If he couldn't kill the monsters by throwing stones at them, what would have become of him?

What if he had met the boss before defeating them…

Haruki realized that what he thought was an easy strategy was really more like walking on a tightrope. He became speechless.

"…Karabos.h.i.+, you're really more happy-go-lucky than I thought."

"Sorry…"

"I'm not angry, okay?"

No, she was angry.

She was totally angry!

Haruki argued in his heart.

But it seemed like she saw through him. One of her eyebrows rose just a little.

"I'm really not angry, okay?"

"Ahh."

He shook as a chill went up his spine.

Haruki gulped audibly.

…d.a.m.n it. This girl was scary.

"I thought you were a more thoughtful type who would only do things after careful planning. So it was a bit of a surprise."

"I'm really sorry."

"No, it's fine. At least now I know what kind of person you are."

'Kind of person' sounded like 'hopeless person' to Haruki, and he felt even worse.

"I'm just really glad that you're alive…"

Karen muttered somberly.

She sighed. The evident pain in it was like a sharp stab into Haruki's chest.

"…So, what's happening outside now?"

"The defense force team are all alive. But a few of them are wounded."

"I see…"

But at least everyone was alive.

That meant it had been worth putting himself at risk a little.

…Well, it wasn't exactly a little.

But he was able to fight a wonderful monster.

It really had been great.

He didn't want to fight it again, but he was glad that he had fought it.

There would be more too.

At the top, there would be more interesting monsters.

And he wanted to see them with his own eyes!

Haruki looked down at the dead Werewolf, which he now saw as a comrade in arms.

How many times would he be able to fight a monster like this? He wondered.

By the time he was strong enough, he would have enough of a presence that people would notice him without the mask on!

He held such hopes in his heart…

And with that, Haruki retrieved his weapons.

Then he closed his eyes for a moment before he carried the Werewolf corpse out of the dungeon.

As he carried out the boss corpse, those that had partic.i.p.ated in the defensive battle were taken aback.

They picked up their weapons—or shovels and Karen had to frantically stop them.

"What is the meaning of this, young lady?"

"Uhh, Karabos.h.i.+ was able to kill the boss. And the stampede is now over."

He killed the boss and stopped the stampede.

Upon hearing this explanation, Haruki felt like laughing.

As an Adventurer, suppressing the stampede was the obvious thing to do.

He thought it was normal, but at the same time, there was a part of him that felt rather smug about it.

That was wonderful, Karabos.h.i.+!

You're amazing, Karabos.h.i.+!

You're what every Adventurer should be!

Haruki imagined such words of praise towards him.

"….Who is that?"

"What…"

"What…"

Haruki and Karen said in unison.

Umm…

Karabos.h.i.+ Haruki, the Adventurer. He is right in front of you?

"Karabos.h.i.+… So, you killed that monster, young lady?"

"No! No! My friend, Karabos.h.i.+ did. He killed it by himself."

"Oh, you. You made up a fictional person just to be modest!"

Fictional?

I exist!

Why did they so stubbornly reject Karabos.h.i.+ Haruki's existence?

Was the name Karabos.h.i.+ banned here or something?

His heart hurt more now than it had ever hurt when he was ignored previously.

…No, could it be that…

Haruki shuddered at the possibility that came to him.

He returned to the dungeon once and took out the skill board.

-Skills

Stealth 0 →1

"Arrgggghh! It went up by itself!!"

It was all because he had erased his presence.

He had been doing it desperately in order to not be noticed by the monsters while he was firing the cannons.

Is that why?

Is that why you went up!?

"…Ggg!"

Tears filled his eyes.

Why?

He had succeeded in stopping the stampede. And yet his tears were bitter.

Ahhh.

The future in which he had a stronger presence was starting to drift away…

He wiped away his tears and returned to the surface. Karen was continuing to explain to the others. She looked tired.

Perhaps he should just push the responsibility and credit for killing the boss onto Karen?

It was so much trouble explaining it.

And he was too discouraged…

However, Karen turned around and looked at him with pleading eyes.

But even her eyes seemed like they weren't on him…

Haruki sighed and put on the mask.

"h.e.l.lo. I'm Karabos.h.i.+."

In an instant, the eyes of the members opened wide with shock.

"How long have you been standing there!?"

I've been here all of this time!

I was right next to Karen!

He wanted to shout but held it back.

It was strange.

There were no onion monsters nearby, and yet tears were…

"Excuse me, I'm s.h.i.+basaki. Captain of the United Defense Team."

"Oh, h.e.l.lo. I'm Karabos.h.i.+ Haruki."

s.h.i.+basaki was the kind of handsome middle-aged man that would draw attention if he wore a suit and went to a bar.

He had an aura that was sure to make women unable to take their eyes off of him.

d.a.m.n it. It wasn't fair that some people had such an aura!

"So, you killed this boss, Mister Karabos.h.i.+?"

"Yes. Just barely."

s.h.i.+basaki looked at his men as if to ask, 'have any of you fought this monster before?'

But their reaction was not positive.

Apparently, no one here had fought a Werewolf before.

And so he told them what he had already explained to Karen.

"What is wrong with you!? Do you want to die!?"

s.h.i.+basaki said angrily.

It was reckless. What would have happened if you were killed?

He was so angry that even his men in the back seemed startled.

I see.

He saw the Adventurers that fought alongside him as citizens to be protected as well…

He was also putting his life at risk.

His arm was wounded.

Of course, it was.

It was part of the job to get hurt in order to protect the others.

And so when he was rebuked like this, Haruki felt nothing but deep respect for him.