Surviving in a World Teeming with Monsters with the Useless Skill 【Everyday Items Master】! I Was Just Hunting Wild Animals with a Crowbar, So Why Is Everyone Screaming It's an S-Rank Monster? - 103

Chapter 103: The White Hare of Inaba

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The Ferocious Shark Gang was in an uproar after Ui and the others returned.

“We’ve finally! Finally took control of the old Mountain King Area! And everyone knows who made it happen, right!? It’s none other than Crowbar Bro, aka Taku Monobe himself!!”

“Uh, th-thanks… I-I’m Taku~…”

Unlike before, Takkun’s appearance now had the whole place cheering.

“Woooooo!” 

“Crowbar Bro!!” 

“You’re seriously strong, man!” 

“Anikiiii!” 

“You were faking that no-aura look at the start, weren’t you!?” 

“You still got no aura, but that’s exactly why we stan you!”

“Hey, some of those are low-key disses.”

When Takkun fired back lightly, it turned into mic banter and brought even more laughs. Ui thought to herself.

Takkun has become really popular.

At first, only she, Shacchi, and Luna-chan had been on his side. Shacchi continued the speech.

“Today’s the day we celebrate Ferocious Shark Gang’s takeover of the old Mountain King Area! And guess what—Aniki himself cooked today’s meal! You better be grateful!!”

“YEEAAAAHHHHH!!” 

Roared the crowd. The place was full-on party mode, with lavish food being served in abundance.

“Delish—this is insane!?” 

“How’s this food so good!?” 

“Ugh, uuuuh… It’s so good I’m crying…!”

Takkun’s cooking was so well received that several people were literally brought to tears. Ui got a little herself, and it really was delicious.

“This is sooo good! I gotta go thank Takkun!”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Ui picked up her plate and, just like always, went searching for Takkun. And when she finally found him—Takkun was surrounded by Shacchi, Luna-chan, and a half-and-half mix of unfamiliar faces and Ferocious Shark Gang members.

“Ah…”

Even in the already noisy venue, the area around Takkun was especially lively. Naturally. Right now, within the Ferocious Shark Gang, Takkun was the ultimate hero. Normally, Ui would have rushed in without reading the room at all. But strangely, this time she didn’t feel like joining in. She instinctively took a step back.

Because everyone around Takkun is so tightly connected, so close with Takkun…

“…I-I’ll go thank him later, when it’s a bit quieter…”

Mumbling an excuse to herself, Ui blended into the crowd alone. The food was amazing. The fact that such delicious food could be found in a quarantined zone was surprising. But being surrounded by so many people, yet eating alone, chilled Ui’s heart like a wintry gust she had never felt before.

“…It’s delicious, but…”

Even though she hadn’t eaten that much, she felt strangely full, and had no desire to eat more. Just then—

“Ah, Ui. There you are.”

“Takkun!?”

Ui was genuinely surprised, eyes wide as she turned to look at him.

“Eh, why? You were totally surrounded by people…”

“Hm? I dunno. I just realized you weren’t around. So, how was the food?”

“U-uh-huh! Takkun, I didn’t know you were such a good cook~! I could eat it every day!”

“Haha. That sounds like a proposal or something. But thanks.”

“P-pro-prop-…”

Teased by Takkun, Ui’s face burned red. It puzzled her. Lately, she kept catching herself watching Takkun. When he paid her attention, it made her happy. It was different from how she felt about other people. She wanted to be by his side.

Normally, she never felt that way about anyone.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t introduced you to everyone. Ui, come with me—”

As he spoke, Takkun took Ui’s hand and that surprised her more than she ever expected.

“Kya—Kyaaaa!”

“Ui?”

Feeling extremely embarrassed to be near Takkun for some reason, Ui bolted. Her face flushed, she ran around while squealing.

“Kyaa! Kyaa!”

Before she knew it, she had dashed out of the venue and was wandering the Ferocious Shark Gang’s base.

“U-uuu… Stupid Ui-chan… Why did I run away like that…?”

Maybe because of all the running, she was getting hungry again. Should she go back and eat? But after running away like that, it was kind of embarrassing to return.

As she mulled over it, she heard voices coming from the warehouse.

Hm“…?”

Everyone from the Ferocious Shark Gang was supposed to be partying. So it was odd that voices were coming from the warehouse. Without really thinking, Ui headed that way. The warehouse was closed, but not locked.

Peeking through the gap, she saw several Ferocious Shark members talking in irritation.

“That bastard…! Now he’s acting like he’s the leader of the Ferocious Shark Gang!”

“Even Shachimaru Aniki is hyping up that damn adult…!”

“Screw this! I’m done playing nice! We’ll force that guy out if we have to!”

“Head-on? No way we’re winning against him head-on!”

“Then what should we do!?”

Ui vaguely remembered their faces. They’d always opposed Takkun joining—hardcore adult-haters who had been abandoned by parents and treated poorly by other adults. The radicals of the Ferocious Shark Gang.

To them, Ui had also been an outsider. Early on, she’d been harassed by them many times—she even remembered being nearly attacked…. What had happened back then again?

“Hey, calm down, you guys.”

One of them tried to ease the tension, only for another to snap back.

“Calm down for what!? Got a genius plan or something!?”

“I do. When it comes to strong guys, there’s a classic way to break them down.”

“…And what’s that?”

The calm one grinned like a devil.

“You pick off the ones around them. That old man’s got a bunch of weaklings nearby, right? A little kid, that streamer Zakomiya who can’t fight…”

“Oh…! Haha, now we’re talking.”

“Right? Now’s perfect—it’s a party, so no one will notice if someone vanishes. Snatch ’em when they head to the bathroom, and—”

At that point, Ui couldn’t stay silent any longer. She pushed the door open.

“—Who’s there!?”

They all turned to face her. Ui stared back with cold eyes.

“…Oh, it’s Inaba. Hah, you overhear all that? Probably too complicated for a dummy like you to understand.”

“…I understood this much. You want to hurt Takkun.”

“Tch… Yeah, that’s right. You’re that guy’s babysitter, right? Shachimaru Aniki put you up to it.”

“Babysitter?”

Ui had no memory of being assigned that role. Maybe they just misunderstood because she was often around Takkun.

“I kinda pity you, bet he told you to cozy up to him in that outfit, huh? What did you do with him? Some kind of pervy play?”

“Hey, perfect timing. Inaba, why not help us out? If you do, maybe we’ll let you have some fun too. You’re dumb, but your body is pretty good.”

“Hahahaha! That’s the move! And she’s got solid skills—maybe we could beat him head-on with her!”

They burst into laughter. Like they’d forgotten everything. Even Ui had managed to remember, after a bit of thought—what they’d done, what she’d done, and how it had ended.

Ui gripped her knife.

“…Huh? What’s that, Inaba? Are you saying you’re not with us?”

“Why the hell is an idiot like you trying to act tough!? All you gotta do is do what we say!”

At their shouting, Ui responded:

“Ui-chan’s always been on Takkun’s side. You guys are his enemies. So that makes you Ui-chan’s enemies too.”

She inhaled. Exhaled.

“Then we’ll start with you!”

They charged at her, shouting.

“We’ll beat you to a pulp!”

So Ui…

“You know, even Ui-chan isn’t dumb enough to pick a fight without a plan… Especially against someone who already killed her once.”

She used teleportation magic to send her knife into one guy’s thigh, precisely gouging out the flesh.

“G-GYAAAAAAAH!”

As he screamed and fell, the others froze. Ui recalled the knife with teleportation magic and sent it into another’s shoulder. More screaming. Another one dropped.

“Ow ow ow owwww!”

Like snot-nosed kids, they sobbed and collapsed to the floor. As Ui repeated this, their expressions shifted from anger and contempt to raw fear. Originally, Ui had been feared as an adventurer for this exact fighting style. Unless you were a high-tier adventurer, the fight against Ui was always one-sided. 

One by one, they fell in the sea of pain and blood. After taking out half of them, they finally cried out:

“W-we surrender! We get it! Please stop already!”

Hearing that, Ui stopped. She wasn’t the type to enjoy hurting surrendered enemies. But they wouldn’t quit. One of them growled.

“Ho-How could you do something like this!? Aren’t we all part of the same Ferocious Shark Gang!?”

“Haaah…? Takkun is too. He’s a Ferocious Shark Gang member just like you.”

“That old guy’s different! He’s the enemy! He’s trying to take over the Ferocious Shark Gang!”

Ui gouged his throat with teleportation magic.

“Ghh…!”

“Oh, oops. Guess I killed him.”

She recalled the knife, then flicked it clean of blood. Ui was starting to feel done with everything. Maybe she should just bury them all halfway into the walls or floor.

That was  when a voice called out from behind.

“―Inaba, what the hell are you doing?”

Ui slowly turned around. Standing there, eyes wide, glaring at her—was Shachimaru.

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