Chapter

ch41-ch60 · 045-ch45

Chapter 45: Trends and Countermeasures, and Sometimes Arguments

During the morning sparring session—

"You seem off today. Your body's not snapping."

Lately, I've been stopping by the guild early in the morning for sparring with my sister, heading to work, then coming back to the guild after clocking out for more sparring and tasks.

It'd be a lie to say I'm not tired, but this is all for my own good. And there's no way I could say I'm tired in front of my sister, who I've dragged into this with me.

Besides, there's another reason for my sluggishness.

"You better not be staying up late."

"..."

Yes, that's correct. I've been staying up late ego-searching stuff like "Hunter Exam insults" trying to identify that streamer — there's no way in hell I could admit that.

"Koh's been searching for stuff on his computer all night."

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!!"

"Haah... I knew it..."

Lumiel-san!? Snitching is not cool!

"What were you looking up? Tell me."

"It's n-nothing important!"

"Just hurry up and tell me."

Under intense pressure, I tearfully confessed.

The argument with the streamer, ways to improve my detection ability, and about Descent Arts.

"The first two I get, but there's no way detailed info on Descent Arts would be online. That stuff is untouchable worldwide."

"I was desperate..."

Learning about Lumiel is important to me too. She doesn't talk about her background, and it wasn't detailed online or even in the guild's library.

My sister let out a small sigh.

"...For now, just focus on passing the Hunter Exam. Once you pass, I'll tell you everything I know."

That sounded loaded.

"Everything you know — you mean more than what you told me when I visited home?"

"...I do."

But, my sister continued.

"I don't know if it's directly related to Lumiel. I've seen what Descent Arts is — what kind of thing it is, and what influence it has on the world. That's all."

Having said that much, my sister closed her mouth. Her expression said she wouldn't tell me more and didn't want me to ask.

"Got it. Then I'll ask again after the exam."

"Please do. And stop ego-searching."

"Yes, ma'am..."

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Hunter Exam — trends and countermeasures.

During a break, I looked things up on my work PC. From what I could gather, it seems the exam content is different every time. Maybe they're trying to keep us from narrowing down our study range.

"Wouldn't the guild teach you stuff like that?"

A coworker peered over my shoulder and muttered.

"That's true, but apparently there's confidentiality about the actual exam content. They did teach me about past ones though."

"Nothing like advice?"

"Apparently the exam starts with figuring out how to prepare on your own (in Momose's voice)."

"Huh, that's tough."

Still, I have a general idea of what qualities a Hunter needs.

Situation assessment, terrain tactics, detection ability — and above all, combat ability.

Ultimately, being a Hunter is about whether you can contribute as a fighting force during World Clock events, and it's almost certain these are the things they test.

"Alright, let's check on my partner who's been working nonstop too..."

I crept up behind Lumiel's desk.

I'd been able to see her typing away at the keyboard from a distance. That was clearly not Minesweeper behavior.

I wonder if she's researching the Hunter Exam—

『You got proof, asshole!?』

Anonymous Cat: Don't yell

Anonymous Cat: Apologize

Anonymous Person: This guy is scary lol

Anonymous Cat: Apologize

Anonymous Kid: First time I've seen chat flow this much, lucky you, small-time streamer

『Don't fuck with me! I'm not backing down!! I'll expose that guy's shady side in the exam!!』

Anonymous Cat: Don't shout so loud

Anonymous Cat: Apologize

I reflexively unplugged her keyboard.

Lumiel looked up, dissatisfied.

"Hey, Lumiel!? Stop chatting!!"

"Why?"

"If the person involved reacts, it'll get messy! How did you even find this guy's stream—!"

The stream Lumiel was chatting in was called Pontakun's NicoNico Hunter Channel — a live stream.

There, the fat young man in sunglasses who'd confronted me at the Hunter Exam venue yesterday was ranting at full volume.

Okay, let's calm down for a second.

Calmly analyze his stream.

"Concurrent viewers is 4... so besides the streamer and Lumiel, there are only 2 other viewers. The fact that I didn't get roasted is because Ponta is a small-time streamer. Lucky me."

Actually, how did she even find this stream... Is this the detection ability of a Descent Beast? — I don't have time to be impressed!

"Lumiel. With people like this, you just have to leave them alone and wait for the public to get bored."

"But he insulted Koh."

"You can't fight fire with fire."

"...I'm sorry."

It's still hard for a childlike Lumiel to grasp that balance, isn't it? I should've taught her about the dangers of the internet too.

Lumiel spread her arms — meaning "hug me."

I hugged her while whispering not to do it again.

For now, case closed... Or is it?

『I'm not forgiving that Anonymous Cat either!』

『Probably some bratty kid in the chat anyway!』

『I can't believe anyone would defend that bastard!』

『Man, I'd love to see what their parents look like, am I right, everyone!』

That — ticked me off.

I plugged the keyboard back in and—

Strongest Hunter: Excuse me, but that statement crosses a line. It clearly violates Article 8 of the platform's community guidelines, "Provisions on Hate Speech and Suspicion." Given your influence as a streamer, do you understand how much risk such an outburst carries?

Anonymous Person: Long text scary scary scary

Strongest Hunter: As a listener, I want to enjoy your content — I don't want to hear language that demeans specific individuals. I strongly recommend you retract that statement and issue a proper apology. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to report you. Shouldn't you reread the guidelines?

"S-senpai, senpai! You're doing the same thing as Rumi-chan!"

My coworker had to stop me — and my reply battle continued.

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Volume 1 is out now, thanks to all of you! Thank you so much.

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