Chapter 37

While feeling a bit of murderous intent from the overly loud alarm music coming from my smartphone, I secured it within my blurry vision. I turned off the alarm, roughly rubbed my eyes with my arm, and opened them. An unfamiliar ceiling—no, it’s the roof of a tent.

Giving in to an irresistible urge, I stretched out with a big yawn, and as I looked around, I noticed that Aurora wasn’t there. I had set today’s alarm for an earlier time than usual. Normally, Aurora would still be in dreamland at this hour, but today, she’s curiously absent.

“…Aurora?”

I scratched my head and looked around the tent again, but she still wasn’t there. Gradually waking up and as my thoughts began to process, I heard the sound of water splashing from outside. By that point, I understood, let out a small sigh of relief, and opened the tent entrance.

“Ugh, so bright!”

I instinctively shielded my eyes with my arm as the bright morning sunlight hit me. Slowly raising my arm and adjusting my eyes to the light, I turned my gaze towards the sound of water.

“—♪”

As expected, Aurora was playing in the lake, walking on the water’s surface as if she were flying, the sunlight reflecting off the water, sparkling like a dream. From the way she looked so happy, it seemed she hadn’t just woken up. How long had she been awake, I wondered? With that thought, I quickly splashed my face with some lake water. It was cold but refreshing. My eyes were wide awake—oh no, Aurora, stop throwing water at me!

“Thank you for the meal.”

“—♪”

Today’s breakfast was simple sandwiches. I had cheese and ham in mine, while Aurora had generously spread jam on hers.

As for our plans today, there wasn’t much to it: pack up camp and leave the dungeon. If the dissection of the red boa constrictor was finished, we’d pick it up. Also, I’d need to have the wallet, belt, and mysterious arrows from the treasure chest appraised. After that, we could head home and relax. Today would be a day off from streaming, and I planned to just laze around.

“Alright, Aurora. Let’s wrap things up quickly, so help me out, okay?”

“—!”

Aurora was helping out by wiping down the table and picking up small bits of trash. I wouldn’t have her carry anything big like the tent. Let her do what she can. …But I sometimes wonder if Aurora could just use magic and carry the whole table with one hand… Nah, that’s probably thinking too much into it. Alright, time to hurry up and pack up!

“Whoa! An actual elf!”

“Wow, they really exist!”

“Don’t push! Stay away!”

“Ahh, look! They’re looking over here!”

“Please form a party with me!”

“Oi! Didn’t I tell you recruiting is prohibited? I’ve got your face memorized!”

What is this situation?

Actually, before going to sleep last night, I got a message from Budo-san: “Make sure to report if you’re heading back!” With all those exclamation marks, I had no choice but to reply. So I sent a quick message saying, ” Heading home now “. Immediately, I saw it was read, but no reply. I figured he might have read it and gone back to sleep since it was 4 AM. I didn’t think much of it.

When we returned from the dungeon and reached the reception, though, we found this situation. Adventurers were trying to come towards us, but a male staff member was blocking them. What was I witnessing at 5 AM? Was this a rugby field?

Given the circumstances, both Aurora and I stood there in a daze. The voice that finally snapped us out of it came from the reception.

“George-san, Aurora-chan! Over here!!”

“Oh, Tomokaze-san.”

“—“

We were a bit relieved to see Tomokaze-san waving both hands at us, so we waved back.

“Ah, you waved back! But that’s not the point! Get over here, quickly!”

“Ah, yes.”

After being scolded, we obediently headed towards the reception. There, besides Tomokaze-san, was another person—a smiling old man with a bald head, standing straight. This was Amagasaki-san, the person in charge of this mountain dungeon, the boss of the staff here.

“Ah, long time no see, Amagasaki-san.”

“Hohoho, that little guilty laugh. Even after becoming a beautiful woman, you haven’t changed, have you, Kihara-kun?”

“Ah, well…”

I could swear my face has changed a lot!

“As for this ruckus… well, it’s not entirely your fault. In a way, you’re the victim, so let’s just overlook it.”

“Ah, thank you very much.”

“I heard from Budo-kun. You have something you want appraised, right? Let’s talk in a separate room. Also, about the purchase of the red boa constrictor’s materials.”