Chapter 9: Comrades, Praise the Goddess!

The Makka fruits were as red as they looked in the pictures.
A flat, paint-like hue. The shape was close to a tomato, and they were soft. The size was just about manageable with one hand. Carrying them would be tough, but their unit price was high. Selling for 1000 yen apiece, there was no way I could overlook them.

However, these Makka fruits grew in clusters quite high up. I had to climb about five stories up the tree to finally reach them.

To top it off, there were swarms of Anmon around. They were probably one of the Anmon’s food sources.

“Excuse me.”

Even if I tried to move stealthily, my unfamiliarity with tree climbing made it easy for them to notice me. Resigned, I activated full body enhancement and snatched only the fruits within reach. Four of them. That should be enough.

“Gah!”
“Gah gah gah!”
“Gaaah!”

These fruits must have been very important to them, as the Ammon nearby all attacked me at once.

–If I climb down the tree, they’ll catch up.

I put the fruits in my bag and let go of the branch. Twisting my upper body, I faced headfirst towards the ground. Gravity took hold of my still body. The ground rushed closer and closer.

“[Flexible Enhancement], [Blast]!”

With the two spells, I mitigated the impact of landing. It seemed I could jump down from this height without any problems. I hadn’t expected to fail, but success always brought a wave of relief.

Careful not to crush the fruits, I dashed through the trees.

I was able to quickly get out of the forest and return to the entrance of the labyrinth. Looking back, there was no sign of them chasing me.

“Phew. Guess I’ll call it a day.”

As I let out a breath, I heard the sound of clapping from behind.

“You’ve gotten even faster than yesterday, haven’t you?”

The sound of armor came from right behind me.
…I hadn’t noticed at all.

Turning around and taking some distance, the armored man waved his hand sideways and smiled.

“Sorry for startling you. I have a habit of suppressing my presence in dungeons.”
“You’re the one from yesterday…”

His gentle voice brought back the memory. This was the person who had tried to help me when I was being chased by the Ammon yesterday.

We had parted ways quickly back then, so I hadn’t remembered his face.

“My name is Toda Shigeatsu. Everyone calls me Shigeatsu or Shige. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Isshiki Itsuki.”

Why had this person spoken to me?
Was he waiting for me? Why? Was it related to our meeting yesterday…?

“I wanted to talk to you for a bit. Is that alright?”
“Yes.”

I had been on my way back, but I decided to take him up on his offer. He didn’t seem like a bad person, and more than anything, I felt he was strong.
The speed with which he had come to my rescue yesterday, and the way he had suppressed his presence just now, everything about him was superior to me.

Toda-san looked at the vast forest with a solemn expression. The atmosphere suggested he had something important to talk about, and I straightened my posture.

“You, um… well, you know…”

He suddenly became incredibly hesitant. What was it? I had no idea what he was going to talk about.

Toda-san cleared his throat several times, and in the process, he choked quite badly. He coughed repeatedly, his eyes slightly watering.

What in the world was he going to talk about?

Could this person be my long-lost older brother? It was the only explanation for this strange atmosphere.

“…Um.”
“No, I’m sorry. I’ll say it. I’ll say it now.”

Toda-san took a deep breath and looked at my face as if he had made up his mind. His eyes were wide open. With tremendous intensity, he said,

“What do you think of Shiraishi-san?!”
“Huh…?”

What was he talking about?

“Which Shiraishi-san are you talking about?”
“The Shiraishi-san at the reception desk!”

Toda-san’s eyes were gleaming. His expression was unimaginable from the kind young man I had seen yesterday, and I leaned back slightly.

“Ah, right. Shiraishi-san… she’s a good person, isn’t she?”
“A good person?”

Toda-san closed the distance between us. This was bad. He definitely had some huge feelings for Shiraishi-san.

“She’s been so considerate of a beginner like me, I really think of her as a goddess.”
“That’s right! I feel exactly the same way!”

My shoulders were suddenly gripped firmly by both hands.
Toda-san had intensely wide eyes and a beaming smile. This was scary. Really scary. Were all adventurers like this?

“When Shiraishi-san decided to quit being an adventurer but still remain involved with the dungeon—how much did I thank the gods…? You feel the same way, don’t you?”
“Um… yes. Yes. I owe Shiraishi-san an unpayable debt.”

“I understand. I get it, young Isshiki! By the way, you look very young.”
“I’m 15.”

“What! The same age as Shiraishi-san’s younger brother!”
“Shiraishi-san has a younger brother?”

I didn’t know that. But it made sense. The aura of kindness and consideration she exuded was probably that of an older sister.

“Ah. It seems the goddess dotes on her younger brother as well.”
“As expected of a goddess.”

Indeed, a goddess. There was a reason why Shiraishi-san was a goddess.
She was a bit clumsy and absentminded at times, but that was all part of her being a goddess.

“I’m sorry. It seems I misunderstood you.”
“I won’t ask what the misunderstanding was, but I’m glad it’s cleared up.”

A hardcore Shiraishi-san believer with glaring eyes, and also a superior adventurer. Nothing but red flags.
I was glad I seemed to have avoided his anger somehow.

“Changing the subject, young Isshiki. No, comrade.”
“Yes?”

“That magic you used earlier, would you mind showing it to me again?”

Earlier… he must be talking about [Flexible Enhancement].

I didn’t understand why someone stronger than me would be interested in my magic… but perhaps he might give me some advice.

“Understood. —[Flexible Enhancement: Mimicry].”
“Hmm. Hmm hmm. …Hmm hmm?”

Toda-san walked around me in circles, observing me from head to toe. I felt like a lab rat.

“Comrade, would you mind if I tapped you a little?”
“Go ahead.”

“Here goes.”

I was tapped lightly. As if absorbing the impact, mana flowed automatically.

“Ah, this is the same as the Angry Monkey’s… no, it’s still a bit harder. Since you’re focusing on top speed as well as acceleration, the properties are slightly different, I suppose. In any case, you can already change the ‘hardness’ of your mana. Amazing. Comrade, you’re 15, so you’ve probably only been a formal adventurer for about a week. You’re truly a diamond in the rough.”

This person had instantly seen through everything I was doing.
I was stunned for a while by the force of his rapid-fire explanation.

“Oh, sorry. It’s a bad habit of mine. I love magic, so I get carried away.”

After apologizing sheepishly, Toda-san asked,

“Did someone teach you that?”
“No… if anything, I learned it from monsters.”

“Ah! So that’s why you were being chased! How truly fascinating. Yes. Thank you.”

Toda-san clapped his hands as if he understood. He smiled warmly and put down his sword.

“As thanks, allow me to show you a spell as well.”

He raised his arm and drew his left leg back. Even in this stance, there was no change in the surrounding mana.
Had he not used magic yet?

“I won’t hurt you, so come at me with all you’ve got.”
“Understood. Please take care of me.”

I put down my bag and took a stance as well.

Even so, there was absolutely no opening. It seemed I couldn’t even begin without breaking his posture.
For now, I’ll try a feint with my fist—

“Good aim.”

Suddenly
The next moment I thought, my right hand was grasped. Before I knew it, Toda-san was right in front of me, and my movement was completely sealed with just his hand.

What was this?
It was fundamentally different from the Anmon’s attacks.

“—Tch.”

Using my left foot as an axis, I twisted my body, aiming for the quickest kick—

“Not bad.”

Thump
My supporting leg was swept away, and I knelt down helplessly.

I couldn’t even touch him, let alone land a hit. I couldn’t even predict his movements.

“It’s a spell called [Falling Blossoms and Flowing Water]. Its classification is… probably Physical Enhancement. I keep it active at all times.”
“……”

I stood up and stared blankly at the sky.
I felt like I was about to understand something, but it seemed I was mistaken. I lowered my gaze and bowed my head.

“Thank you very much. I will work harder.”
“Yeah. Show me your magic again sometime.”

I ended up returning with Toda-san.
Aside from his scary feelings towards Shiraishi-san, I thought he was a good person. I just wished he wouldn’t call me comrade.