Chapter 132
The morning sun streamed in. It was the morning of the seventh day.
Next to me was Rikka-chan, sleeping peacefully.
She slept curled up, breathing softly and adorably.
Actually, she was awfully close.
(You shouldn't just climb into someone else's futon...)
She really does let her guard down too much.
I had no choice, so I quietly got up without waking her, tucked the blanket back over her, and left the room.
(Quite a few people are already awake...)
I could sense people everywhere—some awake, some still asleep.
My new Skill, Wide-Area Search, acquired through the Tracker Job.
Its range was nothing like before; it could easily cover the entire City Hall.
It could also clearly distinguish individual presences that had previously been vague.
Well, sensing so many people was a bit irritating, but I'd just have to get used to it.
When I headed to the washroom, someone was already there.
"Good morning, Nishino-kun."
"Oh, good morning, Ichinose."
Nishino-kun washed his face and turned a refreshing smile toward me.
"Where are the others?"
"Still asleep. We talked late into the night yesterday."
"I see."
After returning to City Hall yesterday, I had talked things over with them.
We discussed Skills, teamwork, tomorrow's plan, and various other things, and before we knew it, it was quite late.
Thanks to Nishino-kun laying the groundwork beforehand,
I was able to join their circle without arousing any suspicion.
That wasn't all.
It seemed Nishino-kun had also explained the misunderstanding between Ichinose-san and Rikka-chan.
His friends had been unusually kind to me.
A high-school girl with a gyaru look and tan skin had apologized, saying, "I'm sorry about before," while a big delinquent-looking guy had said, "This time, we'll protect you."
...Aren't these kids a little too nice?
They were so kind I almost teared up. Why were they delinquents?
(You really can't judge people by appearances...)
Back when I was a corporate slave, it was taken for granted that appearances were everything.
Bedhead, unshaven stubble, wrinkles in your clothes. Working adults place an absurd amount of importance on looking presentable.
But that doesn't apply in this world.
In a situation where people's true nature is laid bare, there's no point in merely polishing your appearance.
Nishino-kun's group was an obvious example of that.
"...What is it? Why are you staring at my face?"
"It's nothing."
For now, I washed my face.
Nishino-kun waited until I was done.
"There's still time before breakfast... Want to talk for a bit?"
"Sure."
The scene shifted to the parking lot outside City Hall.
Nishino-kun and I sat on its outer wall.
When I said we'd take over the watch until breakfast, they readily agreed.
"We should be able to talk here without anyone overhearing."
Nishino-kun changed the way he spoke.
Apparently, he intended to use polite speech whenever the two of us were alone.
Well, that was typical of Nishino-kun.
"The time has finally come."
"Yes..."
The decisive battle against the Queen Ant lurking in the shopping district.
For the people living here, it was a battle they absolutely couldn't afford to lose.
"By the way, Shimizu-san was happy. She said it was lucky we got such a huge amount of insecticide before the decisive battle."
"You should thank Ichinose-san, not me. Without her Gacha, we wouldn't have been able to get that much insecticide."
Last night, I returned to City Hall carrying a large amount of insecticide.
In truth, it was stock from my Item Box, but I said it came from Ichinose-san's Gacha.
I still wanted to keep the existence of the Item Box hidden.
But our opponent was a Named monster.
We wanted to use every option available to us.
"...Even so, let me thank you. Winning this battle is our first priority, of course, but minimizing our losses is important, too."
"That's true."
Right. Even if we managed to defeat the Queen Ant, there was still another Named monster.
Golem Titan. Unless we did something about him, City Hall had no future.
(I did put together a strategy, though...)
The new Skills I had acquired.
On top of those, Kiki's Reflection, Momo and Ichinose-san's new Skills, and Aka's new disguise.
If we made full use of all of them in peak condition, we might be able to handle that thing.
But... that only made the things I didn't understand all the more troubling.
(Why did Aka have me choose Tracker...?)
It was true that my search range had expanded, and Tracking and Terrain Awareness were useful Skills.
But I didn't think it was the right choice for the situation we were in now.
If I just wanted to make combat easier, an advanced Job of Ninja seemed like the more sensible choice.
(Even when I ask Aka, all it says is, "Just because~"...)
Momo and Aka's instincts seemed to carry an air of certainty.
That was why I'd trusted them, too, but I still couldn't think of an effective way to use Tracker.
(And I can't get my fourth Job until I level up again...)
It was frustrating in a lot of ways.
And on top of that, my biggest concern was—
"...I wonder what happened to Fujita-san."
When I said that, Nishino-kun's expression turned grim.
Even though dawn had broken, Fujita-san still hadn't returned.
Something out of the ordinary must have happened.
Had he been attacked by monsters, or was there another reason?
"...Nishino-kun, you sent him an Email yesterday, right?"
"Yes. But he didn't reply."
Fujita-san was a central figure at City Hall.
That was why Nishino-kun hadn't hesitated to use Email.
(When someone on your Email list dies, their name disappears from the list.)
I hadn't known that, but apparently Nishino-kun had noticed after checking the list repeatedly.
Fujita-san's name was still on it.
So he wasn't dead yet... probably.
"How are the people at City Hall?"
"They were pretty shaken yesterday, but I think they're all right now."
Apparently, the mayor had snapped the shaken people out of it.
He'd said: "Don't make a fuss. It's pathetic. If you get rattled over something this small, Fujita will laugh at you when he gets back. The man you trusted can't possibly go down over something like this. Believe in him and wait."
...No, better yet, let's get ahead of him. When he gets back, give him a huge laugh.
Tell him, "Everything was over while you were late, you good-for-nothing," and give that idiot a thorough scolding.
"...That's something else."
"He showed us the difference in what it means to be a leader. I don't think I could ever imitate him..."
"You have your own way of doing things, Nishino-kun. You don't need to compete with him."
Other people are other people. You are you.
There's no such thing as absolute rightness, and all you can do is what you're capable of.
"You're right. Well, even someone like me has people who follow me. ...That's why I realized I have to do my best."
...I think the fact that you can say things like that so naturally is what makes you strong.
Nishino-kun stood up.
"Sorry for keeping you. We should get going."
"Right."
After having someone else take over the watch, Nishino-kun and I returned inside City Hall.
As soon as breakfast was over, the strategy meeting began.
As Nishino-kun had said, the people at City Hall were not very shaken.
Chief Shimizu's expression was a little dark, though. Would Chief Shimizu be all right?
"Everyone's here. Then I'll explain the plan."
Mayor Uesugi said that from the podium and activated Map.
"This is where they found the Queen Ant yesterday."
Mayor Uesugi traced part of the three-dimensional map with his finger.
It was a section of the underground complex beneath the shopping district, on its western side.
"There's only one staircase, but there are several holes they've dug around the area. We won't have any trouble getting in."
"However," Mayor Uesugi continued.
"They'll naturally be waiting for us. So first, we'll weaken them with fumigating insecticide. ...Fortunately, we have plenty of it."
His gaze briefly turned toward me.
I quietly looked away.
"After that, we'll move in and exterminate them. Everyone, enter from your assigned location."
We'd weaken them with fumigating insecticide, surround them so the Queen Ant couldn't escape, and wipe them out.
It was a simple, easy-to-understand plan.
Giant Ants were numerous, but each individual one wasn't all that strong.
The only concern was the Queen Ant's own combat strength.
And—
"...What do we do if the Golems show up?"
One of the staff members raised a hand.
Right. That was the biggest point of concern.
If that thing showed up, we wouldn't be talking about a strategy anymore.
"I'd like to say we should cancel the operation and retreat immediately, but we're short on time. Find a way to survive while carrying out the plan."
Hey, the thing we needed to figure out most was the one thing we had no answer for.
"In the worst case, someone will have to draw Titan's attention while the rest of us carry out the plan. That's our only option."
In other words, a decoy...
If we actually faced a situation like that, would anyone be able to volunteer without hesitation? We're not the Second Generation-sama, after all.
A few people looked dissatisfied, but without an alternative, they probably couldn't complain.
The mayor looked around the room.
"We'll begin the operation in thirty minutes. Everyone, come back alive!"
"Ooooh!"
Everyone rose with a shout of determination.
The operation to defeat Queen Ant Arpa had begun.