A Risky Promise

I sighed as I looked at my bankbook, which kept growing even as I spent money. I know it's not something I should be doing at school, but I recently bought a condo. I figured it was pointless to keep accumulating money without spending any, so I paid for it all at once and handed it over to a real estate agent... But yesterday's reward and the money from the Frost Wyvern's magic stone brought in a lot of cash again.

I understand that the magic stone from a Frost Wyvern is valuable enough to generate a lot of electricity, but it's not the kind of money a student should be handling. At first, I had a lot of distant relatives I'd never heard of suddenly appear, but now, that kind of thing doesn't happen anymore.

"Huh?"

Wait a minute. If I made this much money from one Frost Wyvern magic stone, doesn't that mean Asakawa-san, who got one too, made a lot of money?

I should probably introduce her to a trustworthy tax accountant next time. She'd probably appreciate that more than just being taken care of in some other way.

By the way, I feel like I'm getting a lot of stares from my classmates today... I wonder why. I heard something about my face being shown on some dungeon stream... Maybe that's why. But is Asakawa-san really that famous?

"Oh, good morning."

"...Huh? Me?"

I was about to put away my bankbook and take out a book to read, thinking there was no point in worrying about it, when someone spoke to me from the side. I didn't expect anyone to suddenly talk to me at school, so I turned my head, surprised, and saw the person at the center of all this attention.

A classmate with jet-black hair and equally dark, captivating eyes. It was Asakawa-san, the girl I saved yesterday while completing an assignment.

"Thanks for yesterday."

"Oh, uh... yeah..."

Nope, this isn't working.

Don't expect a vocabulary large enough to hold a conversation with the class's Madonna from a socially awkward, introverted loner. Even if I did have the words, they wouldn't come out of my mouth.

"You're Kisaragi-kun, right? I thought so."

"M-Maybe you've got the wrong person?"

Why am I trying to deny it? This is pathetic.

"That's not true. The Kisaragi-kun I met at school yesterday and the one I met in the dungeon had the same magic power."

"M-Magic power?"

"Yeah! It's really serene and beautiful. The word 'quiet' suits it perfectly."

Serene magic power, huh... Even if you say that, most people don't notice individuality in magic power. I've heard that some people with exceptionally good vision or a special constitution that makes them sensitive to magic can identify individuals by their magic power, but could it be that Asakawa-san is one of those people?

"Well, I have a lot I want to talk about, so can we meet after school?"

"Huh? Oh, um... I think that's okay."

I was told by the lady who handles my assignments that I could take a break since I've been taking consecutive requests, so it should be fine.

But more importantly, why is that handsome guy glaring at me just because Asakawa-san is talking to me? Are they dating or something? He's giving me a look that says he doesn't like seeing his girlfriend talking to some unknown guy.

"Alright, let's meet in front of Shibuya Station!"

"Y-Yeah."

But of course, as a socially awkward introverted loner, I couldn't possibly refuse the words of a sparkling, popular girl. Too bad... Someone, please help.

Asakawa-san didn't seem to notice and just left the classroom. This means I'm definitely going to get harassed by that handsome guy.

"Hey, loser, don't get cocky."

"Eek!"

Yep, I'm being harassed.

He's glaring at me with a clearly furious expression, looking like he's one step away from punching me. Didn't he say it was fine as long as I had an explorer's license?

"What did you do to get Asakawa-san to talk to you? Are you trying to hit on her? Know your place."

"I-I'm not trying to hit on her."

"What?"

"S-Sorry."

Damn it. I reflexively apologized. I can speak normally to people I'm used to, but why am I such a socially awkward loner in situations like this? I wish I had better communication skills rather than dungeon exploration skills!

"Tch! If I see you talking to Asakawa-san again, I'm gonna beat the crap out of you."

"I-I'm sorry."

"Someone like you doesn't deserve to be talking to her. You understand what it means to be punched by a C-rank, don't you?"

Um... It'd probably hurt?

No, that's not it. So, does he mean... I might die?

Well, I don't know what kind of magic this handsome guy uses, so I can't say for sure, but if it's just physical attacks, I don't feel like I'd lose at all. I guess he's warning me that he might do something unpredictable. I should just nod my head to be safe.

Looking somewhat satisfied, the handsome guy walked away from me. I don't get it. But his friends were still glaring at me. Wow, Asakawa-san is really popular, huh?

Not wanting to get harassed any more, I bolted out of the classroom the moment all the classes were over. Of course, I held back my full strength, knowing that if I put all my power into it, I'd shatter the floor tiles with my magic. It's not something I like to brag about, but even without magic, I'm pretty physically strong, so I managed to escape school without being harassed by the handsome guy.

I managed to get out of school, but I still have that promise to meet Asakawa-san afterward... I'm not really feeling it, but I made the promise, so I have to keep it. As a socially awkward introvert, I'm terrible at saying no.

I'll stop by the condo I own near Shibuya Station. I have a spare change of clothes and dungeon gear there, so I can just walk from there to the station. I originally bought the place to spend money and for its convenience to the Shibuya Dungeon, so it should be perfect.

That said, what could Asakawa-san want to talk to me about? It's probably about the dungeon, isn't it? I saved her because she was in danger, but it's the second time... Plus, I told her I'd explain the shikigami later, so I really can't refuse.

Well, whatever. It'll be what it'll be... It's not like I have anything to hide, so we'll just talk, and then we'll part ways. After that... Since it's a day off, maybe I'll skip the dungeon. I mostly go to the dungeon for work or to relieve stress... I can handle going to the dungeon every day, but if I spend all my time working and then go to the dungeon for fun too, I'll lose my mind.