Chapter 126.3

126 Part 3

Even those which were known as the strongest teams vanished like mist due they lost their foundation.

The resulting scraps was what remained from those teams.

The level of the adventurers in the center kept on rising, but in Hokkaido, the fact that many adventurers had migrated resulted in the low overall level that currently remained.

In Hokkaido, where there were no strong adventurers left, the ability as an adventurer would eventually reach a certain limit.

There were many capable people who thought that those who could go to the capital could become stronger adventurers. And in fact, several people with amazing potential have already left for the bigger cities.

At this rate, there would be no stopping the flow of promising adventurers leaving Hokkaido for greener pastures.

In order to break this flow, Kagemitsu wanted to take action before anyone else.

“But what are the others going to think of this idea…?”

What was the rest of Team Aerial going to think of Kagemitsu’s plan?

If he was careless about it, there was a chance that Team Aerial would break apart.

But talking about that with them was a matter for another day.

They had the unique species monster in the Mt. Hakodate Dungeon to worry about for now.

After covering the bill without a speck of conscience left, a teary-eyed Kagemitsu left the pub.

He regretted having told Air “Tonight’s on me!”

“… Huh? Come to think of it… Where is Air?”

Kagemitsu noticed that Air wasn’t there.

Up until that point, he hadn’t realized that he had left.

It was the same as when they had that victory banquet after defeating the Lizardman.

He just vanished into thin air as if he was a ghost.

And it wasn’t until a way later that Kagemitsu wouldn’t realize he was gone.

Even though he left before the banquet was over, no one said anything at all.

And since his presence was so weak, no one tried to stop him.

I’m so jealous!

Kagemitsu clenched his fist with all his strength, envious of Air’s presence.

At that moment…

“Oh, isn’t that Kagemitsu, the leader of Team Aerial?”

“Well well, fancy meeting you here, Mr. Kagemitsu…”

Suddenly two women appeared in front of Kagemitsu.

Their presence had slipped through Kagemitsu’s perception.

— Is that Enlightenment!?

Kagemitsu instantly corrected his posture, but he was still taken aback by the appearance of those two, who had taken him by surprise.

“Geeeh!!”

The ones that had appeared were members of Team Aerial, Becky and Doraneko.

An adventurer like Kagemitsu couldn’t have noticed the approach of those two not only because he was a bit drunk, but because of Doraneko’s Enlightenment ability, “Misdirection”.

It slightly twists its target’s perception.

Doraneko can use it to create a situation similar to when you’re trying to find something that you don’t realize it’s right in front of you. It’s darkest under the lamp post, or so goes the saying.

With a faint smile on their faces, they slowly approach Kagemitsu.

The closer they got, the more Kagemitsu stepped back.

Kagemitsu, who was said to be Hokkaido’s strongest adventurer, was being overpowered by those smiles.

“W-What are you girls doing here!?”

“Have you forgotten about my abilities? Ah, but you went out and forgot about us, so it’s natural that you would forget about that too, right?”

“That’s right. He’s such a cruel person, he completely forgot about us.”

They put a lot of emphasis on the word “forgot”.

The word sounded so sharp that Kagemitsu felt it pierced through his chest every time they said it.

Becky was able to find Kagemitsu using her Enlightenment ability, “Clairvoyance.”

It senses its target’s signs precisely and in a very wide range, enabling her to pinpoint Kagemitsu’s exact location.

No matter how well you hide or how far you run, she would find you.

Becky’s Clairvoyance was a poor match for Kagemitsu, who had a very strong presence.

“What have you been doing out here so late at night, Kagemitsu?”

Becky pushed her glasses up, and her sharp eyes shined with a cold glare.

“You don’t have time to be fooling around, do you?”

The sound of Doraneko’s cracking her knuckles echoed through the dark alleys of the nightlife district.

“N-No, there’s… There’s a good reason for this…”

“Mhmm?”

“…”

The two women gave a stern look to Kagemitsu, who was trying to make excuses.

Their smiles, like creepy masks, shined conspicuously against the cloudy moonlight. Even Kagemitsu couldn’t bring himself to continue what he was trying to say, and he just kept on opening and closing his mouth.

(I… I have to get out of here!)

With that thought, Kagemitsu turned around and started to run away as fast as he could, but…

“– Haaah!?”

He came to a full stop once he realized that Becky and Doraneko were in front of him again.

Kagemitsu was sure he had started to run in the opposite direction.

But before he realized, the two were right in front of him.

(Did they somehow catch up with me? …Ah, no!!)

“Yoshi, you traitooooor!!”

Kagemitsu called out to his teammate with bitter tears in his eyes, as if he had just been stabbed in the back by his most trusted friend.

The thing that made Kagemitsu think that they were right in front of him when he was trying to run away was Yoshi’s Enlightenment ability, “Trap”.

This ability was previously used in Kamuikotan to keep monsters corralled within a certain range.

Also, during the Monster Parade in Chikaho, he had used Trap to lead monsters towards Air so that they wouldn’t target Kagemitsu and the others.

Kagemitsu had fallen victim to that “guidance”.

He thought he had turned away, but all he did was a full 360 degree turn.

The distance between Kagemitsu and the other two was about 3 meters.

Even if he started to run now, he would surely be caught with ease.

Cold sweat dripped from the shivering Kagemitsu’s face.

The two women took another step towards him.

“”Guilty!!””

“Gyaaahh!!”

It was exactly midnight.

Kagemitsu’s death throes echoed through the base of Mt. Hakodate, and surely reached the Tsugaru strait, rushing over to the mainland.