ch161-ch180 · 167-ch167

Chapter 167: Truth Born of a Lie

"...Yes?"

Halted by Kasumi-san, Aikawa stops and turns.

"Hold on. I'll apologize for my daughter's attitude, but you needn't be THAT angry, surely?"

Fair, right?

First of all, the old-timer and Makihara-san have no idea why Kasumi-san got angry.

They must think it's Aikawa's attitude.

"Your relationship with these two?"

Kasumi-san ignores the old-timer and presses on.

"Classmates. And... that's all."

She was about to say "prospective party members"—but we didn't back her up just now.

She can't get a read on us, I'd say...

"And? And what is it? ...Tell me."

Pye.

The pressure just went up.

Even Aikawa takes a step back at that—then steps forward again.

Aikawa is the strong-willed type who won't back down even from the Goddess herself—Mizuki, the apex of the school caste.

Which is supposedly why they got along...

"He's my boyfriend! Any objections?"

Ahh—!

Grrk-grrk.

In an instant, Kasumi-san's wrath re-targets onto me.

The old-timer's too.

A flawless "target swap"! Masterful "aggro management"!

But left alone, my life is in danger.

The danger is getting dangerous.

"Not me, not me! I'm not the one. I'm a mere classmate whose nickname hasn't even been settled yet."

But I am a high-rank shield class, you know.

Redirecting an incoming target onto someone else? Trivial.

Sorry, Soushi.

I have no memory of any such thing, so it's got to be Soushi.

Well weeeell. So you two were dating, huh. (deadpan)

Amen, amen.

"!?... You're right. It couldn't possibly be Haruki-san. What was I thinking..."

Kasumi-san's expression smooths over, calm restored.

She's now in "oh dear, I jumped to conclusions" mode.

"Grrrrnnn. So it's THAT one, huh..."

"G-Gen-chan, calm down."

The old-timer's rage hasn't settled.

Makihara-san is desperately soothing him.

You'd think a whole day together would've made it obvious, though...

Meeting on Floor 9 was a coincidence, sure—but they should have heard every word we said the whole way.

Well, for a father, a daughter having a boyfriend is apparently shock enough on its own...

"Huh? Me? No—huh? Is that what this is?"

And Soushi is off in his own misunderstanding...

It was a lie squeezed out of a cornered Aikawa, but they do say lies sometimes birth the truth.

And her face has gone a little red.

And Soushi doesn't look entirely displeased?

"I see. Everything makes sense now. Natsukawa-san wants to form a party with Aikawa-san's daughter, and Aikawa-san opposes it. Is that the situation?"

"Uh, roughly. Soushi wanted to talk it over with everyone back home first—on my account."

"Huh? So I CAN join the party?"

Aikawa's tragic expression bounces right back.

"That's what we're about to discuss."

"Can I sit in on that discussion?"

Back to full energy, I see.

But I'd rather you deal with the old-timer, who's got even MORE energy.

"You handle your father. That's outside our jurisdiction."

"That's..."

Aikawa looks at the old-timer—no, at Makihara-san—and hangs her head again.

Soushi, under the old-timer's glare, can't get near us.

Soushi is surprisingly sensitive to this kind of atmosphere—killing intent, or whatever you'd call it.

Aikawa, on the other hand, is dense enough to be immune to Kasumi-san's.

Maybe she's just got nerve...

"In any case, let's settle this here. ...Aikawa-san. Disputes inside the dungeon are a problem. I'll have a meeting room prepared on the surface—please continue your discussion there."

The person most likely to go on a rampage just settled the scene...

︙

︙

Up on the surface, we shut the reluctant bear parent and child in the meeting room.

Well, the reluctant one was the cub—Aikawa...

Figured those two should talk alone for a bit, so Makihara-san is with Kasumi-san.

Better to hear Aikawa's circumstances from Makihara-san than from outsiders like us, after all.

Apparently Makihara-san was Kasumi-san's senpai by one year at university—same naginata club.

Come to think of it, her weapon WAS a naginata.

Is her job a high-rank naginata class too?

Per Shiraishi-san's intel, Kasumi-san's university was a famous young ladies' academy.

Which would make Makihara-san a rich ojou-sama herself.

Why with THAT old-timer of all people? No—first of all, why an adventurer at all?

I know, I know—don't pry into other people's business. But if Aikawa joins the party, it changes the equation...

With Makihara-san around, we can't consult Kasumi-san.

And since my own circumstances can't be spoken aloud either, Soushi and I are conferring at a distance from the two of them.

"So. What do we do about Aikawa?"

My question, aimed at Soushi.

"If I could, I'd invite her. I'd had her in mind as a candidate ever since we first talked about finding party members. I knew her dad was an adventurer—figured there was a chance."

The plan had been: Kasumi-san, me, and Soushi—then find two more members.

Kasumi-san can't be an official member as things stand, and I intend to quit adventuring in four years.

Thinking past that, we want four members for Soushi's party...

While I'm around the headcount limit means nothing—we could add more—but then the question becomes whether they can keep my special skill secret.

People we can trust...

Would Aikawa qualify?

She's been our classmate for over a year now.

This year our seats are close, and at school she barely talks to anyone but us.

I think she trusts us, probably.

That's why she asked to party with us even with Minami's group recruiting her.

Setting me aside, Soushi's looked after her for ages—he wants her as a comrade, clearly...

Thinking long term, we should bring her in. But there are two problems.

One: Kasumi-san.

And Mia-san's and Shiraishi's opinions too.

I want to hear where everyone stands.

Her first impression was rough, but if Kasumi-san thinks of Soushi's sake...

Fat chance?

Dr. Amamiya's been nowhere to be seen lately—she's all right, right?

(The university facility is nearly finished, so she really should be showing up any day now...)

Two: the old-timer and Makihara-san.

This one's a family matter...

Haven't heard the full story yet, but they're not married yet, presumably.

And when the wedding happens—what does Aikawa do then...

Also, the old-timer treasures his daughter a bit too much—overprotective, in a word.

If he pesters his way into discovering my special skill, that's a problem.

I can trust Aikawa; the old-timer is an unknown.

Worst case, I even have the option of keeping my special skill from Aikawa herself.

What actually serves Soushi's interests...

That's the real question, after all...

"Oh, right. We still need more members..."

So far, nobody's been found besides Soushi.

Trustworthy people don't grow on trees.

Recruiting at headquarters and the like is a non-starter...