Chapter 104: Pheromone would’ve been enough, this is going straight into crime territory.
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Translator: “Pink Tea” Editor: ”Ryunakama”
Chapter 40 – Morning, White Weirdo Inn
As I left my room I noticed that the doors to the other rooms were slightly open, and through the gaps… I saw Flat Gazes?
Wha… A corridor filled with Flat Gazes? Just what is going on here? Could it be that this inn is now running a Morning Flat Gaze service?! May I know how much a monthly subscription would cost?! No, I’m fine even with a year, or even 3 years long contract!! Anyway, let’s greet them for starters?
「Good morning? I guess? And, what?」
「「「「Good morning! Had fun last night, huh（*SLAM*）」」」」
All of the doors closed at once. Hmm, looks like they noticed?
But why? Armored Pres-san still cannot properly let her voice out, so the sounds she makes are very faint. Yes, those sounds as well. And yet, why? N-no way, could it be that all of the girls were peeking with 『Detect Presence』?! They couldn’t see or hear us, but they could read the presence with a skill… Hey! That’s a privacy violation! T-that’s a breach of manners! I also have 『Rajingan』but I’m not using it to peek on you in the bath! Yes, I’ve endured in anguish all this time, you know?
Well, it was obvious anyway since we are leaving from the same room? It’s not like I had any intentions of hiding it? But I would be very, very troubled if I had to explain the situation as it is now.
At the moment, Armored Pres-san doesn’t want to cancel taming. She is absolutely against it. And in the end, it seems she is just my follower and not my girlfriend… But it’s not like she is doing it because she is my servant? I heard her saying in a faint voice 『Love you』, I really did!!
Even so, she kept talking about the difference in position and status or something, what does status have to do with anything? I’m a jobless NEET shut-in loner, and though it’s not the case anymore, she was a dungeon emperor. Yeah, no matter how you think of it, not someone to get tamed?
But even so, she seems to insist on a concubine-like position? I didn’t even have a girlfriend until now, so why am I getting a lover first?! But it seems she wants to stay by my side forever, or rather, serve until death…?
Well, since she has problems talking we also have problems discussing this, so in the end, we didn’t come to any resolution. So there is no way to explain the situation?
Well, if she wants to stay with me forever, then I don’t think the details matter that much. Though they do matter a lot for my public image. Yeah, my Affection Rating with the opposite sex certainly took a fatal blow! That I can say for sure because even I took a fatal wound when I heard that, especially that part about 『Not a girlfriend』was a critical hit, and overkill, basically a kick to a dead body level!!
Well, I had fun so I have no objections. I actually enjoyed it so thoroughly that I don’t have even a shred of objection! Yeah, and also ended up getting scolded in the end.
Since everyone is staring with reproachful eyes even Armored Pres-san is troubled, fidgeting in embarrassment. Do we have a bullying problem now? It’s a mystery to me how it is even possible to bully the strongest ex-dungeon emperor, I hardly ever heard about bullied people who were regularly and casually beating their bullies? Do bullied people in the other world cleave through lines of enemies? Is that how it is here? The geeks seem to be getting quite close to that… I’m still going to bully them though?
Or rather, the atmosphere in the dining hall is so heavy! But breakfast is a breakfast! Treating them to a grilled fish set meal as a countermeasure to flat gazes seems to have robbed them of the composure to stare at us like that. After all, it’s grilled fish and rice with soy sauce. There are talks about youngsters losing interest in eating rice these days, but in this world, they are devouring it with a great appetite. At this point, I’d also like some miso…
After all, my classmates, who earn their money in dungeons every day, have plenty of cash on them, which allows me to make a killing every day from food sales. Since I’m buying up foodstuff I have tons of it, and the cost price is low. And if I cook utilizing the magic of『Holding』I can easily make many portions at the same time without any problem. And yes, I’m overcharging.
「So I think of going back to the dungeon, wanna come along? You can stay if you don’t want to? I mean, you probably don’t have many good memories of that place? And the stairs are annoyingly long?」
I suggested that she can stay, but as expected, she decided to come with me. I don’t think that darkness will appear even again, but there is something I have to confirm. If things go south I can just send Armored Pres-san back alone.
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Armored Pres-san is staring at the entrance to the great dungeon with a flat gaze? I have a lot of confidence in this piece, could it be that she liked it?
「Well, since the access point is the stairs it kind of ended up going into the depths like this? Don’t you think this imposing-looking stair entrance that only gradually expands as you continue your descent is really nice?」
Hmm? The reception is not that positive. The reply is flat gaze again? So arbitrary remodeling was no good? But it’s just 1F, isn’t that fine? That much? Her post was on 100F, right?
Going down to the 30th floor, which now was devoid of monsters, I probe lower floors with Detection skills. Nothing?
「I heard that monsters still remained on floors from 30 to 46… But there is nothing?」
(Nod, Nod)
Searching through the lower floors with Detect Presence doesn’t pick up anything, so someone already killed them all? Well, adventurers would be coming here to make money, so it’s not that strange, and since I came for treasure chests the absence of monsters isn’t a problem.
There was a hidden room on 30F which had a chest. Inside we found 『Profession Medal -【Job Specific Trait Up】』, and both of us are jobless! Is it going to up our specific jobless trait? What kind of trait is that even supposed to be?! Some kind of boost to laziness? Never mind, let’s go down.
Another one was on the 36th floor. It seems that hidden rooms remained largely undiscovered. We also found a few treasure chests outside of hidden rooms, but they contained only potions and other consumables, and no rare items at all. As I thought, what we need are hidden rooms. and as always, the room on 36F had no traps or locks. Opening the chest I saw『Demon Ring:【Dominate Demon (3)】』… I killed them all already!
Going by the scenario, I guess this ring was supposed to be used to dominate the swordmaster and have it fight in the later fights! That was a foreshadowing… FOR AN EVENT THAT’S ALREADY OVER!!! There is no foreshadowing of what already happened! If you don’t like it then don’t drop people!!!
The progression makes sense if you descend from the surface, but since I was going in reverse all of the event flags were broken. Yeah, so the proper course of actions should’ve been receiving the divine sword from the dominated swordmaster and then using it to fight, but I, instead, was first attacked by that divine sword and only after bludgeoning the swordmaster to death found the ring! That’s a sad mess.
In that case, since I have no idea if I will ever get to use it, I guess I should refrain from fusing it? 『Soul Ring』has 7 slots, but the only thing that was fused with it is that 『Trap Ring – Automatically Disarms Traps』, which has no use whatsoever at the moment. Well, if I don’t need it I can just take it off, but what worries me is that if I put it away I suspect I will completely forget about it. For now, let’s fuse it.
Well then, at the moment there is nothing the apostle of Avarice Armored Pres-san would desire. If we won’t find anything that she likes then I’ll buy her something in the town when we get back.
On 41F was another questionable item 『Blade Shield – Attack Bonus (Lesser), Defence Bonus (Lesser), Magic Defence (Lesser), Shield Bash +ATT』. The effects are nice, but all of them are (Lesser). With Shield Bash +ATT one would be able to cut and pierce with this shield, after all, it has blades on the edges and the surface. Is this meant for attack or for defense? Okay, let’s sell this.
And lastly on the 45F was 『Temptation Shirt – Allurement (Great)』…This might be good, but it’s out. It smells of crime. No matter how I think about this, it seems like a close friend of Charm skill. Pheromones would’ve been enough, this is too much. Simply raising my Affection Rating would be fine, but this thing might actually lower it? There might be a demand for it, but it’s sealed, selling it sounds too dangerous.
「In the end there wasn’t a single monster? What do we do? Want to go down all the way to the 100th floor? It’s been a while?」
Looks like she isn’t particularly interested. Well, as expected, she has no nostalgia for that dark place. At this rate, she probably wouldn’t be angry even if I were to remodel it into an underground bathhouse?
From what I can tell, not only is there not a shred of darkness left, the dungeon itself seems completely dead. The lack of presence here is absolute. A dead stillness. Fine, if that darkness disappeared then it’s all the better.
Well, I didn’t find anything great, but I should be able to sell those for quite a sum. I won’t sell『Temptation Shirt』, but the medal and the shield are nice. If it wasn’t for the combination of the Divine Sword and wooden stick exclusive to my jobless self it could be called a good result.
That being the case, I didn’t find anything for Armored Pres-san, so let’s shop in the town before returning to the inn. I think it’s a bit past noon, but I wonder how everyone is able to tell the time?
Killing time in a town bustling with the life we are walking around, buying various miscellaneous goods and daily necessities for Armored Pres-san. Then, dropping by the guild, we found out that just recently adventurers and regular troops went to confirm the death of the dungeon, and while they were at it swept through the floors, wiping our remaining monsters. That explains why there was nothing left but hidden rooms. Not like I’m going to complain since it turned the trip into a casual walk.
Using this chance I also got information on other nearby dungeons. Only adventurers can enter them, but I got the info anyway. I guess bribing with fruitcakes proved effective. Instead of going for a tight-lipped Receptionist President, I asked the clerk in charge of appraisal, who often made slips, and thus the result. I’m pretty sure she will be exposed and scolded soon enough, but for now she seems to be extremely happy… Ah, she is already behind her…
Going through the town while shopping at leisure we returned to the inn. Since it seemed that everyone is here I pulled out 『Blade Shield – Attack Bonus (Lesser), Defences Bonus (Lesser), Magic Defence (Lesser), Shield Bash +ATT』and『Profession Medal -【Job Specific Trait Up】』, and asked if there is anyone interested in buying them. Unexpectedly quite a few. Especially popular was the medal, apparently 【Job Specific Trait Up】is hyper rare stuff. Well, even if you tell me that, I don’t want to upgrade my special jobless trait!
「Then, let’s start an auction, I guess? Anyway, the starting price is 1,000 ere, kind of?」
「3,000!「5,000.「6,000!「9,000!「10,000「12,000「1……5,000「kuh… 20,000!」……」
Everyone got so caught up in the auction mood that even the girls that wouldn’t use the shield began raising their hands? No, you are using a two-handed sword, aren’t you? And that girl is using a pair of matching blades, if I remember correctly?
「105,000!「110,000「120,000!「125,000……「140,000!「15……5,000「—200,000!」」
Weird…… The geeks are being quiet. Those weapon maniacs aren’t participating. They have pretty tense expressions, as if they are holding back, and even when someone asks them something they remain silent?
「250,000!「260,000. 「280,000 「ugh, 290,000!「29……5,000「—300,000!!」Guh!」
And the winning bid belongs to the volleyball club’s Twin Light Poles! Ah, now I remember, this girl was swinging a shield around, so this item suits her perfectly. But to think I’ll make 320,000 ere from the shield alone. Since it seems the two pooled all of the money they had to buy it, I guess I’ll add something extra.
And the medal was bought by the geeks who got very serious about it. The starting bid was only 1,000 ere but it immediately rose to 1,000,000 ere. And with no one able to outbid that, it was sold in one bid. It seems they also pooled all their money. I’m certain that their goal is to give it either to the guardian or the magician to protect their heads. Looks like I will have to come up with a new technique!
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