Chapter 7

The shock that followed immediately after killing the hobgoblin gradually faded as we walked, keeping an eye out for monsters. The pale faces we had gradually returned to normal. Even though the enemies around us had become mere cannon fodder after defeating the boss, the increased number of monsters had made it difficult to pay attention to that.

We returned to the basement with few words and let out a sigh of relief. We quickly took off our blood-stained clothes and got into the bath. Although it was still before noon, we usually wouldn’t take a bath due to the cost of water, but in this situation, it couldn’t be helped. Besides, I couldn’t bear to spend the night with this blood-soaked body. A shower at night would be fine, but it would be within acceptable limits.

When Haru came out of the bath, I immediately went in and used soap to wash my body more thoroughly than usual. I felt as if there was still blood on me, but since there wasn’t any, I just soaked in the bathtub.

“Haaa—”

I couldn’t help but let out a sigh like an old man, but there was no one to scold me. I would take this opportunity to fully recover from the fatigue. Even though it was only half a day, I felt as if I had been exhausted for several days. The battle itself went without any problems. If we only looked at that, it went well. We didn’t get hit by the enemy’s attacks and didn’t miss any effective strikes.

Killing monsters had become routine for us. It was like killing insects. There might be many kind-hearted people who would hesitate to kill monsters that might not even be animals, but we felt only disgust and no hesitation in killing them due to their ugly appearance and harmful existence.

However, surrounding and beating them to death was different. The purpose and result were the same as before, but the process had changed.

My body was sufficiently warmed up, so I called Haru to the table and we ate the bento we were supposed to eat in the dungeon. From the way we ate, it seemed that neither of us had any resistance to eating meat, so it seemed that our aversion to killing was not strong.

It wasn’t that we were crazy, but rather that we had become accustomed to it. If that was the case, a refresh would be fine. The standard refresh options are the sea or the forest, but the sea is too cold this time of year, and the forest is right there. Since I don’t think I can refresh myself in the forest I usually go to, I might as well get used to violence as a way to change my mood.

It will cost money, but it’s better than Haru being in a bad mood for a long time. For some reason, I recover quickly from such things. Maybe women are strong against physical pain and men are strong against mental pain.

I don’t know, but anyway,

“Haru, do you have any plans this afternoon?”

“...Hmm, no.”

Her mood seemed a bit low, so this was for a change of pace.

“Let’s go to the game center for a change of pace.”

“Ah, it’s good for stress relief. It costs 200 yen.”

“Yeah. It’s the same as usual, but the feeling is different. It costs 200 yen per play.”

We were now shooting down a horde of zombies. Of course, it wasn’t in reality but on a monitor in the game center.

“Ah, game over. Big brother, let’s do the crane game next.”

The number of zombies increased, and we couldn’t keep up, so the game ended. It was a good change of pace. The standard stress reliever is a batting center, but unfortunately, neither of us can play baseball. We might be able to hit the ball now with our improved dynamic vision, but unfortunately, we don’t have the money. So, the game center is just right.

As Haru suggested, we decided to play the crane game. Of course, the one where you can get a box of snacks. Dolls are meaningless, but snacks can be food. In other words,

“Big brother, I’m going to go all out.”

That’s how it is. The last time I ate snacks was before the move. Naturally, I want them. This is my stinginess, and even in games, I get serious if there’s a prize.

“Understood.”

I stood in front of the control buttons, and Haru checked the position of the arm and gave me instructions. Haru is good at judging distances. She can estimate the distance between two objects with an error of less than 1 millimeter. So, when I operate the crane,

“Stop!!”

I pressed the button to stop the arm without any delay. There is a time lag between when information is received and when a person acts, but by observing the breathing and hand movements of the person speaking, I can predict when they will speak. I use this to eliminate the time lag.

It’s sad that this level of skill isn’t much of a talent. Knowing when someone will speak or if they are lying doesn’t help much if you can’t read their mind.

“Stop!!”

On the second signal, I stopped the arm, and it descended to the target. However,

“The arm is weak.”

“It’s weaker than I imagined. Now that I know the strength, I should be able to get it next time.”

The arm was weak, and the box didn’t move at all. Well, that’s how game centers are. If it were easy to get, they would be in the red.

While thinking about this, I inserted 100 yen and pressed the start button.

“Stop.”

It stopped a bit to the right this time. I don’t know what to do, so I won’t interfere, but I think he will try to hook it instead of grabbing it.

Following Haru’s instructions again, the box fell smoothly.

“Good, got one box of food.”

“Hey, Haru. How about getting something portable? Then we can take it on our exploration. Like that.”

Salt is important during exploration. We naturally sweat and crave sugar. So, I pointed to the crane game with a box of beef jerky.

Haru seemed to understand my intention and smiled faintly.

“Let’s go for a haul.”

We had 3000 yen, and we had already spent 600 yen on the zombie game and the crane game twice, leaving us with 2400 yen. So, we went on a spree using the same method as before.

We had to be careful not to attract the attention of the staff, so we used our dungeon-honed detection skills to move to another location when the staff approached.

In the end, we got ten boxes or bags of candy, beef jerky, and dried squid. I think this is a very good result for amateurs. To make it easier to carry, we poured the contents into an empty backpack and disassembled the boxes to make them compact.

Our initial plan was over, and it was now 5 PM. It would be better to go home and rest today.

“Let’s go home then. Did it help as a change of pace?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”

The dark expression she had when we left home had faded, and Haru’s bright smile had returned. When you’re as young as we are, you don’t need to think too deeply to change your mood. You can quickly get over it. After all, we are high school dropouts. There’s nowhere else to fall. I should be the only one who thinks deeply about such things.

And if possible, I want to rise in the world. To enjoy entertainment. To be able to go to the game center again. So, in the near future, aiming for the day when the world’s dungeons are unlocked, we will aim for entertainment in the basement dungeon of the Kizaki family.