An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

"Kaori, I'm sorry. It's my fault that you got scared."

"No, I just overreacted. Don't take it to heart, Shizuku-chan."

Shizuku admitted that she was the source of the disturbance and apologized to Kaori. Although she was relieved to receive Kaori's forgiveness, Shizuku was still very concerned about the scene she had witnessed several times recently, so she changed the question and asked again:

"Kaori, has anything been out of the ordinary lately? You seem preoccupied sometimes... or maybe not, more like you're absent-minded, or staring off into the distance... have you been like that a lot lately?"

"Huh? Did I do that? I didn't realize it at all..."

"yes……"

Is this really an illusion? — Shizuku tilted her head in confusion, but since Kaori had no impression, it was okay. Shizuku tried to convince herself to accept it, but just when she was about to succeed, Kaori clapped her hands, as if she had thought of something:

"Ah, but I sometimes have strange feelings."

"Strange feeling?"

"Yes, it's hard to describe..."

Kaori tilted her head adorably, her gaze wandering for a moment... Then, her expression vanished in an instant, emotionless and cold. Oh, right, just like a Noh mask! And then...

"It's like something important was stolen by a thieving cat...right?"

"Ka-Kaori? No, Kaori-san?"

"Hehehe, that's weird, right? Hehehe."

"Kaori~! I was wrong! I won't ask any more weird questions, please come back to this world~~!"

She said it was strange but a chuckle came out of her mouth, but Kaori's expression was still like a Noh mask.

"This is bad!" Shizuku was so panicked that she spoke in a poor Kansai accent in her heart while stopping Kaori and persuading her to return to reality.

She wondered why this had happened. She couldn't possibly know the reason—at this very moment, a white-haired, eye-patch-wearing boy in the distance was flirting with a vampire princess. She could only gently pat her friend's face, trying to bring her back to normal.

"Why are you slapping my face, Shizuku-chan? Come on."

"You're back, Kaori. Woohoo, that's great."

Shizuku breathed a sigh of relief when Kaori returned to her normal self quite naturally. She didn't know why, or how it happened, but her friend seemed to sense something unpleasant was happening in the distance, and she kept slipping back into a dark state.

This was a different world, filled with magic, monsters, and even supernatural beings like gods. Even if such incredible things happened, it wouldn't be surprising... right? Shizuku half-forced herself to accept this. It didn't matter if she didn't know the reason. As long as she could bring Kaori back to this world before she turned evil, Shizuku stared at the bewildered Kaori and made this decision in her heart.

Just as Shizuku made this delicate decision, Guanghui, who was walking in front of her, suddenly stopped and spoke:

"Everyone, be alert. There's something up ahead. 'Sensor' is responding. The number is one."

"Do you want me to go over and check first?"

"There's only one monster, right? There's no need to ask Endo to check. We can just go together and take care of it quickly, right?"

Normally, if a monster's presence is sensed before it is discovered, Kosuke would explore the way first, use stealth skills, and observe the enemy's combat power, so he stepped forward to make the suggestion, but Ryutaro rejected it with a clenched fist.

Indeed, if there were few monsters, they would enter the battle without checking with Kosuke first, and this happened several times. Kouki followed Ryutaro's advice and decided to move forward directly.

Finally, what appeared in front of the dim passage was...

"Huh...people?"

Guanghui muttered in astonishment, and the others, eyes wide open, stared ahead. There was indeed something resembling a human figure in front of them, though it was also described as half-buried in the wall. Because of its long hair and bowed head, it was impossible to confirm its expression, or even whether it was alive or dead. Judging from its slender figure, it was likely a woman.

"Oh, oh, we have to save her quickly!"

"Wait a minute, Glory!"

Guanghui thought she might have been captured by a monster on the upper floor, or perhaps she was an adventurer caught in a trap. He rushed over in panic. Although Shizuku tried to stop him, his high performance had already carried him to his destination.

He asked, "Are you okay?!" as he reached out his hand. At that moment, Kouki's feet sank into the ground, barely maintaining his balance and avoiding a fall. However, looking down, the solid ground had suddenly transformed into a quagmire. Kouki's feet sank to her ankles, sinking deeply into the mud. Then, the earth around Kouki suddenly rose and took the shape of a human. It was a humanoid puppet made of mud—Crawgorm. Instantly, Crawgorm transformed his hands into sharp sickles and swung them at Kouki, who was struggling to escape the quagmire.

“Gu!”

Despite groans of pain, Guanghui continued to entwine the holy sword with light, sweeping it around. His right hand slashed from left to right, then shifted from his back to his left hand, swinging it to the right. This was one of the Yaegashi-ryu sword techniques—'Water Moon'. As a disciple of the Yaegashi-ryu, Guanghui had practiced it countless times, yet he stopped on his own accord.

"! Shizuku!?"

That's right, because the opponent resembled Shizuku. More precisely, Crawgorm's face had warped and distorted, instantly transforming into Shizuku's. Their bodies were still Crawgorm, of course, and it was immediately clear they weren't Shizuku. But the sudden appearance of her childhood friend's face shook Kouki's heart. In a sense, perhaps it couldn't be helped.

Doing so will inevitably come at a high price.

"disease!"

"——『Brilliant Binding Chain』!"

The Kureglem surrounded it with light. However, the right half of the Kureglem was severed and vanished along the trajectory of the slash. The enemy on the left was entangled in countless chains gleaming with violet light, preventing them from moving.

They immediately turned to mud and escaped their bonds, but the next moment, they were cut and shattered by the circular trajectory drawn in the air. The attacker was, of course, Shizuku. She used the Yaegashi-ryu sword technique, "Water Moon Ripple"—a technique in which she spun from a sheathed position, unsheathed her blade, and slashed horizontally in all directions.

"Kui-ki, are you okay?"

"It's okay, sorry, thank you!"

Kouki grabbed Kaori's "Brilliant Chain" and thanked her as he escaped the swamp. At that moment, Kuregolems emerged from everywhere, surrounding not only Kouki but also the Nagayama and Hiyama groups, their sickles wielding unpredictable movements, attempting to finish them off.

"Damn it! There's no end to it! How can we defeat them!?"

"Even if I'm defeated, I'll be revived immediately!"

Ryuutarou's punch scatters Kuregrem, but the mud immediately gathers together and Kuregrem is revived. The same thing happens to the others.

Kouki ran around, defeating Crawgorms while pondering how to break free from the situation. Suddenly, he saw Shizuku approaching the edge of his sight. This time, he saw her in her attire. Hoping to draw on her wisdom, Kouki defeated the emerging Crawgorms and moved to Shizuku's side.

However, he also noticed that behind Shizuku, the girl buried in the wall—the human Kouki had thought was captured—was... gone. A chill ran down his spine. Where had she gone? Kouki looked away from Shizuku and took notice of his surroundings.

"Shizuku! Be careful! The guy hiding in the wall is gone! I don't know where he went—"

"Idiot, it's right in front of you!"

As Kouki issued a warning, someone suddenly tugged at the back of his armor, sending him tumbling backward with a thud. A gust of wind blew across his face. Kouki coughed and looked up. The face and body of the person before him were Shizuku, but only his right arm stretched out, transforming into a sword. Several strands of Kouki's bangs flew through the air, as if he had narrowly avoided a decapitation attack.

"It seems that's the leader. He's different from the others. Even his body and attire can mimic other creatures."

A calm voice came from behind Kouki. It was Shizuku, who looked identical to the one before her, except for her right arm. It seemed that, as Shizuku had said, the woman buried in the wall was the leader of the Kuregorems.

The leader of the Kuregorem also transformed his left hand into a sword, and the next moment, he attacked with fierce speed.

"How can I be fooled every time?"

The swords in its hands flew like whips, tracing erratic paths. Guanghui deflected and parried them with his holy sword, preparing to charge forward. But a moment before that, a multitude of clay sickles appeared around the leader and attacked him in unison. Countless sickles formed a hemisphere around Guanghui and swung down. No matter how hard he tried to cut them, the sickles would regenerate and attack without interruption.

Since those sickles were primarily composed of mud, while they possessed a fleeting attack, they were completely indestructible. Therefore, a single contact with them was sufficient to deflect the enemy's attack without much effort. However, the sheer volume of mud surrounding them meant the sheer volume of attacks was extraordinary. The Tejas were already overwhelmed simply defending against the leader's attacks, and the other members, facing the relentless swarms of Kuregorems, were struggling, if not defeated.

In the corner of Guanghui's mind, he began to consider using "Limit Break" to wipe them out, but when he saw the figure jump behind the leader, the corners of his mouth unconsciously raised.

(As expected of Shizuku! Please!)

(learn.)

Shizuku exchanged glances with him, taking advantage of Kouki's defensive stance to circle behind the leader with impressive speed. After dispatching several Kuregorems that attempted to defend the leader, Shizuku, her ponytail flowing freely—a trademark of hers—sheathed her sword in an instant, and, like a shock kick, stepped forward, closing in on the leader. (Editor's note: a footwork from Bajiquan.)

In an instant, the leader transformed into Kaori's appearance.

"!"

Shizuku opened her eyes wide and gasped. Her mind was fully aware that she was facing a demon. However, her heart wasn't mature enough to instantly accept that it was an enemy. Normally, the mind would stop the body; she couldn't possibly cut off her friend's face...

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

A shrill cry rang out, or rather a shout. Her cry forcibly subdued her hesitant heart! Unleashing the high-speed headwind generated by the sword-drawing technique—"Dragon Ascent," one of the Yaegashi-ryu sword techniques. Originally, this move would have involved a leap, a mid-air spin kick, and a combined blow from the scabbard, but this time, that wasn't necessary.

As the name suggests, the slash was like a dragon ascending a waterfall, splitting the water in two. Shizuku's attack cleanly cleaved the leader in two, simultaneously severing the magic stone within the leader's body. The leader's form crumbled, transforming back into mud. The magic stone fell upon it, and the surrounding Kuregorems gradually lost their shape.

"Well done, Shizuku!"

Kouki ran over with a beaming look on her face, and Shizuku smiled back, "I did it." Kouki then turned back to Ryuutarou and the others who were running towards her, while Shizuku stared silently at her palm. It was stained with a little bit of Kuregorem's mud, and she frowned. After wiping her hand a little roughly, it returned to its original clean state, but Shizuku's expression was...

"Shizuku!"

"what?"

As Shizuku stared blankly at her palm, Guanghui suddenly roared at her. Despite her dazed voice, her instincts still sounded the alarm, warning her of impending death. Shizuku glanced over her shoulder—a large spider hung suspended in mid-air, its silk threads dangling from the ceiling. Eight red-black eyes stared at Shizuku, its feet covered in sharp claws dripping with venom. Its legs were poised, ready to strike at any moment.

Someone cried out, "Ah!" The cost of letting down one's guard was too high, but this was the Great Maze. Death, transformed into a warm greeting from a neighbor, meant a farewell. This was the kind of place.

"——'Light-Binding Blade'."

However, this time, it seemed the neighbor in the Great Labyrinth would be left behind. Before its eight venomous claws could strike Shizuku, a glittering violet-white cross pierced the giant spider, sending it flying and pinning it directly to the wall. Because it was a non-lethal binding spell, it took no damage. Even so, the impact of the collision with the wall would probably make it flinch.

At the critical moment, her friend's magic saved Shizuku. Ling, who also planned to use the barrier to protect Shizuku, said, "X-Xiao Xiangxiang, you are too fast..." and opened her eyes wide, stunned.

"Kaori... Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to retrieve a-"

Shizuku thanked Kaori, but before she could finish her words, she strode away. Then, for some reason, a thought rang in her head: "Less trouble is worse than more trouble!" She shut up. Kouki and the others seemed intimidated by Kaori's presence.

Kaori stopped in front of the giant spider. Pinned to the wall, it continued to struggle. Kaori raised her staff high and summoned chains of light—"Binding Brilliant Chains." There was a grinding sound of metal as chains extended from the ground, walls, and ceiling, entangling the giant spider, pulling it from the wall and twisting it in the air, forming a sphere.

"Uh, um~ Kaori?"

Shizuku called out Kaori's name from behind as she worked silently. She even forgot the fear of nearly dying, but for some reason, goosebumps broke out on her skin.

Then, Kaori also reacted. The chain sphere gradually shrank, and the big spider inside made a realistic crackling sound. Kaori shifted her gaze from the sphere and slowly turned her head back.

——At the same time, a phantom wearing a ghost mask and white clothes appeared behind her.

“““““Ms. Prajna!?””””””

This scene proved that what Shizuku saw was not an illusion. Kouki and the others cried out "Eeh~" and retreated continuously.

"Ka-Kaori? No, Kaori-san? Um, I mean, behind you—"

"Haha, that's weird. Why did Shizuku-chan suddenly call me 'classmate'? Haha, that's weird, isn't it? I suddenly feel like not only the thieving cats, but even the thieving rabbits are trying to take my place. That's weird, isn't it?"

Kaori was the one feeling strange right now... but they couldn't really say it. Behind her, Miss Hannya had unearthed a large sword and was striking it against her shoulder. What kind of radio waves had her friend picked up? Shizuku had no way of knowing. At that very moment, a certain white-haired, eye-patch-wearing boy was being passionately kissed by a sorry rabbit at a certain fountain. Shizuku watched her friend, somewhat (?) shattered, and could only hold her head in her hands, feeling distressed.

Afterwards, Kaori suddenly returned to normal, and the big spider was completely defeated by her, so the group continued to move forward.

Along the way, Shizuku was busy soothing Kaori, who had suddenly received some kind of radio wave that caused Miss Hannya to appear; comforting the hero who was about to lose control in many ways after seeing Kaori; or giving German throws to the simple-minded classmates who always wanted to charge; sometimes trying to please Miss Hannya; sometimes using the Iron Claw Technique on the short barrier master who would make a lot of harassing remarks at every opportunity; and correcting the overconfidence and optimism of the Hiyama Group; or begging Miss Hannya to go back...

"I might go bald..."

[Orcus Great Labyrinth] - In a labyrinth where monsters roam rampant and death is always imminent, a young swordsman worries about her hair and whispers words that reveal her hardship.

Shizuku is the most worried person in the class. Will someone appear in the future to save her hair? Only God knows.

The magic-powered four-wheeled vehicle, "Britjet," sped back at a speed even faster than the outbound trip. Because the ground leveling function couldn't keep up with the vehicle's speed, Tio, who was tied to the ceiling, was constantly impacted, while Atsushi and the others on the shelf were shaken like milkshakes in a blender.

"Nan-Nan-gumo~ Can't you think of a way to stop it from shaking like that?!"

“I’ll be thrown off.”

"Sho! I'm going to save it now, ah--my tongue! My tongue!"

"Ah, the wound hurts so much, Master... mmm, come again... mmm, please let me in~"

Atsushi clung to the window connecting the cargo area to the back seat like a gecko, screaming. Noboru's body was half thrown from the cargo area. Akito tried to save him, but his tongue was severely injured and in great pain. Tio, reveling in the irritation of her wound from the vibration, advocated for humane treatment as if endorsing... If this were on Earth, someone would probably call the police immediately, but Hajime didn't care.

At that moment, somewhere between [Ur Town] and [Northern Mountain Range], Hajime spotted a group of heavily armed knights on guard, galloping fiercely. Hajime's farsighted vision revealed David, a fierce-looking man, galloping at the front, with Chase beside him, his expression brimming with anxiety.

After a moment, they seemed to notice the black object speeding up ahead and started to stir slightly. They figured the vehicle was a monster, no matter how you looked at it, so their reaction was perfectly natural. They drew their weapons and deftly reorganized themselves into a horizontal formation. Their swift response was truly commendable, worthy of the escort of a highly important figure.

Even if they attacked, Hajime could just charge in, no problem. But Aiko had a different vision. Tio was screaming inexplicably and sensually from the ceiling, and behind them were Atsushi and the others, their faces pale as they clung to the edge of the shelves. If they were attacked, it would be no joke. Aiko poked her head out of the skylight, waving her arms frantically and shouting, hoping David would notice her presence.

Just when David was finally ready to cast a spell, he saw someone running out from the black object that was driving towards him at high speed. He couldn't help but squint his eyes to look carefully.

Normally, David would have struck first, even in this situation, but something within him stopped him. What was it? Perhaps it was a highly sensitive Ae-son detector, or perhaps a sixth sense for Ae-sons.

David extended his hand horizontally, signaling his men to halt the attack. Though they were puzzled by the captain's instructions, a familiar voice reached them: the figure emerging from above the approaching black object. Their eyes widened in surprise, and David, already in disbelief, muttered, "Aizi?"

For a moment, David and the others wondered, "Could it be that Aiko's lower body is being devoured by a monster?!" Their faces paled with fear. But when they saw Aiko herself waving her hands energetically and shouting, "David-san! It's me! Please don't attack!" they realized their fears hadn't occurred. Despite their confusion about the black object, they were still overjoyed to be reunited with their beloved.

Perhaps intoxicated by the situation, David had a dazed expression and opened his arms wide, as if to say, "Come on! Throw yourself into my arms!" Chase and others beside him also opened their arms, hoping that she would throw herself into their arms.

Seeing the knights' dazed expressions, their arms outstretched in anticipation, Hajime couldn't help but reveal a look of disgust. As for Aiko, she certainly hoped that Hajime would stop in front of David and the others, but... Hajime suddenly injected magic power and sped up.

The distance between the two gradually closed, and Hajime had to slow down, but the black object increased its speed. The knights were shocked by this and quickly retreated from the path.

Hajime's Britten ignored David and the others, who smiled and held their arms outstretched, and passed by them without a word. Aiko uttered "Why?" and her wailing cry, mixed with Doppler force, flew backwards, leaving David and the others frozen in place with smiles on their faces.

The next second, "Aiko~" they screamed like lovers who were torn apart and chased after Brittier fiercely.

"Nagumo-kun! Why are you doing something so dangerous?!"

Aiko stormed back into the car, protesting passionately.

"There's no reason for us to stop, Sensei. If we do, we'll definitely be asked to explain the situation, and we don't have the time for that. We'll have to explain the situation back in town anyway, so there's no need to waste time repeating it twice, right?"

“Hmm, yeah, that’s definitely true…”

Although it was a little hard to agree with, it was true. Explaining to them about leaving without permission and the magic car would foreseeably waste a lot of time, so Aiko could only shut up.