arc01 · 021-ep21

Episode 21: To Each Their Own

Sleepy. Too sleepy.

Since then, I dashed through the dungeon at full speed back to Floor 1. Maybe because of the hour, there was hardly anyone around—the only silver lining was that it made for easy running.

And so, having made it home from Floor 8 in about two hours total, I showered, ate, and got ready for school.

This is one absurdly hectic morning.

Youth means an all-nighter won't kill me, but honestly? I just want to skip school and dive straight into my futon like this.

No, I should go to school. It hasn't even been a month since I enrolled—if I start cutting class now, I feel like I'll slide straight into full-blown truancy. An adventurer who throws away his social skills is finished. Most of my classes are review of stuff from my past life anyway. Thank god I studied properly for my university entrance exams. Plenty has fallen out of my head, but hearing it again shakes it loose. My test scores shouldn't come out too bad either.

Right—time to hurry to school and get some sleep.

◇

"Huh? Kobayakawa, you're here awfully early today."

"Ohh, Ogi. Mornin'. Ended up pulling an all-nighter, and I was so sleepy I just came in early."

"The heck's that about. An all-nighter—you got some game you're hooked on or something?"

"A game… well, it's a game if you call it one. One you play with your life on the line."

"Whoa, hold up—you were in the dungeon until morning?!?"

"Yeah… sorry, man, I'm too sleepy. Gonna sleep. Lemme copy your notes later."

"H-hey, you good……!? I-if you're gonna sleep, shouldn't you do it in the nurse's office!?"

"'M fine, 'm fine…………"

"Ah… he's out cold already……"

And after that morning exchange, the next time I opened my eyes, it was exactly lunch break.

Ohh, good timing. Guess I'll head to the club room and eat my lunch.

Might as well hand Aizawa that present I smuggled into my bag while I'm at it. It was more in the way than I expected.

So I come to the club room, and the door's already unlocked—president and Aizawa, both there.

"'Sup."

"Hey there—unusually late today, aren't you?"

"I-it was my first time alone with the president, so I-I was nervous…"

"See? It's just not the same without Takeru-kun around~"

"You say that, but haven't you two gotten pretty chummy already?"

"Heheh—jealous, are we? Well, I'm only interested in women with the onee-san attribute, so you can rest easy."

"…Wh-why does it feel like I'm the one who just got turned down here…"

"Chin up, Aizawa."

"N-not you too, Takeru-kun…!"

"Hah hah hah."

Looks like they've genuinely grown close. The Dungeon Research Club's easygoing air really is nice.

The dungeon is all kill-or-be-killed tension, so time like this is a genuine balm.

"Shouldn't you eat your lunch soon? Lunch break is already half over, you know?"

"Ah, true. I was asleep all morning, so I ended up sleeping right past it."

"Ehh…? T-Takeru-kun, are your studies going to be okay?"

"Hmm? Should be fine, probably."

"Confident, aren't we~"

"I-if there's anything you don't get, please ask me. Studying is actually one of my strong suits."

"Oh, thanks a bunch. Ah, right—Aizawa, I've got a present for you."

"A-a present?"

"Oh? So the two of you are in that kind of relationship, are you?"

"Huh? Ah, no, nothing like that. It's dungeon materials. Materials, I said."

"Oh, what… y-you startled me…"

"Here ya go."

Along with my lunch box, I pull one of those clubs out of my bag.

"Wha—!?"

"Come on now, don't go bringing dangerous things in here."

"Huh? Ah, this might look like a weapon at first glance, but it's a material."

"W-well, um, its value as a material is high, but it is, unmistakably, a weapon…"

"It's a material. I mean, it appraised at roughly five times the price of the other goblin weapons—that's demand for 【magic wood】 for you."

"It really does go for a lot, huh… wait, y-you're giving this to me!?"

"Yeah, you got pretty attached to 【magic wood】 the other day. You can make all sorts of things with it, right?"

"Y-yes! Absolutely—it's needed to make talisman-type items."

"Talisman? Do those work for ordinary folks too?"

"Of course they do. Th-they might even be worth carrying for self-protection."

"Oooh."

Talismans, huh. Sounds like there's quite the lineup of them, and they seem handy.

But if they need wood, does that make them something like wooden plaques? Never really looked into that corner of the item pool, so I couldn't say.

"What kinds of effects do talismans come in, for instance?"

"Let's see… the classic one is the barrier type. The talisman takes damage in your place. It vanishes once it absorbs damage beyond a certain threshold, but it's a popular item. There are also talismans that raise your physical abilities for a limited time, and ones for presence concealment or perception interference. Separate from talismans, there are also spell talismans—just think of them as one-shot, skill-like items with usage or time limits."

"I see…"

Aizawa holds forth at length—must be because it's her own field. Going by how she talks about it, she could probably make anything given the materials.

"If you're up for it, could you make me those presence-concealment and perception-interference talismans? If there's anything else you need that I can gather, I'll bring it back."

"Of course, gladly. I already have most of the needed materials, so the only thing left is ore for the ink used to draw the magic circles. And since a single piece of ore will do, buying it might honestly be faster."

"Got it. Then I'll cover the cost of that, so can I leave the crafting to you?"

"Oh, me too, me too! I don't go into the dungeon, but I might want a barrier talisman for peace of mind."

"Understood. I'll prepare several, so I'd like to submit some of them to the guild… b-because I'd like money too."

"Yeah, earn properly on that front. Anything you make from the materials I gave you, feel free to deliver it straight to the production guild. It builds your track record, right?"

"Um, yes. With the production guild, unlike adventurers, your rank doesn't climb with levels… so what you've delivered becomes what counts."

"Adventurers get judged on strength, plain and simple. Nice how legible that is."

"Hehe, true enough."

"Somehooow, I'm getting the feeling you two are talking shop here."

"W-well, the president works hard too, with the student council and all. Th-that kind of thing is, important too, I think."

Huh? The president's in the student council?

Is that for real? Aizawa, you haven't been fooled, have you?

"Ah, that face says you doubt me, Takeru-kun."

"Oh, so Takeru-kun didn't know. The president is the student council secretary, you know?"

"For real. What made you join the student council, of all things…"

"Now, now, it's not as bad as all that? We don't get any grand privileges, but having tea in the student council room is allowed, at least. Plus, there's a beautiful senpai there!"

"Ahh… yeah, yeah. Understood. Good luck with that."

"The president is really easy to read, isn't he."

"Well, he is definitely a good guy. I'll root for him."

May good fortune find that boy of many loves.