kscans

Chapter 19 - The Third Day in the Dungeon and the Lost Underwear

When we entered the dungeon shrine, Mizuki was already waiting for us.

"Morning. Third floor today, right?"

We exchanged greetings, then immediately entered the dungeon and descended to the third floor.

"You both have such nice hair. How do you wash your hair and bodies?"

"Speaking of which, Mizuki, your hair looks a little greasy in some spots."

"Hmph. I’ve been having to wipe myself down with a wet towel. I really want to take a bath."

"There’s no bath, but I can give you a full-body wash."

"What? You’re not gonna do anything weird, are you?"

Mizuki gave me a suspicious look.

"Famu, I need to find a dead-end."

"Understood."

Famu led us to a dead-end. It was a perfect spot, a U-shaped corner that couldn’t be seen unless you rounded it. I created a sphere of water about seventy centimeters in diameter and used fire magic to adjust it to a lukewarm temperature. I spun it, creating a powerful current inside.

"Mizuki, close your eyes, plug your ears, close your mouth, and hold your breath."

"You’re not going to do anything weird, are you?!"

"It’s fine. Famu’s watching."

Though she looked anxious, Mizuki closed her eyes and plugged her ears, so I used my free hand to pinch her nose.

"Ngwack!"

Mizuki was a different type of beauty from Famu. She didn’t get snot everywhere. Instead, she let out a cry like a family-friendly anime heroine choking on food. I slowly passed the water sphere from over Mizuki’s head down to her ankles. Her hair swayed in the current, followed by her breasts. When it reached her bottom, the current lifted her skirt, revealing her panties. I couldn’t hide my excitement at the sight of Mizuki’s underwear after so long and found myself staring. When I glanced over, I saw Famu’s expression had hardened. Regretfully, I continued to lower the sphere. When it reached her ankles, I pulled it away. This was my human washing machine, a technique I had been researching and developing since Aidan’s quest.

"If I try to wash your feet, the sphere touches the ground and picks up dirt. So you’ll have to wash your own feet."

"Wh-Wh-What was that?! I feel so refreshed! My clothes are clean too! I want you to do this every day!"

Mizuki was overjoyed. My pleasure. I wanted to see Mizuki’s panties every day too.

"It’s an application of an adventurer’s basic magic."

"Really? That’s amazing! This is the first time I’ve ever thought you were amazing, Mash!"

"Hey, that last part was unnecessary!"

I protested.

"Aidan-san said that you’re able to maintain and control it to this extent because you have a lot of mana, Master. Also, it has a weakness. It removes all the moisture from your skin, so you should apply some cream."

Famu handed over the oil she had gotten from killing the slime.

"It can moisturize your skin too if you’re naked. It’s impossible to take moisture from clothes while leaving it on the skin."

"Hmph, as if I’d get naked!"

Mizuki scolded me.

"So, what are the enemies on the third floor?"

"That one over there. A Big Eye."

Famu readied her sword. A fifty-centimeter eyeball was hanging from the ceiling. As soon as its black pupil locked onto me, it fired a fireball.

"Watch out!"

I barely managed to dodge. The fireball hit the ground and erupted in a violent pillar of flame. The Big Eye continuously fired fireballs at Famu and Mizuki as well. They dodged them smoothly.

"Damn it!"

I shot a rock sphere back at it. The sphere was repelled by a magic barrier before it could reach the enemy.

"It has a defensive spell too?! My attacks can’t get through."

The ceiling was five meters high. A normal attack would require a jump of over two meters. I decided to unleash the special move I had practiced in kendo as a child. I stood directly under the Big Eye, leaped, and swung my katana.

"Take this! Vertical Jump Sky Strike!"

I unleashed the legendary sword technique, but my blade swung through empty space, literally striking nothing but the sky.

"Master, I’m using a skill,"

Famu said, taking a stance.

"I’m counting on you."

"Kikuichimonji!"

The vacuum blades unleashed from her two swords pierced the barrier and struck the Big Eye. However, it wasn’t enough to finish it off. The enemy retaliated by firing another fireball. As we struggled to attack, two wolves came running down the corridor.

"I’ll take the wolves!"

Mizuki stepped in to cover us.

"Again! Kikuichimonji!"

The vacuum blades struck the Big Eye again. It vanished. Mizuki, having fought high-level enemies before, handled the two wolves skillfully and without any trouble. I moved in to support her and took down one, and Mizuki finished off the other. I picked up the Mana Seed the wolf had dropped and handed it to Mizuki.

"Let’s alternate who gets the Mana Seeds. First Mizuki, then us."

"No. It’s me, then Mash, then Famu-san."

Mizuki handed the Mana Seed to Famu. Famu looked troubled and passed it to me. By the way, I was in charge of the money we earned. This was because I could keep it in my storage, and we needed to save up funds to break Famu’s curse. We each had some spending money, but Famu never touched hers.

"Don’t you want to be freed from slavery?"

Even if the master didn’t consent, there was a system where you could become a citizen by paying a large sum of money as taxes.

"I like things the way they are now."

At Famu’s words, Mizuki shot me an accusing glare. This was a pain. I should have explained things to Mizuki. As I was thinking this, Famu gripped the hem of my clothes.

"Please stop blaming Master. He told me I could go anywhere I wanted. So I am here with Master of my own free will."

Her tone was forceful. Mizuki flinched. I flinched too, and swallowed the words I had been about to say to correct her.

"I understand. If it’s your will, Famu-san, then fine. In that case, the Mana Seeds will be split between me and you two. One day, I will free you from slavery by my own will."

Mizuki said this and took the Mana Seed from me. The atmosphere had become one where it was impossible to say that Famu was no longer a slave.

"So, why have we been getting so many drops since yesterday? I never picked up a single one when I was with Wind Blade."

Mizuki asked a question as if to change the heavy atmosphere. I decided to go along with it.

"It’s my special skill. It increases the drop rate of rare items when the party kills something."

"Pfft, ‘party.’ For someone with zero teamwork skills,"

Mizuki laughed.

"…I thought you’d say that."

"What else did you choose?"

I had seen Mizuki’s special skills, but it seemed she hadn’t seen mine.

"…Party-wide EXP boost."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh. And?"

Mizuki was grinning.

"Damn it, I’m not saying any more."

"Aww, come on, tell me!"

"Because you’ll laugh!"

The heavy atmosphere would have been better.

"Still, the difficulty really jumped on the third floor."

We had stopped after the battle to decide our next move.

"We need a ranged attack,"

Famu nodded.

"How many times can you use ‘Kikuichimonji,’ Famu?"

"I think five is my limit. I’ll be fine if I rest and recover."

Famu’s ‘Kikuichimonji’ probably consumed mana. Health potions could be bought for one silver coin, but mana potions were expensive at one gold coin. Mana recovered over time, so most adventurers only bought them as a good luck charm.

"Do you have any ranged skills, Mizuki?"

"Nope. The skill I got at level 10 was a melee one."

"If the boss is a bigger version of the Big Eye, we’re in trouble. Even the small fry blocked my magic attacks. We’ll have to rely on Famu. If we fail, we’ll be taking a constant barrage of attacks. We need a projectile weapon."

It felt like the swordsman types, Famu and Mizuki, would only be suited for melee weapons. The only thing I could think of was for me to use a bow, but I couldn’t imagine myself being able to draw the string properly, let alone hit a target.

"Master, I’d like to try using kunai."

It was a weapon used by ninjas, but did it exist in this world too? It was similar to a throwing knife, but the end of the handle was a ring. The blade was also thick, making it versatile for digging in the ground or sticking into walls.

"Is that a common weapon?"

If it was a weapon known only to the dog-eared race, it might not be sold in regular shops.

"No, I didn’t know about it either, but it was listed in the mail-order section at the back of the ‘World Walker’ guide."

That was Laciel’s doing. It said mail-order, but who was taking the orders, and how and where were they being shipped?

"…Alright. I want to try a bow too. Let’s head back to town for now."

We returned from the dungeon to the city and were walking towards the weapon shop.

"Did Mash pick out your clothes, Famu-san?"

"I’ve been wondering for a while, why am I just ‘Mash’ while Famu gets a ‘-san’? It’s fine to just call her Famu, and Famu will call you Mizuki."

"Huh? Mizuki-san is older than me, right?"

Famu hesitated.

"Mizuki is fine. I’ll call you Famu too. Okay?"

"…Yes."

Famu nodded, looking somewhat bashful. We passed by a clothing store.

"Right, Famu only has the clothes she got from the church. Mizuki, could you pick out something new for her?"

"Wait, please. My current clothes are fine. Or the rags I wore in the jail are fine."

Famu waved her hands in refusal.

"Don’t be an idiot. Go buy something cute so I can enjoy looking at you."

I handed Famu one gold coin.

"O-Okay."

"Let’s go, then."

Mizuki took Famu’s hand and they stormed into the clothing store. As I was waiting in front of the shop, Aidan happened to walk by.

"Shopping?"

"Yeah, we’ve been tackling the dungeon and need some projectile weapons. We’re also buying some clothes for Famu on the side."

"If you need weapons, why didn’t you come to me?"

"Ah, well, I’d like to, but I feel bad for always relying on you."

"Don’t hesitate. I’ll be sure to charge you for my labor. Come to my workshop later."

He meant his actual workshop, not the skill, which was confusing.

"Alright. We’ll come by after Famu’s done shopping."

Aidan nodded and left. In his place, Mizuki returned, leading Famu by the hand. Famu was wearing a leather chest plate over which she had a light blue haori. The design was different from what the Shinsengumi wore, but I couldn’t help but make the connection. It was slim, form-fitting, and short, ending above her hips. The shorts and spats suited her well too.

"Hey, Mash!"

Famu was blushing and looking down, and for some reason, Mizuki was angry.

"What?"

"Just because you’re lazy doesn’t mean you should make Famu wear men’s underwear!"

"…"

Famu-san… Famu wouldn’t meet my gaze.

"…Don’t tell me they’re yours."

"N-No, I got them from the church. They must have gotten mixed in by mistake."

Sorry, Myra-san.

"Well, whatever. I bought some for you too, Mash. We picked them out together."

"I see, thanks. That helps. Thanks, Famu, too."

I took the bag from Mizuki and put it in my storage.

"I just ran into Aidan. He said he’d help us out with weapons. Let’s go to his workshop."

"Alright. I wanted to meet him too."

We headed for Aidan’s workshop.

"…I’m sorry, Mizuki found them and threw them away,"

Famu whispered to me as we walked.

"No, that’s fine, but since when?"

I whispered back.

"This morning, you had taken off your underwear and—well, I was the one who took them off, but—you were sleeping naked, so I secretly put them on."

She looked so happy. Her tail was wagging back and forth. Now I knew why my underwear had been missing.

"So you were wearing my underwear while telling me not to criticize you."

"Ugh, it’s so embarrassing… When she found them, I thought my face was going to catch on fire."

Of course it would be embarrassing if you got caught. The thrill is in pushing the line without being found out.

"Next time, I want to try wearing Mizuki’s panties too."

"You’re getting aggressive… Don’t tell me you mean the light blue ones!"

I inadvertently raised my voice, drawing Mizuki’s attention.

"No, that’s not happening. Those are my family heirloom… but if you insist, Famu… but if we get caught, we’re finished. Mizuki’s intuition in that area is abnormally sharp."

"When it comes to intuition, I won’t lose either!"

Mizuki turned around. She had probably already noticed we were whispering. I waited for her to turn back around.

"…No, you got caught by Mizuki today. Just be content with Laciel’s."

Famu looked disappointed.

"How did I end up with this fetish…?"

"It’s clearly your fault, Master."

"Don’t tell me you want to try on Aidan’s next."

"Hmph. The only underwear I want to wear belongs to you, Master, and the women you fall in love with."

She answered with an air of importance, but she was still a total pervert.

"Wait, don’t go making me fall in love with people on your own."

"Am I wrong?"

I was at a loss for a comeback. Just then, Mizuki turned around again.

"Hm? What’s this about ‘love,’ ‘Aidan,’ ‘light blue,’ and ‘Lady Laciel’?"

The thought crossed my mind that she might have heard everything and was just asking anyway. Both Famu and I panicked and were at a loss for words.

"N-No, we were just admiring your clothes. Like how comfortable they look…"

"Geez, when there are three of us, you have to include me in the conversation too!"

Mizuki puffed out her cheeks.