“Is something the matter, Kawai? You’ve had a gloomy face since this morning… Is something wrong?”
It was late April, far from summer, but a warm breeze had begun to blow.
Invited by her mother, she had breakfast with her on the second-floor balcony. That girl—Shirogasaki Kawai—sighed with a hint of melancholy at her mother’s question.
The tea tasted a bit weaker than usual.
She knew the reason. It was the impact of the assault incident that had occurred ten days ago.
—Her friend, Kiraboshi Yoshiko, had been assaulted by another friend, Kamase Aneki.
She hadn’t seen it directly, but many classmates were gossiping about it, and… she heard that a video, heartlessly spread, was circulating on underground websites.
Aneki-san received a one-month suspension. However, according to Imoutoya-san, she wasn’t in a mental state to come to school.
The incident became a minor news item in the neighborhood, and she heard that it caused a stir in the school’s faculty meeting.
Kiraboshi-san hadn’t suffered any fractures, but the sight of her painful bandages earned her sympathy, and everyone was worried about her.
Also, through the homeroom teacher, it was explained that the story about her “selling herself” was a complete lie.
She smiled and said she was “okay,” but sometimes she wore a painful smile.
Imoutoya-san… she came to school, but she was treated like a hot potato.
And then, there was me—
“Kawai, are you alright now? I was surprised when I heard you were injured in the Dungeon.”
“I didn’t suffer any serious injuries. Besides, I don’t remember much…”
The Dungeon incident that occurred at school. Shirogasaki was also a victim, but her memory was vague.
…She remembered a Creature wearing armor on its upper body.
But she lost consciousness immediately, and didn’t suffer any serious injuries.
So—Shirogasaki believed that it was an accident caused by a terrifying Monster.
…There was absolutely no way that Imoutoya-san’s “Class Representative’s Disguise” theory could be true.
We’re friends.
Friends are supposed to get along with each other.
So, there’s no way she would swing a Chainsaw at a friend, or… At that time, Shirogasaki felt like she was pushed from behind—there’s no way she would push a friend like a sacrifice.
She thought it was rude to even suspect it.
It was all the work of a malicious Monster.
She couldn’t think of any other explanation.
And if everything was a malicious act by a Monster—
Then Aneki-san hitting Kiraboshi-san, thinking she was a Monster, was just a misunderstanding.
Nothing more than a mix-up.
“Mother. My friends, Aneki-san and Imoutoya-san, seem to think that the Monster that appeared in the Dungeon was a disguise of our friend… But that’s impossible. I think she’s mistaking the terror of being attacked by a real Monster that appeared in the Dungeon…”
“Yes. I heard the explanation from the school, too. There was a Creature in armor, right?”
“Yes. There was a Monster in invisible armor.”
She heard that the school teacher heard it from the Cleaner in charge.
“It was all the work of the Monsters,” they said.
Of course, the Monsters had already been exterminated and the Dungeon had disappeared.
“But because of that, everyone is now at odds with each other… According to rumors, Kamase-san and the others had been bullying Kiraboshi-san before… But I don’t know how much of that is true.”
Friends would never bully each other.
It’s such an obvious thing, Shirogasaki thought, furrowing her brow, and her mother smiled gently.
“Kawai, you’re such a kind child.”
“I’m just putting into practice what I learned from you, Mother… We must never forget to believe in people.”
“Yes. There are constant, ugly conflicts happening in the world… But we are human beings. Humans have intelligence and words. If we can exchange words and understand each other, people can always join hands.”
Shirogasaki nodded at her mother’s teachings.
Shirogasaki believed in her mother’s righteousness. So much so that it could be called faith.
In fact, her mother was an amazing person.
She was always actively involved in online volunteer activities, and…
When Shirogasaki was in elementary school, she was lightly bullied by her classmates, but as soon as her mother went to the other mother with a “gift,” the bullying stopped completely.
In fact, she was even invited to play by the classmate who had hated her until yesterday.
She still remembered the excitement of that time, and she could still vividly recall studying with her first friend until evening.
That’s why Shirogasaki believed in dialogue between people…
She believed in the power of words from the bottom of her heart.
“Kawai. You want to make up with your friends, don’t you?”
“…Yes. Kamase-san and Kiraboshi-san were the ones who spoke to me when I first entered school. They’re important friends… And I don’t want to repeat the mistakes I made in middle school.”
“Yes. At that time, I was so worried that I didn’t let you go to school, but now I think it was a mistake… I should have believed in you and made you face it.”
There was a reason why Shirogasaki came to this ordinary school.
It was because she couldn’t make friends at the middle school she used to attend, and instead, she was harassed.
Looking back on it now—her powers of persuasion must have been insufficient.
She lacked the words to persuade them as a friend. She lacked the heart to believe in her friends.
That’s why Shirogasaki wouldn’t repeat the same mistake.
She could always get along with her friends.
She had to get along with them.
Otherwise, the meaning of Shirogasaki transferring to this school, her beliefs, would be broken…
“Do your best, Kawai. As a member of the Shirogasaki family, I am proud that you have grown up so upright.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“That’s a good answer. But if anything happens, please feel free to consult me… If it leads to anything that could become a scandal for the Shirogasaki family, we must deal with it as soon as possible.”
“…A scandal?”
“Yes. I believe in the bonds between people. But there are some hopeless people in the world who just want to speak ill of others… Of course, there aren’t any in your classmates… But among adults, there are a few cowards who can’t believe in people.”
Her mother said sadly, and then left her seat, saying it was time.
She believed she had a cooking class today. After that, yoga… or something?
Her mother was always striving to improve herself.
Shirogasaki watched her mother’s back as she left, and put her lips to the cold cup—
And thought of one thing that bothered her.
Recently, Kiraboshi had been absorbed in Dungeon-related part-time jobs.
Dungeons were dangerous and barbaric.
As Shirogasaki, who had keenly felt this during the school incident, she didn’t want Kiraboshi to be involved in Dungeons any further.
…Shirogasaki was the one who first invited her to the Dungeon… But she didn’t think it was right to get so absorbed in Dungeon攻略.
Playing hobby games with everyone was completely different from forgetting one’s duties as a student and getting absorbed in them for hours.
But she went to the Dungeon almost every day.
Leaving her friends behind.
The reason was probably—there was a bad adult behind her, recommending the Dungeon to her.
“…………”
Shirogasaki respected her mother.
…At the same time, she knew that there were real bad adults in this world who couldn’t be reasoned with.
Criminals. Swindlers.
Big villains who did things that would get them arrested by the police.
…Kiraboshi seemed to admire the old man at her part-time job, calling him “Sensei”…
What if that old man was an “evil” person who was deceiving her friend?
In order to protect her friend—she had no choice but to eliminate him.
Shirogasaki was Kiraboshi’s friend.
It was also a friend’s job to correct a friend who was trying to go down the wrong path.
If she had any worries, she would consult with her as a friend, and if she was in trouble with money, she could give her some charity.
If she was being threatened by a dark part-time job… she could use the power of the Shirogasaki family to pull strings from behind, and that was what she truly believed a friend should do.
“…I’ll do what I can. First, I’ll talk to Kiraboshi-san.”
Renewing her determination, Shirogasaki finished her breakfast, headed to the entrance as usual, and nodded to the driver.
While being swayed by the luxury car that started without a sound, she touched her Smartphone, and Dungeon-related news flowed into the trends.
—A report that a new A-class Dungeon, the “Underwater Crystal Cave,” had appeared in Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City.
The Labyrinth Agency issued an unusual report stating that this Dungeon had a very high degree of invasion and that the general public should never approach it. In the unlikely event that the Boss Monster “Mother Sphere” confirmed in this Dungeon was sighted on the ground, please report it as soon as possible…
She was about to swipe it away, thinking it was irrelevant news, but she stopped.
Dungeons were dangerous.
But there are also facilities where safety is ensured, like the lower levels of the Rank S Dungeon “Nagi Plains.”
……Recently, I’ve heard about activities like “Dungeon Buddies,” where people become friends through dungeons—and more importantly.
If you have a falling out in a dungeon, making up in a dungeon—the composition is beautiful.
I’ve decided.
I’ll invite her to the dungeon again as a friend!
And then, I’ll talk to her properly and get her to understand.
The essence of being a student is friendship and studying.
A High School Girl shouldn’t devote her time to something as barbaric, dangerous, and boring as a dungeon.
Playing with friends is definitely much more important than that.
That’s right.
If I talk about what’s natural for a high school student, she’ll understand.
She’s bound to understand.
She has to understand.
Because that’s the kind of friend Shirogasaki believes in, and no other kind of friendship exists in this world, Shirogasaki thought quite naturally…
What kind of things should I talk about with my friend, Kiraboshi-san, today?
And with a smile like a normal High School Girl, she slowly began to jot down what she wanted to talk about on her Smartphone.
We have started Chapter 2. Thank you for your support this year as well.