First thing in the morning, I had something I wanted to discuss with Misuzu. That’s why, instead of catching the first train at Kokubunji, I stopped by a 24-hour coffee shop to order coffee and hotcakes as a substitute for breakfast. I was secretly thrilled, feeling like it was a date.
As if it were the most natural thing, Misuzu sat down next to me in the coffee shop. I used to be just a bullied kid, but now I could sit alongside a girl in a coffee shop, and that alone made me happy. I sipped my coffee while taking bites of the hotcakes.
Misuzu, figuring she should eat something too, ordered the same. And though I was the one who invited her, Misuzu started talking first, saying, “There’s something I want to talk about beforehand.”
“Eh?” -Yuuta
Hearing what Misuzu has to say, I was flabbergasted. Misuzu mentioned, “We might have a new person join us.”
“Are you happy about it?” -Mizusu
She showed me a photo on her smartphone. It was of a girl so beautiful it might even be fair to say too beautiful. She was the same age as us, but to a Japanese person, she looked like a mature American girl.
“No, eh? A member? Is this person a model or something?” -Yuuta
The girl in the photo was too beautiful. If every American introduced to me was as beautiful as this girl, it would mean all Americans have the looks of a Hollywood actress, and she was outstanding even among them.
“She’s an acquaintance of my older sister. She’s quite famous, but do you know her?” -Mizusu
I knew that Misuzu’s older sister, Mei Kiriyama, was a celebrity, but I shook my head indicating I didn’t know this American.
“In Japan, my sister is more famous, but in the world, this girl is far more well-known. This is Evie, who might become our new member.” -Mizusu
“You’re joking, right?” -Yuuta
“Unfortunately, it’s true. Personally, I’d prefer to decline, but there are limits to what just two of us can do. You’d want this girl to join us, wouldn’t you, Yuuta?” -Mizusu
“Can we even decline now?” -Yuuta
“Well, it’s not that we can’t… eh? You want to decline?” -Mizusu
Misuzu looked at me, surprised. The words of Nagumo-san flashed through my mind, “Believe in the connections you make in the dungeon.” Maybe this was one of those connections. Oddly enough, I felt strangely drawn to the girl in the photo.
“No, normally you’d decline. If we take such a famous person into the dungeon, we’d stand out too much to even focus on exploring.” -Yuuta
“That’s true, but if we enter the dungeon early, we might manage it. The first floor is empty now, and do you think people who make a fuss over celebrities would enter a dungeon? Besides, it’s safer with three people. It’s said that dungeons are dangerous without at least a group of four.” -Mizusu
“That’s true… but…” -Yuuta
Nagumo-san’s words crossed my mind again. He said, “You’ll surely find companions soon.” But I couldn’t imagine having a connection with such a beautiful girl, and more than anything, I felt like the situation I had right now, getting along with the girl right in front of me, would be ruined.
“Do you think such a celebrity is seriously willing to enter a dungeon?” -Yuuta
“Don’t worry. She said she wants to reach level 1000 to become the most beautiful person in the world. It seems she’s quite motivated. Do you still want to refuse?” -Mizusu
“Ah, well, I don’t think I’d get along with someone from another country.” -Yuuta
“Really? My sister said she gets along with us.” -Mizusu
“Just kidding. It would be too awkward; the atmosphere would die. Sorry, but could you decline for me?” -Yuuta
“I didn’t expect Yuuta to refuse.” -Mizusu
“Because I thought it would just be Misuzu and me… no, sorry. I’m saying something creepy.” -Yuuta
“Ah, what? No, it’s not like that… Ah! Wait, I’ll call my sister right now!” -Mizusu
Misuzu immediately grabbed the phone. After a while, it seemed she got a hold of her sister and started talking hurriedly. Then,
“My sister said she’ll take over.” -Mizusu
“Eh? I have to talk on the phone?” -Yuuta
“She wants to talk… is that bad?” -Mizusu
“It’s not that but…” -Yuuta
I didn’t want to talk on the phone. It was intimidating enough to speak with Mei Kiriyama, who often appeared on TV. But I couldn’t just not take the call. I reluctantly took the phone.
“Is this Yuuta-kun?” -Mei
“Yes.” -Yuuta
“Can you tell me why you’re refusing to be Evie’s teammate? If I’m convinced, I’ll reconsider.” -Mei
“That’s because…” I found it hard to talk there and lifted my head. “Could you stay here while I talk over there?” -Yuuta
I got up from my seat, calling out to Misuzu, and stepped outside the coffee shop.
“Miss… it’s hard for me to say this but” -Yuuta
“What is it?” -Mei
“My step-sister has already said she’ll become the third member of the team. So, if we do that, everyone except me will be girls. And Evie is quite a beautiful girl, and of course, I think I’m too conscious of it myself, but that would be somewhat…” -Yuuta
“A harem party?” -Mei
“Yes. Do you know that’s not really good?” -Yuuta
“Well, yes. Usually, it causes a lot of trouble, right? And that girl is… I see.” -Mei
Hearing this, Mei seemed to be seriously contemplating. I know it sounds like I’m such an egotist, thinking I, an unattractive guy, would be any problem for three women! But the truth is, a harem party really doesn’t go well.
Generally, there’s a scramble for the few men or women available.
Especially among explorers, it’s said that romance within the same party is ideal, which is why there are many stories of party breakups. Well, all this worry would be for naught if I were popular.
“This is troubling. You have a surprisingly sound reason. It would have been cuter if you had just said you wanted to be with Misuzu alone.” -Mei
“No, of course, that’s a big part of it too.” -Yuuta
“Actually, it’s evening in America right now. I was just on the phone with Evie, who’s quite eager to come to Japan. I told her we’d ask Yuuta-kun first, but she’s not working because she’s been sidelined, and she was saying, ‘I’ll head over now.’ It’s hard to say no at this point…” -Mei
“…Ah…” -Yuuta
“Is it really impossible?” -Mei
“It’s not impossible, but… she really wants to come that much?” -Yuuta
“Yes, quite a lot. The dungeons in America are honestly quite dangerous right now. She’s the type to push herself too hard, and I’m worried she might get herself killed.” -Mei
“…” -Yuuta
After talking with Mei for a while, I hung up the phone. Returning to my seat,
“How did it go?” -Mizusu
“It’s hard to tell someone coming all the way from America to go back home…” -Yuuta
In the end, I couldn’t quite refuse, and we decided to meet at least once.
“Do you dislike it that much?” -Mizusu
“It’s not that I dislike it if I really have to say, but… I guess I’m extremely hesitant. If I’m a disappointment after she arrives, it’ll hurt.” -Yuuta
“Yuuta, you don’t have enough confidence in yourself. I think you’re amazing. You’re trying to enter the dungeon alone at this time and you’ve produced results. It seems like the trend globally is to enter a D-rank before even thinking about dungeons. I don’t think there are many guys like that.” -Mizusu
“Is that so…” -Yuuta
It shouldn’t be nonexistent. There are still stories of middle schoolers who enter dungeons at 15 and die. Conversely, there’s no news of middle schoolers succeeding, but there must be some.
“Also, Evie, it seems like one of her model friends who entered the dungeon with her lost an arm because of her. She says she wants to become a high-level explorer for that friend’s sake.” -Mizusu
“She wants to heal the missing limb… Healing a finger or such is possible with a high-level potion, but an entire arm would need an elixir.” -Yuuta
“I don’t really understand, but elixirs aren’t something you can just buy if you have money, right?” -Mizusu
“Explorers keep things like elixirs for emergencies and don’t put them on the market. Even if they do, they’re snapped up immediately. Though not as much as resurrection medicine, as long as you’re not dead, it can cure any severe illness or heal any serious injury in an instant. That’s how powerful it is.” -Yuuta
“If she’s willing to obtain such a thing, I think it shows she’s quite determined.” -Mizusu
I thought about it. -Yuuta
Misuzu was right; it’s dangerous for just the two of them in the dungeon.
My sister is probably worried not just about Evie, but Misuzu too.
It’s still manageable because we’re only on the first floor, but when you go down to the second floor, the level of the monsters changes completely. Even though it’s the same savanna field, the situation becomes much harsher, and the deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets.
“We’re not in a position to choose… And it’s a rare opportunity to be involved with a top model from America, so yeah, I’ll accept that. Sorry for saying unnecessary things. Now, about what I wanted to discuss.” -Yuuta
I wanted to stay just with Misuzu at least until we found the stairs to the second floor. However, it was Misuzu’s sister who was worried and introduced her to us. Since Misuzu and I aren’t lovers, I’d only look foolish worrying about a harem party, so I backed off.
“…Are you okay with that?” -Mizusu
“What do you mean?” -Yuuta
“Never mind. So what’s your concern, Yuuta?” -Mizusu
“Uh? Oh, I have two things I want to discuss.” -Yuuta
“Two?” -Mizusu
“The first one is about my sister. She says she wants to ‘go into the dungeon together.’” -Yuuta
“Eh? Your sister? Isn’t that a bit unreasonable?” -Mizusu
By unreasonable, it is meant in terms of timing. Since she’s my sister, she’d be one or two years younger, so it would be that much later before she could enter the dungeon. By then, the level gap would become too wide, making it difficult to go together.
“She’s my stepsister, actually. Our parents remarried.” -Yuuta
“Stepsister…” -Mizusu
Misuzu looked at me as if there was a hidden meaning.
“What’s wrong?” -Yuuta
“Nothing. What’s your stepsister’s name? When can she enter the dungeon?” -Mizusu
“Her name is Imari. She’s 14 years old and in her third year of junior high. Her birthday is March 15th. She goes to a different school, a better junior high because she’s very intelligent.” -Yuuta
“So it’s only two months… Yeah, that’s fine. Even though she’s your stepsister, she’s still family. It might take some time for her to catch up, but if things go well, in two months, we’ll be at a point where it’s getting tough without a fourth member. And the second thing?” -Mizusu
Misuzu, having offered to introduce someone to the group herself, readily agreed.
“Right now, we’re inside the Kofu Dungeon, aren’t we?” -Yuuta
“Yeah.” -Mizusu
“So, I want to discuss whether we should make Kofu Dungeon our home or if we should make Ikebukuro Dungeon our home. I think if we consider safety, Kofu Dungeon would be better to stay in. But if we don’t settle for Ikebukuro Dungeon, we might face various inconveniences later on.” -Yuuta
“Oh, the home problem, huh?” -Mizusu
“It’s also about what we want to become as explorers.” -Yuuta
“We have to start searching for the staircase to the second level today, right? If level 3 seems okay today, we can even consider staying overnight from tomorrow. If we don’t want to waste time searching for stairs, we need to decide now.” -Mizusu
“I think you understand, but it’s important, so let me explain from the beginning.” -Yuuta
“Got it.” -Mizusu
“In dungeons, you need stairs to go down to the lower levels. And the stairs are given to each explorer. Any number of people can be in a party. However, once that party goes down, the stairs disappear and can’t be used by other parties.” -Yuuta
“Every time I hear that, I think there must be some kind of intelligent entity lurking in the dungeon.” -Mizusu
“Indeed. That’s why, although we have maps of the first level, the location of the stairs isn’t shown on them. And to prevent cheating, the stairs are also undetectable by radio waves—quite the thorough approach.” -Yuuta
“That’s why most explorers, once they decide on Kofu Dungeon, establish it as their home. Right?” -Mizusu
“It’s another factor that makes conquering dungeons time-consuming, next to monsters, it’s quite a hassle. The fact that each party is given its own exclusive staircase, I can only think it’s intended to let every party experience all the sweet and sour aspects of a dungeon.” -Yuuta
Dungeons were indeed a mysterious space. There were things like gacha, and it was curious why the stairs didn’t appear in the same place for everyone, but in different places for each party. What could the intention behind that be?
“Apparently, even just the first floor is as big as Shizuoka Prefecture, right?” -Mizusu
“The dungeons are vast. Kofu may be a beginner dungeon, but if you go down to the 20th floor, you’ll be wandering an area larger than Greece.” -Yuuta
“But if there are only 20 floors, it doesn’t fit our goal.” -Mizusu
Dungeons have their own hierarchy.
Those who are aiming only up to low-level explorers go to beginner dungeons.
Those aiming to become mid-level explorers go to intermediate dungeons.
Those aiming for something even higher make their home in advanced dungeons that go down to 70 floors or special dungeons that go down to 100 floors. Everyone starts with that in mind. Even if you want to change halfway through, it’s too hard to find the stairs down, so changing is too difficult.
“Misuzu, if Evie is serious about becoming an explorer, she’ll want to go to Ikebukuro.” -Yuuta
“Evie… Are you already considering her too?” -Mizusu
“She might come as early as tomorrow, right? Then we need to think about her too.” -Yuuta
“Well, that’s true.” -Mizusu
Misuzu doesn’t seem interested in talking about Evie. So why did she introduce her? But I felt it was a minefield to ask.
“Yuuta, where were the other special dungeons again?” -Mizusu
“Osaka and Yokohama.” -Yuuta
“Hmm. Osaka is too far, and Yokohama is the 『territory』 of Raiden Toyokuni.”[1] -Mizusu
“The god of thunder who claims Yokohama as his own country.” -Yuuta
“I wish they would stop doing that.” -Mizusu
“The number one explorer infamous in Japan for all the wrong reasons. It’s unbelievable that he gets away with it.” -Yuuta
Raiden Toyokuni.
A Japanese explorer who officially claims Yokohama as his territory, known as Raiden-sama.
He hasn’t reached level 1000, but he specializes in powerful area attacks and has destroyed the Yokohama base with a single magical strike called “Scarlet Thunder,” injuring and killing over 2000 Self-Defense Force members. He is by far the explorer who has killed the most people in Japan.
“He said, ‘I want to pursue my own strength, so don’t get in my way,’ right?” -Mizusu
“Yeah. At that time, I thought for sure that Raiden-sama would be hated by the dungeon.” -Yuuta
“But that didn’t happen.” -Mizusu
About half a year ago, Raiden-sama forcefully appeared on a national broadcast news program at 9 p.m. and unilaterally declared, “I shall make Yokohama my territory.” At first, everyone dismissed him, thinking,
“Another delusional chuunibyou explorer has appeared.”
After all, two months prior, a foreign explorer had invaded, and at that time, Foreign had driven them away. There had been two other instances before that, and even though they were high-level explorers, they couldn’t beat Foreign. Everyone thought it would be the same this time too.
However, Foreign did not make a move, and with the Self-Defense Forces base in Yokohama being destroyed, the U.S. forces in Japan going into combat readiness, and the Japanese government hastily negotiating with Raiden-sama, Yokohama was recognized as the territory of Raiden-sama under the condition of the safety and continuation of the regular lives of its citizens.
The American government, which had declared to the Japanese government that they,
“Will never yield to explorers”
protested vehemently against this policy of the Japanese government. But the U.S. government, disliking the idea of engaging with Japan’s high-level explorers while their own country was not fully in order, decided to abandon the U.S. forces base in Yokohama.
As a result, a new ‘Yokohama’ has been created within Japan. However, this is not something unique to Japan; it has happened in other countries as well. Some countries were not destroyed by monsters but were destroyed and then ruled by explorers.
“What’s Raiden-sama’s level now?” -Mizusu
“It’s 963. But Foreign is 1037, so Foreign is increasing in strength faster.” -Yuuta
“Still, Raiden-sama is amazing too, right? Maybe he’ll exceed level 1000 in another year or two.” -Mizusu
“I wonder. Apparently, the 1000s are clearly different from the 900s. Actually, Raiden-sama’s pace has been slowing down lately, taking 13 days to go up one level. Especially as he gets close to the 50th floor, it seems it’s quite difficult to find the stairs going down.” -Yuuta
“You remember the levels in such detail.” -Mizusu
“I check the top 1000 rankings every day. Anyway, with Raiden-sama there, the Yokohama Dungeon is a bit difficult. It hurts to give up 30%.” -Yuuta
“Yeah. Dungeon privileges. Sounds like a lord.” -Mizusu
Dungeon privileges. This refers to the income earned by explorers of the Yokohama Dungeon. They are required to pay 30% of that to Raiden-sama. It’s essentially protection money, like that collected by the yakuza. Raiden-sama is collecting it from the explorers entering the Yokohama Dungeon.
It was thought that this would make the dungeon dislike them, but that wasn’t the case.
Seeing this, the government also tried to emulate it, but since the Japanese government does not have the force to compel explorers, they soon gave up. Seeing the tyranny of Raiden-sama in Yokohama, the whole of Japan grew anxious, fearing the same might happen with other dungeons, and indeed, it happened in Osaka.
“Just when things with Raiden-sama settled down, Dragon Flame Ryuubi swooped into Osaka. I really thought it was the end of Japan at that time. But then, for some reason, Foreign lost it and went to beat them up with his crew. That was really satisfying.” -Mizusu
“The Dragon God said ‘I never imagined Foreign would get that angry’, and he was apologizing profusely. ‘I got carried away. I’m sorry,’ he said, apologizing to Foreign. The sight of it was broadcast all over the world and it was hilarious.” -Yuuta
“It seemed like Raiden-sama was also gearing up, thinking he might be next.” -Mizusu
“But that never happened.” -Yuuta
“I wonder why Foreign doesn’t go after Raiden. Thanks to that, we had a minister blurt out something careless like ‘Our angel is apparently scared of thunder’.” -Mizusu
“An hour later, the minister offered his resignation, and a month after that, we had a general election.” -Yuuta
“Well, it’s not surprising. Japan’s peace is all thanks to Foreign right now.” -Mizusu
“It’s rare to find someone who actively cooperates with Japan’s defense.” -Yuuta
“Komori and Tanaka are so rare they’re almost like special characters, hardly ever showing up.” -Mizusu
“Can’t help it. Tanaka is doing his best.” -Yuuta
“That’s what I hate about Tanaka fans. He makes like 10 billion a year and still works like a regular salaryman. Ridiculous.” -Mizusu
“What’s that supposed to mean? I won’t let anyone complain about Tanaka.” -Yuuta
“Hmph.” -Mizusu
Misuzu and I always end up drifting off the main topic when it comes to explorers. The tales of explorers are full of dreams and flamboyance. That’s why the youth idolize them, aim for the dungeons, and end up dying on their own in them. And I didn’t want to be on the dying side.
“The Yokohama Dungeon is closer than here, but they take a 30% cut.” -Yuuta
Because Raiden-sama has claimed the territory, the Yokohama Dungeon is off-limits to anyone but Raiden-sama and his entourage. It’s ridiculous for anyone to pay a 30% cut. In effect, it’s like being forced not to enter the dungeon, but still, Raiden-sama is not hated by the dungeon.
“Let’s not resort to such things even if we become strong.” -Mizusu
“By the time we can do that, there will probably be more high-level explorers, so it’ll be harder to do it anyway. Anyway, the options we really have are:
Choose the Ikebukuro Dungeon.
Choose the Kofu Dungeon.
Or move to Osaka.
Those are the three choices we can practically choose from.” -Yuuta
It was a common story for explorers to select a dungeon that suited them and move there. In fact, it was the more common route.
“I’m sure Dad and the others will never agree to move. If I tell them the reason, they’ll only oppose us more.” -Mizusu
“What should we do?” -Yuuta
“In the end, the problem is murder, right? Was it Hazumi? What level are they?” -Mizusu
That was the reason we had to worry so much. I remembered Hazumi. After all, the reason we came to Kofu was because we accidentally witnessed their crime from afar. Afterwards, curious, I researched dungeon crimes on the internet, and every site was insistent on one point:
“Do not get involved.”
It seems that one could easily be killed if one took a wrong step. Even Nagumo-san didn’t want to get involved. There were many dark stories scattered on the internet that were convincing enough to understand his reasons.
“They must be over level 100 by now.” -Yuuta
“Can’t you check?” -Mizusu
“I doubt they’d be on the top rankings. It’s the people around that level who actually have less information available. I was thinking of asking the lady at the dungeon shop, but openly gathering information might draw unwanted attention.” -Yuuta
“Is it impossible to ask Nagumo-san to take care of these Hazumi people?” -Mizusu
“Misuzu, you need to understand that Nagumo-san isn’t some kind of handyman for me. If we ask him, then we’d have to discuss what he’d want in return. High-level explorers are the kind who have assets like 100 billion. Nagumo-san is so rich he probably thinks Louis Vuitton and Black Label are about the same.” -Yuuta
High-level explorers, a group so exclusive there weren’t even a thousand in the world. Their assets were substantial enough to place them among the world’s richest according to the global rich list.
“Huh? Is that something different?” -Mizusu
“It’s completely different. If a Black Label T-shirt is 20,000 yen, a Louis Vuitton T-shirt would be 200,000 yen.” -Yuuta
“Are you kidding?” -Mizusu
“It’s true. There are some for 100,000 yen, but that’s on the cheaper side.” -Yuuta
“Whoa. How do you know?” -Mizusu
“Well, when I lived with my parents… let’s just say there was a lot going on. Don’t pry too much into that.” -Yuuta
“Understood. Well, it’s rather that Tanaka has surpassed level 1000 but that’s too little, right? No luck with gacha?” -Mizusu
“He does have luck. Seems it’s the same 5 as me.” -Yuuta
“Over level 1000 and only a 5 is laughable. Wasn’t he the only one of the 12 heroes who said ‘I don’t have money’ when you agreed to an interview once? Hilarious.” -Mizusu
“How could you say that of all people? Anyway, if we’re going to ask Nagumo-san for a favor, we need to give something in return. We can’t just say ‘kill someone for us’ without offering anything.” -Yuuta
Since modern times, a system where if a person kills someone, they are caught by the police was established. However, before such systems were in place, killing wasn’t considered as bad. There were times when “revenge killing” was actually accepted, and even then, there were more rules.
But it’s only been 5 years since dungeons appeared, and currently, there are no rules. Taking it lightly can quickly turn into a fight for life. That’s why the Japanese government succumbed to the barbaric acts of Raiden-sama. And countries that tried to resist are still in turmoil.
“Hmm… if we’re to safely raise our levels here, we’d have to go up to around the 20th floor, right? To think about going back from Kofu to Ikebukuro and then finding the stairs down to the 20th floor… how long would that take…” -Mizusu
“It might take about 2 years if we’re unlucky.” -Yuuta
“Plus, it’s not like Kofu is absolutely safe. Dungeon crimes are honestly everywhere, and even in Kofu, there have been creepy cases of disappearances, right?” -Mizusu
“Misuzu, what do you want to do?” -Yuuta
“Hmm… Yuuta, you decide.” -Mizusu
“Me decide?” -Yuuta
“Yeah. I’ll follow Yuuta. No matter what happens, I won’t blame you, and if it comes time to die, I’ll die with Yuuta. We’ll get Evie’s consent on this too. If she doesn’t like it, she can go back to her own country.” -Mizusu
“Are you really okay with that?” -Yuuta
Misuzu’s words were different from before. Had there been a change in her heart?
“It’s fine. Explorers are risking their lives anyway. Besides, I trust Yuuta’s judgment more than my own. So it’s fine.” -Mizusu
Misuzu said something that made me happy. If she feels that way, then there’s no point in worrying anymore. I decided to take the action that I most wanted to do right now. It would surely be the action I would have taken if I were alone.
TL Note(s)
[1] Thunder God changed to Raiden
– Gonna use Yuuta and Mizusu instead of Rokujou and Kiriyama from now on
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