Mikage Academy contains countless special dungeons for mock combat.

These training areas, created for explorers to adapt to every conceivable scenario, could only be realized by the immense power of Mikage Academy.

“A system where the AI instantly constructs a dungeon based on the explorer’s strengths and weaknesses, huh… As usual, this place spares no expense. Wish our side had the mindset to invest in the next generation too. But no, we blow it all—including me…”

Rokuhara said this while gazing up at the sky.

He stood atop a pile of rubble.

A collapsed building, now reduced to gray ruins, lay beneath him.

The artificial sky felt just as pleasant as the real one.

“Because you rely too much on your vision, the system reproduced a building with a complex interior in your case. Being weak to ambushes is fatal for a swordsman, huh?”

Rokuhara said this, looking down at Touraku who lay sprawled on the rubble below.

Touraku’s body was covered in wounds, and he seemed barely able to breathe.

Perhaps it was his final bit of pride that he hadn’t let go of his sword.

But he couldn’t even stand.

“Don’t expect your opponent to fight in a way that suits the field, alright? There are guys like me who’ll blow through the entire floor in one strike.”

“R-Ridiculous…”

Touraku muttered in a dry voice.

At that moment, the scenery around them glitched with static, then transformed into a sterile room enclosed by white walls.

“Hm, it’s over. Two matches were enough to get a good grasp of you. Now the real deal begins.”

“…Yes.”

Leaving the collapsed Touraku where he was, Rokuhara headed toward a bench in the corner of the room.

“Uwaaah, I’m wiped out!”

Eina, who had been gripped in Rokuhara’s hand, returned to her girl form and dove onto the bench before anyone else.

She immediately started chugging apple juice.

“You’re not tired.”

“It’s mental exhaustion, okay? I mean, our opponent was Lutra. My mental stamina was getting crushed every second! I deserve tons of praise for this!”

She rubbed up against him as she spoke, but Rokuhara brushed her off with a sigh and sat down beside her.

He glanced toward Touraku while sipping a sports drink.

“For someone who supposedly went berserk, he sure calmed down quick. Eina, how’s his Demonsgear doing?”

“It’s doing just fine~. Actually, it’s in top form. Though, the connection with the contractor might be a bit weak right now. Otherwise, there’s no way I could beat Lutra.”

Eina said this as she popped open a second juice.

“When Yukihira asked me to help, I thought it’d be a bigger pain… but this is turning out to be kinda fun. At least better than that territory battle.”

Yukihira had asked Rokuhara to help turn Touraku into a full-fledged Demonsgear user.

Concerned for Touraku after his rampage, Yukihira made the arrangements.

Incidentally, the enormous sum of money exchanged between Yukihira and Rokuhara regarding this matter was known only to Rokuhara himself.

Not even Eina knew—she’d just ask for allowance if she did.

(Maybe his mental state stabilized because his comrades are nearby.)

Right before Rokuhara’s eyes, Rinka was helping Touraku sit up.

But one person was still missing.

The root of his rampage was a girl named Futaba Mihaya.

She had been attacked by an angel and was still bedridden.

(Yukihira said that incident was part of what triggered it. And then… yeah, Sorciera.)

He sighed, imagining the face of the absent girl.

Rokuhara didn’t know much about the girl named Sorciera. In fact, he didn’t care.

He just saw her as a convenient playmate.

But Touraku was different.

(His attachment is abnormal. Maybe they were childhood friends, or he had some hidden romance going on… Either way, this is the root of it.)

The first fight was with Rinka and Touraku together.

The second, Touraku fought alone.

Through these two differing conditions, Rokuhara had gained a rough understanding of who Touraku was.

Both his sense of justice, and the warped mindset at his core.

“Only being able to swing a sword for others… what a troublesome trait.”

“Huh, what’s that? Don’t say complicated stuff to me.”

He had only been thinking aloud, but there was no point in explaining.

Annoyed, he ruffled her hair and said:

“Dinner tonight’s conveyor belt sushi.”

“Yes! I love that kind of easy-to-understand talk! I mean, you really get it, Leader. You can get cake and ramen and all sorts of stuff there—it’s such a good deal!”

“I think so too.”

With that, Rokuhara stood.

Three minutes—his break was already over.

“Touraku, we’re going again. This time, fight a bit more selfishly.”

“…Y-Yes.”

“You sure? If you can’t stand yet, maybe rest a bit longer? No point pushing yourself.”

“…I-I’m fine. If I stop here, then that girl—”

“Alright, stop. Break’s extended, you idiot. Don’t use others as your excuse to push yourself.”

Saying so, Rokuhara sat down next to Touraku.

Touraku glanced at Rinka, then lay back down, arms and legs spread.

Rokuhara nodded as he watched.

“That’s right. If you hate it, take a break. Fight only when you want to.”

With that, he pulled out some student council paperwork to kill time.

Then Eina came bounding over, smartphone in hand, grinning.

He already knew nothing good ever came from this kind of entrance.

“Leader! I got a message from Ryuuko! Look at this sticker—she’s crying so much!”

“Huh? Why’d she message you? When did you even exchange contacts?”

“Well, we’re close, y’know? We’re allies in the ‘Monthly New Year’s Money from The Chairman’ alliance!”

“Do you even know what ‘New Year’s money’ means?”

Yeah, she was definitely getting a lecture later.

So was Ryuuko.

“So, what is it?”

“Seems like she’s in deep trouble on a mission and wants help. Pathetic, huh~?”

Eina smirked.

Before Rokuhara could respond, Touraku spoke up.

“That’s terrible! Rokuhara-san, forget about me and go help her!”

“No way.”

““Eh?””

Both Touraku and Rinka blinked in confusion at Rokuhara’s blunt reply.

There was no malice. He just genuinely declined.

“Helping Ryuuko is the biggest waste of time.”

“B-But she’s S-rank, right? If someone like that’s in trouble, the mission must be really serious…”

To that, Rokuhara waved his head.

“She’s always like this. If it were another S-rank crying to me, I’d go in a flash. Wouldn’t you wanna see Yukihira crying for help? Just imagine it. Worth the trip, right?”

“Ehh…”

“…Yeah, if I could see that, maybe.”

“Rinka?”

Having once belonged to Silver Twilight, Rinka had a fair bit of moral corruption by default.

“Ryuuko always relies on others. She’s lazy, and her values are just normal. If she sees a corpse, she can’t eat meat that day.”

“Exactly! That’s why during joint missions, we always have salad ready for her! Can you believe it? After a hellish job and a multi-billion reward, it’s salad. Total nonsense.”

“At least try to defend her, will you? What happened to the alliance?”

Seeing Eina piling on, Rokuhara looked at her a bit disturbed.

“Anyway, that’s why we almost never go to help her. Kirika’s too protective of her sister to let her go, and Tatari’s probably just eating right now.”

In short, Ryuuko had no charisma.

Or perhaps she lacked social capital.

An exemplary sample of the average person, she remained average no matter how far she climbed.

“I-I see…”

Touraku and Rinka looked unsure.

But Rokuhara continued, “But that’s not the whole story.”

He held up three fingers.

“Three times.”

“Huh?”

“She’s beaten me three times.”

Touraku couldn’t respond.

He’d just seen how strong Rokuhara was.

So it was hard to imagine Ryuuko defeating him three times.

“Though all of them were total cheats! I don’t even count those as real losses! Besides, we’ve beaten her way more times overall!”

“You two really have a pact or not?”

Rokuhara muttered, exasperated.

Then he looked at Touraku.

“I said a lot, but the real reason we don’t help her is that everyone knows she’s strong. In terms of sheer technique, she’s the best among the S-ranks.”

Only a fellow S-rank like Rokuhara, who had fought with and against her, could understand that.

“No matter how far she goes, she stays ordinary. She doesn’t want anyone getting hurt, doesn’t want casualties. She wants to earn money and be adored just enough. She’s been like that long before she became S-rank. That unwavering core… maybe that’s what you need to learn most right now.”

Surprisingly, there was a quiet trust in Rokuhara’s words toward Watarai Ryuuko.

■

Meanwhile, as Ryuuko basked in that trust…

“Ah, the gate’s already crawling with surveillance. I’m screwed.”

““What?””

“Ughhhh I hate this so much!!”

“Ryuuko, I desire something salty next.”

Surrounded by mysterious S-rank trust, she was squarely in the middle of a crisis.