ch161-ch180 · 173-ch173

Chapter 173: The Runaway Girl Goes Home

The next day.

We're meeting up at the station nearest the Chiba branch, first thing in the morning.

Yesterday, after all that, Kasumi-san bought me clothes.

Then my mother saw what I had on and started butting in—no, not like that, not THIS—and the two of them got dead serious about picking outfits.

Women love clothes shopping, huh...

I was just a dress-up doll, but it was honestly exhausting.

It was still early when the shopping bags filled up and we called it a day.

I thought about hailing a taxi, loading my mother up with the bags, and sending her home alone—but Kasumi-san stopped me.

To Kasumi-san, letting one's mother-in-law travel home alone is unthinkable.

Considering what's to come, anything that puts my mother in a bad mood is off-limits.

So we each took a taxi home.

What's to come, huh...

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Good morning, Haruki-san."

"Morning, Kasumi-san. I wasn't waiting at all. Today's outfit suits you too—lovely."

It's ten minutes before the appointed time, but we've already joined up.

Good thing I came early.

Today Kasumi-san is wearing crisp, suit-like clothing.

She always wears the Association uniform well, and it really suits her.

I'm wearing the jacket she bought me yesterday—not wearing a tie, but I'm dressed sharp.

The clothes she bought me before were jacket-type things for proper occasions too. Maybe she likes this sort of outfit on me?

Or maybe... it's just that this kind of clothing happens to suit me...

"Thank you. Well then, shall we go?"

Hm? The Love-Love Strategy isn't working?

Normally I get to see Kasumi-san get all flustered and adorable...

Is she nervous because it's a date?

I follow along as she sets off.

"Where are we going today?"

I still haven't been told the destination.

She's heading into the station, so maybe a different dungeon?

Starting with Saitama's sea dungeon—Okinawa even has a snow-mountain dungeon—and there are plenty of prefectures that gave up on conquest from the start and went all-in on tourism and leisure.

Doesn't exactly mesh with the government policy of having civilians collect magic stones to stabilize the power supply, but the prefectural coffers fill up nicely, so.

Magic stones still can't quite be called plentiful, so lately there's even talk of giving each prefecture a second dungeon.

"Um, it's still a secret."

Hm? A surprise?

Okinawa's out of the question from here, obviously, but Saitama's possible, right?

A surprise at the beach, in swimwear!

I think that would be an excellent idea.

No, more likely something ordinary like an amusement park.

But the train we boarded is headed toward Tokyo, so the HQ dungeon is the most likely candidate so far.

"Come to think of it, after our phone call last night, messages came from Soushi and the others too."

The nightly call with Kasumi-san ended just past eight, but until then Soushi had apparently been helping unpack inside the dungeon and talking things over with Aikawa.

He was inside the dungeon, so there was no reaching him.

Soushi's mother was probably worried too.

She could use a fridge over there as well.

"And what did the two of them say?"

Mia-san had already messaged me, so I knew they were safe.

"'Soushi: it was an ordeal.' 'Aikawa: went gaga over the big-sister helpers Soushi brought along.' That's about all they wrote. I also told them to stay out of the depths today—quietly run skill experiments on Floor 1 or something."

Mia-san has her own shop move to handle too, so I hope they help with that and stay out of trouble.

Telling them "don't dive because I'm not there" would be rude, but throwing a runaway girl into the dungeon the day after yesterday feels wrong.

"Mm. That must have been quite the ordeal. It was the right call not to let you go, Haruki-san."

"I'm devoted to Kasumi-san and Kasumi-san alone—I won't go gaga over other big sisters, you know?"

"Mm? Truly?"

"The clerk heaped praise on me yesterday and it didn't affect me at all, did it?"

"True. Fufu, I believe you. Ah—let's get off here."

Oh, she laughed.

She seemed a bit tense this morning, but her mood's improved, it seems.

"Huh? Is this the HQ station?"

This is the station where the Association headquarters is.

The plan was to keep our distance from HQ...

There's also the university hospital where Dr. Amamiya works, near headquarters.

Maybe that one?

"No, we're transferring."

Neither of those, apparently.

The direction we transfer to is the opposite of Saitama.

Sadly, no sea, then.

Farewell, swimwear...

What's in this direction... 'The First Dungeon' under the National Diet Building?

Not that we can't enter it, but it's reservation-only and the screening is strict, I believe.

It's managed by the SDF, not the Adventurer's Association, so there's no town on Floor 1.

Just SDF facilities and a magic-stone power plant, if I remember right...

No rental weapons either, so we'd be going bare-handed.

And given it's the National Diet Building, carrying weapons anywhere near it means arrest.

(We're not getting off here, though. This should have been the station...)

Not 'The First Dungeon' either, apparently.

Could it be... not a dungeon at all, but an ordinary date?

No, thinking about it normally—of course it is...

My heart's starting to race.

Chatting about Mia-san's exploits yesterday while the train sways along for about thirty minutes...

"We transfer again at the next stop."

Another transfer here...?

Crap, I know nothing about getting around Tokyo.

(Tokyo Tower looks close by, so maybe around there?)

Yet another transfer, and by the time we got off at the station she announced as "this one," we'd already walked past Tokyo Tower.

Kasumi-san bought something at a shop near the station and handed it to me, then we walked for several minutes...

I have no idea what's in this area, but it feels residential.

One of those upscale Tokyo neighborhoods, is it?

"We're here. This is the place."

"Um, this is...?"

A bit big, but it looks like an ordinary house.

"Um, ...this is... my... family home."

"Fweh?"

"S-SURPRISE!"

Pyeeee—