New chapter of Ordinary Person is out (2/3 chapters)

 

 

Chapter 45

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

Golden Week was almost there. I planned to use the long holiday to advance through the dungeon floors. Even after forming a party with Emilia and the others, I had been going to the dungeon every single day. I had started to have some leeway with money, and I had gotten used to the stares from people around me.

As for what Sofia was doing with her full-body armor, I had wondered about it, but it turned out there was a guild service where you could leave it in storage, and that was what she was using. It was a paid service, and it could only be used per party unit. There was also automatic management for things like distributing the money earned as a party and deducting the storage fee, as long as we set it up. That was where being part of a party really showed its value.

When I went solo, I usually made sure to pass through that area. It was where I had once spotted the “Blue Rabbit.” I looked into it afterward, but there wasn’t any information on that rabbit anywhere. It was definitely a rare monster… Since it was a rare opportunity, I wanted to be the first to defeat it. That was why I hadn’t told anyone yet. I had already succeeded in encountering it once. But even then, it got away.

It was just one step away!

Being left-handed, I slashed up in a reverse diagonal with my left knife, and as the rabbit dodged, I reached out with my empty right hand, I even managed to touch it! But I couldn’t capture the rabbit.

If I wait quietly near the burrow, holding my breath, I think I can encounter it again if I’m lucky. When I saw a regular rabbit before, it was also during a quiet break. So, I’m probably not wrong.

“Fuu… Before Golden Week, I’ll defeat you. I’ll go on ahead…” (Kouta)

Since I started working with the party recently, I’ve been talking to myself less, but even then, when I’m alone, I can’t help it.

If the rabbit hears me, it might not show up… I know it’s careless, but I just can’t stop myself.

Waiting in a half-spaced-out daze without fixing my gaze on anything in particular… just as I started thinking maybe it was time to end the break, there it was, suddenly popping up at the edge of my vision.

It’s that guy!

I relaxed my body all at once and tried my best, as an amateur, to erase my presence. It poked its head out of a burrow and carefully scanned the surroundings.

If I move now, it’ll dive right back into the burrow. Still, for it to appear from a burrow that I hadn’t been keeping in view… That’s some skill.

I started preparing my weapon, trying not to direct my thoughts or eyes toward it. The “Blue Rabbit” stepped out from the burrow and began to move around, searching close to the hole. I eased my nervous thoughts with a deep breath and confirmed my grip on the knife.

There were burrows all over the place, so even if I thought it had moved far enough, it could just jump into a different burrow. So, I calculated the timing only based on the distance between the rabbit and the burrow it had come out from. I didn’t do a countdown. If I got into a rhythm, I’d end up putting too much force into it.

The moment… the “Blue Rabbit” becomes focused on something…

Now!

I dashed at full speed toward the “Blue Rabbit”. In that instant, time stretched out, my thoughts sharpened, and my eyes chased its every movement.

I can do it!

In that moment, I was convinced. It was a phenomenon that had sometimes happened ever since I started coming to the dungeon. It showed up in manga and stuff, and I had always wanted to experience that kind of superhuman moment myself. It was what they called the “zone”.

Though I guess it’s probably the same principle as a life-flashing-before-your-eyes moment.

As the rabbit noticed me and began to flee, I slashed up in a reverse diagonal just like before. But this time, I tucked my elbow in a little more and made the move shorter. Instead of swinging wildly, I made only the necessary motion, fast and clean. I succeeded in slicing off its hind leg. Immediately, I caught it with my right hand.

“…I did it! …I did it!! Yes! Yes!” (Kouta)

“Kyuu… kyuu…” (Blue Rabbit)

Don’t look at me with those innocent eyes… You’re just like Mira, and now I can’t bring myself to finish you off easily… Ugh, I caught it… but this is so hard to deal with! If it were something ugly like a goblin, I wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt!!

But the leg I had slashed was already gone. At that rate, there was no saving that rabbit.

“I’m sorry. You can hate me if you want… Just don’t let yourself be found by a human next time you appear.” (Kouta)

I didn’t know the conditions for monsters appearing in dungeons. I didn’t even know what a monster was, to be honest. I knew it was just self-satisfaction. But still, I couldn’t stop myself from saying something. At the very least, to spare it from suffering, I stabbed my knife deeply into its neck. I quietly ate the lychee-like fruit that the “Blue Rabbit” had dropped.

“…It was delicious.” (Kouta)

 

—

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)