Chapter 7
Late that night, on the anonymous bulletin board's Explorers' Board, a kind of thread that only gets posted the morning after a frenzy had erupted had gone up again.
'【Analysis】A Thread Investigating the Identity of the Maximum-Amount Super Chat "R" Sent to the Course'
【1: Anyone who watched last night's passing-celebration stream knows this. A maximum-amount Super Chat, with only the message "Congratulations." The sender was a single letter: "R." Analysis team, time to get to work】
【3: The editor theory】
【5: A scout from one of the major clans. Maybe Genbu's getting ready to crawl back】
【8: Just a rich beginner. How uninspiring】
【11: I searched through explorers whose names start with R. ...The most famous one is, well, that guy】
【12: Don't say it】
【14: Kenjo Rei. Number one in the S-rank rankings. Humanity's Strongest. —Yeah, yeah, no way. Number one is in the middle of an unexplored expedition nine thousand kilometers away right now】
【17: Exactly. Sorry, forget I said anything】
【23: I dug up something more interesting. The Association's official records. The first person ever to pass from E-rank to C-rank by skipping a rank—eight years ago, seventeen years old at the time, an unaffiliated apprentice swordsman. Name: Kenjo Rei】
【24: We all knew that yesterday】
【26: There's more. Look at the recommender field. It isn't a clan name. It says "Recommendation by an individual certified coach." The individual's name was withheld. —In other words, the one who first took in and trained Humanity's Strongest when he was still unknown was an unknown individual coach whose name wasn't even recorded】
【29: ...Hey】
【31: Stop】
【33: I'm not saying it. I absolutely am not saying it】
【36: An unknown personal coach who helped an unaffiliated washout skip ranks eight years ago. An unknown personal coach who helped an unaffiliated washout skip ranks this year. —I guess coincidences can happen twice in a row】
【38: Take it to the Occult Board】
The thread kept growing past noon, stopping just short of its conclusion because no one could bring themselves to write the final line.
◇
As for me, my day was peaceful as ever.
I cooked rice, leafed through my notebook, and prepared for the night's stream. It was day eighteen of my wholesome unemployed life.
The only things disturbing the peace were the numbers—and last night's incident. The maximum-amount Super Chat, sent by "R." There was no way to refund it; this streaming site had no refund system. So, before the night was over, I bowed my head and said, "I'll gratefully put it toward the course's operating expenses." Though the course's expenses amounted to little more than thirty-thousand-yen secondhand equipment and my rice costs.
"...R, huh?"
Holding my teacup in one hand, I looked at that single letter again. It still made me strangely uneasy.
For an instant, the faces of my former students surfaced in the corner of my mind, then I dismissed them. They were working on the front lines of humanity. S-rankers' time was booked by the world down to the second; there was no way they had time to tip an unknown old man's stream.
"If I can't figure it out by thinking about it, then I can't figure it out."
I went back to turning the pages of my notebook. Tonight would be Lesson Eighteen. I'd chosen the topic long ago. The most basic of basics, one of the core principles: "center of gravity."
◇
That night, when I pressed the start-streaming button, the viewer count passed 【50,000】 within the first minute.
"Good evening, I'm Shin. There seem to be a lot of first-time viewers, so let me say the usual thing. This is a course for beginners. I won't be covering flashy techniques or talking about the strongest gear. It's dull. Probably shockingly dull."
【We know】
【Fifty thousand people came to hear that】
【Are we getting R's identity yet?】
【I came from the analysis thread】
"I don't know anything about R-san either. If they ever identify themselves, I'll thank them properly. —Now, Lesson Eighteen. Today, we'll talk about 'where the center of gravity is.'"
I opened the notebook I'd chosen for tonight.
"A standing person's center of gravity is roughly just below the navel. ...But that's the textbook introduction. The real subject is that the center of gravity 'moves.' And it does so without you realizing it."
"When you watch recordings of people who die on the third layer or earlier, almost the same thing happens a few seconds before disaster strikes. Their center of gravity rises and flees back to their heels. Even though they think they haven't moved a step, only their center of gravity has fled ahead of them. Someone whose center of gravity is on their heels can't move in an instant. And because they can't move, they take the hit."
【Ah... that's me】
【Stop talking about what happened to me last week】
"And now we come to today's main subject. So why does the center of gravity move without the person realizing it? Actually, the center of gravity is—"
That was when it happened.
In the torrent of the comment section, a line bearing an unfamiliar mark slid smoothly past.
A verification badge. The blue mark attached only to official accounts.
【Kenjo Rei—Official】'That explanation has more to it. "The center of gravity is drawn toward where the heart is"—that's right, Teacher?'
The comment section stopped.
In a classroom filled with fifty thousand people, not a single person typed a thing. Three seconds. A long three seconds.
Then it exploded.
【What????】
【!?!?!?!】
【The verification badge. That's a verification badge. It's not an impersonator】
【Humanity's Strongest??? Why??? This is a beginner's course???】
【Did he just say "Teacher"?】
【He did. He said, "That's right, Teacher"】
【He said Teacher!!!!】
【The analysis thread was right!?】
【K-Kenjo Rei!? A-Are you really him!?】
Even Hina-chan's comment was swept away in the torrent. The screen began updating a beat late. The viewer-count counter couldn't keep up with the digits carrying over. Apparently, a load warning had appeared across the entire site.
As for me.
I pushed up my glasses and read that single line twice.
...A verification badge. Official. His real name. Streaming sites had become quite convenient lately. Even so.
"...Rei-kun?"
The name I'd spoken for the first time in two years came out more naturally than I'd expected.
"Rei-kun, you can't slack off during an expedition."
The comment section exploded all over again.
【Slack off...】
【The scene of Humanity's Strongest getting scolded】
【They're acquainted. They're really acquainted】
【The "Teacher" is confirmed】
【World, behold the legendary unknown course】
【Kenjo Rei—Official】'I haven't been slacking. I've finished the work over there. ...Also, that's my favorite lesson, so I couldn't help myself.'
"You can't just say 'couldn't help myself.' And don't get ahead of someone else's lesson. It was just getting to the best part."
【Kenjo Rei—Official】'Sorry.'
【He apologized!?】
【The number-one-ranked explorer is sitting seiza-style (artist's impression)】
"...Well, never mind. Since we're already here, I'll continue. —Just as Kenjo-kun said."
I lowered my eyes to the notebook. It was the page I'd written for my first student eight years ago.
"The center of gravity is drawn toward where the heart is. When you're afraid, your heart wants to flee backward. The center of gravity follows it and settles onto your heels. When you panic, your heart leans forward, wanting to finish quickly. The center of gravity follows it and floats onto your toes. —You can't fix it by trying to correct only the body. That's why half of center-of-gravity training is training where to place your heart. Exhale for a long time. Grip the floor with your toes. Those aren't about muscles; they're procedures for bringing your heart all the way down to the soles of your feet."
【I got goosebumps】
【What am I even hearing in a beginner's course?】
【Kenjo Rei—Official】'Even now, before entering a dungeon, I clench my toes into a fist inside my shoes. I haven't missed a day in eight years.'
【Humanity's Strongest does that??? That basic exercise??? Every day???】
【Hey, I get it now. I really get it now】
【That old man built the foundation of Humanity's Strongest】
【The world is starting to check its answers】
Near the end of the stream, I stared at the number in the corner of the screen for the first time.
Concurrent viewers: 【418,229】.
I learned later that the record for dungeon-related broadcasts in this country had been 390,000 viewers—the official broadcast of Genbu's all-out "Deep Layer 50: All-Out Assault" three years earlier.
A beginner's lesson on center of gravity had surpassed it.
"...Well then, that's all for today."
I ended the stream as usual.
◇
Narita Airport, a corner of the arrivals lobby.
Kenjo Rei stood gripping the handle of a carry-on, staring down at the screen of the terminal.
This hadn't been the plan. Once Rei arrived, the plan was to check into a hotel, get presentable at daybreak, put two years' worth of words in order, and then go see the teacher. It was a perfect plan assembled during the nine-thousand-kilometer flight.
But after landing and opening the terminal, Rei found the course streaming live—and of all things, it was the center-of-gravity lesson. Before Rei knew it, the fingers had moved.
Rei examined the way the plan had fallen apart using the "observation" the teacher had drilled into Rei. When panic strikes, the heart leans forward. The center of gravity floats onto the toes. —Rei knew all too well that the floating had lasted for two years.
Rei let out a long breath and gently clenched the toes inside the leather shoes. Then the contact entry was opened—not the streaming account, but the one registered eight years earlier, which had been impossible either to delete or to contact for the past two years—and a short message was typed.
【Tomorrow, I'll come to your place. —I'll tell you everything】
Sent.
The swordsman known as Humanity's Strongest felt the center of gravity settle onto the floor for the first time in two years, then slowly began walking toward the end of the night.