Chapter 70

At the 6th Net Novel Grand Prize, I was honored to receive an award during the event period.

This is all thanks to everyone who supported me.

Thank you so much!

Gradually, the figure became visible.

He wore a sky-blue armor.

A long sword was sheathed at his waist.

His jet-black, lustrous hair was tied back in a single ponytail.

There was no sign of hesitation in his gait.

Yet, his expression was somewhat vacant.

“――!?”

Before he knew it, Seiki’s whole body was trembling.

He had seen this figure many times on the top page of a certain blog.

One of the top-ranking members of the ‘Narou’ community.

It was none other than Amezuki Shizuki.

After announcing that she was going on an expedition, Shizuki had taken a break from updating her blog.

When a stampede occurred nationwide, her team members lamented on the blog that they couldn’t get in touch with her.

But Seiki never imagined that she would appear in the garage dungeon.

“A, a... Shizuki-sa――!?”

Seiki’s voice cracked in surprise.

The woman, who had been about fifty meters away, was now only a meter away from Seiki.

It was as if she had teleported.

The wind that followed ruffled Seiki’s mask.

The two eyes in Shizuki’s vacant face changed suspiciously.

“I found you.”

“Huh?”

Seiki heard Shizuki’s voice for the first time.

Unlike her dignified appearance, her voice was quite thin.

Shizuki’s hand touched Seiki’s body.

“E, eh!?”

Seiki’s brain overheated.

Why? Why!?

That was all that raced through his mind.

“No, Amezuki-san, you can’t do this!”

“……”

Seiki noticed the voice of Hiren, twisted as if squeezed out, and the murderous intent of Rea.

But he couldn’t move at all.

It wasn’t because his brain had melted from being touched by his idol Shizuki.

Every time Seiki tried to move to avoid her—no, even before he could move—she anticipated everything.

Shizuki’s ability to read her opponent’s movements was terrifyingly high.

Seiki was completely immobilized by Shizuki, who had blocked all his escape routes.

“Are you the rumored Masked Boy?”

“Eh... I guess?”

Seiki didn’t know what the rumors were about.

But as far as he knew, he was the only adventurer who wore a mask.

But... rumors, huh!!

Seiki’s cheeks, hidden by his mask, turned red.

He had no idea his presence had become so significant that he was being talked about by a top-ranker!!

What should he do?

Is it a party today!?

Hehe...

Seiki’s brain started to melt in a different way.

However,

“...Yeah. You’re much more ordinary than I thought.”

Seiki’s body felt cold at Shizuki’s words.

‘Much more ordinary’

Being ordinary isn’t a bad thing.

In fact, Seiki had longed to be an ordinary presence for 27 years.

So he had no resistance to being called ordinary; it was even his wish.

But Seiki’s chest ached slightly at those words.

It was the pride he had built up as an adventurer, little by little.

Only 10% of adventurers are intermediate.

So it was natural for Seiki, who had become an intermediate adventurer, to think of himself as a little special.

But those words directly negated that.

—Ordinary.

Indeed, from Shizuki’s perspective, Seiki was ordinary.

It was fortunate that he didn’t seem below ordinary.

But Seiki couldn’t shake off the thorn of those words in his chest.

“Um... what are the rumors about?”

“You soloed the upper floors of ‘Chikaho’ and participated in the mid-floor monster parade with Kagemitsu, right?”

Shizuki tilted her head, placing her index finger at the corner of her mouth.

This gesture heated up the girl, Kusa, who was behind Seiki.

She sent murderous intent, as if to say, “Kill him!”

But Seiki was surprisingly calm.

“I did fight with Kagemitsu. Is that what the rumors are about?”

“Yeah. The floating mask with feathers on its neck, carrying a plant and attacking with tentacles. It’s said that the scales on its body repelled all monster attacks.”

“That’s not me.”

There’s no way he could be such a monster.

Seiki shook his head in denial.

But the words “Eh?” and the rustling sound pierced his back.

No, it’s not me.

It’s definitely not me!

“Mask floating”

“No, no”

“Feathers growing.”

“Growing—”

“Is this a plant?”

“Ugh”

“Scales too”

“Guh”

“Tentacles too”

“No, no! No, it’s not me!?”

“What is this?”

Shizuki pointed.

It was Seiki’s bag.

“...Ah”

The slimy eel figurine, which dropped when he defeated the boss of the slimy eel, was attached to his bag.

Depending on how you look at it, the slimy eel could indeed look like tentacles.

It could, but... Grr!

While Seiki was at a loss for words, Shizuki pointed straight.

“...The person”

“Ugh...”

The evidence was all there.

Shizuki’s eyes sharpened, demanding a confession.

Seiki had indeed faced the monster parade in ‘Chikaho’ with Kagemitsu.

That was undeniable.

But if he admitted it, he would also be confirming the dishonorable rumor of being a “masked being with tentacles, scales, and feathers growing from the neck, carrying a plant on its back.”

Seiki was torn.

He wandered between affirmation and denial.

Even if he wanted more presence, he felt he couldn’t accept that.

But before Seiki could give an answer,

“So, Masked Boy,”

Shizuki proceeded on the assumption that Seiki was the person in the rumor.

He could feel the two people behind him snickering.

Damn, just wait and see!

“Would you like to spar with me?”

“...Huh?”

*

Combat between adventurers is forbidden.

However, there are loopholes.

For example, brawls at drinking parties.

Exchanging words with fists (depending on the degree) is not a problem unless it catches the police’s attention.

Hot-blooded adventurers often speak with their fists, but the police rarely intervene to revoke their adventurer licenses, as it would be a loss for Japan in the future.

If it’s not one-sided violence and no serious injuries are sustained, the police tend to look the other way.

It’s a good way to let off steam.

This time, Shizuki proposed one of those loopholes.

A sparring session as training.

It’s dangerous to spar while monsters could appear at any moment.

So Seiki and the others returned to the surface.

The sparring session would take place in a fallow field borrowed from Kintora-san.

“...Sigh”

Why am I doing this?

Seiki sighed as he checked his equipment.

His sparring partner was Shizuki.

She was a top-tier adventurer who had sparred with and defeated the legendary hero Masatsugu.

While her deepest dungeon record was held by Masatsugu, Shizuki was said to be superior in personal combat and swordsmanship.

Seiki had no enthusiasm for a match against such an opponent.

The match would be over in an instant.

That was all Seiki could see.

The one who was most enthusiastic about this sparring session was Rea.

She had insisted, “Let me join too,” with her leaves bristling.

Seiki was sure he heard Rea’s thoughts, “Who does this upstart think she is?!” in his head, but it was probably just his imagination.

However, Seiki carefully persuaded Rea to give up on participating.

Seiki didn’t have to win this match.

If so, it should be a fair 1-on-1.

Teaming up with Rea against a much higher-ranked opponent wouldn’t be considered unfair.

But something in Seiki couldn’t accept it.

The words “ordinary” still lingered in his mind from earlier.

“But, this is a great opportunity.”

If he changed his perspective, this was a chance to spar with one of the top rankers.

An unknown adventurer wouldn’t even get the chance to challenge.

Of course, Seiki didn’t think for a moment that he wanted to show his strength in this opportunity.

He didn’t have the power to meet Shizuki’s standards.

His low level of skill would be obvious from the start.

It wouldn’t even be a bluff.

Straining to show such a thing would only make the match worse.

What Seiki valued most was the chance to see Shizuki’s movements.

Seiki had a mimicry skill.

If he could capture her attacks with his eyes, it would be a valuable resource.

This match would be an invaluable experience for Seiki, one he might never get again.

Shizuki, who had finished preparing, placed her hand on her long sword.

The air instantly sharpened and cooled.

Seiki’s back froze at the change in the atmosphere.

The weapons of top rankers are often given names by the public.

Masatsugu’s weapon is the “Long Sword Excalibur.” He strongly dislikes it.

Bacon’s weapon is “Might Is Power.” It’s a metal fist, but the weapon itself is named “Muscle!”

Shizuki’s long sword is called “Blood Sakura.” It’s named so because there’s no one it can’t cut.

Whether this is true or not is unknown, but no one has ever seen her attacks being blocked.

Seiki’s admiration for Shizuki was largely due to her use of Blood Sakura.

The sword is a weapon that has the power to plunge many young people into the depths of otaku culture, yet it is also a work of art and a practical tool.

Its sharpness is unparalleled compared to Western swords.

However, it is very difficult to handle, and even a slight mistake in the angle can easily damage it.

A weapon for experts.

Using a sword is proof of high skill.

Seiki aspired to become a wonderful adventurer who could handle a sword.

Shizuki and Blood Sakura were symbols of his goals as an adventurer.

Seiki took a deep breath, breaking his gaze from the sword.

He exhaled all the air and sank his consciousness deep.

The fallow field, where rape, wheat, and sunflowers swayed pleasantly, was observed from above.

Seiki’s concentration stretched a second into eternity.

Rea threw a stone directly above.

The moment it hit the ground, the match would begin.

Focus.

Focus!

Observe and analyze your opponent.

Imagine and predict from every muscle fiber.

Even if the match ends in the first move,

Capture your opponent’s strength and engrave it in your brain!

The potato stone Rea threw fell in slow motion in Seiki’s vision and made contact.

In an instant, Shizuki was in front of Seiki.

There was no preparatory movement.

By the time he realized she had moved, she was already in front of him.

The pinnacle of movement.

Beautiful, magnificent.

But Seiki was already moving.

Seiki’s movement was almost instinctual.

He couldn’t see her with his eyes, but his body was moved by his limited experience with strong opponents.

Like Shizuki, he minimized his preparatory movements and disengaged.

Shizuki’s eyebrows moved slightly.

Blood Sakura approached Seiki’s neck.

He guarded with his magic sword.

Blood Sakura stopped.

Suddenly, it changed direction.

“—What!?”

Seiki couldn’t help but exclaim at the rough movement, which was the opposite of her graceful approach.

Blood Sakura, which had avoided Seiki’s guard, aimed for his neck.

Unlike a forceful counterattack, Blood Sakura was like a flowing stream.

“...I lose.”

“Hmm”

Shizuki nodded slightly at Seiki’s surrender.

There was no exchange of blows.

A 0.1-second battle.

An instant kill.

“Ah...”

Hiren behind him let out a deeply disappointed sigh.

Seiki felt like he was about to exhale the same way.

It was over with just that...

But a sense of excitement welled up, pushing back the disappointment.

He had seen something truly great.

The approach with zero preparatory movement, the beautiful gait.

And the flow of the sword, combining both elegance and power.

If he could mimic these, he was sure he could reach a higher level.

Seiki felt a definite premonition of this.

“...One more time.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s do it again.”

“Um—”

“Get ready.”

Just when he thought it was over, Shizuki proposed a rematch.

Caught off guard by Shizuki’s unexpected words, Seiki was momentarily stunned.

Shizuki’s face was slightly distorted.

Perhaps she was dissatisfied with Seiki’s ability.

(Is this the rumored pampering!? What, what should I do!?)

Seiki’s knees trembled at the slight hint of anger on Shizuki’s face.

Shizuki’s foreshadowing is resolved here.

Masked Boy, you’ll be pampered by a top-ranker again next time (Yay!

For details on the award during the event period, please refer to the activity report.