The Earth-san Has Leveled Up!

2-15. Hot Springs and the Night’s Mystery

“Kitty, kitty. Is it okay to have a photo shoot inside the inn?”

Lulu asks the cat spirit on behalf of the group.

The cat spirit replies that it’s fine, and they take photos together, which leads to the three of them taking countless picturesque shots throughout the inn.

Since the only guests at the inn are Meiko and her friends, their lively voices echo down the hallway.

Despite the many rooms, they are the only ones staying here.

While it might sound luxurious to have the place to themselves, the overwhelming feeling is one of loneliness.

“Someday, when everyone becomes stronger, maybe this inn will be bustling too.”

Meiko mutters as she gazes down the brightly lit hallway.

“Of course. By the time those elementary school kids are our age, they’ll surely have cleared dungeons like Kazami. Then, this place will be next.”

None of the three had ever practiced martial arts.

However, the elementary school kids training at the Aozora Dojo started learning self-defense techniques at least four years earlier than Meiko and her friends. It’s possible that the future Sasara mentioned could come true.

By the way, the Kazami Dungeon is one that Meiko activated.

It’s commonly referred to as the Loli Labyrinth.

“Training… If everyone could defeat Spring Balloons and Magic Books to reach level 3, they’d become much stronger.”

According to the professor, the level cap for the first floor of a G-rank dungeon is 5.

It takes half a day to reach level 3, but getting to level 4 is much harder. Going from 4 to 5 is even tougher.

It might be possible to raise the level further, but since there’s an urgent need to train strong individuals, that research has been put on hold.

In Meiko’s opinion, level 3 is sufficient.

When Meiko escaped the dungeon at level 4, her magic power rose to around 60 in about two weeks. Her physical abilities also improved at an astonishing rate.

Depending on initial skills and magic power, level 3 should yield significant results.

On the other hand, level 0 is no good.

While training with Sasara at the Aozora Dojo, Meiko saw the gap between herself and Sasara, who was at level 0.

At that time, Meiko felt more loneliness than superiority.

Just wandering the first floor of a G-rank dungeon can raise your level to 3. If that were possible, Sasara and those ambitious elementary school girls could all become stronger.

I wish they’d open it up to civilians.

Meiko thinks.

Of course, there would likely be casualties among civilians, so they’d need instructors.

The Self-Defense Forces are incredibly strong, and they could probably lead a group of four or five amateurs through the first floor of the Kazami Dungeon with ease.

The Magic Books’ spells are troublesome, but trained individuals should be able to deflect those water bullets. Even Meiko could do it now.

If this spread across Japan, or even the world, what would happen?

Then, surely, surely…

—I might be able to stride into dungeons with pride.

This girl has no grand thoughts about humanity’s progress.

Of course, she thinks it’s good for everyone to work hard.

But above all, she wants to adventure in dungeons!

She wants to dive into the second floor and beyond of the Kazami Dungeon!

Meiko dreams of adventuring in dungeons with her strengthened friends.

Going to school, then popping into a dungeon on the way home.

Discussing with everyone how to spend the upcoming three-day holiday in a dungeon.

Then, during summer break, making plans to clear a dungeon.

It sounds incredibly fun.

Even now, adventuring with her friends, opening treasure chests, meeting cat spirits, opening more chests, upgrading equipment… she feels herself and her friends growing stronger by the minute.

And then, diving deeper and deeper into the endless torii dungeon.

It’s unbearably good.

Though it’s unfair to Sasara, Lulu, and their families, Meiko finds this inescapable situation incredibly enjoyable.

There’s the anguish of not being able to send the two back through the return gate, but there’s also this overwhelming feeling of excitement.

Ah, I wish adventuring could become a normal part of the world.

Meiko imagines the lively adventurers overlapping with the too-quiet hallway of the inn and thinks this.

Satisfied with the photo shoot, the three head to the hot springs.

Even through their clothes, Meiko can tell, and she feels a sense of shame in the changing room.

Compared to Sasara and Lulu, she’s just too…!

However, Sasara and Lulu are also inwardly embarrassed.

Sasara, due to her personality.

As for Lulu, she comes from Kisimia, a country where being fully naked in public is uncommon. School pools have private changing rooms from elementary school, and there are no public bathhouses.

She visits Japan once a year and knows about hot springs, having been to them before, but only with her parents or grandmother.

Being naked in front of friends is more embarrassing than she imagined.

The three hide their bodies with towels and quickly head to the bath.

They start by washing their bodies according to etiquette, and here Lulu speaks up.

“Shara. Um, should we wash each other?”

Lulu fidgets as she asks Sasara, sitting next to her.

Lulu thought that Japanese girls wash each other when they take baths with close friends, influenced by anime where steam often enhances the moe atmosphere.

“Huh? Oh, should we?”

Sasara, having only experienced hot springs with classmates during school trips, doesn’t know the etiquette for hot springs with friends.

But she’s heard about washing each other and imagines it might be nice, so she decides to give it a try.

And so, the washing begins.

Sasara stands up and positions herself behind Lulu.

Sasara takes the lead.

She soaps up a towel and gently washes Lulu’s back.

Lulu shyly shrinks and tightly closes her eyes. She thinks she shouldn’t have suggested this, but as someone without friends in Japan, she wanted to build bonds. So she mustered the courage to ask.

When Lulu opens her eyes, she meets Sasara’s gaze in the mirror.

Sasara smiles gently, and Lulu returns her usual innocent smile.

After finishing Lulu’s hair, it’s Sasara’s turn.

While the two continue, Meiko quickly finishes washing.

Then, she enters the bath and watches the two being friendly.

“Real washing involves washing each other’s fronts too, you know?”

She feels the urge to give this false advice, but if it leads to kissing, it’ll be a problem.

Meiko desperately swallows her teasing words and gazes at the moon through the window, feeling poetic.

“Hey, real washing involves washing each other’s fronts too, right?”

She couldn’t resist.

“R-really!?”

“Ah, now that you mention it, I think I’ve seen that in anime.”

After that, the two blush and start washing each other’s fronts.

Meiko reports to the moon that they’ve actually started doing it.

Then, she hears a soft, amused laugh.

Looking back, she sees the two squirming as they wash each other.

Meiko stares at the result of her actions, thinking, “Wow, this is intense.”

What if she opens a door at school and finds the two kissing?

Meiko starts to worry a little.

“Well, that’s also… love, I guess. Hehe, life is full of mysteries.”

Meiko nods and tries to look cool.

The background music is cheerful and lively.

The two finish washing and join Meiko in the bath.

Meiko, feeling dizzy, sits on the edge to adjust to the heat.

“This feels so good~”

“Mmm… it’s nice.”

They soak in the bath and gaze at the scenery outside.

From this hot spring, they can see a sea of clouds and a cherry tree against the full moon.

“This is so poetic.”

“Is this what you call poetic?”

“Yes. It means a calm, elegant scene. It’s a sensory thing, so it varies from person to person. When you see something beautiful and feel like writing a poem or drinking tea, that’s poetic.”

“Oh, so this is poetic! Let me try a poem. In the dungeon, with Shara and the hot springs, it’s so fun!”

“Hehe, that’s a lovely poem. Thank you, Lulu.”

“Nfufu~!”

Listening to their conversation, Meiko nods.

They’re so close. Their bond is strong.

Is this what Japanese “Araikko” does? It really brings people closer.

Meiko feels a bit left out.

In the dungeon, with Shara and the hot springs, it’s so fun!

Hey, someone’s being forgotten!

“L-let’s do our best exploring.”

Meiko tries to assert herself.

“Ah, yes, of course.”

“Meow, let’s get new equipment and defeat more enemies!”

Phew, that was close.

Meiko manages to join in.

After a while of quiet, Lulu starts to doze off.

“Mmm…”

“Lulu, don’t fall asleep.”

“Huh? I’m not sleeping.”

Seeing Lulu’s drowsy eyes, Meiko decides to get out of the bath.

“Lulu, if you fall asleep in the bath or hot spring, you could die.”

“Meow. We have baths in Kisimia too, so I know that.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, sorry.”

“No problem. Thanks for worrying about me.”

Having experienced front-washing, the two walk out fully open without hiding.

Meiko, who didn’t participate, feels embarrassed hiding herself and walks out with her towel tightly wrapped.

But still, it’s impressive.

Meiko gulps as she looks at the two high-spec backs that don’t seem like they belong to girls her age.

Someday, I’ll be like that too.

Meiko secretly resolves.

Later, they use their meal tickets to have dinner.

The meal tickets allow them to choose any dish sold at the inn. They can even buy ingredients or preserved food, but there’s not much point.

Meiko chooses a small pot set meal, featuring a small pot with mysterious meat.

Sasara goes for a fried rabbit set meal.

Lulu picks a tempura set meal.

Each comes with rice, miso soup, a side dish, and a dessert.

They share their main dishes with each other.

Unexpectedly enjoying good food in the dungeon, the three regain their energy.

Returning to their room, they lay out their futons and start their tasks.

First, Meiko gets permission from the other two to use an appraisal orb to check the initial defense of the equipment they bought earlier.

She wants to know the exact attack and defense values. The appraisal orb is precious, but she uses it for peace of mind.

Before appraising, Meiko enhances the orb with [Synthesis Enhancement].

This creates an appraisal orb 50/50 and 25/50.

Normally, the orb only appraises for 30 seconds, but Meiko hopes this might extend the time.

She uses the 50/50 orb first.

She starts by appraising the 25/50 orb.

Desperately scanning, she discovers that enhancing the orb extends the time from 30 to 45 seconds. A 25-point increase adds 15 seconds. A 5-point increase adds 3 seconds. Satisfied, Meiko quickly appraises their equipment.

Meiko reads out the numbers, and Sasara writes them down in a notebook she prepared earlier.

Using two 50/50 orbs, they learn the initial values of all their equipment. Some weapons are already slightly enhanced, but they set that aside.

The results show that all their equipment has higher initial defense than the best ground-produced clothing.

For example, while a jersey has 12 defense, Meiko’s hunting attire has 15.

The difference is small now, but further synthesis enhancement will widen the gap.

They also learn the effects of the rare drops from the Usagi: the Usamimi Band and Usashippo.

The Usamimi Band grants [Slight Agility Up].

The Usashippo provides [Butt Protection].

It seems Lulu, wearing the Usashippo, has her butt protected.

Maybe it keeps her butt looking nice.

After appraising, they each start their tasks.

Sasara and Lulu use the weapon maintenance papers they bought earlier to care for their weapons. The blades seem to shine brighter.

The maintenance papers come in packs of 10.

Meiko focuses on [Synthesis Enhancement].

After that, they sleep to prepare for tomorrow.

Sasara and Lulu sleep soundly.

But Meiko wakes up after a short nap, uses synthesis enhancement until her magic runs out, sleeps again, wakes up, enhances, and repeats.

Meiko’s current magic power is 89.

She fully recovers after an hour and a half of sleep.

Not wanting to waste it, she forces her tired body to wake up.

They’ll likely enter the fourth floor tomorrow.

They might even face a boss on the bridge.

So she wants to enhance as much as possible.

Chirrin, chirrin.

Ponpoko ponpoko.

Hyurri, hyurri.

During her third round of enhancement, Meiko notices the sound of distant music.

“What’s that?”

Maybe the Self-Defense Forces are searching for them.

Perhaps they’re playing instruments to signal their presence.

Meiko briefly considers this.

She sits by the window and looks outside.

Opening the window brings the music closer.

A lukewarm breeze sends a shiver down her spine.

Something is happening.

Convinced of this, Meiko hurriedly wakes the other two.

Rubbing their eyes, the two also wake up as they approach the window.

“Wha—!?”

Holding her smartphone, Meiko gasps.

About 300 meters away, a long procession is forming on the bridge.

But it’s not made of people.

Oni, tengu, giant spiders with cow faces, flaming wheeled men, clothed animals, tsukumogami…

“It’s a Hyakki Yagyo…”

As Sasara says, it’s an army of youkai.

“T-that’s impossible…”

Lulu tightly grips Sasara’s clothes.

Are these monsters generated by the dungeon?

Or have they manifested from the shadows due to Earth-san’s awakening? It’s unclear.

But the cat spirit’s advice to avoid going out at night was correct.

There’s no way they could win against so many, and even a single one would be too much.

“Wha—!?”

Meiko and the others freeze, forgetting to breathe.

One of the tengu stops and stares at them.

Then, the tengu points its staff at Meiko.

“Human child. You said you’d come to defeat us someday. We’ll be waiting.”

Though not shouted, the words reach their ears clearly.

The reason lies in Meiko’s hand.

The voice comes from her smartphone’s speaker.

Unnoticed by the three, the screen zooms in on the tengu, showing its figure prominently.

The tengu’s head is then smacked by an oni.

As if to say, “Don’t tease them,” but Meiko and the others are beyond caring.

“T-this is bad, they took it seriously…”

Meiko recalls the line she declared hours ago, facing the darkness beyond the endless torii at the end of their hunt.

It was just a playful reenactment of a famous scene from the prologue of “The Legend of Meiko Hitsuji,” where she shed tears of frustration.

Honestly, Meiko welcomes it.

She just needs to get stronger and beat them up.

But she’s worried about dragging the other two into this.

It’s good for them to grow stronger in the dungeon, but being targeted by someone is bad.

However, ignoring Meiko’s concerns, the two calmly say:

“Hehe, this means we need to get even stronger.”

“Meow! It seems impossible now, but we’ll beat them up someday!”

Looking up at their faces, Meiko says:

“S-sorry, I might have dragged you two into something stupid.”

“Seeing that coming was impossible. Besides, getting stronger is necessary for the world ahead. That’s what you said, right?”

“Right! If we don’t get stronger, we’ll be killed by regular monsters before facing them! So let’s get stronger!”

Meiko holds back tears at their words.

“Yeah. Let’s get stronger and blow them away!”

They make this vow and watch the Hyakki Yagyo disappear into the mountains before returning to bed.

Distant music plays, but the three drift into a light sleep.

However, Meiko wakes up an hour later.

To perform synthesis enhancement.

She enhances everyone’s equipment and confirms her magic is at 0.

Then, she notices something.

A new title has been added.

――――

Shura-class: Right to Challenge the True Endless Torii Dungeon

Awarded to those who witness the Hyakki Yagyo and are addressed by the Four Heavenly Kings.

Effect: Defeating the night boss of the Endless Torii Dungeon allows entry into the True Endless Torii Dungeon.

――――

“S-so that’s the effect…”

Meiko feels a bit relieved.

At least, it seems they won’t be targeted by youkai outside the dungeon.

Another thing to note is the mention of the night boss in the Endless Torii Dungeon.

The cat spirit’s advice to make the right choice and return likely means they should act during the day. Challenge the boss during the day.

Knowing this answer makes her earlier foolish action not entirely pointless.

Midway through the next synthesis, Meiko runs out of materials and sleeps until dawn.

―――――

★ ※The left value is the initial attack/defense power ★

★ The right value is the post-synthesis value checked the next day ★

★ Items with unknown initial values have no notation before or after ★

[Meiko’s Equipment]

Water Grimoire 98／125 Phys Atk 29　Mag Atk 69

Fire Grimoire 10／125 Phys Atk 12　Mag Atk 25

Saber 30／125 Atk 20→38

Mini Scissors 100／100 Atk 6

Sakura Hunting Attire 63／125 Def 15→46

Sakura Glossy Hakama 43／125 Def 15→36

Sakura Long Tabi 43／125 Def 5→13

Sakura Thick-Soled Zori 43／125 Def 6→14

Fingerless Gloves 125／125 Def 30

Sakura Choker 43／125 Def 5→13

―――――

[Sasara’s Equipment]

Saber 87／125 Atk 77

Pestle Sword 100／100 Atk 14

Sakura Kimono 63／125 Def 15→46

Sakura Hakama 43／125 Def 15→36

Sakura Long Tabi 43／125 Def 5→13

Lace-Up Boots 43／125 Def 10→22

Usamimi Band 125／125 Def 12

[Slight Agility Up] Magic Power -1

Hachigane 15／125 Def 10→16

Arm Guards 15／125 Def 12→21

Fingerless Gloves 43／125 Def 5→12

Sakura Choker 43／125 Def 5→12

―――――

[Lulu’s Equipment]

Ninja Sword 30／125 Atk 18→33

Small Sickle 44／125 Atk 14→31

Sakura Kunoichi Kimono 63／125 Def 15→46

Sakura Kunoichi Spats 43／125 Def 15→36

Sakura Long Tabi 43／125 Def 5→13

Sakura Zori 43／125 Def 6→14

Usamimi Band 125／125 Def 12

[Slight Agility Up] Magic Power -1

Usashippo 25／125 Def 4

[Butt Protection] Magic Power -1

Arm Guards 15／125 Def 12→21

Leg Guards 15／125 Def 12→21

Fingerless Gloves 43／125 Def 5→12

Sakura Choker 43／125 Def 5→12

Hairpin 15／125 Def 2→3

―――――

※Clothing, such as Checkered doll kimonos and obi, are particularly effective, as is rabbit fur.

Metal items, such as fragments of Checkered doll katana, are highly effective.