Chapter-01 · EP-029

Episode 29: Day 2 of Maika's Skill Training

We had come to the dungeon again after school today.

Yesterday, we got caught up in the fight with the Huge Slime and ended up leaving the dungeon past 7:00 PM.

Basically, after-school exploration was only permitted between 5:00 and 7:00 PM, so we got scolded by the receptionist at the entrance when we came out.

Apparently, there were students who went over 7:00 PM every year, so they turned a blind eye to it to some extent. But they said if we were past 7:00 PM every day, they'd contact the teachers, so I wanted to finish early today.

"Let's do our best again today!"

Maika was in a good mood. It was unusual for her, since she was usually quiet.

Seeing her smiling face, I asked what was up.

"You seem happy. Did something good happen?"

"Huh? You didn't notice?"

It was Yuno who said that. Had I done something to annoy her?

"Well, I thought it was because you're almost getting the hang of Water Magic. Let's succeed today!"

"That's not it!"

"Huh?"

So Maika's good mood wasn't because she was about to be able to use her Water Magic properly.

Prompted by Yuno, I looked at Maika's face, wondering what I had missed.

She looked down a bit shyly.

...Hmm?

"Oh?"

I finally noticed the change in Maika.

"Maika, did you lose some weight?"

"You finally noticed?"

Yuno confirmed my answer was correct.

Looking closely at Maika's face, the plump contours from yesterday were sharper, and her body lines were noticeably slimmer than yesterday.

Yuno scolded me as I stood there surprised.

"Shirou, you're too dense!"

"S-sorry, Maika. I didn't notice!"

"N-no, it's okay. But thank you for noticing."

"Still, when you look closely, it's completely different from yesterday."

"Yeah… My uniform size is completely different too…"

Maika explained shyly.

Maika had Magical Power Accumulation Syndrome—a constitution unique to dungeon explorers where excess magical power stored in the body accumulated as body fat. The weight loss was probably because she used her Water Magic extensively during yesterday's exploration. Even so, it was a surprisingly dramatic change.

"It must be tough having your clothes size change."

"Y-yeah. But I thought I might lose weight after entering the academy, so I had my uniform made with an adjustable zipper…"

Maika started explaining haltingly, perhaps embarrassed.

Yuno called out to me.

"Maika's gotten cute, hasn't she?"

"Huh? Ah, yeah. But she was cute before."

"Eh?"

It was Maika who was surprised by my answer.

"Well, I thought she was cute even before losing weight."

"S-so… Um… Shirou-kun, which do you prefer? Me when I was chubby, or me now that I'm thinner?"

"Hmm. Well, I think you'd be more popular with guys now that you're thinner, but personally, I feel like you were cuter before."

What I meant was that when Maika was chubby, she had a childish look about her that made me want to give her sweets. It felt like now that Maika had lost weight, she'd become a bit more mature.

Maybe because my past life memories had returned, seeing Maika, my classmate, made me think that if I'd had a daughter in my past life, she might have been like this.

I was probably getting a bit old-man-ish. I'd have to be careful.

"I see… So Shirou-kun prefers girls who are a little chubby…"

Maika was muttering quietly to herself.

"Geez! Shirou, you could have just honestly complimented her on getting cute after losing weight!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

There was another person in our group who was in a good mood.

"Now! Maika, let's try using your Water Magic again today!"

It was Iori.

Iori, usually so cool, was unusually excited.

"You seem pretty happy too, Iori…"

"Yeah. The fight against the Huge Slime yesterday was exciting, with all the tension. Honestly, just defeating normal slimes felt like I was just doing a chore."

It seemed Iori, like me, loved dungeons.

Though maybe in Iori's case, she might just be a battle maniac.

As my view of Iori changed slightly, Maika used her Water Magic again today.

A water sphere the size of a baseball floated in front of Maika's hands.

"Oh! You made it small!"

"Yeah!"

"Then try shooting it!"

"Okay!"

Maika launched the water ball forward.

It flew with force, splashing against the dungeon's rock wall.

"You did it!"

"Yeah!"

Maika beamed. The results of yesterday's training had finally paid off.

Iori had a question.

"Maika, can you still make a large mass of water like yesterday?"

"Y-yeah. I'll try!"

Prompted by Iori, Maika attempted to create a large amount of water again.

She raised both hands, and a rippling mass of water appeared in the air. But it wasn't the bathtub-sized amount from yesterday; it was a flat, round water mass about the size of a frying pan.

"Hmm~! I can't seem to make it any bigger than this…"

Maika said and tossed the water forward.

This time, it had no force, simply splashing water around.

"At this rate, the Huge Slime won't appear…"

Iori muttered disappointedly. She really was a battle maniac.

"But isn't this fine? We achieved our original goal: Maika's skill training was successful, and she lost weight."

"Well… if Maika succeeded, then it was worth coming, I guess… But if we end here, isn't coming to the dungeon today pointless?"

Iori muttered, unsatisfied, and struck a slime that had gathered to the scattered water. Then she said,

"I know. How about we fight the Huge Slime in the Floor Boss's room?"

Iori suddenly suggested. But that wasn't allowed. We'd get in trouble for challenging the Floor Boss without school permission.

"Then let's submit a request to the school tomorrow and get permission to challenge the Floor Boss. Since I'm already level 2, maybe they'll allow it."

"Not today…?"

Iori, who had been so excited until moments ago, looked dejected.

"W-well, since Maika's magic seems to be working well now, how about we at least go check where the Floor Boss's room is today? If we defeat slimes along the way, maybe you guys will level up too…"

I proposed this to cheer Iori up.

"Just checking the location…"

"It can't be helped, right?"

"Well, I suppose not…"

Iori reluctantly agreed. Then we headed towards the entrance of the Floor Boss's room. It was like scouting the route. We walked while defeating slimes that appeared, but potions were still not dropping.

After about a fifteen-minute walk, we reached our destination.

"That's the only door on this floor. That's the Floor Boss's…"

I stopped mid-sentence. Because the door was open.

"Why is it open?"

Yuno also voiced her sense of unease.

I muttered the only possible reason.

"Someone went inside."

"Weren't they not supposed to?"

Iori, who I had repeatedly stopped from doing so earlier, said in a dazed tone.

Of course, second and third-years had already passed this point, so they would be allowed to enter this room. But second and third-years wouldn't bother exploring this boring first floor now.

That led to one conclusion. Some reckless first-year had gone in on their own.

The next moment.

A male student came running out of the room.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

"You guys… are you first-years too? I'm going to get a teacher!"

"Huh?"

Leaving those words, the male student quickly ran off.

"Is someone still inside?"

I peered into the Floor Boss's room.

"Hey! Is anyone there?"

I called into the room.