Chapter 16

“Nekkoshi… yeah, I remember. She was the listener who, when I asked about the hidden area, mentioned she had actually dived into it and managed to break through using brute force. The vibe of her comment back then made me think, ‘That’s Nekkoshi!’ so I looked her up.

If I remember correctly, she was someone who uploads dungeon gameplay videos. I didn’t watch her videos, but when I looked her up, the face in the thumbnail matched the face of the woman I encountered earlier… Yeah, it’s definitely her. Hm, it didn’t help much, but since she helped me before, I guess I can’t run away. Wait a minute? I tried running away pretty hard, but she caught up to me to the point where I could hear her voice!? Well, for now, I’ll stop and wait until Nekkoshi gets here.

“Aurora, I don’t think this is someone we don’t know, so let’s stop.”

“—?”

Aurora looks like she wants to say, “Really?” Well, there’s still a chance that the Nekkoshi chasing us could be an imposter with a face that looks just like hers, but if that happens, I can just run again. Fortunately, it seems like she can follow us, but not catch up.

After waiting for a few seconds, Nekkoshi arrived, breathing heavily. Even though she was panting, her speed was impressive. As soon as she recognized me and Aurora standing still waiting for her, she gave a peaceful smile—

“Thank you…!”

And with that, she collapsed onto the ground. Oh no, did she pass out!? I rushed over and turned her onto her back. How can she pass out with such a beautiful smile!? Ah, well, I can’t just leave her like this. I guess I’ll have to wait until she wakes up.

I took two towels from my A-card, rolled one up as a pillow, and the other I had Aurora use water magic to cool down, then wrung it out and placed it on Nekkoshi’s forehead.

“Aurora, are there any monsters nearby?”

“—!”

Looks like there aren’t any. My Aurora is pretty good at detecting things, huh? What’s that? You’re saying labor requires compensation? Of course, I’ll reward you, but this fairy communicates some pretty complicated stuff despite not being able to talk. In this dungeon, I can’t give alcohol, but how about chocolate chip cookies?

“—♪”

Seems like she likes it. I take a green tea I bought from a vending machine at the reception and take a sip. Come to think of it, I’m not just fast, my stamina seems enhanced as well. Even after running at that speed for quite a distance, I’m not even out of breath. I’m just a little thirsty. Super strength, incredible speed, and limitless stamina—what’s up with elves being like this? Well, no point in thinking about it. Oh, looks like Nekkoshi is stirring. Is she going to wake up soon? Maybe I should call out to her.

“Are you okay?”

“Mn…?”

I gently tap her shoulder as she groggily opens her eyes. Her vacant eyes wander around, eventually meeting mine, and in that moment, light returned to her eyes.

“Huh!? George-san!?”

“Ah yes, it’s George.”

Whoa, that surprised me. Nekkoshi was probably shocked, but her reaction got me surprised too. What’s with the ‘Huh!?’ Aurora was startled too and hid behind me. It’s fine to hide there, but can you not pinch my neck?

As I was distracted by that, Nekkoshi had already gotten up and sat cross-legged facing me. Her face was bright red, but is she okay?

“Eh, eh, eh? So, you really are George-san! Nice to meet you, I’m Nekkoshi!!”

“I’m sorry, but do you have any proof that you’re Nekkoshi?”

“Of course! How about this? This is my channel!”

Nekkoshi pulled out her smartphone, tapped it a few times, then handed it to me with the screen facing me. The page displayed was her channel titled [Nekkoshi’s Dungeon Attack Channel!], and the thumbnail of the uploaded video was the exact same one I had seen when I was researching her. I see, it’s definitely her, no mistake about it.

“Yeah, it does look like Nekkoshi. Nice to meet you, I’m George from George’s Drunk Stream Channel. As for proof… I’m an elf, and there’s Aurora too.”

“Yes! You look just like you do in the streams! I’m sorry if I startled Aurora!”

“—?”

“Aurora, this person watches our streams.”

“—”

Aurora, still cautious from Nekkoshi’s loud exclamation, gave a somewhat cold response, “Oh, I see.” But Nekkoshi seemed happy with even that reaction and was smiling joyfully.

She really said she was a fan, huh? It’s kind of… awkward.

“Um… Nekkoshi, you’re really a fan?”

“Of course! I watch every stream! Oh, and you don’t have to be formal with me, I’m younger than you!”

“Really? Thanks… So, what made you become a fan? The talks? The cooking? …Or was it because I’m an elf?”

“It’s your face!”

“Straight to the point, huh?”

She really just went ahead and said it. I mean, I know I have a decent face, but still! I’m happy that she called herself a fan, but… it’s a little… strange. I feel both happy and a bit conflicted, and it’s making my chest tight.

Ah, let’s just keep talking to distract myself!

“When we met, why did you try to take out your phone?”

“I wanted to take a picture with you…! Of course, I wasn’t planning on uploading it to Twitter without your permission! I just wanted to look at it and smile sometimes!”

“So, if I was in this dungeon…”

“I’d never tell anyone! I don’t want to be hated by you, George-san!”

Oh, those eyes are so sincere. She’s not lying, I can tell. I believe her. Besides, if she did post it, she’d get criticized, and if a famous streamer did something like that, it’d cause a much bigger scandal than the guy who exposed people the other day.

“So, you chased me because…?”

“I just wanted to talk to you…”

“How did you catch up? I thought I was moving pretty fast.”

“Yeah! That’s what I want to know! I have a skill called [Great Legs], but even with that, I couldn’t catch up to you! It’s the first time it’s happened!”

Ah, so it was a skill effect. While I was processing that, she started explaining the [Great Legs] skill. Apparently, it lets you move faster than usual, no matter how rough the terrain or environment. That skill allowed her to break through even a rocky area during a typhoon-like storm, just like she said in her comments. So, it wasn’t just determination, huh?

She came to this mountain dungeon because she was on a pilgrimage to the dungeons near the place where the super ball incident photo was exposed, and that’s when she met me. Pilgrimage, huh…

“Got it, thanks for the info. So, you want to take a picture with me?”

“Really!? Is that okay!?”

Wow, she jumped on that fast. Well, she’s a fan and chased me down, so it’d be a bit rude to just turn her away.

“But! No posting it online!”

“Of course! I’ll take it to the grave with me!”

“You don’t need to go that far.”

So, I decided to take a photo with Nekkoshi… Oh, Nekkoshi kept glancing at Aurora. Looks like she wants to take a photo with both of us. Aurora relaxed a little but is still cautious. So I pulled out more cookies and waved them in front of Aurora… and she came right for them. Ha, she’s easy.

“Aurora, if you take a photo with us, the cookies are yours.”

“—!”

Alright, with a thumbs up, Aurora agreed! Before she could change her mind, Nekkoshi quickly pulled out a selfie stick from her A-card, attached it to her phone, and took the picture. I didn’t really think of a pose, so I just did a peace sign—hope it was okay. Nekkoshi seemed happy with it.

“Thank you so much! I’ll treasure it forever!”

“You don’t need to go that far.”

She’s so happy that I should probably be glad… but I’m also unsure about how extreme her reaction is.

“Um… Actually, if it’s okay…?”

“Huh? What?”

She’s getting all fidgety. Is she asking for a handshake or something? If it’s just that, I’d be happy to—

“How about a collab…?”

“Oh, sorry!”

“—!”

Goodbye, mister! I’m not accepting collabs right now! Now that she’s feeling better, I’m sure I can handle this dungeon alone. Aurora and I headed back, taking the utmost care not to be seen by anyone!”