Episode 101: Something’s There?
As she saw Kanzaki leaving the JDA office building, Kosaka wore a dissatisfied expression.
“Senpai, you’ve got a scary look on your face… is something bothering you?”
Kurumishita, standing next to her, looked up at her.
“That man doesn’t seem to be telling the whole truth. It’s like he’s hiding something…”
“Hiding? Hiding what?”
“…I don’t know. But investigating it is our job. What’s the status of the other two’s interviews?”
“Yes, yes, the young Seeker ‘Mitaka Yuma’ was taken to the hospital unconscious. He regained consciousness soon after, but we haven’t called him in for questioning, just to be safe.”
“What about Aisha Kisaragi?”
“She didn’t have any injuries, so we interviewed her, but she seemed out of it and couldn’t give us a straight answer. She seemed very depressed… but the things she did say were similar to Kanzaki’s account.”
“…So, Kanzaki is the only one we can get a straight answer from after all. We’ll have to call him in again soon to hear his side of the story.”
Kosaka muttered with a grimace.
“But the Dungeon that was cleared was the ‘Black Dungeon,’ right? Don’t you think you’re making too much of it?”
It was common knowledge that the ‘Black Dungeon’ was unpopular and of low importance among Dungeons. Kurumishita naturally thought so too, but…
“Even if it’s the Black Dungeon, it’s an important national asset for research and resource extraction. Besides, getting stuck on the lowest floor and not being able to get out is a first, if true. We’ll investigate thoroughly!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Ignoring Kurumishita, who wasn’t entirely convinced, Kosaka returned to her duties.
◇◇◇
St. Mary’s University Hospital in Yokohama, general ward.
“Yo, Yuma. You okay?”
“Ah, President!”
As Kanzaki opened the door to the hospital room, Yuma was stretching on the bed nearest to the door.
“Is your body alright?”
“I’m totally fine. No problem at all.”
Yuma said, getting out of bed and standing up. There were four beds in the room, and the beds in the back were occupied by elderly patients.
“The doctor said to stay overnight, just in case.”
“No, no, please spare me. I’m perfectly fine, but I have to stay still!”
Yuma approached Kanzaki and spoke in a low voice.
“I have to listen to those old guys over there! They keep talking about their grandchildren, asking if I play shogi, for hours…”
Yuma complained with a disgusted look on his face. Kanzaki smiled wryly and looked at Yuma.
“Alright, I understand. I’ll go take care of the discharge paperwork, so wait here for a bit.”
◇◇◇
Kanzaki and Yuma were walking through the hospital parking lot.
Even though it was early May, it was past 8:00 PM, so Yuma, who was lightly dressed, felt a chill.
“Ugh, I can finally go home.”
“The questioning took longer than expected, so it got this late.”
“What happened to Aisha-san?”
“Ah, she was being questioned too. I told her what to say beforehand, so I think she’ll be fine…”
Seeing Kanzaki’s sudden frown, Yuma became anxious.
“Is something wrong?”
“Well, she was really down. She said she didn’t want to see my face for a while and hurried home.”
“Ah, it’s because the Black Dungeon disappeared. It must have been quite a shock for her.”
“She should be grateful she made it back alive!”
Kanzaki pressed the car key he took out of his pocket, unlocking the doors of the parked Wrangler. The two got into the car and put on their seatbelts.
“Will I be called in for questioning too?”
Yuma, sitting in the passenger seat, asked anxiously.
“Well, you probably will be, but I told them you were unconscious and didn’t know anything. Just say that if they ask you anything.”
“Understood. But I really don’t remember anything from halfway through. What on earth happened?”
Kanzaki had a serious look on his face as he turned the key and started the engine.
“I’ll tell you about it later. I’ll take you home for now.”
“No, President. Just drop me off at the station. I’ll take the train home.”
“Huh? Why? The car would be faster.”
“President, Maika-san called you earlier. She seemed really worried, so you should go home to her quickly.”
“Ah, Maika, huh…”
Kanzaki took out his phone and checked it, finding multiple emails from Maika.
“I contacted her as soon as I got out of the Dungeon… but I had my phone off during the questioning. I made her worry.”
“My house is in the opposite direction from here, so President, you should just go home.”
“But you’re still recovering, aren’t you?”
“No, I really feel fine. There’s absolutely no problem, so don’t worry about it.”
Kanzaki hesitated for a moment but decided to go home as Yuma suggested.
“…Alright. But don’t push yourself. Tell me immediately if you start feeling unwell.”
“Yes, I will.”
Kanzaki drove off, heading towards Yokohama Station. After a while, they arrived at the station, and Yuma thanked him and got out of the car.
“Yuma, the company will be closed until next Monday, so get some rest.”
“Understood. President, don’t go out drinking and go straight home. Maika-san is worried about you.”
“I know! Be careful on your way home.”
“Yes, thank you very much.”
Yuma slammed the door shut and watched the car drive away. He entered the station, bought a ticket, and headed to the platform, thinking he should go home quickly too.
◇◇◇
“It’s gotten so late.”
Yuma, who got off at the station nearest to his house, was walking home. The time was past 9:00 PM.
Yuma lived in the suburbs of Tokyo, so there were few cars and pedestrians at this hour, and the area was deserted.
He walked along the street in front of the station, and after passing through the city, he saw small mountains and scattered fields.
Feeling the chill, he put his hands in his pockets and walked quickly.
It would take about twenty minutes to get home from here, not that long. As he thought this, he suddenly looked up and saw a flickering light far away.
–What is that?
The light cut through the fields and gradually approached him.
Looking closely, it seemed to be an animal. But are there any animals that glow like that?
As Yuma wondered, the animal came close enough that he could clearly see its shape.
It was a large dog. It resembled a Doberman with dark skin. But its body was cracked all over, and a red, glowing magma-like light leaked from the cracks.
What was most surprising was its size.
The dog’s head was taller than a person, abnormally large. The dog stopped moving when it reached a certain distance.
Yuma also stopped and stared, but not wanting to get involved with a strange dog, he quickly started walking. Then the dog started moving too, slowly approaching Yuma.
Seeing this, Yuma stopped walking and started walking in the opposite direction.
The dog stopped, changed direction, and came straight towards him.
Yuma stopped dead in his tracks.
“…Huh? Is it targeting me?”