novelraw Chapter 165
Chapter 165
Chapter 165
Away from the battlefield, Tsuruo Hasegawa headed to the golf course that day.
Once known as the 9th-ranked A-rank "Justice Representative," the man was enjoying a peaceful life.
Lately, golf has apparently been trending among young women.
Since his high school-aged daughter showed a bit of interest, he brought along his son and wife as well to the club where he had long been a member.
They left their home in Yokohama at 5:30 AM, transferred to a bus run by the country club, and arrived at the club by 6:50 AM.
Cheerful caddies greeted them, helped unload their bags from the trunk, and Tsuruo exchanged light greetings with fellow members he encountered.
"It's like a retirement home."
When his daughter muttered that, Tsuruo's wife gently scolded her with a "Stop that."
In fact, the average age of club members was 73, so Tsuruo didn't deny it.
After completing all the procedures, by 7:40 AM their golf bags were loaded onto the cart, and by 7:55 AM he was taking a tee shot on the first hole of the Out Course.
For Tsuruo, golf had originally been just a means of communication in the political world, nothing more than a hobby he picked up.
But as he rode along in the cart with his family, he quietly thought, "Paying those expensive annual fees for all these years was worth it after all."
Perhaps thanks to his secret daily practice, Tsuruo's score by mid-morning was six under par.
He had so much power that long and short holes didn't make much difference—two strokes were more than enough.
Back in college, even though he was in the rugby club, when he joined a small golf tournament with the golf club, he somehow ended up winning—he was just that much of a natural. But today, he was especially on fire.
"Papa, why don't you become a pro golfer?"
When asked by his daughter, Tsuruo chuckled wryly and replied, "Explorers can't become pro athletes."
If superhuman physical abilities granted by dungeon factors were introduced into the sports world, many records would surely be broken... but that would obviously cause countless problems.
At 12:30 PM, after finishing the course, Tsuruo and his family stopped by a soba shop for lunch when a phone call came in.
It was from the Dungeon Foundation.
Though he had already retired as an explorer, he would still occasionally receive emails saying, "We need your strength."
Each time, he politely declined—but he was aware.
Each time they reached out, the fire of righteous justice within him would stir.
The call was about the recent Dungeon Break.
Upon learning that the dungeon that caused a major incident in Kyoto had been classified as a Class 5 dungeon, Tsuruo's expression turned stern at the abnormal situation.
"A Class 4 after twenty years... Even though that young man managed to handle it, now a Class 5 appears without delay?"
Tsuruo was certain.
That young champion of justice would surely manage somehow.
But somewhere in his heart, he asked himself—"Is it really okay for me alone to enjoy a peaceful time?"
"Huh? Which suits me better, being a Vtuber or an explorer?"
"That's basically a leading question... Dad, what's going on?"
When he asked his daughter and son, they replied, "You definitely look cooler as an explorer."
From a member of the National Diet to an explorer, and now wondering what to do in the third chapter of his life—how to bring justice to the world—he decided to first gain influence. Thus, he debuted as a cool older-man-style Vtuber. Though slightly off track, he quickly surpassed 30,000 subscribers and regularly drew about 2,000 viewers to his livestreams. However, his family didn't seem to be particularly fond of it.
The only one who supported him unconditionally was Tsuruo's wife, who smiled like a true Yamato Nadeshiko and said, "Whatever you do, Tsuruo-san, you're wonderful."
"Well, Mama really loves Papa..."
"You're totally spoiled by Mom."
Apparently, he'd been overly spoiled by his wife, who always followed half a step behind him.
"Hehe, actually, I like the Tsuruo-san who fights, too."
When he asked his wife, she spoke her true feelings.
And so, Tsuruo decided to give up his current position to reaffirm his true place in the world.
With his usual drive, he revealed that he was actually "Justice Representative" Tsuruo Hasegawa, and during that night's livestream, he apologized to his viewers for deceiving them. He was a man of sincerity. He believed that continuing to lie was unworthy of a Japanese man.
As a result, his subscriber count surpassed 400,000 overnight, his apology stream hit 110,000 concurrent viewers, his clips got over a million views, and people made tons of MAD videos using him as free material—Tsuruo had gone massively viral as a Vtuber, something he had never anticipated.
That day, Tsuruo Hasegawa headed to the Kyoto Class 5 dungeon.
The return of the legendary member of the National Diet made both the media and the Foundation restless, and just seeing him encouraged the other explorers.
"Welcome back, Justice Representative!"
"I return in shame... So that's the Class 5 dungeon? It's my first time seeing it. The black gate is broken, I see."
"There was a Dungeon Break, after all."
"A tragedy occurred at the Shimizu temple grounds."
Tsuruo adjusted his backpack, wrapped up his greeting with Shurado, and prepared to challenge the dungeon.
The dungeon had just been released, and not even the first floor had been conquered yet.
"Oh? Are you Trigger Happy?"
Right near the gate, he spotted the explorer "Trigger Happy," sitting on a blue tarp, checking her gear.
"Hm? Ah, the Diet member."
"You should speak properly to your elders."
"So you came to this dungeon too. Well, I guess most A-ranks got the call."
"I suppose so. According to SNS, the 'Walking Family Restaurant' and even the 'Banker' are joining in."
"As expected of a Class 5. The lineup's impressive."
"Indeed. By the way, Happy, have you changed somehow?"
"I'm not the same as before. I've probably surpassed you in every status category, Representative."
"Young explorers have so much potential. But isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"Wanna test it?"
Trigger Happy was grinning.
Wanting to put the cocky Russian girl in her place, Tsuruo took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.
The two placed their elbows on the pedestal and clasped hands for an arm wrestling match.
"Tch."
That alone was enough for Tsuruo to understand.
He could almost see a massive rocky mountain behind Happy—her delicate white arm was simply unbeatable.
But he had no choice but to try.
Once he accepted a match, he had to go all out.
"Skill activate—'Black Authority Lv5' and 'Violent Manifesto Lv5'!!"
He launched at Happy with full power, aiming to defeat her.
But she didn't budge.
Happy grinned and said, "Guess I really am pretty strong, huh♪" and shouted "Yah!" as she put strength into her arm.
Tsuruo's body flew through the air and slammed into the gravel of the temple grounds.
"I-It's incredible power...!"
"Hehe, right? (I linked with that tree and evolved using that weird machine. I lost to the Black Swamp monster carrying Gii-san, but I won't lose to any A-rank explorer now.)"
Apparently, she was feeling good after beating someone weaker than herself.
"Where did you get that kind of power? I thought until recently our D-Levels weren't that different—was I mistaken?"
"I'm a genius, after all. I was just hiding my true strength until now, heh."
"I see... So you were always that strong... I had no idea."
"That's a Happy lie."
The one who said that was Finger Man, fluttering his dark brown coat.
"Cocky Happy is no good, Happy-san. That's the beginning of Evil Happy, I think."
"Wh-What are you talking about? I'm not being cocky!"
"You totally looked like you were full of yourself."
Happy's cheeks turned faintly pink, and perhaps feeling awkward, she said, "I-I need to maintain my gear," and slipped away.
"Finger Man, long time no see."
"About a month, maybe? Glad to see you're well."
"You too. Seems you've been quite active."
"The rumors get wildly exaggerated. I read an article saying I'd retired—are you making a comeback?"
"Yeah. I just... wanted to unleash some violence on the battlefield again."
"I see. That's just like you. Then here, I'll return this."
"'Traces of a Dream'... No, that belongs to you. I can't take it back."
"I don't need it anymore. I've already got sturdy protection."
Saying so, Finger Man turned his arm into metal using the 'Silver Shield Lv9.'
Tsuruo's eyes nearly popped out as he stared in shock.
"That's the metal monster's ability...! Ah, I see—you've moved ahead, haven't you? Understood. I'm just a weakling now. I'll gratefully accept your kindness."
Saying that, Tsuruo reattached the representative's badge, exuding an unusual aura, to his chest.
"Thanks to you, I was saved. But I'm fine now."
"If explorers like you are participating in dungeon conquest, it's as good as won already."
"Well, let's see. The scale looks pretty big, so we can't afford to let our guard down. That's what they're here for."
"They?"
Finger Man glanced over his shoulder.
Prompted, Tsuruo also cast his gaze behind him.
Tsuruo gasped.
A black mass was marching from the dungeon's outer rim.
Clad in majestic white armor, they carried bizarre spears and large round shields.
Leading the formation was a battle-hardened fierce general with four arms, his tattered, soaked cloak fluttering like he had returned from hell itself.
A fluffy Norwegian Forest Cat was among them.
Wreathed in an eerie aura, it was clear at a glance that they were all formidable warriors.
If there were a god, or perhaps a demon king—
And if the time came to unleash that mythical army at the end of the world, surely it would look like this.
Tsuruo wasn't a particularly religious man, but in that moment, he distinctly felt the presence of something beyond humanity.
"Finger Man... that's... what on earth is that...?"
"That's the Black Fingertips. Lately, we've been operating them with permission from the Foundation."
"So that's the rumored monster unit under Finger Man... But honestly, they seem way more numerous and intense than what I heard... I hate to ask, but are you really controlling them? To be frank, they look even more dangerous than that metal monster we ran into down there."
"In terms of danger, maybe you're right. But don't worry. They don't speak a word and are totally silent, but they're good guys who follow orders properly."
With that, Finger Man muttered, "Symphony No. 5."
Then, the Black Fingertips used the tentacles growing from their backs as chairs and sat down, each pulling out a string instrument hidden within.
Violins and violas.
Cellos and contrabasses. Where they pulled them from is a mystery.
Some monsters held flutes, horns, clarinets, oboes, and more.
The largest of them all, the four-armed general at the front, daintily pulled out a conductor's baton and began to wave it gracefully.
Sure enough, the monsters began to play that masterpiece everyone knows, even if they're not into classical music—"Da-da-da-daaa"—Beethoven's Fifth, "Fate."
Powerful, yet never forgetting subtlety, their performance was rich with expressive nuance.
"Amazing. A monster orchestra... who would've thought..."
Given how surreal the scene looked, it felt impossible not to think "what the hell are they doing," but even so, it was clear they had high intelligence, understood Finger Man's instructions completely, and had the will to carry them out.
About 35 minutes of music flowed through the dungeon camp, casting feelings of admiration and awe, fear and reverence, terror and chills.
Their performance captivated the human heart, making one feel that there truly was a soul within.
The monster orchestra might have looked terrifying, but if Finger Man was conducting and they were on their side, it was a tremendous reassurance.
When the performance ended, the Black Fingertips put away their instruments, picked up their weapons, and began filing into the dungeon.
"I've deployed five units, 106 monsters in total. Don't worry, they won't attack explorers by mistake. You're safe."
Finger Man called out to the dumbfounded explorers—none of whom had dared to enter the dungeon yet—like a commander giving a speech.
The explorers, thinking, "If Finger Man says so...," mustered up their courage and entered.
"Excuse me, going on ahead—Finger Man!"
said Happy with a composed salute, readjusting her dungeon bag and plunging into the dungeon.
"Well then, Mr. Hasegawa, I'll take my leave here too. The dungeon is calling——"
With those words, Finger Man snapped his fingers.
Then, the Norwegian Bakeneko, who had been napping on the roof of Kiyomizu Temple, descended.
Finger Man nimbly mounted the Norwegian Bakeneko and rode it like a cat taxi into the dungeon.
——This day would later be remembered as the first time the full might of the Black Fingertips Knights was revealed.