ch181-ch200 · 190-ch190

Chapter 190: The Missing Person's True Identity

For lunch we decided on convenience-store onigiri from the dungeon's shop, eaten at the warehouse.

There are lots of people around, and being seen eating together wouldn't be good.

Kasumi-san went to buy the onigiri, so she's already back in uniform.

"These fillings are tasty too. Here, say ahh."

"Ahh. Your turn—say ahh."

"Ah... excuse me. Ahh. Mm-mm. Fufu, this is embarrassing."

Kasumi-san feeds me onigiri as if to show off to the golems, so I return the favor.

So convenience-store onigiri can taste this good, huh.

There are exactly ten limbless golems lying around the warehouse.

The ones that charged us earlier, of course.

They seem to be alive, but they can't move.

We're flirting in front of them specifically to prove they truly can't move.

I'd say we've established safety beyond doubt.

The real question is whether Soushi and the others will level up killing golems in this state.

A limbless sand golem was just barely something I could carry alone, so the metal ones look impossible.

We'll deal with those on-site, or I'll need Kasumi-san's or Mia-san's help.

"Hm? Isn't that Hayashi-san? She's coming this way."

A reaction on 【Presence Detection】—probably Hayashi-san.

She's hurrying toward us.

This is the warehouse area, a little off the main drag, so this must be her destination.

"Sakura, is it? You can tell that easily? ...Shall we step outside?"

Kasumi-san noticed the footsteps too, and after surveying the warehouse's state of carnage, the two of us quietly file outside.

If Hayashi-san sees this she'll definitely be thrilled, but then we'd have to explain how I carried them here.

She might need me for something, so I go out with them.

"Thank goodness, you're both together..."

"Both of us? Is something the matter with me, too?"

Hayashi-san lets out a sigh of relief at the sight of us.

"Yes. Adventurers who camped on Floor 14 yesterday came back, and one of them hasn't returned..."

"A missing person!? I'll head out at once!"

"Wait—wait, please. It isn't confirmed."

Kasumi-san's expression changes, and she starts toward the Association, but Hayashi-san stops her.

She was so happy about the crowds—but more people means more irregularities, I suppose.

And a missing person, huh... that's worrying.

"It isn't confirmed? What do you mean?"

"Supposedly, nobody saw the solo adventurer return to the campsite. Several parties saw him heading deeper, but when it came time to set the night watch, everyone they asked said they never saw him come back."

Hayashi-san looks at me.

"Is something the matter, Haruki-san?"

"The one who noticed and reported it was an adventurer from out of town. According to them, the solo adventurer seems to be Chiba-based, and wore a full-face helmet so they couldn't see his face—but his weapon was a spear."

"There are no Chiba solo spear users right now, are there..."

Kasumi-san looks at me too.

Officially, I'm in a party with Soushi and Aikawa, so I'm not solo.

Kasumi-san is officially in a party with Mia-san.

Well, being in a party doesn't stop you from diving alone, does it...

"By the way, what does your helmet look like, Haruki-san?"

"It has a visor that covers the whole face..."

Kasumi-san answers for me.

My helmet's visor comes down under the chin, and it lifts and lowers.

Kasumi-san's is the same type.

Soushi's visor only goes to around his nose—mouth exposed even when lowered.

Aikawa's is a half-helm with no visor at all.

"And where was Natsukawa-san yesterday?"

"On a date with Aikawa-san. The two of them went out again this morning."

"My, how enviable..."

Pressure radiates from both of them.

"That does sound like me. A party grilling orcs on Floor 15 called out to me, so I must have stuck in their memory. On the way back I slipped through the campsite with 【Presence Concealment】, so they probably just didn't notice me."

Yes, it was me...

I confess.

I actually came back by 【Gate】, though.

To think they were worried about me...

I'll have to be more careful.

"So that's how it was. I'd heard it was a movement-type skill, so I assumed you whooshed past too fast for anyone to notice—but 【Presence Concealment】 too. I see, I see. Truly impressive, Haruki-san."

Sasa-Haru—.

Hayashi-san praises me just as lavishly as Kasumi-san does, doesn't she.

All I've told people is that my special skill is movement-type, so they seem to picture some high-speed mover.

"Hah... Well, I'll check the 'Dungeon Gate' entry logs just in case. We'll run safety confirmations on Chiba-based adventurers as well. I'll speak with the worried adventurer myself. Let's go."

"Right."

Kasumi-san lets out a relieved sigh and turns to head back with Hayashi-san.

"Please stay quietly in place until Mia-san arrives. And no going deeper, either. Make sure to proceed with the work under Mia-san's supervision!"

Looking back, Kasumi-san drives the nail in.

"Haruki-san. The tide is coming in right now. If a Triple-Rank smith-grade master comes to us, that's like handing a demon an iron club. I'm sure it'll be fine, but mind your manners, please."

And Hayashi-san drives one in too.

"The tide, as in the flow of customers...?"

I hope I can keep them talking for a while yet.

︙

︙

"We're hooome. ...Wait, what is all THIS?"

Aikawa returns.

"Rocks? Why are there so many?"

Soushi is with her, arms completely full of luggage.

That's rough.

Come to think of it, that was me on Saturday, wasn't it...

"These are sand golems. We pull their magic stones and use them for power leveling."

"Ehhh? THESE are sand golems? They don't attack?"

"Way different from the iron ones. Can't make arms and legs out of sand, huh?"

You've got the wrong idea here.

They're not lying around like this by nature—I tore their limbs off and THAT'S why they're like this?

Besides, Soushi has seen limbless iron golems before, hasn't he?

But it's funnier this way, so I'll let the misunderstanding ride.

Go ahead and be surprised when you can finally reach the Floor 30s.

"So pulling the stone levels you up~. ...Hey? Can I try one?"

"Sure, I guess..."

Once Mia-san arrives, we can just go collect more sand golems on Floor 31.

Aikawa goes to fetch her sword.

She just got back, so she's still in her nice clothes.

Wouldn't changing first be the sensible move?

"HARD."

Kan!—Aikawa's sword bounces off.

Calling them sand golems or not, this is harder than sand.

I'd like to call it stone, but Stone Golems and Rock Golems are separate breeds—to express this hardness, "concrete" is probably the word?

There aren't concrete golems... right?

"That one's from Floor 31. Might be impossible without proper enhancement."

"Geez! Tell me that FIRST. 【Strength Up・Dance】【Endurance Up・Dance】【Agility Up・Dance】【Magic Up・Dance】【Weapon Enhancement・Dance】!"

Aikawa takes the rhythm and steps.

No MP cost means a 【Dancer】 can use her full buff set without a second thought—that's the job's strong point.

"Hyah! HARD. Nope."

She says "nope," but this time a layer shaved off.

"All I can say is keep at it... Ah, better put your status up. 【Status】."

I put mine up too, for what it's worth.

Standing farther away might concentrate the experience on the two of them, but for the first one, I'll watch up close.

"【Status】"

Aikawa hammers her sword against it again and again, and before the dance buffs wear off, the first sand golem's magic stone rolls out onto the ground.

"Ah, you leveled up!"

"Eh? Really? Ah—15! Yes!"

It went up properly.

Last time we stopped when Aikawa hit Level 14, so that's one golem for one level.

Power leveling is scary stuff.

"Me next. Give me the dance."

"Okay~! 【Strength Up・Dance】【Endurance Up・Dance】【Agility Up・Dance】【Magic Up・Dance】【Weapon Enhancement・Dance】! Here we go~. 【Dance・Let's】! Right, left, right, left. Left, right, left, right."

This time Soushi will extract a sand golem's magic stone, it seems.

Is it okay for me to stand back?

I move off toward the edge of the warehouse.

Watching from a distance, the two of them doing their step dance really is a sight.

Takes guts to do it in front of anyone outside the party.

"Hyaah!"

Oh? Soushi's hits hit harder.

The 【Cooking】-skill enhancement and the weapon difference, probably?

The long-handled kitchen knife driven straight down bares the magic stone in a single blow.

He pounds at it a few more times, finally pulls the stone out by hand, and holds it up to show me.

They got into it, and before Mia-san arrived, they'd taken down all ten.

Level 18, apparently.

But they ARE landing the finishing blows themselves.

That much more experience going in—so for Shiraishi-san, it'll probably take even longer?