ch61-ch80 · 084-ch70

Chapter 70

Futami Yuuka was a third-year university student and one of the adventurers fighting in Shinjuku Tower.

She'd been picked up by a working-adult party and had assumed she'd continue as a working-adult adventurer.

But her situation had changed completely after being possessed by a Demon Specter lurking on floor fourteen.

She trudged across the university campus.

Her steps were heavy.

Being possessed by an evil spirit.

If there had been an exorcist among her acquaintances, they might have said, "Yeah, that happens sometimes." But Yuuka was an ordinary woman living an ordinary life. She didn't know anyone from the underworld like exorcists.

She'd occasionally seen ghosts before, but she never imagined she'd actually be possessed.

Since that day, everything had changed.

She was informed by an expert on evil spirits that she had a 'spiritual medium constitution.'

She was surprised to hear that such things happened.

Then the Adventurer's Guild staff and a therapist told her, "You might want to avoid going out for a while."

On TV and online, footage of her possessed self attacking her companions was broadcast over and over.

TV was still okay. They mosaicked her face.

But on some parts of the internet, her face wasn't mosaicked at all, and people were posting about what kind of adventurer Yuuka was.

And then, malicious people wrote all sorts of things.

"They didn't think about safety margins at all."

"Not even carrying a single charm? They're totally underestimating adventuring."

"You should just take these things down as fast as possible."

She was being attacked unilaterally by complete strangers.

It was so terrifying that she threw away her smartphone.

Yuuka's party was currently in the process of disbanding.

Two with serious injuries. Two with minor injuries.

Physically, everyone had recovered, but mentally they seemed to be in rough shape — they were apparently receiving care from therapists at the Adventurer's Guild. The leader was tormented by his own bad decisions, burying his head in his hands. He'd been dragged through the mud online too.

Branded as incompetent for disregarding Yuuka's judgment.

But the worst off was the female adventurer who'd been with them. She'd witnessed Yuuka's possession firsthand, and it seemed to have traumatized her.

Even if she returned to adventuring, it would probably be difficult for them to adventure together anymore.

"Haaah..."

Yuuka sat down on a bench on the university campus and looked up at the sky.

It was the first time she'd come outside in several days. She hadn't realized she was this fragile.

Her heart had never been this weak before.

She was afraid of people's eyes.

Maybe that person over there is talking about me.

The woman who got possessed by an evil spirit...

She never knew that someone's laughter could be so frightening.

No one was actually talking about Yuuka — it was all just paranoia — but the depth of Yuuka's emotional wounds was something only she could understand.

As she sat there blankly staring at the sky, a middle-aged man's voice reached her ears from a short distance away.

"Yuuka."

She knew that man.

She'd been watching his streams for a long time, she'd met him in person and received instruction not long ago, and on top of all that — he'd saved her when she was possessed by an evil spirit. It was Sai.

Sai stood before her.

"I thought it might be you, Yuuka."

"Sai... sir..."

When Yuuka had been possessed by the Demon Specter, even though her body had been taken over, she could still see what was happening. So she remembered Sai saving her.

Even as her body was controlled by the evil spirit, Sai's words had reached her.

'Yuuka, you're gonna be okay! Just hold on a little longer!'

How much had that voice comforted her heart?

How much had it saved her?

How much... how much...

The moment she remembered Sai's figure and that moment, tears welled up in Yuuka's eyes...

"Wah... waaaaahhh..."

Before she knew it, she was sobbing loudly.

◇

It took a while for Yuuka to stop crying.

The university students around them saw a female college student suddenly burst into tears, with a middle-aged man who didn't look like a student standing in front of her — it was only natural that he'd be treated like a suspicious person.

A security guard who happened to be nearby rushed over, and Sai's feelings at that moment were hard to put into words.

They managed to resolve it by explaining the situation.

...Honestly, it's a tough world for an old man, but there were plenty of unavoidable aspects to it too.

In this day and age, a well-built middle-aged man was automatically treated as suspicious just for existing.

"I'm sorry... That was embarrassing, wasn't it? Me crying like that..."

"No, after going through something like that, it's only natural."

Saying that, Sai sat down next to Yuuka on the bench.

"Um... thank you for saving me back then."

Whether it was because of the violent rampage while possessed by the evil spirit, after being exorcised she'd collapsed unconscious.

Because of that, if they hadn't met again today, she wouldn't have been able to thank him properly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad I could help."

"Um... so why are you at this university...?"

"Ah, I had some business here. I came a bit earlier than our appointment time, though."

"I see..."

"The thing is, I've never been to university myself, but I guess you could say I've always had this admiration for it. That kind of thing."

Sai spoke with a slightly embarrassed look.

Sai's image of high school and university was based on manga and dramas he'd read long ago.

He didn't really know much about it, but he believed there was a sparkling youth life waiting there.

"I've come to universities before, but it was always just do what I needed to do and leave..."

"Is that maybe because of Hexaria's...?"

"Yeah, that's right. I'm her assistant for her lectures, after all."

Hexaria's lectures on magical power and magical engineering — Yuuka had been checking those out on stream too.

The content was quite specialized and difficult, but Hexaria broke things down thoroughly, so even Yuuka could follow along.

"But during those lectures, I never have time to just leisurely look around the university. The truth is, I've always been a bit curious about it. University students are young, right? So I don't want to stare too obviously, but... I can't help being interested."

"There are older students too, you know?"

At university, it wasn't that uncommon to see middle-aged or even elderly people mixed in among the young students. People retraining after retirement, people learning out of necessity... everyone had their own reasons. But Yuuka was right — there was a foundation for an old guy to enroll if he wanted.

"Man, that's nice. I kind of admire that too, but given my position, I can't exactly become a student now."

"Hehe, that would be a bit weird, wouldn't it?"

Sai was in a position where he taught adventurers. Young adventurers watched his instructional streams, and recently he'd even been teaching combat instructors at the Adventurer's Guild.

If that man suddenly said he was going to become a university student, people might understand to a degree, but it would certainly look strange.

"Right? Oh, keep that between us, okay? If my students heard about it, they'd never let me live it down."

Sai raised his index finger in a secrecy gesture.

"Hehe, okay. I'll keep it a secret."

Before she knew it, a natural smile had returned to Yuuka's face.

The emotions that had been weighing her down for so long felt just a little lighter.

Maybe that was why.

Yuuka suddenly asked Sai a question.

"Sai... do you think I should keep being an adventurer?"

"Do you want to quit?"

"...I don't know."

That was Yuuka's honest feeling.

She had a terrifying experience in the dungeon.

That feeling of having her body taken over was a fear beyond imagination.

And now, she was afraid of people's eyes.

Sometimes she wondered if people were whispering about her behind her back.

Thanks to the lighthearted conversation with Sai, she felt a little lighter, but she was still afraid of people's gazes.

But at the same time, Shinjuku Tower was a place where she — always called clumsy — could shine. Recently she'd been called slow again, but even so, Sai had told her to "believe in yourself."

What did she want to do?

What did she want to be?

That was what Yuuka was struggling with.

"I see... those kinds of worries are tough, aren't they?"

"Even you find them difficult, Sai?"

Hearing Yuuka's story, Sai acknowledged that her concerns were valid.

To Yuuka, that was a bit surprising.

She hadn't expected someone like Sai to empathize with her.

"Of course. I'll say this as a fellow scout — a scout's choices and judgments are all about being careful."

A scout's carelessness could put the entire party in danger.

If you failed to spot even one trap, someone could get injured or be taken out of the fight.

That was why you had to pay meticulous attention, constantly be forced to make judgments, and keep pursuing the optimal solution.

That was precisely why Sai had praised Yuuka's clumsiness — her cautious way of moving.

"...I can't go into detail, but not too long ago, I almost got one of my disciples killed."

It was in Kakuriyo.

During the battle against the Shadow-Eating Demon King, he'd ordered his disciples Hiyori and Mio to stay back and recover — and there was a split body of the Shadow-Eater lurking there.

Set-chan, the divine spirit, had shielded them, so Mio didn't die, but it was Sai's mistake in judgment.

A decision he thought was optimal turned out not to be optimal at all.

"I don't think hesitation itself is something that should ever be denied. It's because we hesitate that we constantly examine and keep thinking."

Of course, there were times when you couldn't afford to hesitate. Hesitating too long and missing an opportunity was a real possibility. That was why you kept thinking, constantly seeking the optimal solution.

But the optimal solution was something not even the gods knew.

There was no such thing as a right answer anywhere in this world.

And yet, you had to keep chasing the right answer.

"But... yeah. I want to be someone who can have confidence in the choices I make after hesitating, worrying, and thinking through things."

His instruction in Kakuriyo that time was a mistake.

But even so, he couldn't afford to regret it — only reflect on it.

No matter how much he agonized over it, he couldn't change the past.

All he could do was think about how to avoid making the same mistake next time something similar happened.

"Sai..."

Hearing Sai's words, Yuuka thought.

Even someone like Sai hesitates, worries, and keeps making judgment calls.

He's the same as me — clumsy...

"Well, I should get going. It's about time."

"Um... thank you so much."

Yuuka hesitantly expressed her gratitude to Sai.

Sai smiled at her.

"If you ever decide you want to keep being an adventurer, just say the word. My door's always open for disciples."

With that, Sai stood up from the bench and walked away.

He was led away by two female university students who had been watching from a distance.

Yuuka watched Sai go.

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

By the way, the two university girls were Hiyori and Mio.