CH 199.2

Chapter 199.2: Exploration Team

「They might look like monsters, but they are good kids. They didn’t cause any problems when they were with us back then, after all.」

The shapeshifting curse that Kotaro used, which he called 「Rem」, was looking ahead on the road in front of them. From the fact that Rem looked at Asuna, who was frantically collecting materials for upgrading Rem, it was clear that there was a crack in the relationship between Rem’s master’s group and Asuna.

「I definitely won’t entrust my back to that.」

「I know. Since that’s the case, let’s use them as our vanguard. But since one is going to carry the materials on the way back, the other will stay as a rear guard by then.」

「Okay, it’s not a big deal.」

「Doing that means we need to add another person as a vanguard but… Will you do it, Asuna?」

「I don’t mind.」

「Nay, I mean we should let a boy take that position, there’s two in our group after all.」

「Indeed, what do you think, Ueda-kun, Nakajima-kun?」

「Well, since Rem is really strong, I think it’s pretty safe.」

「I don’t really mind it, I can literally fill in any position.」

Three girls from the same faction, two boys, and two Rems. Thus, it was only natural for the girls to have the upper hand in the negotiation. Both Ueda and Nakajima didn’t have any problems with being placed in any position in their team either.

In that way, the team walked along the white sandy beach with Rem and the boys taking the lead.

「Such fine weather. A great difference from that gloomy city.」

「But it doesn’t change the fact that we’re in the middle of a dungeon.」

From time to time, Nakajima Haruma would steal furtive glances at Souma Sakura who was chatting idly.

It then occurred to him that this was the first time he had leeway to see her like that after coming into this dungeon. Though he had no idea what was wrong with her during the class meeting in which she literally bared her fangs at Momokawa, spewing all kinds of curses toward the latter with an enraged face… The aloof figure of Sakura walking along the white sandy beach under the sunlight was truly a sight to behold.

Compared to Himeno Airi, it was akin to a frog and the moon.

Or rather, it was still Airi’s devastating defeat if she was to be compared to any other girl in this place.

「Well, we ain’t dreaming, she’s the real thing.」

Ueda, who muttered those remarks, had also shot glances at Sakura, from time to time.

「… What kind of dream are you talking about?」

Somehow, Haruma couldn’t help but ask when his eyes met Ueda.

「A~h, well, have you seen a trap that lets out pink smoke before?」

「Uhm, nope, I don’t think I have seen one.」

「That’s a relief then. That trap makes you see a nice dream, but it will also make you see the worst nightmare once you wake up.」

「Wow, that’s a terrifying trap for sure.」

「But if I suffered from that trap again… Please tell Momokawa to wake me up three hours later.」

「Why Momokawa-kun though…」

[TL: They’re talking about a mist trap that allows its victim to experience an erotic dream with their crush.]

But Ueda was unwilling to continue, he just glanced at Sakura from time to time with an extremely lewd smile on his face.

「Uhm, Ueda-kun.」

「HAH?」

「For some reason, I get this feeling that everyone seems to be involved with Momokawa-kun at one point, but what really happened back then?」

Haruma used to think that Momokawa Kotaro was someone with an insignificant presence like him, not standing out and only staying in the corner of the class.

However, after many classmates gathered together in the school tower, the one who became the center of everyone’s attention was undoubtedly Momokawa Kotaro.

Souma Yuuto, Sakura, Class Rep, and even the lone wolf Tendou was acknowledging Kotaro. Not to mention he became quite close with Randou’s girls group, even the Totem Pole Trio was relying on Kotaro.

Moreover, even Futaba Meiko, who turned into a bombshell after she slimmed down a lot due to extreme dieting that shocked everyone, was following him like a loyal knight.

And though he sounds like some sort of a dangerous murderer, when he heard the story during the meeting about him killing Reina A Ayase, he still had no idea how Kotaro managed to become the center of attention despite all of those dangerous stories about him.

As an outsider, Haruma was completely out of the loop, and by the time he noticed, Kotaro had become the male class rep who was responsible for the male students, resulting in the current situation— exploration and foraging.

Nevertheless, just like a typical Japanese who goes along with the flow, Haruma wasn’t dissatisfied with the current situation. But then, he still wanted to know the details of how Momokawa Kotaro reached his current position.

「Come to think of it, you left us before we reunited with Momokawa..」

「Ah, come to think of it, you’re right…」

Though he didn’t fall in love with Airi, he fled since he couldn’t stand the feeling of something along the lines of being NTRed and had yet to recover from his trauma.

「I have never expected you would go back with Himeno again though! Hahaha, you’re still doing it with that girl, right?」

「No, it’s not like tha… Wait, I don’t think we can continue this topic!」

Contrary to Haruma was about to reply before he snapped out and reminded Ueda about the girls behind them, Ueda was grinning happily. But then, the latter was apparently sensible enough to not talk in a loud voice.

「Rather than talking about that, I want to know more about Momokawa-kun’s story.」

「Ahh, Momokawa huh. Well, that guy i―― Whoops, let’s save that for later, we’ve got a company.」

『Swordsman』 Ueda who had the sharpest sense detected the presence of a monster approaching from ahead.

Hearing Ueda’s warning, Rem the Dark Knight and Rem the 2nd, Minotaurs raised their weapons immediately―― Almost at the same time, several figures jumped from the shore, spraying water.

「IT’S JIRA! BE CAREFUL, THERE’S JAJIRA TOO!」

Jira was a humanoid monster that lived in the water, it was like the bipedal fish version of goma. Since Ueda had visited an area resembling this one before, he had the experience of fighting jira.

「That jajira thingy is kinda like govu in terms of strength eh…」

This was Haruma’s first-time fighting jira, but he had the experience of fighting govu, the stronger version of goma. And not even a fully armed govu could beat the current Haruma in one-on-one combat.

There were around ten jiras appearing before them, and five of them were jajiras. Not to mention there were another ten behind them.

Though Haruma wasn’t alone, the jiras simply outnumbered his team. Haruma unsheathed his sword, preparing for a tough fight.

「GRRR, GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」

「MUGUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」

The one who made the first move as they raised a warcry was… Rem.

Rem The Dark Knight, who wielded a great sword brandished, her weapon toward the barnacle-like crust protecting the jajira. That attack bisected jajira’s body, and the residual force killed the jiras around them.

Rem Minotaur swung down her great axe and bisected the jajira who wielded a turtle shell-like shield.

The jiras flinched upon witnessing the overwhelming show of power by the two Rems.

「Ooo~, as strong as it appears to be. Okay then, leave the jajiras to Rem, we’re going to take care of the jiras.」

「Ah, uhm…」

The battle ended way too fast as Haruma slew the jiras with his sword, he didn’t even have the chance to use his magic as a 『Magic Swordsman』.

Looking at jajiras who ended up in a really miserable state due to their battle against Rems, the corpse of jira was perfectly bisected with a mere sword skill.

「Ah, there’s jira behind us too.」

They ended up focusing on the enemy in the front and then turned around upon recalling that there was another enemy coming from behind.

「This isn’t even enough for warming up.」

「Good job, Asuna.」

「The monster in this place is weaker than the one in the underworld, huh.」

The flock of jiras that should be flanking them from the rear had already been annihilated by Asuna. She was wielding a sword clad in flame, and a sword surrounded by a vortex in her hands, the so-called dual wield.

「Hey, Ueda-kun… That seems like an enchanted sword.」

「Seriously? Well, no wonder it’s burning. As expected of the member of Souma’s party, even their equipment is really good.」

「Ye-Yeah…」

Until a while ago, Airi aside, Haruma had never met anyone besides the four— Yamada and Totem Pole Trio, but he finally noticed something.

He had been wondering if he was actually on the weaker side of the group.