High School Girl Warrior: How to Save an Apocalyptic World - CH 75

Chapter 75 – Boss

I resumed my search while trying to act as much like a harmless young man as possible.

However, even though this is a branch school, the university grounds are still fairly large.

In the end, the sun had now set, and I still had no idea who the Spirit Tamer was.

The efficiency of the survey also wasn’t that good due to how Skill Appraisal works.

Sure, the ability of knowing if someone is a Player just by using the skill is great, but my eyes glow light-blue when I use this skill.

Even while wearing the Coward’s Glasses, someone should still be able to notice it if my eyes suddenly start shining.

That was quite troublesome.

As long as I don’t know where the Spirit Tamer is lurking, I have to hide myself whenever I use Skill Appraisal.

And now, shortly after the sunset, I heard someone exclaim, “Everyone, it’s time to eat!”

Several of the ladies form the cafeteria were ringing a large bell too, so as to call people’s attention. They probably prepared this one specifically for this purpose.

… Wouldn’t it be troublesome if zombies were attracted by the sound of the bell, though?

Well, regardless of whether or not this attracts zombies, the bell’s sound made almost everyone inside this community, save for a few sentries, started gathering in droves.

This is my last chance to use Skill Appraisal today. If I try using it after it gets too dark, I will stand out too much.

On a side note, I was a bit surprised that the interior of the dining room was actually powered up by electricity.

I thought someone might be using Thunder Magic to make this work, but they apparently had a generator instead.

… Coming to think of it, I haven’t heard anyone mention any sort of mysterious powers since I arrived at this community.

Therefore, the Player here is most likely hiding their powers.

When you consider that, it makes sense that the Player was attracted to the power of using beings that should normally be invisible.

I positioned myself in a place where I could overlook the entirety of the dining room, and then, while slowly eating the food that was distributed to me, I used Skill Appraisal whenever I had the chance.

Oda, Akai, Sakata, the ladies of the cafeteria… I had to be careful with where they were looking at, so as to make sure they weren’t staring at me when I used the skill.

As a result, I was able to not be detected so far, but no matter how many times I activated the skill, I couldn’t find the Spirit Tamer either.

Could it really be the boss then? In that case, I definitely need to meet the boss to find this out.

… He doesn’t seem to be here though.

But just as I was thinking that…

“B-boss!” Oda and the other executives suddenly left their seats and stood up.

In the direction they were looking at, I could see a man standing tall in front of them.

He was probably around his mid-thirties, and he looked like an office worker of sorts, which was fairly unusual for this post-apocalyptic world.

His hair was well-kept, and he gave of an elegant impression overall. The kind of person that would appear on TV commercials as the ideal salesperson or something.

He definitely doesn’t look like a gang boss. I was imagining him as a fat little man holding a cigar or something like it.

“Boss… What is it…?” Oda’s voice was drowned by the hustle and bustle around him.

Mmmm… The location wasn’t great. They were too far away, so I couldn’t hear the conversation.

The boss seemed to be giving order to his subordinates while holding his stylish glasses.

Still, this seems like a good opportunity. Let’s use Skill Appraisal-

Or so I had thought.

But then, everyone, starting with Oda, turned their gazes towards me.

Seems like the boss gave them some instructions… What’s gonna happen now? I have a bad feeling about this.

At this moment, Oda walked towards me with a solemn expression in his face.

Is a battle about to start? I’d prefer if that didn’t happen…

For the time being though, I kept on eating the meal in front of me.

“Hey, Swirly Glasses, boss is calling.” Oda told me.

“Huh? Why?” I asked, feeling as if I was the idiot of a comedy duo.

“Dunno the specifics, but there is certainly something he wants to talk to you about.” Oda replied.

“Really? Why?” I asked.

“… Have you already forgotten what you did?” Oda asked with some disbelief in his tone.

I averted my gaze from him.

“You killed the boss’ ex-lover, you know?” Oda told me with an exasperated expression.

Oh, right, there was that…

“Wasn’t that already taken care of though?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, it’s not like he wants to blame you for it… Or rather, it’s the opposite.” Oda’s tone made me feel like there was a bit of jealousy in his words, “He seems to have been amused. You should go have a drink with him.”

“Alcohol…? I’m underage.” I replied.

“Do you care about that these days?” Oda laughed, “Then just sip a bit of it and try to not get crushed by the boss.”

“Haah?” I replied.

Apparently, this is not as bad as I had thought.

Or rather, it’s an opportunity for a one-on-one meeting.

“Okay, let’s go.” I decided.

“Hold on a second.” Oda stopped me.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Leave that sword.” Oda told me.

“Mmmm?” I stared at the sword I have been carrying with me from the moment I got here, “Don’t wanna.”

“It’s safe here. You don’t have to carry a sword with you all the time.” Oda replied.

“This is my life. I’ll let go of it when my life has ended.” I told him.

This much was true. These days I can’t even sleep well without holding my sword.

“… I guess it’s alright, but it’s rude.” Oda sighed.

“It’s like a talisman. I have no intentions of attacking the boss.” I replied.

Of course, that was a lie.

“Obviously, because if you try that… I’ll kill you.” Oda told me.

Good grief… He is certainly loyal.

***

“Nice to meet you. This is who I am.” The boss skillfully pulled out a business card from his pocket with an elegant gesture, and handed it out to me. It seemed like something he had done many times over the years.

-Ikegami Commercial – Sales Department

-Section Chief: Akechi Mitsuya

A sparkling name that doesn’t fit his age at all. *

“So, Akechi, you’re… The sales manager?” I asked.

At this moment, Akechi smiled, flashing his white bright teeth at me, “That’s just my status in the old world. Don’t worry too much about it.”

He seems to be very humble person… It’s hard to know what this kind of person is thinking though, which makes them kinda scary.

Hold on… Couldn’t that apply to me too? Didn’t I just make a self-deprecating joke of sorts just now?

“Well then… Before that, how should I call you anyways?” Akechi asked me.

“Swirly Glasses is fine. Or just Glasses Guy or anything like that.” I shrugged.

Akechi smiled gracefully at that, “Then, come with me, Glasses.”

Mmm… I wasn’t sure how to say it, but I felt like each and every one of his movements gave off an impactful aura.

I left the cafeteria while being sandwiched between Akechi and Oda.

Akechi’s residence was in a building not too far from there.

It was in a school building where filming-related classes were held. Classic cameras, projectors and various movie props were there.

“Ooh…?” I looked at it with a dazed expression.

“Isn’t it interesting? I actually graduated in this university.” Akechi told me.

“Really?” I asked.

“Yes, I wanted to be a movie director, but I didn’t have the talent for it.” Akechi explained.

He then started talking about how this was why he chose this location for his base, and both him and Oda were staring at the room while Akechi talked.

This was the perfect timing. An opportunity had arrived, so I quickly activated Skill Appraisal while they weren’t staring at me.

“… Huh?” I accidentally said out loud, them immediately erased the skill.

“What’s wrong?” Akechi asked this right after I had finished using the skill.

“No, it’s nothing.” I shook my head.

Akechi had a puzzled expression on his face, but he proceeded without minding it too much.

As for me, I couldn’t help frowning.

Because neither Oda nor Akechi were the Spirit Tamer.

Or rather, they weren’t even Players. They were just ordinary people.

Then… In that case… What’s going to happen next?

——————————–

* Translator’s Note: The boss’ name is written by using the following kanjis: “bright”, “wisdom”, “light”, “evening”, hence why the MC made this comment in her internal monologue.