The Matchmaking Party Was an Otherworldly Battleground - A Matchmaking Party Disaster with Communication Skills Level 0

"A rare job class?" That single phrase kept echoing through Kousuke's mind. ——A 28-year-old salaryman tax accountant, returned from the Ash Realm as a heroic-grade swordsman, being asked with a straight face if Excel spreadsheets were a "rare skill." How the hell was he supposed to answer that? In one corner of the Emerald Light Hall, where chandelier light fell quietly, Kousuke remained frozen facing the silver-haired woman. Looking at her again, she was striking. Silver hair cut neatly around her shoulders. Her left eye gold, her right silver——heterochromia. He knew the term "odd eyes," but seeing it in person made him want to do a double-take. Her posture was perfect, and even sitting, she had the stillness of someone standing. Her gaze seemed to look far away, but now it was fixed directly on Kousuke. He quietly checked the name on her status card. Mizuno Ruka. Seventeen years old. (Seventeen... that makes her eleven years younger than me. But why is she so composed?) "...Um," Kousuke finally spoke. "Excel is software made by a company called Microsoft, where you input numbers into cells——" "I see." Ruka nodded quietly. She looked like she understood. But her understanding was completely off from what Kousuke had intended. "So you manipulate information cells... cellular-level computational magic?" No, that's completely wrong! Kousuke screamed internally. On the surface, he just furrowed his brow and said, "Um..." "That's not it. Microsoft is——" "You don't need to be modest." Ruka's mouth curved up just slightly. "People at the heroic grade tend to downplay their own skills. In the Ash Realm too, the truly strong ones say 'it's nothing special' while smashing castle walls with their bare hands." "I can't smash castle walls." "Well, this is modern Japan. There's the Sealing Ordinance, after all." The Returner Ability Restriction Ordinance——an administrative directive from the Cabinet Office that essentially prohibited returners from using their abilities in public. Kousuke had just read about it in a search earlier. Ruka accepted the system as a matter of course. Kousuke gave up. "...I'm really just an ordinary salaryman. Excel is spreadsheet software, and it's something tax accountants use a lot in their work——" "Tax accountant." Ruka repeated the word. "So, a specialist who handles numbers. Analyzing information and numerical values. ...That's definitely an information-type skill." Kousuke looked up at the ceiling. He was losing the will to argue. "...Are you really an ordinary person?" Ruka's tone had changed slightly. Something different was seeping through from her quiet, observant gaze. Her eyes were serious now. "Not a returner, not someone with abilities. Really, just an ordinary person?" "Really. Just an ordinary salaryman, tax accountant, twenty-eight years old." Ruka's eyes widened. "Ordinary... really, just ordinary..." Her voice trembled slightly. Kousuke panicked. "Wait, why do you look like you're about to cry!?" "I'm not crying." Ruka answered immediately, pressing her fingers lightly to the corners of her eyes while facing forward. "It's just... a little nostalgic." Nostalgic. That word caught in Kousuke's mind. A seventeen-year-old saying "nostalgic." He could almost imagine the weight behind those words. How old had she been when she transferred to the Ash Realm? How long had it been since she returned? After signing the returner certificate, joining the紐帯会——what kind of people had surrounded her all that time? (She came here because she wanted to talk to an ordinary person.) Kousuke intuited it. Not about combat power or skills, but just wanting ordinary conversation. That was all. Before he could verify if his intuition was right, a staff member stepped to the center of the venue with a microphone. "Now we'll begin the free talk time. Please visit each table and chat with various people!" Applause scattered. Kousuke and Ruka reflexively clapped too. ——And five minutes later. The air in the Emerald Light Hall was completely dead. --- The silence started at a table in the center of the venue. A solidly built man——Kousuke had seen his status card at the reception desk: "Hellfire Inferno, Heat Resistance MAX, Incantation Shortened 12 Seconds"——began speaking to the women across from him. "My skill is called Hellfire Inferno. I can incinerate everything within a 40-meter radius at up to 2000 degrees. The standard incantation is 30 seconds, but I've shortened it to 12." The women had awkward expressions. From the wall, Kousuke observed everything. Ruka stood similarly against the wall, arms crossed, watching. One of the women tried to break the silence. "...Um, what are your hobbies?" "Monster hunting." "Oh, I see. So what do you do on your days off?" "Monster hunting." "...What's your favorite food?" "Grilled meat after I've taken down a monster." Complete silence covered the table. Kousuke nearly pressed his head against the wall. This wasn't... a communication skills problem. Something more fundamental was missing. (Hobbies, days off, favorite food——all the same answer... In Excel terms, that's like putting the same formula in every cell. That's a bug.) Looking at another table, a different tragedy was unfolding. A pale, slender young man was speaking earnestly to the woman across from him. "I'm water-attribute specialized, so I want to choose my partner based on attribute compatibility. If there was a fire-attribute person, that'd be best. Party composition-wise, the attribute balance——" "...Attribute?" "If they had a healer, earth-attribute would work too, but pure support specialists are iffy. Status-wise, I'd need someone level 60 or higher." Kousuke watched in real-time as the smile disappeared from the woman's face. "I... don't have an attribute." "Huh? Why not? Aren't you a returner?" "I'm support-type... my status numbers aren't very high." "Ah... then it might be difficult. I'm a front-line attacker, so my compatibility with back-line support is the worst. I have trauma from a full-party wipe——" "...I'm going to the restroom." She didn't come back. Kousuke slowly turned toward Ruka. "...Everyone's doing skill introductions instead of self-introductions, aren't they?" Ruka put her hand to her mouth. Suppressing laughter. "...That's basically how party formation worked in the Ash Realm." "Are matchmaking parties and adventurer party formations in the same category!?" His voice got louder than intended. People nearby might have heard. But before that, Ruka let out a small laugh. A soft *fu*. Really small. Laughter she couldn't hold back. Kousuke saw that moment clearly. Silver hair swayed, gold and silver odd eyes narrowed slightly, and a smile appeared on her refined face. Completely different from the "distant gaze" from before——the expression of someone actually present. Something in his chest pulsed once, hard. (Wait...) Kousuke brought a quiche to his mouth. It was nothing. Probably just relief that laughter had been born in the too-quiet party venue. Definitely just that. --- The problem started when he noticed a man standing alone in the corner of the venue. Early thirties. Calm features, peaceful atmosphere. Navy suit, nothing particularly striking. But——no one approached him. No one seemed inclined to talk to him. He just stood by the wall, watching. Kousuke observed for a while. The man half-stepped forward several times toward passing women, then stopped. Stepped forward again, then stopped. Like something invisible was blocking him. (What happened to him?) Looking closer, Kousuke noticed the man's fingertips glowed faintly whenever a woman nearby looked tired. A faint, greenish light. And the moment the woman's face brightened with "huh, I feel better somehow," she'd look around, make eye contact with the man, and——back away. Kousuke understood. (Recovery magic... he's using it without permission, and they're scared when they find out. He means no harm, but casting spells on someone without permission is naturally terrifying. In the Ash Realm he probably used it automatically in battle, so the idea that "permission is necessary" is missing.) Before he realized it, Kousuke was standing next to the man. "Um..." The man flinched. Their eyes met. "Can I ask you something?" Kousuke continued. "Recovery magic... isn't it something you're supposed to ask permission for before using?" The man froze. "Huh...?" "In the Ash Realm, I get that you couldn't confirm during combat, so using it automatically was normal. But here, there's no fighting, so maybe asking first——'Are you tired? Would it be okay if I used recovery magic on you?'——the other person probably wouldn't be scared." The man slowly looked at Kousuke. "...I should have asked?" "Probably." "No one ever told me. It was normal in the Ash Realm, so..." "Since everyone here is a returner, maybe no one thought to teach you that." Kousuke said just that and walked away. He didn't have the confidence to continue with follow-ups or encouragement. He'd only asked because he was curious, and nothing more came to him. A few minutes later. The man approached a woman at a table. "Um... are you tired at all?" he asked. "If you don't mind, would it be okay if I used recovery magic on you? Only if you give permission." The woman looked confused. "Huh... you're suddenly being polite." "I was just taught that asking permission is the right way." "I see... then sure, go ahead." The man's fingertips glowed clearly green. The woman relaxed her shoulders. "...Wow, my shoulder pain..." "I'm a healer. In the Ash Realm I was recovery-specialized, so I couldn't really attack, but..." "Recovery-specialized... that's actually in huge demand in modern Japan, right?" "I'd never been told that... really?" Kousuke couldn't hear how the rest of their conversation went. But he could see they kept talking. "...What did you just do?" Ruka had appeared beside him at some point. Her voice was quiet. "Nothing," Kousuke answered. "Just said something normal." Ruka looked at him. "A person who can say something normal," she continued softly, "didn't exist in this place." Kousuke gave a wry smile. "Being normal isn't that rare, you know." Ruka didn't answer. She just quietly watched the recovery magic man and female participant talking at their table. On her profile, an expression appeared——like she wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come. Kousuke couldn't respond either. The two of them just watched the scene for a while. --- A little later. Kousuke noticed someone that bothered him. A man sitting alone at a table in the corner of the venue. Late thirties. Good posture despite the cheap suit. He didn't touch his drink or show interest in the food, just quietly surveyed the entire venue. He hadn't talked to any other participants, yet his expression was calm, with no sign of anxiety. Kousuke tried to put the discomfort into words. (People who don't talk to anyone at a matchmaking party are usually either nervous or depressed. But this guy... he's observing.) The man slowly took an old notebook from his jacket's inner pocket. Not a smartphone——a paper notebook. He ran a pen across it. Taking notes. About what? Following the man's gaze, Kousuke noticed——for just a moment, the man's eyes pointed at Kousuke's status card. The instant Kousuke looked that way, the man was already facing forward. The movement was so natural that it felt unnatural. The precision of where his gaze landed was too exact. (He was looking at my card...?) He couldn't be certain. But the smoothness of that sequence of movements felt off. For a "just happened to make eye contact," the angle was too accurate. "That person," Kousuke said quietly to Ruka. "Do you know them?" Ruka glanced casually at the man. "...No. I don't have any memories of them from the Ash Real

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Episode 2

Name: The Matchmaking Party Was an Otherworldly Battleground
Author: Novelia

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