Baria, the B-Class Town

The next day, we headed to the town called Baria via Lyuka's Gate.

As always, I'd brought Kanan and Lyuka with me. Patty had also come along, for coverage purposes.

The remaining members were left behind with Sub-Master Yuria to mind the house. Since enemies weren't going to attack us in town anyway, there wasn't really any point.

Now that the Sub-Master role had become available, I'd just split the party for no real reason.

As for what this place was, apparently it was a town any Master who'd reached B-Class absolutely had to visit.

It was where you went to handle the various procedures that came with being promoted to B-Class.

I'd been thinking about looking into a way to return to my original world, but I had no intention of neglecting my life on this side either.

If I do say so myself… did I even want to go back…?

"Oooh…"

At a glance, the place looked like an upscale residential district. There weren't any B-Class Masters wandering around aimlessly, and most of the people walking the streets were NPCs rather than Masters. The majority of those men and women, though, were impeccably dressed, looking like butlers and maids.

And then… there were a few people who looked like young Masters.

I checked the system for a moment.

That was all that was displayed.

"The 'B-prime-Class' designation must mean they're Sub-Masters of other B-Class Masters."

"That seems to be the case. Many B-Class Masters are very much the noble, portly type. The actual fighting tends to be handled by their young Sub-Masters."

The Sub-Master glanced our way, gave a slight bow, and hurried off, apparently in the middle of an errand.

Unlike the other Masters I'd dealt with up to now, his manners were proper.

I returned the bow.

"Welcome to Baria. Newly-promoted B-Class Master, Naoto Akai-sama."

While we stood at the town's entrance and looked around, an elderly NPC approached us.

"I am the NPC who oversees this town's administration. I am Mayor Burton. Please, come this way."

With that, the old man guided us to a building at the center of town.

It was a Western-style design, but somehow reminiscent of a national parliament building.

Inside was a wide hall.

"This is the B-Class assembly chamber. The Lower House sessions of the B-Class Masters are held here.

"Its other role is as a courthouse. When B-Class Masters get into territorial disputes, mediation is conducted here in Baria. Although in many cases it's settled with a Garumon Battle."

"Heh… I see."

Adult nobles squabbling with each other, but the vibe was straight out of a children's manga where the world was ruled by a game.

… No, since a game actually did rule the world here, I supposed it made sense.

Old Burton, having had his explanation hijacked by Lyuka, looked a little put out.

Still, I'd take Lyuka explaining over an old man like that explaining any day.

"What do you do here? You said something about B-Class procedures…"

"That is…"

"You select a secretary."

Once again, silencing Burton, Lyuka explained.

"…"

Burton glared at her briefly. If she'd been a fellow NPC, he'd have wanted to lodge a complaint, but against a PC he apparently had no choice but to keep quiet.

"A secretary."

"When you become a B-Class Master, you receive an annual salary of 1,000,000G.

"Along with that right, a great deal of administrative paperwork also becomes necessary.

"But it'd be putting the cart before the horse for a Master whose specialty is Garumon Battle to be tied up with paperwork instead of fighting.

"So you hire a secretary who specializes in administrative tasks.

"Up to one secretary's salary will be paid by the system."

That was Lyuka's explanation.

"… Yes, exactly so."

Burton confirmed Lyuka's words.

The hall doors opened. And then…

Several beautiful women stood there, and…

"…!"

There, waiting too, was one girl who hid herself the moment I came into view.

"… Naoto Akai-sama, congratulations on your promotion to B-Class."

Three beauties knelt and bowed their heads.

"Thank you very much."

I bowed back.

… My response surprised the three beauties. So a Master treating Garumon politely really was unusual.

"Now then, Naoto Akai-sama. We would like you to choose a secretary.

"Although, at present we only have three available."

"Right."

A bewitching beauty with red hair…

A demure beauty with blue hair…

A bespectacled, short black-haired beauty who looked exactly like the picture-perfect secretary.

"All three are experienced secretaries. Whichever you choose, I promise she'll be a great help to you, Naoto-sama.

"Please, choose freely."

Each one was undeniably beautiful, but…

In terms of talent, I'd say roughly SR, SR, and SSR. If I were picking from these three, it'd be the bespectacled beauty, but…

How should I put it… none of them quite clicked with me.

Since I'd been gathering only UR-Class companions up to now, did that mean I no longer wanted anyone below UR-Class?

Wasn't I being too greedy, even for myself? People would say a Garumon isn't all about rarity! But still…

No, even I wouldn't mind low rarity if I could think, "this girl's cute, I love her."

If that fabled negative miracle existed, a UR-Class beauty with N-Class talent, I'd take her on as a companion without a second thought.

… Unfortunately, in this world, looks and talent were almost always proportional.

Which meant the girls I'd think were cute, that I'd love, were almost without exception UR-Class. That's just how it was.

Well, SSR-Class was beautiful enough that, honestly, if you lined one up next to a UR-Class and asked me which was the SSR, I wasn't confident I'd be 100% accurate.

So if there really wasn't anyone else, this bespectacled beauty would be no problem to take on as a companion, but…

Or rather, a secretary was basically office staff, right?

This wasn't picking a mistress. If I were picking office staff as a CEO, anyone who could do the work normally would be fine, I supposed.

But never mind. I'd already made my choice.

"Um, the girl at the edge there, hiding in the corner of the curtain. I'd like that girl."

I pointed.

The girl flinched.

"… Y-yes? No, that one is still a trainee, in the middle of studying to be a secretary.

"We only brought her along today for her own learning…"

"… So I can't choose her, then?"

"Eh, ah, no, certainly we did say it was free choice, but, even so…"

Well, in games and manga, the character treated as a leftover turning out to be an unexpected gem was a common pattern, but Burton seemed to be sincerely advising me that, since she was still inexperienced, I'd better not.

… Though it also kind of vaguely felt like there was an air of "we're carefully cultivating this talented secretary-in-training, and we don't want her snatched away mid-process."

But I trusted my own intuition. Or rather, I couldn't see anyone but her at this point.

… Because she was the cutest, after all.

"I want her."

We went back and forth a bit after that, but I refused to budge.

"… Understood."

Old Burton gave up and called the girl.

"… Colette. Come here."

The girl who was brought forward…

Ah, so her name was Colette.

She was a timid girl with grayish hair cut short. Probably a little older than Lyuka, with a body still on the immature side.

Looking closely, her bangs hid both her eyes, making it hard to tell what she looked like at first glance.

… Huh, why had I sensed at a glance that "there's a peerless beauty here"?

Was it intuition built up from all my contact with beautiful girls so far? Even I had to admit, this beauty radar of mine was something else.

"… This person has indicated he wishes to hire you… Serve him faithfully."

"Fweh…! Ah, b-but that… I-I'm still inexperienced… I-I don't know anything yet…"

"It's fine, Colette. Not knowing anything makes me the same. We can study together."

I tried to smile as gently as I could.

"… Y… yes."

Colette blushed and nodded.

And so, Colette was appointed my secretary.

Apparently the rest of the procedures could be handled by Colette and mailed via the Gate.

So even though I'd come for administrative procedures, I ended up just bringing back a secretary…

It had been an immensely meaningful use of time.

Another wonderful beauty had joined our companions.

"… You, were you a lolicon?"

Kanan offered her quip.

"T-that's not it. Well, I won't deny I picked her based on my preferences, but…"

"? … Is she really that cute? Her eyes are hidden, so I can't really tell."

"Colette, may I?"

With that, I lifted up her bangs.

"…! S-she is cute…!"

Just as I'd thought. A beauty so wonderful it made everyone's eyes go wide in surprise.

Her large eyes were neither slanted up nor drooping down, balanced just perfectly, and her innocent cheeks and cherry-blossom-pink lips were adorable.

… A wonderful beauty, captivating enough to lose yourself in.

"… You really saw through that, in just an instant. You barely even got a glimpse."

Kanan sounded impressed.

"Well, thanks to everyone, I'm used to seeing beautiful girls."

"Hauhau! B-beautiful girl… I-I'm not at all…"

Colette herself didn't seem to realize her own charm.

"All right then, I'm taking the photo! Naoto-san's secretary, Colette-chan, has been appointed!"

Click.

We had Patty take a commemorative photo.

Once we got home, I had Colette explain the rest.

"Erm, then, Colette-san. Please give us your explanation of the proper conduct of a secretary toward a B-Class Master."

"We onee-sans will help you with anything you don't understand, so do your best!"

Lyuka and Yuria stood by, ready to back her up. I wondered which side was the secretary at this point.

"E-erm, then… I'll begin the explanation."

… Yeah, while reading her notes, though.

"Naoto-sama, who has become a B-Class Master, will from now on be treated as nobility.

"However, true nobility extends only to the top 500 of B-Class.

"Ranks 501 to 512 are quasi-nobility.

"You have the right to participate in the Lower House as a representative, but you have no right to speak.

"That said, your obligation to pay taxes to S-Class and A-Class Masters is exempted."

"Erm… assembly? Taxes?"

T-things had gotten serious all of a sudden.

"E-erm…"

Colette flipped over her notes.

"T-the assembly is a political institution that bears the central authority of this world.

"Senate = 24 S-Class

"Upper House = 128 A-Class

"Lower House = 512 B-Class

"correspond to those.

"The resolutions decided in the Lower House are deliberated in the Upper House, where it's decided whether to adopt them, reject them, or escalate them to the Senate.

"If passed in the Senate, the decision is finalized, and it can also be enacted as law."

"H-huh… eh, politics? We do politics? Right off the bat? Even though I'm still a student?"

I was startled.

Was it really fine to have someone whose only skill was Garumon Battle do politics?

It was kind of like an athlete becoming a politician… well, same as Japan, I supposed.

This was a world where Garumon Battle was everything.

In that case, maybe it was rational to have the people strongest at Garumon Battle be the rulers.

Come to think of it, the one who stood at the top of S-Class became the ruler of the world, didn't they.

"The top 500 B-Class Masters become the rulers of each of the 500 blocks the world is divided into. They take on the role of running their region and paying tax revenue from it to A-Class and S-Class Masters."

"Hoeee, so the game genre suddenly changed.

"What about Garumon Battles?"

"Erm, B-Class Masters can freely challenge other B-Class Masters or A-Class Masters.

"However, since direct meetings between busy B-Class and A-Class Masters are difficult, applications go through us secretaries via the system.

"In that case, unless both parties agree to the conditions, the Garumon Battle cannot be established.

"Also, the rewards for the Garumon Battle are decided through consultation between both parties, so a Garumon exchange doesn't always occur."

"Isn't that the same for C-Class outside of Seeds? Well, I don't know much about C-Class outside of Seeds."

"E-erm…"

While Colette was flailing, unable to answer,

"When you absolutely want some Garumon that someone else has, you take it via Garumon Battle. In C-Class Seeds, you can challenge someone if you pay a lot of money.

"In other C-Class blocks, you can file for mediation to establish a Garumon Battle. This is called a Garumon Battle Order.

"In short, you say you're a stronger and more talented Master, so it's unforgivable for that excellent Garumon to be kept in name only by an incompetent like him, and you appeal to the rank-1 of the block, or to some upper-ranked Master.

"For the strong to handle excellent Garumon is the right way. If the mediator judges, 'ah, indeed the petitioner is stronger, the petitioned doesn't match this Garumon's talent,' then they can issue a Garumon Battle Order to both parties.

"After that, both the petitioner and the petitioned just need to win and prove their case.

"This Garumon Battle Order can be issued by the rank-1 C-Class Master of each block, or by any single B-Class-or-above Master.

"So, well, it can be pushed through with a single bribe slipped into a sleeve.

"But at B-Class and above, it requires a vote in the assembly.

"To issue a Garumon Battle Order between B-Class players requires a B-Class assembly… a Lower House vote. Between A-Class players, an A-Class assembly… an Upper House vote. Between S-Class players, an S-Class assembly, a Senate vote, respectively.

"The assemblies aren't terribly corrupt at present.

"What they're really preventing is a situation where a lazy Master who isn't doing his job keeps an excellent Garumon in name only.

"As long as you're doing the bare minimum of work, the chance of having your Garumon forcibly taken drops dramatically once you reach B-Class or above."

"… I see."

"Of course, as long as both parties agree, any number can be established, and battles aimed only at swapping ranks can't be refused as long as enough preparation period is given. Unreasonable applications like 'battle tomorrow' can be refused, but applications like 'battle at any time you like within one month' can't. Well, if there's a legitimate reason within that one month, like a tournament period, you can refuse."

"Hmm, as expected of Yuria. A very easy-to-understand and interesting explanation."

… Colette was shrinking. She was working hard, too.

"Come on, Colette, continue the explanation."

"Fweh… t-that's right, e-erm… then…"

Colette panicked. I shouldn't have butted in unnecessarily.

"… If you challenge an A-Class Master to a Garumon Battle and win, you can be promoted to A-Class Master."

"Yeah."

"The standard period is, for B-Class Masters, within two weeks of the application being established, and for A-Class Masters, within four weeks.

"You can't apply when another Master is already applying, but reservations are also possible.

"Please be aware that if the opponent Master loses, the reservation is forcibly cancelled."

"Yeah."

"B-Class rank 501 to 512 Masters challenge swap matches with C-Class once every six months.

"It's a league match split into 4 blocks of 3 people each, continuing until someone has 2 consecutive losses. If a winner isn't decided by the one-week deadline, at the deadline the lowest-ranked is forced to serve as the representative."

The "no winner" case was probably when A beats B, B beats C, and C beats A, repeating endlessly.

"Erm, also, as B-Class rank 501, Naoto-sama, while you yourself are exempt from taxes, you become subordinate to A-Class rank 118 Stein-sama, and by extension, S-Class rank 24 Ursula-sama. You're obligated to obey Stein-sama's and Ursula-sama's orders, so please be aware."

"Ursula…!"

I'd read it in the Garumon Yearbook, so I remembered the name clearly.

"S-Class rank 24, Ursula Belzebute. The hermaphrodite Master who's both Master and Garumon, right?"

… And on top of that, beautiful…!

… Ah, I see. So even though I was at the very, very bottom, I was going to be affiliated with that beautiful Master…

"That one's probably natural-born. In this world, about 1 in 10,000 are born with futanari bodies.

"So the system has proper rules established for handling Master-and-Garumon types.

"If anything, futanari from drinking the Divine Elixir are rarer."

Yuria added that supplement.

"… Well, as a bottom-rung B-Class Master, I probably won't have much chance to meet her."

"By the way, this affiliation doesn't change when you move ranks among B-Class Masters.

"When you swap with an A-Class Master, it changes."

For a moment I didn't get it, and had to think.

"In other words, since A-Class rank 118 Stein is affiliated with Ursula, even if you defeat and replace him, you stay affiliated with Ursula.

"But if A-Class rank 117 is affiliated with S-Class rank 23, then if you defeat A-Class rank 117 and replace him, you become affiliated with rank 23."

"Y-yes. Exactly."

… I see. If I didn't want to lose my connection to Ursula, I'd need to choose carefully which A-Class Master I defeated.

"E-erm… is that all?"

Colette didn't sound confident, but I thought she'd explained it well enough.

Within rank 500, there'd be territory management, huh…

"That's where the appeal of being a B-Class Master lies. Even a rank-500 Master gets considerable income.

"The average annual income of one country is about 500 million G. Of that, 80 to 90% is paid in taxes to upper-rank Masters and the system, but 50 to 100 million G is paid to the B-Class Master. 60% of that goes to them, so… the average annual income of a Master in B-Class top 500 is about 30 to 60 million G. There are wealthy and poor places, but at minimum, 15 million G is rock-solid."

"… Huh, what gets paid to B-Class rank 501 to 512 is…"

"1,000,000G annually."

"Ah, so that's why ranks 501 to 512 are treated as quasi-nobility. I'd thought 1 million was a lot when I heard it, but…

"Well, even I, who's just come up from C-Class, currently have 30 million G."

I had vivid memories of struggling to scrape together 250,000G…

"So, the rank 501-to-512 Masters desperately challenge other B-Class Masters, trying to climb into the top 500.

"If they win, their lives are secure. If they lose, they keep spending their days on low income, threatened by C-Class Masters… that's the flow."

Though there were some, like Lagas, who maneuvered well in that position.

"… So, rank-501 Naoto, how are you going to maneuver in B-Class?"

"I…"

I looked around at everyone's faces. Then I closed my eyes once… and opened them.

"First, we have one prior commitment. The decisive battle with Yamagata-kun within one month."

… A battle to keep Kanan from being taken away awaited me. He was B-Class rank 69. A full-fledged B-Class top-tier noble.

"But there's one more thing I want to do. The deadline to challenge him to the decisive battle is one full month, after all.

"… Lyuka. I've kept you waiting.

"… Let's finally search for a way to return to our original world."

"… Yes, Naoto-san."

Once we returned to our original world, the decisive battle with Yamagata-kun probably wouldn't matter anymore.

Or, presenting a way to return to the original world in order to avoid the battle… that approach might also be possible.

A way to return to the original world, huh.

… Was it really okay to return from this world?

By now, I felt like I was finding more appeal in this world than in my original one…

Kanan, Maika, Haru, Setsuna… I'd been avoiding having a serious discussion about this with the girls who'd come from Japan.

But it was about time to stop avoiding it.

First, find a way to return. Then, on top of that, decide what to do.

… If a way to return couldn't be found, I'd think about what to do then, too.

Let's settle the issue of returning home with this.