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 37: The Secret Base of the Four ②

Episode 37: The Secret Base of the Four ②

“Shi-chan, loooong time no see! Right now, Manamin is here too!”

Otama-chan runs up to Shi-chan’s SUV.

“Long time no see, Tama-chan. Ah, Natsume-kun… is it okay if I park my car here for a bit?”

“Of course.”

Both parents were out. And the countryside house had enough space to easily park several cars.

Shi-chan gets out of the car and smiles gently.

“Everyone, long time no see. You haven’t changed.”

“Shi-chan, have you been well!? I almost died recently, you know!”

“…Hey, don’t make that a joke. I don’t know how to react.”

Shi-chan gives a soft, awkward laugh.

“Of course, I know. I was watching the stream too.”

“Eh!? Really?”

“Could it be, the one commenting with the Dungeon Management Bureau’s official account was…”

“Yeah, it was me. Sorry, I couldn’t be much help.”

Shi-chan says sadly.

“That’s not true. You were helping a lot behind the scenes. Thanks.”

“…Yeah.”

Shi-chan nods once.

That gesture hasn’t changed since long ago.

Maybe because of her short height, Shi-chan still feels the most like her old self.

A nostalgic feeling returns.

“…Manamin, long time no see too.”

“Y-yeah…”

“Huh? Manamin, are you crying a little? Are you that happy to see Shi-chan?”

“Hah? Shut up. You were the one crying in the Ōta Dungeon after getting poisoned. It was on the stream.”

“T-That’s something you’re not supposed to joke about!”

“Fufu…”

Shi-chan laughs happily.

“You guys get along well. Have you all been meeting up like this all along?”

“No, this is the first time I met Manamin as an adult. I only ran into Otama-chan by chance about a month ago.”

“I see… But it doesn’t look like it.”

“I think so too.”

Being with Otama-chan and Manamin gives off the feel like we’ve always been together.

Maybe it’s because we share memories from childhood.

“So, Shi-chan, why did you come here? You’ve got a hearing at the Explorer Association at 10:30, right?”

“Yeah. I still have a bit of time. So I thought I’d at least take a look at the exterior of the private dungeon listed in the report, and came here.”

“I see…”

So she came to see the secret base.

The first report of the Ōta Dungeon accident had already been made to the government by the Explorer Association.

Probably, that included a note about this private dungeon too.

In that case…

“Why don’t we all go to the secret base together? The inside’s interesting. Oh, do you both have explorer licenses?”

“I’m an inspector, so I have one…”

“I’ve got one too. It’s just a [Green], though.”

“So Shi-chan is fine, but Manamin is also an explorer?”

With a [Green] license, you can only enter dungeons that aren’t dangerous.

“When I was just starting out as a blogger, I took the Explorer Training course for reference.”

“Manamin, you’re a blogger?”

“Yeah. But I don’t want to tell my account, because Tamatama seems like a blabbermouth.”

“W-Why not!?”

…Well, if all four of us have licenses, that’s perfect.

“Let’s go now. We still need to make it back in time for the hearing.”

☆★☆

*Clack…*

*Miiin miiin miiin miiin miiin…*

When Manamin opens the door to the private dungeon, the sound of cicadas echoes from inside.

“Whoa…”

“Wow…”

Manamin and Shi-chan each voice their surprise at the summer scenery unfolding inside the door.

And then—

“Eh…!?”

“W-What the…!?”

The surprised voices came from me and Otama-chan too.

“The private dungeon… is bigger!?”

Up to now, the private dungeon only had three terrains: rice fields, forest, and river.

More precisely, if you include the shrine, that’s four terrains.

But now, in our view—

“A Japanese-style house…!”

A new Japanese-style house with a black tiled roof had appeared.

Wooden pillars, a long veranda, paper sliding doors…

At the back left from the dungeon gate, a large wooden one-story house stood proudly beyond the rice fields.

“What does this mean…?”

Otama-chan asks me.

It’s not like I have an answer, but…

“Come to think of it, when Otama-chan first entered this dungeon, there were changes too. Sunflowers bloomed, the river water increased…”

“That happened?”

“It did. I told you about the sunflowers, didn’t I?”

I liked catching bugs, Otama-chan liked playing in water and tag.

Since our play styles already matched, maybe the changes in the dungeon weren’t so noticeable.

However—

Shi-chan liked reading, and Manamin liked playing pretend like house games.

Both were indoor types.

Now that all secret base members had entered the dungeon, the first floor of the private dungeon regained its true size—

I don’t understand the logic, but it feels that way.

Just like the development of the second floor, this private dungeon still has room to evolve.

“*Sniff, sniff…*“

“…Hm?”

When I turn around, Shi-chan is crying.

“W-Whoa, Shi-chan…”

“What’s wrong?”

“U-Uh… Sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Don’t cry, Shi-chan…”

“I’m sorry… We finally all met, and yet… I don’t know why, but I just feel so sad…”

“………”

Now that she mentions it, Shi-chan was always a crybaby…

She must’ve gone through a lot since moving to Tokyo.

At times like this—

“Hey, it’s okay.”

“Ah…”

I gently pat Shi-chan’s head.

“Shi-chan, don’t cry!”

Otama-chan hugs Shi-chan.

“S-Shi-chan… Did Tamatama make you cry?”

Manamin is trying to find the culprit.

“I-I didn’t do anything!”

“You made her cry before by eating candy without asking.”

“That was just one mistake! And don’t treat me differently from Shi-chan!”

“I’m just weak to Shi-chan. You’re strong, so you’ll be fine.”

“Don’t make me sound insensitive!”

“…Fufu.”

Shi-chan wipes her tears with a handkerchief and smiles.

“Everyone, thank you… Sorry for crying when we just met again…”

“How about we all go eat together after your hearing today?”

At my suggestion, Shi-chan quietly shakes her head.

“…I have to write a report today. A lot of important people seem really concerned about the Ōta Dungeon accident…”

“I see, you’re busy…”

“Because Tamatama made a mess of things…”

“H-Hey, it’s my fault!?”

“It’s not Tama-chan’s fault. Hey, Natsume-kun. Did you learn a lot of skills in this dungeon?”

“Yeah, I did. Like this…”

I stretch out my fingers and catch a dragonfly.

*Poof!*

“Ah…”

“Whoa!”

The dragonfly turned into a small magic stone.

“This one was just a magic stone. But depending on the insect, you can learn a skill when you catch it.”

“Papa… That’s a good skill you’ve got there.”

“I’m not your dad.”

“Amazing… So it’s like how you learned to use [Thread] with a spider. Did you also learn that [Teleportation] skill here?”

“Yeah. Technically, it’s called [Wormhole].”

“I learned my [Water User] skill here too!”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. The people at the Explorer Association were guessing that maybe only we could get certain benefits here.”

“I see…”

“…?”

Shi-chan says quietly and sadly.

“Ah, I have to go to the Association soon! Yamada-san will yell at me again! Sorry, Manamin, but you’ll have to go home for today!”

“Mama… Then just go get married soon.”

“What’s with how you treat me!?”

☆★☆

After leaving the private dungeon, Shi-chan mutters softly.

“Do I really have the right to enter this dungeon…? Even though I left everyone and went to Tokyo…”

“So that’s what you’ve been worried about…”

I make a suggestion to Shi-chan.

“Then try opening that door.”

“Eh…? Why…?”

“Just do it.”

Shi-chan reaches out for the door to the private dungeon.

And then—

*Clack…*

“…I opened it?”

“Yeah. It opened.”

—Then there’s no problem.

“…Only the members of our secret base can open this door. When people from the prefectural office or city hall tried, it wouldn’t open, like it was locked.”

“Really…?”

“It’s true! During the investigation, only Kou-chan and I could open it.”

“In other words…”

I gently say to Shi-chan.

“This dungeon is accepting you too, Shi-chan. You don’t need to worry about qualifications. And… we feel the same way.”

“Yeah. I’m really glad I got to see you again, Shi-chan.”

“Even if it’s not for work, come visit anytime! Right, Shi-chan?”

“Ah…”

And so, Shi-chan once again began to quietly shed tears.