ch81-ch100 · 088-ch87

Chapter 87

There were things that nagged at Toru — but the conclusion his thoughts arrived at was: nothing I can do about it by worrying. There were people who did what needed doing — you could take Soma Kengo as proof enough of that — and there were also people doing their jobs properly, seriously. Jumping in from the sidelines with a knowing look to pass this-and-that judgment wasn't Toru's way.

Anyway.

Nothing in particular happened, and apart from the freshly changed Seno Kyohei looking unbearably awkward, there was nothing else worth mentioning as they left Noumi Dungeon.

Near the dungeon entrance, besides Sadoyama — section chief of the Labyrinth Department — stood a handful of people who looked like members of the circle Shirazawa belonged to, and... a knight in white armor.

A knight, yes.

The white armor was, quite literally, a white full-body suit of plate... with no metallic sheen to be felt — how to put it — armor with a texture like plastic.

"If it ain't Shuuto. What's up?"

Isaac said it. Which meant the guy was presumably a member of the S-rank explorer clan 'Slayer.'

The armored figure called Shuuto let out a relieved breath once he'd confirmed Isaac was in one piece, and took off his helmet. From under the full-face helmet — a hulking thing that made you wonder how he was even seeing out of it — emerged... a refreshingly handsome guy.

Sleek, flowing hair, a fine slender jaw, a neat nose bridge, and eyebrows like lines drawn with an ink brush. Black hair, Japanese features. His face wasn't deeply chiseled — but neither was his a beauty that leaned feminine like Watanabe Yuki's. Unmistakably a man, and handsome.

"I got a report that you'd gone into the dungeon, so I was waiting at the entrance. Judging from the looks of things, something did happen... Oh — are you 'Toru-bro'? And the holy sword wielder — Tia-san, yes?"

The handsome guy's gaze turned to Toru and Tia.

For no particular reason, being looked at by a handsome guy made Toru feel like he might melt, so he considered hiding behind Shirazawa's back — but given the difference in height, his head would stick out anyway, so he gave up on it.

"I'm Tia. This is Toru. And you are?"

"Ah, my apologies. I'm Uesugi Akito, leader of the clan 'Slayer.' If Isaac has caused you any trouble, I'm sorry."

"Hmm? He hasn't caused us any trouble, though?"

"Right?" Tia prompted, turning to him, and Toru nodded for the time being, managing a courtesy bow at the handsome guy while he was at it.

"That part's fine, Shuuto. Point is, these guys got their own mess to sort out. Go finish yer business, Toru."

Isaac, being considerate, jerked a thumb at Seno Kyohei. "Gotcha," Toru nodded, and turned his gaze to Sadoyama, whose face was a perfect void.

"Ah... hey. Good work out there."

"Same to you. I don't know what-all went down to put you into Noumi Dungeon, Hayasaka-kun, but from the look of it, it seems it didn't come too late."

"Well... probably? As for what happened — I don't really know the details myself."

"I did get the rough version from your circle's president, at least. We're acquainted, after all. And the one moping away back there would be Seno-kun, the one who turned into a monster."

The Seno in question twitched, just barely, then stepped forward, still giving off an atmosphere thick as sludge.

"Um..."

"It's fine, it's fine. No point hearing the details here and now. I'll get the full story from you later."

Sadoyama grinned loosely and shrugged — but there was no air of "I'll let this one slide" about him. It was simply that he had no intention of conducting questioning on the spot.

"Ah... leaving the fine details aside — apparently this guy injected himself with some weird drug he got from a weird guy at city hall. I picked up the empty syringe, so here, I'll hand it over."

He took the syringe out of his magic bag and passed it to Sadoyama. Sadoyama gave it one quick glance, stuffed it into his own magic bag, and sighed.

"What do you have to be thinking to decide to shoot yourself up with a weird injection some weird guy gave you... I just can't follow what young people are thinking these days."

"I mean, I think so too."

Toru found himself agreeing before he knew it — but Seno shrank even deeper into his mope, and honestly, it was getting on his nerves.

For now — Shirazawa Kana had been saved.

Everything after that wasn't Toru's jurisdiction.

"So, ah... what happens now?"

"Well, for now I'll secure Seno-kun's person and take him as far as the Labyrinth Agency bigwigs, I suppose. Looks like city hall fumbled this one too, so unfortunately it doesn't seem I can just dump the whole thing in their lap."

"Then the rest I'll leave to you... is what I'd like to say."

"Hm? Something else on your mind?"

"I ran here, so I don't have a ride for the way back..."

The trip over was one thing — he'd been in a hurry — but he had no desire to cling to Tia's back for the ride home either. He had money, so taking a taxi was an option, but hailing one was a pain, and besides, what with being more or less broke until just recently, he had a psychological resistance to using taxis at all.

"Ah, in that case, shall I drive you? It's not like I have anything left to do today besides take Isaac back to the hotel."

The handsome guy — Uesugi Akito — said it. It was as if perfectly ordinary, matter-of-course kindness, with no ulterior motive to be found, had simply come out of his mouth.

The impression he gave went beyond categories like "sociable normie" — it was, purely and simply, a good person. For Toru, who considered himself on distant terms with virtue, he was the sort who made him conscious of a gap.

Prejudice, of course.

And he didn't consider himself such a crank as to refuse kindness on the strength of that prejudice. He bowed his head once more and tried out a "'Preciate it" — then felt a small distaste for his own rotten mouth. He really ought to be able to manage a fluent "thank you very much."

"Then Tia-san, you'll ride along too? Anyone else—"

"Ah — if it's all right, could I ride as well? It's just... there are still some things I want to talk about with Hayasaka-kun... Would it be okay to stop by your place?"

The hand that went up was Shirazawa's, and she glanced at Toru to check. He had no particular reason to refuse, so he nodded — whereupon another hand rose from the side.

"Um... pardon me, but may I as well? Er, there's... a little something I'd also like to speak with Hayasaka-san about... If I'd be in the way, I'll just head home, though..."

"Sure, don't mind."

He nodded plainly, since he honestly couldn't care less. There was something like Watanabe apologizing to Shirazawa with a look — sorry about this — but, well, if they had things to talk about they could talk, was about the extent of Toru's interest in it, as if it were someone else's problem.

For now, everyone was alive.

Anything beyond that was none of Toru's business.

"Then I'll haul Seno-kun off and shove him onto the Labyrinth Agency people. We may want to hear from you all tomorrow or later — everyone, keep yourselves reachable."

Sadoyama's line was aimed at the explorer circle members no less than at Toru's group. A few of them wore faces like they'd come down with indigestion over all the loose ends left dangling right here — though it had already gotten dark, so that may have been his imagination.

"Right, shall we? The car's parked over that way. 'Unequip.'"

The instant the handsome guy chanted the mysterious incantation, the handsome guy glowed and shone. Maybe because he was handsome. No, wrong. The white armor he'd been wearing vanished away, leaving a pure-white bracelet on his right arm.

"Ooh! Magic armor. Rare... here too, I wonder? Probably rare, right?"

"Yes, it's rare. It's a legendary-class item that came from a treasure chest in an S-rank dungeon. And your light armor, Tia-san...?"

"Mine's a light one a dwarf crafted for me. Nothing that powerful. Speaking of which — I'll slip mine off too."

With that, Tia released her manifestation for just an instant, remanifested, and was back in a skirt and blouse. The handsome guy — perhaps taken with the holy sword wielder's everyday clothes — let out an admiring "hoh," but as far as Toru was concerned, the feeling was: great, can we just go home already.

He didn't say it, what with owing them the ride.

◇◇◇

The wagon Uesugi Akito drove was apparently one used by the S-rank clan 'Slayer,' and the cargo space was loaded with all manner of items.

Still, even carrying six people including the driver, Uesugi Akito, it had plenty of room to spare, and hardly a note of engine sound when they set off — probably a luxury car, huh — Toru gazed out the car window on the road home from Noumi Dungeon, at a loss for what to do with a certain disjointed feeling.

Somewhere along the way, in the drift of things, he'd ended up with an S-rank explorer driving him home — but until just the other day, Hayasaka Toru had been a less-than-explorer, a cleaner working the D-rank dungeon.

Isaac and Uesugi alike had looked at Toru as if they were perfectly equal — but by rights, his was the sort of position where being looked down on as trash-garbage would only be natural.

"It sounds like things were quite serious... but grilling you for the whole story isn't very good manners, is it. If it becomes necessary, I expect word will come through Habaki-san, so I'll hold off on asking for now. It's plain enough, either way, that you saved someone."

Uesugi in the driver's seat said it, looking at Toru through the rearview mirror. Isaac in the passenger seat had kicked off his shoes and gone into full relaxation mode — they do exist, these types — and Toru felt an odd sense of reassurance. Sloppy guys at about this level were, for Toru, easier to deal with.

"Ah... you're on close terms with Habaki-san, then?"

"Given our position, chances to deal with him are plentiful, I suppose. I'm well aware he uses us for convenience — but in exchange, we get him to bend a good many things our way. Give and take, you could say."

"Sounds rough, being S-rank and all..."

"Hahaha. I watched that stream of you arguing with Ilseria as well, so there's no need to stand so stiffly on formality with me. Talking back to her that much is rare in itself — I personally found it quite favorable. It was entertaining, too."

A handsome guy with a truly refreshing laugh.

Toru very nearly came to regret having carelessly gotten into that dispute with the elf on the stream he'd done alongside 'Anthem' — but had he faced the same situation, he'd have argued back the same way a hundred times out of a hundred, so there was no point regretting it.

"...Ah, see... put a kind person in front of me and I just don't know what to do with myself."

"You hate people who are rude, though."

Shirazawa had put in the jab under her breath, sounding exasperated.

"Not too many folks out there who like rude people."

"Well, that's true."

"With her, once I'd decided I didn't mind being hated, it got comfortable. The elf was the living peak of rudeness, after all. Being hated by her doesn't cost my heart any pain, so it's easy."

"No — I rather think Ilseria has taken quite a liking to you, Toru-kun."

The handsome guy slipped that in smooth as anything, and Toru caught himself muttering, "You serious?" If that was what liking someone looked like, then something had to be wrong with her.

"Elves are shit, as a general rule."

Isaac spat that out with a "heh."

To which Tia appended a caveat, for what it was worth.

"Still, Ilseria's a good cut better than most. She listens when you talk, and she doesn't go denying every little thing you say. She's... that, being an elf and all."

"Having 'that' as our only common topic is also kinda 'that,' huh. Ah — weren't you guys supposed to be taking over 'Anthem's investigation or something?"

"Did Isaac mention it? Well, yes. Noumi Dungeon has in all likelihood mutated to S-rank, so the judgment is that it comes out neater for us to survey it. For our part, an S-rank dungeon with unexplored territory is exactly what we'd wish for."

In that instant, Uesugi Akito carried an atmosphere that made you understand, unmistakably: this man is a top-tier explorer. Confidence underwritten by achievement. And caution enough that it never curdled into overconfidence. A strong will to press forward coexisting with the cold judgment to pull back when necessary — that sort of atmosphere you cannot acquire without the experience points to match.

If it ever came to a fight, his strength would surely be no joke.

Rank for rank, he had to be stronger than the members of 'Anthem.' An explorer on par with 'The Hunter,' Soma Kengo. Even that Demon attack the other day — Toru had the feeling Soma could probably have handled it alone.

Outmaneuvering guys like these — what exactly did Gilgeil intend to do?

So he thought.

Not that there was any way of knowing.