ch41-ch60 · 061-ch60

Chapter 60

As far as Toru knew, Kawai Sakiho was a woman who spent five days a week at the Sugai Dungeon branch front desk looking bored.

Very rarely, there was another receptionist, but most of the time Kawai Sakiho handled Toru. She clearly looked down on Toru, who came to work at the same time every morning, and her treatment of him was extremely cursory.

That false accusation about the 'magic core count' — it was probably because of that contempt that she'd convinced herself he was 'cheating.' It never occurred to Kawai Sakiho that a cleaner with less than D-rank explorer status could be killing monsters at such an abnormal pace.

Though to be fair, Toru himself hadn't really thought about his own 'cleaning' being at an abnormal pace either.

"A change in your heart — is it?"

Kawai Sakiho pressed a hand to her chest as if enduring pain, looking directly at Toru. It might have been the first time he'd actually met this woman's eyes.

No, maybe not — he felt like she'd treated him properly at the very beginning... but his usual impression was too strong, and he couldn't remember anymore.

"Why's bro asking that?" "Someone who can genuinely reflect wouldn't have framed someone in the first place" "Don't wanna hear about some trash's life story" "She's just putting on a regretful face now because she nearly died"

The comments he could see on his mobile device were, predictably, an absolute mess. There were sympathetic comments toward Kawai Sakiho too, but strangely, the criticism and insults stood out more. It had been the same after the Dungeon Rampage three years ago.

"Ah... come to think of it, I don't think I told the stream viewers this, but I'm also a victim — or rather, someone who escaped being a victim — of a 'Dungeon Rampage'... three years ago, there was one, right?"

"The one three years ago, where high-rank explorers arrived late" "The one with a lot of casualties" "That one, right? The 'Dungeon Rampage' with no warning signs, still unexplained" "Bro was a victim of that one..."

"It was summer break, and I was at my old man's family home. Grave-visiting. An annual tradition. Ah... so we finished the grave visit, and it was two days after that. I was down with summer heat exhaustion. My grandpa, my grandma, my old man, and my mom went shopping. Then the 'Dungeon Rampage' happened... by the time the emergency alert came through on my phone, the area around the dungeon was already a disaster. Monsters had flooded a pretty wide area."

By town sections, it was probably from block one to block five that got torn through. Almost everyone in that area was killed.

From what he remembered — even so, the death count was around six hundred.

Apparently that was considered quite low, given the number of houses, but the reason was that many people were away from home for summer break. Ironically, Toru's family had been away for summer break at his father's family home, which was exactly why they were caught in the disaster.

"My grandpa, my grandma, my dad, and my mom — they were all on that side of the flood. I ran. There was no evacuation guidance or anything, but I just headed away from the 'Rampage' epicenter. I felt like shit, but that wasn't the time to complain about it."

"That's why all his family didn't survive" "Is that why he became a cleaner at Sugai Dungeon?"

"After all the tedious fucking paperwork was done, I was all alone in the world. It's not like I got some big insurance payout just because my family died. I probably could've still graduated high school, but... somehow I didn't feel like going to school properly, so I dropped out. Then I looked for a job, and happened to see a recruitment ad for a Sugai Dungeon cleaner."

"Neglecting monster extermination in low-popularity dungeons causes 'Dungeon Rampages'" "So that's why he worked as a cleaner for three years" "Even without magical affinity, he did what he could..."

As the stream viewers suddenly grew somber, Toru let out a "hah" and shrugged exaggeratedly.

"During that 'Rampage,' there were reports that some not-so-high-rank explorers protected some civilians and died. The people online had a field day saying they 'shouldn't have done that' or 'could have done something different.'"

"I know that. 'The Local Yokels'" "That backlash was brutal" "Later the family they saved came forward and the bashing died down"

"Well, sure, if those guys had been a bit smarter, they might have saved more people. Since they got bashed so hard at the time, maybe they couldn't move that well. But they died, and later people sitting safely in a corner picking their noses start talking about what the 'right' thing to do was — that's pretty impressive."

He'd stuck his spoon in his glass, and his curry was long finished. Feeling at loose ends, Toru picked up his plate and handed it to Tia. The holy sword user gave a small wry smile, then picked up the plate and glass and stood up, fading from the stream frame. It was a little surprising that she was taking the dishes to the kitchen.

When he looked back from the kitchen to Kawai Sakiho, she hadn't moved her gaze from Toru. She hadn't followed his glance to the kitchen either.

"That day... I was watching Anthem's stream. Hayasaka-san was appearing in the stream too... when you were resting in Kamioka Dungeon's boss room, Section Chief Sadoyama came and said it was time to wrap things up, and I realized I'd been watching the stream the whole time."

"Ah... so that's how it was."

He'd been slightly curious about why she was in that place at that time. Only slightly, so he'd never bothered to think about it.

"I finished getting ready to leave work and went outside the branch. At that time... I think I was talking with the Section Chief about the backlash after the meeting. The one where Hayasaka-san left early. About what would happen to us."

Come to think of it, that had happened.

Even though it was so recent, too many things had occurred, making it feel like something from three months ago.

"Section Chief Sadoyama was the first to notice something was wrong, and he hoisted me onto his shoulder. Immediately, a giant serpent... Section Chief Sadoyama called it a 'Great Serpent' — an upper S-rank monster appeared, and I nearly died. The only reason I'm alive is because Hayasaka-san and Tia-san rushed over while the Section Chief was buying time carrying me."

"...And?"

The main point — or rather, what Toru wanted to know — was what came after this.

Kawai Sakiho said she was complete trash. Because she'd never scattered any 'good' in this world. Because she was a person who, even when nearly dying, couldn't muster any decent regrets. She didn't want to stay that kind of person.

Kawai Sakiho took several deep breaths, then spoke.

"I can't live like before anymore. Section Chief Sadoyama — he knew he absolutely couldn't win against that 'Giant Serpent,' knew he would definitely die, but he still didn't run. He bought time with his own life. He could have just left someone like me behind, but he went out of his way to carry a burden like me. He said he didn't want to lead that monster toward the city."

Was that the 'right' thing to do?

In retrospect, Toru and the others had arrived, and there were zero casualties.

If Toru and the others hadn't come, it would have just been a pointless death.

"I thought about a lot of things. Nothing but regrets came up. Nothing can be undone. Looking down on Hayasaka-san — that too. Falsely accusing Hayasaka-san — that too. There's a phrase about turning over a new leaf... but it doesn't turn over that easily. I think the shape of the vessel holding my heart simply changed."

Still the same person as before.

But she couldn't go on the same way as before.

That was probably all.

She didn't decide to reflect. Reflection began to surface on its own. She didn't want to regret things, but regrets kept welling up. No matter what, she couldn't feel things the same way as before. She had to do something. Something. But what?

"I can help Hayasaka-san. I wanted to. I thought that reducing your burdens would surely be a 'good' thing."

"Self-centered bitch lmao" "Go do your atonement somewhere else on your own" "There's a limit to shamelessness. Bro's gotta be annoyed too"

"...I don't really get it, y'know."

Toru let his idle hands play on the table as he looked at the comments streaming furiously across his mobile screen and tilted his head.

The viewer count had already exceeded sixty thousand.

As a ratio, the number of people actually bothering to comment wasn't high.

About half of those not-many commenters were criticizing Kawai Sakiho.

"I'm the one Kawai-san inconvenienced. Why are you guys so mad?"

"Lmao" "As expected of Toru-bro — clear boundaries between self and others" "Lack of empathy lol" "We just don't want bro associating with trash" "Wasting time on some random woman isn't interesting" "People don't change that easily"

"If that's the case, then you guys insulting her are also trash, right? A decent person wouldn't go around calling other people trash. Even if you think it, would you bother to comment? Birds of a feather... no, that's not it. 'Trash from different holes.' Well, in that sense, I'm trash too. I'm not in a position to talk big."

"Calling viewers trash lol" "No, I kinda get what bro's saying" "Don't lump us in with the false accuser" "We're not the same, that's why he said 'trash from different holes' lol" "Still, I wouldn't look down on others or falsely accuse anyone" "But you guys are looking down on her and calling her trash lol"

A soft laugh was heard.

It was Shenna, standing near the kitchen area, outside the stream camera's frame. She'd been holding it in, but apparently couldn't help laughing.

Mika was looking up at Shenna with a confused expression, and since Toru had the comment-checking mobile, Tia couldn't follow the conversation and was tilting her head curiously. He wondered slightly what the holy sword user thought about all this. But it wasn't important enough to ask.

What he should ask was Kawai Sakiho.

"Ah... question. If I said no, what would Kawai-san do?"

"I'd go to the employment office."

"Well, that makes sense."

She had to feed herself. One could argue she shouldn't have quit her government job, but that was exactly the kind of 'sewage-smelling righteousness' from a safe position. She should've done this, she should've done that, she shouldn't have done this, she shouldn't have done that... shut up, who cares, for fuck's sake.

"It's fine. Help me out. I've got money now, so I'll pay you for the work you do."

"Lol WTF" "Seriously? Bro no what are you doing bro no" "Contrarian bastard lol" "I'm done with this. Do whatever you want." "Ahhh damn. I thought he was interesting"

"Shut the hell up. Don't bark from your safe little corner. Fine then, you — ah shit, the comments are too fast. The one complaining the most, 'tarechichiSK.' You come help me instead. Do my annoying paperwork for me. I've got money, I'll pay... wait, does that mean 'best saggy tits'? What kind of brain do you have to insult others with a handle like that? I gotta respect it."

"Calling him out by name lol" "I prefer tight and perky" "Nah, it's gotta be boing boing" "Is this the ojou's influence?" "Whooo! Ojou is best! Ojou is best!"

—Beep beep beep—

The mobile device displaying the stream screen signaled an incoming call.

The caller was an unknown number. He was already used to it and didn't really care anymore, so Toru answered without any hesitation.

"Uh, hello. I'm kind of in the middle of something right now—"

〈Of course! I am well aware! Hello, how do you do! I am your wonderful friend, Kujo Reiko! Ah, could you put me on speaker so the viewers can hear me too?〉

"...Yes, go ahead."

Ignoring the countless question marks filling his head, Toru did as he was told, put the call on speaker, and placed the mobile on the table.

〈Testing, testing... seems to be working. Well then — Ohohohoho! Viewers, how do you do! I am A-rank explorer and friend of Toru-bro-sama, Kujo Reiko! Hearing that my friend was in a bind, I have come to barge in!〉

"...Uh..."

His device was talking, so he couldn't see the stream comments.

So after thinking for a moment, Toru reluctantly waved over Kawai Sakiho, who was sitting seiza across the table, had her sit next to him, and placed her mobile on the table.

The comments were... an absolute mess.

People who were angry, people who were laughing, people who were confused, people who were insulting, people who were defending, people chanting ojou-is-strongest, and everything else.

"Ah... you like barging in, huh?"

〈If it's to guide a junior explorer in the morning, and to illuminate a friend's path at night — this Kujo Reiko will barge in anywhere! As long as the time and place allow it!〉

"Ohohohoho!" — another loud laugh.

It was strange how hearing this laugh made him relax and wryly smile. No, if it was a matter of personal virtue, then it wasn't strange at all.

"What is this lol too chaotic lol" "First off, don't answer calls during a stream lol" "First the false accuser bitch, now a pushy bitch" "What did the Kujo heiress call for?" "This bitch was definitely watching the stream"

〈It seems some sharp viewers have figured it out. Of course, I was watching Toru-bro-sama's stream. Just like all of you, I was concerned about Toru-bro-sama's future.〉

"Ah... so why'd you call?"

〈In the latter acts of Greek tragedies, a god from the machine would descend to sort things out for the characters. Euripides is famous for this. I suppose you could call me a goddess from the telephone! Just kidding! That's obviously a joke!〉

Her voice was so loud the mobile's speaker was distorting, but putting that aside, he still didn't get what she was trying to say.

"Ah... so, that sexy piston thing, what about it?"

〈My! A dirty joke! This is the first time a gentleman has made a dirty joke to me! Joichiro surprisingly never makes dirty jokes. Incidentally, the Euripides thing would be a digression, so if you're curious, please look it up later. In short — I came to sort things out.〉

"Didn't she come to cause an accident?" "This is a stream accident lol" "The false accuser bitch is being left behind"

"I'm fine with that though"

The Kawai Sakiho sitting next to him — or rather, the one he'd made sit next to him — was staring at the stream comments in utter bewilderment, but Toru thought staring at that chaos probably wouldn't do much good.

Sympathy, opinions, impressions, complaints, grievances — he didn't care. Whatever they wanted, they could write whatever they wanted. It was his stream, but Toru felt that way. In exchange, he had the freedom to ignore the 'rightness' being forced on him.

Of course, that meant he'd make mistakes sometimes.

But if you were going to say that, then there was no such thing as a person who never made mistakes. Even if there were, they were probably so few you could safely ignore them. If that was the case, then the people who persistently force 'correct answers' on you were either fools who didn't reflect on themselves, or malicious third parties.

He didn't know. He didn't know about that kind of thing.

If you're a person who never makes mistakes, then forcing your correct answer on me would be your first mistake. I didn't ask. Now you're just another ordinary 'person who makes mistakes.' Serves you right. You should have found a different way to show the path.

That's what he thought. And on the point of having one's outlook on life changed by a 'Dungeon Rampage' — he felt a slight connection to Kawai Sakiho.

Toru was also trash who abandoned his family and ran.

He couldn't imagine going back to his old high school life.

〈Now then — the main opinions of you troublesome viewers seem to be that it's unforgivable for Kawai Sakiho-sama to be involved with Toru-bro-sama, because she is a detestable evil who falsely accused him. As a general understanding, I believe that's roughly correct. By the way — may I ask whether this false accusation actually led to any legal proceedings?〉

"No, she just verbally suspected me. About whether I was faking my magic core counts. I applied for a loan of streaming equipment to leave evidence that I wasn't cheating."

〈I see. I gather then that the viewers are concerned about the possibility of Toru-bro-sama suffering harm from associating with such a person. Surely — I pray there is no one here saying something like 'she makes me uncomfortable so don't associate with her,' like a grade school bully. If there were, there would be no need for us to listen to such childish opinions. Of course, I am confident there isn't anyone like that. Ohohoho!〉

No, there definitely were.

He thought that, but it was too much trouble to stir things up, and he was curious about what Kujo Reiko was going to say, so Toru kept quiet for now.

〈So, I have a proposal for Toru-bro-sama. Let the Kujo zaibatsu's agents temporarily take over auditing and supervising Kawai Sakiho-sama. On the surface, it would be because 'I'm worried my friend might be deceived'... but personally, I would like Toru-bro-sama to focus on labyrinth exploration without being caught up in trivial matters.〉

"So... Kujo people would check whether the false accuser bitch does her job properly?"

〈Exactly! In exchange, so to speak, I have a small request for Toru-bro-sama.〉

"...A request... huh..."

He felt a bad — no, more like 'ominous' would be the right word — a vague premonition, and the next moment,

—Ding-dong—

the intercom rang, and without anyone responding, the door opened with a click.

The sound of two pairs of footsteps removing shoes and entering the room.

Needless to say. The ojou-sama and the butler.

"〈Ohohohoho! Excuse the intrusion! I am Kujo Reiko!〉"

The surround sound of mobile device and real voice, with a loud laugh, echoed through the room.

By that point, Toru could only laugh — and that probably wasn't his fault.