Chapter 61
Leaving the shopping mall, I head for the meeting place.
It's only a few minutes away on foot.
I don't sense any monsters, so I should arrive soon.
"Is this it...?"
I reach the apartment building without any trouble.
Oh, right. I wasn't told exactly where in the building we were supposed to meet.
Is it the entrance? Or one of the vacant rooms?
For now, I'll email Ichinose-san... Oh, she's already sent one.
I click the unread message and check its contents.
'I'm at the entrance.'
That's all the brief message says.
"Huh...? The entrance?"
I shift my gaze, but no one is there.
And yet... something feels 'off.'
"...Whine?"
Momo tilts its head and stares at the area around the entrance.
Yeah, something's weird.
It's a strange feeling, like when you're looking at a trick painting or an optical illusion.
Oh, another email.
'Sorry, I'm deactivating my "Skill" now, so please wait a moment.'
"?"
When I tilt my head, I feel a 'gaze.'
It's the same gaze I felt when I was fighting the Goblins before.
It seems to be coming from the apartment entrance.
I squint and look carefully.
Then―――.
"Huh?"
The scenery 'warps' with a gentle ripple.
The distortion quickly subsides, revealing a girl sitting there with a gun slung over her shoulder.
"Uh, ah..."
Ignoring my confusion, she stands and bows her head.
"This is the first time we've met in person, isn't it? Nice to meet you. My name is Ichinose Natsu. I look forward to working with you."
With that, the girl gives a little bow.
"Oh, nice to meet you too. I'm Kudo Kazuto."
I bow as well and introduce myself.
We already know each other, but it's just a formal greeting.
"These are my party members, Momo and Aka."
"Woof!"
"...(shakes)"
Momo cheerfully returns her greeting.
Aka is still disguised as clothing, so it can only tremble a little.
Incidentally, Ichinose-san already knows about Aka.
Apparently, she'd met it along with Momo while I was unconscious.
"Um, was that a 'Skill' just now?"
"Yes. My Job is 'Shut-In,' and one of the Skills I acquired with it was 'Recognition Interference.' It makes it difficult for other people to recognize my presence. Well, it does have various limitations."
Ichinose-san answers smoothly, without the slightest hesitation.
I see. Recognition Interference. What a convenient Skill.
It really is a 'Shut-In'-like Skill.
Even so...
"..."
"What is it?"
As I stare intently at Ichinose-san, she tilts her head and asks me a question.
Yeah, this is getting ridiculous.
I'll just ask her directly.
"Um, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why have you been avoiding looking at me this whole time?"
She's been looking to the side the entire time.
Even while looking away, her beautiful features make the scene picturesque, but that's not how you're supposed to act when talking to someone.
"...I've thought about it a lot."
Ichinose-san lets out a sigh.
Her voice sounds a little weary.
"This is embarrassing to admit, but I'm a painfully shy shut-in. And not just ordinarily shy—I get so nervous talking to someone I've just met that I feel like throwing up."
"Oh..."
Yeah, I had more or less figured that out from our emails.
"I wondered whether someone like me could form a party with another person... especially a man... and actually get along."
"Ah, yes."
"Then I realized that I can hold a normal conversation through email. So I thought that if I just didn't look you in the face, I might be able to talk normally in person too... And I was right."
I really wish that prediction hadn't been accurate.
Hearing her say that while looking away leaves me feeling incredibly awkward.
"Whine?"
Momo tilts its head as if it doesn't quite understand.
It's okay if you don't understand, Momo. Stay pure.
"Anyway, I look forward to working with you."
Ichinose-san bows while still looking to the side.
≪Ichinose Natsu wants to join your party. Will you add her?≫
No, she isn't looking at me.
She's facing off in a completely different direction.
"..."
W-Well, whatever.
It's already decided, anyway.
I select Yes.
≪Application accepted. Ichinose Natsu has joined your party.≫
She must have heard the voice of heaven too.
Her profile looked somehow relieved.
When I check the Party Members section, Ichinose-san's name is listed there.
Let's see...
Ichinose Natsu Lv. 20
"...Huh?"
I look at the screen again.
Ichinose Natsu Lv. 20
...Wait, what? Her level is crazy high!?
She's four levels higher than me.
Just how many monsters has she hunted!?
"Um, Ichinose-san, if you don't mind me asking, how in the world did you raise your level this high—huh?"
When I glance over, Ichinose-san is trembling.
As I watch her, wondering what's wrong, her face gradually turns deathly pale.
"I-Ichinose-san! What's wrong!?"
I rush over and put my arm around her shoulders.
Then, when I look at her face―――
"...S-Sorry. I thought I could handle it, but... apparently I've reached my limit."
"Huh?"
'Crisis Detection' sounds the alarm, but it's already too late.
The next moment,
"Bleeeaaaargh!"
Reverse.
Her vomit splatters all over me.
A sour smell and horribly awkward silence fill the air.
"S-Sowwy..."
"Ah, yeah..."
And so, my first contact with Ichinose-san became a truly shocking one: she vomited all over me the moment we met.
...I want to cry.
Meanwhile―――.
The Orc horde had left the home improvement store and was now heading for the shopping mall.
They were doing so because one Orc had left the horde and gone off on its own.
"Rufen not come back."
This individual had been given a name by heaven and possessed reddish-bronze skin, making it a formidable fighter even among the horde.
Though its overwhelming strength and unusual worldview had made it an outcast within the horde, not a single one of them doubted its power.
But that Orc had not returned.
To them, this was clearly abnormal.
"We search."
No one raised an objection.
Rufen probably wasn't dead.
But there was a strong possibility that Rufen had encountered some kind of unforeseen trouble.
Especially with all the rain these past few days.
Rufen was strong, but that strength had made its weaknesses more pronounced than those of an ordinary Orc.
It might have been soaked for some reason and rendered unable to move.
They had to find Rufen quickly.
"...Hm?"
One Orc suddenly twitched its nose.
The others looked around as well.
―――They were surrounded.
"Come out."
When the Orc shouted, a monster appeared on the roof.
A wolf with black fur―――a Shadow Wolf.
More appeared one after another.
Every one of them had climbed to a high place and was looking down at the Orcs.
This pricked the Orcs' pride.
"Insolent."
How dare mere mutts look down on them?
Even without Rufen, the Orcs were stronger than the Shadow Wolves.
The Orcs immediately readied their weapons.
"Kill them."
With a battle cry, the Orcs charged.
They were mere beasts, after all.
The wolves couldn't possibly be a match for the Orcs... or so they thought.
But then.
A huge 'darkness' appeared at the Orcs' feet.
"What is this!?"
The Orcs panicked.
In an instant, the 'darkness' spread and began swallowing the Orcs.
The Orcs thought it impossible.
The Shadow Wolves' 'shadows' shouldn't have an ability like this.
This was something else entirely―――.
"Ggh...!?"
Sensing something ominous, the Orcs turned toward it.
When had it appeared there?
In the middle of the road ahead of them stood a black wolf.
It was slightly smaller than the other Shadow Wolves.
But the aura around it was clearly different.
―――A higher-ranked individual.
And an exceptionally strong one at that.
The Orcs held their breath.
"Awooooooooo!"
With the black wolf's howl, the 'darkness' spread even farther.
They desperately tried to resist, but they could not escape it.
The Orcs were swallowed by the 'darkness' one after another.
And it wasn't only the Orcs; every structure around them was swallowed by the 'darkness' as well.
"Gwooooooooo―――..."
Seeing this, the Orc finally understood why the Shadow Wolves had been in high places.
They hadn't been up there to look down on the Orcs.
They had merely been taking refuge so they wouldn't be swallowed by this 'darkness.'
But realizing that now changed nothing.
Just before being swallowed, the Orc locked eyes with the black wolf that had caused this phenomenon.
The wolf's eyes looked as though it were looking at an insect.
The Orc realized that this was the end.
(...Rufen, I'm sorry...)
At the end, it apologized in its heart to its fellow who was presumably somewhere out there.
And the horde of more than ten Orcs was annihilated.
≪You acquired experience.≫
An emotionless voice echoed in its head.
Ignoring it, the black wolf dispelled the 'darkness.'
It had no interest in Orcs.
It had only eliminated them because they looked like they might interfere with the journey to its destination.
"...Near."
Twitching its nose, the black wolf stared in a particular direction.
A faint scent.
It was the scent of its mate, whom it had been searching for ever since this world went wrong.
"...Wait for me."
Then the pack of Shadow Wolves began moving again.
The new threat was already drawing very near.