“Yukko…”
“Mornin’.”
Ignoring the surprised Keiichiro, the girl—Oshindari Yukiko—gave a small wave.
“It’s been a while since we met in person.”
“—In(・) person(・)?”
Keiichiro raised an eyebrow slightly.
Her phrasing.
From that, he inferred—
(I don’t know who, but it means someone connected to Yukko is close by.)
Oshindari Yukiko was in charge of information gathering for 【Holy Sword】.
She possessed her own intelligence network, unknown even to the other members of 【Holy Sword】.
Keiichiro had probably brushed up against some part of that network.
—Not that it was anything worth worrying about.
They’d known each other since elementary school.
He knew she hadn’t been gathering information on him with malicious intent.
She was probably just worried about him.
“Well… yeah, it has been a wh—”
“Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
A voice echoed through the hall.
The owner of the voice was—Tōru.
Her eyes were wide as she practically bounced around Yukiko.
Her usual expressionless face had completely crumbled.
“Hwawa! Amazing! Oshindari-san! Live! It’s my first time seeing you live! Live is amazing!”
“First time live. Live is amazing…? Who is this woman who’s been saying nothing but lewd things…? Keiichiro-kun’s personal Abalone?”
“Don’t call her an Abalone.”
That was an outrageous thing to say about one of her own fans.
“How should I put it—she seems to be a fan of yours, Yukko.”
“Hm…?”
Yukiko turned her gaze toward Tōru.
“Hwaah…”
The person she admired was right before her eyes.
Faced with this reality, Tōru’s cheeks flushed red.
“…This is.”
Yukiko’s gaze dropped slightly.
And then—
“I understand the sentiment. But you’re an enemy. Different denominations.”
Yukiko closed her eyes.
Apparently, even the sarashi couldn’t hide the fullness of Tōru’s chest from her discerning eyes.
“Keiichiro-kun. Can I assume this is a deliberate slight? Parading around a woman who looks like someone tacked on boobs to me as an afterthought.”
“That would be problematic, wouldn’t it?”
He didn’t recall scouting Tōru with that intention.
“Hm… Could it be that, to Keiichiro-kun, I was the perfect woman except for my chest…?”
Yukiko seemed lost in thought.
“Keiichiro-kun. Is it okay to hold me while groping Kikuri’s breasts?”
“No.”
“Kurenai in the right hand, Kikuri in the left?”
“Wouldn’t changing my mind based on that make me a pretty messed-up guy?”
As Keiichiro replied, exasperated, Yukiko muttered something like, “A 4P is high difficulty… hm.”
Just what kind of man had Yukiko made Keiichiro out to be in her mind, constructing a harem out of his childhood friends since elementary school?
(Still, this kind of banter feels nostalgic.)
A smile naturally escaped him.
She looked like an elementary schooler. Expressionless.
And yet, she was the most short-tempered and talkative member of 【Holy Sword】.
That was the kind of person Oshindari Yukiko was.
“Ah~. Keiichiro-kun was definitely thinking something super lewd just now~.”
Yukiko gave him a half-lidded stare, her voice flat.
He didn’t want to hear that from her.
“Ehh~. Onii-chan, were you thinking lewd thoughts~?”
Tsukasa peered at him from the side.
The previous exchange had apparently become juicy gossip material for him.
“…And you are?”
“Ah, I’m Tsukigase Tsukasa. I’m in the same party as Onii-chan~.”
When his eyes met Yukiko’s, Tsukasa raised a hand in greeting.
Her expression remained unchanged and blank.
“Hm… Keiichiro-kun.”
Yukiko’s eyes turned next to Keiichiro.
She then—gave a thumbs-up.
“Super nice. I believed in you. That Keiichiro-kun could love the flat-chested equally.”
Yukiko’s eyes shone brighter than they had all day.
However, he had to tell her a cruel truth.
“He’s a guy.”
“Oof.“
Yukiko clutched her chest and crumpled over.
For some reason, it looked like she was coughing up blood.
Trembling, Yukiko looked up at Keiichiro resentfully.
“A-As expected of Keiichiro-kun… the 【Trapper of Love】… You strike right at my heart…”
“You too, stop calling me 【Trapper of Love】.”
—She had the same sensibilities as some muscular old guy from somewhere.
As a former party member, it was disappointing.
“Hm… Oh well.”
Yukiko slowly stood up.
Her face was still expressionless, but was it his imagination, or were her knees shaking?
It seemed she’d taken more damage than expected.
“Actually, I came here because I have something to tell you.”
“Well… I figured.”
It would be too disappointing if she showed up like this without any reason.
“What I’m about to say is just me talking to myself.”
“Didn’t you just say you had something to tell me?”
But Keiichiro’s words—
“—In December, we, 【Holy Sword】, will be managing the First Origin Gate Conquest Campaign.”
—were blown away in an instant.
“…!”
“The format will be a Raid. We plan to recruit multiple A-Rank parties to serve as Mob Cleaners.”
Yukiko continued speaking without waiting for Keiichiro’s reaction.
Every word was of grave importance to him.
“The selection test will be—in November.”
—November.
It was currently August.
Counting back, that was about three months.
It wasn’t immediate, but it was a short time to build up strength.
“This is me talking to myself. It’s classified, so don’t leak it.”
Leaving those words behind, Yukiko turned her back.
Her figure disappeared from the hall.
“!”
Keiichiro broke into a run.
He kicked the door open and burst out into the corridor.
Chasing after that small back.
“————Yukkooo!”
Keiichiro shouted at the back he had finally spotted.
With all his might.
Filled with resolve.
“I’ll catch up! I’ll get stronger so I can dive into dungeons with you guys again!”
It was a vow.
Not a vow to them.
It was a vow—to himself.
“Absolutely. I’ll definitely get there—tell the others that for me.”
“Hm…”
Yukiko didn’t turn around.
She started walking away.
But she raised one hand—
“Got it————I’ll tell them when Keiichiro-kun gets stronger.”
Leaving those words behind, this time she truly vanished from the scene.
Chapter 2 will conclude with the epilogue and another epilogue.
After that will be the new chapter, “Red Star of Death.”
The heroine’s color theme is also red.
And it’s planned to be the chapter where the red dungeon, which hasn’t appeared in the story yet, emerges.