Episode 58: Hello, Again
“Ha… well, do your best. Make sure Natsume-kun, with his valuable skills, doesn’t get hurt. …The exam briefing will be in five minutes, in front of the dungeon.”
With that, Shi-chan’s boss walked towards the entrance of the Utsunomiya Dungeon.
“Phew…”
Shi-chan sighed softly.
“Shi-chan, you were so cool!”
Otama-chan hugged Shi-chan.
“W-wa, Tama-chan. It’s embarrassing.”
“You were awesome, Shi-chan. …And Ko-chin too.”
Then, Otama-chan let go of Shi-chan.
“Ko-chan, what were you talking about with that penguin guy?”
“Probably about poaching me for their party…?”
“That’s…”
Looking into Otama-chan’s straight eyes.
I…
“Huh…”
Started shedding tears.
“K-Ko-chan, what’s wrong!?”
“Did they say something mean to you?”
“Should we retaliate online?”
“No… it’s not that… it’s not that…”
I began to speak haltingly.
About how I had a dream this morning about the day I told Otama-chan “I hate you” when we were kids.
How that had made me feel down all morning.
And how, while talking to that guy named Yagyu just now, I finally understood how Otama-chan had wanted to play with me.
Pathetic as it was, I couldn’t stop crying.
“I’m sorry… I hurt Otama-chan because I was weak… I couldn’t protect Manamin’s place either… If I were stronger, we could have all stayed friends…”
I had always regretted that day.
But until today, I didn’t know what I should have done.
Because I was immature.
Then, Otama-chan said.
“…Ko-chan, it’s okay. Because I always knew that ‘I hate you’ was a lie…”
“Eh…?”
That couldn’t be.
Because I hadn’t even properly apologized to Otama-chan since then.
There’s no way Otama-chan could know how I felt…
“Because if you really hated me, you wouldn’t have looked so sad.”
“Ah…”
“Ko-chan sent me to a place where I could shine, thinking of me, right…? But I couldn’t get along with my teammates… I wasted Ko-chan’s kindness… waaaah…”
“Otama-chan…”
“I wanted to apologize to Ko-chan too…! I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I couldn’t live up to Ko-chan’s expectations…! I couldn’t…!”
“Then, I left everyone behind and moved to Tokyo… I created the opportunity for everyone to fall apart… I wanted to apologize the whole time…! Sniffle…”
“And I was just sulking… There must have been something I could have done…”
“Everyone…”
–We were in a place like this, yet we were all crying together.
But strangely, I didn’t feel sad.
The tears, like gentle rain, washed away our regrets.
And I said quietly.
“…I still want to spend time with everyone. Hanging out together, at the Secret Base…”
“Yeah, me too…”
“Then… we know what we have to do, right?”
“Ko-chin, should we go soon?”
“–Yeah. Team Secret Base, let’s start exploring!”
“Yeah!”
And we lined up in front of the entrance to the Utsunomiya Dungeon.
The entrance to the Utsunomiya Dungeon had a protective wall modeled after Oya stone, and an iron door similar to the Ota Dungeon.
“Have you finished your farewells? Spatial Transfer, huh?”
The bearded man — Yagyu-shi — asked me.
“No, we don’t need any of that. We’re going to beat you guys.”
“Ha! Still spouting nonsense? Grow up already. I don’t want to team up with a fool like you either, but if you think about it, the answer is obvious, right? Think about what you’ll gain!”
Behind Yagyu-shi were three men and women in their mid-thirties.
“Hey, hey, Yagyu. You’re so loud. If I wasn’t a Sword Saint, I wouldn’t team up with you either. I think I like Natsume-kun better, he seems like he’d do anything I say.”
“I just need to get my hands on Spatial Transfer.”
“I feel the same way. The only thing I expect from this Natsume guy is the Spatial Transfer skill. I’m not going to chat with him, so I don’t care about his personality.”
“…You guys,”
I had to ask this question.
“What do you think of your party members?”
“Ha, it’s obvious.”
Party leader Yagyu-shi said.
“–They’re tools with value.”
“That’s the culture of our party.”
“Natsume-kun will get used to it soon. Everyone has a bad personality, but they’re competent. You can’t leave them, even if you hate them.”
“You’ll get money and fame, you know? And women, of course. If you’re going to be stubborn, I’ll give you 300 million as an advance. Why don’t you use some of that as severance pay for them?”
“…I,”
I said quietly.
“I won’t live like you. I don’t want to use people for my own sake and live only for profit.”
“Nonsense. Your perception is too childish. You probably don’t know, but A-Rank Parties generate enormous profits from dungeons. You probably don’t know how many people are swarming around those profits. The media, big corporations, politicians… To make an A-Rank Party your enemy is to make society your enemy.”
Then, Manamin cut me off.
“Keh keh, then if we beat you guys and become A-Rank, that means we’re more useful than you, right? I might tweet about it. ‘[Breaking News] Penguin-san Team Suffers Crushing Defeat to Ko-chan on His Second Exploration.'”
“…There’s no way that can happen.”
At that moment.
“–It’s about time. Let me explain the exam.”
Shi-chan’s boss stepped between us.
“The method of the exam is simple–“
And a paper with the rules was distributed.