arc1 · 006-ch6

Episode 6: Skilled Cameraman

"Alright, time to get ready for battle."

After avoiding monsters and descending for about two hours to reach the fifth floor, I could hear the leader, Toomi-san, addressing the party members. It looked like they'd be fighting monsters starting from this floor.

The tension at the scene was contagious—I could feel it too. The water bottle I'd reached for was trembling slightly in my hand.

"Three goblins, dead ahead."

The quiet voice of the thief, Kurokage-san, rang out from the front. The goblins didn't seem to have noticed us yet, loitering around in a slightly open space visible ahead.

The members of Hyakka Ryouran instantly shifted their formation into a diamond shape. Hanazono was at the front, with Spear Wielder Toomi-san and Thief Kurokage-san on her flanks, and Fire Mage Akatsuki-san standing by at the very back. I made sure to capture each of their quick, fluid movements on camera.

They closed in on the goblins step by step. Probably trying to get within Akatsuki-san's casting range without being noticed. Thinking that, I moved the drone in front of Akatsuki-san—when it happened.

Screech!

The goblins noticed us. Crap!? Was it the drone noise!?

"Kureha!"

Hanazono at the front quickly turned around. There was Akatsuki-san, chanting a spell.

"Fireball!"

It seemed Akatsuki-san thrusting her staff forward was the signal—Hanazono saw it and dove to the right. As if in sync with her movement, a ball of fire flew straight toward the charging goblins.

I had the drone chase after the fireball.

BOOOM!

The goblins, running at full speed with their clubs raised, couldn't dodge the fireball hurtling toward them at considerable speed. It struck the lead goblin and caused a massive explosion.

Without missing a beat, Hanazono charged in. Noticing this, I quickly moved the drone behind the goblins to capture her gallant figure head-on.

"Haa!"

With a spirited battle cry, she wielded her twin swords like a dance, carving through the goblins.

"Sei!"

From behind Hanazono, a spear thrust out and pierced the chest of a goblin that was trying to counterattack. It was pretty grotesque footage, but apparently there's demand for that sort of thing. Well, if I'm making it all-ages, mosaic editing is a must.

More importantly, all the members of Hyakka Ryouran are beauties, so I should get plenty of close-ups of their expressions while fighting. That'll probably get more views, and if revenue goes up, Hanazono and the others would be thrilled too.

By the time I'd thoroughly filmed each member in action, the battle seemed to be over. They were just goblins, but winning without taking a single hit—truly fitting of Rank D. That said, I was relieved nothing serious happened because of my blunder. From now on, I'd have to be more careful about the drone's noise.

I moved the drone in front of Toomi-san after the battle, and whether she'd understand it or not, I blinked the lights four times—"Sorry."

"Ah, it's fine. Nothing bad came of it this time. But be more careful next time!"

It seemed my intention got through to Toomi-san. She forgave me with a smile. How incredibly grateful I was.

Now then, let's regroup and start filming. Since we're at it, I might as well capture some of the casual chatter during movement. There might be demand for that.

I casually moved the drone close enough to hear their conversation.

"Hey hey, have you tried the new sweets from Dungeon Mart?"

The one who kicked off the conversation was Hanazono. She'd always been bright and outgoing. That ability to get along with anyone was part of what made her popular. But talking about sweets right after brutally killing goblins. She sure knows how to be an explorer.

"I tried them. The fresh chocolate mochi crepe was really good."

The quick responder was Kurokage-san. On top of her petite, cool appearance, she used "boku" as her first-person pronoun. That was probably going to earn her massive popularity from people who are into that sort of thing.

"Oh, I tried them too. I liked the dorayaki with sweet bean paste and whipped cream!"

The clear, Japanese-style beauty Toomi-san was, true to her image, a fan of traditional Japanese sweets.

"Where might one purchase those sweets?"

"Ahaha, Akatsuki-san lives in a whole different world—she's probably never even seen convenience store sweets!"

"How rude! I have, in fact, entered a convenience store before!"

Oh, so Akatsuki-san is from a well-to-do family? Someone who doesn't abbreviate "convenience store" is pretty rare these days.

Four uniquely beautiful women, chatting happily in the dim cavern. The gap was kind of incredible, but while I was grateful to see the real side of these women, it also felt a bit like voyeurism, which left me feeling a little guilty.

"By the way, that drone has amazing performance, doesn't it?"

From Toomi-san's comment, the topic shifted to my drone.

"I was thinking the same thing. That thing's the type that costs over ten million yen."

Kurokage-san, who turned out to be surprisingly knowledgeable about drones, revealed the value of my machine. Wait, seriously? I'd thought it had great performance, but it was really that expensive? I was lucky to have gotten my hands on it.

"Before we noticed, it had already circled around behind the goblins and was filming from the front. Normal drones usually film from behind the whole time, so I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of footage we got."

Damn, Toomi-san was innocently raising the bar. Since I've been asked to do the editing too, I need to produce something that clearly stands apart from rental drone footage.

"By the way, Hanazono, do you know the owner of this drone?"

"Um, well... They're an acquaintance, I guess? Or someone I've known for a while..."

Hanazono's answer to Akatsuki-san's question was hesitant. Sorry. This was all because I asked her to hide my identity.

"Of course, it depends on the quality of the footage, but the terms aren't bad either. Regardless of whether Hanazono knows them or not, I'd like to request their services again."

Oh, Toomi-san said something that made my heart sing. I'm definitely using this scene. It should make for great advertising.

"...How are you operating this drone?"

Ah—Kurokage-san noticed something she shouldn't have. Come on, Hanazono! Think of something to cover it up!

"Um, that's, um, it's a trade secret apparently!"

Hey! That's not gonna satisfy anyone!

"I figured. If everyone knew, they'd all copy it."

"I want to know, but I'll restrain myself."

"That is a difficult topic for someone like myself."

Huh, looks like everyone accepted it for some reason. Probably because they're all genuinely nice people.

"Chatter over. Monsters from the right."

Just when I thought they were having fun chatting, they hadn't let their guard down about the surroundings. At Kurokage-san's single word, they instantly reformed their formation.

"Five goblins, including one archer."

The next battle was going to be more intense than the last one. With that premonition, I moved the drone away from the party for now.