ch81-ch100 · 093-ch93

Chapter 93: Where Did My Right Hand Go?

"What... is this?"

Kasumi-san noticed it.

There's that "what is this?" again—first time in a while.

"This is my special skill."

Clank, clank—Kasumi-san comes closer, armor ringing with every step.

Heavy plate really does make a lot of noise.

Maybe it's not for me.

"You mean touching this lets you move faster?"

Well, in terms of results, yes...

Kasumi-san reaches hesitantly toward the 'Gate.'

Hm? The 'Gate'? It's over on my left, isn't it?

"Um, my skill seems to be acting up a little, so could you wait a moment?"

"...Skills have days when they act up?"

She says this while pulling her hand back.

Don't they, though?

I mean, I literally can't get through right now.

(Did I mess up and summon the 'Left Gate' instead?)

I should have produced the 'Gate' from my right hand, but for some reason it appeared on my left side, between me and Kasumi-san.

But if I'd summoned the 'Left Gate,' then the 'Right Gate' should have appeared in the middle of the warehouse.

I look at the center of the warehouse... Nothing there.

"Hmm? One more time. [Gate]."

I hold my right hand toward the direction opposite the currently visible 'Gate' and use the skill.

"Oh my, you can produce another one? A 'gate,' is it? Now that you mention it, it does look rather like a 'Floor Gate'...?"

And now there's another one.

(Did I mess up and move the 'Left Gate'?)

I try putting my hand into the 'Right Gate.'

...It went in.

Huh?

If I put my hand in from this face, it's supposed to come out of the 'Left Gate' on my side, isn't it?

Has the direction gone weird too?

"Kasumi-san, what's happening on that side's faces?"

"How is it? Nothing in particular? Haruki-san, what are you—? Hmmm."

Clank, clank—Kasumi-san moves around behind me and the 'Right Gate.'

"H-Haruki-san. What has happened to your right hand?"

Comparing the front and back faces, Kasumi-san notices that my right hand is gone.

"That's what I'd like to ask. Where IS my right hand right now?"

Shouldn't it be coming out the other side of that 'Gate'?

Where did my right hand go?

"Ehh? Is that okay? Ah—wait, is this the special-skill version of 【Storage】? ...But your special skill was movement-type, wasn't it? Hmmmmm."

"No, it's definitely movement-type. Ah—of course. [Scouting]."

Using 【Scouting】 through the inserted right hand, I probe the surroundings.

Hmm, hmm.

Dirt on the ground below.

Stones scattered around, grass-like stuff growing here and there.

Probably outdoors, so not the warehouse.

It's spacious.

...Feels like Floor 30.

The 'Left Gate' should still be parked in the Floor 30 boss area, after all...

(Then what's the 'Gate' over there?)

"Are you searching the inside of some 【Storage】 with 【Scouting】? But it's movement-type? So putting your hand in lets you move faster after all? Hmmmmmm."

Kasumi-san has fallen deep into thought.

My bad.

I'll give her the answer first.

"I'm sorry. I have a pretty good idea what's causing the glitch, so let me explain. First: my special skill is called 【Gate】. It's a skill similar to a 'Floor Gate'—it summons and places a paired set of two 'Gates.' You move by passing through them, same as with 'Floor Gates'."

"【Gate】... I see. So that's how it is."

Kasumi-san, now certain of something, clanks over—this time toward the 'Mystery Gate.'

"Haruki-san, please put your hand in."

Ah, that's not quite it...

But thinking so, I put my right hand into the 'Right Gate.'

"...It's not coming out."

Kasumi-san checks the Mystery Gate's front and back, but my right hand shouldn't be coming out of there.

She comes back around and checks the 'Right Gate's back face too.

"Hmmm. Where is your right hand, Haruki-san?"

"That's the problem. About the glitch—apparently my special skill has evolved, and it seems a third 'Gate' has appeared. The one over there is the third 'Gate.' It's a first for me, so I was pretty confused about what was happening."

Yes—my special skill had apparently evolved, or grown, and now I could produce a third 'Gate.'

"Found it!"

Kasumi-san claps her hands—a "pon!", no wait, a "GASHAN!"—and says with a big smile.

Found WHAT?

"Your special skill's condition. That's right. It does have one."

Huh? Skills have good days and bad days?

Kasumi-san moves around in front of me, slips a hand under my arm, and lifts me straight up.

Eep.

"Haruki-san really is light."

A beaming smile.

And since she's looking up at me from below, it turns—entirely by accident—into an upturned-gaze pose.

What do I do? This is ridiculously cute...

"..."

Our eyes met.

Gently, softly, she lowers me back down.

"Sorry for the surprise. I was just so happy, I couldn't help myself."

Happy? About what, exactly? I mean, I was happy just now too.

"Earlier I was testing my own special skill—the one that should have evolved—but it would work, and then it wouldn't... And then your words, 'the skill's condition,' suddenly clicked for me just now. It felt like we were sharing the same experience. That made me happy..."

Kasumi-san's special skill, 【Equipment Weight Reduction】, never used to activate on humans—but apparently it evolved, and it worked on me.

So she'd been testing whether it now worked on people other than me... I see.

"I think I've got the knack now—may I lift you once more?"

Asked with a smile like that, refusal is impossible.

She can lift me as many times as she likes, honestly—though I'd prefer it when she's NOT wearing armor.

"Of course. Go right ahead."

I spread both arms in an easy-to-lift pose.

"Haruki-san is much lighter than Fuyutsuki-san. I can barely feel any weight at all."

Fweeeh...

This time she gets her hands under my waist to lift me, so I'm higher than before.

This is scary, you know...

Wh-who's Fuyutsuki-san?

After being jostled up and down a few times, I'm gently lowered again.

Ah, closer than last time...

"Haruki-san really is special, after all. Ah..."

Our eyes met again.

That's right...

Kasumi-san is special to me too.

"Um, Haruki-san. ...I... Haruki-san is... S..."

BANG BANG BANG.

Someone is pounding on the kitchen door.

'Watanabe-san. You in, ssu? Kasugano-saaan. Came to return the card key, ssu.'

"P-p-p-please wait just a moment."

"Ah, yes."

Clank, clank, clank—Kasumi-san approaches the kitchen door one step at a time...

The door clicks open.

And there's the newbie.

"Ah, Watanabe-san, ssu. I forgot to return the card key earlier, so I hurried back to return it, ssu. Wh-what is it, ssu? You're mad, ssu? I-I just forgot, that's all, ssu. You don't have to be THAT mad, ssu."

Ah, right—she was the one helping send the Orc General armor off to Mia-san...

So the newbie was the one holding the card key.

By the way, when we came in earlier, Kasumi-san opened the door with her own license.

She'd looked a little smug about it then... Her expression right now is unreadable from here.

Apparently, she is furious.

"Thank you for going out of your way. ...By the way, Fuyutsuki-san. My special skill's condition is good right now—could I ask for your cooperation once more?"

A stunning revelation.

The newbie was Fuyutsuki-san.

"Huh? Skills have conditions, ssu? But yes, ssu. Like earlier, ssu. That much is fine, ssu. ...Hm? WhaaAAAat the—ssu"

It turns out Kasumi-san is the toss-you-up-in-the-air type when playing 'airplane'...

Apparently she's completely mastered the knack of her special skill now.

I was inside the warehouse, so I couldn't see exactly how high she threw her, but let the record show the hang time was considerable.

︙

︙

"So, this special skill of yours, 【Gate】—how far can it take you? Anywhere you like on this floor, perhaps?"

After Fuyutsuki-san, aka the newbie, fled back the way she came, Kasumi-san asks as if nothing happened.

"Um, there is one condition—one of the 'Gates' has to be already placed somewhere—but I can move much deeper down than this."

"Deeper? Don't tell me you can move between floors? ...No, wait, that would explain everything. The impossible clearing speed. The missing magic stones along the way... Ah! Within this dungeon, placing 【Gate】s would let you move anywhere you like. Is that it?"

The suspicions just keep piling up.

But no. That's not it.

"No, not quite."

"Hm? Ah, so floor-to-floor movement really was impossible? Hmmm, then what do you mean, 'deeper'?"

"No, that's not the point. I can move to other dungeons too."

"...Huh?"

"I moved from the HQ dungeon, remember. From the park near Mia-san's shop to this dungeon's Floor 19."

"F-from THAT park? The one with the memories? When did you even...?"

The park with the memories...

Well, it IS where I confessed to her.

Maybe I should make a point of stopping by that park every time we go to HQ...

Wait, no—I can't even go to HQ, can I...

This is a problem.

"Please wait a moment. This is too much information—I can't tell what's what anymore... Let's set the inter-dungeon travel aside for now."

Kasumi-san holds her head in her hands.

"You moved to Floor 19, which means you can move to other floors too. That is incredible. It overturns everything we know about conquering dungeons. A skill everyone would covet... With one person like you in a party, even Floor 40 wouldn't be a dream. No—look at the size of these 'Gates.' They are bigger than 'Floor Gates.' You could carry anything down to the depths... And in an instant, at that?"

I nod along to Kasumi-san's questions.

"You can't be serious...? The major corporations, the clans—no, not just Japan, every country in the world would want this skill. With you, Haruki-san, even Floor 50 is within reach... Haruki-san, you must tell no one about this skill. Who else knows? The friends who will become your party members—do they know?"

Figured that's what you'd say.

Soushi should be fine, but better keep it from everyone else.

"I haven't told anyone. You're the only one who knows, Kasumi-san."

Shiraishi-san might be suspicious, but all I can do is pass it off as a high-speed movement skill.

"Only me... You trust me that much... Very well. I will protect you without fail. Be it a country, be it the world."

No, it won't come to that...

Now I'm the one worried about Kasumi-san.

Then I'd better make Kasumi-san stronger too.

"Now that the skill explanation is done—shall we go?"

"Eh? Shopping? Are we not having our match?"

"Here, here—put on the helm. And take your weapon, too."

Whoa.

What IS this spear?

The head is so big it feels less like a naginata and more like a Green Dragon Crescent Blade?

Like the one Guan Yu carries in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Apparently this too is a Floor 40-range drop...

The blade is jagged—shaped to reap lives.

"I see—somewhere else, then. Oh? Wasn't this supposed to be a match using your special skill?"

Once I confirm Kasumi-san has her helm on, I take up the Orc General's halberd.

If we're ending it in one strike, this is the way to go.

"Now, your hand, please."

I take Kasumi-san's right hand in my left.

The hand-holding I've dreamed of—except Kasumi-san is wearing gauntlets, so it's all hard and lumpy.

"Eh? Eh? You don't mean—? Eep!"

And straight through the 'Right Gate' we go.

On the other side, unmistakably, is the Floor 30 boss room.

I heard a cute little yelp—but the first time's always a shock, right?

"Eh? Where's the warehouse?... I see. So this is 【Gate】. It truly does move you, just like a 'Floor Gate.' Where is this? I don't recognize the place. What floor might this be? This is the Chiba Dungeon, correct?"

"Surpriiise. Floor 30."

I declare it with a smug face to the flustered Kasumi-san.

The surprise was a complete success.