“Damn it, this much rubble—’Axe Crush’!”
With Hazaki’s Skill declaration, power gathered in his battleaxe.
His full-force blow, enhanced with destructive force, only managed to slightly chip away at the mountain of rubble, yielding no real progress.
It seemed the rubble continued deep inside.
“That guy must have meticulously destroyed the passage,” Kujou thought, biting his nails in frustration.
“…How despicable…!”
“Let’s sue him, Kujou. I can’t forgive this kind of treatment…!”
“I know! But…”
There was no proof. Kujou had deliberately not turned on his recorder before the attack.
Even if he had been recording, no evidence would have remained.
All Kujou and the others had seen was the pair in armor disappearing into the depths of the passage.
They hadn’t directly witnessed them setting the Trap or destroying the passage. It was the opposite of Akushichi Nana’s case.
“Hey, um, shouldn’t we send out a rescue signal…?”
“Calm down, Miroku. It’s best to avoid that.”
While soothing Miroku, who was raising a pathetic voice, he wanted to click his tongue, thinking, “Is this guy an idiot?”
If they used the “Safety Badge” given to them by the government official before departing for the Dungeon, they could request a rescue. However, calling for help was tantamount to admitting their own incompetence.
To eagerly participate and then say, “We’re in trouble, please help us,” was utterly shameful…!
Moreover, Kujou and his team were able to participate in this Quest largely due to connections from their agency.
If the result was a rescue, they would lose all credibility.
“Anyway, let’s think of a way to escape. There should be one if we look.”
“Look for what, specifically…?”
“Just think and search. We can’t start without considering countermeasures, right?”
While irritated with the flustered Miroku, Kujou began to carefully examine the Dungeon walls.
There wasn’t one.
The corner led to a dead end, and the entrance was completely blocked by piled-up rubble.
“How did it come to this?” Kujou wondered, reflecting on himself.
Was there a flaw in their plan? That shouldn’t be the case. The attack should have been 100% successful.
Then why did they allow their ambush to succeed?
Where did they even disappear to in the first place? Was it a misperception? That’s ridiculous.
–There must have been something, some crucial oversight…
“Hey, Leader. This is bad. We really won’t be able to go home if this keeps up.”
“Miroku, calm down.”
“If I can’t go home, Mom and Dad will worry, and we need to send a rescue signal soon…”
“Shut up, you pig! Are you even a proud member of The Numbers, huh!? We’re fighting to change Japan with our streams, there’s no way we can do something so embarrassing!”
“I-It’s not about being embarrassing, this is an accident…”
“Isn’t it your fault they found out about us in the first place? Hunters can vaguely conceal the Magical Power they wear, but you can’t do it at all!”
Hazaki shouted, and Kujou realized that was it.
Veteran Hunters unconsciously concealed their Magical Power, but Miroku was an amateur. He must have been caught by the opponent’s Magical Power detection.
His plan was perfect after all—this pig just screwed up.
Finding someone to shift the blame to, Kujou secretly felt relieved, while Hazaki continued to rant.
“You’re useless! What good is just support magic? Shouldn’t you learn attack magic Skills for times like these, huh?”
“D-Don’t ask for the impossible… It’s hard enough to get the scrolls to learn support magic Skills…”
“You probably just had your parents pay for you to learn them! It’s nice to be someone who won the parent gacha like you! Damn it, damn it…!”
Hazaki shoved Miroku with a thud.
Miroku stumbled and crashed into the wall with a thud—at that moment—
A high-pitched warning sound rang out, “Beep!”
“A-Ah, s-sorry, I accidentally pressed the Safety Badge…”
“D-Don’t screw with me!”
“It’s not on purpose! Hazaki-senpai pushed me…!”
Miroku made excuses, but Kujou didn’t miss it, of course.
After Miroku was pushed, he deliberately put his hand on the button of the badge.
In the first place, the “Safety Badge” had a cover, and it wouldn’t activate just from falling over.
“A scaredy-cat,” Kujou thought irritably, but at the same time, he had a reason.
Miroku had set off the alarm on his own.
They didn’t need rescue, but the party’s newbie panicked and overreacted.
With this scenario, Kujou was not responsible.
It was just the runaway actions of a useless newbie, and Re:Trys was responsible for providing that newbie—that damn president’s fault.
That’s right, it’s not my fault.
If he could break through the deadlocked situation without being at fault in any way, that was fine.
Hazaki probably understood that too. His face was grinning.
“Oh well, what’s done is done. You take responsibility for it, okay? These things usually come with a rescue fee. It’s all on you.”
“S-Such a thing… But senpai can’t get out of here either.”
“Don’t try to shift the blame to others! Besides, your dad will pay for it, right!”
Ignoring the still noisy pair, Kujou wondered what to do next.
First, he would have to tell the Labyrinth Agency officials that this accident was man-made.
Of course, he would name the Hunter Salaryman as the culprit.
There was no evidence, but the testimony was not entirely without effect.
If they properly investigated the site, some kind of Magical Power trace should be discovered…
(That’s right. We haven’t lost yet.)
They were trapped, but it was them who had actually committed the crime, and it was them who were cornered.
They might even be said to be on the advantageous side. Rather, the counterattack would begin from here—
While laughing inwardly, Kujou grinned faintly, at that moment.
“–Is this where the rescue signal came from?”
“–Yes. There’s no mistake.”
Voices from outside the passage.
“The rescue has arrived,” Kujou thought with a faint smile,
BOOM!
Belatedly, an explosion from outside the rubble.
Blowing away the piled-up rubble and raising a cloud of smoke, Kujou brushed off the dust, thinking, “What rough guys,” and looked at those who had arrived,
“Huh?”
Eh. Why?
…Is this some kind of mistake? Why—
The ones who appeared for the rescue were the well-built men in black who were in charge of this Quest.
It was understandable that they were accompanied by a petite woman who seemed to be their adjutant. But.
Next to them were two people wearing glasses.
The ones who had come to rescue Kujou and the others were, of all people—
“We found them. I believe it’s Kujou-san and his companions. The Numbers, perhaps?”
“Wh-Wh-What…!”
“I’m glad, I’m glad,” the official said with a refreshing smile to the government official, the man he could never forget.
In a sense, the all-too-distinctive suit—Hunter Salaryman, Kageichi Futsuu, and the high school girl who was stuck with him as a bonus…
Of all people, they were brazenly.
Under the guise of Hunter rescue support, they had brazenly shown their faces to Kujou and the others.