DAY 24: EVENING — THE CAVE

DAY 24

EVENING

♦

THE CAVE

 

I SPENT THE REST OF THE DAY farming goblins, kobolds, mushrooms, and fish. All I could do was walk.

I didn’t level up any further, but my skills did, and I acquired some new ones to boot. So today wasn’t a total waste of time. I hoped that he was intimidated by my skills.

I was so certain that the delinquents, under his total control, would spring an ambush on me, but it never happened. Then the idiot jocks probably defeated the delinquents, meaning he was alone after all—the monster behind the curtain, the puppet-master who pulled everyone’s strings, disguised as a too-ordinary high school boy.

The forest was desolate. All I had to do was wait. His plots and machinations were all in place. I just had to throw a wrench in the works, break the gears of his master plots. Disrupt the whole edifice and send it tumbling down. I could feel the tenseness in the air. He’d be here soon.

Should I go out to meet him? If he wanted to visit, he would. Otherwise, he’d have to go past my cave regardless.

I savored a late dinner—fish poached in a soy sauce marinade—and took a bath. Today was a good day and the worst of days.

He arrived, looking as normal as ever.

“Oh, hey there, Tanaka-kun,” I said. “It’s been a while. You got here pretty late. It’s too late for you, did you know that? So why now?”