My phone alarm blared.
I opened my eyes a sliver, tapped the screen to kill the noise, and hauled myself upright. As I did, the disguise I’d tossed on the floor the night before loomed into view.
"...I'm throwing it away."
I glared at the costume through bleary eyes and muttered my resolve to destroy the thing. Seriously, what a terrible way to start the morning.
After climbing out of bed and stretching, I left my room and headed for the living room.
"...Morning."
"Good morning, Daiki....Oh? You look a bit grumpy this morning."
"Yeah, well..."
Mother looked at me inquisitively. Apparently, my mood was written all over my face.
"...Could it be that you’re still bothered by that outfit from yesterday?"
"..."
When she hit the nail on the head, I reflexively looked away....How did she even know?
"Hehe. Well, it certainly wasn't a look you'd usually go for, Daiki..."
Mother's gentle gaze pierced my fragile ego like a blade. It actually hurt.
"...I'm going to wash my face."
That was all I could manage as I fled the living room.
Sigh, why on earth did I buy that thing? I wondered as I splashed water on my face. I looked at my hollow reflection in the bathroom mirror and felt a fresh wave of regret.
By the time I returned to the living room, Mother was busy setting breakfast on the table.
"Daiki, sorry to ask, but could you go wake Mika?"
"Mika?"
"She hasn't come down yet. So, if you would?"
"...Yeah, alright."
Accepting the task, I gave a light nod and headed back upstairs to her room.
"Hey, Mika! It’s morning! Get up!"
I knocked on her door with a bit of force as I called out.
After a moment, a muffled groan drifted from the other side.
"Uuuugh... What is it?"
"It’s morning! Get out of bed!"
"Five... more minutes..."
"Don't give me that cliché excuse, just get up! Mother’s already finished getting breakfast ready!"
I raised my voice and knocked a little harder. I had to be careful; if I put too much strength into it, I’d punch right through the door. Gauging the force of a knock was surprisingly difficult.
After about a minute of persistent calling, Mika's voice finally regained some clarity. It seemed she was finally awake.
"Geez, you’re so loud, Onii-chan!"
"Oh, so you’re finally awake?"
"I can’t sleep with all that banging!"
"Whatever. Just get down here for breakfast. Hurry up."
Once I confirmed she was conscious, I told her to move it and headed back down to the living room.
Mother was already seated at the table when I returned.
"Thanks, Daiki. Did she get up?"
"Yeah. She grumbled for a bit, but she's awake. I think she’ll be down any second."
"I see. Thank you."
I took my seat as Mother thanked me. Today’s menu was rice and miso soup—a traditional Japanese breakfast.
As I sat there, I heard the sound of footsteps frantically rushing down the stairs.
"Good morning!"
"Mika, don't run on the stairs! It’s dangerous!"
"S-Sorry!"
"And go wash your face. Your bedhead is a disaster."
"Y-Yeah!"
Mother barked the reprimand the moment Mika poked her head into the room. Mika immediately bowed her head in apology, but her hair was every bit as messy as Mother said. She should probably at least run a comb through it while she was washing up.
Mika hurried off toward the bathroom, and Mother let out a long sigh as she watched her go.
"Honestly, that girl... She’s a high schooler now. She really needs to start paying more attention to her appearance."
"Now, now, Mother. It’s just family here. No need to be so strict."
"What are you saying, Daiki? It’s because it’s just family that we have to be disciplined!"
With that, Mother launched into a lecture on the philosophy of personal grooming. Crap, I shouldn't have said anything.
The lecture continued, and when it threatened to transition back into the topic of my disguise from yesterday, I desperately changed the subject. Please... stop digging into my old wounds. They’re still fresh.
"S-Sorry for the wait..."
As if sensing a lull in the conversation, Mika peeked tentatively into the living room. Mika... you took your sweet time.
"You were slow, Mika."
"Ah, yeah. It took a while to fix my hair..."
"I see. Well, fine. Just sit down; breakfast is getting cold."
"Y-Yeah!"
With Mika finally seated, we began to eat. However, the meal was strangely quiet, and the voices from the morning news on the TV seemed unnaturally loud.
What was with this heavy, tense atmosphere?
"Thanks for the food."
Once the awkward breakfast was over, Mika and I both hurried back to our rooms to finish getting ready for school.
I changed into my school uniform and let out a long breath as I checked my reflection. One way or another, a uniform really was the most comfortable thing to wear.
"...Next time I buy clothes, maybe I should actually look at a fashion magazine."
It wasn't so much that I had no taste... I just shouldn't let a joke go too far.
Once I was dressed, I began packing the bear items I’d obtained in the dungeon yesterday into a zippered cloth bag. I couldn't pull things out of my Spatial Storage at school. It was a hassle, but I didn't want Mika or the others wondering how I had the materials for our club activities when I'd arrived empty-handed.
I was still keeping Spatial Storage a secret, after all.
"Alright, that’s everything."
I grabbed my school bag and the bag of bear parts, did a final check for forgotten items, and went downstairs.
Mother had poured some coffee for me in the living room.
"Oh? Mother, what’s this?"
"It’s coffee. I’m sorry about earlier, during breakfast."
Mother apologized with a remorseful expression. It seemed she felt bad for ruining the mood with her lecturing.
"You clearly didn't want to talk about your outfit from yesterday, and I was just being inconsiderate..."
"Don't worry about it, Mother. I'm fine now."
"...Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Besides, I'm the one who chose that outfit. I only have myself to blame... Thanks for the coffee."
I didn't want to spend the whole morning trading apologies, so I thanked her and took a sip to end the conversation. Mother took the hint and didn't push the subject further.
As I watched the local news, a specific segment caught my eye. It was a short feature about dungeon rumors. According to the report, a story was circulating online about "a trio of explorers who run through the dungeon at incredible speed, slaying monsters but leaving all the drop items behind."
Is that us?!
"Oh, I didn't know there were rumors like that... Daiki, had you heard?"
"N-No... This is the first I'm hearing of it."
"I see. But if those people don't even pick up the items, I wonder why they’re going to the dungeon at all..."
Mother watched the screen with a puzzled look, while my face twitched violently beside her. Please tell me our identities aren't out...
As I struggled to regain my composure before Mother could look back at me, Mika walked into the room.
"Sorry for the wait... Huh? What’s wrong, Onii-chan? Why are you making that face?"
"M-Mika..."
Crap, she caught me.
"Oh, you're right. What’s wrong, Daiki? Why are you twitching like that?"
"Ah, no, hahaha!"
I tried to laugh it off. Honestly, what else could I do?
Mika glanced at the TV and spoke up.
"Hey, Onii-chan? Could this rumor be... about you guys?"
"!?"
"Oh? Is that so, Daiki?"
"I mean, think about it. You three always go to the dungeon together..."
"No, well..."
Given Mika’s certainty, Mother turned to look at me with suspicious eyes.
This was bad. Had they figured it out? No, not everything. I had to minimize the damage.
"I mean, we do go as a group of three, but I don't think we’re noteworthy enough to start a rumor like that."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. It’s true that we sometimes have to leave things behind because of our carrying capacity, but we don't ignore that much stuff."
In reality, I used Spatial Storage for almost everything. The only time we’d intentionally ignored drops to move faster was during yesterday’s dive.
So...
"This rumor is probably just a collection of stories about high-level explorers leaving junk behind because they're out of space. I mean, it might sound harsh, but to an explorer who dives into the deep floors, the stuff that drops on the upper floors is basically trash compared to scrolls or magic items. It’s not worth the weight."
"Trash!?"
Mika practically shrieked. From her perspective as a beginner, it was probably shocking to hear that the items she worked so hard for were considered worthless by others.
"Wait a second, Onii-chan! What do you mean, 'trash'?!"
"Maybe that was a poor choice of words, Mika. But do you know the difference in value between a common drop and something rare? It’s staggering."
"...Is it really that much?"
Mika’s indignation flickered as her curiosity took over.
"Yeah. Remember the meat you got during our last exploration? That’s the lowest rank of meat drop. That’s why it sold for what it did. Do you know how much the top-tier meat drops are selling for right now?"
"...I have no idea."
"Prepare to be amazed. A single cut of top-tier dungeon meat currently sells for over a hundred thousand yen."
"A hundred thousand yen!?"
Mika’s jaw dropped, and Mother’s eyes went wide in shock.
"That’s why high-level explorers prioritize the most valuable items. If they find something cheap, they leave it behind—or just don't bother picking it up in the first place."
"I-I guess... that makes sense."
Mika nodded, still dazed, but Mother seemed so floored by the numbers that she’d completely frozen up.
After helping Mika and Mother recover from the shock of the high-end market, it was finally time for us to head out for school.
"Well Mother, we’re off."
"...I'm heading out."
"...Take care."
Mother saw us to the door, but both she and Mika still seemed a bit lost in their own thoughts.
"...Sigh."
I couldn't exactly leave them in that state, so I brought my hands together with a sharp crack. The sound echoed through the entryway like a gunshot.
Eek!?
Startled by the noise, both of them let out short yelps and glared at me.
"What was that for, Daiki!?"
"Yeah, Onii-chan! My ears are ringing!"
As they both started complaining, I raised my hands again.
They immediately shut up and covered their ears, so I lowered my hands and sighed.
"Alright, looks like you’re both back to reality."
Huh!?
"Don't 'Huh!?' me. I know it was loud, but both of you were completely out of it. Mika, I can talk some sense into you on the way to school, but if I’d left Mother like that, she probably would’ve hurt herself doing chores."
Urgh!?
Realizing I was right, both of them looked away in embarrassment.
"Well, now that you've snapped out of it, we really need to get going. Let's move, Mika."
"Ah, y-yeah!"
"Okay Mother, we're leaving."
"I'm off!"
"Y-Yes. Take care..."
Sent off by a still-flustered Mother, Mika and I finally left the house.
Sigh... The day has only just begun, and I’m already exhausted...