Akatsuki Translations

“H-He actually killed him!” “Eek!”

Onoda and Gotou were so shocked they could barely stand. Gotou had even wet himself, probably thinking he’d be killed too.

“That’s right. I really did kill him,” I said.

I thought back to when Ikemoto used to bully me. I’d always wondered why he hit me. Usually, people harm others for a clear reason – because that person is causing them trouble somehow. But with Ikemoto, it wasn’t like that.

It seemed like he just enjoyed seeing me suffer. Now I understood why I couldn’t fight back before. Ikemoto and I must have had different views on violence. To me, hitting someone means you genuinely want to hurt them.

I remembered thinking that if Ikemoto ever truly tried to kill me, I’d be able to kill him back. He really did try to kill me, so I killed him in return. I guess it was as simple as that.

“Onoda,” I said.

“P-Please spare me! I’m begging you! Me and Gotou didn’t do anything as bad as Ikemoto, right?”

Onoda pleaded with me. It’s true that Ikemoto was the only one who actively bullied me. These guys were just in the same tennis club and followed Ikemoto’s lead. They never came to beat me up on their own when Ikemoto wasn’t around.

Even though this school wasn’t as academically rigorous as my middle school in Imari, it was still a college prep school. Ikemoto was the only one who went out of his way to bully me. Without him, my middle school life wouldn’t have been so bad.

“You’re right. To be honest, I really don’t feel like killing you two as well. But can you guarantee you won’t do anything to hurt me in the future?”

“W-Well…”

“No, there’s no point talking to you. What do you think, Kyouka-san?”

But I still couldn’t trust Onoda and Gotou, to be honest. Especially Onoda – he’d hide behind Ikemoto and hit me to relieve his own stress.

“Hitting you really helps me feel better!” he’d say casually.

Anyone with that kind of mindset can’t be trusted. It would be foolish to do so.

“Sigh, I was hoping Kazuya would forgive them too, but I guess you’re not that naive. Yukari, can you take these two outside?” Kyouka said.

“Huh? Is that okay?” asked the woman in short jeans and a T-shirt, looking to me for confirmation. Kyouka, who seemed to be the leader, was checking with me.

“It’s fine, right? We’re not trying to protect them. It’s just awkward to talk with them here,” Kyouka said.

“I don’t mind. I don’t trust those two anyway,” I replied.

“Got it. Yukari,” Kyouka nodded.

“Alright you two, let’s go. Oh gross, did you wet yourself too, Ono-chan?” Yukari said.

Apparently not into that sort of thing, the woman called Yukari reluctantly lifted up Onoda and Gotou and carried them out of the dungeon. The only ones left were Kyouka-san, three mid-level explorer women, and Sakaki-san.

“Let me ask you first – you don’t hold any grudge against Koharu-chan, right?” Kyouka asked.

“No, she didn’t help with the bullying. If anything, I’m grateful her face made her betrayal so obvious,” I replied.

“Pfft, you’re as sharp as ever,” Kyouka chuckled.

“Well, I don’t want to die, so I have to think of every possibility,” I shrugged.

“That’s true,” Kyouka nodded. Then the other women spoke up.

“Listen, we don’t want to be killed by Nagumo later, so we need to talk this out properly,” one said.

“Yeah, we’ll even kill Ono-chan and Gocchin if you want us to,” another added.

It seemed they weren’t that attached to Onoda and Gotou after all. The women casually suggested killing them. No matter how much they wanted men, they clearly weren’t willing to risk their own lives. I thought for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t want anything that extreme for Onoda and Gotou. To be honest, I didn’t even hate Ikemoto enough to want him dead,” I said.

“Then why did you kill him?” one asked.

“Because he tried to kill me,” I replied.

I pondered what the truth really was. It’s a fact that I hated Ikemoto enough to want him dead. But if he hadn’t come after me, I probably wouldn’t have done anything to him. That much I was sure of.

“I see,” one woman said.

“Well, that makes sense,” another added.

“I still like this kid,” one of them said.

“That face is a bit too much for me though. Looks fake,” another commented.

“You two, stop chattering! Look, Nagumo really will kill when he means to. I don’t want to die here by making a mistake. So I’ll do the talking, okay?” Kyouka scolded.

“Yes, yes. We’ll leave this to you, Kyouka,” they replied.

“Rokujou-kun, you can call me Kyouka. The one who took Onoda and Gotou away was Yukari. The one with long hair is Mio. The one with red-dyed hair is Hinata. The one in the miniskirt is Nagisa,” Kyouka introduced.

The remaining three women waved at me amicably. Ikemoto’s head was rolling on the ground, but they didn’t seem to mind. These women must be a bit broken too. Well, so am I. I looked at Ikemoto’s head, which wasn’t bleeding.

The cut on Ikemoto’s neck was badly burned. That was the effect of Bika-maru. Thanks to that, there was no blood splatter. Looking at Bika-maru, I saw the blood from when I decapitated Ikemoto evaporating. It was a strange sword that could burn an opponent beyond healing, yet remain beautifully red itself.

“So, are you okay with those two transferring schools?” Kyouka asked.

“No, that’s not necessary. It’s exam season, so it won’t be strange if they don’t come to school. They can just show up for the graduation ceremony,” I replied.

“Oh, that’s right. So it’s okay if those two don’t come to school except for the graduation ceremony?”

“Are you sure we can’t raise those two?” Hinata, the red-haired one, asked. As my demeanor calmed down, it seemed her attachment to her dungeon pets resurfaced.

“No, you can raise them if you want. In fact, it might be better if you manage them, to prevent any strange situations,” I said.

“Yay!” Hinata cheered.

“Hinata, you really like that idiot Gocchin, don’t you?” one of the others teased.

“You girls are getting too relaxed. Now, what about us? What do you want to do?” Kyouka asked.

“Nothing in particular,” I replied.

“If you’d like, all five of us could entertain you,” Kyouka offered.

“I’m good, thanks,” I declined.

“Well, I thought as much,” Kyouka said, seeming satisfied after looking at my face.

“Men really have it easy,” one of the women complained.

“Yeah, we have to go through all this trouble to find partners even after getting stronger,” another added.

“Hinata, Mio! Be quiet!” Kyouka scolded.

“Yes, ma’am,” they replied in unison.

“Rokujou-kun, we can’t just leave things as they are. We need to talk properly, or who knows what kind of trouble Nagumo might cause later. But it’s also strange to force something on you when you don’t want anything from us. How about this – we’ll pay you compensation for our pets’ misbehavior, and then we’ll leave. How does that sound?” Kyouka suggested.

“Ah, yes. I’d accept that,” I agreed.

“Okay,” Kyouka said. She seemed to have a magic bag too, as she pulled out a vial that looked like a potion. It was in a red bottle, and I wasn’t sure what it was.

“It’s an Elixir. Take it,” Kyouka said, casually tossing it to me. I hurriedly caught it.

“Is… is this really okay?” I asked, surprised.

“This is the best we can do right now. Once we give this to you, we won’t have any left. But it’s a small price to pay for our lives,” Kyouka explained.

“We’ll have to be more careful about training our pets from now on,” one woman said.

“Yeah, I really don’t want to go through this again,” another added.

“Maybe it’s better to keep them inside the house instead of letting them roam free?” one suggested.

“Hehe, I wonder what clothes we should make them wear next,” another giggled.

“Go easy on the women’s clothing,” one warned.

“Just don’t make Gocchin wear only panties again. I nearly threw up last time,” another said.

“Aww,” someone whined.

It seemed like Onoda and Gotou would be fine in these women’s care. In a way, their fate might end up being worse than Ikemoto’s. However, since I didn’t take action here, it was out of my hands now. Whatever happened to those two, I couldn’t interfere anymore.

“See you later~” they said.

With nothing more to say, all four of them casually left the dungeon. Ikemoto’s head was still lying there. I felt a mix of relief that my grudge was finally settled, and uncertainty about whether this was really necessary.

“Shall we go?” Sakaki-san, who remained behind, called out to me.

“Yeah,” I replied.

Sakaki-san naturally linked arms with me, pressing her ample chest against me.

“You’re handling this well, considering Ikemoto just died,” I remarked.

“You’re not the one who killed him, Rokujou,” she responded.

“That’s true…” I muttered.

It hit me again that I had killed someone. And now I was arm-in-arm with a girl who had been close to the person I killed. I wondered what kind of person I had become. I looked at Ikemoto’s head. It would never move again. By tomorrow, the dungeon would have absorbed even his bones.

“There’s no use getting too serious about it. As long as Kazuya was alive, he would have tried to harm you. You knew that, so you killed him, right?” Sakaki-san said.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“Well, I guess it’s not something you can just get over right away,” she acknowledged.

Sakaki-san seemed to understand how I felt. Still, seeing only Ikemoto’s head made me think. Did I really have to kill him?

“Sakaki-san,” I began.

“Yes?” she responded.

“I’m going to properly tell Ikemoto’s mother that he died. She’ll probably hate me, but I want to do the right thing. I’ll go alone, so you won’t be troubled. If you know where his house is, could you guide me there?” I asked.

“I can guide you anytime, but… you should reconsider,” Sakaki-san advised. “If you don’t say anything, no one will ever find out. Kyouka-san and the others will make sure Onoda and Gotou keep quiet, and I won’t say anything either. Isn’t that enough?”

“I can’t do that,” I insisted. “I didn’t kill him just because I was about to be killed. I was already out of danger when I killed him. Even if there’s no crime in the dungeon, it’s still wrong. I want to at least honor that.”

I thought that if I didn’t do this, I might someday become someone like Hazumi. Killing someone without feeling any guilt. Something about me was becoming strange. That’s why I wanted to properly address what happened with Ikemoto.

“Rokujou,” Sakaki-san said.

“Yes?” I replied.

“Kazuya’s mother… she spoils him rotten. It’s irritating to watch,” she explained. “I’ve known them since middle school, and not long ago, when the teacher called home about Kazuya’s bad behavior, his mother called me to ask if it was true.”

That’s when I first learned that Sakaki-san had been dating Ikemoto.

“You were dating?” I asked, surprised.

“Oh, I didn’t mention that? Yes, we were dating. Can I continue the story?” she replied.

“Ah, yes, sorry,” I apologized.

Sakaki-san continued, “So when I said, ‘Well, he has been misbehaving a bit,’ she fired back with, ‘There’s no way my Kazuya would do such a thing!’ amplified about 100 times. I thought, even though it’s impossible, if I ever married Kazuya, I’d never get along with this mother.”

“I see,” I said.

“Even the teachers have been ignoring Kazuya’s behavior because his mother is such a hassle. Well, I was dating him because he had the most handsome face in our class,” she added.

“Uh-huh,” I mumbled.

Sakaki-san continued, “Rokujou, you killed Kazuya. She’s the mother of the child you killed. No matter how much you apologize, she won’t accept it, and no matter how much you try to explain what her child was really like, she won’t believe you. That’s just how it is, right? Especially Kazuya’s mother.”

“Well…” I hesitated.

“Even without that, a mother wants to believe her child was good, that they never did anything to be ashamed of in public. Don’t you think she’d want to believe that? If you don’t go to apologize, she can keep believing that. Everyone in class saw Kazuya enter the dungeon with you, so we can’t deny that fact. But we can say he was unfortunately killed by a monster. We could even make it a heroic tale, saying he died trying to save me,” she suggested.

“You’re strong, Sakaki-san,” I remarked.

“Rokujou, even I’m a little shocked by this,” she admitted.

“But you don’t seem to care that your boyfriend died, do you?” I said harshly.

“Well, about that…” Sakaki-san began. “To be honest, I feel relieved that he’s dead. My feelings for Kazuya had already cooled off completely. No one in our class would take his side either. He had become so arrogant after leveling up. Even if someone figured out the truth, they’d probably think, ‘Good riddance.’”

I remained silent.

“But if you’re still not satisfied and want me to take you to Kazuya’s house, I will,” she offered.

I was about to respond when I heard a voice.

“Don’t do it,” it said.

I was still considering going, but suddenly I thought I heard Nagumo-san’s voice in my ear. However, when I looked around, Nagumo-san was nowhere to be seen.

“‘Don’t do it,’ huh… So you say that too…” I muttered.

I thought for a while. Going with Sakaki-san’s plan would probably be less shocking for Ikemoto’s mother. And if I did what I was thinking of doing, it would likely make a lot of people unhappy.

“Sigh, I’m sorry. I think you’re right, Sakaki-san,” I finally said.

“What’s with the sudden change?” she asked.

“Well, if that person says so, it must be right…” I replied vaguely.

I wondered if he had been watching the whole time.

“Oh, okay. I don’t really get it, but if you’re convinced, that’s fine,” Sakaki-san shrugged.

“And thank you,” I added. “I came here alone, without even inviting Misuzu, thinking I’d settle this by myself. But honestly, if I were alone right now, in this situation, it would have been really tough.”

“I’m sure it would have been,” she agreed.

I looked at Sakaki-san, still arm-in-arm with me. She was very beautiful. The dungeon really is a mysterious place. Sakaki-san had always been busty, but never particularly beautiful. Yet now she had become as pretty as Misuzu.

“Sakaki-san, I’m surprised at how beautiful you’ve become in such a short time,” I commented.

“I could say the same to you,” she replied. “Rokujou, you’ve become surprisingly handsome in no time at all. We both look like completely different people.”

“Weren’t you confused by it?” I asked.

“I was confused, but I thought it wasn’t so bad,” she admitted.

“I see. I still feel like my face belongs to someone else,” I said.

“You’ll get used to it eventually. I’m already used to mine,” she reassured me.

“You’re strong,” I remarked.

Sakaki-san’s nonchalant attitude about her appearance changing so drastically made me wonder if I was overthinking things.

“Sakaki-san, what are you going to do now?” I asked.

“I’m going to a D-rank as originally planned,” she replied. “I’ll get help and advice on leveling up from Kyouka-san and the others. But Rokujou, make sure to contact me when you come out of the dungeon. I’ll come see you.”

“Why?” I questioned.

“I want to see that handsome face as much as possible. It’s a feast for the eyes, right?” she said with a grin.

“You really don’t change, do you?” I sighed.

Ikemoto’s head was still staring at us. We should leave quickly, but I hesitated, unsure if it was okay to just leave it there.

“And as a reward for helping you…” Sakaki-san began.

“Yeah. I guess it comes to this,” I said resignedly. “I’ll try to listen to your requests as much as possible, as long as it’s nothing weird.”

I was afraid she might ask for something inappropriate.

“Let me have a go with you,” she said bluntly.

“Please ask for something else,” I pleaded.

Just as I feared, she had said it.

“Aww, come on!” she whined. “You said anything would be fine. Just the tip, please?”

“That’s not something a girl should say, you know?” I protested. “And I don’t remember saying anything would be fine.”

“Come on, Rokujou~” she persisted. “With that face, you’re going to have your way with all sorts of women from now on anyway. Don’t worry about it and just enjoy yourself. That’s what I’m doing.”

“No, no, I can’t do that,” I refused firmly.

“But you know…” she said slyly.

“What is it?” I asked warily.

“I’ve been pressing my big breasts against you this whole time, and you can’t wait anymore, right? I know you’re quite excited,” she teased.

“Ugh…” I grunted, embarrassed.

“Hehe, you’re hopeless,” she giggled. “Kazuya, as an apology to you, I’ll first purify Rokujou’s pent-up feelings right here, so you just watch, okay?”

“Hey, I never agreed to this! Don’t touch me there!” I protested.

Sakaki-san’s hand started to slip into the gaps of my armor. I didn’t have the courage to do such a thing in front of my friend Misuzu’s dead boyfriend. Besides, if my relationships with women got any more complicated, I might end up dead. A sorcerer shouldn’t be able to overpower a samurai’s strength, so I tried to resist. But then…

“What!? I can’t move my body!?” I exclaimed in shock.

“Rokujou. Did you know that sorcerers are good at immobilizing their enemies?” Sakaki-san asked with a sly smile.

“Stop it! I’m not your enemy! Don’t lose your mind! This is a crime!” I shouted desperately.

“You’re so silly,” she chuckled. “There’s no such thing as crime inside the dungeon. You’ll feel good soon, so just bear with it for a bit.”

“No, wait, you can’t be seri—!” I tried to protest, but my words were cut short.

I had never felt in more danger than at this moment.