(Maybe I should try talking to her.)
After the battle in the [Great Illusion Formation] ended, Keiichiro awoke in his chair.
He stood up immediately and left the training room.
His target was Kazari Kyouko, whom he had just fought.
She was a promising Adventurer.
Given her skill, she likely had experience exploring the Demon Capital.
There was no harm in forming a connection.
If she was working solo, then—
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
The timing of Keiichiro opening the training room door.
It coincided, strangely enough, with the moment the door to the adjacent room opened.
(Is she… crying?)
Peeking out from the doorway was Kyouko.
But her eyes were brimming with tears.
Time seemed to stop.
In the next instant, Kyouko’s face turned as red as her hair—
“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!”
“Whoa…!”
—she threw a punch at him.
Keiichiro barely managed to slip his right hand between his face and the punch, but if he’d been a few moments slower, his face would have been smashed.
“Tch—! I’m going home…!”
Kyouko forced out the words, her lips trembling.
The strength left her fist.
She turned her back to Keiichiro.
“Hey. Can we talk for a sec—”
“Shutupshutupshutup!”
Keiichiro reached out towards her retreating back, but Kyouko moved away.
Leaving behind a shout like a spoiled child’s tantrum.
“…Well, probably pointless to ask, huh.”
He’d sensed her mental fragility, but it seemed she also possessed a fiercely competitive nature.
No matter what Keiichiro said to her now, it would likely be meaningless.
In fact, for the sake of the future, it was probably wiser to leave her alone.
Feeling slightly disappointed, Keiichiro watched Kyouko leave.
“Mm… Keiichiro-san.”
As Keiichiro stood there, a voice called out from behind him.
Standing there was the ever-expressionless Tōru.
“Tōru. How did it go?”
When Keiichiro asked, Tōru thrust out her arm.
—A V-sign.
“Won them all. But they called my tactics toxic.”
Tōru’s eyebrows drooped slightly.
It seemed she was hurt, at least a little.
“Ah… Yeah, Magic Snipers tend to be hated in PvP…”
He’d forgotten to warn her.
Keiichiro averted his gaze.
Magic Sniper.
It was a tactic employed by a [Wizard] with [Stealth], where they hid their presence and shot magic from 100 meters—or even several hundred meters—away.
For Adventurers who lacked countermeasures against [Stealth], it was lethally effective; they’d get shot down without even knowing what hit them.
He recalled Yukiko calling it something like ‘The shittiest of shitty first-encounter killers’ and ‘An unforgivable evil’.
—Although, he felt that she, having mastered [Seamless Stealth] which could conceal her very existence, was far more guilty of carrying out one-sided massacres.
“Well, we didn’t find a third opponent today… Guess we’ll grab a bite and head home.”
“Mm.”
Just before leaving the training room, the list of potential opponents had briefly appeared in Keiichiro’s vision.
And there wasn’t a single name on it.
Meaning, there was no third opponent here.
In other words, he couldn’t fulfill the requirements for A-Rank today.
Can’t help it if no one’s available.
Resigning himself to that, Keiichiro headed off for a meal with Tōru.
☆
“Seats… are all taken.”
Keiichiro stood frozen, holding a tray carrying curry and coffee.
They had headed to the Association’s cafeteria.
Tables lined up in a spacious area.
But there were no empty spots.
Every table he looked at had Adventurers eating.
“Mm… It’s crowded because it’s the weekend.”
“Guess aiming for the weekend hoping for more opponents backfired.”
Keiichiro sighed.
Today was Saturday.
Compared to weekdays, the number of people visiting was naturally higher.
It seemed the weekend he’d targeted to secure opponents had worked against him.
“Guess we’ll have to ask to share a table somewhere.”
Keiichiro scanned the room.
Each table was set up for at least four people.
And there were two of them.
Depending on the spot, they might be able to ask to share.
(One person at that table seat. Let’s try there—)
Keiichiro’s gaze stopped at a certain table.
There was a table with just one girl sitting there.
“Excuse me. Mind if we share this table?”
Keiichiro approached the girl and asked.
Her friends or companions might just be away at the moment.
His question was meant to confirm that possibility too.
“…Do whatever you want?”
The girl answered without looking up from her smartphone.
It felt like a rather careless reply, but he had obtained permission, more or less.
“Alright, let’s sit here then.”
“Mm.”
Tōru nodded.
The two of them sat down facing the girl.
Still, the girl before them kept looking at her phone.
In front of the girl were a doughnut and milk.
It was more of a snack than a meal.
“Ah…”
Just a casual, meaningless observation.
Or so it should have been, but when Keiichiro realized a certain fact, a sound escaped his lips.
“?”
The girl’s fingers stopped moving.
Apparently, his voice had reached her ears.
Reacting to Keiichiro’s voice, the girl sitting opposite him looked up from her smartphone.
And then—
“W-Wha!? Why are you here!?”
The girl—Kazari Kyouko—shot up from her seat.
The clatter of her chair echoed through the cafeteria.
“Well… we were in the same building, isn’t it possible we’d run into each other again by chance?”
Keiichiro deliberately replied calmly.
By maintaining a composed demeanor, he hoped to encourage her to regain her composure, but—
“Shut up…! You want me to dump milk in your curry!?”
“Don’t. It’ll just make it creamier.”
—it didn’t seem very effective.
“Mm… Should we move seats?”
Perhaps sensing the tension in their exchange, Tōru asked uncomfortably.
“Huh? That makes it sound like I made you move. It’s fine, whatever.”
Saying that, Kyouko sat back down and rested her cheek on her hand.
She dropped her gaze back to her smartphone—then looked back at Keiichiro.
“Anyway, you came here with a girl?”
Kyouko’s question.
With a girl.
While not incorrect Japanese, the nuance was something he wanted to deny.
“Not ‘with a girl’… she’s a party member.”
Keiichiro said, taking a sip of his coffee.
“…Gross. You’re a lolicon.”
The words Kyouko muttered under her breath.
Spoken softly, likely not intended for him to hear, the remark definitely struck a nerve with Keiichiro.
“…Stop that. It actually kinda hurts.”
(Objectively speaking, my party is mostly made up of kids quite a bit younger than me…)
After all, two out of the four members were middle schoolers.
Though one of them was a boy.
Still, a guy over twenty leading (what looks like) a female middle schooler… Realistically, it probably looks bad to outsiders.
Since he was somewhat aware of it himself, it was a critical hit.
“Well, I’m leaving now.”
Kyouko quickly finished her remaining doughnut and washed it down with milk.
Then she stood up with her tray.
“Ah. Sorry. Didn’t mean to rush you.”
Keiichiro said to the departing Kyouko.
He absolutely hadn’t intended that, but for her, it could be seen as him interrupting her relaxing break time.
He offered words of apology for that, but—
“W-Wha!? Don’t make it sound like I rushed because you showed up…!? I just have to go ’cause my old hag will get noisy if I don’t head back soon…!”
“O-Oh…”
—For some reason, she retorted quite defensively.
For now, the challenge for A-Rank is on hold.
The first half of Chapter 3 will be events with Kazari Kyouko.
The latter half of Chapter 3 is planned to feature the final battle towards A-Rank.
By the way, the final boss of Chapter 3 has already appeared; it’s that person who has been hiding their true strength until now.