Chapter 101: 100

Chapter 100

Tenji was hiding in the bushes, observing two girls resting by the stream, stealing a glance at them like a pervert. It's a bit unfortunate but he would seem like that to anyone who saw him.

[What are they carrying? Those two...]

At the end of his gaze, he saw two Korean girls carrying something that looked like a big, black egg, saying "ichi, ni, ichi, ni" as they walked.

"Hey, Chaewon... how much longer?"

"Huh? Mina, are you tired already? Probably about halfway there."

"Eh, we've only moved that far? Ugh, this is heavy and I hate it."

"Don't complain. I don't want to carry it either, but we'll get extra points if we take it to the goal. Mina, you carry it to the goal, and I'll get extra points for the help."

"But... heavy things are heavy."

There's pure-hearted Mina who complains and the flashy Chaewon who controls her. The two of them were boldly following the stream, the main route of the dungeon, aiming for the summit goal.

Tenji heard the "ichi, ni, ichi, ni" from far away and noticed the distinctive voices of the two cute girls. He rushed to them when he realized his target was there, but...

[There are only 40 minutes left in the exam. Just when I finally found them, they have to carry that thing all the way to the goal? It's a 15-minute walk at a normal pace... isn't it really close at their pace]

Contrary to Demelia's surprise attack, Tenji felt his soul being sucked out as he watched the two girls with their calm atmosphere. Still, the only way for Tenji to reach the goal was to team up with them. He had to talk to them naturally... naturally.

Tenji stood up from the bush and took a step forward.

"What the--?!"

Just as he reached the end of the thicket, he stumbled over the exposed dirt and sand, falling head first onto the ground by the creek.

At that moment, Mina and Chaewon reflexively turned towards the sound of the fall.

"Hey, please don't look down on me like I'm some pathetic kid," Tenji said as they saw his disheveled appearance, covered in dirt from the fall.

Both of them had an expression of doubt at his comical appearance.

"What's the matter?"

Chaewon spoke in a voice that was entirely different from when she was speaking with Mina.

"Well, if it's okay with you, could we fight together?"

"Why us?"

"We were aiming for the goal earlier, but Demilia was lying in wait near the finish line. He said he was going to capture students, so it seems like capturing students is his duty."

"So...you're asking for our help because we can fight Demilia on equal footing?"

"Yep, I can't win against Demilia on my own. A swordsman can't beat him."

"That's true, but we..." Chaewon began to say.

Chaewon was about to say something when Mina, who was struggling to hold up the black cocoon, let out a groan and dropped it to the ground with a thud.

She let out a sigh and sat down heavily on the ground.

"Hey, Mina!" Chaewon exclaimed."

"Eh, but my arms are already shaking. Hey, Tenji, right? If you switch places with me here. I'll protect you properly," Mina said.

"Just wait a minute, Mina! Don't decide on your own..." Chaewon protested.

"It's okay, it's okay. A fifth grade swordsman like Tenji wouldn't dare to come at us. Besides, the difference in strength between a first grade like us and a fifth grade is too big. Even if he attacks us, we'll just do this! Like this!" Mina said.

"Well, that's true, but... there's always the possibility of something happening," Chaewon said.

"Hahaha, Chaewon has always been nervous. It's not like I don't like Tenji. He always attends lectures seriously and seems to work hard in the dungeon every day. If a fifth grade student is struggling in their own way, I think it's cute," Mina said.

"Well, that's true... I don't hate Japanese people either. Japanese idols are cool. They're too cool to look at," Chaewon said.

"Then it's settled. Nice to meet you, Tenji!" It seemed that Mina had convinced Chaewon to allow Tenji to join forces with them.

"Okay, nice to meet you too. My role is 'commoner', here you go." Before they shook hands, Tenji handed his goggles to the two girls.

Mina took it slowly and looked into the lens, tilting her head with a thud. Then she suddenly realized something and looked at Chaewon.

"Hey, Chaewon, can you read a little Japanese?" Mina asked.

"Uh, well, just a little bit. Japan has so many strange characters and pronunciations that there are a lot of characters I don't know, of course," said Chaewon.

"Well, how about this one? It only has two characters, so maybe you can read it?" Minaa said, as she looked into the goggles with Chaewon.

"Oh, I can read this one. It was in a language book called 'Learning Japanese from the Ancestors of Idols!' It's 'heimin,' right? Is the pronunciation correct, Tenji?" Chaewon said.

[TLN: In Japanese, Commoner is pronounced as 'Heimin, '(平民)' or 'ippanjin" (一般人)']

"Yeah, it's correct. Wow, Chaewon, I didn't know you could read Japanese!" Tenji replied.

"Well, um... I've only studied a little bit," Chaewon said, blushing slightly and looking away from Tenji.

"When she was in elementary school, she had an experience of attending a Japanese language school to write a fan letter to a Japanese idol she liked. Although she had quit the lessons by the time she entered high school, it was still a long time in her history of learning Japanese.

Everyone is often motivated by unexpected reasons. Even a future first-grade explorer could just be a girl who simply loves idols.

"You can call me Mina. Alright! Let's change places! My arms are already shaking."

As soon as Mina finally got up, she slowly moved behind Tenji and began pushing his shoulder.

She seemed to know that time was running short and was eager to leave right away.

Without asking any dull questions like "What for?", Tenji immediately positioned himself on one side of the black cocoon.

"Can you really handle it, Tenji?"

Chaewon, who was carrying the other side, asked worriedly.

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"Yeah, even as a fifth grade explorer, my strength is several times that of an ordinary person," Tenji said confidently.

"Yeah, just be careful not to get hurt. We're not a group representing country, so I don't want to get hurt by someone just for the sake of points," Chaewon added.

"Got it. I won't get hurt, no matter what," Tenji said calmly.

Chaewon began to wonder where his confidence came from.

And so, Tenji succeeded in joining forces with Mina and Chaewon's duo.

All that was left was to reach the goal with the three of them.

Tenji and Chaewon worked hard to carry the black cocoon.

Meanwhile, Mina, who was supposed to be the "carrier", led the way around with her proud battle axe and was making better progress on the mountain path than when Mina was carrying it.

At one point, Chaewon suddenly spoke to Tenji, "Come to think of it, we haven't said our roles yet. I am...," but Tenji began to speak as if covering up those words.

"Oh, I know. Mina is the 'Carrier' and Chaewon is the 'Caring Village Girl', right?"

"Wha!?" Chaewon and Mina's voices harmonized in an interesting way.

Seeing the surprised faces of the two, Tenji laughed amusingly.

"Oh, why do I know that? I just happened to hear your conversation when I was resting in the shade of a tree. In the area of Bald Mountain."

"Oh... So that's why you knew our roles and proposed an alliance to us, who are trustworthy," Mina said.

"That's right. The minimum requirement for me to propose was that you are not a black explorer. Also, you are a student with a first-grade calling that can fight on an equal footing with Demilia," Tenji explained.

"I see, Tenji is surprisingly quick-witted and excellent. By the way...!"

"Hmm? I'll answer anything I can."

"Is it true that you're married to Chigo?"

[TLN: Tenji Wishhhhh.]

Tenji had been on guard, expecting to be asked something else, and was taken aback by the unexpected question, his mouth agape.

Seeing Tenji's reaction, Chaewon realized her mistake and blushed, turning away.

"Um... is that rumor going around?"

"No, I just thought it might be the case. Everyone in our class and even the seniors said that Tenji and Chigo live together."

"Oh, that part is not wrong. But rather than living together, it's more like I'm a freeloader?"

"Is that so? Are you and Chigo not in that kind of relationship?"

Chaewon's innocent question amused Mina, who had been keeping an eye out, and she giggled, covering her mouth.

Tenji also laughed, taken in by Mina's teasing, unaware that Chaewon was such an innocent girl.

"Just a minute! Why are you laughing?"

"Hahaha, Chaewon hasn't even had her first love yet."

"Mi-Min-a! I've had a first love too..."

"You like idols, don't you? That doesn't count as a first love. First love is someone you can reach out and touch, that's why it's called first love. It's sweeter and more delicious that way."

Chaewon's ears turned bright red at Mina's frank words, beyond just blushing.

Seeing her like that, Tenji and Mina laughed as well.

"It's surprising, I thought Chaewon was so pretty that she would have had many boyfriends."

"Tenji, no, no. Chaewon is still innocent and cute. Her makeup is all just imitating her favorite idols."

"Is that so?"

"N-No, it's not true! You're such a fool, Mina!"

Tears gathered in Chaewon's beautiful eyes.

Mohammed Pyne.

" ... One, two, three, four, five, six... This makes the seventh person. Shall we set up an ambush near the goal? The other people should be arriving soon." Pyne muttered as he looked down at a student.

" Y-You... why?!"

"Hmm? I just want to give a good report to Mustafa-san. I'll do anything for that, even if I have to pretend to be a black explorer," Pyne said with an expression that seemed to say it was obvious.

The student couldn't help but feel scared of Pyne's emotionless face and bizarre way of thinking.

The student's limbs were already weak and they couldn't run far, even if they tried to escape. Pyne had already used her Stealth Voltacker to make their tendons immobile..

Due to her natural talent for assassination, Pyne was extremely strong in the forest area. She managed to complete her mission by defeating all the monsters along the way and then finding and incapacitating the second-ranked students by using Voltacker..

"P-Please! We were recommended by the country. If I don't give a good report to my country, I won't be able to stay here..."

"You're annoying. I only think of you as a classmate, nothing more. Well, your examiner should be coming soon, so relax and let them carry you to the goal," Pyne said, without even cracking a smile. She disappeared from his sight without a sound.

Shortly after that...

"... George, huh? The only two people who can be my enemies are George and Demilia. If I can get rid of one of them... but one-on-one might be a bit difficult. I'll follow him and take advantage of the situation," Pyne said to herself.

As a black explorer, Pyne began to secretly follow George, who was fighting monsters.

[TLN: Damn, Pyne is a cold hearted assassin]

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