“Fum~fufun~♪”
Tsukigase Tsukasa walked at the front.
He was the fastest in the party and a capable Adventurer who could hunt Monsters without issue, even lacking a tank.
This area was also an unstable rocky field.
Being nimble, Tsukasa should be able to handle a surprise attack from Hound Wolves.
(…Was it just my imagination?)
Keiichiro walked at the very rear.
He was leaving Traps at regular intervals, just in case they were attacked from behind by Hound Wolves.
He watched the party from the rear and thought.
As expected, the exploration was proceeding smoothly.
So surely, Keiichiro’s premonition had been wrong.
This exploration would end without any trouble.
Or so—he believed.
“Well—I(・) s(・)u(・)p(・)p(・)o(・)s(・)e(・) i(・)t(・)’s(・) a(・)b(・)o(・)u(・)t(・) t(・)i(・)m(・)e(・).”
Until the voice of the party leader, Oishi, was heard.
Until that murky, malice-filled voice was heard.
☆
“Nghh…!?”
It happened suddenly.
Oishi restrained Tsukasa from behind as if embracing him.
Because he was a party member, Tsukasa had let his guard down.
Because the action came from directly behind with almost no distance between them.
Combined, Tsukasa was easily subdued by Oishi.
“Wha… eh…!?”
Unable to grasp the situation, Tsukasa panicked.
Tsukasa struggled.
But he couldn’t escape the restraint.
“Even if you’re high-rank, once an Assassin is caught— Hrah!”
“Aghh…!”
Oishi grabbed Tsukasa’s arm and violently twisted it.
With his joint locked, Tsukasa’s expression contorted in pain.
“In the end, you’re just a scrawny brat.”
Oishi laughed hideously.
The [Assassin] class excels in speed, but its power is weak.
Moreover, because he was caught off guard, his joint was completely immobilized.
Even if Oishi was lower rank, shaking off a power-focused [Soldier] would be difficult.
“What are you—”
“Whoa there, don’t interfere.”
“Not that I think you could, given your abilities.”
As Keiichiro tried to step forward, Tashiro and Kurata blocked his path.
They had apparently been in a party with Oishi for a long time.
And now, even witnessing Oishi’s violent act, they were stopping Keiichiro.
In other words—that’s how it was.
“I finally understand the source of my bad feeling.”
Keiichiro exhaled.
Thinking about it, it was obvious.
(The sound of their armor scraping… I recognized it.)
That’s why I didn’t feel anything was out of place.
But it was the opposite.
(But there’s no way I should have recognized it.)
The sound armor makes changes depending on the material.
If the material is different, the sound becomes completely different.
In that case—
(There’s no way that I, who was surrounded by S-Rank and A-Rank Adventurers, would be familiar with the sound of armor like that worn by C(・)-R(・)a(・)n(・)k(・) A(・)d(・)v(・)e(・)n(・)t(・)u(・)r(・)e(・)r(・)s(・).)
Keiichiro looked at Oishi and the others’ equipment.
All of it looked a bit worn out, as if heavily used.
But if it were equipment made from the kind of high-rank materials Keiichiro was thinking of—that would be impossible.
Equipment made from Orichalcum or Mithril wouldn’t get a single scratch from Monsters in a C-Rank Dungeon.
Just from being used, it wouldn’t fade like that.
“Your gear… you’ve d(・)e(・)l(・)i(・)b(・)e(・)r(・)a(・)t(・)e(・)l(・)y(・) painted high-rank equipment to look dirty, haven’t you?”
Keiichiro pointed at Oishi and the others.
Their eyebrows twitched slightly.
Seems he hit the mark.
“High-rank equipment unsuitable for C-Rank Adventurers. You disguised it so others wouldn’t realize, huh?”
(The difference between the equipment’s appearance and the sense I got from its material. That was the source of the unease.)
The information seen by eye and the information heard by ear.
Keiichiro had unconsciously detected that contradiction.
(Judging by their movements, the story about them being C-Rank isn’t false.)
Keiichiro could tell.
Oishi and the others were those who couldn’t overcome the wall.
People blocked by the wall of talent.
Equipment unfitting for their actual ability.
And the reason to disguise it as low-rank.
Comparing it with the current situation, the full answer became clear.
“—A [Bandit Gang], huh.”
Keiichiro spoke the name of an existence despised among Adventurers.
A [Bandit Gang], as the name suggests, is an entity that commits robbery against other Adventurers.
Their scale varies from individuals to multiple parties.
The lowest form of crime, exploiting the closed space within a Dungeon.
Moreover, since the Dungeon disappears along with any corpses upon clearing, it’s hard to expose.
“That’s about right.”
Oishi twisted his lips into a smirk.
Then, he lifted Tsukasa’s body.
“Ah, ughh…!”
All his weight pressed onto the joint, and Tsukasa groaned in pain.
Oishi watched his state with a sadistic smile.
Oishi pinned both of Tsukasa’s arms behind his back with one hand, and with his remaining arm, choked Tsukasa’s neck.
“When this guy confidently introduced an Adventurer, I panicked wondering what kind of high-ranker would show up, but it was needless worry, huh?”
Tsukasa’s neck was being strangled as if in a hanging.
There was a considerable size difference between Tsukasa and Oishi.
His feet couldn’t touch the ground, and their strength was different.
There wasn’t much resistance Tsukasa could offer.
“I was thrilled, y’know? ‘Cause the one who came was some trash class like [Trapper]! Far from hindering our work, I thought a bonus had just walked in!”
Oishi laughed loudly in mockery.
He chose his words to belittle Keiichiro and sneered.
“Kageura-oniichan…”
Amidst that, a voice was heard.
It was Tsukasa, captured by Oishi.
Though his face was pale, he desperately squeezed out the words.
“It’s because I invited you… I’m sorry.”
What Tsukasa uttered was an apology.
Certainly, if not for his invitation, Keiichiro wouldn’t have come here.
But one couldn’t blame him.
He too was purely a victim.
“I’m… strong, so it’s okay.”
—Run.
Tsukasa said that.
Not “Help me,”
But “Run.”
Perhaps due to lack of oxygen, his body had no strength.
The Knife had already fallen from his hand.
No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t a situation he could overcome on his own.
Yet still, he smiled.
So that Keiichiro could escape without reservation.
“Haha! This kid says some cruel things! How’s a trash class like [Trapper] gonna escape from us?! Though, maybe if you become Hound Wolf feed! Even we can’t chase you into some mutt’s stomach!”
Oishi sneered.
A terribly grating guffaw.
Faced with that—Keiichiro smirked.
As if exasperated.
As if slightly troubled.
Keiichiro gave an out-of-place, wry smile.
“Sorry, Tsukigase. The path I’m aiming for—isn’t one where I can just avoid petty villains like these.”
Keiichiro had decided to aim for it.
For 【Holy Sword】.
For his strongest childhood friends.
They wouldn’t yield.
They wouldn’t even recognize an obstacle of this level as a wall.
They would surely scatter them to smithereens.
“Petty villains…? Oi. Do you understand your position? We’ve hunted high-rank guys before. Without anyone finding out.”
Perhaps dissatisfied with Keiichiro’s attitude, Oishi irritably started walking forward.
Oishi tossed aside the weakened Tsukasa and confronted Keiichiro.
“And from now on, we’ll keep succeeding and continue rising up.”
Oishi declared.
His utterly rotten ideals that could make one sick.
He spoke of trampling others and pursuing only his own gain.
“In other words,”
Oishi sneered.
With eyes full of contempt.
As if to say he could kill someone like Keiichiro anytime.
“If you have time to call us petty villains, wouldn’t it be more constructive to think of words to beg for your life, you trash class?!”
Oishi’s intimidation.
But Keiichiro felt not even a shred of fear.
Not even anger welled up.
“Khuhu… No, my bad.”
Keiichiro let out a suppressed chuckle.
He too had seen many Adventurers up until now.
“You didn’t seem to like being called a petty villain, but—”
Strong Adventurers. Weak Adventurers.
Admirable Adventurers. Despicable Adventurers.
“I’ve just never seen a ‘big shot’ who cared so much about how big they were before.”
What he felt facing Oishi was—pity.
Not even worth getting angry on the same level.
“—It just makes you look even smaller.”
The criminal before him was exceptionally small-time.
Criminals who exploit the special environment of the Dungeon.
Can Keiichiro defeat this malicious C-Rank party?