Chapter-01 · EP-022

Episode 22: How to Call Names

After school that day, as promised, we four came to the dungeon entrance to dive in.

Assuming Maika's Water Magic would fail and we'd get soaked, we all wore swimsuits under our clothes so it wouldn't matter if we got wet.

"It seems Momota usually practices in the lobby, but how about we go down to the first floor today?"

"Huh? But wouldn't that be dangerous?"

"It'll be fine. If slimes appear, we'll defeat them. And if practicing here isn't going well, maybe a change of location and environment will make a difference."

I tried to convince Momota.

"Saying that, aren't you just wanting to fight yourself?"

Hayasaka hit the nail on the head.

Well, that was partly true. While Momota practiced magic, we would either give advice or cheer her on—basically, we could only watch. If that was the case, wouldn't it be more efficient to watch over her while defeating slimes?

No one particularly objected to going down to the first floor, so we decided to do that.

"Then we need to form a party!"

If we were going into the dungeon together, forming a party would be better for experience efficiency.

Even outside of class, that was probably the best approach.

At Hayasaka's direction, we formed a party.

"Now then, Maika, Iori, Ichinose-kun, please join the party."

"Yes."

"Sure."

"Uh-huh."

"What's with that unenthusiastic response?"

Hayasaka said, exasperated at my odd reply.

"This is also a verification. I'm checking whether any kind of response works to join a party."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, let's confirm."

I urged Hayasaka on. Hayasaka held her hand over the Skill Board in the center of the hall, and her skill was displayed.

Yuno Hayasaka: LV1
Skill: Healing Magic LV1
Party Members: Maika Momota, Iori Takigawa, Shirou Ichinose

I had joined the party without issue.

Looking at the Skill Board, I muttered.

"As I thought, as long as you express your intent, any phrasing works to join a party."

"That's irrelevant."

Hayasaka said, looking at me coldly. I felt like she was criticizing my habit of wanting to test everything. But that shouldn't be the case; by verifying things one by one, I should be able to understand the rules of this dungeon. Not everything was in the textbooks; confirming things for yourself was important.

Just then, Takigawa spoke to everyone.

"By the way, I have a proposal…"

"What is it, Iori?"

"I was thinking during the formation earlier, but we three call each other by our first names, yet we call Ichinose by his last name. And Ichinose calls us by our last names too."

"That's true."

"But I feel that using last names is a bit cumbersome. Ichinose is four syllables, and Takigawa is also four. When exploring a dungeon, there might be times when we need to communicate as quickly as possible. In that case, I think it's better to use two or three-syllable names. Actually, this is something my father told me…"

Come to think of it, I think Takigawa's parents were dungeon explorers. Was that a thing? But the academy dungeon wasn't that dangerous, so I felt such details might not matter. Three syllables and four syllables weren't that different.

"Okay, let's do that! Then from now on, I'll call Ichinose-kun by his first name too!"

Hayasaka immediately agreed to Takigawa's proposal. She was quick to go along. Was this what it meant to be good with people?

I had no particular reason to object, so it was fine.

"Got it. Yuno, Iori, Maika. From now on, I'll call you all by your first names too."

"Nice to work with you, Shirou."

Takigawa also started using it smoothly. Maybe she just found it cumbersome and wanted to switch?

Momota also called me by my first name.

"Sh-Shirou-kun…"

"Maika, you can't be shy about it."

"B-but…?"

Takigawa chided her, but it seemed Momota found it too high a hurdle to suddenly start calling me, a guy she wasn't that close with, by his first name without any honorific.

"Well, it's probably fine unless it's an emergency. But Maika, in an emergency, please call me by just my name."

"Y-yeah. Okay."

"Nice to work with you, Shirou!"

Finally, Hayasaka called me that.

Hearing her call me that gave me a sense of déjà vu.

"I feel like you called me by my first name before too, Yuno. In middle school, you always used my last name, right?"

"That's right. In kindergarten, I called you Shirou."

"Ah, that's it! So we were together in kindergarten too? I don't really remember."

"I remember."

"But why did you start calling me Ichinose-kun?"

"Well, when I entered elementary school, none of the other girls called boys by their first names, so I got embarrassed."

"Is that so? Then why aren't you embarrassed now?"

"I'm still embarrassed!"

Hayasaka said, letting out an embarrassed laugh.

If it's embarrassing, she could just stop…