ch101-ch120 · 103-ch103

Chapter 103: Blue Ocean

We're back at the 'Gate to Floor 2' on Floor 3.

Here I'll use the 'Left Hand Gate' and have Kasumi-san carry Umemoto through.

There is a problem, though.

...Me.

The Chiba Dungeon is under lockdown right now.

The only people allowed inside are the Triple-Rank adventurers guarding Floor 1.

And here I am, having slipped past them...

(Will I make it out safely? Nobody's going to chew me out over this, right? He did tell me to go...)

By the time I first got to the branch, the place was already jammed with reporters and the like.

There, I spotted the newbie guiding the Triple-Rank adventurers and got her to let me inside the branch.

Shiraishi-san was waiting in ambush in the lobby and snagged me—that's where I first learned that Kasumi-san had headed for the campsite.

'You're LATE!'

I sprinted full-out from school to the main street and took a taxi from there, but...

Maybe I shouldn't have gone to school after all?

I don't have my license, so I was about to vault the ticket gate in front of the 'Dungeon Gate'—but Hiramatsu-san waved me through.

'The ticket gates are under maintenance as of now.'

And then, into the dungeon.

At the warehouse I picked up the nagamaki and shield, and headed for the 'Gate to Floor 2.'

The area in front of the 'Gate to Floor 2' was packed tight with the SDF and the Triple-Rank adventurers who'd rushed over, but I pretended to be a Triple-Rank myself, edged close, and dove into Floor 2.

'Traveling light, aren't you? Don't tell me you're a 【Naked King】?'

The 【Naked King】 is a job that can't activate its skills unless you're naked.

Rest assured—I'm properly dressed.

The moment I dove into Floor 2, the branch manager and I locked eyes.

'Ah.'

When in doubt, run.

So I thought, and broke into a full sprint—when suddenly the ground split open right in front of me.

A magic attack.

'Stop right there. The next one lands.'

A warning shot, most likely. She missed on purpose.

The one who attacked me was the woman who'd been talking with the branch manager.

A face I knew. A celebrity.

A Quadruple-Rank adventurer.

A member of Blue Ocean.

The 'Queen of the Sky' herself—Uehara Asuka.

Thrown off by the suddenness of it all, I ended up muttering the word rumored to be taboo in her presence.

'Selfish Queen?'

That's what they call her online, so it slipped right out of my mouth.

This is a dungeon.

Adventurers have sharp ears.

'【Wind Blade】.'

Apparently I'd made her angry, and she moves to fire off her magic.

But the branch manager swats her hand aside.

The spell goes flying off in a completely different direction.

'Go, Haruki. Run.'

I ran.

Behind me, the Selfish... the Queen of the Sky seemed to be shrieking her head off, but I paid it no mind.

I'd braced to be stopped—instead, a hand shoved me forward from behind.

Thanks to that, I was able to press deeper as if I'd been accelerated.

When the SDF trained their guns on me on Floor 5, too, it was Sato-san who stopped them.

As always, with nothing but a glance, she urged me onward.

I made it deeper without ever stopping.

Looking back now, every bit of it was the fastest possible route.

(If I'd been even an instant slower, I might not have made it in time...)

Thanks to everyone, I reached Kasumi-san's side.

I can head back holding my head high.

(Hm?)

Kasumi-san is following behind at a slower pace, carrying Umemoto, while I came ahead to explain the situation. But just as I came within clear sight of the 'Gate to Floor 1,' something leapt up.

Yes—leapt.

Uehara Asuka.

Her special skill is 【Levitation】.

A skill for maintaining altitude.

She's said to have taken 【Wind Mage】 at Floor 10 and 【Storm Mage】 at Floor 30.

【Levitation】, backed up by wind magic: 'flight'...

From her one-sided way of fighting—raining attacks down from extreme altitude—came her alias: the 'Queen of the Sky.'

"My, my? Home early, aren't we?"

"Um, I hear the culprit's been caught..."

'Been caught,' mind you—not 'we caught him.'

Kasumi-san instructed me to phrase it exactly that way.

The one who caught him is, for the record, Kasumi-san.

"I see... Then there's no need to hold my MP in reserve any longer, is there. 【Wind Bullet】."

A warping of the air comes falling from above.

It's night, but thanks to 【Night Vision】 I can just barely track it.

I dodged...

She really shot at me.

"Excuse me, but adventurers fighting each other is strictly forbidden, isn't it?"

Even a petty quarrel—injure the other party and you can lose your license over it, you know?

"Too bad. I have permission. Your branch manager said I'm to tan your hide once you got home safe. 【Wind Bullet】."

WhoOOOSH—.

Eep.

That one was way too close.

【Wind Bullet】 is a low-powered spell.

Apparently she IS going easy on me, in her way...

Still terrifying.

"Asuka."

Someone stepping out of the 'Gate to Floor 1' calls out to the Selfish Queen.

"Kaito!"

At his voice, the Queen releases 【Levitation】 and drops headfirst.

A tall man catches her, firm and secure.

Ah, this one's a celebrity too.

The 'sea' half of Blue Ocean—Kaito, that is.

'A good example.' 'The very ideal of an adventurer.'

His main job is the pinnacle of shield jobs, 【Wide-Area Shielder】, and his weapon is the spear.

A man who races along the front lines in the style of 'this is what an adventurer ought to be.'

Slim, but nearly 190 centimeters tall—a strikingly handsome man.

Hey, hey. Me too, you know. Shield-type main job, spear for a weapon.

"It was scary..."

From her princess carry, the Queen wraps herself around him.

The two of them have long been the subject of 'aren't they dating?' rumors.

Isn't this quite the scandal, then?

More importantly—what do you mean, 'scary'?

You were the scary one, to me?

Why have you been alone this whole time, anyway?

Where's the rest of your team?

"You're all right now. Everyone's here."

Ohhh, wow.

(It's Blue Ocean.)

Three more people come out of the 'Gate to Floor 1.'

"Heads up—some armor carrying a person is headed this way."

The 【Samurai】 they call 'a bad example' with 'the all-rounder job'—Furuta Yukiya.

A katana at his waist, a shield on one arm, a bow across his back.

The thing beginners should never do—the greedy combo!

An outfit I feel like I've seen somewhere before.

Me? I don't carry a bow, so I'm safe.

"Asuka. Situation?"

The blue one!

Japan's Number One Adventurer, Blue Ocean's leader—Kinoshita Ao.

His main job is 【General】, which also serves as a buffer.

Ask anyone these days what 'Japan's number one skill' is, and everyone will answer: his special skill, 【Cooking】.

He's famous as a video streamer too—unquestionably Japan's number one dungeon-related streamer.

He's successful outside of adventuring as well, and immensely rich.

On top of that, a heartthrob's face.

Must have women all over him.

For a man of so many faces, his true identity is none other than 'Blue Shadow the Ninja.'

(I wonder if I could get an autograph later? Nin-nin.)

"Let's go deeper. I want to try fighting a 【Berserker】 running 【Frenzy】."

And then, our very own 'Sword Saint-chan'—or should that be 'Kensei-chan'?

Hoshino Chiharu.

If Kinoshita Ao is Japan's number one adventurer, then she is Japan's strongest.

Word is her strength ranks among the world's top five. Whether she'd make the cut for a world all-star party is a topic of endless debate.

Brown hair in a neat bob, trimmed clean at the nape, with a straight-cut fringe.

She's taller than I expected.

I thought she was small—unless it's the others who are big...

The Queen has a model's build and height too, so I suppose she only seemed small beside her.

Her main job is 【Sword Saint】, naturally.

Her sub-job is also 【Sword Saint】.

I can't make heads or tails of that.

A girl also called 'Kensei'—taking the 'star' character straight from the name Hoshino Chiharu.

"Apparently they've already caught him. Ask that one for the details."

The Queen, set back on her feet by Kaito-san.

"And him? It sounded like he was causing trouble?"

The Queen answers Kaito-san's question.

"A delinquent adventurer. The branch manager here asked me to give him a good scolding. The Yukiya from Chiba, that is."

"True enough."

So says Kaito-san, looking me up and down.

"Don't go lumping us together."

That wasn't me!

The one who said it was Furuta Yukiya.

Exactly. Please don't lump us together.

"Um—and you are? What's this about him already being caught?"

Amazing. 'Blue Shadow' just addressed me.

"Ah—yes. He's already been caught."

I turn my gaze toward where Kasumi-san will be walking up from.

It's just before seven—plenty dark by now, but a 【Ninja】 should manage.

"Ah, got it. That armor—I've seen it before. You're the staff member who's close with Miyuki-san, aren't you? Oh—you can head on in, by the way."

The Miyuki-san whose name came up so casually—could that be that 'Kuwashima Miyuki'?

The Association employee—the 【Saint】?

She's close with Kasumi-san?

Come to think of it, if they're both Association staff, they'd have plenty of chances to meet.

Kasumi-san used to be stationed at headquarters too, after all...

So... am I allowed to go home...?

Even if Umemoto thrashes around, 'Sword Saint-chan' is here, so things look safe—but leaving Kasumi-san behind, hmm...

"I haven't given you your scolding yet. You'll wait right there until the conversation's finished."

Ah. Apparently not.

At that, 'Blue Shadow' shrugs.

It wouldn't hurt you to rescue me, you know?

"Blue Ocean, was it? Thank you for your hard work. The culprit has been secured."

Kasumi-san comes up and drops Umemoto with a heavy thud.