ch161-ch180 · 163-ch163

Chapter 163: A Rude Father and Daughter

"Aikawa, what are you doing?! Where's your dad?"

Soushi hurries over, flustered.

That's a violation of the adventurer regulations, you know.

But scolding her won't fix anything now, I suppose...

She's a classmate, and I can sort of see where she's coming from.

With a new stepmother who's young and beautiful and all...

What do you think you're playing at, old man? Count me among the angry, for what it's worth.

So I'll spare him the pleasure of being dragged in front of Kasumi-san.

"Look, the Minotaur's coming! Get ready—let's take it down, all three of us! Okay?"

Aikawa declares brightly—but is she a little spooked?

First Minotaur for her, I take it?

"Just to check—Aikawa, you're job-less, right?"

"Yep. It's my first time on Floor 10, too..."

Soushi and I lock eyes and sigh together.

Please don't do anything reckless.

If Kasumi-san hears about this, it's a full-blown rage case, you know?

"I'll take it. Soushi, keep an eye on Aikawa. Oh—and neither of you pick a job, got it?"

Free-riding is against the rules, after all.

Earn your jobs with your own two hands.

I toss the long-handled kitchen knife to Soushi and head for the Minotaur.

The old-timer's probably worried too and went into another boss area. I'll drop this one quick and meet up on Floor 11.

"Huh? Are you sure? I heard you're stronger than Minami and his crew, but can you beat one solo?"

"Hm? Well, he is Haruki... No wait, Haruki's usually the decoy. Watanabe-san was the one who killed it last time... Is he gonna be okay? Hmm. He did get toyed with by Hiramatsu-san yesterday, after all..."

I'd like a little "he'll be fine" delivered chest-out, thanks.

I do recover the weapons from the Minotaurs and hobgoblins for you, don't I?

Time to show them: if I can take a weapon, I can take a life.

"Watanabe-san? Hiramatsu-san? You have MORE party members? Uh oh—"

While that's going on, the Minotaur is already on top of us.

The instant it winds up, my jumonji thrust takes its head clean off.

To keep the spray off me, I kick the still-standing Minotaur over backward. Done.

"Oh, one hit? Not bad. Oh—Haruki! 【Shielder】 made the list!"

Soushi, buddy. You doubted me?

And 【Shielder】, huh...

The way he said it, neither 【Monk】 nor 【Knight】 showed up, I'd say.

"Huh?"

"Heyyy, check your job screen—it'll be there."

"O-okay."

Aikawa looks a little dazed.

First job screen ever—did it startle her?

Or maybe a rare job popped up...

She pulls a notebook out of her hip pouch and starts taking notes.

Writing down the jobs on the list, I'd bet.

Attagirl.

The notebook has a cute little bear sticker on it, and that gives me complicated feelings.

All her little odds and ends at school have bear stickers on them—I always wondered why.

Bears. As in her dad. She must really love the guy...

Looks up to him, wants to be an adventurer herself—that sort of thing.

I heard the falling-out with Mizuki, who she'd been close with until last year, was over her father's work too...

A close-knit father and daughter.

And into that walks an outsider...

"What? Both of you staring? I'm not telling you anything. Ahh, such an amazing job just showed up, though~"

Maybe she noticed our stares—she's hamming it up.

"Seriously? Is that—is that the thing? The 'born-with-it job'?"

Soushi pounces on it.

I'm curious too, but rendezvousing with the old-timer comes first.

"Ehehe. Tell me yours and maybe I'll tell you mine?"

"You wrote it down, so it'll show. Soushi, go on ahead and watch that Aikawa doesn't bolt."

Soushi out first, then Aikawa.

I'll go last—if Aikawa stayed behind, that'd be a problem.

Once Aikawa's out of the boss area, I pass through the 'Gate to Floor 11' after her.

"Okay then! Escort me down to Floor 1, would you?"

Aikawa tries to skip off, humming—running from her father—so I grab her arm.

"Hey, hold it. If you don't tell your dad properly, he'll worry."

Escorting her is fine.

Better they fight it out on the surface than in the dungeon.

Up top there are no weapons and no monsters.

But the least she can do is tell her dad, right?

"I don't care! I'm done with that crappy excuse for a father! Let GO of me!"

She blows up and tries to shake me off.

But a job-less Aikawa isn't shaking off the grip of a high-rank job holder.

Not that I'm gripping all that hard.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing! Let go of her!"

Oh, look. The old-timer arrives.

He swats at my hand on Aikawa's arm; I let go and slip aside.

Then I raise both hands. Surrender pose.

"Whoa, whoa—your daughter was making a run for it, so I just held her in place, that's all?"

"Hm? Oh, was she... My bad."

The old-timer scratches his head, looking at me and Aikawa—and Soushi for good measure.

"...I'm going home. These two are walking me back, so don't follow. That settles it, right?"

Aikawa says it in a frosty voice and steps into the 'Gate to Floor 9.'

She can say "don't follow" all she likes—they came to help her through Floor 10, so if she's leaving, they're leaving too.

"N-Natsuki—"

"Hey, wait up!"

Soushi follows Aikawa into the 'Gate to Floor 9.'

I sweep my raised hands out to the sides. A good-grief, here-we-go pose.

"We'll follow at a little distance, shall we? By the way—did Natsuki-san manage to get a job?"

"No—she said she wouldn't take anything yet, that she'd talk it over online once she got home. She shouldn't have picked one."

Makihara-san lays a hand on the slumped old-timer's shoulder and speaks gently.

That's standing pretty close...

Lovey-dovey, are we.

Leave them to it—let's move on.

A show like that and Aikawa goes furious and fuming, no question.

"You're slow!"

See?

Catch up to Soushi and Aikawa on Floor 9 and this is what I get.

Old man, you might be raising her wrong?

But I'll hold my tongue.

The old-timer's the one at fault here.

Just for today, I'll let it slide.

Hm?

"Soushi—they're coming from behind the trees on the right."

【Presence Detection】 lights up.

A ways off yet, but five hobgoblins.

"Leave it to me!"

Soushi takes off.

There's a bow-wielder among them.

Maybe Aikawa caught my meaning too—her hand's on her sword. Still, I step out front and make myself a wall, just in case.

"Hah!"

One flash of the blade.

Soushi cuts down the bow-wielding hobgoblin, bow and all.

Ah—I forgot to confiscate Soushi's weapon.

"Whoa. Look at you, Soushi."

Right? Not bad.

Maybe taking that knife off him yesterday and today did the trick—he's moving well even against five hobgoblins.

Textbook: bow-wielder first, and now he's dropped the spear-carrier and opened some distance.

He's growing, no doubt about it...

Ah—that's Hiramatsu-ryu, First Form (a plain thrust)!

He hadn't thrown a single thrust with that knife until now, so maybe Hiramatsu-san's training is paying off.

'Well, well. Those two have promise.'

'Hnngh.'

They noticed Soushi charging too—the old-timer and Makihara-san had been moving to join us, but they stopped dead at the sight of his first strike.

Makihara-san complimented them, but the old-timer's face says sour grapes?

A high school boy appears out of nowhere and shows off big-time right in front of his daughter.

Bet that's not sitting well inside.

Makihara-san did say "those two," mind.

She noticed me stepping in front of Aikawa and playing wall.

A sharp eye, that one.

But choosing THAT old-timer...

Hmm. Well, Aikawa's dad looks like an old-timer too, but maybe he's a good guy deep down.

Hiramatsu-san looks unremarkable, yet he's a high-earning Association employee, an engineer with the brains to match, and a spear master on top.

Never judge a book by its cover, as they say.

Soushi went on to wipe out all five hobgoblins solo.

As he works on pulling a magic stone, Aikawa wanders over.

"You're still job-less, right, Soushi? Guess everyone's got their one redeeming trait."

Harsh much?!

"Ah, well, it's really nothing... okay, maybe it's something?"

Soushi, that wasn't a compliment.

"Soushi, hand over the weapon."

"Ehh? Seriously? Well... guess we can do it again on the way back."

If clearing through Floor 10 bare-handed is what makes 【Monk】 show up, then fighting the way home bare-handed from Floor 9 down ought to do it in reverse.

And later, a one-on-one bare-handed duel with a Minotaur.

Which is why this long-handled kitchen knife is hereby confiscated.

The shield too, while I'm at it.

Now that 【Shielder】's made an appearance, wearing it would only get in the way.

"Huh? What? What do you mean?"

"We're fighting bare-handed to make 【Monk】 show up. And when things get dicey, he doesn't even save me. It's rough, I tell you."

I DO confiscate the hobgoblins' weapons for him, you know!

Though watching him get grappled by five hobgoblins at once was a little funny...

'That weapon had amazing edge on it. Some kind of special weapon?'

'It's an odd-shaped short spear. Could be a 40s-floor drop.'

'A high schooler with something like that!? It IS a strange shape, though...'

'He broke through Floor 10 in no time earlier, too—that job-holding boy must have been the one using it.'

Oops. Too fast.

Wasn't thinking that far.

I mean, they're observing us and drawing conclusions.

Better sit this fight out.

"President, do you do mean stuff like this in the dungeon too?"

And what? And WHAT...

Soushi and Aikawa don't seem to hear the two behind us.

Well, those two ARE talking in low voices.

But they're Triple-Ranks—top-tier adventurers at that.

If I can hear them, they can hear every word we say.

"'President'... you say? Is that job-holding boy perhaps the student council president?"

"...Doesn't look like it to me..."

Old man, I won't call you out, but I can hear you, you know?

He's listening to our conversation closely, though.

Need to be careful...

And honestly, the whole family is rude.

No eye for talent at all.

I wish they'd learn a little from Makihara-san...

Wait—if the old-timer has no eye for talent, does that make Makihara-san a bad person?

My thoughts are going in circles.