Chapter 55 - Chapter 55: A Date in the Dungeon
I met a university professor, and she suddenly came to the Special District.
She said she wanted to meet the Harpy that can communicate with us.
Maybe she would be interested since she is an expert on monsters, but she should have contacted me at least.
Today I am free, so it's fine.
I went to the government office and got the professor a provisional license.
Maybe she has the aptitude for being an adventurer too.
If so, she can investigate the dungeon without relying on me.
"Let's go quickly!"
"Yes, yes."
I took the professor through the automatic gates at the dungeon entrance.
Once inside the entrance hall, I took out the bicycle from the Item Box.
"Really, the Item Box is convenient~"
"Yes."
"You can carry luggage and samples freely..."
"I can carry anything, so I get stuck with troublesome jobs or targeted from dangerous places."
"Eh?! So that's really true?"
"Yes, especially for someone like me with a huge capacity Item Box, maybe I'm the only one in the world."
"That's right~"
Since talking was pointless, I made her stand on the rear step of the bicycle.
"Professor, how are your motor skills?"
"Well, they are so-so."
"That's good."
If she were clumsy, being an adventurer would be a bit tough.
While the cold dungeon air caressed my cheeks, I carried her on the back and started pedaling.
We proceeded down the road where darkness spread quietly.
The lights of adventurers flickered faintly in the darkness.
"Um, it's pitch black, but can you see, Niwa-san?!"
The professor's voice came from behind.
"Yes, many adventurers gain night vision as they reach high levels."
"That's convenient~"
"Hahaha."
"There are so many lights moving, are those other adventurers?"
"Yes."
"It's a bit fantastical."
Well, people get injured, or worse, die sometimes.
The softness of her hand on my shoulder felt pleasant, and that sensation reached me with every pedal stroke.
Riding the bicycle as is, we advanced to Floor 2.
As usual, wolves chased us.
These guys are really always annoying.
They are fast too, so shaking them off is difficult.
If I keep running while dragging them along, it becomes a violation of etiquette to rub monsters against other adventurers called "trains."
I had no choice but to stop the bicycle and face the wolves.
"Eh?! Wolves?! Where are they?!"
I took out a bat and a chemical light from the Item Box.
I handed the light to the professor.
When she broke the light, the figures of five wolves emerged in the green light.
"Wah! They are really wolves!"
"Yes."
My weapon was a reinforced bat specially ordered from a weapon shop, which I hadn't used recently.
Inside covered with special fibers was iron sand, and inside the core was a spring that made it bend well.
"S-so amazing!"
She seemed excited by the real monsters.
"Professor, stay behind me."
"Yes!"
"Here I go!"
I swung at the attacking wolves.
"Gyan! Cain! Can!"
With three consecutive perfect hits, I knocked down the wolves, and the rest fled.
"Phew... truly annoying."
"Amazing! That was splendid~"
"Whenever I pass through here, I always get bothered by wolves. Well, maybe I should use a train..."
"But if you can run at that speed in the darkness, you don't need a train, right?"
"That's right."
More than that.
"What will you do with these?"
As expected of a monster expert.
She poked the wolves with her finger, not shaken at all.
"Store them... they won't disappear, right?"
"Yes."
"Since they are still alive like this, they won't enter the Item Box."
"So that's how it is."
"Then, Professor, please finish them off."
I handed her a short sword I took out from the Item Box.
"Is it okay for me to do it?"
"Yes, if you have adventurer traits, the status screen should appear immediately, and you will level up."
"I understand!"
She gathered her spirit with a "Hun!"
There was no "Eh~?" or "Are you really going to do it?" at all.
"Whoa!"
I was surprised by her action.
Why was I surprised? Because she shone a light on the wolf's head and inserted the short sword into its eye socket.
Normally, no one does such a thing immediately.
Even when finishing them off, one would stab the sword into the stomach or chest.
The wolf's body convulsed.
"Hmm... is it no good...?"
She was so calm about it that I was a bit taken aback.
As expected of an expert.
"Isn't the heart still beating?"
"Is that the judgment?"
"Well, I don't really know, hahaha."
This time, she stabbed the short sword into the wolf's stomach.
It was a movement that completely understood where the internal organs were.
When the blade was buried in the monster's body, the professor's body began to glow.
"Eh?!"
"Professor, you did it. The status screen is coming up."
"Really? But, this... when does it end?"
"Normally, you skip doing it with slimes and such."
While I was talking to her, the light stopped.
"Ah! The status screen appeared! I'm suddenly Level 5!"
"You did it. You are already a proper adventurer."
"Yay!"
In this regard, she was acting like a normal woman, excited.
She looked happy.
Well, a normal woman might get depressed or down after killing a living creature.
"Professor, while you're at it, finish off the remaining two."
"Is it okay?"
"I won't change my status at all even if I defeat monsters around here..."
"Oh, I see... Niwa-san, your level seems high..."
"Hahaha."
"By the way... how high is it?"
"That is a trade secret."
"Hey!"
She showed an expression as if she was a bit sulky while stabbing the short sword into the wolf.
Her expression and action did not match.
This is scary in a way.
A man who doesn't know her might be taken aback a bit.
"I did it! Suddenly Level 8!"
"If you hunt a few more, Floor 2 should be fine."
"Ah! I learned a magic! It says magic 'Light'."
At Level 8, it wouldn't be strange to learn other magics... but the individual differences are amazing.
"That is a light magic."
"Does it shine even without this kind of light?"
"Yes. Why don't you try using it a bit?"
"Eh? How exactly..."
"I can't use magic either, so I don't know how... a bit."
She tried various things, but apparently figured out how to do it quickly.
It seems you can figure out how to use these kinds of things vaguely.
"Light! 'Light'."
A sphere made of pale blue magical light floated in front of us.
"You did it."
"Amazing! This might be convenient when dissecting!"
"Shall we go that way, hahaha."
When we leave the dungeon, the magic's power attenuates, but maybe it can be used around Haneda.
"But, if you leave the dungeon, you can't use magic, right...?"
"How about it? Maybe around Haneda."
"I'll try it later."
"The students will be surprised too."
"Yes, probably!"
She seems quite happy.
This is becoming like a date, but if the Princess saw us here, it would be troublesome.
Oga-san wouldn't say anything though.
"Next, I want the 'Clean' magic."
"Does it make you clean when you use it?"
"Yes, even if you are covered in blood, one spell makes you clean and tidy."
"I-I want it! I want it! How do I learn it?"
"That depends on luck."
"Eh~? Is that so?"
This is serious.
Even Kaorulko, who is already at the Great Magician level, does not have the Clean magic.
The destination is not here, so we hurry ahead.
Except for the wolves on Floor 2, the monsters are all ones we can outrun, so we skip them.
Also, I didn't intend to dive today, so I am in normal clothes.
The professor is just wearing a raincoat, with no armor at all.
If other adventurers found us like this, they would say "Don't underestimate the dungeon!" and bother us again.
Well, I know it's my fault.
"Fast! Fast!"
The professor was happy from behind.
"Hahaha."
"..."
She was excited, then suddenly went quiet.
I don't understand her actions well.
She is definitely an oddball though.
We raced through the dungeon and went down the slope at the boundary of the floors.
We arrived at Floor 4.
"If it's this fast, we don't need vehicles~"
The professor illuminated the surroundings with the magical light.
The first light I gave her has lasted this far.
Well, the visible range is narrow, so I think she doesn't understand anything.
"Well, is he there?"
"Is he here?"
"Yes, usually... OOOOO! Are you not here?!"
No Harpy-like cries could be heard from above either.
"She doesn't seem to be here now, but let's wait a bit."
"Yes."
We moved to the wall and took out food and drinks.
She might come following the smell of food.
"It seems she is following my scent."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, she came all the way from quite deep underground through a tunnel to my place."
"She is loved quite a bit~"
"Loved? Maybe I just fed her food and she got used to it."
"Oh, is that so? Is that the cause?"
"I don't know. I thought there were no such cases on the net."
"That's right... I heard about this for the first time too."
Maybe this is one of my special abilities too.
The professor was munching on chocolate.
"Haa~ Chocolate is sweet and delicious..."
"Chocolate prices have gone up too."
"That's right. With just my university salary, I can't eat it often..."
"Since you can become an adventurer, why not dive into the dungeon when you have time? Living like this seems tough, but you should be able to earn enough for chocolate money."
"If I think of it as a part-time job to eat chocolate, it might be good!"
"Professor has a steady job, so I think that side is better."
While talking to her, a cry came from above.
"Gya! Gya!"
"Probably a Harpy."
"Ah, this might be the first time I've heard a live cry. It's a cry like that."
Electronic devices don't work in the dungeon.
Recorders naturally don't work either.
"That's right... but the cry sounds a bit different from the usual one..."
If it's not that one, it's just a monster and normally an enemy... I prepare for defense.
I took out a weapon and a boar from the Item Box and started spinning them.
"Are you going to catch it with that?"
"If I can catch it alive, I can sell it for a high price~"
"I see!"
"I caught the first Harpy that way and sold it outside... but somehow it returned to the dungeon."
"So... monsters have homing instincts too."
She brings up such topics immediately, as expected of a scholar.
I thought it would attack... but it didn't.
Soon, it landed nearby and walked on the ground with flapping feet.
"Gya."
"Ah, it's you."
The one showing its face was not the usual one.
It was the individual with a somewhat dazed expression that I saw in a nest 100m high on the way back with the Princesses.
Now that I think about it, this one also seemed to trust me.
"Good girl, good girl, are you the only one?"
"Gya."
I picked her up and gave her the snacks we were eating.
"Whoa! S-she really trusts me!"
"That's right. This one is different from the usual one, but she seems to have trusted me."
"Heh~"
"Compared to other individuals, this one might have slightly larger breasts. Do having breasts mean something?"
"Probably... I think she is warming eggs here..."
"I see... so why are the breasts big?"
"Probably... she might produce something like pigeon milk."
Pigeons store milk in their crops and feed their chicks mouth-to-mouth to raise them.
"Pigeons feed milk from their mouths... but Harpies have human-like faces, so maybe it's more reasonable to feed from the breasts."
"Since there are no records of breeding, it is just speculation."
Anyway, monsters popping in the dungeon seem to lack reproductive ability.
"Niwa-san, have you ever seen a Harpy egg?"
"Hmm, there was a place like a nesting ground with many Harpies, but there were no eggs there."
It might have just been a gathering place.
"Eh! There is such a place?!"
"It was on Floor 7, 100m above ground."
"100m! So high places are where nests are..."
"It seems so."
Even without reproductive ability, they might lay infertile eggs.
While I was thinking about eggs, the professor was checking the Harpy's lower body.
"The lower body has a cloaca, completely a bird."
"But, teeth grow on the upper body, so there is no crop, right?"
"Do you know about the crop?"
"I often strangled chickens... hahaha."
Birds have no teeth, so they swallow whole.
They use an organ called the crop to grind what they eat.
As the name suggests, some types store sand.
The crop of the chicken I strangled was filled with sand.
Harps have teeth, so that is not necessary.
"Now that I think about it... your hair is growing extremely long."
Hair grows like a human's head, but you can't cut it yourself, so it grows wild.
How do you take care of it?
Is it like animal fur, where it stops growing after a certain length?
"Really."
I took out scissors from the Item Box and cut her hair.
It would be hard to see if it got in the eyes.
I thought so, but when flying, it looks like an all-back style, so is it okay?
While the professor and I were messing with the Harpy's body, a voice came from above.
"Gya! Gya!"
"Ah, is that him?"
So he was safe after all.
He seems to have a decent amount of intelligence, and maybe he realized it is safer to steal food than to oppose adventurers.
If so, he won't be killed by adventurers.
There was a sound of landing nearby.
He came hopping over, but raised a scream.
"Gya! Gya!"
He flapped his wings and pointed his claws.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Did the monster's instinct wake up?
Panicking, the Harpy I was holding escaped, and she rode in the open space.
"Gya."
There was no hostility.
"What is it? Did you get jealous because I was holding another Harpy?"
"S-so amazing! You can communicate perfectly!"
Seeing me pet the Harpy, the professor was moved.
Well, she was squinting her eyes while being petted by me, completely entrusting herself.
"Here, want some chocolate?"
"Gya!"
She ate the chocolate deliciously.
"Maybe not jealousy, but she got angry because her feeding ground was taken."
"Oh, certainly... birds fight over feeding grounds too~"
They fight quite a bit, you know.
"Professor... today I accompanied you, so you could come to such a place, but don't dive into the dungeon alone, okay?"
"It's okay. Even I know that is unreasonable."
"Well, if you wear armor, Floor 1 should be fine..."
"Floor 1 only has slimes and rabbits, right?"
"Are you bored of that?"
"Slimes are interesting as slimes, but I have many samples..."
That's true.
"Gya!"
"Well, I've petted the Harpy too, so let's go back~"
"Um... can't I take this one with me?"
"Probably she won't listen if I'm not here. She might escape and come back here."
"Oh, that's what I thought. Probably because it's Niwa-san, she is behaving calmly..."
There is no more interesting sample than this as research material, but it's a bit impossible.
And it's pitiful...
When I tried to leave, she grabbed my sleeve.
"What is it? Is there something else...?"
"Thank you for today. I want to give you a reward..."
"A reward? Now that you mention it, I had something to ask you, Professor."
"Eh? What is it?"
"It's about the plan Niwa-san and the Princess are advancing."
"Plan?"
The plan is, of course, about making children with high-level adventurers.
I told her the details.
"How about it? Isn't it interesting?"
"It sounds fun!"
Even in the darkness, I could see her eyes shining.
"I think it's better to have an expert."
"I have a doctor's license too, so please let me cooperate."
"You have a doctor's license too?"
"Yes."
I have gained a powerful ally.
"Then, please take care of me."
"Yes! --By the way, this is also today's reward."
"Eh? Ah, no... the talk just now is enough..."
"Eh? It's troubling... if I don't get a reward, it's hard to ask you next time..."
"No, I'm troubled too..."
"..."
She pulled me to a corner of the dungeon.
"What are you going to do?"
While I was troubled, she started an unexpected action.
She started taking off her raincoat.
Then she took off her pants too.
"Eh~? Maybe this is the reward?"
"Isn't mine a reward?"
"No, no... I didn't think Professor was a woman who does such things."
"Is it no good?"
"No, no, it's not bad."
"Then..."
"Recently, young girls seem to like me... I wonder what's good about an old man like me."
"Eh? That's not true. You are very strong."
"Well, your level is high in the dungeon."
"And, your back..."
"Your back?"
"My back is stronger than I thought... it made my heart race..."
Ah, so that's why she suddenly went quiet when I was riding the bicycle.
Kaorulko said something like that too, I think.
After all, I trained for 10 years in the fields.
When swinging a hoe to plow, it inevitably happens.
Anyway... since she is offering a reward, I have no choice but to accept it.
I wasn't expecting a reward at all, so this is a pleasant miscalculation.
In the darkness, I had a one-on-one match with the professor, then left the dungeon.
During the match, the Harpy was noisy, but surely it wasn't jealousy.
"Thank you for today."
"Next time, please contact me in advance."
"Yes."
"Also, don't dive alone."
"It's okay."
Really?
Well, never mind.
An unexpected reward was quite nice too.
Outside the dungeon, I was about to part ways with the professor and return to the hotel...
"Yo! Darling!"
The one who called out was Oga-san.
"Why is Oga-san calling me Darling?"
"Hahaha! Stop being so distant with 'Oga-san'."
She put her arm around my shoulder.
"Haha."
"Let's do it now!"
She laughed loudly and said such things casually.
"Eh?!"
"What's wrong? Am I not good enough?"
"It's not that... but I got permission from the Princess too."
I just finished a match... well, since my level is high, an unlimited one-on-one match is possible.
She is in the mood too, so of course I will do it.
But... am I getting popular with young girls recently?
Even if you become a high-level adventurer, detailed ability values don't appear on the status screen.
Maybe detailed numbers are set even if they don't appear on the screen, and all of them are rising?
For example, Charisma, Charm... such values.
We found a place to have a match with her and did a one-on-one.
I can't do it for too long.
Her voice is still cute.
Just that makes me burn.
She is cute, so she probably gets popular with other men too...
"Since you are cute, you should be popular too, right? There must be others besides an old man like me."
"The condition is a man stronger than me..."
"Have any other men approached you?"
"There are no such guys..."
She blushed and whispered that.
She is cute, so I petted her.
Everyone around has no taste.
So cute.
Even if her condition is "a man stronger than me," it's worth trying to attack.
After the match with Oga, I returned to the hotel.
"I'm home~"
"Welcome back~ Darling!"
A woman with the same face as the Princess sat on the sofa and raised her hand, but she was not the Princess.
She was Kako, the Princess's older sister.
More than that... why is everyone calling me Darling?