Chapter 22 - Chapter 22: A Female Adventurer with Strong Quirks
It looks like the guild is going to gain more members again.
I'm not particularly enthusiastic about it, but with a 3-to-1 majority vote, there's nothing I can do.
Well, if they cause any trouble, I'll just kick them out.
I don't owe them anything anyway.
Now that the members have increased, I have to go to the government office to file an application.
The adults who saw off Mio heading to school headed toward the government office.
I talked with Kirara while walking.
"I told you earlier, but my Item Box is top secret."
"I know."
"There are probably a lot of people who keep quiet even if they have an Item Box, right?"
"Since there are various restrictions and it's managed by the country -- well, yeah."
"Daisuke-san."
Sana joined the conversation.
"What's wrong?"
"Why is only the Item Box a problem?"
"Well, because it can be used for hiding things, smuggling, and all sorts of bad deeds."
"For example, what kind of things? Drugs or something?"
"There are those, and while nuclear weapons like in the old days can't be used anymore, poison gas is still effective, you know."
"Nuclear weapons?"
"Oh, you don't know? Well, it's better not to know."
Ten years have passed since nuclear weapons disappeared from this world along with semiconductors -- there are young people who don't know about them.
They are the generation that doesn't know nuclear weapons.
It was really troublesome when dungeons appeared, but maybe it was a good thing that nuclear weapons were gone.
However, nuclear fusion itself is still effective, so we can't rule out weapons using that...
Or perhaps powerful laser weapons using reflective satellites?
"By the way, can poison gas be used in dungeons? Some country seems to have used it..."
"Yeah, it seems like it can't be used locally, but it seems to get absorbed before it spreads inside the dungeon."
I see -- dungeons decompose and absorb everything.
Does that apply to poison gas too?
Then, what if we filled in the dungeon or flooded it?
-- I was thinking something like that, but those might all get absorbed too.
I haven't seen any stories on the net about dungeons being cleared that way, so it's probably not an effective method.
Just like poison gas, it might be usable locally before the dungeon absorbs it.
"By the way, if mixed-gender guilds cause trouble, how about a women-only guild?"
"..."
Kirara has a very disgusted expression.
"With that face, it seems like it's not a good place."
"Women-only guilds are the worst! Factions form immediately, and if you turn your back, all you hear is gossip and slander."
"Well, that's how it is, hahaha."
Sana was bullied at a women-only inn too, after all.
"Anyway, the people who talk bad about others right in front of me will definitely talk bad about me if they go somewhere else."
"Oh yeah, I know those kinds of people."
"You can't trust people like that, right?"
"That's true."
Surprisingly, she seems quite reasonable.
Is her only flaw being vain?
While talking, we arrived at the government office.
When we all went inside, we went to that female staff member's desk.
There were other counters, but since she knows Kirara, the process should be quick.
"Why are you with Kirara?!"
The female staff member was surprised.
"She insisted on joining our guild."
"That's why~ please handle the procedures~!"
"Why has the mummy maker become a mummy?!"
Well, she is right.
"This old man is growing huge on video sites. I thought I'd get a share."
"It's amazing that you can say that openly right in front of him."
"Hehe ♡"
Birds are chirping on my skin at her pose.
I think I'll dream about it.
"..."
"You're thinking something rude, aren't you?"
"No, not at all."
"Hmph."
I handed my card and Kirara's card to the staff member.
"So you know this guy, which means you were an adventurer in the past too, right?"
I pointed at Kirara.
"I can't answer personal questions."
"That's right~ I was making a name for myself as a female adventurer back then~ ahaha."
"Stop talking about the past!"
It seems the staff member's sister has a black history from her adventurer days.
"Hina, you quit so quickly and took the civil service exam."
So the sister's name is Hina.
Like Kirara, she's from that generation.
"Hey, hey! Kirara! If you don't stop, I'll ban you from entering!"
"That's abuse of power, mixing private and public work~ like that~"
"Shut up!"
"If you're a civil servant, you should be steady. You can't be an adventurer forever."
"That's right!"
The sister crossed her arms and nodded.
"What! I'm going to make a comeback from here. I'll treat civil servants like dirt."
"I've never seen anyone make a comeback after saying that..."
"Then it must be me."
Whatever she says, I say something back.
"What kind of comeback? Are you going to defeat the Demon King in the deep layers of the dungeon?"
"That won't make any money! What I'm aiming for is 'Appraisal'."
"Huh? Well, if you can get 'Appraisal', I guess you won't starve... Do you have any specific plans?"
"No, but..."
"Haah... Girls, this is a bad example of adults. Don't imitate them."
"Haai."
Sana and Ren answered in unison.
"Support me over there!"
"Eh? Why? I really don't get it."
Ren seems to speak more clearly.
"The current generation of dungeons has no dreams or hopes, so they are all super-realistic kids."
"That's right."
The female staff member nodded.
"Oh -- no, no, anyway, please handle the procedures."
"I-I apologize."
The sister bowed and retreated inside.
"Niiwa-san."
"Yes, yes."
"The guild member procedures are complete."
"Thank you."
"A, um..."
It seems the woman said something.
"What is it?"
"Please take care of Kirara."
"Sister -- it's good that you're a friend, but will she understand that..."
"Please do something about it..."
She bowed politely.
"I think it's mixing private and public -- well, I'll take a positive approach as long as time permits."
Kirara seems to be blessed with friends, but not with colleagues.
Well, it's probably her fault too.
"Now, let's go to the dungeon together!"
For some reason, Kirara is excited.
Maybe she changed her mindset and got motivated.
"Sorry, but hunt around the 2nd floor. Three mages should be enough, right?"
"What will Daisuke-san do?"
Sana looked a bit worried.
"I'm going to the tax accountant's office. The videos are monetized, and everyone's channels should be monetizable too."
Adventurers don't need to file taxes, but video revenue must be declared.
Plus, it seems like it will earn quite a bit, and doing it personally with blue tax filing is extremely troublesome.
Also, the tax accountant's fee becomes an expense.
"I don't understand that at all, so I'll leave it to Daisuke-san."
"Eh? What are taxes? Weren't they not needed for adventurers?"
Ren looked confused by my words.
"You don't need adventurers, but if you earn revenue from videos, you must declare it."
"I don't get it..."
Well, I decided to leave it to me, but becoming an adult means you have to learn these things.
"I get Sana and Ren, but what about Kirara? You're making videos too, right?"
"You'll film for me?!"
Her eyes sparkled.
"Well, since you became a guild member. With the magic you have, I think we could capture flashy scenes."
"Yay! This is my comeback! I'll make those who made fun of me bark their heads off!"
Bark their heads off? What's that?
"You know -- for now, it's about repaying debts, right?"
Just to be sure, I double-checked.
"I, I know."
Well, if she didn't know, I'd just kick her out of the guild.
She asked that sister to help, but if she has no intention of changing her ways, there's nothing I can do.
"Also, will Kirara show her face in the videos?"
"Of course!"
"No hesitation."
"I've been getting ready like this every day for this day."
If you say so, then that's how it is.
This must be her pride.
Kirara is a veteran adventurer, just in case.
She has the strength to return alone from the 4th floor.
Even taking two girls along, the 2nd floor should be fine.
"Then, I'll enter the dungeon with you, then get the bicycle."
"Haai" "It's convenient."
"If you get tired, I'll be at the campsite."
"Understood."
I entered the dungeon with them and took out the bicycle in the darkness.
"Wah~ it's really convenient."
Kirara sighed.
"Well."
"You used such a cheat to leave me behind!"
Kirara, who saw the bicycle taken out of the Item Box, was furious.
"The conclusion was that you just followed along on your own, right?"
"Hmph!"
She crossed her arms and turned away.
"Oh, right -- Sana, can you ride a bicycle?"
"I'm fine."
"The group visible in the darkness was unbalanced..."
"I have a light magic, so it's fine."
"I see -- be careful then."
"Yes."
After adjusting the saddle, I handed the bicycle to her.
"You're not telling me?!"
"You don't need to tell a veteran sister? Anyway, I'm counting on the girls. Don't use harassment to make them shields for monsters, okay?"
"I wouldn't do something like that!"
"Daisuke-san, it's fine."
"I see -- if Sana says so..."
"Why do you believe what that girl says?!"
"Why? If Kirara does her job properly, I won't say anything either."
"Hmph!"
Well, maybe I spoke a bit too harshly.
I might be able to trust her a little more.
After parting with them, I left the dungeon alone and went to the tax accountant's office in the Special District.
I confirmed that there is a tax accountant here just in case.
There must be people like me with side income.
There are no videos inside the dungeon, but it seems there are video streamers too.
As for my video site -- messages like "Shall we partner up?" keep coming as usual.
I can earn enough without doing that, and there are no benefits.
When I visited the tax accountant's office, I requested to file taxes starting this year.
It seems it's already late to start now, but I decided to get in with a special fee.
Probably because my income seems to be getting big.
The tax accountant who handled me was a woman in a suit wearing glasses.
In the Special District where only roughnecks and fantasy equipment are common, seeing a suit makes me feel safe for some reason.
When you see so many strange scenes, you might wonder -- isn't this not Japan?
Such unease crosses my mind.
"I have seen your video site, and based on the expected annual income, you will need to pay consumption tax and file a blue tax return."
"Ugh, that's troublesome."
I held my head.
"Please send the income and expenditure data for video distribution every 2 to 3 months, along with credit card and bank passbook data."
"Paper receipts too?"
"Yes, it's okay if you take photos with a camera or similar. Paper receipts are not needed for the amounts listed on the cards."
"I don't pay with cash these days."
"Yes, indeed."
"Do I need data from the adventurer business too?"
"Since that is completely independent, it is not needed. However, expenses cannot be used for adventurer declarations, but they can be entered into the video distribution income."
Even if you buy various things, they can't be entered as expenses for adventurers, but they can be entered into the video distributor's income.
I don't really understand, so I'll leave it all to you.
For now, I'll regularly send credit card and bank passbook data.
Then, they will file everything for me.
It costs money, but it's convenient.
It's a choice between taking money or taking time and effort.
I chose the easy way.
Since communication with the tax accountant uses an online meeting app, we exchanged accounts.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
After leaving the tax accountant's office, I headed toward the dungeon.
I passed through the automatic gates, went through the entrance hall, and into the darkness --.
Since I lent the bicycle to Sana, I had to go on my own feet.
I dashed toward the darkness.
Naturally, with the high-level benefits, I can reach a fierce speed.
I haven't measured it, but maybe around 60 km/h?
Running 100m in 9 seconds is apparently around 36 km/h.
With me now, I can run 100m in about 6 seconds.
Even with this save, how fast would I go at full sprint?
Would it reach 100 km/h?
I increased my speed and ran through the darkness.
The surrounding lights danced and flowed -- just like stars twinkling in the night sky.
That flickering figure fascinated me, and even in the darkness, the path ahead was bright, and the trails of light guided me.
"Oh! Wonderful! God..."
I enjoyed playing pretend as a sprinter -- I didn't get tired, but I got hungry.
I took boiled sweet potatoes from the Item Box and put them in my mouth.
They were mushy and almost choked me, but since they are mostly starch, they quickly became energy.
I rushed through the 1st floor, went down the connection passage, and arrived at the 2nd floor.
"Well, where are they?"
For now, I looked around the campsite illuminated by the light, but they weren't there.
Kirara is noisy, so I should have noticed immediately.
-- That means they are still in the darkness.
Unlike before, a brilliant light could be seen in the middle of the dungeon.
It seems many people have gathered there.
That must be the place where a passage to the lower layers was found.
Probably, they are preparing stairs or something to go down.
Since it seems they reached the ceiling of a huge hall,
To go down from there, they would need to build scaffolding with single pipes.
Are the reckless guys rushing in already?
If they try to go down with ropes, they can't go down either.
No, rather than that -- Kirara and the others.
I strained my eyes and heard flashy flashes and continuous explosions.
Since it's inside the dungeon, the sound echoes.
From the outside, it must look like this.
If Kirara is really level 20, it's overkill on the 2nd floor.
I ran toward the flash.
Soon, the figures of three people came into view.
As expected, the magic from earlier seemed to be Kirara's magic.
The sound seemed like a Light Bullet magic, but does it feel like that at high levels?
"Over here!"
"Is it Daisuke-san?!"
"Yes! Is everyone okay?!"
"Yes" "Fine, fine!"
"It made a loud noise..."
"That was Kirara-san's magic."
Looking over, five wolves were scattered everywhere.
They weren't burning, so it's probably Magic Missile.
"Wait -- this can't be sold?"
"It can't be helped."
Magic is powerful, but this happens.
To sell them, you need to kill them in one shot without damaging them as much as possible.
"You can only get Magic Stones from this. Everyone, extract the Magic Stones."
"Yes" "Ugh~"
"Ren, you won't be able to make a living as an adventurer unless you can do this too."
"I, I know."
-- While having that conversation, there was someone who didn't move at all.
It was Kirara.
"Kirara, you do it too."
"No, I don't want to get dirty."
"There's a Clean magic."
"It's not that."
"If you don't do it, I'll kick you out of the guild?"
"Ugh..."
When I said that, she reluctantly started working.
Since she's a veteran, she should know how to do it -- or rather, being kicked out of various guilds suggests there's a problem with this guy too.
She must have become like a boss lady.
"This one has relatively less damage. Let's make money with this."
It seems the magic grazed its head, so only that part is gouged out.
Well, this would be instant death anyway.
After storing the prey and Magic Stones in the Item Box, I started moving on the bicycle.
I pedaled the bicycle, and Sana was behind me.
When we arrived at the 3rd floor campsite, I carried the wolf I had taken out of the Item Box at a distance.
"I'll exchange this for money, so wait here."
"Understood."
"Sorry, but it's split equally among guild members. If you want more, bring it yourself and sell it."
"Ugh..."
Kirara had a disgusted look at the wolf carcass I was carrying.
She probably didn't want to get covered in blood and do such things.
Who would follow a veteran who doesn't take the lead in such things?
Anyway, carrying the prey into the campsite -- I asked the butcher who buys meat.
"Do you buy things that were scattered by magic too?"
"Those kinds of things, the blood draining isn't done well."
"Oh, I see."
Also, if parts touch the ground, bacteria get in, so it seems they can't be eaten.
For now, I sold one wolf, but with this earnings, I can't go back, so I decided to dive deeper.
When I tried to move, I heard a loud voice.
"Gyahahaha, it's a BBA mage!"
"Don't force it, BBA!"
"Shut up! You brat!"
It seems Kirara is trying to drive them away.
"Hey, hey, do you know who we are?"
Again, there are guys bothering them.
"Hey, do you have something to do with our guild members?"
"Huh?"
"Hey, hey, forgive us~ are we old men? Gyahahaha."
"I just heard a trashy line like 'Do you know who we are?', who are you?"
"Hey, hey, we are the guild 'Dancing Darkness'."
What, them again -- I thought that, but Kirara hid behind me upon hearing that.
"Those from 'Dancing Darkness' did PK and got turned into Ghouls and blown away in the dungeon, right?"
"U!" "W-what about it!"
Hearing my words, the men's faces turned pale.
"I was the one who beat them up and blew away the one who became a Ghoul."
"What!" "You?!"
"If you don't want to become a Ghoul, don't bother us. If you bother us any more, I'll raid the base of 'Dancing Darkness'? This is a war between guilds."
"H, hey! It's bad!" "O, okay..."
I thought they would still block us, but they quietly backed down.
A fox borrowing the tiger's might -- they are low-level adventurers.
If they cause a commotion and we rush their base, they will surely be the ones punished.
In fact, the guy who tried to PK me was cut down immediately.
"Are you okay?"
I spoke to everyone who was scared.
"We're fine" "Who were those guys?"
"It seems like a nasty guild called 'Dancing Darkness'."
"A, thank you..."
"We're guild members. Protecting you is natural, right?"
She's a bit different from the usual Kirara.
"..."
She silently grabbed the hem of my clothes and wouldn't let go.
She became quite shy.
As soon as they mentioned the name 'Dancing Darkness', her demeanor changed strangely.
"What? Did you have some trouble with 'Dancing Darkness'?"
"Kokuri..."
She silently nodded.
She didn't say anything else -- well, I didn't intend to ask in detail either...
"If you don't feel like it, we can call it a day here?"
"I, I'm fine."
She gathered her courage.
"I see... Do you still have magic left?"
"I'm fine."
"What about the two of you?"
"We're totally fine" "Me too!"
"Then, let's dive a little deeper."
Mixing into the darkness, I took out the bicycle and headed for the lower layers.
Skipping the 3rd floor, to the 4th.
Orcs here are a hit, but I want to avoid Hobgoblins.
"Gyagya!"
The sound of Harpies came from above.
"Harpies!"
Kirara looked up and was on guard, but since she can see both the darkness and the light, she might be seeing the Harpies' forms.
"The ones I know should be fine. Just watch for a moment. Let's move on first."
"Eh?! What do you mean?"
"Just listen. If they attack, I'll handle it."
"Eh?"
I hurried ahead.
If I dawdle, I'll encounter enemies.
Today I wanted to check the 5th floor.
There are mages with levels 20 and above too.
There is no official campsite between the 4th and 5th floors.
There are no fiber optics illuminating the dungeon brilliantly, nor elevators.
It might extend this far in the future, but there probably isn't much resource value in the monsters beyond here.
You can't come this far without a high level, and there are few such adventurers.
There is no official camp, but there are people camping.
Glancing at them, I went down the slope leading to the 5th floor.
"Hya-ho!"
Ren was playing around.
In direct contrast, Sana was silent.
Since it's a floor she hasn't been to before, she might be shrinking back.
"Wait! Is it okay to come this far?!"
Kirara seems worried too.
That's natural.
The expected level of the 5th floor is around 30.
"For now, let's fight, and if it's no good, we'll retreat immediately."
"Well, in that case -- I'm a little interested too."
Arriving at the 5th floor, I got off the bicycle.
There aren't even people camping here anymore.
It must be a place like that.
"Light! [Light]"
The surroundings became bright with Sana's magic.
The four of us advanced while being alert to the surroundings.
I prepared a camera for filming from the Item Box.
"Be careful of the back too."
"Yes" "Leave it to me!"
"Phew."
Even Kirara seems nervous.
"Gya! Gya!"
The sound of Harpies came from above, but did they follow us this far?
"Is the Harpy above okay?"
"If they don't attack, they must be that kind. It's fine."
"Eh? I can't believe it..."
"Hahaha."
While laughing, something appeared ahead -- it was big.
Many branch-like things were coming out from a thick body cracked vertically.
A rustling movement that didn't look like a living creature.
"What is it?! It looks like a plant... I can see leaves too."
"It's a Treant!"
Kirara realized the enemy's true identity.
Treants... were they monster trees...?