“Last time, we cleared up to the 20th floor, so now we can use the teleportation, right? Akimi .”
“Yeah, that’s right. Just place your hand on the door at the dungeon entrance and specify the 20th floor.”
“It really feels like a fantasy, doesn’t it?”
“Starting from the first floor again would be a hassle, so this is just right. Let’s go.”
“Okay, okay. Natsuki , you’re so impatient.”
After the last dungeon boot camp, we didn’t return to the royal castle and instead took a two-day break at an inn near the dungeon. Now, we’re trying again with another dungeon challenge.
(Tohma ‘s older brother is working hard to level up in the dungeon, so we need to get stronger too.)
How much do we need to level up to defeat that so-called evil dragon?
Akimi is the type who would level up all the way to the cap in games before challenging the final boss, so I wonder if he plans to do the same here.
(No, wait… is there even a level cap in real life? I should’ve asked about the highest level in this world.)
Apparently, after defeating the final boss, they’ll rewind time and return us to the exact moment and place where we were summoned. But honestly, I don’t want to live in this country for decades.
(Thanks to Tohma ‘s brother, I’m able to enjoy Japanese food and live a better life, but I still want to go back to my old life.)
I’ve liked fantasy anime and games, in a way that’s appropriate for my age. While I’m enjoying this world, game life and real life are different.
In the real world, once you die, that’s the end. You can’t just press a button on a game console to come back to life. When you get hurt, it hurts. Monsters are really creepy… and scary.
If it were four-legged magical beasts, I could fight them without hesitation, but killing bipedal monsters with weapons still feels unsettling at times.
(But if I don’t do it, I’ll get killed. It’s not just me. I’d be putting Natsuki and Akimi in danger too.)
So, during battles, I try to disconnect my mind and just calmly hunt down the monsters.
I use fire magic as much as possible to take them down from a distance. Monsters that managed to escape the flames are crushed with my mace.
It’s a hassle to deal with the carcasses outside the dungeon, but the drop items are valuable for crafting materials, so I appreciate that.
During the last dungeon run, after spending about ten days on the 20th floor, I gathered a lot of drop items.
On our day off, we snuck out of the inn and went to the Adventurer’s Guild to sell the items. To our surprise, we ended up with ten gold coins each.
(10 gold coins… that’s a million yen in Japanese currency. There’s no way a high schooler like us could earn that much in ten days…)
Of course, we each took our share. The people who came from the temple and the palace insisted it was their rightful share too, so I gratefully pocketed my part.
Natsuki and Akimi were eager to multiply this tenfold! They were getting all kinds of things from Tohma ‘s older brother.
They were probably planning to sell Japanese gadgets again.
Haruto was told by Akimi that he should invest and grow it, so I had him buy some things at a 100-yen shop, though I was still a little unsure about it.
Akimi is still focused on selling spices, tea, writing tools, and paper.
Natsuki is apparently selling 100-yen cosmetics to the women of the palace at a high price. Despite being 100-yen items, they seem to have wonderful effects in this world, and were being bought at more than 30 times their price.
(I wonder if I should sell camping gear. Hammocks, sleeping bags, folding chairs, and BBQ tools should be useful for dungeon exploration, right?)
Carrying a lot of luggage into the dungeon is tough.
I’ve heard from the soldiers that unless you’re part of a group with magic bags that drop occasionally, everyone else is struggling to reduce their load.
Especially food – if you can provide your own in the dungeon, you can greatly reduce the amount of stuff you carry.
As long as you have salt and a cooking knife, you can roast monster meat over a campfire and it’s simple. Much better than tasteless preserved food.
(Mm, a BBQ grill wouldn’t take up much space, and it’s pretty light. Also, a mess tin. A sheracup would be nice too, since you can boil water in it and drink soup.)
Suddenly, an idea popped into my head.
I wonder if I could sell this information about useful items at the Adventurer’s Guild.
Like how Akimi sold paper-making technology to the country, selling a whole set of technologies, rather than just small items, would probably be a lot more profitable.
(Alright, after we’re out of the dungeon, I’ll consult with Denka about it. The pop-up tent they were selling at the 300-yen shop is also really useful. It saves a lot of time setting up a tent.)
As I was thinking about ways to make a profit, it seemed that my mouth naturally relaxed into a sloppy grin.
Natsuki elbowed me in the side.
“Haruto , stop spacing out! Let’s go, 20th floor!”
“Yeah, sorry. Let’s go to the 20th floor.”
We’ve already restocked our supplies with the gold coins we exchanged at the guild. This time, I bribed the inn’s cook and had him make a large quantity of lunchboxes, so I felt pretty relaxed about things.
“This time, we’re staying for ten days. If possible, I want to go deeper, past the 30th floor.”
“Got it. Should we aim for level 70?”
“In games, the higher the level, the harder it gets to level up, right?”
“Yeah, but the enemies on the lower floors are supposed to be big ones, so there’s still plenty of room to grow. Are you getting scared, Natsuki ?”
“Are you making fun of me, Akimi ? We’re keeping Tohma ’s older brother waiting, so we’ll power up as quickly as we can and defeat that evil dragon or demon lord as soon as possible.”
My younger sister is so reliable.
We shared a sly smile among the three of us, and at the same time, concentrated our magical power in our palms. As we strongly wished to reach the 20th floor, we pushed open the stone door.
The dungeon attack was going smoothly.
Because we were taking the initiative with magic attacks and wiping out monsters, my magic level was rising rapidly.
The fire magic I received from the creation god went from basic to advanced magic in one go.
My mana had also increased considerably.
As I mindlessly crushed monsters, I even learned a new skill, “Staff Fighting.”
The heavy mace now felt as light as my own limbs.
Natsuki and Akimi also seemed to have grown their magic and skills, happily wiping out enemies. Watching them eagerly pick up drop items was a bit scary.
Around the time our levels passed 60, the priests and soldiers who were accompanying us became a burden.
They seemed to realize it themselves.
“From here on, please proceed only with the heroes. Our assistance is no longer needed.”
They smiled and waved us off.
I’m grateful that they trust us, but it felt like a self-imposed exile. Still, it was more comfortable advancing with just the three of us.
On the fifth day of our second dungeon boot camp, we quickly retreated to a safe area and were leisurely having dinner when we received a message from Tohma ’s older brother.
“Huh? Just an image?”
I tapped the screen, and a photo of a small kitten appeared. It was wrapped in cloth, sleeping.
“…A cat?”
“What? Is it a cat?”
As I tilted my head, Akimi , who loved cats, immediately came over. Natsuki also peeked over my shoulder.
“…It’s a kitten. About three weeks old, maybe?”
“So cute. This is a message from Tohma ’s older brother, right? Why a picture of a kitten…”
Ding, a new message popped up.
This time, it was a proper text.
‘I found a dying kitten. Please help.’
“Tohma ’s older brother seems pretty shaken up.”
“Wait a second. There are kittens in the dungeon?”
“Yeah… I don’t think this cute kitten could be a magical beast.”
“Oh, reply already.”
‘Ketoshi’
“Is that a dialect? A riddle?”
“Ketoshi… oh, it’s a cat spirit.”
“Right, isn’t that a kind of two-legged cat fairy?”
“What’s that? Is it a magical beast?”
“Haruto , you don’t know? It’s not a magical beast. It’s a type of fairy. I think I remember hearing it’s a two-legged cat king…”
I couldn’t help but imagine a realistic cat costume.
Yeah, it might be cute. I’m definitely a dog person, but I think kittens are cute.
Especially Akimi , who loves cats, her eyes were sparkling as she quickly exchanged messages with Tohma ’s older brother.
“So, Tohma ’s older brother rescued a kitten that was being attacked? And then he panicked because he’s never had a cat before and asked for help?”
Natsuki nodded enthusiastically. She looked so happy. She’d been worried about Tohma ’s older brother being alone, so it seems she was glad he found a companion, even if it was a kitten.
“I hope the kitten gets better and comforts Tohma ’s older brother.”
“Yeah. It’s really lucky it’s a kitten, not a female of his own kind. Thank goodness it wasn’t… right?”
My little sister smiled, but for some reason, it felt a little scary.
