Chapter 7

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

---

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

---

In sales activities, the most effective method is "referral." Referrals lead to more referrals. From my childhood friend, the pachinko chain owner, I received three referrals. From those three, I received three more each, and from there, the referrals continued to grow. In just one month, I had 60 "tax-saving clients" across one prefecture and six counties. At 3 million yen per company, that's 180 million yen per month. It's no longer the scale of a sole proprietor, but legally, there's no problem.

"The fact that the third floor had 'Skeleton Knights' was significant. They carry swords and always move in groups of four, so I need to be careful not to get surrounded. However, the combat power of each one is below that of an orc. For 4,000 yen, they drop."

"The compatibility of weapons is also significant. Skeleton Knights are not weak. Each one is ranked D. However, they are inferior to orcs in physical ability. The rank includes the sword they carry. Your weapon, 'Shovel,' is extremely effective against swords. I hope your troubles on the third floor will be resolved."

While Shuon was massaging my back, I was thinking about the future. The "second wave" will come in the next 2-3 days. During these two weeks, I declined all "investigation tasks" from the Small and Medium Enterprise Diagnostic Association and spent most of my time in the dungeon. I've already stopped my diagnostic work.

"If I can defeat 200 skeletons in 3 hours, that's 1 million yen in 15 hours, and 6 million yen in 144 hours. I've been diving for 12 hours a day for the past week, so it should be over 160 million yen. I'm very grateful to the Iwamoto brothers for exchanging the money for me."

(Tomorrow, I'll drive around to 60 clients and leave the money. My childhood friend, Iwamoto, will exchange the money without asking any questions. He's a truly grateful friend. Of course, I'm using the skill "Induction" to avoid suspicion, but I might eventually reveal my secret to Iwamoto.)

I received a foot massage while lying on my back. The muscle pain has eased up a lot compared to the beginning, but fatigue still accumulates. Shuon, who exists as part of the dungeon system, says that the fatigue disappears when she returns to her card. I feel a bit envious. While receiving a foot massage, I continued to think.

(If I'm grateful, I'm also grateful that each skeleton drops a card. I've collected over 600 skeleton cards in the past week. Next, should I get armor? I can't bear to see Shuon's soft skin get hurt. I might also try the character gacha, which I haven't tried yet. Should I use the leftover money for the character gacha...?)

Suddenly, a pleasant sensation spread through my lower body. I closed my eyes and let Shuon continue.

---

"Here is 3 million yen. Please confirm."

I placed the money in front of the last client, the owner of a pachinko chain in Kanagawa Prefecture. I received the contract and did the final check to ensure there were no issues. The confidentiality clause is particularly strict. I had the client sign the "Oath of Secrecy" that appeared in a gacha. The agreement is simple: "To protect the content of the consulting contract with Kashiwade Kazuhiko." Of course, my signature is also on it. After completing the final task, I got into my car with high spirits.

"Next month, I want to prepare for two months' worth. Losing two days a month is painful."

While driving on the Yokohama Expressway from Yokohama to Edogawa Ward, the car in front of me suddenly stopped. I applied the brakes calmly, as I always drive safely. I thought it might be some kind of trouble, but the situation seemed suspicious. Even after five minutes, the car didn't move.

"What's going on? Did an accident happen?"

I got out of the car and squinted to see what was happening ahead. About 100 meters away, people were gathered. They all seemed to be looking at something. I checked my watch. It had been 73 days since that day, and the time was 11:08 AM. I understood what had happened.

"The second wave has come..."

I never expected a dungeon to appear right in front of me. Worried about loss or theft, I had left Shuon and the other cards at home in the dungeon. All I had with me were the mace and tape. The car wasn't moving at all. It would likely stay this way until the police came to direct traffic.

"Should I dive...?"

I inserted the mace and started wrapping the tape.

---

"Hey, you! Stop! This is probably one of those dungeons, right?"

I pushed through the crowd and approached the entrance of the dungeon. As I took my first step, an elderly taxi driver stopped me. When I turned around, dozens of people of all ages were staring at me. To avoid their gaze, I looked at my watch.

"It's 11:16 now. If this is the same as the Osaka dungeon, time flows differently. Don't worry. I'll be back soon after a quick dive."

I took off my watch and handed it to a young woman nearby. I slowly started descending the stairs. Unlike the dungeon at home, which I had DIYed, the stairs were made of stone and slippery. Looking up halfway down, I saw several people staring at me, but they were frozen like dolls. They appeared to be frozen because time was flowing slowly for them.

"In other words, from their perspective, I must have descended in an instant. Interesting."

I started descending again. The length of the stairs was the same as in the courtyard dungeon. Eventually, I reached the lower level. It was the same "safe zone" as when I first entered the dungeon. The walls were glowing, so I didn't need a flashlight. However, no cards were floating. There was only a door with a handle in front of me. I stood in front of it as usual.

"Well... will it be a demon or a snake?"

As I grabbed the handle, the door opened automatically. And behind the door was... a cute rabbit about 50 centimeters long.

"Mu? Mu mu?"

The rabbit in front of me tilted its head cutely and hopped closer. Just as I was about to pet it, it suddenly bared its teeth and pounced.

"I thought so!"

I swung my mace-wrapped fist. It hit the rabbit's head and severed its neck. As usual, the rabbit monster disappeared like smoke.

"...Weak. Even weaker than an F-rank goblin. Plus, it doesn't drop any money. What's going on?"

One minute on the surface is over two hours in this dungeon. I decided to go left to avoid getting lost. The structure seemed to be the same as a checkerboard. The first floor's structure might be the same. As I walked, rabbits pounced at me, which I dispatched with a single punch.

"Seems like this dungeon is B-rank or C-rank. Shuon said that bugs that can be squashed would appear, so I'll tentatively call it B-rank."

After defeating the tenth rabbit, a monster card dropped. As I picked it up, I noticed a small black stone, smaller than a soybean.

"What's this? Did it drop before?"

I picked up the black stone and defeated another rabbit. Sure enough, another black stone dropped.

"Black stones instead of money... What are these? I should have brought a plastic bag."

Reluctantly, I wrapped it in a handkerchief. After defeating a few more and obtaining a second card, I decided to return to the surface. I closed the door and, as a precaution, took a photo of the safe zone with my smartphone. Entering the dungeon was fine, but I didn't want anyone to know how easily I could defeat the monsters. I carefully wiped the handle and headed for the stairs.

---

My name is Kashiwagi Reina, a 23-year-old OL who graduated from a junior college. Even though it's said to be a seller's market, that only applies to a select few graduates from four-year universities with high entrance exam scores. I struggled to get a job at a small company in Yokohama. The salary isn't high, but the president is a kind person, and it's a very homey company. I hope to find a good person and get married after working for a few years.

It was a Saturday. On my day off, I was driving my family's car to go shopping when the car in front of me suddenly stopped. I looked ahead and saw a hole in the middle of the road. I was startled. It must be one of those "dungeons" that have been featured on TV for the past month. Out of curiosity, I got out of my car.

The person had a mysterious aura. He was wearing an expensive-looking suit and seemed to be around 30 years old, but he also looked like he could be 40. He had a calm demeanor. However, what he was about to do was anything but calm. He was trying to enter the dungeon. People around him were trying to stop him. Of course, entering a dungeon is prohibited. There are no penalties, but there have been deaths in the Osaka dungeon. TV repeatedly warned of the dangers. However, he took off his watch and handed it to me, then calmly entered the dungeon.

"Huh? Already?"

At first, he was moving slowly, but he disappeared in an instant. TV had reported that time flows faster in dungeons. I'm sure that's the reason.

---

My smartphone clock showed 30 minutes had passed, but it couldn't have been more than a minute on the surface. When I emerged, people around me were looking at me in shock.

"Hey, you... when did you..."

"Yeah, I see. Time flows faster, so people on the surface feel like I returned instantly."

I nodded and took my watch back from the woman. I compared it with my smartphone. As expected, the times were different. I had confirmed the dungeon. All I needed to do was return and have Shuon check the black stone.

"Um..."

I looked up from my watch. It was the young woman who had held my watch.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have handed you my watch so suddenly. I wanted to confirm the time difference."

"That's fine. How was it? What's below..."

The dungeon intrigued her. Her eyes were shining. She was quite beautiful, and her body was well-proportioned. Even through her clothes, I could tell her chest had a good feel to it. But after meeting Shuon, I just shrugged.

"The stairs go down about 30 meters. They're steep and made of stone, so be careful. At the bottom, there's a space about 15 meters square. The walls and floor are stone, but there's no chill or dampness. The ceiling is about 3 meters high. The stone itself glows, so it's not dark. There's a door with a handle in front of you."

"Did you... open the door?"

"Of course not. I'm not that reckless. I went in, looked around, and came back. Is that all? I want to get back to my car. The police will probably come soon..."

"Ah... Yes..."

The woman looked down and spoke in a barely audible voice. This might be a connection. I took out a business card and handed it to her.

"My name is Kashiwade Kazuhiko. I run a consulting business in the outskirts of Tokyo. For work reasons, I prefer to keep a low profile, so I'd appreciate it if you could keep this a secret."

"Yes! I'm Kashiwagi Reina. I don't have a business card with me..."

"That's fine. Thank you, Kashiwagi-san. I appreciate your cooperation."

There were a few more people who wanted to talk to me, but I ignored them and returned to my car.

---

I couldn't help but stop him. He's quite handsome! He might be a decade older than me, but that doesn't matter. He had a faint, high-quality cologne, and he looked like a capable businessman. His watch was a high-end chronograph. I thought it would be nice to have dinner with him at a nice restaurant in "Minato Mirai"!

"Mr. Kashiwade"

I received his business card. He runs a consulting business in Tokyo. The card has his address, email, and phone number. Edogawa Ward is close to that amusement park. Maybe I'll invite him sometime...

---

"Most likely, this is a type of magic stone."

Shuon pinched the black stone and explained her theory.

"Magic stones are crystallized magic power. While only those with the aptitude can use magic, anyone can use magic with the help of magic stones and magical technology. Magic stones are essential as a power source for such magical devices."

"I see. I don't understand the details, but in a civilization that has developed magical technology, magic stones must be essential. But the question is, why did they appear in a civilization that developed science and technology? Isn't the dungeon luring people with what they desire? In this dungeon, it drops money, which is what you, the only person who can enter, desire. In other dungeons, it doesn't drop money because the dungeon system has determined that magic stones are more valuable to humanity than money."

"I agree with you, Kazuhiko. Money is important to an individual, but not to a nation as a whole. If needed, it can be printed. Gaining money from a dungeon brings no benefit to society. The economy works by providing something to someone and receiving money in return. If money floods the market, it causes inflation. A nation wouldn't recognize a dungeon that produces money. But why magic stones?"

"What do you think this country and humanity need the most? That might be the answer."

Shuon asked, and I rubbed my chin. If I consider humanity as a whole, the most needed thing is energy. The modern society that relies on fossil fuels will eventually reach its limits. If there were clean energy that doesn't cause environmental destruction, every country in the world would want it.

"Does the magic stone have some kind of power generation capability? In any case, it's probably related to energy. I'll keep an eye on it. The anti-dungeon policy might change because of this magic stone."

I stood up and started preparing to go to the third floor. It had been 73 days since that day, and the second wave had arrived. Time was running out. I needed to move, and for that, I needed more money.

---

The scholars named this series of phenomena "Worldwide Synchronized Dungeon Outbreak Phenomena," but for politicians, it wasn't a matter of debating its pros and cons. The United Nations held another emergency session, but intense debates took place between major and minor countries.

"Our country already has 25 dungeons within its territory. In contrast, Gamelica has four, Japan has two, and the Reich has only one! Many countries have yet to see a dungeon appear. Shouldn't the UN member states pool their funds and establish a fund to support countries in proportion to the number of dungeons they have?"

"That's because your country has a large territory and a large population. This synchronized outbreak is like a natural disaster. If you want such a fund, we should also establish a fund to support countries in proportion to the number of earthquakes they experience."

The ambassadors of the two major East Asian countries glared at each other. The Gamelica ambassador raised his hand to mediate.

"Our country is currently investigating the dungeons that have appeared worldwide, but we are concerned about the bias in their locations. Gamelica has a vast territory but only four dungeons. In contrast, your country has many dungeons. Shouldn't we consider that dungeons appear in proportion to population, not land area? In other words, population-heavy countries bear more risks."

The ambassador's opinion caused a stir in the hall. Northern European countries with populations in the hundreds of thousands were relieved, while Southeast Asian countries with populations over 100 million looked bitter. The ambassador of the Philippines, a country with a population over 100 million, spoke up.

"Our country is smaller than Japan, but two dungeons have appeared in the Manila metropolitan area. I believe what the US ambassador said is correct. For the sake of security, we don't want to bear any more risks. We request that all UN member states withdraw their military from borders and seas. Of course, we are willing to do so as well."

Several people agreed, but as usual, the population-heavy East Asian countries opposed.

"No way. The South China Sea is our inherent territorial sea and a core interest. We won't accept such a favorable proposal."

"Our country is the same. If we withdraw our military from the border, we risk invasion from the north. We should maintain a minimum level of security."

The divided East Asian peninsula country also opposed. But the northern country, which was singled out, became angry.

"Are you kidding? Dungeons have also appeared in our country! Now is the time for the spirit of ethnic cooperation! Sanctions against our country should be lifted!"

Each country argued for its own position and interests. Everyone in the room thought the same thing. This is the limit of the "United Nations."

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The comic version of "Dungeon Busters Volume 4" will be released soon. It comes with a bonus SS. Please check it out.

**Book Version**

**Comic Version**