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Tl: Sam

…

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the sea.”

I muttered to myself, sniffing the faint scent of the tide.
The week after hearing about the seabed dungeon.
I had come to a certain port in Tokyo Bay.
My destination this time was, of course, the dungeon that had appeared on the seabed of Tokyo Bay.
So far, there have been no reports of monsters appearing in the sea. They seem to have measured the amount of demonic energy emanating from the dungeon, and from those readings, the possibility of a monster disaster occurring is close to zero.
But caution is key. Dungeons always exceed our expectations. It’s probably just right to be a little neurotic about it.
That’s what I thought, but…

“Ga-haha! How long has it been since I’ve dived into a dungeon! My arms are itching!”

Dojima-san said, cackling like a child.
I had doubted whether he could really accompany us to the dungeon, but he somehow managed to pull strings and make two days free.
Well, he’s been working non-stop, so I guess he’s allowed that much. For me, entering a dungeon on a precious day off is unimaginable behavior, though.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. It’s been a while since you’ve been in the field, hasn’t it?”
“Oh, you’ve grown, Tanaka. I’m ‘active for life.’ I’m not so senile that I need a youngster to worry about me just because I’ve been away from the field for a bit.”

Dojima-san grinned. Well, he’ll probably be fine.

“Please be careful as Tanaka-kun says, okay? You’ll have to get right back to work when you return.”

Saying that with downcast eyebrows was Dojima-san’s secretary, Izumi-san.
She was the only one seeing us off for this dungeon exploration. We had announced that we would be diving into a dungeon today, but the location hadn’t been made public, so there were no spectators.
Well, even if there were, the dungeon is in the deep sea, so there’s no worry about them following, but it was nice to be able to prepare calmly.

“Oh, I won’t fall behind in a mere dungeon. I’m leaving things at home to you, Izumi-chan.”
“Yes, yes, I understand. Leave this side to me and enjoy yourselves to the fullest.”

Izumi-san said in exasperation, but her expression seemed somewhat happy.
She must be glad that Dojima-san can let loose a bit. She’s probably seen up close how hard Dojima-san has been working.

“Now then, it’s about time to start the stream. Ayakawa, are you ready?”
“Yes. I’m ready anytime.”

Rin answered Dojima-san’s question with a serious expression.
It seems Rin is very eager for this dungeon exploration.
I was wondering why, but according to Hoshino, she’s trying to impress me. I already fully recognize her abilities, but… well, she probably wouldn’t be satisfied with that. This kind of thing needs to be self-affirmed.
I also have experience pushing myself to the limit to get my master’s approval in the past.

“Alright, Tanaka, please.”
“Yes, I’ll start the stream.”

I prepared to start the stream with practiced ease.
This time, with Dojima-san and Rin present, it would have been fine to stream from the Ministry of Monster Control’s account, but Dojima-san arranged for it to be done on my account.
I’m getting paid for the job, and they’ve also made various concessions for me to establish a guild.
To go this far, are they still concerned that they didn’t realize I was working at a black company? They really don’t need to worry about that.
I thought about such things as I started the stream.

“Okay, start.”

As the stream began, the number of viewers rapidly increased.
One million, five million, ten million… Since people were watching not only from Japan but from all over the world, the numbers kept inflating. I need to be careful not to cause a firestorm.

「Oh, it started」
「Oha Ken (Good morning, Shachiken!)」
「I’ve been waiting!」
「I wonder where he’s diving this time」
「Where is this? The sea?」
「He said he’d dive with someone, I wonder who it is」
「If he’s playing it safe, maybe Yui-chan?」
「I keep believing Rin-chan will come soon」

Comments flowed in one after another.
This time, I had announced beforehand that there would be a guest, so everyone was curious. I guess I’ll tell everyone right away.

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