On a school day right in the middle of Golden Week, I sat at the table eating breakfast with Mika, my eyes still bleary with sleep.
We had returned home late the previous day due to the boss fight, but in terms of physical exhaustion, I was fine. For some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to feel like going to school.
...Was this the "May sickness" I’d heard so much about?
"Honestly, Onii-chan... If you can just make it through today and tomorrow, you’ll have another break, so pull yourself together."
"Yeah, I know."
I washed down my toast with a gulp of dark coffee. Yeah, that’s bitter.
Still, the drowsiness wouldn't quite lift.
As I finished the last of my toast, Mother emerged from the kitchen.
"Here, Daiki. Drink this and snap out of it."
"Oh, thanks, Mother."
She handed me an energy drink to help wake me up. I wondered if this stuff actually worked.
I popped the tab and downed the contents in one go. A sharp carbonated sting and a cloying sweetness lingered in my mouth.
"Phew... I'm finished."
"Now that you've had that, go wash your face again. You can't go to school looking that sleepy, can you?"
"Right. I'll do that."
Splashing my face for the second time that morning, the cold water finally started to sink in.
Between the water and the energy drink, the fog in my head cleared significantly. I returned to my room and went through a makeshift version of radio calisthenics to loosen up. By the time I finished the routine, the sleepiness had finally vanished.
"Phew. I think I'm finally awake..."
Shaking my head to clear the last of the cobwebs, I changed from my loungewear into my school uniform. Slipping my arms through the sleeves felt like a bit of a chore, but it couldn't be helped. I checked the contents of my bag to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.
Checking the clock, I saw I had about fifteen minutes left before I had to leave, so I opened the drawer to check on the Slime Dungeon.
"No changes today either... Wait! That's a jewel slime!"
Peering into the drawer, I saw a slime with a hard, mineral-like texture sitting in the center of the room.
It was a jewel slime, a rare specimen that hardly ever popped. I ran Appraisal Analysis just to be sure, and the result confirmed it.
The gloomy, sluggish feeling I’d had about going to school in the middle of the holiday disappeared in an instant.
"What are you going to drop for me this time?"
With a surge of excitement, I pulled a bag of salt out of my Spatial Storage.
Jewel slimes didn't pop often, and they didn't always leave items behind, but when they did, the drops were incredibly valuable. I’d seen everything from giant diamonds to rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Of course, I couldn't exactly cash in such conspicuous, massive gems easily, so for now, they were just sitting as "fertilizer" in my Spatial Storage.
Because of that, I’d stopped thinking about their monetary value and started collecting them as part of a mineral collection. Occasionally, I’d take them out of storage and display them in my room, basking in a bit of self-satisfaction while I admired them.
"The last drop was a blue diamond, wasn't it?"
By the way, the gems they dropped were basically raw ore, completely unpolished. At first glance, they just looked like colored stones; they didn't have the brilliant sparkle of finished jewelry.
Maybe that was why? Even though I knew they were worth a fortune, I didn't feel much financial greed. I just viewed it as collecting rare rocks.
As they say, a gem only truly becomes a gem once it’s polished.
"Now then..."
I tilted the open salt bag and dumped a load over the jewel slime. The salt rained down, burying the creature in a small white mound. There was a brief pause, and then the salt mountain was suddenly blown apart as the jewel slime writhed and struggled in agony.
However, its resistance didn't last long. Caked in salt, the jewel slime couldn't hold out for more than a few seconds before it shattered into particles of light and vanished.
"Oh? Looks like something dropped."
In the spot where the jewel slime had been, a colored stone remained. I used Psychokinesis to retrieve it and then closed the drawer.
The stone was a prism about the size of a milk carton, transparent with a deep blue tint. When I ran Appraisal Analysis, the result came back as beryl... specifically, an emerald. And since it was a bluish emerald, that meant this was an aquamarine.
"It almost looks like crystal."
I held the giant aquamarine up to the window, observing it against the light. There weren't any strange flaws inside the prism, and the blue was a beautiful, clear shade. As I was admiring it, my phone went off. It only rang once, but the caller ID showed it was Mika.
I started and checked the clock. More than ten minutes had already passed since I’d opened the Slime Dungeon.
"Crap. I'm gonna be late."
I hurriedly stashed the raw aquamarine in my Spatial Storage, grabbed my bag, and sprinted down the stairs into the living room.
When I burst in, the chilly gazes of Mika and Mother were there to meet me.
"My, Daiki. That certainly took a long time. I thought you might have fallen back asleep..."
"Onii-chan..."
"Uh, sorry. My bad."
I bowed my head and apologized profusely.
I was wide awake now, but after my behavior at breakfast, I couldn't blame them for suspecting I’d drifted off again.
"...Sigh. Well, whatever. It looks like you're finally awake now, so get to school before you're late. Mika, make sure your brother gets there on time."
"Okay. Well, let's go, Onii-chan."
"Yeah, okay."
Pulled along by Mika's hand, I left the living room. Even if it was my own fault, my dignity as an older brother was taking a hit...
Letting out a sigh, I stepped into my shoes and left the house.
All along the walk to school, Mika didn't stop lecturing me.
"Honestly, Onii-chan. You're being way too lax. What were you even doing in your room when I called?"
I was dumping salt on a slime to get a giant gemstone... Yeah, I couldn't exactly say that.
"I was doing radio calisthenics and stretching to wake myself up. See? I'm not all out of it like I was at breakfast, right?"
"...I guess."
"I figured moving my body would help clear my head... I just got a bit too focused on it."
"...Hmm."
Mika shot me a slightly suspicious look, but she didn't press the issue, seemingly accepting the explanation for now.
"By the way, Onii-chan, are you going to the dungeon during the second half of Golden Week too?"
"Hmm? No, I don't have any plans for that right now."
"I see..."
At my answer, Mika fell into a contemplative silence. Or rather, it looked like she was hesitating, unable to find the right words for what she wanted to say.
Finally, as if gathering her courage, she looked up and met my eyes.
"Um, Onii-chan..."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Would you... go shopping with me during the break?"
She looked deeply anxious, as if she expected me to say no.
I had actually kept my schedule open in case she asked, so it wasn't a problem.
"I don't have any other plans, so sure. What do you want to buy?"
"Really!?"
"Y-Yeah."
When she heard my answer, Mika let out a joyful cry, her eyes sparkling. I actually winced a little at how happy she was.
Is it really that big a deal?
Mika clung to my arm and wouldn't let go. Since we were short on time, we walked like that for a while until Saori-chan joined us midway. She pointed out the situation with an exasperated look, which finally made Mika let go.
"You two are certainly close this morning. From behind, you looked just like a couple."
"Haha..."
"..."
I gave a strained laugh. What else was I supposed to do?
Realizing how she must have looked, Mika turned beet-red and followed behind Saori-chan and me with her head down.
I took the opportunity to explain to Saori-chan exactly why Mika had been clinging to me.
"I see. That’s great, Mika-chan."
"...Yeah."
Saori-chan smiled gently at Mika. Mika looked up and gave a small, faint reply, though she couldn't hide her happiness.
"It must be nice, Mika-chan. I don't have any plans at all for Golden Week this year."
"Oh? You're not going anywhere, Saori-chan?"
"No. My parents have to work, so we aren't doing anything as a family."
"Is that so? In that case, do you want to come shopping with us, Saori-chan?"
"...Eh?"
I felt a little bad for Mika since she was so excited, but seeing how she’d acted earlier, I honestly felt like I needed a "stopper" to keep her from going overboard. Saori-chan was perfect for the role. And luckily, her schedule was wide open.
"Wait, but..."
"I'll even cover lunch, so why not join us?"
"Um... Mika-chan?"
Saori-chan stopped, looking hesitant, and turned to Mika to see if it was okay.
Following her lead, I looked back at Mika, who was pouting with a thoroughly disgruntled expression. Clearly, my suggestion wasn't what she’d had in mind.
Well, I figured as much.
"Mika, do you not want to go shopping with Saori-chan?"
"It's not that, but..."
"Then it's fine if she comes too, right?"
"...Fine."
Mika nodded her head reluctantly. Perfect.
I looked away from Mika and spoke to Saori-chan, who still seemed confused by the exchange, pressing her to commit before she could change her mind.
"So, is it a yes, Saori-chan?"
"Well, but..."
"You don't have any other plans, right?"
"...No."
Saori-chan tried to decline out of consideration for Mika, but I was a bit forceful and secured her promise to come along. Since she’d already admitted she had no plans, she couldn't use that as an excuse. She gave Mika an apologetic look but eventually agreed to accompany us.
Sorry, Saori-chan. I'll make sure lunch is something fancy to make up for it.
"Great. It's a date then. Talk it over with Mika and let me know the time and place once you decide."
"...Okay."
"...Saori-chan."
As I started walking again, I could hear Mika and Saori-chan whispering behind me. Thanks to the physical boosts from leveling up, my hearing was now sharp enough to pick up their private conversation... but I just told myself I couldn't hear a thing.
By the time we reached the school gates, Saori-chan looked completely exhausted.
After parting ways with the girls and heading to my classroom, I saw Yuji already sitting at his desk.
"Morning."
"Yo, morning. You're a bit late today."
"Haha, yeah, ran into some stuff."
I set my bag on my desk and chatted with Yuji for a bit.
"Judging by how you looked yesterday, did you oversleep?"
"No, I didn't. I just had a really hard time getting going this morning."
"Couldn't get out of bed? Look, if you make it through today and tomorrow, it's a five-day weekend. Hang in there."
Yuji sighed, looking at me with an exasperated expression. He didn't have to look at me like I was that much of a lost cause...
"I had a good wake-up call this morning, so I'm fine now."
"A wake-up call?"
"I was messing with that [Slime Dungeon] and something rare popped up. It cleared my head right away."
The fact that my mineral collection had grown was a huge plus.
"Hmm. Well, as long as you're feeling better."
Yuji gave a noncommittal response, still looking a bit exasperated.
"Anyway, what are your plans for the break, Yuji? I ended up getting dragged into a shopping trip with Mika and her friend."
"Heh. I'm actually going on a bit of a business trip to the countryside."
"A business trip?"
"Yeah. An acquaintance of my gramps was supposed to do a martial arts demonstration at a regional event, but he fell suddenly ill. Gramps got asked to fill in, and since he decided I'd be bored during Golden Week anyway, he’s dragging me along as his assistant. It's only for two days and one night, though."
"Huh."
"Apparently, there’ve been a lot of these events lately. Explorers and people who want to be explorers show up in droves."
According to Yuji, ever since dungeons were opened to the public, more and more explorers had become interested in martial arts. Enrolment in local dojos and community centers was still on the rise. Event companies had picked up on the trend and were frequently organizing martial-arts-themed events.
Usually, they’d hire various dojo masters to perform demonstrations at the start of the event. The acquaintance who’d asked for a substitute was one of those masters.
"We practiced that demonstration to persuade Hiiragi-san's parents, remember? Gramps decided I was the perfect sparring partner for him."
I see... Wait, is it really safe for Juzo-san and Yuji to go all out like that? That sounds like it’s going to be a terrifyingly intense performance.
"Don't worry, we won't be doing the kind of stuff we usually do. It’ll be a standard demonstration following set forms."
"Oh, right."
"There's no point in doing the high-level stuff at an event for ordinary people anyway."
The classroom door opened, and our Homeroom Teacher walked in.
"Homeroom is starting. If you're standing, get in your seats."
It seemed quite a bit of time had passed while I was talking with Yuji.
"Catch you later."
"Yeah."
I sat down and started organizing my bag while listening to the teacher.
Looking around the room, I noticed several empty seats... I wondered if they were playing hooky.