3 bar menu

High School Hack and Slash Chapter 146×1 Part 1

Charge, Neighborhood Asagi-sou!

「… Hmm. Just why is that girl living in the entry-class low level dorm?」

One of the ace attackers of the『A』 ranked club Tenjou Tenka (World’s Mine).

Class holder of『Taishogun (Great General)』, a fourth step class of the『Samurai』 tree of the『Fighter』 branching.

Karin, a female student that was well-known even at the academy and had been given the nickname of『Beautiful Blade』, grumbled as she walked on.

Her destination, Asagi-sou, was a normal dormitory that was known as entry class.

It mainly housed first-year students who had just enrolled to the academy as well as upperclassmen who had reached their limits in dungeon conquest.

It was so humble of a dormitory incomparable to the middle class Four Gods dormitories and the high-end class Qilin-sou.

If one were to use an analogy, the difference was akin to between a guest house and a luxury hotel.

It was only natural for students who were making good progress in their dungeon conquest to seek a comfortable living environment.

However, just because the place where they lived was inconvenient, the thought of remodeling the dormitory wouldn’t necessarily cross their minds, normally.

「Err, this way… I wonder? Geez, it’s so confusing.」

Karin was cursing as she walked along, relying on roadside signs and the map in her electronic student handbook.

The map displayed in the handbook was nothing more than a geographical drawing.

GPS and other location support functions did not work within the electromagnetic interference area centered on the academy.

Moreover, even among the entry class dormitories scattered around the academy grounds, Asagi-sou was a women’s dormitory located in an exceedingly remote area.

Due to its topography, the miasma leaking from the dungeon tended to stagnate there, and it was even called a『Haunted House』.

Therefore, an awfully large number of applications to move out of the dormitory had been submitted, but now, for some reason, even the voices of dissatisfaction had vanished.

Rather, even those dorm residents who were eligible to move to a higher ranked dormitory were stubbornly refusing to leave.

「So Asagi-sou is located at the end of this road, huh.」

Karin, who had finally found the sign, looked at the road leading into the thickly overgrown jungle.

Even as she looked into the distance, she could not see any buildings that looked like dormitories, and the path that was akin to a hiking trail was simply continuing on.

Unless they were residents of the dormitory, surely they wouldn’t even draw anywhere near the place.

As Karin continued to walk along the path, she, too, soon came to wonder if by any chance she had taken the wrong way.

The forest that boasted thick vegetation was akin to a nature field in the dungeon.

It even felt as if monsters were lurking deep in the trees, observing this side.

In fact, dubious compound eyes could be seen gleaming on top of the trees and deep in the bushes.

They were the ones assuming the roles of scouting unit (path finder) of the mysterious Asagi-sou Defense Force.

As they sported the size of a palm and were of the type that specialized in stealth, it was difficult to spot them.

Even so, they were endowed with enough combat power to kill something on the level of a goblin in an instant.

Faint lights twinkling and flickering was the result of the unit meeting via optical signal communication.

It seemed that the decision was made to overlook her as a target to be monitored rather than eliminated.

「Huh… W, who is there?」

*Rustle rustle* As the bushes shook, Karin put herself on guard against the object that was getting closer to her through the bushes.

The scabbard mouth of the katana she always strapped to her waist had already been unlocked.

It was forbidden to draw your sword on the academy grounds, but if it was to exterminate POP monsters, it was a different story.

「A, a boar?」

The one that vigorously came out of the bushes with a bang was a gigantic beast, which was more than two meters long and more than one meter tall.

It had tusks as sharp as knives and horns sprouting from its head, but it didn’t look unlike a boar.

「Ta-daah! I caught a big game!」

「Not a, boar… you’re Black Honey’s….」

The one who was carrying the boar from under it was a female student clad in fluffy kigurumi equipment.

She was the president of the『A』 ranked Black Honey club as well as one of the『Seven Deadly Sins』 bearing the nickname of『The Beast (Doggy) of Gluttony』.

「Oh my? Err, I believe you’re Karin-chan from Tenjou Tenge.」

「I, I have no reason to called with a chan by you.」

As they similarly belonged to an A-ranked club of the martial faction, they were acquainted with each other.

Besides, any student who would be given a nickname could be said to be a celebrity.

「Then, you can call me Asura-chan, too.」

「That’s not the problem here, is it? … Good graciousness. This is why Black Honey is….」

Fellow high ranked clubs harboring rivalries with each other was the normal practice.

As the number of seats at the top was fixed, they were nothing more than rivals competing for tiles.

However, there were also clubs that although they harbored little such ambition, they wound up becoming high rankers simply because they boasted the prowess of one.

The Black Honey club was a typical example of such a club, and from her point of view, they were an opponent that threw her off kilter.

「Karin-chan, did you come to play at Asagi-Sou too?」

「I’m not such an idle of a person!」

「Well, you can go with me. I’ll treat you to some delicious snacks.」

「… I knew it, I didn’t take the wrong way, huh.」

Grabbing the giant boar’s leg that had been lowered with a thud, she directed her steps toward Asagi-sou, dragging it slitheringly all the while.

The sight of an adorable petite girl lightly towing an object more than 10 times her own weight made a surreal image.

「Is that really a boar? I mean, why did you even hunt a game?」

「The boar is a gift. If I ask Kurumi-chan to roast it whole, it will definitely be delicious.」

She licked her lips with the tip of her tongue.

「A whole roast… to begin with, you, for what purpose have you come here?」

「Today I come invited. I mean, I get the feeling that I wasn’t invited, but when I heard that they were going to hold a banquet, I couldn’t help but take it as an invitation, so I’m coming to crash in.」

「Heeh, I see. It seems that Japanese is not understandable, so I wonder if you could call an interpreter for me?」

「Kaoru-chan and everyone from Black Honey will be joining us later, so there’s no need to worry.」

「So tough. Even a sarcasm doesn’t sink in.」

*Thump thump* *trudge trudge* Matching sounds of footsteps continued on.

「Karin-chan, do you have business at Asagi-sou?」

「Well, yeah… I’m coming to pick up my rival.」

◇ ◇ ◇

　As the two drew closer to Asagi-sou, the surrounding vegetation was turning chaotic.

Most of the academy grounds had turned into a forest of beech trees with autumn leaves.

But vegetation such as ferns that stood tall, huge insectivorous plant-like vines, and cherry-like mysterious trees with out-of-season blossoms were growing in a disorderly manner there.

「… Say, isn’t something not quite right here?」

「It’s business as usual, though?」

Asura, who was waving back at the dorm students with whom they passed by, tilted her head slightly.

Asura, who frequently made appearances in Asagi-sou, had become a familiar mascot-like figure for the dorm residents.

Rest day after the inter-club tournament.

Dorm residents who headed out to play at the student street were a lot in number.

Naturally and showing no signs of them feeling anything out of the ordinary in particular, these girls simply looked as if they were enjoying their daily lives.

「No, yeah… I guess it’s just my imagination, huh.」

Karin, who came to feel as if she were diving into the dungeon or stepping into an other world (raid) domain, shook her head.

For argument’s sake, if the miasma pressure was on such a level, it would not be surprising even if powerful monsters, not just Null Mobs, were to POP.

It should not be an environment where you could go out and walk around with impunity.

Well, in fact, monsters that boasted high danger levels were turned into EXP (snacks) by the swarm of multi-legged mobile weapons, the kitchen garden series, or the strolling raid boss-class pets.