chapter3 · 043-ep43
Episode 43: Kanzaki Jinya
Wasn't this seriously brutal?
Thinking that, I took another sandwich to my mouth.
Personal Achievements.
Achievements exclusively for me, unlocked when I reached ten types of achievements.
More accurately, it was a function unlocked by a Limited Reward.
The overview alone was plenty weird.
But the issue was what came after that.
【Display current Personal Achievement】
【Personal Achievement: The achiever reaches the inside of a dungeon】
I already knew the first condition displayed.
Reach the inside of a dungeon.
The condition itself was simple.
All I had to do was enter a dungeon.
I could probably clear this Personal Achievement just by doing that.
By the way, it was a little strange that the display said holder rather than me.
The achiever.
Achiever of what?
Someone who had unlocked ten types of achievements?
Or someone who had acquired a Limited Reward?
The more I thought about it, the less I understood.
So I'd put that aside for now.
The current problem was easier to understand.
Enter a dungeon.
The entrance to that was closed off.
Since the video incident, the Awakener Development Program had been suspended for the time being.
Normal training was restricted too, and Phase Two had practically been stopped entirely.
So naturally, I couldn't enter a dungeon through the Program either.
Then why not find a Gate with lax management and casually go in?
Honestly, it wasn't as though I hadn't thought about it a little.
The Personal Achievement condition was to reach the inside of a dungeon.
Then maybe I could clear it by just going in a little way and immediately coming back out.
No, well.
That was obviously no good.
Entering a Gate without authorization was normally a problem, and if I did it in this situation, it would cause extra trouble for Mibu and Nanami-san.
An Awakener Development Program participant entered a Gate on his own.
If that got out, it would be beyond pouring gasoline on something already on fire.
It would just be an explosion.
So that option was out.
It was out, but with the condition for a Personal Achievement dangling right in front of me and only the entrance to it closed, honestly, it was pretty painful.
"Nanami-san."
"Mm?"
"What do you think will have to happen for the Awakener Development Program to resume?"
Nanami-san didn't answer immediately.
She closed the case in her hands and looked toward the river as though thinking for a moment.
"I don't have the authority to decide, so I can't say anything definite, but..."
"Yeah."
"At least as things are now, I think it will be difficult to resume soon."
"I figured."
"Mm. Right now, the video's impression is just too bad."
Nanami-san said that quietly.
The video’s impression.
I understood that too.
Mibu was there, I stepped forward, fought the man, and in the end, my fist landed.
That was all that had been shown.
Why we had been there.
What the other guy did first.
That Mibu hadn't ordered me to do anything.
All the surrounding context had been cut away.
"First, I think we need something that shows you two didn't cause trouble one-sidedly."
"Something?"
"And that Iroha-chan didn't use you privately, Ren-kun. If that remains, it will become a story of Representative Mibu's daughter using the system, won't it?"
"Ah, that would be the worst."
"The worst."
Nanami-san nodded normally.
"And if it becomes clear there were people outside deliberately creating this uproar, I think the focus of the matter will change."
"Because it won't be an issue with the Program itself?"
"That's right. Of course, that won't make everything go back to normal, but at least it will be harder for things to become a one-sided flow where the Program side is at fault."
I see.
Easy to understand.
In other words, we needed three things.
That we hadn't caused trouble one-sidedly.
That Mibu hadn't used me.
And that there were other people who had created this uproar.
If all that came out, there was a chance the Program could resume.
Conversely, unless we had that, the situation was unlikely to change just from waiting.
So what could I do now?
Look for evidence.
Something that could show the truth apart from the video that was released—
"First of all..."
Just as I started thinking, Nanami-san spoke.
When I raised my head, she was smiling gently.
Smiling gently.
Her eyes, however, weren't smiling.
"Will you tell me all about what happened in that video too? You were fighting way out front, Ren-kun."
I already knew.
When Nanami-san had this look in her eyes, it was only when I'd done something dangerous.
I could really tell she was worried about me.
She was kind.
Incredibly kind.
But there was absolutely no sign she intended to let me escape.
I swallowed the last bite of my sandwich.
I'd confess obediently.
You didn't go against your senpai. That was just how it worked.
Kanzaki Jinya was sunk deep into a sofa at a Black Gate-owned lounge.
The man who had appeared before Mibu Iroha and Himuro Ren near the rental meeting rooms a week ago.
And an Awakener who had traded punches head-on with Ren.
He was in his late twenties.
Short-cropped hair.
Broad, thick shoulders.
He wore a suit, but he didn't look like a proper office worker.
In reality, Kanzaki wasn't a proper office worker.
Black Gate.
An organization of people who had not been called into the Awakener Development Program, operating mainly around Gates beyond the country's management.
It didn't exist on the surface.
But lately, its name had increasingly been glimpsed behind Awakener-related incidents and illegal material dealing at unregistered Gates.
Even within Black Gate, Kanzaki was treated as a combat man who could be used in the field.
He had strength.
He was used to rough work.
And in proportion to that, he tended to treat anyone he considered beneath him carelessly.
"Hey. Booze."
Kanzaki lightly raised his empty glass.
A staff member nearby hurriedly bowed their head.
"My apologies. I'll bring it right away."
"You're slow. How many times you gonna make me say the same thing?"
He wasn't loud enough to call it shouting.
But there was a powerful pressure at the edge of his words, like he was stepping on the other person.
The staff member withdrew with a tense face.
The hostess sitting beside him put on a smile, trying to improve Kanzaki's mood.
"Kanzaki-san, you seem awfully cheerful today."
"Do I?"
"Yes. Did something good happen?"
At that, Kanzaki snorted.
"Yeah. I'm a guy who's heading up from here."
As he said that, Kanzaki roughly pulled another glass on the table toward himself.
The ice inside made a sound.
"This place too. Just because it's Black Gate-owned doesn't mean you can act like you can disrespect me."
"Of course not..."
"Once I move up, I can shut down a place like this whenever I want."
The hostess's smile froze for a moment.
The staff member swallowed from a little ways off too.
Seeing that, Kanzaki raised the corner of his mouth with satisfaction.
People were afraid of him.
They didn't defy him.
Their expressions completely changed at his words.
For Kanzaki, that was an easy, pleasant feeling.
"Kanzaki-san."
The man on the sofa opposite him spoke while looking at his device.
"The number of people planning to participate in the Next Works matter has increased."
"How many?"
"Five so far. They're all Awakener Development Program participants, and Beginner Awakeners at that. Their Levels aren't particularly high either."
Next Works Co., Ltd.
On the surface, it was a staffing company handling high-paying jobs for Awakeners.
Looking at the job listings alone, there was nothing illegal about them.
Easy work for Awakeners.
No experience necessary.
Low risk.
Pay higher than normal part-time jobs.
It looked like a place where people who had just become Awakeners could test their power and worth.
But the reality was different.
It was one of Black Gate's windows for luring Awakeners to unregistered Gates.
People who wanted to test their own strength even while participating in the Program.
People anxious because they couldn't enter dungeons and couldn't get stronger as they wanted.
They dangled money and the desire for recognition in front of people like that, then took them to dangerous places.
This time, the goal was to involve the gathered Awakeners with a Gate.
Something only had to happen there.
An injury.
A flight.
Even a video of someone crying for help.
Awakener Development Program participants were involved in suspicious outside jobs.
If that one fact remained, it would be enough of a spark.
"Perfect."
Kanzaki tipped his glass.
"Awakeners crying as they run. Program kids taking part in suspicious jobs. Awakeners entering unregistered Gates. That's enough for headlines, right?"
"What if someone is injured?"
"...Like I give a damn."
The air around them chilled slightly.
But Kanzaki didn't care.
The hostess lowered her gaze with a forced smile still on her face, and a staff member silently set down a new glass.
Kanzaki took it without thanking them.
"The Awakeners coming for part-time work only need to be sparks. Use 'em if they're useful. If they ain't, get rid of 'em in a dungeon. That's all."
To Kanzaki, Awakeners were pieces.
Then it would be fine if the Awakener Development Program got attacked again as a result.
Fine if Representative Mibu had a harder time acting.
Fine if Phase Two became more distant.
That was what Black Gate wanted, and what would become his own credit.
That sequence had already been completed in Kanzaki's mind.
"But, Kanzaki-san."
"What?"
"Takatsuki-san has also said to be more careful than before. Because of that Enchanter from before, too."
At those words, Kanzaki's fingers stopped.
The Enchanter.
The high school boy who had stood in front of him a week ago.
Still holding his glass, Kanzaki gave a small laugh.
"That guy was no joke."
"That much?"
"He wasn't normal."
Kanzaki remembered the sensation still remaining deep in his stomach.
The boy hadn't fallen even after taking his attack.
Despite being an Enchanter, he'd held his ground head-on.
And in the end, he had landed a hit on Kanzaki's stomach.
That was impossible for an ordinary Awakener.
All the more so for an Enchanter.
"Wouldn't that guy rank pretty high even in our organization?"
"He's a high schooler, right?"
"I'm not talking about age. I'm talking about whether he can fight."
Kanzaki said.
"At the very least, he wasn't the kind of Enchanter who only stayed in back applying buffs to his allies."
Kanzaki acknowledged it.
He truly acknowledged the boy's strength.
But it wasn't fondness.
It wasn't respect either.
To Kanzaki, a strong opponent was someone whose destruction could prove his own worth.
"I only pulled back because I got a call that time. I didn't lose."
The man across from him said nothing.
The hostess and staff stayed silent too.
Kanzaki took that silence as natural.
"Wanna see him again."
Kanzaki smiled.
"Next time, we'll pick up where we left off."
The staff member hurriedly came to take away his glass.
The hostess gave a small nod beside Kanzaki, a smile still on her face.
"Enchanter or whatever, I'll crush him next time."
Looking down on all of it, Kanzaki Jinya smiled in satisfaction.
Rise higher within Black Gate.
Use whatever he could to do it.
Crush whatever got in his way.
Beginner Awakeners.
Representative Mibu's daughter.
And that Enchanter too.
He intended to make them all his stepping stones.