Chapter 25: Ryo, Minato, and Private Time

Even dungeon streamers do not stream every day.
Ideally it would be daily or weekly, but exploration and streaming both require stamina and preparation.

Because of that, many people who stream dungeon exploration do so about once a month.
In between, they often stream chatting, preparation, or special plans.

Ryo Channel streaming for three consecutive weeks including chatting was nothing more than a startup dash because it was a new channel.

Once things stabilized, the plan was to reduce the frequency to the usual once a month.

That aside, rest was also necessary.

Especially for fashion explorers who focus mainly on streaming, that might not apply, but for those who stream while also being hardcore explorers, there are days set aside specifically to explore without streaming.

Otsuno Dia was exactly that type.
For training or ingredient hunting, she would sometimes dive privately as part of advance research.
Of course, she also did her original work as an explorer, such as thinning monsters or gathering materials.

Today, Shiranagi was with her as well.
By diving together, they were also strengthening their coordination during exploration.

“Ah, Ryo-chan and Kaori-kun?”

“Huh?
Minato and Shiranagi-san?”

On a private day like this, it was not impossible to coincidentally run into acquaintances inside a dungeon.

The Musashi Kokufu Ruins Dungeon.
Both sides encountered each other at the entrance.

“Hello.
Are you two streaming today?”

“No, we want to get more used to exploring while flying a drone.
This is practice, so it’s exploration with a drone but without streaming.”

“And I want to get more comfortable with manual drone control too.”

“I see.”

Minato and Shiranagi nodded in understanding.

“What about you two?
Are you streaming?”

Kaori’s question was answered with a shake of the head.

“This is completely private.
Minato and I often dive together to practice coordination.”

“I see.”

It seemed both sides were doing private dives that doubled as practice for streaming.

“Hey, if you’re up for it, want to dive together?
If it’s private, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Minato’s words were directed at Ryo at first, and then likely at both managers.

Kaori and Shiranagi exchanged looks and shrugged.

“Well, if there’s no streaming, it should be fine.”

“Yes.
Something like this once in a while is fine.”

From a manager’s perspective, there was no issue.
That left only one thing.

“Yeah…
I’ve always been solo, but it might be good to experience diving with others too.”

Ryo thought for a moment, then agreed.

“It might not be with Dia-san, but if we do collaborations in the future, I’ll probably have chances to dive with others.”

Ryo nodded seriously at Kaori’s words.

“Alright.
Then I’ll be in your care.”

“Yes.
Likewise, Ryo-san.”

Shiranagi returned Ryo’s polite bow with one of her own.

“Nice to dive with you, Ryo-chan!”

Minato said brightly.

And so the three of them proceeded from the entrance into the Musashi Kokufu Ruins Dungeon.

As usual, Kaori operated the drone remotely from outside the dungeon.

“Minato, Shiranagi-san, do you have any goals for today?”

“Not really…
What about you, Ryo-chan?”

“Nothing in particular either.
If I had to say, the Leek Mage.
I’m curious whether it’s edible.”

“That is…
That is kind of interesting.”

“But the Leek Mage might still be a bit much for Minato-san.
For me it’s fine, but…”

“Yeah…
I’ve heard they’re strong despite their looks.
I might just hold you back.”

“Really?
If it were one-on-one, sure, but with this party, I think we’d be fine.”

“When you say it like that, Ryo-chan, it makes me want to try…”

“Well…
It is a bit of a dilemma.”

After descending to the area with the town, the three of them stopped to think about what to do.

“Ryo-san, aside from Lake Consommé, do you know of anything interesting or tasty?”

“Other than Lake Consommé…
The Brocco-Tree is interesting, but that area is far more dangerous than the Lake Consommé area…”

“Brocco-Tree?”

At Minato’s puzzled repetition, Ryo showed her the photo he had shown Kaori before, of himself biting into a giant broccoli growing from the ground.

“This.”

“What?
It’s huge.
Wait, the Brocco-Tree is edible?”

“It was tasty.”

“Whoa, I’m curious!
I really am!
But if Ryo-chan says it’s dangerous, that area is probably too much for me…”

“Yes.
I’d rather not go there either.”

On that point, everyone agreed that it was still too soon.
That meant finding something else.

“We haven’t seen all the areas of this dungeon yet.
There should be various interesting things…”

Maybe entering a building they had never been in before, while being extremely careful, could be an option.
Just as Ryo was thinking that—

“Hm?
Did it shake just now?”

“An earthquake?
I didn’t notice…”

“Wait.
Inside a dungeon, outside earthquakes should barely have any effect.”

“Then an irregular phenomenon?”

A phenomenon that should not normally occur inside a dungeon.
If that was happening, it meant there could be unexpected danger.

They could have chosen to flee immediately, but all three agreed to gather information first.

“Let’s proceed carefully toward the town square.”

“Okay.”

“Yes.”

Following Ryo’s lead, the two advanced with tense expressions.

“Oh, right.
Kaori-san.”

Partway there, Shiranagi spoke to the drone.

“Please be ready to start streaming at any time.”

“In case a dangerous irregularity is occurring, even if we die, the information can still be provided.”

“Wouldn’t it cause an uproar if something happened while we were together with Ryo-chan?”

“If that happens, then so be it.
Depending on the nature of the irregularity, it could have major effects outside the dungeon as well.
Leaving clues so that other explorers can resolve it, even if we cannot, is important.”

Ryo nodded at Shiranagi’s words.

“I agree.
If we survive, the troublesome aftermath will be handled by Shiranagi-san and Kaori, right?”

“Yes.
Of course.”

“Then let’s go with that.”

Ryo and Shiranagi exchanged serious looks.
Those expressions looked somehow different from the ones Minato usually knew.

‘That’s probably the look of resolve born from experience as explorers…
Compared to them, I really am a step behind…’

Minato was aware that she had been stagnating, both as an explorer and as a streamer.
Because of that, many thoughts surfaced when she saw the two of them from the side.

“Minato, I think it would be fine for you to turn back here.”

“Yes.
This is the turning point.”

Hearing that made those thoughts even worse.
But Minato shook her head hard, chasing them away.

“I’m going.
I don’t want to be the only one left out, and if I ran away alone and something happened to you two…
I don’t think I could handle that.”

Minato answered the two seriously.

“Understood.”

“It can’t be helped.”

Just as the three of them began moving again—

Thud…

“An earthquake…
No, ground tremors?
I felt it too!”

“Ryo-san, isn’t this supposed to be an area without monsters?”

“I’ve been here several times, but this is the first time I’ve felt monster presence in the town.”

Their expressions hardened.
On full alert, they stepped into what looked like the town square.

“Gwaaaarrrr—!!”

At that moment, they heard something like a roar, low and strangely hollow.

There was a flapping sound.

“A bird?”

“From where?”

As they looked around, Ryo noticed it.

“There!
It’s on that roof!”

A massive body ran along the rooftops, flapping its wings as it approached.

“Gwaawaaahhh!”

Shouting loudly, it leapt down from the roof and landed in front of them.

The impact shook the ground.

“This thing is…”

Its height was about the same as the surrounding rooftops.
It was broad as well, holding a flail-like weapon resembling a long leek with a flowered tip.

Brown fur.
Though it walked on two legs, its silhouette was clearly avian.
It looked like a giant duck.

“A Leek Mage?”

It resembled the duck-like magic-using monster called a Leek Mage.

“But aren’t Leek Mages only about 130 centimeters tall?
This one is easily over two meters.”

Its weapon also seemed proportionally larger.

When Minato spoke of its size, something flashed through her mind.
She remembered hearing that name while watching someone’s archived stream recently.

“Could this be a named one?”

“Ryo-san?”

At Minato’s muttered words, Shiranagi looked sharply at Ryo.
Ryo nodded.

“There was information that a giant Leek Mage can appear in this dungeon as a rare individual.
Its nickname is ‘Great Leek Mage, Drake.’
This matches the information.”

“That’s it!
This is the named one that came up in Ryo-chan’s chat stream the other day!”

Cold sweat ran down all three of their faces.

“A named one…”

Monsters do not normally have names.
But individuals with distinct traits are sometimes named out of respect, fear, or as a warning.

“Guuuuaaarrr!!”

Drake let out a roar.
Its eyes were clearly fixed on them.

“Whether we fight or flee…
It looks like we have no choice but to respond.”

Ryo and Minato nodded at Shiranagi’s words, each taking their stance.

“Kaori-san, please start the stream.
We’ll gather as much information on Drake as possible.
Ryo-san, any objections?”

“None.
But I don’t intend to go down, so whether we run or fight, don’t miss the opportunity.”

“Of course.”

And so, an unexpected battle with a named monster began.

Watching through the drone camera, Kaori opened the Ryo Channel account on Warbler and made a post.

[Emergency] Encountered a named monster during private exploration.
Streaming has begun to provide information in case of emergency and for those who come after.

[Stream link → …]

Praying that “in case of emergency” would never come to pass—