“Sensei. Do you think those people will reflect on their actions even a little?”
“I doubt it. In my personal experience, people who excessively blame others for their failures tend to repeat the same mistakes. Well, the same goes for excessive self-blame, though.”
As Kageichi adjusted his tie, implying there was no saving them, Kiraboshi wondered about herself.
The trouble with The Numbers was handed over to the Labyrinth Agency officials, and today’s work was successfully completed. According to the staff, the large man from The Numbers—Hazaki Tsutomu—was taken into custody for obstructing official duties. However, the detention period for obstructing official duties is apparently short, and in most cases, they are not prosecuted.
“I’m not really satisfied with that. They clearly attacked us…”
“But we didn’t suffer a single scratch as a result. Well, I think it’s better for peace to dispose of such social evils early, but it’s not always easy.”
“…Sensei. Changing the subject. Do you think I can become as strong as you?”
Through this incident, Kiraboshi deeply felt it.
—To resist trouble, you need power.
The reason Kageichi can easily handle troublemakers like The Numbers and live a carefree life is because he has the ability.
His high Magical Power in the Dungeon. His achievements as a Cleaner. His deep knowledge of Monsters.
I’ve never heard what Sensei’s level is, but if he took an official Magical Power measurement, wouldn’t it be around 50?
…Thinking about it, Kiraboshi doesn’t feel like she can catch up to Sensei at all…
“Hmm. It’s necessary to become strong, but I don’t think you need to become as strong as I am.”
“Eh? But, you have to be strong, right…?”
“Certainly, violence is a very easy-to-understand power. But strength doesn’t only refer to violence or Magical Power. —For example, popularity. Communication skills. Knowledge and experience. Youth. These elements are also included in ability.”
Walking along the asphalt path, Kageichi speaks like a true Sensei.
“In that respect, it can be said that Kiraboshi-san has strengths that I don’t have. …For example, what would happen if you called me a pervert and screamed on the train?”
“Eh? I, I wouldn’t do that…”
“It’s a hypothetical situation. Kiraboshi-san is serious at school and is well-regarded by teachers and parents. If such a girl said she was attacked by a tired Salaryman in glasses, many people would side with you.”
That is also a strength, Kageichi says with a carefree smile.
Humans are creatures that are moved by emotions.
Even without evidence, if an innocent girl sheds tears, people’s hearts will be moved… or so Kageichi believes.
“I admit it’s a cowardly tactic. But many of the cowards in the world present themselves as ‘poor victims’ and accuse us of being ‘malicious perpetrators.’ Please keep that tactic in the back of your mind as well.”
Well, I won’t show any mercy to those kinds of people, though.
Kiraboshi felt a slight chill at Kageichi’s smiling face, but as she headed home, she vaguely admired him—she wanted to be like him.
*
Lying on her bed at home, Kiraboshi reflected on her spring break.
…It was a very intense few days.
Training with Kageichi, getting new weapons, and actually stepping into the Dungeon were experiences so closely tied to life and death that Kiraboshi couldn’t have imagined before.
The feeling of crossing blades with Monsters, the sensation of tearing apart prey.
The Monsters she defeated turned into Magic Stones, so she didn’t feel like she was taking lives… but even so, her first battle was heavy for Kiraboshi, and she felt it was incomparable to school lessons.
Also, the interaction with the troublesome group called The Numbers….
Kageichi handled those guys, who would have definitely attacked Kiraboshi if she were alone, as if it were nothing.
…From the perspective of good and evil, Kageichi Futsuu is an evil person.
Even though the other party had malicious intent, he preemptively set up Traps, collapsed the Labyrinth, and then smiled innocently in front of the Labyrinth Agency staff as if to harass them.
…His personality is too awful.
Truly a born villain.
Kiraboshi’s mother would hate him like a venomous snake. …But.
(Sensei doesn’t lie.)
Rolling around on the bed, she hugged her body pillow tightly.
Sensei doesn’t have the two-facedness of saying “You’re free to do as you please” while indirectly complaining like her mother.
He doesn’t indirectly bully while calling himself a friend, doesn’t punch with his left hand while asking for a handshake with his right, and doesn’t push troublesome things onto you while half-jokingly saying you’re the only one he can rely on.
Kageichi Futsuu is clearly “evil,” but at the same time, he is also correct.
…Can I become such a dignified person like that?
Haa… a melancholic sigh escaped her lips because school was about to start.
Kiraboshi will be a new second-year student, and another depressing school life will begin.
Her training with Kageichi will be limited to after school or holidays.
Even if that can’t be helped, what Kiraboshi hates the most is—
Her Smartphone vibrated.
Confirming the name displayed, her heart thumped.
The violently pounding motivation gradually turned into a black turbidity, entangling Kiraboshi’s throat and tongue, turning into cold sweat—and trembling, she pressed the call button labeled “Kamase Aneki,” which had been ringing for about ten calls.
“You weren’t watching, were you?”
The sharp voice made her not understand what she was talking about.
“Aneki-san? What are you talking about…”
“What do you mean, what? It’s because of you that I was seriously injured in the Dungeon the other day!?”
“Eh?”
“You probably don’t know, but after that, Imoutoya and I went all the way to look for you. Deep into the Dungeon! Then suddenly, we got caught in a Trap and were attacked!? When I went to a specialized hospital, they grilled me, saying, ‘Why did you enter the Dungeon without permission?’… That’s because Ojou and you invited us, and I didn’t want to go at all!”
It’s all your fault. I’ll get compensation from you later. I’m the victim. It’s terrible. It’s terrible.
Kiraboshi was dumbfounded as she was unilaterally berated—and thought.
What is this person saying?
“Hey. Are you listening? How are you going to take responsibility?”
“E-Even if you say that… Before that, Aneki-san. There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“I’m the one talking now, I’m not listening to your story—”
“About me. Being pushed into the Pitfall… Is there nothing about that?”
Kiraboshi deliberately spoke in a spiteful way.
Normally, there would be something.
Apologizing for doing something wrong is something even elementary school students can do.
Moreover, what they did was an attempted murder that couldn’t be forgiven just by apologizing. There was no evidence, so she couldn’t sue them, but Kiraboshi vividly remembered that terror—
“Huh? Well~, isn’t such a small thing irrelevant now?”
“………Huh?”
“Because you were safe in the end, right? Then it’s fine, I was seriously injured!? And I got injured while looking for you, don’t you think this is terrible!?”
Because of the injury, I couldn’t move properly during spring break. I had to take my first break from the Instagram I update every day, my followers decreased, and my family complained, it was the worst.
I was also scolded by the school for entering the Dungeon….
“Hey. I’ve said this much, so why aren’t you apologizing? Could it be that you don’t think you’re at fault?”
“……???”
“It’s fine with me, but if the Class Representative takes that attitude… Is that okay? When the new semester starts, coming to school might become difficult, you know? Imoutoya seems to feel the same way, so I think it’s better not to make us too angry.”
Kiraboshi was confused and unable to understand as she was whispered to in a way that seemed to pick at her eardrums.
What on earth is this person saying?
Kiraboshi was the one who said she didn’t want to go to the Dungeon, and in the first place, they were victimized because they pushed Kiraboshi down—
“I didn’t think the Class Representative was that kind of person. I thought we were ‘friends.'”
“…”
“Well, I warned you. I’m looking forward to the new semester.”
Aneki laughed and hung up.
Kiraboshi, stunned, threw her Smartphone away, recalled the conversation while clutching her throbbing chest, and wondered what she had done wrong. She didn’t know. She didn’t know.
Looking at the ceiling, she couldn’t find an answer no matter how much she thought.
Just…
—Many of the cowards in the world present themselves as “poor victims” and accuse us of being “malicious perpetrators.”
I won’t show any mercy to those kinds of people—
Kiraboshi shuddered at Kageichi’s words.
Sensei would probably be able to do that.
Because he has the nerve to not hesitate to kill, and the power to carry it out.
But, what should a student like me, who has only just started exploring Dungeons, do if I get entangled with a vicious Monster pretending to be a “friend”?
I pull the covers over my head, my voice trembling as I say I don’t know.
…I can’t consult Kageichi. I’m already causing him trouble with the Dungeon, so I can’t possibly ask him about school or my personal life.
But I can’t ask my parents either. …What should I do?
(I’m so weak, after all.)
I desperately want power.
Not the kind of vague power Kageichi talks about, like communication skills or diligence.
Like him, a violent and absolute power that can’t be defeated by anyone—how can I obtain that?