Chapter 27 - Chapter 27: The Woman of the Labyrinth Cult
It seems my Item Box has been exposed.
I was summoned to the government office, and it looks like I'm in for a lot of trouble.
Should I make Kirara the sub-leader and leave the guild to her?
There's a possibility that getting involved with me will drag her into dangerous conflicts.
Maybe going solo was the right choice after all.
For now, I'll be able to earn money, so I can just fund the guild myself.
If I can get involved in a national project, the money coming in should be huge.
Maybe I can even buy an office in the Special District?
I had planned to quit as soon as I made some money...
But maybe this won't be such an easy matter after all.
Since I was summoned to the government office, I ended up acting alone.
I had extra time and nothing else to do, so I decided to dive into the dungeon solo.
My destination was the newly discovered deep layer.
While cautiously clearing the dungeon, I saw magical light.
It looked like other adventurers were being attacked by monsters.
A large humanoid monster -- is that one? Or that one? -- No, I don't have time to think about this.
I have to go help.
"Help us!" "Kyaaa!" "Hii!" "Uwaa!"
It seems to be a four-person party being attacked.
It looks like there are injured people too.
For now, I need to draw the enemy's attention away from them.
Ranged attacks -- no, the adventurers are too close.
I can't guarantee I won't hit them with stray shots.
If I pull them away, I can use ranged attacks.
I started recording video, raised my mace, and charged at the enemy.
The monster's giant body was getting closer and closer.
It's huge -- it has fur, and it has horns.
A cow? A Minotaur?!
I swung the mace with full force, aiming for the enemy's knee.
For any living creature, joints must be a weak point.
"Bmooooooo!"
My swing seemed to crush the Minotaur's knee, and its giant body fell to its knees.
For now, its movement stopped.
"Hey! Run away quickly!"
I shouted at the adventurer party who had lost their nerve.
"Y-yes!" "Thank you!" "Uwaaaaa!"
Furthermore, I drew the enemy's hate towards myself.
"Hey hey! Over here! Come here!"
"Bmott! Bmott!"
The monster was spewing rough breaths from its large nose.
It seemed very angry, and it stood up dragging its feet.
"Seriously?"
Before long, the adventurers who were about to be defeated started running towards the stairs, supporting each other.
Thanks to my provocation, the enemy's hate was directed at me.
"Bmott! Bmooo!"
The enemy raised a giant axe.
"Oh?"
The blade appeared in my eyes as a white trajectory.
I dodged the Minotaur's attack and flew to the side.
It was a sudden action, but I felt a strange sensation in my body.
I feel like my speed is faster than usual.
Could it be the effect of the ring I just got?
The weapon that was swung down collided with the floor, glowing and scattering sparks.
The monster's giant body's fur and color took shape clearly in the brief light.
I glanced at the adventurers who had run away.
It seems they have already reached the stairs.
If that's the case, I can use flashy attacks without worry.
I took distance from the Minotaur with a back step and shouted.
"Ceiling Summon!"
The ceiling refers to the suspended ceiling I stored earlier.
A huge, flat stone wall appeared in the air and fell onto the enemy.
Even a strong enemy like this, physical attacks with this much weight should work.
Mass is justice.
"Bmooooooo!"
Since it was a ceiling used as a trap, it was reinforced with iron.
Even though I dropped it from quite a height, it didn't crack.
I thought it would be completely crushed, but only the Minotaur's head was sticking out.
"Even so, it can't move around like that, right?"
I swung the mace over my shoulder and brought it down on the bull's head.
The hard skull cracked, eyeballs popped out, and black stuff flowed onto the cobblestones.
It seems the monster's movement stopped after its head was crushed.
For now, I stored the ceiling that was resting on top of the enemy.
"Byaaaaaa!"
When the super-heavy ceiling that was pinning it down disappeared, the monster moved again.
"Seriously?!"
Even with its head completely crushed, it can still move? How tough is this thing?
It's crawling on the floor and coming towards me, so I summoned the ceiling again.
This time, I aimed to crush it completely.
"Summon!"
The vibration from the collision with the floor reached my feet.
I peeked into the pitch-black gap between the ceiling and the floor -- it still seems to be moving.
"Uwaa."
I really don't want to encounter a Minotaur even in the lower layers with this.
Well, since it can't move around now, it should die if I leave it alone for a while.
As I waited, I felt a presence of something.
It seems that as your level gets higher, your senses become sharper too.
"Is it another enemy spawning?"
I held my weapon and stared into the darkness.
From the deep abyss of darkness, an eerie silence drifted.
I was overcome with the illusion that I could hear a faint murmur coming from within it.
A vague shadow appeared from the darkness, and its indistinct form seemed to melt into the pitch-black gloom.
Its appearance was not clear, but just the fact that it existed there stirred up fear and tension.
Suddenly, white vertical stripes emerged from the pitch-black, and gradually it took on a familiar shape.
"A woman?"
What appeared before me was a naked woman wrapped in a black robe.
She dragged her long, black hair that seemed to touch the floor.
As her presence gradually approached, I felt danger and my heart froze.
"It's not a monster, right?"
Even if it's not a monster, it's not an ordinary existence.
A naked woman and a monster... a succubus? Or a demon?
Those kinds of monsters seem to have horns, but I don't see anything like that on the woman's head.
I stopped the woman who was approaching eerily.
"Stop! Who are you!?"
"..."
The woman stopped, but remained silent.
It's dark and her long hair covers her face, so I can't see her well.
"Do you need something?!"
"...You killed the monster."
We can understand each other.
So she is human after all -- but who is this?
"I killed it, so what?"
While I was confused by her reaction, a voice came from behind me.
"Isn't that one of the Labyrinth Cult?!"
"The Labyrinth Cult?!"
"..."
She didn't deny it -- which means she is one of them.
"I'm not interested in cults."
So she's not an enemy, but why is she wandering around without a weapon where such vicious monsters are?
I heard they want coexistence with monsters, but I simply cannot understand it.
I don't intend to deny it, but I don't intend to understand them either.
I stored the ceiling that had fallen on the floor into my Item Box.
When the giant board disappeared, the crushed Minotaur appeared from below.
It's dead for sure by now.
"..."
The woman stared at the crushed monster.
I ignored her and put the Minotaur's corpse into my Item Box too.
The bull's head disappeared from before my eyes.
If it was stored, it means it's dead, right?
I also stored the giant axe and picked up something that had fallen.
A glass bottle -- probably some kind of potion.
"Oh."
I forgot to stop the camera.
I probably shouldn't show footage of this woman.
Well, anyway, a naked woman might be off-limits anyway.
"..."
"Do you have something you need?"
"..."
She was creepy.
Since she stood there silently, I decided to return to the surface.
I checked the surroundings and then dashed to the stairs.
I started climbing the stairs together with the adventurers who were there first.
The woman was still standing in the same place.
"What was that woman?" "Disgusting!"
The adventurers looking down also showed their disgust.
Indeed, she is an unknown existence.
If she isn't bothered by monsters, maybe she is a high-level adventurer inside.
Or maybe something changes when you stay in the dungeon for too long.
"Old man, you're amazing even though you're solo!" "Something about a big stone plate appearing?"
Did they not watch the news?
"That's an Item Box. Haven't you watched the dungeon news?"
"Item Box?! Seriously?!" "We've been diving non-stop since yesterday..."
"Did you get any results?"
"Hehehe..."
I won't reveal the details, but judging by their faces, it seems they got something decent.
Well, it's a waste that we can't carry big things.
Even corpses have a decent price.
As we all climbed the stairs, we met a group coming down.
Since going up has priority, we let them pass.
"There were people from the Labyrinth Cult down there?"
I warned them just in case.
"The Labyrinth Cult?!" "Seriously?!"
"Not just that old man, we saw them too." "It was a naked woman."
Well, he was an old man though.
"Uwaa, they've already dug this deep?"
"I don't know what's going on, but they are creepy people. Are you still going?"
"Of course!" "If you worry about the Labyrinth Cult, you can't be an adventurer." "Treasure, treasure!"
Well, if they come here, they must be at a certain level, and it's all at their own risk.
I don't have the right to stop them, so I watched them leave from behind.
Besides, I thought there were other adventurers too.
I'll ask the adventurers who escaped with me.
"Did you see other adventurers? I confirmed there was flickering light..."
"There were several." "Ah, there were quite a few."
Is that so.
After climbing all the way up the stairs, I let out a sigh and took out my bicycle from my Item Box.
"Oh?! A bicycle?!" "Item Boxes are convenient, aren't they?"
The adventurers were envious of my skill.
"Hahaha, it's convenient."
I parted ways with them here.
They invited me to drink, but girls are waiting for me.
Besides, I need to cash in what I got.
I can't use that giant axe anyway...
I also realized from bringing a spear from home that it's impossible to strike vertically at enemies moving around during combat.
It's faster to just hit them with a mace.
Once outside the dungeon, I looked for the usual buyer.
That old man is trustworthy.
"Oh, there you are! Buy these again."
"Oh! Sir! What did you bring this time?"
"I'll take it out of my Item Box, so please make some space."
"Okay."
My words caused a murmur around us.
"Item Box?" "He said Item Box?"
It seems quite a few people still don't know.
Since space was made, I took out the Minotaur.
At the same time, I had him buy the giant axe too.
"What is this? Isn't that a Minotaur!"
"A new layer was created, wasn't it? It appeared there."
"If there's a Min, it's equivalent to the 6th floor... so it wasn't a place anyone could just pop into, was it?"
"It's a bit crushed though."
"It's fine. Just the Minotaur meat can be sold."
Since its head is a cow's, it seems to have meat similar to beef.
However, it has no fat, almost all lean meat.
It seems there are people who like it and eat it raw as a delicacy... but I think it's better to stop them.
Well, since it's a freshly spawned monster, parasites probably don't have time to infest, so it's safe...
The Minotaur sold for 300,000 yen, and the axe for 100,000 yen.
As expected, it's cheaper than Orcs.
Cheap but a strong enemy -- this isn't worth it.
"Oh, there's one more."
"What is it?"
I took out the Mimic.
"Oh! A Mimic! This is rare."
"Is it rare?"
"Normally, no one brings a Mimic this far, hahaha."
"So it can't be sold?"
"No, rare samples are bought by research institutes."
I was able to sell it for 50,000 yen.
By the way, it seems it can't be eaten.
If they know it can't be eaten, does that mean someone has eaten it?
As expected of Japanese people.
I've heard that the government is leading research on monsters.
Genetically, what's going on? -- Or, is there an effective weakness? And so on.
If weak monsters can be bred outside the dungeon, organic materials and magic stones can be collected efficiently.
The opponent is a monster, not a living being, so ethical concerns can be excluded.
Well, there are people who say monsters are living beings too, though.
I share that thought, but if there are monsters like that Harpy that become tame, I end up feeling affection.
There are no stories on the net about monsters becoming tame...
Is that individual special?
For now, today's dungeon run is over.
There is still video editing left to do.
-- I returned to the inn.
"I'm home."
"Welcome back!"
Since I was single for so long, I hadn't said "I'm home" in a while.
"How was it?!"
Kirara was very interested.
"Well, I was surrounded by important people, including the Prime Minister."
"Eh?! You even went to the Special District!?"
"No way -- we had a meeting with something like a hologram."
"That's right. That makes sense."
"So, what about Daisuke?" "Yeah, yeah!"
Sana and Ren looked worried.
"Well, it seems there's a high possibility I'll get involved in dangerous things."
"Eh? Is that so?"
"What do you mean by dangerous?"
Ren's question is also reasonable.
"It means various people might come targeting my abilities."
"Ah, that's true. If you have an Item Box, you can do whatever you want."
While listening to my story, Kirara was picking her ear.
"Well, for now -- I don't have time to cook dinner tonight, so let's eat what I bought."
I took out the kebab I bought at the stall from my Item Box.
"Let's eat!"
"About the people targeting me just now."
"...Yes."
Sana stopped eating and listened seriously.
"Organized crime is still the better option; it seems special forces from various countries might come."
"Special forces, like the military?"
"Yes, yes. Even the allied country, the United States, can't be trusted."
"Everyone is having a hard time right now, so they are cooperating for now. But if you think they can be outsmarted, they might kick you in the back."
That's what Kirara said.
Other countries are just like that.
"So -- here is the main topic."
"Yes."
"If you are with me, there is a high possibility you will get involved in danger. I think I will make Kirara the guild's vice-leader and go solo."
"..." "Hug hug!"
While the girls were silent, Mio, who didn't understand the difficult talk, was biting into the kebab.
"Don't oppose me. If the opponent is the military, it will definitely get bad."
I can't show them scenes of killing.
No, now they are 16 and considered adults, so they are treated as adults.
"I understand." "Yeah, if Daisuke says so."
"It can't be helped. If the opponent is another country's military, it's not something adventurers should do."
"Everyone, I'm sorry."
After finishing the meal, I gave everyone today's share.
"Eh?! We didn't do anything!"
"It's a guild, so it's fine."
"I'll take what I'm supposed to take."
Since I cashed in the amount accumulated in the Item Box, it's a bit more than usual.
"If you have nowhere to spend it, save it. You never know what will happen."
"Inflation is happening, so exchanging it for something tangible might be good."
"But there's no guarantee of profit."
Magic stones have value right now, but if a revolutionary manufacturing method is established, the value will plummet at once.
Well, since it's a dungeon that bends physical laws, there's no telling it might bend them back again.
After the money distribution, I'll do some video editing.
It seems Sana will buy a notebook PC with the money she got.
"But without me, you can't film inside the dungeon."
"Even so, it's not a loss to learn operation and video editing."
"That's true."
While listening to Sana's talk, I edited the video.
This time, it's footage of a new deep layer no one has seen, so it might go viral.
There was a Minotaur too.
"Hey Daisuke! Is that a Minotaur?"
Kirara peeked at my notebook PC.
"Yes, yes, it's a Minotaur."
"Minotaurs are monsters of the 6th floor, right? Did you go to the 6th floor?"
"No, a new layer was discovered, right? I went there."
"If monsters like this appear, isn't it impossible unless you are a high-level adventurer?"
"The traps were brutal too, it was quite dangerous."
"What kind of traps?"
Ren joined the conversation.
"Spikes coming out of the floor, suspended ceilings --"
"Uwaa! Brutal! Those are definitely things that will kill you!"
"Well, it really felt like they were coming to kill me."
"How strong are you, Daisuke-san?"
Sana was listening to my story with a suspicious look.
"Well, it's about average, hahaha."
"Average? -- People who can go to the 6th floor solo are only top rankers, you know?"
As expected of veteran adventurer Kirara.
She is quite sharp.
"Don't ask about that. Anyway, there was this monster too?"
I showed everyone the Mimic footage too.
"Mimic! I want to meet one!"
Ren seems to like Mimics.
I don't know why she likes them.
"Can this be sold?"
Sana peeked at the screen.
"It's rare, so it seems research institutes will buy it."
"Heh~"
"Oh, I probably shouldn't show this one..."
"Eh?! What, what! Show me, show me!"
Ren came over with great interest.
"Hey, hey."
"Eh? What -- Kyaa! Daisuke's pervert! Pervert!"
Ren screamed when she saw the naked woman.
"Because she came from over there, I couldn't help it, right?"
"What is this? Was she in the dungeon dressed like that?"
"It seems to be the Labyrinth Cult."
"Eh?!"
Ren's face changed from her squealing.
"Anyway, she was creepy, so it's better not to get involved with them."
"Yes." "..."
Ren fell silent.
"She's really crazy... Well, it doesn't seem to cause actual damage."
"Hey, Kirara."
"Eh?! What?"
"Ren's mother..."
She is an adult too.
It seems she understood what I meant.
"...I'm sorry, Ren."
"It's fine..."
Usually cheerful Ren looked downcast.
Well, she might be worried about her mother.
After the video editing was finished, I uploaded it to the site.
The number of views is growing steadily, and at this rate, I might earn about 10 million yen a month?
It seems I could live just on this without being an adventurer anymore.
However, if I don't upload new videos constantly, the view count will drop.
Right now, it might just be the novelty keeping the counter turning.
Well, I decided to sleep in preparation for tomorrow.
Kirara has returned to her own room.
"Tomorrow -- I'm going to the judicial scrivener's office to prepare to start a company."
"Eh?! A company?"
"Yes. Since I'm declaring my Item Box and the trading partner will be the country, I decided to incorporate."
I told them that if their video site revenue increases, it would be better to incorporate.
"Hmm, it sounds difficult..."
"Well, I could do it myself, but it's easier to leave it to professionals."
"...There are various things to do to continue as a job, aren't there?"
Sana had a somewhat solemn expression.
"That's true -- but there are times when saying 'I didn't know that' isn't enough. There are many places you can consult, so you should use them. I don't know specialized things either."
"Yes."
"It sounds troublesome..."
"But if you don't do it, you'll just pay extra taxes."
"Uuuu..."
Ren is right, it is troublesome, but since the world is set up this way, there's no helping it.
It was late at night, so I decided to sleep.
"I'm sleeping with Daisuke!"
Mio hugged me.
"Shouldn't you sleep with your sister? Your sister might be lonely."
"That's not true."
If my sister says that, I have no choice but to sleep with her.
"..."
Somehow, Ren came too.
She seemed a bit less energetic than usual.
Is she worried about the Labyrinth Cult we talked about earlier?
"What about Sana?"
"I -- I'll sleep alone."
Somehow, she was sulking.
It's a difficult age...
Fathers in this world have it tough.