In a first-floor passage of Nagi Plains—Kazami lay collapsed from poison, and Shirogasaki was in a fluster.
Amidst this, it was unexpectedly Imoutoya who gave the first instruction.
“Ojou. Go get someone, now.”
“Eh!? B-but, shouldn’t we call the Dungeon Emergency first? Um, the number…”
“Dungeon Emergency costs money and time. Besides, this is the first floor of Nagi Plains, right? If you call for help, someone should be nearby.”
There were guards at the entrance to “Nagi Plains,” which was open to the general public. They should have Antidote Potions.
“O-okay! I’ll go get someone right away! Kiraboshi-san, what about you…?”
“I’ll stay here. It would be bad if another enemy came.”
“Yes!”
While seeing Shirogasaki off as she hurried to call for help, Kiraboshi placed her hand on Kazami’s back.
The “Detection” that Kageichi had taught her was a method of sensing the magical power drifting in the dungeon.
As an application of that, by injecting magical power into the opponent’s body and detecting the reflection, you could observe the opponent’s condition.
Or, as Sensei would say, “You can confirm if you definitely did it.”
“…… …… Yes. He’s been poisoned. And his magical power is decreasing because of it. To the point where he’s losing consciousness.”
“Don’t you have any recovery medicine, Class Representative?”
“I’m sorry, I just happened to run out.”
“I see. Then, should we carry him?”
Indeed. If they stayed here, they might be attacked by Poison-Dust Swallowtails again.
“Let’s do that. Imoutoya-san, could you take his legs?”
“Me? No way, I can’t touch something dirty like a man. Class Representative, you carry him on your back.”
“…… I don’t have much strength either, though.”
“But Class Representative, you work in the dungeon, right? Then, you must be strong.”
While feeling exasperated at the dissatisfied Imoutoya, Kiraboshi summoned her Inventory.
She took out a Potion bottle from within the black vortex and silently downed it.
“What’s that, Class Representative?”
“A Power Potion. It’s a medicine that temporarily increases strength. …… Sensei taught me to always check my stock of items so I can respond to various situations.”
The contents of the Inventory were a Hunter’s lifeline.
Always keep it organized and reduce wasted space.
Having a large Inventory capacity consumes magical power, but not having the necessary items is directly linked to death.
Before entering the dungeon, that’s where a Hunter’s skill is shown… she was taught meticulously.
“My Sensei is very reliable. As a Hunter, and as a person. Imoutoya-san, would you like to meet him sometime?”
“…… I’ll pass.”
“I see. Then, shall we go?”
Kiraboshi raised Kazami’s back, somehow managing to carry him while losing her posture.
It was impossible to imagine a frail high school girl carrying a large man on her back, but in a dungeon, there was no difference between men and women—
Thud
Along with a dull sound—intense pain ran through her side.
“Ah, guh…”
Kiraboshi leaked a voice and knelt down.
Surprised by the sudden pain, she hurriedly put her hand on her side—and felt the cold sensation of metal.
A magical power knife.
…She’d been stabbed. By whom?
While dripping cold sweat and turning pale from the throbbing pain, she knelt down.
In front of her was that man, who should have been unconscious…
Kazami was grinning sheepishly, looking pale.
“W-well, that… this is also a job, you see. I-I’m not to blame, okay? I’m just, um…”
“You…!”
Following that, an impact from behind.
After being stomped hard on the back of her head, Kiraboshi let out a muffled groan, and from behind her, she heard, “Oh dear…”
“Class Representative, you’re really an idiot. To fall for such a simple trap. Are you really a dungeon veteran?”
“—!”
An eerie, yet excited voice gradually… echoed in her ear, as if picking at it.
The one chuckling and grinning maliciously was, of course, the one who had suggested making up with Kiraboshi—
“You were just clinging to a great Sensei, thinking you were strong too. I wasted my time being cautious. …Now, carry her.”
“W-well… Ojou-chan? I said I’d do anything, but, um, bullying this girl too much…”
“Huh? Didn’t you say you’d do anything? You’re short on money, right?”
“S-sorry!”
Kiraboshi was carried away by Kazami as she was, disappearing into the depths of the butterfly room.
*
The mysterious phenomenon that had appeared all over the world, the existence of dungeons, had a major impact on the dark side of the job market.
There were various methods, such as “Duntata,” which involved attacking Hunters in dungeons and robbing them of their items, and “Dunnige,” which involved running away with items under the guise of trading them. The government’s response was lagging behind.
Imoutoya herself wanted to rely on a professional in the dark side of the job market, or if possible, someone who had formed an organization, and she even found a specialized site—
But in reality, she had been scammed once, and it ended with her money being taken.
So, she reluctantly searched on SNS, and this frivolous man named Kazami was caught.
He wrote “I’ll do anything!” on SNS himself, and she heard that he was in dire need of money, so she judged that he would be easy to use—easy to discard.
“Hey. Destroy that woman’s recorder. I don’t want to get caught, and neither do you, right?”
“Yes! I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”
The man grabbed the recorder attached to Kiraboshi’s glasses and threw it into the river. The plan was going smoothly.
—Why don’t we make up?
When Shirogasaki consulted her, the plan immediately flashed in her mind.
…That terrifying Salaryman man still bothered her.
But, no matter what. No matter what, Imoutoya couldn’t forgive the Class Representative.
It was a necessary revenge to overcome the nightmares of being tormented in the middle of the night and being torn apart by a Chainsaw.
The procedure was as you see.
Imoutoya contacted Kazami on her Smartphone. While having Kazami go ahead, she acted to remove Shirogasaki from the party, and when they were alone, she had him inflict paralysis poison.
Of course, there was a possibility that she would fail to remove Shirogasaki.
It was also possible that a passerby would happen to be present.
In that case, she would cancel the operation with a straight face, help Kazami, who had been acting, and end it there.
The execution itself was low-risk. Even if it failed, only Kazami would be caught, and she could pretend not to know anything.
It was a half-gamble operation… but to succeed on the first try.
“Fufu…”
Serves you right, you damn suit-wearing bastard.
It would be good if you found out what the Class Representative was going to go through from now on and despaired… Ah. Just imagining it made her drool.
With this, she was “above” the Class Representative.
A miserable loser’s life, continuing to be placed “below” this woman—Imoutoya’s proud pride would not allow it.
“Um. Is it about time? There’s no one around here… and it’s the deepest part of the first floor.”
“That’s right. Then, why don’t you start by doing that girl?”
“Eh? That means…”
“What? Do I have to explain everything from start to finish? You’re a man, right? If you’re a man, there’s only one thing you can do to a woman. Yes, we have to give this woman a proper, wonderful payback—“
“That’s right… Since we’ve been guided to a place with no one around, we have to give a wonderful payback, right?”
Eh? Imoutoya was surprised and raised her face from her Smartphone.
The dull sound of Kazami collapsing was almost simultaneous.
…As if switching places.
As if smoke was rising.
The one who slowly raised her body while wearing a ghostly face was certainly the one who should have been unconscious…
Eh… What?
Why?
While Imoutoya was still gaping with her mouth open, Kiraboshi brushed off the dirt on her skirt.
She deliberately cracked her neck and snorted in exasperation, “You know?”
“Imoutoya-san. It’s fine to attack me, but… shouldn’t you use your head a little more?”
“Wh-what…”
“I think you’d understand if you thought about it normally…”
I wonder if I’ve become a little like Sensei… she thought.
Kiraboshi smiled and told the wide-eyed Imoutoya.
“If you’re going to attack me in a dungeon, it’s meaningless to prepare someone weaker than me, don’t you think?”