ch221-ch240 · 221-ch221

Chapter 221: The Tablecloth

"What am I supposed to do with this shield..."

I made it back to the warehouse from Floor 31, but what do I do with this shield...

Kasumi-san is staying another night in the dungeon, so the next time I see her will probably be tomorrow...

Leave it here in the warehouse?

No—the problem is I don't know when she'll be back...

If I leave it in the warehouse, there's a chance someone notices it.

I can't exactly carry it out either, since I'd have to pass right in front of the counter to reach the 'Dungeon Gate.'

This shield is evidence.

It must not come into contact with human eyes...

(Somewhere within my reach that Kasumi-san would never touch... that would be Aikawa's room.)

I'll head to Mia-san's shop.

It'd be nice if Aikawa's there.

Since the shield mustn't be seen, I decide to grab a suitable cloth from the warehouse's second floor and throw it over the thing...

The only thing on hand is a tablecloth, but it hides the shield's emblem well enough. That'll do.

Will it, though?

My head isn't working right after pulling an all-nighter.

(Mia-san... and three others.)

A green and two purples, plus a yellow presence.

The green is Mia-san for sure, but the rest are neither Soushi nor Aikawa.

They're on the ground floor, so I'll try calling out to Mia-san from outside...

"Mia-san, do you have a moment?"

"Geh—Haruki. You were here? Natsuki said she was going out to have fun today, so I figured you'd gone with her..."

Why would you assume I'd tag along with a couple...

Well, I mean, it's because I had my own business, but still.

"What's with the 'geh'? Someone it'd be bad for us to be seen with? Don't tell me he's your boyfriend? Isn't that a huge scandal!"

says the slim girl with short red hair.

"Knock it off, for real! This is life-or-death! ...They're Natsuki's party members. Well, we've already run into each other, so it can't be helped. You'd be meeting these two sooner or later anyway. Come on in."

"Hold on—could you come over here first?"

"Hm? What? A shield, is it? What's this about?"

Even with the tablecloth over it, one glance told her it was a shield.

As expected of a 【Master Artisan】.

"I'd like you to hide this in Aikawa's room. There's a bit of a story behind it..."

"Hide it? From who? Oh—you got it off a woman, huh? Still, that's a fine shield... It's not new, though—well used. I see, a hand-me-down... Got it. I'll put it away, so wait here."

Since I plan to get rid of this shield once my talk with Kasumi-san is over, showing it to Mia-san should be fine.

Mia-san, reading the entire situation in one go, carries the shield up to the second floor.

"What was that just now?"

"A t-table."

The red-haired girl had spoken up.

She saw it.

Somehow, I have to talk my way out of this.

"Oh right, Natsuki-chan started living on the second floor here, didn't she? Hm-m, so you're a party member... I'm Kokoa. Nice to meet you."

Kokoa-san! So she's the one who loves cocoa.

Which would make the two in the back the new part-timers, then.

"Higashi Hina. 'Sup."

The two in the back come over and introduce themselves as well.

One is a listless blonde girl who practically announces I'm a delinquent with her whole body.

Jersey clothes, bad eyes.

Pleezed ta meetcha!

"N-Nishino Miki. Nice to meet you."

This one is the exact opposite—black hair and glasses.

A little on the plump side, maybe...

She bows deeply.

Yellow, that one.

......About her presence, I mean?

"Oh, I'm Kasugano Haruki."

I should introduce myself too.

"Hey. You—what's your level?"

The blonde delinquent, Hina, asks point-blank.

Thirty-four! ...is not something I can say, so I'm stuck for an answer.

"Hina, I told you—no boys."

"Koko-nee... But there aren't any girls our age to be found anywhere, are there? You're partying with that Natsuki girl, right? That works out just fine, doesn't it?"

What exactly works out about that...

"Like I keep saying, the real deal starts after summer break. Tons of kids haven't even had their birthdays yet, so it's fine. Some kids come alone every year—there's no need to rush."

An overprotective Koko-nee... but I suppose it can't be helped.

For the record, I'm also against putting boys in parties.

"But Akira's already gotten a Job..."

"That kid's just being used as an errand-runner, and their level's still stuck low—a Job gotten like that doesn't mean a thing, you know? Once I've raised them to Level 10 so a proper Job can show up, I'll take them along anytime... Pick the wrong Job and you'll struggle through life like your big sis here, got it?"

So classmates who've gotten Jobs are getting impatient.

The kids in my class were the same when Minami got his.

I hope Minami isn't being used as an errand-boy by his seniors too...

"The problem is that raising a level is hard, isn't it! Two of us can't manage it!"

Huh? Really?

Soushi seemed to handle it solo just fine, though.

I heard he has a special skill, but it doesn't sound like a combat one.

Also, could you two please stop fighting.

"HEY, Haruki! You stay away from those two! Honestly, I can't take my eyes off you for a second. Finish your business and get out, quick! Shoo, shoo!"

See? I got scolded.

"Quick," huh...

"Right. I'll be going, then."

"Weirdly agreeable, aren't you... Wait, looking at you up close, you look awful. Hm-m. Well, don't brood over it too much. Kasumi-san wouldn't actually go so far as to take your life."

What a thing to say.

But...

"I hope you're right..."

I really do hope so...

"Huh? Hey, Haruki, wait... What's gotten into him?"

I'm going home to sleep tonight...

︙

︙

I woke up in the middle of the night.

Kasumi-san should be at the Floor 14 campsite around now, shouldn't she?

If things go smoothly, she'll head back before noon?

What am I even supposed to say to her?

Kasumi-san didn't actually lay a hand on them, surely.

Judging by 'the scout's' manner, the 'pretty boy' died in an accident—or rather, was killed by monsters, I think.

But 'Yellow-Green-san' talked as if they'd known from the very start.

Was the request made for a reckless challenge?

But wouldn't that be the one thing Kasumi-san could never forgive?

(Why would she take a request like that?)

Maybe she didn't know?

No—Kasumi-san was far too composed.

The most plausible explanation is...

(...That it was for my sake?)

If Kasumi-san believes it would be for my benefit, she'd probably do anything.

Did she take a request she didn't want because my skill had been exposed and needed keeping secret?

(I wish she wouldn't do things like that...)

Tomorrow I'll talk to her properly and put a stop to it.

I drift back to sleep...

Even if—hypothetically—it really was for my sake...

If Kasumi-san killed that 'pretty boy'... killed a person...

What am I supposed to do then?

Even so, I...