Chapter 39.2

Gahahaha! Shikama and Lars laughed disgusting. They were no longer on their guard.

However, it was not the same with Haria. He just smiled, but he remained attentive.

There was no opening.

“What a terrible thing to use Masatsugu’s name for….!!”

In spite of having a greatsword pointed at her, Oiso was enraged.

And it wasn’t because he had plotted so that her store wouldn’t get any materials.

It was because he had misused the name value of someone as famous as Masatsugu.

As the top ranker, Masatsugu wasn’t just an Adventurer. He was someone who carried all the hopes of the country.

This act was the equivalent of smearing mud on his face. And Oiso could not forgive that.

It was Kawasaki that was currently sponsoring Masatsugu, but he had many fans in Ichibishi as well.

Many people believed that he was the one who would erase all of the dungeons from Japan.

The very thought of using his name to put pressure on other Adventurers!!

“I like your spirit. However, you’re still the wimp who had their ass kicked by some wounded Silver Wolves and their Owner. So shut up.”

“…!”

“I was actually hoping the request to gather materials would go to Air. There aren’t many people who can hunt on the 8th floor, and so I told everyone to avoid accepting quests at your store. If you ran out of materials, then Air would eventually be asked to go. After all, Air is always around that Yuzuki person.”

That was true. Oiso nodded inwardly.

Yuzuki was younger than Oiso and had a shorter history with the company.

However, she had the highest performance in the company by far.

She was a good employee who quickly learned about being an Adventurer.

And while her attitude was both overbearing and careless, she was very detail-oriented when it came to her work.

Of course, Yuzuki would know that Oiso wanted Silver Wolf materials.

And so she had repeatedly made attempts to send materials she got in K-town to her.

However, Oiso’s pride had prevented her from accepting this kindness. And she continued to reject the offer.

Surely she could manage it herself! That was what she had thought…

Of course, Oiso was deeply remorseful for her actions now.

Had she not cared about her pride so much, she would not have gotten lost out here.

Not only that, but their awful plan might have been stopped, had she accepted the products.

Now that she knew, she was filled with so much anger that her body could not stop shaking.

“…You. Do you think that you can get away with doing such a thing?”

“Get away with it? We haven’t done anything wrong, have we?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! When the others find out that you’ve been purposely wounding monsters so they will attack other Adventurers, you’ll face worse than just having your license revoked!”

“Huh? What makes you think you’ll ever get to leave this dungeon?”

“…!”

He was crazy!

Oiso was overwhelmed by the madness and savagery of the man.

“Hey, Shikama. Why don’t we have some fun, first?”

“Lars, do you ever think of anything else? Well, whatever. Ah! Oiso is pretty old, though. Do you really not mind?”

“…I prefer it.”

“Then Haria will get the old one. As for me, I’ll take the 18-year-old Karen! You’re a virgin, aren’t you? Aren’t you? I’ll show you what a real man is like. You won’t be able to live without my greatsword after this!”

“I think you mean dagger, you idiot!”

“Shut up, you sheathed knife!”

Hehe. Hehe.

The guys cackled with their disgusting words.

It was gross.

It was horrible.

The urge to vomit was now stronger than her anger.

Adventurers were supposed to protect the land, the people, and the future. Could they really be so despicable…

She still couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

She wanted to think it was all a bad joke.

However, it wasn’t a misunderstanding or a joke.

Their eyes were serious.

Adventurers gained power by defeating monsters.

That power was like speech or politics or money.

The power to force–it was authority.

People got twisted when great authority was acquired too easily.

Just like a veteran helped instruct newer employees at work. It was the job of Adventurers to help reform Adventurers who had gone astray.

Like Masatsugu.

Most Adventurers had painful experiences and followed the examples of other Adventurers and slowly learned to control their magic.

However, there were some rare Adventurers like Shikama and the others, who got drunk on their power.

This was Oiso’s first time seeing an Adventurer like this.

Their madness caused her to shake.

Clack-clack. Clack-clack.

“…?”

That wasn’t coming from her. Oiso heard the odd sounds and furrowed her brows.

“Well, let’s kill the real dagger boy for now…agh!”

“Wha-!?”

Karen had fainted after being hit by the greatsword, but she was now awake.

The man with the greatsword noticed the change, and then kicked her in the jaw as if it was the most natural thing.

The impact caused her eyes to roll up into her head.

No!

Oiso was at a loss for words.

But she quickly returned to herself.

There was one thing she could do in this situation!

She wouldn’t let things go their way!!

“Haruki. Run away and call the special police…huh?”

She turned around and shouted. However, Haruki was nowhere to be seen.

He had been the closest to the room with the gate.

Perhaps he had escaped already?

To think that he’d abandon his team members and escape!

Were all Adventurers like this!!

For a second, Oiso’s head was full of anger.

However, he wasn’t entirely wrong either.

Maybe he had gone to call the special police.

If word of this got outside, surely someone would come and help them.

Many of the good Adventurers would come and stop this foolishness.

She just had to believe and wait.

“Uh, hey. Air is gone!?”

“When did he get away?”

While Oiso pondered it calmly, the shield team immediately grew frantic.

It was no wonder.

After all, Haruki seemed to have vanished in the blink of an eye.

If he really had gone to the surface for help…

The special police, who had been trained in the dungeon, would come and arrest them.

“Damn it! It’s always like this! Let’s go feed these women to the monsters!”

“Hey, what about the sex? I don’t think my greatsword can handle it any longer!”

“Shut up! We need to get rid of the evidence before the police arrive! We’ll just say that he’s lying.”

“…Okay. Fine. I’ll just have to swing my greatsword in Susukino.”

Lars picked up his greatsword.

He would take no chances.

They mostly moved on the 8th and 9th floors.

They were a team that most people thought would be reaching the central layers soon.

The level of experience was completely different from Haruki, Karen, and Oiso.

He wouldn’t hesitate to take a life. That’s what amateurs did.

As long as he got a critical hit, even Owners would get cut in half by his sword.

And it was this blade that moved towards Oiso.

“Goodbye, fleshlight.”

The greatsword swung down.

Just then…

“…What!?”

“…Huh!?”

The ground suddenly shook violently.

Lars’s grip on his sword weakened a little.

And then…

—nnnng!!

There was a high-pitched ring as the sword was blocked by something invisible.

“Tsk! Oiso. Take Karen and run!!”

“…Who!?”

“Hurry up and run!”

She could hear the voice but she couldn’t see the person.

However, Oiso knew who it was.

It must be Haruki.

He was going to save them!

She moved immediately, pulling Karen’s arm over her shoulder and then ran towards the gate.

“I won’t let you!!”

Frantically, Shikama moved to swing his longsword at their backs.

However…

“Don’t move, or you’ll die.”

Something cold and deadly touched his throat, and Shikama stopped.

Still, he stayed calm.

“Haria. Kill him!!”

Shikama shouted, and Haria unleashed the arrow.

However, something shot out from the side and obliterated it.

“Wh-what…?”

Their teamwork had been obstructed.

As they watched in shock, Oiso and Karen disappeared through the gate.