Hino started living with Momoyama’s family after he lost his.
I can’t help but feel like this got heavy right from the start, but I should focus.
Hino’s motivation to be a seeker was joining a certain organization, but he had to reach the fortieth floor…
No, that doesn’t matter. Why is your party breaking up?
Apparently he planned to confess to Yuumi Momoyama after they got through the twentieth floor, and he did so yesterday when they were celebrating.
And he was shot down.
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I was sure she liked him.
She acted like it… Right?
I don’t really remember, but I’m pretty sure.
When I ask with a trembling voice why that didn’t work out, he says Momoyama likes someone else.
I ask what kind of person that is, and he says it’s someone a little strange, but reliable and accepting, who saves others when they’re in danger.
I ask Hino if he knows this person, he says yes.
So he knows. When they were in the first year of high school, there was a second year student people said was her boyfriend. Apparently that’s him.
But it doesn’t end there.
Apparently the rest of his party saw the whole thing, and Yuka Kanba and Kanako Kokonoe came at Hino with angry looks.
Both stood in front of him, silently angry.
Don’t you care about how we feel? About us? Are we just toys? They said with strong tones.
Why did we work so hard? Who were we thinking about when we risked our lives? Don’t we look like idiots? They yelled while crying.
That was when Hino learned how they felt.
Hino realized that at the worst timing, and froze, not knowing how to respond.
Then a sharp pain ran through his cheek.
Both turned their backs on the still silent Hino and left.
He spent the night in the park in a daze, and then sat down in the shopping mall.
Well, he can’t go back to Momoyama’s place. He can’t face her.
I don’t have any advice. Part of me thinks that’s youth, but I don’t have any experience with this kind of romantic trouble, so I don’t know what to say.
So I ask the other two what they think.
“I don’t know, I’ve never been rejected.”
Says Toufu.
I’m gonna kill this guy.
I’ll deal with this useless guy later, and turn to Chisato for advice.
“Talk to them again and apologize. Not to earn their forgiveness or anything. Think about how you felt, express that properly, and apologize. I feel sorry for them.”
Her opinion has a different weight, and Hino looks like he realized something.
He thinks for a bit, and then stands up like he just made a decision.
“I’ll go apologize. And I don’t know if it will go well, but I’ll talk to them.”
He bows and says thank you.
I wasn’t helpful at all, but I tell him I don’t want them to break up.
They’re a nice party, so it’d be sad if they broke up because of romantic problems.
Maybe this is just how it is when a party breaks up, but it feels lonely. Like I want them to try a little harder. Especially when he has a goal.
I’ve said what I wanted, so the rest is up to Hino.
That’s done, but then I hear someone yelling for Hino from the exit
I turn over there, and see a girl that wasn’t mentioned before, Fuyo Mimori.
She’s out of breath like she ran here, and finishes the orange juice I was drinking.
“Hino, let’s all get together and talk! You haven’t said anything, right? We can’t just disband like this. We haven’t made enough money!!”
She says while grabbing him.
Her words are heavy and packed with her feelings.
That last part was unfortunate, but she’s definitely acting out of care for her party. Surely.
Hino nods, takes her hand, and they leave the food court.
Maybe he didn’t need our advice.
As I think that, we all look at each other and smile awkwardly.
◇ ◇ ◇
The twenty-first floor.
The issue of the disbanding of the harem party is all up to them, there’s nothing more we can do. I say we, but Toufu and I didn’t help one bit.
I guess guys really are bad at this sort of romantic discussion.
If Chisato wasn’t there, I might’ve said something terrible like give up on this one and focus on the next one.
Good thing Chisato was there.
Hurray for Chisato.
Toufu’s party is fighting orcs. They want to warm up before their exploration in three days.
Apparently they always do this, they go to the dungeon after a break to prepare not just their equipment, but their bodies too.
Takeshi Asano is a warrior who uses a tower shield and a greataxe.
He’s the party’s tank, but also strong enough to handle a greataxe with one hand.
He blocks an orc’s club with the shield, and slashes it with the greataxe in the other hand.
Naito Asano is a warrior who expertly uses a longsword to overpower enemies. Unlike his big brother Takeshi, he can’t use his weapon one-handed, but his skill with the sword is amazing.
He sees through an orc’s first moves, slashes what’s moving to stop it, and finishes it by stabbing it in the neck.
Hajime Shirabe uses twin swords. He approaches enemies quickly and attacks with rapid slashes, but these are shallow and not fatal.
Still, the damage slows down an orc, and when he gets behind it, he uses his subweapon, thread, to sever its head.
Ruri Nijou is a mage who commands fire and wind.
She uses wind blades to mince two orcs, and makes another’s head explode with a fire ball.
She says she can use two magic circles at once, and does it to take down monsters when necessary.
Kaname Toufu is a magic warrior who uses wind magic, but not like Ruri.
He uses it to envelop his body in wind, and he quickly closes in on an orc. The orc is then cut to pieces in an instant by multiple slashes.
I thought magic warriors sounded cool when I first heard he was one, but come to think of it, he’s kind of like me, so I don’t feel jealous.
Still, he’s strong. A cut or two above the others.
Chisato Shirabe is a gunslinger.
She uses a special weapon called a magic gun to fire bullets with various effects.
Hers is even more special, because it came from a treasure chest in the dungeon.
Bullets are loaded like a revolver, and she shoots an orc in the right arm and leg.
The orc staggers a little, but when it moves again, the bullets fall and the wounds close. Cheap bullets can only do that much against the strong self-healing powers of an orc.
But Chisato gets close in the meantime, and she infuses the magic gun with magic energy to create a blade, which she uses to slash the orc from the right flank to the left shoulder.
Blood falls on her cheek, but most of it is scorched by the blade’s heat.
She’s definitely not weak, but she lags behind the others.
A magic gun is a strong weapon if you have money, but conversely, if you don’t, you can’t take down monsters.
Monsters can go down to the magic energy blades, but Chisato’s moves are rough, and a work in progress.
She hasn’t had this weapon for long, but if she doesn’t get used to it soon, it might cost her her life eventually.
I think she knows it too, because she’s been receiving guidance from her brother.
As I watch Toufu’s party fight, Naito asks me if I’m going to fight too.
No, you’re taking them all down, so I don’t have anything to fight.
Ah? What’s this next to me?
This guy is just watching the fight too.
What does it look like? Just normal, right?
What are you on about?
“Isn’t that an orc?”
…It is.
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