chapter3 · 037-ep37

Episode 37: Leave It to Me

"Don't know who you are,"

his gaze slowly moved over Mibu and me.

"but eavesdropping's a pretty nice hobby."

At the meeting room's entrance.

The exit from our perspective.

That man stood there.

Maybe mid-twenties.

Close-cropped hair.

A thick neck.

Broad shoulders too.

A dark jacket and dark pants.

He was dressed neatly enough, but it didn't look natural on him.

Like he had forcibly put on clothes that looked the part so he could blend in with the adults in suits.

That was the impression.

His features weren't bad.

But the smile on his face ruined them pretty badly.

Like he was looking down on people.

Like he enjoyed the reactions of someone he'd cornered.

Yeah.

The type I normally wanted nothing to do with.

Standing beside Mibu, I looked at the man.

That rough voice I'd heard in the meeting room.

It was definitely him.

"Never thought a high school couple would wander into a place like this. This ain't a love hotel, you know."

A high school couple.

And that way he said it.

Could it be this guy hadn't realized Mibu was Representative Mibu's daughter?

If so, lucky.

What a relief.

No, whether this was a situation I could call a relief was questionable.

But at least it wasn't the worst possible outcome anymore.

"Is doing it in cramped places like this trendy with young people these days?"

Saying that, the man stepped into the room.

He blocked the entrance.

Mibu and I naturally took half a step back.

To get into the hallway, we'd have to pass beside him.

But he didn't seem inclined to let us.

"I don't know who you are."

The man looked between us.

"But you heard that conversation, right?"

As he spoke, he cracked his neck.

"Then I can't exactly let you go home like that."

Figures.

Well, of course it would be that way.

The things we'd heard were what they'd been.

That they had been moving without Representative Mibu's knowledge.

That Takatsuki had set off the SNS backlash.

That they were trying to stop the Awakener Development Program.

That alone was more than enough.

There was no way they would just let us leave.

Or rather, it would be scary if they did.

Too kind. I'd suspect a trap.

"How did you know?"

When I asked, the man's gaze turned to me.

"Huh?"

"That we were here. We shouldn't have been found during the meeting."

"Heh."

The man grinned.

"Curious?"

"Of course I am."

"I can tell that stuff."

"That stuff?"

"Presence. The presence of someone hiding. The presence of someone scared. The presence of someone who wants to fight. I can tell all that."

The man pointed his thumb at his chest.

"I'm an Awakener, see. A Fighter. Though that probably doesn't mean anything to a couple ordinary high schoolers like you."

Fighter.

I was pretty sure it was the same type as Takamiya-san, who had looked after us on that dungeon expedition.

He had been bizarrely sensitive to what was around him too.

But I thought that was about monsters.

It worked on people too?

No, come to think of it, monsters weren't the only enemies.

Awakeners could fight other Awakeners too.

Then maybe it wasn't strange that he could pick up human presences.

It wasn't strange, but.

This was the worst.

Still, if that was true, there was one strange thing.

"...Why didn't you expose us during the meeting? Why did you come here alone after the others left?"

When I asked, the man blinked blankly for a moment.

Then he laughed as if making fun of me.

"Why would I call them?"

"Why not?"

"Then I wouldn't get the credit."

"Your achievement?"

"I found someone eavesdropping. I caught them myself without letting them get away. Reporting it that way gets me evaluated, right?"

"By that Takatsuki guy?"

"Nah."

The man snorted a little.

"That guy's a collaborator, not my boss. There's someone else up top."

"Up top?"

"Yeah. The boss of our organization."

...

I'd kind of been thinking it for a while now.

Could this guy be an idiot?

Normally, that was something you'd keep hidden, wasn't it?

That Takatsuki wasn't above him.

That they had someone else above them.

That there was something they could call an organization.

He had voluntarily spilled a lot of information without me even asking.

And he didn't seem to know Mibu was Representative Mibu's daughter either.

Helpful.

Incredibly helpful.

The situation leaned toward worst-case, but the fact that our opponent was an idiot was a serious saving grace.

If we could do something about this guy, we might be able to get a fair amount of information from him.

Though it was still an extremely dangerous situation.

"Whatever."

The man lightly rolled his shoulders.

His joints made an unpleasant crack.

"Since you heard it, can't be helped. I'll put you to sleep here and drag you away."

Looks like talking it out was impossible.

Or rather, he had no intention of talking from the start.

"Relax. I won't kill you."

"Is that supposed to be comforting?"

"Of course it is. You'll be alive."

I rejected that internally, but looked toward Mibu.

She was already in a fighting stance.

It wasn't an obvious pose.

Only her foot position had changed.

A distance from which she could move at any time.

Her hands hung naturally, but she was probably ready to use magic.

She stood beside me.

She probably intended to fight together.

That was normal.

The other guy was an Awakener.

There were two of us.

It was better to fight as two.

Obviously, that was safer.

And yet, watching the man, I was thinking about something else.

I'd wanted to try it ever since becoming an Enchanter.

Self-enchants.

Enchant Stabilization.

Enchant Echo.

Apply Ability Grants to myself and move up front.

How far could I fight with what was supposed to be a support Job?

Was the right answer to stand behind my allies and support them?

Or could a style where I strengthened myself and moved to the front work too?

The opponent was human.

Not a monster.

And a Fighter-type, at that.

A combat Job.

Normally dangerous.

Of course I wasn't unafraid.

My brain was issuing proper warnings.

Don't do it.

Fight together.

Run if you can.

It was telling me that.

But somewhere separate from that, my chest was bouncing helplessly.

What was this?

The situation was insane.

The opponent was insane too.

The place and timing were the worst.

Holiday date into tailing.

A secret meeting.

Eavesdropping.

Then running into a Fighter-type Awakener.

What was this full course?

Normally, it would give me indigestion.

And yet.

I wanted to try it already.

Part of me thought that.

Just running now wouldn't tell me.

How far I, as an Enchanter, could go against an Awakener.

I wanted to know.

For the future too.

And for myself.

There was one more thing.

An achievement was lingering in a corner of my mind.

【Job-Exclusive Achievements: Enchanter】

【A: As an Enchanter, without applying any enchant to another person, deal damage equal to 20% or more of the maximum HP in one strike to a hostile Awakener with a combat Job, using only self-applied enchants】

When I'd first seen it, I normally had no idea what it meant.

As an Enchanter.

Without applying any enchant to another person.

To a hostile Awakener with a combat Job.

Deal damage equal to twenty percent or more of their maximum HP in one strike using self-enchants alone.

Who was going to get an achievement like that?

It was strange coming from me at this point, but Enchanters were support Jobs.

The normal way to fight was to enchant allies, support the front line, and manage the battlefield from behind.

Yet this achievement was far too specific.

No enchanting others.

The opponent had to have a hostile combat Job.

And twenty percent or more of their maximum HP in one blow.

No, but maybe that specificity was why it was A-rank difficulty.

A normal Enchanter would never target it.

Or rather, couldn't.

A support Job enhancing only themself and landing a blow straight-on against a combat Job.

Thinking about it calmly, those were pretty insane conditions.

Of course it was dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Normally, fighting together with Mibu was the right choice here.

I knew that.

Even so, there was an achievement I could only get here.

Then.

I'd get it here without hesitation!

I stepped half a pace ahead of Mibu.

"Himura-kun?"

Mibu's voice dropped a little.

"Leave it to me."

The moment I said it, it felt a little strange even to me.

Just hearing that, I sounded like I was trying incredibly hard to look cool.

Absolutely not, but.

Mibu looked at me for a moment.

I couldn't tell what she was thinking from her eyes.

Would she stop me?

Say we should fight together?

That was what I thought, but Mibu let out a short breath.

"...All right."

"Thanks."

"If it looks dangerous, I'm stepping in."

"I'd appreciate that."

That part, I accepted honestly.

I wasn't invincible.

Or rather, I was still completely weak.

I wanted the achievement.

But I wasn't enough of an idiot to refuse Mibu's help out of some pointless pride.

"Hah, at that age where you want to look cool in front of your girlfriend, huh? Then I'll let you learn a little painful lesson."

Watching our exchange, the man twisted his mouth further.

"Okaaay, show me this painful lesson, then."

I exhaled as I said it.

An Enchanter moving to the front.

How far would that work?

I'd test it right here.