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"Who's there?!"

Almost at the very instant the voice sounded, the two Hero girls immediately whipped their heads around in unison.

Bokue Keikain glanced lazily behind him as well.

A tall, slender man stepped into the hotel restaurant from the back entrance, casually dressed in a crisp white shirt and slacks—looking every bit like a young office worker staying here on a business trip. His silky, dark, shoulder-length hair coupled with his trademark narrowed eyes immediately conjured the image of a sly fox.

If his hair was shorter, dyed silver, and paired with the traditional black kimono of a Soul Reaper, he'd perfectly pass as Gin Ichimaru from Bleach.

But in his current state, calling him "Gin Ichimaru" might fit better.

"Why are you here...?"

The moment Yuki Nonaka's gaze fell upon the man's face, her pupils noticeably shrank.

"Why am I here? Now that's an excellent question~"

With the nonchalant air of someone taking a pleasant stroll, "Gin Ichimaru" sauntered over toward the table where Bokue and the others sat. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he scanned everyone seated inside the booth before finally fixing his gaze on the two Hero sisters standing to the side.

He raised his hands helplessly.

"Come on now—you didn't really think the village would just give you a pile of money and let you freely roam the city on vacation, did you? Those funds were strictly mission-related expenses~ They were only to ensure you had enough supplies while completing the assignment. And since they were mission funds, obviously there were strict guidelines about how and where they should be spent. Casually reallocating that money for a sightseeing trip? Absolutely not allowed."

"I'm correct, aren't I, Kurumi Nonaka?"

"Gin Ichimaru's" mouth curved into a subtle, amused smirk.

"To be honest, I wasn't too worried about Takashi Hayase or your sister, Yuki Nonaka. But I've been closely watching you since day one. And, admittedly, your performance on the first day of the mission was commendable. However—for reasons I simply cannot fathom—you suddenly checked out of your hotel room early this morning and booked tickets straight to Tokyo."

"Out of curiosity, I decided to follow along and see for myself... and well, this is what I found."

"So would you mind explaining yourself, Kurumi? Why aren't you back in Chiba, responsibly handling your own assigned territory?"

"I—I was just..."

Realizing the man was an official supervisor sent by the village, and caught red-handed slacking off, Kurumi immediately began to stammer nervously.

"W-well... actually, I was planning to team up with my sister first to sweep Tokyo thoroughly. After all, searching an entire area alone is just a bit too—"

"That's not what I'm asking about!"

A sudden, fierce shout abruptly interrupted Kurumi's explanation—but the one shouting wasn't "Gin Ichimaru." Instead, it was Yuki, who'd been glaring at the newcomer with a wary intensity since he first appeared.

Even Bokue Keikain showed a flicker of surprise. He'd rarely seen Yuki—whose expression was always calm and controlled—display such obvious emotional turmoil.

"...I'm asking why the village would ever agree to unseal you and let you out!"

Hmm?

Village unsealing him? What was that about?

An uncertain silence settled around the table, until "Gin Ichimaru" suddenly laughed softly.

"Well~ I think you'd be better off personally asking the village that question yourself. If you insist on an answer from me... All I can say is: considering our target this time is the daughter of a Demon Lord, we absolutely cannot afford any carelessness. Does that satisfy you? Ah... though running into all of you here is an unexpected bonus."

"But even then, they shouldn't have—"

Yuki tried to press further, but Bokue interrupted smoothly.

"So... who are you again?"

"...Eh?"

At this blunt question, even "Gin Ichimaru," who'd given off a composed, articulate impression so far, momentarily froze in surprise.

He thoughtfully stroked his chin before softly exclaiming, "Oh, you really don't know who I am? That's rather surprising. But no matter, let me introduce myself properly: my name is Kyoichi Shiba. Hmm... You could call me the 'Strongest' before you became the 'Strongest' yourself. In other words, I suppose currently I'd be the 'Former Strongest.'"

"Before I became the Strongest?"

Bokue gave him a look of vague confusion, as if genuinely puzzled. "When exactly was that?"

"When exactly...? About ten years ago, I think?"

"Gin Ichimaru"—no, Kyoichi Shiba—paused, recalling thoughtfully.

"If I remember correctly, it was around the time the Hero Village and your Keikain Clan held that joint training."

"So, you know me then?"

Originally, Bokue assumed the guy was just spouting nonsense. But after hearing phrases like "strongest" and "joint training," he grudgingly admitted the guy probably knew him after all.

"Of course."

Kyoichi's lips curled up, clapping his hands together once.

"Ah, but at the time, I wasn't particularly interested in your little training session, so I never interacted with you directly. By the time those old guys started mentioning your exploits, you'd already left. Such a shame~"

"...And your point?"

Truthfully, Bokue already had a pretty good guess where this was heading—but he asked anyway.

Kyoichi's grin widened further.

"No need to beat around the bush then—straightforwardly speaking, I've been looking forward to a fight with you for a long time now."

"...What's the point?"

"No point necessary. This is simply the inevitable process of determining who's truly 'strongest.'"

Huh?

Bokue opened his mouth to respond, paused, took a deep breath—and finally exhaled slowly.

"Only one problem: you're not that strong."

"...Hmm?"

Kyoichi's carefully maintained smile cracked ever so slightly at those words.

"....?"

"Ah, forget it. It's nothing much, just..."

Bokue hesitated once more before continuing with deliberate casualness, "Ah, nevermind. I suppose it makes sense though. The Hero Village's standards have always been pretty low—everyone's equally weak. Someone who's even a little decent would naturally get crowned 'strongest.' Yeah, that's about it."

Kyoichi: "..."

Each deliberate pause in Bokue's statement felt like three heavy slaps to his face.

"You're not that strong..."

"Well, the village's standards were always pretty low—everyone's equally weak..."

"Someone who's even a little decent would naturally get crowned 'strongest'..."

So... he was basically saying Kyoichi was just the tallest dwarf?!

For the first time since appearing, Kyoichi's confident grin vanished entirely, replaced by a flat, humorless line.

"It doesn't matter. Regardless of how unwilling you might be, sooner or later, you and I will face off."

"...Sorry, no thanks. Can't be bothered."

"No worries—whether you're willing or not won't matter. You'll make time."

Kyoichi tilted his head confidently, like he'd already won.

"Have you forgotten? The mission given by the village was to locate the Demon Lord Wilbert's daughter. Now that I've found her, I should be heading back to report. Most likely, the village will label Wilbert's daughter an A-class elimination target."

"Oh, is that so? Well, then I'll just label the whole Hero Village as my A-class elimination target," Bokue responded easily.

"Besides, it's been a while since I paid those old geezers a visit. How about I swing by carrying your severed head as a souvenir? Sound good?"

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