Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Hello everyone,
Im back. ?
Im sorry for the delay.
Now, I have recovered and will continue the translation.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
It was past noon when he left the dungeon while holding carapaces of the House Centipedes and the Centipede.
The evening sun settled slowly to the other side of the field, dyeing everything red.
Even the transparent air looked somewhat reddened.
Wow it looks nice.
Karen passionately watched the scene.
Haruki was unimpressed.
If you look at the same scenery every day, you will not be impressed that much anymore.
He might have been impressed if there were sake and snacks here.
Impression also depended on the environment.
But, such a thing didnt matter.
Haruki turned his attention to a small prefab located in a corner of a field.
What is that?
When he came back from Chikaho, there was no such prefab.
Perhaps it was brought while I was in the dungeon.
The prefabs type is often seen in construction sites.
It is just a substitute used to withstand wind and rain, and not a comfortable place.
Who the heck did bring such a thing to this place?
Haruki felt curious and quietly approached it.
He looked at the signboard on its entrance.
Mitsubishi Weapon Dealer and Material Purchase Station K Town Branch
It is a branch shop of Mitsubishi.
I was sure they would build it someday, but it never came to my mind that they would open the shop within a week of the dungeons appearance.
In the normal case, they would do a preliminary investigation about the supply and demand conditions before opening up the store after the marketing.
Otherwise, their store, especially in a remote place like this, would collapse soon due to lack of profit.
But, regardless of the reason, it is very appreciated for them to open both, an arms dealer and a material purchase station in this town.
Without thinking too long, Haruki brought the carapaces of House Centipedes and Centipede to the store.
The shop interior feels like a wake. (TLN: Wake (or otsuya) is a social gathering associated with death, usually held before a funeral.)
No, it seems like a wake ceremonys venue, though Haruki.
There were only a counter and a chair in the shop.
On the chair, there was a woman who hummed like she was in sorrow.
La la la la laa laa la la laa.
The red-haired woman with swollen eyes was the armor dealerships clerk in Sapporo.
Welcome, please look around as you please, even though we have nothing to see in this shop.
He knew she had a beautiful face. But it had no expression and she addressed him while muttering.
What do you mean me to see?
As Harukis face twitched, he said.
You worked at a shop in Sapporo, right?
She turned her dead eyes to Haruki.
Then,
Uwa haa ha haaa! Why, why should I come to this place? (TLN: The first part is crying SFX.)
She suddenly started to beat the counter while crying some huge tears.
This is bad.
This is extremely bad.
I should retreat immediately.
He turned around while thinking like that.
Please wait, there is a girl crying in front of you, so please wait!!
*Grasp!* His shoulder was caught.
He felt a ferocious aura from his back.
Her eyes were like those of a drunken person.
She is really influenced by sake.
For them to throw me into this kind of place when I have struggled with all my might for the company and did various things for customers, dont you think its cruel!? You think so too, right!? Right!?
Uwa, haa. (TLN: Crying SFX)
My performance has improved compared to the previous year. Even though I really did my best! Just because I bought materials without permission in the Material Purchase Station, isnt it too cruel!
I see. So, you are demoted.
No!! I dont want to remember that word!!
Apparently, he hit the mark.
*Uwaa ha haaa* She started to brawl again.
Her tears completely drenched his back.
Haa.
Haruki took a sigh and turned back.
Can you purchase them?
I can! Of course, I can! Even though I was thrown away to this remote place, I still have the ability to do it!!
Why does she pick a fight with me?
Somewhat troubled, Haruki gave up and handed them over.
Im a customer, right?
Ah, yes, yes. Welcome. So, should I purchase them?
Like a tap that was closed, her tears suddenly stopped flowing.
This woman.
She doesnt even pretend to be friendly like last time.
However, Haruki was also using a rough tone from the beginning as he knew her true nature.
House Centipedes material and wow, is this a Centipedes? Wait a moment.
Because now there was a work in front of her, she moved swiftly and not sloppy like before.
She took a disposable glove from the counters drawer and wore it.
She put materials on the counter and examined their minute details using a magnifying glass.
*Nod nod* There are 96 House Centipedes, and because there is no scratch, it will be 1,000 yen per carapace.
Oh
It is worth to aim at their heads so as not to scratch their carapace as much as possible.
As for the Centipedes, do you truly want to sell it?
Is there a problem?
The armor made by using Centipedes carapace is better than your current armor.
Because it was her words, he guessed it was better to handle it that way.
However, Haruki shook his head.
I choose to sell it.
Why?
I just barely survived that battle.
Im sure I will not be able to master the equipment as it wont approve of me. (TLN: Equipment made by using monsters material can choose its master. You cant equip it if you dont have enough power.)
If I want to use Centipedes carapace armor, I have to raise my level further.
Well, then Ill leave two carapaces and then buy the rest.
Huh?
You better keep them. You might not able to make the equipment because there are some cases in which materials cant be obtained in the future.
I see.
He accepted her proposal.
She showed how excellent she is by naturally giving the right proposal like that.
As for why she came to this kind of place.
It was probably because of her ability.
Without thinking of the opponents pride or territory, she can bluntly step in to do the right thing.
No matter how much you stand on the side of justice, you will be confused if you cant honor your opponent.
Therefore, the company that just got information about the newly appeared dungeon politely sent her.
She must have been told , Well, you are an excellent employee, so, Im sure you can work in a remote area, right?
Well, it is possible.
To be honest, she just reaped what she sowed.
However, the store of a big company in the adventure industry usually dont like areas with unpredictable sales.
So, lets accept and use her misery with gratitude this time.
Eight Centipedes carapaces are 40,000 yen. If combined with House Centipedes, the total is 138,000 yen. Is it okay? (Akane)
Ah, please set the distribution to 50:50 this time. (Haruki)
Roger that. (Akane)
Wait a minute. (Karen)
When everything was decided, Karen who had been quiet all of a sudden interrupted them.
Karaboshi-san should take more than me!
It was Karen who killed those House Centipedes this time, and I was only there as the coach.
I can hunt those House Centipedes thanks to Karaboshi-san, I couldnt fight them by myself.
Ah, this is troublesome, thought Haruki.
Even though this is a party, it should be fine for her to silently receive 50% of it regardless of the excess portion.
Of course, he could understand Karens words.
If you dont do it precisely, it will cause problems in the future.
However, it was troublesome.
So, how do you want to settle it? The setting sun is too hot, could you make it fast? (Akane)
The red-haired clerk fanned her face with her hand.
Shut your mouth.
She became really rude.
But, she looks more natural than when she pretends to be friendly, and its good because she seems interesting.
Haruki leaked a bitter smile to the clerks too unreserved attitude.
Please accept half of todays earning, and Ill listen to Karens story instead. Is that okay?
okay.
It seemed that she immediately knew what Haruki meant by story.
As her face became tense, her jaw opened slightly.
When they came to an agreement, 69,000 yen was transferred into Harukis IC-card.
I want you to appraise something, is it okay?
There are a simple appraisal and detailed appraisal, which one will you choose?
What is the difference?
Haruki tilted his head.
Of course, Haruki understood the difference between simple and detailed.
What he would like to know was the extent to which each appraisal could be done, the price, etc.
In fact, the clerk knew that.
She raised her beautiful black eyes to the upper right and said.
Well, I will be the one doing the simple appraisal. It will take 1 minute and cost 1,000 yen. As for the detailed appraisal, it will be done by an inspection machine and an appraiser from headquarters. The appraisal time depends on the request but it may take 1 month. The price is 100,000 yen.
100 thousand!?
Of course, the detailed appraisal will be done personally by the appraiser from Mitsubishis headquarters.
I see, Haruki nodded silently.
There is without exception one appraiser in every large company shop that sells goods in the dungeon.
Appraisers are people who gain their power through enlightenment or those who get an item with appraisal skills from a dungeon.
On Lets Be some say that a certain Nakajima Sensei acquired that kind of ability in a dungeon.
Appraisal is a rare skill and there is a cost to transport the item to the headquarter, so it cant be helped if they charge 100,000 yen.
Rather, its cheap if it costs only 100,000 yen.
However, if this is a magic bag, it should be distinguishable even without a detailed appraisal.
Then, Ill take the simple appraisal please.
Haruki took out the pouch which he found in the Centipedes stomach from his bag.
Of course, it had been lightly rinsed by using water from his canteen.
Even though it was somewhat wet, it was not as awful as when it was taken out of the stomach.
*Burp* However, Karen felt nauseous when she recalled its source.
Hmm, it is a pouch-shape magic tool. Could you lend it to me for a while?
When she received it, the clerk looked at the pouch from various angles while humming.
She opened the cover and put her hand in.
Then, *smooth smooth*.
Wow, even her shoulder could go inside the bag.
Congratulations, this without a doubt is a magic bag. Its opening is small, so you can only insert items with a diameter of 20 cm. But, you can use it in various ways as its size is as big as a schools classroom. By the way, do you intend to sell it?
Sorry, but selling it is-
I will buy it for 100 million yen.
What!?
Haruki surprised when he suddenly heard the amount of money offered.
Karen choked next to him.
You dont need to be surprised. Just by having this item, you can easily carry many small items and make huge profits from the current stupidly high transportation cost.
Certainly, if I have this item, Ill not suffer from transportation cost and Ill benefit from various aspects.
Even if I invest 100 million yen, Ill definitely gain it back.
One hundred million is attractive, but we will keep it as we will use it from now on.
Well, I guess thats better. Theres no way to have too much space when preparing emergency stocks for what-if situations.
Oh, I understand.
However, for such an outrageous thing to suddenly appear.
This is probably because I allocated a point to Karens Luck.
It was due to her devil-luck that we still survived even after encountering a strong rare monster.
And it was due to her good-luck that weve gained a rare item from the monster.
She must have pulled both lucks.
Nevertheless, I dont have the desire to allocate more points to luck.
If I increase it to maximum, it seems we would meet the Centipede on the first floor every day.
Haruki left the store and returned home with Karen.
Oh, is this your house, Karaboshi-san? Wow.
Is there something unusual that makes Karen admire this ordinary two-storied house?
There is a solar panel.
Oh, it is because I cant use electricity freely without it.
After the stampede, the electricity price has risen, and moreover, households have been constantly subject to electric power restrictions.
It is enough for the minimum standard livelihood, but it is necessary to install a private power generator if you really need to use a PC.
The solar panel was installed in Harukis house before the stampede. As the price of raw materials soared after the stampede, it became valuable equipment that cant be obtained by common people.
During that confused time after the stampede, many panels were stolen.
Thanks to that, Haruki had to strengthen his house security so that the panel would not be stolen.
Haruki let Karen sit in the living room while he prepared some water.
Water was pumped up from a well in the garden.
After he presented the water, he fixedly looked at Karens reaction who tried it.
Gulp, gulp ha!
It seemed she liked it. She drank the glass of water with tears in her eyes.
Well, water purification facilities are unable to catch up with the demand for tap water due to a lack of manpower, materials, and electricity. If compared to the time before the dungeons appearance, the current tap waters quality is quite low.
There are some areas where tap water cant be drunk directly. (TL: I think well water also could not be drunk directly.)
(EN: There are a couple save to drink wells; it mainly depends on the depth and region of the well. https://www.epa.gov/privatewells for more info.)
Only after new experiences can I see how blessed my environment is.
At the same time, I dont get why no one used well water before.
Even though, its easy to obtain fresh water from it(TLN: But, you still cant drink it directly. EN: Depending on the well.)
Well then, lets talk.
Karens expression that wanted to ask for a refill became tense.
For some reason, the Centipede was hit by something when it wanted to bite Haruki.
He knew that something struck it.
But, it wasnt a physical attack.
Harukis eyes couldnt catch anything.
If so, there was only one possibility.
You can use magic, right?
Yes
It was Karens magic which attacked the centipede.
Although I allocated those points with any chance in mind, I didnt think that chance would come this soon.
It was quite a quick flag recovery.
Um, please dont tell anyone.
I know. It isnt interesting if you suffer some danger when it spread.
Interesting?
Ah, we as adventurers want to enjoy the adventure as much as possible, right?
Are you a game-mind?
Perhaps, I am.
*Chuckled*
Karen chuckled because of Harukis answer.
As it sounded funny and embarrassing, Haruki covered it by pretending to drink.
-But, *thud* something was in the way.
Ah.
Im still wearing the mask.
It is good that I dont feel anything as it doesnt disturb my sight and breath. Its not good if I keep forgetting that Im wearing it.
Karen, who could no longer hold back when she saw Harukis small mistake, chuckled again.
In that dungeon, there are no other adventurers beside us. Therefore, its okay to use magic as you please. If your attack proficiency increases, you can break away even if you fall into a situation like that again.
I see
Are you going to use magic on tomorrows adventure?
Is it better to use it?
Karen upturned her eyes like she was asking about Harukis mood.
You should do as you like.
I understand I think I will use it tomorrow.
Karen moved her eyes up and down to hide her determination.
Can I ask you something else?
Yes, please.
What sense do you use for magic? Do you feel it when your mana decreases?
I dont know whether it is mana or not. But, I feel fatigue was collected in my body.
In your body?
Yes, it is different from both mental and physical fatigue. It makes me feel like I dont want to move for a while.
Hmm.
I cant understand it at all.
How did you become able to use magic?
I dont know. I got a feeling that I can use it? when I tried to hunt in a dungeon. It came out from the tip of my weapon as I tested it by building it up.
From your weapon?
Yes.
Is it due to club-type equipment?
Yes, this weapon can channel magic better.
I see.
It seems that she releases magic spawned from her body after gathering it up on her weapon.
Perhaps, she was enlightened.
However, it seems I cant use her story as a reference.
By the way, can you demonstrate the magic now?
Actually, it is hard to use magic outside the dungeon.
Karen expression became listless at Harukis question.
It seems like the dungeon is her magics source.
It was similar to Harukis circumstance, but it caused her fighting-power to fall in her case.
It made her unable to resist people with bad intentions outside the dungeon.
It is probably the reason that information about magic doesnt spread at all.
You may be able to use magic outside dungeon normally if you raise your level.
I hope so.
A heavy silence fell between the two of them.
Is that all you want to ask?
Ah, thats all.
For now, I have nothing more to ask.
Haruki raised her jaw slightly.
Ah, there is something that I havent asked.
Yes.
Karen straightened up her back when she heard Harukis words.
Where are you going to stay today?
It is here.
What?
Here.
No.
There is an unused room, right?
There is, but
Well, Ill stay over.
Karens pressure strength overwhelmed Haruki.
No no, the other party is a girl while you are an old man, right?
Why do you keep refusing? Is there something I shouldnt see?
Theres not such a thing!
.Yup, there is nothing like that, right?
Nothing, definitely nothing!
Thats okay. Even if the walls of Karaboshi-sans room decorated with a large number of masks, Ill act as if I didnt see anything.
Wait a minute, what the heck do you think of me?
A mask-maniac.
Absolutely no!
I equip it to increase my defense and presence. Its definitely not because I like the mask.
Karen, you are a young girl. So, its better if you stay in a hotel.
This house with a dungeon around the corner is better.
But.
I am an adventurer.
.Well.
Whats wrong with this girl?
She is as stubborn as before she got into the car.
Haruki let out a small sigh.
Anyway, I will introduce a 5,000 yen a night accommodation to you. So, please stay over there.
*Gu nu nu,* Karen chewed her lips.
She might have done it to increase her persuasion to Haruki.
It was unusual to ask a person of the opposite sex who she knew only since yesterday to sleep over.
In addition, Karen was 18 years old.
On the other hand, Haruki was 27 years old.
If a girl entered and left the house of Haruki who has lived alone until now.
Without a doubt, it would be noticeable (in a bad way).
Haruki removed the mask and opened his mouth to drink water.
Karen, do you know where you are right now?
In Karaboshi-sans house.
That is not wrong, but you only get 50 points. In addition, this is in front of a dungeon. If a stampede happens, this house would be the first target.
Ugh.
It seemed she finally realized it after Haruki said it.
How dangerous this place was.
It might be unavoidable as Karen had accumulated her frustration for not being able to hunt properly in Sapporos Chikaho.
But, it was not good to forget that the dungeon is the habitat of monsters that eat and kill humans.
And its location is in front of Harukis house.
Im the only adventurer in this town. If a stampede happens and the house is attacked when you are sleeping, who will help the people in the town?
But, is Karaboshi-san not living here alone?
Its necessary to have a guard, right?
Haruki smiled wryly to Karens feminine objections.
It is an adventurers responsibility to help the ordinary. If there are two adventurers, one can watch the entrance and the other can prepare for an emergency in a safe place. So, Karen as an adventurer, please stay at a hotel in the town while thinking of it as a job.
I understand.
Karen reluctantly nodded to Harukis persuasion.
Of course, Harukis words were just for persuasion.
There was only one adventurer in town, but there was an organized Self-Defense-Group, too.
It was not necessary for Haruki to do it alone.
His reasoning was close to lying as he was scared to let an 18 years old girl stay after all.
In the countryside, rumors spread quickly.
Once a strange rumor is created, some people would spread and embellish it before you know it. it would make you get into trouble easily.
Just being a suspect can cause a man to (socially) die.
You need to be ready for combat at all times.
I feel bad for Karen, but to protect myself.
Please give up on living together, Ill allocate some extra for the hotels fee.
Chapter end
Proofread for Asian Hobbyist by Fenring
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