Chapter 8:

Out on the Town (Part 1)

What it Takes for a Loser to Become a Career Isekai Adventurer ダメ人間が本職異世界冒険家になる資格は


The party decided to make the seventh day of the trial period a rest day. Den resisted at first, knowing there was so much work to be done, but gave in when every other member of the team, even Rika, agreed they had to rest. After a silent morning of half-hearted stretches with his grandmother, he got to work on writing about their recent activities. If he must take a day off, he would record as much as he could remember of their adventures.

After a few hours of writing, he made sure he had everything prepared, then turned on the pay-per-hour internet. He uploaded a week’s worth of posts, then, only ten minutes into his hour, the lamp next to the computer flickered down to a dim setting. He went to the door then called down the hallway, “GrandPre, are you doing something that’s using a lot of electricity?”

“Just a brown-out,” she called back. “It was planned for today. I hope you weren’t planning on using that computer. There won’t be enough power for it.”

Almost as soon as she announced that, the lamp flickered even dimmer and the computer went dead. Den hit the arms of the chair. Just his luck. Well, that was a wasted 500 doubloons. He turned off the internet provider and slunk back to his room. So now what? He scanned the mess. His two suitcases lay open and questionably clean clothes lay scattered across the small room. He’d left his futon an undone twist of blankets. He did not want to clean. He’d brought a number of books bought years ago and never read, but he had no desire now to draw them out of his suitcases. His Scope Sisters spin-off books only made him think of his old lost life.

It was hardly noon, but he had no idea what to do. Waking up early really did make for long days. Before the world had gone to pieces he couldn’t remember a day he didn’t have things he wanted to do. After all, there was always more to do in games. Without them, life was boring indoors. He didn’t know how people survived before the internet. He picked up his dusty adventuring backpack, now empty except for plastic bags and bottles of slime potion. Unfortunately, he didn’t even have the means to ask his friends if they wanted to hang out.

That’s if they even want to… Besides their trips to the convenience store, the party exclusively ran the Hollows. They’d probably had enough of him for one week. In the end, he supposed they were less friends than co-workers. He didn’t know what they would do if they met without the goal of adventuring. Back in his days commuting to community college, he would go to class then immediately return home to get back to his games. Perhaps the only reason he’d been able to get along so well with his party members despite having so little contact with others came from the fact that running the Hollows still followed the rules of a game. He had no idea what he would have to talk about if the Hollows weren’t the obvious topic.

Even knowing that, standing in his doorway, he found that he missed his friends. Spending time with them was like a dream. It was so different from the timeless, unchanging world of his room where he spent so much time alone with his own thoughts. As much as he regretted the way things ended, Den couldn’t help but feel thankful for the people who had found him in such a short period of time. He gave the room another onceover before deciding no happiness would be found there and headed outside with no goal but to move.

The day was hot. Even in shorts and a t-shirt, he found himself oppressed by the summer heat. His pale skin burned easily so he kept to the shade of the streetside houses until he made it to the downtown shopping area’s street roof. Suburb 23 was quite small compared to other more famous suburbs like the sprawling bed town of Suburb 3 or the popular beach getaway in the south Suburb 44. They didn’t even have a major industry like the mining city of Suburb 75 in the northeast mountains or a strong trade business like the Confederacy border suburbs. If anything, Suburb 23 was a retirement town. Den estimated there were only maybe twenty-thousand people in the settlement and the unhurried downtown reflected that.

Even so, it seemed to Den that half the population appeared to have the same idea as him and crowded the long market street. He passed stores with fresh vegetables set out next to phone shops, with clothes and shoe stores all over. He’d never really been one for shopping, outside of anime good stores where he might pick up Scope Sisters merch. He did not like being surrounded by so many normies. How could they look so happy despite the lack of electricity and still have places to go and people to meet? Pissed Den off. He avoided meeting eyes with the people he passed. What am I even doing out here?

He made it to the center downtown plaza and sat down on the lip of a small fountain. It had been shut off and drained, leaving Den the only one to approach. It was a bizarre being around so many people but being unseen nonetheless. It was not a good feeling, but until he came here, it was all he had known. It had been that way for him in his classes, at home, and even online unless he managed to accomplish some serious results in-game. This last week had been an exception to his norm. It had felt so good for people to really see him.

“You okay, Den?” a familiar voice asked.

He looked up. Sam stood before him carrying two full grocery bags over their shoulders. Den almost didn’t recognize them wearing clothes other than their onesie. Now they wore a crop-top and overalls under a stylish open button-down.

Den’s mouth dropped open. Never once in Starter Town had he run into an acquaintance on the street. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I live two streets over.” They hefted their bags. “You wasting your day off?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Nothing else to do.” He laughed nervously, glancing away from the almost sparkling Sam. Meeting the beautiful individual in the Hollows was one thing, but meeting them in a sunny busy place felt entirely different. It felt almost wrong for them to be giving a loser like him their time. He didn’t deserve their attention. It made him embarrassed to be so free when they were busy. “I mean- No power so I can’t edit the blog.”

Sam held out a bag. “If you’re free, help me carry this to my apartment. My left shoulder is hurting. I knew adventuring was going to be rough, but man do I hurt!”

Den met Sam’s gentle smile. They didn’t mind that he was a loser with nothing to do. He stood up and accepted the bag. Sam led the way out of the busy plaza, rubbing their shoulder.

“You’re sore?” Den asked.

“You don’t get to hear me complaining in the group chat,” Sam said. “We’re all tired.”

In one part, it was a bit of a relief that the others were tired too. At the same time, it hurt to think the others were sharing their pain and getting closer in the chat without him. “I wish I could keep up with everyone.”

“Well, I think part of the reason we’ve been able to so reliably meet up is because we know that, no matter what, you’ll be waiting. We can’t just leave you there at the Hollows. Even if there have been plenty of days that I want to rest!” Sam laughed.

Their laughter gave him a little smile. “Well I am glad I can help that way. I’m dragging everyone down otherwise.”

“I don’t think anyone thinks that, Den” Sam said as they started down a side street walled by tall apartment buildings. “You pull your weight. Makes me want to do my best too.”

That tickled Den’s heart, and his smile grew, but he could only look down at his own feet. “I wrote about our Hollow runs this morning,” he said. “It’s weird writing like we’re really adventurers. On days like this it doesn’t feel real.”

“We are real adventurers though!” Sam said, holding up a v for victory. “No one can tell me I’m not good enough.”

They walked in silence for a moment, and Den worried he’d made Sam mad by saying they weren’t adventurers. He couldn’t think of what to say to fix it.

“How is the website going?” Sam asked. “I looked at the first post. I’m excited for you to upload more of our pictures!”

“Your pictures are a great help,” Den said. “We have more readers, but I don’t know what to do to make the website better. I wish I could make vlogs, but without internet I can’t upload any videos. Honestly I’m surprised anyone can read my writing.”

Sam punched Den in the chest. “You need to appreciate yourself more and take it easy. I may take things a little too easy sometimes though…” They rubbed the back of their head. “Don’t think you have to work on the project alone though. I read often so I wouldn’t mind being an editor!”

Den straightened at that. “You’d do that?”

“We’re a party aren’t we? It sounds fun! Hell, I should be the main one taking photos. I used to be a wedding photographer.”

“Really?” Den asked. Sam had a better phone than Den. Their offer was reasonable.

“There was an opening at a shop of a friend of my mother’s. It wasn’t my favorite gig, but you can’t really say no to good money.”

“Sounds interesting at least,” Den said. “Weddings, huh? I haven’t been to one since my sister got married three years ago…”

“You like weddings, Den?” Sam asked.

“Nah… It’s a regret, but I spent the entirety of my sister’s wedding depressed that, even though she’s two years younger than me, she got married first.”

Sam laughed. “Well, different people have different times to fall in love. I get the feeling that you’re asexual, Den. I have friends who are and they often lament that they feel slower to come into relationships than others.”

“Maybe…” Den said. “Though it’s not like I don’t want a relationship…”

“That’s often true,” Sam paused and stepped in close to Den. “If you wanted to learn more, maybe we could spend a night together. I’m always up for a little exploring.”

Den’s heart hammered and face heated up. “I--I’ll think about it.” Den found himself overwhelmed by Sam’s impressive aura. Den couldn’t say he wasn’t curious, but the thought of running into an encounter like that filled Den with nervousness.

Sam stepped back and chuckled to themself. “No need to rush into these things. I don’t mind either way. It’s nothing important anyway.”

That phrasing did disappoint Den a little. He wouldn’t be anything special for Sam, would he?

They stopped at the entrance of a narrow three floor apartment shoved between two others. “Anyway, this is my place. Pretty convenient right? Only a five minute walk from the plaza and the Guild.”

“It’s nice!” Den said. “Looks expensive.”

Sam slumped. “It’s an arm and a leg for an old one-room apartment, but still better than my moms’ place. It literally backs up against the wall and is dark most of the day.” They got a distant expression as they gazed up at the apartment. “This is a better view for now, but I dream of when we can see something even more special. There’s just so much more world out there, you know? I want to see it so bad.” They gave Den a bright smile. “Now we have our party, so it’s only a matter of time, right?” Their smile dropped a degree. “I’m tired of the conversations I can have here. All my friends in the suburb just wear me out with all the same problems over and over. It’s so refreshing being with the party.”

Den nodded. “It is.” He couldn’t comprehend the issues Sam seemed to have with a wide circle of friends, but he understood how easy it was being together with their party.

“I’d love to hang longer, but I have work in an hour.”

“Oh,” Den said, his good mood already fading. “I see.”

“I think Chloe said yesterday she would be home all day though. I could message her and send you her way. It’s a bit of a walk though.”

“Wait,” Den waved his hands. “Is that alright? This is our day off. I wouldn’t want to invite myself over.”

Sam pulled out their phone and slammed out a fast message before giving themselves a bop on the head. “Oops, looks like I just told her you were coming. Guess there’s no thinking about it now.”

Den marked the location Sam got in the group chat in his maps app. Without internet, he had to work his own way there uphill into the long quiet streets lined in elegant fences. Finally he arrived at a massive old European style manor set at the end of a long road, cut off from the outside world by a huge gate. Den pursed his lips as he came to a stop at the gate. He knew this place. It was the first location he had gone on his landscaping job, and by far the nicest of the houses he had visited to date. As much as he was instantly both jealous and in awe of the sheer wealth of Chloe’s family, it somehow didn’t surprise him.

Den pressed the buzzer next to the gate and after a minute of waiting, it rattled open. He made his way up the long driveway to the grand front door. He used the honest-to-goodness knocker, because when else would he have a chance in his life, and then he waited. While the manor did not surprise him, the sight that met him when the door opened did.

Den’s heart skipped a beat before revving up. Chloe wore a frilly traditional maid outfit. The sight of such a beautiful girl in the legendary garb idolized by Den’s people made his legs tremble. Is this real? He had to put a hand to his chest to ground himself. Calm down, Den! Control yourself! It’s only Chloe-- not a goddess.

She bowed to him elegantly. “Chloe believed Den would be in bed all day doing nothing for his day off. She is impressed he came to visit. Very impressive. Chloe gives you applause pachipachipachi.” She indeed clapped then patted his head. “Chloe always wanted a cat to sleep around her house. She wouldn’t mind a Den instead.”

“Chloe,” Den said in complete seriousness, his nostrils flaring. “May I ask a question?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you wearing a maid outfit?”

Chloe stepped back and spun in a circle. “Chloe was cleaning. Does Den not know what a maid does?”

“I am aware,” he said, pushing up his glasses with a flash. His heart calmed and the earth ceased its shaking under his feet as Chloe’s familiar voice stabilized Den’s world. “It just broke my grasp of reality for a moment there. I didn’t think that anyone actually wore such clothing in the real world.”

“Is that so?” Chloe held the shirt and swung it back and forth. “Chloe has always been a fan of cosplay. Is it a problem?” Her single bunny ear lifted with the question.

He gave a solid thumbs up. “It’s beautiful. Thank you for this opportunity to see something truly special.”

“Ara ara. How cute.” She stepped off to the side and gestured for him to come in. “Den should enter. That will be a strange reality for Chloe as well.”

He entered and Chloe closed the door behind him. “Den should not be so stiff,” she said, walking past him into the wide entrance hall. “Chloe’s mother isn’t home.”

While it was true that he was relieved he would not have to meet the incredible woman who owned a house like this, Chloe’s phrase quickened Den’s heartbeat for other reasons. “Thank you very much for having me.”

Den found himself gawking at the boggling complex interior. Every detail exuded grandeur from the spiral staircase that led up to the second level to the crystal chandelier overhead. On the center wall hung a huge painting of Chloe and a woman in a suit, short hair slicked back who he supposed was her mother. It wasn’t a hard guess given their skin had the same soft blue hue and they shared the same single floppy bunny ear. Chloe stopped at an open pair of double doors and brought her hands up to her heart. “Chloe warns Den to be careful. She knows he is clumsy. Every object in this building would most likely be beyond his means to compensate should he break anything.”

Noted, he thought with a cold trickle of sweat down his neck.

She guided the way into a wide dining room, sunlight streaming in through expansive windows. Chloe gestured to a wooden door on the side of the room. “Chloe will give Den access to her workroom, given Sam has informed her that he is lonely and in need of work. Chloe will give Den purpose.” She pushed the door open, revealing a well lit room filled with mannequins wearing different cosplay and a massive 3D-printer next to a table cluttered with plastic printings and fabric.

Chloe took one step forward, Den following after, but suddenly she stopped in the doorway and Den bumped into her. She turned around. “I will have to ask you to stay here for a moment. I assure you it is not because Chloe realized she has something to hide in this room.”

“Right, of course not,” Den said, unable to help a smile.

Spinning, her skirt fluttering, she rushed into the room and slammed the door shut. After thirty seconds of loud banging and the rustling of fabric, the door opened. Chloe dusted off her skirt. “All non-existent secrets have been hidden.”

“Understandable.” Den stepped in and gave the room another once over. A skylight illuminated the whole room despite not one electric light being on. At first glance, he couldn’t guess what had moved. The cute dress cosplay on the mannequins hadn’t changed, so it wasn't that. He now noticed a large screened computer on the work table that he hadn’t seen before so maybe something had been moved near it? In the end, he decided he didn’t really care. He had a matter he had to correct. “So whatever Sam said-- it’s not like I was all that lonely…”

Chloe moved to the far end of the room and sat in a huge cutesy chair that made her look small. “Oh really? Chloe often finds herself quite lonely and she was rather pleased to think she and Den might be able to help each other.”

A moment passed as Den’s brain short-circuited. “I lied,” he said. “I was lonely and am really happy to spend time with you today.”

Chloe smiled leaning onto one arm of the chair and bringing a hand to her chin. “Den is cute. Chloe is pleased to spend time with him as well.”

Den took a few more steps into the room, overjoyed to be wanted, but doubting he could ever fulfill the needs of someone like Chloe. “I’m honored you party with us at all. It must be hard listening to me complain about the fact that I can’t even afford internet.” Den continued to look around the room. “Why do you hang out with losers like us if you have all of this?”

“It’s just stuff,” Chloe said with a tilt of her head. She pushed herself out of her chair, keeping her eyes pinned on Den. She walked up to him and gently set a soft hand against his cheek. He twitched under the contact, his head filling with steam and a blush rising to his cheeks. “Chloe likes that you all are real,” she said.

“L-like we’re not superficial?” he stuttered, glancing away then glancing back at Chloe’s calm, but focused gaze.

“Yes, but moreso, Chloe can touch you.” She brought up her other hand and set it on Den’s head, rubbing it.

His heart hammered. C-could it be? Does she like me?

“Chloe earned her education at an elite hybrid VR-AR school in Starter Town,” she said. “Chloe received an incredible education and degree, but while she did have friends, she couldn’t touch them. She never felt she could overcome the distance between them. Chloe knew none of them were real.” She let go of Den while he did his best not to pant. She walked over to the closest mannequin and ran her fingers over the fabric. “Chloe has done her best to convince herself she is real, but she only really feels it when she is with others.”

Her words cooled Den’s head. He understood the feeling much more than he thought he would. “I was happy when I called with my gaming friends, but fighting alongside you all this week…” He brought his hands to his chest. “That really felt good.”

Chloe spun around, her eyes sparkling. “Den understands!” She lifted her hands. “None of these things are real because Chloe didn’t pay for them. Chloe is very thankful for this space and all her tools, but she needs more than just this room. When the sun has set, this room gets very cold when it is just her.”

Den nodded. “While the room I locked myself away in was nowhere near as nice as this, I get that. Even someplace you love can be painful when you’re alone.”

She breathed heavily and started walking at Den. “Den knows. He gets why Chloe has so many online connections but still feels so alone.” She grabbed his shirt, her breathing erratic. “Den understands why Chloe wants to surround herself with people at her dream inn. Why Chloe wants to touch as many people as possible. Hold them in her arms.”

“Den understood, but now he thinks he stopped understanding what Chloe was talking about somewhere along the way!” He took a step back as Chloe pressed into him, his own breathing erratic. That look in her eyes-- that intensity! Could this be what I think it is? She wants me?! Den had never really been attracted to someone before, but now in this heat, he found himself burning up. Chloe looked like she was about to devour him on the spot. I suppose that wouldn’t be so bad.

Chloe suddenly pulled back and let go of Den. She took a trembling breath to compose herself then brushed creases out of her skirt. “Apologies, Den. Chloe lost her composure for a moment. She should have asked permission before taking hold of Den.”

“Thank you very much,” Den found himself saying, gulping deep breaths to calm his own breathing. “Feel free.”

Chloe giggled. “Den is funny. Chloe will remember this conversation. For now, however, she must finish her cleaning.” She pointed a finger to the computer. “Den has need of one of these?”

“I could work on the blog,” he said, walking to the desk. He sat down in an incredibly comfortable high-backed chair, and Chloe pressed a button on a panel on the desk to lower it from standing position to his sitting height. With a swish of the mouse, the two monitors before him lit up, revealing a desktop background of sleeping cats cuddled together.

“Den should use this time to improve their platform,” she said. “Chloe will return shortly.”

She left the room, and Den opened the website. Their blog still was pretty trash, but it had followers now. One-hundred and fifty to be exact. He thought that was pretty good for a loser who had barely passed his beginning college English course. The followers were probably mostly Laserw0lf and other friends who had seen his links on social media, he was sure. The poor quality site was not going to draw in anyone who didn’t know him, that was for sure.

The free server he used to run the blog was bare bones and not very customisable. He’d done his best to add photos he and Sam had taken, but it still looked unprofessional. The only good feature was a background image he’d swiped from Goodle. That was probably no good, but he had no better pictures yet. As much as he was a fan of digital art, that didn’t mean he had any sense in what made an attractive site.

He noticed now on a high resolution screen that the image he had chosen stretched blurry. He worked for a half hour and was searching for a better background image when Chloe returned. She had changed from her maid outfit into a new dress, nearly as frilly, but with a more childish pastel dollish design. She looked over his shoulder as he tried to center the image of the front gate to Suburb 23’s Hollows he had taken. When he saved changes however, it scaled up and grew even more blurry than the last.

“You’re not very good at this are you?” Chloe asked.

“No, like everything else I try, I suck at this,” Den said, falling back in the computer chair.

“Chloe appreciates Den for choosing to do his best anyway.” Chloe shooed him away and he gave up the chair. She opened a new tab and opened a bookmark labeled ‘Chloe’s Workshop.’ Den immediately recognized the top image as the room they were currently in. “This is Chloe’s website,” she said. “She made it herself. If you wanted, she could design Den’s as well.”

Den’s mouth dropped open. Chloe scrolled down, and he was impressed by the clean organization of photographs and commission information. “You would do that?”

She nodded. “Yes. Chloe likes Den and his idea. She wishes to help.”

“Thank you, Chloe,” he said, a weight falling off his shoulders.

“Den did this for the party. Chloe is happy to do work for the party too.” She returned to Den’s site and scrolled some, swinging her feet. “It’s going to need a lot of work.” She reached into a pocket on the front of her dress and pulled out a paper list, handing it off to Den. “In exchange, you will go pick up these groceries from Grengalheim’s convenience store. It’s just down the road.”

“Really?” Den said, accepting the list. “Do you always get groceries from his convenience store?”

She shook her head. “Chloe and her mother never used the convenience store before Chloe joined the party. Now that Chloe has a connection with Grengalheim, however, Chloe’s mother has her do so to strengthen the family ties--” She waved him off. “Chloe dreads it. Now go. Shoo shoo.”