前のエピソード――Episode ３ The story rewinds to before boarding the ship②

"When I got out of the car, there was a massive ship in front of me, filling my field of view. I've never seen such a large ship before.

It might be the biggest ship in Japan, or so it felt.

'Mr. Matsumoto, this ship feels quite large. How many players are on it?'

I threw out the question, but there was no response. Perhaps the time for him to answer had already ended.

Seeing Saeki with a sad expression, Mr. Matsumoto started talking while heading towards the entrance of the ship.

'I apologize sincerely, but I can no longer answer questions. However, let's chat a bit as we head to the ship.'

(Ah, I guess I've become a bit friendly with Mr. Matsumoto...) Thinking that made me happy, and I followed the suit's back, making rhythmic footsteps.

'Mr. Saeki, may I ask you one thing? Why did you get in the car?'

Walking, Mr. Matsumoto inquired. The walking speed didn't change, but for some reason, this question felt important.

'I have two reasons. One is that there was no sign of people around. You can't create such a situation without blocking the roads.'

On the spot, Mr. Matsumoto stopped and turned around.

'And the other?'

Without stopping, Saeki touched the inner pocket on the left side of Mr. Matsumoto. Just as expected...

'This is a gun, right? Also, some kind of tranquilizer gun. If I showed any behavior of refusing to board, you intended to shoot me. If I'm going to be caught anyway, I thought it would be more beneficial to extract information from the other party.'

As soon as he heard that story, Mr. Matsumoto started talking again with that smile from before.

'Congratulations on achieving the Surface Test Backdoor Route ①. We appreciate Saeki's exceptional observational skills and will provide you with a reward. Please accept it.'

Saying that, Mr. Matsumoto handed Saeki a card with something written on it.

[Surface Test Backdoor Route ① Reward]

- LUK +3

- Skill C [Calm]

Looking at the paper, the words of the reward disappeared and were absorbed into Hiroto Saeki's body. Then, with seemingly no interest, he looked at the suited man.

With a sad look at Saeki, Mr. Matsumoto spoke,

'Before boarding the ship, I will give you the final reward. You don't need to hear the rules on the ship, but I recommend asking anything you want to know. That concludes my guidance. Mr.Saeki, please take care.'

Saeki nodded and slowly headed towards the interior of the ship.

Looking around with emotionless eyes.

Hiroto Saeki:

- STR: Unknown VIT: Unknown

- INT: Unknown DEX: Unknown

- AGI: Unknown LUK: Unknown +3

- HP: Unknown

[Calm]

Thank you for reading. If you found it even a bit interesting, receiving ☆ or ♡ would encourage me! Please also provide advice on writing. I'll be waiting!"

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