kscans

Chapter 88 - The Usual Spot

"Naoto, Sakinon. Long time no see."

"Whoa. Look what the cat dragged in, Mr. Celebrity."

"You’re not even in disguise, Hayate-kun."

When I arrived at the family restaurant we used to frequent after school, Naoto and Sakino-san were already waiting. I sat in the seat across from them, where they were sitting side by side.

"Before, I used to get chased by reporter-types when I walked outside, but that’s pretty much stopped recently. Occasionally someone will just say they’re a fan."

"Even the strongest streamer gets that, huh."

"Anyway, I'm glad you seem to be doing well. Naoto was pretty worried about you."

At Sakinon's words, Naoto averted his gaze.

"W-well, that’s because you never update your social media, Hayate."

"Sorry, sorry. I see you writing ‘update your social media’ when I'm streaming on the Four-Sword Style Promotion Office's booth. And I checked the archives of the forced streams from dungeon clears and saw your comments there too."

"You can actually pick out my comments from that massive flood of text when they’re not even Red Text?"

"Yeah."

Thanks to my ninja training, my dynamic vision has improved a bit.

"That's just scary."

"Don’t look so creeped out."

Naoto pretended to be creeped out, moving his body away from me and pressing closer to Sakinon. He was doing it on purpose. He’s always like that. Using me as an excuse to get all lovey-dovey.

"There were a lot of comments about it, but are you really some kind of monster? Like a werewolf or a vampire."

"I’m a regular human. We had that health checkup together, remember?"

"…True. A guy who turns pale at a blood test probably isn’t a vampire, at least."

Seeing blood splatter from monsters in a game, or getting injections and IV drips, is fine. But I just can't stand the feeling of my own blood being drawn out through a tube.

"So, if I really try, do you think I can become a dungeon explorer too?"

The way he said that, it was clear Naoto wanted to try dungeon clearing too.

I couldn't be sure just from our messages, but seeing him face-to-face and talking like this made his intentions clear.

If that was the case, I decided to proceed with the conversation intending to recruit them both to the new dungeon explorer training academy.

"I think you can. Now that Fighting Spirit Release has been implemented, once you learn to control your strength, your body will get used to it. And most importantly, the ‘monster’ everyone talks about will be your personal trainer and teach you the ABCs of dungeon clearing."

"That's what he says. What do you think?"

Naoto looked at Sakinon. It seemed to depend on whether she gave her OK.

"I will permit it, as long as you explore dungeons that have already been cleared by someone else. However, if you ever want to challenge the highest difficulty dungeons with Hayate-kun, I will be accompanying you."

"Does that mean…"

"You’ll both come to the new school?"

Sakinon had a look on her face like, ‘what a pain’.

"Naoto always looked so happy watching your streams, Hayate-kun. He was rooting for your success from the bottom of his heart. But I could tell he was thinking that one day he’d like to try it himself."

"Ah, yes. That is correct."

"If Naoto is going to the new school, then of course I will too. So, Hayate-sensei, I’ll be in your care from now on."

"Please take care of us."

"You got it."

What kind of weapons should they use? I'll check their aptitudes and listen to their preferences. I'll need to prepare equipment to match their weapons too.

I should also stock up on revival potions, just in case.

Yeah, there’s a lot to do.

But this is nice. This kind of thing is so exciting. It feels like when I used to help out newbies in FWO.

But first, it's all meaningless if we can't get into the school the government is making. Especially now that they're both motivated.

If it looks like we might not get in, I might have to rely a little on the Shinonome Group's connections. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure the three of us can attend the school together!

Alright, let's do this!!