ch421-ch440 · 422-ch422

Chapter 422: There Are Seven of Us

(Hm? This isn't Floor 50?)

Sleeping in the new place in the Chiba branch means sleeping inside the dungeon......

Which naturally means dreaming......

(The rain dungeon, is it?)

I can see rain falling.

But my body won't move......

No—do I even have a body?

My viewpoint is fixed, looking down at the 'Gate' of the rain-soaked dungeon.

Well, it's a dream; this sort of thing happens.

The same thing happened with that dream of my own house......

(I guess the Floor 50 dream counts as cleared?)

Since I cleared it, I must be dreaming something else now.

After a while, someone comes in.

(The goddess! ......No, not her.)

It's Mizuki.

She immediately opens a red umbrella, so her face disappears again—but this is the not-the-goddess goddess.

Which means this is Floor 1......

"Suu, haa. Suu, haa."

She's doing deep breaths.

The "breathing in the dungeon's fresh air instead of the city's" type of thing?

Hey, anyone who just thought "it's Chiba"—get out of this dungeon!

I'm getting out too!

'One boneless chicken, pleeease!'

(Loud.)

Huh?

This is a dream, right?

Someone's talking to me from inside my dream?

No—because it's a dream, this must be the dream's Mizuki......

'Oh, good, it connected. You two both had your phones unreachable—"somewhere with no signal"—so I figured you were in the dungeon.'

Come to think of it, since we're staying over, our cell phones are in the new place.

The net doesn't reach, but there are things you can still do on them.

Huh? When is this dream from?

(By the way, what's today's date, and what time is it right now?)

How many times has the Earth gone around?

'April 12th, a little before six...... Good morning. Were you sleeping, by any chance?'

Huh? That's today.

It should be nearly ten o'clock now, so this isn't a real-time dream.

A little before six would be before Mami-tan's group set out—normally I'd have been awake, on watch.

Why didn't it connect, then?

No—because it's a dream, I suppose?

(I'm sleeping.)

'That's what someone pretending to sleep would say. Did I wake you? Sorry for calling so early in the morning.'

No, I'm genuinely asleep here?

But at that hour I was awake, so "awake" would technically be the correct answer?

(Well, "awake" works too. What's up? I told you the dungeon is dangerous—no entering except for emergencies.)

'Ah—yeah, right. That's the thing, though. Today's the last day.'

(Last day?)

Last, how?

'I start university today—it's my entrance ceremony—and I'm moving out to live on my own. So, you know. Today's the last time I enter the dungeon. Which means I probably won't have any reason to talk with you again either, so I thought I'd say a proper goodbye. Graduation got all that attention too, and it ended before I could do anything about it.'

Oh. That kind of......

If we're talking anyway, the phone would......

No. That's no good, is it.

There'd be no point to a phone call.

Better not to......

(I see...... So it's the last time, huh......)

'Yeah. Thank you for everything. These three years were fun. We might never see each other again, so—take care of yourself.'

(Same here. Thank you for these three years. You take care, too......)

What was I supposed to say......

The gratitude was real.

But I figured I shouldn't say things like "let's meet again" or "we'll see each other again."

'Uh-huh. I'm gonna hang up, then.'

A tearful voice—and then the sensation of something quietly snapping off.

Mizuki stayed standing there for a while, but eventually she lowered the umbrella, and......

"Couldn't say it after all, huh......"

She tilts her face up a little, eyes still closed, letting the rain hit her.

I thought she looked far more beautiful than that goddess.

Simply, plainly beautiful—to the point that I felt sorry for having no better word than that......

How long did it last...... Mizuki opened her eyes, and vanished beyond the 'Dungeon Gate.'

What she couldn't say—was it goodbye, or......

Even I can figure that one out.

Mizuki...... I think she liked me.

That's why she kept sneaking into the dungeon to cast 【Telepathy】 on me, every time.

The phone wouldn't do......

Thinking about it makes my chest tighten.

Could a miracle like that really happen? I find myself wondering.

A genuine miracle......

But I have Kasumi-san. There's nothing I could do for her, no words I could offer her.

(Farewell, Mizuki. Farewell, my youth......)

I thought I'd made my peace back when I burned the photos—so why does my chest sting like this?

︙

︙

"So? How was the dream?"

We took it easy until two in the afternoon, and now we're in the middle of the lunch Shiraishi-san sent over......

At Ao-san's words, my eyes dart to Kasumi-san before I can stop them.

"?"

Nothing. Nothing at all.

"I had a different dream. Haruki?"

'Sword Saint-chan' answers.

"Me too, yes."

"In other words, our deaths on Floor 50 were averted. I'd say we're safe to think of it that way."

We'd gone over yesterday's dream while waiting for the bath, so the question had been about today's dream.

"If we just keep going as we are, I think. But in yesterday's dream, Haruki was in danger. He died, didn't he?"

"No, he was playing dead."

HP was still left, so it was fine.

"Why would you even do that?"

Yukiya-san cuts in.

"The dream wouldn't end, so......"

Waking up means that was the clear, I'd guess.

The dream was naturally supposed to move on to its next stage, but with no next crisis in sight, it must have drifted into a different dream.

"By the way, Chiharu—what did you dream about?"

"Shiori. First time in a while. Maybe because we talked about Shiori's house the other day."

Shiori...... I've heard that name before.

That time we went to the rain dungeon, wasn't it?

Kasumi-san's rubber boat nearly sank and the whole thing got brushed under the rug, but......

"You okay? Should we call it a day?"

Yukiya-san suggests stopping for today.

There's the grounded 'Queen' to think of, after all.

He's being careful about dreams, I suppose.

"Pointless. Once I sleep, I'll have the same dream anyway. Tomorrow too."

That's true.

Huh?

What am I dreaming tonight?

That earlier one counts as a dream, right......

It's not going to loop until I "handle it correctly," is it?

"Haruki-san, are you all right?"

N-Nin-nin.

"I'm probably fine. I imagine I'll have a different dream......"

I shouldn't have it again......

"If you two are fine, let's clear Floors 30 and 31 and be done with it. We have the maps, and with three 【Presence Detection】 holders it should be over quickly."

"Also, 【Gate】 is amazing. Being able to sleep properly is the best part."

"Plus the boss rooms are whatever, too. Then—shall we have Soushi-kun and Natsuki-san stand by for now?"

"Yes, sir~"

Yes, yes.

Then let's pack up and get ready.

︙

︙

"Haruki-kun, please."

It's 'Spring Shadow.'

"【Gate】"

I go through the 'Gate to Floor 30' last; once I've confirmed all five of us are through, I use the 'Left Hand Gate' and call in Soushi and Aikawa.

There. Completely against the rules.

Yep—seven of us.

We knew this was possible because we already ran the human experiment with Mia-san and Shiraishi-san back on Floor 10.

The true power of 【Gate】 is only now beginning to show itself, isn't it.

"Natsuki-san, hurry up with your prep. And you two, no talking."

"Yes! Here we go. Ready—start!"

—But Floor 30 needs data too, so we have to film it.

The fixed camera goes down first; Soushi and I wait behind it.

Soushi can contribute with his fujutsu, but me...... I mostly just stand there......