Dungeon Gacha Life Chapter 30

 Chapter 30: Summer Isn't Over Yet

A week had passed since I beat the Upper Levels' boss, the Minotaur.

As planned, I'd gone on that pool date with Shimotsuki-san the other day.

A white bikini with a pale yellow pareo. I'll just say her fair skin was dazzling and leave it at that.

With Lapis there too, there was never any awkward silence and the three of us just genuinely enjoyed the pool.

Which also meant nothing romantic happened but I'll hold out hoping for it down the road.

Also, Lapis turned out to be a huge hit with the other guests and people were even taking pictures of her.

In the end, I ended up buying a few 1/6-scale doll swimsuits for Lapis.

Out of those, we picked the one she liked, adjusted the sizing before cutting some openings for her wings and somehow made it work in time.

Thanks to that, she'd been in a great mood ever since.

And so, today, having wrapped up a satisfying summer vacation.

I was visiting Hachioji Dungeon Guild for the first time in a week.

Today was finally the day I'd pick up my Explorer license which was upgraded to C-Rank.

As always, I got out of the taxi and headed inside the Guild.

The spacious lobby was already packed with people.

It was still summer break, after all. Probably a lot of students.

Here and there, I could see staff members guiding people around.

That's when it happened.

A voice I recognized called out to me from the side.

"Good morning, Suzukaze-san."

I looked over and there was a girl standing there.

About 150 centimeters tall.

Shoulder-length, light-colored hair cut in a neat line and gentle eyes that gave off a quiet, demure impression.

Her slight frame wore a freshly-issued Guild staff uniform, worn with a crisp, tidy neatness.

She was the girl I'd met in front of the boss room a week ago.

A high-school Explorer who, after a fair bit of back-and-forth, had retired from that: Tachibana Yui.

"Isn't that Yui-san!? It's been so long!!"

"Yes, it's been a while, Lapis-chan too!"

The two of them exchanged cheerful greetings.

Does one week even count as "a while"?

"Been a week, Yui. Morning."

"Yes! Good to see you looking well too, Suzukaze-san."

Yui answered with a smile like a flower blooming.

Was she always this bright and cheerful?

Along with that question, I decided to just ask her outright.

"So, what's with the outfit? That's the Guild staff uniform, isn't it?"

What she was wearing was the same uniform Shimotsuki-san normally wore.

In other words, a Guild employee's uniform.

Her cheeks coloring slightly, she spoke up.

"Actually, I've started working here part-time."

* * *

"After that day, I officially retired as an Explorer."

That day, apparently, she'd told her usual assigned contact everything that happened at the boss room, along with her decision.

I guess it's probably a fairly common thing.

Her retirement had been accepted without any trouble.

That much made sense.

So why the part-time job at the Guild, then?

"Um, well... that! K-Kaori-san and Saki-san are going to keep being Explorers, so! I thought, someday, maybe I could become their dedicated receptionist..."

Yui with her face flushing red, started explaining desperately.

Ah, I see. So that's how it is.

"So the two of them decided to keep going as Explorers."

"Y-yes. They said that, to make up for me leaving that they'd like to recruit maybe two more new members if they could and try again before graduation."

Their loss that time had come down to not landing enough hits, after all.

Fix that, level up a bit more and clearing it should be easy enough.

And so, to support the two of them, Yui had started working part-time here, aiming to become their receptionist. That's pretty much it, huh.

Come to think of it, Shimotsuki-san had complained about being short-staffed before too.

As a former Explorer who'd made it all the way to Floor 20, no matter you look at it, she had to be a welcome hire from the Guild's side.

And on top of that, she is a pretty girl.

She'd probably end up a popular counter before long.

And her motive was pretty dramatic too.

I had to respect that kind of spirit.

I told the blushing Yui not to worry about it.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about. That's admirable, if anything."

"Touya-san..."

All of a sudden, Lapis, beside me, gave me a look like she was witnessing something pitiful.

What now, seriously. We fighting or something?

"I-I'm fine, Lapis-chan! Really, I'm okay! I'll do my best!!"

"Yui-san!! I'm rooting for you, okay!? Do your best!?"

"Thank you!"

For whatever reason, the two of them got all fired up together.

Hey, I'm rooting for her too, you know?

A receptionist supporting her old party. That's a good thing, isn't it?

"...Yes. Suuure it is."

"A-ahaha..."

Lapis's eyes had gone completely dead.

Seriously, what's with that.

* * *

"And also, um..."

Breaking through the awkward air that had settled over us, Yui spoke up.

Her expression was serious and she looked straight at me.

"I'm truly grateful to you, Suzukaze-san. So, um... I wouldn't be in the way so please let me help out with your exploring too. I want to pay you back."

I was surprised at just how deeply indebted she felt, much more than I'd expected.

Sure, if I hadn't been there that day, there was a good chance it would've ended in disaster. But that's all just an if.

What saved them that day, I think, was that they had just gotten lucky.

And for an Explorer, that kind of luck ought to count as an irreplaceable talent in its own right.

With that said, there was no way I was turning this offer down.

She'd said this much already. I couldn't bring myself to just brush her feelings aside.

"I see. Well then, I'll look forward to it. If I ever run into problems, please come and think it through with me."

"—Hyup! Y-yes! Of course! I'll will!!"

Some kind of strange sound had slipped out along with it but Yui nodded again and again anyway.

"So, um, even if there's nothing in particular, please feel free to call on me anytime. I'm still in training right now but I'll learn the counter work soon and um... on days Shimotsuki-san's off, I'll be the one handling things."

Yui said all that with such earnest determination.

But it suddenly occurred to me. ...Isn't that kind of impossible?

"Yui, you're still a third-year in high school, right? Once summer break ends, won't your shifts here be weekday evenings and weekends/holidays?"

"Ah, yes. That's right."

"—Ah!?"

While Yui still hadn't caught on to what was happening, Lapis let out a cry.

And then started trembling.

"Yui-san, um... I have some unfortunate news..."

"Eh, what's wrong? I have a feeling I'm scared to hear this!"

Go ahead and tell her, Lapis.

About my flawlessly "white" working conditions.

"The days Touya-san dives into the Dungeon... his working days are four days a week. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Wednesday and weekends are his days off. And his working hours are always fixed, ten to four."

No matter how many times I hear it, it's just wonderful.

"Eh, that few? I mean, wait, that's..."

"Yes. It lines up with your student part-time hours, Yui-san, in a way that's just hopelessly bad."

At those words, Yui's shoulders slumped.

Whoa, she's really taking this hard. Is paying me back that important to her?

"Don't be discouraged, Yui-san! Summer break isn't over yet!"

"T-that's right!? And there's winter break too! Once I graduate, I can work here every single day!"

Hey, let's not work every single day, alright?

You're supposed to actually take your days off.

"Touya-san, hush!!"

I got scolded by Lapis. Why.

The two of them started whispering to each other about something, leaving me outside the loop.

Well, maybe there's just girl stuff going on. Best to keep quiet about it.

I looked out through the lobby's glass at the scene outside and the sunlight was pouring down like it meant business.

Seems like there is still a long way to go before summer ends.

Anyway, could we maybe finish up my paperwork sometime soon?

[Part 2: "C-Rank Promotion and the Rookie Receptionist" — End]