E-Book Exclusive Short Story “Jin’s Special-Effect Item”
“Onii-chan, I want to check out some shops. Is tomorrow okay?”
“Sure thing.”
If it’s Maya’s command, I’d head out shopping right this instant.
Refusing Maya’s request? That’s not even an option.
That night, as I was chilling in the living room and replied to Maya, she smiled happily.
“Yay!”
“But what do you want to buy?”
“It’s not really about buying; I just want to look around at adventurer gear. You know, there are all sorts of useful items, right?”
“I see.”
She’s right—adventurer specialty shops are always exciting to browse.
It’s probably window shopping.
For me, as long as I’m hanging out with Maya, I don’t care where we go.
“Oh, long time no see!”
“Been a while.”
“…”
The next day, as Maya and I left the house in high spirits, I was surprised to see Rinne and Ruka waiting for us.
They seemed to know about this, and when I glanced at Maya, her angelic smile blew away all my questions. I almost forgot why I was even here.
“You two are coming along?”
“Huh? Didn’t I mention?”
“No, you didn’t…”
“Is that… a problem?”
“No way it’s a problem!”
When Maya looked down sadly, I denied it with all my might.
…Sure, I was a little disappointed that my one-on-one outing with Maya was off, but it’s not like I mind.
In fact, I’m the one who wants to ask.
I turned to Rinne and Ruka.
“You three are going out together. Is it really okay for me to tag along?”
From their perspective, I’m probably less of an “Onii-san” and more of an “old guy.”
“I’m totally fine with it,” Rinne said.
“Me too. Actually, it’s great to have you here, Onii-san, since we can ask you for advice,” Ruka added.
“Really?”
That said, I’m not exactly a walking encyclopedia.
Feeling a bit uneasy, I headed to a nearby shop with the three of them.
“Wow, so many items!”
“Yeah, this is a specialty store for adventurer gear. Look, they’ve got the classic flash bombs over there,” Rinne said, pointing.
At the spot she indicated, flash bombs were on display. Rinne looked at me.
“Onii-san, what do you think of these flash bombs? They’re cheap and come in a big pack.”
She picked up a few and showed me the back of the four-pack, where the specs were listed.
“Hmm… They’re probably useful against E-rank monsters or ones without much intelligence. But for higher ranks, some monsters can sense your presence, so they’re not as effective.”
“…They can sense your presence?”
“Yup. Even if you blind them and they freeze up in surprise, don’t assume they won’t attack just because they can’t see.”
“I see… That makes sense. Someone as monstrously strong as you probably wouldn’t care about a sneak attack from behind, right?”
She stared at me like I was the monster in question.
Hey, when I was a rookie adventurer, I used all sorts of items to fight, okay? But items cost money. They’re fine for emergency escapes, but using them in every battle eats into your profits.
My take? There’s no need to challenge a monster you can’t handle without items.
It’s not like this is a game where you *have* to beat a boss.
“Onii-san, what about this?”
This time, Ruka asked, holding up a noise bomb—an item that makes a loud sound.
“Humans and creatures alike react to sound instinctively. A loud noise nearby will make your body freeze up, so it’s more effective than a flash bomb. But the effect wears off quickly, and since it’s not magic, a monster might counter it with magic. It all comes down to how you follow up afterward.”
“…That’s clear. Oni-pedia.”
Ruka praised me with some weird made-up term. Not sure if I should be happy about that.
Then—
“Onii-chan, what about this?”
“Hm? …Oh!”
When I turned around, my heart stopped at the sight of Maya wearing bunny ears.
…No, I’m fine. For a second, time froze, and I thought I’d flatlined.
Taking a deep breath, I assessed the situation again.
Maya was looking at me, wearing bunny ears.
I don’t know why such an item exists, but who cares about the reason?
All I know is that Maya is so adorable I’m mentally snapping shutters to save this moment in my memory forever.
“Maya, what’s that?”
“It’s supposed to be an item that works against the rabbit boss in the nearby labyrinth!”
“A local specialty item, huh,” Rinne muttered softly.
Yeah, some shops stock items tailored to nearby labyrinths.
This must be one of those stores. But right now, there’s one thing I need to say.
“…Maya, you’re too cute!”
“Thanks, Onii-chan! Here, Rinne-san and Ruka-san, you try them too!”
Maya handed bunny ears to Rinne and Ruka. Apparently, the store had a bunch of these for trying on, and other customers were enjoying them too.
“We… have to wear these?”
“…I don’t think they’d suit me.”
The two looked a bit embarrassed, but Maya insisted, and they put them on.
Then, shyly, they looked at me.
“H-How do we look?”
“…Do they suit us?”
“Yeah, they suit you both.”
With their pretty faces, of course they looked good.
I gave them a thumbs-up, but for some reason, they stared at me with narrowed eyes.
“…Your energy’s totally different.”
“Yeah, nothing like how you reacted to Maya-chan.”
“Well, duh! Maya’s my little sister!”
It’s only natural I’d react differently to my ultimate favorite versus anyone else.
At my words, the two let out small sighs. They’re probably used to my antics by now.
“So basically, the item that works on Onii-san isn’t a flash bomb or noise bomb—it’s Maya-chan.”
“That time, you were totally defenseless.”
…Yeah, fair point.
If I were a monster, just having Maya around would render me completely helpless.
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