What on earth did I do?
When I came to, Gaf, Sora, Little Sister Fox, and Kurahi were dancing in a stagnant gray world, clutching armfuls of fox masks.
It was completely nonsensical, yet somehow they looked like they were having a wonderful time. I tapped my head, trying to recall why I was in a place like this, but nothing came to mind.
Was this heaven? Or perhaps hell? Against a backdrop of silent lightning flashing across the sky, I watched Kurahi and the others twirl about merrily, and I felt everything slowly becoming irrelevant.
As I slowly blinked, I suddenly felt a hand grab my arm from behind.
"What are you doing, looking so gloomy — former Clan Master?"
The one who grabbed my arm was Tomosubi, leader of the Lantern Knight Order. Behind her, her party members — all uniformly outfitted in matching gear — held hands and spun in circles.
It was simple movement, but the sheer number of people made it spectacular. That's when I noticed an odd phrase mixed into Tomosubi's words.
"Hm...? Former Clan Master?"
"What are you going on about? You retired from being a Hunter and Clan Master on perfectly good terms ages ago."
"...!!"
Retirement... that's right, I retired, didn't I? I couldn't remember the details, but Tomosubi wasn't the type to joke. Her words carried more weight than my hazy memories.
As I rubbed my eyes, Tomosubi — in a rare display — told me with a beaming smile: "So, today we have to finish the rest of the requests. Time to dance!"
She proclaimed it magnificently. The Lantern Knight Order members who had been holding hands burst apart and began performing a dazzling dance with sharp, trembling steps. The circle that had started small gradually expanded as Franz joined in, then Arnold, then Lord Gregg, then His Majesty the Emperor, Her Highness the Princess, Kecha, Terumu, and more. Abyssal Flame Annihilation launched multicolored flames into the sky, and then suddenly my body was hoisted up from below onto someone's shoulders — "Klye-chan, congratulations on your amicable retirement!"
— And then, I opened my eyes in bed.
"...Man, that was one heck of a dream."
My nightclothes were drenched in sweat. I rubbed my eyes, held my head, and slowly took in my surroundings. The familiar bedroom — the room we'd been staying in.
That's when a cheerful voice called out to my drowsy self.
"Klye-chan, good morning! What what? A bad dream?"
The one who appeared was Liliz. The same Liliz who had hoisted me onto her shoulders while celebrating my amicable retirement.
Her eyes, brimming with vibrant life force, were just as dazzling today. Slowly, the memories from before I lost consciousness began to resurface.
Starting from the day I suddenly ended up competing in the Martial Emperor Festival — the talking water jug, the falling lightning, the Little Sister Fox who fought in my place, the sudden rampage of the fox masks — it was every bit as absurd as the dream I'd just had. Maybe that wasn't a dream either?
As I blinked, unable to hide my confusion, Liliz explained.
"Klye-chan, you passed out after everything was over... The doctor said you were fine, but how's your body?"
I see, I see...?
I moved my arms and touched my hands and feet to check, but there was no particular pain. At that point, Citry came in with a smile, explaining as she went.
"Good morning, Klye-san. Everything has been handled. The doctor diagnosed it as simple fatigue, but — are you feeling alright?"
Originally, my stamina was about average for a regular person. Yesterday I'd been under continuous stress, the situation had been changing by the minute, the ground had been violently shaking, and for someone as frail as me, it wouldn't have been strange to lose consciousness.
If anything, hadn't I done remarkably well this time? Maybe I could retire now...
...Wait a moment... ...Yesterday?
I looked at the window where bright sunlight was streaming in. I blinked and turned to Citry.
"Yeah, I'm fine now. ...By the way, how long was I asleep?"
Citry looked slightly pensive, then held up one finger.
A day? One night? Less time had passed than I'd thought?
As I breathed a sigh of relief, Citry — still smiling — held up a second finger, then a third, then a fourth.
Stunned into silence, I watched as she began counting back down one by one — eventually settling on two.
Two?
Two days? I slept for two days? All I said was I was tired, but that's way too much sleep!
"Two days? You slept for two days? I just said I was tired — don't you think that's a bit much?"
"No, this is peace."
"Stop messing around!"
Liliz struck Citry's head on my behalf. Citry... had something genuinely good happened to her?
Just as I was about to open my mouth, Luke and the others burst into the bedroom with their usual energy.
"Hey, Klye! You feeling alright!? Listen, Gaark the branch chief told me not to chase after him —"
"Haa... you've finally woken up, brother. Honestly, making everyone worry like that..."
"...Mmm."
I still didn't know exactly how many days had passed, but it seemed the situation had calmed down.
As I was still somewhat lingering in the dream world, Citry gave a small cough and stepped forward as usual to address the group.
"So, where should we start... Ah yes — with the damage assessment that I'm sure Klye-san is worried about, and the fact that despite having such a favorable position, we let the fox slip away."
§ "Whoa... this is terrible..."
I couldn't help but gasp. The arena where the Martial Emperor Festival had been held was in ruins.
The arena, built in the center of Kleet on vast grounds and serving as the city's landmark, had completely collapsed. The towering structure had been reduced to rubble, with only the impressive stone monument that had stood before it remaining as any trace of what had been there. The well-maintained roads were split with massive cracks, showing just how powerful that tremor had been.
No one would believe that a single Treasure Weapon had caused all of this.
It surpassed the destructive power of any offensive Treasure Weapon I'd seen before. After all, the arena had been built to prioritize sturdiness, with barrier after barrier layered on top. Even the Holy Sword wielded by Ark, known for its tremendous power, would have struggled to cause destruction on this scale.
Watching so many people clearing away the rubble filled me with guilt.
When I'd heard the full account from Citry, my only response had been: "Huh?"
Apparently, the figure standing at the center of the arena had been the bad fox that Gaark and the others had been chasing. And this bad fox had been trying to misuse the Key of the Earth to plunge the world into destruction. It sounded like a joke, but with devastation like this right in front of me, I had no choice but to believe it.
Now I understood why I'd thought it was far too vicious for just a fox mask enthusiast club... So what? That meant I had been standing before that dangerous creature without even a Barrier Ring? If things hadn't worked out, I would've thrown up on the spot.
The real problem wasn't bad luck — it was that everyone used foxes as their symbol. It made everything impossibly confusing.
Little Sister Fox was a Phantom, and apparently in Kleet there had been three different factions operating: the bad fox, the good fox, and the Phantom fox — all similar-looking creatures. Completely incomprehensible. Even someone who wasn't me could easily mistake them for one another.
Lucia, who had exhausted her mana and passed out for a time, let out a deep sigh in sympathy.
"That only the arena was destroyed is a miracle. I thought we were done for as well."
"Mm-hm."
Anthem nodded with feeling.
When the Key of the Earth had activated, Lucia and the other mages had poured everything into containing the destruction. Without that, things would have been far worse than this.
So once again, it was Lucia and the others covering for my blunder. This time, the blast radius had been too wide, but — Countless carriages were parked nearby, loading up rubble and hauling it away. Yet the expressions of those cleaning up weren't all that grim.
The lack of a gloomy atmosphere around the arena ruins was because, remarkably, no one had died in the collapse.
For such a massive building to crumble without any casualties was truly extraordinary. The fact that the Martial Emperor Festival had been full of powerful individuals — both participants and spectators alike — was perhaps the only silver lining in all of this.
"Well, there were plenty of Hunters among the audience, and Gaark-chan was there too... So the outcome makes sense, right?"
"I also provided — well, I donated quite a lot of potions."
"I cut down a ton of them too!"
Luke declared with surprising confidence. I'd really prefer it if he did something other than cutting.
But still... what should I do about all this?
"The Empire is frantically pursuing the fox that unleashed the Key of the Earth. Their usual caution has gone out the window — it seems the Empire is taking this matter very seriously."
Citry poked my shoulder, looking oddly delighted. You always seem to be having fun, don't you?
But if they found out I was the one who had activated the Key, that cheerful demeanor wouldn't last.
The scale of this destruction — even considering it was stopped midway — would undoubtedly mean the death penalty. "I accidentally tripped" certainly wouldn't work as an excuse.
Well, in the end the fox had been trying to release the Key anyway, so the outcome wasn't really that different... But the trigger, ugh.
As I frowned, Citry said, still smiling: "It was the fox."
"...No, but I bear some responsibility too —"
"You, Klye-san, bear no responsibility whatsoever. It was all the fox's doing."
"No, but —"
"It was the fox."
For some reason, Citry was adamant. Luke, Lucia, and Liliz all expressed their agreement in turn.
"I don't know what's going on, but the fox is to blame!"
"...It was the fox's fault."
"The fox is obviously to blame! Klye-chan did everything right, and the ones at fault are the fox and... the organizers who went and cancelled the Martial Emperor Festival over this!"
So the fox was to blame.
It seemed there was no room for argument. Hmm, I still thought I bore some responsibility, but...
At the very least, I didn't think the organizers were to blame — sorry to Luke and the other participants who'd been looking forward to it, but when the venue is in shreds, cancellation is the only option.
Letting out a long sigh, I looked at Citry who kept smiling while pressing her point with irresistible pressure, and said: "But the fox isn't the only one at fault — Citry, you're partly to blame too, you know."
"Huh!? W-What!?"
"Mm-hm."
Citry's eyes went wide, and Anthem — who had remained silent until now — nodded sagely.
Well, what's done was done. But going forward, as a Level 8 Hunter, what should I do?
Getting caught up in the [Lost Inn] had been dangerous enough the other day, but apparently my luck had taken another turn for the worse.
Things would inevitably work out the way they were meant to, but it seemed a perfect retirement like in my dream was still a ways off.
Taking a deep breath and stretching my limbs wide, I led my companions away from the arena ruins.