Let's Be An Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons With A Skill Board~ Chapter 15 Part2

Translator: LN&WN Warrior
Editor: Starfinder

"Well, I will be the one doing the simple appraisal. It will take 1 minute and cost 1,000 yen. As for the detailed appraisal, it will be done by an inspection machine and an appraiser from the headquarters. The appraisal time depends on the request but it may take 1 month. The price is 100,000 yen."
"100 thousand!?"
"Of course, the detailed appraisal will be done personally by the appraiser from Mitsubis.h.i.+'s headquarters."

'I see,' Haruki nodded silently.
There is without exception one appraiser in every large company shop that sells goods in the dungeon.

Appraisers are people who gain their power through enlightenment or those who get an item with appraisal skills from a dungeon.
On "Let's be" some say that a certain Nakajima Sensei acquired that kind of ability in a dungeon.

'Appraisal is a rare skill and there is a cost to transport the item to the headquarter, so it can't be helped if they charge 100,000 yen.'
'Rather, it's cheap if it costs only 100,000 yen.'

'However, if this is a magic bag, it should be distinguishable even without a detailed appraisal.'

"Then, I'll take the simple appraisal please."

Haruki took out the pouch which he found in the Centipede's stomach from his bag.
Of course, it had been lightly rinsed by using water from his canteen.

Even though it was somewhat wet, but it was not as awful as it was when taken out of the stomach.
*Burp* However, Karen felt nauseous when she recalled where it was taken from.

"Hmm, it is...... a pouch-shape magic tool. Could you lend it to me for a while?"

When she received it, the clerk looked at the pouch from various angles while humming.
She opened the cover and put her hand in.

Then, *smooth smooth*.
‘Wow, even her shoulder could go inside the bag.'

"Congratulations, this without a doubt is a magic bag. Its opening is small, so you can only insert items with a diameter of 20 cm. But, you can use it in various ways as its size is as big as a school's cla.s.sroom. By the way, do you intend to sell it?"
"Sorry, but selling it is-"
"I will buy it for 100 million yen"
"What!?"

Haruki surprised when he suddenly heard the amount of money offered.
Karen choked next to him.

"You don't need to be surprised. Just by having this item, you can easily carry many small items and make huge profits from the current stupidly high transportation cost."

'Certainly, if I have this item, I'll not suffer from transportation cost and I'll benefit from various aspects.'
'Even if I invest 100 million yen, I'll definitely gain it back.'

"One hundred million is attractive, but...... we will keep it as we will use it from now on."
"Well, I guess that's better. There's no word enough when preparing emergency stocks for what-if situation."
"Oh, I understand."

'However, for such an outrageous thing to suddenly appear.'
'This is probably because I allocated a point to Karen's Luck.'

'It was due to her devil-luck that we still survived even after encountering a strong rare monster.'
'And it was due to her good-luck that we've gained a rare item from the monster.'

'She must have pulled both of lucks.'

'Nevertheless, I don't have the desire to allocate more points to luck.'
'If I increase it to maximum, it seems we would meet the Centipede on the first floor every day.......'

Haruki left the store and returned home with Karen.

"Oh, is this your house, Karabos.h.i.+-san? Wow......."

'Is there something unusual that makes Karen admire this ordinary two-storied house?'

"There is a solar panel."
"Oh, it is because I can't use electricity freely without it."

After the stampede, the electricity price has risen, and moreover, households have been constantly subject to electric power restrictions.

It is enough for the minimum standard livelihood, but it is necessary to install a private power generator if you really need to use a pc.

The solar panel was installed in Haruki's house before the stampede. As the price of raw materials soared after the stampede, it became valuable equipment that can't be obtained by common people.

During that confusion time after the stampede, many panels were stolen successively.
Thanks to that, Haruki had to strengthen his house security so that the panel would not be stolen.

Haruki let Karen sit in the living room while he prepared some water.

Water was pumped up from a well in the garden.
After he presented the water, he fixedly looked at Karen's reaction who tried it.

"Gulp, gulp...... ha!"

It seemed she liked it. She drank the gla.s.s of water with tears in her eyes.

'Well, water purification facilities are unable to catch up with the demand for tap water due to a lack of manpower, materials, and electricity. If compared to the time before the dungeons' appearance, the current tap water's quality is quite low.'
'There are some areas where tap water can't be drunken directly.' (TL: I think well water also could not be drunk directly.)
(EN: There are a couple save to drink wells; it mainly depends on the depth and region of the well. https://www.epa.gov/privatewells for more info.)

'Only after meeting circ.u.mstances, I see how blessed my environment is.'

'At the same time, I'm confused why no one used water well before.'

'Even though, it's easy to obtain fresh water from it......' (TLN: But, you still can't drink it directly. EN: Depending on the well.)

"Well then, let's talk."

Karen's expression that wanted to ask for a refill became tense.

For some reason, the Centipede was. .h.i.t by something when it wanted to bite Haruki.

He knew that something stroked it.
But, it wasn't a physical attack.
Haruki's eyes couldn't catch anything.

If so, there was only one possibility.

"You can use magic, right?"
"……Yes"

It was Karen's magic which attacked the centipede.

'Although I allocated those points with any chance in mind, I didn't think that chance would come this soon.'
'It was quite a quick flag recovery.'

"Um......, please don't tell anyone."
"I know. It isn't interesting if you suffer some danger when it spread."
"Interesting?"
"Ah, we as adventurers want to enjoy the adventure as much as possible, right?"
"Are you a game-mind?"
"Perhaps, I am."
*Chuckled*

Karen chuckled because of Haruki's answer.
As it sounded funny and embarra.s.sing, Haruki covered it by pretending to drink.

-But, *thud* something was in the way.

"Ah."

'I'm still wearing the mask.'
'It is good that I don't feel anything as it doesn't disturb my sight and breath. But, it's not good if I keep forgetting that I wear it.'

Karen, who could no longer hold back when she saw Haruki's small mistake, chuckled again.

"In that dungeon, there are no other adventurers beside us. Therefore, it's okay to use magic as you please. If your attack proficiency increases, you can break away even if you fall into a situation like that again."
"I see……"
"Are you going to use magic on tomorrow's adventure?"
"Is it better to use it?"

Karen upturned her eyes like asking about Haruki's mood.

"You should do as you like."
"......I understand I think I will use it tomorrow."

Karen moved her eyes up and down to hide her determination.

"Can I ask you something else?"
"……Yes, please."
"What sense do you use for magic? Do you feel it when your mana decreases?"
"I don't know whether it is mana or not....... But, I feel fatigue was collected in my body."
"In your body?"
"Yes, it is different from both mental and physical fatigue. It makes me feel like I don't want to move for a while."
"Hmm"

'I can't understand it at all.'

"How did you become able to use magic?"
"I don't know. I got a feeling that "I can use it?" when I tried to hunt in a dungeon. It came out from the tip of my weapon as I tested it by holding it up."
"From your weapon?"
"Yes."
"Is it due to club-type equipment?"
"Yes, this weapon can channel magic better."

'I see.'
'It seems that she released magic sp.a.w.ned from her body after gathering it up on her weapon.'

'Perhaps, she was enlightened.'
'However, it seems I can't use her story as a reference.'

"By the way, can you demonstrate the magic now?"
"............ Actually, it is hard to use magic outside the dungeon."

Karen expression became listless by Haruki's question.
'It seems like the dungeon is her magic's source.'

It was similar to Haruki's circ.u.mstance, but it caused her fighting-power to fall in her case.
It made her unable to resist people with bad intentions outside the dungeon.

It is probably the reason that information about magic doesn't spread at all.

"You may be able to use magic outside dungeon normally if you raise your level."
"I hope so......."

A heavy silence fell between the two of them.

"......Is that all you want to ask?"
"Ah, that's all."

For now, I have nothing more to ask.
Haruki raised her jaw slightly.

"......Ah, there is something that I haven't asked."
"Yes"

Karen straightened up her back when she heard Haruki's words.

"Where are you going to stay today?"
"......It is here."
"What?"
"Here."
"No......."
"There is an unused room, right?"
"There is, but--"
"Well, I'll stay over."

Karen's pressure strength overwhelmed Haruki.
'No no, the other party is a girl while you are an old man, right?'

"Why you keep refusing. Is there something I shouldn't see?"
"There's no such a thing!"

'.......Yup, there is nothing like that, right?'
'Nothing, definitely nothing!'

"That's okay. Even if the walls of Karabos.h.i.+-san's room decorated with a large number of masks, I'll act as if I didn't see anything."
"Wait a minute, what the heck do you think of me?"
"A mask-maniac."
"Absolutely no!"

'I equip it to increase my defense and presence. It's definitely not because I like the mask.'

"Karen, you are a young girl. So, it's better if you stay in a hotel."
"This house with a dungeon around the corner is better."
"But."
"I am an adventurer."
".......Well."

'What's wrong with this girl?'
'She is as stubborn as before she got into the car.'

Haruki let out a small sigh.

"Anyway, I will introduce a 5,000 yen a night accommodation to you. So, please stay over there."
"............"

*Gu nu nu*, Karen chewed her lips.
She might have done it to increase her persuasion to Haruki.

It was unusual to ask a person of the opposite s.e.x who she knew only since yesterday to sleep over.

In addition, Karen was 18 years old.
On the other hand, Haruki was 27 years old.

If a girl entered and left the house of Haruki who has lived alone until now.......
Without a doubt, it would be noticeable (in a bad way).

Haruki removed the mask and opened his mouth to drink water.

"Karen, do you know where you are right now?"
"In Karabos.h.i.+-san's house."
"That is not wrong, but you only get 50 points. In addition, this is in front of a dungeon. If a stampede happens, this house would be the first target."
"......Ugh."

It seemed she finally realized it after Haruki say it.
How dangerous this place was.

It might be unavoidable as Karen had acc.u.mulated her frustration for not being able to hunt properly in Sapporo's "Chikho".
But, it was not good to forget that the dungeon is the habitat of monsters that eat and kill human.

And its location is in front of Haruki's house.

"I'm the only adventurer in this town. If a stampede happens and the house is attacked when you are sleeping, who will help the people in the town?"
"......But, is Karabos.h.i.+-san not living here alone?"
"It's necessary to have a guard, right?"

Haruki smiled wryly to Karen's feminine objections.

"It is an adventurer's responsibility to help the ordinary. If there are two adventurers, one can watch the entrance and the other can prepare for an emergency in a safe place. So, Karen as an adventurer, please stay at a hotel in the town while thinking of it as a job."
"…………I understand."

Karen reluctantly nodded to Haruki's persuasion.

Of course, Haruki's words were just for persuasion.
There was only one adventurer in town, but there was an organized Self-Defense-Group, too.
It was not necessary for Haruki to do it alone.

His reasoning was close to lying as he was scared to let an 18 years old girl stay after all.

In the countryside, rumors spread quickly.
Once a strange rumor is created, some people would spread it into various embellishment before you know it....... it would make you get into trouble easily.

Just being a suspect can cause a man to die (socially).
You need to be ready for combat at all times.

'I feel bad for Karen, but to protect myself.'
'Please give up on living together, I'll allocate some extra for the hotel's fee.'