ch281-ch300 · 297-ch297

Chapter 297: The Holy Maiden Is a Main Heroine Flag 【Kuwashima Miyuki】 Part 1

SIDE: Kuwashima Miyuki ('the Holy Maiden')

"Hm. I understand the situation. Then we shall arrange it...... one month from now. That day should work."

I asked the chairman to arrange an outing for me, and received the merciless pronouncement that my next private outing is one month away......

"Tomorrow—tomorrow is my day off. It's just one train ride away, a little trip. Couldn't something be worked out?"

"You, riding a train? Utterly out of the question. Kindly understand your own position. Besides, the guards cannot be arranged at this notice. Today there is the staff mixer, so I must ask you to remain at home tomorrow. That has been the rule for some time now, has it not? It is an important gathering where those who attend you interact across the walls between ministries. Kindly take your recreation there."

There will be alcohol at the mixer.

Considering the guards, the condition for everyone attending is that I not leave my room the next day.

And of course the guards can't be arranged for tomorrow......

Above all, I only just had everyone rearrange their schedules so I could attend the launch party the other day—I can't be selfish......

"I under...... stand...... Excuse me."

"Ah, Kuwashima-kun. I'll be attending the mixer as well, so together we......"

The chairman isn't a bad person...... no, is that right?

He's a bad person, but he's kind to me.

"Hm? Yamada-san? Is that Yamada-san? It's been ages! Have you been well?"

"Oh, Kuwashima-san! Long time no see! How many years has it been? You're quite the celebrity now, aren't you?"

On the sofa where visitors wait for an audience with the chairman, I found a nostalgic face.

Someone who looked after me back when I was leveling up in the regions.

Pale-skinned and adorable, yet capable at her work and reliable in the dungeon too.

"You're in Chiba now, right? My cohort-mate is there, you know. Kasumi-chan, her name is......"

"Eep!...... Um, um, please don't tell anyone we met here. Please! I beg you......"

She'd been so happy about our reunion, and in an instant her smile clouded over.

"Yamada-saaan, please come innn."

"F-forgive the intrusion. Kuwashima-san—keep it a secret, please!"

She's called into the chairman's office and scurries off.

Turning back once more at the end to press the point......

Yamada-san, who panicked the instant I said Kasumi-san's name—and then the meeting with the chairman......

It all connects, doesn't it.

The chairman is investigating the Chiba branch.

Yamada-san must be a spy sent in by the chairman.

They went to the trouble of sending her from a regional branch so she wouldn't be suspected of coming from headquarters, I suppose.

Being that frightened is no ordinary thing.

Her complexion wasn't good either.

No doubt she's been made to do work she hates, and it's worn her down, body and mind.

The chairman really IS a bad person.

(All men are the WORST!)

I hate men.

Ever since I was little, boys mocked me over my chest—called me a cow, a ghost.

From middle school on, they started looking at me with those filthy eyes.

And not just classmates. The teachers too......

There were plenty of frightening experiences, and because of it there were whispers that I was using my charms, and the other girls glared at me too—so I hardly had any friends.

In my school days, the only people who ever approached me were that kind.

I somehow managed to keep a low profile, and just as university life was almost over......

During my job hunting, I met her at the Adventurer's Association exam.

(Kasumi-chan. The real 'Holy Maiden'......)

These days I'm called 'the Holy Maiden,' but it's all thanks to her—all of it learned from her.

That grand statement of mine about wanting to save as many people as possible even got picked up on TV, but that too is nothing but imitating Kasumi-chan.

That day, when I threw up at the sight of a goblin's corpse, she hauled me to my feet by force and took me all the way to Floor 10......

At first I thought, what a horrible person—but without that, I'd have been rejected on the spot.

I'd never have made it to Floor 10, and I'd never have obtained the 【Healer】 job either.

The written exam should have been a disaster, and yet the result was a splendid job-based hire.

It was wonderful to be able to work as her colleague—but that happiness was brief......

The First Dungeon Boom.

I don't even want to remember those days......

People died every day, and the staff had long since given up and accepted it as normal—and Kasumi-chan alone kept worrying about the adventurers and kept fighting.

All I could do was watch......

All I did was inherit that work after she reached her limit......

Being called 'the Holy Maiden' is a title far above my station.

Back then, I thought she was invincible.

Stronger than any man, brushing off the adventurers who hit on me without effort—I was under her spell.

And so, until Kasumi-chan reached her limit, I never could stand beside that pain of hers.

I finally understood her real suffering when I was diving together with Yamada-san—whom I'd just met today, as it happens.

After Kasumi-chan transferred to Chiba, I needed strength of my own to fight in her place at headquarters.

Staying in the dungeon for days on end, managing to keep going even while throwing up every day—it was the dreams the dungeon showed me that drove me on.

Dreams of just how much Kasumi-chan had suffered......

Kasumi-chan, who was at fault not in the slightest, shown apologizing over and over—I'm sorry, I'm sorry—crying in the corner of a one-person room. Shown that, I understood: she is an ordinary girl, the same as me.

Without that, I could never have pushed to Level 30, and I'd never have gained the job called 【Saint】.

The me of today exists thanks to her, all of it.

So the one who really deserves to be called 'the Holy Maiden' should be her.

(No—if I'm a saint, then Kasumi-chan is a GODDESS!)

Thanks to Kasumi-chan, I've made plenty of friends.

Mia-chan, Anego-chan, and the other women adventurers of headquarters.

The launch party the other day was fun.

It might have been the first time I drank with everyone since becoming a 【Saint】.

Seeing how she could make those usually downtrodden production jobs and unlucky jobs smile like that—Kasumi-chan really is a goddess, I thought.

Even after the party ended, Kasumi-chan came to my place and stayed over.

We slept in the same bed and talked about everything.

A happy time, the first in a while......

The first in a while......

Lately, Kasumi-chan has stopped coming to stay.

After I was locked up here at headquarters, she used to come stay often, worried about me......

I know the reason.

That fiancé of hers, the one she suddenly has now.

(Kasugano Haruki!!)

You could say I attended the launch party to take the measure of Kasugano Haruki.

Of course I wanted to celebrate everyone—but more than that, I wanted to see what kind of person Kasumi-chan had fallen for.

If he's a good person, I can accept it. But if he's a bad one......

That's why I attended.

I wedged myself between him and Kasumi-chan out of spite, shoved him against the wall, stepped on him, tried pinching him where Kasumi-chan couldn't see—and Kasugano Haruki just kept on smiling.

(That man is a PERVERT, no two ways about it!)

They say he's a high schooler—Kasumi-chan is being fooled by his youth.

He isn't worthy of Kasumi-chan, the goddess!

I—her best friend—have to do something......

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"What seems to be the matter, 'Holy Maiden'?"

"Ah, no—I was just thinking of running to a convenience store......"

The day after I somehow weathered a mixer that wasn't the least bit fun—just a pack of men, and unpleasant to the core.

Determined to somehow get outside, I made it as far as the elevator hall—but the guards stopped me.

My own guards are off today, but these are the security staff stationed in the residential wing of the headquarters building.

"If it's shopping, I shall go in your place. I will bring it up to your room, so please rest, 'Holy Maiden.' What shall I buy for you?"

"I'm sorry. Um......"

Of the two guards, the woman offered to do the shopping, and so my escape failed.

I ask for random snacks and ice cream, and pretend to head back to my room.

What am I going to do......

"......What are you doing?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin!

While I was watching to see if the remaining guard would step away to the toilet, Chiharu-chan—'Sword Saint-chan' herself—spoke up from behind me.

She lives in the room next to mine.

"Ah, Chiharu-chan. I have the day off today, so I want to go out, but I can't get permission...... I was just wondering if I could sneak out somehow. Ahaha."

She's a little odd, that one—but when she does go out, she brings back sweets as souvenirs, so she has a kind side too.

She's not a bad girl.

"Is there somewhere you want to go?"

"The Chiba branch! There's a naaasty one there, and I have to go give them what for!"

A nasty one means Kasugano Haruki!

The more I hear from Kasumi-chan, the more he's nothing but a K○ brat who causes her trouble!

I'll punish that brat and drag his true nature into the light!

"Chiba...... Come with me."

She seems to think for a moment, and then Chiharu-chan invites me into her room.

Her room is stuffed full of stuffed animals.

Not because she loves cute things, apparently—the crane games themselves are what she loves.

Every so often she sneaks out of here and brings back the prize figures.

"Wear this. Tie your hair back, too, and sunglasses...... If you pretend to be one of my guards, you can get outside."

She hands me a black suit.

"Such a strategy! What you need are good neighbors, huh! But won't they notice?"

"In my case, going out is practically a free pass. Plenty of people live here, and the guards change by the day, so nobody remembers them all. Just strut out boldly with your chest out and you'll be fine."

You think?

It's true the upper floors of this headquarters building house quite a few holders of rare special skills and rare jobs.

I've heard that while even family can barely get in, getting OUT is easy.

Could it be—the reason I was stopped just now was because I was alone?

Mmm-mmm.

The waist is tight...... Chiharu-chan, you're taller than me, you know.

And also......

"Um, the suit—I don't think I can button it......"

"What?...... Tch. Then hunch over as you walk and hide your chest, got it?"

How cold......

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︙

"Chiharu-san, going out?"

"Just down a little."

"I see."

The guard looks at us for a moment, and that's all.

He presses the elevator button for us.

The elevator chimes up, the doors open—and out comes another female guard.

A convenience store bag in hand.

She's already back, it seems.

Heart pounding, I pass her by.

"Phewww."

"Hm-hm. A little fun, isn't it? It's been a while. Lately nobody tries to stop me anymore. Hehehe."

Seeing me let out a relieved sigh as the doors close, Chiharu-chan laughs.

S-so cute......

She's my neighbor, and if we become friends, maybe she'll hang out with me whenever?

Then I have to widen the conversation.

"Why are you helping me?"

"I had business at the Chiba branch too. Do you know 'Her Majesty the Spear King'?"

"Huh? Yes. You have business with her?"

'Her Majesty the Spear King' is Kasumi-chan.

"Yes. ......I'm going to give HER what for, too, maybe?"

I beg your pardon?

"Um, she's not a bad person, you know? Did Chiharu-chan have something happen with her?"

I ask, half afraid.

"Nearly killed, I'd say? I only set it up as a little joke, and I got clear, unmistakable killing intent pointed at me. I was genuinely terrified that time...... So this is the payback. And......"

That bewitching smile Chiharu-chan floats my way sends a shiver down my spine.

"A-a-and?"

"I feel fate with her."

Wh-wh-whaaat—!!!