ch21-ch40 · 041-ch40

Chapter 40

Several sets of special-fiber innerwear, combat boots, a camera for streaming, and a magic bag with roughly two cargo containers' worth of capacity—this was the most expensive item—for a total of eleven million yen's worth.

Of course, the exact price would fluctuate, and if it did, it would probably slide upward, but regardless, Toru decided to accept the investment.

When it came down to it, if he was going to be exploring labyrinths, he'd need all sorts of things.

In that case, he figured it wouldn't be bad to go along with this eccentric young lady who he found relatively agreeable. To be honest, that was all there was to it.

Besides, people might show up trying to sell him things, but he couldn't imagine someone conveniently appearing who would invest in him.

Normally, wouldn't they be more... patronizing about it? There were probably countless ways a rich person could trick a poor guy who'd been a cleaner until a few days ago. If the other party were truly cunning, Toru wasn't confident he could see through it. So he figured, might as well go with this young lady. If he was going to be scammed, he'd rather it be by this drill-haired blonde.

Now, as for what Kujo Reiko stood to gain from this investment—

"I would like the priority purchasing rights for labyrinth produce other than magic cores obtained by Toru-bro-sama. Naturally, I will not buy them at unfairly low prices. I will purchase at market price, or above. And since it is priority, it is not mandatory. If Toru-bro-sama's circumstances lead him to wish to give labyrinth produce to someone else, that is, of course, fine. If you simply want to sell to anyone, I would ask that you consider Kujo. That is the gist of it."

"Uh... does that really justify an eleven-million-yen investment?"

"To be perfectly honest, it is extremely generous. In the sense that it is too favorable to us, that is. Incidentally, I considered investing more, but taking into account Toru-bro-sama's current liquid assets, I set an amount that you would feel comfortable accepting... but I could invest more, you know?"

Oh-ho-ho-ho, laughed Kujo Reiko, in a manner befitting a young lady, and Toru could only return a wry smile.

The "liquid assets" she referred to were probably the money from selling the dragon scale and such he'd obtained when he first helped Anthem. The transaction amount wasn't publicized, but anyone with eyes could probably guess.

Even if everything went south, he could just pay back the money. Investing an amount he could repay—whether that was kindness or not, he wasn't quite sure.

Actually, wasn't the point of an investment that the recipient had no obligation to pay it back even if they failed to carry things out...? If so, then it was a form of consideration for his feelings.

"No... honestly, I can't shake the feeling that eleven million is too much to throw at someone who was a rock-bottom cleaner until very recently. I mean, I guess I actually did something to warrant that kind of investment, but in terms of how it feels..."

"It truly is extraordinarily generous, I tell you. For us, it is a very advantageous investment."

"Well... it did make me want to make sure I return the investment with profit."

"I have no concerns whatsoever about the profit Toru-bro-sama will generate. If I determine our side's profit to be excessive, I am also considering additional investment. Rather, I am confident that will undoubtedly be the case."

"Ojou's smug face is a good look" "Wait, Toru-bro's surprisingly humble, no?" "Can't believe this is the same guy who snapped at the elf" "Ojou, Ojou. What about Tia-tan? Anything for her?"

"Oh, yes indeed. How careless of me. Tia-sama should also receive something... not so much an investment, but a token of acquaintance, at the very least."

Kujo Reiko said this in a tone that seemed to suggest she'd simply forgotten, and Toru was slightly surprised. If you lined up the dragon-slaying swordswoman and the former cleaner, the former should unquestionably take priority.

In fact, Anthem's manager—Hamamatsu Nanami—had unconsciously looked down on Toru, and Toru could fully understand why that happened.

And yet, Kujo Reiko seemed to see Toru as the main and Tia as the subordinate.

What to call that—rather than deciding her attitude through careful consideration, it seemed she had intuitively seen through the positions and relationships between Toru and Tia.

Well, if asked what kind of relationship it was, Toru could only say they were the possessed and the possessor, having met less than a week ago.

"Oh, I don't need anything. I have weapons, and I have armor."

"Is that so? Then, Joichiro. That thing, pattern C."

"Yee-haw."

The butler, responding with an extremely sloppy tone, pulled from within his suit—apparently, he had a magic bag attached like a gun holster—a square, paper-wrapped box.

With the same magic-like dexterity, he tore it open, opened the box, and presented its contents to Tia.

"What's this?"

"NINELINE's labyrinth manju. These are matcha-flavored skin, honey flavor, lemon, and mandarin orange. The fillings are chunky red bean paste, white bean paste, apple jam, and cream."

"Hmm? I don't really get it, but if you're giving them to me, I'll take them. You already opened it, after all."

"Yes, please, please. I'll have one too."

"Ojou, can I have one too?"

"Honestly, as a butler you should show a little restraint. You may have a matcha one."

"Rog-uh."

"Mmm! This is good! Toru! This is good!"

"lmao"

"What kind of stream is this" "They're not taking any questions for bro at all lmao" "Tia-tan eating manju is cute" "Tea's gotten scary too now huh" "Look closely. The butler's already pouring tea." "Damm that's competent" "Toru-bro's dead eyes lmao"

"No... I mean, I don't mind. Is it always like this?"

"Ojou's streams are mostly labyrinth exploration" "She doesn't do much chatting streams" "She usually does product promos inside dungeons" "You wouldn't know this Toru-bro, but she's literally a labyrinth maniac"

"Ah... sorry. I'm a noob, so I don't really get how impressive she is."

"Aside from Anthem's Kagurazaka Chizuru, she's the youngest A-rank explorer" "The other one has state support, so in a way you could say she's got an advantage, but Ojou is legit" "Not saying Kagurazaka Chizuru isn't legit though" "Apparently she's been hiring supervisors and attacking dungeons since she was a little kid" "She used to chug expensive potions whenever she got hurt, she said"

While Tia and the others were eating manju and drinking tea, Toru sipped the black tea that Joichiro had prepared earlier and chatted with the viewers in the comment section.

He was aware of this himself, but Toru wasn't very good at interpersonal communication. Whether it was due to an inferiority complex from his circumstances or just his personality, he didn't know, but when people got too close, he wanted to keep his distance. Like, I'm not the person you're expecting me to be.

With Anthem's members, he felt he'd managed to keep his distance as intended.

On the other hand, it hadn't worked that way with the cat beast-person mother and daughter next door. Mainly because the mother had pushed into Toru's space way too aggressively, and there was nothing but friendliness in it, so he couldn't bring himself to reject her properly. As for her daughter Mika... it was hard to show strong rejection toward a child of that age. As for the elf Ilseria, he didn't need to hold back with her at all, so aside from her being annoying, she was actually easy to deal with.

In that sense, Kujo Reiko might be perfectly balanced.

She'd close the distance without hesitation, then not touch more than necessary. Just when he thought she was satisfying her own curiosity, she'd also try to guide him. And in that guidance, there was no sense of selfish desire. Yet, her initial contact with Toru was entirely for her own self-satisfaction, and she was investing to gain profit.

That was far more trustworthy than an attitude of "I'm not thinking about profit or loss."

Especially since she naturally showed respect toward someone like Toru.

Normally, Toru would never feel favorably toward someone who declared "dungeons are fun"... but for some reason, he couldn't see Kujo Reiko as just a delusional rich girl. There was something about this young lady that made him hesitate to dismiss her like that.

"Speaking of which, Toru-bro-sama. Do you have time? If you're amenable, how about we go explore a labyrinth together after we've sorted out various things?"

Kujo Reiko said this as if it were a casual aside in a mundane conversation, but her tone was so light that Toru didn't quite grasp the meaning of her words for a moment.

"I mean, I said sure, but after this...?"

"Yes. I said I came to tell Toru-bro-sama that labyrinths are fun, did I not? So, after we close this stream, how about doing a labyrinth exploration stream on Toru-bro-sama's channel this time?"

She said it with a beaming smile—with the same energy as a friend inviting someone out to play.

The sheer innocence of it made Toru accidentally let out a wry laugh.

"Well, I don't mind. Which dungeon are you planning on going to?"

The answer came without a moment's hesitation.

"Why, Sugai Dungeon, of course!"

◇◇◇

He put on the labyrinth exploration gear he'd been invested with—the innerwear, combat boots, and magic bag—and after some thought, kept his usual work clothes as his outer layer. Toru had declined the labyrinth-grade outerwear due to the cost, but when it came to suitable clothing for entering a labyrinth, his work clothes were all he had at this point. He'd probably get called Worksite-bro again, but he didn't care.

The camera he'd been given for streaming was state-of-the-art and not complicated to operate. It was simplified enough that even Tia could use it with an explanation, and linking it to his personal channel on the video streaming site via his mobile device was done in two minutes.

Since he was at it, he also set up an SNS account to promote his streaming channel, and then, getting annoyed with the hassle, Toru handed his mobile device to Tia and gave her a rough explanation of how to use it. He sort of threw out a "look it up or ask the viewers later," but Tia just nodded cheerfully without complaint.

They left the rundown apartment, got a ride in the rental car Kujo Reiko and Kashiwazaki Joichiro had arrived in, and as the butler drove them off, Toru realized something belatedly.

"Come to think of it, can we even get into Sugai Dungeon after yesterday's Dungeon Rampage? The branch office itself is physically gone, isn't it..."

"Ah, that. We've gotten permission from the Labyrinth Agency on our end, so no problem. They'd have to send explorers to investigate the labyrinth after a rampage anyway. Might be that the local Labyrinth Department isn't aware of it, though."

The butler drove the rental car with a face that looked like he'd been driving these unfamiliar roads in an unfamiliar town for ten years.

"Hey, hey, Reiko. So I managed to follow you, right? Ah, it's called a follow-back! Ehehe... this is kinda nice, isn't it."

"Oh-ho-ho-ho. I'm the first to follow Toru-bro-sama and Tia-sama's accounts. Ahem... 'Looking forward to it!' there."

"Ah, I got a reply! Ahaha! So you can communicate through text like this too, not just video. This world is amazing."

For some reason, the holy sword wielder and the young lady were sitting side by side in the back seat, giggling excitedly.

"Officially, we're entering as an A-rank explorer's labyrinth investigation after a rampage. I've already downloaded the maps released by the Labyrinth Agency. The rest is checking whether the actual terrain has changed and whether the monsters appearing have changed. I don't think Sugai Dungeon, which was D-rank, will stay the same, so it might turn into a profitable labyrinth for this city."

"Then I can quit being a cleaner without any regrets."

"You couldn't continue anyway. Bro, what about your explorer's license? If it's still provisional, I'll register you as our companion and we'll enter."

"Ah... I forgot. Hey, give me the device back for a sec."

"Aww... well, okay."

Tia handed him the mobile device with a smile, her reaction somehow like a grade-schooler, making him wry-laugh before he could get annoyed.

Toru himself was the type with a narrow heart, so whether the other person was the same gender or not, he disliked this kind of bothersome intermediate step. But strangely, he didn't mind it from Tia.

Anyway, he operated the device he received, went through biometric authentication, and checked his ID information—his explorer's license was still provisional. Come to think of it, he'd been told something like "if you submit the magic cores, a full license will be issued," but the paperwork was probably backlogged due to the chaos of the Dungeon Rampage.

Then again, he hadn't even submitted the magic cores in the first place... actually, the magic cores he'd picked up during the Kamioka Dungeon exploration were still in Anthem's magic bag.

"Still a provisional license. And since both the Sugai and Noumi Dungeon branch offices are wrecked, can they even process the paperwork?"

"The branch office for Kamioka Dungeon, which disappeared, is still there, so processing should be possible. Plus, the city hall has a Labyrinth Department, so you can do procedures there too. Besides, your license was issued in connection with Anthem, so the Labyrinth Agency should handle it. Just backlogged, probably."

We'll register you as our companion this time, the butler said in a light tone.

Well, whatever, Toru thought, handing the device back to Tia—though it was Toru's device to begin with—and before he knew it, they'd arrived at the familiar Sugai Dungeon.

No—at a place that should have been familiar, but wasn't.

The Sugai Dungeon branch office, where Kawai Sakiho used to sit at the reception desk looking bored every day, was completely destroyed, and the wreckage had been left untouched. The asphalt of the parking lot was peeled up dramatically, and Toru's compact car was still sitting there abandoned, its front end crushed. The passenger-side door was gone—it should have been lying a few hundred meters away, but for some reason, he hadn't seen it on the way here.

Come to think of it, Toru remembered and opened the rear door of his now-totaled compact car, retrieving his beloved rebar bludgeon from inside. The door would never close again since the body was warped, but oh well.

If they billed him for the removal costs, he'd complain to Section Chief Sadoyama. He had a feeling the guy would figure something out.

"Bro's signature weapon, huh."

The butler said it without any particular sentiment, and he wasn't carrying anything that looked like a weapon; his outfit was still a black suit.

"Ah, don't worry. This suit is custom-made. Ojou's dress too. Also, if you hand me the stream camera, I'll do the filming."

His tone as he said "I'm used to it" was very ordinary, conveying neither like nor dislike. Objectively speaking, his precious young lady was cheerfully engaging with a suspicious former cleaner, and yet he didn't seem to feel much about it.

"Ah... uh, Kashiwazaki-san. Don't you think you shouldn't be welcoming your precious young lady getting involved with a weird guy like me?"

"No, not really? If anything, it's rare for Ojou to show interest in other people. I mean, she does check out explorers quite a bit, but actively going out to engage with someone—this is probably the first time. Frankly, I thought it'd be a pain, but if Ojou wants to do it, I've got no objection."

Taking the stream camera from Toru, Joichiro gave a dry smile as he finished the final checks with practiced familiarity.

"Ah... just to confirm, are all the magic cores and rare drops from this exploration ours to keep? I mean, I'd be fine splitting it fifty-fifty."

Regarding the split, Kujo Reiko had declared with a smug face before they set out, "You may have it all as Toru-bro-sama's share!" and let out a high-pitched laugh.

She probably really didn't need the money.

He didn't know whether she had more than enough or not, but she prioritized what she wanted to do—teaching Toru the fun of labyrinth exploration—over the money from a single labyrinth run.

"No, no, not a problem at all. I'd say I owe you thanks just for responding to Ojou's crazy request. She's never invited anyone before—literally never."

"...You were a loner?"

"She's off-the-charts even for a young lady, and as an explorer, she's too strong for her age. There's no way any schoolmate could keep up with Ojou's pace. Since she's A-rank, people think she sometimes forms clans, but she's a total loner."

The butler let out a dry laugh.

Toru almost felt a little sympathy, but when he thought about it, he wasn't sure what exactly there was to sympathize with. In short, she just did whatever she wanted. Too bad she couldn't make friends? None of his business.

"Toru-bro-sama, Joichiro. We'll be heading in soon. You may leave the stream start to me."

Kujo Reiko, who had somehow moved to the dungeon entrance, said this while clanking together the silver gauntlets she'd equipped on both hands—not so much armor as knuckle-guard-shaped weapons.

"Alright, let's go, bro."

"Ah... sure, whatever. Call me whatever you want."

Feeling a resigned exasperation at the smirking butler, who was at a height Toru had to slightly look up at, Toru shrugged. Going through the trouble of asking him to change how he addressed him seemed like a hassle.

In the end, at this point, Toru was essentially no different from not knowing Kujo Reiko or Kashiwazaki Joichiro at all. He'd come this far, half-carried along, but so far he had no regrets. He was even thinking he might as well let himself be carried.

——The labyrinth is fun?

Toru had never once thought that until now. He hadn't even been standing at a stage where he could consider it. For the explorers he occasionally saw on TV or SNS, he'd only ever felt like "go for it."

Doing something like this, like an explorer—he hadn't even imagined it until a few days ago. Just endlessly hunting the trash mobs that spawned on the upper floors of a D-rank dungeon, getting reasonably tired, and going home. That was every day, and he'd been fine with it.

"Now then, let's begin the stream. And let's start exploring. Toru-bro-sama, Tia-sama, are you ready?"

Looking at the drill-haired young lady who seemed to find everything utterly delightful, Toru could only smile wryly once again. He wasn't straightforward enough in personality to naively believe her.

But—yes.

She said she'd teach him, so he'd learn.

She declared she'd guide him, so he'd be guided.

If you can, make me believe it—that the labyrinth is fun.