Chapter 39
Hello there.
This is Akagi Hideo, bourgeoisie, B-rank explorer, and Platinum member.
Right now, I've got several special operatives pointing guns at me.
Word is, there's a dangerous anomaly in this living room.
I have one question I need to ask Shurado, who looks genuinely worried.
"What exactly is an SCCL-applied anomalous substance...?"
"An SCCL-applied anomalous substance is, well, yada yada—basically, it's an anomaly that's highly likely to be extremely dangerous, Akagi-san!"
"I see, so the danger is highly likely..."
"Especially anomalies with autonomous abilities—they tend to be fundamentally incompatible with humanity... To put it bluntly, biological-type anomalies are usually troublemakers! Of course, even non-biological ones can be dangerous if used the wrong way!"
Shurado snatches a device from someone who seems to be the captain.
The captain says, "Ah, my device..." and looks mournful.
"Akagi-san, where are you hiding it?"
"N-No, I'm not hiding anything!"
"Your eyes are darting around—that's proof you've got something to hide!"
Shurado approaches with the device.
It looks like a Geiger counter you'd see in a movie.
The needle wobbles back and forth, making a "chirrrrr..." sound like a broken radio.
As it gets closer to me, the reaction intensifies.
I see, the performance seems legit.
In that case, it can't be helped. I guess it's time... to make my move.
"Fine. You win, Shurado."
"Ah, Akagi-san..."
"So, could you please turn off that noisy device for a moment?"
Shurado clicks the power off.
I pull a revolver pistol from my pocket.
Time to begin the plan—use a decoy and slip through.
The moment I suddenly draw my gun, the special operatives shout "Whaaa?!" and hurriedly realign their sights with a series of clicks.
If this were America, I'd be full of holes by now.
Gotta be more careful from now on...
"Akagi-san, what is that?"
"It's an anomaly I received from the 'Metal Shiba Inu Club.'"
Item name: 'Strange Metal Armored Odd Gun.'
The special forces captain tells a subordinate, "Bring those guys," and has the Metal Shiba Inu Club members brought in.
Tetsuro Hagane is brought in and made to stand in front of the 'Strange Metal Armored Odd Gun.'
"Eep...!"
The moment Hagane sees my face, he clutches his rear and starts trembling.
"So you really were in cahoots with the Foundation...!"
"?"
"Quit babbling nonsense and just answer the damn question, punk!"
The captain's iron fist punches Hagane squarely.
The Special Operations Division shows no mercy.
"Akagi-san, Akagi-san."
"Hm? What is it?"
"It's probably best if you step out of the room for now~"
At Shurado's suggestion, I leave the house along with several armed personnel.
Apparently, since a fact-check is taking place, having Hagane and me in the room would defeat the purpose.
I see. It's so we can't coordinate our stories.
The captain seems to be suspicious of me.
————
——Shurado's perspective
The round of questioning had concluded.
Without delay, Shurado reported in to the captain.
Judging by how much longer the interrogation lasted than she had estimated, it seemed the captain had been trying to dig into deeper intel.
Shurado had assumed it would just be a routine verification process.
"No slip-ups, huh."
"That's what I said, didn't I?"
"Instead, he kept repeating things like rigid, black, white, fluffy... What could those even mean...? I have no clue."
"He asked about the activities of the Metal Shiba Inu Club too, right?"
"Can you guess, young lady Shurado?"
"It took quite a while, after all."
"......Turns out, they were researching metallization technology."
"Metallization? That's..."
"Yeah. That's the technology the Dungeon Foundation's been developing."
"......"
"Word is, they've got several branches. The Metal Shiba Inu Club is apparently one of them."
"Just learning that much made this worthwhile. It's all thanks to Akagi-san."
"That man can't be trusted. That gun turns its targets into metal and grants them a defense of one million. Trying to keep something that dangerous for himself... A proper explorer would've delivered it to the Foundation right away."
"Akagi-san's still new as an explorer. He's not familiar with the Foundation's rules. And besides, when boys find something cool, it's natural they'd want to keep it for themselves."
"You sure are defending him hard."
"Uh... well, that's..."
"Hmph. Whatever. But seriously—who even is that guy?"
"Heh heh heh, prepare to be shocked. He's the Finger Man!"
"He's the Finger Man...? I've heard the rumors, but yeah, I did think he looked suspicious. No one knows what he's really up to behind the scenes. His identity's a mystery too. He's got tons of wild stories."
"Akagi-san is amazing, isn't he?"
"...The only ones who could see that as amazing and stay positive about it are you and maybe a few old-school explorers... Look."
The captain takes off his glove.
Goosebumps erupt across his skin as he trembles slightly.
"Just hearing the Finger Man speak left me like this."
He puts the glove back on.
"I thought I was prepared with everything I'd read about him... But so this is what it's like for an ordinary person to face the real deal. Haa... I'm exhausted. He drained me mentally."
"A-Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. ...As long as the Finger Man remains an explorer, the Foundation can keep tabs on him. Plus, rumor is, he's backed by that legendary agent G. I'll overlook things this time. I just want to get out of here."
"Th-Thank you, Special Operations Chief!"
The Special Operations Division is the Foundation's largest combat force.
And not even its chief could escape the rumors and phobia surrounding the Finger Man.
"Ah, before I go, there's one thing I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"The metallization story involves some seriously troublesome people."
"Troublesome people?"
"Yeah. The full interrogation will continue back at the Foundation, but turns out, the one who passed on the metallization tech to the 'Metal Shiba Inu Club' was a man named Araragi."
"W-Wait, you mean the 'Faceless Man'?!"
"I'm not sure. But we'll need to hear the full story."
'Faceless Man' Araragi.
Once an S-rank explorer.
Now an S-rank internationally wanted criminal.
Sometimes, he grants forbidden knowledge to clueless people from the shadows of the world.
And sometimes, he scatters wicked tools that trigger impossible phenomena.
He is the only human with a Calamity designation.
Leaving behind that chilling detail, the Special Operations Chief departed.
Shurado saw off the departing agents and rolled up her sleeves with a quiet "Now then."
────
——Akagi Hideo's Perspective
Whew~ That was close~!
The special ops-looking people went back to their armored vehicles for now.
This is basically a win, right?
Alright, we won!
We beat the Dungeon Foundation's special forces~ (little punk)
"Akagi-san"
"Ah, Shurado-san! That was seriously terrifying just now! What was that? Some kind of secret weapon of the Dungeon Foundation?"
Shurado-san approached me with a cheerful smile.
So cute. Incredibly cute. And she smells nice too.
Ah, she's placing her hand on my chest, ah, no way, is this going to turn into something adult, ah, and then her hand goes lower——
"Found it!!"
She yanked up my shirt in one swift motion.
"Chii chii chii!"
"Gii!"
Gii-san dropped to the floor with a plop, and Shimaenaga-san rolled away with a tumble.
"Owwww! I knew you were hiding something!"
"Whaaaaat!?"
Shurado-san took out a device and clicked it on.
At once, a "Jiriri!" sound like a broken old radio echoed out.
She pointed the device alternately at Gii-san and Shimaenaga-san, who reacted in shock: "Chii!?" "Gii?!" "Chii!" "Gii!" Chii-gii.
"I thought the device readings were weird earlier! What is this black slug?! It's clearly an anomalous substance! And this Shimaenaga-san here, the size is all wrong! How can something this plump and cute even exist?! Hmm! Suspicious! It's too cute!"
"No, this is, um, it's not like that, no, seriously, it's really not like that...!"
"The device is reacting! The abnormality level is high! This is SCCL classification for sure!"
Crap, I let my guard down at the very end—!
"Ah, no, um, this is, um, that, it's, it's not—!! It's not what you think!! That's not it, Power!!"
"If you thought you could bluff your way out with brute force, you're sorely mistaken, Akagi-san!"
I picked up Gii-san and held him in my arms.
Gii-san poked at my beard with his fearsome little mouth.
He was munching on the stubble I'd missed shaving.
"Ahaha, that tickles, Gii-san. Wait, no, that's not it, this is, um, just a slug."
"There's no such thing as a slug this big! Hand it over!"
"No way. I got this little guy as a drop from the boss, so I have property rights."
"How cheeky! Using clever words even though you're Akagi-san! Even though you're Akagi-san! Even though you're Akagi-san!"
"S-Stop, the venom, it's working, sorry, someone like me using difficult words..."
"Even though you're Akagi-san!"
"P-Please stop... (sob)"
I held Gii-san tightly in my arms.
I won't let go, I won't let go, I won't let go.
Even if it's Shurado-san, this is the one thing I can't give up.
Gii-san might look grotesque, but he's actually a really good kid.
Sometimes it's creepy how the item description is garbled and unreadable, but he's really a good kid.
Even though he could brainwash people and toy with their lives, when I talked to him, he listened and didn't kill anyone.
When I asked him to be friends with Shimaenaga-san, he actually did it!
"You can make fun of me all you want, but I won't hand this little guy over."
"Akagi-san... please!"
"The Foundation is going to dissect and experiment on him. I won't let that happen. I'll protect Gii."
"Akagi-san..."
I hid Gii-san in my coat and curled up in a ball.
For a grown man, this might be a pathetic way to protect something.
Laugh if you want. Call me names. Look down on me.
But be ready.
I will protect what must be protected, no matter what.
Even someone like me, Akagi Hideo, has something he won't give up.
"Akagi-san, please listen carefully."
"I thought Shurado-san was on my side..."
"Don't say something so unfair. I am on your side. But before that, I'm on humanity's side. That little one—Gii-san, was it? Gii-san might be very dangerous. The Dungeon Foundation isn't what you think it is. It's just a place that contains a lot of SCCL-applicable anomalous substances."
"...What's going to happen to Gii-san and the others?"
I looked at Shimaenaga-san.
Shimaenaga-san is very smart.
She probably already understands her fate.
She placed her plump, enchanting body on the desk with a soft "poof," waiting quietly to be taken away. Her eyes distant, she had attained enlightenment.
Gii-san was also smart.
He slipped out from under my arms and, with a faint "Gii," shed only his warmth as he walked on his own to Shurado-san. He looked back one last time. That gaze (though he had no eyes) seemed to say, "Thanks for everything."
Gii-san sacrificed himself.
That kindness overflowed from deep in my eyes as burning frustration.
I couldn't protect Gii-san.
If anything, he was protecting me from the Foundation.
Gii-san didn't just give up.
He accepted a harsh fate so that I wouldn't become a bad person.
Just how much resolve did that take?
For someone he'd only known for less than a day, he willingly gave up all his freedom. How many people in this world could show such self-sacrifice?
What a kind anomalous substance he is.
Shurado-san picked up Gii-san.
"...I see... So he's called 'Calamity Mollusk.' The name sounds dangerous, but he doesn't seem to attack your mind just by being seen. He might really be a good kid. But let me take a closer look. Whoa, the text is garbled... Excuse me, activating skill—Appraisal."
────────────────────
'Calamity Mollusk'
An evil bug that once destroyed the world.
The Calamity Mollusk drifts freely and unruly.
It possesses the power to control the Black Swamp monster.
Power beyond limits will eventually tear the user apart.
────────────────────
────────────────────
Gii-san
Level 0
HP 5/5
MP 10/10
Skills
'Call of the Black Swamp'
────────────────────
────────────────────
'Call of the Black Swamp'
Summons and attacks with a part of the Black Swamp monster.
Usable once every two hours. ATK 1–50,000
Stock 999
Cooldown can be reset with 200 MP.
────────────────────
Gii-san's secrets were suddenly laid bare.
So you need the 'Appraisal' skill to read this.
"Akagi-san, now that we've found Gii-san, the Foundation can't just pretend this never happened."
"......"
"Don't sulk!"
"I'm not sulking. Hmph."
"You totally are! Listen, Akagi-san, Gii-san has a special power. If we leave him unchecked, the damage could be enormous."
"I'll raise him safely."
"That face says you don't get it. Fine, then. In that case, I'll explain everything until you're satisfied!"
Shurado sat down on a chair, still holding Gii-san in her arms.
"Let me tell you a story. There was once an explorer named Araragi in the Dungeon Foundation. He was known as the 'Faceless Man,' an S-rank explorer revered and feared by all other explorers!"
"S-rank, huh?"
"Yes! It was a title given only to him back then, thanks to his exceptionally superior ability. It's not unique today... but anyway, he was incredible. Got it?"
"Incredible person..."
"He became a criminal!"
"......Why?"
"It all started when he hid an anomalous substance that the Foundation should've been managing. He used its power to cause tremendous trouble for society!"
"D-Don't tell me... mass murder or something..."
"Even worse! Bamboo shoots!"
"Huh?"
"Do you get it now? Bamboo shoots!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"See? Every time I try to talk about that horrible incident, it all turns into 'bamboo shoots'!"
"...I thought this was a serious story, but are you messing with me?"
"I'm not messing with you!"
Shurado puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
"The scars the 'Faceless Man' left on the world are still here—bamboo shoots!! Letting dangerous anomalous substances roam free without a manager like the Foundation—do you understand how dangerous that is now? Bamboo shoots! I'm telling you! Bamboo shoots!"
"...I understand."
I really don't understand.
Because... bamboo shoots.
But still, I can try. I can try to understand and help in my own way.
"All right... take them with you..."
Shimaenaga-san and Gii-san locked eyes with me.
The two of them were deliberately letting themselves be captured without resistance—for my sake.
What I can do... the only thing I can do... is give up the time I had with them...
Compared to their resolve, that's nothing at all.
Then I'll do it.
I won't let their resolve go to waste.
"Thank you... for appearing before me..."
"Chii chii chii."
"Gii."
"Sigh... Shurado, I've said my goodbyes. Please take Gii-san and Shimaenaga-san with you."
"Akagi-san..."
Shurado grabbed Gii-san with her right hand and scooped up Shimaenaga-san with her left.
Then she dunked them into my arms with a loud "Yaaah!"
"Huh?"
"Ahaha, I did say I'd manage them, but I never said I'd take them away!"
Shurado gave a decisive nod and then released Shimaenaga-san and Gii-san.
"I always thought all the Calamity Series were terrifying anomalous substances. But looking at this Gii-san, and this plump and adorable Shimaenaga-san, they don't seem dangerous at all!"
"Right? You understand—"
"But they are dangerous!"
"Y-Yeah, right..."
"Listen carefully. The Calamity Series refers to the ultra-high-risk ones among the Foundation's prophecies—those that contain scenarios capable of ending the world. This slug and this bird both must possess power worthy of that. And Akagi-san, you understand that yourself, don't you?"
That's true.
Shimaenaga-san has shown signs of being able to end the world...
"But possibilities are just possibilities! And from what I've seen, these two are very attached to you, Akagi-san. Forcing them away might actually bring greater disaster to humanity... That's the judgment I made!"
"Shurado... but won't you get in trouble with your higher-ups for making that call?"
"Incidents don't happen in meeting rooms—they happen in the field, Akagi-san!"
So cool.
"Besides, there aren't many people left who get mad at me anymore."
"?"
"My probation is 5,000 trillion years! If there are no incidents during that time, they'll officially become your family, Akagi-san!"
"5,000 trillion years. No problem."
"Ahaha, that's so like you, Akagi-san."
"I shouldn't tell others about this, right?"
"Yes, please do keep it that way. This is a secret just between the two of us! As I said earlier, there are dangerous anomalous substance criminals like the 'Faceless Man' in the world. If they find out you have two members of the Calamity Series, they might come after you!"
That's terrifying.
I really don't want that.
"So absolutely, absolutely don't tell anyone else! This is top secret between you and me! Of course, even people in the Foundation mustn't find out! You never know where the enemy might be hiding!"
Shurado said that with a bright smile.
────
——Shurado's Perspective
Shurado left Akagi Hideo's grandparents' house and got into the car.
The driver quietly started the vehicle.
After a short drive, they stopped at an intersection.
Shurado stared out the window, reflecting on her decision.
(This was the right thing to do. The stronger the power, the more it should be managed by the Foundation—but lately, even the Foundation isn't entirely clean. Considering the circumstances, investing in Akagi-san isn't such a bad bet.)
She suddenly remembered the words of a prophet.
Words from a great prophet belonging to the Foundation.
'The Calamities never wanted to destroy the world. It was all the result of accumulated tragedy.'
"Perhaps... it all depends on how we treat them."
"Did you say something, milady?"
"No, I didn't say anything. Come on, keep your eyes on the road and drive properly!"
"Understood."
(If Akagi-san raises them with love, maybe... maybe they won't become Calamities. Hehe, they're both so cute, after all.)
────
——Akagi Hideo's Perspective
Akagi Hideo and his grandfather were giving Shimaenaga-san, who got dirty in the swamp battle, and Gii-san, who was muddy to begin with, a bath.
"Hey, hey, Shimaenaga-san, don't bully Gii-san."
Shimaenaga-san kept poking at Gii-san.
With its tiny beak, it kept pecking.
"Chii chii chii!"
"Gii!"
"Hideo, it seems Gii-san absorbs water through his body. Fascinating."
"Grandpa, don't put Gii-san in the bath. If he drinks too much water, he'll get all soggy." "Oh wow, he just keeps absorbing it."
"That's what I'm saying, he'll get soggy!"
The Calamities were being raised with tons of love by humans.
(The rules I promised Shurado for raising the Calamities: pay close attention to changes in condition, watch out for leveling up, skill evolution, transformation, growth—in short, prevent them from growing too much. And submit regular reports...)
"I'll protect you, no matter what."
"Chii chii chii♪"
"Gii♪"
"Oh, he's getting soggy now."
"Grandpa......"
I need to protect him from my grandfather for now.