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High School Hack and Slash Chapter 162

Xmas-EVE

On the night of Christmas Eve, as predicted, snow is fluttering.

The snow falling silently and heavily has more elegance than a blizzard.

From the venue of the Asagi-sou Christmas party, a lively hustle and bustle can still be heard.

As Otoha-senpai has declared, there seems to be many dorm residents making merry throughout the night.

After the sun sets and the curtain of night descends, the illumination makes for a fantastic sight.

In the backyard that can also be seen from the recreation room on the second floor, there stands a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments.

Not only the club members, but all the dormitory students have happily decorated the tree.

Instead of decorative lights, light crystals collected in the 『New World (Genesis World)』 are glowing.

The snow accumulated on the branches acts as a screen, reflecting various shades of color.

Ah, come to think of it, Fir Tree-kun, which arrived here on the morning of Christmas Eve, got eyed by our native plants.

I was startled to see it being smashed with tomatoes and coconuts.

It seems they didn’t like the fact that it didn’t greet them.

Leaving such a trivial matter aside.

I, having left the party venue, have come to the club room (provisional) to interview those who wish to join the club.

The club room is decorated in Christmas style, making it fancy and fantasy-like.

Konnyaku-man and the others are having a party, so it’s a somewhat chaotic blend of Japanese and Western fantasy.

It must have been prepared for them by Kurumi-senpai and the others.

Non-resident visitors have also come today, so they apparently thought letting Konnyaku-man and the others run free would be a bad idea, as expected.

In fact, Konnyaku-man and death biwa, wearing triangular party hats, are sitting at the counter gulping down hot sake with a side of oden.

Paper umbrella, which has a low tolerance for alcohol, immediately topples over with its radish leg dyed red.

Teakettle Tanuki-kun, who is placed on a hibachi (earthenware brazier), is happily whistling and emitting steam.

Well, about half of them seem to have made a trip to the party venue below, but I guess they won’t be much of a nuisance.

「Well then, let’s hear it out. It seems to be a story that’s little hard to believe, though.」

「… For you, someone who would calmly host such a crazy party, I believe it wouldn’t be particularly surprising.」

No, there seems to be some misunderstandings here.

All I did was scout for fir tree, and had nothing to do with the preparations for the party.

「If you find something on this level crazy, I very much believe you will not be able to make it here at Asagi-sou from here on.」

Shizuka-san, dressed in a Santa costume, is in mastermind mode.

Or rather, weren’t they applicants to join the Adept Orders, I wonder?

I have no recollections of the group of one boy and three girls.

There’s something akin to wariness radiated by the girls, but the small boy is directing an entreating gaze at me.

The only ones acting as interviewers are me and Shizuka in her fluffy Santa costume.

It seems that they have met with all the other club members except me beforehand.

The Senpais gave a half-hearted approval.

Seiichi was also like: Well, it’s fine, isn’t it?

Given their circumstances, he said it would be unlikely for them to betray us.

「So, it seems you wish to join the Adept Orders (us), but….」

In the first place, we aren’t very assertive in increasing our club members.

It’s not like we’re aiming to be the STRONGEST or anything, as long as we have enough achievements to not get looked down upon and prowess to conquer the dungeon, that’s fine.

Even if we stand out in a strange way, we’ll only attract trouble.

「I guess so. This is not a scouting from us, but completely an application to join the club from these kids. After all, we have enough harem members for Touma-san, so we do not need supplementation in that area.」

There’s no helping it even if I were to deny it at this point, and the situation of me keeping the Senpais around is akin to a harem.

But I can’t accept the fact that the three girls are directing cold gazes at me.

For the most part, this so-called Subaru-kun also has a harem constitution, doesn’t he?

「Yes. That is why, I believe there will be no chance for mistake to occur.」

「It’s okay. If Subaru were getting in heat, I’ll let it off right away.」

「I won’t tolerate cheating.」

「… Hey, Anju-chan! You too, Fuuka-san, now is not a good time to do such a thing, duh.」

The expressionless girl called Anju holds Subaru’s right arm and nibbles on his earlobe.

The older-looking girl called Fuuka tightly squeezes Subaru-kun’s crotch from over his pants.

The girl who rebukes the two as she seems to get a late start is called Ruka, I believe.

The all important Subaru-kun is blushing and letting out ah~ and u~ sound.

He seems to also have a passive constitution.

「If everyone in the club isn’t opposed to it, then I have no objection to approving it either.」

But what to do in terms of member count?

Since the last inter-club tournament was treated as invalid matches, the official ranking of us, the Adept Orders, is still『C』.

Naturally, the maximum number of club members that can be expanded by increasing the rank also remains the same, with 25 being the maximum number of members.

To recap, there are the 7 initial party members of me, Seiichi, Shizuka, Mai, Saki, Miharu, and Natsumi.

The 13 Senpais of 12 Ex-Adept Workers Senpais plus Otoha-senpai.

The 4 of Mirin, Serie, Nodoka and Shinobu who joined during the summer vacation.

In total, there are 24 members, which means there is only one slot left.

「There is no problem about that either. As there is only one person who wish to join the club.」

「Hm?」

Santa Shizuka-san, asserting as such, turns her gaze to Subaru-kun.

I’m shown the reason why it’s okay for Subaru-kun to be the only one to join us.

… I don’t quite get it, but am I right to assume that the three girls are a kind of monster card?

For there to be a chance for such a thing to occur when you die in the dungeon, that’s a bit too much of a trap.

「I, I want to restore them to being human again. But I haven’t found any clues yet… So at least, I want to make it possible for them to exist in their human forms.」

I don’t think there is any falsehood in Subaru-kun’s words as he desperately appeals so.

The miasma pressure around the Asagi-sou is comparable to that of the outer stratum of the dungeon, it seems.

It’s on the level where the card doggies summoned by Natsumi and Miharu can maintain themselves normally, and other than us, the dorm residents can also activate their skills normally.

Moreover, this is not a transient environment, but has maintained such a state since who-knows-when.

If this were in any other place where the miasma concentration was lower, the summoned monsters would be reduced to cards in the blink of an eye, and even if they did manage to activate their skills, they would be severely attenuated.

「So please let me, let us join the Adept Orders! I’ll do anything.」

I feel like Shizuka-san would press: You said you would do anything, didn’t you?; but there’s no retort at it.

In the first place, it’s dubious whether this matter has anything to do with joining our club.

Joining the club and moving into the dormitory are two different things.

「For better or worse, this Asagi-sou is a women’s dormitory, after all. We cannot afford to shelter a complete outsider here.」

「No, that’s not it.」

I understand the circumstances of Subaru-kun and the others, and that they don’t seem to have bad personalities.

But I don’t understand why they wish to join our club.

To begin with, a lot of our club members are shy around strangers.

I think everyone has a strong unity, but that means there’s an exclusionary side to it as well.

「I have no intention to deny you from joining our club, but let me ask you this… What makes you be in such a hurry?」

What is it that compels them to take the trouble of doing an interview in the middle of winter break, on Christmas night even?

「I am sorry, Touma-san. Please wait a little. —Well then, you have received the approval of Touma-san, the club president, so you have hereby officially joined the club.」

「Y, yes.」

「With this, I believe our『ties』, no… our path (vision) and yours have officially crossed.」

At the words of Santa Shizuka-san, Subaru-kun straightens up his posture.

What he’s holding in the hands he has placed on his lap is a single book.

I can feel some kind power from the thick hardcover book.

『The Sibylla Chapters』

I don’t know what the name means, but it is most likely a powerful magic item.

It must be an item from a suitably high-leveled raid or treasure chest.

Even though it is not a weapon for direct bashing, it is suitable for Subaru-kun’s class of Officer.d

 

Name, 『Kitaouji Subaru』

Rank, 10+20+20+20

Abilities, 『Human』, 『Officer』, 』 『Collector』, 『Prophet』

Existence Level, ☆☆☆☆

 

While we’re at it, Subaru-kun’s status, which I checked through Interface, is not half bad.

Or rather, he is more well-trained than the hero party in our classroom.

He has two subclasses of the Officer branching, and they have been leveled up to the max.

For him to grow beyond this point, there’s a need for him to break through the 『New World (Genesis World)』.

If he managed to make it this far on his own, contrary to his appearance, he is quite the gutsy boy.

「… Well then. Once again, please try to predict the future.」

「Err, then… 『O Book of Covenants (Load Akashic)』.」

*Flutter* The book held by Subaru-kun, who is closing his eyes, is flipped over as if blown by a breeze.

But still, Precognition.

I guess it’s a skill of the class called 『Prophet』, one I’ve never seen before, huh.

It seems to be as rare as the unregistered (unknown) class Umeka-senpai possesses, the 『Labyrinth Creator (Dungeon Creator)』.

It seems that you might be able to obtain such a rare class if you have a very outstanding quality or if you possess an item that serves as its key.

Well, I have a feeling that Umeka-senpai is the former, while Subaru-kun is the latter.

*Thud * The book, whose pages have been flipped over, is closed.

「The loading is finished…, but….」

Subaru-kun floats a half-hearted smile, as if he had failed at something.

「Is there, some sort of changes?」

There’s a hint of subtleness to Santa Shizuka’s expression as well, as if something was stuck.

Ah, come to think of it, Shizuka’s class 『Giou』 also has an ability (skill) called 『Dream Mirror (Oracle)』, doesn’t it?

It’s a basic ability of Miko-type class, a passive skill that cannot be activated at will, but is said to allow you to obtain visions through 『Precognitive Dreams』, or something like that.

「As I thought, we have no future. Err, the academy, or rather Japan… or more like, it seems like the world is going to be destroyed.」

Subaru-kun floats a dry smile, saying: It sure is troubling, isn’t it?

◇ ◇ ◇

　The snow that was falling heavily covered the world of night with white.

Was it black dyed with white or white dyed with black?

There were myriad ways to look at it and perceive it.

「Good graciousness, these kinds of events are not for us. Asura sure is a troubling one.」

Kokoa, standing on the terrace of Asagi-sou, let out a sigh.

She had come after being forcefully dragged out by her friend as well as kindred spirit, Asura.

True to the words unwelcome favor.

However, if it were not for Asura, the weight that kept them connected to reality, most likely they would have melted into the dungeon and disappeared by now.

The lively Christmas party sported a momentum where it would continue all night long.

She was a powerhouse whose name was well-known in the academy, but she was never called by name.

The representative of transcendent class, the『Seven Deadly Sins』.

She, the holder of the Pride seat, looked around.

「No matter how far we go, we are deviants. Hence, those who have crossed the line (Over-irregular).」

「Hell if I care, you idiot. More importantly, I have to fap.」

The silhouette of a boy standing behind the snowman was moving in a way that was hard to describe.

「… For you to rape a snowman, I do find it questionable, though.」

It was an eccentricity that had gone as far as it could go.

However, he, the holder of the Lust seat, snickered at her.

「Hah, you don’t get it, huh? Then let me teach you. Listen well, okay? Like this, if you thrust your hand into the snow, you’ll soon lose its sensation. Then, promptly grab your own thing.」

「Enough. I very much, could not care less about it.」

「It feels like you’re fapping with someone else’s hand.」

「Do not continue.」

「Furthermore, by cooling the base part of your crotch, with a novel coolfap… Ugeh!」

As a powerful and swift snowball exploded in his face, he sank down.

Kokoa, who let out a deeper sigh than before, put her hand on her forehead.

Raping some passing girls would be way more wholesome.

In fact, from generations to generations, the students who acquired the authority of 『Lust』 had all created proper harems.

In a sense, it was the harmful effect of having too much aptitude for it.

He had reached self-love (narcissism), the end point of his original sin (karma), without self-destructing.

That path was nothing but the act of denying (killing) the world (reality) and building a world (fantasia) inside themselves.

That was one of the destination points of beings such as themselves.

Existences who reached this point had all deviated from the world.

Therefore, they could not interfere with it either.

The only way to make it possible was by choosing another, holding up their own fantasy and waging war against the world.

「Now that things have reached this point, there is no denying it. Ultimately, we are no more than major supporting characters.」

As a Pride holder, she was just a bystander.

It was exactly because she was an existence that deviated the world that it was possible for her to look at the world from a bird’s eye view and observe it.

Looking up at the window from the snowy outside, she asked a question to someone.

「Yeah, the trend of the world has already been set, has ended up being set. Now, o world-destroying deadly sin, what is it that you wish for?」