Chapter 19
Surely, even if Alice asked, Kagami wouldn’t answer. He’d either awkwardly dodge the question or look troubled. Somehow, she knew that, so she deliberately chose not to ask.
“There are no monsters in this world above Level 500.”
Alice stopped and murmured softly.
Alice knew it was impossible to reach that Level, no matter how hard she tried. As a demon—and because demons could coexist with monsters—she knew of the strongest monster in existence. She knew of the place where no one could return alive after encountering it, and from which escape was impossible once you wandered in.
“You shouldn’t be able to go beyond Level 500. And yet... Kagami-san was Level 999.”
“I only just learned there were Level 500 monsters... but if you’re worried that someone besides Kagami-chan might reach Level 999 and threaten your father’s life, you don’t need to be.”
Takako said this with a gentle smile to Alice, who was deeply curious about how one could become Level 999.
“Probably no one but Kagami-chan could do it.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because Kagami-chan is missing one thing that’s important to every living creature... and because he’s an absolute idiot, maybe?”
Takako said this, then burst into a hearty, manly laugh.
“P-please tell me what it is! That’s how he reached that realm, right?”
“Isn’t that something you’ll learn from now on? We only just met, after all. If you really want to become friends with us, you can’t just keep asking questions.”
At Takako’s words, Alice seemed to feel a little chastened and looked downcast.
Seeing that, Takako was overcome with the urge to hug Alice, but held back. Hugging cute things in public had always gotten Takako into trouble.
“W-well, I’ll make an exception and tell you how to reach Level 999! You know, you can gain Experience Points by fighting someone stronger than you. That’s what Kagami-chan told me.”
“Someone stronger?”
“Even if their Level is high, you can gain Experience Points if their actual strength surpasses yours. It’s the kind of Experience Points you can gain because the Villager Role is weaker than the usual Roles.”
Hearing that only deepened Alice’s confusion. Even if a Villager was weak, surely by the time one reached Level 900, they could easily beat even the Level 500 monster Alice knew of.
Especially after hearing about Skills, Alice couldn’t help but think so. The more she thought about it, the more mysterious Kagami seemed.
“Why did Kagami-san... aim for Level 999? What did he learn after reaching Level 999?”
“Even I don’t know that. But it’s all right. Kagami-chan is just as kind now as he was back then. That’s why you feel safe with him, right?”
At Takako’s words, the tangled feelings inside Alice cleared away.
Alice still had endless questions, and they’d only just met, but Kagami was kind. It was precisely because she felt that way that she wanted to know so much about him. In that case, she could learn about him from now on. There was no need to rush—not during the journey they were about to begin, at least.
“And Alice-chan feels even safer with me around.”
At Takako’s words, Alice’s tangled feelings welled up again.
“I think... maybe I don’t need to go to the hot springs after all.”
“No way! A girl can’t go around smelling sweaty! Even if Kagami-chan lets you, I won’t!”
As she spoke, Takako loomed closer, pointing a finger at Alice with her massive frame. Alice was so overwhelmed that she felt faint; perhaps because she’d given up, a dry smile spread across her face.
“Come on... we’re going to the hot springs!”
Takako firmly grabbed Alice’s hand and pointed straight toward the hot springs.
Immediately afterward, with a loud thud, a huge purple object suddenly fell from the sky right in front of them, in the direction Takako was pointing.
“...Huh?”
It was perhaps four times Takako’s size. By chance, it landed in the middle of Valman’s largest plaza, which happened to be empty, so no one was crushed beneath it—but if anyone had been there, they certainly would have been.
Seeing the stone paving shattered and the ground caved in from the impact, Alice swallowed hard, certain of what would have happened to anyone caught beneath it.
“Grr... grrr... grr... growl...”
The enormous purple body let out a low growl that sent chills down their spines, then slowly began to move, its yellow eyes glowing. It planted its two front legs deep into the ground, then set its hind legs down as well, stamping the ground as if preparing to charge.
With the majestic presence of a bull from ancient myth, it had black, gleaming horns larger than a demon’s. Its body was covered in muscles, as if it had been born for battle. It was unmistakably a Level 54 monster called a Bloody Buffa.
“You’re in the way.”
“Grr... rwa!? Bwoooooo!?”
But the Bloody Buffa that had suddenly flown in from the sky was immediately hit square in the torso by Takako’s roundhouse kick. With a deep, dull impact, it was sent flying horizontally at tremendous speed. It crashed into the stone-block wall of the plaza, vanished, and transformed into gold.
“Come on, Alice-chan. Let’s go to the hot springs.”
“No, wait a second! I’ve never been this confused in my life!”
Alice was left reeling as Takako took out a monster that had suddenly dropped from the sky with a single roundhouse kick, then headed for the hot springs as if nothing had happened. Looking around, Alice saw that more Bloody Buffas were falling from the sky—not just the one Takako had just defeated.
Why was Takako still so calm and trying to go to the hot springs in this situation? Alice was more frightened of Takako than of the situation itself.
“Oh my, there are so many falling. I hope none of them land on my shop.”
“Takako-san, this isn’t the time to stay calm!”
In fact, screams rang out all over Valman, and the city had descended into chaos.
Why were Bloody Buffas falling from the sky? Alice and Takako immediately looked up to find the cause and saw a dozen or so enormous black-winged birds filling the skies over Valman.
“Did those giant birds bring the Bloody Buffas here? Why?”
“Alice-chan, calm down. Everyone’s panicking, but it’ll be all right. This is an adventurer’s city.”