Ranobe Mo Ore Mo Sukina Gyaru - Volume 1 Chapter 7.3

Gal and MiniMon 3

“Anyway, about some advice… Gen-chan’s Minimon is weak against Dark-type Minimon, but it seems you don’t have any of those, and overall your levels are a bit low. From the battle we just had, it’s clear that you’ll need to level up another seven or eight Minimon, or it’s going to be quite tough.”

『Uuu… I understand…』

“It’s impressive that you’re willing to listen to advice even while you’re crying… Can I step in with a bit more?”

『…okay… what is it?』

“Alright then, to put it gently—Yuki-onna Minimon’s ‘Kanachamu’ has pretty low base stats in this game, so it’s better to remove her from your party.”

『How dare you say something like that about my best friendddd!!!!』

If this were happening in person, I felt like I might be punched in the face.

Well, regarding this matter, neither of us could really claim to be correct… If the goal is to defeat Gen-chan, then you should start by removing the weaklings like Kanachiyamu, but love makes it complicated.

While thinking about this, I apologized to her for my insensitive comment and continued speaking.

“I’m sorry, Tsumakawa-san… Do you want to keep using Kanachamu?”

『Yeah… She was my first friend since I started modeling… Without Kanachamu, there’s no meaning in becoming a legendary Minimon trainer…』

“Well, it looks like you’ll have to diligently level up then. Of course, I could also help you defeat Gen-chan and get you through the story for now, but—”

『I told you, I don’t want that.』

“Right. Then do your best with leveling up.”

『…Thanks for the advice, Yoda…』

“…Unfortunately, I didn’t really say anything significant.”

After that, I continued offering her advice as best as I could—suggesting priority moves to teach, hunting grounds that were good for leveling, and such.

She became full of confidence, saying, ‘Ehh, it’s like I’ve already won.’

She’s getting ahead of herself too quickly.

Moreover, the information I was giving her was already available in more detail on strategy websites.

Nevertheless, at times like this, instead of relying on the internet, asking someone around you for help felt more like her style.

“Come to think of it, I forgot to ask during the battle… Why do you only have five Minimon with you? You can carry up to six Minimon, right? There’s an extra slot?”

『Uh… Well, I just… I’m kind of searching for one more. I’m looking for a partner that feels right.』

“Is that so… Well, it would be better to have one more, even if it’s only temporarily. Can you show me your Minimon Box? Let’s see if we can find a good Minimon.”

『Sure.』

Saying that, Tsumakawa manipulated her blonde gal avatar and extended her right hand upwards.

From there, a hologram resembling a Minimon Ball appeared, so I checked it and confirmed the Minimon stored in her box. Folders 1, 2, 3…As I glanced through the Minimon she had captured until now, I noticed a folder with the name ‘Traveling Party!’ mixed in with the existing ones.

Inside it, there was only one Minimon stored, labeled with that name.

“Oh? So ‘Traveling Party’ means there was already another regular member?”

『Ah——』

While pondering this, I checked that Minimon.

It was a Justice-type Ryuukishi Minimon, a cool-looking monster popular online.

Its individual values were decent, and it had a strong skill set.

Additionally, the affinity level with the player is also maxed out, so if she had used this character, she could have put up a decent fight against me. I wonder why Tsumakawa-san didn’t use this one this time——

“Hm? …Wait a second!?”

As I muttered that, I focused on a certain aspect.

It was the part where the player gives a Minimon a nickname… For some reason, this cool and strong Minimon with maxed-out affinity had been given the name ‘Yoda.’

A name that seemed weak for such a strong and cool Minimon.

Upon realizing this fact, the handheld game console suddenly displayed an error message.

【Connection has been terminated】

Surprised by this screen, I heard Tsumakawa’s somewhat panicked voice through the wireless earbuds as I was left in a daze.

『…Ahaha, did I get caught? Well, the truth is, I was progressing in Minimon with ‘Yoda.’ Of course, there wasn’t any deep meaning behind it; I just randomly chose it. But earlier, when I decided to play Minimon with you, I remembered that ‘Yoda’ was at my party… Um, isn’t it kind of creepy if you saw this ‘Yoda’ here? So, I kept it in my box… I wonder why I showed you my box’s contents so casually? Ahaha…』

“Oh, I see… I see what you mean….”

『Yeah, that’s how it is. I mean, it’s not that awkward for you to see it. It’s just like using the name of a close friend, right? Actually, Miona cares about ‘Yoda’ not just in reality but in the Minimon world as well.』

“I-I see…”

『Yeah, that’s all. Ahaha…』

“A-ahaha…”

『 ….. 』

” ….. “

『You seem to be making things awkward.』

“That’s not a very nice thing to say, is it? “

Right after a brief silence, I was suddenly hit with an unreasonable remark. Reflexively, I retorted to it.

Then, Tsumakawa cleared her throat and continued.

『Hmm, I don’t know what to say…it’s not like I’m really that embarrassed. Because I like Yoda, even if it’s revealed that I used Yoda’s name for my Minimon, it’s just one of my characteristic actions, and there’s no reason for me to feel embarrassed about it——Ah, I see. Maybe hiding it a little to prevent Yoda from finding out is what’s making it really embarrassing now! Kyaa——!』

“Wait, ‘Kyaa——’? …I’ve never heard ‘Kyaa——’ from a gal before, that’s quite a cute scream…”

『 ‘Actually, I’ve been raising Yoda.’ ——I should’ve said this before we started playing Minimon! Why did I not want this to get revealed? Ugh… I messed up… If I knew I’d end up feeling this embarrassed, I wouldn’t have started playing Minimon with Yoda….』

“Right now, you’re casually saying some pretty mean things.”

『But, it was really fun playing together, so I guess it’s fine…』

“Can you stop making my emotions go on a roller coaster?”

I wonder if my retorts are even getting through to her.

Once again, Tsumakawa let out a deep sigh, and in a somewhat relieved and cheerful voice, she said:

『Well then! Since it’s getting awkward, see you later!』

“If you can say that, it’s not really that awkward… Alright, see you tomorrow.”

『Yep! Thanks for today! Goodnight!』

With those words, the call abruptly ended.

…No, wait, did I just casually say ‘see you tomorrow’? Was I getting carried away?

Even though I’m just being used as a temporary toy by that popular gal, I’m overestimating how much she’s into me, aren’t I…?

As I reflect on this, I continue to play Minimon offline.

If the Minimon ‘Yoda’ that Tsumakawa had been training had been a dark-type instead of a justice-type, he would have easily defeated the powerful Gen-chan.

Even in the world of Minimon, he’s useless—just like me.

Come on, ‘Yoda’, hang in there.