part2 · 091-ep91

Episode 91: Eating Out After Ten Years

By the time the shopping was over, it was a little past noon.

Mizuki looked at Ren.

"...Aren't you hungry?"

"...A little."

"Then, let's get some lunch."

"...Yeah."

The two of them left the clothing store.

Ren, changed into new clothes, was a completely different person from yesterday. His hair was tidied, and the beard that had gone almost untended for ten years was cleanly shaved.

His features were quite fine, and just walking through town drew looks his way on their own.

"...They're staring again."

Mizuki gave a small laugh.

"...Are they?"

"Yeah. A lot."

"...I don't really get it."

"You'll get used to it before long."

The two of them went into a nearby restaurant. They took seats and ordered food.

After a while, the food was brought out.

"Thanks for the food."

"...Thanks for the food."

Ren took a bite of the food.

"...It's good."

"Heheh."

"...What?"

"Because you said the same thing yesterday."

"...Did I?"

"Yeah."

Mizuki ate, smiling. Ren, too, kept eating slowly.

After a while—

"...Mizuki."

"Hm?"

"...What exactly are adventurers?"

"I didn't properly explain that earlier, did I."

"...Yeah."

"Then let's talk while we eat."

Mizuki set down her chopsticks.

"First of all, adventurers — put simply — are people who go into dungeons and slay monsters."

"...Conquering dungeons is the job?"

"That's the biggest part, I'd say. But it's not all."

"...There's more?"

"Taking monster-slaying requests, gathering materials in dungeons, collecting magic stones. The work varies from person to person."

"...Magic stones."

"Things you can get from monsters. They're used as an energy resource too, and they're an important source of income for adventurers."

"...I see."

Ren nodded.

"Also, adventurers have ranks."

"...Ranks?"

"It starts at F, then E, D, C, B, A. And above that is S-rank."

"...S."

"Yeah."

"...And you, Mizuki?"

"I'm A-rank."

"...A-rank."

"That's right."

Ren looked at Mizuki, looking a little surprised.

"...You're strong."

"Well, more or less."

Mizuki laughed, looking a little embarrassed.

"The higher your rank, the more dangerous requests you can take, and the dungeons you can enter change too."

"...So not just anyone can enter any dungeon they like?"

"Right. For dungeons with a high danger level, you need a rank that matches."

"...I see."

"That's why the adventurers' guild handles registrations and manages requests."

"...The guild."

"If you're going to work as an adventurer, basically you register with the guild."

"...And if I register?"

"You're issued an adventurer card. You can use it to confirm your rank and identity, and to take requests and receive rewards."

Ren listened in silence. It was nothing but words he didn't know.

"...Are dungeons normally conquered?"

"Yeah."

Mizuki nodded.

"These days, that's just how it is."

"...I see."

"Of course it's dangerous, but the danger level of each dungeon has been surveyed, and clearing info is shared too. Like how many floors have been cleared, or what kind of monsters show up."

"...Clearing info."

"Right. It's not like the old days, when you'd walk into a place you knew nothing about, knowing nothing."

Ren went quiet for a moment.

The dungeon he had been in had none of that. He had simply pushed forward to survive.

Killing monsters. Securing food. Healing wounds. Moving on again.

He had repeated that for ten years.

"...It's different from the place where I was."

"...Yeah."

Mizuki's expression clouded a little.

"What you said, Ren..."

"...?"

"About how once you went in, the exit was gone."

"...Yeah."

"...I've never heard of anything like that before."

"...You haven't?"

"Yeah."

As an A-rank adventurer, Mizuki had been involved with a great many dungeons over the years.

Dungeons that had been conquered. Dungeons that hadn't. Dungeons with a high danger level.

And yet—

An exit that vanished entirely after you went in. She had never heard of such a thing.

"...So it wasn't normal, huh."

Ren mumbled.

"...Yeah."

Mizuki nodded quietly. She said nothing more.

A little later, Ren spoke up.

"...Do adventurers go into dungeons alone?"

"Some people work alone, but I'd say more of them team up in groups."

"...In groups?"

"Yeah. That's what you call a party."

"...A party."

"Companions you go into dungeons with, take on requests with."

"...You too, Mizuki?"

"Yeah."

Mizuki nodded.

"There are three of us, including me."

"...Three."

"With two girls named Reina and Hinata."

"...Reina and Hinata?"

"Yeah. Mizuno Reina and Ogawa Hinata."

"...Are they both adventurers?"

"Yep. Reina's A-rank, and Hinata's B-rank."

"...So Reina's A-rank, the same as you."

"Yeah. Reina's a front-liner who fights with a sword, and Hinata's good at healing and support."

"...The three of you, in dungeons?"

"Basically, yeah."

Ren brought food to his mouth. With each thing he heard, an unfamiliar world took shape, little by little.

Dungeons. Adventurers. Ranks. The guild. Magic stones. Parties.

And the two companions fighting alongside Mizuki.

Every one of them something he hadn't known ten years ago.

"...The world really has changed, huh."

"Yeah."

Mizuki laughed.

"While you were gone, all sorts of things changed."

"...I see."

Ren thought for a moment.

And then—

"...Can I become an adventurer too?"

Mizuki looked at Ren.

"You can."

"...I see."

"If you're going to become one, you just register at the guild."

"...At the guild."

"Yeah."

Mizuki smiled, just a little.

"But you don't have to decide right now, okay."

"...Yeah."

Ren nodded. And then he brought food to his mouth again.

"...It's good."

"There you go again."

"...Because it's good."

"Heheh."

Mizuki laughed.

Ren, home again after ten years.

And—

For the first time in ten years, eating out with someone.

It was an unremarkable lunchtime.

But to Ren, that too was—

A step toward a new everyday life.