ch1-ch20 · 005-ch5

Chapter 5: Relief

"Heave-ho!"

Pushing down on the iron rod using leverage — a gap just big enough for one person opened in the rubble. The son desperately reached out his hand, shouting "Grandma! Hurry, get out!" and the bento shop grandmother was safely rescued.

"Maeda-kun, thank you so much. You're a lifesaver..."

A wrinkled hand covered in dust reached out, and I gently took it. Her body temperature was low, she was bleeding, and she was trembling faintly.

"I'm glad you're safe. Once things settle down, please make me another delicious bento."

"Got it. Come buy one again."

Grandma's smile was radiant. The shop was completely destroyed, but as long as she was alive, she could start over, right? I just hope they get some compensation for the damage...

"Please take her to the hospital quickly. I'll go where they still need more hands."

"Got it! Grandma, come on, let's go."

And so, the bento shop grandmother disappeared toward the hospital on her son's back. After watching them go for a while, I joined the people clearing rubble.

About an hour had passed since the Aoba Town clock closed.

It was a blessing in disguise — the damage to public agencies, police, fire, and medical institutions was minimal, so rescue operations started quickly.

As for me, I was helping with the rescue efforts, accompanied by Lumiel, who had turned back into a white cat.

When I asked why the white cat form, she said she was "recharging." I see...?

"There's plenty I can do too, even as a G-Rank..."

Maybe it was inspired by Lumiel's performance, but I decided to do what I could.

Seeing people flee from the monsters, witnessing the horrific scenes firsthand — maybe regret over not being able to do anything was driving me.

Either way, I wanted to help save as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.

Me: Sis, you guys okay!? Sis: We're all safe over here Me: Glad to hear... Sis: Gotta admit, that kinda spooked me Sis: Also isn't your company operating like normal lol Me: Dedicated to the grind, what can I say Sis: A company that won't even help with reconstruction deserves to go under Sis: (devil emoji) (middle finger sticker)

I was relieved to have confirmed my sister and the others were safe.

"There's nothing I can do."

"You did more than enough, didn't you?"

She murmured a little sadly, but the fact that we could start recovery work so quickly was thanks to Lumiel. It would probably be easy for her to destroy the rubble with the power she used to defeat the monsters, but that would be asking too much of her.

"Then I'll just rely on Koh."

Lumiel rubbed her face against mine with a smile. Thinking about how cute she was, we headed off to rescue people in another area.

Before long, the Hunters who had suppressed the Akayama Town World Clock and the Self-Defense Forces arrived, and rescue operations proceeded at an astonishing speed.

There were Hunters moving rubble with something like telekinesis, Hunters creating water from nothing for the injured to drink, Hunters healing wounds with restorative powers — it made me recognize the greatness of skills all over again.

◇◆◇◆

"It's already evening, huh..."

Somehow or other, it was already past 4 PM.

Since the overall building collapse damage was relatively light, it seemed most of the people trapped in the rubble had been rescued. The rest would be handled by the Self-Defense Forces, so we were able to head home early.

I sank into the sofa and stared up at the ceiling.

The thrill of finding people trapped deep in the rubble, the relieved faces and tears of those who were saved — I couldn't forget them. My heart was still pounding.

"(This is a completely different kind of tired than work fatigue.)"

My body was exhausted, but it was a good kind of tired. When was the last time anyone thanked me?

"What's this called?"

"This is an onigiri. We'll eat it later."

"Okay."

The bag Lumiel (back in angel form) was holding was stuffed with tea and rice balls. These were things we'd received as thanks for helping with recovery.

At first I refused, saying the food should go to people who lost their homes, but they insisted so strongly I couldn't say no.

"What an intense two days..."

Starting with my Awakening, meeting Lumiel.

And then the World Clock appearing in Aoba Town.

『――According to experts regarding the World Clock that appeared in Aoba Town...』

The TV wasn't reporting at all on what happened to the Akayama Town clock — it was all news about Aoba Town. After all, a World Clock appearing somewhere new was apparently a worldwide first.

"Thank you so much for today."

I thanked Lumiel again.

You can never say it too much — in fact, no matter how much I said it, it wouldn't be enough. The fact that I was safe right now was all thanks to her.

"...I demand a hug."

"Sure. Come here!"

"!"

Lumiel leaped into my chest and clung to me like a koala.

I still wondered why she was so attached to me, but if it was just because of the contract, well, that was that.

If anything, I wanted to ask if a hug was really enough compensation for what she did, but the only other things I could offer were food or money——

Money, work, job?

"Lumiel, I need to talk to you."

"?"

I called to her in a serious tone. Lumiel looked up at my face with upturned eyes.

"I need you to stay home alone tomorrow."

There was no way I could take another day off work.

Like my sister said, it was a crappy company that wouldn't even help with recovery, but I still needed to make a living.

"No."

Lumiel turned her face away with a "hmph."

"I'll end up on the streets."

"I'd rather that than be apart."

"I don't wanna sleep outside!"

"Neither do I."

"Please!!!! I'm begging you!!!"

The irony of begging to be allowed to go to a job I didn't even want to go to.

There was no way the recovery would be finished today, and if I could, I'd take another day off to help. But if I took another day off after already taking yesterday and today off, I could get fired (seriously possible).

"In the end, it's all about money. Not having money is the real evil."

"Would that make things better?"

"Of course it would. Then I wouldn't have to work."

"I see..."

Murmuring that, Lumiel suddenly produced a bottle from her chest.

"What's this...? A po, potion!?"

A potion — one of the few treasures the World Clock had brought.

Potions were liquids with healing effects for injuries, with levels 1 through 10 indicating the range of effectiveness. Even a level 1 could heal something like a missing fingertip, and supposedly — though it sounded dubious — a level 10 could instantly heal any injury as long as you weren't dead.

There were also Cure Potions for illnesses and Mental Potions for mental disorders — collectively called "restorative medicines."

By the looks of it, this was a level 5 potion.

Level 1 is about 50,000 yen, and the price goes up by an order of magnitude with each level, so, uh...

"(This isn't just about quitting my job... I could buy a mansion...!)"

Every time Lumiel rustled her dress, more bottles came clattering out.

It wasn't just restorative medicines. There were monster materials, equipment — enough treasure to form a small mountain.

Probably because she'd suppressed the World Clock all by herself, it seemed she'd gotten all the drops.

"Is it worth money?"

"Worth money? This is a fortune!"

"I see..."

"W-with this...!"

The words "Life FIRE" danced in my mind.

If I sold all of this, I could live without ever having to work again. I could even build a hundred tower mansions in the city!? (Delirium)

Suddenly, my eyes landed on the bag.

The rice balls and tea we'd been given.

The faces of people in the shelters came back to me.

There were people I couldn't save during the rescue operations. Even those whose lives were saved had suffered disabilities — paralysis, lost limbs. Some had watched their families get eaten before their eyes and had mentally broken down.

Hospitals couldn't treat that.

Skills probably couldn't either.

But with restorative medicines, those could be healed.

"...Sorry, Lumiel. I need to talk to you about something."

"?"

"I want to——"

◇◆◇◆

『――And so, we've invited a representative from the local government. You know, when I heard this story, I cried. I've never seen such a person of character.』

『Truly... we can't thank you enough. Apparently, restorative medicines were delivered anonymously not just to us but to various medical institutions as well. There was a letter attached saying to use the restorative medicines for treatment and sell the equipment to fund reconstruction.』

『They're calling him a modern-day Date Naoto*, you know. They say it's worth hundreds of billions of yen at market value — an amount us ordinary folks can't even imagine. Someone who can casually produce that isn't your average rich person. I'm betting it's one of the top Hunters, yes.』

『Whoever it was, we want to send our heartfelt thanks. Since Aoba Town will be turned into a defense base going forward, we plan to use this for medical costs and moving subsidies——』

◇◆◇◆◇

"I like rice balls."

"Oh, nice. That's the heart of Japan, isn't it."

"And I like Koh too."

"Hehe, flattery won't get you anything but rice balls."

The rice balls we received tasted of kindness.

And that night, with Lumiel clinging to me, I fell into a deep slumber.

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