SSS-Class Hunter is Going to Rest - Chapter 94
Only Krnovel
Episode 94 Towards the 100th Floor (7)
2024.06.18.
As the welcoming crowd got closer, the cheers grew louder.
People of all ages, from very young children to old people with white hair, scattered confetti in the air and waved flags.
“Daphne-sama!”
“Team Daphne!”
“Welcome! I missed you!”
“Sister! Please look this way!”
“I enjoyed the broadcast!”
“Elaine! You’re so handsome!”
“The wings suit you so well! It’s like an angel has descended! Goddess! Goddess!”
Su-ji’s stiff eyes softened at the welcoming voices pouring in from various languages. She was just here to work according to the contract and the relationship of interest, but there was no need to show a bad face to the people who welcomed her. Hiding her
slightly embarrassed feelings, Su-ji folded her wings and stood at the entrance of the “Tower of the Philosopher.”
Because there were so many people, a barricade was set up at the entrance to prevent onlookers from getting in. A woman in a blue uniform standing inside smiled and extended her hand.
“I’m embarrassed to have made you come all this way. It’s Noah.”
Suzy opened her eyes wide.
Noah, the S-class hunter from the United States.
It was only known that he had suddenly announced his retirement, so it was the first time she had seen his face in person.
She had not expected that someone like him would come out to greet her.
“There is a gate security department in the United States, too. And I was recently appointed as the director there.”
Noah extended his hand, and Suzy took it.
“Ah… … I was busy, so I’m late in getting back to you. Congratulations.”
“No. It’s an honor to meet you like this. I really wanted to meet you someday. You are the hope of humanity.”
The words “hope of humanity” might have been a passing remark, but they sounded meaningful.
Suzy reflexively looked straight at the woman in front of her again.
Her blond hair, mixed with white, was tied up in a ponytail, and her face was barely made up. Her eyes, which were almost green, had a sharp aura. She
didn’t seem like the type of person who would give up, discouragement, or frustration.
Come to think of it, Noah had also been to the top floor of the Laurel Tree.
Suzy thought it would be better to mention it, so she asked.
“… … Have you seen the reward of the Laurel Tree?”
Suzy nodded with a gentle smile to her question.
Judging from the fact that she immediately agreed even though she had said she had “seen” the reward, it was clear that she had witnessed the same end as Suzy.
Her attitude was completely different from Ageha’s.
It was hard to understand how they could be so different when they had seen the same thing.
Wow!
Peace and Saint arrived soon after, and another round of cheers erupted.
Suzy asked carefully amidst the commotion.
“Can we talk?”
“Of course. There are a lot of people here, so I’ll take you aside. “Please tell me when you come out of the tower.”
Noah smiled and let go of the hand he had been holding tightly.
Suzy nodded and turned around to greet the team members who were joining.
“We’re here, team leader.”
“We’ve brought Nature here for now, but are we taking her up to the tower too?”
“I think that would be a good idea.”
When she answered, Peace declared his position toward the status window.
The area around where the team was standing glowed blue.
The feeling of entering the tower was familiar.
The only difference was that the cheering surrounded the area.
And the place they had to conquer was the 71st floor. It didn’t have to be that much of a burden.
The group also had light expressions, as if they were going for a walk.
Suzy closed her eyes for a long time and opened them again.
‘Huh?’
When she turned her head at the sudden sensation of Elaine standing behind her, she saw her pale face barely standing, leaning on her sword.
“… … Elaine?”
Thump, thump, thump.
The floor began to vibrate. When I turned my head at the strange sound, the boss monster of the 71st floor was revealed.
* * *
It took about 30 minutes for the battle to end.
It was because Elaine suddenly complained of an abnormality.
Considering the times when Team Daphne usually went around the 71st floor, it shouldn’t have taken that long, but since there were only three people instead of the usual four, it took a little longer.
By the time the battle was over, Elaine had fully recovered and was about to join, but Suzy strongly dissuaded them, so in the end the three of them finished it off.
Thud.
Suzy, who was staring at the giant insect-like monster that had fallen to the ground, ignored the message about the first strategy reward and turned her head to Elaine, who was sitting quietly on one side.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.”
Elaine answered right away, but she didn’t trust it at all.
Not only Suzy, but Saint also had a worried expression.
“You still don’t seem to be feeling well. I think it would be better to go to the Hunter Hospital.”
Elaine shook her head.
“As I told Daphne back then, I’m not feeling well.”
“Elaine.”
“I’m not being unreasonable… … Really. I’m fine.”
Suzy frowned.
Her face was definitely different now than when she suddenly looked pale. She really did look fine, just as he said.
However, as an SS-rank hunter, he knew better.
The condition of each team member affected the entire team.
It wasn’t something that could be done by threatening like this.
She glared at Elaine for a while before nodding to Saint and Peace.
It meant that they wanted to talk for a moment, just the two of them.
“Then we’ll go first and hold a signing event. I have a lot of fans here.”
“What kind of fans are they? Mr. Peace is really a jerk. Aren’t you worried about Elaine?”
“Elaine suffered an organ injury or something. Would she be talking weakly in front of us? The right thing to do is to get out of the way.”
“Do you think Elaine is like Peace?
Are you being unnecessarily proud?” “When have I ever been unnecessarily proud?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Let’s go quickly!”
Peace and Saint grumbled and happily left the tower first. Nature, who had become a burden, disappeared along with them. When
the two people completely disappeared and the blue light faded, only silence flowed in the dark interior of the tower.
Suzy sat on the small window on one wall and looked at Elaine.
She really didn’t seem to care, but the more she did, the stranger it became.
“Elaine.”
“Yes.”
“Be honest. Tell me what’s been going on lately. Don’t make people feel uncomfortable.”
He stared at her for a long time before speaking out.
“I had something to tell you anyway. I’ve been putting it off, but I think it’s time to tell you now.”
Suzy narrowed her eyes at his solemn attitude.
“… … You’re not going to confess that Elaine was the Messiah, are you?”
Elaine smiled bitterly.
“No.”
Even as she joked, a complex emotion flashed across his face.
Suzy tried to read Elaine’s expression, but it was hard to figure out what he was thinking. He seemed apologetic, or at times, affectionate.
“Actually, I’ve been to the 100th floor of the tower.”
It was an incredibly sudden statement.
Of all the words she expected to come out of his mouth, it must have been the least predictable.
Suzy chewed over Elaine’s absurd words.
The 100th floor? She didn’t understand it at all.
“You mean the Tower of the Philosopher?”
“Yes.”
“You mean you went through the crack?”
“No. If I had, I probably wouldn’t have been able to come back alive. I went up the steps one floor at a time.”
The more I listened to his testimony, the stranger it became.
What was he talking about ?
“… … If so.”
But no matter how much I thought about it, it wasn’t logically possible.
“Really… … Really?”
“Really.”
“We received the initial compensation together. It doesn’t make sense that Elaine has been to the 100th floor. Especially if it wasn’t through a crack.”
I refuted his words point by point, but Elaine nodded as if nothing had happened.
“I know.”
“… … What on earth are you talking about?”
I worried because he didn’t seem to be in good shape, but he kept talking strangely. It
didn’t even
make sense. I knew he wasn’t the type to joke around about things like this, so I trusted him, so I was even more confused. What on earth was he trying to say?
Despite Suzy’s expression, Elaine calmly continued to talk.
“It’s easy to prove. The 86th floor, the 87th floor, the 88th floor. “Because I can tell you what bosses exist and how to destroy them.”
I was amazed.
“Elaine.”
“Yes.”
“Are you talking nonsense? Have you been drinking?”
“No.”
“… … I need to tell you something possible so you can pretend to believe me.”
“It was possible. Because I went to the 100th floor with Daphne, not just me.”
Elaine smiled softly and confessed, making her heart pound loudly.
Suzy had been wondering what the prophecy she had seen in the Laurel Tree
could be. She had always wondered why she was so tired, and what Elaine had said she would do for her.
Thump, thump.
Her heart was pounding with an uneasy feeling.
“I think it would be better to tell you about the 100th floor rewards first.”
“… … The 100th floor rewards?”
“Even the small, temporary tower called the Laurel Tree pours out rewards for its last floor, so wouldn’t the 100th floor rewards for the Tower of the Sage be considerable?”
“… … I don’t know where to start and where to end.”
“There is a 〈deviation〉 there.”
“〈deviation〉?”
“It is an object that can turn back time.”