“Damn it, these annoying rabbits!”
The battle-ax vibrated the air, echoing across the grassland.
The strike, capable of pulverizing even large trees, failed to catch the swarm of rabbits flitting about. Hazaki, instead, received a blow to the back of his neck, contorting his face and clicking his tongue in annoyance.
Seeing this, Kujou grew irritated, thinking he was as thoughtless as ever.
“Hazaki, Headhunting Rabbits don’t have particularly high durability. You’d be better off using a weapon that allows for more nimble movements.”
“Shut up! This style is the best for me! Ugh, damn it, why do I have to do such a boring job…!”
“What a pain,” the man muttered, brandishing his battle-ax at the swarming rabbits.
As expected, he was easily evaded and took damage instead, making Kujou think he was nothing but a one-trick pony.
He was safe thanks to activating a defense Skill on his neck, but an amateur would have died three times over.
The “Numbers,” participating in the government’s extermination operation, were facing unexpected difficulties.
First of all, their compatibility was terrible.
Hazaki, who relied on brute force in everything, was originally weak against evasion-type Monsters.
Conversely, Kujou, who mainly used a rapier, had no trouble with the rabbits, but had no way to damage the Grassland Golems.
This was when Akushichi Nana, who could wipe them out with a single all-encompassing fire spell, would have been useful…
“How unfair,” Kujou thought, his usual displeasure surfacing as he urged the man standing blankly behind them.
“Miroku-kun. Don’t just stand there spacing out. How about reapplying the defense Skill? Hazaki’s guard is down.”
“B-but, I, I just used it…”
“Don’t think you’ll be coddled just because you’re new. You’ve been accepted into the esteemed Numbers; show some more sincerity, won’t you?”
Kujou was addressing the new man who had joined as Akushichi’s replacement—Miroku Kokage.
He was a clumsy-looking, slightly overweight mage.
His physique, which would have certainly made him a target for bullies at school, and his limp way of speaking, irritated Kujou and Hazaki to no end.
Rumor had it that he was the only son of some bigwig. Kujou suspected that his joining was a result of blatant nepotism, and that he had been sent as a disposable asset.
However, thanks to being the son of a wealthy man, they had also received some useful information…
“Hey, Miroku! My buff’s gone! What are you doing? Ah!?”
“B-but, that’s because your fighting style, Senpai, is just taking hits…”
“Don’t make excuses, newbie! Back when I was in a club in high school, I used to beat guys like you until their faces were black and blue! You push yourself to the limit, and then the real work begins, got it!?”
“That’s why newbies are like this,” he grumbled, but Kujou could only be amazed at Hazaki, who continued to miss his attacks.
Today was just a rabbit hunt, and they weren’t streaming.
But what if this were being broadcast…?
Hazaki, being toyed with by rabbits, an incompetent man who only made selfish demands.
A newbie, standing in the back, flustered and not knowing what to do. What were they supposed to do with this?
He often wondered why only such people gathered around him.
The world was truly unfair.
Those born with luck, those born with advantages, prospered.
Those who worked diligently, like himself, were exploited by cunning people and unfairly deceived—just like that Salaryman bastard had tricked them.
“Ah, screw this, I’m done. I can’t do this!”
Hazaki blew the rabbits away with a gust of wind, ultimately achieving nothing, and wiped away his sweat.
The Magic Stones they had gathered were nine for Kujou and two for Hazaki.
Miroku was just a support role and had been cowering in the back.
…If they reported this to the Labyrinth Agency, they would probably be laughed at.
“Anyway, our goal isn’t the rabbits. It’s those guys participating in this hunt, right?”
“Well, yes. But since we’re participating, we have to maintain appearances.”
“…Um. What are you talking about…?”
Ignoring Miroku, who didn’t understand the situation, Kujou smiled thinly.
–He knew that they weren’t suited for rabbit hunting.
But Kujou wasn’t an idiot. He had a plan.
“Hazaki. The reward for this Quest, aside from the base reward, is that the government will buy the Magic Stones from the rabbits and golems we obtain at a premium. You’ve heard about that, right?”
“I don’t care if we break that. It wasn’t a great haul to begin with.”
“But if we’re going to do it, we want to produce results. So, I have a good idea.”
If they couldn’t earn Stones themselves, what should they do?
Simple—steal other people’s Magic Stones.
“It’s not a simple matter, though. If they turn on their Recorders and we fail to escape, we’ll be arrested as criminals… Last time, Akushichi was fatally wounded because that glasses-wearing Salaryman recorded him. In this day and age, it’s safe to say that there isn’t a Hunter who isn’t recording.”
“True… So?”
“W-wait a minute. What? What are you talking about?”
“This doesn’t sound good…”
Kujou patted Miroku’s trembling shoulder and smiled pleasantly.
“It’s okay. We’re comrades, aren’t we? You just have to watch in silence. I’ll take all the responsibility.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. If anything happens, you just have to say you were caught up in it. In that case, your powerful dad will help you, right?”
“Y-yes, that’s right,” Miroku agreed selfishly, and Kujou sneered inwardly, “What a naive guy.”
There was no way that the excuse of “I had nothing to do with it” would work while being complicit in a crime.
Well, as long as he didn’t get in the way, it wouldn’t be a problem.
If anything, he would be satisfied if they gave him the glasses-wearing woman who was with the Salaryman bastard.
While self-deprecatingly thinking that his ideas were as trashy as Hazaki’s, Kujou took out a white box from his Inventory.
The streaming cameras and Recorders used in Dungeons were, of course, connected to the outside world via radio waves.
However, because they were in the special space of a Dungeon, the radio waves used were also converted into Magical Power.
If they could block that Magical Power used for streaming—the tool to do so was the device called “Recorder Break” that Kujou was holding.
Forced streaming jamming.
It was an item that could be questioned for its illegality just by possessing it, but it was overflowing in the underground market.
And, if they could hijack the real-time stream, they could destroy the Recorder after taking down their prey.
(This is also for the sake of equality in the world. We were deceived by that man, so it’s only natural that we take revenge.)
With a sinister smile, Kujou left the government-designated area.
Kujou’s rabbit hunting area was on the east side, and the Salaryman and his group were cleaning up the west side.
Comparing the maps in his hand, he headed to the back roads.
…If they weren’t working together with other Hunters, it would be easier.
As Kujou and the others faintly hoped, they reached the west district–
“……Huh?”
They discovered the people who seemed to be their target, and involuntarily stopped in their tracks along with Hazaki.
In the middle of the vast grassland, there were countless rabbits and Grassland Golems.
If it was a duo facing them, there was no doubt they were the target, but…
For some reason, those guys had their upper bodies clad in solid iron armor.
Their lower bodies were still in suits and skirts, and they were clinging to a Golem, pressing a knife against its neck.
“What’s that?” Miroku, who didn’t know the situation, cowered.
Hazaki frowned, not understanding what was going on.
Kujou—Kujou Shin was also taken aback, and after a blank stare—
(W-what’s with those idiotic outfits… How much more are they going to make fun of us!?)
His vision turned red, and he felt a sensation of boiling and blood rushing to his head as he bit down hard on the inside of his lip.
Kujou Shin was a Streamer.
Streamers should care about their appearance and fight beautifully and gracefully; they shouldn’t be allowed to fight miserably against Monsters.
For those who had made fun of Kujou to be fighting in such…
Such idiotic outfits—it was nothing but humiliation.
Had he lost to those idiots in those ridiculous outfits?
The fact was so frustrating that—Kujou silently burned with hatred, and clenched his sword while glaring with eyes that were blazing with the determination to get revenge.