Chapter 123: 123

Today’s bento was also delicious.

Thinking of Shouhei’s face as he woke up early in the morning to make my lunch, I tidied up my finished lunch box and wrapped it up.

“You’re already finished eating?”

“Hmm?”

I heard a high pitch voice from behind the bench.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Makio.

There was a plastic bag of stuff he bought hanging in his right hand and was holding a pack of juice from a vending machine.

“I’m not sure how long it was going to take you to go buy lunch. It’s so late, so I ate first.”

“Sorry, sorry. I wanted to take the opportunity to show someone around while I was at it.”

Ah, I see.

Makio sat on a bench and took out a piece of fried chocolate bread from the bag.

Ah, that’s the popular sweet bread from the store. I’ve always wanted to try it, it’s a deep-fried bread dusted with sugar and filled with chocolate cream.

But I had to endure. We don’t have enough money in our budget for snacks.

I have to find a part-time job soon.

“So, where did the guy you were showing around go?”

I looked around and didn’t see the person in question.

“Un, he went back to the classroom to get his wallet he forgot.”

And then there’s the other thing.

“That reminds me, Hina-chan is also coming on Saturday, right?”

“Of course! How could she refuse? She’s a fan of the Kazmachi brothers.”

Huh?

When did Shouhei and I debut as an idol group?

“That’s good to hear. I heard that elementary school starts tomorrow. Is Hina-chan alright?”

The Makio’s younger sister who gives off a mature impression, Kusaka Hina-chan.

She also suffered a scare in the “Tusk Crag Dungeon Expansion Incident”.

She was normal in the shelter, but I was still worried about her.

“She’s timid like me, but to the core, she’s stronger than I am. She’s okay.”

“We each have an outstanding younger brother or sister, and we don’t stand a chance.”

Shouhei is so capable that sometimes I feel that I’m the younger brother.

“Also, I saw you talking with Rina-chan about something earlier.”

“I was apologizing.”

“A-aah.”

I’ve done a horrible thing to Rina Melle, a short-haired calico cat girl who is Makio’s childhood friend and our class president.

At the time of the incident, I broke through in a violent manner without listening to her.

It must have been very frightening for her.

She was the victim of my recklessness.

I was prepared to get down on my knees for the worst.

“I don’t know if she really forgave me. Maybe she’s just scared of me.”

“Rina-chan is so nice, she’ll forgive you.”

“It would be nice if that were the case, but…”

It’s hard, isn’t it?

I suddenly looked at Makio.

The blond-haired Yankee of old is no more.

His dyed gold hair was shaved, his school uniform was still a bit baggy but normal.

He dyed it all the way to the root, so this was faster than dyeing it back to its original color.

Maki-chan, the mascot of our school year, came back to school without calling me “Aniki” or acting tough.

But just because Makio returned to his original state does not mean that people’s attitude towards me has changed.

It’s just that, thanks to the incident with Melle, the label of ‘a jerk who raises his hands to girls when he loses his temper’ has been added.

Haha!

It was a big hit.

It’s not true!

I’ve never hit a girl in my life!

Even with Melle, I kicked the door of the classroom, but I never meant to hit her!

My notoriety is going to increase even more!

Somebody help me!

Help!

And, well.

I’m still pretty depressed about this, in case you’re wondering.

The saving grace was a couple of freshman girls who came to class before lunch.

A dog girl and a human girl came up to me in the hallway, frightened when they saw me.

“U-um, thank you for helping my younger brothers!”

“I’m sorry for being late to say thank you for saving my sister, too!”

I thought I had seen them somewhere before, but it was at the shelter.

I remember that they were among the guardians of the children that Hina-chan was protecting.

I didn’t recognize them right away since the family seemed to have been evacuated to another shelter.

After saying that, the girls shoved the bag of cookies at me and escaped.

Aah, it’s nice to be appreciated by people.

I don’t know why Makio was happier than I was, but it certainly lightened my depression.

So the school is a little noisy for the first time in a month.

It’s partly because we haven’t seen each other in a long time, but as expected, it’s all about Tusk Crag and the Western Japan Treasure Hunter Association.

I found out about the details after I got home, but it seems that that case started with the directions of a plump old man called Bemon Daimon, the head of the association, and it came to light because of a whistle blower.

That organization is in some kind of trouble.

At the time of the incident, the scene was in a lot of turmoil, and it seems that the internal turmoil of the association was even greater than that, and the commotion has not been settled even now.

The president of the association, Bemon, naturally resigned from his post as president, and not only that, he was also arrested.

The reconstruction of this town isn’t all over, and there’s also the matter of the dungeon inside Tusk Crag that has expanded.

Apparently, that dungeon is much larger than it used to be, and the dungeon area is now in the forest behind our house, about 300 meters from our house.

Monsters can’t live outside the dungeon area, so our house is safe, but if they wander in by mistake, we are in trouble.

The treasure hunters worked hurriedly to measure the dungeon area and set up the fence.

Thank you so much for your hard work.

“Sorry, made you wait.”

Oh, just as I was thinking about that, here comes the Treasure Hunter.

“Makio, here’s the money you paid for me. Thanks.”

“Haha, you could have paid me back any time.”

“That’s not going to happen. My motto is pay while you can.”

A golden furball handed Makio, who was sitting on a bench, some change.

That’s right, the appearance of the Lion tribe’s Gasaraio Riot.

“Buh!”

“Whoa! Disgusting!”

I accidentally spat at the sight of him.

Oh no. This is the perfect picture.

I thought I’d laughed enough first thing in the morning, but I guess I still hadn’t gotten enough.

“Buhahahahahahahahaha! What’s with your appearance!”

“God damn it! Didn’t I tell you this morning! It was too sudden, so it was only available in this size!”

It’s no good. My stomach hurts! My side hurts from laughing too much!

“K-Kunepi-kun. You shouldn’t laugh like that.”

Makio shook my shoulder with a troubled face.

“No, no, sorry Gasara, really sorry, but… Buh! Fufu!”

“Y-you bastard!”

Gasara glared at me, his temples twitching.

Today morning.

There was a school assembly and we were gathered in the gym.

The sports ground was still partially covered with trees, so it’s not perfect.

It’s a small gymnasium, as is typical for a country town, but we managed to cram all the students in.

In such a crowded gymnasium, Makio and I were quite surprised to find Gasaraio.

Why was he here and why was he wearing a uniform?

“I still can’t believe you’re in the same class as me.”

This furball is so tall and well-built. Above all, his lion face is so fierce that it’s hard to read his age.

I didn’t think he was that old, but I never expected him to be the same age as me.

“Shut up! How long are you going to keep saying that?”

Gasara grabbed a concrete block stacked up next to the wall of the school building with his right hand and placed it roughly next to the bench.

He sat down with a thud and devoured the curry bread he had bought at the store.

“But you’re also unfortunate, too. You’ve been stuck in this town for a year.”

“…It’s no use. It’s just that my brother Seijitsu has been entrusted with the investigation and management of this dungeon. The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that we, the Brothers in Paradise, can’t dive into any dungeon for another three months. The association can’t afford to let someone as skilled as my brother and sister Nanairo play around.”

It’s a tough job.

“And the client, Chief Kouenji of the dungeon perimeter management section, is Seijitsu Aniki’s mentor. We can’t just bluntly refuse that request.”

Gasara explained with a sour expression.

“That uniform is from your last school, right. It looks new, but did they only have a small one like that available?”

“Hmm? Yeah, that’s the one I bought when I started school. I hadn’t been to my old school much. It’s been a long time since I wore them.”

Makio spoke to Gasara with me in between.

Gasara’s expression returned to normal and replied energetically.

Hey furball, you have awfully different attitudes towards me and Makio.

“How did you managed to get transferred here without going to school?”

Well, it’s not surprising that the attitude towards us is different.

I didn’t mind it and also asked a question.

I just barely got through my last school without being late or absent, and I even took the transfer exam.

“Previously, I was at a Beastman High School. There were a lot of different traditions and tribes, so it was very loose. And it was so governed that as long as you paid tuition and you didn’t fail, anybody could move up. …By the way, Kazamachi. I don’t know why you’re so amazed, but I have good grades, you know?”

“Again, with those jokes.”

You’re a muscle-brain character just like me.

You’re a lovable idiot who thinks about troublesome things after you use your brute strength.

“…Kunpei-kun, look at that school emblem on the uniform. It’s from a famous high-level school that preps them for university. It’s famous for their ‘as long as you get the results, they won’t complain about what you do, but the required results are ridiculous.’”

Makio said with a serious face.

“Ha?”

That’s ridiculous.

It’s not possible.

“Humph.”

Ah?

What’s with this furball.

What’s with that boastful look on your face.

“I didn’t have to go to high school to begin with. Aniki said, ‘You don’t often stay in the same place for a long time, so take this opportunity to go to school like a kid.’ You see, this is the only high school that is close to Tusk Crag and our current hideout, and it’s full of beastmen. There’s no helping it, normally, I’d go to a high school with a higher ranking, but they don’t have the right conditions.”

“Oh, you just bought that fight, furball. Eat your curry bread and meet me on the roof!”

“Gahahaha! Why do you have to get so pissed off, you idiot! Is that good? If you get into a fight, you’ll be kicked out of school.”

That look on your face, you damn furball!

Guh!

“Calm down, both of you! Don’t fight!”

Me glaring, Gasara grinning, and Makio standing up and trying to stop it.

The quiet and unpopular place between the club building and the school building was noisy with just us.

It was that time.

“Hey, the commoner over there!”

The storm came.