New chapter of Ordinary Person is out (2/3 chapters)

 

 

Chapter 22

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

Surrounded by beautiful women, exploring a dungeon… Yeah, this is a dream, right?

Since deciding to go into dungeons, I had imagined this kind of situation countless times. However, I also knew that reality was harsh. It depended on national policies, so it couldn’t be generalized, but I had heard that around 80% of people who entered dungeons voluntarily and were called “Explorers” were men.

It was said that this had to do with how the brain worked, men tended to be more dreamy and idealistic, while women were more practical in their thinking. So, there were more male explorers. Historically, there had been more male adventurers, pioneers, politicians. These were said to fall under the same category. However, this data was a bit old. Starting around last year, countries advocating for occupational freedom had joined forces and begun a “Let’s Go to the Dungeon” campaign. Slowly, it had started to spread among younger women.

The campaign content went like this:

• With increased stats, your skin becomes more resilient. Get skin that’s resistant to sunburn and roughness!

That might actually be plausible.

• Walk a lot inside the dungeon and lose weight!

Walking around town would do the same thing, right?

• As your level increases, your body becomes optimized, allowing you to fully realize your potential and as a result, you too can become beautiful!

A little hard to believe, but since the dungeon itself was full of mysteries, it wouldn’t be strange if it were true.

• Kill dungeon monsters and blow off stress!

That’s super easy to understand. But maybe they should be a little more mindful of ethics.

• Explore the vast dungeon and refresh your mind and body!

Yeah, trying to refresh yourself in a dungeon crawling with goblins. Have you lost your mind?

Pretty much every country was promoting it like this. To be honest, I hadn’t expected it to be very effective. But in the U.S., where there was only one dungeon, beauty-hungry women had apparently rushed into it. As a ripple effect, people had started flowing into the Tokyo and Osaka dungeons too. This kind of Western mindset was something I couldn’t understand at all. But once a trend got started like this, the Japanese, who tended to follow the crowd, just accepted it as normal.

Last year, there was even a story in the news about a group of new high school students going to the dungeon together to build friendships with classmates. It might happen again this year. Some people even said it could become a trend going forward.

Well, what I wanted to say was… Right now, I was exactly that, an explorer, surrounded by beautiful women, exploring a dungeon.

“Uwah!? …It really stabbed right in…” (Emilia)

“Your hands stopped. If you don’t move, it’s going to get away!” (Kouta)

Since Emilia-san had frozen in shock at the sharpness of the “Goblin Knife” I had lent her, I quickly called out to her.  After returning from the ramen shop, we had gone straight into the dungeon.

The three of them had remained skeptical about the differences I had explained regarding knives, so I got fed up and lent mine to them. Of course, I’d be happier if they thought I was amazing rather than the knife. But if something happened to them because of that, if they got injured, or worse, died, I would surely be crushed by guilt.

That was why, although I really didn’t want to lend my precious weapon to others, I decided to let them borrow it just once.

“Hey, don’t let it escape!” (Kouta)

“I’ll stop it. Emilia, you finish it!” (Sofia)

“Got it!” (Emilia)

Small-framed Mira-san cleverly cut off the goblin’s escape route, and Emilia-san, holding the knife in a reverse grip, drove it in from behind. The goblin vanished into a black mist without resistance.

“Good work. That was a nice fight.” (Kouta)

“Whoa, thanks, Kouta!” (Emilia)

“Other than the part where Emilia-san hesitated, it was perfect.” (Sofia)

“Shut up, don’t bring that up! I just didn’t expect it to be that different!” (Emilia)

Of course. Even I, watching their battle, realized just how significant the difference in knife performance was. My “Goblin Knife” gave a clean cutting sensation, whereas the store-bought knives they had brought from outside looked like they were just banging against the enemy without cutting at all.

“No, Kouta, I’m really sorry. I actually suspected you might be a guild affiliate or something.” (Mira)

“Do I look like some shady merchant?” (Kouta)

“Knives vary widely in quality, and when you recommended one that costs 15,000 yen, it was hard not to be suspicious.” (Mira)

Mira-san had started speaking more candidly now, without hesitation. Even I could tell she was joking, so I decided to just laugh it off. With that, everyone had taken a turn trying out the “Goblin Knife,” so we wrapped things up.

I escorted the three of them to the dungeon entrance, then began my own second half of the day.

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)