ch81-ch100 · 089-ch88

Chapter 88

"Can I post about meetin' you on SNS? I'll keep the details hush, but I wanna brag that I met 'Toru-bro.'"

Before climbing out of the wagon upon arriving at the rundown apartment, Isaac had said that while showing off his mobile device. He flashed a grin with nothing behind it but good cheer, so all Toru could do was smirk and nod.

"Dunno what there is to brag about, but sure, go ahead."

"Oh, thanks. This whole thing looks like a mess, so if you're ever in a bind, go talk it over with Shuuto or whoever. Complicated crap's beyond me."

The dragon-person laughed — kah-kah-kah. Not that Toru really knew what a dragon-person was, and Isaac didn't go out of his way to explain, either.

Anyway. After watching the white knight, Uesugi Akito — leaving a refreshing smile behind, refreshingly working the accelerator, and refreshingly driving off in the wagon — Toru sighed, in a for-now sort of way, and headed up to his room on the second floor. Tia, Shirazawa Kana, and Watanabe Yuki had followed him along — or so he'd thought, when a door on the first floor burst open with a bang, and ringing laughter came pouring out.

"Oh ho ho ho! Welcome home, Toru-bro-sa— oh my, do we have guests? A pleasure to make your acquaintance — I am Kujo Reiko."

"Ah, good work out there. I've at least received a message from Section Chief Sadoyama. I don't know the detailed situation, but... are those two the people you rescued?"

The golden drill-curls dropped her volume partway through with a bow, while Kawai Sakiho followed behind her, relaying the essentials. Behind her, the maid-uniformed Azumaya Marika gave a little bow of the head, and off to the side, butler Kashiwazaki Joichiro stood grinning goofily.

I'm kind of getting used to this, huh, Toru thought.

Until just the other day, he'd barely interacted with anyone besides the cat beast-person mother and daughter next door — and even that relationship wasn't what you'd call deep. And now, look at the place.

Everyone might be gone one day, and it would probably feel a little lonely. He had that premonition. He doubted it would turn into a "finally, some peace and quiet," though.

"Ah, um... I'm Shirazawa Kana. Hayasaka-kun's... former classmate... He saved me."

"I'm Watanabe Yuki. I attend the same university as Shirazawa-san, same explorer circle, and... well, he saved me too."

"Ah... Hayasaka Toru. Got called out of nowhere, so I just played errand boy."

When he said whatever came to mind, Shirazawa gave Toru a light tap on the waist. Smirking, he turned back — she was wearing a face like "Hayasaka-kun, you do come out with things like that sometimes, huh" — so he felt a little satisfied.

"Oh my... well well well! What good friends you are!"

Kujo Reiko summed it up with a beaming smile, but Toru tilted his head, wondering about that. Calling his ex-girlfriend — three years of total silence, reunited only by chance the other day — "good friends" didn't seem right. "On bad terms" probably wasn't right either.

"Um... should I introduce myself too?"

Tia tilted her head, blank-faced.

Suit yourself, Toru answered with a smile.

◇◇◇

For some reason, everyone had naturally gathered at Toru's place. Shenna and Mika hadn't come, but eight people — Toru, Tia, Shirazawa, Watanabe, Kujo Reiko, the butler, the maid, and Kawai Sakiho — was a lot even so. The last time had been a similar headcount, so it might have been quicker to just resign himself already — but attaining a certain species of resignation is a difficult thing.

Thinking such thoughts, he sat down somewhere-or-other in the living room; Tia settled beside him, Shirazawa on his other side, Watanabe next to Shirazawa, and Kujo Reiko's group occupied the facing side — or rather, the side where space remained. Kawai sat seiza between the two camps, but she'd apparently gotten used to it by now, because she didn't look uncomfortable. She didn't look comfortable, either.

For the time being, the maid brewed black tea for everyone, and since there was no table that could serve them all, the cups went on the floor. For a maid, that was presumably a quiet agony — but the fact that none of it showed on her face deserved to be praised.

Anyway.

"Alright... situation check, first. Shirazawa and Watanabe, you two had something you wanted to talk to me about. Kujo-san and your people — you went out of your way to barge into my place, so... something to discuss?"

"We have, yes. And I daresay there are things we would like to hear as well. You departed at the most extraordinary speed, so my black-suited subordinates were scrambling about in quite a panic. Not that it is anything you need concern yourself with, Toru-bro-sama, of course."

Oh ho ho — she smiled prettily and took a sip of her tea.

Even with her rear planted on the carpet of a rundown apartment, she still carried herself with style — ojou-samas really are something, Toru thought, about nothing in particular.

"Also, from me. I heard from Azumaya-san, and... well, there are things I need to consult with you about, Hayasaka-san — tax matters and the like. And, since it all seemed to be a bother for you, I contacted the landlord about the vacant room next door. His words: 'Just sign the contract whenever you feel like it — use it freely until then.'"

"Ohh... ahh... 'Preciate it."

"Don't give me a reaction like the tenor section of a choir."

Shirazawa said it with an exasperated smirk. That apparently struck home with the maid, who failed to stifle a snort — "fghnn!" — which was a little funny.

"Well well well — then shall we get to sharing information? We know Toru-bro headed for Noumi Dungeon courtesy of Tia-san's big shout, but it'd be a big help if you could tell us what happened and how it all went."

The one who summed it up, looking satisfied while eyeing the snorting maid sideways, was Joichiro. Explaining everything was, honestly, a pain — but considering the business with Seno Kyohei's 'drug,' there was a high chance Gilgeil was involved. In which case, sharing the information was probably the right call.

That said, explaining it with his own mouth was, again, a pain, so Toru first had Watanabe Yuki explain what he knew. Partway through he passed the baton to Shirazawa, and covered what remained with a rough summary of his own — economizing on the number of times he had to move his mouth.

Then, while he was at it, he also gave Shirazawa and Watanabe a basic explanation of the existence of Demons. Gilgeil, the 'self-proclaimed Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office man' involved in Kamioka Dungeon's disappearance. A Demon named Lugardo. And the fact that Tia had once been the hero who slew the Demon King.

Once he actually talked it out, it was quite the tangled situation.

The part where almost nothing he wanted to pin down would get pinned down, especially.

"A drug at city hall... that's bolder than I expected."

"Hey, Joichiro — do you think this was deliberate? I mean, whether Gilgeil targeted the people around Toru to cause trouble."

"How to put it... goin' by gut, I'd say no, but..."

"Toru, what do you think?"

"You mean, did he deliberately hand Seno the drug? No way in hell. I'm the one who'd forgotten Seno Kyohei even existed."

"Ah... yeah, fair point."

For some reason, Tia gave him a look like she was watching something sad.

"And you hadn't seen Shirazawa-san in three years either, right? So — Seno-san happened to have connections at city hall, happened to hold a personal grudge against Toru-bro-san, happened to be in the same explorer circle as Shirazawa-san, happened to get handed a strange drug by the Demon man... lined up like that, you can't help feeling it's one coincidence too many."

"That's just my gut too, but — if you scatter 'seeds' of trouble around all willy-nilly, wouldn't they hit paydirt somewhere eventually? Dig into my past and, sure, you could probably turn up my connection with Shirazawa. But that Seno held a grudge, or whatever you'd call it, against me? That's something only Seno himself could know."

If this was a bomb planted at one precise point, it hardly seemed worth the cost. If Seno had been a somewhat more decent guy and never injected himself with the syringe he was given... or if he'd been more decent still, he might even have turned the syringe in to the proper authorities.

"Guess detective games won't settle this one. What d'you think, Ojou?"

"Let me see... whatever this Demon Gilgeil's objective may be — is Toru-bro-sama's existence truly such a hindrance to it?"

It was a fundamental question. And this, too, refused to be settled — because Gilgeil's objective was unknown. ...Or maybe he ought to flip it around.

If Toru was a hindrance, that would mean the actions Toru would naturally take from here on had a high likelihood of obstructing Gilgeil's objective.

"Eh, drop it for now. Making us stew like this could itself be the point, and it's too vague to narrow down — thinking about it is wasted effort. Conclusion: 'let's stay on guard.'"

With that, Toru abandoned the line of thought without ceremony and carried the tea to his mouth.

The tea, apparently brewed from their own leaves, was so extravagantly fragrant that, honestly, it didn't suit Toru's palate — but it's probably good stuff, he thought.

"Then, um... shall we start with Kawai-sama? On the items to report."

A butler who ran the show on his own initiative. Toru offered him thanks in his heart and set his cup on the floor, at which point Kawai gave a small nod and spoke.

"Yes. I spoke with Azumaya-san, and... well — I hold no qualification to process Hayasaka-san's tax affairs. It can be resolved either by my obtaining a tax accountant's license, or by taking me on as a clerical member of your clan, 'Cleaning Sword.'"

"...Oh... right... Huh?"

"To handle another person's tax affairs on their behalf requires a national qualification. In your case, Hayasaka-sama, you have stated on stream that you employ Kawai-sama — so having her process your taxes as a private hire would be illegal."

"...Huh..."

He hadn't known that.

Come to think of it, nobody in the stream comments had flagged it either, so he'd never given it a thought until this very moment — no, wait. Maybe it was because partway through, Kujo Reiko had declared that her household's people would handle supervision and auditing. The viewers must have assumed that since it had been declared on stream, they'd do it by the book.

"We will have her obtain the tax accountant's license, but that will take some time. In the meantime, if your income is booked as 'Cleaning Sword's,' a clan member can handle the tax processing. It's a fairly well-known arrangement among explorers."

"So wouldn't that mean guys doing illegal tax work get to thrive big-time among explorers?"

To the question that had popped into his head, Azumaya smiled faintly and shook her head.

"Not many explorer clans care to lay their income sources bare, after all. Unless they're taking on someone they trust as clerical staff, an explorer with income will simply hire a tax accountant."

"Huh... yeah, that's fair. Then it's settled — Kawai-san joins as a clan member. We already had her doing this and that during the Demon business, and we'll probably keep having her do this and that going forward... if that's all right with you, Kawai-san, that is."

"Of course I don't mind. If anything — please allow me to be the one to lower my head."

And lower her head she truly did.

Honestly, it felt a bit tiresome — but if this was her own form of self-reproach and self-punishment, it wasn't his place to say anything.

"Then, next. Um... Watanabe-sama...?"

"Ah, yes. Watanabe Yuki. Sorry — I'm a man."

"Oh, no no, the fault's mine — you're so beautiful I was startled, is all. What d'you say — hotel later, maybe?"

"Whaaat!? I-I just told you I'm a man! And don't invite me to a hotel like you're inviting me out for tea!"

"Ahaha, my, my bad— bwoeugh!"

The joke had apparently been too sharp — Kujo Reiko's right straight found his face, and Azumaya Marika's yakuza kick drilled through his back.

That he didn't go flying across the room was surely thanks to them properly holding back. Small mercy that Toru's apartment survived intact.

"Well, in any case — please, tell us your story."

Joichiro prompted as if nothing had happened.

After roughly three seconds of bewildered silence, Watanabe turned back toward Toru.

"Um... where should I start. First, the university explorer circle — it'll probably be suspended from activities. The club president's strict about that sort of thing. And so — honestly, without any dressing up, let me start with the conclusion. I want money."

A hopelessly worldly statement, delivered with an utterly serious gaze.

To the right listeners, it might have been a line to spit at as "petty" — but for Toru personally, these were words he had no desire whatsoever to sneer at. Money solving all manner of things was simply a fact of life.

In other words: Watanabe Yuki had something he meant to accomplish with money.

"I can use a special ability. I think you'd know, since I've already used it in front of you, Hayasaka-san — it's the 'spatial awareness' ability, convenient for mapping labyrinths. I believe I can be of use when you enter labyrinths with unexplored floors from here on. Would you take me into your clan, Hayasaka-san?"

"Right... conclusion: 'I want money.' Request: 'let me into the clan.' Payment: 'I can be useful, since I have a special ability.' That the shape of it?"

"Yes."

Nobody butted in, so Toru thought a moment, then went on.

"Tell me the reason, and maybe I'll feel like it."

If Kawai Sakiho had simply wanted to help Hayasaka Toru from the bottom of her heart, Toru probably wouldn't have reached out a hand to her at all. It was because she had confessed that state of mind — that she couldn't forgive herself — that he'd decided, ah, fine then.

Same kind.

I'm the same. Me too. He'd never been invested enough in her to resent her for it, so when he ran the pluses and minuses, sympathy won out. Probably something like that.

In fact, he didn't dislike the Kawai Sakiho who had stopped looking down on Toru. She apparently felt an inferiority complex all on her own, and made a point of not being rude to him — which, if anything, gave her a certain ease: she could be nearby without him minding her at all.

So — what about Watanabe Yuki?

Even if the reason he'd gone out of his way to beg Hayasaka Toru was "money to play around with," Toru wouldn't have looked down on him for it — but going by his expression, that didn't seem to be the reason.

Watanabe hesitated a little... no, a good deal — then touched his lips to the tea and swallowed, slowly. That's an oddly alluring way to move, Toru thought, but even he kept that one unsaid. He could vaguely tell that this beauty found his own looks a burden to carry.

After an interval of five seconds, or perhaps ten, Watanabe spoke.

"My little sister — she's been in a coma since the 'Dungeon Rampage' three years ago. As things stand, chemotherapy can't fix it. She needs a high-grade potion."

"You want a potion. Buying a potion takes money. You figured helping me would get you money. That cover it? Kujo-san — that Kumanoi Potion I handed over the other day, have you already shipped it off to a research facility or wherever?"

"N-no... it is still in my magic bag."

"Then sorry, but I'll give the money back, so return the potion — is what I'd, uh, appreciate."

Apparently sensing something serious in Toru's tone and expression, Kujo Reiko drew the potion she'd received the other day from the magic bag at her hip and handed it over.

Toru passed what he'd received to Watanabe, whose face had gone blank.

"Market price's around a hundred million, right? I'll sell it to you for a hundred million yen. And to pay back that hundred million, you join my clan and lend me your strength. That work? Just so we're clear — no thinking 'got what I came for, so who cares if I die partway.'"

The next instant, tears came spilling from both of Watanabe's eyes. It was the kind of crying you'd call a levee giving way — it took a good two minutes for the tears and the sobs to stop.

That Shirazawa — who hadn't even brought up her own business yet — was waiting for him in silence: as expected of her, Toru thought. Though he'd have been hard-pressed to say what, exactly.