High School Hack and Slash Chapter 68 Part 1
The Missing One
「We’re not going to the dungeon anymore….」
Asura, whose tail was drooping, was holding her knees.
The ones gathered in the living area were the Adept Orders and the only eight surviving members of the Black Honey.
In addition to the three from the previous day, the nine who had just returned from death in the dungeon remained in an unconscious state and were being let to rest in the lodging house.
These were the members who had been killed by the same boss monster, and it was obvious that they had received some sort of negative influence from that individual.
「But, Prez. If we don’t defeat that guy, everyone will be….」
「Absolutely not!」
Asura, nimbly jumping down from her chair, went and ran away, covering her ears.
On the table, a cup of sweet tea and a freshly baked muffin were left behind.
The vice president, who now had ended up being reduced to her alone, bowed her head to Touma, who stood up from his seat with a creak.
「… Please take care of Asura-chan …」
Even after Touma, who nodded in silence, went after Asura, the air remained heavy and no one wanted to open their mouths.
「… She doesn’t want anyone to fall anymore. Asura-chan is.」
「But, Kaoru-chan. At this rate….」
「Now that Nenene-chan has fallen too, our strength has ended up being reduced by half…. I think the option of retreating once and rearranging our strength is not wrong either.」
The A-ranked club, Black Honey, had members who didn’t participate in this raid quest.
In addition, if they reported the investigation this time and it was judged to be a raid quest of a rank beyond advanced, there was a possibility that an emergency quest would be issued to the other high rankers club, too.
However, there was no telling when that would happen.
Depending on the category of the raid, there was also the fear that it would be set to be sealed.
「… in that case, it might be too late. ……」
「It’s, hard to say.」
No one knew the answer.
Even so, they all knew that the possibility was high.
「I’m sorry. I don’t know much about raid quests. But in order to save everyone who has fallen, do we have to deal with that boss monster?」
「Mikan-chan, that’s…」
Looking at the thoughtful profile of Mikan, Rinko’s outstretched hand stopped.
「… I don’t know. But the possibility is high …」
「If there is anything we can do…」
Holding the doll in her lap, Kanzashi silently shook her head.
「… before, we’ve fought a similar opponent …」
「Kan-chan, you mean…」
「… Yes. The『Insect King’s Prison (Fablehaven)』 …. an unauthorized『Invasion (Barbaroi)』 raid ….」
It was a nomination request for several top-ranked clubs, in the name of a joint exercise training between the clubs.
The target raid quest was『Insect King’s Prison (Fablehaven)』.
The difficulty level was intermediate, but the fact that a number of Lost Man had emerged from the club members wasn’t made public.
Fortunately, the Black Honey members of the time were all safe, but as a related party to the event, they would never forget the panic that ensued in the raid domain.
『Returning from death』, which was only natural for them, had ever served as the prerequisite for their tactics.
With『returning from death』 being ineffective, as if having their insides devoured, their fear had ended up being brought up to the surface.
This was also the incident that served as the trigger for Tetsuro to join the Black Honey.
「… if this is an『Invasion (Barbaroi)』 raid, then this place is not safe either …」
「Does that mean monsters are going to attack even the safe area, I wonder?」
「… Yes. A clear『malice』…. they were enemies harboring such a thing, after all ….」
◇ ◇ ◇
Dry and withering wind is blowing.
The laundry, already dry and forgotten to be brought in, is fluttering.
The rooftop of the main building tower is surrounded by a serrated wall where cannons and crossbows could be set up.
It is an uneven wall, like the one on a chess rook’s piece.
Sitting on one of these ledges, Doggy-senpai is curled up into a small ball with her knees in her arms, just like before.
Her dispirited tail is painful to look at.
「… I’m sorry.」
As I am wondering how to call out to her, I hear a quiet apology from Doggy-senpai, who remains turning her back on me.
*Swoosh* The wind blows under the starry sky of the white night.
「I’m sorry for dragging you into this.」
「Doggy-senpai.」
Her back looks overly small.
Her voice sounds like she is crying.
「It wasn’t supposed to be like this…. It’s just, together with everyone….」
Even as I move closer to her side, she remains turning her back on me.
I’m not sure how to respond to such a Doggy-senpai.
If it’s about getting us involved in a troublesome raid quest, that may be true.
Originally, it was probably an irrelevant quest for a worthless club like us.
However, there is no way for us to harbor ill will towards Doggy-senpai, towards the Black Honey Club who had invited us to go with them.
There’s no way for us to harbor any grudge against them.
It’s because, ah, that’s right.
Because Doggy-senpai is already, my, our friend.
This brazen, boisterous, honest, and energetic Glutton-san is our friend.
If we can be on our friend’s side when she’s in trouble, that’s definitely a fortunate thing.
「Senpai. Is there anything I can do for you?」
But Doggy-senpai, who looks back at me, simply shakes her head with a slightly tearful face.
◇ ◇ ◇
「Damnit! I should’ve been training for a time like this!」
Tetsuro gritted his teeth as he punched the rampart surrounding the interception base with his bare hand.
「Calm down, Tetsuro-kun. There’s no point in blaming yourself.」
「But, Kaoru-san. After being saved at that time, now is the time when I have to return the favor, and yet….」
*Grrt* The sound of gnashing teeth echoed.
「… That wasn’t an existence that could be dealt with with our hands. It was a completely transcendent (overrule) individual.」
「Then, you mean we should just abandon everyone like this!」
The problem wasn’t that there was a difference in their levels, but that there was a difference in their existence levels.
Rather than upwardly superior, it was an existence that went beyond the rules of common sense.
The one who could fight against it was not human, but ought to be an existence who similarly deviated from the rules of humanity.
「In short, you mean Prez, huh….」
「Yes. It may sound heartless, but Asura-chan’s judgment is correct. For argument’s sake, if we challenge it again, there will surely be casualties.」
「You mean we’re, I’m just holding her back, huh… So pathetic. What the heck have I been training for….」
*Thud, thud*A dull thud struck the ramparts.
「…–I’m sorry. I’m going to go cool my head.」
As the sound of erratic footsteps became distant, Kaoru, with his hand on his forehead, leaned against the castle wall.
「… That’s right. Asura-chan is right. As the President, she has chosen, the right option.」
These words were as if he were making excuses to himself, as if he were persuading himself.
As the leader of the group, she had opted for loss-cutting to prevent further damage.
It was a ruthless but not wrong choice.
However, as long as it was not wrong, did that mean it was right?
「Quite the horrible face you’ve got there. Senpai.」
「What a rude thing to say to a maiden. Seiichi-kun.」
The place the voice originated from was the top of the ramparts.
With him remaining not showing himself, they didn’t face each other.
「… There’s something I’d like to ascertain, but… This current situation, have you been told to keep quiet about it from the beginning?」
「That’s not the case at all. I have no interest in falling to such a lowlife that I’d sell out my comrades, nor have I thought about turning into such a traitorous being that need to be cut down, should be.」
「In short, it’s just a coincidence?」
Letting out a sigh, Kaoru crossed his arms as he leaned against the ramparts.
「I can understand you feeling skeptical…. Honestly, I feel like crap myself. I have no definite proof, but I guess there’s no doubt that as they use us as their investigation unit, they treat us as sacrificial pawns.」
「How dangerous of a monster it is, I wonder?」
「We couldn’t even appraise its name. I had a bad feeling about it at that point. The type was a humanoid giant, and although it didn’t use any special skills, its monstrous strength alone was enough to make it a monster. And then, our attacks were completely ineffective.」
『Officer』 or『Craftsman』 possessed a skill to analyze their target.
The more superior the target, the lower the accuracy of the analysis, but if even the name was unknown, it was either due to there being a great difference in level or that their stage of existence was simply different.
RELEASE RATE
High School Hack and Slash
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
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