Akatsuki Translations

That day, I, Sakaki Koharu, was waiting to meet up with Misuzu at the shop in the Sensoji Temple Dungeon.

I had heard that Misuzu would be shopping here with Rokujou today. When I insisted that I wanted to see an explorer’s shopping trip, she was reluctant at first, but eventually gave in, saying she would ask Rokujou and let me come along if he agreed.

It seemed Rokujou had given the OK as well. However, I was told that if I acted rude towards him, I would be sent home.

“Listen. Yuuta agreed to this because he cares about my friendships, so absolutely don’t say anything rude. If you act weird, Yuuta will dislike me. Be really careful,” Misuzu warned.

“I got it, I got it,” I replied.

“Do you really understand? If you act like you did this morning, I’ll never speak to you again.” -Misuzu

“Misuzu, you’ve changed quite a bit. Well, don’t worry. I just helped out those girls who were having trouble with a guy hitting on them, right? They were all so jealous, it was pretty bad.” -Koharu

“I’m grateful for that, but…” -Misuzu

I couldn’t bear to see Misuzu being so considerate of Rokujou. So, I arrived at the dungeon shop in front of Sensoji Temple before Misuzu. And now, I was meeting up with my boyfriend, Ikemoto Kazuya.

“Koharu. This is my first time coming to a dungeon,” Kazuya said.

“Kazuya. I heard that a lot of explorers are dangerous people, so don’t cause any weird commotions.” -Koharu

The dungeon shop at Sensoji Temple, which is also a tourist spot, had gacha stone items set up next to the explorer’s floor since tourists often showed interest in the shop’s items.

Well, explorers also come in and out to get gacha stone items, but the layout is designed to separate the general public and explorers as much as possible. I had also come to this Sensoji Temple dungeon shop out of curiosity.

But every single item was so expensive that I had never been able to buy anything.

“Is Sensoji Temple Dungeon Rokujounokimi’s home turf?” Kazuya asked.

“No, it seems different. He said he enters somewhere else.” -Koharu

“Where?” -Kazuya

“No matter how much I asked, he wouldn’t tell me that. Misuzu doesn’t seem to be that loose-lipped either.” -Koharu

“Tch, how boring.” -Kazuya

I had planned to shop here for the first time today. I presented my personal ID card in front of the dungeon shop. The automatic door of the dungeon shop opened. Then, the first thing that caught my eye was an array of modern firearms.

“Whoa. It feels like a place for fighting men!” Kazuya exclaimed.

“Hey, don’t be so loud.” -Koharu

Further in, there were stone gacha items lined up, and even better things beyond that. The back was a place I couldn’t possibly set foot in, but I thought it would be nice if I could someday shop there.

“So this is a dungeon shop. There’s a lot of rare stuff, as expected.” -Kazuya

“Kazuya. Is this your first time coming to a dungeon shop?” -Koharu

“Ah, yeah, my mom always said, ‘Absolutely don’t go near it. You’ll be killed,’ so I’ve never come.” -Kazuya

“Definitely don’t go to the back. Everything there is super expensive, so if you break something, you won’t be able to pay for it even if it takes your whole life.” -Koharu

“I know, I know. But this is amazing. I’m gonna be joining this crowd starting in the spring too!” -Kazuya

“A handgun costs at least 100,000 yen, huh. As expected, it’s expensive.” -Koharu

“Hey Koharu, are you seriously buying a handgun?” -Kazuya

I was worried about Misuzu. In the past, Misuzu had no interest in explorers. As I, her close friend, kept talking about how amazing explorers were, she eventually started saying that she wanted to become an explorer herself, not just out of interest like me.

I knew how dangerous it was, so I explained the risks to her many times. Even so, Misuzu had entered a dungeon without my knowledge at some point, and her party member was none other than Rokujou. Most girls were put off by that, but Misuzu didn’t mind.

“Rokujou is that guy who’s being abused by his parents or something, right?”

“No way. I’m a little disappointed in Misuzu for going in together with someone like that.”

“And entering with a guy, too. Even though they say the men in dungeons are like monkeys in heat.”

“Ew. Did Misuzu get used goods by Rokujou or something?”

When Misuzu wasn’t around, everyone was saying whatever they wanted.

Some girls were even saying it loudly enough for Misuzu to hear, and yet Misuzu seemed fine with it, which I thought was dangerous. That’s why I decided to take action for Misuzu’s sake. Bringing along my boyfriend, the person Rokujou hated the most.

“Kazuya. I’m counting on you about Rokujou.” -Koharu

“I know, I know. You want me to shoot Rokujou dead with a handgun, right?” -Kazuya

“No, not like that. I want you to tell him to stay away from Misuzu. You don’t have to kill him, just beat him half to death in front of Misuzu, that’ll be enough. And he’s apparently level 3, so don’t let your guard down just because it’s Rokujou.” -Koharu

If he was actually level 3, my boyfriend Ikemoto Kazuya would definitely lose 100%. But it would be different with a handgun. Inside a dungeon, shooting someone wouldn’t be a problem. Even if he didn’t go as far as beating him half to death, if he suddenly shot him in the leg, Kazuya could handle the rest somehow.

If Rokujou turned out to be quite handsome, I could comfort him afterwards. I properly told Kazuya not to mention me because I didn’t want to ruin my friendship with Misuzu. So no matter how things turned out, there was no loss for me in this plan.

“But if I shoot his leg with a handgun, won’t he die?” -Kazuya

“He’s level 3, so he won’t die that easily. We’ll have enough time to at least call an ambulance for him.” -Koharu

With this plan, I thought Kazuya, who bullies Rokujou, could somehow manage it.

Right now, I hate Rokujou.

Always making a timid face in class, not doing anything even when he gets hit. When I heard that Rokujou had dragged Misuzu, my proud friend, into being an explorer, I couldn’t sit still. I couldn’t believe Misuzu was in her right mind. Something was off.

“But Koharu. Do you seriously think Kiriyama is being manipulated by some weird item?” -Kazuya

Kazuya casually touched my butt. Originally, Kazuya had liked Misuzu. It was half a year ago when he asked me to mediate his confession. I often got asked to do those kinds of favors by guys since I was close with Misuzu.

Misuzu always turned down every boy who confessed to her 100% of the time, no matter how much I mediated. She seemed to be sick of being confessed to all the time.

Among them, I often comforted the boys whose faces I liked. Even though I wasn’t a beauty, I had big breasts, so the heartbroken boys who were rejected by Misuzu would fall for me before they knew it. Kazuya was a typical example; he was somewhat good-looking, but his face always seemed to be lacking something.

He didn’t seem to be aware of this himself, and he was foolishly depressed after being rejected easily when he confessed. When I told him a little, “You’re an amazing person,” he became infatuated with me to a funny degree.

Since then, he’s been a guy who’s lasted quite a while for me.

“Probably. Ever since dungeons appeared, anything goes, so there are plenty of items that can manipulate a single person, you know. Things like [Puppet Strings] or [Hypnosis Bugs] are famous for easily controlling people even for ordinary folks.” -Koharu

“If you have that, can you make people move as you wish?” -Kazuya

“That’s the rumor.” -Koharu

“Can you buy it here?” -Kazuya

“There’s no way such dangerous stuff would be sold normally. And even if it’s a dungeon item, you’d be arrested immediately if you used it.” -Koharu

“I don’t wanna get arrested. I don’t need to use such items to be popular anyway.” -Kazuya

“I’ve heard stories of them being traded for tens of millions on shady sites. Rokujou’s parents are apparently rich, so they might be thinking of getting their hands on something like that to make her their marriage partner. There are stories of such dumbass parents.” -Koharu

I was quite suspicious of Rokujou. I couldn’t believe that Misuzu, with just good gacha luck, would come to like Rokujou. Even though I said those things to Misuzu, I knew very well that dungeons weren’t a sweet enough place to manage with just gacha luck.

No matter how much you earn from gacha, if you enter a dungeon with too good equipment, dungeon restrictions will suddenly be imposed. That’s why there’s a limit to the equipment you can prepare, and you can’t go to a dungeon without your own sense and guts.

I couldn’t imagine Rokujou having such sense and guts. But if he did, I thought it would be a waste for Misuzu. Misuzu, who was blessed with two older sisters and good looks, always seemed troubled no matter how cool the boy was who confessed to her.

I was always just getting the leftovers… I had never even been confessed to. The boys who were heartbroken after being turned down by Misuzu. Even though I comforted them, as soon as they got used to it, they would start treating me carelessly. And they always broke up with me, not the other way around.

“My bad. I was out of my mind back then. You’re not it after all.”

“Sorry. I can’t forget about Kiriyama-san after all.”

“Your boobs felt good, though. Your boobs.”

The words of the three guys I dated before Kazuya prickled my heart. And even Kazuya,

“You’re really ugly, you know. It’s a miracle that you can date a cool guy like me.”

“What’s with that guy? He’s really a dirty bastard. The lowest scum. If it’s true, wouldn’t it be okay to kill him?” -Kazuya

“I don’t know yet, but Misuzu was kind of weird when she was talking about Rokujou. I’ve never heard Misuzu say she likes a boy like that. But no matter how you look at it, she was head over heels for Rokujou. It’s impossible for Misuzu to be so love-struck like that.” -Koharu

“Certainly, if you think about it, there’s no way Kiriyama would fall for Rokujou. Well, don’t worry. Just because his level has gone up a bit, his true nature won’t change. If I threaten him a bit, he’ll back off from Kiriyama right away. So, is it really okay for me to borrow this?” -Kazuya

I nervously placed the handgun I had chosen at the dungeon shop on the register counter. This is the right thing to do, right? I’m not a princess like Misuzu, so the dungeon will forgive me a little, right?

“We’re verifying your identity with your personal ID card, so don’t even think about taking it home by mistake. In that case, you’ll really be arrested for violating the Firearms and Swords Control Law.”

The dungeon shop lady gave me a stern look, and I flinched a little.

“Y-yes. I understand.” -Koharu

“Also, aren’t you going to purchase any equipment? If you’d like, I can find some recommended items for you.” -Kazuya

“I’m just going in and out for a bit.” -Koharu

“I can’t stop you from entering the dungeon. But be careful not to go in too deep. It’s a really dangerous place. I’ve tried entering it myself, but goblins seriously come to kill people. Don’t forget that.” -Kazuya

“Y-yes.” -Koharu

After being repeatedly warned by the dungeon shop register lady, I was handed the handgun. It was my first time holding a handgun. Could I really shoot a person with this? Actually holding it, I couldn’t quite feel the reality of it. I was somehow scared, so I immediately handed the handgun to Kazuya.

“Whoa, it’s a real handgun! I’m gonna go test-fire it at the underground shooting range for a bit!” -Kazuya

“Uh, yeah. I’m telling you, I used up all my allowance on that handgun, so use it carefully. I want to use it in the D-rank too, so make sure to return it.” -Koharu

“Roger that.” -Kazuya

Even so, I had my worries. If Rokujou was level 3, he might not back off from Misuzu even if he was threatened normally. If he was brainwashed by some strange item, we’d need to have it dispelled too. That’s why I made a plan for that.

It was a simple plan, but if he was still level 3, there was a high chance of success. Maybe it wasn’t like that at all. Rokujou happened to meet Misuzu in front of the dungeon, hit it off, and became party members.

There wasn’t a single girl who thought that way. Everyone was worried that Misuzu might have been tricked. That’s why I thought I, who had taught her the wonders of being an explorer, had to save Misuzu.