One day, Meryl came to me with a proposal.
“Open up your store deeper in the dungeon,” she suggested. “I’m sure you’ll earn more that way, so it’s a good deal for you too.”
It might’ve been because of my small taste of experience in battle, but I was feeling a little more confident. Armed with my monster cards and Rocket Bombs, I felt I’d be all right enough heading even deeper into the dungeon.
“Hm... I would like to earn a little more than what I’m making right now...” I admitted.
“You’ll be fine. I promise,” she pleaded. “There’ll be other adventurers around when you head in, right? And you can walk home together with us.”
According to Meryl, there was a convenient room near the staircase that led down to B2. Adventurers used that room for their breaks. Monsters also seldom appeared, so it was relatively safe. The adventurers who actually headed down into B2 returned to that room to take a breather, so I could expect to earn a lot of money if I opened up shop there during the day.
“It’d also be good for me if you started doing your business there. I can easily buy Ten-Rim Chocolate Coins and stuff from you when I get tired.”
“Can’t you just stock up in the morning?”
“But I eat them up fast, so I wanna buy more whenever I run out.”
I think you just need to learn some self-restraint.
Still, I did want to earn more money fast. I wanted to get a license and rent an apartment as soon as possible. I couldn’t rest easy at the Swindoll Con Inn. If this would earn me more money, I felt it was worth getting out there and taking some risks.
“We’d all be really happy if you came, Mister Yusuke,” Mira told me. In the end, it was her words that swayed me. I decided I’d try and head for that room the next day.
✦ ✦ ✦
The next morning, I exited the good ol’ Swindoll Con Inn to find Minerva leaning against the wall.
“Oh, Minerva?!”
“Good morning,” he said. “What a coincidence...”
“What are you doing here?”
“Nothing really...”
He acted like he wasn’t up to much of anything, but it was raining out today. If he was hanging around here in spite of that, I figured he must have had an especially important reason, but what would I know?
“I’m on my way to the dungeon. How about you, Minerva?”
“I was about to head there myself.”
“I see...”
Did we really happen to run into each other by chance? With that brief thought crossing my mind, I headed with Minerva to the dungeon.
✦ ✦ ✦
Oh my god, I did it... I did it! I really did it!
I’d actually been waiting out there since before dawn, and thanks to that, I’d managed to pass everything off as a coincidence so I could walk with him to work! He’d eaten the sandwich I’d made for him yesterday, and he’d even said it was delicious. Although my plans were perfect, they had been going a little too well, and that scared me.
Aah, I really hope he returns my feelings. Ever since I’d first laid eyes on him at that cheap hotel, I had thought he was kind of good-looking. Our rooms were right next to each other too... This just had to be fate! Once I’d talked to him, I’d fallen in love with how refreshingly down-to-earth he was, how he didn’t put on an act. He’d even seen my wanted poster and said I was beautiful. I was sure he hadn’t been lying either. To think, he’d looked at a gloomy woman like me and found me attractive... He might be an angel from another world!
I wonder if he’ll eat the lunch I prepared again today? It would be easy to have him look my way by using the Secret Magic Arts of Love, but I knew that was wrong. Besides, I wanted to gain his love without resorting to magic.
But how am I supposed to let him know I’m a girl?
In order to make sure no one found out I was Michelle the witch, I routinely cast a cognitive obstruction spell around me, but perhaps I should undo that?
No, no, that’s too hasty of me. Oh, how about this? I “coincidentally” press our bodies against each other. I wonder if that would give him the hint...
Oh no, since when have I been so dirty? It seemed that it was true what people said—that love changes a woman. Today, I planned to act as Yusuke’s bodyguard lurking in the shadows of the dungeon. Oh, I’m just sooo happy right now!
✦ ✦ ✦
We quickly made it to the dungeon’s entrance, spurred onward by the rain. This world didn’t sell anything like an umbrella. The closest it had to even a raincoat was a hooded leather cloak.
Minerva actually kept ramming into me along the way, which made it rather hard to walk. Was he being playful? That mask made it really difficult to get a read on his expression.
We met up with Meryl and Mira by the dungeon entrance.
“Morning,” I said.
“Good morning...” Mira greeted me back, hesitating.
Maybe it was because Minerva was here, but the two of them looked more nervous than usual.
“Minerva, you should say hello too.”
“Hmph. You’re those cheeky brats who’re always ogling him. If you get carried away, I will destroy you.”
“Hey, what are you being so rude to my regulars for?!”
“S-Sorry. It just slipped out...”
Could it be that he just dislikes women? At the very least, he tended to be socially awkward and definitely wasn’t good at talking. When I gave him that firm scolding, Minerva hung his head dejectedly.
“Don’t mind him. Sometimes he says some weird things. He doesn’t mean any harm.”
“Huh...”
Though things had suddenly turned a bit awkward, we merged with the crowd of adventurers headed into the dungeon and continued toward our destination.
✦ ✦ ✦
I witnessed adventurers in battle several times along the way, but we reached the area near the break room without anything particularly dangerous happening.
“So, these are the stairs that lead down to floor B2, huh? They’re wider than I expected.”
This staircase looked to be a good seven meters wide.
“The break room is over here,” Meryl told me.
“You wretch,” Minerva seethed. “What are you planning to do with him there?!”
“Have him open up the dagashi-ya...”
“I see... Then that’s fine.”
Minerva was acting stranger than usual.
The room they took me to was about as big as a banquet hall at a ryokan. That reminded me, I had gone to one of those during one of my company trips.
Japan is so far away now...
I moved to a corner and set up my shop there.
“Store, open. Dagashi-ya Yahagi.”
Whoa?! I leveled up a ton this time!
What appeared this time around was something like a festival stall. The curtains hanging over the top had the words “Dagashi-ya Yahagi” written on them in big Japanese letters. I also had even more products to sell than before. My shop was lit up with decorative magic lanterns that emitted a glittering light.
“What does this say?” Mira asked, curious.
“It says Dagashi-ya Yahagi,” I replied. “It’s written in the language of my hometown.”
“The letters look rather charming...”
Laid out on the stands were not only snacks, but also things that appeared to be toys. Though, considering they were from my shop, I was sure they weren’t just regular old toys.
“What is this box?!” Meryl exclaimed. In a corner of the store was an old game machine.
Product name: Dungeon Conquest Game
Description: Insert a ten-rim coin. Then pull the spring lever to flick the coin and aim for the goal. If you make it to the goal on B7, you’ll receive a prize. The prize is a universal elixir.
Price: Ten rims per try (Only accepts ten-rim coins)
This really takes me back. It was exactly like the Bullet Train Game I’d seen at a retro game place. I remembered there had been other similar games too, like Catch Ball and Car Race.