Chapter 41: Second Private Dungeon Internal Investigation ②
Walking between the rice paddies, we arrived at the Japanese House area in no time.
“Whoa, it’s pretty big when you see it up close!”
“It looks like my grandma’s house…”
“It’s hot, so let’s hurry up and get inside.”
The three of them voiced their own thoughts.
The Home had no walls or hedges, so we could see all the way to the back of the property.
I don’t know if there are cardinal directions inside the dungeon, but judging from the sun’s position, the east side where we were was the entrance, and the south side of the building was a garden.
In the garden, there were pine trees, large rock-like stones, and a small pond.
So it’s designed to be viewed from the veranda, huh.
“Doesn’t look like there are any monsters in particular…”
There were no signs of monsters within sight.
The possibility of piranha-like fish attacking from the pond wasn’t zero, but with this atmosphere, it was highly unlikely.
Otama-chan also looked at the garden and made a suggestion.
“How about we circle around the outside first? What do you think, Ko-chan?”
“Sounds good to me.”
In terms of a danger assessment, barging straight into the building felt wrong.
“I think so too. It’d be terrible if, by some chance, there were fire-type monsters around and they set the building on fire the moment we went inside.”
“R-Right! That’s what I was thinking too!”
Reacting to Shi-chan’s words, Otama-chan suddenly raised her voice.
“…Tamama sounds like she’s lying. You probably just wanted to see the pond first, right?”
“N-No, I didn’t!”
…Yup. That’s the kind of reaction you give when you’re caught.
Well, pointing it out would just be tactless.
It’s an act of mercy not to mention it.
“Since we’re all in agreement, shall we get going for now? Position-wise, Otama-chan should take the lead, right?”
“Yeah. Oh, right. Since we’re at it, Ko-chan, lend me your 【Vigilance】 skill. It can prevent monster surprise attacks, can’t it?”
“Well, I guess so…”
“Hey, Ko-chin, are you sure you wanna lend it for free? You should at least demand a kiss.”
“W-What?! Manamin, you’ve been so annoying for a while now! If you’re going to interfere, just go home!”
“Hmm… Abandoning a helpless citizen in the middle of a dungeon danger assessment, huh… The Prefectural HQ of the Explorer Association is in Utsunomiya, was it…?”
“St-Stop it!”
☆★☆
Inside the pond, there were three beautiful Nishikigoi carp.
Just as expected, there were no creatures that would attack us.
Otama-chan and Shi-chan were staring intently at the pond.
“There are carp inside a dungeon…”
“Amazing! I could watch this all day!”
“So hot…”
Manamin was hiding in the shade of a tree.
Still…
“The dragonflies… there are more of them now…”
I’d been thinking it since we approached the Japanese House area, but there were lots of red and yellow dragonflies flying around, types I’d never seen before.
Perhaps the types of insects also increased with the appearance of the Japanese House area.
“Ah!!”
An incredibly large dragonfly flew over the roof.
It was terrifyingly fast, and disappeared from sight in an instant.
…Probably a type of jumbo dragonfly.
“I’d like to try and catch one someday…”
I know the investigation takes priority, but I can’t help getting distracted.
“Ko-chan, what’s wrong?”
Looking in the direction I was called from, the three of them seemed ready to move on.
“…Sorry. It’s nothing.”
I continued the investigation with the three of them.
☆★☆
We circled the building, but no particular threats were found.
We peeked inside through the shoji doors and frosted glass, but couldn’t confirm anything moving.
“Alright, shall we go inside then?”
“Okay, I’ll take the lead.”
The four of us moved to the front of the entrance, and Otama-chan slid open the glass door.
“Hellooo! Anyone home?!”
………
……
“…Doesn’t seem like anyone’s here.”
“It’s a Private Dungeon, after all.”
It’d be one thing if there were monsters, but it would be a surprise if there were humans.
“Coming iiiiin!”
Rattle, rattle…
Opening the sliding door revealed a doma, an earthen floor area, paved with irregular tiles.
In front, there was an agarigamachi, and a wooden hallway stretched into the back.
“It really feels like a classic Showa-era house…”
If it smelled of incense now, it would give the perfect impression of a grandparents’ house.
“Ah, it’s cool inside. Hey, Tamama, you’re taking off your shoes?”
“Eh? You’re not?”
“No, I mean, since it’s a dungeon, keeping them on is an option… but yeah, it certainly feels wrong.”
“Yeah… I’ll take mine off too.”
“Right. This place might become somewhere we all relax later, after all.”
We took off our shoes and stepped up into the Home.
“Shall we start from here…?”
Immediately to the left, there was a fusuma.
No particular sounds could be heard from inside.
“Okay, I’ll try opening it. Hellooo…”
Otama-chan quietly slid open the fusuma.
And then.
“Wah…”
Inside was a Japanese-style room.
“Ko-chan… it’s just a normal room.”
“A normal room, huh…”
There was a dresser with a mirror for makeup, a double-door wardrobe, and a full-length mirror.
Of course, there was no one inside.
“It feels like a woman’s room…”
Shi-chan and Manamin also entered the room.
“Alright, Tamama. Check the wardrobe.”
“Huh?! Why?!”
“Wardrobes in dungeons are the same as treasure chests. If there’s something good inside, let’s take it.”
“Eh, I don’t wanna! That’s like being a thief!”
“If the wardrobe’s a mimic, Ko-chin might get attacked someday… You’re not worried about Ko-chin, Tamama…?”
“Aargh, geez, I really should have left Manamin behind…”
Otama-chan grumbled as she placed her hand on the wardrobe’s handle.
“I’m opening it.”
“Okay, Tama-chan.”
Shi-chan readied her small round shield and moved beside Otama-chan.
“Hyaah!”
Clack…!
Otama-chan opened the double-door wardrobe.
Inside, there were—
“Eh, yukata…?”
“This one too…”
Two incredibly colorful yukata were hanging there.
“Gaudy, aren’t they…”
An incredibly bright pink and an incredibly bright light blue.
The upper part was a yukata, but the lower part was a skirt.
They seemed to be adult-sized, but it’s unlikely anyone would wear something like this.
“What a weird wardrobe,”
“H-Hey, Tamama, that…”
“Eh? This tacky yukata?”
“Hey! I can’t just let ‘tacky yukata’ slide!”
“Eh? Eh?”
Manamin suddenly became aggressive, but…
“What’s wrong?”
“It can’t be helped if Ko-chin doesn’t get it. But Tamama, you should know better.”
“Wh-Whyyy?!”
“Ah, could it be…”
Shi-chan seemed to have realized something.
“…Pretear?”
“Eh…?”
“Ah… come to think of it…”
An anime that used to air on Sunday mornings when we were kids.
If I remember correctly, the name was…
“Tamama, do you remember now? This is Tear Festival from the masterpiece ‘Summer Memories! Pretear’!”
“So it was Pretear clothes…”
I remember it too because Manamin used to talk about it when we were kids.
If I recall, it was a rare Pretear with Japanese-style outfits, and the protagonist was some girl aiming to be a fireworks master.
“Anyway, Manamin. You still like Pretear and stuff? That’s something kids watch, you know?”
“Huh? And you, Tamama, still loooove Ko-chin…”
“Waah, waah!! Manamin!! I’m sorry!! Pretear is the best!! It’s so pretty and tear-tear-rific!!”
“Tch… Well, I guess I’ll forgive you.”
“Is the other one like that too?”
I asked what was on my mind.
“The light blue one is Tier Music. Matsuri Neiro-chan transforms into her. By the way, Festival is Yozora Kirari-chan.”
“I didn’t ask for that much detail, but…”
Anyway, the fact that something Manamin loves is placed here means…
“Was this space created as Manamin’s room…?”
I don’t understand the mechanics of dungeon generation, but those clothes can probably be considered equipment exclusive to Manamin.
“Ah… so that’s what it is…”
Manamin also seemed to understand.
While putting the yukata back in the wardrobe, she glared at Otama-chan.
“So Tamama just opened the wardrobe in someone else’s room without permission… You’re the worst.”
“W-What?! You’re the one who told me to, Manamin!!”
Otama-chan and Manamin were squabbling noisily.
Honestly, they’re hopeless…
Anyway.
If this is how it is, then maybe there are rooms for us in this Home too.