandon such naive thinking!" Shouko warned her. "If you are alone with Yuugiri-san... with him... for even an hour..."

"She's right, you know," Rokujou added. "By the time you return from the dungeon... you will undoubtedly..."

"Okay, now you're just getting into 'horror movie' territory! Forget the dungeon! He sounds like a biohazard who needs to be in a research lab!" I yelled.

So, I had to pick one. And in the end...

"Um, so... Ms. 'Plain-Jane'... it seems it wasn't meant to be."

"WHY?! We only went to the rental shop! Is it my face?! You picked her for her face! Judging by looks alone is wrong! Uuuu... going to the dungeon... with a boy... it's been my dream since I was a kid..."

...Didn't you just say you "weren't thinking 'impure' thoughts"?

"It's not because of your looks."

I mean, Kazura-san has her own... issues...

So, why did I decide after one trip to the rental shop?

I picked the same gear as last time: one thin sword, and that's it. I told them both I wanted to test some things in the Mochi area on Floor 1. At the time, they both nodded and said, "Being cautious is a good thing."

But then I came back with just the sword.

'Plain-Jane' reacted just like Shizuka and Atena. "Kashiwagi-san, what is that outfit?! Even if it's just Mochi, a monster is a monster! You must follow procedure and equip full—"

Blah, blah, blah.

Kazura, on the other hand: "...Huh. That's logical... but you're a rookie, right? You sure you can handle that?"

She understood what I was doing and was just questioning if I could pull it off.

I know I'm new (here) and I should probably be supervised. But...

"Honestly? It's a total drag being micromanaged from one to ten. I work better when I have some freedom. And Kazura-san, you'll back me up if I screw up, right?"

"Fufu... of course," she said, her bored look vanishing, replaced by a sharp, fox-like grin. "Kazura is a Gold-rank Explorer, after all. And... you actually see Kazura, don't you? Maybe Kazura should re-evaluate my opinion of Shouko's pet."

...Yeah, can you... not smile like that? It's kinda creepy. 

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