A week had passed since Hanazono Karen tried to solicit me into her faith, but things things had been rather peaceful so far. The world, as ever, continued to turn without paying any attention to me or my troubles.
While my class was abuzz with the suspension of Aihara-kun due to his involvement with a woman, Japanese society was busy criticizing the government, the police, and the steep increase in the prices of goods.
<<Prices of imported goods rising across the board is a real problem. Japan has many Awakened Ones, don’t we? How I wish some of them do some actual good like challenging the dungeons abroad and protect the fields there in the process.>>
<<The rise in Awakened One-related crimes is honestly scary…I even heard recently of an Awakened One spying on a junior high school…yes, they used their superpower to spy on minors.>>
<<The police should do their jobs better. They’ve been incompetent all this time, be it in dealing with Awakened Ones or dungeons.>>
<<The government should improve the relief they give to the disaster-stricken areas! They can spare the money for all the gear for the adventurers and the police, after all!>>
<<Why not let the Awakened Ones live near the dungeons? Of course, only those that would apply for it. The land around the dungeons have been getting cheaper, I hear, so won’t it be the perfect answer?>>
And so on.
They sure are saying a bunch of stuff, but that’s got nothing to do with me! It’s time for some dungeon exploration!
Today, near the end of May, was my last session at the mental health clinic. That meant I was now free to resume my activities as an adventurer! That felt like forever…I couldn’t believe they told me not to inside dungeons while my diagnosis and treatment were ongoing.
I was scheduled to meet Ogata-san tomorrow, so I probably wouldn’t have time to go to a dungeon then. So, even if it would be for just half of a day, I decided to still dungeon delve today.
The one I chose was the lava dungeon. The one where Salamander monsters appeared.
Both of my parents weren’t happy about the thought of me going into a dungeon again so soon, but personally, I wanted to confirm as soon as possible whether I could still do this or just retire. I was fine in body and mind, anyway.
My primary motivation was more practical though…it was money.
“Master, are you sure you’re feeling fine?”
“Yeah. I mean, probably.”
“In that case, I’ll do everything in my power to protect you.”
“Mm, sure, thanks. But don’t overdo it, alright?”
“Leave it all to me!”
“No, not leave it all to me…I’m asking you to take care of yourself too.”
“Let’s give it our best!”
“Yeah, sure…”
For some reason, Layla was highly enthusiastic today. While I was wondering why she was acting like that, we proceeded to enter the dungeon.
I had been in this dungeon before, so I knew what to expect, especially in a fight. I was well above the recommended dungeon rank too, so as long as there wasn’t any unforeseen event like last time, I should be able to explore without anything to write home about.
I dealt with Salamanders that popped out of the lava by wrangling them from below and then decapitating them. Those that were shooting fireballs from a bit farther away, Layla brought down by launching rock spears.
The pathways sloped and bent many times. Moreover, either side of me almost always had magically made lava, so exploration was definitely not easy by any means. Still, somehow, I was used to this by now.
There was one thing that was truly giving me a hard time in this dungeon. The temperature. I mean, I was an Awakened One and I was still dripping in sweat under my helm. An ordinary person might pass out from the heat before the magic power concentration could get to them.
All that being said, I really felt like Layla was being a bit more gung-ho about blasting her spells today. Like, was she testing out something? Whenever she launched a rock spear or when she produced a stake from the ground, she would tilt her head and become silent, almost like she was ruminating on something.
Aside from my confusion about her behavior, our exploration was proceeding smoothly. About 2 hours after, one magic stone from a Salamander dropped.
“Yes!”
I pumped my fist without thinking and then put the magic stone into my Item Bag. Man, the moment I saw the magic stone drop, my brain turned into mush. After all, these things fetch a few hundred yen a piece.
It would soon be 2 months since I made my debut as an adventurer. During which, I had earned over a million yen. I daresay not many high school students could get that much so quickly.
…the problem was, prices for low-ranking Item Drops were slowly but surely beginning to fall. I needed to earn and save up now before it was too late. Which was, again, why I wanted to resume my work as an adventurer as soon as possible.
Once the market price for such goods fall in earnest, everyone would be scrambling to sell whatever they had while it still had value. In turn, the market would be flooded with such products, resulting in another fall in prices. Or so I think, at least.
I had no idea what would happen to world. All I wanted was to save up while I could.
“Let see. You think it’s about time for us to search for the exit gate and come back?”
“…yes, let’s go home.”
Layla replied after a short pause and then smiled with overflowing enthusiasm.
“Master, I have a proposal. I’d like to have that Magic Stone so that I can make a certain Magic Tool.”
“Huh?”
I was confused, but I knew she wasn’t the type to propose something like this without careful consideration. I had no problem giving it to her, but I was curious as to what she would use it for.
“I don’t mind, but what Magic Tool would that be?”
“It’s something necessary to do what you saw in the Low-tier Knight’s video.”
“…huh? Wait, you mean…!”
I recalled that video the bikini-armor-clad content creator posted a few days ago. It had received many complaints from human rights groups so it was taken down in just a day, but because of the details it had, it had been reposted everywhere. I myself remembered what it was all about quite well.
“B-but…that’d be doing you dirty, won’t it?”
The information in the video definitely got me interested, but that was not important.
Firstly, there was enough ethical issues about it that human rights groups intervened. But more importantly, I felt that it would be like betraying Layla. For those reasons, I turned her down when she asked what was on the video.
“I appreciate your unnecessary concern for me, but the Minotaur incident should have made it painfully obvious how lacking we are in fighting strength. With our survival on the line, we can’t be too selective in the methods we use. As long as the methods are allowed by the law, of course.”
“A-as long as we refrain from going into any dungeons that dangerous…”
“Oh? Did you enter the Crete Dungeon willingly back then?”
“Well…”
“It is no longer strange for that kind of thing to happen anywhere in the world. Which is why we urgently need to improve our fighting strength. I believe that method is a good first step.”
Layla was not wrong.
In the world after the [Return to the age of gods], it was definitely possible for me to once again be thrown into a high-level dungeon all of a sudden.
One commentator on a TV show describe the Shinjuku dungeon overflow back then as a “disaster”. And I agree with that. Much like other disasters, dungeon overflows were hard to avoid and impossible to predict with pinpoint accuracy. My Magic Eyes allowed me to see into the future, but not that far into the future.
But still…I mean…
“But…are you fine with that, Layla?”
“Sorry?”
“If we…do that, you’re not gonna be…jealousOrSomething?”
“JealousOrSomething? …what do you, ohh.”
Layla clapped her hands together as though she just realized something.
“I’ve said this many times, but your concern for me is unnecessary. I would much rather you find a proper partner for yourself.”
“Ehhh…hmm”
With my sword on my shoulder, I began to ponder. I quickly stopped though. Being lost in thought inside a dungeon was a very dangerous thing. I believe this was called a tactical retreat.
“Let’s put a pin on this for now.”
“Understood. However, since that Magic Tool in the video is an expensive item that has many uses, I ask that we at least make it. It won’t be a waste, no matter what.”
“…alright, let’s do just that then.”
“Yes! Leave it all to me!”
We settled things like that for now and ended our dungeon exploration for the day.
* * *
The day after we went to the Salamander dungeon. While Layla remained at home to make the Magic Tool, I went to the cafe Ogata-san and I agreed on.
…why did both Togo-san and Ogata-san chose a cafe as the meeting place? Is it a thing for public servants?
Thinking of such things, the cafe’s door opened and made the bell ring.
She had flashy blonde hair and sunglasses, yet she wore a suit and a straight skirt from the neck down. It was an odd combination, but it was exactly as she described in our phone call.
After spotting me sitting in the seat farthest away from the window, she briskly approached.
“Looks like I made you wait. Sorry about that.”
“No, I only got here myself.”
I stood up and gave her a slight bow. As for the woman with an eye patch over her left eye, she removed her wig and sunglasses before apologetically lowering her head.
“Sorry for asking you to come here today. Normally, I would have come to your home so that I could explain and apologize to your family as well, but…”
“Don’t worry about it. I know a bit your situation, after all.”
If Ogata-san who was hounded by the media were to visit our home, it would only lead to more trouble.
News of it might die down soon, but there were people who wanted to make a racket nonetheless. I understood that even if you weren’t a relative of the deceased, you could speak up out of fear and anxiety, but speaking up just so you could amuse yourself was a different matter.
Hearing my reply, Ogata-san smiled wryly. Afterwards, she sat down, straightened her back, and then lowered her head again.
“I’d like to say something before anything else. I deeply apologize for asking you to fight back then. As a police officer, that is a most shameful decision.”
“…I accept your apology. Please raise your head now.”
I replied so in the most composed voice I could muster.
It wasn’t like I didn’t feel conflicted about that incident. After all, just one wrong move and it could have been the end of me. But for me, it was all in the past. I probably wouldn’t go along with something like that ever again, but at the same time, I had no intention of blaming her.
Above all, her plan ended up being the best course of action. Had we stayed put in the train station or had I looked for the exit by myself, there was a high chance I could have ended up dead. Not to mention, the number of casualties would have been at least an order of magnitude higher.
“You weren’t wrong back then. I think so, at least.”
“Thank you. Just hearing you say that takes some load off my chest.”
It might have been been weak, but Ogata-san chuckled after saying that.
In my opinion, it was me who should be grateful to her. She just happened to have extremely bad luck, being forced to be the escape goat in all of this. If she could somehow believe that she wasn’t actually at fault, maybe she could live an easier life.
“I don’t mean this as an apology, but feel free to order what you want. Boss?”
“Yes, I’ll bring the menu right away.”
She raised her “left hand” and called the manager-looking person. I thought I heard a quiet metallic sound from within the hand that was covered by a black leather glove. I heard she lost both her left eye and left hand back then…
While I was thinking about that, she must have noticed my gaze because she waved that hand.
“It’s a prosthetic. Apparently, it’s a prototype of someone who is an expert on golem technology.”
As she was telling me that, she removed the glove and showed me what was underneath. It was a mechanical, or rather, a golem-based artificial hand. Seeing a metallic hand move so smoothly like those I thought I would only ever see in anime, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes in surprise.
“…I wanted to quit, you know, but they won’t accept my resignation letter. They said I should continue to work. Attach this if I had to, they said. I guess they’re that short of people.”
With a wry smile, she complained about her superiors. She was being a little bit harsh, I thought. Before I could pull a face without meaning though, the manager came over with menus.
“Ma’am, you shouldn’t put the young man in a bind.”
“I believe I’m still plenty young for you to call me ma’am.”
“Hahaha”
“…what’s that laugh supposed to mean?”
“Hahaha. When you’ve decided on your orders, just call out to me again.”
The manager left while laughing. He seemed to be really close to Ogata-san.
“I used to frequent this shop back when I was a student. The boss is a trustworthy person, so there’s no problem even if I don’t disguise or cover my face here.”
“O-ok”
As she put back on the glove, Ogata-san looked up from the menu and turned her gaze at me.
“So, made up your mind? I’d recommend the Napolitan served in an iron plate, but what do you want?”
“Ah, I’ve already eaten, so I’m fine with just some juice…”
“You don’t have to hold back. You’re in high school, right? Then, you should be more hearty!”
“No, really, I’m just full…”
“Really? Then, just drinks it is. Boss! Order!”
“This isn’t that big of a place; I can hear you just fine without you having to shout like that.”
“Sorry, force of habit.”
Ogata-san awkwardly averted her gaze from the boss who was smiling at her.
…this was probably how she really was. Which made the boorish eyepatch so much more painful to see over her cheerful smile.
“Alright…I think that’s enough for my apologies. Let me now explain as much as I could about that incident. You’ve earned that much.”
“…please go ahead.”
She drank her black tea and spoke little by little.
“Firstly, about that dungeon’s gate. It was discovered several days later that the gate is in the corner of an old platform in the subway. This platform hasn’t been in use for quite some time. They’re presently planning on constructing a dungeon store there.”
A closed station, and it was underground too…no wonder it took people a long time to find it. There were people who got sent out to check out such places, but they had to be sent to the right places first.
“The reason it wasn’t found until now was because of a dispute for control between the local government, a department store which wanted to open a branch in the underground shopping center, and a railway business operator. Because of that, the place in question haven’t been inspected until recently…well, that is the reason we’re being told of for now.”
“For now?”
That was a very loaded statement.
“…keep this a secret, but it’s possible that the dungeon was made after the [Return to the age of gods].”
“…I’ve heard rumors like that, but are they true?”
“It isn’t yet confirmed one way or another.”
She couldn’t even deny it.
Most dungeons were said to have appeared right after the [Return to the age of gods]. They were made because of the ley lines which continued to flow through the ground to this day. That was all to say that it shouldn’t be all that strange if newer dungeons were because of the flow of magic power from the ley lines. Such discussions seemed to be quite popular among mage-oriented boards.
We were living in a world where a dungeon gate could appear anywhere at anytime. Even the entryway inside one’s home could suddenly become one.
“…there’s two things I’d like to ask. May I?”
“Go ahead. I’ll answer whatever your questions are about.”
“Thank you. My first question is how is the government going to respond to the increasing number of dungeons?”
“…sorry, but I don’t have access to that kind information. In my opinion though, there isn’t any effective countermeasure. If anything, all we’re doing is treating the symptoms.”
“Oh, is that so?”
That was all I could really say. If we wanted to really do something about the dungeons, we would have to influence the ley lines on a national scale somehow. I doubted we could do that though.
“For my second question, what do you plan to do from now on? I’m only asking out of curiosity, so feel free not answer.”
“I said I’ll answer whatever you ask, didn’t I? Well…I plan to continue fighting.”
“But…”
Without meaning to, my gaze wandered toward her left eye and then her left arm. She must have once again noticed because she then placed her prosthetic arm over her eyepatch.
“My original plan was to resign as a police officer and then become an adventurer. It’s my way of atoning for those of you that I let die back then.”
“I insist that your plan wasn’t wrong. And I’m alive, all because of that.”
“Sorry, but…I can’t bring myself to think that. I was conceited back then, thought I was the hero of some old tale…I was convinced that as long as I acted, good results will follow.”
“That’s…”
“I see them every night, you know. Whenever I close my eyes, I see those who I let die. The 25 Awakened Ones who passed away in the Crete Overflow Incident. And the 224 people in the station area. This is the cross I bear and I can’t bring myself to forget about it. But never mind forgetting, I can’t even properly remember them.”
“I mean, that’s only natural. We’re talking about 249 people. Memorizing each one of them in just half a month is quite unreasonable.”
At that, Ogata-san drank her tea and then laughed.
“…alright, let’s call it a day!”
She clapped her hands, picked up the bill, and stood up.
“Young people like you should only think about having fun and romance, not something like this. Forget about what I said, ok? I’ll do the remembering for the both of us.”
“…didn’t you say earlier that you were still young?”
“My, you sure got me there. Guess I should have said cheeky, little brats like you.”
After bumping my forehead lightly with the board for the bill, Ogata-san went to pay for the said bill.
I massaged the place where she tapped and then took a sip of my juice.
“…being an adult sure is tough, huh.”
I was staring up at the ceiling when I heard the bell by the door ring.
…I had asked her what I wanted to ask. In that case, it was time to move on. In the first place, asking for more was going beyond boundaries. But more importantly, I didn’t think of myself as such a virtuous person that I could take responsibility for another person’s life.
The main take away from this meeting was that we didn’t know exactly where a dungeon gate could appear. Our world had become so dangerous, describing this as dire times was an understatement.
Back when I was in elementary school, I had this fantasized about fighting and even dying in such a gallant manner…now though, I absolutely would do anything to not die. I was that satisfied in life.
So, to not die…or rather, to keep on living, I guess I should do that thing.
I was thinking about what Layla suggested. I did have some qualms about it as human being, but, well, as they say, you can’t make omelets without breaking a few eggs.
…I could never admit this to anybody, but I found myself thinking it was some sort of perk of risking my life as an adventurer. Still, it was quite scummy of me, if I may say so myself.
I recalled the title of the video that the Low-tier Knight posted.
<<Doki doki ☆ Surefire way for anyone to make a contract with a Yuki Onna! ~Get your own fairy-tale-like, easy heroine~>>
…couldn’t they have thought of a better title?
Taroppe-sensei(author)’s Q&A corner
Thank you for reading!
Also, please consider leaving some of your thoughts, a review, and bookmark the title over at the narou site (https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7336ie/)
Your support is appreciated and I hope you continue doing so.
Q. Isn’t that superior quite cruel for asking a person with one eye and one arm to continue fighting with her sword?
A. The superior: “If I left her to her devices, she’ll likely thoughtlessly charge into a dungeon somewhere without a prosthetic arm and die…if I can’t stop her at all, the least I can do is rein her in, right?”
Q. What is the public opinion of Awakened Ones?
A.
To the media outlets around the world: “We can use them to continue getting good ratings! Monsters? Why bother, somebody better will cover those anyway!”
Foreign powers: “Yes, pour more gasoline into it! Burn it more! To all strong Awakened Ones, you’re welcome here!”
British gentleman: “Ahh, what a peaceful day…”
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