I heard my senpai quit. I thought, “Ah, it’s finally happened.”
My senpai has always been like that.
He takes on everything he can do himself, finishes everything within his capabilities, and unconsciously thinks it doesn’t matter what happens to him.
He’s not a broken person overflowing with a spirit of self-sacrifice.
Rather, he’s the type of hardworking person who readily takes on troublesome tasks.
It was the same when he was guiding me at our previous company.
Tasks from other departments were delegated to us, and my senpai took charge.
Even though he was already quite busy with his own work, after a slight hesitation, he took on the task as if to say, “I can do it.”
In fact, after pulling several all-nighters, he accomplished it, and I thought then that my senpai was amazing.
Perhaps it’s because I’ve seen such a back.
“My senpai is always moving forward.”
I can’t help but feel a bit lonely.
Is it emptiness, or is it inadequacy, to feel like I’m being left behind?
All I can say is that I’m asking myself if this is okay.
Besides my senpai, I’m confident that my skills as a Dungeon Tester are among the top.
It might be an exaggeration to say better than anyone else, but I’ve trained more than an average person and achieved results in terms of stats.
However.
“Ugh, the gap is widening. I can’t even see his back anymore.”
When I joined the company, I should have been able to see my senpai’s back clearly.
And I could see my senpai’s face when he occasionally looked back.
There was a time when I truly believed I could catch up.
But each time something happened, my senpai, Jiro Tanaka, made leaps and bounds, not just one step.
The gap in our abilities widens with each one.
“Ugh, what am I supposed to do?”
Lying on my bed in the bedroom, enjoying my holiday, I found myself consumed by thoughts of how to get stronger, unable to do anything else I enjoyed, like gaming or watching anime.
“Even so, I don’t want to rely on strange methods.”
While I desperately want to become stronger quickly, I don’t want to become stronger through strange means.
Kaido knows the fate of colleagues who were nearly destroyed by that strange power, the magic sword.
Power that doesn’t fit one’s stature comes with a price.
Knowing that, I couldn’t say “that’s fine” even if my lips were torn.
“The instructors aren’t free either, so there’s a limit to how much training they can give me.”
Kaido thought about undergoing intense training like a special seminar, but as he lay with his hands behind his head, staring blankly at the ceiling, he lamented the fact that it was impossible.
After all, the instructor is one of the Seven Generals, the highest fighting force of the Demon Lord’s Army.
He might appear casually, but he must be busy.
“Hmm, just because I’m a Dungeon Tester doesn’t mean I can easily be taught secret techniques. I wonder if there’s a strategy guide lying around somewhere.”
When was the last time I truly wanted to become stronger?
Perhaps since I was a child.
The thought of what meaning becoming simply stronger held in modern society had long since been eliminated, but yet, the lingering emotion was nurtured and ignited.
However, that fire has yet to become a large conflagration, remaining smoldering.
As I rolled around on the bed, there was a knock at the door.
“Yes, coming.”
This room, while smaller than my senpai’s, has more than enough rooms for me to live alone.
Living with me in this room are.
“Oh, Tadashi. You seem to be in distress. What’s wrong? You too, Shiik?”
“Yes, Miik. Tadashi’s been like that since this morning. Why doesn’t he consult us?”
“That’s right, Shiik. I’m almost moved to tears.”
“Me too, Miik. Do you think we’re that unreliable?”
And then, at the door, appeared angels with identical faces, holding each other’s hands, gazing at each other, and occasionally glancing at me.
Since I took them in, they’ve been helping with chores, but I don’t know how to interact with them, as they look no older than middle schoolers.
Fortunately, they’re interested in anime, so conversation isn’t a problem.
However, it’s quite awkward to be approached as a woman by them, who look like girls.
What’s worse is that the twins, despite their appearances, possess a strange allure.
But they don’t normally exude such an atmosphere and appear just like this when they sense someone is troubled.
“Well, it’s… I feel a bit hesitant to consult you. Doesn’t that sound right?”
“Don’t worry about that, Tadashi. We may look delicate, but we have more experience than you, you know? Right, Shiik?”
“Yes, I always strive to be beautiful for Tadashi to see, but I have enough experience to listen to your troubles, you know? Right, Miik?”
This is an issue of my own feelings, but I’m hesitant about consulting them, who appear younger than me.
Even if they are older, the fact that they look like this makes me feel like consulting them would be admitting defeat.
Perhaps that’s why, even though I understood and accepted it as necessary just moments ago, the words won’t come out.
That’s usually how it is.
“…”
I got out of bed and pondered for a moment, but then asked myself if not doing anything because of such trivial pride wasn’t more of a problem. My voice easily moved.
“Shiik-chan, Miik-chan, can I consult you for a moment?”
“Yes, of course. Right, Shiik?”
“Yes, you’re welcome. Right, Miik?”
And then, the twin angels, who had been waiting patiently, smiled joyfully.
At that very moment, the chime rings.
“?”
“Haa, don’t you think the timing is rather good? Right, Shiik?”
“Yes, Miik. Not to mention the timing, it seems deliberate. But, if it means Tadashi’s problem can be solved, then it can’t be helped, right, Miik?”
And as they indirectly acknowledged who had arrived with that chime, I went to the entrance, leaving them aside.
“Oh, Amili-chan? What’s wrong? Isn’t it still during work hours?”
“Affirmative, but also negative. Information detected that Tadashi is troubled. After considering priorities, it was judged that this should take precedence. Based on an estimation of the problem, a resolution has been decided and presented.”
“Uh, you mean you came back from work mid-shift for me?”
“Affirmative.”
Amili-chan, who looked even younger than Shiik-chan and Miik-chan, stood there alone.
The two of them looked slightly displeased at the sight.
“Shiik, Miik.”
“What is it?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Your combined strength is necessary to solve Tadashi’s problem. Therefore, I am requesting your assistance.”
“……If that’s the case, then fine.”
I stood stunned at the entrance, witnessing the rare sight of the three who normally competed with each other for household matters now working together.
“Gratitude, then movement. Time is limited.”
“Wait, where are we going?! I’m in my room clothes!”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry, Tadashi. Right, Miik?”
“Yes, as long as we’re together, there’s no problem. Right, Amili?”
“Affirmative, acting swiftly is the optimal solution for the current situation. Shiik.”
Pulled by Amili-chan, pushed by Shiik-chan and Miik-chan, my will was disregarded as I was taken somewhere.
Kaido Tadashi Side End
Kitamiya Karen Side
Is quitting your job something you can do so easily?
I’ve wondered that many times, and as a result, I’ve concluded that it varies from person to person.
Some can do it, and some can’t.
And for me, who had thought that person would eventually quit, the contents of my thoughts are not even questions.
This is my room.
Not a party room at the company, but my room in a completely ordinary house, with no magic or anything.
“…”
I was diligently reviewing my university lecture material, but at a sudden moment, my hand holding the mechanical pencil stopped.
How many times has this happened already?
The repeated stops make it clear that I’m not concentrating.
I am also aware of the cause.
“Haah, a short break.”
Without making excuses to anyone, I gently placed the mechanical pencil on the table and reached for my mug, but then realized it was empty and sighed again.
“I’m not concentrating.”
I placed the mug on the table, then leaned back on the chair and stretched my back.
“Mmm, haa… Jiro-san was so casual about it.”
I know the reason for my lack of concentration.
I can still vividly recall that scene.
I’ve faced many crises before, but each time I’ve overcome them.
However, during the battle against the eight-headed bone dragon, I had already given up more than halfway, thinking it was impossible.
But as if to overturn that desperate situation, my superior awakened.
The person who fought on the front lines more than anyone, who took more attacks than anyone, who tried to be stronger than anyone.
As if to embody that will, after grasping the white Ore Tree, he became truly invincible.
Seeing that, I wondered where the difference lay.
Talent? Effort? Experience?
It felt like all of them were the case, yet there was something that suggested it wasn’t just that.
“Without knowing how we felt, he was truly so carefree.”
The result was my superior’s figure, quitting his job and accepting it so casually.
His expression, with a smile that was more of a wry grin, as if to say, “It finally happened.”
I understood that he was taking our worries into consideration, and I had a favorable impression of his sincere bow, but instead, I felt a sense of urgency as he moved further and further ahead.
The emotions of that moment resurfaced, and although my body felt a little refreshed from stretching my back, my mind remained clouded.
To clear that hazy feeling, I gently opened my laptop and turned it on.
Then, after entering the password on the started PC, I launched a hidden file from a desktop icon.
Clicking the mouse a few times, I opened the data in the folder.
“…No good, not good at all.”
After a few operations, there was no change in the data.
This data is a record of my growth, which I started keeping since joining that company.
While it is generally prohibited to take data outside the company, I can compile the data I have memorized into this form.
I was originally confident in my memory.
So, I created this data as a document to review at home, with multiple layers of security.
To an outsider, it might look like a self-evaluation sheet made by a middle schooler.
However, since it represents my current strength, I stare at it intently.
Looking at the data, I criticize it.
Of course, I criticize myself.
“Haah, what should I do?”
My stats are growing steadily, and I’m learning new magic.
From an outsider’s perspective, I’m growing smoothly.
It may be a luxurious problem, but I’m troubled by the fact that I need more growth.
I can easily think of common methods, but I know better than anyone that they are not enough.
Data analysis is something I’m used to.
I’m not unaware of how much my current strength is lacking to keep up with the party from now on.
However, I can’t easily come up with a solution.
“Why can’t I get stronger so easily? …Haah, that’s right. That person was someone who got stronger the more dire the pinch, like in a shonen manga.”
I wonder how unfair it is that I’m agonizing over this, but when I think about how that person achieved it, I remember that they were truly shedding blood with their efforts. And then I wonder if I also have to do that.
“How pathetic.”
The more I worry, the less I know what to do, and I return to my original concern.
Is quitting your job really that easy?
Can I also become stronger easily if I quit?
The answer to both questions is no.
Jiro-san himself occasionally joked that he was still human, but he must have been worried at first.
But he has Suella, Memoria, Himik, and recently Evia as well.
He made a contract with special spirits for them, who he couldn’t support as a human, extending their lives, and then accepted quitting his job.
The foundation is different from mine.
And becoming stronger isn’t easy just by quitting your job.
Furthermore, even if I gain power, it’s not something that can be easily controlled.
“But if I could just give up, I wouldn’t be doing this.”
Honestly, I wonder if this is something that requires so much worry.
I know I’m competitive and have a strong-willed personality.
But have I ever worried this much and thought about not wanting to be left behind?
There must have been times when I regretfully accepted defeat, thinking it couldn’t be helped if I couldn’t win.
Yet, there’s a reason why I’m agonizing like this.
“…It’s a comfortable place, isn’t it, that place?”
I summon the object of that reason.
Clicking the mouse a few times again, I summon a photograph.
It’s a picture from the cherry blossom viewing party the other day.
In the scene of everyone being noisy and having fun, I was genuinely smiling.
The surroundings were enjoyable, and I was also enjoying myself.
I don’t want to let go of that place where I can honestly express those feelings.
“Now, what should I do?”
As I was thinking about what effort would be needed to maintain that feeling, my smartphone suddenly rang.
‘That’s bad timing. Who is it…? Minami? That’s unusual.”
Since I wasn’t concentrating well, I decided it was a good opportunity and answered the call.
I never imagined it would be the trigger to solve my problem.
Kitamiya Karen Side End
Quote of the Day:
Worries are all different, and emotions also have their own characteristics.
This arc will conclude in the next chapter.
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*The first volume of the book is published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.
It was released on October 18, 2018.
The e-book version was released on October 31 of the same year.
Volume 2 was released on December 19.
Volume 3 was released on February 20, 2019.
The content has been revised and expanded from the version posted on Shousetsuka ni Narou, with the addition of an unpublished interlude.
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