Chapter-01 · EP-027

Episode 27: Hikaru Kujo (Part 3)

"Haah, haah… This isn't how it was supposed to be…"

Akihiro Mochizuki was out of breath.

"Are you okay, Mochizuki? This is what happens when you use equipment that doesn't suit you. Fufufu…"

The one mocking him was Mei Kisaragi.

Mei was laughing because Mochizuki, eager to explore the dungeon with Hikaru and Mei, had not only brought his steel sword but had also gone and purchased a breastplate—an iron chest guard—and equipped it.

Metal equipment was heavier than amateurs thought. Walking around in it was probably fine, but moving through the dungeon with its poor footing while fighting monsters consumed far more stamina than expected.

For the still-growing Mochizuki, even though he was male, the steel sword and iron breastplate were too much.

"Are you really okay? Mochizuki-san, maybe we should stop exploring and go back…"

Hikaru, worried about the exhausted Mochizuki, made a suggestion. Taking it as an insult, Mochizuki opposed the idea.

"What are you saying? It sounds like you're implying I'm holding you two back."

"It's not implying; it's the truth, isn't it?"

When Mei criticized Mochizuki, he glared back at her.

"Oh! There's a slime. Mochizuki, your turn."

"Hmph!"

When Mei spotted a slime, Mochizuki raised his prized steel sword.

Today, they had agreed to explore by taking turns defeating slimes.

Mei was far more agile and moved better than Mochizuki had imagined, annihilating each slime she found in an instant. In contrast, Mochizuki hadn't been able to perform such graceful movements.

"Oooh!"

He raised his steel sword overhead and ran towards the slime. Then he swung it down with all his might, intending to show the two of them his masculine strength.

Clang!

The steel sword struck the ground hard.

The slime slowly moved sideways.

"Tch!"

Mochizuki raised his sword again and swung it down at the slime.

This time, the sword hit the slime, and it transformed into a black gem.

"Hey, hey, actually hit it. Your accuracy is dropping fast!"

He heard Mei's jeering voice from behind.

Mei Kisaragi had been finishing slimes with imperceptible speed and precision. She was clearly more capable than him. But Mochizuki didn't want to admit it.

And to make it worse, Hikaru Kujo didn't seem nearly as exhausted as him. At first, she couldn't defeat slimes in one hit, and Mochizuki had laughed heartily. But Hikaru, receiving advice from Mei, had gradually improved her movements. The complete opposite of himself, whose movements were getting sloppier…

"Mochizuki-san, if you're tired…"

Hikaru worried about him. That only hurt his pride further.

If they went back now and she talked about this in class tomorrow, everyone would laugh at him. Even if Hikaru didn't say anything, that Mei Kisaragi would surely tell everyone how he became unable to move because of his heavy equipment. The class hero he had been until this morning would become the most ridiculed person. He wanted to avoid that at all costs.

"Of course I'm not tired! The problem is that slimes on the first floor are too weak to show my true ability. My real strength comes out when facing stronger enemies!"

"Even if you say that, we can't explore anywhere but this first floor right now, so it can't be helped."

Mochizuki's frustrated excuse was met with Mei's cold dismissal.

Frustrated, Mochizuki wanted to retort.

"Tch, you people using cheap weapons wouldn't understand. My sword and armor are…"

"Yes, yes, they're expensive. You don't need to say it a hundred times."

Hikaru quietly chided Mei at her teasing tone.

"Mei, that's enough…"

Mochizuki was completely defeated in the verbal sparring by Mei. Hikaru stopped Mei as she looked at the pathetic Mochizuki. Mochizuki's frustrated outbursts continued.

"Even if you say it was passed down from the student council president, it's just a wooden sword!"

Shifting the argument, Mochizuki tried to find any way to gain the upper hand. But then, Mei's cold, exasperated words pierced him.

"Listen up. The wooden sword Hikaru-sama received from Kazuma-sama is named 'Benikiri'. It's a rosewood sword treated with magic infusion. It combines hardness equal to steel with the flexibility unique to wooden swords. If you were to buy one, it would be far more expensive than your sword. Not that you could easily get your hands on one in the first place."

"Huh?"

Mochizuki was speechless at the shocking truth. He desperately tried to come up with a frustrated retort.

"B-but… if that's the case, why didn't you say so?"

"Whether a sword is amazing or not isn't something to brag about."

Hikaru's single sentence denied everything about Mochizuki's pride.

He snapped and screamed.

"No matter how amazing the sword is, it's meaningless if you can't wield it properly!"

"You're one to talk."

"Tch, you…"

"What's wrong, Mochizuki? Weren't you going to show us girls the strength of a man?"

Mei continued to provoke the now cocky Mochizuki. Hikaru was getting tired of stopping her, as she had been doing this the whole time.

Because Hikaru didn't stop her, Mochizuki finally took the bait.

"You want to see my strength? Fine, I'll show you! These weak slimes aren't good enough! I need a more worthy opponent… Let's challenge the Floor Boss!"

"Huh?"

The Floor Boss's room, which the teacher had explained they must not enter until reaching level 2. Since they were told not to enter, everyone knew its location.

"Wait!"

Hikaru couldn't stop him in time. Mochizuki, his blood boiling and already past the point of no return, started running towards that room.