Chapter-09 · EP-142

Episode 142: Give and Take

"How did I know? No matter how far away you are, if you're radiating that much killing intent, it's obvious, isn't it?"

I answered Susa's question calmly, but inside I was sweating cold.

This man wasn't a dog or a cat; he was a giant tiger. And that predator was watching us with the eyes of a hunter eyeing its prey. There's no way I could stay calm.

Tatsunori Susa. Level 43. Self-Defense Forces Special Exploration Unit.

And the man sniffing around my secrets.

"Killing intent… I thought I had completely suppressed it…"

Still, Susa didn't seem convinced.

Well, Sendo and Maika hadn't noticed at all.

Murasakimura, seeing us, stopped defeating slimes and looked our way.

"How long have you been watching?"

I asked, trying to get the upper hand.

"You make me sound like a stalker. I wasn't watching you. I just happened to notice you."

Is that so? Weren't you tailing me from the start?

I glared at Susa with distrustful eyes.

Susa averted his gaze from me and looked around.

There were countless slimes gathered around the water Maika had scattered.

"Well… impressive. Are the slimes gathering because of the water?"

He'd seen it.

This was one of the strategies we had kept secret, but now an outsider knew about it.

Damn, and we'd only just discovered it.

Seeing the gathered slimes, Susa began to speak.

"I've been an explorer for a long time, but I never knew slimes had this kind of habit. Did you guys discover it? If this becomes widespread, it would drastically shorten the time for level 1 explorers to reach level 2, and since the number they can defeat in a day would increase, the drop rate of Rank 1 potions from slimes would also go up. Maybe it could even be tried on Poison Slimes on the 11th floor or Quicksilver Slimes on the 21st."

Damn. The frustration of having our hard-won strategy stolen.

This guy, at Level 43, was trying to steal a discovery made by me, still at Level 6, and my lower-level companions.

It was incredibly frustrating…

My hand naturally clenched into a fist.

"Don't make such a scary face."

Susa smirked at me.

How annoying.

"It's not like I'm trying to steal your discovery."

"Huh?"

Could he read my mind, or was that his honest feeling?

His unexpected words confused me.

"Honestly, we'd also like to use this method right away, since it would let us get more Rank 1 potions. But this falls under Dungeon Knowledge. I can't spread it before you register it, can I? You have the right to register it in your names and receive appropriate compensation. If you don't know how to register, I can help, but…"

I was confused.

I couldn't figure out his angle.

Was he trying to pretend to be our ally to find out the source of the high-rank potions? Or was he really acting out of goodwill?

"You seem wary…"

Could he really read my mind?

I had to say something back. I forced out some words.

"Even if you pretend to be on our side, I won't trust you."

"I'm not your enemy."

"You're just trying to get information from us about where the high-rank potions come from, aren't you?"

Susa's expression stiffened.

I'd hit the mark.

"Then you do know, don't you?"

Damn. I slipped.

But it was too late. I had to stick to my story.

"Who knows? I don't know. No matter how much you try to let our guard down, nothing's going to come out."

I made that clear.

Susa shrugged.

"I was told the same thing by Okumoto-kun from Class A. That he couldn't talk about the person who saved his family."

Okumoto?

…I see. So he not only knew about the Rank 3 potion I gave to the young lady that ended up with Okumoto, but he'd also asked Okumoto about it.

That guy didn't talk, did he? Thanks, Okumoto.

"To tell you the truth, even if you try to hide it, we had some information even before the investigation started. About you selling a Rank 3 potion to Hikaru Kujo-san from Class A, seen by other Class A students."

That time…

I'd deliberately shown off to Okumoto, maybe I'd overdone it…

I was careful not to show my panic on my face.

"Where did you get the Rank 3?"

Susa's eyes looked straight at me.

This man didn't give up.

But I wouldn't give in either.

"Who knows? I have no idea."

I answered curtly.

Susa's eyes met mine.

A few seconds of silence.

"…I see. If you absolutely don't want to talk, I suppose it can't be helped. I'll wait until you change your mind and decide to tell me."

With that, Susa turned and went back the way he came.

Watching his back, I thought.

He didn't seem to have given up. He'd probably continue to watch me at every opportunity.

A troublesome opponent.

Then I realized that Murasakimura's leveling had been interrupted.

"Sorry…"

I said, turning around. Sendo, Maika, and Murasakimura were looking at me worriedly.

"Ichinose-kun, you…"

Murasakimura started to say, but I cut him off.

"Ah, don't pry too much. More importantly, let's get back to the slimes…"

I looked. The slimes were starting to merge and grow larger.

"Hey, Murasakimura! The slimes are merging! If they keep going, they'll become a Huge Slime. Defeat them quickly!"

"Huh? Merging? Does that happen?"

Murasakimura exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly turned back to the slimes.

Because of Susa's interruption, the slime-hunting that day didn't go very smoothly, and Murasakimura still didn't level up. The disruption and loss of focus probably contributed.

Still, if it took a score of 200, he should level up tomorrow.

The problem was Susa.

As long as he was around, I couldn't carelessly go dungeon exploring.

What to do…?