I Level Up With In-app Purchases

I Level Up With In-app Purchases – 66

EP.66 Let Me Stay for One Night (2)

I opened the door and looked inside.

There was no sign of movement, indicating that my sister was asleep.

As I approached the bed, I saw my sister with a cast on her leg.

“Sniffle!”

Tears began to fall.

I didn’t realize that my sniffles had woken up my second sister, who had been asleep after taking her medicine.

“What’s that noise… Who’s crying? Damn it, it’s noisy.”

“Sniff, sister…”

“You… ha, what are you doing here? Why are you here?”

Her voice was weak and frail.

It was the first time I heard my sister, who usually shouted so loudly that it hurt my ears, speak so feebly.

“Why did you come back so injured… Your face looks so gaunt.”

“It’s because it’s me that it ended with just this. I’m not that badly hurt.”

“How can you say you’re not badly hurt… sniff… sob…!”

“It’s really nothing. Do you know how ridiculous it is to be dragged home for such minor injuries?”

“But you’re still bandaged even after receiving treatment. That means the wounds were really deep!”

The fact that the wounds hadn’t healed immediately meant they were severe.

“Even so, there was no need to bring me home. Everyone is overreacting. I can’t imagine how much I’ll be teased when I go back… Ugh, my head hurts just thinking about it.”

My second sister seemed displeased that our father had brought her home.

“You were so badly injured, of course you had to come home!”

What an irresponsible sister.

Does she really care more about others’ opinions than the fact that she almost died?

“You haven’t enlisted yet, so you don’t understand how I feel. If it were our older sister, she would understand my feelings.”

“Ugh… Our older sister didn’t even come!”

“She’s fighting in the battlefield. How could she come? Think logically. Running away from the academy to visit the sick is something only a reckless person like you would do.”

Since childhood, my sister never had a kind word for me.

Even though we were blood-related family.

My lips pouted in discontent.

“I sent you a letter, so why did you get hurt? I told you to be careful. You’re such an idiot! A fool!”

“In the military, you can’t do whatever you want just because you want to. There are adult matters that a child like you wouldn’t understand. I’m exhausted, why do I have to explain this to you?”

“Sniff… Will you never be able to use that leg again?”

“How many times do I have to tell you it’s fine?! I received treatment!!”

It seemed her pride was hurt by the injury, as she became more irritable whenever it was mentioned.

“What happened to your eye?”

Even so, my sister’s voice was regaining its strength.

Hearing her familiar, loud, and irritable voice made me feel relieved.

“Ha. I didn’t injure my eye, I injured above my eye. It doesn’t affect my vision. Well… it’s true that the letter you sent helped a little. The words ‘be careful’ that you wrote suddenly came to mind.”

Normally, she would have been the first to rush into the battlefield, swinging her sword, but because of her sister’s letter…

Receiving a letter telling her to be careful made her hesitate to step forward.

And because of that, she managed to survive without losing her life.

“The monster was about three times the size of a regular one. It toyed with us effortlessly. It completely played with us.”

“!!!”

“Even thinking about its roar now gives me chills.”

My sister shuddered, recalling the moment.

“Did you kill it?”

“No, we couldn’t. It’s frustrating. They say we need to kill those special monsters to stop the monster wave, but we couldn’t.”

“It sounds like a terrifying monster. Isn’t it lucky that you came back alive?”

The fact that they couldn’t catch it meant they didn’t have the strength. The thought that my sister could have actually died made my heart sink.

Unaware of my feelings, my sister started talking recklessly.

“Hmph, once I recover, I’ll hunt those monsters again. I’ve marked that one for sure.”

“You got hurt so badly, and you’re going to go after it again?! No!! Don’t do it!”

My second sister seemed determined not to give up.

She was the type of person who, once she made a decision, wouldn’t waver until she saw it through to the end.

“Do I need your permission?”

“Ugh…”

Though I was hurt by her grumbling, I decided to stand firm in my opposition.

“How do you even know where that monster is? If it hides, you won’t be able to find it.”

“I’m not as stupid as you. I made preparations in advance. That’s why I got this injury near my eye.”

“What kind of preparations?”

“Ta-da.”

“Huh?”

What my second sister proudly revealed was a magical device that could track the monster’s location.

“I attached a tracker to its body.”

“Why do you even have something like that?”

“I bought it with my own money. Being prepared like this is what makes a true soldier. Idiot.”

The tracker was blinking blue at regular intervals, indicating it was working properly.

It was clear that the monster had no idea it had a tracker on its body.

“I’ll recover as quickly as possible and go back. With this, I can track it down.”

My sister was completely absorbed in the idea of catching the monster.

With the tracker in place, it was understandable why she was so eager.

The problem was that even if her body recovered, I doubted she could actually catch the monster.

My sister always had big ambitions but lacked the skills, which often led to trouble.

Since childhood, she had been very affectionate and received a lot of love from our parents. She was also skilled, often being compared to our older sister.

Perhaps because of that, she had a strong desire to be recognized by others.

“Catching that monster would be a huge achievement. At the very least, I’d get a promotion.”

“What if you can’t catch it? You said it’s huge. How can you catch it alone?”

“Of course, I’ll go fully prepared. I can catch it. I won’t let it get away.”

Despite injuring her eye and having her leg wrapped in bandages from attaching the tracker, she didn’t seem afraid.

I couldn’t tell if I should admire her courage or tell her to stop being reckless.

“Did Mom and Dad give you permission?”

“Are you crazy? Of course, they wouldn’t allow it, so why would I tell them? And I’m an adult. Only kids like you need their parents’ permission to do things.”

She kept treating me like a child.

In just one year, I would be an adult too.

“So you’re going to do it secretly because you know they won’t allow it! You’ll get in big trouble!”

“Just keep your mouth shut. You’re not going to tattle, right? If you tell them, it’s over for both of us. We’ll be cut off. Got it? You know I do what I say.”

Cut off from the family?!

Knowing my sister, she would definitely follow through if she decided to.

It seemed reckless for her, who was weaker than me, to try to catch the monster without our parents’ support.

“Why not tell them and get their support?”

“No way. If I do that, the credit will go to Father. I’ll just be a sidekick.”

Her eyes showed a determination not to yield to anyone.

‘She barely survived this time…’

I had heard that she had received treatment from a skilled person to recover to this extent.

It was clear she was being reckless, and I was worried she might lose her life.

There was only one way to prevent my sister from endangering herself once she recovered.

‘Should I secretly go and kill the monster first?’

Killing the monster in advance.

Though it would be unfortunate for my sister, who was excited about the opportunity to gain credit, this seemed like the only way to prevent a major accident.

I watched closely as my sister put the tracker in the top drawer.

If I took that and ran…

‘No, she would never forgive me. She would definitely go wild and insist on cutting ties. She’s so stubborn that it would be incredibly hard to calm her down.’

Even if I explained that I did it for her own good, she wouldn’t listen.

‘I’ll switch the tracker!’

I would temporarily swap the tracker, kill the monster, and then put the tracker back.

Then, when my sister recovered, she would follow the tracker, unaware that the monster was already dead.

She would then come across the monster I had already killed.

‘Oh my, I’m so smart!’

I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself.

If everything went according to plan, it would be the perfect crime.

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***

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“So, that’s how I ended up here.”

Ariane was quite clever.

Though she was small and had a slight lisp, making her pronunciation a bit off at times, that didn’t mean she was stupid.

Having a lisp and being smart are entirely different matters, after all.

In fact, she was smart enough to assess her situation objectively.

Unlike her sister, she wasn’t reckless enough to act alone.

“So…”

It was quite surprising that she had come to find me with that clever mind of hers.

After hearing her explanation, I thought the situation wasn’t too bad and said,

“In the end, you’re here to buy something.”

Ariane crossed her arms and confidently made her request.

“Hehe, that’s right. I’m here to do some shopping!”

“If you’re going to hunt a monster, the items displayed here won’t be of much use.”

As you know, to hunt monsters, especially the one she’s aiming for, you need to be thoroughly prepared and bring high-quality scrolls.

“I don’t expect that much. I’m just going to buy things needed for camping.”

In games, when you get camping supplies from gacha pulls, people go crazy, complaining that the developers are money-hungry for giving out such useless items.

“We don’t sell those kinds of things in our general store.”

We only sold items necessary for combat: offensive, defensive, buff, debuff, antidote, and healing items.

“What?! How can that be! A general store should sell everything!”

“It’s my choice. I don’t deal with trivial items.”

“Sniff…”

Ariane looked disappointed, her shoulders drooping.

“How much money did you bring?”

“A lot!”

“Wait a moment.”

I couldn’t just ignore her when I had given things to others. Especially since she said she brought a lot of money.

I went to the storage room and brought out a box of pre-made scroll bundles.

“Take this.”

“Is it good stuff?”

“Yes.”

“How good?”

“It’s the kind of stuff the military gives to soldiers on the field. So, it’s expensive. I’ll charge you properly. These are items you can’t easily find.”

“Alright! I can pay whatever it costs. I’ll take it!”

Ariane cheerfully handed over her money pouch.

I took out an appropriate amount and handed the pouch back to her, then said,

“But are you planning to catch the monster alone? You won’t be able to.”

“I know that much. I’m an incredible genius, but I lack experience.”

Experience that would naturally accumulate once she enlisted, but that was in the future.

For now, she was still inexperienced.