Jiro Tanaka, 28, has a girlfriend.
His girlfriend: Suella Hendelberg.
Memoria Tris.
Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Full-time employee)
Magic Aptitude: 9 (Quasi Demon Lord Class)
Position: Warrior
A dull thud echoed, followed by the sound of something heavy collapsing that reverberated throughout the room.
“Thirteen minutes and thirty-two seconds… Excellent.”
“Pant, pant.”
“Haa, haa.”
“…”
“My magic is not enough, I’m dizzy.”
“…Jirou-san, you’re too energetic.”
“Well, it’s probably because only he has the status to be so at ease.”
After confirming that the floor boss had been completely defeated, I quietly stopped the stopwatch on my wristwatch.
Checking the time it took to defeat the boss on my watch, I could see that it was faster than the previous floor.
“More importantly, you should help a little more. Why are you retreating to defense after cutting off one of its arms?”
As if irritated by my action, Kitamiya glared at me hatefully.
“I couldn’t help it. If I had kept attacking like that, we would have been finished immediately.”
Kitamiya’s complaint was not wrong from a team play perspective.
However, I had my own reasons.
Even in normal battles, Kaido and the others were starting to show signs of strain, so I thought we’d have to participate in this floor’s boss fight and switched from support to frontline…
“Ah.”
I let out a small sound, realizing I had messed up.
One slash was all it took.
I knew I would instantly defeat this boss as well.
It was only a single clash, but the moment the image of being able to cut down the seemingly tough, multi-armed, three-faced, six-armed Ashura-like golem formed, I could see the outcome of this battle.
Fortunately, I only cut off one of its six arms. The battle had just begun, and I thought it was just the right amount of support, so I switched back to support.
I didn’t participate in the attack, but I did participate in the battle, from blocking attacks aimed at the backliners like Kitamiya and Minami, to stepping in front of Kaido when he was about to be swatted away like a fly.
Thanks to that, I’ve learned to control my strength in various ways during our dungeon exploration so far.
“Heh heh heh. Kitamiya probably doesn’t think the leader is slacking off! She just realizes she’s still weak and is frustrated, she’s such a tsundere, isn’t she?”
“Who’s a tsundere! Who!”
“K-Kitamiya! Masaru is scared of you!”
“Don’t dodge!”
“You’re getting in the way of the recovery work. Do your hugging later.”
“Later is okay?! Have you two gotten that far?!”
“Hmm, is this what they call a ‘shuraba’ in a daytime soap opera? It’s quite calmer compared to the ‘shuraba’ in my knowledge.”
“Hahaha, Mike, shut up for now.”
And this party has also become quite accustomed to this.
Although they’re exchanging playful banter, their bodies are already in motion.
Minami and Kitamiya begin to regenerate their magic power in preparation for the next step, while Kaido and Katsu are quickly finishing up the recovery work.
Amelia and I are on lookout duty.
Just because we defeated the boss in the boss room doesn’t mean we’re safe.
Last time, we were too relaxed, assuming it was over, and ended up having to fight the boss again.
We’ve had experiences that go beyond one or two failures by now.
Each time, we’ve improved, leading to our current actions.
However, lookouts tend to have a lot of idle time.
While keeping an eye on our surroundings, my gaze often drifts to my watch.
“…It’s a good stopping point. We’re done for today.”
We had started in the morning and even eaten lunch inside the dungeon.
Before I knew it, it was getting late.
It’s not a problem for me and Kaido, as we live in the dormitory, but for the other members, dinner would be a factor.
It seems like it’s time to wrap things up.
Today’s work went smoothly, and we successfully cleared the floor. The results were excellent.
“Alright!!”
“I wonder if I can make it to the special sale.”
“Oh, it looks like I can make it to today’s event.”
“Amelia, why don’t we grab something to eat together afterwards?”
“Sure! I want pasta.”
And once they hear that work is over, they immediately perk up.
It takes time to start work, but strangely, people move faster when it’s time to finish.
“I’ve finished packing my stuff!”
“No unrecovered items?”
“I’ve checked.”
This must be what they call a waste of good stats. Kaido, who had accelerated his work on the backpack to finish it all at once, reported to me with a salute.
It’s precisely at times like these that oversights are most likely, so I confirm with Katsu just in case, and it seems he’s also found no issues.
At this level, items worth over ten thousand each are starting to appear as spoils.
The boss’s spoils often hold the highest value on this floor.
Forgetting that would be equivalent to not picking up a ten-thousand-yen bill.
“Then, let’s escape on the next floor.”
“Yes!” “Yes!” “Yes, gozaru!” “Yes!” “Understood.”
And if there are no problems with the confirmation, lingering is a waste of time.
Hearing everyone’s replies, I, who considers overtime a significant loss in life, immediately take the lead to escape the dungeon and proceed to the next floor.
I walk down the stone steps, cutting down all enemies I encounter.
If a trap is triggered, I cut it down along with the trap.
“Cleaning complete. Minami, prepare the gate. Kaido, Katsu, Amelia, sorry, but please handle the recovery of the spoils.”
“Understood, gozaru. Kitamiya, you handle the lighting.”
“Do it yourself! Seriously.”
“Yes! Alright, alright, I’ll put you two in.”
“Okay.”
“OK!”
After defeating the golem, which I didn’t find particularly strong, and while Minami was operating the gate, I stood guard.
Of course, the spoils from the defeated enemies were also collected.
Manipulating the gate in the dim dungeon requires a bit of skill.
It’s not like an elevator that opens with a single button; there’s a procedure involved.
If there’s a mage, it would be easier if they illuminated my hands.
“This goes here, and then… it opens, gozaru~.”
And when escaping the dungeon, there are times when we overlap with other testers.
At those times, the gates open in order according to when the request was made.
During peak hours like dinner or lunch, there might be a wait, but this time, the gate opened smoothly without any such issues.
“Hmm, I worked again today, gozaru. Why do I feel this sense of defeat?”
“Working is normal.”
“I kind of get what Min-chan means, gozaru.”
“I found a shop near the station the other day.”
“Ah, I might know that. It was in a magazine.”
One by one, we escaped, and I was the last to emerge from the gate, just in case.
I’m relieved that everyone returned safely.
“You guys are way too relaxed… Especially Minami, your report for this week is still not submitted. The deadline is tomorrow.”
“Ugh.”
I sigh at the members who are already planning to leave.
I won’t dwell on it too much since they’re doing their work, but I make sure to give a clear warning to those who need it.
Minami, who’s the type to do her summer homework at the end of the month, always submits her reports at the last minute.
From my perspective, I’d like to review it, so I wish she’d submit it earlier…
Among the other members, Kitamiya is the fastest at writing reports.
And surprisingly, Kaido is next after Kitamiya.
Perhaps he learned it at his previous company, but he’s good at managing his workload so it doesn’t pile up.
In order, it’s Kitamiya, Kaido, Katsu, Amelia, and then Minami.
“Well, if you’re late, you’ll just be made to write it in the office without being taken to the dungeon. Naturally, you won’t get any share of the spoils, so be prepared for your salary to realistically decrease.”
“Noooo!! My source of funds?! I’m already tight on cash with this month’s game purchases!”
“Haa.”
“You have it tough too, Katsu.”
“I’m used to it.”
I don’t know how many times we’ve had this exchange, but Minami always gets things done eventually, so I’m not worried.
The reports she submits are also of high quality.
“Alright then, I’m going to get this exchanged for cash, so we can call it a day here.”
“Is that okay, Senpai? There’s quite a lot of it.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t fight much today. But to make up for it, I’ll at least get this settled.”
“Ooh, thanks!!”
So, there’s no need to pursue it further, and I announce the dissolution of our gathering.
As soon as I do, everyone else starts moving.
Kaido begins to think about what to do next, and Katsu heads towards the sale with Minami.
Kitamiya, who is supposedly hiding it but is known to everyone in the party, seems happy to have a junior, and is heading to the shop she spoke of with Amelia.
As for me, I want to finish my work quickly, so I’ll shoulder the backpack with the copious amount of goods and head to Memoria’s shop.
“Hm?”
Just as everyone is about to part ways, the gate opens right on time.
“Another party, I guess.”
As Kitamiya shifted her position to hide herself after sensing the gate opening, I watched the party emerging from inside.
It was a group of five men, not Himusumi’s party.
“You guys are beat up.”
“That seems to be normal for them. As the floors get higher, the enemies get stronger, and they can’t advance smoothly. It’s actually rarer for us to be doing this well without major injuries.”
“Is that so?”
I’m also more battered than most, but I don’t look as desperate.
Seeing the exhaustion in their eyes, as if they can’t find a way out for their next dungeon attack, I tell myself not to end up like that as I break eye contact.
There’s nothing good to come from getting involved with them.
“Let’s go. It’s more profitable not to work overtime.”
“Understood.”
“…”
I urge Kaido and the others to move, and they leave the area, but I can feel gazes from behind.
The emotions I feel from them are not pleasant.
Perhaps sensing this, Kaido and the others leave the area more quietly than before.
“Is there going to be trouble?”
I consider whether I should intervene before that happens, but I decide it’s best to observe for now, feigning ignorance of the gazes as I head towards Memoria’s shop.
“The quality seems good lately.”
“My stats have gone up, and clearing the floors is going smoothly.”
“It must have been worth the risk.”
Memoria’s expression is as impassive as ever as she calmly assesses the spoils and records them on the invoice.
Once you get used to it, she actually becomes quite understandable, and you start to see more of her cute side.
However, becoming more expressive also means she can be scary when angered, and I still clearly remember being lectured by Suella about my recklessness the other day, and then being scolded by Memoria as well.
As someone who caused worry, I had no room to argue and remember facing her worried and sad expression with quiet acceptance.
“The amount this time is this much. Please sign once you’ve confirmed it.”
“Roger.”
As usual, I quickly review the purchase evaluation, confirm there are no issues, and sign off.
Then, I receive the cash, and finally, my work for the day is done.
It might be work time for Memoria, but currently, business is so slow she could read a book.
I’ll ask her to indulge me in a little small talk.
“Hey, Memoria.”
“Yes?”
“How do you increase your Luck stat?”
It’s part of the information gathering I’m supposed to do within the company, as Suella told me.
It seems testers tend to build their knowledge based on fantasy elements from manga, novels, games, and anime from our world.
I also have that tendency, and until recently, I thought that simply training diligently and fighting would make me stronger.
That itself wasn’t wrong, but there isn’t only one way to get stronger.
Suella offering me a Spirit Contract is a prime example.
Getting along with employees of the Demon Lord’s Army allows me to obtain various information; it’s a line of thought I wouldn’t have had if I was confined to my own knowledge.
It seems the company has some intention for intentionally withholding information, and if it’s company policy, I have no choice but to comply.
Rather than questioning that policy now, it’s healthier to reflect on what I’ve learned and try to improve.
After all, my stats have increased so much, but the only one that has decreased is a concern.
I want to improve it if I can.
I’ve tried various things, but I still don’t know how to increase Luck.
I hadn’t had a chance to ask until now, but it’s a good opportunity.
“Luck, you say…”
“Yeah.”
Memoria closes her book with a snap and looks at me.
I’m looking forward to her answer, but I’m also a little anxious.
It’s possible she might tell me it can’t be raised.
“To raise Luck, you need faith.”
The words I heard were certainly actions unrelated to me.
Jiro Tanaka, 28, has a girlfriend.
His girlfriend: Suella Hendelberg.
Memoria Tris.
Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Full-time employee)
Magic Aptitude: 9 (Quasi Demon Lord Class)
Position: Warrior
Quote of the day: “Come to think of it, I’m not religious…”
This concludes this installment.
Please continue to support this work. Next time, I plan to expand a little on the Luck stat.
