“Amazing…”
Keiichiro murmured.
A grassy field spread out around him.
Keiichiro was in the training ground Akino had prepared.
It appeared to be land she personally owned, so there was no concern about prying eyes.
“She works fast.”
When they finalized the Sponsor Contract, Keiichiro had made two requests of Akino.
One of them was securing a training ground.
Somewhere he wouldn’t be disturbed or seen by anyone.
That was the kind of training ground he had wanted her to secure.
Since Akino herself was anticipating his ‘sensational performance’, this request was readily accepted.
Still, preparing it in just one day spoke volumes about her capabilities.
“Well then, shall I try it out a bit?”
He had used it instinctively yesterday, but Skills were things one should normally use only after fully understanding their capabilities.
Power. Range.
Without an accurate understanding of these, he would eventually make a fatal mistake.
“Trap Set—[Arrow].”
Keiichiro swung his arm, focusing on setting the Trap as far away as possible.
“…One meter, huh?”
The Arrow appeared at a point within a one-meter radius centered on him.
It seemed he couldn’t place the [Arrow] Trap any further away than that.
“Next is Trap fusion, huh?”
Trap fusion.
Last time, it had been a reckless feat performed purely on intuition.
Normally, Traps interfering with each other should have been impossible.
But, if something about Keiichiro changed due to awakening a Unique Skill—
“Trap Set—[Slash] + [Flame].”
Keiichiro pressed both palms onto the ground.
However—nothing happened.
“Then next—[Arrow] + [Slash].”
Again, he touched the ground with the same motion.
Then a storm of slashes swirled up.
Crescent-shaped blades erupted, sending blades of grass flying.
“…Should I consider that the [Arrow] trap itself has the property of ‘being able to fuse with other traps’?”
Keiichiro concluded.
Arrows with Arrows.
Arrows and other Traps.
Considering that only these two types of combinations had worked, this hypothesis was likely correct.
“On to the next test.”
Keiichiro walked towards the edge of the open space.
Mannequin-like figures were lined up there.
These are targets used by Adventurers for training.
They were sturdy enough not to break easily and possessed an auto-repair function, making them convenient tools.
She really is thorough.
(Normally, the [Trapper] class has particularly low physical abilities compared to other classes.)
Keiichiro’s current level was 77, thanks in part to the battle with the Ogre.
Even so, he was weaker than a level 30 warrior-type in terms of raw power.
([Arrow] holds the potential to supplement my physical abilities.)
Keiichiro took out the Twilight Dual Swords.
And, he took a stance in front of the dummy.
He held the left dagger in a reverse grip near his side.
He brought his right hand across to his left side as well.
Though he had no sheath, it mimicked a quick-draw stance.
“Trap Set—[Quartet].”
(Since this is training, I should try something a bit extreme.)
To see the limit of the ability, he deployed four Arrows at once.
The Arrows were placed on—his left dagger.
“Haa!”
Then, with his right dagger—he touched the left one.
Obeying the [Arrow]’s forced movement, his right hand accelerated at a tremendous pace.
“Uoh…!?”
—Leaving even Keiichiro’s senses behind.
Suddenly his vision spun.
His body couldn’t keep up with the speed of his right hand, and Keiichiro’s body was pulled along.
(Crap—)
Unable to brace himself, Keiichiro’s feet finally left the ground.
Once his feet left, there was no way to resist the momentum.
He fell to the ground while spinning wildly in the air.
“…Supplementing physical ability by stacking Arrows is reckless, huh?”
Keiichiro sighed.
It would be fine if he were just using the [Arrow] to move his entire body.
But accelerating only one part of his body, like his arm this time, was a different story.
He needed enough physical strength to brace himself and avoid being dragged along by the accelerated limb.
And that was something the [Trapper] lacked.
“Maybe I really shouldn’t plan for close-quarters combat… huh…?”
Keiichiro, who stood up—was speechless.
“…”
The dummy stood before him.
The dummy—had its torso completely blown off.
It wasn’t cut off.
The flat side of the dagger had struck it, sending the dummy’s torso flying.
“…”
Overwhelming power.
Power that could rival even the Ogre’s.
(If I could master this, it would definitely become my weapon.)
It was still too early to give up thinking it was reckless.
It was too tempting a power to simply dismiss as unsuitable for him.
(If I master physical enhancement via [Arrow], I can contend with warrior-type classes in close combat.)
The weakness of ‘it’s over if they get close’.
That weakness would disappear.
“…?”
Just as Keiichiro thought about moving on to close combat training, an electronic sound rang from his pocket.
He stopped training and took out his smartphone.
The name displayed there was—Reizei Akino.
“What is it?”
It was noon.
She should still be at her office.
“…Hello?”
I wonder if there’s a problem, Keiichiro thought as he waited for Akino to speak.
“Kageura-sama. Did you find the training ground to your liking?”
That was the voice he heard.
It didn’t sound particularly serious.
“Yeah. Honestly, it’s much better than I expected.”
“That is wonderful.”
Keiichiro felt like Akino smiled on the other end of the line.
“I do apologize, but I’m still quite busy. May I get straight to the point?”
“Yeah.”
As expected, she seemed busy; Akino cut the pleasantries short and got straight to the main topic.
“The D-rank Dungeon you requested the other day—I was able to secure it.”
When they finalized the Sponsor Contract, Keiichiro had made two requests.
One was the training ground.
And the second was—a Dungeon.
Adventurers explore Dungeons.
However, there are two methods for that.
One is free exploration.
A method where no one holds exclusive rights, and everything within the Dungeon belongs to whoever gets it first.
The advantage is that anyone can delve into the Dungeon at any time.
The disadvantages are the scramble for resources, potentially lower profits, and the risk of conflict with other Adventurers.
And the second is auction.
A method involving auctions where exclusive rights to a Dungeon are purchased beforehand.
The advantages are being able to claim ownership of everything within the Dungeon and not having to worry about conflicts with other Adventurers.
The demerit is that auctions require large sums of money, making it difficult for individuals.
Keiichiro had requested the latter, the auction.
“The procedures are complete, so you should be able to delve into it tomorrow.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
“I was the one who offered my support. Besides, I expect you to pay me back with interest once you’ve made a name for yourself, so it’s no problem at all.”
“—I’ll do my best.”
He felt like his debt to her was rapidly accumulating.
By the time he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with 【Holy Sword】, he likely wouldn’t be able to look her in the eye anymore.
“Alright then, I’ll head into the Dungeon first thing tomorrow.”
“—I wish you the best of luck.”
☆
“Keiichiro-kun. I wonder if he’s doing well~”
The girl looked up at the ceiling with emotionless eyes.
As she moved, her silver hair tickled her shoulder.
The girl sat on a Monster’s corpse, swinging her legs.
Short height, delicate limbs.
Her appearance suggested she was anywhere from elementary to middle school age.
But she was already an adult woman and an Adventurer fighting on the front lines.
A member of 【Holy Sword】.
【Grim Reaper】 Oshitari Yukiko.
That was her name.
“Surely… I think this was for the best. We can’t drag Kageura-san around dangerous Dungeons because of our selfishness…”
Responding to Yukiko’s words was a woman in miko attire.
Raven-black hair stretched down to her waist.
In contrast to Yukiko, her figure traced rich, feminine curves.
The small beauty mark near her eye exuded the allure of a mature woman.
【Night Parade of One Hundred Demons】 Itomi Kukuri.
She was also an Adventurer belonging to 【Holy Sword】.
“So, I think Kurenai-chan doesn’t need to worry so much either.”
Yukiko said so to the other person present.
Beautiful hair like golden threads.
Skin white as snow.
Her figure clad in silver armor was truly that of a Valkyrie.
The leader of 【Holy Sword】 and the strongest Adventurer in the country.
【White Lightning】 Hagane Kurenai.
She stood as if surrounded by Monster corpses.
Despite the gruesome, bloody scene, her radiance remained untarnished.
Even the stench of blood and viscera could not defile her.
If there was someone who could cast a shadow on her existence—it would only be the existence of the childhood friend who was no longer here.
“Certainly, I think not consulting him is questionable. But we probably would have made the same decision as Kurenai.”
“…Yukko. It’s not like I’m… worrying.”
Kurenai turned her back to Yukiko and started walking towards the exit of the room.
They were in the Boss Room of an A-Rank Dungeon.
And lying defeated was—the thirtieth King Ogre of the day.
“Keiichiro-kun shouldn’t be angry either. If you apologize the next time you see him, you’ll be able to talk normally again right away.”
“I don’t want Keiichiro’s forgiveness.”
“…This is serious.”
Kikuri, who had been listening, let out a sigh.
It seemed Kurenai couldn’t shake the belief that ‘Keiichiro must resent her’.
“I ended Keiichiro’s life as an Adventurer. That’s why, from the beginning, I never intended to ask for forgiveness.”
“No. That’s why… hmm.”
Yukiko groaned.
Kurenai’s conviction was stubborn.
It was true that an Adventurer who had been expelled would find it difficult to join other parties.
Especially since his class was the unpopular [Trapper].
Effectively, his path to living as an Adventurer had been cut off.
Considering that, perhaps it couldn’t be helped that she thought he resented her.
“Theory: If you’d just proposed to him at the same time, there wouldn’t have been a problem.”
“…!?”
Kurenai’s feet stopped.
Instantly, as if frozen.
“Instead of saying vague things like ‘lacking strength,’ if you’d pulled the troublesome girl move like ‘If Keiichiro dies, I’ll die too~’, there’s a chance you could have surprisingly reached the goal line.”
“Something like that—”
“However, the reality seems to be that you were ‘a super annoying woman who hides her affection but wants him to notice’.”
“Ugh…”
A sound escaped Kurenai’s lips.
It seemed Yukiko’s words had hit home.
—【Holy Sword】 had a secret.
A secret that even Kageura Keiichiro didn’t know.
“…How did it come to this? It feels so empty.”
“Ahaha…”
Kikuri let out a wry smile.
The secret of 【Holy Sword】.
It lay in the reason for its formation.
Keiichiro once described 【Holy Sword】 as just a group of good friends, but that was wrong.
【Holy Sword】 was formed by three girls for the sole purpose of monopolizing Keiichiro.
They wanted to be with Kageura Keiichiro.
Even if it wasn’t possible for oneself, they could bear it if it was one of their two best friends.
But they absolutely didn’t want to hand him over to any other woman.
Having agreed on this intention, they tried to bind Keiichiro with the promise that ‘We’ll form a party when we grow up’.
“【Holy Sword】 without Keiichiro-kun is, to put it mildly, putting the cart before the horse.”
When they defeated strong Monsters, Keiichiro praised them.
When they cleared a Dungeon, they had a celebration party with Keiichiro.
In the confined space of a Dungeon, they ate and slept together with Keiichiro.
They went on dates disguised as leveling sessions, just the two of them, with Keiichiro who worried about his lack of strength.
While doing so, before they knew it, everyone in 【Holy Sword】 except Keiichiro had become S-Rank.
They came to be called the 【Hero Party】 and were expected to challenge high-difficulty Dungeons.
As a result, 【Holy Sword】 deviated from its original purpose.
Even though 【Holy Sword】’s original purpose was supposedly to flirt with Keiichiro in some random Dungeon.
“Speaking of which, Kurenai.”
“What is it, Yukko?”
Yukiko jumped next to Kurenai.
“Is it true there’s talk of the First Origin Gate Conquest Campaign?”
Yukiko was the most knowledgeable member of 【Holy Sword】 when it came to information.
There was information that had been caught in her information network.
—The First Origin Gate Conquest Campaign.
Humanity’s ultimate goal, unrealized for half a century.
Rumors that Japan had finally begun preparations to carry it out.
And—that they were approaching influential parties.
“—Yes. It was communicated exclusively to several party leaders the other day.”
“When?”
“This December.”
Hearing the information relayed by Kurenai, Yukiko whistled expressionlessly.
“Is that what’s happening…?”
Kikuri said, sounding surprised.
They knew it would come someday.
Even so, now that the time was clear, they couldn’t remain calm.
Though expressionless, Yukiko also felt her heart stir.
“Yes. They plan to conduct selection trials in the fall, and if it’s determined that they are sufficient to conquer the Origin Gate—it will apparently be announced publicly.”
“So, because there was still a possibility it might be postponed, you couldn’t tell us either, right?”
Kikuri said.
If the standards weren’t met, the plan would secretly be treated as ‘never having happened’.
Not even leaving behind the fact that the Origin Gate conquest had been abandoned.
That’s why the information was only circulated among the party leaders.
“Hmm.”
Yukiko pondered.
Conquering the Origin Gate would undoubtedly be a major state-led project.
And most likely, 【Holy Sword】 would be at its center.
“Kurenai.”
“?”
“Once we conquer the Origin Gate, let’s quit being Adventurers.”
““!?””
Kurenai and Kikuri gasped at Yukiko’s suggestion.
“Then I want to move to a country where we can—marry Keiichiro-kun together.”
““That’s—””
Kurenai and Kikuri looked bewildered.
However—they didn’t seem entirely opposed to the idea.
Finally, all the members of 【Holy Sword】 have made their appearance.
Forming a party to fence in the boy they like so other women can’t take him.
These three seem to have a subtle aptitude for being yandere.