Chapter 306: Tokyo Tower Climb Challenge

The journey from Shibuya Station to the Tokyo Tower wasn't particularly difficult.

After heading slightly north and taking the Westbound route on the Metropolitan Expressway No. 3, simply adjust your direction slightly as the Tokyo Tower comes into view.

My impression of walking through this world is that it truly feels like a "dead world" or a "world in ruins"—the imagery fits perfectly. I don't know the intent behind this space's creation, but compared to the world we live in, far too many buildings here have collapsed under their own weight.

"Replicas, perhaps? That's why their construction is so inconsistent and poorly made."

"Yes. Please look at this. It's an item belonging to the 'zombie' we just dealt with."

With that, Ran-chan pulled out a wallet slightly stained with blood.

She roughly emptied its contents and spread out a ¥10,000 bill.

I held it up to the light for a moment, then showed it to Nanami’s camera—just in case.

“Looks like it’s written in mirror writing. What’s this supposed to mean?”

“Please look closer. Money is printed with very fine anti-counterfeiting details…”

“Ah… I see. That’s right.”

"This bill has low resolution."

Indeed.

The one in front of me seems slightly blurry in its printing.

Almost like it was printed on an old copy machine.

"Huh... Interesting."

I stuffed a single one into my pocket as a souvenir, and suddenly it became clear.

If you're thinking of Tokyo's symbol, it's this.

The familiar Tokyo Tower.

Yet in this world, one of the four platforms seemed deeply sunk into the ground, tilted at an alarming angle.

Even from a distance, we had noticed that, but seeing it up close, its extreme instability left us slightly flustered.

"…What do we do about this? It’s like a Jenga tower ready to collapse with just a touch."

When I asked, Ran-chan responded instantly.

"Of course we climb it. We’ve come this far, haven’t we?"

"But isn't that kind of dangerous?"

I'm fine.

She firmly refused, yet—likely everyone present felt she wasn't nearly as "fine" as she claimed.

The reason is that the job level breakdown for these four individuals is

私

Class: Warrior

Level: 85

Mayumi-san

Job: Dancer

Level: 44

Ms. Nanami

Job: Playboy

Level: 53

Ran-chan

Class: Warrior

Level: 24

And that's about it.

In short, Ran-chan, as a "player," can't really be considered strong.

After that, we discovered that the staircase allowing direct access from the ground to the main deck was completely unusable.

"...Even so, we could still climb up the outside..."

"Isn't that a bit too difficult, though?"

"I'll manage. I'll do my best."

...

This girl's probably just saying that on impulse, isn't she?

"But what if the tower collapses?"

I'm fine. It'll work out somehow.

Actually, aren't you the one who'd have trouble even getting a grip on the foundation to begin with?

I'm fine... That is...

So, I hesitated a little, words coming out unclear,

I'll go find a big ladder...

Where from?

From somewhere

No good, this won't work.

I let out a sigh,

There's no helping it, let me assist.

I made the suggestion I'd somewhat suspected would happen.

To be honest, I was already aware there was another person who could easily handle climbing the iron tower—though, well, she seems to prefer keeping quiet about it.

"Hihihi. Perfect. Then, let's go with a tag team of 'Unknown' and Ran-chan for the Tokyo Tower Climb Challenge—how about that?"

"...Understood."

I don't really want to show that particular form of mine to anyone.

Well, fine then.

The opening footage should be something like "Trying to climb the Tokyo Tower in another world wwww." I'm counting on you~

So I handed all my belongings to Nanami and took RAN on my back instead.

And activate the "Demonization" process.

Then, rustling, rustling, rustling... my hair writhes and wraps around me like armor, covering my entire body.

The reaction was far more intense than expected.

"Waaahhh! M-my hair... I'm being... violated...!"

Ran-chan, perched on my back.

It seems my hair has wrapped around her completely, enveloping her like a cocoon.

"Relax. No harm will come. Probably."

"Probably? You just said 'probably'!"

"Let me rephrase. No harm will come. Absolutely."

"I-It's too late to say that now... eep... k-kyaa...!"

Don't say my ultimate technique like you just saw a cockroach.

Incidentally, when we asked Nanaomi for her opinion later, she said we looked like we were carrying a turtle's shell on our backs.

Regardless of how we looked, this was a surprisingly new discovery.

So this is another way to use《Demonization》, huh?

It could probably come in handy when carrying someone who's too weak to move.

That said...

"I-I can't move my body at all..."

"Please bear with it."

"No, not like this..."

She seemed greatly dissatisfied with that.

Her demeanor was completely different from just moments ago, when she had been repeatedly saying, "I'm fine."

"I'm going to jump now. Be careful not to bite your tongue."

"F-fuuu...!"

Saying that, she gave a light kick with her right foot—and just like that, she leapt ten meters into the air.

It felt as though gravity had weakened, and without hesitation, I climbed up the bent steel beam, step by step, step by step, climbing with quick, light motions.

Thanks to the tower’s slight tilt, ascending wasn’t as difficult as I’d imagined, and before I knew it, I reached the observation deck.

“Is this good?”

“N-no… I’d prefer to go higher. If I’ve made up my mind to do this job, I’ve gotta do it properly.”

“Got it.”

Replying gently, like a kind-hearted monster, she continues in a hushed tone.

"Hey, 'Nameless' guy…"

"What is it?"

"Since I came to this world, I've had this really bad feeling…"

"A feeling?"

"Depending on the situation, I might… have to break Nanami's camera."

"...What do you mean by that?"

The words trembled slightly, as if finally expelling the poison they'd been holding in their stomach all along.

"There's someone… probably, still alive in this world."