Dungeon Start Heroine Tamer and Training Mission! ~Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about strong, cute, and beautiful female adventurers… All of them are my followers!
“――I’ve kept you waiting. Lord Saionji.”
The nearest guild branch hall.
Called by the female receptionist, Saionji nervously heads toward the counter.
“This is the exchanged amount ― 2834 yen, please take it. There’s also a detailed receipt, so please check it.”
“Y-yes! A-and, thank you very much!!”
Saionji quickly returned.
He seemed very excited about the monetary results he had obtained from his first dungeon crawl.
“A-Amasaki-kun! Look, look, money!”
He was obviously very pleased.
He showed me the two bills and several coins he held in both hands as if they were precious treasures.
His speech has become terribly broken.
Is he like Kaonai from some anime movie?
“I see, I see. That’s great~ Saionji is already a wealthy man.”
Not wanting to spoil Saionji’s sparkling mood, I casually agreed with him.
“Hehe~ Yes, that’s right~”
What’s with that melted smile?
This is about how adorable my follower is.
With a pleasant sense of fatigue after completing a task, we left the guild hall.
Outside, the sun had already set, and the town at night was bustling with energy.
Of course, there were salarymen heading out for drinking and dinner parties.
We also saw quite a few adventurers returning from dungeons.
“―Ah! That’s right. Um, twenty percent of 2800… the change doesn’t matter, right?”
Suddenly coming to his senses, Saionji took out the reward he had carefully stored away once more.
In an exaggerated manner, he separated a 500-yen coin and a few smaller coins.
Then, with a mischievous smile, he offered them to me.
“Hoho~ My lord. Please accept this.”
In short,
It’s probably the twenty percent reward stipulated in our training contract.
I think Saionji is trying to be playful, imagining his best attempt at a villainous face.
But this is cute in its own devilish way.
Saionji is adorable no matter what.
“Guhuhu. You’re quite the wicked one, Saionji Store~”
…Though, I think Saionji fits more as the town girl who gets her obi pulled and teased.
But here, I decided to play along with Saionji’s antics.
As the corrupt official, I gratefully accepted the reward.
“O-oh, not as much as your lordship — heh, heh! Amasaki-kun, you’re really good at looking wicked.”
Apparently, he couldn’t hold back halfway through.
Saionji laughed genuinely, looking very happy.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
After deducting taxes and other expenses, and my twenty percent reward,
Saionji’s net amount comes to just over 2000 yen.
We had explored the dungeon for about two and a half hours together.
Calculating it hourly, it doesn’t even reach 1000 yen.
But still,
For Saionji, this was important money, and it turned out to be an important day.
“…Wait a bit. I’ll go shopping.”
“Eh? Okay, got it.”
Leaving Saionji waiting, I entered the convenience store that had just come into view.
From the “Nutrition Drink Corner” right at the entrance, I picked up two bottles.
‘Instant Attack for Adventurer’s Fatigue’
‘Reduces latent stress from the enclosed feeling in dungeons and supports restful sleep’
Checking each promotional phrase, I headed to the register.
“Shaaasee~ …Two items, that’ll be 396 yen.”
I handed over the 500-yen coin I had just received to the young clerk, who lacked any motivation.
I stuffed the change into my pocket and stepped outside with the nutritional drinks in both hands.
“―Here. Drink this, and go to bed early tonight.”
Saionji, who obediently waited there as instructed, takes the newly bought drink bottle with a blank expression.
“You have school tomorrow, right? …The trip isn’t over until you get home. The dungeon exploration isn’t over until you return.”
Right now, he must be experiencing a rush of adrenaline from his first dungeon experience.
However, his body must definitely be feeling fatigue.
I thought it was my duty to care for his physical well-being.
And as for how I used the roughly 500 yen I gained, this was sufficient.
…Well, I want him to have as good a memory as possible.
“Amasaki-kun… ―Ah. Could it be, you used part of your reward…?”
Saionji suddenly realized something.
…I dislike perceptive followers.
“―I don’t believe in keeping overnight money.”
I had no choice but to make up an excuse on the spot.
There was a brief pause as if he was thinking about it.
But soon, Saionji smiled again, as if switching gears.
“―Yeah, I understand. Thank you, Amasaki-kun. I’ll stop by the supermarket before going home. I’ll drink it when I get home.”
“Yeah, do that.”
After walking a little more,
I watched until Saionji entered the supermarket and then parted ways.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
The next day, Wednesday.
Just as I thought another gloomy day was starting,
Something unexpected happened.
‘Good morning, Amasaki-kun. Thank you again from yesterday. Thanks to you, I felt really refreshed this morning. By the way, can we meet somewhere before school?’
Such an email, accompanied by cute emojis, arrived in the morning.
I saved it immediately.
Well, I guess waking up felt refreshing, huh.
But it can’t be helped.
There are lives saved by these words alone, yeah.
Afterward, as expected, we exchanged messages a few times to confirm.
However, it didn’t seem like anything problematic or an emergency had occurred.
I decided to leave home earlier than usual and wait at the convenience store along the way.
“―Ah, there you are!”
The cheerful sound of pedaling echoed, and Saionji arrived.
Seeing him again, looking fine and energetic, put me at ease.
“Good morning, Amasaki-kun. Sorry for making such a sudden request this morning.”
Dressed in his uniform, Saionji dismounted his bike, breathing heavily.
His clean white legs rose, and his short skirt fluttered, making my heart skip a beat.
I felt as if I were seeing something forbidden and quickly averted my gaze.
“No, it’s okay. …Is it about the job? If so, there’s no need to hurry and decide.”
Saionji had accumulated 200 training points and could unlock either the Mage or Cleric job from the [Training Tree].
But since he would be deciding the job he would continue with in the future, I told him he could take his time.
“Ah, um, yes. I’ll decide on the job by after school today. It’s not that―”
Saionji reached into the bag in the front basket of his bicycle and took something out.
“―Um, here. This is for you. …It’s a bento.”
His voice, filled with shyness and embarrassment, trailed off.
For a moment, I didn’t understand what he said.
But soon, I grasped the situation.
I took the blue drawstring bag and somehow managed to respond.
“Ah, ah. Thank you. But, why?”
“Um… Yes, it’s sort of a thank you for yesterday and everything up until now. I just wanted to give this to you. If you’d like, eat it for lunch. ―Well, see you at school.”
After the awkward exchange, Saionji mounted his bike again.
With a still slightly red smile, he hurried off ahead.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
And so, lunchtime arrived.
Honestly, I was so preoccupied with the bento that I barely remembered the content of the classes leading up to it.
For a moment, I considered eating somewhere else.
But it wouldn’t matter where a loner like me ate; no one would care anyway.
“―Hikari~ Let’s eat lunch!”
“I’m so hungry, I feel like I’m gonna die~”
Just then, a group of girls gathered around Saionji.
Elsewhere, islands of close classmates formed one after another.
Nice~ Lunch with friends.
It’s painful to watch, so I usually become a gourmet loner in another place.
…But today is different.
Opening the drawstring bag, the disposable chopsticks caught my eye first.
Underneath were two rice balls wrapped in plastic, shaped like small bags of rice.
And a rectangular bento box sat prominently.
“…”
Looking around to see if anyone was watching, I took out the contents and arranged them on my desk.
When I opened the lid of the bento box, it was packed full of side dishes.
“―Whoa!! Hikari, today’s meal looks luxurious!”
“There’s hamburger steak, fried chicken, and even rolled omelet!!”
“That’s right! It feels like you put a lot of effort into it, or spent a lot of money?”
Just then, the lively voices of the girls’ group could be heard.
“Hehe~ …Actually, yesterday, I was able to cash in a decent amount of money from the dungeon for the first time.”
At Saionji’s shy confession, the surrounding girls cheered.
“Wow, really!?”
“You did it, Hikari!!”
Saionji was praised one after another and showered with words of blessing.
Whether it was due to Saionji’s own virtue,
the girls gathering around her were all naturally kind and good-natured.
…For some reason, I feel happy as if it were my own accomplishment.
Using that as a side dish, I extended my chopsticks towards the bento’s side dishes.
―Wow, the fried chicken is juicy and delicious!
The mini-sized hamburgers were tender, and even though they were cold, the savory meat juices were still evident.
The rolled omelet was flavorful with dashi, and very delicious.
I finished eating it first.
…By the way,
I haven’t asked Saionji to keep quiet about the dungeon itself.
I’ve told her to try to avoid talking about me generally.
However, hiding things too much might instead arouse suspicion.
Therefore, excluding me, Saionji is free to talk about her growth and experiences in the dungeon.
I think Saionji will handle the balance of this well.
“So today, to celebrate, I made a lavish lunch. …I don’t believe in keeping overnight money, hehe.”
Saionji’s most playful words of the day.
…Oh, that line sounds familiar.
…So this bento is like a return gift, and she bought the ingredients with yesterday’s money.
Saionji’s bento must be the leftovers.
“…”
I unwrapped the plastic and took a bite of the rice ball.
The saltiness was perfect, and the seaweed was still crisp, not soggy from moisture.
The rice balls Saionji made are delicious…
The rice balls Saionji made with her bare hands are delicious…
The rice balls Saionji might have made while sweating are delicious…
These three sentences.
They should all have essentially the same meaning, yet the latter ones increasingly contain a higher concentration of perverted intent.
Words are mysterious, aren’t they!
“…Want to eat?”
“Really!? I’ll take it, let’s trade! ―Hehe~, men, pretty good, huh?”
“Mm!! Delicious!! Hikari’s homemade cooking is the best!”
Nee~ Saionji’s homemade food is the best, right?!
While mentally agreeing with the girls wholeheartedly, I continued to finish the remaining bento.
Ahh~ It’s delicious.
Too delicious.
“Ono-kun, no matter how much you make that greedy face, it’s no use. Hikari won’t give you her bento either ?”
Among the girls’ group including Saionji, the top-tier boys.
Especially the handsome ones, central figures in class like Ono-kun, were being teased as targets.
Did Ono-kun want some too?
…But sorry, I ate it all.
“N-no, I wasn’t looking at Saionji. Besides, I have plenty of my own food.”
I see, then it’s alright!!
That’s right.
Come to think of it, I often hear that Saionji and I have been classmates since middle school.
Ono-kun is now a promising young adventurer.
He’s probably earning money, so if he wants to eat something, he can just buy whatever he likes.
The value of Saionji’s bento, which can’t be bought with money, is priceless.
But… well, Ono-kun says he wasn’t looking at Saionji, so it doesn’t matter!
She said she would decide on the job by the end of school.
Moreover, the training mission was updated.
Saionji.
Starting today, let’s work hard again, you and I!