ch41-ch60 · 043-ch42

Chapter 42

Around the time Hayasaka Toru and Kujo Reiko's group started walking through the eighth basement floor of Sugai Dungeon—

Kawai Sakiho was brought by Sadoyama Koji to a building a little ways from the prefectural office.

Her personal car, which she'd parked in the Sugai Dungeon parking lot, had been crushed in last night's Dungeon Rampage. Eventually support had arrived from S City's Labyrinth Department, and they'd driven her home.

Sakiho herself had taken a shower and fallen fast asleep, but Sadoyama, who'd come to pick her up at 10 a.m., clearly hadn't gotten much rest. His suit was still torn from the Great Worm's attack.

She hadn't asked him to come get her the next day.

It was both surprising and, at the same time, exactly what she'd expected.

Back when the section chief had carried her on his shoulder, flying near death—

Probably at that moment, the old Kawai Sakiho had died. In a sense.

When she'd truly faced death, she hadn't felt much regret... When she got home and remembered that while showering, she was stunned by her own shallowness. Even looking back now that she'd survived and was safe, she couldn't deny that feeling from that moment.

Her life had been that empty.

Whether she existed or not made no difference — that might be true from others' perspectives. But recognizing that, to herself, she was something whose existence didn't matter one way or another — that was still a shock.

"Sorry to drag you along, but I figured it'd be meaningful."

Saying that, Sadoyama opened a door that looked like a back entrance to a reinforced concrete building that seemed to have no tenants, and entered with the familiarity of someone who knew the place. Not wanting to be left behind, Sakiho followed after him.

The location was suburban — well, the prefectural office itself was in the suburbs, so this nearby spot was too — a desolate area with vacant lots on both sides. It took five minutes by car to reach the nearest convenience store. Hard to call it a residential area, hard to classify it as commercial.

Sadoyama went down the stairs to the basement as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

At the bottom was a door, which Sadoyama opened by turning the knob without knocking.

The basement was a spacious concrete room with bare walls — exactly what you'd expect from a basement. Several pipes of unclear purpose ran along the walls and ceiling, and LED lights that seemed to have been installed later illuminated the chilly space.

Inside were several people.

Saito Megumi, leader of the A-rank explorer clan Anthem. Beside her, the S-rank elf, Ilseria. Next to them, their manager Hamamatsu Nanami.

A short distance away from the three stood a man in a leather jacket and hunting cap.

Right next to the man — handcuffed — was Prefectural Assembly Member Sasamori Takeshi. He was restrained with his hands behind his back through one of the pipes running along the wall. No chair, standing. It was unclear how long he'd been restrained, but he looked visibly haggard.

"'The Hunter' Soma Kengo, huh."

Sadoyama said, shrugging as if unimpressed.

The man called Soma turned his gaze to Sadoyama, traced the brim of his hunting cap with his fingertip, and gave a crooked smile, lifting only one corner of his mouth.

The section chief standing next to him was quite tall, but the man called Soma was also pretty tall. Sturdy build, with an intimidating presence just from his appearance.

"Former A-rank Sadoyama, huh. Who's the woman next to you?"

"A subordinate. Call it a little field trip, I guess."

"Same as always, you. Maisaka, which was that?"

Soma's gaze flickered briefly.

Standing right by the basement entrance, near the door where Sadoyama and Sakiho were, was a woman in a suit. Long black hair hanging straight down, with a gloomy impression. About Sakiho's height, but her waist was much higher. Her face also seemed somewhat smaller.

But rather than beautiful, the impression of gloominess was stronger. She was beautiful, but the atmosphere around her was too dark.

The reason Sakiho hadn't noticed her at all despite being quite close — was it because of that atmosphere? Leaning against the wall, she seemed to melt into it.

"That one was black. It's not a field trip."

The gloomy woman called Maisaka said in a voice like an old woodwind instrument.

"Oh, you came out. Well... I guess that makes sense. Kawai-chan, this woman is Maisaka Risa. She has a special ability to see through lies. She works for the Labyrinth Agency and is an A-rank explorer. They call her 'The Scales' Maisaka."

"Ah — hello. I'm Kawai Sakiho."

She gave a small bow, but was ignored. Sakiho didn't feel angry at all — she was well aware she was the most out of place person in this basement.

...Why had Sadoyama brought her here?

According to Maisaka's ability, the "field trip" thing was a lie.

"Enough of that. Let's get to the main topic."

The man called Soma said. He looked about the same age as Sadoyama, but around thirty-five, give or take five years, Sakiho couldn't really tell.

"Sasamori Takeshi, was it. A pathetic little power player from a boring provincial city."

The one who spat out such blatantly contemptuous words was the S-rank elf explorer, Ilseria Lumiestel — Anthem's cooperator.

For a fan of Anthem like Sakiho, she knew Ilseria was a cooperator rather than an official member. Despite her sharp impression and haughty attitude, she was well-disposed toward Anthem's members, and you could tell she was still keeping an eye on Saito Megumi standing next to her. Her compatibility with Hayasaka Toru was poor... well, that was common knowledge worldwide.

Anyway, Sasamori Takeshi, whose name had been called, glared at the elf with restrained hands behind his back through the pipes.

But he didn't spew the venomous words Sakiho had expected. His face showed enough hatred to commit mass murder if looks could kill, but he said nothing.

"He's learned, I see. Good. Don't open your mouth until I give permission."

Soma said, tracing the brim of his hunting cap with his fingertip. A sadistic way of speaking. Someone like Sasamori, a power-seeker, would normally get angry at that kind of attitude from a younger man, but he stayed quietly obedient... something must have happened.

"Learning," or whatever.

Even Sakiho could tell it wasn't exam studying.

Though she couldn't understand why she'd been brought here.

"According to Assembly Member Sasamori's account, he was drinking at his office last night when a man claiming to be from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office visited and handed him an item that could erase 'labyrinths.'"

The one moving the discussion forward was Anthem's manager, Hamamatsu Nanami. Anthem had several other managers, but Nanami, a former B-rank explorer, frequently accompanied them to the field like this. Apparently her actual combat ability had fallen below the regular members like A-rank Saito Megumi, but in terms of experience, she was still very reliable.

Even at the recent meeting at the prefectural office, she hadn't flinched at all against the city assembly members, prefectural assembly members, and the mayor.

"That's what he said. If it's true, say so. If it's false, say otherwise."

"...It's true!"

Sasamori answered in the bare minimum way, glaring at Soma like he wanted to curse him to death, while Soma spoke like a dog trainer.

"White. At least within that man's perception, he's not lying."

The gloomy woman, Maisaka Risa, said. No one particularly reacted to this, and Hamamatsu Nanami gave a single nod before continuing.

"The man claiming to be from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office apparently said things like: if he threw everything into chaos, the recent disgrace could be swept under the rug. After the chaos, a power figure to lead from the front would be necessary. Then the public would understand that the city assembly, prefectural assembly, and mayor were necessary."

"Sasamori."

"...It's true!"

"White. He's not lying."

"And Prefectural Assembly Member Sasamori used the 'stone' given to him by the man claiming to be from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office to erase Kamioka Dungeon. That man knew that erasing Kamioka Dungeon would cause Sugai Dungeon and Noumi Dungeon to undergo a 'Dungeon Rampage.'"

"Confirmed!"

"White."

"And he was thrown out of Kamioka Dungeon along with Anthem... or rather, was seen through as the culprit behind the 'labyrinth disappearance' by the holy sword spirit Tia, and captured... Well, whether that's a lie or not doesn't matter. It's a fact."

The moment Nanami finished speaking without any particular emotion, for some reason Soma kicked Sasamori's stomach. A filthy gurgling sound escaped, but the only one whose expression changed was Saito Megumi.

Sakiho herself — honestly, she didn't feel anything particular about it. Too many question marks floated in her head, her attention pulled in countless directions, and getting kicked wasn't enough to move her heart.

"Unfortunately, that man is at least speaking facts as he knows them. Within his perception, he's not lying."

"But... a man from the Cabinet Intelligence Office, huh. What do you think, senpai?"

"I'd like to think that's insane, but honestly, as a local civil servant like me, I don't have enough material to judge the truth. What do you think, Soma-san?"

"The Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office is an intelligence organization directly under the Cabinet Secretariat. I find it hard to believe that people from a place where the political winds change every time the Cabinet reshuffles would make such a dangerous move."

"More likely the Labyrinth Agency would do it."

Maisaka muttered. Sakiho was startled at how much truth that seemed to carry, but Hamamatsu Nanami, who should also belong to the Labyrinth Agency, shook her head.

"If we were going to scheme within our jurisdiction, we'd do it in a more sensible way. First of all — an item that erases labyrinths? If such a thing existed, there's absolutely no way it would be used up on Kamioka Dungeon."

Such a waste — she trailed off.

Well, if there really was an item that could erase dungeons, they should use it on more troublesome or obstructive ones. It was said that destroying a dungeon might cause another to appear elsewhere, but even considering that, there were labyrinths people would want to erase.

"So, the next issues are two."

Tracing the brim of his hat with his fingertip again, Soma said.

"One is investigating Sugai Dungeon and Noumi Dungeon, which went into rampage after Kamioka Dungeon's disappearance and were suppressed. They've almost certainly mutated. The layers might be deeper. We should bring magical communication repeaters. Well, that's not my job, so you guys handle it however you want."

"Anthem will take Noumi. We should have spare repeaters. But under the pretense of investigation, we won't push too deep — we'll wait for the S-rank clan that was called in for the Kamioka Dungeon investigation. After that, depending on Noumi Dungeon's mutation, we'll hand it off. Negotiations with the governor... we'll leave that to the 'Teacher.' Once reinforcements from the Labyrinth Agency arrive, we'll have them take on the Sugai Dungeon exploration."

Nanami turned to Ilseria and Saito Megumi, saying "that alright?" Both nodded in agreement and turned their gazes to Soma.

"The other is the main topic. My job. The owner of the holy sword and the cursed blade — Toru, was it? The cleaner who cut down the monsters from the 'Dungeon Rampage.'"

Toru... Hayasaka Toru.

Tia had killed the Great Serpent at Sugai Dungeon, then literally ran to Noumi Dungeon, where Hayasaka Toru had killed the hydra with the cursed blade.

Said simply, it was a clean story. But the situation hadn't been that straightforward.

"I've confirmed Toru with my own eyes. That man, as long as you don't provoke him strangely, won't do anything weird. At the very least, he's not a villain."

"White. But also black. There seems to be more to it."

At Maisaka's blunt interjection, Ilseria clicked her tongue quietly. Then, after hesitating a little, she lowered her tone slightly and said.

"...He's not a bad guy. I pissed him off with my attitude, but he didn't hold a grudge... no, he probably does hold a grudge. But he didn't judge me as 'evil' or hate me. His attitude was annoying, but it was like 'that's separate from all that.'"

"White."

"Even so, Maisaka and I need to confirm with our own eyes. Those are toys far too excessive to leave with a kid who was a cleaner until recently."

"It's not like he picked those toys up because he wanted them. Soma-san, I'll say this too — Hayasaka-kun is a normal kid. Might be a little stubborn, though."

"Whether someone is 'normal' or not doesn't directly connect to whether they're dangerous. They're related, but not the same. I'll take your testimonies into consideration, but regardless, we'll confirm again. That's a decision. If necessary, I'll confiscate his holy sword and cursed blade."

"...They were connected to his soul or something, you know?"

Even to the S-rank elf glaring at him and radiating killing intent, Soma showed no sign of being shaken.

"If necessary, I said. If he turns out to be no problem, then having that combat power as an explorer is undeniably valuable."

"White. But can I say something?"

The 'white' was probably to calm Ilseria down. Setting that aside, Maisaka Risa raised her hand as if bothered. In her hand was a mobile device, and Sakiho, being close, could see the screen a little.

A stream.

A dungeon exploration stream, familiar to Sakiho.

"That Hayasaka Toru and the Kujo ojou-sama are doing an investigation at Sugai Dungeon. I got word a minute ago. Seems like they got permission from the Labyrinth Agency using Kujo's connections."

Kujo — she must mean the A-rank explorer Kujo Reiko.

Why on earth, the day after suppressing a Dungeon Rampage, was he doing an exploration stream at Sugai Dungeon with Kujo Reiko, when the branch office was still devastated?

She felt a headache coming on, but the section chief standing right next to her looked like his head hurt far worse, so she felt a little sympathetic.

"That guy... he was at home until just a while ago... what is he doing..."

Ilseria's muttered voice was genuinely terrifying.

What the hell was she even doing here, Sakiho thought again.

No answer was lying around anywhere nearby.