“Well then, are you guys ready? Kunpei-kun, father-in-law.”
Wait a minute, Mik.u.msan.
For some reason I feel unsettled.
“Hmm, what"s wrong, Kunpei-kun?”
She had a face like it was natural.
“I understand, Kazamachi. That girl has always had a straightforward and crooked personality.”
What kind of wordplay is that?
Saeki patted my shoulder with a happy expression as though she was telling me to just give up.
“Aah, thank you, Yuuno-chan. Hey, rat, didn"t you say that you had something you wanted to hand over?”
“The way your family treats me gets more crude by the day, though I don"t care. Alright, I"ll lend you my treasure.”
Father used his chin to urge Alba Germain, who was sitting on his right shoulder.
When the rat swung his staff, a dazzling flash of light suddenly appeared.
The light disoriented us and we all looked away.
Eventually the light subsided and we returned our line of sight.
“… What is that. An elephant tusk?”
A pure white, elongated, sharp object was floating next to my father.
“That"s a dragon fang. It"s something that was given to me when a powerful dragon died. I"ve been processing it into a sword for a long time, so don"t touch the tip of the sword. Its sharpness is not a laughing matter.”
Is that okay with the Swords and Firearm Control Law?
“Please return it as soon as you return from the dungeon. It"s very valuable.”
Well, let"s borrow it if it is better to have it.
It would be better as a weapon than the metal bat we prepared.
It was dawn.
We were right below『Tusk Crag』dungeon.
We came with Mik.u.ma and Saeki who stayed over yesterday, they came along with us since we were climbing the dungeon.
My father and I are the ones that are going in.
Mik.u.ma and Saeki would go back after we entered.
Shouhei was house-sitting.
Yesterday, we stocked up on a lot of stuff in a hurry, baseball leg guards, ice hockey helmets, a lifeline and harness, a maglite and a headband light with reinforced steel, carabiners and pegs, LED lanterns, Swiss army knife, wet compress and bandages, antiseptic, and a lot of batteries on the outside of the smartphone.
Of course we brought Shouhei"s lunch box and a large-capacity water bottle.
There were other things that we wanted to bring, but at the end of the day it was too heavy for us to carry.
We carefully selected which items to bring.
They were divided into the backpack that my father and I were carrying.
“Then what"s left is just this, I guess.”
“Hm? Is this… an eggsh.e.l.l?”
Alba held out two white fragments that I"ve seen somewhere before.
Maybe, but I think that"s the sh.e.l.ls from the eggs that Jaja and Nana came from.
“Yeah, it"s the sh.e.l.l of a dragon egg. Have you heard about it? The dragon"s egg gives one peerless power and eternal longevity.”
Aah, I"ve heard of that from someone…
“Though it"s half true and half wrong. Even if you eat it you won"t get eternal life. As for peerless power, supposing a human ate it, it would be just enough to quit being a human.”
Eh, quitting from being human?
That"s still something I haven"t prepared for yet.
“It"s only for a short period of time. And there are side effects as well. The day after eating it, you won"t be able to move, and at the end it"ll feels like there"s a bonfire inside your body. It"s only natural, but when other life forms take a dragon"s power into their body, they can"t endure it.”
“Is it worth the price?”
Mik.u.ma said next to me without hiding a suspicious look.
In the first place, it would be meaningless if you die after eating it.
“It"s alright. It"s not like this is the contents of the egg, or it"s not born. This sh.e.l.l is where Jaja and Nana were born, so it"s watered down. It"ll just make your body feel lighter, the side effects are also more minor. From how I see it, you"ll probably just have to stay in bed for 2 or 3 days.”
If I had time, I would like to ask carefully in what world is that alright.
“It"s for when it truly can"t be helped, you can use it if you don"t want to die. The effects are immediate, so don"t be surprised.”
“… Well, I"ll bring it for the time being. Is there anything else?”
I received the eggsh.e.l.ls from Alba.
I"ve been safekeeping it under my desk since Jaja and Nana were born…
With a key.
“There"s no more, don"t act like a spoiled child.”
“You, do you have a sickness where you"ll die if you don"t say anything extra?”
If that"s the case, I"ll forgive you.
“Ahaha, it"s just my disposition. Thanks to you, its become apparent that there"s no one who liked me so far. No, there was just one. It was a long time ago.”
Is that so, there was a benevolent guy, huh?
“Alright then, father. I can go at anytime.”
“We"ll definitely bring back Aoi-chan and the kids.”
I know.
For that purpose, let"s explore this dungeon first.
“We"re going back, okay. As planned, call us when you see the first stairway. The first floor is a straight path, so I don"t think you"ll get lost.”
“Let"s give you the t.i.tle of the lost king if you get lost.”
I won"t get lost!
Mik.u.ma"s worried expression contrasted with Saeki"s happy one.
There"s more or less a possibility of danger to my life.
“Then we"re going. Be careful on your way back.”
“Yeah, it only takes around 10 minutes to get back, we"ll be fine.”
“You"re the ones who should be careful. Don"t make Shouhei cry.”
I know.
As the older brother, I can"t show him anything more unsightly than this.
“Father.”
“Aah.”
We opened the door that Alba had unlocked, ducked under the chain and stepped foot into the dungeon.
『Tusk Crag』dungeon.
Towards the danger zone in the neighborhood of our home.