kscans

Chapter 46 - Episode 46

After rescuing the diva who had been turned into a trophy in the Thai dungeon, Rena and I decided not to return to Japan but to go straight to America instead.

A request had come from a person named Keaney, a US Presidential aide, asking us to save the President’s daughter.

The King of Thailand had said he would hold a victory parade for us… but we decided to prioritize saving a life.

As for the attempt to kidnap Rena, they explained that it wasn’t an abduction, but an effort to protect her from Russia and other countries. I have a feeling people from Russia and other countries will probably say something similar.

Well, whatever.

America offered one hundred thousand dollars as compensation for the misunderstanding, and another three million dollars if we successfully rescued the President’s daughter.

What’s more, after we complete the request, the US government will apparently give its full support to our dungeon-clearing activities. The terms of the reward also included preferential tax treatment for the Shinonome Zaibatsu when doing business in the US.

I thought the terms were quite good, so here Rena and I are, on a plane bound for the US. Apparently, this plane belongs to Rena. We flew on it from Japan to Thailand, and now we’re heading to America. Owning a private jet is insane.

It was a fresh reminder of just how amazing the heiress of the Shinonome Zaibatsu is.

"It’s a shame we couldn’t do any sightseeing at all."

"Sorry for making you go along with my selfish request."

"No, it’s okay. I was turned into a trophy too. I really want to help anyone who’s in the same situation as quickly as possible."

Rena had been abducted by the Goddess and threatened with having her personality erased depending on the whims of the dungeon clearer. Because of that, she was very proactive about rescuing trophies, thinking they must be feeling the same terror she did.

As for me, I was using this request to secure funds to spend time with Rena in the future and to boost my fame enough to marry her. The fact that I could also promote the four-sword style was a big plus. Unlike the kind Rena, my motivations were almost entirely selfish.

"You’re amazing, Rena."

"Y, you think so? But you’re the one doing all the hard work, Hayate. I wouldn’t be able to save a single person who’s been turned into a trophy on my own."

It makes me happy to hear her say that.

I’m acting for my own sake, but being thanked for it feels good. It’s like killing two birds with one stone?

"By the way, how long will it take to get to America?"

"This is a supersonic passenger jet, so about seven hours, I think."

"Wow, we’ll get there a lot faster than I thought."

"Still, it’s seven hours. Aren’t you tired, Hayate? There’s a napping room, just so you know."

Rena pointed to the rear.

I had been wondering what that room was, but it was a napping room. Though I feel like I could sleep just fine in the seat I’m in now…

"By the way, how many beds are there?"

"Just one. You must be more tired, Hayate, so you can go ahead and sleep."

It’s true that I feel like I’d recover better if I lay down in a bed. But thanks to my ninja training, I have confidence in my stamina. If anything, I was more worried about Rena, who has been following me around this whole time.

"You use the napping room, Rena. I’m fine here. See, I’ve had ninja training."

"You said you started ninja training because you thought you might be able to use the four-sword style, right? Does it have anything to do with that? Did you also do training to keep going without sleep?"

"Something like that. Because my master told me to."

To be honest, I also thought it didn't have much to do with the four-sword style. But I could feel my physical abilities improving, so I followed my master’s instructions, thinking it might be necessary for later training.

"So this is the result of doing everything you were told."

Rena showed me an archive of my stream on her phone.





Many comments like these had been posted.

"But you can do that much normally, can’t you, Hayate? You seemed to be acting like your usual self."

"Oh. As expected of you, Rena. You get it."

If Rena were ever in real danger, I would use my ninja powers or whatever else it takes to save her with everything I’ve got. But at that time, I didn’t feel like it was that dangerous, so I didn’t use any special powers. I’m glad she understood that.

"Does that mean you can do even more amazing things if you use your ninja powers?"

"I probably can, but it would feel like cheating, so I don’t think I will. Do you know that back when FWO was a game, cheat functions like auto-aim were sold online for a fee?"

By adding unofficial functions to the game, some scoundrels used cheats to climb the rankings, making their attacks always hit the enemy, multiplying their attack power by ten, or making it so they took no damage from any attack.

Of course, the Management worked hard to eradicate cheating, but a game popular all over the world is that much more likely to be targeted by malicious people selling cheat tools.

"Yeah. I always felt like, what’s the fun in using something like that?"

"There are quite a few people in the world who wish they could crush their opponents with overwhelming power. It seems they find it fun even if that power wasn’t gained through effort, but was easily obtained by paying a few hundred dollars."

"But in your case, Hayate, your ninja powers are the result of training, right? They’re not cheats or anything."

"That’s true, but… I just happened to have an aptitude for being a ninja. If I make that power a prerequisite, then no one will ever be able to imitate me. No one will even think of trying the four-sword style."

"I see. Your main goal was to spread the four-sword style, wasn’t it."

"Yeah. I’d like to get the fastest dungeon clear times if I can, but more than that, I want a lot of people to use the four-sword style!"

It’s a little vexing that people are already calling me inhuman, but it’s not impossible if you can draw out 100% of the manipulator’s performance.

In fact, the number of people clearing dungeons by imitating my movements has been increasing recently. I’ve started seeing a lot of reports on social media like, ‘I cleared a dungeon using the Hayate-Style Four-Sword Style!’ That’s why I intend to continue clearing dungeons while keeping my ninja powers sealed away as much as possible.

"Getting back to the topic, are you sure you don’t want to sleep in the napping room, Hayate?"

"Yeah. You can use the bed, Rena."

"But… Th, then, how about we sleep together?"

"Together?"

"It’s a double-sized bed, so it should be fine for two people."

Does that mean…

Is that an invitation to sleep next to her!? Seriously? Is this okay?

Before, when I stayed over at the Shinonome residence, Rena’s father told me it was still not okay for me to sleep in her room.

This isn’t Rena’s room.

And after a seven-hour flight, we have to challenge the Spring Dungeon again. I’m sure we’ll get a little rest at a hotel in America or something, but still.

The point is, it’s probably better to rest now if we can.

It can’t be helped, right? Yeah, I think it can’t be helped.

"Will you sleep next to me?"

"Y, yesh, I will!"

She stumbled over her words. Cute. The seatbelt sign is off.

"Rena, shall we go?"

"Okay."

I stood up, took Rena’s hand, and we headed for the napping room. My heart was pounding like I couldn’t believe.

Am I even going to be able to sleep?