“How did it end up like this…?”
After that, both Sakura -san and Eriina -san asked to talk, and I spoke to them the next day.
It seems they thought I might disappear somewhere.
I feel sorry for making them anxious like that, but at the same time, I was happy that they were worried about me.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Really?”
“For sure?”
They each grabbed one of my hands, and I don’t have the ability or courage to go anywhere, but it’s fine.
It’s silly to say this, but… how should I put it… it’s kind of funny that they were right, and my composure is about to fly away somewhere.
“Now that I think about it, we’ve already become strong enough that we could be called A-rank, right?”
“That’s true…”
“But it’s all thanks to Sakura and Tōma -kun, I’m still far from that level… but, yeah, as a party, we’ve accomplished a lot.”
That’s true.
Actually, the academy dungeon was an A-rank dungeon. And then there was an irregular Rock Dragon there. We defeated it, so we should at least be ranked A as explorers, and as a party, we can be recognized as A-rank as well.
From there, we just need one more achievement for S-rank.
Plus, we have the accomplishment of defeating an S-rank monster.
If we win the Battle Royale, we’ll immediately get S-rank certification, but even if we don’t, we’re still first-year students. With two full years left, we can become even stronger.
As for the Demoness… even if Shidou-san says something to me, I’m no longer in the position where I just have to listen.
In just about two weeks, the situation has changed drastically… almost too drastically, but it’s all thanks to the two in front of me.
Honestly, I feel so happy that I want to hug them.
Because, right in front of me, the cutest girls are smiling just because I said I’m here.
It’s too amazing.
When I told them that, both of them turned bright red.
But let me just say, I’m the one who got bombed by the counter and was defeated.
Huh? No probing, okay?
No, no. Even if you want to ask, don’t. It’s embarrassing and it’s private.
Huh?
How do you know!?
Yeah, that’s right. I was confessed to. By both of them.
At the same time, too. Is this something that happens in real life? It’s terrifying… I might get told to explode or die. Actually, it might be scarier than dealing with Shidou-san.
But you know, I decided I’d properly accept it.
Because they both seriously thought about it and told me.
For someone like me.
Ah, wait, I shouldn’t say “someone like me.”
Eriina -san… Eriina said that.
She told me to believe in myself a little more. That we should be proud because both of us confessed.
Sakura patted my head.
It was so embarrassing that I wanted to disappear, but it was just as happy and warm at the same time.
I’ll do my best so that both of them can say I did well.
Oh, right. Principal Minazuki apologized profusely.
When I was called back to the principal’s office, he was bowing down, and for some reason, Shiraishi-san was stepping on his head.
Shiraishi-san also apologized, saying that she didn’t think the principal didn’t understand. I’m not quite sure, but it seems I should have shared that information earlier, so I thanked her, and for some reason, she turned red.
Then, in a strange mood, she asked to be included in the party.
The student council members said they were too weak, so they asked me to include Shiraishi-san.
Apparently, during that battle, Shiraishi-san got “magic resistance.” The Megiddo Flare Dragon was extremely tough, and the previous Rock Dragon fight was also really hard, so that must be why. Why can’t I get “magic resistance”…?
Of course, we all understood Shiraishi-san’s excellence, so no one objected.
If I had to say, the only thing was that I was hugged by Sakura and Eriina , and Shiraishi-san made a “kyah” sound. What was that about?
Then Shiraishi-san told me to call her “Reina.”
She said, as the leader, I shouldn’t be so formal. She ordered me to call her by name without honorifics, and both Sakura and Eriina asked me to do the same.
So, even though it felt strange, I started calling them Sakura and Eriina . Even in my mind.
And I have to be careful to call Shiraishi-san… Reina, too. If I call her anything else, like Shiraishi-san or president, I might lose points.
After that, I was called to Reina’s stream, and she made me announce that I joined the party. Then, I defeated the jealous Demoness… Shidou-san, who tried to intervene.
She wanted me to come back to her side, but since I have the two of them now, I firmly rejected her this time.
Otherwise, I’d be way too indecisive, right?
Once I did that, she went silent, so I think she understood.
“After doing all that, I finally managed to calm down.”
And then, on a sunny day in October… the four of us entered the dungeon.
Since Reina couldn’t accompany us on regular class practice, we applied for a Sunday dungeon exploration and all went together.
It’s been since the academy’s selection exam, right? Since we last explored a dungeon together.
The academy dungeon, which was once referred to as an A-rank dungeon, seems to have adopted an ongoing exploration approach where students continue to explore regularly.
Every time, a teacher of at least A-rank… meaning almost always, the principal accompanies us, and since someone is always exploring in the afternoon on weekdays, the principal remains on standby. That’s the countermeasure.
I hope the principal doesn’t work himself to death.
It seems that as long as we continue defeating bosses regularly like this, no particularly strong bosses appear.
Though we still don’t know why an Archdemon showed up…
“This time it’s a Red Golem. B-rank.”
Reina was recording it.
Whenever a party encounters a boss in the dungeon, they are required to record the boss they face at that moment.
Well, it wasn’t a match for us.
This time, Eriina and Reina easily defeated it.
A magic stone the size of a fist fell, and the subjugation was complete.
But…
“Grrr…”
“What’s that… a dog?”
A pitch-black dog appeared from out of nowhere.
I couldn’t move…
The overwhelming magical power sent a chill down my spine.
I instinctively stepped forward.
This is bad…
It looked at me.
Suddenly, sweat poured down my face.
A chill and headache hit me too.
Is it coming…?
I didn’t feel like we could win, but I had to protect the two… no, all three of them.
I couldn’t even swallow my saliva.
The enormous pressure…
Just the fact that it raised its nose made the tension unbearable.
Is it coming towards us?
But then, as if losing interest, it moved towards the magic stone.
It opened its huge, distorted mouth and devoured the magic stone.
The sound of its chewing echoed through the air.
We couldn’t move.
If we did, we’d be bitten to death.
That fear consumed us.
Once it finished chewing, it swallowed and looked at us again.
During that brief moment, I used all the magic I could.
I don’t even know how many layers of magical barriers I cast.
Even though the support magic was probably useless by now, I kept using it.
Sweat trickled down the back of my neck…
I couldn’t look away.
But then, the dog turned its face away, lightly leapt into the air, and disappeared.
What… was that…?
fin.
“And so, it’s complete, haha.”
Thank you for reading up until here.
Thank you for your support!
This work began as a story where I wanted to write a romantic comedy in a modern fantasy setting, and before I knew it, it turned into a harem… huh?
And there are ominous enemies… huh?
I rushed through the plot I originally had in mind (the first 8 episodes were about enduring the release of magical power with “grit” and forming a party. Then, until about episode 40, it was supposed to resolve with Tōma no longer fearing Shidou and getting together with Sakura , which would end the story).
I was surprised that Eriina ended up confessing along with Sakura , but I thought, in this situation, no one would sneak ahead.
I plan to write many more works in the future, so I hope everyone will not only rate this work but also follow me, so you can be notified when I release a new one. Thank you so much for your support.
p.s.
I know there are still some unresolved mysteries, like… why didn’t we face Shidou? What about the Battle Royale? What was the third unique skill? I want to see Tōma ‘s harem & more action! And so on…
I’m sorry.
If I ever think of a plot for the continuation, I might write it, but as mentioned earlier, I’ve finished the plot I originally planned, so I’m concluding it here.
(Sorry, I tend to be fickle as a writer. Right now, I’m focusing on finishing Rich-sama, so I’m working on that one. Link to the work)
