Lily's Observatory

Descending the stairs that lead into the underground levels of the Otsugi Trading HQ and proceeding further, we emerged into a space where a pure white corridor stretched onward. “From here on, this is the area designed for combat within the underground levels of the Otsugi Building.” As I said this, Vladgaria looked around with interest and spoke admiringly. “So this is it? White and beautiful, yet made of a material I have never seen.” “Yes. This is a new ceramic material developed by Otsugi Trading.” “ Ce-ram-ics , was it? I do not understand what that is, but it is something you created, yes?” “That’s right.” I nodded and continued my explanation. “The ceramics used here have the effect of dispersing and permeating magic particles. Put simply, they nullify magic.” “Oh? Nullification, you say?” “Yes. There is a capacity limit, so it isn’t infinite, but we have ensured enough capacity that even my full-power attacks would be harmless in the checkpoint areas ahead.” Because this mater...

The first to attack was not the large man I had briefly fought earlier, but a slender man with a longsword hanging at his waist. He drew the longsword and swiftly closed the distance, swinging it down in a sharp diagonal slash. I caught the blade with《 Balmung 》, and at that moment the large man closed in from the side. I tried to deal with the large man’s attack, but the slender man poured strength into his longsword and pressed in. However, my Strength stat was higher, and he couldn’t overpower me completely. Instead, I pushed back from my side. When the slender man braced himself and we entered a momentary stalemate, I suddenly relaxed my strength, forcing him into a forward-leaning posture, and slammed a kick into his unguarded flank, sending him flying. I immediately turned my gaze back to the large man and met his thrusting fist with《 Balmung 》. But the large man quickly pulled his fist back, rotated his body, and tried to smash the back of his fist into my right cheek. However,...

“We, Otsugi Trading, are prepared to receive you. However, let us proceed without killing.” “Why is that?” “What matters is victory or defeat, and forcing the opponent to submit. Neither of us is here with the primary goal of killing the other, are we? If so, once the outcome is decided, there should be no need to fight to the death.” “But if we do not kill you, there is a chance you may refuse to comply, is there not?” “Yes. That is precisely why we establish rules for the game.” I then explained the details of the rules I had already devised. “Within this Otsugi Building, at the deepest underground level, there is our most important server, a facility that could be called the very heart of Otsugi Trading.” “And you reveal this so openly?” “It is no problem. We invite you to advance through the underground levels of the Otsugi Building and aim for that server room.” “You mean to hand it over yourselves?” “No. That is not the end of it.” From here onward lay the true core of this propo...

A large man, apparently one of the hunters belonging to〈 Kowloon 〉, closed the distance in an instant while caving in the ground beneath his feet, swinging his fist straight at my face. I could easily keep up with his movements, so I placed my hand against the side of his massive fist and deflected its trajectory. Lightly hopping in place, I then unleashed a roundhouse kick aimed at his face. “Guh…!” The man hastily blocked his face with his left arm and slid backward, carving two long lines into the ground. “Guildmaster, please move over to where Kikuchi-san and the recovery team are. If you stay here, you’ll just be in the way.” “Ah, got it.” After seeing the guild master off, I shifted my gaze back to the man approaching me, lightly rolling the left arm that had taken my kick. “Khahahaha! Never thought I’d be sent flying by a kick.” “How arrogant.” “No, that’s not it. In my country, there are guys who can fight me evenly, and others I don’t even come close to. I know there’s always ...

“Since thou hast given thy name, it is only proper that we return the courtesy, is it not?” Saying this, the young girl known as the Demon King introduced herself in return. “I am the sovereign of the Seven Provinces of the Demon King Realm, the reigning Demon King of this age; The peerless being under heaven and earth! I am Vladgaria von Eldrant!” At the same time as her declaration, the Demon King, Vladgaria, released the magical power she had been concealing. The sheer volume of mana was greater than that of anyone I had encountered before… truly befitting of a Demon King. “Now then, you all as well. Give your names.” Prompted by the Demon King, the angelic beauty stepped forward and introduced herself. “I am Satira, aide and close attendant to the Demon King. I also serve as the representative of the Angel Tribe, and those standing behind me are the personal guard I gathered through that connection.” As she spoke, the beautiful woman Satira also explained the dozen or so individual...

The Guildmaster, who had come rushing to us in a flurry after we finished investigating the base, spoke while gasping for breath. “The Hunter Guild has been attacked by an unidentified group!” An attack on the Hunter Guild was unprecedented, and suspecting it might be connected to the recent riot, we immediately hurried to the scene. When we arrived without much delay, we saw a group clad in what looked like uniform military attire, each gripping their own weapon, standing neatly lined up in front of the Hunter Guild. Then, a large man who had been sitting cross-legged in front of the Hunter Guild’s entrance noticed us. He lightly leapt over the heads of his group and, after putting a bit of distance between us, opened his mouth. “Yo, I recognize that geezer face. If I remember right… you’re the Guildmaster of Japan's Hunter Guild — Tadāki Ogawa, yeah?” “Yeah, that’s right. What is your name?” “Hahaha! Don’t you recognize these uniforms?” The Guildmaster let his gaze travel from to...

The Otsugi Trading Headquarters, Defense Operations Building. The moment I entered the room, where alarms were blaring nonstop, I immediately began assessing the situation. “What happened?” “An unknown, enormous magical energy signature has been detected!” The one reporting was an employee working in the defense division of Otsugi Trading. They were operating countless magic-powered computers equipped with touch-panel controls, desperately trying to grasp the situation. “The scale is S-rank or higher in both mana pressure and mana density! This is an unprecedented level of detection!” “I see. In that case, it’s probably—” “Director!” Just as I was about to voice my conclusion, another employee rushed in with a report. “The magical signature is moving at extremely high speed! Trajectory prediction shows a seventy percent or higher probability of convergence on Otsugi Trading Headquarters!” “Then it’s all but confirmed.” At last, I spoke the decisive words out loud. “It seems they’ve fin...

When everyone assembled in front of the building used as the base of operations for「 Grimm Reaper 」, the members of each clan surrounded it from all sides, cutting off any possible escape routes. Then, only the S-rank hunters and the hunters ranked near the top of their respective clans would charge straight in from the front. However, as they had already known from various detection skills even before the assault, there was no one inside the building. Even so, since there was a chance of the unexpected, they split the assault force into several teams and decided to search every corner of the building. After finishing the search in about one to two hours, we gathered once again in the lobby. “Then, let’s report in order, starting with Team One. We were unable to find the four executives or the clan master. Likewise, we found no clues related to the activities of「 Grimm Reaper 」.” “Same for Team Two.” “Team Three is the same as well.” “Team Four, also found nothing.” “As expected, it se...

With Otsugi Trading Company expanding across a wide range of businesses, its growth accelerated at a remarkable pace. Not only did its financial strength increase, but its technological capabilities advanced dramatically as well. By making full use of abundant funds, resources, and personnel, development of the Magi-Computer, which was our original goal, continued steadily. And then, roughly three years after the founding of Otsugi Trading Company. At last, a practical Magi-Computer was completed. Furthermore, we succeeded in networking these Magi-Computers together. By constructing towers that emitted magical wave signals rather than radio waves, and turning them into base stations, communication became possible with virtually any location across the entirety of the Runegard Kingdom. As a result, all subsidiaries and stores of Otsugi Trading Company became connected through the Magic Network. Thanks to this, we were able to change how we issued instructions to each region. Until then,...

After checking out of the hotel, I boarded the dedicated helicopter and headed for the Hunter Guild headquarters. Once I arrived, I was guided straight to the Guildmaster’s office. When I entered at his gesture, there were three men and women there besides the Guildmaster. Two of them were familiar. One was Karen Miura, the Clanmaster of「 Ifrit Legion 」, known as the  Hellblaze Empress . Another was Honoka Kikuchi, the Clanmaster of「 Valkyries of Restoration 」, known as the Sacred Matriarch . And the last person was — “Hey, nice to meet you. I’m Tensei Suzuki, the Clanmaster of「 King of Swords 」. Pleasure to meet you.” I shook the hand he extended with a refreshing smile. I see. This is Tensei Suzuki, Japan’s first S-rank hunter, also known as the  Fatal Blade . “Nice to meet you. My name is Yuito Matsubara. It’s a pleasure.” “I’ve been watching your exploits with great interest. The birth of a powerful hunter capable of solo-clearing S-rank dungeons is wonderful news for the ...

The following day, Suzuno departed for Waynesvale. She wouldn’t be using a shared carriage, but instead would be riding along in one of Otsugi Transport’s delivery vehicles. Given her current state, Suzuno’s appearance was quite shabby. If she boarded a shared carriage like that, there was a real chance she’d get caught up in some kind of trouble. Until she was able to find work again in Waynesvale, I intended to make sure she was properly looked after. After that, I told Arisa everything that had happened. Since Suzuno had once been her friend, it must have been on her mind. When she learned that things had been resolved without incident, she looked relieved. “Looks like Misa really can start over. That’s good.” “Were you worried about your friend after all?” “Yeah… well, that’s part of it.” Arisa spoke with a complicated expression. “I kept thinking… maybe I could’ve ended up like Misa too.” “You, Arisa?” “Yeah. If you hadn’t been there for me. If you hadn’t helped me back then… I co...

After dealing with「 Grimm Reaper 」that had been inciting riots in Nagano, Kyoto, and Hiroshima, I headed to a luxury hotel in Hiroshima that the Hunter Guild had arranged for me. A hotel staff member guided me to my room, and I took loungewear and a bath towel before heading to the baths. Since I clear dungeons almost every day, my body wasn’t tired at all, but the hectic travel had left me mentally exhausted. After quickly washing my hair and body, I sank into the warm water up to my shoulders. It felt so good that a satisfying-yet-tired sigh leaked out of me without thinking. Once I’d eased some of the fatigue, I went back and forth between the sauna and the cold bath several times, letting myself fully reset. After washing away sweat and exhaustion in the baths, I enjoyed a buffet-style dinner. Katsudon, ramen, assorted sashimi, steak; I piled on all my favorites until I couldn’t anymore, then returned to my room rubbing my stomach. Feeling stuffed and uncomfortable, I lay down on t...

After exiting the dungeon, I called out to a nearby guild staff member and quickly moved to another spot. There, I lined up the bodies of members of「 Grimm Reaper 」members and the victimized party, then handed over the personal effects to the staff. “I’m heading to the next location, so please take care of the cleanup.” “Hunter Matsubara, thank you for your assistance!” “Then, excuse me.” As I was about to board the dedicated helicopter, leaving the cleanup to the guild staff, I spotted Hunter Matsumoto among the group of hunters forming the perimeter. When I waved, Hunter Matsumoto waved back. Previously, he had said he’d introduce me to even more perverted establishments next time we parted, so I decided I’d definitely contact him once I had some free time, and boarded the helicopter. Taking off, with many hunters and guild staff seeing us off, we headed for the A-rank dungeon in Hiroshima. On the way, the guild staff member piloting the helicopter thoughtfully asked— “Would you lik...

After landing by dedicated helicopter in front of the A-rank dungeon in Kyoto, I asked a nearby guild staff member about the current situation, then headed toward the dungeon entrance. Since this was a dungeon I had already cleared once before, I advanced with a light, unburdened stride. Then, from afar, I faintly heard something like the clashing of metal, and immediately broke into a full sprint. However, while I was running, the metallic sounds died down, and by the time I reached the scene, the party had already been completely wiped out. “Wh-!? The S-rank hunter! Everyone, take formation!” One of them, who had been watching their surroundings in case of reinforcements thanks to their numerical advantage, noticed me and shouted to his companions, who had relaxed after the battle, forcing them into a combat stance. I also took《 Death Venom Fangs of the Centipede King 》from《 Magic Pouch 》and assumed a fighting stance. Seeing this, one man stepped forward from the group and spoke. “We...

“So, is it really… no good?” Suzuno’s face fell. I continued to speak to her, mercilessly. “It seems you’re misunderstanding something, so let me correct you. I have never once felt that your past actions were unforgivable.” At those words, Suzuno looked at me with an expression tinged with hope. “To begin with, a business owner does not hire or fire employees based on personal emotions. … Even if I personally despised you from the bottom of my heart, if you wished to be employed and met the requirements, I would have no choice but to hire you.” “Then-!?” “However, that only applies if you possess sufficient ability as an employee.” The abrupt reversal made Suzuno’s expression freeze. “We don’t just hire anyone. If we’re going to employ someone, it’s better that they’re even slightly capable. In your case, there is already a clear result: you were unable to perform your job properly. … Because of that, it’s safe to say there is no possibility of hiring you.” “Then I’ll work hard! I’ll ...