Mob
Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #52
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 52:
Hey, You Know That Scary Story About The Cursed Card?
In
the end, Shinomiya-san wouldn't tell me what was going on.
I
tried several times to inquire about the situation, but she kept brushing me
off, and after school, she went home as if she was running away.
I
was not sure if I could go any further into the matter, since I was not even
her boyfriend.
I'm
going to try again tomorrow, and if that doesn't work, I'll wait for her to
talk to me about it. ...... Then I decided to head over to see Anna and Oribe.
"This......
is awesome. How is it possible to get so much information just from the
Internet?"
"This
Ono guy may have the talent of a detective."
We
were at the family restaurant where we were all regulars.
When
I showed them the investigation result Ono had gathered, they let out a cry of
admiration.
"But
...... I didn't expect that the number of victims would be more than a
hundred."
"Isn't
this the biggest mass murder case in Japan since the end of the World War
II,......?"
"Not
just in Japan, but probably one of the biggest in the world. It's no longer a
murder case, it's more in the realm of terrorism."
The
two of them have a very bad complexion. The same queasiness that I felt towards
this case.
I
don't know what the purpose of the Hound Master user is, but the fact that they
can kill over a hundred people for that purpose is a deviation of a human
being's.
In
fact, I was now doubtful whether they were really human or not.
Oribe,
as if she had read my inner thoughts, said,
"........This
is human, no doubt about it. Although the method and the damage are inhuman,
the selection of the target shows human speculation. A real monster would not
choose its prey, in contrast, this one would choose very carefully."
"I
see......"
Among
serial killers, there are many who are particular about their prey, such as
those who only target women with the same hairstyle or those who only target
children of a certain age. On the other hand, monsters in the dungeon will
attack regardless of whether they are children, the elderly, or priests.
Hound
Master targets new adventurers and those who belong to adventurers' circles,
but they are too selective in their prey to be indiscriminate killers, and too
picky to be simply whimsical murderers.
It seemed
to me that the Hound Master's selection of prey was based on the criterion of
'easy targets'.
"The
only glimpse of his particularity is in the fact that he attacks adventurers
who belong to the adventurers' circle,......."
I nodded in
response to Oribe who glanced at me,
"I've
asked Ono to investigate whether these adventurers' circles had any connection
with the Star Mother Association."
"As
expected of you."
Oribe
smiled with satisfaction at my response.
"But I'm
still surprised that there were other three-star adventurers besides Senpai who
were attacked."
"Yeah...but,
in a sense, this is also a good thing. If Senpai isn't unique and special, then
there's no reason to take the risk of continue to attack him. If this is the
case, it will be safe to some extent even if Senpai dives into the dungeon
alone.''
But it also
meant that when the investigation reached a complete deadlock, the final resort
of 'using myself as bait to lure the criminal group' can no longer be used.
Now we had
no choice but to identify the criminals themselves by searching.
"Anna,
what's the status on the gremlins' purchase leads?"
When I
asked her this, she scratched her cheek in embarrassment,
“Ah... I have
obtained the trading volume and purchaser list of gremlins. There is no doubt
that the supply of gremlins has decreased in recent months and the demand has
increased. ...But it doesn't seem like a particular individual is buying in
bulk or the buyers belong to a particular organization. We are currently
investigating where they sold the gremlins and where they ended up."
"Is that
so......"
......
Well, if the criminal group was so well prepared, they wouldn't be so careless
as to buy them directly themselves, would they?
They would
probably be collecting them with one or two intermediate in between.
For the
gremlins, we still have to wait for Anna's investigation.
Then, Anna
clapped her hands.
"Oh, by
the way, Senpai, I found a good solution for the revival of your cards!"
"Eh
really?!"
"This
weekend..... our Dungeon Mart is going to host a card exchange event, inviting
sponsored adventurers and card dealers we have relations with, so Senpai should
also participate.''
"Oh,
wow!"
A card
exchange event! I had heard
that there was a place for professional adventurers and card dealers to get
together and exchange cards and magic items, but I never thought I would be
able to participate!
By the way,
card dealers were like art dealers, but for cards. They specialized in dealing
in expensive cards and cards with rare skills, and their business was to
procure the cards that their customers wanted.
Smaller
exchange events were sometimes held on a small scale or even by amateurs, but
the exchange events sponsored by corporations and wealthy people like this one
are different from those in their scale and credibility.
While
small-scale exchanges mainly consist of mostly D-rank cards and a few C-rank
cards, corporate-sponsored exchanges primarily deal in C-rank cards, and the
number can be several hundred, which was a significant difference.
In
addition, while small-scale exchanges can be plagued by scams, there was no
such thing in corporate-sponsored exchanges. Cards were guaranteed by the
company, so there was no need to worry about being scammed.
Being able
to exchange cards without fear of being scammed was enough to make adventurers
drool over the event.
The only
thing that made it a kind of status was the fact that one could go to the
company-sponsored exchanges. Naturally, participation was based on a referral
system, so just being able to go to an exchange event sponsored by corporations
was a status of its own.
However, it
seemed that it required an expensive membership and fees...
"Oh, of
course, you don't have to worry about the membership fee or other fees. We're
the host, so it doesn't matter."
"Thank
you!"
I knew I
had to have a junior who had money and connections!
Putting aside
the joke....., this seriously is a great help. At the exchange, I can probably
sell a bunch of my D-rank cards for a lot more than at the Guild, and it will
be easier to find cheap resurrection cards.
I can finally
revive Renge and Eliza......!
I couldn't
contain my excitement.
And that
was when it happened,
*Beep,
beep, beep, beep, beep!*
Suddenly, a
sound similar to an alarm echoed all at once in our midst.
"Whoa!"
"This
is......!"
"The
Guild’s?!"
Unlike me,
who was simply surprised by the sound I heard for the first time, Anna and
Oribe's expressions became grim and they immediately took out their adventurer
licenses.
That was
when I finally realized the source of this sound and its significance.
Is this a
rescue request from the Adventurer's Guild...?
Rescue
requests can be sent from the Adventurers' License, and once sent to the Guild,
they are sent to all adventurers in the vicinity of the dungeon at the same
time.
Adventurers
who receive a rescue request must decide on the spot whether or not they will
go to the dungeon to help. If no one accepts the request or if there are not
enough rescuers, the request will be sent out to a larger area.
If no one
responds even after repeating this three times, Self Defense Force personnel
will be dispatched as a last resort. ...... Well, most of the time, adventurers
will take action before this happens.
The reason
being that the reward received for a rescue request is 80% of the cost of the
rescue.
In the case
of an F-rank dungeon, you can receive as much as 800,000 yen, and in the case
of an E-rank dungeon, you can receive up to 8,000,000 yen. There could not be a
better deal.
However, if
it were us now, we would have acted even if the reward was zero...
We quickly
made immediate eye contacts, gave our approval to the rescue request, caught a
cab, and headed straight to the scene.
In the
meantime, I made sure to make purchases in the app and downloaded the map of
that dungeon.
"Oribe,
do you think this is victim of the Hound Master?"
"......
No, I think it's highly unlikely. Considering what I've heard from Senpai, it
should be difficult for a victim to send a request for rescue before the enemy
attack......"
"I
see......"
Well, it
would be rather fortunate that it is not related to the Hound Master, in this
case. Because it would increase the chances of survival of the person
requesting the rescue.
In the
meantime, I finished downloading the map. ...... Hmmm?
I was
struck by a déjà vu when I saw the map.
What is
this..... it looks familiar....... I'm sure I've never dived into this dungeon
before,.......
Oh, right...
it looks like the dungeon that Shoko Sato-san dived in.......
Let's
compare the maps of the two dungeons.
Although
the type of field was different as one was the forest type and the other a
tunnel type, the shape of each floor was exactly the same.
If the
respective positions of the floors were swapped, you won't be able to tell them
apart.
This, I
wonder if this is related to something.......
No, perhaps
not. To begin with, this rescue request doesn't seem to have anything to do
with the Hound Master.
Meanwhile,
the cab arrived at the location of the dungeon. In the parking lot, there were
already several motorcycles that looked like they belonged to adventurers.
Apparently,
some adventurers had already come to the rescue.
Apart from us,
there were at least four other adventurers, ....... With this many adventurers
working to provide rescue services, we were sure that the person who had
requested help would be safe.
At any
rate, I was relieved inwardly...... knowing that my actions were not likely to
lead directly to someone else's bad fate.
At the very
worst, someone else will solve the problem even if I don't do anything about
it...... which was a kind of bystander mentality.
Once we
entered the dungeon, we called out our cards at the same time.
I called
Dragonet, Anna called Pegasus, and Oribe called Tsuchigumo.
The victim
was apparently on the third floor, so we mounted our cards and headed straight
for it.
Upon
arrival, we immediately decided to split up into three groups to search for the
person requesting help.
"Then,
in case you happen to encounter the Hound Master, contact the others
immediately with your badge!"
"Roger!"
We split up
and I immediately called Yuki.
"Yuki,
trace the signs and scents of people other than us on this floor."
"Yes,
......May I use [Lord of The Territory]?"
"Oh
right, there is that. Honestly, what is the extent of the territory?"
"Yes, if
it is an F-rank dungeon, I believe an entire floor can be set as the
territory."
“That much…!?”
The only
time I've used it so far was in the MonColo, and I wasn't particularly aware of
its range, but it seemed that the [Lord of The Territory] was a broader skill
than I had expected.
"Okay,
then use it right away."
“Yes!
Aooooooooooooooooooooooo---------!!!"
Yuki let
out a booming howl that made my skin tremble. How loud. If it weren't for the
card barrier, I think my eardrums might have been ruptured.
"......!
Master, I sensed the presence of someone who seemed to be requesting help.
Also... there are other people and cards nearby."
"Oh, I
guess the other adventurers had already spotted them."
After
hearing Yuki's report, I scratched my cheek, feeling a little uneasy.
I don't
know what to do... I've heard that when you bump with other adventurers in
situations like this, there were often troubles such as who gets the reward or
who gets the share.
I think I
should contact Anna and Oribe to ask their opinion on the matter. At least the
safety of the person who requested help has been confirmed.......
Just as I
was reaching for my badge, thinking about such carefree thoughts,
"No,
Master......, it seems that it's not quite right."
"Uh......?"
What do you
mean, different?
When I
tilted my head, Yuki's eyes sharpened and she said.
"---The
presence of what seems to be the rescue caller seems to be running away from
that adventurer."
***
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