Around noon, Hime contacted me.
We were scheduled to meet with one of the people who had applied for a capture ball trade. It would be me, Hime, and Akashi-san meeting this person.
Normally, Akashi-san handles business meetings like this alone, but since the other party had come all the way to Osaka and belonged to a top-tier exploration guild, it was suggested I attend for the sake of introductions.
When I asked if Mizuno-san should join us, I was told there was no need to advertise the blacksmith’s personal information.
Since I was told wearing my school uniform was fine, I put it on and headed to our Umeda office on the first day of summer vacation. I usually feel out of place surrounded by businessmen in suits, but today, I thought I might barely pass as someone doing ‘cool biz’ at least.
It had been a while since I visited, and the place had changed quite a bit.
There seemed to be a lot of new equipment, like a large copy machine, which I was pretty sure wasn’t there before.
The number of tables had increased, and there were plenty of unfamiliar faces as well— a kind-looking man in his 50s, a man and woman in their 30s, and a stern-looking individual around 40.
The office, which used to feel spacious, now seemed almost cramped.
「Over here, Taira.」
Hime called out, guiding me to the back room.
This used to be an empty space, but now it was set up as a reception room.
Expensive-looking furniture filled the space, including a nice table and some sofas.
「There are a lot more staff now. Where’s Akashi-san?」
「Akashi is picking up our guest. She’s quite competent, having transferred here from the Oshino Group, and we’re getting more work these days. She’s even looking into making Team Messiah merchandise.」
A transfer from the Oshino Group might sound like a demotion, but apparently, the pay and benefits here were better. A lot of people had requested the transfer.
As a newly established company, a lot are excited about the prospect of being treated as an executive if they get good results here.
Since our identities as Alpha and Beta weren’t widely known, though a few people were aware, I wasn’t surprised that some might have figured it out.
But what really caught my attention was—
「Are we officially going with Team Messiah as the name?」
「It’s already well-known, so changing it now would be a waste. Mai’s little brother is a Beta fan. He even waves a rolled-up newspaper around, pretending it’s a sword. He’s looking forward to the next stream.」
I appreciated that.
I guess we’d need to do another stream soon.
「So, what kind of party is this White Keeper group that’s coming today?」
「They’re an exploration group based around Kanto, and they’re registered as an EPO corporation. Their leader, Saijo Tora, is especially noteworthy—he’s ranked 12th in Japan. They don’t do any streams, so we don’t know much about their battle style, but according to witnesses, he can shoot flames, ice, and various things from his hands.」
「Shooting from his hands… that sounds like magic?」
Hime shook her head.
Apparently, when the flames and ice appeared, there was no chanting involved.
In fact, it seemed more like a monster’s breath attack.
It’s strange to imagine breath coming from someone’s hands, but there are even reports of people seeing his hands eating meat.
Not with his hands, but his actual hands eating the meat.
I couldn’t make sense of it.
Did his hands have mouths?
Some kind of youkai like a two mouthed man?
Maybe it’s a special skill?
「Ojousama, I have brought the guest.」
Akashi-san returned.
What kind of person was this Saijo—not a two mouthed man youkai, right?
I held my breath.
Akashi-san opened the door.
And then, he walked in.
White shoes!?
A white suit!?
A white hat!?
When he took off the hat, his hair was white—no, more like silver!?
But, aside from that, he looked like a fairly normal guy in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, with a slight air of coolness!?
I braced myself to be shocked, but there was nothing particularly surprising about him.
Was his silver hair the sign of being an Awakened?
「Pleased to meet you. I’m Oshino Hime.」
「Ichino Taira desu. Thank you for coming all the way to Osaka.」
I introduced myself and handed him my business card.
「No, no, thank you for agreeing to this sudden meeting. Ah, I don’t have a card myself—I always seem to just collect them.」
Saijo-san said with an embarrassed smile as he took off his hat and bowed.
「Actually, there’s a reason I wanted to meet you in person today. My daughter is a huge fan of Alpha-san desu yo… And as for me, I’m more interested in Delta-san’s gun.」
「Is that so? In that case, bring the prototype merchandise we’ve been working on.」
It sounded like an ordinary conversation, but Saijo-san had thrown quite the curveball.
Was he implying, he knows Hime is Alpha?
And was Hime responding with, Yes, and not bothered by it?
As I was thinking this, Saijo-san’s eyes lit up when Akashi-san brought out a toy Milk Gun from our prototypes. Maybe he really was just a fan after all.
Wait a second, this guy’s wearing normal white gloves, not… wait… something’s off.
I could feel something coming from him.
It wasn’t human. It was the presence of a monster.
Could it be—?
「Oh, Ichino-san, you’ve got detection skills, don’t you? I suppose I should introduce you to her.」
With that, Saijo-san’s left glove… opened its mouth.
No, that wasn’t a glove.
It was a monster disguised as a glove.
As the creature changed its shape, it transformed into a palm-sized white snake with wings and small limbs.
Could this be…?
「Her name is White. She’s my pet—my White Dragon.」
A White Dragon!?
He’s keeping a dragon as a pet?
The White Dragon, having returned to its original form, sat calmly on Saijo-san’s left hand.
So, when people saw flames or ice coming from his hand, or his hand eating meat, it was just the dragon, disguised as a glove, breathing fire or having a meal.
It’s like how the truth behind youkai seems obvious once revealed—though a dragon disguising itself as a glove might be the more unbelievable part.
Monsters captured with a capture ball can’t be taken outside the dungeon.
Did he defeat the White Dragon from a Black Dungeon by bringing it into a regular dungeon? Or was it the other way around?
Wait, something doesn’t add up.
A White Dragon… Taming a dragon…dragon…….
Oh, I remember!
It was from the time I first explored a dungeon with Aoki.
The contents of a D-can—if you’re unlucky, it’s just canned tuna, but if you’re lucky…
「Could it be that you were the one who found a dragon egg in a D-can, Saijo-san?」
「Ah, I’m surprised someone remembers that from ten years ago. I made sure to have all the internet data wiped, but rumors never truly disappear, do they?」
Saijo-san muttered, a bit disappointed.
That was the answer.
「I’ve been exploring dungeons with this one for the past ten years. I pride myself on having more experience and know-how about working with monsters in dungeons than anyone else. That’s why I’m very interested in the capture balls you’re offering.」
It was a reasonable explanation.
He’d be the perfect person to test the capture balls.
「May I see the balls?」
「Of course. We’ve prepared three types.」
Hime said, placing the capture balls that Mizuno-san had made yesterday on the table.
We had prepared three varieties: Beast, Insect, and Bird capture balls. Each came with a certificate of analysis.
Since Saijo-san didn’t seem to have appraisal skills, he read the attached documents instead.
「What’s the capture rate when a monster eats one?」
「We tested it twice on an almirage. At first, the monster didn’t pay any attention to the orb, but after taking some damage, it ate the capture ball. Both times, taming was successful.」
「Why did you choose an almirage?」
「We figured it would be dangerous to start with stronger monsters, and the Dungeon Bureau requested we tame something cute for promotional purposes. The two almirage we captured will be handed over to the Dungeon Bureau and will be working as part of their public relations team.」
Yeah, taming them inside the PD yesterday was tough.
It was hard to balance the damage.
I’ve gotten so strong that even throwing pebbles could kill them.
In the end, we used Milk’s Poison Shower spell to gradually lower their health through poison before taming them.
Of course, we made sure to heal them and remove the poison afterward.
We showed him the video of us taming the almirage.
「Incredible! To think that almirage could be so docile, even allowing itself to be petted. I’m glad I applied for a trade.」
Saijo-san said, stroking White on his left hand.
「I’m honored that you’re pleased.」
Then Saijo-san pulled a wooden box from his bag.
When he opened it, there were three golden knives inside.
[Magic Can Opener: Can open any D-can, but only once.]
Leave a Reply