Volume 2 Chapter 23
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The owner of that voice was a stunning woman with a defiant air, her presence commanded by a casually draped kimono and a long blade slung at her waist.
With sharp, piercing eyes, she stared down the Guild Master as she continued to speak.
”Why not just leave it to ‘Beyond the Peak’ and ‘Noble Soul’? I’ll take ‘Resonant Melody’ instead. I’m always lurking in the Phase Five Dungeon¹ zones for Mob Culling² anyway, so taking on the actual capture doesn’t really change my routine. Besides, I’ve been itching to fully clear a Phase Five dungeon for once.”
She made this bold proclamation with an air of effortless authority.
Coming from anyone else, such a statement would have sounded like a delusional boast, but coming from her, it was a cold, hard reality.
After all, she—Himezaki Sakurako—was the S-Rank Explorer³ widely considered the strongest in the world.
She was a literal monster who lived for soloing Phase Five Dungeons.
”…You talk a big game, Sakurako. But aren’t you the one who refuses to dive with anyone else? You’ve always insisted on going solo, even in the Phase Fives. No matter how many times we’ve asked, you’ve never once agreed to form a team, have you?”
The Guild Master was right—that was exactly the problem.
I didn’t know her reasons, but Sakurako-san had never belonged to any of the elite explorer teams.
She wouldn’t even consider a short-term temporary contract.
(And now, this legendary solitary wolf is trying to team up with us… with ‘Resonant Melody’?)
”Yeah, that’s true,” Sakurako replied. “But it’s not like I hate people or have some grudge against teamwork. It was simply a matter of efficiency. Until now, being the strongest meant I was faster on my own than I was dragging a team behind me.”
It was an arrogant thing to say, but her track record of dungeon clears rivaled that of the entire ‘Beyond the Peak’ S-Rank guild combined.
It was one woman against a whole organization.
In this room, there wasn’t a single soul who could find the breath to argue with the results she had hammered out.
”But… I have a feeling that with ‘Resonant Melody’ here, I might be able to go even further. I can’t exactly put my finger on the reason, but I’ve always trusted my intuition above all else.”
Sakurako clicked the tip of a long finger against her temple as she spoke.
Those eyes, burning with absolute confidence, seemed to pierce right through me.
She kept her gaze locked onto mine as she spoke again.
”Well, I won’t know the specifics until we sit down and talk. If the Guild Master has no objections, I’d like to settle this between myself and ‘Resonant Melody.’ What do you say?”
”From our perspective, that’s a godsend,” the Guild Master said. “Very well—we will proceed with two teams aiming to conquer two Phase Five Dungeons: the joint team of ‘Beyond the Peak’ and ‘Noble Soul,’ and the pairing of Himezaki Sakurako and ‘Resonant Melody.’ If we can clear both—or at the very least, one—our future will be significantly brighter! As for the other explorer teams, you will be tasked with the Phase Two culls and Phase Three captures to fill the gap left by ‘Resonant Melody’ and ‘Noble Soul’! I know you all have your own objectives, but I ask for your utmost cooperation!”
The Guild Master bowed his head, and no one dared to voice a complaint.
The high-level explorers gathered there mostly looked on with understanding expressions.
The only exception was Kosaka-nii.
Even though the outcome was exactly what he had called for, he was staring at me with a look of pure, unadulterated vitriol.
”Then that concludes today’s high-level guild meeting!” the Guild Master declared. “After this, I want ‘Noble Soul’ to coordinate with ‘Beyond the Peak,’ and ‘Resonant Melody’ to establish contact with Himezaki Sakurako to prepare for the Phase Five capture. I’ll send the data for your respective dungeons shortly!”
With the Guild Master’s closing words, the Dungeon Explorer meeting was officially adjourned.
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Summary:
Himezaki Sakurako disrupts the high-level guild meeting by volunteering to partner with Resonant Melody for a Phase Five capture. Her overwhelming reputation as the strongest solo explorer forces the Guild Master to accept the proposal. The meeting concludes with a strategic reorganization of teams, leaving Kosaka-nii seething with unresolved spite
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Trivia:
- The specific distinction between ‘thinning out’ (mabiki) and ‘capturing’ as separate guild duties
- Sakurako’s unique use of masculine pronouns in the source reflecting her social dominance
- The spatial arrangement of the S-rank guilds versus the protagonist’s positio
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Character Insight:
Sakurako displays a shift from her notorious isolationism to a curiosity-driven partnership, specifically targeting Resonant Melody based on a stated ‘intuition’.
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Glossary:
Notes:
• Guild Master – An artificially‑created, androgynous‑beautied woman, once an S‑Class Dungeon Explorer, now serves as the Guild Master of the Dungeon Explorer Guild and administers the hyper‑advanced dungeon, leading and guiding its members.
• Himezaki – The Himezaki family name, carried by the S-Rank explorer Sakurako. The name is synonymous with the pinnacle of solo dungeon exploration power.
• Sakurako – A stunning woman with sharp, piercing eyes who wears a casually draped kimono and carries a long blade at her waist. She is an S-Rank explorer known as the strongest solo player, capable of clearing Phase Five Dungeons alone.
• Kosaka – Kosaka, a member of the A-Rank team ‘Noble Soul’ and a highly competitive, entitled explorer with a vitriolic personality, harbors deep resentment toward the protagonist; though outwardly a seasoned guild attendee, his lewd gaze and hidden motives hint at darker intentions, including his secret role as a student ninja tasked with assisting Haruka‑san against a stalker using a Wraith Potion—his hostility masking a personal vendetta intertwined with his professional rivalry.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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