chapter02 · 073-ep65
Episode 65: Inokashira Park Dungeon
Morning of my second day in Tokyo, I split up with the two of them in the hotel lobby.
"Big bro, off you go! We're doing Omotesando and Ginza today!"
"Mm. Here, tonight."
"Okay — see you later."
Big sis was in cap and sunglasses again today, and Seina was on outfit four of fourteen.
I waved them off and headed for Tokyo Station. My destination was Kichijoji, and I'd looked it up the night before: one train on the Chuo Line. One train — that's a cakewalk.
"Where's the Chuo Line?"
I stopped dead inside Tokyo Station.
The directory board listed line after line: the Yamanote, the Keihin-Tohoku, the Tokaido, the Yokosuka, the Sobu, the Keiyo — and several Shinkansen on top of that. Platform numbers ran from 1 up to digits I'd never even seen.
People get lost in Nagoya Station too. But the Nagoya way of getting lost is the "the underground mall is so big I can't find the exit" kind.
Tokyo simply had too many platforms and too many kinds of trains. Even on the same Chuo Line, the rapid and the local left from different platforms.
"I'm getting more lost than I would in a dungeon."
In the end, I asked a station attendant twice before I finally found the Chuo Line platform. Top floor, way off at the edge.
Tokyo is a hellscape.
Out of Kichijoji Station and through the shopping arcade, green suddenly closed in around me. Inokashira Park.
Trees ringed a big pond all the way around. Swan-shaped boats floated out on the water, and even this early in the morning there were plenty of people walking and jogging.
"What a nice place."
I never expected a pond like this in the middle of a city.
As I walked the loop around the pond's edge, I spotted a small red hall jutting out over the water, back behind the boat dock. The Inokashira Park dungeon's door was around the back of that hall. A stone door covered in moss — if a few explorers hadn't been standing in front of it, I'd probably have walked right past.
My first C-rank dungeon in Tokyo. Tokyo's explorers, I felt, dressed just a little more stylishly than Nagoya's.
I re-shouldered my shinai bag and took out my phone. I was in Tokyo, after all — figured I'd stream.
I launched the drone and hit the button to go live. For the title, no brainstorming — straight to it.
『Dungeon Strolls: Tokyo Edition』
The instant I pressed it, comments came flooding in.
『TOKYO?!』
『Tokyo edition's here』
『Knew he was in Tokyo』
『Seina-chan's Picsta had her in Tokyo with Rinka-san, so I had my suspicions』
『Kichijoji!』
『Kichijoji local here. Right next door.』
『The Inokashira Park dungeon?』
『Family trip?』
"Family trip. It's Obon."
『That he's Seina-chan's big bro is an open secret』
『"Open secret" lol』
"Wait, it's OPEN?!"
Well — fine. My face wasn't showing, anyway.
"Is my little sister really that famous in Tokyo too? I had no idea at all."
『You didn't know?』
『The big bro is the last to know』
『Seina-chan has a TON of followers』
"Yesterday she got stopped by fans on Takeshita Street — that surprised me."
『Big bro lol』
『The classic "family notices least" phenomenon』
"Oh — and the name of this channel was my little sister's idea."
『WHAT?!』
『Dungeon Strolls was named by Seina-chan?』
『For real?』
"That's right. Every name I tried to use at the start got shot down. Then my little sister said, 'Why not just Dungeon Strolls?' — and that became it."
『Seina-chan's got taste』
『Now I NEED to know the names big bro tried』
『They were ABSOLUTELY cringey names, weren't they』
"Those, I will absolutely never say."
『SAY THEM』
『Tell us』
『Let's go ask Seina-chan』
"Please do not go ask her!"
"Today I'm diving the Inokashira Park dungeon, here in Tokyo. C-rank."
『C-rank is your ceiling, after all』
『He's wearing armor!』
『Armor! He actually wore armor!』
『Good job』
"I am. It's a loaner, though."
『Loaner?』
『What about the neck?』
『We TOLD you to protect your neck』
『Neck!』
The comments buried themselves in "neck" again. They remembered.
"The neck guard comes with the armor I'm having made right now. This set is just a stand-in until then, so I'm only diving shallow floors."
『Good job』
『Look at him, being responsible』
『Wonder if the A-rank shield specialist watches this too』
I drew the katana from the shinai bag. Tva's katana. Black sheath, black handle-wrap, no tsuba.
『The katana!』
『A new katana?』
『Looks like the old black one, but — different?』
『A touch longer?』
"Good eye."
『What's it called?』
"Well — it doesn't have one yet."
『No name?!』
『The nameless katana』
『The old one didn't have a name either, right?』
"The old one's name was, more or less, 'no name.' This one genuinely doesn't have one yet. I'm still thinking."
The comments turned into a festival all at once.
『Let's name it』
『Take suggestions in the chat』
『Black Katana』
『Night Sakura』
『Jet Black』
『Moonshadow』
『You met it in Tokyo, so — "Tokyo"』
『"Tokyo" lol』
"No — I'll think of it myself."
『Aww』
『Tell us when you think of it』
When I thought of it, I probably wouldn't tell.
Through the door — and there was a pond right in front of me again. ......Wait, had I walked back outside?
For a second I genuinely thought so. But no. The water was carpeted with cherry blossom petals, edge to edge. It was August, though. The pond itself glowed faintly blue, and a thin forest path wound in a loop all the way around it.
"Whoa, it's beautiful......"
『Gorgeous』
『Cherry blossoms in summer』
『Tons of people come here just to see this』
Just as I set off along the forest path, the water rippled.
Kingfisher Lancer Difficulty: C
A small blue bird. Small — but its beak was as long as a lance. It came flying at me in a dead straight line, skimming right above the water.
"——!"
Fast. I twisted, and the beak shot past just beside my cheek.
I swung Tva's katana as I turned. The grip clung to my hand, and the blade caught the fleeing bird dead-on.
『Fast.』
『Anyone see that just now?』
『One stroke even on a Tokyo C-rank』
『That katana fits him like a glove』
"This one is unbelievably easy to swing."
Floor 2 was a tangle of narrow wooden bridges strung out over the pond.
Halfway across one bridge, the water stirred. Several blue shapes down there — I counted five. A flock of Kingfisher Lancers.
"A whole flock?!"
All five came diving in just above the water, from every angle at once.
I twisted away from the first. Knocked the second aside with the katana. In the opening that left, the third went for my side.
On a bridge this narrow, there was no room for big dodges.
"——!"
My foot slipped — I caught myself on the railing. A beak grazed past my chest guard, leaving one white scratch across the indigo leather. Mom's.
Sorry, Mom.
Just as I steadied myself, the fourth and fifth came at me from both sides at once.
I dropped low. The instant the two crossed above my head, I swung the katana straight up and cut them both down together.
The remaining three wheeled around and came again.
This time I didn't wait. Kicked off the railing, leapt from bridge to bridge. One in midair, one on landing, and the last one with a backward cut as I turned.
"Hah, hah...... got it."
『Took down the whole flock』
『Way too good at fighting on bridges』
『Did the chest guard get scratched?』
"It did...... The old man might chew me out when I get home."
『The old man?』
『Armor shop guy, maybe』
Floor 3 had a little island floating in the middle of the pond. As I crossed the stepping stones toward it, big carp came leaping up out of the water, one after another.
Master Carp Difficulty: C
Golden carp about my size kept leaping up to slam into me.
I dodged the first. The second landed right on a stepping stone, flopping and thrashing around.
I timed my swings to the instant they leapt. One. Two.
The third shot up from directly beneath me and launched me — stepping stone and all.
"Whoa—?!"
And there, waiting mid-toss with its mouth wide open, was the fourth. I twisted in the air and drove the katana into that mouth. The carp burst into golden light.
I fell straight into the pond, then hauled myself, soaked to the bone, up onto the little island.
『Drenched lol』
『An explorer, launched by a carp』
『But that last thrust was cool, though』
"I'm soaked through, seriously. Day two in Tokyo, and I lost to a carp."
『You did win, though』
『He did kill every last one』
"......Oh. Right. I did win."
On Floor 4, white shapes were floating all over the pond. Swan boats — dead ringers for the ones outside.
"Huh? Boats?"
The moment I got close, the nearest boat's neck cranked around toward me — grrrit, grrrit.
Swan Golem Difficulty: C
"The boat moved?!"
『A swan boat lol』
『An Inokashira specialty』
『It's famous that this thing spawns』
『Everyone jumps the first time』
Swan boats — one, two, three — came gliding smoothly across the pond. Swinging their necks, jabbing with their beaks.
They looked like nothing but plastic, and the katana bounced off.
"Why?!"
Then where was I supposed to cut?
There was a seam only at the base of the neck, where it met the boat. I stepped in and put the blade there. The neck popped right off.
The swan boat, now just a boat, bobbed there on the water.
『The neck came off』
『Just a regular boat now lol』
『Looks rideable』
"Looks rideable, yeah."
I gave it a try. Pedaled — and it glided right along, smooth as anything.
『He got ON lol』
『A swan boat ride, in a dungeon』
『Looks fun』
『Less "stroll," more boat ride』
"It's a stroll. A stroll on the water."
『Stop insisting』
I pedaled on across to the far shore of the pond. When we got there, I kind of didn't want to get off.
Down on Floor 8, a small red hall stood in the very middle of the pond — a dead ringer for the one at the entrance.
Before it, the water swelled upward, hugely.
A white snake. A body as thick as a utility pole, its pure-white scales shedding the blue-glowing water in sparkles. And its red eyes met mine dead-on.
Benten's White Snake Difficulty: C (layer boss)
"It's huge — a white snake?!"
『Benten-sama's messenger』
『Floor 8's boss』
『This one's strong』
『A first-timer killer』
『It comes out of the water — watch yourself』
Just as the comments said, the white snake slipped smoothly under the surface.
Where would it come from? ......From under the bridge beneath my feet.
A chill shot up my spine, and I jumped.
The white snake's head burst up through the very bridge I'd been standing on.
"——! Too close!"
『He dodged it!』
『You can dodge THAT?!』
『Dodged the first-timer killer on his first look』
The white snake reared its body up out of the water, red eyes tracking me.
I had landed on the hall's roof. From there, I leapt at the snake's neck.
I swung the katana down. The blade bit into the white scales.
Too shallow. The scales were far harder than the Swan Golem's.
The white snake writhed, and threw me off. Half-falling toward the water, I grabbed a bridge railing and barely held on.
Then its tail whipped up. It meant to smash the bridge with me on it.
I let go of the railing and leapt for the next bridge — and the one I'd left snapped clean in two under the tail's blow. Spray came pouring down.
This time the snake's neck scythed in from the side. I ducked, and a wall of white scales swept past over my head.
I put the katana to those scales. Bounced off. Again. Bounced off.
"Damn it, it's hard......"
It wouldn't cut through the scales. Then — somewhere without them.
The eye. When I'd leapt at its neck, its face had been right there. Only just below the red eye, the scales had been thin.
The white snake sank under again. I knew the pattern now. Next time, from below.
I jumped.
The snake's head burst up through the bridge — and I came down right on top of it. My target: just below the red eye.
I drove the katana straight down.
The blade slid in, clean.
And the white snake sank, slow and easy, into the pond. From the surface, white specks of light rose dancing along with the cherry petals.
"Hah...... I did it......!"
I landed back on the bridge and put a hand to my knee.
『UOOOOOOO』
『It's down!』
『Benten-sama's messenger, down......』
『That thrust was way too cool』
『Tokyo C-ranks are a breeze too, huh』
『That did NOT look easy』
"It was not easy. Not even a little."
Sweat was beading on my face. Hard scales, attacks bursting out of the water. Fighting it the way I fought Nagoya's C-ranks, I probably wouldn't have won.
"But man, that was FUN!"
『That part's true』
『Can't see his face, but he's definitely grinning』
『He sounds like he's having a blast』
I decided to call it a day there. A promise to big sis: shallow floors only.
"That's it for today. Tokyo is the BEST!"
『Is the Tokyo edition continuing?』
『Streaming tomorrow too?』
"Probably. Tomorrow I'll dive somewhere, too."
『"Probably"』
『Zero trust in that』
『But we'll be waiting』
『Tell us when the katana's name is decided』
"I'll think about it."
『He has zero intention of telling us』
After ending the stream — before wrapping the katana in its cloth, I drew it partway from the sheath one more time. The hamon rippled up the black blade, faint and flickering. Cool, no matter how many times I looked. This was the katana I'd swung for the very first time today, here in Tokyo.
"A fine katana, you are."
"Big bro, I saw it. The swan boat!"
Back at the hotel room that night, this is what greeted me. Seina, bouncing up and down on the bed.
"Me and big sis watched from a cafe in Ginza. You were riding a swan boat! Ahaha."
"You were watching?!"
"I was. And my Picsta came up in the comments. Heh-heh......"
"Face!"
"Hah!"
"Oh, and big bro? You told them I named the channel, remember? My DMs are FLOODED with 'Tell us the name your big bro tried first!'"
"You absolutely may not tell them."
"Hmm, what to do~"
"I said you CAN'T!! My brotherly dignity is on the line here!"
"Hmm, what to do~"
From the sofa came big sis's voice.
"The white snake."
"Big sis, you were watching too?"
"Mm."
"How was it?"
......Huh, there was a pause. Wait — was it bad?
"......The second thrust."
"Yeah, and?"
"Good."
Praise from an S-rank. And she remembered which thrust, exactly. That made me really, really happy.
Before bed, I opened up the list of Tokyo's dungeons on my phone. Scrolling along, I kept sneaking glances at the shinai bag. I still couldn't come up with a name for that katana at all.
"Well — it's fine."
I'd figure it out while I was in Tokyo, thinking between swings.