Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 58



Chapter 58



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TL: ALT




Chapter 58 – The End of the Freeze


Serika had a reservation at a restaurant on the top floor of the hotel.


We enjoyed the night view of Shinjuku from our window seat on the 25th floor, which had a glass wall all the way around, while we tucked into an expensive-looking meal and a glass of wine.


“Delicious.”


“Yeah, it’s good.”


It was a weeknight, so the restaurant was sparsely populated.


The area around the table where Serika and I sit next to each other is empty.


I looked out at the night view and muttered to myself,


“Serika is amazing, isn’t she?”


“Eh, what, all of a sudden?”


“Ah, no. Serika is the one who stopped the flood in Echika Dungeon with the double flood. Serika protected this city.”


“That applies to Yuto as well. The Hikarigaoka Park Dungeon might have been more dangerous.”


“I only did what I had to do because of the way things turned out. It’s not like I had to take this role from the beginning.”


If I were in Serika’s position, I might collapse under the pressure.


“I’m sure Yuto will help me from now on, right?”


“That’s right… I hope my help will be of some use to Serika.”


“It will.”


Serika assured me.


I was about to reach for my wine glass when Serika’s left hand came to rest on my right hand.


“As long as you’re here, I can do my best, no matter how hard it is.”


“Serika…”


Serika’s hand was damp and warm, probably from the alcohol.


Serika turned her slightly red eyes to me.


“It’s not a question of ability. No, of course, I’m not lacking in ability, but… more than that, I’m reassured that Yuto is with me.”


The wet eyes look into mine.


“Hey, Yuto. A-actually… you know.”


“W-what is it?”


“…I took a room.”


“Eh, which room?”


“Down here…”


“Down here…?”


“Well, uh, down here… it’s this hotel room.”


“…..”


“…..”


My head―it was frozen.


It was frozen.


If this were a computer, I would have immediately hit Ctrl+Alt+Delete and opened up the task manager.


I would have checked to see if the application’s memory usage was at 98% or something, and I would have force-quit the application while muttering something like, “It’s been crashing a lot lately.


But this is reality.


…No, really, is it real?


I thought some unimplemented event like a date had suddenly happened, and then this happened on the same day.


Is this really happening in my life?


“Uh… here.”


With a shy face, Serika took the hotel key out of her purse.


“A-ahaha. That’s not very nice, is it? I think it’s usually done by men… But there’s no way Yuto would have that kind of personality, right? I was also impatient when Honoka-chan and Haruka-san came out… and I thought, maybe I need to be a little bit bolder…”


Serika said, speaking very fast.


Serika’s left hand over my right hand is heated, and she strokes the back of my hand as if to hide her embarrassment.


My mind was still blank.


What should I say?


Let’s go to the room is too direct.


If I had gone that far, there would be no excuse to say that it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing.


I don’t dislike Serika.


In fact, I like her.


She has been waiting for me for a long time.


Serika is very important to me.


But that’s why I can’t decide to take over half of Serika’s life.


And I am not ready to let her take half of my life.


Shouldn’t I whisper “I love you” before I say “Let’s go to the room”?


That’s the order of things, right?


Even if it’s true that Serika is in a hurry, why not take advantage of that impatience and deepen the relationship?


How can I be sure that Serika won’t regret it later?


Serika is a… Yes, I like Serika.


I’ve never clearly put it into words, but I’ve come this far, and I know there’s no way to escape it.


The reason I kept this feeling under wraps is because I knew it would never come true, and even if it did, I didn’t think I would be able to make Serika happy.


In short, I lacked confidence.


But now I have a good chance to make it as an explorer.


Serika is an explorer, just like me.


We belong to the same guild.


I have not seen Serika’s status, but I am sure that my current status is not so inferior to Serika’s. If I were to look only at the external aspects of Serika’s status, I would say that I am a good explorer.


In terms of appearance, I have reached a point where I might be able to compete with Serika.


It’s impossible for an attractive woman like Serika to fall in love with someone like me―I’ve always believed that, and that’s why I couldn’t be honest about my feelings.


If I knew for sure that it would never come true, it would be better not to have unnecessary dreams so that I wouldn’t get hurt.


But it seems that was my assumption.


As I expected, I could tell from the way Serika acted today that my faint hope that “Serika likes me” was not just an overconfidence on my part.


So what’s wrong with telling Serika what she wants?


Let’s say it.


I want to say it.


But I’m afraid.


Because I used to be a shut-in, you know?


Before that, a girl I defended from bullies killed herself.


Can Serika really be happy with someone like me?


Can I say that Serika’s affection for me will never change?


Will Serika be disappointed in me in the near future, and will she regret what she did tonight?


Am I really qualified to hold back her hand?


Silence falls on the table.


It’s now or never.


I can’t let this moment pass.


I know that much.


But I’m not prepared for it.


I never thought this would happen this morning.


If this were a love simulation game, I could have saved before making a choice.


But this is real life.


Should I tell her I love her?


Or should I accept her invitation to go into the room with her?


Should I not go with the flow, respect Serika, and change the date?


I don’t know.


I don’t know because I don’t have much experience in relationships.


Maybe because of the pressure of not being able to make a mistake, the words “I want to escape” float through my mind out of nowhere.


Of course, escaping is the worst option in this situation.


It’s just not an option.


It’s just a reflexive thought.


But it was also true that the desire to prepare myself filled my mind.


“…Hey, how about…?”


Serika grabbed my right hand and looked up at me.


The destructive power of her expression froze me for a second or two or three.


…The sensible ones must have figured it out by now, right?


If you have a bad feeling about this, you’re probably right.


Exactly three seconds passed and at that moment.


The world froze with a metallic clang! And I was in a different space.



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