ch101-ch120 · 109-ch109

Chapter 109: The Two-Timer Part 1

The next day, I arrive at the branch on my way home from school to find the cleaning, for some reason, already finished.

Hayashi-san, who was supposed to be supervising, had wrapped it all up in the morning.

"Now, now, have a seat here. Cleaning? Making a promising young adventurer like Haruki-san do that sort of thing? Perish the thought."

I settle into Watanabe-san's seat, which has become my designated spot of late.

Hayashi-san has been like this ever since I became Double-Rank.

At some point she started calling me by my first name, too...

She's apparently the same with Kasumi-san—since the incident, she's been calling her Kasumi-sama.

On the phone last night, it seems she announced she'd come massage her feet, saying 'You must be so tired.'

Massaging Kasumi-san's feet like THAT... is she a genius?

No, wait—having Hayashi-san massage my feet...

'Haruki-sama, allow me to massage your feet.'

Hmm. To make Triple-Rank, I'd need the Ogre King's magic stone, won't I...

"None of that, Hayashi-san. Spoiling him. If you don't keep him in line, he'll cheat. Locking this boy up in the warehouse would be about right."

That was Endo-san, aka the Sexy Receptionist.

A glamorous beauty—between me and my classmate Soushi, she's known by that name.

And somehow, I've been certified a two-timer.

I have absolutely no idea why, though?

Besides, in my case, even if they locked me in the warehouse, I could just walk out through my 【Gate】.

Come to think of it... that really might be just right.

"Haruki-san would never cheat. Chiba is his one and only."

That's right.

Even if the 【Saint】 herself were waiting for me at HQ, I'm the kind of man who'd hold out, weeping tears of blood from his nose.

(Hm? Chiba? Was that what we were talking about?)

This Hayashi Sakura, it seems, has an extraordinary attachment to the Chiba branch, and frets over the Chiba Dungeon—currently called the most deserted dungeon in Japan.

She's quite the beauty besides, and with her blouse loose at the chest and her skirt on the short side, she gives my heart a jolt every single time.

(The type of beauty with little gaps in her guard, I suppose? She must be wildly popular.)

Apparently some adventurers have stayed behind in the Chiba Dungeon for HER sake.

Word is the party called Thousand Leaf—the Chiba Dungeon's only Double-Rank party—is one of them.

Well, going by the name alone, it's a party that will never leave Chiba.

(This party is the one that came back late to the campsite during that incident, right?)

According to Kasumi-san, Hayashi-san got them to keep quiet about it.

Officially, neither Shiraishi-san nor I were at that scene.

I never showed Thousand Leaf myself actually fighting, but the fact that Hayashi-san muzzled them means she might know quite a bit herself.

(Well, she's always massaging Shiraishi-san's shoulders, so this is probably her way of protecting Shiraishi-san.)

Shiraishi-san, being a 【Healer】, is currently the Chiba branch's top earner.

With magic-stone revenue as meager as the Chiba branch's, even adding in the usage fees from the land inside the dungeon, income barely breaks even.

Word is, whether they end the month in the black is decided by how much 【Heal】 Shiraishi-san casts.

Lose Shiraishi-san, and the Chiba branch goes under—so they say...

"I doubt that~? Besides, they say even Watanabe-san has a poaching offer from HQ."

Huh? First I'm hearing of this?

But if Kasumi-san goes to HQ, then maybe me too...

"That part is no concern. Kasumi-sama is going to leave the Association to marry and become an adventurer, you see. And the moment she does, the Chiba branch will witness the miraculous birth of its very first Triple-Rank adventurer. Ahh, Kasumi-sama. Savior of the Chiba branch."

Hayashi-san clasps her hands before her chest in a prayer-like pose.

Huh? First I'm hearing of this?

No, wait—yesterday, Shiraishi-san did say something like that...

"Leaving to get MARRIED?! Kasugano-kun, you went that far...?"

It's news to me too, all right...

"Kasugano-kun, my bad—that one was on me. Sorry to you too, Hayashi-san. But if that's the situation, then all the more reason to keep a firm hand on him, I'd say."

"I see. Quite right. If anything happened, there'd be no taking it back. When Kasumi-sama returns, let's lock him in the warehouse."

Before I knew it, the two-timer suspicion had been cleared—but locked in the warehouse I apparently remain.

"Heeey, Haruki. The dungeon side's all done—anything you need a hand with?"

The savior arrives.

It's Hiramatsu-san.

"Ah, the two-timers have multiplied."

Endo-san has judged Hiramatsu-san a two-timer as well.

"Eh? Me? Why?"

"I sense you casting the same looks as Kasugano-kun. Constantly."

Well, if that's all, he's safe.

"Eh? Haruki, don't tell me you..."

A confession nobody saw coming.

No, wait—is Hiramatsu-san actually like that about Endo-san?

He's supposed to be a lonely single man to begin with, so it wouldn't even count as cheating—but what exactly are Endo-san's criteria for "two-timer"?

"Speaking of which, Haruki-san. Did you know? Hiramatsu-san is apparently a spearman—a practitioner of something called Hiramatsu-ryu spear arts."

Intelligence on Hiramatsu-san, courtesy of Hayashi-san.

"For real?!"

Endo-san's voice and mine overlap.

"You truly can't judge a book by its cover."

I nod along vigorously at Endo-san's follow-up.

"You two..."

"But last time, you were the one running circles away from Watanabe-san, weren't you?"

Hm? Running circles?

What do these people usually get up to?

"No, that was... inside the dungeon. And I was unarmed. You saw it too, didn't you, Endo-san? The newbie getting thrown. I couldn't beat something like that."

Newbie, do you get thrown around on the regular?

"Hiramatsu-san, how about it? Might you give Haruki-san a pointer or two?"

"You want me to teach Haruki? Hmm. ...Well, all right. He did help with the cleaning."

He glanced at Endo-san for just an instant there.

I see—planning to pummel me and look good in front of Endo-san.

(Heh heh heh. You think it'll go that smoothly?)

Sorry about this.

Turns out I'll be the one showing off for Endo-san.

"Ah, but I don't have my license, you know? Will you open the gate for me again?"

"You idiot! We'd get chewed out again!"

Well then, wouldn't it work to just get caught cleaning again, and get taught the spear again?

Unlimited free spear lessons!

"You've learned absolutely nothing. A two-timer through and through."

And so it's decided: a mock battle in the parking lot out the back entrance, plus a pointer or two.

What I'm handed is a long shaft with a short crossbar mounted at the tip, set crosswise...

"First time with a jumonji spear?"

And apparently, Hiramatsu-ryu spear arts is a school of the jumonji spear.