In a hotel room in S City, Kagurazaka Chizuru had been savoring the haze of half-sleep beneath the covers when the sound of someone pounding on the door jolted her awake.

She had stayed up until around four in the morning, repeatedly watching footage of Hayasaka Tooru, so she had probably overslept by quite a bit. Chizuru picked up the mobile terminal beside her pillow and checked the time.

8:45 a.m.

Normally, she would have been up long ago. While she did not keep the same routine when traveling, if she were at Anthem’s base, she would have already finished her morning training and taken a shower by now.

Thinking that, she snapped fully awake, got out of bed, and opened the door. Standing there was Midou Airi.

“Chizuru-chan, it’s a big deal! Tooru-san is on a livestream!”

“…What did you say?”

She was usually good at waking up, but she could not immediately process what Airi meant and reflexively asked her to repeat it. Looking closer, she saw that Airi was gripping her mobile terminal, presumably watching the stream in question.

After letting Airi into the room, the saint healing mage smoothly connected the hotel monitor to her device and brought up the livestream on the screen.

〈Once again, good day to you all! My thanks to everyone who has come to watch a stream so early in the morning! I am Kujou Reiko! O-ho-ho-ho!〉

An excessively loud voice boomed from the speakers.

Chizuru recognized the woman smiling at the camera: an A-rank explorer, dungeon streamer, and daughter of the Kujou Zaibatsu—Kujou Reiko.

That fact itself did not matter.

What mattered was the table positioned at the center of the screen, with Kujou Reiko seated on the left—and on the right, Hayasaka Tooru and Tia, the holy sword wielder.

“Tooru-sama!? Why is the Kujou lady with Tooru-sama…!?”

“Wait, Chizuru-chan. I think she’s about to explain that. The stream just started. I came to wake you up as soon as the announcement went out.”

“T-thank you… I doubt I would have noticed on my own that Kujou was doing something like this…”

Chizuru did appear in livestreams through her work with Anthem, but she still had not fully gotten the hang of it. She had been made to create SNS accounts as well, but she still did not really understand how to use them.

〈Now then, since I am sure all of our viewers are curious, let us get right to it. The two people seated before me are the wildly viral Toorubro-sama and the holy sword wielder, Tia-sama! Please say hello!〉

〈Ah… hello.〉

〈Hey there. I’m Tia. Oh, I can read the comments from Tooru’s screen, right? Hey, Tooru—someone’s saying I’m cute! Ehehe!〉

Someone she had seen in person less than ten hours ago was now livestreaming to the entire world. The strangeness of that made Chizuru uneasy, though she felt the same way whenever Anthem members appeared on stream.

“Good day, M’lady’.”
“That’s seriously Tooru-bro.”
“Tia-chan is adorable.”
“It was just yesterday—how did M’lady manage to get in touch with Tooru-bro so fast?”

Despite the early hour, the viewer count had already surpassed ten thousand. And this was not an Anthem stream—it was Kujou Reiko’s. At this rate, it would probably climb to thirty or even fifty thousand viewers before long.

That alone spoke to how much attention Hayasaka Tooru was drawing.

〈Now, now, viewers, please refrain from saying such things—it puts me in a difficult position. I shall explain everything in order, but first: as you all surely know, yesterday, Toorubro-sama and Tia-sama appeared on the stream of the A-rank explorer clan ‘Anthem.’ I, too, watched that broadcast.〉

“S City’s Dungeon Stampede, huh.”
“That insane, gigantic hydra getting taken down was wild.”
“Even Irselia, an S-rank, was there—no wonder the attention was crazy.”
“I’m team M’lady myself. Though I’m also a Midou Airi fan.”

〈And so! I simply had to meet Toorubro-sama in person, which is why I arranged this delightful collaboration stream! O-ho-ho-ho! Thus, today’s broadcast shall be devoted to chatting about this and that with Toorubro-sama! And viewers, should anything pique your curiosity, do feel free to submit your questions—within the bounds of common sense, of course!〉

Kujou Reiko spoke in a bright, booming voice, laughing cheerfully as she did.

From her blonde drill curls—an extreme rarity in modern Japan—to her pale blue dress, she looked utterly out of place in the real world. And yet, for some reason, she radiated an odd sense of approachability.

〈Uh… come to think of it, Kujou-san? How exactly did you get here? From what I heard, you watched yesterday’s stream and just decided you wanted to talk to me.〉

〈Why, I knew it was the S City Dungeon Stampede, of course, so I came by helicopter! As for how I managed to locate you after that, Toorubro-sama—that shall remain a corporate secret!〉

〈Right.〉

Tooru stared off into the distance, while Tia laughed happily beside him—the contrast between them was striking.

“So we’re really going with ‘Toorubro-sama,’ huh lol.”
“Bet the butler gave up correcting her.”
“She’s the type who takes forever to fix something once it’s been input.”
“She kept calling Gold Bear ‘Old Bar,’ remember?”
“LMAO.”

〈Now then, as for why I decided to hold a stream like this in the first place—at present, Toorubro-sama is drawing the attention of all Japan… nay, of the entire world. I imagine there will soon be those who seek to make use of you. Therefore, before any great powers begin to stir, I—Kujou Reiko, daughter of the Kujou Zaibatsu—wished to hear Toorubro-sama’s own intentions directly, as an individual.〉

〈Great powers, huh.〉

〈Oh? Does that not quite resonate with you?〉

〈Well… yeah. Until just the other day, I was basically below D-rank, cleaning out D-rank dungeons. It’s hard to wrap my head around being that big a deal.”

〈Then, Toorubro-sama, perhaps you were not very familiar with Anthem?〉

〈I mean… yeah, honestly.〉

〈It is hardly my place to say so, but they are explorers raised under national sponsorship—elite among elites, if you will—and their activities are widely known to the public through livestreaming. In terms of name recognition, they sit at the very pinnacle in Japan.〉

〈I’d seen them on TV and stuff, so I kinda knew about them.〉

〈And yet! You have come to Anthem’s aid—twice!〉

Bang!

Kujou Reiko slapped the table and leaned in close to Tooru’s face.

Chizuru frowned, thinking how utterly rude the woman was, but beside her, Airi showed no particular reaction as she continued watching the stream.

〈I mean… I guess that’s how it turned out?〉

Tooru replied in a tone that sounded less dissatisfied and more genuinely indifferent. It was no wonder Tia looked at him with mild exasperation.

He was far too unconcerned with his own achievements.

〈Indeed, indeed—most certainly! On the previous Anthem stream, Saitou Megumi-sama mentioned that an explorer license… a provisional one, at least, had been issued. However, I have no doubt that a full license will be granted before long. And so, Toorubro-sama, allow me to ask you directly. From here on out, will you be conducting your activities as a full-fledged explorer—will you not!?〉

〈Uh… yeah, I guess that’s probably how it’ll go. Compared to being a cleaner at the Sugai Dungeon, diving into dungeons, beating monsters, and bringing back magic cores actually contributes more to society. And, honestly, it pays way better than cleaning.〉

Tooru answered in an extremely calm tone. The content of his reply carried a hint of cynicism, but that was simply his personality.

Chizuru did not know what kind of life Hayasaka Tooru had lived up until now—just as Tooru had no way of knowing what kind of life Chizuru herself had lived.

“‘Honestly’ lol.”
“But he’s not wrong.”
“If you can handle upper-tier S-rank monsters, being a cleaner’s a waste.”
“And yeah, just grinding away for S City like that…”
“Hey, don’t bring that stuff into M’lady’s stream.”
“What’s gonna happen to Sasamori Takeshi, I wonder.”

〈I should clarify this for our viewers: the future of S City’s political affairs lies entirely outside my purview. As for that matter, Toorubro-sama, you seem rather unconcerned as well—would that be a fair assessment?〉

〈Yeah, about that… I pay taxes. I’m not living off them.〉

〈And what of you, Tia-sama? Will you, like Toorubro-sama, be entering dungeons as an explorer? Or does the prospect not particularly appeal to you?〉

〈If Tooru goes into a dungeon, I’ll go with him. If he doesn’t, then I won’t.〉

〈I see. Incidentally, my own butler, Jouichirou, was most reluctant to enter dungeons at first. And yet, they are so delightfully enjoyable… how very strange.〉

“LOL.”
“Here we go—M’lady’s butler suffering stories.”
“He’s been dragged into dungeon runs since middle school. Poor guy.”

〈Ahh, thinking back on it now, those were downright miserable memories.〉

A voice came from offscreen.

The lightly joking tone belonged to Kujou Reiko’s butler.

〈My apologies for my peculiar butler. Now then, to continue: it is quite likely that Toorubro-sama will soon find himself the target of attention from numerous explorer clans, corporations, and even nations. I acted on a whim and flew here by helicopter barely eight hours ago, so I cannot say for certain—but it is entirely possible that my father, the head of the Kujou family, may also wish to cultivate a close relationship with you.〉

Indeed—that was exactly right.

Even Chizuru, who was not well-versed in such political thinking, could see it. Hayasaka Tooru had cut down an upper-tier S-rank monster—one that even Irselia could not instantly slay—with a single swing of his blade.

Calling it abnormal did not even begin to cover it.

Explorers, by their very nature, were abnormal. And Hayasaka Tooru stood several tiers beyond even that. Taken to the extreme, if he so wished, he could likely slaughter every last member of Anthem on his own.

Would the world truly leave such a person alone?

Of course not.

〈Oh… Is that so?〉

Tooru’s reply was far too casual.

It was as though he did not acknowledge his own worth in the slightest.

“LOL, total bystander energy.”
“Yeah, I guess if you were a normal guy until recently, it wouldn’t really sink in.”

〈But then! I had a revelation!〉

Bang!

Kujou Reiko slammed her hand on the table and raised her voice.

Tooru and Tia both visibly flinched, which surprised Chizuru slightly. She had assumed the two of them were unshakable in most situations.

After all, even after cutting down that hydra, Hayasaka Tooru had worn an oddly detached expression and complained to Tia as if it were none of his concern.

Unbothered by Chizuru’s surprise, Kujou Reiko continued.

〈I watched you on the Anthem stream, Toorubro-sama, and though it pains me to say this—you looked dreadfully bored! The dungeons! The dungeon explorations! These are things meant to be enjoyed! Of course, it is true that exploration and its fruits benefit humanity—but that is not the sole reason we descend into dungeons!〉

As she spoke, her excitement clearly mounted. Kujou Reiko rose to her feet, stepping entirely out of the camera’s frame.

Only the lower half of her body remained on-screen, while Tooru gazed up at her blankly from his seat.

〈If you are to wear such a tedious expression, then Toorubro-sama, you must not heed anyone’s requests! For your own sake! For yourself! You should descend into dungeons only for you! No matter who asks, no matter how much money they offer, no matter what lofty pretexts they dress it up in—such trifles must never be what moves you! That, above all else, is what I came here today to convey!〉

Because she was outside the camera’s frame, it was impossible to see what kind of expression Kujou Reiko wore as she shouted even louder than usual.

And yet—Tooru did not try to stop her tirade, nor did he seem irritated by it. He was not wearing that bored, detached expression he had shown when he was with Chizuru and the others.

〈—After all, simply by defeating monsters, we already play a part in suppressing Dungeon Stampedes, and by bringing various resources back from the dungeons, we are already contributing to society! Yes, as one’s rank as an explorer rises, obligations such as responding to emergency summons during Stampedes are imposed—but even so, devoting one’s entire life to society? How utterly laughable! Such a notion is something I—Kujou Reiko—will never acknowledge!〉

What a… what a bracing declaration it was.

As though the world and herself were perfectly equal.

As though she felt not the slightest indebtedness to society.

No—perhaps they truly were equal, and she truly did feel none.

With a soft thump, Kujou Reiko sat back down, bringing her face level with Tooru’s.

Then, extending her right hand toward the still-dumbfounded Tooru, she smiled beautifully and said:

〈Toorubro-sama. Would you care to explore a dungeon together—with me? Dungeons are fun, you see. I shall personally instruct you, as your senior in dungeon exploration.〉

Dungeons are fun?

Chizuru had never once thought of them that way.

Dungeon exploration was an obligation. Because Kagurazaka Chizuru had demonstrated high mana affinity, she had been enrolled in a national project to cultivate explorers. She considered herself fortunate to have met the members of Anthem. Being with them was enjoyable, and it made her happy. That Saitou Megumi served as their leader was a source of pride for her.

But—

It was never fun.

Watching Kagurazaka swordsmanship grow more and more distorted through the influence of mana—watching it become stronger the more distorted it grew—that was something Chizuru… could not accept.

“Chizuru-chan… are you okay?”

Airi gently took Chizuru’s hand as she asked.

If so, then Chizuru must not have looked okay at all.

On the screen, after a brief silence, Tooru let out a wry smile and extended his own right hand to meet Kujou Reiko’s.

As she watched them shake hands, Chizuru could not ignore the roiling, pitch-black mire rising up inside her chest.

A thick, viscous liquid boiling and bubbling violently—crawling sluggishly throughout her body. A sharp sting in the back of her nose, an uncomfortable sensation in her throat as though a round stone had been lodged there. Though her insides burned, her fingertips grew cold.

This was—

Jealousy.

Ugly, selfish jealousy toward Kujou Reiko, the daughter of the Kujou Zaibatsu.

I’m not having fun.

I want to shake Hayasaka Tooru’s hand like that too.

My god. My sword god. My—

The ugliness of thinking such thoughts made her feel sick to her stomach.

She was disgusted with herself, wondering why she had become like this.

〈Sure. If it’s from you, I’d like to learn it. Looking forward to it.〉

On the screen, Hayasaka Tooru smiled—just slightly.

Come to think of it, this was the first time Chizuru had ever seen him smile.