ch61-ch80 · 081-inter14

Interlude: Futami Yuuka Is Clumsy

Futami Yuuka was clumsy.

Ever since she was a child, she'd been a beat slower than everyone else in everything she did.

The one thing she was slightly good at was — whether you called it spiritual sensitivity or intuition — she'd always had a knack for that sort of thing. Though it wasn't anything particularly remarkable.

Just trivial stuff... like correctly guessing what would be on the test, or instinctively picking the shortest checkout line at the supermarket... things on that level.

Oh, and she could see ghosts, which was more of a nuisance than anything else.

Not that the ghosts ever did anything to her, and she never did anything about them either.

It would be weird to chat with a ghost sunbathing on a street corner, going, "Nice weather today, huh."

But when she was just standing there watching a ghost lazing around on the street corner, her friends would say things like:

"There you go again, spacing out! We're gonna be late for school!"

And that's how she ended up getting called slow by everyone around her, and branded as 'clumsy.'

But that wasn't quite right.

People around her might have thought that, but Yuuka herself figured that her trying to move cautiously and carefully ended up making her a beat slower than everyone else, resulting in that 'slow and clumsy' reputation.

Either way, Yuuka hated that dishonorable label, wanted to change, and decided to become an adventurer.

...Though part of it was also because of something her then-boyfriend had said.

"Hey, maybe even Clumsy Yuuka could learn to move more briskly if she became an adventurer."

Whether thanks to mana or something else, becoming an adventurer gave you above-average physical abilities.

It was said that adventurers were separated from ordinary people by an un-crossable wall, and in events like the Olympics, adventurers were sometimes barred from participating in certain events, or had their own exclusive rankings created.

That was how much stronger you could become — potentially — by being an adventurer.

So when she turned twenty, she actually became one.

Partly because her boyfriend's words had stung... but more than that, she wanted to move better than ordinary people and surprise everyone.

That was about how strong her motivation was.

Despite never having fought before, Yuuka found that the adventurer profession suited her surprisingly well.

It was quite impressive that she made it to floor five in under six months.

Around that time, however, she ended up breaking up with her boyfriend, who couldn't keep up with her as an adventurer.

She hadn't liked him that much anyway — she'd just wanted to try dating since she was in university, and he'd happened to be there.

He told her, "I can't keep up with you."

To be told something like that, and to break up over it — she didn't particularly feel sad about it.

If anything, having been called 'clumsy' all that time, hearing a breakup line like "I can't keep up with you" felt like a small badge of honor.

After becoming alone, Yuuka found that female solo adventurers tended to get invitations easily, and she was quickly approached by another party. She'd gotten in better shape since becoming an adventurer, so maybe that had something to do with it too.

The new party she joined was made up of working adults, with Yuuka being the only university student.

The reason she'd joined was that there was another woman in the group besides herself.

Having another woman around was helpful in all sorts of small ways.

She felt things started off well.

The party had originally been four people, and with Yuuka joining, their combat strength simply increased. Within about half a year, they were able to reach floor twelve.

From Yuuka's perspective, the members who pushed ahead of her — the scout — made her a bit anxious, but their individual abilities were high, and she could sense their talent.

Still, perhaps because everyone was so capable, Yuuka once again found herself being evaluated as "too slow, too clumsy" within the group.

It stung a little, but she figured she just had to try harder.

That was around last autumn or winter, she thought.

Around that time, a peculiar topic emerged in adventurer circles.

Rumors started spreading, mainly on adventurer-focused social media, about how "this mysterious middle-aged adventurer's instructional stream is insane."

A middle-aged adventurer who'd appeared out of nowhere.

Despite being solo, he remained completely calm even when surrounded by hordes of monsters. In fact, he'd keep giving advice while continuing to fight — an incredible combat ability.

Despite being solo, he climbed Shinjuku Tower at a frightening speed, and even had the consideration to rush to people's aid faster than a rescue alert (viewers had no idea how he noticed at the time).

A bizarre style — teaching while continuing to adventure solo.

Countless adventurers became obsessed with the middle-aged adventurer 'Sai.'

The new hero of the Reiwa era was a middle-aged man.

Even Yuuka, who'd always been called clumsy, started following the old man's streams.

This was how she wanted to be able to move — that was why she'd wanted to become an adventurer.

She honestly looked up to him.

The members of Yuuka's party also learned from his movements and grew stronger.

The magic control training and Five Senses Enhancement he taught in his instructional streams — they kept at it, just as he'd said in the streams.

Even after just a few months of training, results showed, and everyone celebrated together.

Then, one day.

They got the chance to be personally instructed by Sai.

Their continued requests had paid off, and all the party members were overjoyed.

Sai's guidance that day was a kind of revelation.

He immediately identified the party's weakness as 'coordination' and gave them advice.

Even now, Yuuka was still called "too slow" and "sluggish" by the others, but Sai praised her.

"Keep believing in yourself and do your best."

She might still be slower than the others, but he told her to "keep going like this."

Cherishing those words in her heart, Yuuka kept working hard at adventuring every day.

◇

Shinjuku Tower, floor fourteen.

Yuuka's party continued their exploration there.

Taking the words Sai had taught them not long ago to heart, the party was working on their coordination.

"So the 'Wakou' movements Mr. Sai talked about — this is what he meant, right?"

The leader confirmed.

"But y'know, this is gonna slow down our exploration a lot."

"Yeah, that's the thing... we're gonna spend more time exploring than fighting..."

Even coming from a hero, words alone didn't immediately solve everything.

The 'Wakou' movements they were supposed to reference were something you only reached after considerable training.

It wasn't something you could do overnight.

Still, they'd received advice that could make them stronger.

For now, floor fourteen was their limit, but even so, they were doing well compared to adventurers as a whole.

Their desire for money and fame spurred on their will to become stronger.

That was when it happened.

Yuuka, at the head of the party, wrinkled her nose and made a sour face.

"...Sorry. This smell... I think something's ahead..."

"What's ahead?"

"I think this smell is a corpse... I think an adventurer has died..."

As a result of her Five Senses Enhancement, Yuuka picked up on the unique death-smell of an adventurer.

There were no zombie-type monsters on floor fourteen, so she was almost certain.

"Ugh. Seriously? What about monsters?"

"I... can't tell right now. I don't hear any footsteps, so maybe there aren't any... maybe."

"Yuuka, it's amazing you can tell that much from all the way back here."

"Mm. It's thanks to the Five Senses Enhancement."

Praised by her female party member, Yuuka felt a little happy.

"Anyway, let's confirm the body and contact the rescue team."

"Okay...!"

For adventurers, death was more familiar than it was for ordinary people.

No matter how much they emphasized "stay safe" or "safety margins," injuries happened sometimes, and death happened when it happened.

Especially around floor eleven and above, casualty numbers inevitably increased.

And the problem was that the rescue team also had its limits.

Just because you requested a rescue didn't mean they'd come immediately.

By the very nature of dungeons, no matter how fast they moved, there were limits.

Moreover, if the location was floor eleven or above — the so-called mid-floors and higher — even the rescue team couldn't always reach in time. It wasn't zero that someone died before the rescue team arrived.

In this case, a corpse on floor fourteen meant the death was recent.

The corpse hadn't been recovered yet.

And as it happened, corpse recovery was actually a source of income for ordinary adventurers.

This was because leaving corpses behind could lead to the spread of disease.

Also, from the families' perspective, having their loved one killed by monsters and then eaten down to the bone would be more than just tragic.

As a result, a fixed amount was paid as compensation for rescues and corpse recoveries.

Plus, it earned you evaluation points with the guild.

For adventurers, despite the difficulty of transporting bodies, it was a convenient way to earn a bit of pocket money.

So it was only natural for this five-person party to head toward the body.

But just a few steps in.

Yuuka cried out desperately.

"N-no! I have a bad feeling about going further!"

"A feeling... a trap?"

"No, there are no traps in the vicinity."

The party leader's question was answered by another member who'd checked the surroundings.

"Yuuka. Are there monsters?"

"...I don't know... but I feel like we shouldn't go."

Even with Five Senses Enhancement and mana detection active, she sensed nothing.

Maybe her mana detection was still too rough.

But her intuition was sounding an alarm.

However, Yuuka's words didn't reach the leader.

"I get that you're anxious, but we can't just leave a corpse lying there."

"I-I know, but...!"

Her instincts as a scout weren't bad.

The leader understood that too.

But in the leader's mind, his sense of justice (along with a bit of desire for fame and money) outweighed the scout's intuition.

"Leader's orders. Let's go."

"It'll be fine, Yuuka. Let's go."

"Ah...!"

Saying that, the party members walked ahead, leaving Yuuka standing frozen.

"W-wait!"

Yuuka hurriedly ran after them.

And then, when they arrived at the spot where the corpse was believed to be.

What was there ahead of them was—

A calamity that appeared only once on floor fourteen.

A demon-type monster, yet also an evil spirit-type monster.

The aberrant demon — 'Demon Specter.'

A monster far stronger than the floor fifteen Floor Boss.

"Run for ittttt!"

The leader's order was swift.

But the Demon Specter wasn't about to let them escape.

It fixed its target and began to move.

The last thing Yuuka saw was the Demon Specter right in front of her—

================ Thank you very much for reading.