Episode 142: Mr. Kamata Tadayoshi

"Yes, water please."

"Ghk... gugh... cough, cough..."

The man coughed painfully, blood-tinged sputum mixed in,

"Uuu... thank you. I'm saved."

He managed a feeble smile.

"I thought I was done for....Well, dying isn't exactly new to me, you know. Hehe..."

▼

The man's name is Kamata Tadayoshi.

Before the end arrived, he had been working in sales related to tableware, embodying the quintessential "tired salaryman."

"How long have we been here?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure... How should I put it..."

"You can't be more definite?"

"Well, my sense of time just seems to have vanished... I'd guess about two months..."

"Seriously? You're not much help at all."

"Sorry about that..."

I can understand that feeling, after all, there's no day or night here.

Still, we did buy proper wristwatches—(fifty gold, ridiculously expensive ones)—so we've been keeping track of time, so that hasn't been an issue for us.

"Then, do you remember the date when you arrived here?"

"Um, well... I think I remember getting lost in this place right after teasing my daughter about April Fool's Day... so it must have been around the first or second of April."

Hmm.

According to our records, it should currently be the fourth of June—assuming there's no time discrepancy—so the calculation checks out.

……Huh?

That would mean this… what exactly is going on here?

Does time pass the same way inside the "dungeon" as it does outside?

Huh?

Huh-huh-huh?

"If that's the case, then what about that 'information'...?"

Muttering to myself, the "Gambler" immediately chimes in:

"Hey, 'Warrior'."

"What? What is it?"

We both respond at the same time, me and Kamata.

"Ah, sorry. Both of you were the same job. Um, I meant to call out to the female 'Warrior' just now."

"Huh?"

"Anyway, let's put off worrying about all this for now."

"But..."

"I know you're sharp, but isn't now the time to listen to Kamata's story?"

"...Mm."

That's right.

After all, he's about to propose 'subordination' to the 'Dungeon Master.'

"...Kamata-san. You haven't changed your mind, have you?"

"Ah"

Kamata speaks with unwavering resolve, even amidst a frail expression.

"But we've just managed to reunite after all this time....How about you try a little longer?"

I'd love to, but... it's about time my daughter and wife run out of food.

Mr. Kamata has left his family behind in the outside world.

That was why he was in a hurry.

I don’t know who this so-called “Dungeon Master” is, but I’ll try to negotiate somehow. Even if I lose all my skills, I have to get to my wife and daughter.

In that case, there’s nothing I can say in return.

“But at least I got to see the two of them one last time—I’m the lucky one.”

With that, he handed us the bag containing his remaining gold (a little over five thousand) and several items he had purchased.

"I'm sorry it's just hand-me-downs, but if you don't mind, please use them... That said, if anything happens to me, I'd like you to look after my daughter and wife... They should be hiding at the Seven-Eleven in front of Ikebukuro West Exit Park..."

The items handed to us—frankly, at this point, weren't particularly necessary for us.

"Leave it to us."

"Alright."

We accepted his request with a smile, without hesitation.

▼

"Then, I'm declaring 'subordination' from now on.... Both of you, please work hard on my behalf as well."

"Yes, understood."

After saying their farewell, Kamata-san vanished right before our eyes.

There was no special effect or dramatic flair.

Just gone—suddenly.

"If that so-called Nakamichi En is a decent guy, then fine... But honestly, I don't have high hopes."

The "Gambling Master" muttered with a half-hearted tone, resignation evident in his voice.

I'm fine. Even the worst villain has a conscience.

That would be great, though.

...

...Take a breath.

Let's get straight to it and discuss the matter that briefly caught my attention earlier.

From Kameda's information, we've learned that this place doesn't actually have a time discrepancy compared to the outside world.

"Yeah....Well, it's not impossible that old guy just mixed up the date."

Well, he seemed pretty reliable, if you ask me.

That part should be fine.

"So that means... um... let's see..."

Muttering to himself, the "Gambler" pulls out the notebook he'd written in.

"Information #5: 'The player who challenged the 'Master Dungeon' before you eventually became subordinate to Chūdō En after wandering the dungeon for over a year.'...This is it."

"Yeah."

"No matter how you look at it, the numbers just don't add up."

That's right.

The day the "zombie" appeared in Shibuya was February 20th.

The current date is around June 4th, (probably).

That means...

"One: 'The Dungeon Master said something random.' Two: 'This phenomenon involving the 'Player' started long before the 'Zombie' appeared.'...It has to be the latter."

Probably, it's the latter, wouldn't you say?

While we've been living carefree lives, danger was already taking root.

"...Hey, Warrior."

Then, the "Gambler" murmurs in a surprisingly solemn tone.

"What is it?"

"I've always thought that this situation was caused by some kind of divine whim—or perhaps just another kind of disaster."

That sounds familiar... I've heard a similar opinion before...

So everyone's thinking along the same lines.

"Maybe this is actually a man-made phenomenon."

"Human-made? What do you mean by that?"

"Imagine there's some jerk out there who came up with the idea to completely overhaul this world....I'm thinking maybe everything's just a setup by that person."

Hmm...

"Why suddenly think that?"

"Haruna said it, didn't she? 'Magic power' is this formless energy that all of us carry around....Skills are like blueprints for that energy, right?"

That's true. She did say something like that.

"In other words, this 'magic power' is ultimately something that humans can handle. If humans can manage it, then it's not surprising that someone might come up with evil uses for it."

"………………Yes, that's correct."

There are still a few things I haven't told the "Gambler" yet.

For example... the part about Hachibana-san saying that the situation can only end by killing both the "Demon King" and the "Hero."

Honestly, I still haven't fully trusted that information yet.

That's exactly why I feel I need to talk to the "Hero"—Ko-on-san—once more.

Of course... I should also speak with the person who hasn't been seen yet, the one with the job title of "Demon King."

"Hey, 'Gambler'?"

"What?"

"If... we were to meet face to face with that person—the one who created this situation—what would you do?"

"First, I'd punch them straight in the face."

The Gambler spoke without hesitation.

"After that, I'd like to have a proper conversation. 'Why did this happen?' I'm genuinely curious. Someone who pulled off something this massive? A little bit of interest is natural."

"True enough."

I smiled warmly.

After all, I was thinking exactly the same way as her.