Mob
Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #59
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 59: We Cannot Control The Tongues of Others
The
day of the operation. In the safe zone of the lowest floor.
We
had entered the dungeon at dawn, posing as Dungeon Mart suppliers, and were
waiting in the dungeon.
"Senpai, what are you reading?"
"Hmm? Ah, some weekly magazine."
When
I was reading a magazine I had bought at a convenience store on my way to kill
time before the operation started, Anna called out to me. Diagonally behind
her, Oribe was standing quietly.
" ......[The Serial Murder Case In The Dungeon Is
Being Investigated! Is It A Ritualistic Crime By A Certain
Cult Organization?!]"
Anna recited the headline from the page I was reading.
"It made the news after all, huh?"
"Well, the government's information control isn't
perfect either... These days, we have the internet, and once it's leaked,
there's no way to stop it."
In
the past two weeks or so, things had changed considerably in the public world.
News
about incidents that had previously probably been controlled by the government
began to circulate.
The
trigger was a video posted on the internet about two weeks ago by the victim's
family.
--My
son was not killed by a monster in the dungeon. He was attacked by another
adventurer.
Claiming
this, they published the number of one-star adventurers who have gone missing
in the past year or so, as well as a memo that could be called a dying message
left by their son, and sought more information.
The
video became a hot topic on social media, and the bereaved families who had
also lost their children, as well as those who had lost their friends and loved
ones, began to speak out one after another.
The
situation became even more intense when a thread was created on an anonymous
message board, and a 'fanfare' erupted.
At
this point, the media became unable to avoid reporting the incident, and weekly
magazines and TV stations began to report on the incident simultaneously.
Amidst
these reports, it became clear that there were dying messages left by some of
the victims and that many of the victims belonged to an adventurer's circle
with ties to the Star Mother Association, and the public began to treat the case
as if it had been confirmed that the crime had been committed by the
organization.
Finally,
the other day, in response to public outcry, the representatives and executives
of the Star Mother Association were interviewed by the police.
In
other words, the Hound Master's goal of arousing public suspicion of the Star
Mother Association had been achieved.
It
was feared that the Hound Master would retreat to the underground after having
achieved his goal, but fortunately or unfortunately, they continued with their
criminal activities.
One
of the dungeon-tubers who wanted to make a profit from his videos was killed
during the shooting of the video.
He
may have thought there was no way the crime would continue amidst all the
commotion, or he may have thought he would be okay even when he was alone......
The
video he was shooting was destroyed by gremlins, as usual, so we don't know
what he was thinking, but...... the problem was that one of the low-bottom
dungeon-tubers who found this amusing dove into the dungeon as well, made it
back alive and posted a video of it! As a result, it went viral.
As
a result, many bottom-end dungeon tubers began to dive into the dungeon one
after another in search of hot topics.
Their
momentum did not stop when several of those dungeon tubers became victims.
The
result was an ironic situation where our lure strategy was no longer unnatural
at all.
......By
the way, there was this.
The
name of the bereaved family who posted the video that triggered this commotion,
calling for information, was Shishido.
The
name of the deceased victim, who was talked about as a brave high school
student who left a dying message while being attacked by vicious criminals, was
Reo Shishido.
I
naturally attended Shishido's funeral, but his parents did not express a single
word of bitterness, but rather said, "Thank you very much for accepting
our son's search quest despite the risks.'' They thanked me.
Shishido
became an adventurer partly because of my influence, no doubt.
His
funeral was attended not only by those from our school, but also by many of his
friends from junior high and elementary school and fellow delinquents from
outside the school, and it was there that I first discovered that Shishido was
loved by so many people.
I
was strangely touched by Ichijo-san's complex expression of anger and ......
loneliness during the burning of incense.
I
was in a daze as I recalled Shishido's funeral......
"...Senpai, do you think this bait operation will
work?"
Anna
asked me this as if she was mumbling to herself. I could see the tension and
fear of both success and failure on her face.
Of
course, I want the operation to succeed. We can't let a vicious serial killer
go unchecked any longer.
But
if the Hound Master falls for our bait, we will confront a murderer who had
killed more than a hundred people .....
The
worry was clearly visible on her face.
No,
if you look closely, it was not just Anna. Oribe, who was standing behind her,
was similar.
When
we confirmed each other decisions at the coffee shop, they did not seem afraid,
but now that the showdown was just around the corner, they may have come to
realize once again the horror of their enemy.
If you think about it, they are also just first-year high
school girls...
They are definitely tougher than most girls, but that
doesn't mean all their fears are gone.
The
only reason I'm relatively calm is because I've been through more crazy
situations than they have.
I
am peculiar for having experienced the fear of death twice in a short span of
time, once in the battle with the Pied Piper of Hamelin and once in the attack
by the Hound Master.
Or
perhaps I should say that if something unforeseen should happen, there would be
no second chance, as they would have died outright.
Even
though these girls had been adventurers longer than I have, they probably had
never actually experienced a near-death experience.
Anna,
being the daughter of a company president, was probably fully equipped to
prevent such a situation, and Oribe, being smart, had a much better crisis
management ability than I did.
Or
perhaps this could be the first time for these girls to experience this kind of
a situation.
...If something were to happen, I would let them escape
even if I had to die. That is my role as a senior and as a man.
With that thought in mind, I smiled fearlessly.
"What, are you scared? It's okay, don't worry... We
have my Teacher, a professional, with us."
When
I said that with my chest puffed out, the two of them looked blatantly
dumbfounded.
"Eh~? Isn't that where you say, "I'm with
you!" or "I'll protect you even if it costs me my life!"?"
"What are you saying? It's more effective to say the
name of a good-looking guy than me, who has a mob face, right? Besides, he's a
professional."
Anna's
eyes widened as she looked at me.
"...... Indeed!"
"Hey."
Although
I said it myself, it was annoying for her to get so convinced...
I
glared at her lightly, but Anna gave me a bantering smile.
"Ah, uh~, because, you know, Senpai certainly does
have a mob face."
"Guh,......, just because you look a little better
looking yourself..."
Oribe
then put her hand on my shoulder and said,
"Don't be discouraged, Senpai. Although you may have
a mob face, you still have the gift of psychic vision."
No,
even if I'm praised for that........ I smiled wryly. I'm not very happy with
the ability, to be honest.
......
But, well, whatever. Anna and Oribe seemed to have eased their tension.
“However, will Kannadzuki Senpai’s sister, who is acting
as bait, be okay?”
"She'll be fine. She's Teacher's older sister, and
after all, she's a former member of the Self-Defense Forces."
Before the operation,
we met with Teacher's sister ...Akira, who played the part of bait. A beautiful
and androgynous woman, the complete opposite of my Teacher.
While Teacher seemed
like an androgynous beauty with neither masculine nor feminine features, his
sister was tall and fit like a female bodybuilder, with very large breasts and
buttocks, and had a feminine charm as well as a masculine air about her.
"Since it's Nee-san, it will be fine."
Then my Teacher, who
was busy with some work at a distance, joined in the conversation.
The work was to
restrain the dungeon boss.
If the dungeon boss
is defeated, a return gate will be generated.
If that happens, the
door to the gate will be locked until a new dungeon boss is re-spawned, making
it impossible for new adventurers to enter. I'm a little sorry for the dungeon
boss, the Hellhound, but it was decided to break his hands and feet to restrain
him.
"She's someone who won't die even if you kill her,
and as you know, there's a difference between the Self-Defense Forces and
ordinary adventurers."
This
was according to my Teacher. It seemed that the Link was originally a technique
developed by the Self-Defense Forces, which was then leaked to the private
sector.
Therefore, it was
said that the level of proficiency and variety of techniques used by the
Self-Defense Forces, who were taught exactly how to use Link, and the private
adventurers, who had just picked up the leaked techniques, were on a totally
different level.
My Teacher naturally
learned the Link from his sister, Akira, but the techniques he learned were
only those that had already been leaked to the private sector, and he was not
taught any further techniques because they were classified.
In other words,
Akira-san can use more extensive techniques.
"But no matter how skilled you are at Linking,
wouldn't it be bad depending on the performance of the cards?"
"There's also no problem with that. I heard that she
was able to get a B-rank card in exchange for her severance pay."
In the Self-Defense
Forces, cards were issued according to rank and ability, and it was said that
these cards were sometimes given away upon their discharge from the military.
As national public
servants, SDF personnel had their salaries set by law. This was no exception
for those who worked in the dangerous dungeon. They may receive some
allowances, but in terms of income, adventurers earn much more.
They are subjected to
rigorous training, are bound by various rules, and are paid much less than the
average adventurer.
So, the government
prepared a candy for them: a card that is redeemed at the time of their
discharge from the SDF based on their years of service and achievements.
In the Self-Defense
Forces, the minimum card that is given out for duty is a C-rank card, and
depending on one's ability, one may even be given a B-rank card.
A C-rank card is
considered to be redeemable after only three years of service, so if you want
to become an adventurer, working for the SDF for a few years is a faster way
than working hard and saving money.
Of course, if one is
active while working for the SDF, the number of cards and the ranks of the
cards that can be redeemed will increase rapidly.
Apparently, there
were even some who were able to get a B-rank card after less than 10 years of
service, and the idea of getting a B-rank card within one decade or so was
quite appealing.
Akira-san is
obviously in her mid-twenties, so the fact that she was allowed to have a
B-rank card given to her at such a young age meant that she was a very capable
person.
"I see. If that's the case, I guess it's going to be
all right."
Just as Anna was
saying that, *Piririri!*. An alarm rang in the vicinity!
" ...... It seems that the start time for the
operation has arrived," Teacher said.
Starting now, the
adventurers who will act as baits will begin to dive into the dungeon, taking
turns at different times.
The reason for
setting the time apart was because it would surely be too obvious if they
started diving at the same time.
Akira-san is
scheduled to start diving about two hours from now, but we should be prepared
for the possibility that the Hound Master who may be hooked by the other baits
will move into this dungeon and escape.
Just when I was about
to call for Renge and Yuki who were playing kemari1 a little further away,
""?!""
Suddenly, a big tremor
hit us.
Earthquake?! That's
ridiculous, there can't be an earthquake in the dungeon!
The shaking was so
strong that we could hardly stand, and as we crawled on the ground, the space
gradually began to distort in front of us.
This... no way that the Hound Master is going to transfer
to this place, right?! No
way, it's too early!
There should still be
plenty of time for the adventurers acting as baits to begin diving into the
dungeons, for the enemy lookout to report it, and for the Hound Master to
arrive!
Even though the diving has just begin?! ......No way, it's--
Just as I was coming
up with an answer, Teacher, who had also come up with the same answer,
exclaimed in frustration,
"Damn! Some
team must have gotten out ahead of schedule......!"
If the Hound Master
was always waiting near some dungeon, the first decoy would be the one most
likely to be eaten. The team with the highest chance of being caught is, of
course, the team whose bait took off first.
I heard that there
was a great deal of squabbling over who would get the first chance when
determining the order in which the baits would dive.
If the team that
wanted the MVP's two billion had ignored the scheduled time and let their bait
dive......!
“Utamaro!” “Master!”
That was when Renge
and Yuki, who were a short distance away, came running to me.
I simply conveyed the
situation to the girls who had grim faces..
"...The Hound Master is coming! Get ready!"
I was yelling like
that, but Renge...
"No, it is not! This
presence is..... an Irregular Encounter!"
That was what she
shouted.
[Tips] Secret Links
The technique of
Linking, originally used only by the military, was leaked to the private
sector. As Link has spread among adventurers, the government has made it
permissible to share the technique with family and close friends on the
condition that it not be spread indiscriminately.
However, any further
knowledge of the techniques is thoroughly controlled, and those Links that can
only be accessed by those with military experience are known as Secret Links.
***
Notes:
1 Kemari is an athletic game that was popular in Japan during the Heian and Kamakura period. It resembles a game of keepie uppie or hacky sack.↩
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