"Well then, I guess it’s about time to log off for today~"
"Right-dao. Work tomorrow, after all. Later-dao, Pen-pen."
"That’s right-ssu. Good night-ssu~"
The Spirits departed, and the spirit-possessed regained control of their bodies. Naturally, their next task was already decided. They were to enter Auto Mode, just as the Lord Spirit had commanded.
Today’s agenda: Home maintenance. They would plow the fields at the Homes of the two Lord Spirits and tend to the cattle at the ranch. They also spent time digging deeper into a new hole, clinging to the belief that something might still be buried there.
Meanwhile, the Second Characters focused on self-improvement. Miti spent her time mass-producing bizarre, inexplicable potions, while Ginko hunted monsters to raise her level. Nika... Nika alone was slumped over, fast asleep to recover her mental energy. Since the Lord Spirit was grinding SP to acquire a Home, Nika had been gorging herself on "Defilement" through SP Requests. If she were forced to work during Auto Mode, her recovery wouldn't be able to keep pace. For her, resting and snacking on sweets was her actual job.
While performing these simple chores, the first characters had enough mental bandwidth for conversation. Alto spoke up while digging with her shovel.
"I was thinking about the times when the Lord Spirits are talking... Tria, you and Miti jump in sometimes, don't you? Isn't that disrespectful?"
"Hmm? I don't think so. The Lord Spirit seems to enjoy talking with us."
"Well, I think... Tria-chan's Lord Spirit is just kind, so he's letting it slide, isn't he? But even so, it's still disrespectful, right?"
"Muu. Even Pen-pen is ganging up on me."
In truth, Alto and Pen-pen never dared to interrupt when the Spirits were conversing. They only joined in if directly addressed.
"So, Tria, what’s your take on the disrespect?" Alto asked.
"I respect the Lord Spirit and the others, of course."
"That’s a given! I’m asking what you’re thinking when you’re being so rude."
Tria met the question with one of her own.
"Do you two not want to talk to the Lord Spirit?"
"Of course we do!!! That’s why I’m saying it’s unfair that you’re the only one doing it!!!"
"Exactly... we’re just... holding ourselves back..."
"Have the Lord Spirits ever actually asked you to hold back?"
The two stopped to think. They hadn't. They had never been ordered to keep quiet.
"In fact, he told me, 'I'm happy Miti talks so energetically.' That means it’s not disrespectful. If anything, I’m following the Lord Spirit’s heart."
"B-but, to butt into the Lord Spirits' conversation... if they thought I was a nuisance, I couldn't live with myself!"
"Alto. That is what is truly disrespectful. Whether you’re a nuisance or not, and whether you live or die, is for the Lord Spirit to decide."
"Ugh, you’re right. We don't even have the authority to decide our own lives or deaths..."
"Then... does that mean we can... f-freely join their conversations too?"
Alto and Pen-pen wore expressions of deep, pained contemplation. Even so, their shovels never stopped turning the soil.
"You need to gauge the timing to join their conversation," Tria said.
"Timing. T-true. It would be a disaster to speak up and talk over them."
"Y-y-y-yes. If it comes to that, it’s better to stay silent."
"To help with that, there is a very useful exercise the Lord Spirit taught me."
"Let’s hear it. If it’s training, it falls under our standing orders. There’s no problem doing it."
"I want to hear it and try it too!"
"Okay, Tria will show you. Let’s stop digging for a bit."
Tria put away her shovel and prepared the equipment.
"This is... the training?" Alto asked, looking at a long, thin rope. One end was tied to a fence post.
"Yeah. I couldn't do it alone, so Tria hasn't been able to practice until now. This helps."
"What do we do? Pull it?"
"Like this. You swing it."
Tria began to rotate the rope. It traced a lemon-shaped arc, the center smacking the ground with rhythmic thwips. It was a game of long rope jumping.
"You judge the timing and jump in. You jump a few times, then judge the timing and jump out."
"I see. You need someone to swing it, so it’s impossible solo."
"It’s about... training your body to recognize the right moment to join in!" Pen-pen declared, fired up.
"Let’s try it right now! ...Wait!?"
Thwack!
The rope swept Alto’s feet out from under her. She executed a perfect cartwheel over her own center of gravity and tumbled.
"This is... surprisingly difficult."
"That looked like you were actively trying to get hit," Tria observed.
"Kuh! Your turn, Pen-pen!"
"Y-yes! Here I go!"
Pen-pen slipped into the rotating rope.
"I did i—gyah!?"
"Oops."
The rope smacked Pen-pen right on the head, knocking her over. It seemed the rope arc Tria was swinging was a bit too small for Pen-pen's stature.
"Are you okay? I didn't mean to hit your head."
"I might have made the rope... a bit too sturdy... That hurt..."
"Tria, you’re just short. Give it here, I’ll swing it next."
Now it was Tria’s turn to demonstrate. She slipped effortlessly into the rope’s path, hopping with perfect rhythm.
"Hop, skip, and out. See? For Tria, it’s easy. After all, I’m the one capable enough to join the Lord Spirits’ conversations."
"That’s just a raw stat difference! What’s your Agility anyway!?"
"I’ll just say it’s over 300."
"Kuh! I’ve been pumping Strength and Dexterity since I hit 100...!"
Your Dexterity doesn’t seem to be doing much work here, Tria thought, but she kept it to herself.
"I’m picking up the pace!" Alto shouted.
"Bring it on."
Alto began to whirl the rope with increasing speed. Tria matched it with light, rapid hops. The rope moved so fast it left a blurry afterimage like a rugby ball.
"Whoa, this is... becoming something else entirely, isn't it?"
As Alto swung the rope at high velocity, Tria appeared to be hovering in mid-air, her toes only occasionally tapping the ground. Pen-pen stopped trying to watch; the sight made her dizzy.
"Actually, this is great training! I can feel the burn in my arms!" Alto said.
"Tria thinks it’s good for the legs too. Let’s keep going."
"Um... I wanted to practice the timing for conversations too...? Wait, is this even related?"
Pen-pen eventually realized the exercise had nothing to do with social timing and started her own training. Alto and Tria continued their high-speed workout for quite some time—at least until the fence post finally snapped under the strain.
As for the broken fence, Pen-pen reportedly fixed it without saying a word.