Let's be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~

122 Part 1

Let’s be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~ 122

Let’s Run All The Way To Hakodate!

“Why didn’t you say anything back there, Kagemitsu!?”

After leaving the Headquarters of the Self-Defense Force, Van finally vented out.

He was physically bigger than Kagemitsu and tended to reveal his anger with his entire body. A member of the Self-Defense Forces who was waiting at the entrance of the Headquarters couldn’t help but get a bit flustered by his anger.

Kagemitsu turned at the man, and after saying “sorry” to him with a bitter smile, changed into a more serious expression.

“You can’t just yell like you did in a place like that.”

“But that guy doesn’t have the guts to solve the situation as soon as possible and save the people of this city! Even though he’s the head of the Self-Defense force, he’s putting his men’s lives before this whole thing!? Do you really think I would be okay leaving a scum like that alone?”

Van was one of Aerial’s founding members together with Kagemitsu, but his adventuring career had by no means been a smooth sailing.

Van, who survived the massive casualties of citizens during the First Stampede, had a strong spirit of self-denial common to many of the early adventurers.

He dived into the dungeons, defeated monsters, and devoted himself to becoming stronger.

The stronger he became, the more people he could save from the threat of monsters.

But he couldn’t get as strong as he wanted.

He eventually hit a wall and became angry at himself. With that anger as a fuel, he kept on challenging the dungeons, and in the wake of his reckless leveling, he almost died many times.

And still, he couldn’t become stronger.

It wasn’t until Aerial was created that he could stand out once again.

It had been two years since he first became an adventurer at that time. He was far behind other adventurers.

However, with his own spirit of self-denial as fuel, he had grown into an adventurer who could live up to being part of the top team in Hokkaido.

Van continued to hold on to that spirit of self-denial because he witnessed the tragedy of the First Stampede.

And he continued to work hard as an adventurer because he didn’t want anyone to be sacrificed anymore.

Van would never forgive Yoshioka for his remarks.

Kagemitsu, who could see Van’s efforts and suffering better than anyone, could truly understand how much his heart was boiling because of this.

Van, who usually didn’t speak much, kept on repeating his words of anger.

There was no way Kagemitsu would understand just how furious he was.

Still, Kagemitsu wanted to avoid having Van have such an outburst in a place like that.

“Hey Van. Did you manage to take a look around the conference room?”

“… No.”

“The other guys seemed apologetic, didn’t they?”

They weren’t trying to apologize about their boss’ behavior.

They seemed sorry that Yoshioka had rejected Team Aerial, who had come all the way to Hakodate in order to help them.

The Self-Defense Forces did give notorious importance to defeating monsters, but they were also engaged in various other tasks necessary for residents to live, such as dealing with landslides and flooding of rivers, and restoring destroyed infrastructure.

Despite this, the salary is low. It’s kind of like an honorary position.

If they wanted a better salary, they could go find some other job, and if they wanted to defeat monsters, they could become adventurers.

Absolutely no one who belonged to the Self-Defense Force would be there without having a deep love towards their city.

There would be no reason to choose to join the Self-Defense Force other than having an attachment to their city.

“I’m sure those over there other than Yoshioka would have wanted to rely on our power to defeat that monster as soon as possible. But what happens if we take on Yoshioka’s provocation and cause an uproar there?

I want to help, but my boss doesn’t allow me. And still, I’m getting yelled at… That’s how crushed the spirit of those other members of the Self-Defense Force is.”

“… Ah, right.”

When the boss makes a mistake, it is always a regular employee who gets the short end of the stick.

When Van was yelling at that time, his anger wouldn’t hit Yoshioka, but the other members in the room instead.

Or if Kagemitsu had been able to talk Yoshioka down, he would most certainly blame it on the other members later.

“… So what are we going to do?”

“We should try to get ready to move out as soon as possible, no matter what–”

Kagemitsu looked down at Hachimanzaka.

He squinted his gaze as if he was looking beyond the ocean.

“But for the time being, let’s just play nice until Air arrives.”

“…”

A slight wrinkle showed up between Van’s eyebrows when he heard the name “Air”.

After fighting the Lizardman that appeared on the 10th floor of Chikaho, Kagemitsu seemed to have become very concerned with the intermediate adventurer Air.

It was a fact that Air was powerful enough to take care of the Monster Parade that happened in Chikaho.

Van had no doubts about that.

Moreover, he even thought that thanks to Air’s intervention, they were able to survive the battle without losing any team members.

But Van also thought, is there something in Air that a person like Kagemitsu cares about?

It was jealousy.

Van wasn’t happy to know that Kagemitsu’s eyes were fixed on Air for any reason other than his deadly efforts and strength.

(What on earth is Kagemitsu expecting from Air?)

Van tilted his head as he saw the figure raising his hand behind Kagemitsu.

He admired Kagemitsu for his ability to easily throw his life away in order to help his friends.

He couldn’t forgive letting someone like him, who would risk his life coming to Hakodate, walk away unrewarded.

However, Van couldn’t imagine what kind of part an intermediate adventurer like Air would play in order to achieve that end.

Speaking of Kagemitsu, who was the root of Van’s worries, he seemed completely surprised to see the banner in front of him.

The banner had the sign “Hokkaido’s Onuma Quasi-National Park’s Milk Soft Cream”.