Chapter 45

How did Ayame and Hime explain the medicine magic?

The answer is on hold.

For now, it seems they decided to keep quiet until they improved their proficiency in medicine magic and learned other spells.

And so, daily life resumes.

Today, during physical education class, the annual physical fitness test is being held.

Wearing gym clothes, I wait for my turn.

First up is the 50-meter dash, conducted in order of student numbers.

Normally, Aoki's student number is 1 and mine is 3, so we should run first, but it seems that dungeon explorers are scheduled to run last.

Explorers are hardly affected by their stats outside the dungeon, but since there is a slight effect, the education board has decided to conduct the tests separately.

Levels are considered personal information and are kept confidential, so there's no need to apply.

Recently, there's even a trend suggesting that all high school students participating in club activities should be prohibited from leveling up as explorers.

I don't think it's necessary to go that far.

"Listen, Ichino! Yesterday, I reached level 10! All the effort of spending six hours a day in the dungeon paid off."

"Wow, Aoki, you reached level 10 too?"

After the incidents at Expo Park D and Ishibutai D, the number of people going to the first floor of the dungeon has decreased significantly, so it seems he was able to level up more efficiently than expected.

"Since you did too, Ichino, you must have reached level 10 as well. I thought dungeon exploration didn't pay much, but once you reach level 10, you can earn a decent amount."

"Are you talking about a part-time job? If you have any good recommendations, I'd appreciate it."

The one who spoke was my classmate, Mizuno.

She's a girl who gives off a Showa-era vibe with her glasses and braids.

"No, no, I'm talking about dungeon exploration. Are you interested, Mizuno?"

"Oh, dungeon exploration. I heard you run at a loss until you reach level 10."

"Recently, that's not the case. There are fewer people on the first floor now. Still, you can earn more by doing regular part-time jobs."

That's true.

It's rare to earn millions from dungeon exploration.

Yesterday, Hime transferred 3,750,000 yen for the substitute bracelet and 1,050,000 yen from selling medicines and other items. After deducting various expenses and social insurance, I still had an income of about 5,000,000 yen, but that's rare.

"Oh, right. I brought some ink because I had a bottle at home. I'll give it to you later."

"Really? Thanks, that would help a lot."

"You're welcome."

Ink?

After Mizuno returned to her line, I asked Aoki what it was about.

"Mizuno's family runs a small factory, but they're having a hard time. They couldn't afford to buy a calligraphy set for her younger brother. The calligraphy sets for boys and girls have different bags. Since it would be unfair for her brother to use her old set, I gave him my calligraphy set. I won't be using it anyway."

"I see."

Just as I understood, it was our turn.

Last year, I ran it in about 7 seconds.

I've been exercising in the dungeon recently, so my goal is 6.5 seconds.

I lost to Aoki by a small margin last year, so I'm going to give it my all this time for revenge.

"Ichino, how about the loser buys the winner a juice for lunch?"

"Sure, I'm in."

Aoki, feeling confident, took a crouching start position, but I decided to go with a standing start.

The teacher gave the start signal.

Damn, I got off to a slow start.

I tried to make up for it by running hard.

I ran with all my might.

The result—

"Ichino—5.9 seconds!?"

...What?

I broke 6 seconds.

"Isn't that faster than the track team? Ichino, you were a bit slow at the start, right?"

"How fast is the high school 50-meter record?"

"Ichino, you're so cool..."

The other classmates started to buzz.

"Teacher, what were our times?"

"Ah, sorry. Let me see—"

The teacher, who had measured the times carefully, started to announce the times of the other students who ran with us.

Aoki's time was 6.7 seconds.

"What the heck, Ichino. You were so fast. I was faster than last year, too."

"I'm surprised myself."

My body feels light, and I'm not even out of breath.

They said that stats have almost no effect outside the dungeon, but "almost" means there is a slight effect.

I thought it was unnecessary to separate explorers for the physical fitness test, but now I see the point.

Explorers should be prohibited from participating in official sports competitions.

It's unfair to students who are seriously committed to sports.

"Ichino, let's compete in the javelin throw next."

"Sounds good!"

In the subsequent sports tests, I continued to beat Aoki, and this week, I'll get to treat him to juice every day.

※ ※ ※

After dinner, I reinstalled the PD in the yard and entered it.

"Danpon, I brought you a souvenir."

Many things can't be brought into the dungeon, but snacks are okay.

I realized I had forgotten to buy a souvenir for Danpon and hurriedly bought one at the Kino River Service Area after dinner.

Danpon looked at the box I handed him and asked,

"What is this?"

"It's a Kishu specialty, Kagerou. It's written on the box. You don't know it?"

"I don't know much about human food."

Come to think of it, I've eaten food from D-cans with Danpon before, but this is the first time I've brought him something to eat.

This will be Danpon's first Kagerou.

"Let's eat it right away."

"Is this a souvenir for me?"

"Souvenirs are meant to be shared."

I said this, broke the packaging, and opened the box.

Danpon used telekinesis to take one out and opened the individual wrapping.

An oval-shaped snack came out.

Danpon took a bite.

"This is delicious!"

"Right, right."

"The soft, fluffy texture of the baked dough melts in your mouth with a gentle sweetness. The feeling of it disappearing as soon as you eat it, I see, that's why it's called Kagerou."

"Sounds like a food review from an official website. How about it, human food is pretty good, right?"

Speaking of which, Kuro, who was at my feet, looked hungry, so I let him have some.

Now that the task is done, let's get back to dungeon exploration.

It's almost the end of May... the end of May... ...

At that moment, I started to sweat.

Oh no!

I checked my pocket watch.

It's 7 PM.

I can still make it.

"Danpon, sorry! I have something to do!"

I said this and decided to run instead of riding my bike.

After dinner, my stomach was full, and I needed to burn off some calories.

I jogged towards the station.

But, will it be okay?

Even for me, this might be too risky this time.

Should I call for help?

Aoki is in the dungeon today.

Milk... No, I can't call her at night; she'll get angry.

What should I do—

On my way to the station, I saw a female student from our school coming out of a convenience store.

It's Mizuno.

Perfect.

"Mizuno!"

"Ah! Ichino?"

"I need your help."

I said this and made a request to her.

※ ※ ※

"I was surprised. I didn't expect 'help' to mean this."

"But it would be a waste, right? This way, it won't go to waste."

"I only benefit, is that okay?"

"It's fine, it's fine."

We both held bags of donuts.

We went to the donut shop in front of the station.

Every year, they sell lucky bags at the end of the year and the beginning of the new year, which include donut vouchers.

They are quite a good deal, so I always buy them.

However, the vouchers expire in May, and I had 15 left to redeem.

If I didn't redeem them by tomorrow, they would be useless.

But, 15 donuts for a family of three is too much, especially after dinner.

At most, we could eat two each. Even if I gave some to Danpon and Kuro, 5 would still be left.

Not redeeming them would be unacceptable.

But, forcing myself to eat them didn't seem right.

I was really grateful that Mizuno was there to help.

Even if I make a lot of money as a dungeon explorer, that's a different story.

"By the way, what were you doing at this hour, Mizuno?"

"Part-time job. I work at that convenience store after school."

"Wow, that's impressive."

"It's not impressive. Ichino and Aoki work hard in the dungeon, right?"

"I guess you could say that."

It's not a part-time job, but I'm a full member of EPO Corporation—like a full-time employee.

"I'm scared of dying, so I can't do dungeon exploration."

"It's not safe... I can't say it's not dangerous."

There have been consecutive deaths.

Moreover, I've thought I might die twice, with the Evil Ogre and the Darkness Wolf, and Ayame and Milk have also had near-death experiences.

"Well, I'll head home now. I need to hurry and prepare dinner."

"Are you making it now, Mizuno?"

"Yes. My parents are at the factory from morning, and my younger brother is still in elementary school, so I have to prepare it."

Mizuno thanked me for the donuts and went home.

I'll go home and eat the donuts too.

I'll give two to Danpon as planned.

"Taichiro! The Kagerou was delicious!"

In the PD, Danpon had finished eating the Kagerou.

Seriously, this guy.

But, time flows differently in the PD, so he might have had enough time to finish it?

What happens here when I'm not in the dungeon?

"I want more."

"I don't plan to go to Wakayama anytime soon. Just eat the donuts."

I said this and gave Danpon the Pon de Ring and Angel Cream.

Next time, with Ayame and...