Ordinary Person × Modern Dungeon × Summer Vacation Life = Rise to Success!? 〜A Private Dungeon Was Made at the Remains of a Secret Base From Childhood〜 - Episode 10: Playing in the Water with Childhood Friend ①

Episode 10: Playing in the Water with Childhood Friend ①

The next day.

As I was getting ready to go to the Explorer Association to exchange magic stones, the doorbell at home rang.

—*Ding-dong.*

“…Hmm.”

Maybe someone from the neighborhood brought a circular notice.

It’s a weekday today, so both my father and mother are at work.

Thinking it would be a hassle if someone pried into my current situation, I opened the front door — and there stood my childhood friend, Otama-chan.

“Yo, Kou-chan. I came just like I promised.”

“Promise?”

Ah, she must be talking about wanting to go play in the private dungeon.

“You should’ve contacted me beforehand. I was actually about to go to the Explorer Association…”

“Today’s a holiday for the Association, you know? I thought you already knew…”

“Ah…”

In my previous job, I always prioritized the client. So I didn’t have a real sense of fixed holidays. I completely forgot that there were regular days off.

“Sorry. Now that you mention it, you did say you’d come on a holiday. So today’s the day, huh.”

“Y-Yeah. U-Um… then, could you give me your LINK address? That way I can contact you in advance…”

“Oh, my bad.”

I took out my smartphone and added Otama-chan as a friend.

Right away, *Ping!* a message from Otama-chan arrived.

Tamaki: Nice to meet you!

Then, she sent a sticker with a polar bear character and “Nice to meet you ♡” written on it.

Oh, that’s such a girly sticker.

Back in my previous job, I only used LINK for work communication. What I got were just long texts or short work orders.

I hadn’t received a cheerful sticker like this in years. So it honestly made me happy.

Since I hadn’t bought any stylish stamps, I replied with just plain text and default stickers.

Koichi: Let’s keep in touch!

“Ah…”

Otama-chan checked her phone screen.

“Yep!”

She smiled happily.

☆★☆

We started walking toward the private dungeon.

“You changed your helmet, huh.”

In Otama-chan’s hand was a light-blue helmet. It was different from the pink one from before.

“D-Did I? I forgot!”

“Remember, it had a sticker of your favorite idol or something on it… that ‘NK’ one.”

It had the same initials as mine, so I clearly remembered.

“Ah, ahhh, *that*! It was on there from the beginning!! It was a cheap helmet, that’s why!”

“Is that so? It had a pretty unique design.”

“Maybe that’s why it was cheap? Ahahaha—”

Otama-chan laughed as if trying to cover something up.

…………Maybe she was embarrassed about buying a cheap one.

Guess I’ll drop the subject here.

I changed the topic and kept walking with Otama-chan.

After climbing a short mountain path, the dungeon gate door came into view.

☆★☆

Inside the private dungeon. 

It looked like summer, with the sound of cicadas ringing out.

Once we closed the dungeon gate door, Otama-chan immediately took off her coat.

Underneath, she wore an outdoor brand T-shirt.

“Phew, it’s hot after all. I’m getting hyped!”

“…Hey, who was it that said wearing long sleeves and long pants is a must inside the dungeon?”

In the dungeon, it’s required at minimum to wear clothes from exploration gear brands. You must protect your skin.

I had just learned that from her at the Explorer Association seminar.

“Ehehe, there aren’t any monsters here anyway. But I brought my sword, so I’ll handle it if anything happens.”

“…You’re so careless. I can already see you charging into enemies without thinking and getting scolded by Yamada-san from the Association.”

“W-Wha!? How do you know that!? Did you hear it from someone!?”

“……………I didn’t need to hear it to know.”

Yamada-san’s struggles are easy to imagine.

“So, what are we doing today?”

I don’t know Otama-chan’s skillset, but I’m probably the only one who can level up just by catching bugs.

“Umm, for now I wanna go to the river!”

“The river? Is there something there?”

“Not really. It just looked super clear, so I thought why not.”

…Now that she mentions it, Otama-chan has always liked playing in rivers since we were kids.

“When we made the promise the other day, you were saying something about growing as an explorer — so you’re not here to train?”

“Ehehe. I mean, Kou-chan, you level up just by catching bugs, right? I’m part of this secret base too. So if I do the thing I love most, I should get the best result too!”

“…You’re so optimistic.”

“Well, worst case, I’ll just have fun! Come on, let’s go—!”

“H-Hey!”

Otama-chan started walking into the forest.

☆★☆

“Ah, look! So pretty!”

Next to the rice field path, several tall, big sunflowers were blooming.

“It really feels like summer. I love sunflowers.”

“They definitely weren’t here yesterday…”

Did the dungeon change because Otama-chan and I entered together?

It’s truly mysterious.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff! Just look at these amazing sunflowers!”

“Hmm…”

Figuring I wouldn’t find an answer even if I thought about it, I caught the ladybug sitting on one of the petals.

Encyclopedia No. 35/251 

Name: Three-Star Ladybug

Rarity: 0

Capture Skill: None

Capture EXP: 3

Drop Item: Magic Stone (Tiny)

☆★☆

Eventually, we reached the riverbank.

Though it was a slightly different spot than yesterday, the water level seemed a bit higher.

Yesterday, it only reached my ankles. But today it’s up to just below my knees.

“Yaaay! The water’s so clear!”

Otama-chan was overjoyed.

The water reflected the blue sky and looked like aquamarine.

I didn’t show it, but I was getting excited too.

It reminded me of when I was little.

“This place really is the best. I had my eye on it since that last investigation.”

“The river near our house turned full of algae before I knew it.”

“Well then, time to play—”

Otama-chan lifted her T-shirt and unbuttoned her pants.

“W-Wait! Are you seriously changing here!?”

Her pants dropped straight down to her ankles.

Otama-chan lifted her T-shirt and said:

“Ta-da! I was already wearing a swimsuit underneath! I wore it from home!”

She showed me a blue floral bikini.

“Did you think it was underwear? Too bad~!”

She took off her pants and neatly folded them.

“O-Oh…”

…Rather than whether it was a swimsuit or underwear, just the situation of a girl taking off her pants and showing what she had underneath made me nervous.

I wish I could’ve joked back more smoothly. But I couldn’t react well.

Feeling awkward, I couldn’t look directly at Otama-chan.

“H-Hey… With you reacting like that, now I’m embarrassed too… D-Don’t get the wrong idea, okay? I’m not usually like this! It’s just, with you, Kou-chan, I get too excited… Uuu…”

Otama-chan blushed bright red and spoke quickly.

“Y-Yeah, I get it. Otama-chan doesn’t normally do this kind of thing, huh.”

I tried to be considerate of Otama-chan’s feelings and replied.

But Otama-chan got even more flustered and said:

“Y-You don’t get it! It’s not just ‘not usually’ — I’ve never done this before… Ugh, what am I even saying, aahhh geez!!”

Otama-chan ran into the river.

*SPLASH! SPLASH!* Big splashes rose.

“Hey!! Kou-chan, come over here! Let’s play together!”

For some reason, while yelling alone, Otama-chan started splashing me with water.