Earth Dungeon 172

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Chapter 172. Early Summer

The rainy season had ended. The sunlight, transitioning from the warm expression of spring to the scorching rays of summer, filled the cloudless blue sky. Ohki-kun squinted his eyes and gazed out of the window at the sky.

"This is what they call 'perfect weather.' It's such a pleasant morning." 

He remarked coolly, sweeping his hair back and flashing a bright smile.

"Although it's almost noon now."

"Sorry about that!"

Apologizing with a jumping dogeza to his boss, Katsuyori, Ohki-kun slid clumsily across the floor. Katsuyori sighed lightly and began to drink the coffee on the table.

Ohki-kun and his colleagues were in the cafeteria of the headquarters of the Amatsugahara Corporation. As an employee cafeteria, it was widely used not only by those living in the headquarters but also by others due to its cheap, delicious, and plentiful food.

"I might have had a bit too much to drink. Can't afford to slack off at work... Huh? Isn't today Sunday?"

"Yeah, it is. What are you apologizing for?"

As Ohki-kun scratched his head and tried to recall, Katsuyori looked at him with an exasperated expression.

"Oh, right, right!" 

Ohki-kun exclaimed as he stood up and sat back down. It seemed like he still had some alcohol left in his system. Feeling a bit unsteady, Ohki-kun couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He had kneeled for no reason at all.

"How much did you drink, seriously? You should take better care of yourself." 

Katsuyori said, scolding lightly while reading the newspaper in front of him. Recently, someone within the Amatsu Corporation seemed to have started their own newspaper. It mainly contained information about today's dungeon tours, construction projects, and other daily job recruitments. Bus schedules and various news tidbits were also included.

"I've been quite popular lately. Heheh, it's a bit troublesome."

"Must be one of the bar girls. Well, being popular is a good thing."

Katsuyori replied, maintaining a formal demeanor even on a Sunday. Ohki-kun knew that rumors were circulating about Katsuyori becoming increasingly formal.

As Ohki-kun scratched his head in embarrassment and thought about what to eat, he let out a big yawn. He was still a bit sleepy. He had returned home with a bar girl, but when he woke up, she was nowhere to be found. He regretted not sleeping a bit more since it was Sunday.

Thinking about grabbing a meal and then going back to sleep, Ohki-kuni began to feel lethargic as he tried to get up to buy brunch. However, a little girl approached him with a smile.

"Do you want rice? It's 500,000 yen!"

"Thanks. Just give me something simple."

"Thank you, Taiboku-kun-shan!" 

The little girl said cheerfully as she went back to the counter.

"...Hey, Katsuyori-san, I just realized something serious." 

"Hmm? What is it? Is wolf hunting becoming more popular?"

Katsuyori replied absentmindedly while checking the newspaper. Although he was thinking deeply, Ohki-kun hesitated to speak.

As he pondered, the little girl brought over a breakfast set on a tray.

"Here you go, Taiboku-kun-shan. It's a breakfast set!"

The set included coffee, fried eggs, a mountain of mashed potato salad, a crisply toasted roll, and an apple. Ohki-kun handed the girl a 500-yen coin as a tip, thinking she was playing shop.

"...Hey, did you hear that just now? I said 'Taiboku-kun-san'! It's just Taiboku, it's Taiboku-kun! My surname even has 'kun' in it! Everyone's been calling me 'Ohki-kun' lately, and it feels weird. Am I some kind of sage?" 

Ohki-kun complained, referencing a sage from China whose name included "kun."

He complained to Katsuyori, who just gave him a stern look.

"It's fine, whether it's Daiboku or Ohki-kun. I don't mind."

"Well, it's not just about you, Katsuyori-san. If I change my name to Honda Tadakatsu Noir, no one will remember it, and it'll sound even weirder."

"That's because you change surnames like changing clothes. Anyway, is everything going well?" 

Katsuyori asked, brushing off Ohki-kun's complaints and smiling smugly while having breakfast.

"I'm quite popular at the bar."

"Well, that's good then."

Ohki-kun didn't bother asking what Katsuyori meant. He was pretty sure he knew what Katsuyori was asking about.

"They're boasting that they've taken 10 billion yen in compensation from the Ashikaga family. Everyone's impressed with the guards."

"Any issues with that? It's even in the newspaper." 

Katsuyori said, placing the newspaper on the table. The sensational headline read: "Amatsugahara Corporation Seizes 10 Billion Yen in Compensation from the Ashikaga Family!"

"Well, it's true, isn't it? I haven't even been approached for a headhunt."

There had been attempts to poach him by shaking up his older brother. However, he was offered an annual salary of tens of millions to come to the inner city...

I didn't tease him as I thought, and I didn't do it to my opponent either. I heard that there were similar poaching attempts on executives. Although I didn't know who was behind it, it seems to have been the Ashikaga family.

"Huh, that's interesting. Who is the Ashikaga?"

Ohki-kun wondered. The feeling that the poaching attempts were by the Ashikaga family didn't seem to resonate with the people of the ruins.

But even if I told them about it, it didn't really make sense to them. The discrepancy in perception between them and the opponent was one of the reasons why the information didn't reach the guards.

And even if I put 10 billion yen and my own life on the scale, my life was too heavy, enough to break the scale. Amano Banto is a kind man, but also a ruthless figure in the dangerous ruins.

Katsuyori continued to speak to Ohki-kun as he recalled his thoughts.

"It's true, but to get the truth across, you also need to appeal."

"Hey, Katsuyori, your thinking is becoming more like Aniki's, isn't it?"

Biting into his bread roll, Katsuyori just chuckled in response to Ohki-kun's remark. He must have been aware of it. Unlike Ohki-kun, who had an easygoing position, Katsuyori was getting more and more like the president as he dealt with even trivial annoyances in the midst of his busy schedule.

The other day, Ohki-kun heard about the 10 billion yen. It happened when he was serving tea during a conversation between Aniki and Katsuyori.

As expected of Aniki. Ohki-kun listened with admiration to the story of how he managed to take 10 billion yen from the top of the inner city.

It was honestly unbelievable.

Proud of Aniki, who had the power to surpass the guys in the inner city, Ohki-kun nodded firmly, saying he wouldn't tell anyone and received a bonus of 1 million yen as he agreed. Then, in a low voice, Katsuyori told him it was just between them in the bar.

I see, Ohki-kun said as he slapped his hands together, took the stack of bills, and went to work every night. It was a tough job, but this was a task that only I could do.

There's still money left in the safe. The prices in the ruins are low. Ohki-kun clenched his fist firmly, determined to drink heavily again today.

"Well then, I'll do my best to spread the word around. The bar girl is the best at spreading rumors, you know."

"Just don't overdo it. Try not to spend too much money on alcohol and save some money."

Raising an eyebrow, Katsuyori prompted Ohki-kun, who scratched his head and replied, "There's no bank around here. I'll think about it for now."

Thinking about saving money, Ohki-kun decided to cover up the bitter memories that had fallen from the outer city. Seeing Ohki-kun like that, Katsuyori didn't push the matter any further.

"By the way, Ohki-kun. Have you been... well, it's probably just a rumor."

Katsuyori said something that seemed to concern Ohki-kun, but he shrugged, thinking it was probably just his imagination. Seeing Ohki-kun's reaction, I was curious, but for now, I decided to leave it alone.

After finishing breakfast and lunch, I left the cafeteria. It was foolish to compare it to last year, as there were so many people in the main office. As you can tell by the fact that there's a penthouse, the building is wide.

It gradually separated into laboratories and residential areas, and tenants began to move in on the first and second floors.

Amatsugahara Corporation headquarters is a little away from the market, so it's not within easy reach for shopping. Therefore, it's inevitable that shops are created on floors that have become vacant.

Stores entered the floor from the corridor next to the main entrance.

However, the market is much more prosperous. So, with a warm pocket, mine is market only.

"Oh, that's right, I had a promise to drink with the gatekeeper today. Should I go to Marine-chan's shop?"

He remembered the promise he had made with the gatekeeper from the outer city, whom he had recently become friendly with. He chuckled to himself as he headed to his favorite shop.

"If I say I'll buy you some new clothes, there might be a chance!"

Laughing while getting carried away, he headed to the market.

The stores in the company building range from hardware stores to general stores, bakeries, bento shops, restaurants, and a few others. They're small shops, but they used to be people from the abandoned town. They saved money, borrowed money from the guards, and got shops.

For that reason, their enthusiasm and motivation are high. Their skills are perfect if you say they're good, but... that's where practice comes in.

Still, they're studying every day and doing their best, so their skills are gradually improving. People from the ruins prioritize quantity over quality, so there are many large-sized bread and bento boxes for sale, even though taste is not their top priority.

The bakery emits the scent of freshly baked bread to make baked bread. There's a crowd of people in front of the store. Freshly baked bread and it's large, so there's a line.

The good smell of wheat tickles your nose, and a woman carrying a lot of bread in a paper bag comes out.

She, who might have been called an OL in the past, was dressed casually in her youth. She was holding the bread carefully. Next to her was a boy, her little brother perhaps, who was also with her.

But perhaps she wasn't looking around, or maybe she just didn't notice, she bumped into Ohki-kun, who happened to be walking by her side.

"Oops!"

"Whoa!"

Losing her balance, she dropped her paper bag and the bread spilled out, but Ohki-kun quickly reached out to grab the bread and caught the paper bag.

"Thank you. I was careless."

The woman hurriedly apologized. She seemed like a simple woman.

"Be careful."

Putting the spilled bread back into the paper bag, Ohki-kun handed it to her.

"Here you go. Oops!"

The woman bowed her head, but she still had the paper bag in her hand, so she panicked as the bread almost spilled out again.

Ohki-kun chuckled as he took the bread, which was about to fall again, just before it hit the ground, and handed it to her with a wry smile.

"Haha. Thank you again. Would you like to eat some bread as thanks? I bought too much."

"That's good. I was hungry."

Smiling, Ohki-kun agreed as they headed off to eat together.