Chapter 32 - Chapter 32: Shadows of the Labyrinth Cult
Called to the Nuclear Power Plant Ruins, I donned a spacesuit-like protective gear and picked up rubble.
Since this is said to yield a huge sum of money, the Item Box is truly wonderful.
Thanks to my high level, radiation is nothing to worry about.
Absolutely no damage at all.
――That said, since both uranium and plutonium have lost their radioactivity, it's not a site where entering means instant death――.
In fact, if damage were accumulating and everything was settled the moment the dungeon disappeared, the whole world would panic again.
Anyway, after picking up rubble for about 30 minutes, I reached the prescribed dose limit and couldn't continue working.
This is because laws and rules like "adventurers are an exception" or "adventurers are excluded" haven't been established yet.
Hareyama-san, who was with me, seems to have contacted the Prime Minister, so it might be improved later.
If not, the work will only be delayed.
Since I couldn't continue the work, I thought about returning to the Tokyo Special District, but Hareyama-san invited me on a date.
It seems she just wanted to visit an unprepared dungeon she saw before.
Well, I am a man after all.
Two people alone in an empty dungeon is dangerous.
She might think I'm safe because I'm an old man――but I'm absolutely not safe.
Old men do things when they want to, you know?
Anyway, while fighting slimes in the dungeon, a rabbit popped out.
It was white and fluffy.
It looked cute, but this one is a monster――complacency is the enemy.
I also activated the camera for filming.
Since I was ready, I defeated it immediately.
The kicked rabbit flew like a ball and collided with the dungeon ceiling.
Seeing this, Hareyama-san screamed.
"Kyaaaaa!"
"Hareyama-san, Hareyama-san――this one is a monster so……"
"But, but……"
"It looks cute, but it eats meat."
"Is, is that so?"
"Beginners in dungeons suffer the most from this kind of attack."
Yes, despite appearances, it's surprisingly vicious.
It has jumping ability and is very fast, making it hard to deal with if you're slow.
I didn't encounter a rabbit on my first time, so I was lucky.
I probably got careless.
"Hareyama-san, be careful not to get surrounded from behind."
"Y-yes."
While I was saying that, I was surrounded by more than ten rabbits.
As expected of an unprepared dungeon.
There are too many of them.
"Hareyama-san, cling to my back."
"Yes!"
One rabbit jumped at me, so I used a mace to knock it down.
"Oraaa!"
"Kyaa!"
There's no need to properly fight monsters anyway.
"Rock Summon!"
I took out the rocks I had stored in this dungeon before.
A fairly large rock appeared from above and crushed the rabbits.
"Gyu!""Pugyu!"
Making strange noises, the monsters were crushed one after another.
"Uuuu……"
Hareyama-san clung to my back, refusing to look forward.
That's the right choice.
"Alright, mostly done――oops!"
A remaining rabbit attacked, so I swatted it down.
"Gyu!"
I stepped on the fallen rabbit to finish it off.
"Store it."
When I moved the rocks, the flattened rabbits appeared.
The rock floor was stained with a pattern of white and red.
I put the camera back into the Item Box.
"Sh-shall I not look?"
"Ah~ yes. They're flattened and their insides are splattered."
"Gyaa!"
She hugged me tightly.
"If it's like this, you shouldn't join dungeon tours."
"Niwa-san, are you okay with this?"
"I'm from the countryside, so when food was scarce, I hunted rabbits in the mountains to get meat, haha."
"……"
She pressed her face against my back, determined not to look at the terrible scene before her.
Let's store them quickly.
This is an unprepared dungeon that isn't open to the public.
Actually, I should have refrained from filming, but rabbits and slimes appear in any dungeon.
Even with this footage, pinpointing the location should be impossible.
"Store it――since I crushed them quite a bit, this might not be worth money."
If that's the case, I'll have to throw them away in the dungeon.
Well, if I do the nuclear power plant work, I might get nearly 100 billion yen.
Rabbits are nothing to worry about.
I don't need to take the magic stones either.
Once the rabbit corpses disappeared, a few drop items remained.
"Hareyama-san, they're gone? There's still blood though."
"Uuuu……"
"Shall we go back?"
"Y-yes……"
Well, she might have been a little interested in the adventure inside the dungeon, but in reality, it's like this.
Killing living things creates a huge resistance.
I had to do it to secure food, so――sadly, I'm more calloused than city people.
Picking up the drop items, the two of us returned to a bright place.
I didn't notice inside the dungeon, but her complexion was bad.
Well, it was a sea of blood after all.
Normally, that's how it is.
In dungeons, I kill living things without a second thought, but in truth, that's abnormal.
I checked the drop items in the bright area.
Several small bottles of some medicine and one ring.
"Oh? A ring. I hope it has some effect."
For now, I tried equipping the ring, but I don't know the effect.
Since it's a common item, it probably won't have a huge effect.
Like in games, maybe +1 to some stat or something.
"A ring?"
"Yes, I think it's the type that boosts stats, but I don't know for sure at this point."
"The government is looking for people with Appraisal abilities……"
"No one is publicizing the Item Box――if someone really has it, they'd hide it, right?"
"Why did Niwa-san publicize the Item Box?"
"Monsters spawned outside the dungeon, and I used the Item Box to defeat them, but residents of the Special District saw me……"
"If that hadn't happened, would you have kept it hidden?"
"Yes, well――it didn't seem to have any benefits……"
I didn't think such a huge job as cleaning up the nuclear power plant ruins would come my way.
Exiting the dungeon and stepping outside the concrete wall, I received a message on my smartphone.
I must have left the area beyond the reach of the supernatural world.
Looking at it, it was from the Prime Minister.
『Regarding the rule preventing continuous work, I will have it handled as an exception.』
That wouldn't work as a job.
Well, normally that might be the case.
I replied.
"I think Hareyama-san contacted you, but unless you cut large steel beams, they won't fit in the Item Box, and fine rubble can't be stored unless it's put in a box or something."
I decided to return to the car with Hareyama-san.
As I walked, a reply came.
『Understood. It's fine as long as it's within your capabilities.』
"I stored the rolling fuel rods. There's no sign of radiation leaking outside the Item Box."
『That's an amazing thing……』
Well, this is exactly what you call a cheat.
"Is it okay to throw the rubble in some random place in the dungeon where no one is? Or is there a planned location to transport it to?"
『No, I intended to dispose of it inside the dungeon, so I'll leave it to you.』
"Does that mean experiments were done where radioactive materials are absorbed even in the dungeon?"
『That's exactly right.』
"I understand."
Well, even saying "inside the dungeon," places with people would be dangerous.
I'll dive deep and throw them away there.
Adventurers probably don't come to the deep parts of the dungeon.
"Um……"
When the communication ended, Hareyama-san spoke to me.
"What is it?"
"Is it okay to put so much rubble in there?"
"Hmm……for now, it doesn't feel full."
"Is that so?"
"It seems there was someone with an Item Box before, but it didn't seem to hold this much."
"Yes."
She seems to know that story too.
Or was she at that site?
Getting into the car with Hareyama-san, we returned to the nuclear power plant.
It was around noon, so we had lunch at the cafeteria for workers again.
She seemed to have lost her appetite from the dungeon earlier, so she was drinking iced coffee.
I had soy sauce ramen.
I think the ramen here is frozen, but it's quite delicious.
I heard that in my parents' era, ramen at such cafeterias was like soft noodles, but technology has advanced.
"Hareyama-san, do you commute from somewhere?"
"Huh? No, I commute from a nearby dormitory."
"Is that so? Can I just commute by helicopter?"
"Hehe……given the scale of the project, the cost of a helicopter is negligible."
"If someone found out, they might say it's a waste of tax money……"
"That's not the case. It solves the issue of taxes being used for 30 years."
Actually, that's true.
After finishing the meal, I asked for a helicopter.
Commuting by helicopter every day is extravagant.
"Well, see you tomorrow."
"Yes."
I boarded the helicopter amidst the strong wind stirred by the rotors.
As I rose into the sky, I arrived at the Special District hotel in about 30 minutes.
Again, I looked at the guide lady's butt while heading outside.
I joined the crowd as usual.
"By the way, what happened with the judicial scrivener?"
This is about checking the contents of the contract.
I contacted them via smartphone, and a reply came immediately.
『I think there are no problems.』
"Thank you."
Alright, alright, I can reply to Hareyama-san now――no, wait a minute.
If I pour the treated water into that unprepared dungeon, it becomes a water siege.
Could monsters be defeated by a flood?
"Hmm?"
If I pour water in and defeat the monsters deep in the dungeon, will I get experience points?
No――when a hole opened in the backyard and I attacked from above, I got experience points.
There's a possibility.
How actual experience points work depends on the dungeon, so I can't include it in the contract.
The issue of ownership lies with the drop items.
"Then, please add a clause to the contract stating that drop items from the dungeon belong to Niwa Daisuke."
I immediately contacted Hareyama-san via smartphone.
The contract is okay, but add the drop items section.
I'll keep the possibility of attacking monsters with a water siege hidden.
Hehehe, there's no need to reveal information favorable to me.
She sent a message quickly.
『Drop items? Like the ones you picked up today? I think that's no problem.』
Great! I clenched my fist.
"Thank you very much."
『Yes.』
Officials who haven't dived into the dungeon probably don't understand the importance of items.
Well, it's unclear if items drop from a water siege, or if I can even get them.
I can't dive into the dungeon every time just to pick up items.
What actually happens――well, I'll just have to try it.
Returning to the inn, Mio was back.
"Welcome back~"
"Hey, I'm home~"
"Ehe~"
When I sat on the air mat, she climbed onto my lap.
"Mio-chan~, I want to play with the computer."
"Mio wants to do it too!"
I took out a notebook and camera from the Item Box.
While Mio squished me, I took out the video and saved it to the HDD.
I edited the video.
Since this was a video of an unprepared dungeon, I deleted GPS data and such.
Now no one will know where it is.
"Mio-chan, lots of gross videos will come up, so you shouldn't watch them."
"Hmm, what kind?"
"Many rabbits getting crushed……"
"Why are you crushing rabbits?!"
Mio was angry, but it's hard to explain.
"Why?――They're monsters, and they attack."
"Muu!"
Maybe children can't understand yet.
Well, even beginner adventurers are deceived by the rabbit's appearance and get hurt.
She said she wants to be an adventurer, so she'll eventually face that harshness.
I'll stop editing for now.
When Sana comes, I'll have her keep Mio company, and I'll do it in the meantime.
I took out snacks from the Item Box.
"Mio-chan, want some snacks?"
"……I want."
Will she cheer up a bit?
Parents in this world have it tough.
It will be even harder when she hits puberty.
"Hmm."
While worrying unnecessarily, Sana and the others returned.
Ren was with her, but she seemed a bit down.
What happened?
"Oh, Daisuke-san, welcome back."
"Sana and Ren, welcome back~"
"……"
"What's wrong with Ren? She seems a bit down……"
"That's……"
According to Sana, they encountered the Labyrinth Cult in the dungeon.
"The Labyrinth Cult, could that be that naked woman I was filming?"
"Yes……"
"You guys didn't dive into that new deep part, right?"
"No way!"
Kirara, with her makeup removed, entered there.
"Is that so?"
"With me around, I wouldn't take them to such a dangerous place, right?"
"That's true……so where did you……"
"We met on the 3rd floor."
Sana and Ren seem to have leveled up quite a bit, so the 3rd floor shouldn't be a problem.
"Can the Labyrinth Cult move freely inside the dungeon?"
Did they get some kind of magic?
Or do they have drop items that allow that?
"I don't know."
"So, did something happen between the Labyrinth Cult and Ren?"
"Yes."
According to Kirara, the woman saw Ren at a glance and mentioned a certain woman's name.
"Could that be――Ren's mother's name?"
"Yes."
That naked woman was probably a high-ranking member of the cult.
She didn't look like an ordinary person at all.
If so, it wouldn't be strange if she knew the names of her followers.
Perhaps Ren and her mother looked that similar.
"Did that woman say anything to you?"
"……She said, 'Your mother is doing well inside the dungeon'……"
Ren muttered quietly with a face full of determination.
"Isn't that a trap?"
"I thought so too, so I said that."
"Since she has a mother, it's probably recruitment."
"Probably."
Kirara stuck her tongue out disdainfully.
"Ren, those people are just using your mother as bait to recruit you into the cult."
"……Yeah."
She probably knows, but it's hard to tell her not to worry.
Anyway, I can't say much more about this.
――So, since Sana came, I continued editing the video.
"Sana, please keep Mio company. I was editing a video of me crushing rabbits, and she got upset."
"But, it's pitiful!"
She hugged her big sister.
"Well, at least the appearance is cute."
Kirara seems to think so too.
She took out tools from her bag and started grooming her nails.
She hadn't grown them out, but she seemed to be applying some kind of coat.
It seems to be her theory that since this business is unpredictable when death might come, one should always stay clean.
"The inside is a monster, so it's not cute at all."
"Yes, yes――when I talk to beginners, I say, 'Be careful of rabbits'."
"I think whether you can kill those is like a watershed for becoming an adventurer."
"Yeah, it feels like that."
"But, Mio said she wants to be an adventurer, but I think she'll have to deal with rabbits if she does."
Mio reacted to my words.
"I won't deal with rabbits!"
"Eh~?"
"Ahaha――she's still a child~"
Kirara laughed at the childish words.
"Besides, when you become a middle schooler, your thinking changes, right? You might start saying things like 'Taking a life is the principle of adventure――' or 'Grr! Be quiet! My right hand, whose power is sealed!' and so on."
"Wait! How do you know about my past!?"
I don't really know what's going on, but Kirara started making a scene.
"I don't know, but this is a classic, right? But, Kirara-neesan, you were already quite old 10 years ago when the dungeon was created, weren't you?"
"I was still young!"
"Huh? Is that so~, haha. Then you were the type who wrote down cool spells I thought of and notes before the dungeon was even created."
"Stop digging up old wounds! That's etiquette, right?!"
"I don't care."
By the way, Kirara's outfit is a bit flashy and cosplay-like.
Her makeup, which she puts effort into, is probably part of that.
Well, I had that phase too, so I'll stop teasing her.
"Do children these days not do such things……?"
"They grew up in an era where the world stood still and there was no entertainment, so they are super realistic."
"So that's how it is……"
Kirara had a dark expression.
Was it that her conversation with the young people didn't click, and she slipped up――something like that?
"Well, don't mind it."
"Hah? What's that?"
She looked suspicious.
I'm a bit worried about Ren, but I have a big job.
I'll have to leave it to Kirara.
Anyway, let's finish editing the video.
Since Hareyama-san's voice is included this time, I'll mute it.
There's a privacy issue.
I stitched together only the combat scenes and uploaded it to the site immediately.
――The day after cleaning up the nuclear power plant.
When I woke up in the morning, I checked the channel.
There were many accesses and comments.
『Which dungeon is this?』
"Whoa! Did you take that out of the Item Box?! That's insane."
『If you can do this against rabbits, you can do it against other monsters, right?』
『You were dropping flat stones to defeat Minotauros too.』
『Too much of a cheat.』
It seems obvious at a glance that it's not a Tokyo dungeon.
Well, if you dive every day, you might know the home ground…….
While preparing breakfast, I got an idea.
"Can't I bring the ramen or curry from the nuclear power plant cafeteria?"
It was quite delicious.
Since there's probably a tax subsidy, maybe it's only for workers or related personnel?
If I pretend to get a refill, one or two bowls probably won't be noticed…….
Since I'm getting a huge sum of money, I don't have to do such stingy things――haha.
We all ate breakfast together.
I was thinking commuting every day was troublesome, but eating together like this is important too.
Once money comes in, I'll retire as an adventurer and buy a building in the Special District to move the guild.
I'll switch to supporting Kirara as the leader financially.
――From that day on, daily commuting to the nuclear power plant ruins began.
Since the rules changed, I could work continuously, and the work progressed wildly.
All the rubble and fuel rods scattered inside the nuclear power plant building were collected with the Item Box.
I've kept them in there forever, but there's no sign of the Item Box filling up.
Fine rubble can't be collected unless gathered and put into a container.
Steel beams that have become like candy sculptures need to be cut to 10m.
Still, if this much garbage is cleared, other work will progress.
The radiation levels seem to have decreased quite a bit too.
Ultimately, if we scrape off the topsoil and throw it into the dungeon, this land of tragedy will be completely revived.
While I was collecting nuclear power plant rubble, preparations for the tanks to hold the treated water were progressing.
Huge tanks were being transported one after another by large helicopters.
Since the tanks have a large capacity, the work of transferring the treated water is difficult.
"However, if we throw this tank's water into the dungeon, we'll have to remove the concrete wall at the entrance……"
Hareyama-san reacted to my muttering.
"Oh, it's okay! The demolition work has already started!"
"Is that so? But if that disappears, won't monsters come out?"
"They are building a slightly lower wall at a slightly further location――where heavy machinery can be used."
"Well, since only slimes and rabbits spawn there, it should be fine……"
"I also confirmed it on-site and reported it to the Prime Minister!"
She was panting.
Ah, so that's why she wanted to enter the dungeon.
Once the huge tanks were full, I stored them in the Item Box.
"Oooooh!"
Cheering rose from the surrounding workers.
Since there were two tanks, I put the remaining one into the Item Box too.
I had stored a considerable amount so far, so I was worried about the remaining capacity――but it seems to have been an unnecessary worry.
"Amazing!"
Hareyama-san was also excited about the disappearing tanks.
"Well, let's take this and see if we can successfully throw it into the dungeon."
"Let's try it immediately!"
"Eh? This has valves, but how do I open and close them?"
"Workers are waiting properly."
As expected of an elite, she's efficient.
Work is 80% preparation, they say.
It's a huge difference from me, who only takes detours.
I decided to go to that unprepared dungeon with her.