ch281-ch300 · 292-ch292

Chapter 292: The Goddess Was Doing Her Job Properly

"So what if I did? None of your business."

What an attitude!

The suspicion was cleared, but maybe her heart wasn't, because Aikawa answers while staring off into the middle distance, not meeting his eyes.

Because the PE teacher never apologized, that's why.

"Natsukiii—!"

Bear Ossan raises his arm.

That's dangerous!

Hiramatsu-ryu has no shield techniques.

......There was a time when I thought so, too.

※Hiramatsu-ryu Jumonji Spear Arts is a school of two-handed spears.

(Secret art, the Human Shield!)

"Aika— whoa!"

"Uwah!"

Bam! Clatter-clatter.

Huh?

Soushi charged into Bear Ossan at full tilt, and now both of them are down.

A chain-reaction pileup.

Their arms and legs didn't come off like a golem's, so we're safe.

Even if they had, we could take them to the dungeon and reattach them, so it'd be safe either way.

I was trying to shove Soushi in between Aikawa and Bear Ossan, but it turns out Soushi was thinking the exact same thing, and I pushed his back at the very moment he was stepping forward.

The end result: Bear Ossan took a body slam powered by two people's worth of force, so...... it was an accident!

We untangle ourselves from the heap—a development Souma-san would love—but the secret art fails.

As expected of a secret art—you can't master it that easily!

Well, it wasn't needed anyway.

Bear Ossan's arm was raised, but it never came down.

He swung it up in the heat of the moment, then either regained his composure or only meant to give her a little scare—either way, he clearly never intended to strike his daughter.

"Soushi, you okay?"

The daughter rushes over—to Soushi, of all people.

She takes his hand and pulls him up.

"What do you think you're doing!"

Sorry.

"THAT'S my line! You tried to hit your own daughter! I didn't cheat! Not trusting your own daughter is the WORST!"

Oh dear.

To begin with, he may not even know what the school told him to bring him here, and maybe he said that as a way of confirming......

It would be hard for him to walk in here declaring "my daughter absolutely didn't do it," too.

And honestly, her reply was cowardly as well.

If you come here worried and get THAT attitude, of course you'd get angry.

"Didn't cheat? HAH! I see how it is. So this one got caught up in YOUR cheating! I heard this one's voice apologizing earlier. That's how it is, isn't it?"

Bad timing again, huh.

Soushi's booming apology apparently carried all the way out to the hallway.

"No! Soushi apologized in my place!"

"If you didn't cheat, why apologize? You— as I thought......"

Ah, 'as I thought' is the one thing you never say.

"'As I thought'?...... That's it! I can't even look at your face! You K○ Ossan!"

Ma!

Aikawa bolts out of the student guidance room.

"Aikawa!"

"N-Natsuki, wait!"

Soushi chases after her, and Bear Ossan tries to follow when......

"Please wait! We are truly, deeply sorry! I suspected your daughter of cheating. But that was a mistake. Your daughter was not cheating. Please believe that, at the very least! I am truly sorry!"

The PE teacher stops him with a sudden apology.

Not a full prostration, but a deep ninety-degree bow.

Pride got in the way earlier, maybe, and he couldn't apologize to Aikawa—but he did feel bad, it seems.

If I tell Aikawa about it later, maybe she'll feel a little better?

"A mistake? Then we have to go after her right now!"

"Please wait. I am the one entrusted with the grade head's post. I suspected her as well. First, allow me to apologize too. I am truly sorry. ......The reason Natsukawa-kun was apologizing earlier was your daughter's usual attitude in class. That is also why she came under suspicion of cheating this time. Might we trouble you for a word about that? There are things we would like to ask."

The grade head rises and stops Bear Ossan as well.

"C-class attitude? But......"

Bear Ossan keeps glancing at the door.

"Your daughter will be fine left in his hands. Kasugano-kun, please look after the two of them. With him, nothing untoward will happen."

Huh? Me?

"Him? Well, but......"

See?

Why not just leave it to Soushi?

They're headed for the dungeon anyway.

"True—he'll be fine."

"There is something I'm curious about as well. I would very much like to hear Aikawa-san's side. Come now, Kasugano-kun, off you go."

"President, thank you for your hard work!"

"Sorry, Kasugano. We're counting on you."

A mysterious push from the teachers.

Long live the Spear King—!

And there's definitely something off mixed in here, right?

Teachers who weren't here earlier......?

Even the PE teacher is telling me to go.

I look at the homeroom teacher, but she just tilts her head.

Sakamoto-sensei doesn't seem to get it either......

"We have long wished to meet you regarding your daughter, but you've rarely shown your face at the school, and it has been troubling us."

"Ah, my apologies. It's hard for me to face Mizuki-san, so school events and the like......"

Bear Ossan takes the center seat and the pressure interview begins, so I excuse myself......

Oh—phone call from Kasumi-san.

Normally I'd already be at the dungeon by now.

Seems she called because she was worried.

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︙

"......and that's what happened."

I got to the Chiba branch and gave Kasumi-san the short version of why I was late.

"Hoo~. If that method works, could even I pass a certification exam, I wonder?"

She's still on shift, so Shiraishi-san at the next counter over was listening too.

In front of her sit the magazines 'Starting a Restaurant from Scratch' and 'Recommended Food Trucks'.

I don't think a food truck is getting through the 'Dungeon Gate', you know?

And how much would a knock-down food truck even cost......

"Those kinds of exams draw their questions straight from what they teach you in the prep courses, so the pass rate is practically 100 percent, I hear. Taking one normally will be fine."

"Will it now~? I'm worried~. Written exams just aren't my thing, you know~"

Just as Kasumi-san says—if it's practically 100 percent, it'll be fine.

But after finally becoming a 【Healing King】, is she thinking of quitting the Association?

Shiraishi-san filed her Triple-Rank application together with Sato-san, and it seems a PR person came by today for an interview too......

"And another thing—that K○ teacher. Well, I won't forgive him. Honestly, today was an important day, and we got hit with such a pointless interruption."

Not 'ma'!?

An important day?

Does Aikawa have something planned?

If she does, we should call off our plans......

"Indeed. To take our minds off it, I'd like to eat 'omurice.'"

Here it comes......

The keyword from Kasumi-san means the operation is a go.

'Omurice'—that's right, today was supposed to be the day we spring the Floor 40 surprise on those two.

"What a coincidence. Today's staff meal IS 'omurice.' We have extra ingredients, so Watanabe-san, please have some too."

What are the odds.

Today's staff meal is apparently Soushi's special omurice.

This is shaping up to be a complete success.

Soushi, is there some for me too?

"Harukiii—how were the tests—?"

Oh my—someone's come in through the 'Dungeon Gate'.

The one calling out to me is Akane-san.

The black-gal receptionist, a 【Katana User】.

She came from the surface, so no katana at her waist today.

It's time for her to take over the counter.

And Akane-san's partner today is Yamada-san.

A woman newly transferred to the Chiba branch.

A lady with a slightly unlucky air about her—pale-skinned and slender.

Her presence is a faint, hard-to-read color, but it's pale blue.

Faint means she's a scout-type.

"There are still a few subjects left, but I did way better than last time, so the license should come back. Sorry for the worry."

"I'm glad to hear it. But with entrance exams coming up, you should probably hold off on coming to the dungeon. Ah—but then you wouldn't get to see Kasumi-san. And you wouldn't get to see me, either."

Thinking about entrance exams means I have to come to the dungeon MORE, you know.

No—come to think of it, I'd come see you two even without that!

"Mmm-mmm-mmm. Now then, Haruki-san. If we don't get moving, you won't make it home before curfew."

Ushered along by Kasumi-san, I head for the warehouse......

My grades were good, though—couldn't we do something about that curfew too?

︙

︙

"What's with all that luggage?"

Soushi is preparing some elaborate cargo.

Tarp for a tent? No—posters, maybe? Several rolls of paper wrapped up tight.

Next year's calendars or something?

Speaking of calendars, there's that 【Light Armored Warrior】 lady's calendar in Soushi's room—and it seems her video channel is back up.

She'd posted an application video saying she'd stream the New Dungeon.

"Mm, sort of."

Hope it doesn't get in the way......

Kasumi-san came by just after five, so the sun hasn't fully set and it's still bright out.

For this surprise, the plan is to come right back the moment we've startled the two of them.

We won't fight the Manticore.

So it's fine even in the dark—but if they haul big luggage in, the escape might get complicated.

"All ready. Please!"

Kasumi-san looks a little fired up.

She does love surprises.

Well, if Kasumi-san isn't saying anything about the luggage, it should be fine.

"【Gate】."

I extend my right hand and use 【Gate】—but what actually appears is the 'Right Eye Gate'.

The last time the 'Left Hand Gate' was used was on Floor 25, during the everyone-to-Floor 30 operation.

So today's destination is Floor 30...... or so Soushi and Aikawa believe.

But too bad.

Surprise!!

This 'Right Eye Gate' leads to Floor 40.

(The goddess was doing her job properly.)

After my first visit to Floor 40, while the Manticore's poison was ravaging me, I had that dream of the goddess.

She was peering into my right eye, so that must have been when the 'special skill evolution' or 'special skill growth' happened.

Ever since then, I've been able to produce the 'Right Eye Gate.'

That makes another paired set of Gates.

In other words, I can now warp between the 'Right Eye Gate' and the 'Left Eye Gate' too.

Until now the 'Right Hand Gate' was fixed in the warehouse as my way home—but the eye-side 'Gates' can be placed anywhere I like.

It can even be used like that thing I saw in the dream.

"Haruki-san?"

"Ah, sorry. 【Scouting】. ......All clear. Let's go."

We move to Floor 40.

Up on the cliff there's nothing to block the light, so it's bright out.

Now, keep Soushi and Aikawa from advancing too far......

And with a dash, Kasumi-san—right behind me—breaks into a run.

"Here! This angle!"

While I'm standing there stunned, Soushi and Aikawa, who just came through to Floor 40, start running too, heading for Kasumi-san.

Kasumi-san is marking the Manticore's spawn point with her spear.

"Kasumi-san! It's dangerous! Soushi! This is Floor 40! Aikawa! This is a surprise!"

I shout.

What is happening?

This is bad, this is bad......

"A reverse surprise!! The three of us are going to defeat the Manticore right now, so Haruki-san, we ask that you keep your hands to yourself!"

A reverse surprise!?

"WHAT IS THAT—!!"

My yell echoes back off the sunset.

Soushi and Aikawa start laying out the luggage they brought......