ch421-ch440 · 421-ch421

Chapter 421: Harukiage

"Mmm."

I wake up.

Looking to the side, Kasumi-san is already up, looking down at me.

"......"

Behind her, 'Sword Saint-chan' sat up as well.

Did she wake at the same time as me?

The dream's Kasumi-san isn't the same as the Kasumi-san whose dream she was watching—should I take that to mean she woke up first?

"Mmm-mmm-mmm?"

"......"

'Sword Saint-chan' is looking at me—or rather, alternating between Kasumi-san and me.

'Say it,' is it?

"......Chiharu-san?"

"Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm!? What is this? What happened to the rule about calling my name first thing when you wake up!?"

There's no such rule, but......

"Drop the '-san.' That's the deal."

There's no such deal either, you know?

"Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm!! Since when was that the deal!?"

"If you don't remember, never mind. Kasumi was a dream—that's all that was. Was Haruki a dream too? If not, call me."

Uh, it WAS a dream, though?

Well, I suppose this confirms we all dreamed the same thing.

More to the point—it's not 'Haruki,' it's 'Spring Shadow.'

There are people awake on watch, so you'd better be careful......

"Nobody told me to drop the honorific. ......Chiharu-san."

"Good. I'm glad."

Chiharu-san smiles, bright and beaming......

Whoa. A girl who almost never smiles, smiling right into my eyes.

That is some serious destructive power.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mm—! You said it twice! And you haven't called MY name once!"

"Yes, yes, Kasumi-san, Kasumi-san."

I only got my eyes stolen for a second, but they say women are strict about this sort of thing.

Better call her twice, properly.

"What kind of response is that!? No feeling in it whatsoever! I demand a redo. Go back to sleep!"

From there?

There's a chance I'd just dream again, so no thanks.

"No can do—I'm 'Spring Shadow,' so you'll have to ask someone else for that."

Nin-nin.

"Oi, quit the racket. If you're up, switch out. And...... 'Summer Shadow,' get breakfast ready."

Scolded by Yukiya-san, 'Spring Shadow' takes over the watch from 'Summer Shadow.'

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"It really is a desert, isn't it~? That outfit looks hot—are you okay?"

The last group, Mami-tan and the others, breaks through to Floor 21.

Mami-tan comes right up beside 'Spring Shadow' and starts chatting.

Wait—did nobody chat with 'Spring Shadow' yesterday about him being different from the usual 'Spring Shadow'?

"Nin-nin."

"Right, right~"

I-is she understanding me?

The 10s floors were wasteland, but the 20s floors have even less water—a full-on desert area.

Unlike ninja-me, swimsuit-clad Mami-tan looks nice and cool.

No wait—actually, the sunlight is so strong it feels dangerous......

Dungeon UV is supposedly less than half of what it is outside, but can her skill bounce UV too?

Only my eyes peek out from the hood—what if I get home with just the eye area tanned?

"Everyone's here. Then, a few checks before we set out. First, the route: we're a big group, so we take the shortest path. What spawns are scorpion monsters, so be very careful of their tail venom. And it's hot, so don't forget to hydrate."

Ao-san briefs us on the 20s-floor precautions.

This dungeon has been surveyed up through Floor 31, so both the monsters and the positions of the 'Gates to the Next Floor' are already known.

This time we go straight through, rather than detouring along the low-monster routes.

They've apparently prepared serum just in case, but taking venom means absolute bed rest.

That would cost us Floor 40, so we especially can't afford to get hit.

Incidentally, the 30s floors have snake monsters that are venomous too, so they've arranged an antidote specialist outside the dungeon, apparently.

'Blue Ocean' is a national treasure, after all.

Come to think of it, Miko-san came back the day before yesterday.

The antidote specialist—just how many of them did they line up, I wonder......

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"I'm exhausted~ Oh, and thank you for earlier."

Several hours of crossing the desert.

By the time we reached the spot before the 'Gate to Floor 30,' the sun was already going down.

It was SO hot. Brutal.

We're supposed to wipe off the sweat in shifts after this, but I'd rather go home and take a bath.

Well, once we send Mami-tan's group off tomorrow morning, we can pop back through the 'Gate' for a break, so it's fine......

Will these girls be okay on the way back?

They seemed to be struggling with the Floor 29 scorpions, so I lent a hand......

"Nin-nin."

"Oh, we'll take the detour route on the way back, so we're fine? We've still got MP left, so we can manage with our skills wide open. Go on ahead without worrying! Still though, 'Spring Shadow'-san really was strong, huh. Honestly, I had my doubts—but you're way stronger than little old me~"

She understands me completely.

Though, the 'Spring Shadow' over there really is a total amateur, you know?

I've never met him.

If she throws one of her hard retorts at him by mistake, somebody's getting seriously hurt—just be careful about that part, please.

"Harukiage-san...... Apparently Kinoshita-san wants to discuss the watch order."

Ouch. That name hurts.

I was going to raise the watch roster myself, but as expected of Ao-san.

We get to rest properly starting tomorrow morning, so the plan must be to let Mami-tan's group sleep.

The rumor that insect-type monsters are especially strong held true: the scorpion monsters are hard AND venomous.

And once night falls it's dark, which makes everything more dangerous.

I'll stay up all night.

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"Well then, we're off! Once we're out of the dungeon, we're going to try that stylish shop 'Spring Shadow'-san told us about!"

The next morning, we saw off the support members—including Mami-tan, who kept turning back to wave at us.

"When did you two have that conversation?"

"N-Nin-nin."

Not me, right?

That was the other 'Spring Shadow.'

There's no way I'd know any stylish shops.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm? Don't tell me you even promised to go together?"

She's not getting it!

"Yawwwn... sleepy. So? Do we clear Floor 30 and then head back? Or rest first, then take Floor 30?"

Once Mami-tan's group was out of sight, Yukiya-san asked between yawns.

Yukiya-san and Ao-san were up all night too.

"Better to head back first. Harukiage-kun, over to you."

They can't see us anymore, so normal names would be fine now, but......

From here on it's a survey as well, which means filming.

Someone has to be careful nobody slips up.

Incidentally, I'm the camera operator—the camera's an Association issue.

If I'm the one holding it, I don't show up on film.

"Nin-nin."

Ninjutsu: the 【Gate】 Escape Jutsu, and all that.

"Oh, come to think of it, this is my first time at that house."

After watching the last of them, Yukiya-san, step through the 'Left Hand Gate,' I follow.

And beyond the 'Left Hand Gate' is not a warehouse but a beautiful room.

Behold—our new place!

"How are we doing bath order?"

And yes, it has a bath.

Since we'll be staying over more and more from here on, we rented a house in the Chiba Dungeon with proper plumbing.

It's registered under Shiraishi-san's name, so nobody should suspect our involvement—or so I'd like to believe.

"We can wait—ladies first."

Smoothly deferring. As expected of a ninja.

"I'll go first, then. Bath, then bed."

"Aikawa-san, you're next."

"What about the boys?"

"Rock-paper-scissors works, no?"

"I'm gonna fall asleep before my turn comes."

"Nin-nin."

"Oh—my bad, Haruki. You're last, then."

Ugh. Got me.

It's spacious with plenty of rooms, but there's only the one bath.

And there are seven of us.

My turn in the bath came over an hour later.