Jumachi! 2 (Patreon)

Jumachi! Is it wrong to be a gun-blazing Adventurer in the Dungeon? 2 - or ‘Lord Tachanka willed me to be his Chosen One, so I can gun trouble down with the power of Lead, God and Anime on my side’ (Danmachi, Lord Tachanka's Chosen One!SI)

John Bukharin - Level 1

Power: H142
Endurance: H128
Dexterity: H181
Ability: H138
Magic: H197

Abilities:
Gunpowder Arsenal (Rank - E)

Waking up with this in mind was not how I envisioned starting my second day in Orario.

Then again, the ‘dream’ I got the previous night pretty much laid down what Tachanka wanted from me in the specific - While the establishment of a grand palace for his Familia was still a thing, he also wanted it to be filled with ten active members, me excluded.

So yeah, he wanted me to go around, fish people and money, get the palace done and packed with people… all with the ‘promise’ that I ‘may’ end up with a new ability if I got somewhere done in that milestone.

Easier said than done.

I wouldn’t say it was an impossible quest, but there was something known as ‘local resilience’. If you try to create a new group for something such as a sport or a community when there are already others accepting new members, you tend to be passed over.

First, it was just me. Which was sad. Second, Tachanka was pretty much a ‘no one known’ here, and while this may be a step above what people know of Hestia due to her actions and general reputation, it was still passed over by the fact Tachanka is new and potentially unreliable, while Hestia is old and knowingly unreliable.

It’s not an attack on Hestia, just an affirmation of sociopolitical experience.

Despite that, I had this labor to get done and very few clues on how to get this done. Since it was a thing that you tend to pick up ‘new friends’ in the dungeons, it was clear I would have to check there myself if I wanted to make some progress.

If not for that crappy reason, to at least raise the reputation and perhaps get aspirant adventurers’ attention in the long run. After making sure I had some food packed up for a longer stay in the dungeon, I went on with the classic process of yesterday.

This time there wasn’t as much paperwork as last time, and I started to venture the first four floors with methodical pace, having tracked down some hives for the goblins during my first visit that I was now checking to see if the monsters had gotten more prominent in those areas.

It was right as I started my second exploration that I got a clue on where in the Timeline I was. Sorta. I don’t remember much of the series, but I do know that a certain female Pallum was meant to tag along Bell early on in Danmachi.

Liliruca Arde was still a Supporter, and someone that worked for Soma. How could I tell as much? Let’s just say I hired her to help me carry the bags with the magic stones.

Sounds a bit dangerous, especially considering how deceitful Lili was this early in the show, but I had a plan in mind to ‘get through’ her in a rather direct manner.

She was clearly watching me as she was curious to see what I could do. I had no visible weapons on myself, and she was confused by the Gewehr 98 rifle I was soon holding as we spotted a few Goblins in the distance.

That changed when Lili listened to my request to cover her ears as this was going to get a bit loud. She did so, and then I took aim at the closest bastard. The girl jumped at the first crack of the gun, then she looked at the scene in shock as I swiftly took care of the small patrol group.

I kept the gun, deciding to train up my aim with it. “Let’s get the stones.”

Lili nodded tensely, but seemed to lose up some of that shock the more I used the rifle. Eventually she got accustomed to it, and I think it was more on the fact that the equal splitting rate was quite generous in her regard.

The stroll lasted roughly around lunch. Differently from before, however, we were leaving with seven bags. Three of which were carried by Liliruca.

“Lili is so happy, John-sama! There are so many bags and it’s been just a day!”

If I was to go through an approximative math with the bags we had, the Valis we were about to make was 47.000 Valis. Which would then be if split in two-

“23.500 Valis for me and 23.500 Valis for you, Lili.”

The Pallum jumped in surprise.

“Eh!? That’s a lot, John-sama. Are you still sure I should have half of it?”

I actually stopped walking for a moment, with the girl picking up on this change of expression.

“U-Uh? Is everything alright, John-sama?”

“...Are you angry at me, Liliruca?” I asked politely, stunning her with these words.

“L-Lili would never be angry at John-sama.”

I slowly nodded. “Perhaps I phrased the question wrong. Do you hate the fact I am an adventurer due to previous experiences?”

She tensed a bit more. “L-Lili wouldn’t-”

“Lili, I have heard of dumb bastards that pick on supporters. It’s nothing new to me and I can tell you are lying to save your skin and, trust me when I say this, I am not here to harm you.”

The female Pallum kept on being on the edge and I calmly stared at her. No words were exchanged for a while, and she ultimately started to ease down as her posture adopted a more peaceful pattern.

“How can you tell?”

“I was bullied as a kid. For a… time I had this tendency to shy away from others’ touch. It was instinctive, no matter how much training in acting you may have, that’s a thing,” I started to explain, speaking as truthfully as I could. “I wouldn’t say we share the same experiences, but I can assure you, out of morality and pragmatic perspective, I see no reason to hurt you. The same goes for tricking you or trying to do anything stupid around ya. Still…”

“Still?” Lili pressed, quite intrigued by what I had to say.

“I will not push it. As I mentioned, I was in that spot, and I know how frustrating it can be when someone tries to speak nicely and then behaves differently. I will let my actions speak for what and who I am,” I remarked quietly, her eyes widening again about it. “So, how about we just start as genuine neutrals?”

“...Why should I trust you?”

“I have no one but my God behind me and… he pretty much dropped some chores on getting the whole ‘grand palace’ thing for his own ambitions to be made. I have my plans to get there in due time as rushing it would just cause issues. Plus… I have a proposition.”

She scoffed. “Which is?”

“If I was to fix the Soma Familia’s troubles, would you join the Familia I am part of?”

…

…

“You… You are joking.”

“I am not laughing,” I flatly commented. “In fact, I would say I am quite serious about it.”

“W-Why would you even want me?” Lili rebuked strongly, appearing unconvinced by the deal. “I am not a strong fighter, I am not a magician-”

“But you are still important in any party you are in. And those that don’t understand that are fools,” I interjected smoothly.

“...Explain.”

“Logistics and stealth- you are both specialized in handling both. While some cretin would think that it is a single hurdle to organize both affairs, I know for a fact that’s not true for lengthy trips in the dungeons. Even now, you are carrying roughly half of what we made. Plus supplies of all sorts that are needed in case of healing, eating, or even just storing new things.”

Lili was mute for a while, looking away as she thought about it and…

“Deal. But I accept because you will fail. Still, I can tell you can be a good temporary partner.”

“Duly noted-”

“And I will not call you John-sama again.”

That was a bit of a surprise. “Okay.”

“And…” Her belly gurgled a bit, clearly showing that she was hungry. “And you need to buy me lunch.”

I blinked flatly at that. “...Fine.”

She beamed. “Let’s go then, John-sa… I mean, John!”

I have a feeling she is not very good at keeping up silly promises but… I could tell it was a step in the right direction. And a bad one for my poor wallet. This little pallum’s belly can store a lot of food much to my chagrin, her delight and the Hostess of Fertility’s income.

Still, I wasn’t joking about that promise. I was going to solve the Soma Familia’s problem at once by…

Talking with Soma himself.

—------d-d-d-d—-------

AN

Next time, John causes a coup d’etat. Sorta. It’s just the Captain that changes.