“…Move…move…!”
Alina was jostled around amid the confused crowds as she tried to make her way forward somehow.
After being enveloped in the light of a crystal gate from that hidden dungeon, Alina had been flung out near the entrance of the arcade. Before she had time to make sense of things, confused people came out from the arena all at once, surging toward the entrance to the arcade. Even if Alina was there dressed as the Executioner, everyone was so upset and panicked that nobody noticed her. They were desperate to escape the arena.
“…”
Jade and the others must have been inside the arena right now, fighting.
Just before he’d teleported away, the man who killed a dark god had acquired a god core. If he thought to, he could use the core to make himself a dark god. So then all this confusion must have meant…
Impatience burned in her chest. No matter how she tried to convince herself it was okay, she couldn’t rid herself of her strong sense of unease.
The escaping people surged forward like a great wave, holding Alina back. She was trying to move against a crowd of thousands, after all. Even if the arcade was very large, there was still a limit to the amount of people it could hold. Alina somehow reached one of the counters that lined the sides of the arcade, then began walking across it.
“Jade…!”
She was worried about him—he would surely be the first to die. I’ve got a bad feeling, I’ve got a very bad feeling, she thought, moving her feet impatiently. Even as she worried about Jade, memories of another man flickered through her mind.
An adventurer who had gone to a dungeon and never returned—Shroud, seen from behind.
Would Jade never come back, just like Shroud? That powerful anxiety made Alina impatient. Jade would be sure to search for her first thing if he knew she wasn’t there. As a tank, he always prioritized protecting his allies.
So why wasn’t he coming, then? Why wasn’t he trying to find her? Normally, he would pop out of nowhere, saying, “Alina!”
“Move!”
Running along the rows of counters, Alina emerged from the arcade to reach the wide lobby. She flung herself into the waves of people once more. Thanks to the wide space, it was easier to get through than the arcade was, and when she was just about to enter the corridor that led to where they held matches—
✦ ✦ ✦
“You can’t go that way.”
Those words, delivered from behind, made Alina stop.
It was a man’s voice. It was a little low and lazy, like this was too much trouble for him… But behind his words, she sensed a hint of kindness.
For an instant, that kind voice blew all Alina’s impatience away.
As though time had stopped, the confused people around them vanished. The tumult disappeared, and a soundless world spread out around her. The people fleeing in confusion passed by while bumping into her.
That familiar voice made Alina’s legs tremble.
That’s ridiculous. There’s no way, she thought as she turned and looked behind.
Among the people fleeing was a young man, an adventurer, standing there.
He looked to be in his early twenties. He was wearing the kind of equipment sold anywhere, and he had a bland look to him; he was the type that wouldn’t stand out in a crowd. You couldn’t have called his thin frame combat worthy, even as a compliment, and his unshaven, placid face was framed by long hair.
He was just like any other adventurer. But he had been tucked away with great care in Alina’s memories.
“…Shroud…?” Alina called his name with a shaking voice.
The bland adventurer—Shroud, who should have been dead—shrugged just like he had when he was alive. “I told you adventurers are no good. You should’ve just stuck with your quiet receptionist job. Now you’ve gotten wrapped up in this…”
“Huh…?”
“Fighting a dark god? Why would you do that? That’s not your job.”
“…”
“You don’t have to go. It’s not too late now. Turn back.”
The Shroud in front of her was an illusion. That much was clear.
He looked just like he had a decade ago. The way he talked and gestured were just as if he’d leaped right out of the past.
“…Turn back?” she repeated. Something felt abrasive and suspicious.
Turn back? Abandon Jade and the others?
“That’s right. There’s no reason you have to bother fighting. Silver Sword will manage somehow.”
“…”
Oh, so that’s it.
Alina suddenly understood. When she’d been very young, Shroud’s words had held incredible power. Because she had loved him, she had been very influenced by his behavior. That was why she had become a receptionist.
But in the time since Alina had turned seventeen and gotten a job as a receptionist, a lot of things had happened, and she had changed.
“No. I’m going.”
Shroud raised an eyebrow.
“It’s true, maybe this should be an adventurer’s job. I thought so, too, a little while ago. But now things are different.”
Just a little while ago, Alina had been running from Shroud’s death by working as a receptionist, while avoiding looking at adventurers… But now she was different.
“Because there’s people I don’t want to lose. I’d rather fight than lose them.”
Now she was a receptionist of her own free will. And she had a reason to fight. There were people she had to protect.
“Um, anyone who gets in my way…”
Alina’s silver war hammer appeared in her clenched hand. She clasped the handle with both hands, swung it up, and then she raced out toward Shroud.
“…gets a whack, even if it’s you!”
“Huh?! Hey, wait, listen…!”
As Shroud abruptly panicked, Alina slammed him mercilessly with the war hammer.
“Shut up, you phony!!”
She swung the war hammer as hard as she could, but it just swept through Shroud’s body. He vanished into thin air, and someone else rolled to the floor.
“Wahhh!”
Dumped to the ground was a short adventurer with a somehow boyish face—it was the boy adventurer who they’d just fought in a match in the tournament, Gose.
“…”
“…”
They glared at each other, and an awkward silence momentarily descended on the lobby.
“Uh…um, this is, ah—”
“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm?!!! Thought you’d pull a fast one on me, huh…?”
Instantly, the fires of rage burst into flame around Alina. She was so angry that she found herself smiling.
First, this guy Gose made fun of them with the victory prize that Alina had been trying to win, then he’d teleported them and gotten in their way, and now he was putting on this outrageous impersonation of Shroud. Even Alina had reached the limits of her patience.
Looking up at Alina standing there imposingly, Gose hastily tried to cover for himself with a cute smile. “O-oh, this is, um, part of a plan, like, Gald just made me do it… Um, it’s my skill…”
“I’ve had just about enough…”
“Hyeeee! No violence! No viol—!”
“…of you treating me like an idiot—!!”
The fighting arena quaked. Alina smacked Gose flying with her war hammer, sending a few bystanders along with him.