Chapter 10: Playing in the Water with My Childhood Friend ①
The next day.
As I was getting ready to go to the Explorer Association to exchange magic stones for cash, the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong.
“…Hmm.”
I wondered if a neighbor had brought over a neighborhood circular. Since it’s a weekday, both my father and mother are out at work. Thinking it would be a pain if they pried into my current situation, I opened the front door to find my childhood friend, Otama-chan.
“Yo, Ko-chan. I came as promised.”
“Promise?”
The one about wanting to come play in the Private Dungeon, huh?
“You should’ve contacted me beforehand. Besides, I was just about to head to the Explorer Association…”
“The Association is closed today, you know? I thought you knew…”
“Ah…”
At my previous job, clients always came first, so I didn’t really have a sense of fixed holidays. I’d completely forgotten about regular closing days.
“My bad. Come to think of it, you did say you’d come on your day off. Was that today?”
“Y-Yeah. Oh, um… In that case, can you give me your LINK address? So I can contact you in advance…”
“Ah, sorry.”
I took out my smartphone and added Otama-chan as a friend. Immediately, there was a pikon! sound, and a message from Otama-chan arrived.
Tamaki: Looking forward to it!
Then, a sticker with a polar bear character and “Looking forward to it ♡” written on it was sent.
Whoa, such a girly sticker. At my old job, I only used LINK for work-related communication. All I ever got were long text messages or blunt work orders. I hadn’t received such a cheerful sticker in ages, so I was genuinely happy.
I hadn’t bought any fancy stickers, so I just replied with plain text and a default sticker.
Kouichi: Looking forward to it!
“Ah…”
Otama-chan checked her phone screen,
“Mhm!”
and smiled happily.
☆★☆
We walked towards the Private Dungeon.
“You changed your helmet, huh?”
The helmet Otama-chan was carrying wasn’t the pink one from before, but a light blue one.
“D-Did I? I forgot!”
“You know, it had a sticker of your favorite idol or something on it… the NK one.”
I remember it well because those are my initials too.
“Ah, ahh, that one! It was on there from the start!! Because it was a cheap helmet!”
“Is that so? That’s an unusual design.”
“Maybe that’s why it was cheap? Ahahaha~”
Otama-chan laughed as if trying to cover something up.
…Maybe she was embarrassed about buying something cheap.
I decided not to press the issue further. I changed the subject and continued walking with Otama-chan. After climbing the mountain path for a short while, the door to the dungeon gate came into view.
☆★☆
Inside the Private Dungeon, a summer landscape spread out, and the chirping of cicadas could be heard. As soon as I closed the dungeon gate door, Otama-chan immediately took off her coat. Underneath, she was wearing an outdoor brand T-shirt.
“Phew, it really is hot. This is exciting!”
“…Hey, who was it that said long sleeves and long pants were the rule inside dungeons?”
Inside a dungeon, one should wear, at a minimum, clothing from an explorer equipment manufacturer. One should be conscious of protecting their skin. I had just learned that from her during the Explorer Association’s training session.
“Ehehe, there aren’t any monsters anyway, right? Well, I brought my sword, so if something happens, I’ll manage.”
“…So irresponsible. I can just picture you always recklessly charging at enemies and getting scolded by Yamada-san from the Association.”
“W-Wha-!? How do you know!? Did someone tell you!?”
“…I don’t need to hear it to know.”
I can only imagine Yamada-san’s hardships.
“So, what are you planning to do today?”
I don’t know what skills Otama-chan has, but I’m probably the only one who can level up by catching bugs.
“Um, well, for now, I want to go to the river!”
“The river? Is there something there?”
“Nah, I don’t have anything specific in mind, but the water was really pretty.”
…Come to think of it, Otama-chan always loved playing in rivers since we were kids.
“When we made that promise the other day, you were talking about growing as an Explorer or something, but you don’t intend to train, huh?”
“Ehehe. Because, Ko-chan, you level up just by catching bugs, right? I’m a Secret Base Member here too, you know. So, if I do what I love most, it should lead to the best results!”
“…You’re optimistic.”
“Well, worst case, as long as we have fun, it’s OK! Come on, let’s go~!”
“H-Hey.”
Otama-chan started walking into the forest.
☆★☆
“Ah, look! So pretty!”
Beside the rice paddy path, several tall, large sunflowers were blooming.
“It really feels like summer! I like sunflowers.”
“They definitely weren’t growing here yesterday, though…”
Did the dungeon change because the two of us entered together? It’s truly mysterious.
“Don’t worry about the small stuff! Look at these wonderful sunflowers!”
“Hmm…”
It didn’t seem like I’d figure it out by thinking, so for now, I caught the ladybug that was resting on a petal.
Encyclopedia No. 35/251
Name: Three-Star Ladybug
Rarity: 0
Capture Skill: None
Capture EXP: 3
Drop Item: Magic Stone (Minute)
☆★☆
Eventually, we reached the riverbank. Although the location was slightly different from yesterday, the water level seemed a bit higher. Yesterday, the water only came up to my ankles, but today it’s up to just below my knees.
“Wooow! The water is so clear!”
Otama-chan was overjoyed. The water reflected the blue of the sky, turning it an aquamarine color. I didn’t show it, but I was getting excited too. It reminds me of when we were little.
“This place really is the best. I’ve had my eye on it since that investigation the other day.”
“The river near our houses got all covered in algae before we knew it.”
“Alright, let’s play~”
Otama-chan hiked up her T-shirt and unfastened the hook on her pants.
“H-Hey! Are you planning to change here!?”
Just like that, thump, her pants fell to her ankles. Otama-chan lifted her T-shirt,
“Ta-da! I was wearing a swimsuit underneath! I wore it from home~!”
She showed off a blue, floral-patterned bikini.
“Thought it was underwear? Too bad~!”
She took off her pants and rolled them up.
“O-Oh…”
…More than whether it was a swimsuit or underwear, I was flustered by the situation of a girl taking off her pants and showing what she was wearing underneath. I wish I could have responded more jokingly, but I couldn’t react properly. I was too embarrassed to look directly at Otama-chan.
“H-Hey… When you react like that, it kinda makes me embarrassed… D-Don’t get the wrong idea, okay? I’m not usually this playful! It’s just because I’m with Ko-chan that I got carried away having fun… U-Ugh…”
Otama-chan’s face turned bright red as she spoke incredibly fast.
“I-I get it. You don’t usually do this kind of thing, right, Otama-chan?”
I thought I was backing her up by understanding her intention, but Otama-chan got even more worked up and said,
“Y-You don’t get it! It’s not ‘don’t usually,’ I’ve never done this before… Ugh, what am I even saying? Aaargh, forget it!!”
Otama-chan ran into the river. Splash! Splash! Large sprays of water went up.
“Come on!! Ko-chan, you come over here too! Let’s play together!”
For some reason, Otama-chan, while making a fuss all by herself, started splashing water at me.