The entrance of the abandoned mine opened blackly against the mountainside.
One side of the off-limits rope was coming loose. There was a gap wide enough for a child to squeeze through.
“Sota!”
There was no reply.
Instead, a damp wind blew from the depths.
The scent of iron, soil, and mana.
And faintly.
“A crying voice.”
I entered without hesitation.
The smartphone in my chest pocket glowed faintly in the dark. The stream from earlier was still active.
“Wait, is this really the abandoned mine?” “It’s dark.” “Wait a minute, is he calling a child’s name?” “Is this for real?” “Isn’t this dangerous?” “Shouldn’t someone call the authorities?”
Footsteps echoed through the tunnel.
I traced the topography of the area we had checked up until yesterday in my head. About thirty meters in from the entrance was a fork. The right was a dead end from a cave-in. The left led to the water vein where the frozen trout had appeared.
However, the child’s crying voice came from deep on the right.
The cave-in site.
I had a bad feeling.
“Sota! Answer me if you can hear me!”
“Uwah, uwaaaaah!”
An answer came.
A thin, trembling voice.
At the same time, a beast’s growl shook the tunnel.
“What was that?” “A kid’s voice.” “This can’t be staged.” “No no no no.” “Yuma-san, hurry!” “The sounds are too real.”
I increased my speed.
I turned the right fork.
Just before the collapsed rocks, there was a slightly open side cave. Deep inside, Sota was sitting on the ground.
His cheeks were stained with dirt, and blood oozed from his knees. In his hand, he clutched a small bag of dried sardines, perhaps meant for Mikoto.
And right in front of him stood a creature.
A wolf-like physique. Yet, ore-like protrusions lined its back, and black drool dripped from the corners of its mouth.
A mineral-fang wolf.
In an abandoned-mine-type dungeon, it was an individual beast mutated after absorbing mana.
Ordinary hunters could not handle it.
Much less a child escaping from it.
“Sota, don’t move.”
“Yu, Yuma-niichan!”
The mineral-fang wolf looked at us.
There was still distance between Sota and me.
The magical beast was closer.
The mineral-fang wolf lowered its body.
It leaped.
The moment I judged that, Mikoto disappeared from my shoulder.
“Meow.”
Her voice was her usual drawn-out cry.
Yet, the air in the tunnel changed.
A small white shadow landed right in front of Sota.
Her tail swayed softly.
The next moment, golden light drew a circle.
It wrapped around Sota like a thin membrane. A clear sound, like ringing an old shrine bell, echoed through the tunnel.
The mineral-fang wolf’s claws struck against that light.
A metallic tearing sound rang out.
Yet, the light only wavered and did not break.
“Meow.”
Mikoto turned around and tapped Sota’s nose lightly with her front paw.
Sota, who had been crying, sniffled and froze.
“A cat!” “What was that!” “A barrier?” “A cat protected him?” “Mikoto-sama!” “This isn’t CG, is it?” “Is the kid okay!”
“Well done, Mikoto.”
I dropped my hips and watched the mineral-fang wolf’s movements.
Having been repelled once, the magical beast changed its target.
It came toward me.
Fast.
Lighter than a wild boar, sharper than a horned rabbit. Its mineralized fangs possessed the hardness to crush meat straight through bone.
Yet, it was slow.
Compared to the magical beasts I faced in the deep layers of the other world, it was far too linear.
I stepped forward.
The mineral-fang wolf’s claws grazed the side of my cheek.
At that exact moment, I grabbed the joint of its front leg with my left hand.
Redirect.
Break balance.
I drove my butchering knife into the tendon connected to the mana core at its neck.
Just like cooking.
Do not damage it excessively.
Sever only what is necessary.
“It is over.”
A single flash.
The giant body of the mineral-fang wolf slipped past my side from its own momentum and slammed into the ground.
The tunnel shook.
The magical beast convulsed once and stopped moving altogether.
Before the scent of blood could spread, I flicked the knife to clear it.
My breathing was not ragged.
My hands did not shake.
Only the depths of my heart felt cold.
Because the thought that I might not have made it in time now stroked my back.
“A single strike?” “What did he just do?” “Too fast to see.” “It’s the real deal.” “Did the kid get saved!” “Yuma-san, look at Sota-kun!” “This is no time to be saying it’s amazing, get outside quickly!”
“Sota.”
I called out to the child inside the barrier without taking my eyes off the magical beast.
“Where does it hurt?”
“My, my knee. And, I’m scared.”
“Good. Being scared is normal. It’s proof you’re alive.”
Mikoto’s barrier thinned away smoothly.
Sota tried to hug Mikoto while crying, but Mikoto nimbly dodged.
“Meow.”
Instead, she tapped Sota’s hand with her front paw.
The bag of dried sardines.
With a messy, tear-streaked face, Sota held it out.
“S-Sorry, Mikoto. I thought I’d give you some. I came into the mountain without asking.”
“Meow.”
Mikoto sniffed the bag, deftly picked out just one, and ate it.
Then, she rubbed her forehead against Sota’s knee.
The golden light bled through just a tiny bit.
The bleeding did not stop. The wound was not completely closed either.
Yet, the color of pain faded from Sota’s face.
“Huh, it doesn’t hurt as much.”
“Mikoto, don’t overdo it.”
“Meow.”
Her reply was as usual, but in her golden eyes, there was a slightly smug look.
A sacred cat.
Until now, I had called her that half jokingly.
But now, in the dim light of the tunnel, Mikoto’s white fur wrapped itself in a faint glow. Despite her small body, it gave the illusion that a large torii gate stood behind her.
Cute.
That was certain.
Yet, it was not just that.
This cat was truly a being on the side of protecting something.
“Mikoto-sama.” “Not a cat.” “Well, she’s a cat, but not a cat.” “I cried.” “Glad Sota-kun is safe.” “Yuma-san is way too calm.” “Did someone from the village come?” “I’m glad I didn’t cut the stream. The evidence is still there.”
“Sota, can you stand?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“I’ll carry you. Put your arms around my neck.”
I carried Sota on my back.
The child’s body was light. Yet, the hands clinging to my back were trembling.
“Yuma-niichan. Are you mad?”
“I am. After we get outside, see your mother, and have your injury checked.”
“Yeah.”
“But for now, just think about the fact that you survived.”
Sota nodded slightly.
Mikoto walked at the lead.
A small golden light illuminated her footing, lighting up the dark tunnel.
By the time the entrance came into view, several voices could be heard from outside.
“Yuma-kun!” “Sota!” “Are you inside!”
“Don’t enter! We are coming out now!”
When I shouted that, the other side of the entrance stirred.
The moment we stepped outside, Sota’s mother rushed over as if collapsing.
“Sota!”
“Mooom!”
Sota, let down from my back, was embraced by his mother.
Weeping, his mother bowed her head over and over.
“Thank you, thank you so much!”
“He injured his knee. Please give him first aid. He wasn’t directly attacked by the magical beast.”
The village clinic doctor immediately held Sota and began examining his wound.
None of the villagers gathered around uttered casual words.
They simply looked at me and Mikoto.
Then, an old man bowed deeply.
“Kamishiro Yuma-kun.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you very much for saving our village’s boy.”
As if that words served as a signal, the adults around bowed one after another.
“Thank you.” “I’m glad Yuma-kun was here.” “Thank you too, Mikoto-chan.”
“Meow.”
Mikoto puffed out her chest as if it were only natural.
Seeing that sight, even Sota, who had been crying, smiled a little.
“Mikoto, that was cool.”
“Meow.”
Mikoto drew close to Sota once more.
And this time, without dodging, she pressed her nose against the back of Sota’s hand.
Sota was also about to cry again, but gently stroked Mikoto’s head.
Seeing that scene, I finally let out a breath.
He was saved.
That was enough.
What the stream was doing right now really didn’t matter at all.
However, on the smartphone in my chest pocket, comments were flowing like a waterfall.
“Kamishiro Yuma, what on earth is he?” “The guild that banished him has no eye for talent.” “Prioritizing rescue and forgetting the stream is the real deal.” “Mikoto-sama’s barrier is completely a divine beast.” “I cried at the villagers’ reactions.” “Spread this.” “Clips are already up.” “Kurose Ren’s expose videos don’t matter anymore.” “Reina Shiratori, are you watching this?” “This is what a real hero looks like.”
“Yuma-san.”
Riko-san, who had arrived before I knew it, was standing with her smartphone.
Her complexion was poor. But her eyes were fierce.
“The stream is still live.”
“I see.”
“The concurrent viewers are at numbers I’ve never seen before. The clips are already circulating so fast they can’t be stopped.”
“I see.”
I answered briefly.
Riko-san lowered her eyebrows just a little.
“Yuma-san, it’s probably going to get tough from here.”
“Probably.”
“However.”
Riko-san looked at the mother hugging Sota, the villagers, and Mikoto.
“What happened today, I won’t let anyone speak ill of it.”
In that voice, the composure of a former video editor and the anger of someone belonging to this village were mixed.
I nodded.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Leave it to me.”
Riko-san turned toward the stream and began explaining in a calm voice.
Beside her, I looked back at the entrance of the abandoned mine.
The mana drifting from the depths was thicker than before.
There was no guarantee there was only one mineral-fang wolf.
Dungeonization might be progressing faster than we thought.
At my feet, Mikoto gave a small meow.
“Meow.”
“I know. Today is not the end.”
When I muttered that, Mikoto held her tail straight up.
Around that time.
The Dungeon Agency Audit Department in Tokyo.
A woman was silently watching the continuously spreading rescue video.
An inspector with her dark hair tied back in the rear, wearing thin silver-rimmed glasses.
Mahiro Saeki.
She rewound Yuma Kamishiro taking down the mineral-fang wolf in a single strike and the white cat casting a golden barrier over and over again.
“Unregistered high-tier returnee. In addition, the possibility of a divine-beast-class companion entity.”
Mahiro typed an investigation request into her terminal.
Target name.
Yuma Kamishiro.
Location.
Mountainous area, surrounding the old abandoned mine dungeon.
“This requires direct verification.”
The send button was pressed.
On the screen, the words formally initiating the audit were quietly displayed.