“Well, to be honest, we’re just rookie streamers who haven’t even shown our faces yet. Our Hunter Rank is C, still beginners. But, we’re gonna become super famous streamers, even surpassing Gomame-chan!”
At the gate in a quiet residential area, kira!
The leader-like man flashed a smile, showing off his pearly white teeth.
With his refreshing brown hair and sweet smile, he could be considered a handsome guy.
…However, Kiraboshi first noticed the man’s equipment.
Light armor shining in gold. Gauntlets engraved with dragon patterns, granting powerful flame resistance.
He wore metal supporter knee pads over his trousers, apparently even reducing fatigue with an enchanted ability.
And the finishing touch was the sword he carried on his back.
The sword, sheathed in a rainbow-colored scabbard, was the “Seven-Colored Sword,” a rare item said to possess seven attributes.
“Oh, are you curious about my equipment? I knew some people would recognize it! You know about the Seven-Colored Sword, right? It’s the one the god-level streamer, Gorum, used to use. Oh, he just hit 1 million subscribers recently, and I’ve been a huge fan since way back! I hesitated, but I splurged and bought it. Oh, my name is Kazami.”
Well, it’s a weapon that ordinary Cleaners can’t afford!
Following the boasting leader—Kazami, one of his cronies burst into laughter, “Hoho!”
“Ohohohoho! Remember this? The Brothers are the strongest combo, and the strongest among us is Kazami-niisama, followed by yours truly, Zamasu! I shall show you our true power!”
His appearance was truly that of a pervert.
A slender man with pink mohawk hair and heavy makeup—a creepy man—covered his crimson lips and said, “Ohoho!” in a refined lady’s tone.
His armor was light, but his weapon was a silver-shining fan. …Well, it’s technically a melee weapon…
“U-um, I’m dumb so I don’t understand… but, I’ll do my best too…”
Finally, there was the chubby man.
With his frizzy black hair, fur-like shirt, and even a loincloth, he was decked out in primitive-style equipment, but these days, such equipment is just absurd.
His weapon was a giant wooden hammer. Well, its use was easy to understand, but—
“I-I’m the strongest Brother. My bros are the strongest, y’know… r-right?”
“Ohoho! My, there’s no need to repeat the obvious, is there? You’re as foolish as ever, aren’t you? That’s why you’re called Bakamaru, you know.”
“That’s right, Bakamaru. Oh, his real name is Kashikomaru, but he’s so stupid that we call him Bakamaru.”
“Because he’s seriously dumb, ahahaha,” the man laughed.
Kazami, Zamasu, Bakamaru—the three of them were apparently a group called “Brothers.”
“Now that the introductions are over, you see? Actually, we have a favor to ask, miss. Could you let us help you with today’s cleaning?”
“Huh? Eh, help?”
Kiraboshi couldn’t help but look at Kageichi. A bad feeling.
Besides legitimate cooperation in sweeping, a common reason for suddenly joining another party is…
“…Could it be, are you parasites?”
Those who cling to skilled Hunters and steal their rewards are sometimes called that, drawing a parallel to online games.
Not limited to monetary rewards, there are also despicable tactics such as stealing the final blow on monsters, taking only the experience points—growth Magical Power.
“No, no, we don’t mean it like that! We’re just rookies, you see? So, we thought it would be safe and secure to be with strong Brothers like you!”
“Ohoho! Even the longest journey begins with a single step, and our glorious rooooad is just beginning!”
“U-um, I’m dumb so I don’t really get it, but, um, my bros are smart so… I’ll do as they say…”
“But…”
“Of course, we don’t need any share of the rewards! If that’s the case, we don’t need to apply to the Labyrinth Agency, right? We’ll only take the experience points from the monsters we defeat ourselves. Right? Right? It’s a win-win relationship, you see.”
Kazami grinned, and Kiraboshi pursed her lips, thinking that might be okay…
Honestly, she felt quite uncomfortable, but she could understand the other party’s point of view.
In the first place, Kiraboshi always has Kageichi as her guardian.
If they’re rookies, she can understand the desire to rely on someone.
…But.
What is it?
She understands the reason, but something feels really, really unpleasant… She looked at Kageichi, and—
“I refuse.”
“…Eh?”
“I refuse.”
“Eh, eeh? That’s not fair, brother. It looks like we’re only offering you benefits, right?”
Kazami panicked, and Kiraboshi agreed to some extent.
It seemed like they were only stating the benefits…
“May I ask? Did you conduct a preliminary investigation of this Dungeon?”
“Eh? Ah, of course! This time it’s a ‘cave’ type, and Zombies will appear, right? That much…”
“How do you intend to handle that sword in a floor where Zombies appear? The Seven-Colored Sword is a tricky weapon that randomly activates attack attributes unless combined with specific Skills. And while Zombie-type monsters are weak to fire and light, they are immune to darkness and earth attributes.”
Kageichi asked if he intended to swing a weapon that would be nullified at a certain probability.
He continued to glare at the pink mohawk,
“That fan. What do you intend to use it for?”
“O-ohoho! This fan holds Magical Power that can directly carve enemies! I shall elegantly defeat enemies with this blade…”
“Melee combat against Poison Zombies that spread poisonous mist? What about poison countermeasures?”
“…O-ohoho? Poison Zombies don’t appear in Rank C Dungeons… do they?”
“The predicted difficulty and the actual difficulty are often different, you know.”
Kageichi sighed, then finally looked at Bakamaru, and… hmm.
“Um… I…”
“You’re slightly better, at least. Crushing enemies with a large hammer. It’s straightforward. But it’s still unnecessary.”
“No way, I’m stronger than Bakamaru, and we’re Hunter Rank C, you know? Our skills are…”
“Do you know why Hunters are said to be full-fledged from Rank B? Up to Rank C, you can force your way through with the power of your equipment alone.”
That’s also why Hunters below Rank C cannot accept official Quests from the Labyrinth Agency.
There was a conflict with a streaming group called “The Numbers” before, but they, regardless of their behavior, had combat abilities above the standard.
They were clearly below that—
“But, we won’t get in your way! If anything, we’ll just stay behind you, brother…”
“Let me tell you one thing I hate most in this world. It’s not monsters, nor is it enemies who get in my way.”
Kageichi pointed at Kazami and stated calmly.
“What I hate most is—incompetent allies. If I were your superior officer, I would immediately authorize your execution. …Excuse me, I misspoke. I would silently execute you.”
“…………”
“There is no shortage of cases where a party collapses due to amateurs who don’t understand the theory. They relentlessly perform ineffective attacks, unnecessarily buying the monster’s aggro and disrupting the field, while the person in question thinks they’ve done a great job. It’s the epitome of a nuisance.”
To use a game analogy, it’s like having one Rank C player mixed in with all S-Rank players, selfishly causing three deaths and leading to Quest failure.
Kageichi clearly stated to them that they were a nuisance just by being on the team.
“If you’re aware of it, I recommend you back down. —There’s still time, you know.”
“T-time for what…”
“For my Mercy.”
“Well then,” Kageichi turned his back to them, and Kiraboshi followed him through the Dungeon Gate.
The scenery suddenly changed, and she looked up at the “cave” stage surrounded by jagged rocks—
After taking a few steps, Kiraboshi, sensing something, stopped.
“…Sensei. They’re behind us…”
Of course, Kageichi had also noticed.
Following them from behind were the same people from earlier…
“In other words, brother! You mean we’re okay because we’re competent, right? You’re encouraging your juniors, as expected!”
“Ohoho! To understand our competence, you’re quite something, aren’t you?”
“U-um, I’m dumb so I don’t really get it, but… i-is that what you mean…?”
The trio said whatever they wanted and readied their sword, fan, and hammer.
No, even for them, their reading comprehension was too low, Kiraboshi thought with a cold sweat as she turned around. They had already activated the recorders attached to their ears and the streaming cameras equipped like headbands.
…Are they serious?
And what are they planning to do by streaming us together—
“How strange.”
“Eh?”
“Recorders and streaming cameras are one thing, but there are also listening devices and GPS trackers in their pockets. …With those, it’s more for surveillance than streaming.”
“…Eh?”
Due to their specifications, communication devices used in Dungeons temporarily convert radio waves into Magical Power.
Even though everything is transparent to Kageichi’s “Detection”… still, there are just too many of them.
“Kiraboshi-san. Shall we observe the situation for a bit?”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“They themselves are just idiots, but there’s a possibility they’re being used by someone to monitor me.”
“…That’s rare, for you to say something like that, Sensei. I thought you’d just trap them and eliminate them as usual…”
“Doing three people at once in front of that many cameras would be unnatural, after all. Besides,”
Kageichi lowered his voice and whispered softly to Kiraboshi.
“Stressors that displease me are a waste of time if you don’t eradicate them from the root. …It won’t be too late to catch the person behind the cameras, will it?”
His tone was so calm.
Kiraboshi felt a chill and slowed her pace slightly.
Just in case.
Just to be sure.
Though she thought it was pointless… Kiraboshi stepped back a little and whispered to Kazami and the others.
“Um… it’s not too late to turn back, you know… Dungeons are dangerous. There are monsters and things other than monsters. And, do you know that human beings only have one life…?”
“What are you saying? There’s no way we can back down after being encouraged this much, and we’ve already started the stream!”
“Ohoho, no need to worry. I’ll show you our skills!”
“I, I’ll do my best… If my Brothers are doing their best, I’ll do my best too!”
To the three “Brothers” who were ignoring her warning and psyching themselves up.
Kiraboshi quietly made the sign of the cross in her heart as she returned to Kageichi’s side.