ch21-ch40 · 036-ch36
Chapter 36: The Receptionist is a Defeat Flag [Watanabe Kasumi] Part 2
SIDE: Watanabe Kasumi
Hello there.
I'm Watanabe Kasumi.
How far did we get in the story?
Ah yes, we were at the point where that high school boy came to the Chiba Dungeon.
In the afternoon, I moved to the dungeon counter for my shift duties.
Then shortly after, the male high school student from earlier returned from the dungeon... from the second floor, that is.
He looks pale.
Is it the guilt from having killed a goblin?
Or perhaps that blue blood didn't agree with him.
Either way, it's a common occurrence.
One of my peers actually threw up...
Oh, that spear.
I had just gotten a nice spear in for rental, and he's already rented it.
Well, he should go home and rest for today, and he can try again starting tomorrow.
...or so I thought, but the high school student came back in less than an hour and seems to be heading back into the dungeon's depths.
Whether he can persevere here will determine whether he becomes a full-time adventurer or a part-time one going forward.
He rented a spear.
I should encourage him.
"You'll be fine. You can do it."
Did I say something so out of character?
"I'm off."
The high school student replied with a smile.
He looks fine, doesn't he?
...He's not coming back.
It's almost time for my shift to end, but the high school student hasn't returned.
It's still light out, so it should be fine, but there's no way he could be having trouble with goblins...?
Ah, he's back.
"...Hm?"
It seems my encouragement was a bit too effective.
This is a hobgoblin's magic stone.
He made it to the fifth floor, it seems.
I'd feel terrible if my encouragement got Sakura in trouble.
I should handle this discreetly.
Oh? Was it Sakura who recommended the spear to him?
Well done.
I'll treat you to something today.
I feel rather good today.
"What's this?"
The next day.
The high school student, who appears to have come directly from school, brought out a hobgoblin's magic stone.
But the number has increased.
It seems he entered the dungeon again after that.
Moreover, he seems to have gone even deeper.
He followed my advice not to cash them in... but he's being too reckless.
The dungeon at night is extremely dangerous.
...But trying to stop him would be useless, I suppose.
I don't have that authority.
My chest tightens painfully.
They say old wounds never heal.
But I'm different from how I was back then.
This high school student... Kasugano Haruki-kun, is it?
What he needs right now is probably advice on how not to get injured on the next floor.
"...Have you thought about how to handle multiple opponents at once?"
That's right.
We need to build a relationship of mutual trust.
First, it's important to make him believe he can trust my information.
If only I had been able to do that back then...
"What's this?"
The day after that.
He has a number of magic stones that suggests he spent the entire night in the dungeon.
Kasugano-kun is just like them.
With those adventurers...
Without a care for how others worry...
"By the way, Watanabe-san, could you defeat a Minotaur by yourself?"
Oh?
You say something interesting?
This is where I should make use of an adventurer's natural instincts.
The tendency to follow the strong, that is.
Hm?
I see, I see.
He only attacks straight on.
His movements are amateurish.
Even worse than the young ladies at my old school.
But... he's quite fast.
Is he perhaps stronger than a Minotaur?
I wonder what level he is?
Hmm. I have to admit, he's strong.
"Let the Minotaur make the first move. Let it strike first, then strike that opening. Even as you are now, you should be able to win with that."
That might sound like making excuses.
No, I won in our exchange of blows.
It's just that I won the battle but lost the war, so to speak...
Against a Minotaur, even fighting him head-on, we wouldn't even reach an exchange of blows.
Just as with skills, there are individual differences in stats too.
He seems suited for close combat.
Conversely, he might be terrible at magic.
Even with the supposed same stats, his strength is completely different.
...It happens often.
Ah, if I leave him alone, he'll head straight for the tenth floor.
"You can't go at night!"
He'll probably be a Single-Rank adventurer by tomorrow.
Such brilliant talent.
...But that's just like them.
Rushing further and further ahead, and then never coming back.
"You look so melancholic~"
The voice belongs to Shiraishi-san.
What's with that smirk?
No, she's been smirking like that for about three days now.
She's my partner on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons.
Her first name?
Ah, I'm told not to use it.
Shiraishi-san is a Single-Class Association staff member with the rare job [Healer].
[Healer] is, as the name suggests, a job that can use recovery magic.
She's a beautiful woman with attractive flaxen hair in curls, and she loves to talk.
The complete opposite of me, who's bad at conversation.
She's the talker, I'm the listener.
I'd say we have a very good relationship.
But sometimes, she makes this kind of face.
"How devoted. Not cashing them in and keeping the magic stones like that."
This is troubling.
What yesterday's incident is supposed to be a secret, so I'm not sure what to say...
"Oh? You're not denying it. And what about that fight just now? You were going to thoroughly crush him and put him in his place, weren't you? You had such a scary look on your face before it started. 'Stop being so persistent. I don't like you.' That's what you were going to say. But then while you were fighting—'Such a straightforward thrust. Such straightforward feelings~' And that's what happened, isn't it? Ah~."
You watch so carefully, but why do your impressions always go off at such strange angles?
"That's not it. I merely wanted to see if he had the skill to challenge a Minotaur. You should have been listening from the beginning."
"Then what was that expression just now?"
"That was, well..."
"Well?"
"He reminded me of an old acquaintance..."
"Ho ho. And so, how is this old acquaintance of yours doing now?"
"...He... passed away."
"Yeeees! This is it. This is what I've been waiting for."
"Ah, um? Are you making some major misunderstanding? I'm not particularly..."
"It's fine. It's fine now. You don't need to say anything more. Just leave it to your big sister here."
I'm actually older than her, though...
My age?
Ah, I'm told not to ask.
"I'm just worried he might do something reckless..."
"Is that really all? If there's anything I can do, just ask."
She has such a forceful personality...
"No, I'll be on leave starting tomorrow, so if you could just keep an eye on him while I'm gone, that would be enough..."
"If that's all, then it's fine. All the staff at this branch are on your side, you know. I'll tell everyone and we'll work together."
You don't have to go that far...
No, someone's life is at stake.
I feel like this is becoming a big deal, but you can't put a price on life.
"Right. Then if he gets injured, may I ask you to heal him? Of course, I'll pay. And if you could also tell me how he's doing while I'm on leave..."
"Leave it to me. I don't need any money. I'll use [Heal] on him even if he's not injured. When he comes, we'll all watch him and report to you, so don't worry."
"Watch... him, you say. That's right. We'd need to do at least that much to keep Kasugano-kun from doing anything reckless."
And so, without considering that it might trouble Kasugano-kun, information about him was shared among the dungeon staff.
Yes, I'm the one who asked for it.
This is all my responsibility.
That's why I apologized.
This fundamentally violates the confidentiality obligations established by the Association.
He told me he didn't want others to know.
That means he trusts me enough to tell only me.
And yet, I betrayed him.
I had already betrayed him.
Even so, I'll apologize sincerely and tell him.
Not to do anything reckless.
That not a single one of those talented people ever came back.
Let's advance slowly.
It's not too late yet.
I thought so, but...
When I saw the magic stone he presented to me, I...