chapter03 · 066-ep66
Episode 63: Declaration of Intent
【What did this crazy ojou-sama just say, desu no!?】
【A solo conquest of the deep layers!?】
【And she's seriously going to STREAM it!?】
【Wait wait wait wait!】
【Ojou-sama, please hold on a moment!?】
【I mean, if it's Karin ojou-sama, who killed a wyrm and a deep-layer boss without a scratch, maybe she CAN do it!?】
【But killing a deep-layer monster and streaming a solo conquest of the deep layers are two different things, desu wa!?】
【That's a real hellscape the nation's strongest clans risk their lives conquering with everything they've got!】
【Did I mishear...? I could've sworn she said 'something this minor'...】
【??????? Is this Karin Yamada person so desperate because she can't prove her innocence? She can't be serious, right?】
【Even the operative accounts are stunned lmao】
【Of course they are! Even WE think she's snapped!】
【Ojou-sama, please calm down!?】
Chat was in an uproar over Karin's announcement, made to dispel the suspicions Black Tiger's operatives had planted.
A streamed solo conquest of the deep layers.
The declaration was so outrageous that her fans and even accounts that looked like operatives joined in a chorus of 'Have you lost your mind!?' and 'Seriously, don't do it!'
It was only natural. Since dungeons first appeared, only a handful of people worldwide were said to have accomplished a solo conquest of the deep layers. As for minors—anyone under twenty—almost none had even made it through floor 1 of the deep layers, let alone conquered them alone.
For a sixteen-year-old who'd supposedly only gained her level about two years ago to attempt it while streaming was unprecedented. Even for Karin ojou-sama, it sounded like the declaration of someone at the end of her rope.
Viewers desperately tried to talk her down, but—
"Oh my, this is getting a much bigger reaction than I expected...! Compared to Setsuna-sama and the others working in the pit, a solo deep-layer conquest hardly seemed like a great feat to me. But yes, this might indeed dispel the allegations—wait, TWO MILLION concurrents, desu no!? Eek... I knew all the recent commotion had drawn attention, for better or worse, but that number for a simple stream at home is honestly terrifying..."
【Be terrified of the DEEP LAYERS, not the viewer count!?】
【She has no idea how insane her announcement was lmao】
【I mean, two million concurrents under these circumstances WOULD be scary, but still!?】
【Somebody please teach the ojou-sama how frightening the deep layers are!】
【There's Mitsuki-sama and the best friend next to her, right!? Someone on that side must have common sense!?】
@Mitsuki: Don't worry, everyone! Karin ojou-sama will smash the notion that a solo deep-layer stream is impossible to pieces, along with Black Tiger! I'm certain of it!
【Mitsuki-sama, what are you doing, desu no!?】
【Yeah, we're screwed...】
【Her recent statements have made it clear she's a Karin ojou-sama fanatic...】
【Come to think of it, Mitsuki-sama said she cut ties with her family to stand with Karin ojou-sama...】
【And now that I think about it, Mitsuki-sama and Honoka-sama promoted this announcement stream, and it sounded like the solo conquest was the best friend's idea...】
【Wait, is EVERYONE on Karin ojou-sama's side nuts...?】
【One Karin ojou-sama is already more than we can handle. If they multiply and team up, we're done for!】
Resignation spread through chat in no time as they realized Karin was unlikely to be persuaded. Then—
¥50,000
Karin ojou-sama, please seriously reconsider!
We know how crazily strong you are, but the deep layers are seriously dangerous, desu no! You girls might be too young to remember, but a huge tragedy happened fifteen years ago! → URL
【Ah, this is...】
【The Arakawa Dungeon tragedy...】
【I'd almost forgotten that happened...】
【Karin ojou-sama, you can pause the stream, just please read that article! Then you'll see how dangerous the deep layers really are!】
"The Arakawa Dungeon tragedy, desu no...?"
The link arrived with an enormous superchat, and a flood of comments begged Karin to read it. She clicked the URL.
An old news article appeared. It concerned what was known as the Arakawa Dungeon tragedy, one of the worst disasters in the history of Japanese explorers.
A united party of eighteen explorers, each above level 2000—unquestionably the strongest in Japan at the time—had been wiped out in the deep layers. Some said they'd encountered a vast swarm of magic creatures particularly ill-suited to their abilities; others blamed an irregularity or some unknown hazard that killed them before they could react. The details remained unclear to this day.
All anyone knew was that many of Japan's leading explorers at the time had vanished in the deep layers. The loss of so many fighters was considered one of the chief reasons Japan had been called a 'dungeon developing nation' ever since.
The article seemed to bring back memories for many viewers, and chat grew grave again.
【Even if she's punched a deep-layer boss to death, I still think a solo conquest is too dangerous】
【Eighteen explorers over level 2000, almost all dead... Even if they had less information about the deep layers back then...】
【A party of eighteen level-2000-plus explorers would have enough strength to explore the deep layers even by today's standards, with everything we know now...】
【That's why the deep layers are considered a deathtrap where even a top-ranked explorer can die from a second's carelessness and bad luck】
【You get it now, ojou-sama!? The deep layers really ARE dangerous!】
【Normal monsters probably aren't as bad as that giant serpent, but they're still magic creatures on another level. Add an irregularity or a swarm and you seriously could die!】
【Proving your innocence matters, but if the alternative is you dying, I'd rather you retired, desu wa!?】
"I understand how worried you all are," Karin said, watching the comments fly past at incredible speed. "But this article is about people who challenged the deep layers at only level 2000 or so, is it not?"
【Eh】
【What?】
【Hold on】
【Did anyone else just get chills...?】
【'Only,' Karin ojou-sama...?】
"Of course I'm very grateful for your concern. But I'm not saying this because I've lost my head. And besides—"
Karin took a sip of the tea she'd prepared.
"I refuse to give up on this solo conquest. I intend to blow these allegations away so that you may once again enjoy my Elegant streams—and to do right by everyone who believes in me. So if you believe in my innocence, then please believe in my strength too, and look forward to my solo deep-layer conquest stream this weekend, desu wa!"
【She really means it...】
【Seriously, ojou-sama?】
【Ah... She's smiling, but she has that same serious look she had during the dungeon collapse...】
There was no stopping her after that. Karin's eyes held a force that brooked no argument, and as chat fell silent before it, she formally announced the date of the solo conquest stream, a few days away that weekend.
〇
"...!? A streamed solo conquest of the deep layers!?"
A cry of astonishment rang through Black Tiger's headquarters. Kuroi had been watching Karin's stream with a smirk, curious to see how she would respond. He'd looked forward to whatever desperate excuse or explanation she might try, only for her to declare a ludicrous move that could overturn the entire situation.
"Impossible. That witless-looking monster came up with a move like this...!? Was the woman beside her the brains...!? N-no, calm down. Karin Yamada may be a monster who can punch even deep-layer bosses to death, but a solo conquest of the deep layers is surely beyond her...!"
Kuroi muttered to steady himself. Solo deep-layer conquest was a mad feat that only a handful of monsters in the entire world had achieved. Karin Yamada's combat strength was abnormal, certainly, but killing a lower-layer boss like the large chimera alone was one thing; conquering the lower layers alone was another.
And the deep layers were far worse.
They were a hellscape swarming with magic creatures of all kinds, and the kinds varied greatly from dungeon to dungeon. Without any information, an explorer could easily run into something they'd never seen before that was impossible for them to defeat alone due to a bad matchup. That was why even the strongest explorers entered the deep layers in parties.
"Ouko. If someone told you to conquer the deep layers alone, what would you do?"
"...I'd rather decline. But if I had perfect information on the deep layers I was entering, avoided dungeons with opponents I matched up badly against, prepared thoroughly, and staked my life on it... I might just manage."
Ouko Onikubo was level 2900, Black Tiger's strongest fighter, a longtime front-line explorer and one of Japan's strongest. That even HE spoke this way showed what the deep layers meant. If circumstances forced someone to attempt it, extensive preparation and intelligence, along with avoiding or countering poorly matched magic creatures, were indispensable.
Yet even the smallest scrap of information on the deep layers changed hands for tens of millions of yen, and many clans guarded intelligence bought quite literally with lives as a vital asset. Kuroi didn't know which dungeon Karin Yamada intended to challenge, but even with police or government support, she couldn't possibly assemble complete information in a few days.
Her conquest attempt, then, was recklessness itself. Doing it alone while streaming, which would inevitably interfere with her attention and concentration, was madness. Granted, Karin Yamada had <Divine Artisan>, a unique skill that made her unusually adaptable, so perhaps she could deal with almost any situation. But without information on the deep layers she meant to enter, how the hell could she prepare counters in advance?
Most importantly—
"...It's fine. My intuition hasn't stirred, even after Karin Yamada declared her solo conquest. If she succeeded, it could blow away the suspicions we planted, but... she'll either die in her desperate attempt or come running back."
Kuroi said it with conviction, unaware of the strange unease deep in his chest—something quite separate from the excellent intuition that had helped him avoid every danger until now.
〇
From the moment Karin announced her solo deep-layer conquest, the world went wild. Reporters must have been closely following what they'd expected to be her explanation stream, given how much attention it had drawn. The instant the stream ended, countless online articles about her attempt appeared. Finding a news site that HADN'T covered it would have been harder.
Every social network and message board seemed to talk about nothing but Karin. Not all of it was favorable, of course. Operatives in particular insisted 'There's no way she can do it' and 'She's making grand claims to cover up her guilt.' In a bizarre alliance of convenience, some of her fans even begged, 'Operatives! Tell that idiot ojou-sama to stop, but LOUDER!'
A famous high school streamer dogged by major suspicions had suddenly announced an attempt at a world-class feat. TV news, which had largely watched from the sidelines, reacted strongly too. With all these factors combined, it was hardly an exaggeration to say that all Japan was waiting for the deep-layer conquest stream.
And then the weekend arrived.
"All right, Karin. Are you ready?" Mafuyu asked over the phone.
"Yes! I've checked the magic equipment I prepared and reinforced my floating camera. Everything is in perfect order, desu wa!"
Karin stood before Okutama Valley Dungeon, in the mountains of western Tokyo. It was one of the nation's most difficult large dungeons; even Black Tiger, throwing all its resources into the effort, had only managed to open a path as far as floor 3 of the deep layers.
Dressed in her usual gown, she answered Mafuyu brightly and took several deep breaths.
"—Right. Let's do this, desu wa!"
Then she began the stream that would later be called the one that 'completely upended Japan's clan power structure.'