Chapter 9: Party Formation

♣♣♣

“Excuse me for intruding.”

“Welcome. Oh? And who might you be?”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Kagura Shino.”

“Mom, this is my friend Shino-chan. Thanks to Hinata-kun, we got to know each other. Is it okay if she eats dinner with us?”

“Fufufu………”

“Mom?”

Hina’s mother started laughing quietly.

And then,

“I never imagined a daughter of the Kagura family would come here! You’re very welcome!”

On the way to Hina’s house, Shino had told me that the Kamui family and the Kagura family were like cats and dogs.

Long ago, it seems their ancestors fought over a lover, and as a result, the Kagura family had been burning with a desire for revenge ever since the lover married into the Kamui family—or something like that.

Now, they’re more like friendly rivals, apparently.

When we arrived at Hina’s house, a maid guided us to the same room as last time.

“Our house is Western-style, so a Japanese-style house is nice, isn’t it?”

I recalled that Shino’s house looked like a European castle on the outside.

Could it be that they were so competitive they even made their houses Japanese-style versus Western-style to stand out? Nah, probably not.

“Grandpa, what are you doing up there?”

Suddenly appearing out of nowhere, an old man was clinging to the ceiling.

“Jizou-sama!?”

“Grandpa!?”

“Hmph. You’ve gotten stronger, kid.”

“I don’t think that’s true……”

Hina told me the same thing, but my level hasn’t gone up.

“I heard a daughter of the Kagura family was coming, so I came to see, and wow, what an impressive one we’ve got here. Those earplugs—your hearing’s sharp, isn’t it?”

The old man saw through Shino’s ability in an instant.

Even though there aren’t many people here, if she took off her earphones in the middle of town, she’d hear all the sounds around her.

I’m sending her telepathic messages along with my words as much as possible to help her.

I’m also mimicking Hina’s and other people’s words with telepathy, so it should seem like she can hear them.

“Grandpa, Shino’s hearing is so good that she has to wear those, or she’ll pick up all the surrounding noise.”

“Oh, I know. No need to worry.”

I thought he might leave, but surprisingly, he sat down across from me.

So now, the old man is in front of me, Hina is on my left, and Shino is on my right.

A maid came in and, with a slightly surprised expression, said, “I’ll prepare a meal for the former master as well.”

Hina had said that the head of the Kamui family is her father, so the old man must be the previous head.

“Hmm…… To think you’ve gotten this strong in just a few days. Is it because of that power?”

“Uh, I don’t really feel like I’ve gotten stronger……”

The old man nodded, saying “Hmm, hmm,” as he sank into thought.

Soon, the maids brought out trays and placed them in front of the old man, next to him, and then in front of me, Hina, and Shino.

Next, Hina’s mother came in and sat down beside the old man.

“This is unusual.”

“I just wanted to eat with my granddaughter.”

“Isn’t that nice? You should eat with us once in a while too.”

“Uh, umm……”

Hehe.

It seems even the old man can’t stand up to Hina’s mother.

While eating, Hina’s mother kept the conversation going, as if letting out all her pent-up frustrations.

The old man joined in here and there, and I could feel how much they both love Hina.

Seeing that made me think of my own family—my little sister.

I’ve asked my sister not to contact me until I visit her during the next long holiday.

Otherwise, she’d probably call or text me every day.

……I decided not to rely on my sister or my family too much.

The Kamui family’s meal featured a lot of traditional Japanese food, but the seasoning was surprisingly modern and easy to eat—it was delicious.

On the way back after the feast, I decided to walk Shino home.

The world had grown dark as the sun set, but the streetlights and moonlight lit the way.

“Hinata-kun, what are you going to do starting tomorrow?”

By “starting tomorrow,” she probably meant school.

It’s because Seishin High School, which favors explorers, is starting its unique curriculum.

“I was thinking of heading to the dungeon every day.”

“Hmm. Alone?”

“Huh? W-Well…… I guess alone?”

Shino, who had been walking at the same pace as me, stopped.

When I turned around, the streetlight illuminated her cute, pouting face.

“S-Sorry. Did I mess up again?”

“Pout Yeah, you did.”

She pointed at herself with her right index finger as she said that.

“Me. I’m your party member, Hinata-kun. So we’re going to the dungeon together every day.”

“Oh, right. Sorry. I wasn’t sure if that was okay with you……”

Since we’re students, some might want to prioritize classes over the dungeon. I don’t want to force anyone into it.

“Either way, I’m just going through the motions with classes, so I’d rather spend time with you.”

My heart skipped a beat at the words “spend time with you.”

Sure, she’s a beautiful girl, but more than that, it’s just nice to hear something like that from a girl—or from anyone, regardless of gender.

“Got it. Let’s go to the dungeon together starting tomorrow.”

“Yeah! But—you’re not forgetting someone else, are you?”

“Someone else?”

“Hina-chan. If you leave her behind, she’ll probably cry.”

“R-Really? If Hina cries, that’d be a big deal, so I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah. I think that’s a good idea.”

With Shino’s mood fully restored, we continued on our way home.

It’s a thirty-minute walk from the Kamui house to the Kagura house—a distance that feels both long and short—and I saw Shino off.

By the time I got back to the dorm, it was already late at night.

“Welcome back.”

“Seino-san, I’m home.”

“I’ve heard the situation from Kamui-sama.”

It seems Hina’s mother had told her ahead of time, thinking it’d be better than me explaining it myself.

“So, you’ll be eating at Kamui-sama’s place every day from now on, right?”

“Yes. And since I’ll be walking Kagura-san home, I’ll probably get back around this time every day.”

“Understood. Normally, there’s a curfew, but you’ll be treated as a special case, Suzuki-kun. Just make sure you don’t tell the other students it’s okay to break curfew.”

“O-Of course!”

Seino-san, who had been speaking with a cold expression, softened a little.

“If you ever don’t get a chance to eat, let me know when you get back. I can prepare something anytime.”

“Thank you.”

Like Hina, I think she’s a warm person inside, even if she doesn’t show it on the outside.

I returned to my room, did my laundry, took a bath, and went to bed.

The next morning, during homeroom.

Our homeroom teacher, Aoyagi-sensei, went over some announcements.

“I briefly mentioned this before, but starting today, the ‘Explorer Special Curriculum’ begins.”

Many students in the class lit up at those words.

I didn’t know until I enrolled, but it seems a lot of students join this school because of this curriculum.

“Starting today, regular classes will continue in the morning and afternoon as usual, but you’re free to use the ‘Explorer Special Curriculum’ in the afternoon. This curriculum allows students who go to the dungeon in the afternoon to earn credits instead of attending regular classes.”

Then, we were handed a sheet of paper.

“The method is written on the handout. Students taking the Explorer Special Curriculum need to pick up a ‘Dungeon Form’ in front of the staff room, head to the dungeon, and get it stamped at the reception. You can submit it the next morning. Just so you know, you could get it stamped and then goof off in the afternoon, and the school would technically allow it—as long as it doesn’t break school rules.”

The school is pretty generous with students, especially those aiming to become explorers, and even the dorm reflects that favoritism.

“But let me say one thing. Time is finite. Even if you become an explorer, death will always be close at hand—those who are already explorers have probably experienced that.”

I remembered the first time I entered a dungeon. I really almost died.

“The more you slack off, the more it’ll come back to bite you. No one’s forced to become an explorer. That’s why the school created this special curriculum to encourage independent action among explorers. Keep that in mind as you make use of it. Also, the student council is running an ‘Explorer Support Curriculum’ in the afternoon, so anyone who wants to join that can head to the training grounds.”

Once homeroom ended, my classmates immediately started buzzing.

The Explorer Special Curriculum had finally begun. No student aiming to be an explorer would pass this up.

In my class, Class 3, there are a lot of explorer hopefuls, so more than half might head to the dungeon in the afternoon.

Suddenly, the silver angel in front of me started fidgeting. Her face was expressionless as usual, but she seemed to want to turn around.

【Hina, keep listening just like that. This is that telepathy skill I mentioned yesterday. 】

Hina gave a slight nod while still facing forward.

【I want to talk later. Could I have some of your time after morning classes? 】

“Yeah.”

A small voice, audible only to me, came through. Even in the noisy classroom, Hina’s voice was crystal clear.

Morning classes started after that, and time slowly passed until lunch break.

When the chime rang energetically, the classroom got even livelier than usual.

Hina and I stood up from our seats and left the classroom together.

As we left, Gai-kun, with a bandage wrapped around one arm, glared at me.

We headed straight up to the rooftop.

“With everything going on, this might be the most relaxing spot.”

A gentle, cool breeze brushed through my and Hina’s hair.

Soon, Shino arrived, calling out, “Sorry to keep you waiting!”

“Hinata-kun, your telepathy can reach pretty far, huh?”

“Yeah, it seems I can send it anywhere within the school grounds.”

Shino joined us on the leisure sheet Hina had brought.

Sitting down, Shino immediately looked around at the blue sky scenery.

“The rooftop really is nice! Let’s make this our base every day from now on!”

“As long as it’s not raining.”

“True. What’ll we do when it rains?”

“We’ll figure that out when it happens.”

As promised yesterday, we’ll be eating lunch together every day from now on, and we’ve decided the rooftop will be our spot.

It’s where I first talked to Hina, and since there aren’t many students up here, we can relax on our own.

Hina quickly set out the bentos she’d brought on the leisure sheet.

“Is that a magic backpack?”

“Yeah.”

One bento box after another came out of the small backpack. Even though the opening was tiny, she even pulled out a low table.

Soon, delicious-looking food was lined up, and we started eating.

All of this was made by Hina’s mother, who said she’d make as much as we wanted if it meant Hina could eat tasty bentos, so she prepared enough for all of us.

Hina happily told me how her mom had been excitedly making the bentos since morning with a big smile.

“Hina, listen while you eat. Shino and I have formed a party.”

“!?”

Hina exaggeratedly froze in surprise.

“With the special curriculum starting today, we’re planning to head to the dungeon this afternoon.”

“I-I see…… Is that so……”

Hina’s shoulders slumped. Shino, sitting next to her, gave me a look like, “See?”

“So, if it’s okay with you, Hina, would you join our party?”

“Huh!? Me? Are you sure?”

“Yeah. If you joined us, it’d be a huge help.”

“But…… my cold air……”

“I can suppress it a bit, and even if you go all out in a fight, I can melt all the ice.”

Hina anxiously clasped both hands, looking back and forth between me and Shino.

“Am I…… in the way?”

Then Shino narrowed her eyes with a smile and brought her face close to Hina’s.

“Oh~ you might be in the way~ but is that okay with you, Hina-chan~?”

“Eh!”

“What if I monopolize Hinata-kun all to myself~?”

“N-No, that’s not okay!”

Shino……

“I’ll try my best! I’ll work hard not to be a burden, so please let me join the party!”

She showed her determination firmly despite her panic.

“Yeah, you’re more than welcome. Nice to have you.”

“Nice to have you~ I’d be scared to go into the dungeon alone with Hinata-kun, not knowing what he might do to me~”

“I wouldn’t do anything!”

Seeing me flustered, Hina and Shino burst into laughter.

Our laughter echoed under the endlessly clear sky.

After finishing lunch, I came to E90 with dungeon permits for the three of us from the staff room.

We got them stamped beforehand and stored them in subspace storage to avoid losing them.

Since the date is written on the paper, it seems we can’t stamp them in advance.

“Cute!”

Hina exclaimed when she spotted a Kuna.

“Its front teeth are scary, but its shape is cute, right? It’s quick, so be careful, Hina-chan.”

“Got it!”

An unfamiliar sword hung at Hina’s waist. Judging by its shape, it was more of a katana than a sword. She slowly reached out and gripped the black handle tightly.

As she drew the sword toward the Kuna running at us, a pitch-black blade—different from what I’d imagined—gleamed under the dungeon’s light.

She took a small breath to steady herself and gripped the katana’s handle, taking her stance.

The sight sent a breathtaking tension through me.

“—Kamui Style, First Form: ‘Blue Flash’”

In Japan, there’s a concept called ‘Kotodama,’ the spirit of words.

It means ‘the gods of words dwell within them.’

Sometimes, the words people speak carry an otherworldly power—like Hina right now.

A faint blue aura overflowed from Hina’s body, and in an instant, her drawn katana slashed through the air, though it shouldn’t have reached its target yet. Then, as if nothing had happened, she calmly sheathed it. At the same moment, the Kuna charging toward us split in two on the spot.

“As expected of the Kamui family. Amazing. You’re this strong even without using your latent abilities.”

“Ehehe…… thanks.”

During battle, Hina was the picture of seriousness, even exuding a hint of ruthlessness, but once it ended, she flashed a smile tinged with innocence.

This might be the blood of a warrior family passed down through generations.

“I can’t lose either!”

Shino said as she pulled out her tonfa and swung it toward another Kuna.

When the tip of the tonfa’s shaft detached, a chain emerged from within. The glowing green tip flew out, and a chain—far longer than the shaft’s length suggested—stretched out and struck the Kuna far ahead.

“A short stick, yet it releases such a long chain?”

“Yeah, it’s a magic weapon. This chain is special, made from the material of a monster called ‘Nebula.’”

I’d heard magic weapons have various abilities, but this is one of them, huh.

The glowing tip likely indicates an elemental effect.

Depending on the color, the wounds on the monster could become burns or cuts, which makes sense.

Still, with both of them being this strong, I feel bad that I can’t do anything.

For now, I dismantled and collected the Kuna they defeated.

“Eh!?”

Hina let out another exaggerated gasp.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“S-Shino-chan? That just now!?”

“Hey, Hina-chan. There are things in this world you won’t understand even if you worry about them. Hinata-kun is one of them.”

“R-Right. Hinata-kun is one of them huh.”

“Yeah. So don’t overthink it—just assume it’s possible because it’s Hinata-kun. The first time I saw it, I was so shocked I couldn’t think straight either.”

What are these two even talking about? Did I do something?

“Uh, just one question—will we be okay going this deep?”

“That’s fine too. It’s Hinata-kun, after all.”

“R-Right. It’s Hinata-kun.”

No, seriously, what’s with me……?

From then on, the two of them kept defeating Kuna, and I kept collecting them as we hunted.

I haven’t defeated a single one myself, but is this okay?

Even if I did defeat a monster, my level wouldn’t go up, so it might not matter much.

In a normal forest, you’d hear birds or animals, but in the dungeon, there’s no sign of such life.

The only sound is the rustling of leaves under our feet as we walk.

We walked through the quiet forest, with Hina and Shino taking turns defeating Kuna while I collected them.

Wait a minute, since we’re here, shouldn’t we look for the boss room to aim for the rare drop?

I used my full focus on Area Scan, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

We kept moving forward, watching the two defeat Kuna and collecting them, repeating the process.

At that moment, a ripple like a calm spring spread out from me—an invisible wave of power.

《Through experience, the derived skill ‘Floor Scan’ has been acquired from the skill ‘Area Scan.’》

Unlike Area Scan’s radar-like function, this one kept expanding endlessly once activated.

In just a few seconds, it covered the entire first floor of E90.

“Hey, both of you. Want to head that way?”

“Sure~”

Shino moved toward the direction I pointed with light steps, Hina following behind.

After defeating about ten more Kuna, a cave leading to the boss room’s waiting area appeared before us.

“The boss room~! Let’s hurry~!”

Shino grabbed Hina’s hand and ran inside.

Before I knew it, the two had become so close that there was no room for me to butt in.

We entered the waiting area and moved into the boss room together.

In the boss room, just like last time, there was a giant black wolf, Gige.

“Hina-chan, since we’re here, why not test your strength?”

“Strength? You mean my blessing?”

Shino nodded, and Hina’s expression stiffened slightly.

For Hina, the blessing of the Ice God had hurt her for years. Using it in battle would mean coming to terms with it—a decision that surely required resolve.

“Since we’re here, why not? I’d love to see the true power of Hina’s Ice God blessing, and no matter what happens, I’ll definitely protect you.”

Hina’s eyes welled up slightly as she looked straight at me.

Her black eyes, contrasting with her silver hair, felt like they could pull me in.

“Okay. If Hinata-kun’s here, I might be able to do it.”

“Yeah. I’ll be right here watching with Shino.”

“Okay!”

Having made up her mind, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm herself.

As she turned, her beautiful silver hair danced in the air.

The moment her right hand touched the katana’s handle, white cold air burst from her feet, and intricate, sculpture-like ice began to form.

The ice soon spread over her entire body—as if protecting her from external threats.

“Beautiful……”

“Yeah, it’s beautiful.”

Shino let out a soft murmur, and I felt exactly the same.

Hina started walking slowly toward Gige, then picked up speed and broke into a run.

Even with ice wrapped around her, she moved freely, as if it were a natural part of her body.

Gige, locking onto Hina, began gathering flames in its mouth.

Showing no sign of concern, Hina drew her katana from its sheath while running and leaped forward.

Despite the great distance between her and Gige, she didn’t seem to care.

And then,

“Kamui Style, Second Form: ‘Flash’”

With her left hand supporting the blade and her right thrusting it forward, Hina unleashed the technique mid-leap.

As she extended her right hand in a thrust, a white tempest, akin to a natural disaster, surged forward from the katana.

The ground, the air, the distant ceiling, the far-off walls—

Everything turned pure white, transforming into a world of ice.

A beautiful silver world stretched out from Hina as the boundary, with cold air beginning to spread behind her as well.

“This is…… an S-rank latent ability……”

It’s beautiful. But more than that—it’s terrifying.

Hina’s power, freezing everything, made the frozen Gige—still spewing its fiery breath—feel all the more real and fearsome.

In the center of that world, Hina’s shoulders rose slightly.

She stood facing forward. The scene made me feel like Hina might drift somewhere far away.

I have to go to her…… The moment that thought hit me, I was already running toward her.

I don’t know why I thought of that. But her back, looked so terribly lonely.

“Hina……”

“Hinata-kun, do you…… despise me after all?”

Her sad murmur, spoken while facing forward, tightened my chest.

No matter what, I’d protect Hina. There’s no lie in those words. Not just Hina, but anyone the Ice God’s blessing might hurt—I’d protect them too.

That’s what I’d resolved to do.

Gently, I reached out and pulled Hina into an embrace.

“I don’t despise you. If this power ever hurts you or someone you care about, I’ll absolutely protect you. I have that power.”

Still holding her, I thrust my right hand forward.

The endlessly beautiful silver world—if it’s her curse, I’ll break it with my own strength.

“—Absolute Ice Dissolution”

With my words, the silver world before us shattered into countless fragments.

Not a trace of cold air remained, only beautiful silver diamond dust sparkling around us.

“The real Hina isn’t that cold ice. It’s this beautiful silver world. So keep looking forward without hesitation. I’ll always be right behind you.”

“Yeah…… thank you, Hinata-kun.”

Hina placed her hands over mine as I held her.

A single tear fell onto my hand, and we came to know each other just a little more.

♣♣♣

“I’ll…… protect you……”

Shino, in a mock-masculine tone, pinned Hina against a tree as if it were a wall.

“Shino-chan……”

“No, no, you’re supposed to say ‘Hinata-kun’ there.”

U-Uwaaaah!

What did I just say!?

I got carried away and said something outrageous to Hina.

Did it sound like a proposal? No, now that I think about it, it might’ve been so cringe-worthy that she’d find it gross.

Shino started teasing me by mimicking what I’d said, turning it into a game.

Every time they defeated a Kuna after leaving the boss room and returning to the first floor, she’d do it again.

For some reason, Hina’s face would flush slightly, and she’d look at me with expectant eyes each time.

Is this it!? Is this some new kind of bullying!?

When I let out a big sigh, she suddenly clung to my arm.

“Shino!?”

“I want to hear it too~ It’s not fair that only Hina gets it~”

“Huh!?”

“Won’t you protect me too?”

Shino looked up at me with teary eyes. Didn’t something like this happen before?

I gently tapped Shino’s forehead.

“Don’t fake it with eye drops again.”

“Hehe, caught me?”

She said, showing the eye drops she’d hidden in her hand.

“N-Next, let’s head over there!”

She started walking toward the next boss room as if to brush it off.

Shino walked on my right, Hina on my left, side by side.

After that, we repeated the cycle of defeating Kuna and taking down Gige in the boss rooms several times.

“……Hinata-kun?”

“Yeah?”

Shino narrowed her eyes and looked up at me.

“How do you know the exact location of the boss rooms?”

“Hm? Don’t you know too, Shino?”

I’d vaguely assumed she’d found it the first time we entered, too.

I thought maybe Shino had a skill like Floor Scan as well.

“There’s no way I’d know! Gige is a monster that drops rare potions, you know? To find it this easily…… ugh, it’s Hinata-kun, so there’s no point in overthinking it……”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s Hinata-kun, after all.”

Hina nodded too, and they both convinced themselves again.

“Wait, neither of you can use the Floor Scan skill?”

They both nodded in response.

“In my case, I have good hearing, so I can pick up the sounds of monsters moving and head toward them. That’s how I can track them down like you do, Hinata-kun.”

“I see. So it’s not exactly a skill you have.”

“Yup, yup. By the way, what’s a skill?”

“Hm? Doesn’t everyone have skills?”

They both shook their heads.

Come to think of it, Hina’s grandpa seemed to know something about skills.

Back then, he’d said if I wanted to know about skills—my face heated up as I recalled it.

“Why’s your face turning red there?”

“N-Nothing! I’ll ask your grandpa about it when we go to Hina’s house today.”

“Jizou-sama, huh. It wouldn’t be surprising if Jizo-sama knew about it.”

Oh right, Hina had said her grandpa was a famous person.

“Just how amazing is your grandpa?”

“Hmm…… like, if you asked who the strongest person in Japan is, his name would come up first?”

He was way more incredible than I’d imagined.

No, from what I saw, he just seemed like a quirky old man—guess you really can’t judge people by appearances.

Since the dungeon’s brightness doesn’t change with time, you can lose track of it without checking a clock. For example, it stays bright even if you enter at night.

It was about time to head back, so we left the dungeon and walked toward the Kamui house.

On the way back, I tried using the Floor Scan skill I’d gained today, but it only worked in dungeons and wouldn’t activate outside. Still, Area Scan worked, so I kept it lightly active.

When we arrived at the Kamui house and waited in the usual room, Hina’s grandpa came to us again today.

“Grandpa, could you tell me about what we talked about before?”

“Hm? What’s that?”

“Uh, about skills.”

“Oh…… so you’re interested now, eh?”

“Yes.”

Sipping his tea and closing his eyes, Grandpa didn’t answer.

“Long ago, there were folks who researched skills. That’s as much as I can tell ye.”

“But last time, it seemed like you’d teach me……”

“Well, that’d be if ye married Hina, see.”

“Grandpa!?”

“!?”

Not just me and Hina, but even Shino turned her attention to Grandpa.

“I ain’t joking. Info on skills is a national secret. So I can’t just tell ye. But if ye marry Hina and become part of the Kamui family, that’s a different story.”

Oh…… so that’s what he meant by marriage……

Still, skills are a national secret, huh?

In the end, he didn’t tell me, and we went home after another delicious meal today.

♣♣♣

After repeating the same routine every day, we finally got a potion drop from Gige.

I tried giving it to Hina and Shino, but they refused outright, so I ended up keeping it.

Friday night.

While running the washing machine in the laundry room as usual, Fujii-kun came in, looking completely worn out.

“You’re pretty beat up, huh.”

“Ahaha…… yeah……”

He lacked his usual energy and looked utterly exhausted.

He tossed his tattered uniform into the washing machine and collapsed into a chair.

“Did you tackle a tough dungeon?”

“No, I went for the boss room in D86, like I mentioned before.”

I’d heard D-rank dungeons aren’t just one floor—they have three, and the boss room comes after that.

Since we can only enter dungeons after noon on weekdays, getting to the third floor must’ve been pretty rough.

“Now that I know I can conquer D86, I’m planning to head to a new place starting tomorrow.”

“A new place? Another D-rank dungeon?”

Fujii-kun shook his head.

“No, actually, I’m heading to C3 next.”

“C-rank!? T-That’s amazing……!”

“I’m not strong at all, but my party members are. I’m just a rear-guard, after all.”

It’s odd he’d get this beat up as a rear-guard.

According to the dungeon guidebook, explorer parties are broadly divided into ‘vanguard,’ ‘midguard,’ and ‘rearguard.’

The standard is a six-person team—any more, and you stop gaining experience points, so your level won’t rise.

So the typical setup is two of each role.

Vanguards usually use swords or axes, midguards use bows or spears, and rearguards often handle magic.

If Fujii-kun’s a rearguard, he might have that kind of ability.

“Just don’t overdo it, okay?”

“Thanks. Be careful in the dungeons too, Hinata-kun.”

“Yeah. But I’m in a similar spot as you—my two party members are so strong I barely have anything to do. Just dismantling monsters, mostly.”

“Eh!? ……Wait, are you a porter?”

I tilted my head at the unfamiliar term.

“Um, a porter is someone who doesn’t fight and just carries stuff. They often handle dismantling monsters too. Isn’t that pretty tough?”

At that moment, Grandpa’s words about skills being a national secret flashed through my mind.

I remembered that my monster dismantling and subspace storage were skills too.

“Oh, yeah. I’ve been doing it for days, so I’m used to it now.”

“I see…… Um, Hinata-kun, if your party’s forcing you into unreasonable conditions, you should quit. I don’t know your situation, but I’ve heard a lot of porters end up in awful environments……”

His genuine concern came through clearly.

It stung a little, but I decided to keep the skill thing under wraps for now.

“Thanks. Actually, I’m lucky with my party—they let me take most of the profits. They hunt but don’t care about the materials, so they let me have them.”

“Oh, good. I was worried you might get taken advantage of since you’re so nice, but I’m glad you’ve found a good group.”

Yeah, those two are way too good for someone like me.

The washing machine chimed its end melody.

Noticing how exhausted Fujii-kun looked, I decided to call out to him.

“Fujii-kun, if you’ve still got time, want to come to my room after this?”

“Eh!? R-Really?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll come! I’ll head over right after a shower.”

“Got it.”

I left the laundry room and returned to my room.

I quickly started preparing for Fujii-kun.

I took out a small bottle, about the size of my thumb, and placed it on the table.

Inside was a clear blue liquid that paired beautifully with the transparent bottle—pretty enough to be decor on its own.

This was the potion we got this time. It holds about 10 milliliters, a small amount.

The bottle apparently has a special mechanism—when you open it and pour, only half the contents spill out.

Using that, I poured the potion into a teacup.

Hina’s mom taught me this trick—pouring the potion into a teacup and splitting it in half gives it a relaxing effect instead of healing.

I split the potion from one teacup into another, then added hot water.

The blue potion mixed with the water, turning a lighter shade of blue.

Adding a tea bag completed the ‘Tea ~with a hint of potion~.’

Just as I finished, a knock came at the door. Opening it, I saw Fujii-kun with slightly wet hair, waving.

“Come in.”

“E-Excuse me.”

As he stepped inside, a gentle shampoo scent filled the room.

“I just finished brewing it. Here you go.”

“Th-Thanks.”

Still visibly tired, he carefully held the teacup with both hands and brought it to his lips hesitantly.

“Hm!? Delicious!”

“Glad it suits your taste. It’s a tea my parents like—I bought it recently with hunting earnings. Drinking it alone feels kinda bland.”

“Hehe. So that’s why you invited me.”

“Yeah.”

Fujii-kun smiled warmly and sipped the tea slowly, savoring it deeply.

He’d once told me about the explorer rankings, and we would eat together in the cafeteria—he’s the only person I’d call a friend since enrolling.

I know a single potion bottle is worth a fortune, but thanks to Hina and Shino, my license already holds over a million yen.

Before enrolling, I used most of my allowance on living expenses to ease my mom’s burden, hoping to send money home once I became an explorer—but now I’ve got more than enough.

I’d like to give back even a little to the people around me.

I just pray Fujii-kun makes it back safely from the dungeon.

“Tell me about C3 sometime. I’ll treat you to tea again then.”

“Yeah! I will!”

It finally felt like I’d made a friend I could laugh and talk with.