chapter03 · 067-ep67
Episode 64: The Solo Deep-Layer Conquest Stream Begins
"Good morning, everyone, desu wa~! As announced, today I'll be streaming a solo conquest of the deep layers!"
It was a weekend morning, giving her the whole day to conquer the dungeon. Wearing the hair ornament Setsuna-sama had given her (in an illustration), and having finished making plans with Mafuyu, Karin started her stream looking tense.
"E-eek..."
The instant she clicked 'Start Stream,' the concurrent viewer count shot up by tens, then hundreds of thousands. Despite thinking she'd prepared herself, Karin swallowed nervously. Television and online outlets had spent the past several days reporting on her deep-layer attempt. It seemed to have drawn far more interest than the fabricated allegations.
She hadn't announced which dungeon she would enter, so the area around her was quiet. The chat, on the other hand, was in an uproar.
【SHE'S HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!】
【Do it, ojou-samaaaaaa! Blow those annoying allegations away with VIOLENCE!】
【We're cheering for youuuuuuu!】
【Now that it's come to this, go as wild as you want, Karin ojou-samaaaaaa!】
【But please don't push yourself! It's fine to retreat—your life comes first, desu wa!】
【Is this the stream where the crazy ojou-sama was expected to explain the allegations but decided to attempt a world record instead!?】
【Is this the insane high school streamer's channel!?】
【One look at that ridiculous dress should tell you everything!】
【She really goes dungeon diving in a dress...】
【Why is she in her usual dress TODAY, though!?】
【S-surely she'll change into serious gear once she reaches the deep layers...】
【You sure about that?】
【I've had a bad feeling about this since before it started...】
【What a coincidence, so have I...】
The comments came at an incredible pace and in incredible numbers. Operatives and opportunistic antis must have been watching today, but Karin's fans and neutral onlookers far outnumbered them. Thankfully, the negative comments were almost completely buried. With so many people already waiting, the stream passed a million concurrents in an instant.
As newcomers expressed shock and longtime fans offered encouragement, chat's mood abruptly shifted.
【Hm? Wait, ojou-sama, which dungeon are you at?】
【Come to think of it, she didn't say in advance. Maybe to avoid crowds or Black Tiger interference. Well, she never really tells us which dungeon she'll enter anyway】
【I don't think I've seen that scenery on any other dungeon stream...】
【Where is this?】
【Hold on... That mountain in the background—is this Okutama Valley Dungeon!?】
"Oh, well spotted! That's right, desu wa! Today I intend to traverse the deep layers here in Okutama Valley Dungeon."
Karin had responded partly to ease her nerves, but her bombshell sent viewers into another uproar.
【Hold on】
【What?】
【No way!?】
【Wait wait wait wait! Okutama Valley is a totally UNCONQUERED dungeon that goes all the way down to the abyssal layers!?】
【Unconquered!? Even the deep layers of a conquered dungeon would be dangerous enough!?】
【I thought she'd choose a conquered dungeon that only goes down to the deep layers!?】
【Forget the 'unconquered' part for a second—isn't this the high-difficulty dungeon Black Tiger's been opening up!? They bragged about reaching floor 3 of Okutama's deep layers, and remote observations say there are four floors in total!】
【They acted like it was easy, but lots of people got injured and they barely mana—】
【No fucking way lmao. Is Karin ojou-sama going to publish all the deep-layer intelligence Black Tiger worked so hard to get FOR FREE to the whole world!?】
【LMAO. Prove her innocence AND grind Black Tiger's pride and accomplishments into dust at the same time!?】
【Depending on how far she gets, Black Tiger's entire information asset could go up in smoke lol】
【This isn't thug behavior anymore. This is straight-up yakuza retaliation】
【Seriously...!? Did she choose an unconquered dungeon for THAT reason!?】
【A supposedly top-tier national clan hasn't conquered it even with everything they've got!? I believe in the ojou-sama, but this is way too reckless!】
【Talk about going in hard...】
【'Unconquered' means there are places NO HUMAN has ever seen before!?】
【Hey hey hey hey!】
【Is she serious!?】
【Karin ojou-sama, did you pick this dungeon on purpose!?】
"U-um..."
With chat exploding, Karin rummaged through her item box, pulled out a piece of paper Mafuyu had given her, and read from it.
"I chose this dungeon not as a slight against Black Tiger-sama, but because it is the only deep-layer dungeon close enough for me to visit from home in a day and inconveniently located for spectators to gather. There are no other reasons whatsoever, desu no."
【She's reading a SCRIPT lmao】
【Her best friend wrote that, didn't she!?】
【She sounds like the automated voice on a customer-service line lmao】
【This terrible actress of an ojou-sama cannot do subtlety...】
【W-well, even an obvious lie makes a big difference if they at least have a cover story...】
【That straight-faced excuse has her best friend's firm resolve to hurt Black Tiger in every legal way possible written all over it...】
【Even if it's a cover story, can you please not dive into an unconquered dungeon 'because it's close to home' like you're giving a half-assed reason in a job interview!?】
【Wait, she really IS going into an unconquered dungeon!?】
【That means some floors have practically zero information available!?】
【Will she really be okay!?】
"There is no need to worry!" Karin said, puffing out her chest after putting the note away. "Conquered or unconquered, I can hardly gather any information beforehand either way. There isn't much difference, desu no!"
【No no no no!】
【Hey hey hey hey!】
【'Hardly any information' and 'NO information' are worlds apart in the deep layers...】
【Also, aren't huge dungeons that reach the abyssal layers harder than ones that end at the deep layers? Something about the mana being denser!】
【Huh? They said a high school girl was going for a world record, so I expected a prodigy. Does she just have a few screws loose...?】
【You've noticed, newcomer ojou-sama...】
【Even longtime viewers like us are stunned every time Karin ojou-sama finds a new way to outdo herself...】
【Stop calling her stupid, everyone! She came up with the clever move of challenging a world record to counter Black Tiger's dirty information war! A master strategist!】
【That sounds like her best friend's idea, though】
【She's the kind of 'master strategist' who solves a wire puzzle by crushing it with brute strength】
【Knowledge is power. Therefore power is knowledge...】
"Well then. Now that everyone has had time to gather while we greeted each other, I think we should begin the conquest..."
Karin stepped into the dungeon, ignoring the bewildered chat, but then paused at the stream display. The viewer count was much higher than she'd expected. A million and a half—an extraordinary number only minutes after starting.
(Mitsuki-sama's live commentary stream promoting mine is probably helping, but even so, this number is seriously insane...)
She shivered at the sight. This stream was critical to dispelling the allegations. Its reception and the outcome of her conquest would profoundly affect what happened next. She also had something she wanted to do in the lower layers today. She didn't want to bore all these viewers spending time on the upper and middle layers, which everyone already took for granted that she could conquer.
So—
"Yes. Right, I know! It seems no other explorers are here, since Black Tiger-sama is the main clan exploring this dungeon... so let's take a shortcut through the upper and middle layers!"
From her item box, Karin drew a large sword in a newly crafted sheath: Mongolian Desu-Worm, one of the famous blades she'd made with <Divine Artisan>.
【Eh?】
【What?】
【Ojou-sama, what are you...】
"Then, using the swordsmanship Mitsuki-sama taught me, let the conquest of Okutama Valley Dungeon begin, desu wa!"
ZPAPAPAPAPAPAPAPAN!
She delivered silent slashes too fast for the eye to follow—and naturally, the dungeon's upper-layer floor, cut to pieces, caved in. Karin fell almost nonstop, heading straight down through the upper layers 'vertically.'
【WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?】
【What the hell is this ojou-sama doing in front of 1.5 million concurrents!?】
【She sliced the dungeon floor into pieces, fell through, and before she even landed, destroyed the NEXT floor and kept going down!?】
【Nonstop ojou-sama!?】
【She's so damn fast lmao. She'll clear the upper layers in minutes】
【She stands accused of faking a dungeon cave-in, and the FIRST thing she does on her defense stream is destroy a dungeon!?】
【Does she WANT to prove she's innocent!?】
【W-well, she's cut out dungeon walls before, so maybe it's nothing new...】
【Everyone already knows she can slice dungeon walls. Maybe she's thinking 'as long as I conquer the deep layers, this'll be water under the bridge'】
【Even so, opening with dungeon destruction is crazy!?】
【Looks like we were STILL underestimating this ojou-sama's insanity...】
【See!? I told you a crazy brat like this could NEVER pull off something as clever as staging a disaster!】
【↑ Hey, is this Kagerou's alt account?】
【I'm going to check this account】
【I'll help】
【Me too】
Clips of Karin's outrageous dungeon conquest spread instantly, even though the stream had only just begun. In a matter of minutes, she dominated the trending lists on social media. Her concurrents hit two million in a flash, while Karin picked up speed and plunged farther into the dungeon.
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Thank you to all the ojou-samas who reported typos in the last episode, desu no! I quietly fixed them!
And Ojou-sama Buzz has now reached 20,000 followers! And 16,000 stars!
It's genuinely thanks to all your support! If you'd like to help even more readers discover the ojou-sama, I'd be delighted if you left a star or followed the story, desu wa!
(I'm reading your recommended reviews too! They make me ridiculously happy, desu wa!)
Also, the cover of the print edition is up in my author's notes, so do take a look! Karin ojou-sama and tiny Mafuyu-sama look absolutely adorable!