I couldn’t help but wonder what that little girl’s voice had been earlier. At first, I thought it might’ve just been my imagination—but, it had been very clear. I could hear every word she said without any ambiguity at all. Even if her tone had been… well, pretty rough. It was too distinct to dismiss as mere hallucination.
“Hey, Satsuki-chan.”
“Yes?”
“Back at that Gourmet House… did you hear a little girl’s voice or something?”
“Huh? No, I didn’t hear anything like that.”
“Oh…”
While talking, Satsuki-chan and I continued down the spiral staircase, heading toward the fourth underground floor. I’d asked her just in case—thinking maybe she had heard it too—but it seemed the voice had reached only my ears.
What was that, anyway?
She had said something like, “I went through all that trouble preparing it for you” or something along those lines…
“Maybe you’re just hearing things after everything we’ve been through?”
“Yeah… maybe.”
“We’ve had a pretty rough time. Stuff like that can happen, I think.”
But honestly, I felt like she was being a bit too indifferent. Couldn’t she at least show a little more concern or something?
> Good work, old man.
> It’s a miracle you’re still alive
> Handsome guys are a problem!
> We’re rooting for you!
> Only the old man hears the little girl’s voice
> Plot twist: maybe the mastermind behind all this lol
> Mister’s daughter??
> It’s bad to be a lolicon
The comments didn’t seem to follow any real pattern. I could read them, sure, but they were scrolling so fast that nothing really sank in. Still, the viewer count was a solid 170,000 and holding steady.
“Alright, we’ve arrived, Daishi-san. I wonder what’s waiting for us next?”
“Phew… honestly, I feel like I can take anything at this point.”
Thinking back on everything so far, I let out a small sigh.
Seriously… how am I even still alive?
“Alright then, I’ll open it.”
Satsuki-chan slowly pushed open the heavy double iron doors. Not that I couldn’t have done it myself—I was just letting her handle it because she insisted. And just to be clear, this isn’t some “making a woman do it” situation, okay? Don’t get the wrong idea, viewers.
“…This is kind of normal.”
While Satsuki-chan was bent over with her hands on her knees, catching her breath from pushing open the heavy door, I scanned the room beyond her.
Just like I said—it didn’t look particularly remarkable at first glance. Honestly, it felt identical in structure and size to the first-floor room where we fought slimes and orcs. Like an old coliseum or arena.
What’s more, after looking around, there didn’t seem to be any signs of monsters at all. At the far end, I could clearly see a pitch-black opening—likely a passage leading to the next room, or stairs descending further down.
> Huh? This feels familiar
> Same layout as the first floor
> Did it… reset to normal or something?
> Don’t let your guard down
> There’s definitely something here
> Just sprint to the exit lol
> No, this feeling is…
“…Daishi-san…”
“You know, this place feels kind of calm, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t think that’s how this is going to go.”
Zuzuzuzuzuzu……
“W-what the-!?”
“The entrance and exit have both been sealed. Yeah… this is definitely one of those rooms.”
Satsuki was surprisingly calm, as if she’d already figured it out.
Just as she said, when I looked back, the entrance door now had a large “X” sigil carved into it. And the exit that had been visible just moments ago—leading deeper inside—had also been sealed in the same way as the entrance.
It looked like we’d been locked in.
> It’s a battle room
> Oh, so that’s how it works
> Simple rules—just defeat whatever spawns
> Clear it to get out
> You never know what appears though
> Mm. And usually, pretty strong enemies appear
> But it’s usually just one, so it’s fine
> With his stats, anything should be easy
> Thought we’d get something more intense
> Just crush it and move on
“…Daishi-san…”
“So yeah… looks like this is one of those rooms.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be that simple.”
“Is this what you call a battle room?”
I asked Satsuki-chan, relying on the fragments of viewer comments I’d managed to catch.
“Yes, that’s correct. A monster will be summoned into the central area any moment now. Defeat it, and we’ll be able to leave.”
“Have you… done this before?”
“I’ve encountered this about ten times already. It’s not exactly a rare type of room.”
She said that, but she was already holding her sword properly, fully prepared for combat.
I needed to take a page out of her book.
“Still, given everything so far, there’s a chance something extremely strong could appear. Please don’t let your guard down.”
“Got it!”
I should be ready to cast Cremation at a moment’s notice.
I’ve made it this far by sheer luck and grit. No matter what shows up, I’ll probably manage somehow!
Alright—let’s do this!
“…It’s coming!”
Just like when the Space time Rabbit had sent us into the Nether-Class dungeon, a vortex of distorted space began forming in the center of the room.
It twisted, spiraled—and something began to emerge from within.
A single monster stepped out.
…Huh?
Wait. What is that thing!?
> No waay!!!!
> That’s not right
> Ultra lucky drop!!
> In this room that’s basically jackpot
> I wonder how many levels you’ll gain from this
> Golden Emperor Slime lololol
> And it can’t escape because of the room too
> Your luck is still insane
“…They actually spawn monsters like that?”
“Is that thing… a big deal?”
“If you defeat it, you get a huge amount of experience points. It’s extremely rare to begin with, and it usually escapes immediately, so it’s basically impossible to defeat…”
“But in this room…”
“It can’t escape. That’s exactly the point!!”
The dazzlingly glittering slime in front of us shimmered as it quietly observed us.
The look in Satsuki’s eyes changed. She was clearly getting serious—fully intending to take it down herself. She lowered her stance, preparing to hunt the monster.
So this… this is a contest.
Even I, despite having grown stronger, still want more level ups. This is a battle I absolutely cannot lose.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next
Yume Neiji's Works 