Chapter 72 - Chapter 72: The Adventure Ends Only When You Get Home
The assault on Floor 7 failed due to the Labyrinth Cult's attack, and the scaffolding we had carefully prepared was destroyed.
The members who participated in this attack returned home, spirits crushed.
In a game, you could return in the blink of an eye, but in this dungeon, there is a way back.
Of course, you will encounter enemies, and you cannot let your guard down just because it is a shallow floor.
When we returned to Floor 5, we heard the sound of battle.
At the same time, we heard voices calling for help, so we went to save the party that was fighting—but.
It turned out to be Sana and Kirara's party.
I thought they hated me completely, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
Since I couldn't just leave them there, we decided to return to the surface together with us.
It's completely a retroactive approval, but it's an emergency situation and saving people.
Our leader, Princess, wouldn't say "No!"
We proceed using the flickering magical lights visible in the darkness as markers.
Everyone is at that light's location.
"What's the name of the girl behind you? I'm Daisuke."
"Eh, I'm Ema."
"Nice to meet you. You might have heard bad things about me from Kirara."
"I-I haven't heard anything like that!"
It's dark, and my eyes are hidden, so I can't quite make out the expression, but she doesn't seem like a bad kid.
"Sana."
"Y-yes..."
"I met the Labyrinth Cult on Floor 7, but there's no lead on Ren. It might be a bit difficult."
"Yes..."
"She went to meet the Labyrinth Cult on her own, after all..."
That's what Kirara said.
If that was her wish, there's nothing more I can do.
"Um—Daisuke-san."
Ema came over to my side.
"What is it?"
"Daisuke-san, you're from Guild Cherry Princess, right?"
"That's right, but..."
"I'm a huge fan of Her Highness the Empress!"
She added "sama" to it.
"Well, we do have the Empress here, but—if it's a party of only mages, wouldn't it be better to get advice from Yuuki?"
"Yuuki? From Rolling Stone?!"
Since they are the top guild of only mages, even Kirara knew about them.
"That's right. We attacked together this time."
"Mumumu..."
She is deep in thought.
She has her own pride as a veteran, and even if the other party is a top guild, does asking for advice hinder her pride?
"If you really aim for the top, I think it's more useful than charging into a floor that doesn't match your level."
"H-hush! I thought it was dangerous too!"
"I-I'm sorry..."
Sana looks dejected.
She probably understands that everyone was exposed to danger because of her.
While talking to them, the group joined up with everyone else—well, one girl was different.
"Darling! Who are those children?"
"They charged into a floor that didn't match their level."
"Recklessness and courage are different things, you know?"
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Actually—when I saved them, they turned out to be acquaintances of mine."
"Darling's?"
"I had a guild before, right? They were from there. Now they've set up their own guild."
"I see."
Ema looked at Kaorulko and flew over at light speed.
"Excuse me! You're the Empress, right?!"
"Eh, y-yes... that's right..."
"I'm a huge fan! Please shake my hand!"
"Eh? O-okay."
Kaorulko is flustered by the fan who keeps pushing forward.
"Is that new equipment?! It looks so cool!"
Ema is circling around Kaorulko.
Her eyes are hidden, but judging by her voice, isn't she sparkling with excitement?
"Ah, thank you."
"Eh? Really? That's absolutely impossible..."
Kirara, looking at Kaorulko's Breast-Curtain Dress, muttered under her breath.
"Well, it's absolutely impossible for someone like Kirara."
"That's not true! I can do it!"
"Hey, stop it, stop it, you're too old."
"Age has nothing to do with it!"
If you put that on the net, it would be flooded with comments like "BBA, don't try so hard."
While playing around with Kirara, Princess's mood worsened, and it would be bad to keep everyone waiting, so we set off.
We formed a column and proceeded while being alert to our surroundings.
Fortunately, we didn't encounter any enemies after that and made it to the campsite at the entrance of Floor 5.
We take out everyone's luggage.
"Is that an Item Box?!"
Ema is surprised to see an Item Box for the first time.
"Well, yes. Our Kaorulko also has an Item Box, so Guild Cherry Princess is the strongest."
"Nice~ I wonder if I can get an Item Box too."
"I don't know the conditions for getting one."
Let's just leave it at that for now.
I got one after defeating the boss-like thing in the backyard dungeon.
Maybe the condition for obtaining an Item Box is defeating a certain type of dungeon boss.
Talking with Ema, she's bright and a good kid.
I think we'll get along well with Sana and Kirara too.
We eat together with the girls we protected.
Sana seemed to want curry, so we made curry, but—she is eating it with tears in her eyes.
"Are those the adventurers you protected?"
Iroha and the others are eating curry together.
We've made quite a bit of curry, but the stock is running low.
"That's right, but when I saved them, they turned out to be acquaintances."
"Eh?! Acquaintances of Darling?!"
"That's right."
"It might have been scary, but if you cry over something like this, you can't be an adventurer?"
"..."
Is Sana crying because it was a close call, or because she wanted to eat curry—or both?
"Princess, remember that girl who came to eat curry at the hotel before?"
"Yes."
"This girl here is her older sister."
"Oh, is that so?"
Princess is also eating her meal calmly, seemingly uninterested.
Maybe she doesn't think much of it since Sana is an acquaintance.
"A-ah—You're everyone from Guild Goriki, right?!"
"Yes, that's right."
This girl named Ema seems to be an adventurer maniac.
No, maybe it's normal for adventurers to be interested in top guilds and rankers.
Maybe I'm the weird one for not caring much about that.
Well, I was just a regular old man in the middle of nowhere.
I did watch some online news because dungeons are related to Japan's future...
I never thought I would become an adventurer myself and participate in such an assault.
"Wow~! I can eat with everyone from a top guild!"
"If you have questions, feel free to ask. Of course, you should offer thanks."
"Y-yes!"
Shallow-floor adventurers rarely get a chance to talk to rankers.
It should be a valuable experience.
"Gya gya!" "Gya!"
The harpies, who hadn't shown themselves, returned.
They were probably lured by the smell of food.
They landed nearby with a flap-flap sound, but everyone knows them and reacts with no response, while Ema jumps up.
"Gyah! Harpies!?"
"Gya!" "Gyaa!"
The harpies react to Ema's loud voice, making a lot of noise.
It's very noisy.
"Hey, hey, quiet down. These guys are fine."
I pick up both of them in my arms.
"Eh?!"
"The number of harpies has increased!"
Kirara knows about Gigi, but she doesn't know about Chichi, who joined later.
"In the depths of the dungeon. I ended up getting close to this one too."
"I can't believe it."
"Her breasts are big and cute, right?"
"Sexual harassment old man! Die!"
"Hahaha."
As Kirara said, it was a bit of an old man joke.
"...Breasts... Mine are... Mumble mumble..."
Sana is saying something.
"Gya!" "Gya."
"It's curry today! I thought you'd learned your lesson after eating curry before..."
The harpies started eating the curry.
They seem used to it.
Their heads look human-like, and maybe their taste buds are similar to humans?
"Harpies are getting close to humans..."
Ema still looks like she can't believe it.
While everyone was eating curry, Koeda came over.
"Oh? I thought it was someone else, but it's Kirara-san."
"Uu..."
Kirara looks awkward.
"What, are you acquaintances?"
"Hahaha, well, yes."
"Well, since she's a veteran, she probably wanders around a lot. It must be troublesome to have so many acquaintances."
Adventurers are in such a small world.
"Shut up!"
She shoves curry into her mouth.
She probably doesn't want to be asked about the past.
"When you finish eating, let's go see Yuuki. They are rankers made up of only mages. It will be a reference for Sana's guild."
"...Chok..."
Sana nods.
She might have seen the limits of her own methods.
When stuck, it's necessary to ask someone for advice, and they are top rankers.
It's a valuable experience.
After finishing the curry, we clean up and take Sana and the others to see Yuuki.
"Yuuki, do you have a moment?"
"Oh, Darling—what is it?"
"Why does everyone call you Darling?!"
Kirara seems bothered by my strange nickname.
"Before I knew it, everyone started calling me Darling."
"Kuku kuku"
The mage girls are whispering to each other and looking at us, laughing.
"These are the kids I saved earlier. Can you give them a lecture on parties of only mages?"
"Oh? Isn't that Kirara-san? It's hard to call her a girl, though."
"Uu..."
She turns her head away.
"You know her here too?"
"H-hush."
"I don't think I need to teach a veteran like her..."
It sounds like a snide remark.
There might have been trouble before.
With Kirara's personality like that.
"Don't say that. I won't do it for free. I'll do this."
I took out the magic stone that was the core of the Golem from my Item Box.
"Hmm."
He accepted the magic stone.
If I sold this size on the surface, it might be worth about 1 million yen.
It might be a bit expensive as tuition, but opportunities to receive lectures from top rankers don't come often.
"Thank you very much!"
Ema bowed energetically.
"If you don't want to teach Kirara, just the young ones is fine."
"Very well."
"I-I'll ask you too."
Kirara bowed her head.
"..."
It might have been a bit unexpected for his actions as a mage he knows.
Yuuki is surprised.
"She has various things going on and has changed her mind."
"I understand."
He let out a small sigh and answered that.
We'll leave Sana and the others to Yuuki.
"Come back after the lecture is over."
"Y-yes."
When we returned to Princess's side, she was sulking this time.
"You can't just leave young people doing dangerous and reckless things, can you?"
"W-well, that's true... but there's no need for Darling to take care of them..."
"Hahaha! What's this, is Cherry Princess jealous?!"
Iroha laughs loudly.
"That's not it!"
"Haha, so Cherry Princess is a troublesome woman after all."
"Actually, that's true."
Kaorulko immediately affirmed Iroha's words.
"Kaorulko! Aren't you on my side?!"
"Yes, of course. I'm on Sakurako-sama's side."
"Then deny it immediately!"
"No. That and this are different matters."
"Gu nu nu..."
"Ahahaha! You can't imagine this from the usual Cherry Princess."
"Oga! You're laughing too much!"
"Hii~ hihihi!"
Iroha seems to find it so funny that she is rolling on the floor holding her stomach.
After that, Iroha continued to tease Princess, but after about an hour, Sana and the others returned.
"How was it?"
"It was very helpful!"
Ema's face is flushed, and she is excited.
"And Sana?"
"...I'm completely useless..."
"Judging by that, Kirara must have learned something too, right?"
"Hmph! I can get to that level quickly too!"
Yuuki is younger than Kirara, yet he is higher up...
Well, she might have gone in the direction of showing off.
If she can turn her direction properly, she has experience, and her skills should come along too, shouldn't they?
Staring at Princess, Sana hid behind me.
She is grabbing my clothes.
"Princess, don't glare like that."
"I'm not glaring!"
"Cherry Princess~—I'm fine, but is that kind of girl not okay?"
Iroha is teasing Princess about her actions.
"Shut up!"
"..."
Sana, hiding behind me, glared back at Princess while trembling slightly.
"Hmph! That's right—if you can reach a level where you can fight with me, I might admit you, hahaha."
"I can! I'll show you!"
Sana answered immediately to Princess's words, which could be called a provocation.
"Whoa whoa..."
"Hahaha, go ahead and show us!"
"I will!"
"Gu nu nu..."
Princess and Sana glare at each other.
I knew Princess was competitive, but Sana is surprisingly strong-willed too.
Well, I think no one who isn't competitive becomes an adventurer...
"Princess, don't provoke her! What will you do if she does something dangerous again?"
"Being reckless is also part of being an adventurer!"
She sits with her chest puffed out.
"You're saying something different from before..."
I understand what she wants to say.
Without the passion boiling deep in her heart, she couldn't continue this.
We sleep in preparation for tomorrow.
There's nothing else to do.
"Gya" "Gya gya"
My sleeping spot is guarded by the harpies and Princess, so Sana won't come anyway.
Well, this is Cherry Princess's party, and she is an outsider, so that's how it is.
"Phew..."
I hope Sana doesn't do anything too reckless.
"...Are you worried about that woman?"
Princess, sleeping next to me, whispers.
"Well, she's an acquaintance, and a child."
"Adventurers are adults, right?"
"Well, yes—but old men worry about young people."
"I'm young too..."
"Princess, you're more beautiful than Sana, your family background is better, and as an adventurer, your fame is insane. You have charisma and money. There's not a single millimeter of reason for Sana to be jealous, right?"
"...I-I'm not jealous..."
"Haa..."
That's not my sigh.
It's Kaorulko's sigh, sleeping next to me.
"Kaorulko, if you have something to say, why don't you say it?"
Princess's words have thorns.
"If you keep throwing a tantrum, Darling-san might dislike you."
"Ugu..."
"That's not the case, but I would like Princess-sama to have a broad and tolerant heart that can forgive helping an acquaintance in trouble."
"That's right, just as Darling-san said."
"U, gu gu gu..."
Princess didn't say anything after that.
Did she understand, or did she get offended?
Since it became quiet, I fell asleep in preparation for tomorrow.
—The day after saving Sana and the others.
Probably morning.
We'll move through the remaining shallow floors at once and use the train inside the dungeon for Floors 3 to 1.
On the way back, Princess and the others won't be surrounded by adventurers.
We eat together with Sana and the others.
"It's delicious! To be able to eat such a meal inside a dungeon."
Ema is eating deliciously.
"Hahaha, I have an Item Box."
"That's nice."
"Sana, do you always eat properly?"
"Y-yes."
"If you're in trouble, you can rely on me."
"..."
She can't come over innocently like Mio, the child.
Kirara, the one without eyebrows, is eating silently.
Is she taking off her makeup even inside the dungeon?
Well, I don't know as a man, but maybe she can't just leave it on.
She was a self-proclaimed wannabe celebrity, but right in front of her is a real super celebrity.
She is the daughter of the Yaegashi Group, which is said to control Japan from behind the scenes.
Kirara must know about Princess and the others, of course.
We also fed the harpies.
"Good girl, good girl. This is where we part ways with you guys."
"Gya!"
"Thanks again this time."
"Gya" "Gyaa"
After the meal and cleaning up, we set off for the surface.
We part ways with the harpies too.
We can't take them any further into the shallow floors.
The adventurers, who were a bit depressed after failing the assault, brightened up their expressions since their homes are nearby.
When we arrived at Floor 3, everyone boarded the train.
I decided to pay for Sana and the others' share.
"Wow~! This is my first time riding it!"
There's no lighting inside, so it's pitch black, but for a moment, people and the interior take shape illuminated by the occasional light from outside.
"I always rode a bicycle."
"Is that also in your Item Box?"
"Yes, yes."
"Nice."
"I think everyone thinks so."
There are other adventurers besides us, but they seem to have realized that top rankers are on board, so they are whispering.
It's better than causing a commotion.
As we passed Floor 2 and Floor 1, the number of people gradually increased.
Naturally, there are adventurers who know Princess and the others, so it gets noisy and bustling.
Still, we returned to the entrance hall of Floor 1 without any trouble.
"Phew... It was all darkness for so long, the fiber optic lights are dazzling."
"Indeed, coming here makes you feel like you've returned."
Iroha seems to think so too.
"Princess, where do you distribute the monsters you defeated and the magic stones?"
"We do it here. It's wide."
"I see."
The entrance hall here is quite wide.
If you go to the edges, there are almost no people, so it should be fine.
I took out the prey we defeated this time from my Item Box.
Since they are mixed up inside, we distribute them referring to the notes each guild took.
This kind of thing is quite approximate.
Doing it strictly is quite difficult, and it could lead to disputes.
Top guilds are places with plenty of leeway, so we proceed without friction, just letting things slide.
Rich people don't fight, that's the saying.
You can go your own way and act like a lone wolf—but if you can't be helped when the time comes, you shouldn't complain.
Even if a future awaits you like Dancing Darkness, isolated and destroying yourself.
We put the distributed items on pallet racks and stored them back in the Item Box.
We can't transport them if we disperse here, so I will carry them.
"What should we do with the Lesser Demons..."
"I can't believe this would sell, hahaha."
Iroha is laughing, but Kirara is surprised by the red-skinned monster.
"Daisuke! What is this?!"
"It's a Lesser Demon. This one is dangerous. I don't think it belongs on Floor 6."
Everyone who encountered the red-skinned monster nods, "Mm-hmm."
"Exactly! Even if we encounter something like this, we gain nothing."
"I don't know the stats, but the experience points might be high."
"Eh?"
Iroha looks quite displeased.
"Darling, what should we do with this one?"
Princess seems to want me to decide the Lesser Demon's fate.
"Can I take it?"
"Well, since Darling defeated it..."
"Then I'll give it to the university professor. He probably hasn't seen it, so he'll be happy, hahaha."
That's right—speaking of Sensei, I need to have him check my seed too.
After competing with Princess and Iroha so much, and there's no reaction at all, something is wrong.
Does entering the dungeon change the body along with the level?
It's a bit of a question, but I thought there were adventurers with children...
"Well, let's just have him check it for now."
"Phew..."
The adventure ends only when you get home.
Everyone is in good spirits, giggling and laughing as they exit the dungeon.
Passing through the automatic gates, my spine went cold from a sharp presence.
Is this killing intent?!