Prologue
A FEW HOURS BEFORE I met Claire…
Hana was off to school, and I was prepping my gear before I headed out. Today, I planned to return to the Remote Magic Tower and test whether I could reenter it using Dungeon Teleportation. If I succeeded, a few days of fierce battle were ahead of me. That required my usual careful preparation.
While I worked, the TV replayed a major news story.
“Just days ago, an adventurer shocked the world by becoming the youngest person to surpass level 100,000. She’s now rewritten history by achieving S-rank…”
I couldn’t get away from this omnipresent news story; I was seriously sick of it. With a click, I turned the TV off and sped up my preparations. I didn’t have time to worry about what other people were attaining if I wanted to be stronger than them and do it faster.
“Okay, ready to go!” I said and set out for the Remote Magic Tower.
Yet, for some reason, that news story replayed over and over in my mind. I couldn’t say why—until, as if it was a premonition, I met that very special S-rank adventurer a few hours later.
✦ ✦ ✦
A little further back, the day before Claire met Amane Rin…
Claire, a stunning girl with long silver hair and intense blue eyes, entered the Yoizuki guild master’s office.
“Master, you summoned me?” she asked.
“Yes. Thanks for coming, Claire.”
The man in the chair paused his busy hands and looked up, abandoning the stack of documents on his desk. Among the documents was a single photograph of a person, which caught Claire’s eye. The guild master made an inquisitive sound as he followed her gaze and realized what it fell on.
“Are you curious about him?” he asked.
“Not him specifically. I’m just wondering why there’s a picture among those documents.”
“If you’re that curious, take it, please! Call it a present of sorts.”
“…You’re not listening.”
Exasperated as she was, Claire took the picture. It showed a boy with short black hair and dark, focused eyes. She scrutinized the photo, but she couldn’t place him.
“Who is he?” she asked.
“Ah, Amane Rin.”
“Amane Rin… That name came up when I inquired about the Kenzaki dungeon collapse the other day. Why would you give his picture to me?”
“Good question. I want to try recruiting him to join the guild again and I want you to do it directly.”
She inclined her head. “Recruit him? I thought you said he wasn’t very strong.”
“On the surface, he wasn’t.”
“Only on the surface?”
“I think Amane Rin’s hiding what he can really do.”
“And your basis for that assumption is what, exactly?” Claire asked gravely.
He showed her a document. The title read: “Murder Occurs During Dungeon Practice Session.”
“This refers to the murder of that Association staff member, right? You think Amane Rin is connected to it somehow?”
“That’s the big question. He’s entangled in it to some degree but…what I’m about to say must stay completely between us,” he warned.
He explained the circumstances of the incident: Monsters had spawned during the practice session, then a staff member named Yanagi stayed to stop them and allow the students to escape. Unfortunately, Amane Rin’s little sister, Hana, was left behind. A different staff member named Katagiri went back for her, but only Hana emerged alive. In the aftermath, Yanagi and Katagiri’s bodies were found by Dungeon Association staff. As for where Amane Rin came in, he hadn’t participated in the practice, but he was at the scene after the incident.
The guild master’s summary made Claire doubtful of his theory.
“I see. So his sister was directly involved,” she mused. “But if there’s nothing else abnormal about the situation, then perhaps he could’ve simply been contacted about her and rushed to the scene?”
“You’re not necessarily wrong. It could be coincidence, but there’s another mystery at play.”
He slid a second photograph toward her. This one showed a magic stone slab.
“There’s something special about this…?” Claire examined the photo closely. “Are those letters engraved into it?”
“That’s right. This magic slab was left beside the bodies of the deceased staff members and monsters. It details what transpired and implicates Yanagi as the killer. It claims he possessed a unique skill called Plunderer that allowed him to kill people and steal their skills. Katagiri was a victim of Yanagi, so someone had to have killed him and left the slab behind.”
“Hmm. They went out of their way to leave it?”
The guild master nodded. “Baffling, isn’t it? It’s possible that both staff members are victims and the culprit left it behind to toy with the investigation. Though, if you think about it, leaving nothing behind would have left much less evidence for the investigators to work with. That leads me to believe the story engraved here is real, and the person who killed Yanagi couldn’t let him get away with his crimes.”
The guild master lifted another document and continued.
“Multiple people with unique skills have died under strange circumstances lately—and Yanagi was proven to be connected with all of them in some way. The Association also seems to believe the story is true.”
Claire rubbed her chin in thought. “Noted. If that’s the case, this mystery person slipped out of the dungeon after the fatal fight. It makes sense they would’ve emerged before the Dungeon Association investigated…”
“And Amane Rin appeared before the investigation. I don’t know how he got in and out of the dungeon, but it wouldn’t be impossible if he had the right skill. He had plenty of reason to do so, especially to save his sister. Well? Not such a bad theory, is it?”
Claire still wasn’t satisfied. “It’s a solid theory, but let’s say it’s correct and Amane Rin-san actually does have promising power. I heard Yanagi and those monsters were each over level 10,000. Was he capable of defeating them by himself?”
The question was so obvious, it almost went without saying. According to the guild master, Amane Rin only had one year of adventuring under his belt. No rational adventurer would casually suggest that much power was obtainable in so little time.
The guild master nodded confidently, throwing rationality out the window. “I do think he’s capable. His unique skill is a type of teleportation we haven’t seen before.”
Claire’s eyes widened. “Teleportation? That’s an incredible power.”
“Isn’t it?” His excitement was rising. “When he was just a fledgling adventurer, it was useless, but who knows how it evolved as he leveled up. I think there’s a high chance that he’s the one who defeated the Kenzaki boss too! Can you guess why?”
“Because, if he teleported, he could’ve entered the sealed boss room?”
“Bingo.” He grinned.
She couldn’t just leave it at that. “If you’re correct, I understand why he would hide his abilities. I, too, personally understand the devastation too much power can cause. But why am I the best one to recruit him?”
“Well…I figure a cute girl like yourself would be more convincing than an old man like me, and as my daughter, you’re the absolute cutest girl in the whole world!”
“I see you have no intention of answering my question seriously. That said, since I’m somewhat curious about him, I’ll accept.”
“Oho? How rare for you to take an interest in other people! Regardless, that’ll be a big help. This is the Amane family’s address. The rest is in your hands.”
She accepted the paper with Amane Rin’s address, unsure where the guild master had learned it. Granted, Yoizuki was the most famous guild in the area—it had deep ties with the Dungeon Association and the government, so a paltry task like finding an address could get done before breakfast.
Address and photograph in hand, Claire left the building and marched straight for Amane Rin’s home.
“Amane Rin-san…” she mused. “I wonder what’s he like?”
For some reason, she had to know.