Chapter 72

With over 9,960 favorites and over 3,830,000 views, ranking 18th in the genre's daily ranking, thank you for your support.

---

During the middle of Golden Week, I was half-asleep, having breakfast with Mika. Yesterday, I came home late because of a boss battle, but physically, I wasn't tired. For some reason, I just didn't feel like going to school.

...Is it May sickness?

"Come on, big brother... If you go to school today and tomorrow, you'll have another break, so try to be more serious," Mika said.

"Yeah, you're right."

I washed down the toast I was eating with a strong cup of coffee. Yeah, it's bitter, this stuff. But I still feel a bit sleepy. After finishing the rest of the toast, my mother appeared from the kitchen.

"Here, Daiki. Drink this and perk up," she said.

"Thanks, Mom."

My mother handed me an energy drink to wake me up. ...Will this work?

I opened the can and drank it all at once. The strong carbonation and strange sweetness lingered in my mouth.

"Phew... Thanks for the meal."

"Once you've drunk it, go wash your face again. You can't go to school looking so sleepy, can you?"

"Ah, yeah. I'll do that."

The cold water of my second wash of the day felt refreshing. Thanks to the wash and the energy drink, I felt less sleepy than before. I went back to my room and did some light stretching with a radio calisthenics routine. After finishing the exercises, I finally felt awake.

"Phew. I finally feel awake..."

I shook my head lightly and changed from my pajamas into my school uniform. Putting on the uniform was a bit of a hassle, but there was no choice. I checked the contents of my school bag to make sure nothing was left out. Looking at the clock, I saw that I had about 15 minutes before I needed to leave, so I opened the drawer and checked the slime dungeon.

"There's no change today... Wait! It's a Jewel Slime!"

Looking into the drawer, I saw a slime with a mineral-like, hard texture standing in the center of the room. It was a rare slime, the Jewel Slime, which rarely appeared. The analysis I had done just in case also confirmed it was a Jewel Slime. The gloomy and reluctant feeling I had about going to school on the middle day of Golden Week vanished instantly.

"What will it drop this time?"

With a slightly excited feeling, I took out a bag of salt from my spatial storage. Although the Jewel Slime rarely appeared, and I didn't often keep the dropped items, the items that did appear were quite valuable. From huge diamonds to rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, various precious gems had appeared. Since it's not easy to casually cash in such prominent items, I could only use them as fertilizer in my spatial storage. So, I decided to collect the huge gems as part of my mineral collection, occasionally taking them out to admire them in my room.

"The last time it dropped a blue diamond, right?"

By the way, the gems that drop are basically unprocessed raw stones. They look like colored stones and don't shine like gemstones in jewelry.

Is that why? Even though I know they are valuable, I don't feel much financial desire. I just think of them as a collection of rare stones.

Indeed, a gem's value as a gem only comes out when it is polished.

"Well then..."

I opened the bag of salt and poured it all over the Jewel Slime. The salt quickly covered the entire body of the Jewel Slime, burying it in a pile of salt. For a moment, the salt pile remained, but then it exploded as the Jewel Slime writhed and struggled.

However, the Jewel Slime's struggle didn't last long. The salt-covered Jewel Slime disappeared in a few seconds, breaking into particles of light.

"Oh? It seems an item dropped this time."

After the Jewel Slime disappeared, a stone with a colored appearance was left behind. I used telekinesis to collect the stone and closed the drawer.

The dropped stone was a prism about the size of a transparent milk carton, with a deep blue hue. After performing an analysis, the result showed it was a green beryl... an emerald. And since it had a blue tint, it was probably an aquamarine.

"It looks like a crystal, this one."

I held the huge aquamarine up to the window and observed it in the light. There were no strange scratches inside the prism, and it had a clear, beautiful blue color. As I was admiring the aquamarine, my phone rang. The ringtone stopped after one ring, but when I looked at the caller ID, it was Mika.

I was startled and looked at the clock, realizing that I had already spent over 10 minutes with the slime dungeon.

"Oh, no. It's time."

I quickly put the raw aquamarine into my spatial storage, grabbed my bag, and ran down the stairs to the living room.

When I entered the living room, Mika and my mother greeted me with cold stares.

"Oh, Daiki. You took quite a while to get ready. I thought you were still sleeping..."

"Big brother..."

"Um, sorry."

I bowed my head to both of them and apologized profusely.

Although I was fully awake now, based on their earlier observations during breakfast, they might have thought I had fallen back asleep.

"...Well, it's fine. It seems you're awake now, so don't be late for school. Mika, make sure your big brother doesn't be late and take him to school."

"Okay. Shall we go, big brother?"

"Yeah, sure."

I was led out of the living room by Mika. Even though it was my own fault, I felt a bit embarrassed as a brother.

I sighed and put on my shoes to leave the house.

---

On the way to school, I continued to listen to Mika's lecture.

"Big brother, you're too relaxed. What were you doing in your room when I called you on the phone?"

I can't say I was putting salt on a slime and got a huge gem...

"I was doing radio calisthenics and stretching to wake up. See, I wasn't spaced out during breakfast, right?"

"...Yeah."

"I thought moving my body would help me wake up... I got a bit carried away, though."

"...Hmm."

Mika looked at me with a slightly suspicious gaze, but since it was a plausible reason, she didn't pursue it further.

"By the way, big brother, are you going to the dungeon during the second half of Golden Week?"

"Hmm? No, I don't plan to go to the dungeon for now."

"Really..."

Mika seemed to be thinking about something in response to my answer. Or rather, she seemed to be hesitating to say something.

Determined, Mika looked up and spoke directly to me.

"Hey, big brother..."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"During Golden Week, can you come shopping with me?"

Mika's face was filled with anxiety, as if she thought I might say no.

I didn't have any plans, so it wasn't a problem.

"I don't have any plans, so sure. What are you going to buy?"

"Really!?"

"Ah, yeah."

Hearing my answer, Mika exclaimed happily and her eyes sparkled. Her enthusiasm made me feel a bit awkward.

Is it really that exciting?

Mika clung to my arm and we walked for a while. Eventually, Sae, who joined us on the way, pointed out our behavior, and Mika finally let go of my arm.

"You two seem to be getting along well this morning. From behind, you looked like a couple."

"Haha..."

"..."

I chuckled in response to Sae's comment. What else could I do?

Mika, realizing how she had acted, blushed and looked down, following behind me and Sae.

I explained to Sae why Mika had clung to my arm.

"That's good, Mika."

"..."

Sae smiled kindly and spoke to Mika. Mika looked up and responded with a small, but happy voice.

"But, Mika, you're lucky. I don't have any plans for this Golden Week."

"Huh? Sae, you're not going anywhere?"

"No. Due to my parents' work, we don't have any plans to go anywhere as a family this Golden Week."

"Really? Then, Sae, would you like to come shopping with us during Golden Week?"

"..."

I felt bad for Mika, but seeing her behavior, I thought I needed a stopper. Sae would be the best person for that role. Fortunately, it seemed Sae had no plans for Golden Week.

"Ah, but..."

"I can cover the meal expenses, so would you like to come with us?"

"Um... Mika..."

Sae stopped, looking confused, and turned to Mika, who was walking behind us, to ask what to do.

I also turned to look at Mika, who had a pouting and displeased expression. It seemed she didn't like my suggestion.

Well, that makes sense.

"Is Mika not happy about going shopping with Sae?"

"It's not that, but..."

"Then, it's okay if Sae comes with us, right?"

"...Yeah."

Mika reluctantly nodded. Good.

I turned my attention from Mika to Sae, who seemed confused by our conversation, and tried to persuade her.

"So, Sae, would you like to come?"

"Ah, but..."

"You don't have any plans for Golden Week, right?"

"...Yes."

Sae, considering Mika's feelings, tried to decline my invitation.

However, I was a bit forceful and managed to get Sae to agree to go shopping with us. Since I had already mentioned my plans for Golden Week, Sae couldn't say she had other plans and reluctantly agreed, giving Mika an apologetic look.

Sorry. I'll treat you to a fancy lunch, so please forgive me.

"That's great. So, it's settled. Mika, let me know when and where you decide to go shopping."

"...Okay."

"...Sae."

As I started walking, Mika and Sae were whispering behind me. Thanks to my enhanced hearing from leveling up, I could hear their conversation, but I pretended not to.

When we arrived at the school gate, Sae looked quite exhausted.

---

After parting ways with Mika and the others, I reached my classroom and saw Yuzi already sitting at his desk.

"Good morning."

"Hey, good morning. You're a bit late today, aren't you?"

"Haha, a bit."

I put my bag on my desk and chatted lightly with Yuzi.

"From the way you looked yesterday, did you oversleep?"

"I didn't oversleep. I just felt really down when I woke up this morning."

"You couldn't get out of bed? You have a five-day break after today and tomorrow, so try to push through..."

Yuzi sighed and looked at me with a disappointed expression. You don't have to look at me like that...

"I had a good wake-up call this morning, so I'm fine now."

"Wake-up call?"

"I was messing around with something, and a rare item appeared. It lifted my spirits."

I unexpectedly added to my mineral collection.

"Hmm. Well, if you're feeling better, that's good."

Yuzi's response was a bit better than before, but he still looked at me with a disappointed expression.

"By the way, Yuzi, what are you doing during Golden Week? I'm going shopping with Mika and the others."

"Really? I have a business trip to a rural area."

"Business trip?"

"There was a martial arts demonstration planned at a local event, but the person who was supposed to perform got sick, so my grandfather was asked to take his place. Since I'm free during Golden Week, I'll be accompanying my grandfather as his assistant for a one-night, two-day trip."

"Really?"

"Recently, these kinds of events have been happening a lot. It seems a lot of explorers and aspiring explorers gather at them."

Listening to Yuzi, I learned that since the dungeon was opened to the public, more explorers have become interested in martial arts. The number of new students at martial arts dojos and cultural centers has been increasing. Event companies have also noticed this trend and frequently organize martial arts-themed events. At the beginning of these events, various dojo masters are invited to perform demonstration performances. The person who brought up the substitute performance was one of these dojo masters.

"Last time, I practiced a demonstration to persuade Hime's parents. It's a good opportunity for my grandfather to have a partner."

I see... Is it okay for Juzo and Yuzi to do it? It might turn into a wild performance...

"Of course, we won't do what we usually do. It will be a normal demonstration following the forms."

"Ah, I see."

"There's no point in doing that kind of thing at an event where regular people will be present."

The classroom door opened, and our homeroom teacher entered.

"Let's start the homeroom meeting. Those who are standing, please take your seats."

It seems we had been talking for a while.

"See you later."

"Sure."

I sat down, organized my bag, and listened to the teacher. Looking around the classroom, I noticed a few empty seats... Are they skipping class?

---

Chapter 6 starts here.

Going to school during Golden Week can be a drag, can't it?

Morning Dungeon is now available. If you see it at a bookstore, please give it a try.