The S-Rank Explorer Who Acted Like a Total Jerk to Save the World Accidentally Leaves His Stream On and His Love for the Saintess Plus All His Secret Self-Sacrifice Gets Completely Exposed - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

That day, like, a massive bomb got dropped into this huge ocean called the internet.

“Hated guy Renji’s doin’ a suicide stream in the Abyss?”

At first, it was just some gossip.

But the “godspeed sword skills” playin’ out in the video, and the “true love” slippin’ out as mutterin’ to himself, they nailed the eyes of people all over the world.

Concurrent viewers broke 3 million.

D-Tube’s servers started screamin’, and mirror streams popped up everywhere.

SNS trends got totally dyed one color.

1st: #Renji

2nd: #Sorry

3rd: #World’s Biggest Misunderstanding

4th: #AbyssStream

5th: #KaitoAndElicia

“Whoa, this for real…?”

“We were beatin’ up on an insane saint or somethin’?”

“Can’t stop the tears.”

“His sword skills are faster than the S-rank #1 Sword Saint, right?”

“Top rankers overseas are reactin’ too!”

America’s hero, S-rank explorer John Smith tweets.

“Oh my god. His moves are art. Why was Japan hidin’ this talent?”

France’s Saintess Jeanne sobs her heart out in a stream.

“Devotion like his, that’s true chivalry…!”

The whole world noticed the true value of this guy Kisaragi Renji, went wild, and got wrapped in deep regret.

But the guy at the center of all that frenzy, he was just by himself in the cold abyss, keepin’ up his lonely monologue.

◇

Meanwhile, on the surface in the mid-level dungeon “Lost Forest.”

“Damn it, why can’t I hit ya!?”

Hero Kaito shows his frustration, swingin’ his sword at empty air.

The opponent’s just a B-rank monster, Forest Wolf.

Normally, he’d take it down in one hit.

“Kaito, on the right! Dodge–kyaa!?”

“Elicia!?”

Saintess Elicia takes a body slam from the wolf and gets blown away.

She hurries to chant a heal spell, but her magic power scatters and it won’t activate.

“M-my magic power… it’s about to run out…! Potion!”

“Yeah, got it! Hey Renji, hand over a potion!”

Kaito unconsciously reaches back.

But all that’s there is empty space.

“…Ah.”

Kaito’s hand stops.

Yeah. Renji’s not there anymore.

That guy who always handed him potions at the perfect time, even in the middle of fights.

“Tch…! I’ll do it myself!”

Kaito rummages in his own backpack, but can’t find any potion bottles.

His gear maintenance is sloppy too, so drawin’ and sheathin’ the sword ain’t smooth.

“Why… things always went way better before…!”

The two of ’em, covered in mud, start a crawlin’ retreat fight with their battered bodies.

Still not realizin’ that what they’d called “goin’ well” till now was all set up by somebody else.

◇

On the screen, Renji was sittin’ huggin’ his knees in front of the campfire.

His back looked small, showin’ this kinda defenseless vibe like a little boy.

“…Back when Kaito first grabbed a sword, I got all muddy like this to practice with him, huh.”

Starin’ at the cracklin’ fire poppin’, Renji mutters.

“That guy was a crybaby. His hands’d shake when he gripped the sword… but his dream to save the world was stronger than anybody’s.”

“Sniffle.”

“Kaito-kun was loved this much?”

“And you guys…”

“So I wanted to be that guy’s sword. I wanted to be the toughest steppin’ stone so he could shine.”

Then the topic shifts to the Saintess.

“Elicia… that girl got bullied at the orphanage, y’know. ‘Cause her silver hair was creepy.”

Renji’s face turns full of tender love.

“So I deliberately acted like the bad guy in front of her, beat the crap outta those bullies. Told ’em ‘I hit ya ’cause I don’t like ya.'”

“That way, she wouldn’t be ‘bullied,’ she’d be ‘victim dragged in by some weirdo.’ People’d feel sorry for her, treat her nice, right?”

“She was scared of me… but that’s fine. Long as she could smile, I’d stay the hated guy forever.”

“…”

“What the…?”

“You’re too cool, you idiot!!”

“Waaah! Elicia-chan, you hearin’ this!?”

“Superchat! Lemme throw a superchat!”

“Threw in 5 million yen.”

“Somebody go save him, pleeease!”

The screen fills up with rainbow superchats (big money tips), and the comments turn into an ocean of tears.

But those voices don’t reach Renji down in the abyss.

“…Alright, time to go.”

Renji stands up, stamps out the leftover burnin’ logs.

“From here on’s the boss area. …Goodbye, Kaito, Elicia. I love ya.”

He smiles gently at the camera (not knowin’ it), and vanishes into the deepest darkness.

◇

“Hah… hah…!”

Kaito and Elicia barely escape the dungeon with their lives, rollin’ into the guild lobby.

Their gear’s all beat to hell, potions gone, pride shredded.

“Wh-what…?”

Kaito looks up.

The lobby that’s usually noisy as hell is dead quiet, like someone poured water on it.

Hundreds of explorers and staff all froze, starin’ up at the giant monitor in the center.

“…Ah… aah…”

Somebody’s sob echoes.

Snifflin’ sounds.

Eyes lookin’ at somethin’ unbelievable.

Kaito and Elicia look up at the monitor too, caught up in it.

What’s showin’ there.

Is their old comrade, fightin’ evenly one-on-one against the myth-level boss “Abyss Queen.”

“I love ya.”

The last farewell words flow from the speakers.

That voice is kinder, warmer than any curse they’d ever heard from him.

“…Huh?”

The staff slips from Elicia’s hand.

Clang, the dry sound echoes in the lobby, but nobody pays attention.

“Lie… right? Renji-san…?”

Sealed memories flood back into her head.

That day she was bullied.

The rough boy who saved her.

His back perfectly overlaps with the guy fightin’ on the screen right now.

“I… what have I… all this time…?”

Elicia collapses right there.

Her pretty face twists up with despair and regret.

But it’s too late.

On the screen, Renji’s gearin’ up for the final desperate strike.

As the whole world watches, the tragic climax kicks off.