After thinking about Beck, I figured something like that might happen.
A different world from this present one. It was a vague dream that my companions might still be doing fine over there, even after Beck was gone.
There’s no way I could know what happens after I die. It was just a dream born from my imagination, thinking, “It’s probably something like that.”
“Well, a dream is just a dream.”
I tried to switch my thoughts. Today was Saturday, a day off, and instead of staying in the dorm all day, I wanted to do something—when I suddenly sat up carelessly.
“Mm…”
Something soft, like a marshmallow, touched my left hand. Of course, when I went to sleep last night, no one was there.
My pulse quickened. This couldn’t be happening. What my hand was touching—well, it was probably a cat. But the sensation was clearly different from that of a cat.
“…Warm…inside me…”
Since she was the Dungeon Core, this couldn’t be something inappropriate—though, what kind of dream was she having?
More importantly, why was she in my bed? Last night, I had made sure to take her to Nanami-san’s room, where she had behaved quietly. Could that have been an act?
“…Snooze…”
(Gahhh…!)
A beast-like sound almost escaped me. Just when I thought I should pull my hand away, the dungeon girl instead pulled my hand closer.
My ulna was being squeezed between something soft. Even through the fluffy pajamas, I could feel it—though I couldn’t bring myself to say it last night, she wasn’t wearing any underwear.
Why did the Dungeon’s manifestation need to have such a large chest? Wouldn’t it have made more sense for her to be a man instead? Are there male Dungeon Cores, or are they all female? My questions just kept piling up.
“…So hot…”
(Wait a second… It’s still a cool season though…!)
The dungeon girl started to squirm—Nanami-san wasn’t to blame for lending me the warm pajamas, but I should have chosen something more breathable.
“…Snooze…”
I gently pulled my arm free, and as expected, that seemed to be the cause of the heat. Luckily, she didn’t start undressing in her sleep.
This kind of situation was far too much for me to handle calmly. No matter how safe people think I am, I’m still a guy.
“—Fujiwara-kun, are you awake? The dungeon girl is missing.”
I heard a voice from outside the room, and I couldn’t help but think, of course. Nanami-san has a strong sense of responsibility, so it’s no surprise she’d come looking for her if she went missing. I opened the door and greeted her.
“She’s here. It seems she came in while I was sleeping.”
“Really? That’s a relief… Maybe she’s grown attached to you since you brought her back?”
“Well, I shouldn’t compare her to Rin, but… I don’t think it’s worth overthinking.”
“Mind if I check on her?”
“Ah, sure… but she’s sleeping in my bed, and somehow… Oh no!”
The dungeon girl, who had been quiet up until now, suddenly tossed the blanket aside. As if it wasn’t bad enough, she was now trying to take off her clothes because she was too hot. This was the worst possible situation.
“…Fujiwara-kun, you weren’t doing anything indecent, right?”
The fact that she phrased it as a question, “weren’t doing?” saved me — I wasn’t being treated like a caught criminal.
“N-no, I wasn’t… really, I just woke up, and she was already in the bed.”
“…When you put it that way, it might make her feel a bit lonely.”
“…She got into the bed while I was asleep… wait, that sounds even worse.”
Nanami-san was staring at me — still in her pajamas since it was morning. Even in her fluffy outfit, she didn’t seem to be feeling too hot.
“…So full… inside me… warm…”
She’s probably talking about something completely different, but her sleep-talking is dangerously misleading. At this rate, I’ll end up being seen as the worst guy ever, having taken advantage of an innocent girl, and I’ll get kicked out of the dorm.
“Since she’s a dungeon spirit, maybe she’s dreaming about when a lot of people came into the dungeon? And because it was a bit hot yesterday, she’s just saying it’s warm.”
“Nanami-san…!”
She interpreted the situation in the best possible way. Nanami-san seemed like she was glowing with a halo of light behind her — I was really grateful to have her here.
“I should’ve had her change out of this pajama since I lent it to her… though she still seems to be wearing it, so maybe it’s comfortable. Maybe we should go shopping for spring pajamas today since it’s our day off.”
“Would it be okay if I came along?”
“Of course. Also, I’ve been thinking about giving her a name. It’s just temporary, but not having one makes things awkward.”
“…Dungeonko… but that sounds a bit cruel, right?”
Nanami-san probably comes up with names like this based on the species name, like with Mokémon. It’s simple, but I’d like to give her a more fitting name.
“As for my designation, I’ve been called Number Two by humans, so something related to that is fine.”
The dungeon girl had woken up while we were talking — and it seemed like she had heard our conversation.
“Are you okay with that? I think it’s because you’re the second one found on the academy grounds…”
“Two… then, how about ‘Nina’?”
“Nina… that will be my name…”
“If you like it, then I think we can go with that.”
“And for the family name… would it be okay if we say she’s part of Fujiwara-kun’s family?”
“…W-well, I guess that’s how it would work… not having a surname would be inconvenient.”
“Fujiwara Tsukasa, then… I understand now, it’s not just a name, it includes two elements, doesn’t it? You belong to the Fujiwara family, Tsukasa-san?”
“Yeah, that’s how it works. Though I’m not sure how this will all turn out since we’re not just going to suddenly get her in the family register.”
“I understand that I’m a unique existence, so I don’t need a family name. Please just recognize me as ‘Nina.’ I’ll be associated with Tsukasa-san’s group, though.”
So, she’s going to be part of my household — that seems like a heavy responsibility, but since I brought her back, it’s all on me now.
“Nina, I was thinking we could go buy clothes today. Are you interested in living as a human…?”
“Interested… is this what interest feels like? I wanted to be with Tsukasa-san. I can’t explain the reason, but… I unlocked the door and entered.”
“…You can even do that? Wait, does that mean dungeons have all sorts of crazy abilities?”
“In this form, I’m limited in what I can do, but I can perform almost anything a human can.”
“That’s amazing. And you’re still… basically just born, right?”
Nina seemed to be smiling slightly — though there was still some stiffness in her responses, it didn’t seem like dungeons lacked human emotions.
“…Suddenly, Sumi-san is calling us. Seems like breakfast is ready.”
“Nina, will you join us for breakfast? You didn’t eat yesterday.”
“I am capable of eating. If I replenish through food, I will require a larger intake, so I prefer either a revival stone or to directly consume magical energy.”
I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn’t figured out how to create magic recovery orbs from Mahoroba grass — though I wonder if there’s an easier way to help her replenish. Since Rin and the water spirits also need magic, I should make a large batch of those orbs during the break.
