Having concluded his meeting with Kageichi, Kiraboshi, his friend, accompanied him to the Weapons Shop: Yamamoto Dungeoners Fukuoka—
What am I even doing here? Shirogasaki wondered, vaguely perplexed.
The interior of the shop resembled a mid-sized electronics store.
On display were not only weapons and armor but also recovery potions, attack items, streaming cameras, dungeon camping gear, and cooking supplies—catering to needs unmet by traditional dungeons, leading to continuous expansion.
The basement even housed a restaurant using ingredients obtained from dungeons and a specialized supermarket.
A whole new world is unfolding… Is this also part of the government’s policy…?
Wondering, Shirogasaki discreetly observed Kiraboshi standing beside her.
As soon as they entered the weapons corner, she confidently grabbed a spear and lightly swung a sword, looking quite accustomed to it.
Today’s theme seems to be appearance, as she occasionally strikes a pose that fits the part…
But somehow, it doesn’t suit her.
Shirogasaki could only recall the image of her eyes bloodshot, grinning ferociously as she punched, kicked, and slashed—
“Shirogasaki-san. What do you think of this?”
“…!”
“You don’t have to be so scared. I’m just asking a question.”
As the Class Representative, she inadvertently mixed in polite language… but it was already instinctively ingrained that she must never defy her.
A monster in human skin. A wild beast.
All Shirogasaki could do was avoid provoking the beast sleeping within her…
As fear slowly eroded her heart, Kiraboshi sighed, placing the magic sword she held back on the shelf.
“It’s cool, but as Sensei and Hako-san said, it just doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t click.”
“Is that… so?”
“Yeah. I can’t explain it well, but my instincts just sniff out that something’s off…”
Looking disappointed as she sighed, she seemed like an ordinary high school girl from the dungeon generation.
Wanting to buy a weapon that suits her and decorate it seemed like a common worry for girls her age…
As Kiraboshi seemed reluctant to part with the magic sword, Shirogasaki chimed in,
“Um… should I pay for it… with my money…?”
“Ah, no. It’s my weapon, and I don’t want to waste inventory space buying something unnecessary.”
“But, you said you’d let me pay…”
“I said that back then, but I don’t really want to be treated all the time.”
Kiraboshi then smiled gracefully—
“Because our ranking is already settled.”
“!”
“And forcing the issue would be uncool, don’t you think?”
Shirogasaki’s body stiffened at Kiraboshi’s smile, revealing her canines.
Watching the chains of fear bind and shrink her heart, Kiraboshi smiled contentedly.
“You don’t have to be so scared. As long as you don’t defy me, okay? …Oh, I’ll be excused for a moment? To the restroom. And then, let’s have a meal?”
“…U-understood.”
“Fufu. Of course, we can split the bill for the meal too.”
As Kiraboshi disappeared, Shirogasaki slightly relaxed her tension… but the shivers didn’t stop.
She had been jolted awake by a nightmare this morning.
The memory of her mother asking what was wrong, worried, after hearing her scream as her heart pounded from the vision of Kiraboshi straddling her, smiling while revving a chainsaw, resurfaced.
Her mother mistakenly believed it was a lingering effect of the dungeon incident…
But the truth was different.
Shirogasaki was afraid of the monsters walking casually on the surface.
—Her mother had told her that if it was too much, she could move away…
—But probably, she couldn’t escape that with just a move, and if she did, she didn’t know what would happen—no, she would definitely be erased by her—no, she couldn’t think straight—
As she stood there, confused and trembling,
“Oh? Isn’t that Hime-chan over there?”
“…Eh?”
Interrupting her muddled, wavering thoughts was a familiar, nostalgic voice.
Her heart warmed, and Shirogasaki’s memories returned.
“…Ayachan?”
Turning around, she saw a cheerful girl with reddish, wavy short hair and silver earrings.
The cheerful girl, wearing a pristine one-shoulder top and shorts, waved with her two female friends.
Her chest ached slightly, and she swallowed her tears.
Ayakoji Nise.
In the second grade, she was the first person to befriend Shirogasaki, who had no friends.
They had lost contact after going to different schools for middle school…
“Huh? What’s wrong, Hime-chan? You’re frozen. Are you surprised?”
“N-no. I was just caught off guard since it’s been so long.”
“Come on. We’re friends, Hime-chan, you don’t have to be surprised.”
Her carefree laughter was just as it had been since elementary school.
She called Shirogasaki “Hime-chan” because she was like a princess.
It was truly nostalgic.
…Well, the only thing that seemed different was the smirking of the blonde girls who seemed to be her friends (?) behind her.
—My origin.
—The one who taught me the importance of friends, a precious, important…
“…”
Her chest throbbed, screaming in pain.
Unlike the current Kiraboshi, she was a true friend in every sense of the word—Ayakoji Nise.
“Hm? What’s wrong, Hime-chan? You look like you’re in pain. Hm?”
….
A slight hesitation arose.
What should she do?
The question of whether to confide in her suddenly surfaced in Shirogasaki’s mind.
About Kiraboshi—no, that was impossible. She couldn’t involve her, and besides, she couldn’t just talk about something like that to a friend she hadn’t seen in a while.
…But.
But she was her friend, her origin, and if she spoke to her so casually, maybe even now—
“More importantly, Hime-chan, want to grab a meal sometime? Like always, with your money.”
“…Um, well…”
“Oh, right! You know, I’ve been wanting something lately, and I was wondering if you could buy it for me again?”
Aya-chan then showed her smartphone, displaying the world’s most famous online shopping site.
Displayed was—
She gasped slightly.
It was a piece of dungeon equipment. Silver earrings with jewels, American-made accessories worth about 1.2 million yen in Japanese currency.
It wasn’t a huge amount, but… still, compared to the “requests” from elementary school, it was quite…
“We’re working hard with older men, but we can’t compare to Hime-chan. Sorry? We went to different schools in middle school. I couldn’t keep up with your grades.”
“N-no… but, a million is a bit much to just casually spend…”
“What are you saying? Hime-chan’s mom always gave you that much, right?”
—Eh.
What was that?
…Did my mom give her money?
Wait. …What was she talking about?
She was certain that she had become great friends with her because Shirogasaki’s mother had “convinced” her.
Well, she did treat her to snacks every time they went out… but always giving her money, was…?
“Oh, was I not supposed to say that? But Hime-chan isn’t a kid anymore, so you should understand, right?”
“…Ah. …Eh…?”
“So, please? Then I’ll be your friend again. Okay? What school are you going to now? Hime-chan, you’re not good at talking to people, right? So, a relationship that can be solved with money is the best!”
She showed a dazzling smile, welcoming her like an angel with open arms.
But Shirogasaki couldn’t take her hand.
…She couldn’t.
If it were the old Shirogasaki, she would have taken it without hesitation.
She would have brushed off any discomfort as her imagination and complied with her request.
If it was a friend’s wish, she would have easily ignored any discomfort.
But the current Shirogasaki…
Sensed danger.
Knew the lies and deceit of people.
—There were monsters in human skin everywhere in the world.
Monsters pretending to be friends were overflowing on the surface as if it was normal… In such a world.
A friend she had reunited with after a long time was suddenly asking her for money. …Was that.
Was that really the friend she had wanted…?
Her heart pounded, and Shirogasaki’s common sense crumbled with a crash.
Kiraboshi Yoshiko was a monster in human skin.
…But, what about this girl?
Was the friend I believed in—really someone I could call a friend?