Kiraboshi could clearly see Jougasaki’s eyes widen and her breath hitch.
Her smile turned to confusion, and then hardened as she understood the fact that she had been rejected—but even so, Kiraboshi’s answer would not change.
“Jougasaki-san. You may have thought of me as a good friend. The Class Representative who treats everyone seriously. A good girl who listens to the teacher… but that was a fake version of me, one who was pushing herself too hard.”
If she wasn’t serious, her parents, teachers, and classmates would abandon her.
She had been living in fear of that all along…
“But now, I… through my experiences in the Dungeon, I’ve gained a little bit of confidence.”
It wasn’t just because the teacher had persuaded her.
The deadly battle with the Glacial Dragon Ice Ogre.
The experience of thanking the Kamase Sisters.
And the solo defeat of the Mother Sphere Splinter.
It was under the teacher’s protection, but…
The current Kiraboshi was not just a fool dominated by a resentful slave mentality, who could only fawn over others.
She was able to learn that because of the Dungeon.
In the world of the Dungeon, where Magical Power and strength are everything.
Now that she had met the anomaly Kageichi Futsuu and been saved, Kiraboshi Yoshiko could say with confidence:
“If it means having the Dungeon taken away from me… if it means having my relationship with the teacher who showed me the way interfered with, I’d rather sever our ties as friends.”
“Ah—”
“We’ve already gone our separate ways.”
If she said it this clearly, it should get through to her—no, that’s wrong.
Such lukewarm words wouldn’t work on this young lady.
Jougasaki Kawai was, in a way, a monstrousity so arrogant that she made even the Kamase Sisters pale in comparison.
She was so obsessed with the delusion that she could get along with her friends that she didn’t see their true nature—even if I said I hated it, she would just say it was a misunderstanding.
I had to tell her.
So that even a fool could understand clearly.
To make her understand the resentment that had been secretly building up in the depths of Kiraboshi’s heart—how much I had been revving up and roaring with the chainsaw in my heart—
“Jougasaki-san… I’ll correct what I just said.”
“Eh? So, we can still be friends…”
“No. Breaking off our friendship is a given, and if you still try to get involved with me…”
With a clatter, Kiraboshi slammed the teacup in her hand onto the table, glaring at her.
“I’ll discipline you.”
“…Huh?”
“Let’s go to the Dungeon together next time. I’ll thoroughly teach you there.”
“…Eh? Eh?”
“It’s best to teach those who can’t understand with words through their bodies.”
I couldn’t get rid of her.
It would leave traces, and I’d be glared at by her family, and besides, she hadn’t done anything evil enough to be condemned.
But she was just so annoying—so I’d have her learn with her body.
It had already been proven that normal attacks left no evidence.
Of course, someone as rich as her might have a way to use some special method… but in that case, I could just stab her with a deadly poison that only worked on her.
—Are you suspecting your friend?
“I haven’t said it clearly until now, but there have been many times when I’ve been irritated by the way you talk. Honestly, it was stressful, and I think other kids felt the same way.”
“Eh…”
“Don’t you think it’s weird? Someone as eager for friends as you are has no noticeable friends other than me and the Kamase Sisters. You may be accepted on the surface, but you’re the type who’s rejected in their hearts.”
Anyone who has ever been in a group at school has probably experienced it once.
A person who is nominally part of the group, but is secretly thought of as annoying by everyone and doesn’t contribute.
Someone who only says irrelevant things and continues to give the party an unconscious mental debuff while pretending to be an ally, that’s her essence as a frenemy.
The old Kiraboshi was too insecure and was dragged along by her…
But now, it’s okay.
In the Dungeon, hesitation is the enemy—and the current Kiraboshi knows that the school classroom isn’t everything.
“W-wait! I just wanted Kiraboshi-san to return to the right path, I didn’t mean to say we should stop being friends…”
“If you interfere with my Dungeon exploration or the teacher, you’re not a friend, but an ‘enemy’.”
“Ah—”
“And don’t misunderstand. I said I’m breaking off our friendship—to be precise, I’m saying that I’ll let you off with just breaking off our friendship for now.”
Kiraboshi pointed her index finger at Jougasaki, who was hesitating.
“Or… do you want a bloodbath?”
Kiraboshi stared at her, revving up the chainsaw in her heart.
She couldn’t cut her down in one stroke like the teacher.
But even so, in order to walk the path that the teacher had told her about—the stress-free path.
In order to live her own life, she would cut her down.
“Jougasaki-san. Your answer?”
“Ah…”
“Are you my enemy, or just an unrelated classmate?”
“…Kiraboshi-san, if we just glare at each other like this, nothing will…”
“Answer.”
“If we have a proper discussion, I’m sure…”
“Answer.”
“Please listen to me!”
“The discussion you’re talking about is just pushing your selfishness until you get the answer you want, right? If that’s the case, I’ll stick to my own convincing ideas.”
“Ah…!”
“This is the last time. Your answer? If I don’t get an answer next time, I’ll recognize you as a Monster.”
Jougasaki gasped. …But even so, she didn’t answer.
Even though Kiraboshi was presenting her with a clear choice, she fluttered away from the answer and didn’t even offer an alternative.
Then, there was only one answer Kiraboshi could give.
The moment she made her decision, Jougasaki said “Ah,” and put her hand in her pocket.
“I’m sorry, I have a phone call… E-excuse me…?”
She put the Smartphone, which wasn’t even vibrating silently, to her ear, and while saying “Yes, yes,” she stood up from her seat.
In front of Kiraboshi, who was dubious…
She looked up at the sky and nodded once, saying “I understand,” and then looked at her apologetically.
“I’m sorry, Kiraboshi-san. It seems my mother has finished work, so I’m going to be picked up now…”
“No answer, huh?”
“W-we’ll talk about this later…”
With a half-smile, she stood up from her seat, and just as she was about to run away, saying that she would leave the rest to her butler—
The Jougasaki house exploded.
“What!?”
“Kyaa!?”
Of course, the explosion was an illusion. It wasn’t like she was physically blown away.
But as a gust of wind blew through the well-ventilated balcony, and the shapely glasses and tablecloths swayed, what Kiraboshi felt was—a torrent of Magical Power.
“Ma-Magical Power…?”
Why was there so much Magical Power on the ground…? No.
There was only one possible cause for Magical Power overflowing on the ground.
Kiraboshi. Kageichi.
The symbol that broke the peace that the Labyrinth Agency staff and Cleaners were working so hard to maintain—
“A Gate Crash!?”
A disaster in which Monsters appeared on the ground because the Dungeon exceeded its allowable limit of Magical Power.
But why?
A Gate Crash in a remote mountain area was one thing, but why in the grounds of a private residence…? Could it be.
“Jougasaki-san! You haven’t been neglecting a Dungeon Gate that appeared at your house, have you!?”
“T-that’s not possible… Ah. Th-that’s right, this morning… a Dungeon. But I thought it would be okay…”
Kiraboshi frowned, finding it strange.
A Gate Crash in a Dungeon doesn’t happen three days or a week after it appears.
If there was an exception… it would be an unusual Dungeon with an abnormally fast growth rate—
“Could it be a survivor of the ‘Mother Sphere’ Splinter…?”
“Ojou-sama! This is terrible!”
The butler who had led Kiraboshi to the balcony came running with a flustered look on his face.
“A star-shaped Monster is coming from the mansion! At this rate, it will spread not only to our house, but also to the surrounding houses!”
“What?”
“Leaving aside the Kamishiro and Hazama families, if it spreads to the Hosogaya family, the Jougasaki family will lose face…”
“P-please do something! I can’t let my mistake cause trouble for my mother with the neighbors!”
Seeing Jougasaki turn pale and panic, she probably had her own reasons for wanting to save face.
Kiraboshi grabbed her Smartphone without hesitation. It was a call to the Labyrinth Agency through the police.
If a Gate Crash was confirmed, citizens were obligated to report it without delay. It was to prevent the spread of damage.
Kiraboshi, who took action that was now common sense in Japan, not just among industry professionals—
Her hand was grabbed by Jougasaki.
“Ah, Kiraboshi-san. That phone call…”
“It’s a report…”
“Please wait. I don’t think Kiraboshi-san knows, but if it gets out that there was a Dungeon incident at my house, my mother, the neighbors will find out… Th-that’s right!”
She suddenly smiled crookedly at Kiraboshi as if she had come up with a good idea!
“Kiraboshi-san. Um… if you don’t mind, perhaps… could you clean this Dungeon, or something…?”
“……Huh???”
“O-Of course, I’ll pay you! Five times the market rate, no, ten times! So please, I’m begging you, as a friend!”
He desperately clasped his hands together and begged—at that moment.
Within Kiraboshi, with a clang.
The sound of the scales of her heart tilting resounded loudly.
Ah, this guy is hopeless, she thought.
This kid doesn’t understand what he just said at all—
Within Kiraboshi, the last remaining desire to persuade him vanished, and instead, the grating sound of blades echoed.
Without showing any sign of her seething heart, she gripped her Smartphone with trembling hands and changed her contact information.
“I’ll ask my superior.”
“I-If possible, I’d like Kiraboshi-san to do it alone…”
“I’m only half-baked. I have an idea about the Dungeon’s Boss, and considering the timing of its appearance, I might be able to defeat it, but I can’t make a rash decision.”
When in doubt, ask your superior for instructions.
Anyone with Dungeon experience knows that selfish decisions can lead to death.
That being said… she had fought several Monsters before, but she had never cleared a Dungeon alone.
For someone like her to clean a Dungeon alone—moreover, to conquer a Dungeon that had caused a Gate Crash—would her superior allow it?
But Kiraboshi had a reason to dive into the Dungeon.
…Because.
If she could challenge an unknown Dungeon right here and now, she wouldn’t have to take Shirogasaki to an unpopular Dungeon, and she could just…
Whether those feelings got through, she didn’t know.
When she told Kageichi, who she connected with shortly after, the reason, he gave his permission without hesitation.
‘I don’t mind. I judge that you have enough skill now. —Enjoy it to your heart’s content.’