I walked back along the path I had come, letting the night breeze cool me, until I reached the forest again.
When I placed my hand on the door of my house bathed in moonlight, something felt off in my nose.
...A faint sweet scent, different from Monaka's...
I was sure this scent belonged to...
My Five Senses stat sat at 201 points.
At this point I could probably win a smelling contest against a dog.
Thanks to that, I could pick up even the slightest change in the scents drifting around me.
"What do you want, Shinobuko?"
I called out as I opened the door. In the back of the room sat a small figure.
Her petite body was lit by the light coming through the window.
Her head and neck were hidden in shadow, but the hood that hung down to her shoulders clearly belonged to that female ninja.
The darkness whispered.
"...You suspicious fellow."
"That's my line.
Sneaking into someone's house in the middle of the night. What are you even saying?"
Shinobuko ignored my words and continued at her own pace.
"Nin. Just who exactly are you?"
"I'm just a jobless dropout."
"Do not play dumb. I saw it with my own eyes.
I watched you catch Monaka-sama in midair as she fell from the tree and land safely."
"So you were peeking."
Shinobuko stood up without making a sound.
"That movement was undoubtedly one of our ninja skills, 'Izuna Throw.'
Even I, who have trained as a ninja since birth, have not yet mastered that skill.
How is it that a jobless person like you can use it so well?"
"Who knows? Maybe it was just luck."
"If you insist on playing dumb, then I have my own ideas."
...Whoosh!
Shinobuko suddenly raised both hands high.
It seemed to be her version of a fighting stance.
However, since she was small with short arms, the pose looked more like a baby chick trying to look threatening, which was kind of cute.
"Hey, what are you planning to do? Are you going to dance with a forest squirrel or something?"
"Nin! No mercy!"
Shinobuko leaped at me like a kitten pouncing on a toy.
She really had trained as a ninja, because her movements were quite impressive.
But they were too slow.
For me, with 201 points in Agility, they looked like they were standing still.
"They look like they're stopped."
I lightly twisted my body to dodge, and Shinobuko grabbed at empty air before losing her balance with an "Oops."
Clear shock ran across her usually expressionless face.
"Kuh... You are the first person besides the leader to dodge my 'Tomoe Nage'...!"
"I see. Just so you know, no matter how many times you try, it's pointless. You'll only get tired."
"...Ridiculous!"
Shinobuko got worked up and charged at me again and again.
I deflected every single attack without letting any of them even graze me.
After a while, she started breathing heavily.
"This ghostly movement...! It's just like the leader... No, even better...!
And your breathing hasn't even become ragged...! You really are a true 'monster'...!"
With 201 points in Endurance, this was not even a warm-up for me.
"I told you, you'll just get tired. So go home and sleep already."
I was about to add "Go back," but Shinobuko jumped up and launched a desperate attack.
It looked like a flying squirrel diving at its prey, but I still dodged it with ease.
She was about to slam face-first into the empty floor when
"Good grief, can't be helped."
I grabbed her waist right before she hit and pulled her close.
Shinobuko let out a "Pya!?" like a small bird and flew into my arms with surprising lightness.
Because she was so small, her face went "Mugyu!?" right into my chest.
Shinobuko looked up at me with wide eyes.
Both of her hands were tightly gripping my shirt.
"Aw man, I got caught."
I meant that as "I caught Shinobuko," but she seemed to interpret it the other way around.
"'Sleep' and 'catch'...!? D-Don't tell me you plan to use that on me...!"
"Use what?"
"When a ninja captures a kunoichi, there is only one technique!
The... 'bou... bouju... jutsu'...! No, 'bou... chuu... jutsu'...!"
Shinobuko seemed to have trouble even saying the word "bedchamber arts" properly, as if her tongue was as short as her arms.
She pursed her lips like a duck and tried desperately to say it, but eventually gave up.
"You plan to use that 'bou... chuu... chuu' on me and even on Monaka-sama!"
"What are you talking about?"
I placed my hand gently on her head.
"You saw my movements and thought I was going to take advantage of Monaka, so you came to take me down.
But I would never do something like that. Monaka is my precious childhood friend.
If she's in trouble, I'll help her, but I would never attack her."
I spoke seriously, trying to reassure Shinobuko.
At the end, I smiled and added, "So relax."
However, she did not answer.
She just stared up at me with wide eyes, looking shocked.
A moment later, her face turned bright red, almost as if you could hear the color rushing in.
Shinobuko quickly covered her reddened face with her black hood, then slipped out of my arms with a sharp "Shuba!"
"N... Nin! I'll let you off the hook for today!"
With an expression mixing embarrassment and frustration, she glared at me sharply.
"However, next time we meet, it will be a fight to the death!" she declared before leaping out the window and vanishing into the night.
I stood there blankly watching her back disappear when my body was suddenly wrapped in sparkling light in the darkness.
"Level up? I didn't really do anything special.
All I did was make a girl from another class turn red in the face..."
--------------------------------------------------
**Leopin**
**Occupation:** Appraiser
**LV:** 5 → 6
**HP:** 2010
**MP:** 2010
**Status**
**Vitality:** 201
**Endurance:** 201
**Toughness:** 1
**Spirit:** 1
**Resistance:** 1
**Agility:** 201
**Focus:** 201
**Strength:** 201
**Magic Power:** 1
**Divine Power:** 1
**Intelligence:** 1
**Education:** 201
**Five Senses:** 201
**Sixth Sense:** 1
**Charm:** 1
**Luck:** 2
**Dexterity:** 1000 → 1100
**Available Jobs**
**Production**
Woodcutter
Appraiser
Carpenter
Stonecrafter
**Exploration**
Ranger
**NEW!** Treasure Hunter
**Combat**
Axe Battler
Ninja
--------------------------------------------------