chapter04 · 100-ep100
Episode 97: An Unreasonable Encounter
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!
The evening after Karin acquired her hypnosis-resistance skill.
While Mafuyu was on her way to Karin's house for another meeting about fortifying it and other matters, her smartphone rang.
This was her second phone, protected against wiretapping and reserved for contacts of a particular kind.
The displayed name was "Suspicious Person."
In other words, her former Public Security colleague, Kasumi Makihara.
"Hello? A direct call from you is rare. Did you notice some suspicious movement overseas?"
"Ahh, that's more or less it, but this situation is a little strange."
Kasumi confirmed Mafuyu's direct question, though her response was oddly hesitant.
Mafuyu wondered what could be wrong. Then—
"The Foreign Affairs Division was investigating overseas criminal organizations with connections to Black Tiger, and it seems they were plotting some resentful retaliation against Karin ojou-sama. Now, their force apparently falls short of aramitama-class, but naturally, we've stayed alert for a while... Except we haven't detected any sign of assassins entering the country, no matter how long we wait."
"...? You don't mean Public Security simply lost track of the dangerous elements?"
"That's the thing. Neither we in Public Security nor the Coast Guard can watch every inch of the coastline. We accepted that we couldn't completely prevent illegal entry and focused on movements inside Japan instead. Yet there still isn't a trace that anyone has slipped in."
Mafuyu tilted her head. It was indeed strange.
Public Security was not omnipotent.
Manpower was finite.
Even with a unique skill approaching precognition in play, they had been unable to halt Black Tiger's covert activities for years. They could not police everything with one hundred percent reliability.
But in this instance, their enemies were foreign powers unaccustomed to operating in Japan.
With Black Tiger, which would ordinarily have supported its activities in Japan, now destroyed—even if remnants had bases abroad—it was difficult to believe they could leave not a single trace against a Public Security force on high alert.
"Then the likely explanation is... they received an advance for what was effectively a death sentence, but, seeing no hope of completing it, fled rather than coming to Japan."
"That's the likeliest possibility. Those organizations commonly force suicidal missions on people for the sake of face and the like. But I can't shake a sense that something is wrong."
Mafuyu agreed.
From all available information, the retaliation squad had been an allied elite force of nearly twenty people selected from multiple organizations. It was difficult to imagine people with different affiliations, beliefs, and backgrounds all betraying their organizations and fleeing at once.
It wasn't impossible that Karin's overwhelming threat had united them, but...
Just as Black Tiger had done, even someone below aramitama-class might conceal a troublesome stealth-oriented unique skill. Karin would undoubtedly turn the tables on them all, but vigilance should still be increased.
"We should gather information not only within the country but along the coastline too. Even if we can't prevent illegal entry, they should have left traces if they entered in secret."
"Yes, agreed. It's possible they haven't entered yet... I'll ask the relevant jurisdictions on the Sea of Japan coast to look for reports of suspicious boats or wreckage. Let me know if anything happens on your end."
"I will. Thank you for the report."
Mafuyu ended the call.
"...I hope this doesn't become a nuisance."
Even if an aramitama-class explorer moved against Karin, she would almost certainly be fine, so this worry was a little overprotective. Still, the situation felt faintly ominous.
"I suppose I'll ask her to fortify the house a bit more heavily... and maybe spend more nights with Karin. I wouldn't be much help in my current state, though."
With those words, Mafuyu heightened her caution in response to her former Public Security agent's instincts and hurried toward Karin's home.
※
"Ahh, shit. Nothing's gone right lately."
One evening.
In a corner of Shibuya with the sun beginning to set, a young man irritably cursed.
He was Saiga Kagerou, the explorer touted as the strongest of the younger generation.
As befitted somebody called the strongest young explorer in this dungeon society, his casual clothes, composed of simply designed luxury brands, belonged to a successful man.
But his face held none of a successful man's easy confidence. He looked exceptionally sullen and dissatisfied.
Nothing good had happened lately.
The first issue was the poor performance of his family's company.
Kagerou's family had financed Black Tiger, and that relationship had now put the business in danger.
For the record, his family's company had been as skilled as Kagerou himself at drawing lines and had not participated in anything illegal. But merely having been close with a clan that committed so many crimes had understandably destroyed its reputation. Things were looking somewhat dire.
Frankly, Kagerou couldn't have cared less about the family business as long as it didn't reach the point where his parents hanged themselves. But if they began asking him for financial support, he couldn't ignore it.
"I don't have money to spare either, after buying that magic-item seal..."
He had been pleased, if anything, to see Black Tiger—his former clan, which had launched that absurd information war against Karin Yamada—collapse. But its unexpected aftereffects had left his finances a little dangerous.
He could deal with that by diving into dungeons, and his streams earned reasonable money too. But those very streams had become another source of stress for Kagerou.
"Internet trash... How long do those bastards plan to keep clowning on me...!?"
【Tsundere Wolf】
【Kagerou Ojou-sama】
【Adorably calculated】
【Personality-correcting punch to the face】
When Kagerou typed his name into the search bar on the smartphone in his hand, a row of terrible suggested searches appeared.
Yes.
Kagerou was currently being mocked mercilessly online.
But that was understandable.
Him confronting Karin in person and being destroyed in one hit had already been enough material for jokes. Then a succession of new incidents arrived: "caught in the tea training footage," "charged a TV station," and "exposed by his alt account's support messages on the deep-layer stream." Although overshadowed by the commotion Karin caused, parts of the internet had entered full festival mode, with countless threads appearing.
Online, Kagerou was now treated as "the great tsundere general who became Karin's biggest fan after a personality-correcting punch to the face."
Kagerou had tried several times to explain himself on-stream and clear up all of that. But—
【Yeah, yeah】
【His excuse is so rapid-fire lmao】
【This guy stormed the TV station that picked at Karin ojou-sama, so why does he think we'll believe he isn't a fan at this point, desu no?】
【It's over, Kagerou. Give up】
【Tea training clip: ten million views. TV station assault: thirty million views... and he's seriously trying to explain those away?】
【What an ojou-sama brain】
【LMAO at this possibly being harder to clear than Karin ojou-sama's thug and genocide images】
【Tsundere Tsundere Ojou-sama! Kagerou Superfan Ojou-sama!】
【"Don't get the wrong idea, you bastards!" ←No way he opened with that and expected to disprove the tsundere allegations lmaooo】
【Kagerou probably doesn't watch anime, so he genuinely said that instead of doing a bit lmao】
【This guy is a natural in a completely different direction from Karin ojou-sama lmao】
【"Don't get the wrong idea, you bastards! There's no way I'm a fan of that insane ojou-sama!" ←This is basically the new opening greeting for Kagerou's channel】
【LMAO at the full recitation of the tsundere formula】
¥10,000
Kagerou-sama! Please use this to have a fine dress tailored!
¥10,000
Here! Your teacup and tea money for the month, desu wa!
¥10,000
Honestly, charging that TV station made me genuinely like you, Kagerou!
But putting that aside, clearing away your ojou-sama-fan image is impossible, so give up!
¥14,106
Damn it...! I don't want to superchat Kagerou...!
I hate this, but Secretary-General!
¥10,000
Kagerou, between leaving Black Tiger at exactly the right time and getting this many viewers, your life has been in jackpot mode ever since Karin ojou-sama sent you flying lmao
【It's too funny that he's genuinely trying to deny it instead of playing along】
【Kagerou... You're shining brighter than ever】
【I cannot contain my laughter at Kagerou somehow gaining honest (?) popularity】
【He built up enough goodwill to get multiple red superchats, yet not a single person believes what he says—an enormous LMAO plantation】
Naturally, it had the complete opposite effect.
The more he denied it, the more he was mocked. The cycle was vicious, and his online treatment had become firmly established.
He had considered shutting the channel down altogether, but—
"Five million subscribers..."
Kagerou couldn't bring himself to abandon the channel after the extraordinary growth it had achieved through the whole affair. Had his subscribers remained as low as before, he could have discarded it without hesitation. But even putting aside his need for money, that number was enormous. Kagerou had always been oddly petty about little things, and he couldn't make the bold decision. All he could do was curse, "Calling me a huge Karin Yamada fan is seriously bullshit!"
...There were plenty of sources of stress, but frankly, those were the more manageable ones.
A different problem now troubled Kagerou most of all.
"Tch. How goddamn strong IS that monster? Never thought I'd catch up in the first place, not even for a second... but there's gotta be a limit. After that, she feels even more impossible to reach than before."
Karin Yamada—the woman he had recklessly decided to pursue after the dungeon collapse.
Her back had flown even farther into the distance after that insane deep-layer stream.
At least those insane broadcasts had convinced him of the core behind Karin Yamada's strength.
Her detection skills, which boasted abnormal precision.
Whether faced with an ability she'd never seen, an unreasonable group battle, or hypnosis, that power allowed her to elegantly read and handle everything while pressing forward. It was the wellspring of Karin's strength.
Of course, her physical abilities and absurd <Divine Artisan> armaments were outrageous too. But the foundation supporting them all was probably that power to see through attacks. Unlike a unique skill that could not be imitated, it was a source of strength Kagerou could improve through training.
Having reached that conclusion, Kagerou had done nothing but enter dungeons and hone his detection skills since that day.
He endlessly hunted lower-layer monsters, concentrating on observation and evasion rather than interception. Despite having no specialization in detection, he steadily manifested and developed detection skills, growing stronger without question.
But—
"Not enough."
That growth did not satisfy him in the least.
He could undoubtedly feel himself becoming stronger.
But after seeing Karin's power in the deep-layer stream and the abnormal growth speed forced before him during that recent endurance stream... it couldn't help feeling insufficient. (Admittedly, THAT was probably something he shouldn't use as a standard.)
Worse, that previously smooth growth had begun slowing lately.
He had spent all day in a dungeon today and was now on his way back, yet didn't feel much progress.
Kagerou was called the strongest young explorer for good reason. His talent was far from poor.
But a dead end like the one that once drove him to focus on nuisance streaming felt like it was approaching again. That displeased him. The back he admired only drew farther away.
"Tch. I knew it wouldn't go so conveniently just because I finally started training seriously again... And whining endlessly about it like this is pathetic too."
But he had no idea how to break through the situation.
(Maybe I should go drinking for the first time in a while and clear my head... Also, why the hell is that brat's detection so insane when she doesn't even specialize in it...?)
Still scowling, Kagerou started toward a bar that served alcohol capable of intoxicating high-level explorers.
That was when it happened.
"Oh! Are you not the thug whom Karin Yamada sent flying!?"
"...HAAH!?"
At the young voice, Kagerou let out a low growl.
Recent internet mockery had made him especially sensitive to remarks of that kind.
He reflexively assumed some internet idiot had noticed him and grown bold enough to mock him in real life. His eyebrows rose as he turned around.
But while doing so, with the thought speed of a high-level explorer, Kagerou noticed something strange.
(Huh? Wait. How did they know it was me?)
Ever since Karin sent him flying and he stormed the TV station—or rather, as a basic precaution for a famous streamer (and a nuisance streamer at that)—Kagerou dressed to avoid being recognized in private. Even now, he concealed his face like a minor celebrity with a mask, glasses, and a hat, and suppressed his mana as much as possible.
No one had ever recognized him in the middle of a city. Unless a high-level explorer with exceptional detection had cast a net, there was no way anyone could know he was Kagerou. Yet when he turned around—
"Oh, it is you! Tokyo is absurdly crowded, and Karin Yamada appears far better at suppressing her mana than I expected, so I cannot find her at all. But I found something useful in her place. You attempted to challenge Karin Yamada during one of her streams, yes? Surely you know a way to meet her?"
"...!?"
The instant he saw the dark-skinned, silver-haired child standing there, sweat burst from his entire body.
(Wh-what the hell is this brat...!?)
The detection skills he had trained until today to catch up with Karin Yamada.
They remained immature, but even now he was keeping them active as training—and they sensed an inconceivable presence.
It resembled the abnormal power of the abyssal boss from Karin Yamada's stream—no, something even beyond that!?
(What... is she...? I can't see her depths...!? What the hell is she...!? How did I not notice someone like this until she spoke to me...!? What the hell IS she!?)
Enormous power lay concealed within the tiny body of someone who looked about ten years old.
Moreover, the air leaking from her adorable appearance was closer to a monster's than a human's.
She came from somewhere unlike Japan, which had at least retained peace since the beginning of dungeon society—a genuine world of carnage, a being outside morality.
Something like that had suddenly appeared before him, and Kagerou had sensed one edge of its threat. Panic froze him completely. Rather than obeying his survival instinct's screaming alarm to flee, his body chose to stop in a situation where every little movement might lead to death. Even breathing became difficult.
Seeing his reaction, the silver-haired girl tilted her head.
"Oh? You have noticed my power. How strange. I addressed you in such an adorable manner... Hmm? Your detection skills are incomparably sharper than when I saw you in that video. You are unexpectedly diligent. But for that alone to reveal my strength... Ah, perhaps it is because of that."
The girl nodded, apparently accepting an explanation of her own.
"This automatic-translation magic item is highly precise and conveniently translates accents? as well, but I am not used to using it, so other tasks become neglected while it is active. The moment I spoke to you, my control over my mana grew terribly sloppy... Or perhaps this long peace has dulled even me. In either case, this pathetic state of affairs will not do. Hmm, hmm."
The girl manipulated her own mana as if adjusting something.
"Now, behold! Is this not adorable?"
"...!?"
Kagerou's breath caught even harder.
The girl struck a cute pose with an adorable sparkle, and the monster presence leaking from her disappeared entirely. An impossibly harmless beautiful girl smiled before him.
(What the FUCK is this girl...!?)
With the monster's presence gone, Kagerou could move again, but that only made her more terrifying.
If she could disguise that enormous presence so completely, she truly might be equal to—or even beyond—Karin Yamada...!?
As Kagerou descended deeper into confusion—
"Good. Then I shall ask you again. You there, thug. Do you know where Karin Yamada lives? Even if you do not, having challenged her during a stream, surely you know how to meet her?"
"...!? Haaah...!?"
Kagerou's eyes widened in renewed shock.
This monster's target was Karin Yamada!?
Why...? No—why, nothing. Idiot Yamada herself didn't understand, but that deep-layer stream had been outrageous. It would be no surprise if an assassin or something similar had been dispatched.
If so—
(I don't know this brat's true objective... but either way, I can't let a monster like this meet her that easily...!)
When Kagerou had previously attempted his revenge against Karin, he investigated the people and places around her.
At that time, the internet had not yet been flooded with nearly as much dummy information, and Kagerou had identified Karin's school. He had ultimately decided there was no point confronting her there and never used the information. Cursing it as useless to the bitter end, he forced out a reply.
"How to meet Karin Yamada...? How the hell would a thug like me know that?"
"...That is the face of someone who knows, ja."
In the next instant—WHOOSH!
"Ah!?"
Kagerou's eyes opened in horror.
Despite being the strongest of the younger generation, he had been dragged without resistance into a still more deserted alley than the one where he had stood.
The girl floated in the air, clad in wind, her fingers naturally pressing into his throat.
"Do you believe you can maintain a lie before me?"
She focused immense mana into her other hand.
Terrifyingly, although even a glance made the enormous compressed mana obvious, its presence was unnaturally quiet. As if saying she could erase Kagerou from the world without anyone realizing.
"...!? ...!?"
Even without sensing the monster's presence he had felt before, the pure murderous intent and overwhelming mana left Kagerou unable to move.
Yet despite that—
"...! I-I told you, I don't know!"
Truthfully, he wanted to spill everything at once and run away.
But he instinctively believed that the insane ojou-sama would remain silent in the same position.
Resolved to die, Kagerou played innocent to the end.
"...Hmm. Then it cannot be helped."
Ah, I'm dead.
The moment the girl raised her mana-compressed hand, Kagerou understood that his life was ending and closed his eyes.
But—
"...Kuku—WAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"...Huh?"
Death never came.
Instead, the monster girl laughed in delight.
"Kuhaha! Well done! My apologies, my apologies. Testing someone whenever they seem interesting is a bad habit of mine. Forgive me. It is a relic from wartime, when I required many trustworthy subordinates, even if I had to use such methods."
She dispersed the mass of mana and removed her hand from Kagerou's throat.
"I mistook you for a mere thug, but you hardly resemble the same man from that attack video. You have a surprisingly firm core. Hmm. I carelessly approached you because I assumed you would speak easily, but it was my foolishness. I should have researched you a little more beforehand. I cannot extract information from you. Continuing would only waste time, so I shall look elsewhere."
The girl waved casually. Soaked all over with sweat, Kagerou collapsed on the spot.
S-saved...?
(N-no, I can't just sit here...! If she's letting me go, maybe she isn't that dangerous... but I still need to tell the cops right away...!)
Relying on the police irritated him, but he couldn't possibly withhold the fact that someone incredibly dangerous had entered the country. The moment the girl turned her back, Kagerou prepared to move.
Then—
"Ah! No, no, that will not do!"
"!?! Hah!? Wh-what now!?"
The girl, who had been about to leave, cried out in alarm and rushed back to Kagerou.
She seized his clothing.
"You! You are thinking of going straight to the police the moment I leave! I can see it on your face!"
"!? HAAH!?"
"No, no! That will not do at all! I do not wish to cause much commotion until I meet Karin! I want to meet her under flat circumstances, with our positions kept out of it! That is why I went through such a roundabout process to obtain a false identity! My retainers would never prepare a fake passport merely so I could meet Karin! Therefore, be a good boy and stay quiet for just a little while. Let me see... I shall bind you with a wind-restraint skill, so remain quietly at home for a week or two."
"!? HAH!? Didn't you say you'd let me go!? That's imprisonment! Hey, let go! I won't tell anybody!"
"A lie! An absolute lie! You one hundred percent intend to march straight to the police and snitch to the others! It is written in your eyes! You absolutely plan to act for Karin Yamada's sake!"
"HAAH!? Who's doing anything for that girl!? Don't screw with me!"
"Yes, yes! Enough of that! It is far too late after a weak little slug like you showed the spirit to keep silent before me! So you will remain restrained for a while! Agreed!? I shall look after your meals, and as an apology for the trouble, I will grant any request within my power afterward! Such an opportunity is exceedingly rare, you know!? Ah, but someone like you is not to my taste, so no matter how adorable I may be, asking me to date you is out of the question!"
"HAAH!? Screw you! I like tall older women with huge asses! I wouldn't want a shitty brat like you anywa—GUH!?"
"Ahh, honestly! You thrashed about while saying unnecessary things, so my hand slipped!"
Kagerou suddenly revealed his preferences amid his confusion and panic, and the girl knocked him out with a single blow.
With help from her wind, she effortlessly lifted him and carried him through the nighttime streets without anyone noticing.
"Hmm. This is troublesome. If even this thug refuses to speak, learning how to meet Karin Yamada simply by asking someone may prove difficult."
The girl knitted her brows while carrying the limp Kagerou.
"At worst, I could visit this Metropolitan Police Department and ask... but causing a commotion before meeting Karin is not my desire. And Japan's leaders would surely not allow me to meet her so easily. Yet now that I think about it, secretly approaching her in private would be poor manners, and I do not want her to mistake me for an assassin. Hmm. I must hurry before this false identity becomes unusable and the people I left on the beach are discovered... If only some suitable opportunity would present itself. What should I do?"
And so, although she had successfully infiltrated Tokyo, Karin's unexpectedly refined mana concealment and the robust defenses around her left the girl struggling for a solution.
The girl—the Dungeon Queen—identified Kagerou's address from his possessions. She entered his high-rise apartment without a sound and sealed his movements with an advanced wind-restraint skill that also blocked his voice.
※
"Phew. This is coming along nicely, desu wa!"
The evening after the hypnosis-resistance endurance stream.
Karin had taken the day off streaming to work. Looking over the equipment now assembled in her detached house, she declared with satisfaction, "A fine job indeed, desu wa!"
The various home-security items and intruder-repelling facilities she had created after several discussions with Mafuyu were now reasonably complete.
"At first, I thought this seemed excessively cautious. But I hear famous streamers have all manner of trouble with such things. I would be heartbroken if anything happened to this house, which holds so many memories, so doing everything possible, as Mafuyu advised, was correct, desu wa ne. Besides, this proved better practice than expected."
At present, alongside her relaxed streams, Karin had devoted herself more than ever to "practice" so she could answer Setsuna-sama's encouragement.
She acquired all sorts of materials in the process. By using them to construct defensive facilities, something she had rarely made before, she encouraged the growth of both <Divine Artisan> and her ordinary crafting skills.
Karin was making notes on new installations to craft inside a dungeon—"If I improve that section a little, I should be able to finish off intruder-samas more efficiently, desu wa~"—when her smartphone announced an email.
"Oh? Is that Mitsuki-sama, desu no?"
It was from Mitsuki, who preferred email because hearing Karin's voice directly beside her ear could be dangerous.
Perhaps another invitation to collaborate? Karin opened the message with excitement.
Written there was—
"...? A job request from the Dungeon Bureau... A rookie-training video stream, desu no?"
At the unexpected offer Mitsuki had brought her, Karin blinked in surprise.
――――――――――――――――――――――――
Ojou-sama Buzz has now passed thirty thousand followers, desu no!
This is all thanks to everyone's support! Thank you, desu wa!
(Truly, there are an incredible number of stars compared with the follower count, and I can feel the strength of everyone's support...!)
Also, production is underway on volume two of the print edition of Ojou-sama Buzz!
I will provide details later, but it contains roughly thirty thousand characters of newly written material, so please look forward to it...!
The plan is not to keep you waiting too long, but I will announce the release date at a later time, so please wait just a little longer, desu no! (※I was unable to reply before, but thank you for reporting your book purchases, desu waa! They are tremendously encouraging!)