ch101-ch120 · 113-ch113

Chapter 113: The Nighttime Phone Call Part 1

"So it would get taken down right away, then?"

"That is correct. Now, then—what would you like done about the person responsible in this matter? It isn't a crime grave enough for criminal charges, but through a civil suit, I believe we could punish them in the form of money. And on the Association's side, license revocation is also an option."

The mock battle with Kasumi-san took place inside the dungeon.

Which means whoever filmed that video has to be an adventurer.

Well, all they did was expose us—license revocation would be going too far.

I don't particularly need money either...

"If they reflect on what they did, there's no need to punish them at all. Have them post an apology online—on the web somewhere—and write it up in a way that makes license revocation sound like it was a real possibility. That alone should work as a deterrent."

"...Leniency is all well and good, but will you truly be all right? Did you see this morning's news?"

N-news...?

Which news story... think.

It's got to be something adventurer-related.

I could swear the 'Umemoto Incident' was all they covered, but...

Ah, could it be that one?

"The story about US Forces Japan trying to bring a railgun into the Yokohama Dungeon?"

Not the Kanagawa Dungeon managed by the Adventurer's Association—the Yokohama Dungeon, jointly administered by Japan and the US.

America once broke a dungeon and caused a major disaster, so dungeon conquest within its own borders hasn't progressed very far.

Civilian conquest is about on Japan's level—you could fairly call America a dungeon backwater too—and instead the country has steered toward amusements like 'Extreme Dungeon Sports'.

And so America set its sights on dungeons beyond its borders.

Among those, they're apparently putting particular muscle into Japan's Yokohama Dungeon.

In fact, some say it might actually be the most thoroughly conquered dungeon in the world.

The details obviously aren't public, but they've reportedly achieved total control up through Floor 46 and are now reskilling the respawns for magic stones, or something like that...

And they plan to bring in a brand-new, recently developed railgun.

Railguns themselves have apparently existed for ages, but this one is an outrageous piece of weaponry: it uses magic stones to generate its own enormous power draw on the spot—solving what you might call the railgun's classic weakness.

Since Japanese observers would be attached, they apparently asked for permission.

The one opposing all of this is the Adventurer's Association.

In the 40s-floor 'Purgatory Area', there's a chance the skeletons will come at you wielding the weapons that were used in Japan.

Skeletons firing railguns at us, huh...

If weapons used in the 40s floors are what come back, then the skeletons carrying them would be the Floor 50 boss's entourage.

Nobody knows a thing about Floor 50, but that's the prevailing theory.

Not exactly a story unrelated to me, either...

"No, not that one."

Wrong...

Was there any other adventurer news?

"It's overseas news, so you may not have heard of it. Are you familiar with the young man who holds the special skill 【Agelessness】?"

"Yes. He's from somewhere in Southeast Asia, right? He said he'd never set foot out of the dungeon for the rest of his life..."

【Agelessness】.

Just as the name suggests, presumably a skill that stops you from aging.

As long as he stays inside the dungeon he won't age, so it's believed he can never die of old age.

"Well, he went missing the other day. Judging by the circumstances, I'd say kidnapping is all but certain..."

"Huh."

Well, I suppose the final wall for the rich and powerful is always lifespan.

Of course they'd want to study a skill like 【Agelessness】.

By any means necessary, even...

"No 'Huh' about it! Your special skill, Haruki-san, is a different beast entirely from 【Agelessness】, which only affects a single individual. Its influence and its results are exactly what the great powers of the world desire. If it's ever found out, you WILL be kidnapped!"

I see, so that's what this is about.

I have no idea which countries "the great powers" covers, but the point is: punishing the uploader harshly would make for a better deterrent...

Would it, though?

"Come down too hard, and it's as good as announcing there's something to hide. So please—no punishment in this case."

"Mmmmm. So it would backfire... Very well. I will handle this matter accordingly. However, things are likely to stay noisy for some time, so it would be best if you did not come to the branch, Haruki-san. You have exams next week, yes? Please focus on your studying at home."

Hwah?

"But if I don't come to the branch, I won't get to see you, will I?"

"Exams are exams—nothing to be done about it. For the two weeks or so of exam season, I will endure as well. And let's wrap up the nightly calls early, so they don't interfere with your studying."

There's really no need for you to endure anything.

Oh, right!

"Um, would you be my tutor?"

This is it!

Turning a crisis into an opportunity.

Am I a genius?

"I would love to, but there's a chance the media and their reporters are staking me out. In this situation, I hesitate to visit your home, Haruki-san. Keeping you at home is meant to keep you out of the spotlight—if I came over, it would only make you more conspicuous than coming to the dungeon would. Studying alone is more efficient for exam prep anyway, so please do your best on your own until things settle down."

"B-but..."

I worked up the courage to ask, and got shot down.

No dreams, no hope left.

No motivation to study, either.

Might as well sleep...

"Let's hope your mother grants permission for the license's return... Haruki-san? Are you all right? Haruki-san?......... Hmm. Haruki-san, you said before that you wanted to try my home cooking, didn't you? If you earn good marks on your exams, I shall cook for you. And you will be celebrating my promotion to Triple-Rank with me as well, won't you? I'm looking forward to it, you know."

Hm?

The flow just changed.

Steady now—you don't actually know anything yet.

Too weak.

Location matters, too.

It could just end up a bento at the branch... which would make me happy as well.

But she said a celebration too!

"...And would that celebration be at your place, Kasumi-san?"

"Yes. I shall have to work hard on the cleaning as well. I'll be waiting for you."

UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Right arm thrust out in a guts pose.

Total victory.

︙

︙

Three weeks later.

The exams came back, and my scores were exactly the same as always...

My mother refused to grant permission for the license's return, and Kasumi-san has taken to worrying about my college entrance exams.

I gave it everything I had for one whole week, but reality is not so kind.

To begin with, I'd missed over a week of school before that, and lately I hadn't been studying at home either.

All things considered, I think I did pretty well—but I couldn't beat the exams...