Can a Mob Highschooler be a Normie: Chapter 57

 

Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #57

Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain

 

 

 

Episode 57: Would You Like To Catch A Serial Killer? (2)

 

 

 

"Still, I was surprised that Maro and you guys are already following this case."

 

　Teacher laughed with a cup of tea in his hand.

 

　The day after the phone call, we were summoned by Teacher to a coffee shop on the outskirts of town.

 

　This coffee shop, which my Teacher frequented, had a nice atmosphere where there were no other customers and time passed slowly. We updated on each other's current situation.

 

"That's true for me, too. I never thought that Senpai's mentor was Kannadzuki-senpai."

 

　When Anna said that, Teacher smiled as usual with a beautiful face that made it hard to tell if he was a man or a woman.

 

"Well, to begin with, the only Link user I know is Teacher."

 

"I see."

 

　When I explained this, Anna nodded her head in understanding.

 

　It was right after the tournament was over that I became an apprentice to Teacher.

 

　I learned about Link's existence at that tournament, so naturally I started researching it right away.

 

　Even though the Link was kept secret from the public, it was difficult to keep it completely secret in this information-oriented society.

 

　I thought that by scouring social networking sites, blogs, and Internet message boards, I should be able to get some clues, even if I didn't know the whole picture. ......I began my research with this idea, but the results were not good.

 

　I could at least find the word 'Link'. Some people mentioned something like telepathic Link, which was the first step of Link.

 

　But that was the limit.

 

　Even if there was such information, I, who did not have the proper knowledge about the Link, could not pick out the right answers from the vast amount of information that existed in a jumble on the Internet.

 

　Feeling that I could not do this on my own, I decided to go back to the basics.

 

　That is, I decided to ask a forerunner to teach me.

 

　That was why I turned to Kannadzuki, the person who got me to know about Link.

 

　Although we had exchanged contact information after the final, we had not been in touch very often.

 

　So, I asked him without much hope, but contrary to my expectations, he gladly accepted me as an apprentice.

 

　In exchange for only one condition...

 

"That being said, isn't it awful of you, Maro? The Adventurer's Club is doing something fun here all on your own. I wish you'd invited me too."

 

　Teacher made a sullen look on his face.

 

No, even if you say that...

 

"Teacher is at a different school... this is just a club activity."

 

"Haa, I'm jealous. My school is strict about things like that."

 

　Teacher sighed in sorrow.

 

"No, our school has stopped us from doing that too."

 

　Anna laughed bitterly.

 

　In fact, the Adventurer's Club had been a self-proclaimed school club for some time now.

 

"Oh, I see. Well, that may change once we catch the Hound Master and solve this case.

 

　Teacher took a sip of his tea.

 

"But the Hound Master, huh? Yes, that's good, it fits. It has more sense than Unknown, as it was tentatively called in the Guild."

 

"Unknown......."

 

　So that's the name the Guild gave to the Hound Master.

 

　Certainly, the unidentifiedness of the Hound Master was worthy of being called unknown.

 

　But, as far as we're concerned, Hound Master is a more appropriate term to describe the guy.

 

"By the way, about that phone call we had yesterday......"

 

　When I started speaking about this, Teacher's expression turned serious.

 

"To sum it up, the Hound Master has gone too far."

 

　He continued,

 

"More than 100 murders in one year, access to the dungeon in ways not generally known to the public, suspected possession of magic items forbidden by law, and, ...... and although this is not certain, suspicion of distributing cards that appear to be cursed cards to their subordinates. All of these are things that could destroy the system of modern society, which relies on the dungeon and the adventurer system."

 

　We nodded our heads in agreement with my Teacher's words.

 

　It was a crime that would go down in criminal history when they had already killed more than a hundred people, but in a sense, what was even more problematic was the means by which they were doing it.

 

　When the adventurer system was first proposed in the United States, the first subject of discussion was how to prevent crimes in the dungeon.

 

　The cards were too powerful and convenient a weapon to merely rely on human conscience, and the dungeons provided no shortage of targets to rub shoulders with.

 

　However, there were limits to what the military alone could do against Angolmore.

 

　As a desperate measure, they set up a system of entry/exit control using licenses and gates.

 

　The first victim will be unavoidable, but the second victim will be prevented at all costs.

 

　That was the original purpose of the gates.

 

　In some developing countries where there were no gates like in developed countries, the dungeons had become completely lawless zones.

 

　However, if there are other ways to enter and exit the dungeon, this measure of a gate becomes meaningless.

 

　Moreover, if an incident of this magnitude were to occur and end up as an unsolved case, the adventurer system itself could be called into question.

 

"We need to capture the Hound Master and seize his technology at all costs before the world makes a fuss... That's probably what the country and the Guild thought. Just the other day a bounty was placed on the Hound Master."

 

"Bounty ......"

 

　The word is not very familiar in Japan, but I hear that there is an official profession of bounty hunter in other countries.

 

　There are two main jobs. One is to capture defendants who have paid bail but have fled the country. The other is to go and catch criminals who have escaped into the dungeon on behalf of the police. Today, the latter role is more well-known.

 

　In the U.S., with its large territory, the number of dungeon was proportionately large, and it was impossible to set up gates in all the dungeons. It was said that many people escape into those dungeons without gates, and in such cases, a bounty would be placed on them according to the crime they had committed or the bail money they had made.

 

　Apparently, these bounties were rather high, and the card barrier made it a safer way to earn money than catching criminals outside the dungeon, making it a popular occupation in the U.S., especially among veterans.

 

"So, how much is the bounty for the Hound Master?　Since he killed over 100 people...300 million?"

 

　When Anna asked this, Teacher held up his index finger.

 

What... 100 million? That's surprisingly low. For some reason I'm a little disappointed...

 

“No, ten billion.”

 

"Ten billion!?”

 

　We yelled out involuntarily and hastily covered our mouths.

 

　I looked around, remembered that there were no other customers and that we had activated Anna's counter-intelligence magic item, and became relieved.

 

　Then I asked Teacher again.

 

"Ten billion ...... seriously?"

 

　That's a bit out of the ordinary. 10 billion... Even foreign mafia bosses are worth a few hundred million yen. A 10 billion bounty prize should be world news.......

 

"It's not surprising that you don't know about this. This is a quest that was only offered to a select few professional adventurers who the Guild deemed not to be involved with Hound Master."

 

"Only select few of professional adventurers, so Teacher is......"

 

"Yeah, just recently, finally."

 

　Teacher then showed us his four-star golden license.

 

　We clapped our hands,

 

"Congratulations."

 

"Yes, thank you."

 

　I see, he had already become a professional. Well, it was only a matter of time.

 

　By the time I was learning Link, my Teacher had already passed the written exam and broken through a hundred different D-rank dungeons, and the only remaining requirements were the required number of C-rank cards and a practical test.

 

　It had been several months since then, and it would not be surprising if Teacher had already passed the test.

 

　Nevertheless, being a professional as a student was an accomplishment in itself. Perhaps he was the youngest to pass the exam?

 

"So, right now, professional teams are flocking in one after another from all over Japan to catch the Hound Master ....."

 

　Teacher then made a slight gesture of faltering.

 

"To be honest...... no matter how great it is, a ten billion bounty is too high. This is the same amount as the prize for completing an A-rank dungeon. In addition, the full amount is only paid if they are captured alive. The Hound Master may be holding a bigger secret than we think. For example--"

 

　Then Teacher grinned,

 

"Such as the disappearance of the dungeon the other day. As a matter of fact, there are many adventurers who are more interested in that than in the prize money."

 

　The reason why there is a 10 billion yen prize for breaking through the A-rank dungeon is partly because no one has ever broken through it, as well as because it is hoped that the key to the dungeon's disappearance lies on the other end.

 

　The bounty reward is the same amount as what was offered for breaking through the A-rank dungeon and comes the disappearance of the dungeon recently.. it was impossible not to speculate.

 

"Therefore, it was decided to gather such adventurers and set up a siege to ensure the capture of the Hound Master."

 

"A siege......?"

 

　Anna looked doubtful.

 

　And that was natural. How can they surround the Hound Master who comes in and out of the dungeon by unknown means?

 

　Teacher took out a bundle of documents for us.

 

"The Guild and the police weren't playing around either. Take a look at this."

 

"This is...... dungeon maps?"

 

　They were maps of dozens of F-rank dungeons. The red seal of the Guild was stamped in the lower right corner, so they must be borrowed documents from the Guild.

 

"It is maps of dungeons where the victims of Hound Master have been found, arranged in date order. Comparing the beginning to the end of these, do you notice anything?"

 

　Even though he asked that...... me and Anna looked at each other with a confused look on our faces.

 

　At first glance, they looked no different from ordinary dungeons. The only thing I would say was that there were many forest type dungeons. Come to think of it, thedungeon in which Shoko Sato-san was killed and the one in which I was attacked were both forest-type. However, cemeteries and caves type were also commonly found on the stack of maps. I guess there was not much of a relationship between them.

 

　But then Oribe said,

 

"This is ...... no way, analogous dungeons!"

 

"You guessed right."

 

　Teacher nodded in satisfaction.

 

"Saya, what is this analogous dungeons?"

 

"Analogous dungeons are dungeons whose internal structures are extremely similar. Although the order of the floors is different, the map of each floor itself is almost the same. The reason for this is not certain, but there is one theory. It is said that this is because they have the same parent dungeon.''

 

　Aha, I remembered the time when I helped Shinomiya-san.

 

　Come to think of it, the maps of the dungeon at that time and Shoko Sato-san's were very similar.

 

　Was that because those two dungeons were analogous?

 

"If all the dungeons where the victims were attacked were analogous, can the Hound Master really be able to go back and forth between these analogous dungeons?”

 

"Traveling between dungeons?　Is that possible?"

 

"I don't know,......, but if I think about it that way, I can understand why there is no record of entry and exit at the gates. They are entering and exiting from another dungeon..."

 

　When Oribe said that, Teacher also nodded.

 

"At the very least, the Guild seems to think it's highly likely that they are traveling back and forth between the analogous dungeons."

 

"...... It means they've already identified the culprit, haven't they?"

 

"Eh!?"

 

　Oribe's words startled me.

 

They have already identified the Hound Master!?　That's unbelievable. ...... No, wait. I see.......

 

"Even if the Hound Master was going between analogous dungeons and fooled the gate's entry/exit administration, there should still be a record of when they entered other analogous dungeons when a victim appeared. So if we can accumulate that information, we can identify the culprit?"

 

"That's right. You are unusually bright today, Senpai."

 

　The word 'unusually' and 'today' is unnecessary. ......Actually, it is unusual!

 

　However, Teacher shook his head and negated it,

 

"However, it wasn't that easy. It's true that only when the victim was in the dungeon could the people in the analogous dungeon be confirmed. But ...... they were not able identify the culprit. Because......"

 

　Then Teacher lowered his voice as if telling a ghost story.

 

"They were already dead. Ten years ago, in the second Angolmore."

 

　Already dead ten years ago?　That's absurd...... Wait.

 

　With a magic item that can change one's appearance, the footage from the surveillance camera can become anything they want. The law prohibited the possession of any kind of transformation or illusionary magic items, but a criminal who had gone to such lengths would not be concerned about that.

 

　But .......

 

"If the surveillance cameras can be fooled with that, what about the registration with the license?　You can't use a dead person's registration to get a license, no matter how much you try."

 

"Unfortunately, that one came up empty, too. The Hound Master apparently possesses has a magic tool that causes the gate... or rather, the machine to malfunction, and what was left in the entry/exit records was horseshit."

 

...I see.

 

　 I felt a small pang of disappointment.

 

　 Well, on second thought, if they have been able to identify them from that, they would have been caught long ago. Maybe it was a meaningless question by the time this talk was made.

 

　However, the magic item that malfunctions machines...... is it like [mechanical destruction] skill?　I've never heard of such a magic item, but I'm no longer surprised by what the Hound Master used.

 

　Then I felt a faint sense of discomfort.

 

　If the Hound Master had a magic item that could malfunctions machines, why was the footage from the surveillance camera still there?　If it is possible to deceive the machine completely, it should be able to manipulate the surveillance camera footage as well.

 

　Is it an ability to only deceive what you directly touch, or only what relates to entry and exit?

 

"However......"

 

　Teacher spoke again,

 

"As I said earlier, the police and the Guild weren't playing around either. I'm sure Maro and you guys know from your investigations that the Hound Master is targeting newcomers, so there should be an accomplice passing the list of names to the Hound Master...... that is, an insider in the Guild."

 

"An insider in the Guild ......."

 

　A heavy silence descended on the place.

 

No way...

 

　.....Or rather, I didn't want to believe it. The Adventurers' Guild may be a big organization, but it is still composed of people, some of whom may be assholes,......, but I didn't think that a government employee would be collaborating in a serial murder case involving over 100 people.

 

"Although I said accomplice, he didn't seem to know who the Hound Master was or what their purpose was. He said he was just doing it to earn some pocket money. When he learned that it was to help commit a series of murders, I heard he turned pale."

 

　Is that so........ I guess he was being used rather than being an accomplice.

 

".... Could it be, that insider's name is Mitarai?"

 

　When Anna said that, Teacher looked surprised.

 

"Yes, but ......, might he be an acquaintance of yours?"

 

"Acquaintance, or rather......"

 

　Anna glanced at me.

 

"Is he perhaps a source of information on the gremlin's purchase route?"

 

"Yes."

 

　I see. It seemed that he was someone who did that kind of thing on a regular basis.

 

"The operation will be carried out by making use of this insider. Here are the details."

 

　Teacher handed out the strategy document to us.

 

 

　The gist of it was as follows:

 

　First, a false list of new adventurers would be sent out through the insider. Most of them are dupes, but some are real people, planted as decoys from our side. The decoys are professional adventurers with no media exposure, or collaborators with equivalent skills.

 

　Next, we secretly contact new adventurers whose names have already been leaked out, and after ensuring that they do not dive into the dungeon on that day, the adventurers acting as decoys dive into the designated dungeons.

 

　If the police could secure the Hound Master who fell for the decoys and snuck into the dungeon, all would be well. The operation would be a great success.

 

　However, it was impossible to capture all the adventurers who came to the dungeon when they arrived -- the Hound Master would run away when they saw the police arresting innocent adventurers -- so the main mission was the following one, inside the dungeons.

 

　Professional adventurers lie in wait in the dungeons that adventurers who act as decoys dive into, all which are analogous dungeons.

 

　If anyone realized the trap and fled to the surface, the police would secure them there. If they escape to another dungeon, other adventurers will be waiting for them.

 

　It is a dead end.

 

 

　There were only a few analogous dungeons of each type in Tokyo, but there were dozens across the country. It would be an extremely large-scale operation, since police officers and professional adventurers would be deployed to all of them.

 

　As for the prize money, whoever actually catches the Hound Master will receive 2 billion yen, and the remaining 8 billion will be split equally among the participants. The distribution will be calculated per professional adventurer, and teams who are judged to be professionals will be treated as one person. Roughly speaking, each team member would receive a little over 100 million yen.

 

"I have a few questions."

 

　Anna, who seemed to have finished reading, raised her hand.

 

"Go ahead."

 

"What about the adventurers who act as decoys?　The decoys will be acting alone, which is very dangerous, right?"

 

"Each team prepares their own decoys. In my team, my sister, who is a former Self-Defense Forces officer, will be acting as the decoy. The strategy is already half successful if we can lure the Hound Master into the dungeon, so once we determine that the Hound Master has attacked, she will use the [Transfer] magic card to join up with the other teammates immediately."

 

"I see. Next, I heard that the full bounty is only paid out if the Hound Master is captured alive, but what happens if the Hound Master commits suicide?"

 

"If the Hound Master commits suicide, the prize money will be reduced to 100 million yen. Considering that it will be distributed to each team, it's almost free work. In the unlikely event that the adventurers killed them, they would not be charged with a crime considering that they are criminals, but there would be no prize money. It will completely be free work. There's a chance the some of the teams might force to claim some kind of expense money. In case there’s shoving, some resentment might surface."

 

　...... Reducing it to 100 million, that's pretty harsh. It was like they were saying they want them alive for sure.

 

"I see. ...... Next, what is our share?"

 

“About that, how about half for me and my sister, and half for your Adventurers' Club?"

 

　Half for Teacher and his sister, and half for the Adventurers' Club?　That's quite generous.

 

　I guess he could see it on my face because he smiled wryly and explained,

 

“Actually, there is a minimum number of people to participate in this operation. The rule is that the minimum number of participants is four: at least two professionals and at least two 3-stars. And as a new professional, I didn't know many other professionals, let alone three-star adventurers."

 

　Oh, so that's how it was. I understood.

 

　According to his personality, he would try to do most things on his own. Well, for him to rely on me to help him out, I knew he was in a tight spot.

 

　If they were short of manpower, then it was understandable why he had asked me to help them.

 

"Lastly, I'd like to know about the date of the operation."

 

"As of now, it's scheduled for Sunday in about three weeks."

 

　Sunday in about three weeks' time ...... is exactly the day of the full moon. The cards for the resurrection of Renge and Eliza will arrive at the end of this week. There's plenty of time to make it by the operation date. It seems I will also be able to increase the combat power of the cards that have not reached their growth limit yet. As far as my party was concerned, it looked like we would be able to greet the operation day in the best conditions.

 

　...... However, the same is true for the Hound Master who also uses lycanthrope.

 

　Perhaps they wanted to lure the Hound Mater more by choosing a day that would be convenient for the other side.

 

"That's all for me, but is there anything else from Senpai or Saya?"

 

“I don’t have anything in particular.”

 

"Then, there's one from me.... Honestly, why leave this operation to adventurers?　If they leave it to the Self-Defense Forces, they won't have to pay the 10 billion reward, and wouldn't that be cheaper and more reliable?"

 

"That may be so, but ......"

 

　The person who answered my question was Oribe, not Teacher,

 

"Isn't it for the survival of the adventurer system?　If the Self-Defense Forces resolve this issue, the adventurers will simply be victims. The public will only criticize the adventurer system. But if the adventurers themselves solve the problem, people will say both favorable and unfavorable opinions of the adventurer system."

 

"......Well, something like that."

 

　At Oribe's guess, Teacher smiled thinly and sipped from his cup.

 

　I felt a slight incongruity in the gesture.

 

　...Was something amiss?　If it was on point, Teacher would definitely say it clearly He doen't say such vague things..

 

　Should I dig deeper into this? No, there must be a reason why Teacher doesn't say anything. For example, confidentiality of the job offer.

 

"So, will you accept it? Of course, I will take the brunt of the fight against the Hound Master as much as possible."

 

"Please wait a moment. Let us discuss it."

 

"All right. Then I'll leave you alone."

 

　Once Teacher was out of the door, I asked Anna and Oribe,

 

"..... What do you want to do?　If you are going to sit out, now's the time."

 

　Up until now, we had been working more in the direction of finding the Hound Master from outside the dungeon.

 

　This time, however, it is more likely that we will have a direct confrontation with the Hound Master.

 

　...After seeing Shishido's body, I began to doubt whether it was really a good idea to involve Anna and Oribe.

 

　It might be considered too late, but we were still at the line where we could turn back.

 

If they're not dead, they're safe. That's all that matters.

 

　Anna and Oribe looked at me incredulously.

 

"What are you saying? We have come this far, Senpai."

 

"I have already made up my mind long ago. I made that decision when I first decided to go after the Hound Master."

 

"Really."

 

　I smiled bitterly. Well... that's just how I pictured it.

 

　I thought that since they had worked so far with the investigation, they would say they would do it until the end.

 

　In the first place, if you are the kind of person who stops when others tell you to stop, then you wouldn't have become an adventurer.

 

"Besides, even if we said we were going to quit, you were planning to take the job on your own, weren't you?"

 

"Yeah."

 

　I had decided to take the job as soon as my Teacher brought it up to me.

 

　Partly because I wanted to settle the score with the Hound Master, but also because I had a promise to my Teacher.

 

　When my Teacher is in trouble, I shall help him one time. That was the condition for him to teach me the Link.

 

　Therefore, I was not going to be dropping out on this.

 

"To be frank, it's not necessarily that we'll be fighting Hound Master. No one would give up a job that pays tens of millions of yen just to stand by in a dungeon."

 

"That's true."

 

　I don't know how the Hound Master's teleportation works, but if they can travel through any analogous dungeon, the chances of them coming to our dungeon is a dime a dozen.

 

　If they come to our dungeon, we will just settle it with our own hands. If they don't appear, that's just as delicious. That was it.

 

　When I called my Teacher back, I said to him,

 

"We would be happy to accept this offer.”

 

 

 

[Tips] Bounty Hunters

 

　Although not so familiar in Japan, in other countries, it is the job of adventurers, not police officers, to catch adventurers who commit crimes. This is because, unlike in Japan, where all dungeons are gated, there are many dungeons overseas, especially in the United States and developing countries, that do not have gates, and criminals often escape there.

 

　In Japan, bounties are usually given for Irregular Encounters, and the amount of the bounty is fixed according to the rank of the dungeon in which they appear.

 

　However, it is said that if another Angolmore were to occur, Japan would not be able to set up gates for all dungeons, and Japan will also have to introduce a bounty hunting system.

 

***

 

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