Chapter 37: To the Usual Forest ⓪: Silent Move

On the way back from helping out, a sudden and intense muscle pain struck me.

It was so bad I couldn’t stand — a pulled muscle. I hurriedly used an Elixir.

“…What was that…?”

No, I have a pretty good idea. It was probably [Silent Move].

The next day.

I began testing it out. Yes, [Silent Move].

Something felt off from the explanation that played in my head the first time I used it.

“You really are a weird one, you know.”

“Am I?”

“Na!”

Mineha-san, who sat on my shoulder, kicked her long, bare legs casually.

Dagaa had transformed into a knife and was tucked into my belt. She’s really whimsical.

“You’re not even an explorer and yet you live out here, there’s Dagaa, the Relics, and now this time, an OOPArt that adapts to those Relics. And it was even manufactured. If you’re not weird, then the Sisters of Rell are the normal ones.”

“Na?”

Mineha-san let out a sigh.

Now that she mentions it, she’s not wrong. I smiled wryly.

She’s technically still illegally occupying the watchtower, but I guess she’s more of a freeloader now.

Because of the Dagaa situation, I’ve told her a fair bit about myself.

She already knew about the [Silent One], so I explained [Silent Move] to her too.

I also told her about the enchantment on the Dagaa knife.

As for the other Relics—at the very least, I plan to talk about [Vanish] when the time is right.

But [Generous] and the [Holy Egg of Elixir] will remain secret.

Still not sure what to do about [Fortune’s Wheel].

I can’t help but think I’m such a mess, full of secrets.

It reminds me of something from my past life.

If you become rich, money comes to you. Because you already have a lot of it.

Maybe secrets work the same way. If you carry them, more will gather.

“So what exactly are you trying to do?”

“This. Precision is the key.”

“Na!”

We were in the left room of my home. It was being used for storage, with wooden crates stacked up.

Dagaa had once been kept here.

On the table where I’d placed Dagaa, there was a wooden bowl and plate.

Inside the bowl were a variety of washed beans in different sizes.

They had been properly drained.

Then, there were chopsticks. This world has them too.

I prepared long cooking chopsticks and a sand timer for one minute.

Ten or five minutes would’ve been too long. I wanted a three-minute one, but didn’t have it—so one minute it is.

Mineha-san gave me a suspicious look.

“So what exactly are you doing?”

“Huh? You’ve never heard of this?”

“Na?”

“You use the chopsticks to move as many beans from the bowl to the plate as you can within one minute.”

“…With chopsticks?”

“We’ll measure how many you can move in that time.”

“Na!”

“That sounds annoying. I’d get irritated.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if Mineha-san just flipped the bowl in seconds.

“I’m going to try it using [Silent Move].”

“Hmm. I should probably get off your shoulder.”

“Yes, please.”

Without much interest, Mineha-san flew off and landed on a crate.

“Dagaa. Come here.”

“Na!”

When Mineha-san called, Dagaa automatically shifted and moved to her side.

She sat down with Dagaa like it was a cushion made just for her.

She’s already better at handling it than I am. Who’s the real owner here?

She crossed her legs with exaggerated confidence. What is she, a mafia boss’s wife?

“Well, go on then.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I entered [Silent One] mode, flipped the sand timer, and picked up the long chopsticks.

“Silent Move.”

I activated [Silent Move] through the [Silent Saint’s Gauntlets].

I didn’t have to say it out loud, but somehow this one always feels right to speak.

The task: move beans from the bowl to the plate using the long chopsticks.

The moment I decided that, a noise distortion flickered before my eyes and everything wavered.

“Wof! Wof! Wof!!”

“!?”

Snapping out of it at Mineha-san’s shout, I saw the bowl was empty.

The plate next to it was piled with beans.

All of them had been transferred.

The sand timer was already done.

“Don’t just ignore me completely!”

“I wasn’t ignoring—ow…?”

My hand holding the chopsticks cramped painfully. My arm was trembling and numb.

“You were moving in a super creepy way. What even is that [Silent Move] thing?”

“Creepy…? I don’t remember any of it.”

From the moment the visual noise flickered until I was called back, I remembered nothing.

Sweat dripped down my neck. My hand and arm throbbed with pain.

“That [Silent Move] is a Relic. It’s an automatic-type Relic.”

“A Relic, huh…”

“My mentor once told me. There are two main types of OOPArts that adapt to Relics.
Type A enhances the power or effect of the Relic, like my spear.
Type B allows you to use an entirely new Relic—but only when you have a specific, compatible OOPArt. Yours is a Type B.”

I see. So it’s a Type B.

“[Silent Move]… is it an automatic-type Relic?”

“Yes, that’s right. Automatic-types are Relics that perform specific actions when used. They’re called [Auto Moves]. I don’t know all the details, but apparently, there are two types—one where your consciousness stays active during the action, and one where you act without any awareness. Yours is the latter.”

“Yeah… Was it that creepy?”

That “creepy” part stung. Mineha-san chuckled softly.

“How should I put it? Your jerky movements were like a puppet. You ignored me even when I called you multiple times, and I got so annoyed I considered smacking you with [Spiral].”

“Please don’t. That would kill me.”

“How rude. I’d hold back just enough to not kill you.”

“That’s you holding back?”

“What of it?”

“Na?”

Dagaa raised his head, yawned, and looked away from me.

Totally uninterested, it seems.

“Wof. Listen. That [Silent Move] of yours—it might be fine when you’re solo, but if you ever join a party, you should probably avoid using it.”

“I agree. I think so too.”

Honestly, I don’t even want to use it when I’m alone.

Even for everyday use, it’s hard to know when it’s appropriate. My hand and arm are still cramping and painful from holding those long chopsticks.

Yeah, that must be it. The muscle pain and pulled muscle yesterday were probably from some extreme movement I made while using it.

I’ll use another Elixir later.

Hm? Mineha-san placed a hand on her chin and looked at me sharply. What is it?

“—Hey. You’ve figured it out by now, haven’t you? How long are you planning to keep scavenging trash heaps?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t tell me you really aren’t planning to become a Seeker until next year?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Why aren’t you becoming a Seeker under special exception?”

“…………”

“With your ability, you could easily qualify for a Seeker’s license under special conditions.”

“I wouldn’t say easily…”

“Hasn’t that witch mentor of yours said anything about it?”

“She hasn’t said anything to me.”

“Huh. And what about you?”

Me… what do I think?

Becoming a Seeker—if it were the old me, I would’ve smiled awkwardly and immediately said no.

But now… I took a small breath and began to speak.

“I always thought I’d just become a Seeker at fourteen. To me, being a Seeker was simply a job, a means of survival. So I never had any dreams or goals like ‘I want to accomplish this’ or ‘I want to reach First Rank.’”

“Yeah, a lot of people become Seekers just to survive. I’m not knocking that.”

“But after learning, experiencing, and gaining more knowledge, I’ve realized… if I can become one even before fourteen, then I’d like to.”

“What changed your mind?”

“The biggest reason is ownership rights.”

“Ownership rights?”

“Only Seekers have the legal right to own what they find in dungeons. That’s it.”

“Oh yeah, Dagaa was the same. I registered him under my name. But in your case, you’ll probably keep dragging in more troublesome treasures.”

“Haha, I can’t deny that…”

“And the fact you don’t go on about dreams or hopes… that’s just like you. You haven’t even told the witch, have you?”

“No. This is the first time I’ve told anyone. Just you, Mineha-san.”

“Na!”

“Oh, and Dagaa too, I guess.”

Not that he’s listening.

Mineha-san stared at me seriously and said:

“If that’s how you feel, then go tell the witch right now that you want to become a Seeker.”

“I was planning to go anyway…”

“Then go immediately. And make sure you bring back some meat on the way. A lot of it.”

“Na!”

I wish they’d eat vegetables too. But fine, I’ll bring some.

I glanced at Dagaa.

“Dagaa, you’re not coming with me?”

“Na?”

He looked away. So he’s not coming. Figures.

Eventually, I’ll need to test Dagaa’s enchantment too.

I got ready and headed for the witch’s forest.

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