CH 162

Episode 162: After-effects

"Apparently, everything's fine."

"Fuu ... It looks like it's settled. It's an amount that makes me think that all the monsters that have accumulated in the sea until now have come ashore."

"Really. I thought it was hell. Thanks to that, my level has risen to an incomprehensible level."

Myself, Rei, and Amane mutter while watching Nanami and Shia playing in the sea. It's been more than ten minutes since I split the sea with Qigong, but for the time being, I can't see any monsters invading again.

In fact, there must have been tens of thousands of monsters.

No matter how many tens or hundreds of them I can blow away in one attack, it's not enough when they come with that amount. It was a tough battle.

But thanks to that, I was able to wake up to Qigong. Qigong has a lot of potential, and seeing how everyone is surprised, it might be that even among high-ranked explorers, there aren't many explorers who have Qigong proficiency category displayed.

It may be a category of hidden proficiency. I'm lucky to have such proficiency displayed.

"Onii-chan!!"

At the beach, which has completely returned to its original state, Nanami waves at me with a brilliant smile as she splashes the water with her feet. Next to her, Shia is also quietly splashing water.

It's only June, and the temperature is rising, but the water temperature is still cold. She's so energetic.

I wave back at Nanami.

"What should we do now?"

"Let's go see how things are in the city, and if everything seems fine, let's go back to 'Spa Emotional'."

"Okay."

After watching Nanami and the others play for a while, we head towards the city.

"Wow ..."

"This is terrible ..."

"Damn. If only I had noticed sooner ..."

When we enter the city, there is a scene that is far from peaceful. Walls that have become a mess in aplces, cars that have been bumped into and stopped, and smoke that rises from them. The entrance of the collapsed buildings and the scattered wreckage.

I had Luck help with the cleanup of the monsters, but if I had noticed earlier and had Nanami build a wall before the monsters entered the town, they wouldn't have caused so much damage.

That kind of feeling boils in my heart.

"Don't blame yourself. Rather, it's definitely because we stopped them there. If we weren't here, it wouldn't be strange for this area to have been devastated. Besides, we're just ordinary explorers, and we're not members of the Emergency Response Department either. It's not good to feel too responsible."

"Th, that's right. Thank you, Rei. I feel a little better."

Rei spoke to me kindly as if she could see through my feelings. We certainly did what we could. It doesn't change things, but it lightens my heart just a little bit.

"Fufufu. I'm older than you. So it's natural."

"Yeah, I'm counting on you. You're the best among these members."

Rei smiles kindly at my words. There is a friendliness and dependability like an older sister.

"Fu, Fuun. R, right. Please continue to count on me."

"Aah."

Rei crosses her arms, turns away, and blushes.

She seems to be shy.

She takes the initiative to take care of troublesome matters, and is a really reliable senior explorer.

Nanami and Shia must be shocked by the sight they have never seen before. In Shia's case, it is completely obvious that her ahoge is trembling and frightened like a newborn fawn.

"Amane, are you okay?"

"Well ... Kinda. I've seen this kind of city several times before."

"I see."

On the other hand, Amane doesn't seem to be so upset, and just smiles sadly with a powerless smile when I ask her. There are varous thoughts in her smile, and I can only nod.

"Nanami, Shia, are you okay?"

"Onii-chan ..."

"Hmm ..."

I go over to them and talk to them. Nanami hugs me. Shia is looking down near me with a sad expression. Her ahoge is also depressed.

"I thought monsters weren't scary at all. But they really attack people and destroy cities."

"That's right. After seeing the damaged city, I can finally understand the current situation in Japan. From now on, we have to raise our levels even more."

At Nanami's words, I answer while stroking her to soothe her.

Nanami and the others' levels, also, I want to raise my proficiency as much as possible, and next time I want us to be able to deal with any number of monsters of that level, or even split up and fight them.

"Yeah, that's right."

Nanami nods in agreement with my reply.

After that, we look around the city and are relieved that there aren't that many people injured, feeling responsible for having sacrificed even a little, we return to Spa Emotional.