Chapter 17: Playing Tag with My Childhood Friend ①
“Yaho~, Ko-chan.”
When I opened the front door, Otama-chan, wearing a T-shirt under her coat, was waving.
“Yo. Are you going to dinner in that outfit too?”
“Nuh-uh. I’ll go home and change first. I’m wearing a swimsuit under this, after all.”
It seems she plans to play in the river today as well.
–Yesterday.
After requesting the purchase of Jade Spirit Magic Stones at the Explorer Association, I tried asking Otama-chan if she wanted to go for a meal together, and…
“I want to! I definitely want to go! But I also want to go to the Private Dungeon!!”
…was her response.
So, we decided to go to the Private Dungeon together during the day, and then have dinner together afterward.
And so, today,
“Truth be told, I wanted to hang out with you from the morning. But I had a bunch of things I had to do. Now, let’s make the most of our limited time and play to our heart’s content!!”
Saying that, Otama-chan raised a clenched fist.
☆★☆
Otama-chan and I walked along the mountain path to the Private Dungeon.
“Speaking of which, you’re taking the next general Explorer exam, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Your decision to switch from a Green License to a general one was pretty quick, huh?”
“…To be honest, I’ve admired Explorers for a long time. Since my results from the national examination were bad, I’d been suppressing those feelings.”
“Huh… As for me, I became an Explorer because I didn’t think I could make it in a normal company… So, what did you think when you found out I had become an Explorer?”
Otama-chan asked me, teasingly.
…Well, whatever.
Now that my level as an Explorer has gone up, I can say it honestly.
“Honestly, I thought it was amazing. More than feeling frustrated, I felt a strong sense of respect, thinking that you, Otama-chan, had also been working hard in places I didn’t know about. It encouraged me to work hard too.”
At that, Otama-chan averted her gaze from me and,
“S-stupid. Don’t answer so seriously… You could’ve just said it was no big deal or something…”
“Being an Explorer is life-threatening, and I know all too well that you can’t do it without some kind of talent. I can’t say it’s no big deal.”
“Ah… thanks.”
Otama-chan murmured, looking embarrassed.
Back in middle school, how happy I would have been if I could have thought that being an Explorer was no big deal.
It was precisely because I admired them that my own incompetence was so frustrating.
And so, time passed.
I was able to obtain stats high enough to take the general Explorer exam.
“…It’s a strange thing, isn’t it?”
“Eh, what is?”
“If I hadn’t been fired from my job in Tokyo, I might have gone through a boring life without ever meeting you again like this, Otama-chan.”
“Y-yeah…”
“When I got fired, I felt hopeless, but… thinking about it now, maybe it was necessary to turn my life around for the better.”
Then, after fidgeting a little, Otama-chan said.
“Th-then, I’ll guide you so you don’t get lost in life again.”
And then, Otama-chan squeezed my hand tightly.
“O-oi.”
It was as if we were lovers holding hands.
Her warm body heat transferred to me, making my heart pound.
“A long time ago, we used to hold hands like this, right? During festivals and stuff, so we wouldn’t get lost. …Do you remember?”
“Ah, yeah…”
What, is she just thinking of this as an extension of how things used to be?
She probably held my hand without any particularly deep meaning.
Thinking that, I looked at Otama-chan.
“…”
Her face was bright red, and she was looking down, her lips pressed together.
…Honestly, what kind of expression is that…?
…In the end, we ended up walking to the Private Dungeon in silence.
☆★☆
We passed through the gate of the Private Dungeon and moved into the summer world.
“Yaho~, summer vacation!”
Once inside the dungeon, Otama-chan returned to her usual self.
“Let’s play! Come on, let’s go to the river!”
…Her mood changes so fast, I can barely keep up.
“It’s good that you’re having fun. By the way, what do they do in the general Explorer exam?”
I wondered if I should prepare for the exam.
When I asked her, thinking that, Otama-chan said.
“Basically, they check if you can deal with monsters.”
“Deal with them?”
“Yep. On the first floor of the Ota Dungeon, which is the venue, they see if you can actually fight and defeat a goblin. You do this twice, once with skills and once without. Easy, right?”
“Well, what you have to do is simple enough.”
My first real battle, huh…
I’m getting a little nervous.
“Well, you’ll be fine, Ko-chan. After all, you were level 16 the other day. Maybe you’ve even hit 17 already? For goblins, level 3 is more than enough.”
“…I reached level 21.”
“T-twenty-one?”
“That’s right. Same as you, Otama-chan, wasn’t it? Yamada-san, who processed my exam application yesterday, was surprised too.”
“Ah, I leveled up once the other day, so I’m level 22 now. I’m still stronger than you!”
Otama-chan emphasized, waving her hands.
“…Well, you have more experience, so I probably can’t beat you in a real fight. But if it’s just speed, I might be faster, right? My speed stat was the only high one.”
“Muu… It’s not like I’m slow either. I won’t lose to Ko-chan, who still only has a Green License!”
Otama-chan pouted.
“Haha, my bad. I’ll wait until I get a proper license before trying to compete with you, Otama-chan.”
I said that to appease Otama-chan, but…
“…Let’s have a match.”
“Eh…?”
“A match of tag.”
“Here?”
“Yep. I’ll be ‘it’. You can run, Ko-chan. If I catch you, you lose. If I give up, you win, Ko-chan.”
“O-oi.”
“Here I go! Ten, nine, eight…”
It seems she’s really going to do it.
Geez.
Her way of thinking hasn’t changed since we were kids.
Well, it might be just right as a skill assessment before the Explorer exam.
“Alright.”
I unleashed my full level 21 speed and dashed down the middle of the path between the rice paddies.
First, I’ll escape into the forest.
“Three-two-one-zero!!”
From behind, I heard Otama-chan’s voice finishing the count.
The count was unnaturally fast towards the end, but well, I’ll let it slide.
Bathing in the summer breeze and the sound of cicadas, I ran towards the forest.