The Chronicles of a Man Who Aspired to Be an Unparalleled Character with Hidden Weapons - The Explorer Who Conceals His Power Becomes the Strongest When He Wields a Sword - Chapter 19: An Unseen Item

Chapter 19: An Unseen Item

“Hey, Sena,”

“Mmm?”

Amidst the excitement of the girls in the karaoke, Shinichi and Yoshiki, sitting on either side of me, leaned in, whispering.

I listened, curious about what they might say. Their words, in a way, were somewhat predictable.

“You said you’d bring a friend, but who would’ve thought it’d be Sumeragi!”

“Exactly! The real deal! We had no idea you’d bring the most famous person in our school!”

“…Well, yeah, that makes sense.”

Having recently started talking to Sumeragi in class, I thought mentioning her as a friend might lead them to guess it was her, but it seems that was too much of a stretch.

“Yo. Brought Sumeragi along.”

“Excuse me for interrupting.”

The surprise on everyone’s faces as we entered the waiting room was amusing.

Shinichi and Yoshiki’s eyes widened in disbelief, and even the girls, caught off guard, nearly spit out their drinks.

“Look at Saki and Yume. They’ve already warmed up to her?”

Shinichi, Yoshiki, and the girls from our usual party, Saki and self-proclaimed occult maniac and introvert Yume Akashi, were all singing together, getting along well.

As I mentioned earlier, despite their initial surprise, the girls quickly bonded with Sumeragi, perhaps due to the same-gender dynamic.

“It’s because they’re girls.”

“But we’re boys, sigh.”

Well, that’s certainly true.

But, I suggested to them, take a look at Sumeragi’s expression.

“I’ve only recently gotten to know her, and it’s the first time you guys have hung out with her today. But without a doubt, Sumeragi was the one feeling the most nervous, almost alienated, in this group. Yet, seeing her smile like that… doesn’t it make you think we shouldn’t be whispering and speculating like this?”

“…Indeed.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

Well, I still think she might be feeling nervous.

For me… it’s hard to say whether it’s because I’ve gotten braver by delving deep with a sword in hand, or because we’ve crossed weapons, but I’ve stopped feeling the need to be overly cautious around Sumeragi.

(…Though that might be why she often teases me.)

Being a guy, even if I get teased, when it’s by a beautiful girl like Sumeragi, it doesn’t feel entirely bad.

“Phew, it’s been a while since I sang this much♪”

“Sumeragi-san, you’re really good!”

“Y-Yes… really good.”

“Thank you, both of you.”

After a hearty session of singing with Saki and Yume, Sumeragi seemed eager to choose the next song. I felt glad that I had invited her on a whim.

Then, Shinichi and Yoshiki joined in the singing, and although not completely, they seemed to get along with Sumeragi to some extent, as they chatted with her. After we all went our separate ways, Sumeragi happily shared her experiences at the karaoke place.

“Thank you for today, Tokioka-kun. It was really fun.”

“Don’t mention it. Will you come again if I invite you?”

“Of course, I’d love to be invited again♪”

Well, even if I don’t invite her, now that we’re friends, I think Saki and the others will.

“Shall we head to the guild now?”

“Yeah…”

The karaoke was so fun that I’d forgotten, but that was our original purpose.

Sumeragi looked somewhat exasperated, but… it seemed she hadn’t realized ‘that’ either.

“Sumeragi.”

I put my arm around Sumeragi’s shoulder.

Surprised by the sudden gesture, she blushed slightly and looked at me.

“Sorry for the suddenness. Just walk straight ahead, don’t be overly conscious, and try to act natural.”

“…Alright.”

It seemed my intention was clear with just those words.

In the world of Explorers, most have the ability to sense presence, honed through battles. The extent of this sense can vary significantly, depending on whether it’s maintained as a skill or not.

“A little after we left the school, I felt someone was following us. I thought they might have business with either me or Sumeragi, but it seems they are after you, Sumeragi.”

“…I see.”

“Do you have any idea who it might be?”

“Too many possibilities to count.”

“I see. That must be tough.”

Indeed, as the daughter of a wealthy family, she likely has many constraints.

And as I mentioned earlier, the gaze doesn’t feel lecherous, more like someone observing. Probably a professional in that field… Well, they’ve been caught by my sense of presence, anyway.

“Do you have a skill to detect presence, Tokioka-kun?”

“I have [Presence Detection Level 7]. It developed naturally after its manifestation.”

“Level 7? That’s quite advanced… But I see, with that level, you could even see through someone using a stealth technique.”

“Yeah.”

Well, you can’t detect stealth techniques of a higher level than that, and the skill becomes significantly harder to improve after level 6.

So, my ability to detect presence, having surpassed that barrier, is quite effective.

But now that we’ve talked about it, it seems Sumeragi has sensed something too.

“…Sumeragi?”

“Yes. I’ve noticed it too… looks like it’s just one person.”

Sumeragi’s eyes sparkled silver, reminiscent of the time when she used angel wings. A hidden power unique to Sumeragi, unknown and unseen by me… It piqued my curiosity, but for now, we should at least check out the face of the person following us.

“Let’s head into that alley.”

“Okay. But, this is a bit thrilling, right?”

“We’re not playing spy, you know?”

“I know that.”

As we entered the alley, Sumeragi and I hid in the shadows.

Almost as if it were an afterthought, Sumeragi used her skill to block our presence, effectively erasing any trace of us.

“…Is that?”

“Do you know him?”

The man who appeared behind us was wearing a suit and sunglasses, a sturdy-looking guy. He glanced around briefly, then, looking puzzled, continued walking down the original path.

It seemed that Sumeragi recognized the man.

“That person… I’m sure I’ve seen him before, doing security for a guest at my father’s birthday party.”

“Really?”

“That guest was… from the Senjouin family, I think.”

“That’s quite a big shot!”

The Senjouin, if I recall correctly, while not as wealthy as the Sumeragi Group, are still a well-off family. Why would a guard from such a group be following Sumeragi?

“I’m not sure, but I’ll subtly mention this to my father.”

“That’s a good idea. But I can’t help but be a bit suspicious first – could Sumeragi’s family be involved in some sort of scheme?”

“No, that’s unlikely. My parents are strict, but they’re very kind to me.”

“Haha, I see. Then it seems okay.”

It seems her family is on her side, which is reassuring for now. 

However, it’s still best to remain cautious, just in case… Ever since I met Sumeragi, there’s been no shortage of events.

“Well, let’s be mindful of the tail and head to the guild.”

“Yes… But I’m sorry, Tokioka-kun. This is because of me…”

“Don’t say it’s your fault. Besides, you apologize too much, Sumeragi.”

“…But… Alright. Thank you.”

It’s obvious that being thanked rather than apologized to feels better.

After that, we headed to the guild. Thankfully, we weren’t followed, and we reached our destination without any incident.

There, we learned about the red gem.

“That gem appears to be some sort of item. It’s not clear whether it only affects monsters, but it seems to have the power to forcibly draw out latent abilities. However, the red-black aura emitted by the monster suggests it might have gone berserk, but the specifics are still unclear.”

That’s what we were told.

At least we now knew it wasn’t just an ordinary red stone. Though it was an item never found in dungeons before, we decided to leave it with the guild for safekeeping. For now, that’s all the information we had.