ch61-ch80 · 062-ch61
Chapter 61
The first thing Toru thought when Kujo Reiko marched straight into his house was that she was wearing different clothes than when they'd parted a few hours ago.
This morning when she'd barged in, she'd been in a pale blue day dress.
Now she was in a slim-silhouette one-piece in moon white. It might have been another type of dress, but Toru had no knowledge of that sort of thing, so he couldn't say for sure. The neckline was more modest than her daytime outfit, but given the size of the problem, there was no avoiding how noticeable she was.
And Kujo Reiko herself seemed to have absolutely no intention of trying not to stand out. Unlike her butler Joichiro, who quickly slipped into the kitchen area, she glided forward until she settled into the stream camera's frame — that is, she sat down next to Kawai Sakiho, who was seated beside Toru, and let out another full-throated laugh.
"Ohohohoho! Viewers, I have arrived unannounced, surprise surprise! Let me say this first — the moment Toru-bro-sama's stream started, I left my hotel and had the car bring me here! I was planning to barge in the instant I thought my cue had come! I made it just in time!"
"Such a mess lmao" "The false accuser bitch hasn't said a word for a while" "What'd you come for, ojou? lol"
"My, it seems there are first-timers here. I am Kujo Reiko. I watched the stream, so I already know Shenna-sama, Mika-sama, and the problematic Kawai Sakiho-sama by name."
Kujo Reiko smiled brightly and waved at the cat beast-person mother and daughter who had taken refuge in the kitchen. As if on cue, Joichiro was already handing a box of sweets from his magic bag to Shenna, as if re-enacting the morning's scene — which was, admittedly, impressive.
"Ah... so the deluxe extra-curly-haired Kujo-san, what did you come here for?"
"'Deus ex Machina,' is it. Indeed, my hair is curled, but actually, after a serious injury some time ago, the combination of potions I drank apparently had a bad reaction, and the color and texture of my hair changed. The doctor said it might be due to the influence of mana, so it's not reproducible."
"You weren't always a golden drill, then?"
Huh, Toru was genuinely surprised. He couldn't easily imagine Kujo Reiko without her golden drills.
"I am a pure Japanese, after all. Incidentally, if I had judged that there was no role for me, I planned to drive around with Joichiro, buy some convenience store ice cream, and return to the hotel. I still have a request for Toru-bro-sama, so I would have called or messaged you after the stream."
"You eat convenience store ice cream too, huh..."
"I also eat sweet buns, you know? But none of that matters right now. I came to sort things out — to align the opinions of the heated viewers, Toru-bro-sama, and Kawai Sakiho-sama."
"Sort things out... meaning?"
"People often lose logical coherence when they become emotional. Can a decision made in such a state truly be said not to invite future regret? No, it cannot!"
Kujo Reiko declared this in a deliberate rhetorical question and thrust her face close to Toru's. Kawai Sakiho, caught between them, had Reiko's chest pressed against her, but setting that aside.
The gaze with which Kujo Reiko stared straight at Toru was, as always, utterly clear. Toru wondered how this ojou-sama could be so pure, but he didn't feel jealous about it.
It was fine for people like this to exist.
And at the same time, he thought:
It shouldn't be that only people like this were allowed to exist.
"Now then, let's organize the situation. Viewers, feel free to comment whatever opinions you like. The topic is something like 'The Issues Surrounding Kawai Sakiho-sama Assisting Toru-bro-sama.'"
"So this means we should consider it with the condition that Kujo's agents will monitor and supervise the false-accuser bitch?" "I don't get at all why the ojou wants that woman to help Toru-bro" "Can't trust her. There are better, more decent people available."
Comments like these flowed past, but Kujo Reiko ignored them for now, raising one finger.
"First, let's confirm the situation. Kawai Sakiho-sama wants to handle Toru-bro-sama's administrative procedures. You yourself said 'please let me help.' Practically speaking, Toru-bro-sama would pay you for it. Is that acceptable?"
"The form doesn't really matter to me..."
"You want to help Toru-bro-sama. Then, rather — may I ask what form you think would be best?"
"An employment relationship has strong legal binding, so I think a contract basis would be better. For example, if it's structured like paying a 'handyman,' I'd handle the tax processing for the money Toru-san pays me, and I'd handle the tax processing for the fee I receive from Toru-san myself. It'd involve some trouble like signatures and at most some confirmations, but..."
"So the issue is you have no credibility. How many times do we have to say it?" "No, the thing is, Kujo's agents would guarantee that credibility" "Even so, there are way more normal and capable people than her" "Is there any need to specifically hire the false-accuser bitch?"
"What do you think, Toru-bro-sama?"
"Think? I don't really get all that administrative stuff. She says she'll help, so I figure just let her."
"Is this guy an idiot?" "Even if you're gonna hire her, she should build trust somewhere else first" "We don't even know if she can do the job"
"People are asking if you can actually work, Kawai-san. Can you?"
Getting increasingly fed up, Toru tossed a sloppy question Kawai's way. Kawai lowered her eyebrows apologetically, but nodded firmly.
"I was a Labyrinth Branch Office employee, after all. I have a thorough understanding of explorers' income and the paperwork the government requires from them. And... if there's something I don't know, I'll look it up normally... I'm good at administrative work."
"Even so, that bitch false-accused him" "She might claim sexual harassment next" "Even if she's reformed, why specifically her? Considering Toru-bro's future activities, someone with more social credibility would be better. I don't see any benefit to hiring the false-accuser bitch."
"Ah..."
This was a pain. Toru scratched his head roughly to mask his growing irritation, and silently cursed himself for going along with Shenna and doing this stream. It was so damn trivial that he'd just gone along with what he was told, but if it was going to turn into this, he shouldn't have streamed at all...
—No, that's not right.
Toru hadn't known it would turn into this.
Of course, Kawai Sakiho probably hadn't expected this kind of development either. If you were going to talk about unexpected developments, Toru obtaining the 'Holy Sword' and 'Cursed Blade' was one, and then helping 'Anthem' and cooperating with them, Kamioka Dungeon disappearing... the 'Dungeon Rampage' happening and Tia and Toru suppressing it — none of that could have been predicted.
It's not that 'it turned into this' —
It's that this is what it is now.
Toru picked up his mobile — the call had ended at some point, naturally since the other party was right there — and returned Kawai's mobile to its owner, then checked the comments flowing through the stream.
"Calm the hell down, guys"
"Aren't you guys too biased?"
"I'm not defending her but some of you are going too far"
Looking more carefully, the comments angry at Kawai Sakiho or Toru's decision were maybe about a third of the total. That was still a lot in volume, but there were also plenty of comments that seemed to want to see how Toru's decision and the flow of the conversation would play out.
Both existed.
That was fine.
He'd just been focusing on the annoying ones.
"Now then — let's organize the issues."
Kujo Reiko said it with a grin, as if starting a fun game.
Toru let out a small breath, shrugged casually, and nodded.
"First, let's start with the concrete details. Supposing Kawai Sakiho-sama's 'assistance' proves insufficient — that is, if Kujo's agents monitor and supervise her and determine her work is inadequate — what will Toru-bro-sama do?"
"Well, if she can't do the job, I'd have her quit... or rather, stop the contract, I guess? Whatever, I'm not in the habit of paying people who don't work."
"Then there's no need to hire her. Are you brain-dead?" "That's what I'm saying — it doesn't have to be her. Listen to the conversation" "But she can do admin work, right?" "Well, even if she is rotten, she worked the Labyrinth Branch reception desk, so she probably can handle explorer-related paperwork like she says" "But there are more competent people, that's also true"
"I see. So you'd let her try and cut her if she doesn't work out. In that case, the agents Kujo prepares would handle the administrative procedures during the contract period."
"I mean, I personally wouldn't be able to tell whether Kawai-san is doing a good job or not unless she's really slacking off."
"Oh my. In that case, how should we guarantee the reliability of the agents I dispatch?"
Kujo Reiko smiled elegantly, ohoho, but this was a rhetorical question.
"If Kujo's agents aren't trustworthy, then no one is" "I can't imagine the ojou would betray Toru-bro" "If she were planning to use him, there were plenty of opportunities to exploit during today's exploration stream" "In that sense, Toru-bro's security is full of holes"
Shut up. He still had a bottom-feeder mentality, so it couldn't be helped.
He thought that, but stirring things up would be too much trouble.
"Now then, next — the 'Why not someone else instead of Kawai Sakiho-sama' problem. Do you have anything to say about this, Toru-bro-sama?"
"Well, it's not like I absolutely need Kawai-san specifically to do it. I'm in the mindset of firing her if she can't work, and I don't exactly trust her deeply either."
"Then use someone else, idiot"
"There are a lot of comments like that, but hey — if there's a 'trustworthy, capable person' out there, bring them right in front of me. You expect me to find them? You're saying they exist, so they must exist, right? You're only saying that because you have someone in mind, right? Bring me a trustworthy, socially established, capable person who'd go out of their way to 'assist' a rookie explorer. And convince them in advance so I don't have to go out of my way to ask them."
"Unreasonable demands lmao" "Just directly hire a Kujo agent" "Or ask the ojou to introduce someone?" "...In the end, Toru-bro would still have to bow his head"
"Incidentally, I apologize, but I myself do not trust Kawai-sama either. However, I felt no lie in Kawai-sama's attitude, and as Toru-bro-sama may have vaguely sensed, Kawai-sama is a very convenient existence."
"Ah...? Yeah, sure. Right."
He hadn't vaguely sensed a single thing, but he went along with it anyway. He saw Shenna snort with laughter from the kitchen area, but he ignored it.
Pii — Kujo Reiko held up a second finger, making a peace sign.
"As I said this morning, Toru-bro-sama is currently receiving enormous attention. It would not be an exaggeration to say he's being watched from all over the world. If you were to recruit someone to handle his administrative procedures for such a Toru-bro-sama, you'd be flooded with people raising their hands saying 'I'm the one!' You'd need numbered tickets."
"So just hold auditions for Toru-bro's secretary" "No need to specifically hire the false-accuser bitch!" "Without a doubt, someone's intentions would be involved."
She narrowed her eyes slightly at the stream camera — her gaze and demeanor were clearly those of a zaibatsu heiress rather than an explorer.
"Anyone who would specifically raise their hand and say 'I'm the one!' for Toru-bro-sama right now is far less trustworthy than Kawai-sama. Of course, I'm not saying it's evil to try to use Toru-bro-sama. Everyone seeks their own benefit. I myself am no exception. But personally, I want Toru-bro-sama to be free, and I don't want to see him being made to dance to someone else's tune."
"That's... hard to deny" "Conversely, saying 'trust us' is also unreasonable."
"I'll say this — I personally believe that even in this stream's chat comments, there are people thinking about their own convenience and interests. Especially comments that try to steer Toru-bro-sama's actions — don't you find them suspicious? No, pardon me. That's just baseless accusation."
Ohohoho — the ojou-sama smiled.
That smile shifted in a way that was hard to put into words, and she turned back to Toru.
"That is why I'm not saying I'll dispatch administrative personnel. I only said I would take on the monitoring and supervision of Kawai-sama."
So that was her intention. Toru nodded in understanding. And at the same time, he finally noticed that the thought of relying on Kujo Reiko's connections, who was right in front of him, hadn't even occurred to him. Logically, if he was going to rely on anyone, it should be this golden-drilled woman, but he felt no inclination whatsoever to ask her for anything.
"In that sense, Kawai-sama, who has personal atonement as her reason, won't introduce any bias into Toru-bro-sama's actions. Rather, she should act in accordance with Toru-bro-sama's wishes. If her repentance is genuine, that is."
"So just go along with Kujo's intent" "Ojou and Toru-bro should just form a clan" "At least she's better than the false-accuser bitch"
"...That's what she says. What do you think, Toru-bro-sama?"
The ojou-sama asked cheerfully, and Toru couldn't help but laugh.
Hayasaka Toru had continued working as a cleaner — without a doubt, out of self-satisfaction. As Kawai Sakiho had said, even if Toru worked as a cleaner, it probably didn't carry much meaning. It wasn't completely meaningless. And Toru was fine with that.
Kawai Sakiho wanting to help Toru was probably also self-satisfaction. Among the several forms of self-satisfaction one could think of, she'd likely chosen the most efficient one. In that sense, she might be smart. Coming to bow her head to someone who should by all logic hate her — that in itself was impressive.
And then, Kujo Reiko.
She too was an embodiment of self-satisfaction. Joichiro the butler had said that because of her personality and abilities, she never really had any school friends — but Kujo Reiko had chosen the joy of diving into labyrinths and slaughtering monsters over laughing with friends. She didn't seem to regret not having friends, and as an explorer, Kujo Reiko showed nothing but enjoyment.
Choosing his words in his head, Toru opened his mouth.
"Kujo-san. You called me a friend. I want to help my buddies unconditionally too. If a friend helps me, I'm grateful. But I don't want to keep carrying a friend on my back. I wouldn't call someone I have to piggyback everywhere a friend. Kujo-san, you thinking of me as a friend... that's, uh... I'm happy. I want to be your friend too."
He didn't mind lending a hand.
He accepted being helped.
But he didn't want to be completely dependent.
It was just self-satisfaction.
"Hehe... mmm, hehehe! Oh my, oh my, oh my! Everyone! Viewers! And Tia-sama, Kawai-sama, Shenna-sama, Mika-sama, Joichiro! You heard that! I won't let anyone say they didn't! This Kujo Reiko has been acknowledged as Toru-bro-sama's friend! What a wonderful day! Ohohohoho!"
Her loud laughter echoed.
Whether it was to hide her embarrassment or just genuine joy, Toru didn't know — but watching Kujo Reiko laugh, he didn't feel bad about it.
"This is a touching scene and I want to feel moved but bro, you forgot the main issue" "Now that you mention it, I can understand why it can't be 'someone else'" "But why can you forgive her?"
"...No, I haven't forgiven her, though."
Toru said. He could tell the stream viewers were getting even more confused, but that was the truth, so it couldn't be helped.
It's Mo (greetings).
This segment kept going and going no matter how much I wrote, so I'll post again tomorrow.