When the sniper fired the second deadly bullet.
Kageichi experienced an extremely rare emotion: hesitation, albeit for a very brief moment.
Kageichi Futsuu does not hesitate.
He eliminates enemies and follows the rules.
What unusually disrupted that simple binary choice was that the fired bullet didn’t trigger his “Detection.”
A Magical Power Blocking Bullet.
Everything within a dungeon possesses magical power and can be detected via echo—”Detection.”
However, there are exceptions, one of which is items clad in special armor that conceals magical power.
Of course, Kageichi is aware.
Even if the item itself conceals its magical power, it’s easy to understand what happened from subtle changes in information, such as the fluctuation of the wind or changes in the flow of magical power.
If you truly want to conceal it, you shouldn’t erase the magical power but blend it into the background like a chameleon.
In contrast, Torako’s reaction is delayed.
She noticed the sign of the bullet being fired, but she can’t “Detect” the target—if she can’t “Detect” or visually identify it, her Skill, “Voice of Denial,” can’t target it and thus can’t activate—
“Ugh!”
Even so, Torako is an employee of the Labyrinth Agency.
Protecting the people is her duty.
Therefore, she jumps in front of Kageichi, spreading her arms to act as a shield.
As a backline support, her armor isn’t particularly strong.
Still, the sense of justice that she must protect the people makes her step forward without hesitation—and because of that, a binary choice is born within Kageichi.
Save Torako?
Or let her die?
If he lets the enemy eliminate her, he can permanently eliminate Torako’s troublesome Skill.
Furthermore, the Labyrinth Agency’s hatred will be strongly directed towards the Gyokuryu Society, and the enemy organization will be destroyed more quickly.
It’s an ideal outcome.
However—that wouldn’t feel good.
Kageichi Futsuu isn’t a good person.
He’s a man who is faithful to his own desires and prioritizes living a stress-free life, so he has no spirit of helping others.
But that doesn’t mean he’s willing to abandon someone who’s trying to protect him.
Eliminating inherently evil or cowardly people is what relieves stress and allows him to sleep soundly in bed.
Eliminating an ordinary person who is working hard for peace, just for the sake of rationality, is a bit unappealing.
If he were to compare it to a game…
Abandoning the brave girl would get him a medium-rare item, but it would leave a lingering unpleasant feeling in the event.
Moreover, this is a one-time game where you can’t reset.
In that case—though not safe and secure, if he wants to take the stress-free path—
Kageichi smoothly reaches out.
He grabs Torako’s shoulder and pulls her back just a little.
“Agh…!”
The bullet grazes her shoulder.
He deliberately hits her while avoiding a fatal wound, both preserving evidence of the attack and controlling the Labyrinth Agency’s hatred, and then pretends to be surprised and whispers to her.
“Are you alright? …I don’t know who it is, but it seems you’re being targeted.”
“S-Sorry, I don’t know the identity of the enemy! Kageichi-san, are you hurt!?”
“No. I was lucky enough to slip and stumble, which saved me. Let’s be thankful for the good fortune.”
Kageichi nods and drags Torako into the small room as if to hide.
The Sniper Rifle is a powerful long-range weapon, but it has one fatal weakness.
The inevitability that dungeons are labyrinths.
Due to the nature of the rifle, it can only secure a line of sight in a straight line or in an open space, and it’s difficult to continue the battle if the target escapes indoors.
If the opponent is an individual, they could camp—take up a position in a specific location and wait for the enemy to come out—but Torako is an employee of the Labyrinth Agency.
If she immediately notifies her colleagues via intercom and warns them that a sniper is lurking in the dungeon, the advantage will be reversed in an instant.
…Well, the opponent has probably already managed to escape.
Waiting for the call to end, Kageichi hands her a recovery potion.
“Please, if you’d like.”
“No. I have my own. But, my salary…”
Torako takes out an Ex Potion from her Inventory and drinks it all at once.
Ex Potions are valuable. Considering the usefulness of her Skill, she probably holds a considerable position in the Labyrinth Agency. —It wouldn’t hurt to have her as an ally.
Kageichi doesn’t show his thoughts on his face and bows deeply.
“Thank you, Torako-san. You are my savior. I will never forget this debt.”
“It’s my job. …More importantly, Kageichi-san. Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
While holding her wounded shoulder, she smiles slightly.
As if to shoot him down—
“You saw the bullet, didn’t you? Really. …You didn’t need my help, did you?”
“Of course not. I’m just a humble B-Rank Hunter.”
“For someone like that, it was quite a convenient cover, wasn’t it? Saving me while injuring me to leave evidence.”
“It was a coincidence.”
To Kageichi’s joke that the goddess of luck in the dungeon must have whispered to him, Torako giggles.
“I used to watch a lot of old anime, and there’s a famous line in one anime. —I hate smart-aleck kids.”
“I only know the line.”
“But I’m a woman with a bad sense, so I didn’t notice anything in particular. …Are you satisfied?”
“I’m not a demon or a devil. —As long as you don’t get in my way, that is.”
Torako narrows her eyes slightly at Kageichi, who straightens his tie, and smiles sweetly.
*
“Sniper, respond. Hurry up and run…!”
To Gouyoku’s voice, however, the sniper is silent.
He waits impatiently, wondering if they are fleeing or—and what comes back is.
“Are you the mastermind?”
“…”
A chill runs down his spine.
A quiet voice. But the voice of a man with strong hidden anger shakes Gouyoku’s brain.
“I’ll make sure you pay for hurting my Torako. —Remember that.”
Leaving only those words, the call is cut off.