Surviving in a World Teeming with Monsters with the Useless Skill 【Everyday Items Master】! I Was Just Hunting Wild Animals with a Crowbar, So Why Is Everyone Screaming It's an S-Rank Monster? - 77

Chapter 77: The Ferocious Shark Gang’s Initiation

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After returning to our base with teleportation magic, I took care of Luna for a while. She was sleeping soundly, fast asleep until around noon.

While resting by her side, I kept thinking about how to gather allies. Now that I was settling down with the Ferocious Shark Gang, it only made sense to recruit people from within their ranks. Talking to Shachimaru was a must. After all, I’d be pulling personnel from the Ferocious Shark Gang, even if it was only temporarily. 

That meant I’d be expected to contribute and earn trust—more than I already had—just by staying here. I had a tendency to be underestimated, so I needed to work hard, make my presence known, and be accepted as one of them.

That was what I was thinking when Luna slowly opened her eyes.

“Mm… Onii-sama…”

“Ah, you’re awake. Good morning, Luna.”

“Yes… Good morning…”

Luna sat up with a sweet, melty smile. Watching her, I found myself once again relieved that I hadn’t handed her over to those people. I gently patted her head. Then, her stomach let out a soft growl. She blushed and looked away shyly.

“It’s about lunchtime. There’s a cafeteria here, right?”

When I stood up, Luna followed. 

“Y-Yes. Let’s go together…”

And with that, the two of us set out in search of lunch. To avoid being recognized, I pulled the hood of the hoodie I happened to be wearing deeply over my head.

“Onii-sama! That way—there’s a lot of people!”

“Yeah, looks like it’s that way. Let’s go check it out.”

“Yes! Let’s go!”

“Whoa—don’t run now.”

Luna, apparently quite hungry, started walking briskly. I kept her in check as we entered the cafeteria. The place was large, reminiscent of my school days.

There were lots of people. Most of them were young, with even little kids walking around alone.

According to Shachimaru, money wasn’t needed here—you just had to line up and you’d be given food. It was the kind of place where even neighborhood orphans came to eat, so there was no check to see if someone belonged to the group or not.

I lined up behind Luna. We moved forward with trays in hand, eventually coming face to face with the person serving food. Then, an extremely small portion of food was placed on my tray. Barely a spoonful.

“……”

I frowned in suspicion. I looked at the people in front of me to check how much food they had been served. Everyone else had a proper amount. Luna too. Only me. I was the only one with such a tiny portion.

“Uh…?”

When I asked, puzzled, the server snapped at me.

“Tch… Some useless adult who can’t even fight whining about free food? Get lost.”

“……”

Shocked by the hostility, I couldn’t say anything back, but Luna did.

“This is wrong! Why does Onii-sama get so much less than everyone else?”

“W-Wait, Luna…?”

“Give Onii-sama the same amount as the others!”

Luna protested so boldly that I stared at her wide-eyed.

“Hey, move it already!”

“What’s the holdup!?”

Complaints came from the people behind us. The server glared at Luna, but still made no move to give me more food. Even so, Luna didn’t budge an inch.

“Onii-sama’s portion is way too small! You’re bothering the people behind us too! Today is a happy ‘unbirthday,’ remember? Don’t be mean!”

“Huh…? Kid, what the hell are you talking about…?”

“S-Sorry! Luna!”

“Kyaa! Onii-sama, don’t push me! I’m not done talking!”

I forcibly pushed Luna along and moved us through the serving line. As a result, my tray ended up with an amount that would be gone in five bites at most. Fortunately—or unfortunately—Luna’s portion was normal.

Looking between our trays, I sighed and told myself it was fine as long as Luna got enough. But Luna wasn’t satisfied.

“This is wrong! Why didn’t Onii-sama barely get anything!?”

“Beats me…”

I shrugged and looked down at my tray. No matter how I looked at it, this wouldn’t be enough to fill me.

“Hmm… Hunting for food outside doesn’t seem like a great idea either…”

If I wandered around carelessly and got discovered and attacked, it would be a complete joke. Sure, the portion was small, but I was a light eater to begin with. I could endure this much. Thinking that, I looked around for a vacant seat.

“Onii-sama, I’ll share my food with you.”

“No, it’s fine. You eat all of it yourself.”

“That’s not fine! Onii-sama, you need to eat properly too!”

I almost teared up, wondering how she grew into such a kind child. Then we found an open seat. Just as I was about to sit down, a group of young men sitting nearby suddenly stuck their feet out onto the empty chairs.

“Oops. Sorry, old man. These seats are taken. Try somewhere else.”

“……”

I furrowed my brow. Being underestimated was one thing, but this was getting a bit excessive. And then, Luna protested once more.

“This is wrong! If you move your feet, Onii-sama can sit! Why are you being so mean!?”

“Hah? Some freeloading brat whining like she’s owed something? Shut it!”

“Eep…”

When the young man shouted at Luna, I frowned even more.

“Hey. I’ll let the seat thing go, but yelling at a little kid like that? Show some decency.”

“Huh…? Got a problem with that, old man?”

The young man stood up, veins bulging on his forehead, glaring down at me with a larger frame than mine. In response, I—

“Old man…? But I’m only 27…”

—was about to cry from the unexpected insult.

Am I… Am I already an old man? I-I mean…The-There’s no way, right? I-I thought I could still call myself a young guy until at least thirty… Am I already “an old man” to the world?

Reeling from that shock, I studied the guy. It was obvious at a glance. If I wanted to, I could flatten a guy like this in an instant. But this was Shachimaru’s organization. I didn’t want to cause trouble by picking a fight.

Just as I was hesitating, someone suddenly clung to us from behind, calling out to us.

“Tacchan! Luna-chaan!”

“—?! Ui?”

“It’s Ui! But, um, now’s not really the time…”

“What’s up~? Want a seat~? Okay, let’s sit here~!”

Completely oblivious to the mood, Ui plopped down in a seat. One of the guys called out in alarm.

“H-Hey! Inaba!”

To which Ui responded.

“Kyaha~! What’s wrong~? You got a problem with Ui-chan~?”

Smiling sweetly, she narrowed her eyes, spun a knife in her fingers like a toy, and bared her jagged teeth. All while keeping that ever-cheerful tone.

The young man flinched. 

“Ugh…” 

He clicked his tongue.

“…Tch. Let’s go, guys.”

He and his buddies left.

“Kyaha~! Tacchan, Luna-chan, it’s great, right~? This spot’s wide open, super spacious!”

With her earlier feral grin gone and replaced by her usual cheery one, Ui said that with a smile.

Watching her, I thought to myself. 

She’s actually a good person, huh.

“…Thanks, Ui.”

“Hmm~? Come on, Tacchan, Luna-chan, sit down, sit down~! Oh! Ui-chan hasn’t grabbed food yet, so hold the seat for me, okay~?”

Just like that, she popped up and trotted over to the serving line as if an idea had struck her. After that, she returned with a mountain-like heap of food.

“I can’t eat all this, so you eat it, Tacchan~!”

“I’m grateful, but that’s a lot of food…”

Without asking, she piled a considerable amount of food onto my tray, even after setting aside her own share. As a result, I left the cafeteria feeling like my stomach was about to burst.

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T/N: Ahhh Ui-chan so kind!!