Chapter 20

After the cube hunting competition ended with my overwhelming victory, the three of us went hunting together.

They also watched me fight using my basic sword techniques.

Although I was praised, I think what she was really interested in was one of my hidden trump cards that defeated the Evil Ogre—the Hellish Flame.

We left the dungeon.

My clothes remained the same, but Mr. Higashi was dressed in Uniqlo fashion, and Ms. Oshino was wearing casual clothes typical of a college student.

I was worried about what to do if she was wearing a ninja outfit, but I was glad she had changed properly.

The food stalls at Tenshiba Park had already started to be dismantled.

Before I knew it, it had been eight hours since morning, and it was already evening.

Time perception gets distorted inside the dungeon.

Until the usage of the streaming crystal was discovered, there was no real-time communication with the outside world, and we couldn't bring in watches, so some scholars even seriously claimed that time flowed differently inside and outside the dungeon.

It's now known that this is incorrect since real-time dungeon streaming has become possible.

After that, the three of us, Mr. Higashi and Ms. Oshino, discussed our future plans.

Since we might be home late, Mr. Higashi and I called our homes to inform them.

Then, the three of us moved to a nearby hotel.

We were led to a room in the Oshino Resort Tengachaya, a high-end hotel of the Oshino Group.

On the way, the topic turned to the pocket watch.

"Is it really okay to have received this pocket watch? It's quite expensive, right?"

"It's no problem. We have many of them."

"Then I'll take it without hesitation."

I didn't even have a wristwatch, as I usually checked the time on my smartphone, but I had always been a bit envious of such pocket watches.

Since it's a product of the dungeon, it can be stored in my inventory, which is convenient.

Moreover, this is a magic item with an automatic time adjustment function.

Time stops in the inventory, but it automatically adjusts to the current time as soon as it's taken out.

The elevator stopped at the floor just below the top floor.

It looked like a regular guest room, not a restaurant, but Ms. Oshino opened one of the rooms.

It turned out to be a suite with a bed, a table, and chairs.

There were also some belongings.

"I'm living here now. I'm trying to keep it tidy, but please don't peek into the bedroom."

She then led us to the guest room.

There really is a guest room.

"Aren't we going to eat at the restaurant?"

"You don't want others to hear, right? You can order whatever you like from room service. The menu is there, but our chef can make almost anything if you ask."

"Then, I'll have ramen."

"Why ramen? Do you like it?"

"No, I'm just curious about what kind of taste high-end hotel ramen has."

Also, high-end hotel cuisine is delicious, but it's hard to compare with the food in my memory.

If it's a ramen I'm used to eating, I thought I could compare the taste.

"Great! I'll have the same—"

"Okay. What about rice and dumplings?"

"Just dumplings. I still have some rice from lunch."

"I'll have... (Can I have the dumplings without garlic?)"

Mr. Higashi whispered, and Ms. Oshino nodded and ordered from the front desk, "Three ramens and three servings of dumplings, both without garlic, and one rice, please."

"Still, Higashi is quite a capable person. There aren't many mages as powerful as you. You're a real find."

"No, it's all thanks to you, Oshino-san."

"Right, that's it. Oshino, I think I understand the secret of your strength. You have a very high luck value, don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"The number of treasure boxes you've obtained from cubes. That number is abnormal. It must be that you meet the minimum luck value required for cubes to drop treasure boxes. The minimum luck value for cubes is 30, which is low, but it's still rare to have a luck value of 30 at level 27."

I knew the minimum luck value for cubes was 30.

If you have over 30, the probability of cubes dropping treasure boxes is 100%.

"Sure. I'll tell you the exact numbers when we officially form a party."

"That's enough. So, for a temporary party, let's set the period to one year. Since we're all students, we have other commitments, so let's go with an hourly rate. How about $100 per hour? Of course, I intend to fairly distribute the rewards from selling drop items and D-coins."

"$100 per hour!? In Japanese yen, that's... Can I really get that much!?"

"Of course. If your level increases, we can consider a higher rate when we make a formal contract."

Compared to the $10 million from earlier, this is a lower rank, but it's still a considerable amount.

If we spend eight hours like today, that's $800 alone.

But—

"I have no objections to the distribution of rewards, but I don't intend to accept a signing bonus. I'm not being hired by you, Oshino-san."

"Then I—well, I—"

"Instead, I have some things I want you to sell for me. Of course, the rewards will be split three ways. They're a bit conspicuous to sell individually."

"Really? What are they?"

"Here."

"Medicine? What kind of medicine?"

"Experience potions. I have 10 of them."

I took the experience potions made from experience mushrooms out of my inventory.

Even if they're not from the dungeon, items made with simple alchemy can be stored in the inventory.

"One bottle gives you the experience of 1,000 slimes."

"Convenient, huh?"

Mr. Higashi took the bottle of experience potions and muttered.

"In Japan, they sell for about 5 million yen each."

"5 million!? Wait, 10 bottles for 50 million yen!?"

"That's the buying price. The selling price might be lower. To sell these, you need to have them appraised at an appraisal office, but bringing such a large quantity would certainly draw attention, and I don't have the connections to sell them to the wealthy. You can do that, right, Oshino-san?"

"You're pushing a lot of work on me. So—how much can you prepare?"

Mr. Higashi looked surprised.

Because I had just declared that I had 10 bottles.

But Ms. Oshino seemed to understand what I was about to say.

"I can prepare the same amount every week. Also, the red slime wine. I'm really struggling with that. I have 50 bottles at home."

"...!? More than I imagined. I'm starting to be afraid to ask about your luck value."

Mr. Higashi looked puzzled.

"Higashi, listen. The market price for red slime wine is 2 million yen per bottle. You have 50 bottles. In less than a month since Oshino started exploring the dungeon, he has earned 150 million yen from red slime wine and experience potions alone. That's 1.8 billion yen a year."

"—!?!"

"Oshino has such a high luck value. If it became public, who knows who might target him. I hope you can trust us?"

"I trust you. Besides, it would come out if we formed a party together."

"An honor."

Then, Ms. Oshino continued, looking at Mr. Higashi.

"The deeper you go in the dungeon, the more valuable items you can find. With him there, how much income could we generate? The $100 per hour I mentioned earlier would be negligible. And one-third of that reward would go to Higashi."

"—!? No, I can't keep relying on Oshino-san—"

"Get stronger. And support Oshino by his side. You have talent. So do I."

Mr. Higashi and Ms. Oshino seemed to be getting along a bit better.

Since we'll be in the same party, that's a good thing.

Just then, the room service ramen arrived... What!?

I carefully examined the ramen.

The tonkotsu ramen in a high-quality lacquer bowl was not particularly large, simple yet beautiful.

However, that alone wouldn't have surprised me.

What surprised me was the box that came with it.

Inside the box, over ten types of toppings were neatly divided, like a New Year's dish.

It felt like a challenge, as if the hotel was daring me to create my own favorite ramen.

So, I was a challenger in front of the hotel's ramen.

The box of toppings also had vegetable-based dim sum, which made me feel good for my body, even if I ordered it late at night.

I felt defeated even before I started eating.

"Oshino-san, this. I just looked at the room service menu, and the price—"

"The price? Well, it's hotel ramen, so I thought it would be expensive... 8,000 yen per bowl!?"

What!?

I was shocked.

8,000 yen could buy a lot of ramen.

"You've earned 150 million yen, and you're worried about this?"

Even if I'm called an 1.8 billion yen player, my heart remains that of a commoner.

I've surpassed 10,000 points in total.

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The contents of the treasure box will be in the next chapter.