ch201-ch220 · 214-ch214

Chapter 214: The Receptionist Is a Losing Flag 【Watanabe Kasumi】 Part 8

SIDE: Watanabe Kasumi (Haruki's Girlfriend)

Good morning, everyone.

My favorite season is 'spring.' I am Watanabe Kasumi.

'Spring.' What a lovely sound it has.

(Spring... haru... Haru... Ah! Haru-Haru! That way of calling him might work too!)

Now then, today the chairman is suddenly coming from headquarters on an inspection, so the Chiba branch has been in an uproar since morning.

Ordinarily, the Chiba staff spend their afternoons wherever they please once the morning's work is done, so apparently those spots need tidying.

I am safe on that front.

The only dangerous item is my personal laptop, and I didn't bring it today.

No other documents or data exist at the Chiba branch that would trouble me if examined, so the chairman's trip will be a wasted one.

(My thanks go to her.)

I contacted Haruki-san yesterday and told him not to come to the dungeon today.

The downcast voice he answered in—'I won't get to see you today'—was simply adorable.

(He might be even cuter than Mia-san!)

I had Haruki-san pass word to Natsukawa-san, and I asked Aikawa-san to leave the dungeon first thing in the morning.

Those two have already passed Level 20, after all.

There's no guarantee the 【Analyze・HP】 holder the chairman brings will be her alone, so better they not be in the dungeon. High schoolers over Level 20 at this point in the year are something that simply doesn't happen...

Haruki-san—not only himself, but his influence on everyone around him is immeasurable.

(As expected of Haruki-san.)

Well, that is also the seed of my worries...

(Oh my, they seem to have arrived.)

The branch manager went out of his way to greet them at the entrance, then led the chairman and several others into the manager's office.

She was there too.

Kuwashima Miyuki.

An Association employee stationed at headquarters holding the 【Saint】 job—my cohort-mate.

We are especially close among our cohort, and once again she tipped me off about the inspection.

Thanks to her, I could get Haruki-san and the others out in time.

(Thank you, Miyuki...)

She noticed me too, but deliberately doesn't meet my eyes.

The chairman and the rest all had their eyes on me, so her NOT looking is actually the unnatural one.

'Uweeeh. I can't do thiiis. I wanna go hooome—'

My first meeting with her goes all the way back to the Association's hiring exam.

Back then I had already been hired through the scout track, but I was accompanying the general-exam group so they could gain their Jobs on Floor 10.

The first time she killed a goblin, she threw up on the spot.

She was crying that she was going home, and I dragged her, kicking and screaming, all the way to Floor 10—she still says she resents me for it.

If she'd gone home then, she would never have gotten her 【Healer】 job, and she'd have failed the exam.

In which case she never would have obtained the 【Saint】 job afterward and never been revered as 'the Holy Maiden'—so she ought to be thanking me, if anything!

That little routine is our standard bit.

If she truly resented me, she wouldn't have tipped me off this time either.

That said, lately she keeps saying she wants to meet my fiancé, and it's a problem.

Her job, 【Saint】, is one of the very few top-tier recovery jobs in the entire world.

Watched by the whole world, she lives in the Association's headquarters building, under constant surveillance in the name of bodyguards.

When I was stationed at headquarters we often went out to eat together, but apparently she can't even step outside freely now.

Which means letting her meet him would mean marching Haruki-san straight into the Association headquarters—the enemy's inner keep, you might say.

I've visited her any number of times, but visit records are kept, so that won't do.

If things were normal, he would be the very first person I'd want to bra—... introduce. Truly a shame.

"Kasumi-san, the chairman would like all the staff introduced. He'll be inspecting inside the dungeon next, so he'd like any staff with free hands to gather there. The dungeon-side staff are in your hands."

Sakura relays the message to me.

Here it comes already.

"Understood."

Still—all of them...?

I said 'understood,' but where might everyone be?

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"Fuyutsuki, ssu. This year's promising new hire, ssu."

Ah—why must this child be like this...

The branch manager is glaring at me.

Yes, it's my fault for not telling her to imitate the previous person.

This girl has real promise as an adventurer, but...

"Ho, dungeon duty, is it? And what's your level?"

Mm, the chairman has addressed her.

"Made Level 20 the other day, ssu! My job is 【Charge Spearman】, ssu! I'll be getting my sub-job soon, ssu!"

The chairman had already spoken with several people.

Sakura and Endo-san, plus a few of the dungeon-duty staff whose shifts overlap with mine.

He seems to be investigating my surroundings—only natural, but still...

(How I became Triple-Rank, is it...)

I'm well aware that Miyuki, trailing behind the chairman, is checking the staff's levels with 【Analyze・HP】, a 【Healer】 skill.

But it's futile.

Among the Chiba branch staff, the only Triple-Ranks are the branch manager and me.

The highest level among the other staff would be Akane-san?

Tanned skin, pure-white hair, flashy makeup and nails, a very short skirt...

Even the chairman's face twitched.

For the record, Akane-san's photo is pinned next to Fuyutsuki-san's on the whiteboard; her threat level isn't high.

She and Haruki-san get along well, but within the bounds of common sense.

The one who likes that black-gyaru look was Natsukawa-san, if I recall.

I do privately worry that one of these days Aikawa-san might turn jet-black herself.

If that happened, I wonder what faces Aikawa's father and Makihara-senpai would make...

We shall keep this from Aikawa-san.

(Hmm, a question from Miyuki as well...)

Her target is Sato-san.

She tried asking Hiramatsu-san about me earlier, too.

Fiancé-hunting, is it?

I did once tell her about two colleagues when she asked.

But she's completely wide of the mark.

A consolation prize.

"I know of you. 【Healer】, wasn't it?"

Last in line was Shiraishi-san.

Shiraishi-san was scheduled off today, but we had her come in to the branch.

Better to clear away any suspicion, after all.

At Level 19, even 【Analyze・HP】 can't find anything amiss.

"Yes. It is an honor to meet you, Chairman."

A smooth reply.

As expected of her in moments like these.

Shiraishi-san is a famous figure, so the chairman knew her face by sight.

Shiraishi-san's revenue is, believe it or not, second in the entire nation—behind only Miyuki.

When I first heard that, I wondered whether Shiraishi-san could cast 【Heal】 infinitely, but there's actually a trick to it...

It seems the local grandpas come without receiving 【Heal】 at all—just for a chat—and then go home.

The fact that they leave money behind is unbelievable, but the one pulling the strings is Sakura...

Part of it is that Shiraishi-san is the branch's only 【Healer】, but I do feel Sakura works her rather too hard.

"That makes all the staff present today."

The branch manager wraps up, and the staff disperse.

"I see. Then let's discuss improvements on the surface. Watanabe-kun, you will attend as well."

Everyone except me, that is.

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"Are you in your right mind!? Just how many casualties do you expect!?"

The words burst out of me.

"Watanabe! Mind your manners! Chairman, my apologies."

The branch manager barks at me, but the chairman continues without so much as flinching.

"Participation will be limited to Triple-Ranks—and to volunteers only."

The new dungeon appearance at the New Year.

And the Association itself would undertake its survey...

That is what this chairman has proposed.

"'Volunteers only'—are you telling me that makes it self-responsibility no matter what happens? You know perfectly well how many casualties the SDF suffered in the survey four years ago. If that many Triple-Ranks die, the Association will collapse!"

I hurl sound arguments at him, trying somehow to break the deadlock.

"Then tell me—do you believe any number of SDF personnel may die?"

"Ugh."

He strikes a sore spot.

I don't think that—I don't think that at all, and yet...

"This is to reduce the burden on the SDF. Besides, it is already decided—passed by majority approval of the branch managers nationwide. The government has already agreed. Staff will be notified tomorrow, with an announcement to adventurers next week. Naturally, say nothing until then."

I look at the branch manager.

So THAT'S why he's been so busy lately...

Every branch manager nationwide is a former SDF member.

Former or not, if it lightens the burden on their old comrades, they won't oppose it.

"Once it's announced, even the current Double-Rank adventurers will aim for Floor 30 so they can join... And how many of them will never come back..."

That is simply what adventurers are...

Terrifying to even imagine.

"True. I share that concern. So I'd like your help with Triple-Rank promotion requests as well. Nothing forced, of course. But there is one case in which you have been personally requested—troublesome, as it's a matter that requires an Association employee. Let's have you hear that one first, shall we? Oh yes—we'll also be asking the SDF to help with Triple-Rank promotion requests."

Those last words were aimed at the branch manager.

It seems that, having learned there are no Triple-Ranks around me, his suspicious gaze turned to the branch manager's circle—to the SDF.

"Being told that myself puts me in quite a bind. Take that matter to the Ministry of Defense, if you please."

What... what am I supposed to do?

'Do you believe any number of SDF personnel may die?'

The chairman's words pierce me.

To reduce the casualties, even by one...?

I had already resolved to protect Haruki-san, and Haruki-san alone—and yet...