I Was the Supporter of a Popular Dungeon Streamer, but the Power Harassment Was Too Much, so I Quit. I’m Useless Anyway, so It Shouldn’t Be a Problem, Right? Huh? The Views Are Dropping Like Crazy? - 56

Chapter 56: What Lies Beyond Hard Work

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

The medical room of the hospital ward.

I woke up in the exact same room I had been hospitalized in before. As soon as I woke up, they ran tests on me. The diagnosis was exactly the same as last time, magic power deficiency. Now, I was resting in bed. My prosthetic arm had also been removed for maintenance.

“This time, our positions are reversed, aren’t they?”

“Yeah.”

Kisaragi, who had come to visit, smiled gently. Today, she was only wearing a mask that covered her eyes, so her expression was visible.

“By the way, what’s with all that fruit?”

“Isshiki-san… Abisu’s Supporter brought it earlier.”

Ten bunches of grapes, ten bunches of bananas, ten pineapples, twenty apples, and a whole box of mandarins. How was I supposed to eat all of this? I’d just give some to the doctors and nurses later.

“And those dumbbells?”

“Riku Kazuhara, a Supporter, brought them.”

“Dumbbells… For someone who’s hospitalized?”

Normally, that wouldn’t be an appropriate gift for a patient, but personally, I was happy about it. When my Kurogane manifested, I could only use my left hand. In other words, my left arm’s strength was especially important. I had been meaning to train my left arm anyway.

“So, what happened after that?”

“Iizuka-san… Thanks to taking down the Three-Eyed Troll, Odd Cat earned a considerable amount of guild points. And since I was credited with defeating the troll, I was promoted from an E-rank to a C-rank Seeker.”

“Seriously?!”

“I’m sorry. Even though it’s your achievement, Hamura-san…”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll just think of your rank as my own. C-rank, huh… That opens up a lot of new possibilities.”

The issue with the Three-Eyed Troll was officially classified as an aberrant that had manifested naturally. Of course, the Guild Association and the Divine Order were fully aware that the troll was actually Atsushi Iizuka. On the surface, Iizuka had been declared KIA, having been devoured by monsters inside the labyrinth. That incident with the monster transformation… and Ul. None of it was truly resolved yet. How exactly were they causing the transformations? And for what purpose? None of it made sense.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a much larger scheme at play. By the way, after Iizuka’s death, apparently Mia became the new guild master of Fenrir. Hopefully, she wouldn’t come up with any more crazy ideas…

“Hey, hey, you two! You’re as close as ever today!”

With an oddly high energy, Abisu burst into the hospital room.

“What’s with that creepy enthusiasm…?”

“Listen up, Hamura-kun! The Divine Order has issued a special directive to our Odd Cat… We’re tasked to solve the monster transformation incidents!!”

Apparently, since Odd Cat’s guild members had defeated two transformed Seekers, the case was now being entrusted to us.

“Is that something we should be happy about?”

“Of course it is! Our opponents may be an unknown force, but if we resolve this, our guild ranking will skyrocket! I’m also curious what method they use to transform Seekers into monsters.  Besides, you must be pretty pissed at them for what they did to you, right?”

Abisu eyed me, as if testing my resolve.

“Yeah. I won’t deny that. That bastard Ul… I’ll never forgive him.”

“I can’t wait for the day we crush them too~”

Abisu and I let out sinister chuckles, our laughter echoing through the room.

“You two… Your faces look completely villainous.”

“Anyway, for now, take your time and heal your bodies. We will need your strength.”

“I’ll do just that.”

With that, Abisu left the hospital room in high spirits, saying, “Now, feel free to flirt as much as you want!”

“Abisu-san always gave off a cool impression, but meeting her in person, she’s surprisingly mischievous, isn’t she?”

“I heard from Isshiki-san before that she cultivates that mysterious persona for the media to enhance her appeal.”

Damn it. I forgot to mention the thing about Cyan. Well, whatever. There will be plenty of chances to bring it up.

“……”

“……”

Thanks to Abisu’s careless parting words, an awkward silence filled the air…

“Um… Hamura-san, you really keep saving me all the time.”

“None of this is your fault, Kisaragi. Don’t worry about it.”

“No… I can’t just leave it at that. I want to do something to thank you. I-I’ll do anything I can! Just say the word!”

“Anything, huh…”

Kisaragi’s ears turned red.

“Ah! When I say ‘anything,’ I mean… Well, I do mean anything, but… um, if it’s something Hamura-san wants, then really, anything…”

Whatever she was imagining, Kisaragi’s face flushed bright red.

“……”

“……”

Crap! This is so awkward! The air feels all sugary sweet…! I have no experience with this kind of thing, so I have no idea how to handle it!!

“Then how about peeling an apple for him?”

The cold voice that cut in belonged to… Isshiki-san.

“Isshiki-san!?”

Feeling a presence at the entrance, I turned to look and saw Abisu and Riku peeking in as well.

“You guys were eavesdropping!?”

“Ahaha, sorry, sorry. I just happened to run into these two in the elevator.”

“We thought we’d all barge in and surprise you, but turns out we were the ones getting surprised. Getting all lovey-dovey in the hospital room, huh?”

“N-No, you’ve got it all wrong! I wasn’t thinking that at all…”

“Then what were you thinking?”

Isshiki-san pressed Kisaragi for an answer.

“Um… Uuh…”

“Hey now.  Isshiki-chan, don’t bully Kisaragi-chan too much.”

“What’s this, huh? Could it be a love tri—”

“【Moonlight Thunderstrike】!!”

“Whoa!? Damn you, Sae! Don’t try to fry my pompadour!!”

“Stop using lightning in the hospital, Isshiki-chan!!!”

The four of them broke into a loud commotion. Watching them from my bed, I let out a small laugh. A lot had happened, but I was glad I got to witness this scene.

Friends, Supporters, OOPArts. In the end, I got everything I wanted. Almost died a few times along the way, though… Not everything had worked out perfectly just yet. Even so, there was one thing I could say for sure.

I am glad I never gave up and kept pushing forward.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー