Evil Avalon
As soon as we passed through the large, majestic main gate that the Adventurer Academy prided itself on, a bustling commercial district filled with crowds of people came into view.
Lining the main street were multi-tenant buildings housing chain restaurants, large equipment stores catering to adventurers, bookstores, and more. Step into one of the side alleys, and you'd find taverns and small independent shops.
My home was one of those stores tucked away down an alley.
Crossing his arms as he stood in front of it, Mamiya read aloud the large yellow sign hanging overhead.
"Let's see... 'Narumi General Goods Shop,' huh? So this is your family's store."
"...Looks like you have quite a few customers today as well."
"That's an impressive selection. You even stock weapons and armor?"
The Narumi family had converted the first floor of our residence into a retail store that sold equipment for beginner adventurers.
Through the open entrance, several customers who looked like adventurers could be seen carefully examining the merchandise. Kaworu discreetly peeked inside, checking on the situation.
Back in the day, there were plenty of hours when not a single customer would come by, even during business hours.
But that was a thing of the past.
Thanks to the extensive inventory that now impressed even Tachiki-kun, the number of customers had steadily increased, just as anyone could see.
Incidentally, our current best-selling products were weapons and armor impressive enough to earn praise even from high-level adventurers.
The reason Kaworu kept peeking inside with such concern was because she was worried about how well those items were selling.
Why?
"Those weapons were made by Kaworu's father. They sell really well."
"Yes, they've been a huge help to our family too."
Across the road from our house stood another ordinary residence.
A small sign reading "Hayase Hardware Workshop" hung outside.
That was Kaworu's home.
There was no storefront, only a workshop, as they operated entirely on a made-to-order basis.
The weapons and armor displayed in our store had all been crafted by Kaworu's father.
They sold well and carried high profit margins, contributing significantly to the Hayase family's income.
I'd also heard that just last month they had introduced new metalworking machinery, allowing them to produce a wider variety of equipment.
Since I thought it would be a good opportunity to upgrade Kaworu and the others' gear for the Curse Removal Quest, I had splurged and supplied them with high-quality materials at an absurdly discounted price.
Meanwhile, inside the store, Mamiya was staring intently at the merchandise displayed in a glass case.
Wondering if something had caught his eye, I looked over as well.
"This dagger says it's made from a mithril alloy, but the purity seems extremely high. At this price, isn't it a bargain?"
"Oh my? Oh my, are you one of Souta's friends? I'll give you a special discount~. Hehe."
The blade gleamed with a white luster, indicating that it contained a very high percentage of mithril.
When Mamiya asked if he could take a closer look, my mother, who was minding the store, took the dagger out of the display case and handed it to him.
The dagger was a bargain...
Though "bargain" still meant it cost nearly 400,000 yen, far beyond what a beginner adventurer could normally afford.
Still, as Mamiya had pointed out, the mithril content was exceptionally high.
At another store, it could easily have sold for twice the price.
Impressed that he had recognized that at a glance, my mother casually patted him on the shoulder and struck up a conversation.
At the moment, Mamiya had removed the badge identifying him as a noble because, as he put it, he wanted to "meet people on equal footing."
As a result, my mother completely believed he was just another commoner.
Behind him, Kaworu and Tachiki-kun watched nervously, but Mamiya seemed entirely unconcerned and continued chatting cheerfully with my mother.
He seemed fine, so there was no reason to interfere.
Originally, we'd intended to head straight to Kaworu's house without stopping by our store.
However, Mamiya had insisted on looking through the merchandise, leaving me with nothing to do.
Since we were already here, I figured it would be a good opportunity to introduce the store to the other two and reached for one of our novelty items.
Before I could, Tachiki-kun pointed toward the back of the store.
"What's that?"
There stood a massive suit of armor, reflecting the store's lighting with a dull metallic sheen.
"Did Kaworu's father make that too?"
"He did. It's the most expensive item in our store."
"It looks incredibly heavy, but it's surprisingly light."
That armor was the mascot attraction of Narumi General Goods Shop:
A full suit of mithril-alloy plate mail.
It had been strategically positioned so that anyone peeking into the store would immediately notice it.
Judging by Tachiki-kun's reaction, the placement had worked perfectly.
That armor had also been crafted by Kaworu's father.
Mithril alloy was an extremely hard metal.
However, because it required a high concentration of silver—a dense metal—it was many times heavier and more expensive than iron.
If someone attempted to make an entire suit of armor from standard mithril alloy, it would weigh over one hundred kilograms and cost as much as a luxury car.
For that reason, people purchasing mithril-alloy armor generally opted for lightweight designs that protected only vital areas rather than full plate mail.
However, the mithril-alloy equipment sold in our store contained far higher percentages of mithril than ordinary market products.
As a result, they were significantly harder and more durable.
Because of that enhanced durability, the armor plates could be made thinner without sacrificing protection.
Even a full suit could be kept to around thirty kilograms.
Any adventurer above Level 10 should have no trouble using that plate mail effectively.
Of course, mithril was expensive.
The higher the purity, the higher the price.
The Narumi family could obtain large quantities of mithril alloy for free, so procurement costs weren't an issue.
Still, if we sold it too cheaply, competing stores would inevitably complain.
So we had to maintain prices at a certain level.
That's just how business worked.
More importantly, today we were here to inspect something else.
A prototype suit of armor.
The material I'd supplied wasn't ordinary mithril alloy.
It was such a high-purity alloy that it could practically be called pure mithril.
The purer the mithril, the harder and lighter it became.
Even Akagi-kun and the others, who were still in the single-digit levels, should be able to use it safely.
I was eager to see what kind of equipment had been produced.
As I looked at the armor with anticipation, Tachiki-kun quietly spoke.
"(By the way, Narumi. What's your relationship with Lord Mamiya?)"
"(...My younger sister and his younger sister are friends. That's how we got acquainted.)"
"(His younger sister... You mean the top-ranked middle school student we met in the dungeon the other day, right?)"
Mamiya Chizuru.
Nicknamed "Chi-chan."
A third-year student at Adventurer Middle School and the same age as Kano.
Apparently the two had been keeping in contact without my knowledge, and today they had gone out together somewhere.
Most likely they were exploring a dungeon.
Until now, Kano had only entered dungeons with Satsuki and the others or with family members.
Spending time with someone her own age might prove to be a valuable experience.
However, stories of commoners being ruined after offending nobles were everywhere these days.
The Mamiya siblings were undeniably nobles themselves.
Kaworu once again reminded us that we needed to be extremely careful not to offend them.
Apparently my casual attitude toward Mamiya worried her.
To be fair, she had a point.
His younger sister was surprisingly friendly, so a little rudeness probably wouldn't cause trouble.
But I still hadn't figured out what kind of person Mamiya himself really was.
At the very least, until I understood him better, it would be wise to proceed cautiously.
As the three commoners—
Well, Tachiki-kun was technically part of the warrior class—
huddled together discussing various precautions, Mamiya casually walked up to the register and purchased the dagger.
Immediately afterward, he struck a dramatic pose and demonstrated a cutting motion with it.
My mother enthusiastically applauded.
"(What do you think?)"
"..."
Tachiki-kun was clearly asking about Mamiya's true ability.
Kaworu chose to remain silent.
Given Mamiya's awkward posture and mismatched movements, anyone watching would naturally assume he was an inexperienced beginner with no martial training.
However, during the clan party in Tokyo, he had picked up a random heavy weapon lying around and skillfully evaded the magic and martial arts attacks of Yukikage Sanada, Colors Number Two.
His performance had been remarkable.
Having witnessed that firsthand, I couldn't help but feel that his current clumsy behavior was merely an act.
I hid my own abilities as well.
Partly because I didn't want to attract trouble by standing out.
Partly because deceiving other players was strategically important.
There were almost no downsides.
If people underestimated me, the worst that happened was being ignored or looked down upon.
For a noble like Mamiya, however, being underestimated could affect not only his own reputation but also the prestige of his family and relatives.
Did he have some reason for doing it?
Well, regardless, I sensed neither hostility nor condescension from him.
There was no need to pry.
Humming cheerfully, Mamiya led the way as we crossed the road toward the house opposite ours.
Though it had been built around the middle of the Showa era and clearly showed its age, the surrounding pathways and garden plants were meticulously maintained, giving it a clean and welcoming atmosphere.
As soon as we arrived, Kaworu slid open the front door.
"It's a small house, but please come in."
She stepped inside first.
"I'm home, Father... Oh, Uncle, you're here too."
"Welcome back, Kaworu. And welcome, Souta-kun and your friends."
Inside the entrance stood a man in his fifties wearing a leather apron.
He greeted us with a warm smile.
This was Kaworu's father, Tatsu Hayase.
His facial features vaguely resembled his daughter's, though the expression he directed at me was the complete opposite of hers—gentle and friendly.
Further inside, a tatami room was visible.
My father sat there with a grin, pointing his thumb toward the back.
There, resting on an armor stand, stood a suit of silver-white armor.
That was the prototype we had come to inspect.
Before Kaworu could finish laying out slippers and inviting us inside, Mamiya had already rushed ahead.
"This has an incredibly high concentration as well... No, it's so pure that it might as well be pure mithril! The purity is absolutely outstanding!"
"You can tell? You've got a good eye, young man."
Armor designed with mobility as the top priority, made by stitching together countless thin metal scales.
Just like with the dagger, Mamiya seemed able to determine the mithril content simply by looking at it. As he ran his hands over the armor, his eyes sparkled with excitement.
My father, like my mother, was getting far too friendly with Mamiya...
Well, whatever.
Tachiki-kun's curiosity got the better of him as well, and he stepped into the room to inspect it more closely.
Each scale was less than a millimeter thick.
Even so, with this alloy, it should provide more than enough protection.
I pinched one of the scales between my fingers to test it and immediately felt its considerable weight.
Mamiya also tried lifting the entire suit to gauge its heft, but he staggered under the weight, prompting Tatsu-san to hurriedly support it.
That was just how absurdly heavy mithril alloy was.
However, mithril also possessed a unique property:
Inside a magic field saturated with mana, it became lighter.
And as it happened, there was a way to demonstrate that here.
"You can use this. Like this—"
Tatsu-san pulled a pale-colored magic stone from his pocket and wrapped it in a piece of paper covered with magical patterns.
The moment he did so, the mithril-alloy armor Mamiya was holding visibly changed.
It suddenly became easy enough to lift with one hand.
The magic circle inscribed on the paper released the mana stored within the magic stone, creating a small-scale magic field with a radius of several meters.
"Blacksmiths like me use magic stones like this whenever we work with mithril."
"But using them without a license is illegal... so be careful."
When handling mithril, blacksmiths either needed a workshop inside a permanent magic field, such as those surrounding Adventurer Guild buildings, or they had to create temporary fields like this.
Otherwise, the metal's properties differed so drastically from how it behaved inside a dungeon that proper processing became impossible.
However, even small-scale magic fields carried the risk of being used for terrorism, so the government strictly regulated them.
Kaworu added that even using one for blacksmithing required a national certification.
That said, major raid clans and powerful noble families routinely generated magic fields in the middle of cities and fought battles without consequence.
In practice, the authorities weren't really able to control it.
Mamiya lifted the light armor and weighed it using a nearby scale.
Moments ago it had been so heavy that he struggled to move it.
Inside the magic field, however, it weighed less than ten kilograms.
Even the stiff joints at the shoulders now bent smoothly.
It had clearly been designed specifically for dungeon use.
Everyone was admiring its lightness and intricate craftsmanship when Mamiya suddenly looked at it with longing.
"I want to try wearing it."
Did the concept of restraint simply not exist in his brain?
"I've always thought armor wasn't worth wearing because it's restrictive, but if it moves this well, I'd consider it acceptable."
"Most armor is heavy and limits your movement. By the way, where do you usually hunt?"
Mamiya hated anything that impeded his movements, which was why he normally fought in casual clothes.
Apparently armor this light and flexible was an exception.
He then asked how much it cost and where the price tag was.
Unfortunately, the armor had been custom-tuned for when Kaworu reached Level 10 and above.
Even though it was lightweight, it was still too heavy for lower-level adventurers.
Furthermore, if someone intended to fight as a rear-line combatant, they should minimize the amount of metal used to improve mana conductivity.
The design also needed to be adjusted according to one's class and combat style.
Naturally, that all required a significant investment.
If Mamiya truly wanted one made, Tatsu-san politely offered to design the ideal armor after learning more about his circumstances.
Mamiya's response, however, was absurd.
"Well, the thing is... I've never entered a dungeon even once, so I wouldn't know anything about hunting grounds."
"Huh? But you're wearing an Adventurer School uniform..."
"T-That's true, but Lord Mamiya has his reasons..."
My father and Tatsu-san both tilted their heads in confusion.
Here was a boy wearing an Adventurer School uniform while casually claiming he'd never entered a dungeon.
Tachiki-kun attempted to smooth things over and keep the details vague.
Mamiya, however, cheerfully revealed everything.
After enrolling in Adventurer Middle School, he found that none of the students could stand alongside him as equals, making school unbearably boring.
Since he saw no room for further growth there and was eventually expected to inherit his family's estate, he'd decided to attend a local high school instead.
However, he had recently changed his mind and returned to Adventurer School as a transfer student—starting today.
As for why he had never entered a dungeon even once...
"I don't like crowds."
He said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Were you some kind of free spirit?
If that were true, however, it raised a huge question.
Adventurer Schools regularly held practical exams and competitions inside dungeons.
What had he done during all of those?
When asked if he'd skipped every single one, he nodded without hesitation.
Well, that would certainly explain it.
Under normal circumstances, that should have gotten him thrown straight into Class E.
The second mystery was even more troubling.
If he'd never entered a dungeon, he couldn't have leveled up by fighting monsters.
Then what exactly had that overwhelming strength in Tokyo been?
Only one frightening possibility came to mind.
(Did he really raise his level... entirely through PvP...?)
There were methods similar to Tsukishima's, where powerful summoned creatures entered dungeons and hunted independently.
In that case, the summoner wouldn't need to enter personally.
However, high-level summons were a privilege exclusive to players, so that couldn't explain Mamiya.
Another possibility was constant combat within magic fields.
But even then, reaching his apparent level would be impossible through ordinary sparring.
He would have needed countless life-and-death battles.
Since Mamiya appeared connected to the secret organization Oboro, perhaps he had survived exactly that kind of brutal environment.
At that moment, however, his noble status finally became known.
My father and Tatsu-san immediately lowered their heads and entered full apology mode, begging forgiveness for any disrespect they might have shown.
To anyone who only knew Mamiya on the surface, he looked like an oblivious rich noble brat.
But from what I'd seen, he wasn't the kind of narrow-minded man who became angry over casual conversation.
If he were, we'd have ended up fighting on that rooftop the other night.
"Thank you very much!"
"Thank you for your patronage!"
Mamiya left the Hayase Workshop positively beaming after placing an order for an even more stylish suit of armor with a higher mithril content.
Tatsu-san, Kaworu, my father, and Tachiki-kun stood in a neat row, bowing deeply as they saw him off.
The quoted price for the armor was equivalent to several luxury cars.
Though nowhere near Tenma-san or Kirara-chan's level, the fact that he casually paid the entire amount with a black card once again highlighted the difference between nobles and ordinary people.
Then again, the armor would be made from almost pure mithril.
In that sense, the price was actually a bargain.
Given that Mamiya could judge material quality at a glance, perhaps he viewed it as an investment.
"And you see, Chizuru said your little sister is her rival. Despite appearances, she's quite talented. Takes after me, really."
"...I see."
Escorting him back to school had somehow become my responsibility.
Mamiya had specifically requested it, saying he wanted to talk.
He seemed unusually talkative today.
And the topic, unsurprisingly, was Chi-chan.
Apparently Kano had inspired her tremendously.
For the first time in a long while, she'd become motivated to gain levels in a dungeon.
Until now, she'd never had a rival capable of competing with her, leaving her without any real reason to push herself.
Mamiya had worried she might end up following the same path he had.
(What was Chi-chan like in DunEx...?)
Cool-headed.
Gifted with extraordinary magical talent.
That was Mamiya Chizuru in DunEx.
Her middle school grades had left every other student far behind.
She later entered high school as the top-ranked student.
Some time afterward, she met Akagi-kun and joined the protagonist's party.
Not because she had been inspired.
Rather, she had been drawn to Akagi-kun's selfless and noble character.
At least, that was how things had gone in DunEx.
My sister certainly didn't possess anything quite that lofty.
If she had a special talent, it was her ability to absorb knowledge like a sponge and make it her own.
I occasionally trained her.
Techniques and instincts that had taken me tens of thousands of hours in DunEx to develop...
Kano was mastering them at a terrifying pace.
I'd always been proud of my swordsmanship, believing my countless experiences had earned it.
Lately, though, I'd begun wondering if I might simply have been ordinary all along.
As Mamiya confidently claimed, Chi-chan was unquestionably a genius.
Kano was too.
Perhaps that was precisely why they could inspire one another.
Recently, however, the two girls had been sneaking around together, working on something in secret.
I had wanted to ask if he knew anything about it.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't stop talking.
"You know, I've always dismissed Adventurer School as boring, but watching my sister has made me reconsider. If I had a rival too, maybe school life would become a little more enjoyable—"
By the way, how far exactly was I supposed to escort him?
Looking around, I realized we'd already passed through the school gate and were well inside the campus.
The sun had completely set.
Darkness blanketed the grounds.
Only the occasional streetlamp illuminated the path.
At this hour, even the students involved in club activities had already gone home.
The only sounds were the chirping of insects nearby and the distant hum of passing cars.
Leaving him here seemed awkward, so I turned around to ask—
Only to discover that Mamiya had somehow lowered his stance and drawn the dagger he'd bought from our store.
Before I could even ask what he was doing, he quietly wrapped himself in mana and spoke in a much lower voice than usual.
"That's why I wanted to see whether you're truly worthy of being called a rival... How will you resist within the gap between darkness? 《Endless Prison》."
The moment he uttered the skill's name, an enormous torrent of black mana erupted around him.
The already dim surroundings were swallowed by even deeper darkness.
It appeared to be a powerful technique that froze time within a certain area.
Every sound that had existed moments before vanished completely.
At the center of that silent world stood Mamiya, raising a dagger that reflected the faintest trace of light.
Without warning, the sharp blade lunged straight toward my throat.
With no idea what had just happened, I let out a sigh, pinched the tip of the blade between my fingers—
And then knocked it aside.
Comments
Post a Comment