Basement Dungeon Chapter 56: Siblings still Searching for their Father

　After getting my father’s whereabouts from the old man at the bar, we took a little peek at the Dungeon Dam in Osaka, and then we headed for Shimane Prefecture as planned.

　The bullet train was as boring as ever, but since we knew exactly where we were going, it wasn’t as tiring as the trip between Iwate and Osaka.

　I knew I would be able to see my father in Shimane.

　However, as we talked about my father, we found out that we both had different perceptions of him.

　I had a clear perception of him as a parent, even though he was like that, and even though I said I hated him, in reality, he was just a parent I didn’t really have a high opinion of.

　Haru, however, was not like that. As for my mother, she was not at home much. I thought that my father was also absent for the same reason as my mother, but from what the old man at the tavern told me, he was probably too busy working to come home.

　However, a parent’s work and a child’s emotions are not the same things. Haru had to live a life without much contact with her parents. I acted as a substitute parent for Haru, who was only one year younger than me.

　As a result, Haru no longer cared about our parents, and fortunately or unfortunately, she took to me very well.

　As for this trip, part of me wants to find out why my father left us, but Haru is just trying to get her passport made. The rest is sightseeing, I guess.

“Hey, isn’t that the Dungeon Dam?” (Haru)

　Haru pointed to a large building surrounded by concrete walls.

“Oh, yes, it is. It’s as big as ever. There aren’t many people here though, are there?” (Kei)

“I think there were just too many people in Osaka. What about the population of Shimane?” (Haru)

“That and the population of the surrounding prefectures, right? I hear some of them drive hours to get to the dungeon.” (Kei)

“Are they battle maniacs?” (Haru)

“Yeah. I think a few hours driving each direction is a bit much.” (Kei)

　The siblings were talking about this, but their ultimate goal was not in their minds for now. They had forgotten that the purpose of this trip was to dive into the American dungeons in the first place.

　Of course, that wouldn’t be a problem later on.

“Hmm? There are mobile vending trucks, but they’re not here.” (Haru)

　Haru, who was looking around, said. It seems that my father is not in the area that I can see. But still.

“It’s possible that he’s just not here today, or that he’s operating out of sight from here.” (Kei)

“So it’s the usual routine of interviewing?” (Haru)

“Haru should probably just stay behind me anyway. We have to avoid him realizing that we’re here and running away. Next time we won’t be able to track him.” (Kei)

“Of course!” (Haru)

　We started to listen in, a little more aware of our surroundings than usual.

　However, if you listen normally like in other prefectures, there is a possibility that information about our father will flow. In fact, at the store I went to ask in Iwate asked us, “are you guys detectives?”

　Fortunately, it seemed that it was just said in jest and I didn’t feel like I had made them feel uncomfortable, so they spoke normally. But if my father knew we were there, as he did then, that would eliminate the possibility of us ever meeting.

　That’s why.

“Fu~nyu~, eating, and walking sounds good. Yes, um.” (Haru)

“Ah? Oh, thank you.” (Kei)

　Haru took a bite of the skewer that I offered her, savoring the skewers made of delicious dungeon meat with a goofy expression on her face.

　I see, this is indeed delicious. It’s the kind of taste that makes you realize just how inadequate the food we were cooking was.

“Maybe I should seriously study cooking.” (Kei)

　It tasted so good that it made me mutter something like that.

　But why are we eating out, something we’ve never done before due to financial reasons? Do we have very poor planning for the future?

　The customer is God. Is there anyone who doesn’t know that phrase? We decided to genuinely believe in that phrase.

　It would not make a good impression if we just asked around and left without buying anything. That’s because we are not customers.

　That’s why we decided to buy only one item at each store we went to. And the first store was a restaurant,

　It was a grilled skewers shop using meat from the dungeon. The store was a food stall, not a mobile store. But what a surprise. The store used charcoal rather than gas to cook all the meat as if they were more concerned about taste than efficiency. Perhaps that’s why the prices were a bit high, at 500 yen per piece.

　The smell of smoke around the stall was not so bad, and when I asked why, I was told that they were doing something about it with a magic tool they had acquired by accident.

　The magic tool looked like a square stone about 20 centimeters square, and the effect was to create a small tornado. The effect was to create a small tornado. How small is small?

　I looked at the ceiling of the stall and saw that there was a thick tube piercing through the ceiling, and at the bottom of the tube was the magic tool.

　Incidentally, it seemed that the shopkeeper’s uncle had acquired the magic tool and was actually an Intermediate Explorer.

　When I tried to tell him that we were the same, he was quite surprised. It’s hard for high school students to raise their level because of their schoolwork, so Intermediate Explorers are rare, and there are only a handful of high school students who are Advanced Explorers.

　Incidentally, the source of this information seems to be the National Dungeon Dam Store Front Network.

　It was a frightening experience for me to see the information network of merchants.

　After I finished talking with the owner of the skewer shop, I greeted him smilingly and started to walk away, when Haru, who had been waiting behind me, showed up. I handed her one of the skewers I had bought, which led to the scene I had just seen.

　And of course, there was no information from the first store. When I showed him the photo, he twisted his head and said he had never seen that person in the store.

　So, I went to the next store.

　The owner of the store was a woman. She was an Auntie.

“Oh, excuse me. By the way, have you ever seen the person in this picture running a store?” (Kei)

“Yes, I have. I might have seen him before, but I don’t remember him well enough. I’m sorry. Here you go.” (Auntie)

“Yes, thank you. This is the payment. Thank you.” (Kei)

　The second store was a mobile store. The woman seemed to be busy, so I just asked her a few questions, picked up the product, and left. It was shaved ice. I gave it to Haru for now.

“Thank you.” (Haru)

　Haru took the shaved ice, wolfed it down, and held her head down. As with the burn in her mouth, the pain in her head from eating cold food could not be prevented even by raising her level.

　So we went to a number of stores after that, and unfortunately, both Haru and I could not find my father even when our stomachs were full. It would have been nice to at least have some information, I thought. The most promising information we had was that he looked familiar, but that was about it.

　If that’s the extent of the information, it’s probably the same without it. There was a high possibility that it was a mistake.

“Brother, isn’t that all the stores nearby?” (Haru)

“Yeah, I guess so. What do you mean you don’t have even a little bit of information?” (Kei)

　From what the old man at the bar had told me, he was sure that my father was in Shimane. And the information we got on the phone from him is that he is related to the dungeon.

　So the Dungeon Market? But there was no way that a newcomer could get a job at the Dungeon Market.

　It was getting close to dusk, and in front of the dungeon there were people going back to the dungeon, and the only sounds I could hear were people talking and shoes scraping on the ground.

　You can’t ride a vehicle to the entrance of the dungeon, and since you’re not moving with heavy equipment, there’s no big cart moving around.

　Surrounding us are many people with tired faces, but showing their joy, displeasure, and grief.

　Hmm? What are they thinking about?

“Hey, I heard that this Dungeon Dam has a strong safety deposit box. I guess that’s why the people walking around don’t have much luggage.” (Haru)

　Haru walked leisurely, looked at a nearby advertising paper, and spoke to me.

“Hmm? Secure deposit box?” (Kei)

　I asked a nearby person about it, and he told me that it was common here to pay for weapons and armor and keep them in a safe.

“Haru, that’s weird.” (Kei)

　It was here that I finally realized my mistake.

“The sounds we heard on the phone were voices talking about monsters and the scraping of metal.” (Kei)

“Yeah, what? Even though the weapons are in a safe deposit box?” (Haru)

　Haru understood what I meant and nodded his head.

　I headed straight for the nearest stall and spoke to a woman who owned it.

“Excuse me. Is there any dungeon related metal stores around here?” (Kei)

　The shopkeeper smiled a little and replied.

“There is. My store. Touka-kun, Haruka-chan.” (Shopkeeper)

　The shopkeeper said with a smile and began to clean up the store.

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