Chapter 12

The next day, when he checked his blog... what a surprise!

The page views had quintupled, and to top it off, he had gained three new bookmarks.

"Yayyyyyy!!"

It was the first time he had received bookmarks since starting his blog two months ago.

Could anything more wonderful have ever happened?

Moreover, the page views had reached an all-time high, quintupling.

Yesterday and today, good things just kept happening.

Could this be because he had helped Kuren?

Was God saying, "Correct!"?

He got so excited that he bumped into the wall.

"Oops, sorry."

Perhaps because he had leveled up by defeating a large number of monsters, his body was in top condition.

He hardly felt any of the fatigue from the other day.

When he worked at the printing company, even after drinking high-grade Yunker and soaking in a hot bath, he would still feel tired the next day...

It felt like he had returned to his childhood.

Once he calmed down, Seiki began to think about his actions for the day.

Yesterday, he had forgotten to thank the shopkeeper for the armor.

Maybe he should check out the weapon shop first?

While he was at it, he might as well buy some better shoes and gloves.

"That's all I need to do... right?"

For some reason, Seiki felt uneasy.

Was this really okay?

The face that came to mind was Kuren's, still retaining a hint of childishness.

Kuren, the girl he had met yesterday, was just a passing acquaintance.

—Definitely not anything more.

Seiki hadn't saved her from the Monpare attack because she was a woman or a girl.

He had helped her because someone was being attacked.

That was what an adventurer should do.

He could confidently say he had no ulterior motives.

So, he shouldn't have any desire to see her again, right...?

"...No, that's not it!"

Realizing this, Seiki quickly put on his equipment and rushed out of the guest room.

It wasn't a matter of wanting to see Kuren or not.

Seiki had to see Kuren.

If he didn't, she would—die!

* * *

Despite it being early morning, the dungeon was already bustling with adventurers.

At the gate.

Seiki checked the line of adventurers waiting at the dungeon entrance one by one.

But with so many people, it was impossible to find Kuren.

"Damn! I should have sent her a direct message through the blog."

How could he have missed such an obvious solution?

After all, something similar had just happened yesterday.

Kuren might not even come to the dungeon today.

Still, for some reason, Seiki had assumed she would.

He must have been too flustered.

"Haa..."

He needed to calm down.

Taking a deep breath, Seiki sternly advised himself to relax.

Just then,

"Good morning!"

Kuren appeared and greeted Seiki.

Despite her being so inconspicuous, she had found him.

"You found me so quickly... I'm usually pretty hard to notice."

"Well, um, your mask is quite noticeable."

Ah, is that why?

Seiki traced the edge of his mask with his finger.

Did it have some effect that made him easier to find?

Thinking about it, he had indeed noticed a difference in his surroundings since yesterday.

—Ah, so it was because of the mask.

"Could this mask... be a divine item!?"

Wearing the mask increased his presence!

The unexpected effect of the magical item made Seiki's whole body tremble.

"Damn! What a find!!"

To think he could buy such a divine item for just 500 yen!

Was that shopkeeper a god?

"What's wrong?"

"N-no, nothing."

Seeing Kuren's puzzled expression, Seiki hurriedly composed himself.

"Kuren."

"Yes, it's Kuren!"

When he called her, Kuren approached him with small, quick steps, like a small dog finding its owner.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about yesterday's team—"

A faint "ah" came from somewhere.

It was so subtle that it quickly blended into the crowd of adventurers.

But Seiki didn't miss it.

His heightened senses from leveling up had caught it clearly.

He immediately hid Kuren behind his back and turned to face the source of the sound.

"..."

The man with the shield opened and closed his mouth.

Even without hearing the sound, Seiki could clearly tell what he had said.

"You're alive."

Behind him stood a man with a greatsword and another with a bow.

They had been worried, of course.

They wanted to confirm whether the girl they had abandoned had really died.

The perpetrator always returns to the scene of the crime.

True to form, they had come back to verify that Kuren was dead.

If she were alive, there was a chance their misdeeds would be exposed.

Of course, abandoning someone in the dungeon wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

There were situations where it was unavoidable, like the trolley problem.

But they had volunteered to train Kuren.

Given the circumstances, it was a gray area.

If they had sacrificed a weaker adventurer to save themselves, they wouldn't be able to continue as proper adventurers.

If it was seen as a dangerous act, the 'Narou' administration might even ban their accounts.

That's why they had come to confirm.

—If she was alive, they would make her monster bait again.

Kuren had said they operated on the 9th floor.

If that was true, they should have the power to easily dispose of Seiki as well.

What were they planning to do?

The tension was rising.

Did they intend to cause a commotion here?

...That was unlikely.

There were too many people around, and the special police dedicated to handling adventurers wouldn't stand for it.

Perhaps Seiki was overthinking it.

They were adventurers too.

Maybe they had come to search for Kuren out of guilt!

But their actions betrayed Seiki's expectations as they formed a battle formation, radiating killing intent.

"No way!"

They were completely serious about killing.

Seiki was shaken by the sudden turn of events but regained his composure when he heard a sharp intake of breath behind him.

How far were they willing to go?

It became clear almost immediately.

The front-line man charged forward with his shield raised.

Behind him, an arrow was already nocked.

If Seiki dodged left, the shield man would attack; if he dodged right, the arrow would be fired.

Even if he managed to evade both, the greatsword waiting behind would finish him off.

What should he do...?

If he dodged, Kuren would be the first to get hurt.

But could he defend against their attacks...?

What should he do!?

He needed to observe.

Observe and find a gap to escape!

But Seiki couldn't find any weaknesses in their formation.

The distance was closing in.

Their weapons were still sheathed.

If they drew them, the police would notice.

They would wait until the last possible moment.

Still, Seiki could clearly see where their weapons were and what they intended to attack.

This must be killing intent.

A shiver ran down Seiki's spine.

He took a step back.

The shield man moved with him.

"...Huh?"

Seiki took another step back.

The shield man moved the same distance.

...Could this be it?

A glimmer of hope, thinner than a hair, appeared.

In the next moment,

the shield man closed the distance in an instant.

Could he make it!?

Seiki moved his feet toward the glimmer of hope.

The formation was based on the shield man leading the charge directly at the enemy.

By changing the angle, a slight distortion would occur in the formation.

From that distortion, a gap to escape the critical situation would appear!

Seiki believed this and pushed off the ground with all his might.

But,

(Damn, he's fast!)

Seiki couldn't outpace the shield man's charge.

Overwhelming power.

The gap in strength was too great to overcome the glimmer of hope.

Just as the surrounding adventurers began to notice the commotion and gasped,

"!"

The shield man drew his longsword.

The situation had already passed the point of no return.

Even if Seiki moved at full speed, it wouldn't be enough.

The shield man must have realized this too, as he wore a smug smile.

It was a truly... disgusting smile, damn it.

The sword, poised behind the shield, was about to pierce Seiki's abdomen—

Before that,

"Ugh!!"

Someone intervened in the chaos.

They intervened and sent the shield man flying in an instant.