ch01-ch20 · 018-ch17

Chapter 17

"—so this time it won't be a regular stream, but a live relay broadcast. We might need to edit it afterward, but unless something major happens, we plan to stream until the end. Thank you for your support."

Watching Mido Airi, the "saintess" of Anthem, bow politely on the screen, Kawai Sakiho found herself feeling unsettled.

The usual Sugai Dungeon branch office. The usual reception desk.

The usual section chief not showing up. The usual routine of opening the office herself, sitting at her usual seat, watching explorer streams on her phone like always.

And yet—that usual routine was somehow still happening today.

According to a message from Section Chief Sadoyama, there were tasks with higher priority than deciding her fate. He'd practically told her to slack off and watch Anthem's stream. But then again, this branch office never had any real work to begin with.

Normally, Hayasaka Toru would show up to borrow a body camera, but he hadn't come today. Maybe he'd never come again.

And if it came to that, Sakiho herself had no idea how much longer she'd be coming here either.

"Morning Anthem~" "Glad you're safe, Airi!" "We were worried when you went silent on social media after yesterday" "Live relay?" "Meg-tan and Chii-chan are okay, right? Why's Airi streaming solo?" "One comment on Chizuru's lethal voice please"

The chat was more active than usual, even for a weekday afternoon. It seemed like not only regular Anthem fans were there, but also a lot of first-time viewers drawn in by the viral buzz.

As someone who'd been a dedicated Anthem follower for a while, Sakiho had mixed feelings about this. But today, even apart from the stream, her emotions were already too stirred up for her to fully understand her own feelings. She was glad they were safe, at least.

"Ah, it's one PM now. Let's switch to the relay."

Airi said, and the screen changed immediately.

It was security camera footage—or rather, a fixed camera shot. Some kind of conference room, with long tables arranged in a rectangle.

On the near left side of the camera sat Saito Megumi and Kagurazaka Chizuru of Anthem, with one of their managers, Hamamatsu Nanami, visible nearby.

On the far side of the camera, across the long tables, sat several older men who looked important. One man who appeared to be in his late thirties was mixed in among them.

"Ah... that's the mayor."

As a civil servant herself, Sakiho at least knew the mayor's face. Using that as an anchor, she guessed the older men were city and prefectural assembly members, along with Labyrinth Agency officials. She couldn't recall their names, though...

"What's this" "A conference room? Fixed camera?" "Looks like big shots" "Can they see our comments?" "Meg-tan and Chii-chan are there. They're not looking at the camera" "Is this a hidden recording?"

The chat scrolled by with comments flying freely, in contrast to the silent footage on screen. No one in the room was speaking yet. Sakiho held her breath, focusing on the screen, knowing that probably nobody recognized the face of a mayor from a backwater city like XX Prefecture, S City.

Before long, the sound of a door opening echoed—the angle didn't show who entered—and Hayasaka Toru appeared, along with the swordswoman from yesterday. The two were guided to the right side of the screen, where they dropped their luggage onto the long table with a thud before sitting down.

"Worksite-bro!?" "The swordswoman's there too. She's wearing some kind of foreign folk costume" "Well, walking around town in armor would be a bit much" "Damn, she's gorgeous" "I'm a Chii-chan man, thanks? Don't underestimate me?" "Huh? Meg-tan's just as good" "Hmm, gotta go with Worksite-bro here" "Worksite-bro's not in worksite fashion today" "Jeans, t-shirt, jacket. Not bad, not good"

Seeing Hayasaka Toru being called "Worksite-bro" by netizens—Sakiho had to admit it was funny. Nobody would know that the overnight viral sensation was actually a "cleaner" below even D-rank explorer level.

The meeting was led by Anthem's manager, Hamamatsu Nanami. Despite interruptions from the city and prefectural assembly members making spectacles of themselves, the meeting somehow moved forward, even if Sakiho couldn't fully follow it.

"Fox-geezer gets owned lmao" "Old man banging the table at his age" "Wait, do they not know this is being streamed?" "If so, lmao" "So Anthem's side is seriously pissed, huh" "Well yeah. S City's people buried the investigation report and invited Anthem anyway, then threw them into a labyrinth that ended up mutating" "The fact that none of them look sorry is hilarious. No wait, it's not funny" "Gonna look these guys up real quick" "Worksite-bro is yawning" "Can't blame him, this is boring" "Learn from Meg-tan and Chii-chan, Worksite-bro" "Well Anthem's here for work" "What about Bro?" "Oh, looks like they're about to explain" "Geezer B getting owned by Worksite-bro lol" "False accusation geezer born lol" "Worksite-bro's got high-tier trolling skills lol"

The chat seemed to be enjoying the tedious meeting. But the city and prefectural assembly members' attitudes were so terrible that Sakiho started getting worried.

Currently, the live stream had over thirty thousand viewers.

Yesterday's boss room section of the stream had even more, but it was getting attention now. Some people probably couldn't watch live due to work, so they'd watch the archive... or more likely, clip videos would be flooding the internet soon.

The names and faces of the prefectural and city assembly members who'd been making spectacles of themselves would surely be spread along with those clips.

The incompetent, ugly tax thieves who nearly got Anthem killed—XX Prefecture S City All-Stars!

That's probably how they'd get torn apart.

A boring local city, turned into internet entertainment in just two days.

〈Ahh... starting with the ear ringing thing, huh. So, three days ago from today. I was doing my usual trash cleanup at Sugai Dungeon... oh, I'm a 'cleaner,' been doing it for about three years at Sugai Dungeon〉

On screen, Hayasaka Toru started explaining in a tone about thirty percent more fed up than usual. Naturally, he didn't hesitate to mention that the branch office had ignored his report—Sakiho's mistake. He said it like it was the most trivial thing in the world.

"So Worksite-bro was literally a worksite bro" "A D-rank dungeon 'cleaner' means he doesn't even have an explorer's license?" "Whoa! Three years as a cleaner! That's veteran status!" "The ear ringing thing bothers me. Was it a sign of the Labyrinth Mutation?" "He thought he saw a figure and followed it? Bro, do you have a death wish?" "You're supposed to retreat immediately if you sense anything abnormal in a labyrinth jk" "Well, that report got buried anyway..." "...Wait, hidden room?" "Things just took a turn"

From the hidden room in Sugai Dungeon, he apparently triggered a teleport trap and ended up in a long passage. There was a Black Ogre there, and as he was about to be killed, he fled and saw the "figure in hakama" again. Urged on by the figure, he passed through another "illusion wall," and in yet another hidden room were—two swords.

〈So I was freaking out, grabbed both of them and pulled 'em out, then passed out. When I woke up, this one was here. Claims to be a spirit possessing the holy sword or whatever〉

Still in the same fed-up tone as when he started, Hayasaka Toru dropped the bombshell.

It was a difficult claim to believe—and the room seemed to feel the same way. The assembly members in particular had veins bulging on their foreheads, shouting and clamoring.

"First lol Geezer loses it lol" "But wait, is this for real?" "From Worksite-bro's vibe, doesn't feel like he's lying" "Liar liar" "But the part where he pulled the 'Cursed Blade' from his hand and cut down the Black Knight is real tho" "Come and go, come and go" "Another geezer's starting the 'proof proof' thing" "Time for another mystery knockout trip?" "Oh" "Ooh?" "Ah"

The swordswoman rose smoothly and picked up the luggage she'd placed on the long table. It was the sword she used, apparently wrapped in a towel.

She unwrapped the towel, grasped the hilt with her right hand, and twirled the mass of metal—the blade alone had to be at least a meter long—around like it weighed nothing, spinning it with a whirring sound... then stopped, pointing the tip at the old men.

And then she spoke.

〈It seems Toru has no intention of playing games, so I'll be straightforward too. That's easier for me. I'm Tia. I was the swordsman who once wielded this holy sword, Lightbringer. Now I'm something like a spirit possessing it.〉

Her voice was clear and resonant, reaching straight into the listener's heart.

Like a hero rallying soldiers on the battlefield... even Sakiho, just listening to Tia's voice through the stream, felt somehow encouraged.

Yet the old men, after a moment of being transfixed, began cursing at Tia.

〈A spirit? Don't make me laugh. This is why I can't stand explorers. You're nothing but oafs who got strong—and now you have the nerve to talk about social contribution? You worker ants should just go collect magic cores from those incomprehensible labyrinths!〉

"Oh..." "Uh-oh" "Garbage-tier statement" "The quintessential old guard" "It's 'garbage'" "Might be a fistula" "Who said that" "ID complete. XX Prefectural Assembly Member Sasamori Takeshi. Ruling party. Second son of a local landowner family. The eldest is apparently the director of a local general hospital. Posting this on social media." "Fast work lmao" "He must've been researching this whole time" "Never thought I'd see something like this on Anthem's stream" "That was definitely a line you don't cross" "So this is what 'disappointment' feels like, huh" "Probably the same in our hometown too" "So these guys are the ones burning through our taxes?" "Yep" "Oh"

Just as the chat was reacting with predictable comments, things moved. Tia, still holding the holy sword, started to take a step forward—but Sadoyama, who had apparently returned and was standing near the door, moved.

He shot forward like a bird's shadow falling to the ground, landed in front of Councilman Sasamori, cracked the old man's chin with a sharp smack, knocked him unconscious, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck as an afterthought—and slammed him to the floor.

Every motion was so fast and precise that until Sasamori hit the ground, hardly any sound had registered.

Sadoyama kicked the unconscious Councilman Sasamori a few times in the head with his toe, confirmed he was coming to, then stepped on his back.

A "Gweh"—like a frog—escaped the man's throat.

〈Oi, geezer. You just crossed a line. Who the hell do you think explores labyrinths for your sake? A washed-up raccoon like you—I could strangle you to death right here and no one would care. You get paid a fortune for attending a handful of council sessions a year and acting smug the rest of the time. Live with a little more shame, asshole.〉

〈...Ghkk... Y-you...!〉

〈What's that, you pig. Speak clearly. Didn't you know? Explorers like us could kill old guard trash like you anytime. You've got money, but you can't even hire decent bodyguards. Because you look down on explorers. You don't have any connections, do you? Try hiring an explorer bodyguard who could stop a former A-rank like me—right now, throw your money at it and see.〉

He ground his heel into the man's back. Crushing, scraping sounds.

Because Councilman Sasamori was visibly in pain, letting out sobs.

"Too much lmao" "Old man's actually lost it" "Did he say former A-rank explorer?" "Honestly, this is reality. Those old guard types just get to be in charge of politics—once an explorer actually does something like this, they're helpless" "I hear former explorers becoming politicians is becoming standard overseas" "Well, Japanese explorers don't want to do politics anyway" "So we just 'entrust' political affairs to politicians?" "That's been the structural issue from the start. Go retake elementary school" "Honestly, he brought this on himself" "Still, not what I wanted to see on Anthem's stream" "Meg-tan and Chii-chan are glaring at that geezer with contempt" "Hah... hah... can I go to the bathroom?" "Lowest of the low lmao"

〈Senpai—!〉

Hamamatsu Nanami called out.

So she was acquainted with Section Chief Sadoyama?

〈Sorry, Nanami-chan. I couldn't take it after all. There are some things you just can't let slide, no matter wha-BOOM—!?〉

Section Chief Sadoyama, who'd been in the middle of saying something cool with a wry smile, suddenly disappeared from the screen. No—he hadn't disappeared. He was embedded in the wall behind the old men.

In his place, where Sadoyama had been standing just a moment ago—Tia stood.

"WTF!?" "Why'd she punch him away?" "Too much too fast" "A former A-rank explorer in one hit..." "As expected of the Dragon Slayer" "He's alive, right?"

〈Sorry, Sadoyama. I get how you feel, but that wasn't okay. Doing it that way just means people have to follow whoever's strongest. This world—it was supposed to develop differently, wasn't it?〉

Her voice carried clearly—to the ears, to the chest, to the heart.

It was a terribly poignant way of saying it.

What exactly was this person calling herself Tia? She claimed to be something like a spirit possessing the holy sword Hayasaka Toru had pulled out... but as Sakiho checked Hayasaka Toru's face on the screen, she was struck speechless with surprise.

Because he looked incredibly annoyed.