Chapter 25 – Heading Into Unknown Territory
—— Dungeon City Sakura – 336th Dungeon [Eternal Darkness] First Midpoint “Entertainment District Area
On the morning of the second day, I left the rental house early and went to the Entertainment District Area.
The reason was shopping.
Last night, Haruka and I were so caught up in the school trip mood that we forgot to buy food for today.
It’s pretty middle school, but my age in the other world was gepun gepun… I’m probably influenced by the fusion with my younger self. Let’s go with that!☆
And so, for this childish reason, I’m here alone, happily buying food to pay for last night’s mistake.
What about Haruka? She’s still in bed in her room.
Instead of deliberately waking her up so early in the morning, just after 6 a.m., I thought it would be bad, so I just left her as she was.
Well, this thrill-seeking girl probably wouldn’t make a fuss about so much solo action anyway.
Just in case, I left a note in the living room so there wouldn’t be any weird incidents.
At times like this, I really wish smartphones worked.
Basically, unless it’s an exception like the Five Great Dungeons, wireless devices don’t help with exploration in dungeons.
Because there are no base stations.
Things like TVs and smartphones that we use every day become useless boxes that just glow without the vital transmission source.
Having experienced it myself, I have painfully realized that a world without signals is pretty harsh.
Mass communication revolutions using thought sharing are still a long way off, and there’s nothing to be done about the current situation, but I still feel a little stressed about not being able to use those shiny boxes.
I was a true child of the smartphone generation.
…Ahh, I want to read some web novels. The entertainment circles here rival the other side in how interesting they are.
Irritated by my own base desires, I cross the bridge with uncertain steps.
Walking a little further, I finally reach my destination. Oh, there it is, there it is, what the hell!
“It’s totally different.”
The quiet streetscape.
The hordes of food stalls nowhere to be seen.
Extremely few passers-by, and most importantly, no one is making any noise.
It’s only natural, but the entertainment district in the early morning, lit by the pale dawn, is much quieter than its nighttime atmosphere, unimaginably so.
I open the map and check the streets, driving in an unnaturally orderly fashion.
And five minutes later, I’ve successfully reached my destination: the shop.
The words [Cherry Blossom Adventurer Union Approved Store] appear above the cherry blossom petal-shaped logo, indicating that this is “Sakuragi,” the general discount store that the Cherry Blossom Adventurer Guilds have set up at the center of dungeons.
With everyone from the clerk to the delivery person being an Adventurer License holder, it’s an indispensable place for Cherry Blossom’s adventurers to go for its wide variety of products and great service… according to its in-game profile.
In reality, it’s probably a comfortable shop for customers as well.
The exterior, with its cherry blossom motif, looks well-maintained, and the tidiness inside is clearly done with care.
The bustling staff makes it feel like a truly wonderful place to visit as a customer.
…But you know. This is definitely extremely taxing on the store side.
Maintaining this level of quality in the middle of a dungeon with no internet takes some serious eff…work.
Having worked part-time at a similar store during my college days in the other world, I know that big discount stores are super busy.
Considering that this one is open 24 hours a day, the staff here might be a lot tougher than your average adventurer.
While I move carefully so as not to disturb their work, I silently offer respect, thanks, and a little empathy in my heart as I browse the store.
I grab a few canned staples like canned goods, onigiri, and instant noodles, then a few fresh foods, since those alone would be unhealthy.
Being able to buy meat and vegetables in a dungeon is really helpful.
Living up to its reputation, the selection of products is wide and varied – looks like I can make three well-balanced meals with this.
Now then, the next item is spices…
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“…Oh.”
Unfortunately, just as I was leaving the produce section, I ran into another customer and almost bumped into her.
“Are you okay?”
There shouldn’t have been any contact, but just in case.
As I turned around to check the situation and string together apologetic words…
“Huh?”
I froze.
Silver twin tails, a noir-colored gothic dress, and characteristic crimson eyes.
[Kyahahahahaha, kyahahahahahaha!]
I know. I know that face.
[Everybody, everybody gets hurt by me, gets wounded by me! Everyone suffers through me! Gets extinguished by me!!!]
So the first question that came to my mind was why.
[That’s why, hey, really cry and scream. Expose your unsightliness and enjoy this ****. This is the only atonement allowed for you worthless incompetents. Kyahah, kyahahahahahaha, kyahahahahahahahaha!]
Why? I don’t understand. No, first of all, the “she” I know would never act so reasonably.
The face, the voice, even the fashion sense match, but the personalities are completely different.
Twins? Doppelgangers? No, no, there was no such attitude.
Then who exactly is this girl?
Mobilizing all the data and flowcharts in my head, I relentlessly searched for the identity of “her” in this timeline, and then…
“No way.”
Faced with the most likely answer, all I could do was stand there, stunned.
Scene Transition – Dungeon City of Sakura – 336th Dungeon [Eternal Darkness] First Midpoint “Residential Area
“As frustrating as it is, the tools of civilization really are amazing, huh…”
Haruka-san, who just woke up, munched on the buttered toast lined up on the table.
“Being able to sleep in a bed, take a bath, and even be served a nice breakfast like this… it’s just too perfect, I might turn into a native!”
“Don’t think about stupid things and just… No, in your case, enjoy your meal properly.”
I give a symbolic warning, while I start with the minestrone soup poured into a cup. Oh, delicious. The acidity of the tomatoes and the peppercorns sprinkled on top blend nicely.
“No way, after you’ve buttered me up with hearty breakfasts like this! By the way, I didn’t know you could cook Kyouichirou.”
“I picked it up from helping my sister, of course.”
At first, I started working in the kitchen to ease my sister’s burden a little, but before I knew it, I had completely fallen in love with it, and now it’s one of my skills.
“Since I’m useless there, I really look up to it.”
“Is that so? I thought your little sister would be really good at it.”
Damn. My Dun Magi Otaku blood reacted carelessly.
“No, there’s no ulterior motive. It’s just a completely unfounded intuition.”
“Hmm… Well, whatever. But actually, your hunch was right. My little sister is really good at cooking. Good enough to open her own restaurant, and that’s not just family prejudice.
It’s true. Among the heroines, Kanta-tan is the best at cooking.
I think in her own series, she made the protagonist a full Japanese meal while saying, “It’s just a simple dish” and stuff like that. …Yeah, that’s pretty hard Kanta-tan.
“So, what’s the plan for today, Kyouichirou?”
“Ah, right. For now, the original goal is to overwrite the deepest record of this place.”
Hearing my grandiose statement, the corners of Haruka’s mouth distort into a crescent moon shape. It’s an evil grin, but the effect is ruined by the salad dressing stuck to the edges of her lips.
“A first conquest, huh. Feels like the real thing. But Kyouichirou, there’s a reason why the tenth floor hasn’t been cleared by anyone, right?”
“Yes. Of course, that point is included. —Even considering that, we’ll clear the tenth floor today.”
“You have a secret plan?”
“I wouldn’t call it a secret plan. I’m just going to use some skills I just remembered, which alone will make it possible to break through the infamous process.”
I give a thumbs up and swallow the boiled egg slices in the salad.
After all, I have sacrificed my own son to the evil god for this very reason. It’s now or never to get results.
“While we’re at it, I’ll give you a briefing on the countermeasures for the tenth floor. First, the characteristics of the boss are…”
I explain the contents of the tenth floor trial to Haruka based on the publicly known data I had prepared beforehand.
The boss of the tenth floor has a notorious warning poster on the portal gate to the sixth floor.
So it’s not strange that I know information about him, and even if I know a little too much, it can probably be chalked up to a margin of error or a rumor.
I tell Haruka about the boss’s HP, techniques, traits, action patterns, weaknesses, loopholes in the process, and more, and at the same time I suggest several plans for the real thing.
Not to toot my own horn, but the strategies for capturing the tenth floor turned out to be safe and efficient. And they weren’t just my own stubborn conclusions, they were actually good plans endorsed by the evil god.
So naturally, I thought that they would be readily accepted…
“Ew, Kyou-san, that’s creepy~”
The response was a somewhat disgusted look.
Hey, Haruka. Isn’t it unfair that you, who’s always being ruthless, flinch?
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