ch61-ch80 · 090-ch74

Chapter 74

The Self-Defense Force's presence in Shinjuku Tower is, to put it plainly, a situation known only to those in the know.

If you asked the public which adventurer party was the top, they'd naturally name 'Wakou,' but at the same time, the party's name has taken on a life of its own.

People who know they're the Self-Defense Force are a bit more of a niche crowd.

This is partly because the SDF doesn't actively publicize that Wakou is part of them. Of course, if you look into it a little, the information comes up, but unless you search, you won't know that 'Wakou' is the SDF.

There are various reasons for this, but the biggest reason is the poor fit between the Self-Defense Force, which protects the nation, and adventurers, who conquer the tower.

Perhaps it's because their systems of combat and ideology (consensus) are too different.

It might be more accurate to say that the combat know-how of a unit organized for all-of-Japan defense lines and static defense is too different from that of a unit for conquering the tower.

Of course, there are many areas where their existing ideology has been useful.

One of those is probably the Shinjuku Sub-Installation (base).

SDF bases exist all over the country, but this one was hastily constructed after Shinjuku Tower appeared.

It was built to allow emergency deployment when monsters, including Guardians, appear outside Shinjuku Tower.

Here, SDF adventurer teams train daily to conquer Shinjuku Tower, spending their days fighting on the front lines.

Not through modern combat methods using guns, but incorporating swords, spears, and even magic — past or unknown technologies — into their tactics, and systematically codifying them day by day.

Sai was standing at the entrance of such a Shinjuku Base.

"Thank you for accepting our request."

The man standing before Sai was wearing a jacket.

He seemed to be the one who would guide Sai to the dojo.

"No, I'm the one who appreciates this."

After exchanging brief greetings, they headed straight for their destination.

Since it was his first time in an SDF base, Sai couldn't help but look around.

The sight of soldiers in the familiar SDF camouflage uniforms, which he didn't normally see, stirred a bit of emotion in him.

Guided along, the place they arrived at was a dojo.

Although it was called a dojo, the floor wasn't tatami or wood — it was paved with urethane or rubber material like what's used on track and field grounds. The SDF soldiers... adventurers who were fighting there weren't wearing the camouflage uniforms that SDF personnel wore outside; each was clad in their own adventurer gear, fighting with their own specialties.

"Fall in!"

At that command, the adventurers began to assemble.

With discipline you wouldn't expect from people who had been fighting moments ago, they gathered before the one giving orders.

"Starting now, Sai-dono will conduct a mock battle with Squad Seven, 'Wakou'!"

Yes.

The reason Sai had been called to Shinjuku Base today was to have a mock battle with 'Wakou.'

◇

The week after Sai and Hexaria talked about the floor twenty-five Floor Boss.

As declared, the two broke through floor twenty-four.

They had arrived at floor twenty-five.

Now they would finally fight that Floor Boss, the 'Shadow,' but before that, Sai wanted to train — and 'Wakou' reached out to him.

Surely the SDF soldiers had also noticed.

That Sai's fighting style was similar to the 'Shadow's.'

In other words, from the SDF's side, they could conduct training against the 'Shadow.'

If that was the case, it was a win-win for both sides.

Sai wore his usual light armor and stood before his first opponent.

"Yamana-san, thanks for today."

"I'm happy to fight you all too — you've fought that 'Shadow.'"

Sai's first mock battle opponent was a young man who served as the front line for 'Wakou.'

His favored weapon was a sword. Apparently, it was a fine piece he'd obtained in Shinjuku Tower.

The two faced each other in the center of the dojo.

"Heh. If I beat Yamana-san, I'm gonna confess to Hexaria-san..."

The SDF members knew that Sai was from the other world, and they also knew that Sai was married to Hexaria.

Despite knowing that, for him to say something like this, he must have been really taken by Hexaria's beauty. Sai had seen this type plenty of times in the other world too.

"If you do that, you're gonna get punched, you know...?"

"I'd get to be punched by Hexaria-san!?"

The young man looked oddly delighted.

...Even in the SDF, you can't change your fetishes, it seems.

"So even in Japan, top adventurers are all weirdos."

Sai grumbled with exasperation.

What terrible reputational damage.

With the banter out of the way, the two faced each other.

"Ready! ...Begin!"

His perverted remarks from a moment ago were nowhere to be seen — the young man's face was dead serious.

He'd flipped a switch, going from a pervert to an adventurer.

He might look like a frivolous pervert, but he was genuinely one of Japan's top honed adventurers.

He was definitely not an opponent to take lightly.

"Ha!"

He unleashed the fastest, shortest thrust possible.

It was a fighting style that mixed swordsmanship with practical movement — killing techniques — further systematized anew for adventurers from within the SDF's martial arts.

Sai dodged narrowly, but the young man drew a circle with his extended arm and lunged at Sai's throat.

Sai anticipated the blade flash and blocked it with his own blade.

It was a movement honed for killing humanoid-sized monsters.

"I see...!"

Sai deliberately received two or three exchanges.

The sword strokes were clearly refined over a long time, but at the same time, they felt like a young, fresh way of fighting.

They were mixing existing fighting methods with different methodologies to improve efficiency in protecting citizens and confronting monsters.

In terms of pure swordsmanship, he felt this guy was stronger than Hiyori.

There were even movements that occasionally made Sai's heart skip a beat.

But that was about it.

"Time for me to counterattack!"

He deliberately announced it to the young man.

When receiving attacks, Sai had intentionally held back his Body Enhancement gear.

This was because, in a prolonged fight, keeping the gear maxed out the whole time would make Sai's body scream.

But when shifting to offense, he suddenly raised the gear to maximum.

How did the young man feel seeing Sai suddenly speed up?

The young man skillfully received the attack, but here was the key.

Sai feigned a diagonal slash with his left hand, then spun around and took the young man's back.

He pressed a hidden knife against the young man's throat.

"That's enough!"

The uniformed man acting as referee stopped the mock battle.

"Tch!"

"Great movements, as expected."

From there, Sai fought consecutive battles against all the 'Wakou' members, and then even against the other adventurers.

Sai deliberately refrained from giving instructor-like advice.

He only answered when asked.

They were in an environment where they could discuss things among themselves and improve on their own.

Rather than giving clumsy advice, they would polish themselves from today's mock battle on their own.

That was the strength of the SDF.

◇

A break came.

Having fought for hours against the SDF's top adventurers, the fatigue had understandably accumulated, so Sai was grateful for the rest.

As Sai caught his breath and hydrated, the 'Wakou' members he'd first fought came over.

"Yamana-san. I realized something from the mock battle. Your fighting style... it's exactly the same as the 'Shadow's,' isn't it..."

The leader continued.

"Is that fighting style from the other world where you and Hexaria-san were...?"

"Yes. That's right. We don't know what kind of monster the 'Shadow' is, but that fighting style is the standard in the other world."

He then shared what he and Hexaria had discussed the other day.

"I see..."

"Let me ask in return — did you notice anything else about the 'Shadow'?"

As far as Sai was concerned, he wanted as much information about that monster as possible.

How well you know your opponent changes the quality of the battle.

One of the members spoke up.

"I originally thought it was a ghost-type, but... how should I put it, the feeling was different."

"A feeling?"

"Yeah, I'm actually also in the Exorcist Alliance, and you know how things from Kakuriyo feel different?"

He was saying the feeling was different, but basically, the waves emitted by a substance change depending on the amount of magical essence, among other factors. The soldier ahead of him apparently also helped with Exorcist Alliance duties in emergencies, so he had a certain level of knowledge about evil spirits and demons.

"Then it might not be a ghost..."

"No, that's the thing... the feeling is different, so it's definitely not an ordinary evil spirit. But looking at that mist, I can't rule out the possibility either..."

It was a rather vague conversation.

But when information is unclear, the key is not to discard vague information either — pick it up and examine it carefully.

Sai had fought countless monsters in the other world.

Including completely alien existences like the Shadow-Eater, and dragon-types as well.

As always, when fighting monsters... when fighting enemies, you need to gather as much information as possible before engaging, or things can turn out tragically.

You can't be too hasty in judgment, but at the same time, going in without a plan is out of the question.

If there's a guidebook, you use it — that's the way to go.

"This is shaping up to be one troublesome opponent."

From the Shinjuku Base, Shinjuku Tower was visible.

As always, the upper floors of the tower were covered in mist, hard to see.

But even if he couldn't see it, it was definitely there.

If it existed, it was an opponent he could fight.

Sai once again continued his mock battles with the adventurers in the SDF, honing his human-vs-human combat skills for the battle against the floor twenty-five Floor Boss.

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