Chapter 11

The past several days have gone by in a monotonous blur. It was as if I was an onlooker in my own body as I moved from place to place while interacting with several new people.

I couldn't recall those people. Their faces lacked any detail as I tried to remember them. Despite that, I remembered their roles and titles.

Titles and roles such as photographer, florist, wedding planner, head of hair and makeup, videographer, caterer, officiant, venue owner, and so many more.

As the daughter of the Yukinoshita family and possibly the next Prime Minister of Japan, a grand wedding was simply an inevitability. Even more so, because my husband-to-be –a term I couldn't say without my stomach lurching– was Japan's most powerful hunter. His fame and prestige were known all throughout the world. He was regarded like the Shoguns of old by my fellow countrymen. Men looked up and wanted to be him, while the women would throw themselves at his feet if given the chance.

A wedding that would be remembered for decades was all but assured.

Stopping this was an exercise in futility. The joining of our families would boost my father's power and influence, and my mother's obstinacy leaves no space for any arguments against it. Even the strength to properly voice my wants and opinions buckled under her iron will.

"I've let you do as you pleased long enough, but no more. You must fulfill your duty to this family, Yukino. Marry Goto-sama and cement our legacy."

A proper description of my relationship with my mother would be formal. I am the second daughter, born in case their first child was incapacitated or otherwise unavailable. As such, my mother treated my upbringing like a secondary task; I would be taught all of my sister's lessons and raised to a certain standard that's expected of my family, yet I would inherit nothing on the scale that my sister would.

A spare. Yukinoshita Yukino's existence: defined concisely.

Yet I am merely human, and thus, I desire to define my existence beyond what's expected of me. I am Yukino, not simply a spare daughter but a person with wants and beliefs. My simplest desire was for my mother to acknowledge this and to see me as more than just a backup plan.

All of which were folly, for in the end I am to play the role of the obedient daughter. Despite all my efforts to gain my mother's recognition, I'll be discarding all my happiness and desires for the sake of strengthening our family's name.

I could fault my sister for this; this responsibility now hoisted upon me should be carried by the first-born heir. To marry this man would have been her burden to shoulder, not mine.

But that would be childish and reprehensibly foolish. My sister's burdens were now beyond such trivial matters; she was a Hunter, an awakened human defending humanity against the monsters that emerged from the mysterious gates.

What's more, my sister is an S-Rank Hunter. This important distinction meant she was cut above the rest and invaluable for her sheer strength alone.

When she revealed this to us, as we all gathered at the dining table all those years ago, my first thought was:

As expected.

Yukinoshita Haruno was amazing in all things, and becoming a gifted Hunter was no exception.

Her revelation was, of course, received by my parents with absolute delight. They no doubt saw the advantages that her new power would bring, the new opportunities they would open.

Truly, they expected a daughter of the Yukinoshita to operate as a Hunter with the notion of taking their vaunted family's name to new heights.

As is their nature, they immediately planned a meticulous process for which my sister would leverage her powers in the notion that she would simply obey.

It was unfortunate, then, that they did not foresee my sister's response:

"No."

Yukinoshita Haruno answered without hesitation.

The silence that followed was immaculate.

For the first time in my life, I watched my parents be flabbergasted.

This silence did not last for long, and my mother was quite obviously furious. Frostily, she demanded that my sister explain herself while my father watched on with a measured gaze.

"Hmm? Nothing really, I just feel like it."

Against the tempest of our mother's cold glare, my sister remained unmoved.

Looking ever so serene, she smiled.

Now, I would be remiss to call our relationship one of tender love and affection between siblings. Quite often, she would meddle in my affairs, and my sister's heart was veiled by a satin curtain thick with the threads of her well-crafted public persona: the incredibly gifted daughter of a famed house. Her truest intentions were hidden away from prying eyes with a perfectly manufactured smile.

On that day, my sister looked so indescribably tranquil. Whatever words that were thrown at her bounced off her skin without ever affecting her, like the anger she received from our mother just…didn't matter.

I bore witness to a one-sided argument between my mother and sister. My sister did not give an inch, not one centimeter, against my mother's heated words and reprimands. She sat relaxed, evenly answering every dispute that my mother would levy.

Finally, before my mother's fruitless endeavors against my sister's uncaring responses would come to a head, my father broke his silence.

And his chilling words were damning.

"Do you realize what you're doing? The consequences you're courting?"

The meaning was clear. Even my mother looked horrified.

There was one punishment against such a blatant show of disobedience:

Disinheritance.

Yukinoshita Haruno received this threat with a raise of her delicately trimmed brow. With nary a word, she rose from her chair and gave a simple but resolute nod.

She was leaving it all behind.

She then turned around, ready to leave the room. But before she did, she gave me one last look.

Her relaxed smile became fractionally more somber. Then she simply looked away and left.

And so, with my sister gone and her title stripped, I was now the sole heir to the family.

I believed that as a consequence of my sister's actions, I would need to take up all the duties and responsibilities that she left behind immediately.

Contrary to this, it seemed like nothing had changed. I was allowed to keep living my life as I had. Even my sister would continue to meddle in my life despite no longer living with us, though this happened more infrequently as she had important Hunter business to take care of.

Barring the occasional appearances I had to make during public events, and the even rarer instances where I needed to mingle with the attendees, I was free to do as I pleased and attend school.

Sighing, I stand from my chair and exit the clubroom. Before I close the door, I sweep my gaze around the room one more time, nostalgia running amok in my heart. It still contained the unused chairs and tables stacked upon each other, but most importantly, the table in the middle was untouched.

The Service Club.

My club.

Our club.

Bittersweet memories filled me. All the requests we've had to fulfill. All the methods we went about to fulfill them. Even with all the arguments that sometimes tore at my heart, I see them now more fondly.

Most importantly, the quieter moments…

The smell of tea wafting the air as Hikigaya-kun read his silly light novels, Yuigahama-san playing with her phone and pestering me as I read my books. The pleasant conversations, the quick barbs thrown between Hikigaya-kun and I, and Yuigahama-san's hilarious reactions to them…

But…

"...I really want something genuine…!"

…that memory still haunts me to this day.

I ran away. From the feelings I simply couldn't fathom.

From Yuigahama-san's cry to return.

From the boy who opened his heart to me.

I ran away because, in the end, I was weak.

It was this weakness that ruined the relationship I've built with the two people I've come to care for. The Service Club's dissolution came about through my indecisive actions and my separation from them both.

I deserved this.

Perhaps this wedding was part of my punishment. For my cowardice, I was given the equivalent of shackles upon my legs, chaining me to a man who cared not for who I was but only for the power that my family name would give him.

Had I the strength, perhaps I could have raged against this fate to my parents. But I could not.

Unlike my exceptional sister, I am but cattle. I feared my disobedience would disappoint my parents.

It was like my will and resolve had drained from me the day I ran away from this club.

Sighing forlornly, I slide the door closed. All good things must come to an end, and once I graduate from Sobu, I am to marry at once. This was a concession my mother had given me, a few months to come to terms with the inevitable and to enjoy my fleeting freedom.

If there was one thing I wanted to do in my final moments of independence then…

"Hikigaya-kun." I muttered as my hand rested on the door to the Service club, unable to tear myself away.

I couldn't help my feelings. My memories of this place were precious to me, and my greatest regret was how it ended between all three of us.

I…I wished for one more chance.

One more chance to be with them both, to apologize to them both. For my cowardice, for my weakness, for everything. Maybe then, we'd all be together again.

That was my one wish before I left it all behind.

"Y-Yukinon."

I jumped in fright at the sudden voice. I never expected anyone else to be this far into the special-use building, so I was caught unaware. I placed my hand over my pulsing heart to help calm it down and turned to the owner of the voice.

But as I did, I found the sight of one of the people I longed to meet and speak to again.

"Yuigahama-san."

x x x

Chaos littered the battlefield.

The sounds of metallic clangs resounded through the lair as shouts of defiance echoed from both hunters and magical beasts.

Hunters ranging from C to E rank fought with everything they had to push through the ogres and kobolds to reach the boss. Fighter-class hunters moved in and out between the minions with their weapons held tight within their hands. Tank-class hunters positioned themselves in and out between the fighters and mages, providing cover for them as they staggered or charged their next attack. The Healers worked tirelessly to offer support to the injured; bullets of sweat ran down their faces and bodies. The scant few mages there were launched magical attack after magical attack. Taking out large groups of enemies at a time.

My fellow E-ranks, try as they might, fought fiercely but gained little ground. Nishimoto and Miyashiro did their best to push their enemies back. And by enemies, I meant the single ogre and kobold they were engaging, respectively, for the entire duration of the battle.

The other three E-ranks weren't doing so hot either. One had been injured to the point that they had to retreat back to safety. The other two had joined forces to ensure their safety as they struggled to fight a duo of ogres.

The battle had been going on for six minutes straight. But for the participants, it might as well have been an hour. Now, what was I doing during this epic battle, you may ask? The answer was simple. I was farming.

"Riko, how fast can you absorb these guys?"

"Since they're not that big, I can do it in under a minute."

"Excellent. Be discreet about it and gather their essence stones." I said as I lazily dodged a telegraphed sword swing from one of the kobolds.

Looking around quickly to make sure I wasn't being watched, I sliced off its head in a flash. This resulted in its body falling limp beside seven more minions that I'd killed. Riko nodded, well, as much as a backpack could nod. She jumped off my body and returned to her slime form. Landing on the ground, she shifted to look like one of the surrounding rocks. I watched as she moved back and forth between the defeated enemies.

"Now then… what are you planning?" I muttered. I looked beyond the battlefield towards the still-sitting boss and cloaked figure.

They seemed to disregard the ongoing battle. The most the boss had done was grab its large weapon while eyeing the fight with amusement. How odd. This type of behavior isn't normal.

Indeed. Your typical dungeon boss would automatically engage any hunters that would enter its lair. Like a video game boss once it was agro. But this ogre was acting atypical. Not to mention the cloaked figure. It remained in the same spot I first saw it in. It didn't even twitch at the sight of a decapitated kobold head rolling a few feet away from it.

Deciding to forget those two for now. I moved my attention to see how the rest of my raid team was doing. Osaki was handling herself well, as expected of a future guild leader. Her battle sense was excellent. Her skills with her spear were second to none.

This is speaking from my time in Hell, cough, I mean my training with Hiratsuka-sensei. I could tell that she poured many hours into refining her skill by the way she moved from minion to minion.

However…

This fight was going on for too long. Osaki was starting to slow down.

I effortlessly grabbed an incoming club with my bare hand, shocking the ogre trying to attack me. I swung my fist out, and the force of my blow snapped its neck with a sickening crack. It fell lifelessly behind me.

[You have leveled up!]

Damn, after all that, I only managed to level up once.

Unlike Osaki, who was only marginally slowing down, everyone else began to become exhausted as time went on. The D-ranks looked about ready to drop while the C-rank's performance plummeted and their movements sloppy. Thanks to everyone's efforts, we managed to finally push towards the boss's final defensive line. This means that once this final group of minions were defeated, we could move on to fight the boss unimpeded. But seeing how everyone was starting to look worse for wear. I doubted how successful they would be in taking down the large ogre. Not to mention the mysterious cloaked creature.

On the bright side, at least no one has died yet. If things continue like this, we may need to activate the secret Joestar technique soon.

I turned my head and watched Nishimoto slam back into one of the minion's weapons caches with a grunt of pain. Her opponent cackled in glee and raised its sword over its head. I held my hand out and pulled out a rock from my inventory. I pulled my arm back and pitched the rock like Hideo Nomo toward the ogre's head. Nishimoto raised her dagger up to block the ogre's attack but was surprised when its body suddenly flew off to the side. She looked off to the side and saw her would-be killer's head was now caved in.

Time for my Oscar-worthy performance. Just as Nishimoto turned in my direction, I was already kneeling on the ground while looking in the opposite direction. I leaned my weight on my sword and panted as if I had run a marathon. Nishimoto squinted her eyes at me for half a second and then stood up. Looking side to side, she quickly ran off to engage her next opponent. And the Oscar goes to-

"Master! I have finished!" Riko said as she walked towards me.

I watched as she deposited a small stack of essence stones in front of me. There were around twelve in total. I grinned at Riko and rubbed her head with my patented older brother head pat. As I did, I could sense that her magical power had grown slightly as well. "Great work, Riko."

"T-thank you, Master."

I placed all the stones into my inventory and had Riko turn back into a backpack. I slipped her onto my back and stood to my feet. As I did, a large explosion caused the ground beneath me to rumble.

I turned just in time to see the boss lift its weapon out of the crater it made with an annoyed huff. Slowly, it stood to its full height and glared at everyone in its lair. Its sudden action caused its few remaining minions and my fellow hunters to pause mid-fight. The boss seemed pleased by the attention and lifted its large weapon onto its shoulder.

Looks like you finally decided to get off your lazy ass. I watched as the boss nodded to the cloaked figure.

The cloaked figure nodded in return and finally moved by lifting its hidden book in front of it. It opened the book to a seemingly random page and raised its other hand outward. A burst of purple mana concentrated around its thin and bony appendages in a swirl. The swell of mana immediately disappeared and reappeared around the large ogre boss.

"Crap. That thing just buffed the boss." I said in disbelief.

Actions like these weren't impossible for magical beasts to perform. But that was usually something that would happen in the upper-ranked gates. Not here in a D-rank gate. A magical buff like that could have easily doubled the boss's power. Making it impossible for this current group to be able to take on. It seems I wasn't the only one shocked because Osaki's terrified face spun back to us all.

"Fall back!" Osaki shrieked.

Seeing their raid leader panicked and afraid, everyone quickly began to lose morale and confidence. Spinning on their heels, everyone began to run back to the entrance of the lair with wide, panicked eyes.

Seeing the hunters fleeing, the boss jumped with incredible speed and landed in front of the entrance. Blitzing past C, D, and E-ranks alike. Blocking our escape. It then rose its large spiked maze and turned its head to the closest hunter. It was one of my fellow E-ranks. He could only look up in fear as the spiked maze descended onto him at breakneck speeds.

"Miyashiro!" Nishimoto's voice yelled out.

Before the attack could land, Miyashiro exploded out from beside the stunned hunter and pushed him out of the way at the last second, despite his timely rescue. Miyashiro's foot was caught in the attack. Blood gushed freely as the two rolled across the ground. Staining the floor in crimson. Miyashiro yelled in pain and reached for his foot. As he did, his eyes grew in horror as he saw that his foot was nowhere in sight. Just a bloody stub.

"You bastard!" Osaki yelled in anger. She ran across the lair in a burst of speed. Her spear was raised high and positioned to pierce the ogre's heart.

The ogre only grinned in amusement and rushed to meet her head-on. Osaki grunted and thrust her spear forward. Fully intent on paying the ogre back for what he did. But before the spear could land, the boss grabbed it by the blade and halted her attack. Osaki's eyes grew in disbelief as her spear remained unmovable in the ogre's grasp. Nothing she did to take back her weapon worked. The ogre's strength outmatched her by a wide margin.

"Ragh!"

The ogre yelled and swung his weapon at Osaki. Osaki released her hold on her weapon and dashed back. The spiked maze crashed onto the floor, sending large chunks of rock and pillars of dust into the air with a loud crack.

As the boss lifted its weapon out of the ground. A large ball of fire and shards of ice impacted the front of its body. The ogre grunted as he slid back, its face scrunching up in annoyance and anger at the attacking mages. It pulled back its muscled arm and catapulted Osaki's spear at one of the mages. The mage's eyes widened in fear at the speeding weapon.

But before the spear could bisect the woman, Sumida rushed in and held his large shield defensively in front of her. He stood tall, like an impenetrable wall. But like the wall of Jericho, Sumida was sent spinning into a boulder after the spear impacted his shield. The mage turned to him in horror; she wasted no time running to check on him. His broken shield was left forgotten on the ground.

That seemed to set the keg off. All the once-frozen hunters glared hatefully at the boss and exploded toward it. Fully intent to cut it down for what it did to their party members.

"Master." Riko said as I jogged over to Miyashiro and a panicked Nishimoto. "What will you do?"

I frowned at her question. During the time I spent teaching her Japanese, Riko used that time to shyly ask me questions about myself and this world. I answered with surface-level answers when it came to myself, but I made sure to bring her up to speed with how this world operated. At that time, I also explained how gates and hunters worked.

This means that she knew how impossible it was for hunters to grow stronger from when they first awakened to their abilities. But I was different. I could grow stronger. But that was a fact I wanted to keep hidden.

"Nothing. We stay back and let the higher-ranked hunters handle this." I said as I looked over to see one of the C-ranked hunters being swatted away by the boss. The attack also struck one of its minions, but it didn't seem to care. "I'm not some hero. This isn't my responsibility."

"Hi-Hikigaya!" Nishimoto yelled at me once she saw me. Her hands were covered in Miyashiro's blood. Her eyes moved around in a panic, unsure of what to do. Miyashiro's face scrunched up in pain as he lay useless on the ground. "Help!"

I made a show of reaching into Riko, and as I did, she made muffled noises and pulled out a strand of rope from my inventory. Kneeling down next to Miyashiro's bleeding stump. I quickly tied a tourniquet around his leg to stop the bleeding.

"You're gonna be okay, Miyashiro." I said while patting his arm. He smiled at me weakly and nodded. I looked around for a healer and found them on the other side of the lair. Moving in and out from the injured hunters. "We need to get you a healer."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" The E-rank Miyashiro saved said repeatedly. Tears running down his face as he curled into a ball a few feet away from us.

A loud explosion stole our attention as we watched the large ogre throw one of its minions toward Kobayashi and Tashiro. They jumped off to the side and avoided the violent collision.

Osaki, spear back in hand, jumped high and stabbed her spear into the ogre's upper back. The boss arched its back in pain and roared. Before she could be grabbed and crushed, Osaki jumped off its back while swinging her spear across the air. Cutting off the ogre's fingers.

"Graaah!" The ogre looked down at its bleeding hand and turned to the cloaked figure. Roaring once more, the figure nodded at the boss's orders and raised its hand again.

A sense of foreboding rose within me, and I looked at the cloaked individual with narrowed eyes. A large pulse of red magic exploded out from the mage-type beast and swallowed everything but the large ogre.

[Notification: You have been afflicted with Curse Magic.]

[Status Debuff: Petrify has been applied. | Debuff will completely immobilize a target for a short period, rendering them unable to move or act until the effect wears off.]

"Master!"

I grunted and fell forward. My muscles became stiff and unmovable. My ability to speak was also gone. The only part of my body I could seem to move were my eyes. Looking around, I saw that I was not the only one to be affected. All the hunters and minions fell to the ground in similar frozen states with grunts. Nishimoto, who was on her knees, remained upright. Her eyes moved around in horror as she realized she was now a prisoner in her own body.

[Notification: Passive Skill, Untouchable, has been activated.]

[Untouchable: The Player is immune to all diseases, poisons, and status debuffs.]

[Status Debuff: Petrify has been removed.]

I can move!

Heart pounding in my chest, I pushed myself up as adrenaline started to course through my veins.

Finally.

I thought I'd only have to do menial labor for this raid. But now I might actually fight something that can challenge me.

Something that will make me stronger. A thrilled grin stretched my cheeks.

Everyone's petrified. No witnesses.

I don't have to hold back!

Vibrating with excitement I focused on the enemy–

– and saw the boss laugh in satisfaction at seeing everyone frozen. Its large feet stomped over to Osaki, and as it did, it crushed one of its kobolds under its foot. Osaki looked up in frozen terror as the ogre grinned down at her. Reaching down, it grabbed Osaki and raised her into the air.

Slowly, it brought her closer to its large mouth. It was fully intent on biting her head off.

"Get off him!" The drake's sharp teeth sunk into my shoulder, and an explosion of pain slithered through my body as the draconian beast clenched its jaws tighter. Furutani's voice was crystal clear in my ears as he launched an ice attack to save me. Not a shrivel of fear could be found in his words. "Die, you bastard!"

…I am no hero. That's what I said. We all knew what we were getting ourselves into by agreeing to become hunters.

So, I had no obligation to jump in and save her. In fact, a colder more logical part of me reasoned that her death would ensure that no one would see me fight–

"Hold on!" The sensation of warmth soon replaced the cold agony I was feeling. Sakura's worried face filled my mind's eye as she healed me despite her fears and the dangers around us. I thanked her. Thanked her for saving me once again. "I-I'm just happy you're okay, Hikigaya."

Osaki's terrified eyes began to release tears that streamed down her cheeks. Her shaking eyes looked around the battlefield and fell onto me. Her eye's silent message was clear for me to see.

I don't want to die.

I've seen eyes like those before; seen the same message on full display. Those same eyes were held by all those in my party in the double dungeon. Within Furutani's eyes. Within Sakura's. Within my own eyes.

I'm not a hero–

I felt myself start to move, mana filling every limb of my body.

–But I won't let anyone that's in front of me die!

I looked beyond Osaki and the boss's direction at the two standing figures in front of the lair's far wall.

Because that's what they would have done!

Furutani and Sakura smiled at me from where they stood. Their expressions were serene, while their eyes were full of confidence that I would do what was right.

[Active Skill: Swiftness Lv. 1]

I felt the cave's stale wind brush past my hair as I dashed forward at Incredible speeds. The rough wrappings of my sword's handle pressed into my palm as I squeezed it tightly. I shot into the air and flew towards the boss with my weapon held behind me. My arm swelled with mana as I prepared my charge attack. I glared at the ogre in defiance and swung.

[Active Skill: Charge Attack Lv. 1]

Red magic traced behind my weapon as I cleaved through the ogre's arm in a bloody swirl. While in midair, I grabbed Osaki and slid on the ground. A loud, meaty thud could be heard as the beast's dismembered arm fell limply on the floor.

I placed Osaki down and saw her watching me with wide, disbelieving eyes. I looked away from her and pointed my sword at the cloaked figure, smirking viciously.

"You're first."

The cloaked beast jumped in fright and lifted its magical book. It pointed its hand toward me and released a blast of water magic like a bullet. I leaned low and ran under the magical attack, my body a blur. The cloaked creature looked down just in time to see my sharp sword zoom into its field of view.

I didn't give the defeated beast another glance as its body and head fell onto the ground. I looked around and saw that my fellow hunters were still frozen in place.

"With the spell caster gone, the spell should wear off after a while." The backpack-disguised slime stated.

"I see." I said to Riko. "Then we better use this chance to defeat the boss."

The ogre glared hatefully at me and charged. I leaned back as it swung its spiked maze. I quickly jumped off to the side as the ogre threw a front kick towards me. While in midair, I flipped my sword into a reverse grip and jammed its pommel into the beast's calf muscle. It fell to a knee and swung its weapon to crush me.

Too slow.

I backflipped over the speeding weapon and slashed its right eye with my sword. Landing on the ground. I activated my shield and swung it across the ogre's face. The sounds of cracked bones were clear as day to me as the beast spun to the ground by the force of my blow. Seeing it sprawl onto the floor caused me to feel a sense of elation.

I had grown so used to being the one on the back foot that seeing my opponent scramble around filled me with a strange emotion.

Was it glee? Satisfaction?

Whatever it was, it felt wonderful.

For someone who's fought tooth and nail for scraps, this was a new and welcome sensation.

A loud rage-fueled roar bellowed in the cave as the ogre stood to its full height. It glared at me with its lone eye as its large chest breathed quickly. Bursts of steam escaped its nostrils as the veins around its body swelled and pulsed. In its enraged state, it failed to notice the buffs it received earlier had finally disappeared.

Dust and pieces of rocks exploded underneath the boss as it charged at me with reckless abandon. Its spiked club was held above its head. I watched it grow closer and closer with my sword held tightly beside me.

No feelings of worry or anxiety rose inside me. Just a sense of self-assurance and confidence.

Oddly enough, I also felt a touch of boredom as well.

I expected something more…

The ogre finally reached my position. Its arm swung with incredible force, and my hair fluttered by the streams of wind it produced. I crouched low and stared at the beast in boredom with my weapon primed and loaded.

"How disappointing."

I released my charge attack and blitzed past the ogre. Spinning to a stop, I looked over at the ogre and saw a line of blood slowly appear from its hip to its shoulder. A loud thud echoed in the room as the boss dropped its large spike maze. Following behind it, the upper half of its body slid down with a wet splat. Its knees buckled, and the rest of the ogre's body fell onto the bloody pile of gore.

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

"Riko, you know what to do." I said as my servant jumped onto the ground.

Before walking over to the corpses, she turned to me. "Do you not wish to carve their bodies, Master?"

"Nah. These guys were too weak. That'll probably reflect on their materials." I said with a sigh and placed my sword away into my inventory. "Just bring me the essence stones when you're done."

"Right away, Master!"

I looked around at my fellow hunters and saw that they were all either face down or facing away from where I fought the boss. Now then. How am I going to convince Osaki not to blab about what I did?

Once Riko was finished, she brought me the essence stones from the boss and the cloaked mage-type beast. I grinned at them and placed them away. With all the stones I collected today, Komachi and I should be set for three or four months.

Jumping onto my back, Riko changed back into her backpack form. I walked over to Osaki and sat next to her. She looked up at me in surprise. Her lips were beginning to twitch alongside her fingers.

"Looks like that spell should wear off soon." I said to her, causing her eyes to relax. Even so, she kept her focus on me as her eyes darted over to where she last saw the boss. With great effort, she began to hoarsely whisper.

"B-Boss?"

"Ah... It's dead."

I had debated on lying, but she had seen what I'd done clear as day. There was no point in deceiving her. Osaki's large chest rose and fell as she sighed. She turned to me and smiled weakly.

"T-thank you."

"…"

Once a boss was defeated, hunters had an hour or so to escape before the gate closed itself down. Meaning that we had to get out of here pretty soon. Thankfully, I only had to wait another ten minutes for everyone to begin moving. One of the healers rushed over to Miyashiro and began to heal his injury. I had worried that he may have bled out from waiting, but he was still alive.

"Hey! Where's the boss? Is it dead?"

"I don't see its body!"

"Osaki?" Tabata said as he limped over to the now-standing raid leader. She turned to him with an unreadable expression and nodded. "Were you able to defeat the boss? Surely, it was you. No one else here holds as much battle strength as you."

I felt myself tense up. Osaki's eyes quickly darted to me and back to Tabata. I felt sweat build on my brow and braced myself for the incoming shitstorm.

"…that's right. I defeated the boss. I was lucky to have dodged the spell that mage-type beast cast. It wasn't easy, but I managed to defeat the boss." Osaki answered slowly and carefully.

…I'm not really into acting, but that seriously sounded too suspicious to even believe. Surely these people–

"Hell yeah!"

"That's our leader for you!"

–guess not.

I let out a discreet breath as cheers and applause erupted all around me, showering Osaki with praises and looks of amazement. She stood and received their compliments with an awkward smile but ushered them to stop.

I stood in my spot, using every cell in my body to stop my eyes from rolling.

Damn simps.

Truly, the power of beauty blinds even common sense.

Osaki turned to me and noticed my state of being. She walked over to me and leaned close to my ear.

"We'll talk outside the gate."

All I could do was nod at her. She smiled weakly at me and patted my shoulder.

With everyone shaken from being trapped in their bodies. No one had any inclination to mine the mana stones and simply collected their essence stone from the beast they respectively defeated. From there, we all made our way out of the gate. As we walked, Osaki and, for some reason, Nishimoto kept staring at me as I carried Miyashiro on my back.

Osaki, I could understand. Nishimoto's piercing stare didn't make much sense. She had treated me with little regard throughout all our hours inside the dungeon, but now, all of a sudden, she was eyeing me like I had kicked her puppy or something. I did my best to ignore her piercing stare but:

Oi. Don't look at me like that! I know my eyes resemble a dead fish, but that's no reason to stare!

Exiting the gate, I handed Miyashiro off to one of the medics. He smiled and thanked me for carrying him out as the medics took him into an ambulance. The rest of the raid team broke off to do their duties and responsibilities from completing a dungeon. However, since I was a temporary member, my responsibility was just to return the mining gear I was given.

Once I was done handing my borrowed gear back and signing some documents. I made my way outside the Ichikawa Shiritsu Onitsuka Elementary School campus. As a raid leader, Osaki would be extremely busy after the dungeon raid was completed. Once I was off the school campus, I looked around and saw a coffee shop further up the road. It was in sight of where I stood, so Osaki shouldn't have a problem finding me later. With that in mind, I began walking towards the shop.

x x x

With coffee and a snack in hand, I sat down in front of the shop's front wall, where I could be easily seen from behind the glass pane. Luckily, I only had to wait an hour for Osaki to find and join me. Sitting next to me, Osaki took a drink of her iced coffee and smiled at me.

"You know, when I saw your name on the list of hunters who signed up to join my raid. I couldn't help but be curious to see the rumored hunter who survived a double dungeon." Osaki said. I frowned and let her continue. "For an E-rank like yourself to survive, that's something no one really believed. I'm sure you've heard what some people are saying about you."

"Yeah. Nothing but sunshine and rainbows."

Osaki tilted her head at me and chuckled. She took another sip of her coffee and looked out the window. "I have my own theory of how you survived. It was completely baseless, but after what happened today, I'm almost certain of it. You had a double awakening. Haven't you, Hikigaya?"

A moment of silence hung over us as we drank our caffeinated drinks. I watched the brown liquid of my coffee ripple as I moved my cup around.

"…and if I did?"

Osaki smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. I'm not sure why, but you must have your reasons for keeping that a secret. A secret I'm more than happy to keep as well."

"Eh? Seriously?" I asked in disbelief.

"Of course. I owe you my life. We all do. I am sorry for taking the credit for your kill, but I wasn't sure how else to explain it." Osaki said and took another sip. "Am I wrong?"

"No. You're not." I said. I took one final sip and placed my empty cup down. "I appreciate that. Really."

"Of course. It's the least I can do." Osaki smiled and tilted her head to the side. "I'm sure you've heard that I'm planning on starting my own guild. How about joining-"

"Pass."

"So quick… worth a try." Osaki said and stood to her feet. Her drink finished. She reached into one of her pockets and placed a card on the table. "If you ever need anything. Just give me a call. Have a nice evening, Hikigaya."

I nodded and watched her leave the coffee shop with a slight sway of her shapely hips. I turned back and lifted the card. Discreetly, I placed it away into my inventory and stood. It was time to go home.

x x x

"Why?"

Having already sensed Nishimoto's presence a while ago, I paused. Sighing, I turned around and faced my fellow E-rank. Her face was contorted in anger as her eyes looked into my own with fire behind them.

"Why, what?" I said in confusion.

Nishimoto looked like she wanted to approach me, but something held her back. Her hands were clenching and unclenching repeatedly as her mouth morphed into a snarl.

"Why didn't you save Miyashiro-kun?! I saw what you did! You killed the boss!" Nishimoto said heatedly.

I was thankful the streets were still mostly unoccupied. Otherwise, I would have to worry about the questioning looks I would have gotten from the onlookers. Someone like me getting yelled at by a relatively cute girl would have undeniably painted me as the bad guy.

"…what are you talking about? Osaki was the one who-"

"Shut up!" Nishimoto growled. "If only you had acted sooner, then Miyashiro would still have his foot! Why didn't you save him? You're strong! Don't you feel any guilt?!"

My shotgun response froze in my throat. I felt Riko twitch as I paused and stared at Nishimoto's fiery gaze as she glared at me. Thinking back to the battle. I realized I could have prevented Miyashiro's injury. I could have easily dashed in and pushed him out of the way. I certainly had the speed for it. So why didn't I?

"Miyashiro is a hunter like you and I. We all know the risks of going inside the dungeons. What happened to him isn't my fault. It's his fault for risking his own safety to save someone else." I said evenly; however, as I spoke, my words were weak and unconvincing. Despite knowing that my point was solid and logically sound. I couldn't help the feeling of guilt start to swell inside me.

"…I was starting to think the rumors about you weren't true." Nishimoto said softly. Her gaze focused on the ground below. "I was beginning to think you were actually an okay guy. But I was wrong. You're nothing but a lying coward."

Nishimoto glared at me one final time and turned around. Her light footsteps echoed in my ears. I stood in place and watched her leave. Riko began to vibrate in annoyance and anger on my back. She began to curse at Nishimoto's retreating figure, but my mind was elsewhere to care too much about what she was saying.

"That damn woman! Who does she think she's talking to?!" Riko raged, clearly offended for my sake. "She'd be dead if it weren't for you!"

I could concede Riko's point; the whole party would have most likely been wiped out had I not acted. I wanted to push back and defend myself with that one undeniable truth... However, Nishimoto's points were also true and undeniable. I had the power to save Miyashiro's foot. But I didn't. Miyashiro was a good person. That much I knew. So why didn't I act? More importantly…

Why couldn't I feel guilty before?

----

A/N:

Thank you for reading today's chapter,

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Until next time!