Akatsuki Translations

“Let’s return to the Ikebukuro Dungeon.” -Yuuta

“Got it. If Yuuta has decided, then we’ll do that.” -Misuzu

“A day later, even a murdered corpse should be absorbed by the dungeon and disappear. I doubt Hazumi would come to check on a nonexistent corpse, and since it was killed in the dungeon, no crime was committed. I don’t think there’s any intention to hide it either.” -Yuuta

“They don’t kill that often, do they?”  -Misuzu

“But there’s always a chance. As a precaution, from now on, we should ride the first train every day, entering the dungeon before anyone else. And near the entrance, let’s try not to kill goblins if possible.” -Yuuta

“Ah, that makes sense. They think no one is on the first floor. If they see a goblin’s corpse, those Hazumi’s group might think someone is there and start looking for us.” -Misuzu

Misuzu quickly understood my thoughts. I felt that we were starting to communicate better.

“Alright, let’s leave then.” -Yuuta

“OK.” -Misuzu

Once decided, we had to act quickly. I don’t know Hazumi’s face. Nagumo-san seemed to have seen it, but it was too far for me to see Hazumi’s face. So I need to go quickly and dive into the dungeon without delay. With that in mind, we headed for the Ikebukuro Dungeon.

“Then let’s go.” -Yuuta

Arriving at the Ikebukuro Dungeon, we did a little shopping, and for some reason, the woman at the register glared at me. And then we stood in front of the dungeon entrance.

“Yeah.” -Misuzu

Entering the dungeon itself was familiar, but still, thinking about Hazumi and the others made me nervous. Misuzu took my hand. It was still dim around us, and there were no people around the dungeon. Misuzu asked for my hand in a lover’s grip and I grasped it firmly.

I had bought a new polycarbonate shield and tied it to the backpack on my back. It made my back feel heavier than yesterday. We passed through the entrance of the dungeon. The place where someone was killed. I naturally put my hands together and prayed for the repose of the soul.

“Shall we go?” -Yuuta

“Yeah. It’s already 6 o’clock, so let’s hurry.” -Misuzu

Misuzu also prayed and then took my hand again, and the concern about Hazumi and the others made us quicken our pace through the grassland.

We passed near a group of wildebeests. A little away, impalas were watching us, wondering what we were doing. A goblin was about to attack one of those impalas. Yet, Misuzu carelessly tried to proceed in the direction of the impalas.

“Misuzu, there’s a goblin. Goblins are still dangerous for us, so we have to be careful and check our surroundings.” -Yuuta

“U-uh, yeah, you’re right. Sorry. I might be a little scared after all.” -Misuzu

If we get spotted by those who are presumed to be level 100 or above and utterly out of our league, we wouldn’t stand a chance. We started running to get away from the entrance as quickly as possible.

In the beginning, leveling up makes quite a difference. As far as I checked last night, I can now run 100 meters in the 8-second range. When I showed it to Imari, she was delighted, saying how fast it was. My stamina seems to have increased too, and I can sprint long distances without getting out of breath like a long-distance runner.

“What a difference.” -Yuuta

We hurried, slightly lowering our stance so as not to be spotted by the goblins. A Thomson’s gazelle with distinctive two horns ran alongside us. It’s a friendly creature. Perhaps it knows that humans are the ones who hunt their natural predators, the goblins, in the dungeon.

The scenery quickly flowed behind us. The Thomson’s gazelle seemed to be slowing down to keep pace, but still, being able to run alongside an animal of the savanna was incredible.

“Compared to these guys’ best efforts, Hazumi must be faster, right?”  -Misuzu

“It seems that once you reach level 100, you can move faster than any creature on Earth. The level 100 category in the Olympics was incredible.” -Yuuta

“The world record for the 100m. It was under 2 seconds, wasn’t it?” -Misuzu

The excitement at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, where explorers were allowed to participate for the first time, was tremendous. The explorers, moving at unbelievable speeds and demonstrating superhuman power, electrified the entire venue.

“But reaching level 100 isn’t such a big deal for explorers, right? It seems like Hazumi has levels beyond that. Maybe it’s better to think that Hazumi is stronger than the Olympic athletes. Does Hazumi also have sensory abilities?” -Misuzu

“I think so. But even then, I guess it’s safe if we’re 10km away.” -Yuuta

“I really don’t want to meet them.” -Misuzu

“Absolutely.” -Yuuta

Nevertheless, I felt happy that Misuzu was relying on me. It may be foolish because if we’re found, it’s all over, but I’m happy to be relied upon. However, this sense of leisure only lasted until we had run past the 3km mark on the plains.

“Wa-wait a minute! Yuuta!” -Misuzu

Misuzu shouted. When I looked back, she was out of breath, hands on the ground.

“Ha-h Hah.” -Misuzu

She was breathing heavily through her shoulders.

“Sorry. I hurried too much.” -Yuuta

“I-it’s okay. I understand the feeling.” -Misuzu

I said, even as I was also breathing heavily through my shoulders. It was okay at first. But there are goblins in the field. Running low to the ground was only manageable at first, and when I got tired, it became impossible, and that’s when the goblins would notice us.

Once the goblins spot us, they chase after us at full speed without thinking about their stamina. It would be easy if we could kill them, but since we don’t want to leave corpses behind, we have no choice but to run. And doing so, we tire ourselves out more than necessary.

“But we can’t stop. Let’s at least walk.” -Yuuta

“O-okay.” -Misuzu

I went back to Misuzu and took her hand. Although I had reached level 3, there was still a difference in physical strength between Misuzu and me.

“Hah hah.” -Misuzu

“Should we slow down the pace a bit more?” -Yuuta

“It’s fine. I’m okay. Besides, it’s tough even on the first level. It’s amazing that the top groups can go down to the 50th level.” -Misuzu

“You’re telling me. And there are quests on the second level, too.” -Yuuta

Moving through the dungeon while on the lookout for goblins was quite difficult. There were times when they would ambush us from the bushes or arrows would be fired without us noticing. On top of that, we also had to search for the stairs leading down.

“Is that…”  -Misuzu

“What’s wrong?” -Yuuta

At that moment, I noticed a bloodied baggage strewn carelessly in the field.

“What’s that?” -Yuuta

“This is around where Hazumi and the others were killing people. That’s the belongings of the victims they killed.” -Misuzu

We had come to the place where Hazumi and his group had committed murder. In the dungeon, the flesh of people who died inside was eaten by monsters, and even bones would decompose and return to the earth within a day. This was the same for both monsters and herbivores.

However, there were things that took time for the dungeon to absorb. Equipment. Unlike living bodies, it was said that inorganic materials would take at least a week to be absorbed. I noticed bloodied backpacks and clothes scattered around.

“Is this a mark from being stabbed by that Hazumi guy?” -Misuzu

“Probably, goblins wouldn’t stab a dead body, I guess.” -Yuuta

The backpack was stained with dried, brownish blood. There was a hole where it had been pierced through from the back. The contents of the backpack were scattered about, and nearby, there was an empty bottle, possibly from a potion the victim had drunk.

The victims were killed messily, without any attempt to conceal the evidence. Left like that, no one could tell if it was the deed of humans or if a goblin had killed them. So, if left alone, there would be no problem. Above all, in the dungeon, killing a person carried no penalty.

“L-let’s go.” -Yuuta

“Wait a minute, Yuuta.” -Misuzu

I had been curious about this place since we entered the dungeon and approached it on my own. Yet, I thought of leaving quickly, driven by fear. But Misuzu went closer to the backpack and started rummaging through it.

“Misuzu, if Hazumi and the others come while you’re doing that, it’ll be trouble.” -Yuuta

“I know, but I think it’s problematic to be scared of an opponent whose identity we don’t know. That’s why I thought we could find something out by checking the victim’s belongings.” -Misuzu

Women’s clothing was scattered about, torn carelessly. Misuzu was searching through the backpack, so I turned my attention to the clothes. There were T-shirts and cargo pants. The bra and panties were also left as they were.

I thought that what Misuzu said made sense. Above all, I hated my own cowardice. So, thinking I should do something too, I picked up the panties to check them.

“That’s right.” -Yuuta

I couldn’t help but look closely. The liquid had dried and become crusty. I recognized it immediately because it was something I often saw. From a distance, it wasn’t clear, but

“Pervert.” -Misuzu

“It’s because Misuzu started searching through the stuff. Just like Misuzu said, after thinking about it, I decided it’s better to check, so I’m helping. Misuzu wouldn’t want to touch traces of what a man did, right?” -Yuuta

“Yeah, I don’t want to touch that. Oh, but I’m not saying I dislike that sort of thing.” -Misuzu

“I-I didn’t ask that. S-so, was the purpose something perverted? If so, is there a need to kill?” -Yuuta

“Explorers who lose their minds can have pretty dangerous ideas. I have a friend named Koharu.” -Misuzu

“I know. It’s Sakaki-san, right?” -Yuuta

I remembered a classmate named Sakaki Koharu who often talked with Misuzu. She was a girl with freckles and braids, and honestly, she wasn’t someone I had a very good impression of. Well, I didn’t have a good impression of almost anyone in the class.

“According to Koharu, some people are not satisfied with just doing it with women normally. They get a thrill from injuring them fatally, driving them to the brink of death, then reviving them with a potion, and enjoying that.” -Misuzu

“Then is that empty potion bottle related to that?” -Yuuta

I picked up a potion bottle that had fallen nearby. I was concerned about Hazumi and the others, so I didn’t want to stay here too long. But having come this far, I wanted to investigate properly.

On the one hand, Misuzu had taken everything out of her backpack. There was still food and potion bottles. The potions were not very high-grade, but there were three bottles, each worth about a million yen, which Misuzu took out, feeling it a waste to leave them.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” -Yuuta

“Don’t be so serious. It’s meaningless to be absorbed by the dungeon in a place like this. This person can’t use them anymore, so we might as well take them.” -Misuzu

“That’s a crime, you know.” -Yuuta

“There’s no crime here.” -Misuzu

“But still…” -Yuuta

“Besides, aren’t these potions better than what we usually buy? Do you know how much they’re worth?” -Misuzu

“One million yen each.” -Yuuta

“Wow.” -Misuzu

While keeping a lookout, I was concerned about Misuzu. Misuzu put the potions into her backpack and handed one to me. After a moment’s hesitation, I prayed before putting it into my backpack while Misuzu searched for anything else. There wasn’t anything else useful for exploration, but…

“It’s a driver’s license. Is this person’s? Well, it can’t be anyone else’s.” -Misuzu

“Was that still there?” -Yuuta

“Senkawa Hanayo, 45… no, 46 years old. Quite an age for an explorer, right? The photo on the license is of a pretty woman.” -Misuzu

Misuzu collected not just the license but even the wallet.

“Thief.” -Yuuta

“Yuuta. We’re risking our lives here. Don’t just say pretty things.” -Misuzu

“Misuzu, you always have that sort of thing about you.” -Yuuta

“What do you mean by that?” -Misuzu

Misuzu, finding nothing else noteworthy, gathered the scattered clothes into her backpack as well, placing fabric in between to avoid staining them with blood and shouldered it.

“Misuzu, what are you going to do with all that?” -Yuuta

“If we leave it here, the Hazumi group might find out we’ve rummaged through this place. I’m thinking of leaving it somewhere after we’ve moved 10 km away.” -Misuzu

“In that case, let’s take back things like the license that can identify the person. When our level is high enough that we don’t have to worry about them, I want to return it to the family.” -Yuuta

“Oh, right. I thought so too.” -Misuzu

Misuzu nodded with a face that clearly hadn’t thought of that at all.

“Don’t use the money in the wallet. We might need to use the potion now, but we’ll replenish it later and give it to the family.” -Yuuta

“I understand. Yuuta, what do you take me for?” -Misuzu

We started moving again. We set the smartphone to show our moving speed and ran at a pace equivalent to our full sprint when we were level 1. Misuzu didn’t seem too tired at this pace. Still, I thought it was both happy and sad news that the potion was left behind.

A million-yen potion. Low-level explorers would definitely take it with them. To leave three bottles behind so carelessly. Hazumi and the others… they might be… middle-level explorers. Frankly, that was a realm beyond human.

“Misuzu, was there anything in the wallet?” -Yuuta

“Let’s see…” -Misuzu

Misuzu started checking the contents of the wallet she had borrowed while running.

“Loads of receipts. Looks like someone’s been spending lavishly. Maybe an explorer? They’ve bought some brand items too. Gucci, Chanel… The receipts add up to about 800,000 yen for just two items. That’s not something an office lady could afford, right? Oh, a company business card. D Collection. Senkawa-san is a section chief.” -Misuzu

“I know that company. They sell dungeon items.” -Yuuta

“Was she ordered by his company to enter the dungeon?” -Misuzu

“No, if she had entered the dungeon because she was ordered by his company, she wouldn’t have been able to. Maybe it was for a hookup?” -Yuuta

“More like assault. Well, we learned quite a bit. It was good to check, wasn’t it?” -Misuzu

“Yeah. Well.” -Yuuta

The more I understood, the more I realized how dangerous Hazumi was. Maybe coming here was a mistake. Should I go back even now? No, don’t regret. Don’t hesitate.

I took out the new smartphone that I had bought with the 10 million yen I got from selling a single potion at the dungeon shop in Ikebukuro. It was the only important thing I had purchased.