Chapter 13: A Surprising Revelation!

"There's no mistake."

"..."

Huh? Why does she look so surprised? Didn't she ask because she was sure?

"It's just... you admitted it so easily that it caught me off guard."

"I mean, it's not like I'm hiding anything."

It's not that I'm intentionally hiding anything. It's just that explaining or registering things can be a hassle, so I haven't really put any information out there, but I'm still a normal explorer.

It's just that explaining things is a hassle, so if I'm asked a question, I'll answer it. Even the branch manager knows my real name and about my shikigami, though I haven't mentioned my trump card because he never asked.

"I see... so you're not hiding anything."

"Huh?"

"It's nothing."

She seemed to have an idea about something... What could it be?

"Can I ask the next question?"

"Go ahead."

Since I'm not hiding anything, it doesn't bother me if she asks a lot of questions. Besides, after being saved by something unknown twice, I can understand why she'd be curious.

"Those... things you're controlling, what are they?"

"You mean the shikigami? They're creatures I created, so they're not monsters."

"Really!?"

They're not monsters, so they don't have magic stones, and when they die, they don't turn to ash. Because of their appearance, they can be mistaken for monsters, so I usually don't summon them in public places, but it was an emergency when I saved Asakawa-san. Searᴄh the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"S-Shikigami, huh... Like an onmyoji?"

"No, I'm not an onmyoji..."

"Can't you use spells or something?"

"I can use magic."

"I can use magic too."

It's just that creating and controlling creatures is called shikigami-jutsu, but I'm not an onmyoji, and I can use magic just like anyone else. Well, since my physical abilities are better than most people's, I usually prefer close combat with a sword rather than using magic.

"I see... so that's a type of magic?"

"Yes, since they're created with magic power."

The convenient thing about shikigami-jutsu is that once you create a creature, you can summon and dismiss it freely. You have to imagine it in detail to be able to use it, and its strength changes depending on how much magic power you put into it. If you create it properly, you can even give it a sense of self. My Raiju yawns like a big dog because I've given it self-awareness.

"Does that mean I could use it too!? It'd be so cute to have a dog for my streams!"

"Wait a second."

"Huh?"

I mustered up the courage to touch Asakawa-san's hand. Wow... it's so smooth. Are all girls like this? No, that's not the point.

"Hmm... if you work really hard, it might be possible?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"Shikigami-jutsu requires innate talent."

By touching someone's body, you can sense their magic power. This is common knowledge, but I was checking whether Asakawa-san's magic power was suitable for shikigami-jutsu. That being said, there's no clear standard, so it's just a maybe.

It's about the quality of the magic power. Without the right innate talent, you can't master shikigami-jutsu. It operates on principles entirely different from ordinary magic.

"Innate talent, huh."

"Yes. You wouldn't be able to use it as freely as I can."

"I see... that's a shame."

She must have been really hoping she could use it. She looks really disappointed.

"'Raiju.'"

"Huh?"

I channeled my magic and summoned Raiju. This time, though, it's much smaller than usual—about palm-sized. The little Raiju, summoned with a pop, looked up at me as if to say, "Why did you summon me so small?" But in this size, it's not scary at all.

"C-Cute!"

"I guess I had the talent for shikigami-jutsu... so I can summon them like this whenever I want."

"That's amazing!"

"T-Thank you."

This is bad. I'm not used to being praised, so I'm starting to feel embarrassed. When the staff at the branch praises me, it usually just goes in one ear and out the other, but being complimented face-to-face by a girl like this makes me blush. If a beautiful girl smiles at you and says you're amazing, of course, you'd be happy! Maybe I'm not as emotionally drained as I thought!

"Raiju-chan is so cute."

"...Don't make that face."

Is this what they call doting on something? Asakawa-san is stroking and prodding the little Raiju, her eyes sparkling, but every time she does, Raiju looks at me with a face full of displeasure.

"Guess I have no choice."

"Oh..."

Raiju seemed really uncomfortable, so I dismissed it. Asakawa-san looked a bit disappointed, but when she saw my face, she seemed to remember that we were in the middle of a conversation and shook her head, clearing her throat.

"S-So, next question."

"Ah, okay."

She's pretending that didn't happen.

"You came to rescue me on the 41st floor, so are you C-rank?"

"I wasn't really there to rescue you... but let's just go with that."

At that time, Raiju was just following the scent of blood down to the lower floors. I had no idea Asakawa-san was on the brink of death.

"My explorer rank... isn't C, though."

"Wait, you went to the lower floors without being C-rank!?"

She's got the wrong idea.

"Asakawa-san, you're C-rank, right?"

"That's right. I just recently reached C-rank, so I thought I'd try the lower floors, but I failed twice."

So she streams, huh.

Still, it must have taken a lot of effort to reach C-rank as a high school student... That's pretty impressive. I've never bothered to rank up past E, so I can't even imagine how hard it must be to reach C.

"This is my explorer card."

"...Didn't they tell you during the training not to show your explorer card to others carelessly?"

"Huh? But you're fine, right, Kisaragi-kun?"

Where does that confidence come from?

The explorer card contains a lot of important information. It has your address, explorer ID, birthdate, and other details, so it's basically a form of identification. You're not supposed to show it carelessly.

Should I take this as a sign that she trusts me, or is she just being careless? Definitely the latter.

"Sigh... fine."

I took out my explorer card from my wallet and placed it on the table. It has personal information that I haven't registered with the Explorer Association, so I really shouldn't be showing it, but since she showed hers, it feels wrong not to show mine.

"Hmm... what? EX?"

"Uh... yeah."

"Like, that EX?"

"Is there another one?"

She looks incredibly shocked.

Come to think of it, this is the first time I've shown my explorer card to anyone since becoming EX. Maybe that's why she's so surprised.

I guess it makes sense, there are only four EX-rank explorers in Japan... I should have been more careful about showing it.