Ch.66 The Origins' Meeting II

Dark room.

Mikazuki Emi was slumped over the desk, breathing heavily.

"--Have you calmed down, Crescent?"

The words come to her while she's like that.

"...Yes...I apologize for losing my composure..."

'I was out of breath - it couldn't be helped when I saw Haru-san like that, because she was so insensitive. She was surrounded by 2 girls named Ruru and Lili, and everyone's faces and names were blurred. It felt like the live stream, but I could tell. Haru-san was probably as sleepy as usual right now, but even so, sandwiched between the two of them, her expression seemed a little tense.

"Yeah. It can't be helped since it's Haru-chan."

"It can't be helped if you're up against Haru-chan."

"But you're one of the only people that can officially touch her."

"Don't forget."

"Everyone here wants to switch places with you."

"That's unfair... Just because you're a woman, you can touch her as much as you want..."

"Hii..."

Voices of resentment.

Among them, only Mikazuki Emi is currently allowed to have direct contact with Haru.

The resentful looks she received in response, mainly from the men, calmed her down, her heart already on the verge of going crazy.

"...Ugh! I was watching Haru-kyun's stream when I got called in, and when I was called in, they asked me to 'just write something and get the viewers' attention', which was a crazy request! But I did it! How about this, using two smartphones in each hand for the stream, SNS, and message board... Ah - I'm tired..."

"Well, don't be so upset, Anego. You can drink the good wine from the wine tasting the other day."

"Oh, then I'll forgive you~."

"……………………………………"

Emi sees a woman out of the corner of her eye.

...A woman a few years older than Emi, who was supposed to be a newcomer sitting next to her.

She was completely familiar with it.

"Crescent-chan too, you should take it easy. You're not going to be released anyway... Ah, do you want to have a drink with me?"

"N-no, I'm a minor so..."

"President"

"Well, we're the only ones here, so we have to keep this a secret, right? Well, we all know what would happen if we leaked it, right?"

"But... Look, there's alcohol..."

"... Let's have them after this."

"Hmm, I guess that's why people rely on you for streaming."

"I like serious people, you know? They'll never betray me."

It's been a while since Haru's stream "ended."

The fatigue of constantly operating streaming sites, various social media platforms, various message boards, and group chats was evident on the "9 out of 12 people."

'ーI never thought that something like that would happen to Haru...san.'

"I'm sorry that Crescent-chan had a hard time in the field... I had to make her do some information manipulation after all that physical exercise."

"I-it's nothing"

"Do you want some candy?" an old woman's voice asks...and some candy slides around the round table.

"But I really envy Crescent, because you can be by Haru-chan's side."

"That's unfair."

"Um, well... sorry..."

"No, we're asking Crescent to support Haru-chan in the real world. That's a considerable burden."

"I know, I was just saying that. It was just a complaint."

"I was just saying... If we had met first, I could have been the one doing that..."

'ーT-this is so awkward...'

Or rather, they're really calling me "Crescent"... you could use a bit more naming senseー'

Emi puts the candy in her cheek and holds her head, thinking it would be rude not to eat it.

"Cough"

One throat clearing.

That seemed to be the signal to resume, and the relaxed atmosphere instantly tightened.

"Shall we begin?"

"Indeed."

"Grandpa, you really like saying that, huh."

"Indeed."

"And yet, when you're operating through online postsー"

"Shut up."

"Okaay."

Basement conference room.

Projected on the screen was a live stream of a blonde little girl's 250th floor escape RTA, which should have just finished.

As the image was dimly lit with perfect editing, a presence that appeared to be the chairman spoke.

"Now that you two have officially joined us, let's introduce ourselves again by our code names. I'm the 'Chairman'. I'll be flexible if anything comes up regarding the dungeon."

"I'm the 'Chief'. I'm part of the Public Security Bureau. I can take extra-legal measures for Haru-chan, so if anything happens, contact me. If necessary, I'll send in the riot police, no matter what the reason."

'ーThey're the first two people we met.

...I never thought I would have to meet them many times more...

Mikazuki Emi is summoned again.

She had no choice but to sit in the chair that was offered to her, and she was still stiff even at her second meeting.

"I'm the 'President'. I'm the head of the dungeon trading company, and I'm also focusing on overseas markets. I can provide anything you want at a bargain price, and I'm willing to give you my pocket money to keep an eye on Haru-chan. Crescent-kun, in particular, often dives into dungeons, so you can tell me anything you want."

"Y-yes..."

"I'm 'Mother.' I've retired from the front lines, but if anyone from 'the higher-ups' tries to complain, just call me. I'm treating that girl as if she were my granddaugher afterall."

'--"President" and "Mother".

...The president is that, right? The one from a company that's often criticized on social media for making a ton of money from dungeons...I've seen interview articles about it.'

Emi felt intimidated by the circumstances of the people here.

'--That's fine, but what is Mother? Mother... but I feel like I've seen this person somewhere before.'

Among these people, the shotacon 'Anego' is probably the most normal, as she is in her third year of working life. She is sitting back and enjoying an expensive-looking wine as she observes.

"I'm the 'Top Student'. I'm usually busy traveling between the US and the UK, but I think I can still make contact with some famous professors."

"I'm the 'Genius Girl'. I'm usually in Europe. If I say something, I'll get most of the equipment as a gift, so just let me know. Oh, if it's something related to Haru-chan, I'll make it a priority to write my thesis."

'ーOh, I know these two as well, they're just genius kids and there are often summary articles about them... They're a bit cheeky, but that's fine.

ーThis 'Anego'... why is she so relaxed...?'

Although they were invited at almost the same time, the two girls, who are polar opposites, look at the men and women who are younger than them or the same age as them but are geniuses.

"Unfortunately, we did ask the remaining two Japanese participants to participate remotely, but they are currently absent. They have to clean up after that live stream."

"One of the two foreigners is... No, nevermind."

"Now, The 11th and 12th member, please introduce yourself. As usual, please refrain from mentioning your real names... well, it's not a problem if you do, but it's just for the atmosphere."

"This kind of thing feels like a secret society and is fun!"

"I know. The invitations I received in Europe were much more luxurious though."

So the self-introductions began.

"Yes, I'm the 'Anego' who was kindly invited to sit at the end of the table. Oh, thank you so much for the company thing. We've been getting a lot of phone calls and slander, and our stock prices have been in a terrible state because of promotions and stuff, so the help is very much appreciated."

"If anything happens in the future, just let me know and I'll do something about it. Oh, and feel free to request information as much as you like. It's for Haru-chan's sake, so please don't be stingy with anything malicious."

"Thank you. Wow, that lawyer is amazing."

Then everyone's eyes turned to Emi.

"ーThe Observer 'Crescent'... Um, can I change this name...?"

"Crescent... cough cough! ...Ahaha, it's Mikazuki-chan so we called her Crescent!? That's too simple! Ahahaha!" (TL note : as a reminder, "Mikazuki" Means Crescent moon)

"...Uuu..."

Apparently, they don't call people by their names directly here.

That's why they apparently get something like a code name...

'ーBut Crescent is absurd...!

What's that? Isn't that how chuunibyou call themselves?'

Emi holds her red face.

"But, the word 'big sister' has already veen taken by 'Anego'. The next candidate would be your nickname, 'Emi Okaa-san', but that would overlap with 'Mother'."

"Rather than Mother, it's more like Grandma?"

Two geniuses are discussing something that doesn't make sense.

However, after a while, there was still no sign of themm changing her code name, so Mikazuki Emi gave up.

'ーLet's just accept the fact that there's nothing I can do here.

Yes, I feel much less uncomfortable about it than when older men calling "Emi Onee-chan" or "Emi Okaa-san".

"So, the reason that you were called again today after the last time... well, it could only be about that stream. You were overworked in the information operations. Oh, by the way, Emi-chan... Crescent-chan? Ruru-cha... Is Fukaya Ruru-san okay?"

"...I don't think I've been able to hide it completely, So worrying about it is inevitable. I've asked my agency manager to make an appointment for mental health care."

"Hey everyone, what about Haru-chan?"

"No, she's fine."

"She'll be fine."

"She'll be fine."

"Isn't it obvious that she'll be fine?"

"She'll definitely be fine."

"She's gonna be fine, isn't she?"

"I'm sure Haru-kyun will be fine. I don't know the details though."

"After all, she was able to elegantly fend off Ruru-chan's yan yan just now."

"You mean dodged it?"

"If anything, she was sinking it without even realizing."

"Yeah, like the usual long-range sniping she does."

"That's a good way to put it."

"Lol... ahem, I learned internet slang to blend in, but I have to be careful..."

"...Well, that's true. You were already diving deep to begin with, so it's probably too late now."

The young men shook their head in unison.

"The most dangerous moment was when the bottom of the treasure chest collapsed."

"Yes, I guess so. At that time, we were careless... or rather, nobody would anticipate an 'impossible situation' to happen."

"Well, Haru-chan herself is the only one who has a ★ or something on her level, and it's so high that it's hard to tell how powerful she's, and she made it to the 80th floor unscathed, so I thought she'd be fine. The problem is with the other one, anyway."

"Haru-tan always carries around an improved climbing rope, so she's fine if she falls. Look, she can always get it out of that storage bag."

"Ah, in Haru-chan's case it would be 'dirty bag'."

"It's so funny how the comments section gets excited just by her saying 'how dirty'"

"That thing easily goes for 10 billion yen at auction overseas..."

"If it's Haru-chan, it's downgraded to 'how dirty'."

"Oh, by the way, if you wash it in the washing machine it will come out clean. Emi-chaー Crescent-chan, could you tell her that later?"

"Ah, okay..."

'ーwashing machine.

An item that can only be obtained in dungeons which allows you to carry luggage regardless of its weight and volume... It's sold with an outrageous price. And we're putting it into washing machine...'

"...But I don't think It has taken that much into consideration..."

The girl next to him muttered, "No Name-sama is really tough."

'ーNo Name-sama.

Before, it was called "Curse-sama."

It seems that it was possessing Ruru until recently.

Now it's Haru-san's turn.'

"Well, if it's just Haru-chan, I'm sure she can manage."

"The problem is the people around her."

"The distance between her and Fukaya Ruru is one example, but other factors may also have an impact."

"Ahh... Doing inspection is such a pain... But it's for Haru-chan's sake so I have to do it..."

Everyone seemed to be saying that it was no problem.

'ーHaru-san... If she found out about this...no, I'm sure she'd say, "Not really? Especially since it helps me."'

"Look, this wine is really delicious, but what do you think?"

"...I'd rather not...I'll be returning to Haru-san's place after this."

"Tch, I'm jealous. Ah, Haru-kyun is so good."

"When she reveals her true identity one day, I want to make her drink her fill."

"Drunk Haru-chan... I have an idea."

"I reported it."

"I'll crush you."

"That will be helpful."

"You guys? Don't act like that in real life."

'ーAh, these people.

Their appearance, position, and titles make them seem like truly impressive people, but... they are nonetheless the very beings I know as "Origins."

But why did I end up getting dragged into this by these people, let alone being made to join them?... I want to quickly get back to Haru-san's place and be comforted by smelling that scent that emanates from her...'

◇

The underground conference room looks lively and fun.

A girl stood there in front of it.

The weaponry that made it difficult to move around after returning from the dungeon was removed when she was taken to the hospital and given to her attendant, and she is now wearing some casual clothing.

Just a moment ago, she had met "the man she had wanted to meet for years but who had unexpectedly turned into a little girl," who had saved her, carried her like a princess, and - while sleeping with him - made her faint many times.

"I was summoned by those people, so I have to do my best... calm down... calm down... calm down..."

The brave silver-haired girl was on the verge of fainting from the various sensations that had been stimulating her senses earlier, but she was desperately trying to endure with calming magic as she continued to wait to be called from within.

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Author's note :

Thank you for reading chapter 66.

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