第７１掘：代表の忙しさ (Part2)
"Come on, hurry up and use it. Or did you forget how?"
"N-no!! Um, I press this and..."
"Mmm!!"
*“Man, sorry about that. Since we see each other every day, I rarely find myself in a situation where I need to use Call.”*
"O-Onii-sama!!"
"Mmm!!"
*“Yeah, I hear you. Well, Vilia, we aren't at school right now, so you can call me by my normal name.”*
"O-Onii-sama. Is it really alright? To use Call so casually like this..."
*“It’s fine. You should use these kinds of privileges. Or rather, enjoy them. Though, I suppose it’s hard to ‘enjoy’ a feature that’s just for making contact...”*
"It’s fine!! I’m just happy that I can talk to you like this whenever I want, Onii-sama!!"
"Me too..."
*“I see, I see. Well, sorry, I’ve got work to do now. I’ll have to cut this short for today.”*
"Ah, I’m sorry..."
"Feel free to call again. And since I have work to do, it’s perfect timing—I’ll have you two help me out."
"Eh?"
"...Oh?"
Standing behind the two of them was Yuki, grinning like a child whose prank had been a success.
"That’s right. If Vilia and Hiiro are there, we’ll be able to get some good opinions."
"Yeah, don't you think so?"
"Eh? Eh? What is this about?"
"...Teach me, Onii."
As I watched the two of them looking bewildered, I scooped them up and climbed onto Yuki’s shoulders.
Yes, this really feels the most natural.
The usual me.
"Onii-sama!?"
"...A piggyback ride."
Though, unlike the usual days, it isn't Aslin and the others in Yuki's arms today.
"I'll explain while we walk. Well, I already explained it to you two, right? About the Adventurer District."
"Um, since there isn't a small dungeon built yet, there hasn't been much activity, right?"
"That's right. Plus, it’s only been settlers so far, and no adventurers have gathered yet. But, it's about time..."
"We’ve been working on it steadily every day, and it’s finally done. I contacted the Adventurer Guild and brought some adventurers over from Litea. We’re going to do a test run of the dungeon."
"...That has nothing to do with us, right?"
"Well, normally, you’d be right. But since this is a Dungeon City, there’s been talk about having the children actively participate in dungeon clearing."
"I-I can't do that!? I can't fight monsters!?"
"...I don't want to fight Surakichi-san."
...Hiiro, there’s no way you could defeat Surakichi-san.
He’s one of the greatest monsters in this dungeon.
Though, to be fair, Surakichi-san plays the role of the one getting defeated whenever he plays with the children.
In a sense, the only ones who can ‘defeat’ Surakichi-san are the children from the school.
"It’ll be alright, Vilia. This is a meeting and a practical test to finalize those plans. I know it’s scary, but could you try it once? It’s for children, so we’ve made sure they won’t get seriously injured..."
"Uuu..."
Is this the final push?
"Vilia. If you do your best, I’ll let you stay over at Yuki’s place."
"!!?"
"That’s fine, right, Yuki?"
"Mmm, a sleepover? The school side should be manageable, and I was thinking of taking you there eventually anyway. It’s fine."
"I’ll do my best!! I’ll defeat lots of monsters and clear the dungeon!!"
"Mmm, I’ll call Surakichi-san to help too!!"
"You can't call Surakichi-san."
"Aww."
You can't. If there’s a dungeon that Surakichi-san can’t clear... well, I wonder if there’s even one or two like that, even among the dungeons we’ve built?
A children’s dungeon is basically the same as a fortress walking around.
"...Sleepover. A sleepover in Onii-sama’s room. ..."
I had no way of knowing that this would be the start of Vilia being called the Adventurer Princess.
...It’s not a bad thing, really.
But I feel a vague sense that I’ve done something a little bit naughty.
If you want to read about the early days of the migration from Litea, please let me know in the comments.
I’ve already covered the flow with the Fairy race, so I skipped it this time.