Tier V Seeker ①
Well, unexpectedly, I became a Tier V Seeker.
I became a Seeker. It’s not something I admired or anything. I have no particular attachment to it.
It’s for making a living. That’s all.
That’s why I vaguely thought I’d just become one next year.
But to think I’d become Tier V without even waiting for next year… Life is really unpredictable, huh.
As I looked at the tag and put it away in my pouch, five men blocked my path ahead.
They were all looking at me. What’s going on? The atmosphere is clearly unpleasant.
They slowly surrounded me. One of the men spoke.
“Come with us quietly.”
“……”
It’s probably going to be an alleyway anyway.
We entered a nearby narrow path and walked until we arrived. An alleyway. Just as I thought.
Keeping a certain distance, they surrounded me, and one man stepped forward.
“Hey. You.”
“What is it?”
“You’re Wof, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“You bastard!”
The man to his right stepped forward.
I looked at them and said.
“What do you want? All of you.”
“We are the ‘Dragon Fang Wax’.”
“Ah, that group.”
Well, I had expected this.
For being them, they didn’t particularly stand out.
Ordinary faces. Ordinary builds. Ordinary equipment. They were mediocre.
There was just one man with a shaved head. He spoke.
“This is a warning. Stay away from Torquetum.”
“A brat like you is too damn cheeky!”
“A damn brat who isn’t even a Seeker trying to cozy up to them!”
“Sh-She’s ours!”
“Yeah! That’s right! We’re the ones after them!”
“……”
The man with the shaved head spoke again.
“This is a warning. There won’t be a next time. Stay away from Torquetum.”
“…What will you do if I say no?”
“We’ll just use force.”
The five drew their swords. Not a single one used a knife.
“Does that mean you’re going to kill me?”
“……”
“…”
“…”
“……”
“…”
“All five of you at once?”
“……”
“…”
“……”
“…”
“…”
Silence is an answer. Otherwise, they wouldn’t draw swords in a back alley.
I spoke quietly.
“Then this is my final warning as well. If you leave right now without saying anything, I won’t do anything. I’ll overlook everything you’ve said and done up to now.”
“What did you say?”
“You bastard!”
“Hey, let’s just kill him already!”
“Let’s burn him!”
“You bastard. Are you looking down on us?”
“This is the final warning. If you leave now, I won’t do anything.”
“Don’t underestimate us!”
One of them swung his sword. So I dodged, stepped in, and struck with 【Vanish】.
The man’s upper body gouged out and disappeared.
“Wh-!? Gahaah!”
I slashed the surprised man with the shaved head with my knife.
The one I drew was Mr. Agaro’s Knife. Its red blade invites blood.
“You bastard! Guhaa!”
I shaved off the man’s abdomen with 【Vanish】.
“How dare you!”
I slashed with the knife and erased part of his body with 【Vanish】.
“Burn to ashes!”
I extinguished the flames with 【Vanish】 and stabbed his stomach with the knife.
I approached the man with the shaved head, who was still breathing.
“Hah… hah… y-you… think you can get away with this…”
“I did warn you.”
I delivered the finishing blow. Sigh, I really did warn them.
Guys like this never back down, do they? It’s a depressing feeling.
Phew. Still, though.
It feels strange to say it, but I defeated five people in an instant.
“…I really have gotten stronger, haven’t I?”
As I was reflecting on this, I sensed a presence.
For an instant, a glittering slash came down from above my head.
“!”
I instinctively blocked it with my knife and was repelled. What force!
I fell but immediately got back up. Strong. Who is it? Wary of an ambush, I looked… huh?
Standing there was Liv-san.
She was tapping her shoulder with the blade she held.
Peach-white glowing hair. Red eyes. White skin. A beautiful girl with features too perfectly sculpted.
She wore a black jacket over a Maximilian AMD Suit and pants.
Still looks like something out of sci-fi, as always.
“Mm… Yo.”
“L-Liv-san…?”
The drawn blade… that slash… no way. But still.
As I stood there confused, Liv-san spoke.
“Mm… Boy… what… are you doing…?”
“Just swatting away some sparks. What about you, Liv-san?”
“Saw… the boy… but… it was needless worry… wasn’t it.”
Liv-san glanced at their corpses, then looked at me.
In her emotionless, blood-red eyes, a glint of light appeared.
“Liv-san? !”
A shiver ran down my spine.
Liv-san smiled.
“Mm… Boy… let’s… play a little… with big sis’s body…”
With a blank expression yet a bright smile, she crossed her legs, stuck out her rear, twisted her upper body, and readied her blade.
I gave a wry smile at her somewhat bewitching appearance.
“Ahaha… If I play with big sis, I don’t think it’ll end after just ‘a little’.”
I understood from the first blow.
She wants to fight me. She wants to play.
Saying anything is useless.
I ready my knife, holding it by the spine. Liv-san also flips her blade, showing its flat side.
“…Liv won’t… use Pleiades… so…”
“I won’t use my Relic either.”
Of course. This isn’t a deathmatch. It’s play. Serious play.
“Mm… Okay then… Here I come… Boy. Catch Liv… okay?”
With a light hop, she rushed straight at me. Flowing speed.
I desperately matched her and blocked Liv-san’s blade with my knife, but I was pushed back.
I tried to parry by angling my knife upwards, but I couldn’t repel it; the blade stuck to my knife as if sucked in.
“Damn!”
I instantly let go of the knife. Tangled with the blade, the knife was flung away.
At the same time, Liv-san’s movement became larger, and I exploited the opening to get inside her guard.
I quickly grabbed the collar zipper area and the middle part of the jacket Liv-san was wearing.
“Nn… tsu!?”
I pushed and pulled, trying to knock Liv-san down.
“Deiaah!”
“Mm… But… naive… Boy.”
“Eh?”
Sh-She’s not moving. Not moving, like stone.
“…Yo-hoi.”
Liv-san twisted and swung her upper body from the waist.
Just from that, my hands slipped from the jacket, and I was spun around.
“Owaaah!?”
I fell but got up immediately. Where’s the knife? There! Yes!
I picked up Mr. Agaro’s Knife.
“Mm… Getting inside big sis’s guard… like that… Boy… you’re naughty.”
“Big sis’s body… is amazing, isn’t it?”
“…Trained… so… big sis… got amazing…”
Liv-san closed the distance and swung her sword. I fought back with my knife.
This is bad. Liv-san’s sword is faster. I’m definitely being pushed back.
“Gh! Kuh! Kuuh!”
“Mm… As expected of the Witch’s disciple… strong…”
“Th-Thank you very much.”
“But… still more… to go… right… Boy.”
“!?”
The exchange of blows became even faster. Liv-san’s blade attacked from all directions.
Moreover, each blow was heavy. The continuous attacks were tough.
I blocked a downward strike, expecting the next attack to come immediately.
But Liv-san pulled back.
“Mm… Boy… impressive…”
“Thank you very much. ?”
I felt a strange atmosphere.
Liv-san gripped her blade with both hands, holding it diagonally downwards.
“Mm… That’s why, Boy… big sis will show you… something even more amazing…”
“?”
The blade blurred, looking double, as Liv-san dashed forward.
As she swung down, I blocked with my knife.
Intense impact and pressure—at that moment, I felt a strange weight on the knife.
Sensing danger, I tried to pull back, but my body wouldn’t move.
The blade’s blurring stopped perfectly still.
“Crush Edge.”
The knife shattered.
“…Ah.”
“Huh?”
A cheerful Mr. Agaro had asked me if there was anything I wanted to commemorate the subjugation.
I immediately answered, “A knife.” Then, he gave me this Red Knife that had been sleeping in the back of Arifa-san’s shop. He said it was a knife Mr. Agaro had cherished back when he was Tier IV.
Its single-edged construction was simple, and he mentioned the sheath and fittings had been replaced several times. Now it had a salamander leather sheath. The handle was a Thunder Bull’s horn. The horn of that lightning-clad bull? And the blade, never once replaced, was a dusky, deep red color like red copper. The hamon looked like raging waves. It was slightly curved and the longest I’d had so far. Long enough to be mistaken for a dagger. More than that, this knife resembled one from a corner of my past life’s memories. The knife of that adventurer whose trademark was a hat and who used his dog’s name. It had a simple design but looked cool.
It shattered. From the tip of the blade to the pommel, it broke into pieces.
The glittering red blade turned to dust and danced in the wind.
Fragments lay scattered on the ground.
Aaah, the red wind. Is Hargan still alive?
No, he was Undead, so saying he’s ‘alive’ isn’t right.
Then, what is that red wind?
That red, red wind probably carries death.
It probably carries the death of the knife.
“…………”
“Mm… Boy… sorry.”
Liv-san apologized. So what?
“………………Mr. Agaro’s… the knife I got from Mr. Agaro…”
“Mm… Ahh… mm……… Boy.”
“…Ah, uh, please don’t worry about it. I’m fine. I’m perfectly fine today.”
I-It can’t be helped. This kind of possibility always exists.
I’m used to knives breaking or shattering. So, yeah.
“…Boy… but… Liv’s responsibility… so.”
“…Ah, no, i-it’s alright.”
“Mm. That’s why, Liv will fix the boy’s knife!”
“Eh?”
“…So… come… with me.”
“Where to?”
Besides, fixing the knife?