Chapter 4: Dungeon Interior Investigation
Otama-chan, unlike when she was a child, had grown her silky hair out to her shoulders.
Her clothes too, like wearing Explorer-use tights under her skirt, had become very girly.
Her vibe was completely different from when we used to catch bugs together.
“It’s been a while. Your vibe changed so much I didn’t recognize you. Is it because of someone?”
“S-Stupid! I haven’t had a boyfriend, like, ever! I-I’ve always… mumble mumble.”
“Hey, Ms. Omogawa! Just because he’s an acquaintance doesn’t mean you can be lax with your language!”
“Ugh~”
Otama-chan, scolded by her senior Yamada-san, looked down.
“…Haha.”
What, even if her looks changed, she’s still the same inside as back then. That’s a bit of a relief.
Yamada-san from the Explorer Association smiled at me and said, “Natsume-san, please excuse her. Well then, we will now investigate the danger level inside the dungeon. Since you haven’t taken the Explorer training course, Natsume-san, you’ll have to wait outside the dungeon or near the entrance gate.”
“Understood. Since I’m here, please let me wait inside.”
I might get to see Otama-chan in action, after all.
“Very well. In that case, please wait with the city and prefectural officials. Oh, please use this.”
Saying that, Yamada-san from the Explorer Association handed me a plain helmet.
Yamada-san put on a camouflage-patterned helmet herself and walked towards the dungeon gate door.
From behind her, Otama-chan, wearing a pink helmet, furtively followed.
It seemed like she was trying to hide some design on her helmet with her hand.
…When she tries to hide it, it makes me curious.
“Sneak sneak… sneak sneak…“
“Hey, why are you sneaking around?”
“Hya, hyauu!!”
When I approached from her blind spot and tapped her shoulder, Otama-chan jumped in an exaggerated way.
In that moment, her hand came away from the helmet.
“Let’s see…”
And there, a sticker saying “NK♡” was stuck on it.
“What’s this?”
It’s the same as my initials, but it’s probably a sticker for an idol or something.
“S-Stupid!! Don’t look!”
Otama-chan covered the mark on her helmet with both hands.
“Hey, Ms. Omogawa! That’s the second time!! You mustn’t say rude things!”
“B-But… Ugh…”
I didn’t think it was a mark worth hiding, but maybe that was a little mean of me.
I should stop teasing her.
“Excuse us, Natsume-san. Well then, shall we enter?”
Yamada-san reached for the door standing on the site of the Secret Base.
However.
Rattle, rattle!
“…It doesn’t seem to open.”
The dungeon door was firmly shut.
“Huh? It opened earlier though…?”
“I’ll try.”
Similarly, even when the people from the city hall and prefectural office turned the knob, the door didn’t open.
“Th-That can’t be…”
I approached the door and turned the knob.
And then.
Click, creeeeak…
The door opened easily.
“See? Go ahead. I wasn’t lying.”
“…Hmm, hmm.”
Yamada-san from the Explorer Association jotted something down in her notepad.
“U-Um…”
“Let’s go. Come on, Ms. Omogawa, follow me.”
“Y-Yes!”
Yamada-san passed through the dungeon gate without a change in her expression.
“Hey, don’t look.”
Otama-chan, while hiding the mysterious “NK♡” string of characters on her helmet, followed Yamada-san.
And so, the three of us—me, the person from city hall, and the person from the prefectural office—also entered the dungeon.
“Ugh… It’s hot…”
Inside the gate, it was still summer, as always.
The chirping of cicadas enveloped the world.
“Whoa, what’s this! It feels kinda nostalgic, maybe!”
“Hey! Wait a bit before advancing!”
“Ugh~…”
Otama-chan got excited and made a fuss, only to be chided by Yamada-san again.
“…Well, from the looks of it, the danger level doesn’t seem that high.”
Yamada-san didn’t seem particularly surprised by the dungeon’s appearance.
“Um, are there other dungeons like this?”
I asked what I was curious about.
Yamada-san thought for a moment before speaking. “There are many dungeons where, upon descending stairs, an outdoor landscape suddenly spreads out, like a Bewildering Forest or a desert. However, this one… It’s not a normal floor, but likely a regional characteristic-reflecting floor, what’s known as a ‘Local Area Floor’.”
“‘Local Area Floor,’ you say…?”
“Yes, though it’s just speculation…”
According to Yamada-san, while the details of dungeon generation aren’t well understood, floors related to the specific land can sometimes appear.
A famous example is the 20th floor of the Shinjuku Dungeon, which is apparently modeled after a certain famous discount store known as the “Palace of Amazing Deals” (it’s said to be the most popular area in dungeon streams).
In front of the labyrinthine product shelves, there’s a penguin floor boss named Danpen-kun with a “Da” written on its belly. Defeating it supposedly gets you an e-money card called “magical,” allowing you to shop on that floor.
“It seems dungeons grow by feeding on human desires. I have some thoughts about this dungeon as well, but I’ll tell you after the investigation is complete.”
“Thank you.”
“Well then, we’ll go look around, so please wait a moment. Ms. Omogawa. Let’s go.”
“Okay! See ya, Ko-chan.”
“Yeah, do your best.”
The two from the Explorer Association walked along the rice paddy path inside the dungeon.
How should I put it?
Otama-chan is also working hard.
…Maybe I need to work hard too.
I felt a little more energetic.
Looking to the side, the person from the prefectural office was using an unfamiliar instrument to measure some numbers.
While responding to the interview questions from Tanaka-san of city hall, I waited for Otama-chan and the others to return.
☆★☆
—In about 30 minutes, the on-site investigation by the Explorer Association was finished.
“We’re back, Ko-chan!”
“Oh, good work, Otama-chan.”
“Thank you very much, Natsume-san. Before we discuss the investigation results, please step outside the dungeon.”
“Understood.”
Urged by Yamada-san from the Explorer Association, we went outside the gate.
“Kyaa, it’s cold! My sweat is freezinggg!”
Stepping outside returned us to the February climate.
Otama-chan, having taken off her helmet, shrieked and made a fuss,
“Hey! Don’t let your guard down before we finish our important discussion!”
And ended up getting scolded by Yamada-san.
“Ugh…”
“Now then… before I tell you the investigation results, please allow me to conduct an experiment.”
“An experiment…?”
“First, Tanaka-san from city hall. Can you open this dungeon door?”
“Natsume-san, excuse me.”
Rattle, rattle!
The door didn’t open.
“…It won’t open.”
“Thank you. Next, Ms. Omogawa. Can you open the door?”
“Feh!? M-Me?”
Otama-chan, who had completely let her guard down, jumped with a start, then approached the door as told.
And then.
Click, creeeeak…
“Ah, it opened!”
“I see… Understood.”
Yamada-san from the Explorer Association said after jotting something down in her notepad, “First, let me state the conclusion. This dungeon corresponds to what is called a Dungeon No. 5 under the Labyrinth Exploration Act.”
“No. 5?”
“Yes. To put it simply, it doesn’t require national management or opening to general Explorers… It will be the landowner’s completely Private Dungeon.”