Episode 106: No Entry
Yuma was rendered speechless by Kanzaki’s words. A brief silence fell between them, but it was Kanzaki who spoke first.
“Sorry. I know it’s confusing to suddenly say something like that.”
“President…”
“Well, to be honest, I’d like you to work here. But considering your abilities, it would be a waste of talent. You said you wanted to earn money while you’re young, right, Yuma? Why not do that?”
Yuma looked down. He knew Kanzaki was saying it for his sake. Certainly, a major company would offer better pay and more support. But—
Yuma raised his head and looked straight into Kanzaki’s eyes.
“President, I want to work at this company! With Maika-san and Tanaka-san!”
Kanzaki’s eyes widened at Yuma’s answer.
“Why? You won’t earn as much at this company! You said you wanted to earn as much as you could while you’re young and retire early, didn’t you?”
Hearing that, Yuma shook his head vigorously.
“If I’m getting this strong, I can earn enough without going to a major company! Besides, if I go to another company now, I might get caught up in unnecessary trouble.”
“Hmm, well, that might be true, but…”
“I like this company. It’s a bit of a black company, but… I think it’s good because it has a homey atmosphere.”
“But, Yuma, we’re a certified “C” rank company. The Dungeon floors we can enter are shallow. Aisha-san had the authority to enter the deeper levels of the Black Dungeon. We can’t go to the floors where we can earn money with just the power of this company.”
Kanzaki intended to be realistic, but—
“Then, let’s raise the rank of this company! Let’s earn money and make the company bigger… You said you wanted to earn money and retire early, right, President? I’ll do my best.”
“You… you’re saying something that’s making me want to cry. Don’t blame me if you regret it later!”
“I won’t!”
Yuma and Kanzaki firmly shook hands. Kanzaki was overjoyed and patted Yuma’s shoulder hard.
As they returned to the office, laughing together, Maika and Tanaka looked at them suspiciously.
“What’s wrong, you two?”
When Maika asked, Kanzaki brushed it off with a “nothing” and went to the back of the office. Yuma followed him.
“Now that it’s decided, we need to raise your Water Magical Power. First of all, we need to be able to earn money in the Red Dungeon.”
Kanzaki squatted in front of a small burglar-proof safe placed in the corner of the room, turned the dial, and unlocked it. He took out a black case and brought it to Yuma.
“You can use all the Water Magic Gems here—”
Saying that, Kanzaki opened the case, but it was empty.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
Yuma also looked into the case with a puzzled expression. There was nothing there.
“Hey, Maika! What happened to the Iolite Magic Gems that were here?”
Maika, who was sitting at her desk, looked up.
“Eh? Oh, the Iolite that was there was used because the amount for delivery to Aizaz was not enough.”
“You delivered them!? All of them?”
“Yeah, was that bad?”
“No, well, it’s not bad…”
Kanzaki regretfully closed the lid of the case and looked at Yuma.
“It seems like there aren’t any right now. Sorry, Yuma.”
“No, it can’t be helped. Let’s go to the Blue Dungeon next time and get some.”
As the two were talking, Maika approached with great interest.
“What, what! Does the fact that you need so many Blue Magic Gems mean that Yuma-kun’s Mana has increased a lot?”
“Eh… well, that’s…”
As Yuma struggled to answer, Kanzaki nodded with a smug look.
“Of course! He trained in the Black Dungeon. He has enough Mana now to use plenty of Magic Gems!”
“Amazing! That much in such a short period of time!?”
Maika’s eyes sparkled as she stared at him.
“Now you’ll be able to defeat a lot of Monsters in the Red Dungeon! That’s great, Yuma-kun!!”
“Ah… yes.”
Tanaka, who was listening from behind, was also happy, and he and Maika were discussing when to enter the Blue Dungeon.
“P-President! It’s true that I have a lot of Mana, right? If I don’t, I’ll disappoint them both.”
“I-It’s okay! Aisha-san said you do, so there’s no mistake.”
Seeing Kanzaki laugh heartily, Yuma felt uneasy. It wasn’t Kanzaki who measured his Mana Index, but Aisha-san.
Even if he was told that his Mana Index was 460,000, he couldn’t easily believe it.
Does he really have that much? A hint of anxiety crossed his mind.
“Ah! That’s right, President. If I defeated the Chimera, shouldn’t the Chimera’s Demon Ore have dropped?”
“Ah! Now that you mention it, that’s true. But we were in a hurry… Sorry! I left it behind.”
“I see… Well, it can’t be helped. It’s a profit just to have survived.”
“I couldn’t pick up the Demon Ore, but I’ll collect a lot of Magic Gems in the Blue Dungeon and make it so you can use Water Magic. That way, you’ll be able to easily defeat those fire-breathing Monsters!”
Saying that, Kanzaki patted his back hard. Yuma smiled wryly and suddenly remembered that he had encountered a fire-breathing Monster.
“Speaking of which, President. Actually, the other day, I was attacked by a strange Monster…”
“Hmm? Wait a minute, I’m getting a call.”
Kanzaki took out his smartphone from his pocket, grumbling, “What is it? Another call from the Dungeon Association?” and answered the phone.
Could it be about the investigation into the Black Dungeon? Yuma thought.
“Yes… Eh, really?… Haa, I understand. Yes, yes. Okay.”
Kanzaki had a serious look on his face after hanging up the phone.
“What’s wrong?”
Kanzaki was silently thinking about something even when Yuma asked, so Maika asked again, “What’s wrong? Dad?”
Kanzaki opened his mouth, “Ah, ah.”
“There seems to have been trouble in the Red Dungeon. It seems it will be off-limits for the time being.”
“Ehh!?”
Everyone was surprised. The majority of D-Minor’s income came from collecting Magic Gems in the Red Dungeon. Not being able to enter that Dungeon was the same as having their income cut off.
“I-Is it okay? Dad. When will the ban be lifted—”
“I don’t know at all. But there’s something more troublesome than that.”
“What is it? What’s troublesome?”
When Yuma asked, Kanzaki took a short breath and opened his mouth.
“If a problem has occurred in the Red Dungeon, Seekers with Water Magical Power like us may be summoned.”
“Summoned…?”
“If a vicious Monster is rampaging in Ibaraki… it means we’ll have to fight it!”