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Chapter 449
Day 102 – Evening, White Weirdo InnA scolding. I wonder how many scolding we’ve given since coming to this world and how many more we’ll have to repeat from now on? It’s probably close to infinite, since it’s probably all useless anyway… Because he has no remorse at all!
(Bounce-Bounce, Jiggle-Jiggle-Jiggle, Bounce-Bounce-Bounce!)
Slime-san is angry. Haruka-kun said he was going to train in a small dungeon, but it turns out he went into a deep dungeon, fought the Dungeon Master on the 96th floor, and nearly died again. Yeah, no matter how much we scold him, he doesn’t listen!
「No, you’ve got it wrong, okay? I just happened to end up in a deep dungeon by mistake, and there was the spiders’ food there, so I rolled them back to the town and handed them over to the guild. Then I made another mistake and went in again, but mistakes happen to anyone, right? And if you start blaming an innocent mistake, isn’t that just cruel? To the Mistake-san. Right, if you go playing 『spot the mistake』 , and get mad about the mistake, then Mistake-san will feel so bad it might go off on a journey of self-discovery? But that’s a a mistaken path in itself? So instead of getting mad at Mistake-san, you should get mad at Macho Guy? Don’t you get this urge for violence when seeing a Middle-Aged Man flexing his pecs? Just feel like punching him, you know? So yeah, if you’re gonna be angry, be angry at Macho Guy instead of the mistake. There’s even this old saying: 『Hate the Macho Guy, not the mistake, and hate even more the Idiots who are flirting with the macho ladies』 So jealous! And that’s not entirely wrong, you know? So, I’m not guilty, it’s the mistake that’s guilty, and because of Macho Guy I’m jealous, so it’s the Idiots’ fault. Innocent, right?」
「「「「GUILTY, obviously! Why do you keep going out there to make the same mistake over and over again?! Why do you keep fighting until Slime-san gets this angry?! And also, Macho Guy hasn’t done anything wrong at all!」」」」
Haruka-kun’s clothes don’t tear. His body heals even from major injuries with recovery mushrooms, and injuries 『Regenerate』 the moment they’re made. That’s why, in the past, we were fooled into thinking it was fine, but just because he heals doesn’t mean he’s okay at all! There’s no such thing as a human being who’s fine just because they can be fixed no matter how many times they break. And yet, no matter how much he breaks, he stands up and keeps fighting. Until the opponent is completely broken, he keeps fighting, breaking the whole time. That’s not what you call fine!!
「…I’ll cast healing~. But you know~ I’m not forgiving you.」 「M-me too! I can use Heal… but… this is just…」
He’s sitting there spaced out with an expression like nothing’s wrong. Normally he’d be making a fuss, complaining about being tired from being so busy, about being in pain. But when he doesn’t complain and says everything is fine, that’s when he’s not fine at all… He’s been fighting on the deepest floors, breaking over and over, being broken over and over, shredding his body and still fighting, getting it mangled and still fighting on. Until theDungeon Master broke down first.
「Hey! What the hell did you do!! It’s not working at all! Just how messed up are you?!」 「Why… why is healing barely working? Could this be…?」
It’s worse than before, that’s why Slime-san is this angry. He’s taken damage fighting the Dungeon Master of floor 96… not his own skills, but from receiving attacks and having his body broken. Even though he always said that even a graze from something like that would kill him.
This time, he fought without being able to evade, in a body that couldn’t dodge, while getting it destroyed. He’s probably been self-destructing as well, but just because his HP didn’t hit zero doesn’t mean anything. Each time he was broken or broke himself, he regenerated, all while continuing to fight to the death.
「Was it, the dark-ness? These wounds, they are… tainted… Is this, why, you went alone…」
「Errr, well… it was kind of like darkness, or maybe just dark, or like… darkish? So yeah, try to keep some distance, okay? C’mon, I will be as good as new soon enough. It just looked like such a perfect chance for practice, so I couldn’t help it? Well, I did take it down properly, so?」
It wasn’t that he hunted it one-sidedly, nor that he couldn’t endure own strength and broke down. He had weakened to the point where he had to seriously fight a Dungeon Master with his life on the line. Having lost the skills and body control that had been his lifeline, Haruka-kun is now fragile and easy to break, only hard to kill. And because he wouldn’t die no matter how many times he’s broken, he just kept getting broken and breaking himself, and it just so happened that the Dungeon Master couldn’t endure it anymore, and perished first.
「Was Darkness Dungeon Master, Strong? Strong enough to make you end up like this… Level 100?」
「Well, more than strong it was annoying? Like, you’d think this 『Skull Lord, Lv 100』 is an orthodox swordsman type, but then he goes and shoots blow darts at you, so yeah, super annoying! I mean, as long as I could land a hit it’s no biggie, but he was skilled, fast, had technique, and was smart! Yeah, I wanted to trade him for the Idiots, but maybe Skull Lord-san’s pride didn’t allow a trade with the Idiots, so instead of answering me he just kept shooting blow darts, so I beat him up. Anyway, I did manage to erase the darkness, you know? He’s properly dead now. He was strong.」
He yawns lazily as if nothing happened. But, everyone’s 『Presence Detection』 is already at MaX, so we can feel it. We can feel how Haruka-kun’s presence is, his magic surging chaotically as his body frantically tries to regenerate.
We’ve been fooled this whole time, always deceived, but now we can see just how horrible the situation was, how gruesomely he’s been hurt and broken. That’s why everyone’s angry. That’s why everyone’s crying. Because no matter how much pain or suffering he’s in, Haruka-kun doesn’t cry, so everyone is crying for him!
「「「「If you had something that amazing, you should’ve called us! Let us in! Leave some for us! Sure, if it made Haruka end up like that, we probably wouldn’t win, but trying would’ve been fun.」」」」
「Oh, I get it! The Idiots wouldn’t have to worry about being swallowed by the darkness, because they’re the Idiots!! That’s it! Even if the darkness possessed them, they wouldn’t notice, and even if it tried to control their brains, it’s all muscle in there? Yeah, even if they were controlled, they’d just move on spinal reflex, so no problem. Actually, the darkness might not want anything to do with them! It might even straight up run, too scared of catching their idiocy!」
The guys trade lighthearted jabs like nothing’s wrong. They know, but they won’t say it, and they won’t let anyone else say it either. They just keep messing with each other like usual, stubbornly refusing to allow any pain or hardship to show on their faces. They keep messing around, but they do understand each other. And that’s just a little enviable, and at the same time, somehow, also painfully bittersweet. Because it’s a face guys will never show to girls.
The only reason he survived something this impossible was probably that Hydra from before. That’s a serpent that governs 『Regeneration』 and its skill kept forcing him to heal, so he didn’t die. And so, he kept being subjected to pain and suffering worse than death, being broken and broken again, regenerating endlessly, until he was completely in shambles.
And then, Haruka-kun went off to the bath while petting Slime-san. He’ll probably give it some sweets later, clearly scheming to get back onto its good side!
「Aren’t you going to get mad about that?」 「But if we don’t let him rest…」 「Even if we did get mad, he wouldn’t listen, right?」 「Still… you leveled up, didn’t you?」 「Yeah, Angelica-san and the others suddenly jumped to Level 50.」 「And for that, he pushed himself until he ended up like that…」 「「「「「(*Munch munch munch munch*) This is so good!」」」」「 「「「「Just eat quietly!」」」「 「「「「「O-okay…」」」」「 「Seriously, why don’t you boys stop him!?」 「It’s pointless, he won’t listen.」 「Yeah, besides, if it’s Haruka, he’ll be fine.」 「Right, you girls just worry too much.」 「But is that really a state a normal person can endure?」 「Has Haruka ever once said he couldn’t endure it?」 「But… why does he take it all on alone…」 「「「「Huh? Because we’re weak, obviously?」」」「 「I know that! But still, still, why!」 「Telling him is useless. His mind is made. So I will simply follow, always.」 「He, probably, does not, care about, himself. He does, not even, think about it. So even if told, he would not, understand.」 「But apparently he rescued some adventurers too?」 「「「「All four of them were women…」」」「 「He also said it wasn’t that he forgot their names, he just never asked, so he’s innocent?」 「I bet the people he saved are troubled by that.」 「And on top of that, he called them 『Spider Food Girls』…」 「「「「That’s just awful!」」」「
Now Haruka-kun is at the point where he has to risk his life just to raise a single level. I’m sure the limit is close. That moment is surely coming soon.
If it were only that he couldn’t get stronger, that would be fine. Maybe he’ll end up with a body that can’t fight anymore, but even that would be fine. Whether it’s losing control or self-destructing, the difference doesn’t matter, Haruka-kun’s body has long since passed its limits. Before Haruka-kun breaks, before something that can’t be fixed happens, we have to catch up to him… that’s why it’s so frustrating.
Everyone went through getting woken up in the middle of the night by nightmares of Haruka-kun, bloodied, unable to move, growing cold; dreams of Haruka-kun shattering like glasswork into tiny fragments; visions of Haruka-kun being skewered and torn apart as he protects us. We wake up trembling, with tears in our eyes, shaking our heads, telling ourselves it’s just a dream, just a nightmare.
But because right now feels like we’re inside a dream, I’m starting to lose track of reality… because it would have been natural for him to die, drenched in blood; it wouldn’t have been strange if he had shattered and vanished; he’s done things over and over where not dying is the strange part. And yet the fact that he still comes back alive, that’s the part that feels far more like a dream. Every day feels like being inside a happy dream.
「If we just get stronger, it’ll be fine. We have to get stronger! If we can’t become strong enough to stand alongside Haruka-kun, then we don’t even have the right to worry about him. If we want him to listen to us, we have to be able to beat him or it means nothing! After all, we still can’t beat the Dungeon Master on the 96th floor. So… everyone, hurry up and finish eating, then train, and even if it’s just a little, we’ll get stronger. But since this is the chicken and mushroom rice Haruka-kun made while all beat up like that, you can’t leave any. Eat it all, or it’s a disgrace for us girls!」
「「「「「「Yeah!」」」」」
Normally, Kakizaki-kun and the others don’t join the training, but they seem to be keen to get trashed by Angelica-san and others today. Everyone had been venting their frustration over their own weakness, but… the ones truly seething with rage at themselves, burning with a fury that could consume them, were Kakizaki-kun and his group. The playful expressions they’d had while goofing around with Haruka-kun just moments ago had vanished, leaving only a cold anger in their eyes. Angelica-san immediately called out five names. And we’d work with Nephertiri-san. Yeah, it’s Hell either way, so there’s no difference.
Strikes, slashes, sweeping blows, charges, faster, stronger, endlessly striking together until we’re beaten down, eyes spinning, and thrown into one big pile. Kakizaki-kun’s group fought hard with only five people, but they were turned into one pile even before us. They’d managed to get to level 110 just today. They are strong, as expected. But we can’t lose. At least in this frustration, we absolutely must not lose!
「Hey, all you X_X-eyed people, hurry up and wash off your sweat and get changed, it’s about time to head to the Lord’s Mansion! I’ve got a food request, so if you’re late, I’ll leave without you? Well, maybe it’s fine if the Idiots stay as they are. I mean, if you start showing off all 『lovey~❤』it’ll just piss me off? Maybe I should just serve up a grilled Idiots set meal! I feel like you are about to start flirting and going『super lovey-dovey~❤』any moment now. So maybe I should just grill you before it’s too late? Save myself the trouble later, you know?」
「「「「「Don’t grill us! We wouldn’t say that! We’ve never said that! Just who are you taking us for?!」」」」
It’s already the time to welcome the First Division. We’d even wrapped up early today and went back for that, but cooling our heads ended up taking extra time! And the main culprit is there with a refreshed, post-bath face, calmly, serenely, as if nothing had happened, utterly unconcerned and lazily at ease.
「「「「Hurry up, quickly bathe and get changed!」」」 「Kyaa, do we need party dresses?」 「No, we don’t, evening wear is fine, so hurry up!」 「Assault on maidenly preparations!」 「「「Jaa!」」」
The girls are busy with maidenly preparations, but Kakizaki-kun and the others, while acting casual, are still fidgeting, so they’re getting hit with fireball attacks from Haruka-kun. Yep, the thick bedrock floor of the training grounds is melting. That looks like flames that could incinerate bones with just a graze. Seems like a full-powered, jealousy-driven attack from Haruka-kun. If we don’t leave soon, the inn will be at risk of burning down. Let’s hurry!