kscans

Chapter 17 - The Self-Proclaimed Ninja's Fine Plays and Fumbles

...This is awkward.

I stood facing the man in front of me, who was wearing a kettle hat, I think it was called? A metal, helmet-like thing. I was at a loss for what to say next.

Looking closely, I noticed his ears were somewhat cat-like, so he was probably a 'Cat Beastman' like the woman who had been running at the front. No, that doesn't matter right now. For starters...

"Um, are you injured...?"

"Ah, yes."

It seemed he had been frozen, too, but my words rebooted him.

His dazed expression vanished, replaced by a sharp, focused look.

"One of my companions has sprained her ankle, and we have some bruises... but I don't believe any of the injuries are life-threatening."

"I see. That's a relief."

I let out a genuine sigh of relief.

Honestly, I didn't know what I would have done if he'd said someone's life was in danger without immediate treatment.

Truth is, my unique skill allows me to heal others... but I want to keep that hidden as much as possible.

That said, I'm pretty sure it would haunt me forever if I just abandoned them and they died, so my relief was from the bottom of my heart.

"Thank you so much for saving us back there. I don't know how to possibly repay you."

"No... um, the one who said we should help was my partner, I just..."

The Cat Beastman bowed deeply, and I took a step back, waving my hands dismissively.

Being thanked so earnestly made my chest ache with guilt for even considering abandoning them.

"Your partner, you say. I've been hearing a voice this whole time..."

"Indeed, it is I, the ninja!!"

"?!"

Erina-san's loud declaration and smug expression made the man and his companions whip their heads around in surprise.

Oh, she's still using [Invisibility].

"I am one who lurks in the shadows of society. You must forgive the discourtesy of my not revealing myself!!"

What is she even talking about.

Her content was nonsense, and even her phrasing was bizarre. Oh, wait, that's just her normal self.

Her excitement had clearly broken through the stratosphere. With a smug 'mhu-huu' grin, she folded her arms under her chest, striking a pose that was meant to look cool. While invisible.

For now, I subtly averted my eyes from her emphasized chest. This was, of course, to maintain vigilance over our surroundings.

Always on the battlefield. Caution is the parent of safety. Tighten your helmet strings after a victory. I must not waste the great wisdom left by our predecessors.

This had nothing to do with the fact that a 'blonde, busty, beautiful classmate'—a being straight out of an eroge—was threatening to disturb my inner peace. Not at all.

"A... a ninja...?"

The Cat Beastman looked confused. I mean, of course he was. Anyone would be confused if someone suddenly claimed to be a ninja.

Toward him, the invisible, self-proclaimed ninja struck a determined pose.

"Indeed. We are members of the secret society, the Invisible Ninjas...!"

That is soooooo lame.

That name is just unacceptable. I wanted to retort, asking what she was on about with a 'secret society,' but before that, the name Invisible Ninjas was just a total non-starter.

But I won't say anything. Because I don't want to get involved in this conversation...!

While seriously scanning our surroundings, I observed the Cat Beastman's party. He'd said their injuries weren't serious, but just in case...

'Kyou-chan-kun. I did an Appraisal, and none of them have any major injuries. Just some minor bruises and a sprained ankle. It might be fatal in a dungeon, though.'

"Right..."

I whispered my agreement to the voice from my earring. It seemed she shared my concern.

Incidentally, Aira-san was whispering, too.

'Let's leave this to Erina-kun. She's not an idiot. She'll handle it well.'

"Right..."

'Besides, I don't want to talk to people who look older than me and outnumber us...!'

I'm starting to worry a little about this person's future.

"Um... so, Invisible Ninjas-san. Again, thank you for your help. I don't know if you'll believe me, but we had no intention of 'training' the monsters on you..."

"Worry not. We are those who live in shadow, who walk in shadow... To be blunt, that stuff is a hassle, so it's OK if you don't worry about it!!"

"O-Oh..."

I am so sorry about our self-proclaimed ninja.

I apologized internally to the confused Cat Beastman, but I had no intention of taking over the conversation for Erina-san.

Because strangers are scary...

"We shall take all the dropped items here. In return, we shall act as your escort on the way back, I shall! Is this not a fine proposal, I ask?! Oh, and no prying into each other's affairs, if you please. Because I am a ninja!!"

"That's... yes. Understood."

"Yay! Oh, just give us ten minutes to prepare."

"Understood."

With the matter settled in short order, Erina-san took my hand and led me to the spot where we were gathering data earlier. I wish she wouldn't just grab my hand like that; it makes my heart skip a beat, even through my gauntlets.

The other party moved to the wall on the opposite side. The cafeteria was spacious enough that we couldn't hear their conversation at a normal volume.

"The Kobold Lord's horn is all yours for ten minutes, senpai!!"

'You've done it!!!'

I said at a normal volume, you idiots.

Erina-san efficiently set up her equipment while Aira-san rattled off instructions at high speed.

...Looking at the results, Erina-san had handled the situation perfectly.

We encountered a boss monster and found an injured party. The circumstances forced us to fight... and somehow, we won, leaving us in an awkward spot.

We were supposed to report the boss monster, but it was already dead. Trying to leave with spatial magic would be difficult with this many people.

But leaving them behind would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Escorting them back was the decent thing to do. However, that would leave us with no time to collect data on the dropped items.

Hence, the ten-minute window.

This way, we could pass it off as 'just preparation time for moving out' to the other party and the SDF who would surely question us later, without raising any suspicion. We shouldn't get on the bad side of the store or the Dungeon Agency. They'd probably figure out what we were doing since the drop item would be a wreck... but they wouldn't press the issue.

If we could gather data on a rare boss monster drop during this time, we could keep our sponsor happy, and Aira-san would be in a good mood. We might even get an extra bonus.

Not revealing our identities was also a wise move to avoid future trouble. I was aware, at least to some extent, that we were on the stronger side among Awakened Persons. I wanted to avoid any strange recruitment offers.

I'd heard in the lectures that you could sue someone for training monsters onto you depending on the situation... but this was clearly an accident. If we had suffered any damages, it would be a different story, but we didn't have a single scratch. We didn't need the extra hassle of a lawsuit.

Their party, our sponsor, and us. No one lost out. In fact, everyone gained something.

It felt a bit like she'd steamrolled them with sheer momentum, but she'd managed to wrap things up neatly for all three parties in such a short time. I had to take my hat off to Erina-san.

...Could it be that, if she just fixed her way of speaking, this person is the very embodiment of beauty and talent?

"Oh, right, Kyou-chan."

"Yes?"

Erina-san turned her eyes toward me, though her hands never stopped working.

"I doubt there are, but could you go ask those people if they saw any other boss monsters? And leave 'Byak-chan' here to guard us."

"Got it. If it's just that..."

I felt a little guilty for letting her handle everything up to this point. I could manage a simple, business-like conversation without getting too nervous.

I could... probably!

"And also..."

She turned not just her eyes, but her entire face toward me.

"Thanks for fighting with me! That was a nice fight!"

"...You're welcome."

Feeling my cheeks flush at her innocent smile, I started walking toward the group of four.

I wish she'd stop with the surprise attacks. Those are the one thing my 'Spirit Eye' can't predict.

I restrained the urge to start taking long strides, took a small, deep breath, and approached them. They seemed to have noticed me coming.

"Excuse me. I'd like to ask you something."

"Yes, what is it?"

The Cat Beastman started to stand, but I motioned for him to stay seated and knelt on one knee.

"You were being chased by a Kobold Lord just now, but were there any others? There have been cases of multiple bosses spawning, so I wanted to check just in case."

"I see. No, we didn't see any others. We were too busy running for our lives to be certain, though..."

He glanced at his companions, and all three of them shook their heads.

It seemed there wouldn't be a second helping of boss monster. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good to hear. Excuse me."

"No, um..."

The man hesitated for a moment before looking at me with a somewhat fearful expression.

"I was told not to pry, but may I ask just one thing? How long have you been an adventurer?"

...Hmm. Well, I guess it's okay to answer something like that. He looks strangely serious.

"Since mid-April of this year. So, about half a month."

"............I see."

After a few seconds of silence, the man replied with a wry smile.

＊　　　　　＊　　　　　＊

After that, we were able to escort them to the exit without any further incidents.

Normally, if a boss monster is spotted, the dungeon is supposed to be sealed off until the SDF can exterminate it. But this time, we had already defeated it.

Even the guards stationed at the exit seemed unsure of what to do in this situation.

In the end, it was decided that everyone would just withdraw. Incidentally, the Kobold Lord's horn had been left in a truly pitiful state. It was scorched and smashed to pieces. What on earth did they do to it?

According to Aira-san:

'Even if you brought it to the store in pristine condition, you wouldn't get a single coin for it, right? And taking it out is strictly forbidden. So, we might as well do whatever we want with it!!'

Come to think of it, I remember hearing in a lecture that even if you bring a boss monster's drop item to the buyback counter, they won't assign a price to it.

Apparently, it's out of fear that if they started buying them, adventurers might start taking reckless risks. In that case, I think they should at least give us the same amount as a normal coin, but that's probably a wish that will never come true.

As for us, we're apparently getting a special bonus from the research lab, so I'm satisfied. Amazingly, the reward is double what we got last time.

It was startling and there were some tense moments, but all in all, it was a fruitful dungeon exploration.

...More importantly, though I was in a bit of a panic right after and didn't notice, it seems I leveled up to LV: 3 when I defeated the boss monster.

As the first step after renewing my resolve, it was an auspicious start.

...Although, when I got home, my parents were incredibly worried and almost made me quit being an adventurer, which was a whole ordeal in itself.

'As someone who employs a minor, I'm obligated to report incidents like today's, you know?'

That's what Aira-san had said to me via Telepathy that night while cracking open a Stro-Z, so she must have been the one to tell them about the boss fight.

Her logic was so sound I couldn't argue at all, so I tried to at least blow off some steam with a video game. I mean, what she said was right, but I wish she'd told me before I got home that she'd tattled on me to my parents. I need time to mentally prepare and come up with excuses.

Well, I got completely destroyed in the game anyway. Is this person just unnaturally good at fighting games?

Afterward, she got cocky and started taunting me, so Erina-san, who had joined mid-game, and I teamed up and pelted her with cow dung in 'Matsuo Race' over and over. We really let her have it.