"So, Hinata-san, about tomorrow."
As we walked toward the open area near the stairs on Floor 4—the spot where the teleportation circle was located—I shifted the conversation from the distribution of the magic stone profits to a different topic.
"Is meeting at the Association at 9:00 AM again tomorrow okay with you?"
"—Huh?"
For some reason, Hinata-san turned toward me with a look of pure shock on her face.
"Um... are you... planning to go exploring... tomorrow, too?"
"Eh? Yes."
"...Aren't you going to rest? After fighting this much today?"
"No, I want to level up."
"…………"
"…………"
What is it?
『Ah, Leveling Junkie Bro, just so you know, explorers don't usually dive into the dungeon for days on end. I mean, normally you'd need a break, right?』
A viewer pointed that out to me, but...
"I haven't taken a single day off yet."
I intend to rest if I get tired, okay? But I’m not that tired yet, and more than anything, I want to level up.
『Oh right...!! Come to think of it, Leveling Junkie Bro is that crazy guy who hasn't taken a single day off since becoming an explorer...!!』
『No, seriously, shouldn't you rest soon?』
『Unlike Leveling Junkie Bro, Hinata-chan is a university student. She probably has all sorts of plans, doesn't she?』
"Mm, now that you mention it..."
That’s true. Hinata-san is a university student; it's not like she can explore the dungeon every day. I knew that, but even during spring break, she might have things to do.
I decided to ask.
"Hinata-san, when does your spring break end?"
"Um, university starts on April 8th, so I'm technically off until April 7th."
"Do you have any plans during that time?"
"...Not particularly."
"Oh, I see. Then we can enter the dungeon every day until April 7th."
"…………"
What was wrong? Suddenly, the light seemed to vanish from Hinata-san's eyes...
『This is such a black workplace it’s hilarious. Wait, no, I actually can't laugh at this...』
『Leveling Junkie Bro, please don't drag Hinata-chan into your insane schedule.』
『Give Hinata-chan a proper rest!』
『I mean, normally, fighting monsters in a dungeon every day would break your spirit, you know?!』
Hmm, well... I guess.
Hinata-san is a college girl. She probably wants time to hang out with her friends. Maybe spending the rest of her vacation entirely in the dungeon was a bit harsh.
"I understand. Then, let's dive tomorrow, and take the day after that off. We can discuss the schedule for the days after that later."
"We're still diving tomorrow..."
"No, I just want to test what kind of efficiency we can achieve during loops tomorrow... Since we've gotten used to it today, we might be able to manage about ten loops an hour."
"We're still doing it tomorrow..."
"Sorry, I just can't help myself."
While Hinata-san is with me, I want to figure out just how much experience points I can rake in with maximum efficiency.
This is because I reached Level 18 today. I'll definitely reach Level 19 tomorrow.
However, since reaching Level 20 requires 300,000 experience points, I need to decide whether I should keep looping the Floor 4 monster room or consider another leveling method. For that, every second counts!
Well, if a Life Magic skill orb miraculously drops tomorrow, the option of moving our hunting grounds to Floor 5 becomes realistic, too.
I pushed through with the plan to party up and dive into the dungeon again tomorrow.
"By the way, Hinata-san. How many days a week did you usually explore when you had university?"
"Hmm... usually about one day a week, I think."
"What?! You only explore once a week?! Why?!"
"Well... it's like, I'd dive on either Saturday or Sunday... If I pushed myself, I could do two days... but I wouldn't really want to. Ah, of course, as long as I'm in a party with you, Takeo-kun, I want to dive as much as possible to keep up. But honestly, every day is probably impossible. Two or three days a week might be my limit... I'm sorry."
"Oh, no, that's fine. I'll just level up solo on the days you can't dive, so don't worry about it."
"He's diving even on the days I'm not there..."
『Does the option to 'rest' just not exist for this guy?』
『No, for Leveling Junkie Bro, leveling is his greatest form of entertainment... (shaky voice)』
『Even so, what kind of stamina does he have?』
『If you go to the dungeon at this pace, your heart's gonna break...!!』
『Why is he acting like diving every day is a given...』
"No, but this is just a simple question... what about weekdays? Aren't university students free every day?"
"Um... I think that depends on the university and the person... Why do you think that?"
"In the manga I read, university students are always in drinking clubs, getting naked and drunk every day from their first year, so I figured that's just how it is... I've also heard that all university students do is play around."
"That's... probably because it's a manga, right? Besides, you're not allowed to drink alcohol until you're twenty."
"—Gasp?! Come to think of it! Does that mean those protagonists, even if they were first-years, were actually first-years who had failed their entrance exams for two years or something?!"
『I somehow know exactly which manga Leveling Junkie Bro read, but let's not go any further.』
『That's a fantasy manga where water catches fire, after all.』
『Well, it's true many people think it's way more relaxed than high school, but it really depends on the person. It depends on the department, too; busy people are busy.』
No way...!!
Not all university students are idlers who just play around every day...!!
There are actually busy university students...!!
I didn't know that...!!
While feeling a secret sense of shock, I continued walking without stopping and finally reached the open area in front of the stairs.
Now all we had to do was use the teleportation circle to go back to Floor 1 and head home.
Since it'll probably take about two hours just to travel tomorrow anyway, there might be no need to recover HP or MP on Floor 1 today.
"Well then, Hinata-san, let's go to the teleportation—"
Just as I was about to usher Hinata-san toward the circle,
—Click.
I heard a sound.
Click, click, click, click—it approached, marking a steady rhythm.
Footsteps.
The source of the sound was the stairs leading down from Floor 3. Someone was descending.
It was such a simple thing, and yet—
"Ah... h..."
Hinata-san's legs gave out, and she slumped to the floor. Her face was painted in pure terror as she stared toward the stairs, trembling violently.
I hadn't collapsed, but I was equally frozen with fear.
My body trembled with terror against my will. It was difficult to move even a single finger. I was gripped by the dread that if I made an unnecessary sound, if I caught the attention of the owner of those footsteps, I might be killed the very next instant.
『Hinata-chan? Leveling Junkie Bro?』
『Hmm? What happened to you two all of a sudden?』
『Eh? Seriously, what's wrong? Is it an emergency?』
Comments from the viewers were emitted from the drone floating in the air. I didn't even want to hear the VOICEROID's voice, which wasn't even that loud, right now. I prayed for it to be quiet.
However, there was no way this overwhelming terror could be conveyed to the viewers watching through a screen, so inevitably, the comments did not stop.
But fortunately or unfortunately, contrary to my anxiety, we were not killed.
Eventually—the owners of the footsteps appeared.
"…………"
"—Oh?"
It was a pair.
One was a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties.
He was tall, likely over 180 centimeters. He wore an expensive-looking suit that seemed custom-made to fit his physique perfectly. On his feet were leather shoes polished to a high shine, and his black hair was styled in a slicked-back undercut. He wore thin, silver-framed glasses.
He didn't look like he was dressed for dungeon exploration at all. But even though he was in a suit, he didn't look like a salaryman in the slightest. To begin with, it wasn't the kind of suit a salaryman would wear.
In a word—a cold-blooded intellectual yakuza... that was the most accurate description for the man.
The source of this sudden terror was undoubtedly this man. Just looking at him made my body tremble even more violently.
On the other hand, the other person who came down the stairs wasn't scary. But she was clearly abnormal.
She was a woman probably around twenty years old, with lustrous silver hair tied in a chignon. Her eyes were a vivid sky blue. At this point, she was clearly not Japanese, but her features were also somewhat un-Japanese—or rather, un-humanly perfect, like a beautifully crafted doll.
However, what was abnormal was her clothing.
She was wearing a classic maid outfit with a long skirt that hid her legs. Furthermore, she didn't seem to be carrying any weapons. It was an outfit that felt completely out of place in a dungeon.
The Beautiful Maid tilted her head gently as she looked at Hinata-san and me. I wondered if she was surprised to find people here.
In contrast, the man in the suit gave us a cold, expressionless look, as if he were staring at pebbles on the side of the road.
Seeing that figure.
I—no, I and the viewers together, shouted.
"Headshot Yakuza Broooooooooooo!!?"
『Headshot Yakuza Broooooooooooo!!!』