Chapter 3

The alarm on my smartphone rings, waking me up. I take a deep breath to clear my head and recall what happened last night. I cautiously observe my surroundings and return to the basement, but there are no signs of monsters ascending from the dungeon. However, when I peek into the dungeon, I see a slimy, translucent substance. No, it’s moving, so it must be a slime. Still, I can’t think of a way to defeat it, so I sit on the edge of the step and observe the slime. The slime seems to notice me, slowly emerging from the dungeon and coming towards me before flattening itself at the bottom of the hole. It’s trembling. Then it jumps.

“Whoa!”

I’m taken aback because I didn’t expect it to jump, so I take a step back. A slime no more than 30 centimeters in diameter jumped a meter. That’s surprising. In a certain popular RPG, it wouldn’t be strange for a slime to jump, but this slime isn’t cute. It’s not a soft, squishy thing; it’s more like a dirty, liquid mass. Who would expect it to jump?

While I’m on edge, Haru comes down from the first floor.

“Good morning, big brother. Let’s eat breakfast.”

Looking at Haru’s hand, I see two onigiri on a plate.

“Thanks.”

I ruffle Haru’s hair, and she closes her eyes in delight, looking happy. After watching her for a moment, I eat one of the onigiri. Haru starts eating hers beside me. As always, the saltiness of the onigiri Haru makes is just right and delicious.

“Oh, salt.”

I remember something and go to the kitchen to get some salt, which I sprinkle on the slime. The slime, which was oozing at the bottom of the step, seems to shrink. Or so it seems. Then it jumps again.

“Eek!”

Sigh.

Haru lets out a cute scream, and I sigh. I thought it was shrinking, so it would work, but it seems the slime was just preparing to jump. It probably attacked because it was provoked from above. But it’s just that. The slime’s volume hasn’t decreased, and the salt was wasted. The slime is probably not just water. Or it might have a membrane on the surface, or the slime’s ability to absorb water is stronger than salt. If that’s the case, pouring saltwater on it would just create salt.

“Alright, we know the slime can’t come out of the basement. Let’s go to the home center.”

I call out to Haru and stand up. I open a drawer in the corner of the room and peel off the 100,000 yen stuck to the back. It might seem like a small amount to others, but to us, it’s a large sum. We’ve been saving this money, which we brought from our previous home, and haven’t used it. We initially used it, but we’ve been replenishing it through part-time jobs and saving a little each month. For Haru’s dowry.

I want to increase my part-time jobs, but if I take too many, Haru cries. She says she doesn’t like being alone. I think she should get a part-time job too, but she’s too shy and gets rejected at interviews. In the future, she needs to overcome this, but if she can’t, I hope she finds a kind and supportive husband. Well, I wouldn’t approve of just any guy. I can’t let Haru marry someone like my father.

I put the 100,000 yen, my wallet, smartphone, and rope into my bag and leave the house. The rope is for tying the things I buy to the bicycle.

“Big brother, hurry up!”

Haru is urging me from the back of the bicycle. Two people on a bike? No one cares in the countryside. There’s no one to stop us or even bump into us. Even if we go to a more populated area, I don’t plan to stop riding with two people. It’s just tiring.

We arrive at the home center without any issues. The only problem is that Haru is humming “bukki♪” in the back. Please stop. I don’t want to be seen as a dangerous person.

From our home, it’s a two-hour bike ride to this area, which is well-paved with asphalt and has a variety of apartments and stores.

When we enter the home center, I drag Haru to the fence section instead of the tools and gardening tools.

“Why fences?”

Haru, as usual, isn’t thinking. She’s good at assembling things and calculating, but I’m better at reading minds and predicting.

“Even if the slime can’t come out, we want to block it. We’ll use the fence as a cover.”

“Oh, I see. Then I’ll make a door. We should have a metal cutter at home, so I’ll just buy wire. We don’t have welding equipment, and even if we did, I heard you need a license to use it. I’ll try to do it with wire.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

It’s clear that Haru excels at crafting.

I pick out a sturdy fence that won’t break even if stepped on or kicked, then get a cart and head to the tools section. However, we have a lot of tools at home. I wonder what my parents and grandparents were planning by storing them in the shed.

“Buy wire and stakes to fix it, and maybe some screws. We have a hammer and drill at home.”

Haru quickly looks around the tools and gathers only what we need.

“I want a crowbar. It’s classic, but also a wrench and a hammer.”

Haru, probably thinking of zombie movies, is holding a crowbar on her shoulder and tilting her head. It’s not cute. It’s scary.

“Alright, just the crowbar.”

I choose the most convenient one, but for some reason, the cart suddenly seems ominous. If we buy a wrench and a hammer, we’ll definitely look suspicious. We’ll buy more in the gardening section later.

“Alright, let’s go to the gardening section next.”

Haru walks energetically as usual.

The items in the gardening section are mostly weapons. Or rather, there’s no other use for them in the dungeon. Even if you spread seeds or fertilizer in the dungeon, the ground can’t be dug.

Haru brings a machete with a rubber grip that can also be used as a spear. To a layman, it’s hard to tell the difference from a knife. Maybe it’s a bit thicker. But since we’re not using it to cut wood, it’s fine.

“I’ll take this.”

I pick up a triangular spade nearby. The part that digs into the ground is triangular, making it easy to penetrate, and it has a blade for cutting grass. It’s a handy tool. I swing it to see if it looks unnatural, but it doesn’t. The handle is made of metal and seems sturdy, so I’m satisfied and put it in the cart. We’ve gathered everything we need, so we return to the fence section, load the chosen fence into the cart, and head to the register.

I’m relieved that we weren’t suspected at the register and were able to leave the store.

Now, I’m loading the items onto the bicycle. Small items go in the front basket, and long items are inserted into the bicycle like an umbrella. I tie the fence to the side of the bicycle. There’s no way I can ride it now.

“Sigh.”

Haru and I sigh simultaneously and start walking home. A two-hour bike ride one way. I’ve heard that a bicycle is three times faster than walking, so it’s a six-hour walk. No wonder we’re sighing.

When we get home, we immediately carry the items down to the basement. The return trip took six hours, and we stopped at other stores, so it took eight hours to get back. A round trip of 10 hours, plus two hours for shopping and eating, totaling 12 hours. I’m mentally and physically exhausted, but I can’t rest. We need to prepare for the dungeon as soon as possible.

We lay out the items we bought in the basement:

120x150 iron fence, thick wire, stakes, padlock, crowbar, machetes x2, triangular spade, full-body protectors x2, work clothes x2, water bottles x2.

A total of 90,000 yen and a little more. The 100,000 yen we brought is gone.

Haru starts working with the large wire cutters she bought and the fence and wire. I carry the items from the basement to the first floor. We decided on the way back that the basement would be dedicated to the dungeon. There’s not much in this house, but the drawers were heavy, and the rest were small items. We decided to keep Haru’s saw, hammer, and other tools in the basement.

“Big brother, I’m done.”

When I return to the basement, Haru is lying on her back.

“Good job. You can rest now. We just need to install the fence.”

I lift the fence and notice that part of it opens like a door.

“The door is 80x80.”

Haru reports. An 80x80 door should be large enough for most things to pass through. I take out a vibration drill from the many tools we have. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll try not to think about it.

“Haru, it’s going to be loud, so go upstairs and put in earplugs.”

I send Haru upstairs to put in earplugs. I wish they had noise-canceling headphones, but there’s nothing I can do. I’m still worried, so I wrap a cloth around my head to cover my ears.

I drill holes about 1 cm away from the edge of the dungeon’s step. Normally, drilling into concrete like this would risk cracking the sides, but the dungeon can’t be destroyed, so it’s fine. I drill eight holes, four on the edge of the dungeon and four in between. I place the fence to cover the entrance to the dungeon and hammer the stakes into the holes to secure it. I lock the door with a large padlock and hang the key on the side with wire. Since we’re not dealing with humans, as long as it can’t be opened by pushing or pulling, it’s fine.

Incidentally, there was nothing under the hole. The slime must have gone back.

When I check to make sure there’s no enemy, I notice for the first time that the open door can be used as a ladder. It’s just like Haru to be so considerate.

“Done.”

I’m satisfied and lie down. My ears hurt a little from the earplugs and the cloth. But at least the preparations are complete. All that’s left is to enter the dungeon. I put my hand on my head and close my eyes. I’ve done so much. I can sleep a little, right? I justify it to myself. My consciousness gradually drifts into a light sleep.