The Mysterious Sisters

The two part-timers' identities are unknown.

And after the interview, a little investigation revealed something outrageous.

"The older sister's daily DP yield is 0!?"

That fact was enough to make me slam my fist on the floor.

This daily DP serves as a gauge of strength, and an average C-Rank gives about 50 to 70 DP. Having skills especially tends to increase it.

And 0 DP is something I've only seen from people connected to dungeons like myself, Rokuko, and Haku-san, or from people with absolutely no combat ability, like Niku when I first picked her up.

However, it could also be the effect of some concealment skill I don't know about.

The younger sister, Nayuta, gives 85 DP daily… Yeah, about the same level as Gozoh. She said she's an alchemist, so she probably knows various skills. By the way, Ichika's DP went from around 60 to 75 DP, probably because she picked up some skills.

"Well, I didn't notice at all. As expected of Kehma, you notice things others don't～"

"Don't look away, oi."

"B-but there's no need to check individual DP values, right?"

"It's a good gauge for measuring an intruder's strength. Keep an eye on it."

"Ugh, fine. I'll be careful from now on."

Even so… the younger sister does have DP? Hmm.

I don't know what conditions result in someone giving 0 DP, but staying vigilant is essential. Especially toward the older sister.

"Hey, Kehma. Maybe you could find something out if you transform into Setsuna? Can you do that?"

"… Hoh. Let me try then. [Super Transformation]."

The best way to learn about your opponent is to become them. So I used [Super Transformation] to transform into the older of the two part-timers, Setsuna.

Whoa, my chest is heavy. Really weighty.

And when I transform into a woman, there's usually this strange feeling in my lower half… or is there… or isn't there… nn?

…

It's there!? No, wait, it's there!!

Wh-what is this? What's going on? An otokonoko? No, these breasts seem real…

…

…!?

After a little investigation, there's both the male thing and the female thing. What… how do I put this… yeah. Right. Deluxe combo? No, a hermaphrodite.

Just who is this person? Being half dog and half rabbit is one thing, but being half in gender too? I'd like to think this is a bug in [Super Transformation]… But I saw the real person up close before transforming, so I should accept that this is reality. When I transformed into Rokuko, there was definitely nothing extra.

"Maybe… hermaphrodites aren't that uncommon in this world?"

"No, um… I wonder? They're probably quite rare."

The people I've met so far were probably clearly either male or female, but I never checked between their legs. In fact, I would have assumed Setsuna was a woman too if I hadn't confirmed it like this. Her bloomers weren't bulging either. You wouldn't normally check someone's crotch.

… Rokuko is confirmed female. The only one I can trust is Rokuko…!?

"It's okay. Niku, Ichika, and Rei don't have anything growing there either."

"O-oh. Thanks?"

"Um, you're welcome?"

I ended up hearing information that I may or may not have needed.

For now, let me summarize what I know about Setsuna.

• Appears to understand Japanese

• 0 DP per day. Someone connected to a dungeon, or due to an unknown skill?

• Is a hermaphrodite

That is all.

Now her identity has become even more mysterious.

I don't even know if they're truly sisters anymore. Or rather, is it okay to call her the older sister? … Well, that's about how you identify in your heart, so older sister is fine. Even the Uzoh Muzoh brothers are brothers despite not being related by blood. A hermaphrodite older sister? Sure, why not.

But what's their goal? Even after transforming, I have no clue.

Rokuko suggested I transform, and I did, but becoming your opponent only copies their appearance. It doesn't copy their memories… Though who knows if leveling up might change that.

So what should I do now?

… Let's just keep an eye on things for now.

Yes, the classic Japanese approach of maintaining the status quo. Put off troublesome problems. If time will solve the problem, it's best not to meddle.

What if the problem gets worse? Good luck, future me.

"… Hmm, well. Just stay vigilant for now. They might make a move now that we've had the interview."

"Okaaay. I'm the one who decided to hire them, so I'll take responsibility."

I don't know how she plans to take responsibility, but I released the transformation and decided to go to sleep for now.

I returned to my room, lay down on my futon, and activated Sleepsword Siesta!

… I was asleep within ten seconds.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

I was still concerned, so I decided to go check on the mysterious sisters directly. Niku came along as a bodyguard. Right now, the younger sister Nayuta was sitting at the reception desk. As for the problematic older sister… ah, according to the map, she's sleeping in her room.

When I approached, Nayuta lightly bowed in greeting… She'd been reading a book, it seemed. She was on duty, but with no guests passing through, she had free time.

"Yo, how's work?"

"Nothing to report. Going smoothly as usual."

"I see. What were you reading?"

"A collection of Advanced-tier magic formations. Look."

Nayuta opened the book and showed it to me.

A magic formation collection, just like how a poetry anthology is a collection of poems, is a book gathering magic formations together. There, on a two-page spread, a single magic formation was drawn… Time… stop… subspace, I read. Hmm. This seems to have an effect similar to [Storage]. About half of it was missing though.

"Hmm. Is there no commentary or notes on this?"

"… Oh? Village Chief-san, are you interested in magic formations?"

"No, but Nerune loves this stuff. She'd be happy if she could read it."

"Ah, I've already lent Nerune-san the Beginner and Mid-tier collections I had on hand."

Well, that's helpful. Our strategic range keeps expanding.

By the way, Beginner-tier apparently has simple, already-analyzed formations, while Mid-tier has explanations of the actual effects when activated. And Advanced-tier just has discovered formations that haven't even been activated yet, written down as-is.

"So what effect does this formation have?"

"Well, I don't actually know, but guessing from the magic characters… this is 'time,' this is 'advance,' this is 'different'… so I think it might be for a doppelganger or something."

"Hm? … Is that so."

The characters Nayuta pointed to were the parts I read as 'time,' 'stop,' and 'subspace.' Her interpretation was wrong, but there was no need for me to point that out.

"Of course, sometimes gibberish characters are written to preserve secrecy by making the formation look ineffective. This 'advance' here could mean the complete opposite depending on the missing characters. The target part of this one is also missing, making it impossible to identify."

Ah, so that's how it works… Translation Function-san, you can even fill in the missing parts? Amazing.

"I see, you're quite knowledgeable."

"It's my profession, after all. Furthermore, the hints for guessing the missing parts of this formation are on other pages. If you apply those, you can explain more and more of the formation, and…"

She finally released me after about thirty minutes. What a long talk. She even lent me a Beginner's Introduction to Alchemy. Yeah, you want me to read this? Become an alchemist? Cut into my sleep time to talk more? No thanks.

Nayuta turned out to be an unexpectedly aggressive talker. The meaning of her name is apparently "a very long unit of time," and her talk length lived up to it.

… Setsuna's name means "a very short unit of time." Does that mean she's quick to act rather than talk?

Just then, I bumped into Setsuna in the hallway. She was supposed to be sleeping in her room.

"Ah, Village Chief-san! Good morning～. It's past noon though."

"Yeah, good morning. If you just woke up, that's fine."

I encountered Setsuna walking down the hallway in her bloomers and gym clothes. Her thighs and various things were bad for my eyes. And my gaze kept trying to drift toward her crotch, but I managed to resist. Once you know something's there, you can't help but be curious…

"Oh, perfect timing! Hey Village Chief-san, are you free right now? Wanna have a mock fight? You're the only one left!"

"Why would I… wait, what do you mean I'm the only one left?"

"I've been having mock fights with every C-Rank and above adventurer in the village! I've won all of them so far. I asked Gozoh-san, and he said that you guys are C-Rank at this dungeon, right? Let's mock fight!"

"Why not fight Ni… Kuro? You fought her the other day, right?"

"She was pretty strong so I wouldn't mind another go, but I already fought Kuro-senpai. I want to complete the set!"

I see, so rather than being quick with words, she's quick with her fists.

I glanced at Niku. She seemed to have lost once, but she looked motivated.

… I also have something I want to test out. Now, what should I do?