ch61-ch80 · 073-ch72

Chapter 72

"Hold on hold on hold on hold on! This is way too insane!" "If you're not gonna react to comments, why even stream, I thought — but this is lmao" "Past lmao straight into forest" "Great forest unavoidable" "How did this turn into speedrunning an unexplored labyrinth lol" "Already on the fourteenth floor" "The monsters on this floor are A-rank" "Taking them out in basically one hit like it's a side effect of dashing, that makes zero sense lolol" "Uwoooo! Tia-tan strongest! Tia-tan strongest!" "Toru-bro desperately picking up magic cores is doing his best too" "The young lady, whenever she pops into frame, she's grinning from ear to ear"

Trailing the scrolling comments with her eyes, Kawai Sakiho let out a small breath. Even she couldn't identify its origin. A sigh, an exhalation, or something else entirely... it wasn't quite clear, but the tension that had once made her forget to breathe was mostly gone.

This was Hayasaka Toru's apartment.

In the end, last night Hayasaka had treated them to yakiniku, then swung by Sakiho's place to pick up a change of clothes and other necessities, and she'd stayed over at the Sonoyama apartment. Continuing from yesterday, Mika and Kujo Reiko stayed at the Hayasaka apartment, while the additional member Maisaka Risa stayed at the Sonoyama place per Shenna's suggestion. There had been various events before bedtime, but — that aside.

Currently, Sakiho was alternating between her own notebook terminal and Hayasaka's terminal, using her mobile to check the stream comments.

"Is this, Tia, really that amazing?"

Peering at the monitor showing the stream, Mika tilted her head blankly.

"Yes, very. She's incredibly amazing."

Having nothing else to say, Sakiho said just that and checked the "Route Map of Toru's Party" she'd been inputting on her notebook terminal. Since they were running at such absurd speed, she'd had to rough out a map using the MPS and footage from the stream camera, though without a dedicated app it would've been genuinely impossible.

It was a mapping app that upper-rank explorers used to coordinate with their backup teams when exploring unexplored labyrinths. Exploration support applications were beneficial to public welfare, so once their usefulness was recognized, the government would pay for them and distribute them to citizens for free.

"Seriously insane, I'm telling you!" "In a different way from the last stream, it feels like 'what am I even being made to watch'" "Even S-rank explorers wouldn't do a dash exploration like this" "You're not supposed to RTA an unexplored labyrinth lol" "Not a single dangerous moment so far" "Toru-bro and the young lady seem to be keeping up just fine" "The cameraperson is doing impressive work too. Though I guess as a butler it's no sweat" "And while we're saying all that, they've already reached the seventeenth floor" "And they're still not slowing down at all lolol"

The stream comments were booming despite the streamer not responding to a single one. Come to think of it, live sports streams didn't react to comments either, so if you thought of it that way, maybe you could just accept it and enjoy it.

The stream screen kept moving non-stop, and the Holy Sword Tia held had begun to glow continuously. Up until now she'd been slinging it back over her shoulder after each fight, so this meant she was now running in full combat readiness.

"Man... seriously, this is insane stuff."

Shenna said with a hint of disbelief, exhaling an "haah." That's probably the same kind of breath I let out, Sakiho thought with a small smile.

"Really, it's hard to believe, isn't it? That cute little girl is probably stronger than most explorers on Earth." "Stronger than S-rank explorers?" "Probably —"

Sakiho nodded, trailing the stream comments with her eyes.

"— see, people in the comments are saying it too. There's nothing above S-rank, but apparently the gap between lower and upper S-rank is pretty significant. I don't know the details all that well, but even the S-rank explorers who suppressed the Dungeon Rampage three years ago didn't resolve things as fast as Hayasaka-san and Tia-san did."

The Great Serpent that had spewed out of Sugai Dungeon was seared into Sakiho's memory — she'd never forget it. That utter helplessness, the kind of monster that made Sadoyama-san, a former A-rank explorer, resign himself to a desperate delaying action — Tia had annihilated it in exactly two strikes.

And the hydra that emerged from Kamioka Dungeon, Hayasaka Toru had slashed to death with a single swing of the Cursed Blade.

"So they're genuine powerhouses, huh. The 'Holy Sword' and the 'Cursed Blade'... why were things like that just lying around in a D-rank dungeon, and how'd that guy end up picking them up?"

Shenna tilted her head, looking unconvinced. Mika copied her mother's gesture and tilted her head the same way, though it didn't seem to carry any particular meaning.

Well — it did carry the enormous meaning of being "cute," though.

"Who knows...? Humanity still doesn't know enough about labyrinths. Why destroying the deepest labyrinth core causes a new labyrinth to be born somewhere else. Then again, if we're going down that road, why did the world fuse at the end of the last century..."

"Pointless to think about?"

"I wouldn't say whether it's pointless or not."

Surely, even at this very moment, someone somewhere was thinking desperately about it. Maybe they'd even formed some kind of hypothesis.

But — even if that became clear, the fact that Hayasaka Toru was the owner of the "Holy Sword" and "Cursed Blade" probably wouldn't change.

All while they were having this exchange, the stream screen kept moving.

Nineteenth floor. This level seemed different in nature from the floors above — a single corridor with no branching paths. At intervals, it opened into wide spaces where S-rank monsters lay in wait.

"Feels like mini-bosses. Which means there's a big boss deeper in."

"Will Toru be okay?"

"Tia's with him, so he'll be fine. That guy literally hasn't done anything this whole time except run and pick up magic cores. I mean, just keeping up is impressive enough, though."

"He gave them drinks partway through, you know?"

"Hmm. That's important too."

Watching this exchange between mother and daughter, Sakiho felt as though she'd caught a distant, nostalgic scent. The scent from long ago, when she'd visit her grandparents' house as a child and, surrendering to boredom, lie sprawled on the tatami.

Beyond the window, insects chirped, and a wind chime that had hung untouched for a decade rang with an old sound — that kind of scene. At some point she stopped visiting her grandparents' house, and before she realized it, they'd died one after the other... she hadn't even cried at their funerals.

Even now, trying to help Hayasaka Toru like this — perhaps her fundamental nature would never change. Would she remain trash at her core, feeling like she'd done a "good deed," clinging to that delusion, only to disappoint herself again someday?

She didn't know. She didn't know, but here she was, doing this. Because she wanted to. Because someone who handed her easy answers wouldn't take responsibility for the consequences.

If a time came when she died full of regret, she wanted it to be her own fault.

"Whoa, literally instant-killed. Even at this level it doesn't matter." "S-rank one-punched!?" "I thought this floor was insane, but Tia-tan is even more insane!" "No, this floor is actually insane too" "I mean, this whole dungeon is insane. A dungeon where the monster rank swings this much between upper and lower floors is pretty rare"

Tia had effortlessly dispatched another monster, advancing through the corridor without so much as a lingering pause.

And then — they emerged into a vast, truly enormous space.

"Drool... This smells like a big one."

"A boss room like this always means a big shot, you know."

At a timing that seemed to affirm the comments, Kujo Reiko said as much.

And whether those words were true or not became clear the moment the camera moved. Seated at what was probably the center of a space so massive that neither the ceiling nor the far wall was visible — was a gigantic black dragon. The labyrinth's dimness served as camouflage; until it assumed a combat stance and its entire body glowed with magical power, even its outline had been hazy — but now it asserted a majestic, imposing presence.

"Black dragon!" "It's definitely S-rank, but dragon species vary a lot in strength" "Could it be upper tier among the upper tier?" "With this dungeon, maybe?" "At a glance, looks stronger than the dragon that cornered 'Anthem' recently" "Isn't this bad?" "For about five floors now it's been baaaaaad! Like, the Bad Valley Gardens of bad!"

There seemed to be quite a gap in perception between viewers who were used to watching labyrinth streams and familiar with "typical explorers," and those who weren't all that knowledgeable.

In other words, even people who didn't normally watch labyrinth streams were paying attention to "Cleaning Sword." Despite going to the trouble of forming a clan, they hadn't even announced the name.

"Alright, I'm heading in."

Without showing any hint of tension, the hero smiled at the camera before taking a step forward. Hayasaka called out "Hey" to her back.

Tia turned around, tilting her head in puzzlement.

Hayasaka hesitated briefly, then spoke.

"Ah... for now, just do what you want. Have as much fun as you can."

◇◇◇

"There, there. See, this is what I mean about this guy. Sneaky bastard."

Shenna said, grinning from ear to ear. The words themselves were a complaint, but her energy was like someone whose favorite artist had just started their favorite intro.

Perhaps Shenna herself had once received the words she wanted from Hayasaka Toru. Just like Sakiho had been told "I haven't forgiven you."

It wasn't an easy forgiveness — and she'd been genuinely grateful for that.

Suddenly aware that her own cheeks had relaxed slightly, Sakiho glanced over at Mika for some reason, only to find the girl puffing her chest out with a smug look for some inexplicable reason.

Honestly, what a hard-to-read person.

No — maybe she was actually easy to read. It was just that Sakiho had never properly faced her. Whether yesterday or the day before, when she faced her directly, Mika always gave back proper words and feelings. The slight sarcasm was just her personality, nothing to be done about it.

While she was thinking all this, on the stream screen, Tia poured magical power into the Holy Sword, and a massive pale-blue glowing mana blade took shape. The black dragon, which had spread its wings and assumed a combat stance, seemed to catch its breath — or rather, it was clearly startled.

"Ah."

"Black dragon's done for."

Three strikes of the sword flashed.

As if cleaving through the labyrinth's gloom, the pale-blue mana blade instantaneously stretched to about thirty meters — and sliced through the black dragon.

The magic defense that an S-rank monster wore meant almost nothing. Like popping a balloon with a brand-new utility knife, the magic defense was shattered with a "pang," and the black dragon's massive body was sliced apart by the pale-blue mana blade.

"GROOOOOOOOOAAAAGH—!!"

Even so, the black dragon opened its ferocious jaws, concentrating magical power to unleash a beam or light sphere. It looked less like a last-ditch comeback and more like a desperate "if I'm going down, you're coming with me" kind of attack.

Right into the black dragon's gaping head — a meteor slammed home.

A mass of magical impact with enough brilliance to actually make the screen go blindingly white.

The same holy sword wielder's sword strike that had annihilated the Great Serpent in two hits.

Where the meteor struck — the place where the black dragon's head had been, was simply gone.

"Ah... that was actually pretty weak, huh."

Tia turned back to the camera with a wry smile, going "tahaha."

Two seconds later, the black dragon's massive body listed to one side. Three seconds after that, it collapsed with a thunderous crash. Then the dissolution that signified a monster's death occurred... and where the black dragon had been, a magic core or rare drop had probably fallen. It was too far away to see clearly, but there was no doubt the black dragon had been destroyed.

"…………" "…………" "No way it was actually weak."

The viewers were so stunned by the spectacle that the flow of comments stopped entirely. The fact that anyone managed to fire off a retort at all was honestly impressive.

"Ah... well, if it's defeated, that's fine. It dropped something, right? Let's go pick it up."

"T-Toru-bro-sama... doesn't seem very surprised..."

Hayasaka, who hadn't budged from his usual tone, and Kujo Reiko, whose eyes were still wide with shock — the contrast was stark, but even Sakiho had to admit that was understandable.

That was just absurd.

And Hayasaka Toru had long since experienced that absurdity... but still, his reaction was awfully muted, she thought. Whether that was just his personality or his trust in Tia, Sakiho still couldn't tell.

In any case, as they approached the spot where the black dragon had dissolved, there wasn't a magic core but a rare drop. According to Kujo Reiko, it was a "Dragon Claw." A material famous and useful alongside Dragon Scale as a material for weapons and armor. There were also things like "Dragon Fang," but none of them circulated on the general market — everything from processing onward was fully custom-made.

"Hmm... then, well, I'll leave the purchase to you."

After examining the Dragon Claw in his hand with a notable lack of interest, Hayasaka casually tossed it to Kujo Reiko. Come to think of it, they'd signed an investment contract where Kujo would handle rare drop purchases.

The fact that Kujo Reiko herself had apparently been so elated by the black dragon's defeat that she completely forgot about it was rather endearing. Expecting her to stay calm would've been unreasonable on multiple levels.

"I knew they were insane from the start, but seeing it with my own eyes like this, words fail me. How far are these guys gonna go, seriously."

Such a comment scrolled by, followed by a flood of responses — some agreeing, some pushing back, some cracking jokes and stirring things up.

But, certainly... people who could recklessly charge through what was probably now an S-rank Sugai Dungeon and force a full clear — what would they accomplish from here on? Sakiho couldn't even imagine, and Hayasaka Toru himself probably wasn't imagining much either.

There was no doubt that this stream had once again drawn the attention of the entire world.

"Ah... anyway, let's call it a day for today's exploration around here. I'm ending the stream. I'll take a quick peek at the floors below before heading back. I seriously couldn't react to comments or anything this time, but whatever, tune in again if you're interested. I'll probably announce on social media when we do something."

"I like talking with everyone in the comments too, so I'd be happy if you came by again. You'd better praise me for what I did today, okay?"

"O-ho-ho-ho! I am Kujo Reiko! This time — this time, I believe I experienced the same astonishment as all of you viewers! Everyone, my friends are this amazing and wonderful! I certainly don't feel like I can win against them now, but I shall pour even greater passion into my future training! I'm certain many explorers are watching this stream, but a dungeon attack like this is an exception among exceptions, so absolutely do not try this at home! That is all!"

The greetings concluded — from the perpetually sluggish Hayasaka, the dragon-slaying swordswoman Tia with her friendly smile, and the assertive yet considerate Kujo Reiko — and the screen went dark.

There, Sakiho operated her terminal, ending the stream without lingering on the flood of farewell comments.

"Now then —"

Shenna murmured, and the very next moment.

The view outside the window seemed to darken —.

"— looks like it's here."

Showing a bitter smile, the mother cat pulled Mika close. Sakiho double-checked Hayasaka's terminal, confirmed the stream had ended, and shut it down. Then she sent a message to Hayasaka on her mobile, and with nothing left to do, turned her gaze to the darkened window.

However, she didn't approach the window.

Just observe.

The window wasn't so much dark as... strictly speaking, it felt like a filter had been applied. Like putting on sunglasses — your vision gets darker, but the world's brightness hasn't actually changed. That was the kind of dissonance she felt.

Then, the next moment ——

——GABANG!!

An absurd sound rang out, and the view outside the window vanished.

A few moments later, the sound of something colliding violently with something else — a crash of destruction.

"...Phew."

Breathe in, breathe out.

Shenna glared at the window, now cut off from the outside world. Sakiho glanced at her and the Mika she held in her arms — and thought that if it came down to it, she'd become a shield.

Genuinely, naturally, she thought so.

That they — those two — living was far better than someone like herself.