chapter02 · 060-ep60

Episode 58: Two Ojou-samas and a Tiger Watching for His Chance (Part Two)

While Karin was making a new weapon on yet another outrageous stream—

"Sigh..."

A beautiful girl streaming in the middle layers let out a deep sigh. Mitsuki Shijou, a wildly popular streamer with five million subscribers.

【Mitsuki-chan, are you okay!?】

【You've seemed a bit off every now and then lately, but you've been especially down since your last stream?】

【Well, after a monster copied her technique perfectly like that...】

"Oh! N-no, I'm completely fine! It's just that, um, my favorite bread was sold out today!"

Mitsuki hurried to explain away her gloomy sigh—hardly appropriate in the middle of a stream. Of course, that wasn't what troubled her.

Fist Fuck. Her own mistake that had branded the person she adored most with the worst embarrassment of her life. That unforgivable original sin had been tormenting her ever since.

(Why did I post something so stupid...? Honestly.)

She'd written 'Fist Fuck' in the comments on the stream of episode twenty-five of Dungeon Alive not long after getting her first smartphone. It wasn't because she was stressed or secretly had perverted interests. For no particular reason, she'd had a mischievous impulse. She'd wanted to play a small prank under cover of internet anonymity. She was at that age. (And she'd only happened across the phrase online. Happened across it, really.)

(That was all... How could it turn into THIS?)

While explaining middle-layer monsters' habits and how to defeat them, Mitsuki replayed the same anguished thought for perhaps the thousandth time.

At one point, in a bid to escape reality, she'd wondered whether someone else had written the same phrase and Karin had seen THEIR comment instead. But netizens had searched with all their might and found only the 'source' video she'd commented on. Streams of Dungeon Alive had been extremely limited back then, too. She was almost certainly the culprit. The guilt was unbearable.

And then she'd met Karin in person without warning on the recent stream. The real Karin was even more extraordinary—and kinder—than she'd imagined. She'd showered Mitsuki with praise and politely asked permission to mention her name in future streams: a wonderful streamer who had made Mitsuki fall even more deeply for her. That only made it harder.

(Ah, ugh... Someday I have to work up the courage to apologize. I have to announce that I'M the real Fist-Fuck Ojou-sama... It would help Karin ojou-sama reach the 'Elegance' she strives for... But just imagining her hating me makes me violently sick...!)

As Mitsuki continued streaming, agonizing over the dilemma that grew worse the more she loved her favorite, a voice reached her.

"—Ah, damn it! This isn't working at all!"

"...?"

She turned toward the faint angry shout from deeper in the dungeon.

"What a load of crap...! That brat's seriously mastered THAT much combat technique...? She's insane...!"

She listened closely. Far from subsiding, the voice sounded angrier each time. At first Mitsuki thought it might be someone shouting encouragement during a monster fight. But there was no sound of combat, only fury and frustration in that voice. Something might be wrong.

She remembered Black Shell's conduct caught on Karin's stream. As a member of White Knight, one of the nation's strongest clans—and, above all, a devoted member of the Karin Party—Mitsuki couldn't look the other way.

"Sorry, everyone. There might be trouble. I'm going to check it out."

【Be careful, Mitsuki-chan!】

【That sounded like one rough dude... You don't HAVE to go see...】

【I'm sure you'll be okay, but run if it looks dangerous!】

With such comments pouring in, Mitsuki approached the voice, hiding her presence and footsteps as much as she could. She peeked into the chamber it came from, her expensive floating camera beside her.

"Damn it, this is pissing me off! It's impossible!"

(Is that... Saiga Kagerou...?)

Her eyes widened at the lone explorer shouting in the middle layers. Saiga Kagerou: the nuisance streamer loathed by nearly everyone, as well as a fighter once touted as the strongest of his generation.

(He almost stopped posting online after the dungeon collapse... What's such a notorious nuisance streamer doing in the middle layers?)

Mitsuki watched warily. She was, in a way, grateful to Kagerou for being the sacrifice that had launched Karin into fame, and she'd heard he'd left the notorious Black Tiger. But he'd also held a grudge against Karin and made a dangerous, unreasonable attempt at revenge. Whatever he was doing here was suspicious. Mitsuki kept watching with her floating camera, partly to preserve evidence. Then—

"Damn it! What's WITH that shitty brat...!? I managed to learn <Recoil-Free Cannon> and level it up, but I still can't keep the surface of the water steady...! Does she really do all that ridiculous stuff with <Recoil-Free Cannon> alone? Or is my skill level still too low...? Maybe it's the skill PLUS her technique that lets her move like that? And dodging every monster attack without spilling her tea means her detection skills have gotta be off the charts too... Ah, hell, I can't even guess how many inhuman techniques she's using at once...! And look at me, trying to copy her movements in the damn middle layers...! Humiliating, but maybe I should start in the upper layers... Nah, too many people. Even keeping watch, the odds of somebody seeing me shoot up... Best not try to master everything at once. Analyze that shitty brat's movements some more, then work on what I need one at a time: 'detection,' 'body control,' <Recoil-Free Cannon>..."

"..................Huh?"

Mitsuki tilted her head at Kagerou, who was muttering as though sorting out his thoughts. His voice was rough, but what he was saying was earnest trial and error in training—and analysis of skills she recognized. Several broken teacups lay around his feet, and he was battered as though he'd been practicing dodges.

"...Wait. Is this... something I shouldn't be broadcasting...?"

She froze for several seconds before the thought finally came out. Immediately afterward—

"Huh...?"

"Oh."

Their eyes met. Perhaps Kagerou had been absorbed in thinking about skills, or perhaps Mitsuki had snuck up too well. Either way, he'd only just noticed her.

In an instant, Mitsuki bolted.

"...!? WAIT RIGHT THE HELL THEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Kagerou roared and chased her with desperate intensity.

"...!"

【Run, Mitsuki-chan, RUN!】

【This is like walking in on someone performing a midnight curse ritual lmao】

【I don't know whether to laugh or worry about Mitsuki-chan!】

【...!? (me, making the space-cat face)】

Chat was every bit as confused, but they shouted for Mitsuki to run. "I've seen something I mustn't have!" she cried, fleeing at full speed. But—

"I SAID WAIT! <Accelerating Bullet>!"

"Wait, what!?"

Kagerou was level 1000, stronger than the level-900 Mitsuki. Without an ounce of adult restraint, he activated his unique skill too. As his speed and charging power increased the longer he ran, he caught her immediately.

"Hey, you! You saw that, didn't you!? DIDN'T YOU!? Don't get the wrong idea!"

He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and babbled, bright red in the face.

"That shitty brat hasn't influenced me! I just thought that if I could replicate her ridiculous dungeon conquests, I might get a little closer to her monstrous strength! So I can get revenge again! Studying your enemy to beat them is normal, right!? RIGHT!? So don't you DARE tell anyone what you saw! If you go blabbing, I'll do whatever it takes to—"

Kagerou stopped dead. He pointed at Mitsuki's face, which had been overwhelmed by his frantic tirade.

"You're...!? From Wh-White Knight...!?"

Then he noticed the floating camera a little way from her. His eyes darted between it and the face of hugely popular streamer Mitsuki Shijou. Expressionless, he pulled out his phone and opened her channel.

At once—

【Yoo-hoo! Lord Vomit, you watching!?】

【Don't worry, your hilarious footage has ALREADY been broadcast around the world!】

【Kagerou, since when did you become such a cute, bashful character...!?】

【I'm disappointed. Subscribed to Kagerou and promoting him on social media】

【I laughed so hard I spilled coffee on my PC! Take responsibility and stream in a dress!】

【Wondered why you disappeared. Turns out Karin ojou-sama influenced you BIG-TIME LOL!!!】

【Well, watching her Shibuya battle from the best seat in the house would fry a brain or two lol】

【Even so, that's TOO fried lmao. Cut off all your online posts and went into the dungeon for TEA TRAINING? Where'd that garbage-scum Kagerou go lol】

【At this point he's basically Honoka-sama's senior disciple lmao】

【Lol】

【An o-herb plantation is OPEN!!!】

【Caught so off guard my stomach hurts from laughing lmao】

【A huge crowd of clip-makers just showed up...!!】

【Kagerou, you've never shone brighter!】

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?"

"I'm sorry, broadcasting your training was bad manners! I'm sorry! I'll apologize formally later, but we're both upset right now, so I'm sorry!"

While Kagerou screamed loudly enough to shatter his phone, Mitsuki slipped away. 'Lord Vomit Ojou-sama' immediately trended on social media, clips passed millions of views, and Kagerou's anti thread filled with congratulations on 'Kagerou Ojou-sama Trending, desu wa! lmao.' A little internet festival ensued.

"...Sigh. It's been a while since I messed up like that..."

After formally apologizing to Kagerou and posting an apology video on her channel, Mitsuki sighed at White Knight headquarters.

It had largely been out of her control, but streaming an explorer's training or combat without permission was still poor etiquette when it might reveal information about their abilities. If they accidentally appeared on camera, that couldn't be helped, but one should immediately turn the camera away. Distracted by her need to apologize to Karin, Mitsuki had been much too slow to do that.

"I really need to settle things with Karin ojou-sama soon... Though honestly, I probably would've frozen at footage THAT shocking regardless..."

She had to apologize soon. But how could she prepare herself? Mitsuki sighed again. Just then—

"Oh, Shijou. Glad I found you. Got a moment?"

The speaker was a beautiful woman with long hair and glasses, a staff member who'd supported White Knight's PR, administration, and other behind-the-scenes work for years.

"I know it's sudden, but if you're free, could you lead a group dungeon lesson the day after tomorrow?"

"Huh? A dungeon lesson?"

Mitsuki's eyes widened. Except for certain exceptions, people could enter dungeons from age fourteen. Once they turned fourteen, they could obtain a license from the Explorers' Association, defeat a monster to gain their first level, and formally debut as an explorer. Traditionally, most did so alone or in parties of acquaintances.

But in recent years, group 'dungeon lessons' had become common for those anxious about venturing in with just a few people, even against upper-layer monsters. Schools gathered students hoping to debut as explorers to gain their first levels together. The lessons were popular because experienced explorers accompanying them taught them on site, so major clans like White Knight were often asked to provide guides.

"Is it that time of year already...? I don't mind, but I guided last year. Wasn't someone else doing it this year?"

"This year's a little different. They'd like a streamer to lead the lesson if possible—and to stream it while they're at it."

"Huh? Stream it?"

"Yeah. From what I've heard, they want to get even more people interested in becoming explorers. Still, it was a really sudden request. I reckon the Dungeon Bureau's worried about losing recruits to the police, and the others at our clan agree."

"That crazy ojou-sama really does have incredible influence," the staffer added with a laugh.

"And you're capable and hugely popular. You're so perfect for it that we might even earn some goodwill with the Bureau. So, what do you think?"

"I see. In that case..."

"You're a lifesaver! Sorry it's so sudden, but please be at the Shinagawa First Dungeon the day after tomorrow. We'll make the pay worth it."

"Understood."

Mitsuki accepted the last-minute job without a complaint. If anything, she was fired up to make up for her recent blunders.

It seemed a perfectly ordinary request apart from its short notice. She had no idea of the scheme hidden behind it.