“Wah! Mommy!”
In the city’s pleasure quarter, a little far from the dungeon, a girl that seemed to be kindergarten age strayed from her parents, and cried.
The adults who passed by her pretended they did not see her.
It was not as though none wanted to help, but the way the world was in those times made them hesitate to reach out and help.
And then, a man in a black suit passed. And he had a black shirt and tie to match.
The man with this suspicious appearance stopped in front of the girl, crouched, and looked her in the eyes.
“What an adorable little lady. Why are you crying like that?”
The girl was surprised by the man suddenly appearing in front of her, and stopped crying. But once she realized he was a stranger, she cried again.
The man looked troubled, but caught on to what was happening when the girl yelled for her mother.
He got up, cleared his throat a little, and spoke.
“Does anyone know this girl’s mother?”
His voice was not that loud, but traveled well and reached everyone.
And then he took action.
‘Does anyone know who this girl’s mother is?’
‘She came out of that store.’
‘Over there then?’
‘…’
Not long after, a woman ran out towards the girl. She was surely her mother, and looked very concerned.
It was all right now, thought the man. He pat the crying girl on the head, told the girl her mother was coming, and disappeared without a sound.
◇ ◇ ◇
The man in the black suit entered a two hundred fifty meters tall tower that was a sightseeing spot of this town, and took an elevator underground.
Once he arrived, he used a card and his face to confirm his identity, and the elevator door opened.
He then saw a receptionist, someone he knew, and greeted her with a friendly tone.
“Good work here. That uniform sure does suit you, you look lovely.”
“Thank you Mister Kuroitsu. Here is your next assignment. This requires a quick response.”
“Understood.”
“The chief is waiting in his office.”
“I will go there right away.”
After responding to the lady in the receptionist uniform, Fukuro Kuroitsu walked to the office.
“Excuse me. I’m sorry if I kept you waiting.”
Once there, he apologized to his superior, the chief of the Special Division of the Seeker Surveillance Agency.
He looked to be past middle age, but there was the air of a fighter around him that defied his age.
“You’re right on time. I got here early, so there is no problem.”
“I appreciate the consideration.”
“Stop it, your gratitude leaves me scared. Now let’s get into it. I assume you went over the documents, but the search for queen big ant essence honey has been canceled. Without any clues, it would be a waste of time and money. The effects also only last so long… Sorry for sending you underground people after this one.”
“I only regret not being successful…”
“…So you can go back to your regular job.”
“Yes.”
After a short response, Kuroitsu left the office.
There was no sound of footsteps, his presence simply became distant.”
“…You monster.”
This whisper reached no ears, and disappeared in the void.
◇ ◇ ◇
Kuroitsu was given a room that was the furthest one back in the underground facilities. But this did not mean it was damp or had a bad environment. He was given this room because of his duties.
“Kuroitsu is here~.”
“Hello Yuuka. I’m sorry to keep you waiting. Hello Souji.”
“…Yes.”
Waiting for him in this room were his subordinates, Yuuka Ayatsuri, and Souji Donen.
There were two others, but they were out on another assignment.
“Hum, is it true the mission is over?”
“Oh, news travels fast. Yes, the search for honey is over.”
“Ahh, I’m finally free. Those people worked us so hard.”
“Good job. Do you want a shoulder massage?”
“I’ll report you for sexual harassment.”
“Oh, scary. That could kill me socially. But rest easy, there is no danger, because you are not my type.”
“Can you not reject me so casually? I have no interest in you either, but it still hurts.”
“Whoops, I’m sorry. I said too much.”
They spoke casually as they fired up the coffee maker. They set the paper filter on the drip head, inserted the coffee powder, added water to the tank, and turned it on.
After checking that the server was full, they poured it into cups. And after everyone had their coffee, they accompanied it with documents.
Just as they relaxed after a job was over, a new one was brought to them.
“…Kuroitsu… What is this?”
“Our next job. Ah, Souji, you want milk and sugar, right?”
“…No, I take it black… Ah, bitter.”
Kuroitsu placed milk and three sugar cubes in front of Souji, who put it all in his coffee. The bitterness was gone, making it as sweet as cafe-au-lait.
Yuuka’s hands trembled fiercely as she took the documents.
“Kuroitsu! We have been working for three weeks without break! No breaks! I’ll die from overwork! Where did our days off go!? Rest rest rest~.”
Yuuka sounded angry at first, but she seemingly got tired and cried over her missing days off.
Rest was important. Rest was what made one work hard afterwards. Having that taken away was a good way to collapse the spirit.
“Ah, I apologize, I gave you the wrong idea. You do have days off, so you don’t have to run either, Souji.”
Said Kuroitsu to Souji, who was already in front of the door with his things.
Yes, there was a break. It was all compliant.
“Three days starting tomorrow. Then we work, but Yuuka will be doing something else. Souji and I will check the suspects.”
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Why am I being singled out?”
“This would usually go to Eimi, but she is busy, so it falls on you.”
“Eimi? Is it investigative work?”
“Yes, I believe it is all in the documents, but this order does not come from above. I made that decision because I believe we should know him.”
“Then wouldn’t it be faster if you did it?”
“No, apparently he doesn’t like me.”
Kuroitsu dejectedly lowered his shoulders.
“!? Why!? Didn’t you use Concealment?”
Both Souji and Yuuka were surprised.
Both knew his methods of approaching people, so they were surprised to hear he was greeted with displeasure.
“No no, I did the same as always. I believe I was rejected on a visceral level.”
“Visceral… And you’re sending me to use a lady’s arsenal…”
“No. You don’t have to force yourself to make contact, you can observe from a distance. But tell me your impressions of him. I want to know why he rejected my power.”
Said Kuroitsu, and Yuuka reached towards the documents to check them.
There was a portrait photo of a round man picking his nose and scratching his stomach. By no stretch of the imagination could it be said that he left a good impression.
She saw his name, age, and residence, but the all too important stats were blank.
“Isn’t he a seeker? Or is he a civilian?”
“A seeker, but he is not registered, so we don’t know his abilities.”
“A stray seeker is rare nowadays.”
It was not as though there were no unregistered seekers exploring the dungeon, but the merits outweighed the risks. Even if people did not register at first, most would after a few days.
“Ahh, I get it. This is a chuunibyou that’s too into himself.”
“No Souji, that’s you.”
“…Well, there you have it. Ah, yes, he is quite strong, so watch out.”
“Eh!? Does he have cheats like you!?”
“…Not cheats, but he is strong.”
With this done, Kuroitsu grabbed his bag and headed to the door.
“What is it, Kuroitsu?”
“Work.”
Was the last thing he said before leaving.
◇ ◇ ◇
As he walked down the hall, wary eyes were pointed his way.
Those eyes did not belong to small animals or enemies like monsters, but to colleagues of the Special Division of the Seeker Surveillance Agency.
As he walked down the hall, every time he passed by someone, they would hurl abuse, with some letting hatred take over and coming at him.
Most people would not withstand exposure to these emotions too long, but Kuroitsu kept going, seemingly used to it.
The Special Division of the Seeker Surveillance Agency observed seekers so they did not cause trouble, and punished the ones that did.
This agency used to work with the police, but after an incident three years before that led to deaths on both sides, it was split into its own agency.
There were once talks of ending it, but the increase in seeker crimes that would come with that made it worth maintaining.
Naturally, this Special Division of the Seeker Surveillance Agency was made up of seekers. Normal citizens would need firearms to battle seekers, and once seekers went far enough, even that would not work.
And so, fight fire with fire. Seekers were needed to combat seekers.
Also, only those who had passed the fortieth floor could be hired. That was how strong they had to be to subdue lawless seekers.
So who scouted the ones who passed the fortieth floor? Employees of the seeker association.
The association was reluctant to let people strong enough to clear the fortieth floor go, but they wanted to avoid public safety worsening and the reputation of seekers being dragged down.
Also, it was not as though they stopped exploring the dungeon. They continued while performing their duties of maintaining public order.
So why did they dislike Kuroitsu? Because it was his team’s job to watch over other members.
Not all were good people, and some might have a change of heart and let themselves indulge in bad deeds. Kuroitsu and the others were there to stop that from happening.
He squinted at people around him as he walked.
Were there any abnormalities? He could tell their karma values on the spot.
He saw nothing unusual, so he headed towards the elevator that would take him to the surface, and passed by two men.
Both had clearly displeased expressions when they saw him.
“…Might be worth watching out for.”
He said quietly enough for only him to hear, and he left the tower after saying goodbye to the receptionist.
◇ ◇ ◇
He quickly found his target. He left the dungeon at the same time listed in the documents, and he went to the supermarket to buy food.
The target was a man who reached the twenty-third floor. But that was two weeks ago. He had been making money hunting orcs on the twenty-first.
According to the documents, the man and his partners were attacked by a vicious monster on the twenty-third floor, killing everyone except him.
He thought about quitting the seeker life, but decided to continue to avenge his partners.
Kuroitsu tailed him while keeping his distance, so he would not be spotted.
The man’s steps were light, and a smile formed on his face occasionally.
Once he reached a red light, he stopped. Kuroitsu turned a corner in a way that seemed natural, and hid.
“My back hurts.”
There he found an old woman who could not move due to back pain.
Kuroitsu was working. He had his target in his sights, and had to make a decision.
Orders from above where that this job was to be carried out with haste. Delays were not allowed.
“…Get on my back, ma’am. I will take you home.”
He chose to carry the old lady home, while not forgetting the many bags she was carrying. There was quite a bit of weight, but it felt light to a seeker.
Thankfully, the target was heading in the direction of her home, so it turned into a nice camouflage.
He would have taken her home regardless, but he now saw there was plenty of room to recover.
After delivering the old lady home, he politely said no to when she tried to keep him there, and he went to his target.
He decided there was no need to tail him anymore. This was the perfect time to make contact.
They were near the church, and it being nighttime meant few people were around.
“Excuse me, are you ×××××?”
“Ah? Who are you? Ah, I feel like I met you somewhere…”
The man reacted with suspicion, but then tilted his neck as he tried to remember Kuroitsu. But they had never met before, so he could not remember.
This was an effect of the Concealment skill, twisting someone’s perception.
Suddenly, a bell rang.
It echoed not too loudly. In fact, it was pleasant.
And then he used another skill.
“I want to ask you something, may I?”
The skill was Incantation. It was a curse skill that bound others and manipulated them.
“…Ah, what? Ask me anything.”
The man’s thoughts were taken over by the skill, and he responded to Kuroitsu.
“Did you kill the other members of your party?”
He was sure of it. The documents stated many things were unnatural about his story that they were killed by a monster.
He was supposedly attacked by a monster, but was unharmed, and took all the equipment from his partners. Even though the monster was vicious.
And more importantly, his karma value told the tale.
And sure enough…
“I did. They made fun of me, so they got what was coming to them.”
“…What did you think when you killed them?”
Kuroitsu infused his fist with magic energy.
“It was fun. I felt strength welling up after each kill.”
The man’s head was destroyed, and the body crumpled to the ground.
Kuroitsu had his arm still extended, and the blood dirtied his black suit.
“Ahh, I wish you would learn from Minoru. He was also a criminal, but I respect him for at least wishing for his friends’ happiness, even if it was in a twisted way. There is no point in even tormenting you.”
He took out a black handkerchief, and wiped blood off his face.
Kuroitsu was not one to remember the dead, but he thought back to the one he dealt with for a long time.
There was no regret or frustration, but he did think it was regrettable.
He was the best. His twisted spirit was beautiful.
It was exciting watching him rise up for his friends.
He stuck to that creed to the end, looking like a clown performing a trick.
It really was a shame he would never find another toy like him.
“Isn’t there someone else…”
The sound of the bell echoing eventually disappeared.
ーーー
Fukuro Kuroitsu (37)
Level: 48
Skills: Incantation, Concealment, Martial Arts, Shukuchi, See Through, Physical Strengthening ××
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