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Tl: Sam

…

『Guuu…』
『Gaaah!!』

The monsters rushed at me after my sudden appearance. Orcs, Minotaurs, Salamanders… all B-rank monsters. As expected, they were stronger than the monsters from the other day. However…

“Tanaka-Style Swordsmanship, Blink.”

A high-speed iai strike was unleashed, and the monsters were cleaved in two in an instant. Aside from being on the surface, they were no different from ordinary monsters. As long as I focused only on not letting them escape, it was the exact same thing I did inside dungeons.

「Uwoooooh!!」
「Get ‘em, Shachiken!」
「No way he’d lose to mere B-ranks」
「Looks like there are other people fighting besides Shachiken, maybe things will work out?」
「Suda! How does it feel right now?!」
「Don’t provoke him lolol」

The number of monsters wasn’t that large. Compared to a Monster Disaster, the scale of damage would be far smaller. However, the fear felt by ordinary citizens must be immense. I have to put an end to this uproar quickly.
Looking around, there were other people fighting the monsters besides me. Judging by the clothes they wore, they didn’t seem to be from the Ministry of Monster Control or the police. Amatsuki had mentioned requesting cooperation from guilds, so they were probably from there. As I thought that, one of the people fighting noticed me and approached. Hm? That large man… I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.
“Tanaka-san! You came!”
“Eh, could you be Gouda?”
“Yes, it’s been since you resigned.”

Standing over 190 cm tall, the massive Gouda Masato bowed his head to me. He was my junior from my time at the Black Dog Guild. He looked intimidating and scary, but he was surprisingly polite, a good guy, and abundantly talented in combat. He had even asked me to teach him combat techniques in the past; how nostalgic.
I hadn’t seen him since I resigned, but to think we’d meet in a place like this.

“To think you’d be fighting here. Did you find employment with another guild?”
“No, I haven’t really found a good fit yet, so I’ve been working as a freelancer. Today, I’m just here helping out the guilds.”
“I see. Well, someone like you will do well anywhere.”

Gouda looks rugged, but he’s quite capable and versatile. He has real ability, so he won’t ever struggle to make a living.

「I thought he looked familiar; isn’t he the guy Suda ordered to take down Shachiken?」
「Ah, that guy! I’ve seen him in clips so many times」
「He turned it down because he knew the gap in strength, right?」
「No, it’s simply because he felt indebted to Tanaka. Suda has zero charisma after all lol」
「The conscience of the Black Dog Guild」
「There were a bunch of cops and tough-looking folks in the city, so this was why」

“At any rate, with Tanaka-san here, we can rest easy… hm?”

Before we knew it, a monster came charging in our direction. Noticing this, Gouda drew the greatsword equipped on his back and took a stance.

“Need a hand?”
“No, I can deal with something like this alone.”

Charging toward us was a bull-type monster with thrusters growing from its back, a Rocket Bull. I had fought one with Hoshino before; if I recall correctly, it was a B-rank monster.

“Come…!”
『Bumooo!』

The Rocket Bull blasted magicules from its thrusters and charged forward at high speed. Gouda hoisted the greatsword onto his shoulder and took a solid, grounded stance.
Then, at the very last moment before the Rocket Bull’s horns struck his torso, he swung the blade downward with all his might.

“Hmph…!”

The descending greatsword struck the crown of the Rocket Bull’s head. Its power was immense; the Rocket Bull was slammed into the ground, dying with a final death cry of 『Bumooo!?』. It had been a while since I last saw Gouda fight, but he had grown much stronger than before. Apparently, he hadn’t neglected his training.

「This guy’s a power type too?」
「So strong lol」
「Shachiken’s disciples sure have a lot of power types」
「Power types attract each other, after all」
「Yui-chan, your disciple spot is gonna get stolen!」
「What, the wife spot is still open」
「That seat’s the one that’s already filled, though…」

“You’ve grown strong, Gouda. You might soon surpass even me.”
“Haha… I’m honored, but I’m nowhere near Tanaka-san. The stronger I get, the more I realize that.”

Gouda said humbly. I really didn’t think that was the case, though. Gouda is young; if he works hard, he should be able to catch up. The same went for Hoshino and Rin.

「Like anyone could become like you that easily!」
「Gouda-kun sees reality clearly lol」
「Conversely, it really highlights how blind Suda is to reality… lol」
「That corporate slave-exclusive low self-esteem」
「Who could ever catch up, seriously?!」

While we were talking, monsters surrounded us. It seemed we had caught their attention.

“Shall we? Can you keep up?”
“Haha… I’ll do my best.”

Gouda replied to my question with a strained smile. He seemed a little lacking in confidence, but well, he’d be fine.

「Do your best, Gouda!」
「Well, he can’t really say ‘no’ lol」
「Time to show what a real man can do」
「Shachiken’s asking for the impossible lolol」
「Go get ‘em!」

『Gau!!』
『Goaaaah!!』

The monsters attacked all at once. I cleaved down those that approached in a single strike. Then, grabbing the head of an approaching Orc, I hurled it into the horde of monsters.

“Hup.”
『Migyaa!?』

When the flying Orc slammed into the monster horde, the monsters were blown scattered in all directions, collapsing. Phew, that single throw thinned their numbers quite a bit.

「Totally absurd lol」
「Is this bowling?」
「Now that’s a nice strike」
「Fuhaha! The monsters look like bowling pins!」
「Ah. He threw another one」
「The monsters are flying around like toys…」
「Gouda-kun is dumbfounded lol」
「Seeing it up close must make even less sense lol」

“This is the last one…!”

I cut down the Orc that was attempting to flee. Just in case, I used presence detection, but there were no signs of monsters around. Good, that takes care of that.

“Thank you for your hard work. Having Tanaka-san here was an enormous help.”
“I was the one who was helped. Thanks to you evacuating the civilians, everything went smoothly.”
“No, this is my job, after all.”

Besides Gouda, many Awakened had evacuated the citizens and held back the monsters. Thanks to that, the city’s damage was kept to a minimum.

Now then, I wondered if I should help with the city’s recovery work… when my smartphone rang. Checking it, it seemed monsters had appeared in a different location this time. That damn Suda, sneaking around like this even though I told him I’d take him up on his fight.

“Sorry, Gouda. Can I leave this place to you?”
“Of course. Tanaka-san, please do what only you can do. There are far more people who feel indebted to you than you think. Everyone will gladly lend you their strength.”
“……Thank you. I appreciate it.”

「Gouda is seriously such a good guy」
「Lots of people feel indebted to Shachiken. He’s saved the country from crisis multiple times after all」
「I mean, just being an Imperial Palace Dungeon Returnee makes him a hero lol」
「Thanks to Shachiken, black guilds started getting cracked down on too, you know」 「Because of Tanaka, D-Tuber became the #1 desired profession for elementary schoolers, so more people are gonna look up to him lol」
「Is the number of Corporate Slave Children gonna increase?」
「That name sounds way too awful… lol」

Deciding to head to the next location, I operated my smartphone. Immediately, the stealth aircraft Tsukikage arrived from the sky and touched down beside me. Thanks to its magic engine and specialized thrusters, this fighter craft was apparently capable of hovering stationary in mid-air as well.

“Well then, I’m leaving this place to you. Let’s go grab a bite sometime.”
“Eh, ah, yes!”

「Gouda-kun getting flustered is so cute lolol」
「Well of course he’d freak out if a fighter jet dropped from the sky lol」 「He has the exact same face we had a little while ago」
「Gouda: ‘Why is this person riding on top of a fighter jet?’」

The moment I hopped onto the Tsukikage, it immediately took off, beginning its high-speed flight toward the next destination. At this speed, we would reach the next appearance point in under a minute.

“Suda, I’m not running or hiding.”

To drag out my childhood friend who had yet to show himself, I continued my monster extermination.

Release Announcement: Volume 3 of “Corporate Slave Sword Saint” and Volume 1 of the “Corporate Slave Sword Saint” comic adaptation are set to release simultaneously on 12/6! Both are very entertaining, so we would be thrilled if you pre-ordered them! Thank you for your support!

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