ch41-ch60 · 051-ch50

Chapter 50

Toru had barely taken five steps since exiting Sugai Dungeon.

Listening to the patter of raindrops striking his plastic umbrella, he was about to take his sixth step when his destination shifted toward the spot where the so-called "Demon" that Tia had beaten to a pulp lay.

The self-proclaimed S-rank explorer Soma Kengo and the lie detector Maisaka Risa walked ahead of Toru, Kagurazaka Chizuru — who'd finished changing — walked behind Toru, and further behind her was the butler Kashiwazaki Joichiro, with Kujo Reiko at the very rear as if being protected by the butler.

"Uh... sorry, but I'm not following the situation. Tia beat up that guy, and he's apparently a 'Demon' or whatever, but first off, why was this Demon guy trapped in a stone bud thing in the air?"

"When we arrived here, Kagurazaka Chizuru was fighting that individual. Since Kagurazaka was an acquaintance, I captured the opponent. I was about to sort out the situation when you all came out of the dungeon."

Soma Kengo answered Toru's question, though Toru hadn't been addressing anyone in particular.

A rugged middle-aged man in a leather jacket and hunting cap — for no particular reason, Toru didn't feel any dislike toward him.

He was simply straightforward and easy to understand.

The barrage of questions earlier had also been asked with the attitude that he needed to know, which made Toru willing to answer seriously. He was certainly arrogant, if you wanted to call it that, but Toru wondered what the difference was between him and Anthem's manager or that shitty elf.

"Ah... and from your perspective, Kagurazaka-san?"

When he prompted her casually, Kagurazaka Chizuru's back stiffened — visible even though she was only half-turned toward him. Like a non-commissioned officer receiving an order from a superior.

"Yes! Um... it's terribly embarrassing, but I was watching the stream — both Kujo's daughter's stream and Toru-sama's stream. And I, well... found myself deeply disappointed in myself. Before I knew it, I'd left my mobile device behind and was walking through town barefoot, carrying only the magic bag I habitually wear."

"............"

Toru suddenly didn't want to hear the rest, but he held back.

"As I continued wandering, I somehow ended up on a prefectural road, and walking along the mountain side, I inexplicably arrived here at Sugai Dungeon. Perhaps unconsciously, I wanted to see Toru-sama. Without considering the trouble it would cause Toru-sama, unable to even process my own heartbreak myself — truly pathetic."

She was apparently heartbroken, for some reason.

But being able to articulate her own heartbreak so clearly was probably quite rare. The fact that the "-sama" suffix had come back was scary, but Toru found himself thinking she was kind of interesting.

"Putting that aside. While I was wandering and came to the area in front of Sugai Dungeon, I encountered the Demon that Tia-dono just defeated. At first, though, he appeared as an ordinary human. He claimed to be a Labyrinth Department official who'd come to investigate the Sugai Dungeon entrance after the Dungeon Rampage. I found that suspicious. I asked him to show identification, which he refused, and despite claiming to be investigating, he had no camera. The parking lot is damaged and unusable, but if he'd come to investigate, he should have parked his car before reaching this point. The only car parked here was a rental car, presumably driven by Kujo's butler. Heh heh, even while wandering in a daze, I remembered all that — how strange."

There were definitely several strange things about this. Primarily Kagurazaka Chizuru herself.

But Toru said nothing and waited for her to continue.

"After some verbal sparring, I asked for his affiliation and purpose. His answer was: 'Affiliation is an evil secret organization. Purpose is world peace.'"

"White. Kagurazaka's not lying."

"I'm not very good at lying, you see."

In response to Risa's interjection, Kagurazaka Chizuru nodded as if it were obvious. That attitude seemed to please Risa, who gave a small wry laugh and shrugged — not a bad sight.

Probably, Toru thought.

For Risa, who could see — who was forced to see — through lies, someone like Kagurazaka Chizuru, who barely had the concept of lying in the first place, must be a welcome sort.

"Affiliation is an evil secret organization, purpose is world peace, huh."

Too obviously suspicious to the point of being incomprehensible. If you wanted to deceive someone, you'd tell a more believable lie, and if you just didn't want them to know, you'd stay silent.

Why would someone deliberately tell such a childish lie...?

While thinking this, they reached close to where the assailant and victim were, and Toru finally got a good look at the "Demon" that Tia had beaten to a pulp.

How to put it... well, he was the victim of an assault, that's what.

The ground was in the aftermath of yesterday's "Great Worm" rampage, with asphalt torn up and earth exposed, and the guy was lying there, thoroughly beaten all over. The rain had also left him covered in mud. Both his legs, which had taken follow-up strikes, were bent at the knees in directions they shouldn't bend.

"You... don't hold back much, do you."

"Well, Demons run away right away, y'know. They say something cryptic, and when things turn against them, they make sure to add more victims before escaping. And the next time you meet them, they act like they've never lost before, even though they haven't gotten any stronger. They're different from elves in how annoying they are, but equally irritating."

Tia said with a rare dissatisfied expression, and Toru gave a vague nod before sharing his umbrella with her. As he did, Soma Kengo and Maisaka Risa started throwing questions at the Demon lying on the ground.

"Hey. S-rank explorer Soma Kengo. You're supposedly a Demon — is that true?"

"...Die, idiot."

Despite being half-dead, the Demon's eyes still glinted as he glared at Soma and smirked.

But Soma paid him no mind, kicking the broken leg with considerable force, and as the Demon screamed, he continued.

"Nice scream. You said you were in a secret organization with world peace as your goal. Not sure where to start, but first I want to know if you're really a Demon. Not that I know what a Demon is, but you identify as one, right? Alright, since you seem to have strong endurance, if you weren't a Demon, you shouldn't let out any sound of pain."

Without pause, another kick.

An S-rank explorer's kick. There was a dull thud, and the man's body rose vertically from the ground before immediately falling back under gravity.

"—Hk, ah, guh—!"

"Hmph. A fine cry. So you are a Demon."

"S-sh-shut the fuck up! I don't know! What the hell is a Demon?!"

"Black. He knows, and he considers himself a Demon."

Risa declared. Soma sighed wearily, thought for a moment, then continued.

"What a pain. Is it true that you belong to a secret organization?"

"............"

Another kick to the silent Demon, who lifted slightly and fell again. A helpless groan escaped, and Soma, still looking weary, touched the brim of his hunting cap.

"Another cry. I'll take that as an affirmative. A Demon belonging to a secret organization. Are you connected to the Dungeon Rampage that occurred in S City yesterday?"

"Hk, don't... fuck... with me..."

"White. He isn't. At least this man isn't connected."

Risa declared again. Toru didn't know the criteria by which she saw through lies, but Soma seemed to trust her, so doubting her was probably a waste of effort.

"Huh, unexpected. You apparently told Kagurazaka you came here to investigate. So that means you were investigating people related to the Dungeon Rampage?"

"...Hah, I dunno about that..."

"Black. He does know. My sense is... yes, he has an idea who gave Sasamori the labyrinth-erasing stone."

"—!"

The Demon gasped, but Toru didn't understand what that meant.

Perhaps reading Toru's expression, Soma shrugged slightly and turned to face him.

"Guess we hadn't shared information. You're the type who gets dragged into things anyway, so I'll fill you in. There's a person who gave that Sasamori Takeshi the black labyrinth-erasing stone. A man claiming to be from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office. Following that man's instructions, Sasamori went to Kamioka Dungeon and threw the stone, erasing the labyrinth."

"Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office?"

"A research organization under the Cabinet Secretariat. Ever seen a fictional depiction of 'Naicho' or whatever? Well, I don't know the full scope of the organization myself."

"Ah... sounds vaguely familiar. So this self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence man gave that assembly member the item to erase the labyrinth?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"And did you guys check with the Cabinet?"

"We judged it would be pointless to ask until we had some kind of confirmation. If the self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence man was lying, the Cabinet would say they don't know. And if he was telling the truth, they still wouldn't say so."

"But you've got a lie detector right there."

"You think people in power would stand in front of a lie detector? The lie detector doesn't work unless they're right here. This woman will never be given any decision-making authority — that's exactly why she's always out in the field."

"That's messed up."

"You could sympathize, you know."

"If I feel like it, I'll sympathize before I go to sleep."

"...That being white is kind of scary..."

Anyway.

Soma's reasoning seemed logical on the surface, but Toru felt something was off. Like there was a fundamental mistake somewhere.

"Ah... how do you use the stone that erases labyrinths?"

"Sound like a joke, but apparently you just throw it into the labyrinth entrance from outside."

"Seriously?"

It sounded so ridiculous he couldn't help but doubt it, but this was information obtained using Risa's special ability. Toru shifted his gaze to Tia, confirmed her small nod, and then organized his thoughts.

The thoroughly beaten Demon at his feet.

The man who gave Sasamori that item — call it an "Erasure Stone."

Self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office... why the "self-proclaimed"?

"Ah... sorry for the amateur question."

Toru started to raise his hand, then realized the hand not holding his umbrella was holding the rebar bludgeon, so he just shifted his body slightly instead.

Soma Kengo made a thoroughly displeased face, traced the brim of his hunting cap with his fingertip, then jerked his chin, prompting Toru to continue.

"Why didn't the self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence man do the job himself? It's just tossing a stone into an entrance from outside — simple work."

"Ah—"

"Ah..."

Seeing Soma and Risa make faces like they'd never considered that, Toru couldn't suppress the feeling of "are you serious, these guys." He held back from saying it out loud, but it was probably written all over his face. How had they not thought of something that basic?

"The fact that he specifically made Sasamori do it suggests he expected information to leak — that 'a self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence man gave me a stone.' So why would he want that? The simplest guess is to confuse you lot. And sure enough, you're all dithering over extraneous thoughts."

Whether to check with the Cabinet or not.

Who the self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence man was.

What the "Erasure Stone" even was. If there were more in stock, how many, and where would they be used next. What the intent was in deliberately causing a Dungeon Rampage.

There was no way to know any of that.

They were thinking about things they couldn't know.

"So think about it the other way. Suppose Sasamori didn't erase the labyrinth, and that man did it himself before disappearing. The reason Kamioka Dungeon suddenly vanished would remain a mystery. What would you have done first then?"

"...We'd probably have come to assess your danger first. Either way, you and the holy sword user had already suppressed the rampaging monsters. That was a fairly high-priority task. Then we'd have investigated Kamioka and Noumi Dungeons, which had likely mutated. As for post-incident response, the higher-ups at the Labyrinth Agency would have negotiated with the Cabinet and concocted some cover story."

"And they'd have released information to the public. Well, that's still necessary now."

"So then — they wanted to delay the government announcement. Or delay labyrinth exploration. Or cause infighting between the Labyrinth Agency and the Cabinet, or prevent cooperation..."

Having said that much, Toru realized something: this was all fairly irrelevant to him personally. Regardless of how this played out, it was definitely not his job.

Toru sighed, and Soma looked at him with a questioning expression, then seemed to pull himself together and turned back to Kagurazaka Chizuru.

"...Speaking of which, Kagurazaka. How did you come to be here... no, you already explained that. If you'd stayed quietly at the hotel, the Anthem members would have entered Noumi Dungeon by now."

"Hmph, is that so. Nanami ordered me to stand by, but... now that you mention it, I wasn't carrying my mobile device. There's no way to contact me. Perhaps I've caused worry for my leader and Mido-san."

I've done something regrettable, Kagurazaka Chizuru said, her shoulders drooping — but the main issue was still being left untouched.

Toru shifted his gaze to his feet and tried addressing the Demon, who was staring at the sky with distant eyes. Kujo Reiko and the butler were standing around a little further off, so it wouldn't be fair to keep them waiting any longer.

"Hey, Demon-san. Either way, you're in a dead-end situation, so it's just a matter of time. None of these people look like they'll be kind to you. Wouldn't it be faster to spill what you've got and clear your conscience? You said you're not a comrade of the 'self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence man'... could it be you've got some internal Demon conflict going on?"

"...Why do you think that?"

He glared at Toru, but there was no way Toru was going to be scared of a scary-looking purple-skinned demi-human lying on the ground in a beaten state. He even felt like he could handle whatever the guy tried to do on impulse.

"Dunno. Just figured... if the 'self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence man' is a Demon too, maybe you came to clean up your comrade's mess. You're in a secret organization working for world peace, right?"

"...You. What's your name?"

"Shouldn't you give your name first before asking that? Call me Toru if you want. So is the Stone bastard really a Demon?"

"...Yeah, he is."

"White."

With Risa's confirmation, Tia held out her palm toward the Demon.

A faint light enveloped the Demon man, and his wounds visibly healed. The blood that had been flowing from the corner of his mouth remained, but his swollen cheeks and the cut on his forehead closed up, and both broken legs returned to normal.

In under ten seconds — complete recovery.

The Demon didn't immediately try to escape. He sat up once, then sat cross-legged on the wet ground, and for some reason keeping his eyes on Toru, he spoke.

"Lugardo. That's my name. I can't say the details. Can't say them by my own judgment. What I can say is... we're not your enemies. Causing labyrinth rampages or harming humanity is not our purpose."

"...White, then."

"So the Stone bastard was originally a comrade of yours? A Demon?"

"...Yeah, that's right. Him and a few others left our side. If they do something harmful to humanity, it'll put us — the same Demons as them — in a bad position... and we don't want to harm the humans of this world."

"That's white too."

"What's the Stone bastard's goal? Why do you think he caused the Dungeon Rampage?"

"I don't know. I don't know, but I think he has some purpose. That bastard Gilgeil was originally one of our central figures, but..."

"Gilgeil, you said—!?"

Tia suddenly raised her voice. Apparently, that name meant something to her.

Everyone turned their attention to the holy sword user, and just as the person receiving all the attention nodded with a serious expression—

Beep beep beep beep — an electronic tone rang out.

Toru's mobile device, signaling an incoming call.

What terrible timing, he thought, about to drop the rebar bludgeon on the ground, then remembered he had a magic bag. He wasn't used to carrying one yet. He stored the bludgeon in the magic bag strapped to him and pulled out his mobile device from his pocket.

The screen showed an unknown number. Seems like everything's like this today, Toru thought, shrugging to everyone present before answering.

〈This is Toru's mobile device, yes? It is I, S-rank explorer Ilseria Lumiestel. Consider yourself fortunate to receive a call from me.〉

"............"

Beep — Toru silently ended the call.

His mobile device announced another incoming call, but it didn't make much difference.