“Well, for now, let’s try going to the shrine above the stone steps.”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
“That’s right. Maybe, like on the first floor, the shrine is the key to the change.”
We walked towards the shrine, checking our surroundings.
So far, there are no stalls with noren curtains, nor are there any goods or ingredients on display.
“So far, there’s no smell of money.”
“Just because it’s a dungeon doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want…”
“Ke ke, you can open treasure chests and dressers in the dungeon, you know. Leave the dirty work to me.”
“You have no heart…”
In the end, we arrived at the foot of the stone steps without finding any items that Manamin was hoping for.
“Tch… Guess I’ll have to look forward to the future…”
“Manamin, you’re so greedy… Come on, let’s climb the stairs. I wonder what’s at the top?”
“Looks like there are about 100 steps…”
We started climbing the stairs.
“It’s fine because we’re getting Body Enhancement in the dungeon, but I wouldn’t be able to climb these stairs outside…”
“Eh, I think I’d be fine, though…”
“You’re an exception. I can’t do it either. It’s hard enough for me just to go outside Home.”
“That’s a different reason…”
As we climbed the stairs, a slender dragonfly—like a damselfly—flew through the air, different from those on the first floor.
As expected, the types of insects that appear are also slightly different.
“I think I can manage to climb without becoming Pretear.”
“Please don’t use your skill for something like this…”
And so, we climbed the stairs to the red torii gate.
“Wow… Ko-chan, look!”
“Oh…”
When I turned around, I could look down on the surrounding area.
The setting sun sinking into the western mountains.
A stone path lined with stalls.
And a large river a little further away.
Perhaps that area would be good for launching fireworks.
“That building that looks like a shrine office is where the stairs from the first floor connected, right?”
“That’s right.”
The stairs from the first floor were a tunnel made of earth, but when we went outside, the exit connected to the entrance of the shrine office.
The inside of the dungeon is mysterious.
“I can see something like a town in the back…”
I can also see rice fields and forests.
It’s an area we can’t go to because it’s blocked by an invisible wall, but it’s realistically created.
Shi-chan looked at the town and said,
“Even though it’s a town I don’t know, it feels somehow nostalgic…”
“I agree… The feeling that the world extends beyond my range of activity might be the source of the nostalgia.”
“Manamin, you’re saying something profound.”
“It’s similar to the excitement of an open-world game.”
“Sorry, I don’t understand that.”
And so, the four of us gazed at the twilight world for a while.
“Ko-chan, shall we try going to the shrine soon?”
“…I guess so.”
Turning around, we passed through the red torii gate.
Unlike the first floor, the shrine is also magnificent.
Although it doesn’t have flashy decorations, it’s about the size of a small hut.
“Ko-chan, there’s an Offering Box after all!”
“I wonder if the shrine has a secret after all?”
“Shall we try it?”
The Ghost Knights we defeated in the Utsunomiya Dungeon were a group of five.
We offered four coins at the shrine on the first floor, but there’s still one left.
“Whoa, hey, that’s hundreds of thousands of yen…”
“I think Harmin-sama wouldn’t be stingy anymore…”
I opened my pouch and took out a Dungeon Platinum coin.
Then.
“Ah, Ko-chan, the coin is starting to glow!”
“The Offering Box too…!”
“Ah… I didn’t want it to glow…”
“This is a sure thing.”
The same faint white light as on the first floor was lit on the coin and the Offering Box.
This must be the dungeon’s way of indicating that we should offer the coin.
“Then, let’s all go together.”
I walked towards the Offering Box, clutching the Dungeon Platinum.
After confirming that all four of us were lined up side by side, I threw the coin in.
Clink, rattle…
Next, I rang the bell with the rope.
Clang, clang!
And then, following the proper etiquette, I offered my prayers.
Clap, clap!
Then…
“Ah, Ko-chan!”
Just like on the first floor, a white sphere flew out of the Offering Box.
“Alright… good.”
The sphere remained in the air for a while.
“Ah!”
Whoosh!
It flew towards the end of the torii gate at considerable speed.
“Natsume-kun, that way!”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
Everyone ran towards the stairs.
Looking down at the festival scenery from the high ground.
—The white light was flying near the entrance to the second floor.
“It’s pretty fast…”
“Can’t catch up. It’s useless to run.”
“Manamin, you seem relieved…”
“Ah, Ko-chan! The light stopped!”
“You can see well…”
Looking closely, the speed of the light did seem to be decreasing.
It swayed unsteadily as it moved towards the Paper Lantern.
And then.
“Ah…”
The Paper Lantern absorbed the light, lighting up one after another.
Like a flame transferring from candle to candle.
“Wow! It’s getting brighter and brighter!”
After the Paper Lantern glowed red one after another over a distance of about 10 meters.
The change stopped abruptly.
“Huh, did it stop?”
“…It seems so.”
“One Dungeon Platinum isn’t enough, huh?”
“Tch… Greedy dungeon.”
But…
“…I feel like it’s gotten a little darker around here.”
I suddenly noticed because the light from the Paper Lantern was so clear.
“Ah, you’re right!”
“The position of the sun has also changed slightly.”
“If we keep offering materials like this, maybe it will eventually become night and the festival will begin.”
“Maybe fireworks will go off!”
“I hope so.”
—And so.
While making a fuss, we left the Private Dungeon.
After leaving the dungeon, we all ate at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant in the city, and then we called it a day.
☆★☆
That night.
A LINK message arrived.
Ping!
[Team: Secret Base’s Friendly Four]
Sasarabashi Shiho: I arrived in Tokyo safely. Everyone, thank you for your hard work this week!
Tamaki: We’re an A-Rank Party!
Tamaki: I said it yesterday too, but it’s all thanks to Ko-chan
Tamaki: (A bear stamp crying and saying “Thank you so much”)
Kouichi: I didn’t do much
Kouichi: It’s the power of all four of us
Manami: The tragic heroine Omogawa Tamaki doesn’t need an essay manga exposing the country’s tyranny anymore
Tamaki: I didn’t need that from the start, seriously
Tamaki: Besides, it’s already trending online even without that
Tamaki: Shi-chan’s boss was taking bribes, right?
Sasarabashi Shiho: Tomorrow will be hectic at work…
Sasarabashi Shiho: There’s also the Penguin-san Team’s party disbandment procedure…
Sasarabashi Shiho: I want to see everyone again soon
Sasarabashi Shiho: After a tough job, it’s lonely being alone in Tokyo
Sasarabashi Shiho: (A rabbit from a picture book crying softly stamp)
Tamaki: Shall we go to Tokyo next time?
Tamaki: I want to go to the Shinjuku Dungeon!
Manami: I’ve written so many blog posts about Shinjuku, I guess I could go once in a while
Kouichi: It feels like we’ve become an A-Rank Party
Kouichi: I want to go to Tokyo too
Kouichi: I want to overwrite it with fun memories
Sasarabashi Shiho: Thank you, everyone!
Sasarabashi Shiho: (A rabbit from a picture book saying “I love you!” stamp)
Sasarabashi Shiho: I feel like I can do my best from tomorrow
Manami: You two should just become independent, like me and Ko-chin
Kouichi: I didn’t become independent, I just got fired…
Tamaki: Manami, you’ve been unemployed from the start, right?
Manami: Dungeon Shrine God, please listen. My dream is to be with Ko-chan…
Tamaki: (A bear stamp scattering confetti)
Tamaki: (A bear stamp scattering confetti)
Sasarabashi Shiho: Haha
Sasarabashi Shiho: Thank you, Manamin. But I’ll try my best a little longer
Sasarabashi Shiho: I want to create a skill research system
Sasarabashi Shiho: Like with Natsume-kun, even skills that don’t seem to have a clear use at first glance might have great potential
Sasarabashi Shiho: If we can figure out how to make use of those skills, it would be good for that person and for society
Kouichi: That’s a good goal
Kouichi: You’re thinking of everyone, that’s amazing
Tamaki: I also have a debt to repay to Yamada-san for raising me
Tamaki: I’ll try my best until I can repay that debt
Kouichi: Otama-chan is admirable too
Kouichi: I have to learn from you
Tamaki: What are you saying, Ko-chan
Tamaki: The most amazing one is Ko-chan, you know
Sasarabashi Shiho: That’s right. Level 50 is one of the top Explorers in Japan
Manami: He’s the leader of the A-Rank Party. Ke ke, should I get an autograph from a celebrity?
Kouichi: Is that so?
Tamaki: That’s right, have confidence! Ko-chan is the best!
Kouichi: Thank you, everyone
☆★☆
Even after the LINK messages stopped, I kept looking back at the history.
…With confidence, huh?
That message reminded me of the feeling I had on the second floor of the Private Dungeon.
A feeling I’d been suppressing for a long time.
I always thought that someone like me, with no special talents, shouldn’t fall in love with anyone.
I even thought that being liked by someone like me would only be a burden.
But… now that I’ve become an A-Rank Party member.
Now that I’m a full-fledged Explorer, and I can be confident in myself.
–Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay for me to like someone.
That kind of feeling was starting to sprout.
“Do I… want to become lovers with one of my childhood friends?”
For a moment, Otama-chan’s face flashed in my mind.
My heart pounded with unfamiliar emotions.
But — Otama-chan probably only thinks of me as a friend.
Everyone else is the same.
–If I bring in weird feelings, will everyone fall apart again…?
“Ugh… seriously…”
I don’t know.
I spent the night in a state of restless anxiety.