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High School Hack and Slash Chapter 155 Part 3

「… Rather, Subaru, how did slip off of it?」

「Huh, I just normally went, like, fwip.」

「I believe I’ve tied you up properly, though… Phew… Nn.」

Anju, returning to the card for once and manifesting again in her academy uniform, rode Subaru on his back.

「Err.」

「Don’t mind it. I’m your guardian spirit, Subaru.」

「Well… Whatever. Fuuka, could you show us the way?」

「Nm. The originator guardian spirit shall guide you.」

Nodding her head, Fuuka held Subaru’s left arm in her arms.

Ruka, whose lips pouted even more, twined her hand around his right arm.

「Really, Subaru is, really….」

「Err, I’m sorry. Ruka.」

「… You know. Would you, umm, prefer me to tie you up as well?」

「W, why, do you ask that?」

Given the fact that he had been toyed with in restraints from which he could easily slip off, in other words, there wasn’t even any need to ask.

◇ ◇ ◇

「Oh my, what a coincidence for us to meet at such a place. Are you going for a walk?」

「Woof.」

「I see, you are at work, huh. Thank you for your hard work~.」

「Woof woof.」

「Dear me, I’m on patrol here, too~. I don’t think there’s any student who would go out on a day like this, though. Geez, Senpai is a real piece of shit, you see. I mean, she pushed all of it on me, after all.」

「Woof~」

「Thank you very much. But it’s quite bad, you see. It’s pretty conspicuous. No, no, no, it’s too much to be a normal dog, after all.」

「… Woof.」

「Alright, OK. With that size, somehow or other, barely, I don’t think you can’t pass for a dog, I guess~」

The woman in plain clothes was not a student of the academy.

She was a former student, an alumnus, and one of the contract teachers employed by the academy.

In terms of post-graduation courses, it was among the elite category.

Basically, they never met current students.

They were in charge of night patrols, back-up personnel for events, and other chores at the academy.

「Woof woof.」

「Huh, you’re going to give me, a reward? In this place, public eyes are… Ah, no, I’m interested, but… How about going over there for a bit? Huh, you’re on wait, so you can’t? How cruel of you after getting my hopes up….」

The somewhat dubious conversation broke off.

What Subaru and the others saw as they stepped out of the school building was an older lady who was petting a slightly large dog.

「… Err, um, weren’t you talking to the dog?」

「Oh my, a student who asks some strange questions, aren’t we? There’s no way you can have a conversation with a dog, right?」

「Woof.」

Implying: exactly as she said; the dog-like guy agreed with her.

「But, just now, surely.」

「For you to come to the dungeon even on a day like this, what diligent students you are. That’s very admirable of you. Keep up the good work.」

「Ah, yes.」

Subaru, who was almost won over as he had an older beautiful woman smiled sweetly at him, let out a scream.

Thanks to a pinch in the side from the guardian spirit on his back.

「Ahaha. You sure are popular, aren’t you? No, you girls are….」

Blinking, she took another look at Subaru and the three girls who were hugging him.

She put her hand over her mouth and nodded in admiration.

「— this is amazing. I can’t believe you… managed to pick up three Lost Cards. With you level, I believe it’s impossible for you to create (abstract) them yourself, after all.」

「Wha?!」

「It looks like you’re keeping it a secret from the academy, but you’ve made the correct choice there. It won’t solve anything, so I don’t really recommend doing it. This is off the record, though, okay?」

The girls summoned their weapons in a flash, but were taken aback by her wink and smile.

「And then, I less recommend taking a head-on aggressive stance against the academy security force (us). It’s a group of people on the level where the minimum line is the fourth step, after all. If you think things are turning bad, you must choose the command to flee immediately.」

At the presence exuded by her, who played the fool and shrugged her shoulders, Subaru and the others were so overwhelmed that they couldn’t even move an inch.

Should there be difference in class change stage, even it was just one, there would be just as much『disparity』 between them.

The higher the rank, the more they could feel and understand it.

「If you can understand it, then surely you guys have the qualities for it. Good luck, okay?」

As she was about to turn on her heels, thinking: awright, managed to gloss it over smoothly; Subaru’s voice was hot on her heels.

「W, wait, please wait… I beg you.」

「How persistent of you. I’m telling you that I’ll turn a blind eye to you, you know?」

Or rather, it was her who wished them to turn a blind eye to her.

The rumor of her badgering a dog for a reward was one that would easily lead her to committing suicide.

「I, I want to turn them back, to how they used to be! That’s why…」

「Ah~, yes, yes. Frankly speaking, that’s probably impossible, I guess. At the very least, at the academy’s research institute, there’s no records of such an endeavor succeeding. I mean, I’ve also been asked to help out a few times. That one is an experiment of extracting a monster from a monster card, though.」

「N, no way….」

「You have an Officer-type class, too, don’t you? In that case, mastering your skills will be more beneficial to those girls.」

Fuuka, supporting Subaru who had crumbled down and fallen to his knees, opened her mouth.

「At this point, I couldn’t care less, about where I can go back or not. What I want to ask is something else. How can you summon and maintain such a boss-rank monster on the above ground?」

「It’s the same as you girls… I guess not, huh. Come to think of it, how can you be in a place like this?」

「Woof?」

When you were a former student who had become a staff of the academy, it was a tacit understanding that if you possessed some monster crystals, you could use a certain degree of skills even on the above ground.

All the more so as most of the people employed as contract teachers were former duel committee members.

The deeper the dungeon stratum from which monsters crystals you could harvest, the longer they would last and the higher the output of the skills you could draw out.

Even so, once brought to the above ground, they would volatilize within a few minutes, and even if it was in the vicinity of the academy, where the concentration of the miasma in the air was high, they wouldn’t last more than half a day.

The same was true for summoned monsters.

Leaving aside ones on the level of mere goblins that boasted low existence level (rarity), in order for high-ranked monsters to maintain their existences, they would need a suitable catalyst.

The mysterious dog onto which all gazes gathered thought for a moment, then huffed as it stuck out its tongue and wagged its tail.

「Arf arf.」

「No, no, no, even if you pretend to be a doggy at this point… But it’s not like we have any obligation to answer your questions or anything, right? Originally, we’re not allowed to make contact with the students, you see. Therefore, I did not see you guys, and you guys did not meet with me.」

「P, please wait.」

「No, I won’t. Well, you guys seem to be good kids, so I’m sure they’ll be willing to accept you guys.」

*Tehepero* Winking and sticking out her tongue as she struck an impish pose, she then disappeared.

She literally disappeared, leaving not even footprints behind.

Whether it was skill or martial art, Subaru and the others were unable to tell.

All that remained was the hustle and bustle of the dog that barefacedly barked *arf arf* and the group of people that boisterously came out of the entrance after finishing their shopping at the purchasing department.