Tag: chapter

“Yotsuka-kun” (???)

After school, as I leisurely walked home, someone called out to me from behind. When I turned around, it was my classmate, Azami Shirosaki.

“Azami-san?” (Yotsuka)

She caught up with me from behind and walked beside me.

Even though we grew up together as childhood friends because our houses were close to each other, we distanced ourselves from each other as we grew older. Although I occasionally saw her on my way home, it was rare for her to talk to me.

“What’s wrong?” (Yotsuka)

“No, just because I saw you, I thought we could go home together. Is that okay?” (Azami)

“Yeah, that’s fine.” (Azami)

What kind of situation is this? She’s a person who is nice towards everyone, but since she’s never approached me before, there must be something going on.

For a while after that, we talked about trivial things while walking home together.

The topic of conversation shifted to our respective career paths.

“I heard from Amane-chan that you’re going to continue being an explorer.” (Azami)

Amane is my younger sister’s name. It seems that both of them are still maintaining a close relationship.

“How about you, Azami-san?” (Yotsuka)

“I’m planning to continue being an explorer, while also working as a streamer.” (Azami)

“Your popularity is amazing.” (Yotsuka)

“Well, umm… I mean, even just from streaming, I can make enough revenue to support myself, along with Nai-chan and the others. But we don’t know how long it will last, and dungeon exploration is a good exercise for Nai-chan and the others, so I can’t exactly quit being an explorer either.” (Azami)

Nai-chan is the name of a monster she tamed, its real name is Knight¹. Originally, it was a dog-type monster, but it has evolved and is now a Fenrir.

One of the abilities of a monster tamer is they can tame and nurture the growth and evolution of the monsters under their control, and Nai-chan benefits from such a skill. 

Monster evolution is not fixed and there are several branching paths, so just because you raise another dog-type monster of the same kind doesn’t mean that it will also become a Fenrir. Rather, Fenrir is a rare branching path and it also symbolizes Azami’s high capabilities as a monster tamer.

By the way, the reason why I know the name of my childhood friend’s monster and its evolution is because I am one of her stream viewers. I occasionally watch her stream, not because she is my childhood friend, but because I just want to watch a cute girl’s stream.

“Aren’t you worried about becoming a full-time explorer, Yotsuka-kun?” (Azami)

“No, not at all. If I can make ten times the profit after graduation, it’s a win-win situation, and if I become a full-time explorer, I’ll have more time to explore outside of weekends, so I’m actually looking forward to it.” (Yotsuka)

“I see. You’re strong. Actually, I became a little anxious after hearing about Ooyama and the others this morning. That’s why I wanted to talk to Yotsuka-kun, who also aspires to be an explorer.” (Azami)

“Oh, is that so? Well, when you put it that way, it’s not surprising to feel anxious.” (Yotsuka)

If a classmate has died while exploring a dungeon. It’s natural to consider the possibility that it could happen to us too.

“It’s sad when people die, isn’t it? They were on their second exploration of the upper floor, with four people. I wonder what happened.” (Azami)

If they were exploring the upper levels with a party of four, it’s unlikely that they were wiped out all at once. That’s what she is trying to tell me.

“Maybe Ooyama pushed them to go deeper into the dungeon? He always acts recklessly and tries to be cool.” (Yotsuka)

It’s easy to imagine him pushing forward despite his teammates’ objections if things were going well. That’s just the kind of guy he was.

“But still, for everyone to die like that.” (Azami)

She had a gloomy look as she said that. Then, she turned and looked at my face.

“Yotsuka, please don’t die, okay?” (Azami)

“Well, I might die sooner or later.” (Yotsuka)

“Huh?” (Azami)

“Even veterans die at some point, it’s just how it is for explorers.” (Yotsuka)

“…Please stop.” (Azami)

“But it’s a fact that we can’t turn a blind eye to.” (Yotsuka)

“…Then why did you decide to become an explorer knowing that you might die someday?” (Azami)

“Well, it’s something I’m good at, and it’s also necessary for society. If someone doesn’t do it, monsters will overrun us. And, of course, I think the pay is good.” (Yotsuka)

“But is it something worth risking your life for?” (Azami)

“Well, my father was an explorer too, and it’s just something that’s in my heart. I’m okay with living and dying like him.” (Yotsuka)

Although, at the moment, I don’t have any signs of settling down like my father. Even though I’m already in my third year of high school, I have no luck with girls. I might be the last in my family line.

Meanwhile, Azami lowered her gaze. Perhaps my attitude as an explorer wasn’t something she found pleasant as a fellow explorer. She might have delved into the dungeon with a more relaxed posture.

“Well, this is the typical attitude of an explorer who delves deep into dungeons.” (Yotsuka)

So I implied that it might be fine to explore only up to the middle layers of the dungeon.

“Even so, I don’t want Yotsuka-kun to die.” (Azami)

She spoke in a soft voice at the end.

Right as she said that, we arrived at my house so we parted ways.

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TL notes:

Thanks for reading!
My man seriously believing that he has no luck in girls when Ms popular streamer childhood friend is right beside him. Also I’m sorry, I probably butchered the last few lines, I have no clue what MC was talking about.

Btw should I add in the Selfless Protagonist tag?

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Footnotes:

1. Knight in JP is pronounced as “Naito”, so she just took the “Nai” from “Naito” and add “-chan” to get its nickname.

Today is Monday, which means I have to attend school. I enter the classroom, sit at my desk, and wait for time to pass while absentmindedly thinking. Eventually, my classmate Tsuguru Shinooka who seats in front of me, arrives.

“Hey, did you hear about what happened last week?” (Tsuguru)

“Last week?” (Yotsuka)

“Satou from Class C died.” (Tsuguru)

“…In the dungeon?” (Yotsuka)

“Yeah, during exploration. It happened on Saturday.” (Tsuguru)

I recall that he was a high school dungeon explorer who was somewhat well-known in our school. It seems that another student explorer has lost their life.

“Wasn’t he the ace of the Exploration Club?” (Yotsuka)

“Yeah. He was exploring the middle floor and protected a member of his party during the exploration.” (Tsuguru)

“That’s… He was a good guy” (Yotsuka)

I don’t know him personally.

By the way, the Exploration Club is a club that, as its name suggests, engages in dungeon exploration as its main activity.

While I do participate in dungeon exploration myself, I don’t belong to a club as I don’t see the point in exploring with a group of people. Although there are benefits such as being taught the basics of dungeon exploration or finding companions, they hold no value to me.

My father, who was an active explorer, has directly instructed me on the essentials of dungeon exploration, and I could also receive training at the Explorer’s Guild if I so wished.

As for companions, I don’t feel like I needed any. Since my job is as a summoner, I can summon powerful spirits with various abilities to assist me during explorations, so it is not necessary to work with others.

The only reason I would consider having a companion is if they are an adult who can handle lower-level explorations, as it would relieve me of the one-tenth value restriction, but obviously, that person wouldn’t be someone from a high school club.

“It’s already halfway through our third year, but it feels like the number of people has decreased quite a bit compared to when we first entered the school, don’t you think?” (Tsuguru)

“Really? Don’t you think it’s just a little bit?” (Yotsuka)

Shinooka looked around the classroom as he spoke, and I answered while observing my classmates in the same way.

The number has indeed decreased compared to when we first entered. It’s not because of transfer or dropping out, but because of the number of people who have lost their lives during dungeon exploration.

That being said, it’s probably only about 10% of the original number. That’s just the way it is.

“By the way, you’re also exploring dungeons, right? Are you planning on doing it full-time after graduation?” (Tsuguru)

“That’s the plan.” (Yotsuka)

“That’s nice. I don’t think many people would want to continue after seeing people around them die though.” (Tsuguru)

“It’s not really that nice. It’s dangerous.”(Yotsuka)

“But it’s popular, isn’t it? You’d be popular with the girls and the pay is good, right?” (Tsuguru)

“I don’t know about being popular. As for the pay, it depends on the individual. Depending on the level you can explore, it can be different. It’s safer to just graduate from university and get a job at a large company.” (Yotsuka)

If I recall correctly, he planned to attend university after graduation.

“If you’re interested, why not try it out for a bit? I’ve heard stories of working adults who earn a good amount of money doing it as a side job on the weekends.” (Yotsuka)

“Those are the kinds of things you see on social media. They sell manuals on how to efficiently earn money as an explorer, but it all seems sketchy to me. Besides, it’s not suitable for me. I may have the swordsman job, but I’m pretty bad at physical activities. I probably couldn’t even beat a goblin.” (Tsuguru)

Don’t worry, I also wish I could be good at physical activities.

While we were talking, another classmate enters the classroom.

It was Shirosaki Azami. She has a calm atmosphere and is probably the most beautiful girl in school. Well, I don’t know for sure, as I haven’t compared her to all the other female students.

When she enters the classroom, some students gather around her and talk to her about her previous livestream, saying things like “I watched your stream” or “Ririmu-chan was so cute.”

Yep, she is a streamer, and a popular one at that, with hundreds of thousands of followers. Her streams cover a variety of topics such as chatting, gaming, and even dungeon exploration. Occasionally, she also posts videos of herself singing or dancing.

Her job is as a monster tamer, and she has tamed several cute yet powerful monsters who act as the mascot of her streams. When it comes to dungeon exploration, she skillfully displays her power, which is also one of the reasons why she’s so popular.

Monster Tamer. It is considered to be the strongest job currently. Azami is a typical example of this. If you have a good-looking appearance and can tame powerful monsters, you can easily gain popularity on streams by using their cuteness and rarity.

And since you can explore dungeons with the monsters you tamed, you can monopolize the profits. She can wear two luxurious shoes, that of a dungeon explorer and a streamer, at the same time. There are also other jobs, such as breeders, who safely domesticate monsters and sell them as pets.

Our homeroom teacher eventually came in and homeroom started.

Today, there seem to be quite a few absences.

As I was thinking that and looking around, the teacher made the following announcement.

“Ooyama, Yamazaki, Kira, and Katou have not returned home ever since they entered the dungeon yesterday.” (Homeroom teacher)

As soon as he said that, it felt a heavy atmosphere overtake the class.

“Are Ooyama and the others adventurers?” (Classmate)

Someone asked the homeroom teacher.

“They just finished their training at the guild and reportedly attempted their first dungeon two days ago with the four of them. They were doing well that day, and the next day, they went into the dungeon again and… that’s the situation.” (Homeroom teacher)

In other words, they went missing in the shallowest and easiest area of the dungeon.

They are probably dead. That’s what I thought to myself.

I’ve heard that it’s not uncommon for beginners to enter the dungeon and get wiped out. Especially since Ooyama, the leader of the four, was not exactly the cautious type, so if he was informed that they were doing well on the first day, it was not hard to imagine what happened.

The report on the four students ended there, and then the incident involving Sato from Class C was also reported. The explorers were reminded to be more vigilant, and the rest of the time passed as usual. Everyone accepted it as a matter of course.

Death has become an everyday occurrence.

I remember my father saying that when he was alive. It seems that before and during the early stages of the dungeons’ appearance, things were not like that. In the past, it was unimaginable for children to die so suddenly and frequently. Even if just one person died, it caused a great uproar.

Dungeons and Jobs, they both suddenly appeared together a few decades ago.

Dungeons appeared without warning in cities, rural areas, and remote places all over the world. Alongside the dungeons, each person was granted a job, such as swordsman, mage, monster tamer, and summoner, allowing them to wield supernatural power.

In the early days, the police and military forces of each country, including the Self-Defense Forces in Japan, were responsible for dealing with the dungeons.

Initially, dungeons were handled by the police and military forces of each country, and in Japan, the Self-Defense Forces were in charge. The dungeons’ entrances were sealed off and troops were sent into some of the dungeons to observe the interior.

As time went on, various incidents, experiences, and information accumulated, revealing that monsters were lurking in the dungeons and they were stronger the deeper one went. If the monsters within the dungeon weren’t hunted to a certain extent, they would multiply and overflow into the outside world.

It was also discovered that the materials that could be obtained from these monsters were useful resources and that the power of jobs was more effective in battles against monsters than firearms.

After some time had passed since the appearance of the dungeons, each country began to entrust its exploration to the private sector. It seems that it was too costly to manage them with police, military, and self-defense forces. Free access to the dungeons was allowed, and the materials obtained there could be freely bought and sold.

As a result, early explorers established explorer guilds to facilitate the sales of dungeon materials, as well as for information sharing and training to minimize casualties. Although it is said that there are currently too many guilds.

Furthermore, to prevent students from flocking to dungeons for pocket money and engaging in reckless behavior, and to prevent bad parents from exploiting minors by forcing them into dungeons, regulations were implemented to limit the purchasing price of dungeon materials for high school students and younger to one-tenth of the standard price. 

The effectiveness of this regulation is questionable, however, it was put in place to ensure that students focus on their studies rather than risking their lives in dungeons.

Thus, this is how the world has come to be.

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TL notes:

Thanks for reading!
Yep, Tsuguru understands that you should not trust things on social media too much. If this was our world, I can imagine the higher number of students flocking into dungeons just for more social media attention.

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“Summon, Ifrit” (Yotsuka)

As I chanted in my mind, the fire spirit, Ifrit, was summoned and instantly burned the monster that was approaching me.

After confirming the enemy’s death, I continued walking forward without stopping while Ifrit disappeared back to its world.

I decided to leave the monster’s corpse as it is. I could have stripped the parts that were worth money, but my bag was already full, so I couldn’t carry
anything else.

Currently, I am exploring a dungeon located at a certain city in the countryside.

Accompanying me is a drone camera, which is currently streaming my exploration on a major streaming site. There are probably only one or two viewers, if any at all.

Dungeon exploration streams are very popular, but I didn’t put any effort into the title or thumbnail, and my exploration scenes didn’t have much content, so the number of viewers is always minimal. It would be more surprising if I had one regular viewer other than my family.

So why am I streaming in the first place? It was because my mother requested it as a condition for allowing me, a high school student, to explore dungeons so that she could confirm my safety at any time.

My mother had recently lost my father, who used to be a dungeon explorer, so it was a relief that she even allowed me to explore dungeons at all. However, it is frustrating to bring a camera for a stream that no one was going to watch. I didn’t want to be seen anyways. I just wish that I didn’t have to stream my exploration. Well, there is only less than half a year left until I graduate from high school.

Once I graduate from high school, I’ll finally become a full-fledged explorer. Currently, underage or high school student explorers are subjected to receive one-tenth of the payment for the resources brought back from the dungeon, but that will be removed upon graduation. The burden of streaming imposed by my mother will also disappear. It means that my life will become much easier, from living to exploring.

Every day, I will repeat solo exploration, earn money, live alone, and eventually be defeated by a monster and die.

That’s my future prediction.

I don’t have any particular dissatisfaction.

It’s not like I have a strong attachment to dungeon exploration. It’s just that it’s more suited for me than any other legitimate profession, and someone has to explore dungeons and continue to hunt monsters, otherwise, the monsters will leak out of the dungeon and become a necessary job in society, that’s all.

“Yotsuka” (???)

A voice called out to me.

As I walked while thinking about this and that, a fairy named Rinnea, who was out scouting, returned. During dungeon exploration, I always summon her to be on guard and keep an eye on the surroundings.

The little girl-like fairy, clad in light, floated in front of me at the height of my face.

“There’s a red golem beyond that corner.” (Rinnea)

“Got it. Thanks.” (Yotsuka)

“You’re welcome!” (Rinnea)

I thanked her and continued walking in the direction she pointed at. As soon as I turned the corner, I saw a golem clad in flames.

“Summon, Euros” (Yotsuka)

I chanted silently. The wind spirit I summoned proceeded to blow away the golem’s massive body. The flames are extinguished by the gust, and compressed air bullets are fired at the Red Golem, which was helplessly destroyed without being able to do anything.

As I watched this happen, I stopped and let out a sigh.

“I’m tired.” (Yotsuka)

I muttered to myself and took out my smartphone from my pocket to check the number of viewers and comments on the stream.

“Are you going home?” (Rinnea)

“Yeah.” (Yotsuka)

“Got it!” (Rinnea)

Looking through the screen with Rinnea, the result was as expected. Only one viewer was commenting, knowing that I have a style of defeating monsters without checking the stream. They write things like “Good job” or “Well done” every time I defeat a monster.

Just to clarify, this is not my mother. She promised to watch the stream but apparently couldn’t bring herself to watch it much because it was bad for her heart.

“Thank you for the comments. I’m ending the stream now.” (Yotsuka)

I say that to the camera and put my smartphone back in my pocket.

I explore the dungeon by just defeating monsters and return whenever I feel tired of using my mental, physical, and magical strength. This is my streaming and exploration style, and it was taught to me by my father. 

My father often brought me to the dungeon when I entered high school and taught me many things. The most important thing he taught me was about timing to retreat, which he repeated to me many times. He said it was absolutely necessary if you want to survive for a long time.

Today is Sunday, which means I have school tomorrow. Since it takes time to get to the lower floors, I refrain from exploring on weekdays, so the next time I can come here is Saturday. With this in mind, I started to head back home.

By the way, when I reached the exit of the dungeon and gave my closing greeting to a viewer, I received the usual comment:

“Thank you for your hard work. As always, you have an aura of a king!” (Viewer)

And even Rinnea who was influenced by that comment, would always say:

“Please call us again anytime, my King!” (Rinnea)

I don’t know why she always say that.

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TL notes:

Thanks for reading!
If it wasn’t obvious enough already, this is MTL with editing to make it readable, or at least I hope it is readable. I will struggle a lot with the names so I might change them from time to time. Because of that, I have added a character list for reference.

I can totally understand his mother not being able to bring herself to watch the stream, that feeling is probably similar to watching her son go to war every weekend.

Btw Rinnea referred to Yotsuka as 王様, which apparently translates to “king”, but I’m not sure if it sounds weird. Should I change it to “lord” or something?

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Main characters

(???) Yotsuka (M) -> the MC
Shirosaki Azami (F) -> popular streamer, classmate and childhood friend
(???) Amane (F) -> MC’s younger sister

MC’s summons

Rinnea (F) -> Fairy
Salamander -> Fire spirit, weaker than Ifrit
Ifrit -> Fire spirit
Euros -> Wind spirit
Ianga (F) -> Attraction & Repulsion control spirit
Tyr -> Sword spirit
Naiad -> Water spirit

Side characters

Tsuguru Shinooka (M) -> classmate who seats in front of MC
(???) Hikari (F) -> Azami’s cousin
(???) Mutsuo (M) -> Leader of a streaming group, “Forest”
(???) Bakku (M) -> Axe user, member of “Forest”
(???) Ren (M) -> Spear user, member of “Forest”
(???) Hidetatsu (M) -> Enchanter, member of “Forest”

Other monsters

Knight (aka Nai-chan) -> Azami’s tamed Fenrir
Kuku -> Azami’s tamed Pheonix
Lilim -> Azami’s tamed small white dragon

* (???) means missing family name
** I don’t think summons have genders, so for them, the gender is only as appearance