c41-c60 · 055-ch55

Chapter 55: Noisy

"A cleaner... ah, so you're that person of interest we need to be wary of."

"Person of interest, huh? That's a pretty dangerous way to put it... wait, whoa."

The first thing that surprised me when I looked up was all those people with the same face. Having them lined up across the entire area like this was definitely a first. In a way, it was spectacular.

Scary... is this some kind of festival? No way.

The situation is more urgent than I thought. Leaving Dark Chaos-kun on the 20th floor was definitely the right call.

"Negomin-san, are you alright? Who are these people...?"

"Shibasaki-san, why...?"

"Ah, right. Let me explain the situation quickly. I heard Negomin-san's voice from the phone call, and from how things sounded, I figured you were in a desperate situation, so I rushed over."

"Why here?"

"I identified the location from the background sounds. The sound of rain here is pretty distinctive, after all. Then I dug straight down and just arrived now."

"W-wait, straight down...? Also, phone...?"

Actually, her voice had been distant at first, so I couldn't tell who it was for a moment. But since it was an unregistered number, that meant it had to be someone I'd recently given my business card to.

That's how I figured it was Negomin-san. Looking at her, she seemed to be in a real pinch, so I'm glad I made it in time to help.

"Hey, don't ignore us!"

One of the identical-faced people who had been attacking Negomin-san and the others, having lost patience, came at me swinging. I deflected it casually.

I wasn't trying to ignore them or anything... it's just that I didn't really know how to interact with them.

"Now now, calm down. Why don't we settle this peacefully for now?"

"Hah? Do you have any idea what kind of situation you're in right now?"

"No, actually I don't really understand. By the way, who are you guys? You all have really similar faces."

"Heh, then let me tell you. We are---"

Not wanting to get punched again, I lightly poked the jaws of the three nearby people with my deck brush.

I only realized he had been about to say something after the three of them, their brains rattled, collapsed in front of me.

"Oops, sorry. You were in the middle of talking. Oh well."

Their companions are still all around us, so having three of them unable to talk shouldn't be a problem.

More importantly, what concerns me are the two behind me. Rose-san in particular is heavily exhausted. Whether due to damage-related power loss or not, her healing magic on herself and the mana consumption for it seem to be balanced, so Rose-san hasn't been able to fully heal her own injuries.

Only she could maintain that state, but it's easy to imagine that the moment the thread of tension snaps, she'll immediately head toward death.

I take out two small bottles and pass them behind me to Negomin-san.

"Negomin-san, take this."

"A potion...?"

"It's a fast-acting one. One for Rose-san, and one for you."

I'm glad I brought various things since I didn't know what would happen.

Potions are ultimately for nutritional replenishment, but if she drinks this and rests, she should be able to recover on her own. I brought more expensive ones than what I usually keep on hand, so I hope they work.

Now, what should I do about them surrounding us? A group of identical faces is clearly abnormal, and the atmosphere they give off is different from the criminal clan members I've faced before.

Magic clones? Hmm. An acquaintance researcher said that creating living beings with magic is impossible. Even if a miracle occurred and it was achieved, would it really be possible to house and manage this many people without the Management Bureau noticing?

As I observe the situation a bit, one of them steps forward, clapping their hands with a deliberately exaggerated expression.

"As expected, that's magnificent. I can understand why that stubborn professor went out of his way to use such a crude phrase as 'person of interest.'""

"Oh, thank you."

"However, the situation hasn't improved at all, you know? You're still surrounded by us, and the surrounding mana is as chaotic as in the deep layers."

Indeed, the mana here is chaotic. Since coming to the 17th floor, my incam's condition has been poor.

Judging from the situation, they probably couldn't use life cords.

Negomin-san and Rose-san's clothes are completely covered in mud and rain. More signs of a long-distance run through this rain-dripping space than of battle. Either they couldn't escape from the space with chaotic mana, or that space itself was chasing them.

It's not impossible to extract with the two of them. But moving them would likely increase casualties on other floors. Besides, now that what appears to be the ringleader(s) is right in front of us, I should focus on securing them.

"Anyway, aren't we done? Just because one more person showed up doesn't mean you can beat us."

"That's right. I hate fighting, so just stop resisting."

"Ehh, but punching and kicking is fun, so I want to do more~ Hey, resist for me."

"I don't care, do whatever you want. Also, if you want to die, hurry up and die."

"Boo, is the command still...?"

....

In the middle of my deep thinking, an oddly high androgynous voice scrambled my brain. If alone, it's a clear, dignified voice that brings to mind a garden where butterflies dance, but when gathered like this, it's nothing but irritating.

I tap the end of my deck brush handle against the ground with a click.

Ah, it's noisy.

"Yeah, let's be quiet for a moment."

Riding on the chaotic mana, I wield my magic.

"...!" "Hah...!" "My voi...ce...!"

Silence descends upon this place. From their mouths comes only rasping breath instead of voice. With similar movements, they looked at their own mouths, their companions around them, and then at me, as if surprised.

Quiet places are wonderful. In this quieted space, I'm made to realize just how much noise there had been until now.

Then, breaking this silence, the one who had been clapping leaks out a shocked word.

"To silence this many people with just a single cast of magic...!?"

"It's easier for you to hear my voice like this too, right? Don't worry, I didn't cast it on you. You seemed like you'd actually talk to me properly."

"..."

I hadn't cast magic on him, but for some reason he had gone quiet.

Well, I'm grateful if he'll behave himself.

"Now, I have a lot of questions for you. Also, dealing with all of them is tiring, so won't you indulge me without doing anything unnecessary?"