Akatsuki Translations

I never thought Koharu would do something like that. I trusted her because we had always been close, but it felt like she had become a different person.

“I’m really sorry.” -Koharu

She called to apologize afterwards. She told me to apologize to Yuuta as well. I don’t quite understand why her attitude changed so suddenly. We had been particularly close since the third year of middle school.

She often protected me when I had a hard time with class being jealous of me. That’s why I trusted her quite a bit. I intend to maintain our friendship, but I strongly felt that I should never bring her in front of Yuuta again.

“He apparently went ahead and entered the dungeon.” -Misuzu

“I see. I wish he had waited for us.” -Evie

Evie said she got a message on her smartphone. I was worried that I had angered him over the incident with Koharu, but I don’t think Yuuta would scold me that quickly, so I decided to think it’ll be fine.

“Well then, shall we go?” -Misuzu

Still, Evie is beautiful.

She’s so beautiful that even I, as a girl, am captivated by her appearance. Is Yuuta really not involved with this girl at all? If I were a guy, I don’t think I could resist at all if such a beautiful girl showed even the slightest sign of interest in me.

More than anything…

“You changed your equipment.” -Misuzu

I said that upon seeing Evie’s appearance. She’s wearing something like a dress with white and blue as the base colors, with something like a mantle over it. She’s wearing gloves and boots, and is equipped with a staff. It’s a complete mage equipment set, and it doesn’t seem to have much defensive power.

Still, it’s dungeon equipment, so it probably has some level of defense. Above all, she’s a summoner. The ones engaging in close combat are her summoned beasts, and Lean will likely put on armor and protect Evie. Apparently she bought a lot of equipment for that side too.

“You too, Misuzu. Did Yuuta buy it for you?” -Evie

“Yeah. He did, but I’ll properly pay him back later.” -Misuzu

I ended up saying that. When I was in class, there was no one who stimulated my inferiority complex. But Evie was definitely above me in both looks and money. When I searched about Evie online, it said her total assets exceeded 2 billion dollars.

Evie was a supermodel whose total assets were listed online, and I felt an inferiority complex thinking that the money she gave us was probably just a trifle to her.

“Oh my, is that so? But you know, a man will dislike it if you try to pay back money he already spent.” -Evie

“R-Really…?” -Misuzu

“That’s right.” -Evie

“By the way.” -Misuzu

A group of goblins appeared in front of us. Almost like a reflex, I drew my bow taut and sharply released an arrow. It hit one in the forehead, reducing their number from 5 to 4.

“I’ll take the 2 on the right.” -Misuzu

“OK.” -Evie

I accelerated my body. I drew my dagger. The other side also raised their swords. One more had a metal bat. If I tried to block either, my blade would chip. So I dodge at the last moment. Another one tries to pounce at me. When I was searching for the stairs alone, there were times like this when 4 came at me simultaneously.

Honestly, that was scary. But 2 isn’t scary. I pulled out an army knife with my left hand and stabbed it into the chest of the goblin trying to pounce. I quickly pulled out the army knife and slashed the other goblin dead with my dagger from above.

“Alright.” -Misuzu

Since I could suddenly be forced into close combat, I wanted to be able to handle that as much as possible. This time felt pretty good.

I looked at Evie and she was also dealing with the goblins without any trouble. She hasn’t even brought out Lean yet. Still, there’s no hesitation in her movements. As expected of someone who struggled a lot in America, she’s really reliable. I can feel at ease entrusting my back to her.

“Well done.” -Evie

“You too.” -Misuzu

“Well, this much is a given. More importantly, weren’t you trying to ask something?” -Evie

“Ah, yeah. Evie, you know Yuuta’s sister Imari, right?” -Misuzu

“Yes, the girl who will soon become our companion, right?” -Evie

“She seems to have gotten my contact info from Yuuta, and she called me this morning. She suddenly started shouting ‘thieving cat’ which surprised me.” -Misuzu

I carefully observed Evie’s reaction.

“Thieving cat!” -Imari

“W-Wait, what’s this all of a sudden? It’s Imari-chan, right?” -Misuzu

“Thieving cat thieving cat thief thief thieving cat thieving cat!” -Imari

It was quite a frantic call. Imari-chan was a very different sister from what I had imagined. More than anything, she clearly saw Yuuta as a man. However, putting that aside, what caught my attention in Imari-chan’s call was that David-san and the others’ names came up.

“That’s quite a terrible way to put it… She’s his sister, right?” -Evie

“She should be, but… Yesterday, she said ‘Yuuta lied about staying out all night drinking with David-san and the others.’” -Misuzu

Imari-chan had said, “I, who has lived with just Yuuta all this time, can immediately tell when he’s lying.” But I couldn’t think of anything, so I tried to explain that.

“Wait a minute, I don’t know anything about that. More importantly, didn’t Yuuta go home yesterday?” -Misuzu

“Don’t play dumb. Are you still going to lie? The two of you stayed at your place, right? Unless that’s the case, there’s no way Yuuta wouldn’t come home when he won’t be able to see me for a while. In the first place, there’s no way Yuuta could suddenly make male friends.” -Imari

“But I really don’t know about that.” -Misuzu

“…Anyway, I only have Yuuta. So don’t take him away. If it weren’t for you, Yuuta and I would be living happily together, just the two of us. We definitely would have gotten married. I would have given birth to Yuuta’s children. I’ll give him anything he wants. So please don’t get in the way.” -Imari

She was so different from the Imari-chan I had imagined. Or rather, are the two of them already in that kind of relationship? Am I the one intruding? Should I confirm it with Yuuta? But if I do and he says “That’s right,” what will happen to me?

I have gacha luck 1.

Surely no one other than Yuuta would treasure me as an explorer companion. If I don’t continue being an explorer, that might be fine. No, it’s not fine. The world from now on will surely become the world of explorers.

It was already rumored on the internet that a time would come when it would be difficult to find employment unless you reached Level 3. In the first place, once you reach Level 3, you become much less susceptible to illness. That’s why leveling up is advantageous for living as well.

Right now, there are still fewer explorers, so many people dislike them, but a world where that’s not the case will surely come. When that happens, someone like me with gacha luck 1 might be the most disliked. But if it’s Yuuta, he’ll definitely stick with me without abandoning me until I pull a rainbow capsule.

That’s right. I don’t know what Imari-chan thinks, but Yuuta is the only one for me too. More than anything, this feeling of love isn’t something that can be taken away or given by what others say.

“I know that story is true too. Maybe Yuuta just wanted a male conversation partner since he’s been interacting with only women lately. I thought it would be bad to intrude, so I refrained from joining in even when they were being noisy next to me.” -Evie

“I see. Anyway, it just felt kind of unpleasant. I thought she was a good kid since she’s Yuuta’s sister, but she suddenly called me a thieving cat.” -Misuzu

“That must have been tough. For this level-up on the 2nd floor, David and the others will also be entering and exiting the dungeon for support. Yuuta asked them to give Imari updates on our progress, so David and the others will go to Imari’s place. That’s why David and the others should properly explain things to her. The misunderstanding should be cleared up by the time we come out of the dungeon.” -Evie

“I hope so.” -Misuzu

To be honest, I thought Evie was mostly in the wrong. No matter how you think about it, it’s strange for Yuuta to suddenly become that close with David-san and the others. I can only think that Evie is involved. I’ve never had a sleepover with Yuuta.

Just thinking about Evie doing that makes my chest hurt. It also brings up various regrets. I didn’t even realize that Yuuta was being bullied by Ikemoto. Back then, I was insensitive to people’s pain and thought there was no bullying in our class.

“Hey, Evie. Doesn’t it pain your heart to try to take what belongs to someone else? I felt like I was somehow doing something bad even though Imari-chan is his sister.” -Misuzu

Maybe the person Yuuta likes is Imari-chan. If so…

“Oh my, are you suspecting me?” -Evie

I thought it was because Evie had absolute confidence in herself. If Imari-chan is Yuuta’s number one, it’s not a good thing at all for me or for Evie. No, before that, if the sleepover partner Imari-chan is talking about is Evie, has Evie already been intimate with Yuuta?

“Just a little.” -Misuzu

“Don’t worry. Yuuta likes Misuzu. He has no interest in me.” -Evie

“…” -Misuzu

I get quite irritated by those words just now. How can she tell such a lie just because she’s confident in herself? I saw several green heads coming into view in front of me. Goblins. I drew my gun.

*Bang bang bang bang bang bang!

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!*

I shot all 21 bullets single-handedly like that. And then I pointed the gun at Evie. She knows no bullets will come out since the slide stop is engaged.

“That’s scary.” -Evie

“D-Don’t mess with Yuuta!” -Misuzu

“I told you I’m not.” -Evie

“Liar!” -Misuzu

I holstered the gun like that. I thought it was like a story from the daytime dramas my mom watched. I thought I would never do such an unseemly thing. If I got cheated on, I would cleanly back down and never interact with that man again after that. That’s what I thought.

Far from that, am I the second one? Or the third? When I think that, words seem to overflow from my mouth even though I intended to stay silent. As I remained silent, Evie spoke this time.

“Haa, then let me tell you, in the first place, it’s weird for you to try to monopolize a man in the dungeon. Put yourself in the shoes of those being shown off to!” -Evie

Evie said that as if she had given up. I guess that means she had been keeping it bottled up on her end too.

“So you’re admitting you’re in the wrong?” -Misuzu

“That’s right! Because you wouldn’t back down, I spent the whole day yesterday hiding with Yuuta! Yuuta chose me! Is there anything wrong with that?!” -Evie

“Don’t act so brazen! The one who should be scolded by Imari-chan for being sneaky is you, isn’t it?! Why do I have to be told off like that?!” -Misuzu

“Then just tell that girl about me! I’ll face her head-on!” -Evie

Evie spat out her words with the momentum of thinking she couldn’t hide it anymore anyway, or rather, who cares if it gets found out. Our running feet stopped, and we glared at each other in the dungeon.

“I-I’ll be the one to face Imari-chan! Because Yuuta clearly said he likes me!” -Evie

He didn’t say that. Yuuta has never once told me he likes me. I bet he’s said it to Imari-chan a lot. Maybe he’s said it to Evie too?

“That’s why it’s weird for you to try to monopolize him! In the dungeon?! Whether it’s a man or a woman, if there’s a bias, everyone shares! That’s how it should be, right?! I want a man too! I was happy to be able to sleep in Yuuta’s arms until morning!” -Evie

“So you’re saying anyone is fine?! Go catch a dog or cat then!” -Misuzu

“Are you insulting me?!” -Evie

“You’re saying it in a way that deserves it!” -Misuzu

I was completely pissed off, and Evie was pissed off too. But this is the dungeon. A rustling sound was heard. I’ve heard this sound many times before. It’s the sound of grass being pushed aside when goblins suddenly attack. Something hit my leg with a clank.

Looking at it, a goblin was trying to cut my shin with a sword. It would have been bad if I hadn’t renewed my armor. We shouted at each other too loudly. Nearly 10 goblins had gathered. Two goblins hugged me. They touched my body through the gaps in my armor. This is the worst.

I looked at Evie and she was in a similar situation. She hurriedly summoned Lean. I repeatedly cast the 【Level Down】 magic. From there, it was no time to be quarreling. My newly purchased clothes were torn. My breasts and butt were groped.

Something I absolutely didn’t want pressed against me was pressed against me. My stomach was cut. We managed to repel them, but we were both in a terrible state with our hair disheveled.

“Haa haa, l-let’s not argue in the dungeon.” -Evie

“And after Yuuta bought it for us…” -Misuzu

“Thanks to that, we didn’t die, right?” -Evie

“Evie, you idiot. I hate you.” -Misuzu

“I hate Misuzu’s strong possessiveness too.” -Evie

“Putting on airs!” -Misuzu

“You’re the one doing that!” -Evie

“Gyagyaa!” -Lean

When we were about to start arguing again, Lean, who was also in a terrible state with his equipment slashed to pieces, cried out in a way that sounded like he was telling us to cut it out.

“Let’s stop this. It wouldn’t funny if we died over something like this.” -Evie

“Got it.” -Misuzu

I nodded in agreement as I was convinced of that too.

“Hey.” -Evie

“What?” -Misuzu

“I’m basically bad at keeping secrets, so I’ll tell you. I got involved with Yuuta behind your back. Yuuta was feeling down about that idiot called Ikemoto or something, and I thought I’d comfort him. We kissed, and I thought, oh, we could go all the way like this. But Yuuta didn’t try to do it because he was thinking about Misuzu. So the one he probably really likes is you.” -Evie

“Me? Really?” -Misuzu

“Yes, that’s what he said.” -Evie

“H-He likes me? Yuuta really said that?” -Misuzu

“Isn’t that right? He told me it would be wrong to Misuzu.” -Evie

“Really?” -Misuzu

“D-Don’t ask so many times. It’s annoying.” -Evie

“I-I see. So that’s how it is.” -Misuzu

I wonder if I’m being too soft for feeling good about this. But it’s true that I didn’t feel bad about it.

“Also, I’m not a woman who’s fine with just anyone. I admit I made a move on Yuuta, but I remained a virgin even while being in an industry where everyone is constantly having sex. I’ve never had a boyfriend, and I didn’t even spare a glance at men who starred in Hollywood films when they hit on me. There were men better than Yuuta. Some people thought they were dashing. But for some reason, I never once thought, ‘This is the one.’ But with Yuuta, I thought I could be with him forever. I want Yuuta. I like Yuuta.” -Evie

“This is the first time I’ve felt so strongly about someone too.” -Misuzu

“I wonder why. I don’t think he has any particularly attractive qualities compared to the men I’ve seen so far… Rather, I usually dislike indecisive and wishy-washy men, but with Yuuta, I find that cute and endearing. Yesterday, just when things were getting heated up and we were about to do it, he brought up your name. I thought, what a cruel man. And yet I like him.” -Evie

Evie seemed to be puzzled by her own feelings. That cooled my head down another notch.

“I apologize for saying too much. I’m sorry. And I understand that monopolizing in the dungeon is no good. Though I don’t want to understand.” -Misuzu

“Really?” -Evie

“Really…” -Misuzu

“Then you won’t get angry if Yuuta and I kiss openly?” -Evie

“I’ll get angry.” -Misuzu

“Which is it?” -Evie

“Don’t ask any more than that.” -Misuzu

I said clearly with the meaning of refusal. Then Evie didn’t say anything further either. We both stopped talking, and,

“Gyaa.” -Lean

“”That’s not allowed!”” -Misuzu&Evie

Lean tried to say something, and for some reason, Evie’s voice and mine overlapped as we understood. We have no intention of yielding to goblins.