ch21-ch40 · 031-ch31

Chapter 31: Demon World

Back at the guild building, we were gathered around a lavish meal, raising our glasses.

"「「「Cheers!」」」"

Clink — the sound of glass echoed.

A welcome party celebrating the sealing of the World Clock and our joining the guild. All the dishes lined up were handmade by Shiki-kun, but they looked like a full-course high-end Italian meal — I was completely blown away.

Momose-san, my sister, and I had white wine. Shiki-kun and Kunimori-kun, who are still minors, had ginger ale, and Lumiel had milk for the toast.

"Oh my, where did this huge cake come from?"

"Yes, cele-bration..."

"Why are you talking like that?"

There was a high-end cheesecake prepared too.

Of course, no ulterior motives.

I took a bite — mm, too damn good.

"Shiki-kun's cooking... this isn't just 'good for someone living alone' level. The presentation's gorgeous and it's insanely delicious!"

"Thank you very much. I used to work part-time at an Italian place before, so I occasionally imitate what I learned there."

Shiki-kun said that with a shy smile.

By the way, apparently he doesn't live alone — he lives with his parents, two older sisters, and a younger sister at home.

"Koh can make amazing stuff too."

"Is that so! I'd love to try it sometime."

Lumiel, please don't compete with him! I barely cooked at all before living with you! I just microwaved convenience store bentos! The only thing I can make is grilled fish!

"Food's all the same once it's in your stomach anyway."

Kunimori-kun said that, elbow on the table, twirling pasta.

Shiki-kun snatched it away.

"You don't deserve to eat this."

"Hey, come on!"

Kunimori-kun and Shiki-kun get along well, after all. From what I hear, Kunimori-kun is 17 and Shiki-kun is 19 — close in age. Shiki-kun joined Remnant first, but apparently Kunimori-kun ranks higher in the S-Rank rankings (my sister says that might be why he feels jealous).

With their arguing voices as background music, I asked my sister about the ranking system.

"Speaking of which, someone said you're ranked 3rd among S-Ranks, sis. How are rankings determined?"

"Hmm... back in the day it was based on 'magic power volume' and 'contributions during disasters,' but now it seems to be mostly based on 'ranking match results.' I'm not super familiar with the details... Momose-san, could you explain?"

"Mwe? (Me?)"

Momose-san, who had his mouth full of food, chewed slowly, emptied his mouth, and then gave us a detailed explanation about the ranking system.

"Ranking matches are a system born from the so-called 'entertainment-ization' of Hunters. Simply put, it's 'a mock battle where participants compete for each other's points.' Those points are numerical values derived from the criteria Akira-kun just mentioned."

Apparently things like support ability and cooperativeness also factor into the numbers.

By the way, these numerical assessments happen monthly or quarterly.

"So battles between S-Ranks must be incredible."

"They are. Well, World Clocks can open the next day or stay closed for months, so it's probably meant to keep Hunters from getting rusty and to stimulate their ambition. I think a lot of Hunters make their living from the prize money."

There's prize money? So it really is just like a fighting sports match.

"If top S-Ranks fight, the winner can get several billion."

"S-several billion!?"

"In the US, they'd probably get ten times that."

The... the scale is just way too different...

Momose-san continued, "That's not all."

"You can also get special rewards for raising your rank. That's a big deal too."

"Ooh~ special rewards."

"Money, of course, but also items. Though, since we're not affiliated with the Association, we don't get those. And request fees from overseas cooperation depend on your rank too."

So raising your rank never hurts, but if you're not in the Association, there's not much benefit.

"Non-combat S-Rank Hunters must have complaints about that."

Under this system, a healer would basically never get the number one S-Rank spot (unless their magic power was Guinness World Record level or something). Momose-san laughed and said, "That's true."

"Well, enhancement/support-type Hunters participate by applying buffs to 'pseudo-allies.' In that sense, healers get the short end of the stick, but they're in high demand everywhere, so I don't think anyone really minds."

True, if all you get is honor and money, maybe there's no need to be fixated on it.

Speaking of rewards! Momose-san clapped his hands as if remembering something.

"This time, because we sealed the World Clock solo, we've received sponsorship contracts and funding offers from multiple companies and research institutions. Independent guilds can't receive Association funding, so getting operational funds from sources like this is really significant."

My sister started clapping, and we all joined in to congratulate. Momose-san continued, "That's not all either."

"We've also received hundreds of applications from people wanting to join Remnant. We're not exclusively an S-Rank guild, so if there are promising candidates, I'd like to take them in. More people means more things we can do. It's a very positive trend."

I'm looking forward to the guild getting livelier too.

Though, if Remnant Guild grows to a few hundred people, I can't imagine the Hunter Association would stay quiet, independent or not.

"Then, from me—" Shiki-kun operated something, and a screen displayed various weapons, armor, accessories, and other items.

"These are the items obtained from this World Clock. We could divide them equally here, but I'm thinking of sending the unnecessary ones to the warehouse. If anyone wants something, please add it to your possessions."

Right — World Clocks have a reward called "items."

Like in a video game, defeating monsters has a low chance of dropping these, and the probability and value increase with the enemy's strength.

Back when Lumiel solo-sealed the Aoba Town World Clock, she brought back a mountain of items too. She donated them all to Aoba Town, so I don't know how much monetary value they had, but I know it's a huge bonus for Hunters.

Solo-challenging a World Clock is high risk, but getting all the items is high reward.

"Let's see, this one, and this one, and this one..."

"Sigh... Could you be last?"

Kunimori-kun was selecting every weapon from one end to the other when Shiki-kun called a timeout.

Momose-san and my sister declined, saying they didn't need anything, so I similarly turned down the offer.

"You don't need anything?"

"Well, honestly, I don't really know what I need. But I didn't do anything this time around, so I figure I'll accept after I've contributed to the guild."

"Hehe... a choice befitting the Hero of Aoba Town."

Shiki-kun said that with a small smile.

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The welcome party had ended, and we were all drinking coffee after the meal (Lumiel had hot milk).

The news program running on the screen was split into two streams — most praised Remnant's achievements, but a few channels were running segments with headlines like "Anomaly at Akayama Town World Clock?"

『—The whereabouts of the reporter and expert Inoura-san remain unknown. It has now been three hours since communication with the Hunters sent to investigate was lost. Inagaki-san, what do you make of this anomaly?』

『This is an unprecedented situation worldwide. This anomaly has been confirmed in three other countries besides Japan, and apparently Hunters from those nations haven't returned from their investigations either. The remaining numbers are also concerning.』

『Among experts, opinions are divided between those who say "stronger Hunters should be dispatched" and those who say "we should wait for the count to hit zero and strike with full force." According to the Hunter Association's announcement, going forward—』

Everyone was silently watching the news.

An anomaly at the Akayama Town World Clock, huh.

"We shouldn't have gone in."

Lumiel muttered that, staring intently at the footage.

Everyone's gaze focused on her.

"Do you know something?"

At my question, Lumiel nodded quietly.

"Inside that place, a 'Demon World' spreads. The monsters in the Demon World are different from the ones that come out of the Clock."

Demon World...

In fantasy terms, I'd imagine it as a hellish place where demons and demon kings live.

Momose-san asked with interest.

"What do you mean by different?"

"The Clock's door is small and narrow. So only small, weak ones can get through. The ones inside the Demon World couldn't get through. They're big and strong."

"I see..."

Momose-san was speechless.

This must be new information about the World Clock.

So the ones that can pass through the Clock are just the small fry?

The strongest enemy this time was the High Ogre, an Ogre variant with A+ subjugation difficulty. But the High Ogre could pass through the Clock. Which means the ones inside are at least A+ difficulty or higher...

"What happens if we leave it alone?"

Kunimori-kun's question made Lumiel pause for a moment before she answered—

"Everything will come out."

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