ch241-ch260 · 258-ch258

Chapter 258: The Umemoto Incident Continued

"Hey, why don't the two of you come eat with us too?"

Lunch break, and it's Mizuki again, come all the way to Aikawa's desk to invite her.

Yesterday's news travels fast—this morning even students I don't know were greeting me......

I've fully become "the President," huh.

The boys' gazes stab into me.

Weren't you the same guys calling me a hero last break?

"Nah, that's, you know...... Soushi maybe, but I'll pass."

If I joined that group for lunch, even if I were fine with it, the boys of the class wouldn't be.

And neither would Souma-san.

I look at Soushi.

"Ehhh? Yeah, pass for me too. Leave the girls to the girls, please. We're eating out today anyway."

"I see~ Too bad. I might ask again, though."

I get wanting to let Soushi and Aikawa eat together, but dragging me into it just makes the boys' gazes scary, so please stop.

'Ooooh, he turned her down~'

'I-it's not like I'm jealous or anything!'

'As expected of the President. Ever consistent.'

"Hmph. Come back when you've grown up some, why don't you."

That last one was Souma-san, murmuring small at Mizuki's back.

What would you do if she heard you.

Fearless to a fault, this one.

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"Hey, about Saori. We've got to do something, right? Should I casually let Haru-kun know he has a girlfriend?"

Why on earth would you do that?

"Black...... Saito-san said the same thing earlier, but that's just one of Mizuki's pranks, you know?"

Summer break made it feel like forever, but today I finally talked with the black gal again in front of the vending machines.

She bolted partway through the conversation, though, so the juice treat went to waste.

The talk went a lot like this one—somewhere between "Floor 5" and "Floor 6," she asked me, out of nowhere, whether there was someone I liked besides Mizuki.

When I said there was, the black gal just ran off......

Seems she realized she'd had the wrong idea and couldn't take the embarrassment.

She's tanned, but I could tell her face had gone bright red.

"Eh?"

"Yesterday she just asked me to help get Aikawa to quit being an adventurer. But whatever changed her mind, she seems to have given up on it."

"No way. Would Saori joke about that?"

Well, she literally said it, so there's no helping it.

"Haruki, I'm done. Aikawa, let's head back."

We're on Floor 38 right now.

When I spot a 【Mimicry】ing golem, I drop the 'Left Eye Gate' on top of it to lock its movement, then call the two over.

They land the finishing blows on the immobilized golems.

When a golem is 【Mimicry】ing, it tucks its limbs under its body—so until it raises itself up, it literally can't move a hand or a foot.

It's curled up with something absolutely immovable sitting on its back, after all.

The two of them are upper-rank job holders past Level 30 now.

We check the surroundings thoroughly, and they're not fighting directly, either.

If anything unforeseen happened, the two of them today could manage at least fleeing into the 'Left Hand Gate'.

It's a leveling method with Kasumi-san's proper approval, too.

We're not forcibly extracting the magic stones either—they just smash them.

Soushi spends MP without hesitation and drops each golem in one hit.

He can use 【Water Pressure】 about fifty times a day, so alternating with Aikawa that's a hundred golems between them.

In three hours, though, you can't actually FIND a hundred golems......

"Is that really true, though? Am I just imagining it? Asking her directly would only stir the hornet's nest, huh......"

Not convinced, Aikawa vanishes toward Floor 1......

Just as I'm about to stow the 'Left Hand Gate', Aikawa comes back walking backward.

"What's wrong?"

"You scared me! Bad for the heart!"

"Good work out there."

Next out of the 'Left Hand Gate' comes Kasumi-san.

Is it that time already?

When we got back to the warehouse, Kasumi-san was there, finished with work, and Aikawa startled and retreated.

From here on, Kasumi-san is with us, then.

"I-I'll, um, head back then!"

Aikawa tries to leave.

Surely I can stow the Gate this time?

"One moment, please. There's something I'd like to discuss."

"Hiee. Wh-what is it?"

Kasumi-san calls Aikawa back.

"Natsukawa-san as well, please. Could you go call him?"

"Y-yes'm."

Aikawa goes back to the warehouse to fetch Soushi...... poking just her head in to call him.

"The Dr. Amamiya hospital business wrapped up without incident for today, and the party in question has gone home."

Once Soushi is on Floor 38 with us, Kasumi-san speaks.

She wasn't at the counter when we arrived at the branch today—she'd gone to Dr. Amamiya's.

"Dr. Amamiya? Oh, Haru-kun's attending, right? The kwadan—did someone come by?"

"You two, are you familiar with the 'Umemoto Incident'?"

Apparently she's going to tell them about Umemoto too.

Is that okay?

No, I've already heard it all anyway......

"Ah, the news ran all kinds of stuff on it yesterday. Effectively not guilty, right?"

"Um, that was the 【Berserker】 incident, right? He's not guilty? But didn't he kill like ten people? Oh, wait—Watanabe-san's the one who caught him, isn't she?"

Soushi knew about it.

Aikawa only knows news-level...... no, wait—the dungeon has no signal, so she can't watch TV, can she.

How does she live somewhere phones don't reach, honestly.

What does she even DO at night?

"A suspended sentence was handed down, so he is guilty, technically. He just won't be serving prison time. As for Mr. Umemoto, the poison skill he took from the 【Vile Knight】 during the incident has left him unable even to stand. He came to the Chiba Dungeon for treatment of it."

"Ehh? So that 【Berserker】 was here just now? At Dr. Amamiya's hospital? Is that safe?"

Well, yes.

"When Mr. Umemoto visits the hospital, I am assigned as his escort, attached to Dr. Amamiya. His treatment was performed today, but...... the situation is not a promising one."

Meaning even the 【Saint】 couldn't treat it.

"Couldn't the 'Holy Maiden' at headquarters treat it?"

"I confirmed by phone just now: she went all-out treating him when the incident occurred, so if that didn't cure it, the only hope is some other treatment—with Dr. Amamiya. The 【Saint】 is no poison specialist either, it seems."

To my question, Kasumi-san shakes her head.

"But today even Dr. Amamiya was at a loss?"

Dr. Amamiya is, for all her eccentricity, Japan's foremost expert in dungeon medicine.

If SHE says it's impossible......

"No. The treatment method prepared for day one simply failed—Dr. Amamiya herself says she has a method in mind. And that method is......"

Kasumi-san looks at Aikawa and Soushi.