000-020 · 013-ch11
Chapter 11: Well, I Can, But...
"...I mean, I'll send you back and all... haah..."
In the end, that was the only option for me. If this were just about protecting my own life or something like that, I would have normally abandoned them.
But honestly, sending them from here to the surface is a piece of cake for me—I won't say it won't take time, but it's something I can do completely without difficulty. Plus, I have Robo, who can carry me and them on his back and shake off all the monsters in the dungeon.
In this situation, I could easily predict that abandoning them would leave a bad taste in my mouth later. Basically, I'm soft on people. My nature is hopelessly softhearted, so I had been avoiding getting involved with people because I wanted to do something about that.
"Thank you so much... I'll do whatever I can to repay you, so please, ask for anything."
"No, that kind of thing is fine... Wait a second."
I was about to refuse the offer of repayment from Ms. Amamiya, who said she'd do whatever she could, but I reconsidered.
What can they provide that I need? What is there that I can't obtain myself? I earn more money than they do, and besides, I don't need large amounts of money. For me right now, adventuring further into the dungeon is what I desire most of all.
So besides money... to be frank, I can only think of their bodies. And I don't have the courage to demand that. I haven't had that kind of experience either.
Anyway, perhaps there's meaning in the act of "receiving payment." Conversely, wouldn't "helping them for free" be problematic here?
"I've got something to consult with you about."
"Yes."
"What is it?"
"To be blunt, I have no reason to help you two. You understand that, right? Not just Ms. Amamiya, but you too. You know who I am, don't you?"
At my question, the two of them nodded with tense faces.
That's right, there's no reason to help. But as a matter of principle, or rather as an emotional issue, I don't want to leave them to die. That said, I don't want to take them down below either. So I want to send them back to the surface.
But I don't want to give a weird impression by helping them for nothing.
"So I want you two to prepare a reward. With that, I'd like to frame this as you hiring me."
"A reward, you mean? Like, money?"
"One billion yen per person."
"Eh..."
Ms. Amamiya gasped at my words. Meanwhile, the girl with the Kansai dialect was holding her head and looking down.
"By when do we need to pay the deadline?"
"I'm not saying right now... In 10 years."
"So you're giving us quite a bit of leeway..."
She probably didn't intend for me to hear, but she muttered that quietly. My ears are considerably sharper than ordinary explorers, so I heard it. I don't mean to fleece them, so this isn't meant to be paid within a year or anything like that.
Watching to see what kind of reaction they'd show, the two of them opened their mouths almost simultaneously.
"I underst- Kana-chan, eh?"
"Hey, can't you cut the stream? It's fine to just mute the audio. You have your smartphone with you, right?"
"...Yeah, okay."
Following the Kansai dialect girl's instructions, Ms. Amamiya operated her smartphone.
"What is it?"
"I can't see your true intentions, John-san. I'm grateful that you're willing to help. But you don't look like someone who's just after money. What's your goal, John-san?"
The girl with the Kansai dialect asked me this, completely discarding the polite speech she'd been using until now. She didn't seem to have a problem with the price. Well, it is a life we're talking about. In the literal sense, it's priceless. Especially in a special place like a dungeon.
But asking me this on the helping side—she has guts. She doesn't seem like the type of cunning person who's just trying to bargain. I wonder where her true feelings lie.
"...What would you do knowing that?"
"I'm fine. Whatever the reward, I don't mind even if you use my body. But if that would cause trouble for people on the surface, that's a different story. Is the reward you're demanding from us—me and Kana-chan, Hachijoji Akane and Amamiya Kanata—something you consider to be against us personally?"
"I see..."
The girl looked at me with a serious gaze.
She probably thought this was getting a bit indecent, so she cut the stream for now. An idol-like girl said the words "use my body." She also probably wanted to draw out my true feelings.
"In other words, you're worried that I'll destroy your agency using your debts as an excuse."
"I don't think you'd do that directly. But we don't want to cause trouble for the other girls. If it comes to that, I'd rather die here. That's how I feel. If that's the case, you can do whatever you want with me, but could you please just save Kana-chan?"
"A-Akane-chan...! No...!"
"Sorry, Kana-chan..."
Ordinarily, if you're in a team or party together forever, wouldn't you become family-like, helping each other no matter what? Maybe they're dreaming too much about being a party.
Or perhaps this girl, Ms. Hachijoji, is thinking that she doesn't want to cause trouble to others at a level that threatens their future because of her own actions. Even though they're top-class powerful explorers from an overall perspective, 1 billion yen per person must still be that heavy. It's not something that would end with a little trouble.
Well, I don't have any particular goal like that, so thinking about it is pointless. Or rather, I thought, 1 billion yen... well, it's really tough, but for two famous dungeon streamers, they can probably pay it back, right? Something like that.
But if they're asking seriously, I'll face them seriously too.
"Ms. Amamiya, is it okay to resume the stream?"
"Eh, ah, is that okay?"
"It's fine, it's fine. And then, either your smartphone or a backup drone, I want the camera facing this way."
Ms. Amamiya looked back and forth between me and Ms. Hachijoji as if troubled, but seeing Ms. Hachijoji nod, she operated her smartphone and took a backup drone from her pouch, floating it in front of me.
"Yes, it's fine."
After seeing Ms. Amamiya nod, I turned my gaze to the drone.
"Let me say this to everyone watching this, this time I'm being hired by these two. The reward is 2 billion yen, and the employers are two individuals, Amamiya Kanata and Hachijoji Akane, each for 1 billion yen. But don't misunderstand. This is a special case. Basically, I do what I want to do. If I'm not in the mood, I won't cooperate even if you pile up a trillion yen. It's fine if you want to approach me, but don't get in my way, alright?"
Well, if I'm in the mood, I might cooperate for even 100 yen. I don't know about now, though.
To be honest, I'm not going to deny that completely. This time too, even though it took an extra two days of trouble, if we're leisurely traveling through the deeper parts of the dungeon, two days is just a margin of error. In that sense, it's fine even if I help them for free. There's nothing I particularly want.
But it would be problematic if I become someone who easily accepts anything when I eventually come to the surface. Even if one or two things aren't a burden, I hate being constantly tied down.
Besides, having people think of me as "someone who can be conveniently used" is what I dislike most of all.
That's why I demanded a high price from the two of them, and like this, I'm firmly warning the others as well.
"So then, is it good to consider the contract concluded?"
"...You don't need a contract or anything?"
Ms. Hachijoji asked me, sounding as if she was gauging my reaction.
"I don't need it. It's not like I desperately need the money either. Well, if you ignore the contract, my trust will just drop from 0 to rock bottom, so don't worry about it."
"...1 billion yen, I will definitely prepare it. Please, I'm counting on you."
"I apologize for my rude manner of speaking. From my side as well, please. I will definitely prepare the reward."
With the two of them giving their consent in front of the camera, the contract was established.
"Then first off, can I ask you to stop using that stiff tone of voice?"
"Eh?"
"No, it was a serious conversation so that was fine, but it's annoying if you talk like that all the time. Just as usual is fine. Actually, since you're now my employers, I don't mind unless you're being too condescending—ordinary attitude is fine."
If it were like a secondhand shop owner, with a properly polite partner and a relationship between customer and clerk, that might actually feel more comfortable. Ms. Amamiya was already using polite language, but it wasn't stiff. And Ms. Hachijoji, the Kansai dialect without any reserve is her true self. The reason I made it a form where the two of them hire me was also to stand in an equal relationship with them in mind.
At my words, the two looked at each other's faces, and Ms. Amamiya opened her mouth timidly.
"I usually use polite language, so is it okay if I continue with polite language?"
"I'll talk as usual. Please take care of me, John-san."
"Ms. Amamiya, polite language is fine too. As long as it's not unnecessarily stiff, that's good. And Ms. Hachijoji, well... to be honest, I've seen you in videos before, so a serious-speaking Ms. Hachijoji just felt weird to me."
"I usually talk without holding back, you know."
Well, I suppose so. I watched her stream before, and she was a girl with a sharp tongue, speaking very directly. In her case, that seems to be popular with her fans. Judging by today's appearance, she's probably drawing a line somewhere. Besides, Kansai dialect itself seems rough to standard Japanese speakers. Maybe my prejudice was just too strong for being surprised that she could use polite language. Even when I heard conversations at a yakiniku restaurant, I didn't think they could talk like this.
In the first place, hierarchical relationships basically don't exist among explorers. Rather than not existing, it's a common understanding among explorers that inside the dungeon, even though there is a chain of command, you shouldn't worry about things like age or seniority. So even if they act overly respectful toward me here, it's troubling. That's not a healthy relationship.
"Then, I'll send you off now. Wait a bit while I prepare. Ah, I'm late to introduce myself, but call me John Doe. I have no affiliation as an explorer. Usually, I live in the dungeon."
"Ah, I'm Amamiya Kanata."
"I'm Hachijoji Akane. Nice to meet you."
While introducing ourselves, I took out a large tool from my wrist storage magical device.
"What is that?"
"A saddle to put on Robo. It might be fine with two people, but with three, it's not stable."
Making this saddle took quite a bit of trouble. In the end, I haven't used it much since I found a storage magical device, but when moving with heavy luggage, I sometimes tied bags and luggage to the saddle and had him carry them.
"Ah, John-san? Is it okay if I ask?"
"Go ahead."
"Could you explain to us what happened here and what we're going to do? I'd like to explain it to the viewers of my stream and my manager. Ah, and is it okay if you appear in the stream? If it's problematic, we'll try not to show you as much as possible."
She seems to be quite considerate toward me. Even though I said it's fine if they don't act stiff, being too close is also troubling, so this distance is just right and helpful.
"...I won't show anything that's problematic to be filmed, so don't worry. And so, about that small room from earlier—has it not been determined what that is yet?"
"Yeah. We came today to investigate that too."
"I don't remember clearly when I was being chased by the unique monster..."
"Well. That, you could call a transfer trap. That thing probably exists on all floors of the dungeon, but when you enter that small room, a magic circle activates, and you get warped to one of the magic circles among all floors."
Hearing this, Ms. Amamiya's face looked as if she was thinking about something, and Ms. Hachijoji asked to hear more details.
"About the warp, do you know the cause? If you know, could you tell us?"
"It's the magic circle. It's the same as when you step on a monster house trap—when you enter the small room, the magic circle activates and transfers the people and things inside the small room."
"Can we choose where we get sent?"
"There are small rooms and magic circles like that on each floor. You get randomly transferred to one of them. So that time, Ms. Amamiya was transferred to the very bottom, and this time, it was somewhere above the middle."
While we were talking, attaching the saddle to Robo was finished. As an extra, I took out rope and gave it to the two of them.
"This is?"
"Wrap it around your bodies and fix each other in place. If you get blown off while running, it's..."
"It's that fast? This is a wolf-type monster, right?"
"It's fast and it's not a straight trajectory. If you have confidence that you won't be shaken off while hanging from a fighter jet in combat, then it's fine."
"That's impossible."
"That's definitely impossible."
At my words, they obediently wrapped the rope around each other's bodies and fixed their distance at about 1 meter. Well, it's not as extreme as a fighter jet. But if he goes straight, he seems like he's about to break the sound barrier.
"Is this feeling okay?"
"Well, probably? As long as you don't get shaken off, it's fine. And then, Ms. Amamiya should be in the back with her feet in the stirrups, and Ms. Hachijoji should sit in front. And then—"
I instructed the two of them on how to ride to some extent. I had the small Ms. Hachijoji ride in a position where Ms. Amamiya hugs her from behind.
"What did you do when you carried Kana-chan to the surface?"
"...Well, anything is fine. So, if you don't have any other questions, we're leaving?"
"...You don't seem like someone who'd do weird things, so it's fine."
At my words and Ms. Hachijoji's words, Ms. Amamiya, who understood from the riding position of herself and Ms. Hachijoji to some extent, blushed her cheeks as if embarrassed, but I'd really prefer she not worry about it. Carrying one person on Robo was easiest with that position.
"Ah, um, are there any other details about that small room?"
"Ah...? That you get transferred when you step on it, and that the destination is random—about that much. Ah, and also, once it activates, it won't activate again unless everyone exits the small room. Like how only I came out earlier. And other than that...?"
"I think you should make it clear that the reason it wasn't discovered until now is that."
"Ah, I see. The reason that trap wasn't discovered until now is probably because everyone who noticed and activated it died."
"Hah?"
"...That means depending on where you're transferred, you can't be saved?"
"Depending is not it—they definitely won't be saved. If someone from the upper layers steps on it in the upper layers, at best they get sent to the middle layer, and from the middle layer, if they don't pull something like a one-in-a-thousand-something chance, they won't go to the upper layers. They've only explored down to the 4th layer from the top, so above that there are at most 3 layers, below there are over 100 layers—normally thinking, they'd get sent down."
"Are monsters beyond the deep layer that strong?"
"They're definitely stronger than the deep layer. Besides, even if you can defeat the monsters, you'll starve to death before you can return to the surface."
"Ah."
The two of them raised their voices, realizing they hadn't thought of that. Explorers, because they fight powerful monsters and endure the harsh environment inside the dungeon, tend to forget more basic things.
That people die without food and water.
"So deliberately stepping on a trap is really not recommended... well, if it's a clone it's fine—no, it's not fine, but something like just filming with a clone is self-responsibility if something happens. I don't know anything about that."
Even if you send out a clone and your body is in a safe place, it's not actually safe—that's the scary thing from the middle stages onward. No, really... I still think I survived well.
"And so, with that. To the surface, we'll normally go back through the dungeon from here."
"Can't we use this?"
Ms. Hachijoji pointed at this, the transfer magic circle.
"No, it's iffy. This is probably around the 30th to 40th floor, so there's a high probability of getting sent down."
"Is it no good to transfer multiple times?"
Ordinarily, you'd think of that, but there's a reason why that's not very good either.
"Even though it's random, there's a bias in the probability. The closer layers, both above and below, have higher probability, and the farther away, the lower the probability. So if the first one takes you deep, you might not be able to come back to here. Well, if you like gambling, it might be okay."
"Haah, so that's how it works."
"Then the reason I warped from the upper layer to the very bottom is—"
"That means your luck was incredibly bad. And today, my luck is bad enough to die. So normally, we're going back."
Alright, alright, I spiritized Robo to get him out of the small room, and then had the two of them come out too.
"Um, is it okay to continue streaming the images as is while moving?"
"Ah... sure, it's fine."
Streaming the state inside the dungeon is apparently quite common among explorers. That's because currently, the only means of communication connecting inside and outside the dungeon is streaming from inside the dungeon.
Therefore, even people who aren't Dtubers—dungeon streamers—don't do planned streams like streamers do, but instead broadcast what's happening inside the dungeon as a substitute for recording. And when they get in a pinch, by changing the title to 【Rescue Request】, people on the surface can grasp the situation, and when dangerous monsters are confirmed inside the dungeon, people write in the stream comments, making it possible to avoid danger.
So Ms. Amamiya streaming what happens from here until we return to the surface is a natural action as an explorer, and it's apparently important in terms of leaving a record later. Well, top guilds and the frontlines sometimes intentionally keep things non-public for the sake of concealing information.
"But the drone won't work."
"It can't keep up?"
"Yeah, it's impossible. If I hold it, it seems like it'll fall. Don't you have something like that?"
"I don't have one... Akane-chan, do you have anything?"
"Me? Hmm... Ah, I have a head camera I used a long time ago."
"Akane-chan... let's organize your pouch together later, okay?"
"S-shut up!"
It seems Ms. Hachijoji is the type who can't organize her belongings. Well, if you have a pouch or bag with the effect of internal space expansion, you can hold more things than it looks like, so you can get away without organizing.
Rummaging through her pouch, she took out a tool with a small camera attached to a band that goes around the head.
"Is it better if I put it on?"
"Kana-chan is in front..."
"With that height, you can only see in front, right?"
"Shut up! I'm paying attention too!"
"Ah, my bad. Well, either Ms. Hachijoji or Ms. Amamiya, whoever, please decide quickly."
Even if they say they'll leave a video record, there's no need to leave it completely. Or rather, with Robo's speed, the camera would just blur and not leave a proper image.
When I responded with that attitude, Ms. Hachijoji, who had frowned for a moment, opened her mouth.
"Hey, could you stop calling me Ms. Hachijoji? That 'Ms.' is from 'Ojou-sama,' right?"
"Hm? No, but calling you personally by your name feels kind of cheesy and I'm not good at it, and you don't feel bad being called 'Ms.', do you?"
"No, 'Akane' is fine. 'Hachijoji' is too long."
"...I see."
"Ah, I'm fine with 'Kanata' too. 'Ms. Amamiya' feels like the distance is too far."
Nodding at Ms. Hachijoji's words, Ms. Amamiya, as if she had made some determination, followed along.
"Ah, I got it. But calling by first name is a high hurdle, so Ms. Hachijoji is 'Akane-ojou.' Ms. Amamiya, should I call you 'Kanata-ojou' or 'Amamiya'?"
"That's fine. Or rather, 'Ms. Hachijoji' is way too long no matter how you think about it."
"Honestly, I thought so too."
"It's longer than me, after all. Ah, for me... 'Kanata-ojou,' please."
In the end, the two of them decided to be called by adding 'oujou' to their names. Well, it doesn't matter how they're called.
"So then, is Kana-chan putting on the head camera?"
"Yeah, I will."
>>Wait, is our stream going to stay completely dark like this?
As I watched Kanata-ojou putting on the camera, viewer-kun sent that comment.
"It can't be helped, can it? The drone can't keep up with Robo."
"I was wondering about this, but are you talking to someone right now?"
As I responded to the complaint in the comments, Kanata-ojou, who was operating her smartphone, asked me.
"Viewer-kun."
"Viewer, you mean—eh!? You're streaming!?"
"Really!?"
Not just Kanata-ojou, even Akane-ojou bit energetically.
"Ah, well, I was. The drone is already put away, so now it's just audio."
"What's the name of the channel!?"
"Leave that for now, it's fine."
When I said that, Akane-ojou firmly grabbed my arm.
"Ah, John-san. Do you realize how much you're standing out right now?"
"I understand."
"Is that so. Then, we're interested in that. Not just us, but many people are. So if you're going to tell us, we want you to. If you don't want to tell us, say so."
Hmm. So from their perspective, asking is a given, and if I don't like being asked, I should say so. Is that how it is.
"Then, I don't intend to appear on your two's streams right here, and I don't intend to tell you either. Is that good?"
"If that's the case, I understand. I won't ask anymore. Kana-chan, don't do it either."
"That's... yeah. I understand. I'm sorry, John-san."
"Ah, yeah."
Well, if I said it here, my channel subscribers would probably increase. But just increasing like that isn't very appealing. I don't particularly want many people, and if the one person watching now continues to watch occasionally, that's enough.
"So then, get on, get on. We're going back to the surface, right?"
I urged the two of them, whose attention was on my stream, to ride on Robo.
"Whoa, the back is big."
"I'm sitting... is it going to be okay?"
"Give me the rope."
Robo's back is big. When people ride horses, they support their bodies by gripping the horse's body with their legs, but in Robo's case, it's in the form of riding on the wide back. If Robo runs like this, normally they won't be able to support their bodies and will be blown off.
Me? In my case, I grab the skin on his back and I have more power than normal, so even on a wide back, if there's a slope and my feet reach, I can grip and ride even without a saddle.
"Okay, that's good. You properly wrapped the support rope around your arms, right?"
"Yes, I wrapped both hands. It's a bit hard to move..."
"As long as you don't fall off, it's fine."
I connected the end of the rope I tied to the two of them to Robo's saddle, directly binding them to Robo. With just this, even if their strength gives out, they won't be blown off.
Finally, I also jumped onto Robo's back, and by pressing my body against Kanata-ojou, who was sitting in front, in a form where I pressed against the back of Kanata-ojou in the two-person riding state, I grabbed the reins by reaching my hands out from both sides of them.
"Kyah."
"Sorry, excuse me a bit. This is the most stable."
"Hey, don't do anything weird, okay?"
"Would I, idiot?"
I don't think it's unreasonable for them to worry. But once we start running, there won't be that kind of leeway anyway.
"Then, we're departing. If possible today, I want to get to around the 10th floor."
How much progress speed will there be with two people riding? Also, I don't know if the two of them can keep up their physical strength. When it was just Kanata-ojou alone, she was sleeping and I could completely support and carry her, but this time, with two people, they each need to support themselves to some extent. Even though they're tied to Robo, due to the necessity of having three people ride, they can't be completely fixed like luggage, so I want them to do their best.
"Alright!"
"Please take care of us!"
"Robo, do your best."
『Bau!』
And then, simultaneously with my signal of kicking his stomach with both feet, Robo started running at once, reaching top speed.