Tanaka Jiro, 28 years old, has a girlfriend.
Girlfriend: Suella Hendelberg
Memoria Tris
Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Full-time Employee)
Magic Aptitude: 9 (Quasi Demon Lord Class)
Position: Warrior
“I’ve done it again.”
Surrendering to my emotions, I pulled the group together on impulse and then thought to myself, “I’ve done it again.”
“Well, it’s fine.”
Even though what I did was a failure, it wasn’t a problematic action, so I consoled myself with that thought and looked behind me.
The loud cheers that still hadn’t ceased.
Rather than that, it was more like the excitement of accepting the fact that they had defeated the Earth Dragon hadn’t subsided.
As a result, even though the gate that was closed after defeating the Earth Dragon had opened, no one was rushing towards it.
They were congratulating each other on their hard-fought battles and laughing while pointing at the Earth Dragon’s carcass.
The smiles of those who had faced this difficulty and achieved it, without any ulterior motives, were overflowing.
Up to that point, it was fine; rather, it was a perfect development from my perspective.
Ah, it was fine up until then.
“Oh!! Big bro is here!!”
Who is “Big bro”?
Although my master is an Ogre Yakuza who would make even yakuza run, I don’t intend to exude an aura in that direction, nor am I aware of doing so.
However, I can’t muster the energy to deny it.
At the words of a tester with a delinquent-like demeanor, gazes from everyone gathered around me.
“…”
There was no disgust in those gazes, but purely respectful ones.
Just until the other day, their expressions were hostile, but now, the way they looked at me was sparkling with reverence.
And it wasn’t just one or two people; it was all the testers, except for the Party Members and Himusumi’s group.
Gazes directed at a hero who had accomplished the great feat of defeating the Earth Dragon.
It gave me an indescribable, itchy feeling.
To deny it would be to act without reading the room.
“…Aren’t you guys supposed to be running? It’s a race, you know?”
I endured that feeling and voiced my question to change the subject.
Due to the Earth Dragon, the condition of all testers being gathered had already been met, and there were disparities in stamina and magic power consumed.
As a result, the race had become a formality, but it hadn’t disappeared altogether.
The supervisor’s purpose had been fulfilled by the previous battle.
Therefore, I assumed that from here on, the planned course would be promised.
And as I explained at the beginning, there were rewards for placing high.
” ” ” ” ” ” “Ah” ” ” ” ” ”
That’s precisely why I wondered why the people in front of me were so excited and carried away.
It seemed the Impact of the Earth Dragon had made them forget about the existence of the race.
That Fact sank in all at once.
” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ” ”
Those who had been laughing and hugging each other moments before quickly and silently distanced themselves.
Then, some began to rotate their ankles as if trying to hide, while others began to circulate their magic to recover their consumed magic power.
They began to adjust their physical condition in various ways.
Ten seconds later…
” ” ” ” ” ” ” “Thank you for everything!! And” ” ” ” ” ” ”
They all bowed in unison.
” ” ” ” ” ” “You’re in the way!!!” ” ” ” ” ”
” ” ” ” “They’re in the way!!” ” ” ” ” ”
That served as a catalyst.
Friends of yesterday become enemies of today.
Neighbors who were shaking hands and laughing with each other moments ago instantly became adversaries.
I watched their backs as they charged towards the gate, their magic power surging, kicking up sand.
“They’re such diligent guys.”
They had been bickering, but perhaps they weren’t fundamentally bad people, just that my first impression was poor.
I thought about how I might have been too stubborn and decided that next time I met them, I would be a bit more gentle. I then reached for my chest pocket.
I pulled out a brand of my usual cigarettes, which are said to bring good luck.
Kaido and the others had also joined the race and rushed off, leaving me alone in this spot, starting to smoke a cigarette leisurely, now that I was free from those gazes.
After all, there was absolutely no need for me to win the race.
Even if I came in first, there was no prize, and no reward.
I was, in a sense, just a support member in this race.
I was merely sent in as a backup to assist the testers when they encountered trouble.
One might argue that I should move to solve other problems, but it was all likely within the supervisor’s control.
Ironically, my work was already finished in the previous battle.
I caught a glimpse of Kanzaki chatting amicably with the other Party Members.
It was probably a case of needing a Trigger to solve the problem.
Therefore, I could say I was now free.
If I waited here, I would likely encounter more Monsters, leading to consecutive battles.
I wanted to avoid that, but there should be enough time for simply smoking a cigarette.
“Telepathic call, who is it? Yes, Jiro here.”
“Could you spare a moment, Jiro?”
“?” Keiri-san? Is something wrong? Is there some Trouble with the event progression?”
Just as I thought that, and as I was about to put a cigarette in my mouth, I felt the sensation of a telepathic call echoing in my mind.
Acting on habit, I answered without hesitation, only to find that it was Keiri-san.
She was currently acting as the commentator.
So, it was strange for her, who couldn’t take her hands off her work, to contact me telepathically.
Had some kind of emergency occurred?
Quietly, with a growing sense of tension, I lit the cigarette.
“No, the event is progressing smoothly. The initial battle has made the venue very lively, and the race is proceeding well thanks to the fact that the favored Tester candidates have all depleted their magic power. The problem isn’t with that, but with something else.”
Trouble other than the event?
Unfortunately, Minami and Kaido, who were likely causes of such Trouble, had just left.
I could catch up if I wanted to, but had they done something again?
“Suella collapsed.”
“Huh?”
The cigarette slipped from my lips, but I didn’t have time to care.
Suella collapsed?
She was so energetic when I saw her this morning?
No, she probably just fell ill. Calm down.
Even as I told myself that, my body reacted honestly.
Despite believing she was alright, a chill ran down my spine as if an ice pillar had been thrust into my back.
“What happened! What about Suella!?”
My panic naturally spread to my actions, and my tone became rough.
I understood it was pointless to get angry at Keiri-san, but I couldn’t stay calm.
“Calm down! I also just found out and don’t know the details, but she’s not in any life-threatening condition. Memoria, who accompanied her to the infirmary, just told me. It was she who contacted me, which is how I know.”
“Memoria?”
Hearing Memoria’s name, my anxiety subsided somewhat, and I regained a little composure, knowing she was by Suella’s side.
With even a little regained composure, I naturally thought of what to do next.
“…Keiri-san, I want to escape from here.”
The first thing to do was to escape the race.
Feeling that this was not the time to be doing this, I proposed the best course of action.
“I thought you might say that, so I asked Evia-sama, but unfortunately, there’s no escape gate in this Dungeon. The fact that the Dungeon was scaled down for the race has backfired. Because the rules are so fixed, there’s no flexibility. To get out, you have to go through the normal exit. The supervisor could probably teleport out in an instant, but unfortunately, they can’t spare their hands right now.”
“Ngh!”
However, things don’t always go as planned.
I wanted to shout, asking if there was no other way, but if the supervisor who adjusted this Dungeon said so, then it was probably impossible to escape through any route other than the designated one.
“Then”
“Yes, running to escape is the shortest route. There are no forks in the road; just run straight through.”
There was only one thing I could do.
I secured the Ore Tree in the holder on my back and assumed a crouched starting position.
Even if her life was not in danger, upon hearing that Suella had collapsed, I didn’t have time to leisurely escape the Dungeon.
I increased the circulation of my magic power, trying to reach my current maximum capabilities.
“Understood… Wait for me, Suella!”
I calmed my breathing, turned my attention to the magic power within my body, and slowly accelerated its flow.
The flow gradually turned into a torrent, and it began to course through my magic crest.
Consciously organizing it, and the moment the circulating and heightened, wild magic stabilized, I exerted force on my right leg and sprinted with all my might.
It didn’t matter if the ground beneath my feet shattered and scattered behind me.
Right now, all I could think about was moving forward.
Faster, quickly, swiftly, rapidly.
Piercing through the wall of wind, piercing through the wall of colors.
Even as the colors of the visual information, which my brain processing couldn’t keep up with, disappeared and turned black and white, I didn’t slow down, prioritizing object identification and avoiding obstacles as I ran.
I overtook the testers running ahead, ignoring all sorts of traps and obstacles with the sheer power of my leg status.
If there was a cliff, I ignored gravity.
If there was a valley, I ran as if flying through the sky.
If there was a trap, by the time it activated, I would already be elsewhere.
I focused solely on reaching her.
“…”
Each time, I accelerated my magic circulation, strengthening my body without regard for the creaking sounds, pushing myself closer to my limits.
I tested the boundaries of my body, searching for the line between breaking and not breaking through sheer trial and error, while sensing the signals of my nervous system.
It was at the moment of realizing how much I cherished Suella that I took such reckless actions, but I also realized I didn’t want to learn it this way, and a faint, bitter smile flickered across my lips before I firmly pressed my lips together.
I ran through falling rocks before they hit the ground.
I kicked and shattered approaching spears.
I tore through a wide net of magic power with sheer momentum.
“Suella, wait for me!! I’m coming!!”
Move your feet faster, swing your arms harder.
Don’t think about anything else.
Just think about reaching her.
I swiftly drew the Ore Tree from my back and, in a brief exchange, cut down the Golem that stood in my way like a gatekeeper.
As I regained the momentum lost from my landing, I re-adjusted my posture and started running again.
Kaido, who had been running ahead, was now far behind.
Based on the distance run, I should already be in the latter half of the course.
The obstacles were becoming increasingly complex, as if to indicate that.
However, they only slowed my running speed to some extent.
Rather, with the magic power resources that had been diverted to speed now returned, I could respond more flexibly.
I filled my urgent feelings with thoughts of handling the obstacles before me, and the moment I finally caught sight of the Dungeon’s exit, I shifted into my final acceleration gear.
With explosive noise and a gust of wind, I plunged into the light without any thought of slowing down.
“It’s Jiro Tanaka who came out first!! He showed us an amazing comeback from the back!! Wait! He’s already finished!! Where are you going!?”
I ignored the broadcast from the Dark Elf woman (distinct from Keiri-san).
Without regard for the finish line, I left the Dungeon event venue.
Drifting on the soles of my feet, I slid into the gate back to the company and at last, upon returning to the company, I headed straight for the infirmary.
Even though the distance to my destination was within sight, each step felt annoyingly long.
I desperately wished I could go faster, but the distance remained unchanged.
I wanted to increase my speed, but the reckless physical reinforcement from the journey so far had started to take its toll around the latter half, pushing my body to its limit.
I had magic power, but I couldn’t circulate it cleanly.
A speed far from the fastest tormented me.
“Ngh!”
Nevertheless, I gritted my teeth and sprinted the final stretch, hitting the emergency brake in front of the infirmary.
The tiles and my boots screeched, producing a high-pitched sound as I skidded sideways from the sudden stop.
Before my inertia could stop me, I reached for the door handle and forced myself to halt.
I didn’t know how much time had passed.
It felt like a long time, and I only understood that I had become slow.
Even so.
“Suella!”
If only I could have taken this last step faster.
“Jiro-san? What’s wrong? You’re in such a hurry, and what about your work?”
As I thought that and mustered my last strength to enter the infirmary, I saw Suella on the bed, looking energetic and leisurely eating an apple.
Beside her was Memoria, holding a plate of peeled apples.
Both of them looked at me with wide eyes, surprised by my sudden appearance.
“Suella? Didn’t you collapse?”
In the face of such a peaceful scene, my mind couldn’t comprehend it.
“Yes, I just felt a little unwell and collapsed. It’s not something to make such a fuss about.”
“I… Is that so? Haa, I’m relieved.”
Suella collapsed and was taken to the infirmary.
What was I, who had rushed here with just that information, thinking?
As Suella, who opened the lid of the box only to say it was nothing serious, spoke, my body, as if paying for the strain of the makeshift enhancements, slumped.
“Haa, Suella, I know it’s hard to say, but you’ll eventually understand. Since he’s here, it’s perfect timing.”
“That’s true, but…”
“If it’s difficult to say, shall I say it for you?”
“…”
“So there really is something!!”
However, it seemed the box had a false bottom, and Suella had intentionally said there was nothing.
And then, Memoria, who knew the situation, began to speak.
I forcibly sat up and turned my face in the direction where Suella, with a serious expression, was now looking.
“Actually…”
Her tone, with a hint of hesitation that was uncommon for her, made me think something had indeed happened, and I stood up to go to her side.
“What happened?”
“…”
As I walked over, I gently took her hand and looked into her eyes.
My hand tightly clasped hers, conveying my determination to support her no matter what, and I gazed into her pupils.
After a few seconds of silence, she said…
“I got pregnant.”
She said something utterly astonishing.
“You got pregnant?”
“Yes, with your child.”
“…Whaaaaaaat!!!”
It took a few seconds to understand.
In my bewildered state, I could vividly imagine Keiri-san behind me with the smile of a devil who had just succeeded in its prank.
Tanaka Jiro, 28 years old, has a girlfriend.
Girlfriend: Suella Hendelberg
Memoria Tris
Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Full-time Employee)
Magic Aptitude: 9 (Quasi Demon Lord Class)
Position: Warrior
Today’s Word:
There are things in this world that can blow even that away.
That’s all for this installment.
We ask for your continued support of this work.
