Chapter 63 - I’m the Demon King
“I’m the Demon King!?”
For some reason, Kenya’s role was decided unanimously. The guys looked like they were crying tears of blood, but why were they so envious? I’m the one getting defeated here.
“Actually, Mikenju-kun…”
Owada leaned in and whispered to me.
“There’s a kiss scene.”
“A kiss scene!?”
I whispered back in surprise.
“I can’t spoil it, so I can’t say more, but well, you should check it out yourself! You should be able to rent it by now.”
“Alright, I’ll give it a look.”
Kenya decided to rent the movie from the nearby rental shop today.
That day, they only assigned the roles, and they would start practicing once the script was ready. As for the maid café costumes, they decided to buy them at Don Quijote, but aren’t those maid outfits from Donki a bit too risqué? A girl who’s good at sewing said she would alter them.
Still, I kind of want to see Reina in a sexy maid outfit. If I ask, she might wear it, and maybe even do something… naughty. Maybe she’ll say, “Master, let me serve you” or something… I’m getting excited. Lately, my imagination has been getting pretty dirty, but I can’t help it—blame it on puberty.
While I was lost in these thoughts, the final bell rang, signaling the end of the day. I planned to meet up with Misuzu afterward and head to the dungeon.
However, it’s impossible to clear the 30th floor in one day, so I planned to tackle two or three floors just to get a feel for it. I also needed to alchemize and strengthen Reina’s old equipment and share yesterday’s dungeon earnings with her. There’s a lot to do.
“Well then, Reina, shall we go?”
“Yes, we’re going shopping, right!”
Before heading to the dungeon, they went to buy warm clothes. Starting from the 20th floor, it’s the Silver Snow Area. With sub-zero temperatures, not only must they face the monsters, but the cold itself is a formidable opponent.
It’s early summer now, and Kenya and the others didn’t own any ski wear. Even though it was out of season, this is the big city—Tokyo. You can find anything you need.
…
“How do I look, Senior? Do I look like I might fall in love on the slopes?”
“This outfit’s nice and warm.”
Kenya and the others were in the central plaza of the dungeon’s first floor. However, they were all wearing ski gear. They might look strange walking around outside, but in the dungeon plaza, people would just assume they were heading to challenge the 30th floor.
The three of them changed in the explorers’ dressing room on the first floor.
“I-I think it looks good on you.”
Despite being flustered by the power of their ski outfits, Kenya managed to calmly compliment the two. They both looked great, but since they were still on the first floor of the dungeon, the incongruity dulled the impact.
“Well, let’s get going.”
And so, the three of them stepped into the world of silver once again, passing through the gate to the safe zone on the 20th floor.
“Ah, this feels great! Just the right kind of cold!”
“Yeah, at this level, exploring should be no problem.”
“But it’s tough walking in the snow.”
The snow was about 30 centimeters deep. It gently fell around them, not hindering their visibility, creating a bright, serene world.
“Whoa—”
Thud.
Misuzu, trying to walk with enthusiasm, stumbled and face-planted into the snow.
“Haha! What are you doing, Misuzu?”
“It’s hard to walk! Seniori, pull me up!”
As she lay there, reaching out for help, I grabbed Misuzu’s hand and pulled her up. She then fell into my chest with a smile, looking up at me.
“Ehehe, thanks!”
(She’s so cute…)
Kenya couldn’t help but think, Is this what they call slope magic? Misuzu was already pretty, but with her cheeks flushed pink from the cold, she looked even more adorable than usual. He found himself captivated by her.
Reina watched the scene silently.
Thud.
Immediately, there was the sound of something sinking into the snow behind him.
When Kenya turned around, he saw—
“Mmm!”
Reina had fallen on her backside, reaching out her hand toward him.
“Reina?”
“I fell. Could you pull me up?”
(Isn’t her status over 3000…?)
Kenya found it hard to believe that someone like Reina, with a status over 3000, could be tripped up by mere snow. In fact, she could easily stand up with one hand, yet she was still reaching out, asking to be pulled up.
Reluctantly, Kenya pulled her up, and just like Misuzu, Reina leapt into his chest, looking up at him with the same gaze.
“How do I look?”
“What do you mean!?”
“Ah, nothing,” Reina replied, a bit downcast as she moved away, seemingly not getting the reaction she was hoping for.
“Both of you, stop fooling around. Let’s start exploring. We’ll stop after clearing the 21st floor today.”
Since today was just a trial run, they planned to go beyond the safe zone on the 20th floor and conquer the 21st floor. If everything went well, tomorrow they’d aim for the 30th floor, bringing food supplies along.
“Got it,” both girls replied.
The three of them passed through the gate leading to the 21st floor.
“Not much difference, huh…”
Waiting for them was a snow-covered mountain area under clear skies. This was where the monsters would begin to appear.
“Oh, here comes one already,” Kenya remarked.
A creature resembling a polar bear appeared. However, it was much larger than a normal polar bear and far from cute. Drool dripped from its fangs as it growled menacingly.
Encountering this creature without proper equipment would make anyone give up on life immediately. That’s how fearsome it was. But it wasn’t enough to scare her—because she was a hero.
“I’ll take care of this floor. I didn’t get to do anything on the 20th floor,” Reina said, stepping forward.
She unsheathed her steel sword, a dull, shining D-rank weapon. Normally, it would only provide a +20 attack boost—hardly suitable for floors beyond the 20th, where C-rank equipment was recommended. But Reina’s status made the creatures on this floor no match for her.
Currently, her attack power was a whopping 3030. This status was appropriate for floors beyond the 40th, where A-rank weapons were found.
“Graaah!!”
The polar bear-like creature charged forward.
Reina stood her ground, then, in a flash, struck it down.
With one swift blow, the creature’s head flew off. Red blood melted the white snow before the bear disintegrated into ash.
“Wow, as expected of Senior Reina!”
“Looks like there’s no real challenge for us on this floor.”
Polar bears and white boars, creatures larger than their real-world counterparts, kept appearing one after another. But Reina effortlessly dispatched them all with a single strike.
“At this rate, we could probably clear it in half a day. We won’t be able to finish today, but tomorrow should be doable,” Kenya noted.
“Yeah, and wow, Senior Reina is crazy strong…” Misuzu added.
Soon, the three discovered the gate to the 21st floor.
“Oh, there’s the gate! It’s been about an hour, right?”
“Yeah, about that,” Misuzu replied, checking her watch.
Just as they were about to head toward the gate—
“Pigi pigi!”
A small, wiggling creature appeared on the snow in front of the gate. It was shiny, with a steel-like color, trembling as it moved.
“What is that?”
“Could that be… a slime?”
A slime.
Kenya, having been educated on dungeons by Ai, knew about them. They were a common sight in games and anime. However, in this tower, things were a little different.
Slimes were an exceedingly rare sight, with no known reports of anyone defeating one. People had seen slimes of steel, gold, and even rainbow colors, but no one knew what happened when you defeated one.
The reason was simple: no matter what floor you encountered them on—
“Whoa!!”
“Pigi?”
“Tch!”
“Pigi ♥ Pigi ♥”
—They were too fast to catch.