I also changed in the locker room and stepped outside.
Oh yeah, I came out from the door next to the toilet.
In the distance, I could see the large torii gate.
Tourists arriving from Keihan Fushimi-Inari Station would head toward the shrine via the back road, while those coming from JR Inari Station would use the main road.
I’d have loved to spend some time sightseeing, but with Ayame in that condition, I wasn’t in the mood for it.
After standing around aimlessly for a while, I remembered—Danpon had told me to check on the PD.
I had to collect the data, so I might as well take care of that now.
As I started toward the spot where I should set the PD up, Ayame came out of the dungeon.
「Ayame, are you okay now?」
「Yes, after resting for a bit, I feel much better. I’m really sorry for the trouble I caused.」
「That’s a relief. Where are Milk and Hime?」
「They’re still changing. Since I was done first, they asked me to come out and tell you I’m fine. They also said I should get some fresh air.」
「Fresh air, huh? Well, it’s mostly toilets out here.」
「Fufu, true.」
Yeah, this was the Ayame I knew.
I felt genuinely relieved.
Since she was still recovering, maybe we could save the sightseeing for another time.
But I should take care of the PD before the others arrive.
「Now that I’m feeling relaxed, I really need to use the toilet.」
「Oh, I do too—」
As I turned to reply to her, Ayame was already gone.
Areh?
「Ayame?」
Did she already head to the toilet?
Now’s a good time to check on the PD.
I made sure no one was around, hid my phone behind a nearby stone, and descended the hidden staircase into the PD set up behind some trees.
「Yo, Danpon, I’m here for a visit—wait… huh?」
There was someone else inside.
What the hell?
There shouldn’t be anyone in here but me.
「Yo, Ichino. I’ve been waiting for you.」
「Aoki?!」
Standing there was Aoki.
He greeted me like we’d agreed to meet at an arcade after school, casually waiting for me outside a classroom.
How the hell was he here?
Aoki was supposed to be exploring a dungeon with Hibiki-san.
And anyway, no one but me was supposed to be able to enter the PD.
Plus—
「Wait, are you really Aoki?」
「What are you talking about?」
「I mean, you weren’t dressed like that earlier. You only crossdress on Wednesdays, right?」
Aoki was dressed in his usual crossdressing outfit.
He looked down at himself, then smirked mischievously.
「I enjoy taking on beautiful forms. That’s just my style, human.」
As he spoke, fox ears suddenly sprouted from the top of his head.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a black-haired, bob-cut shrine maiden.
What the heck?
「Taira, you’ve arrived. We were waiting for you.」
Danpon said, emerging from the back of the room.
「Danpon, who is she?」
「This is Mikoto-chan.」
「Mikoto?」
The name didn’t ring any bells, but the fact that Danpon called her with the ‘chan’ suffix suggested they were close.
Was this the friend Danpon had mentioned?
「This lady’s name is Mikoto. Though some refer to this lady as a Holy Beast.」
「Holy Beast?! Fox ears and fox eyes… wait, are you… Inari-sama?!」
This was a divine messenger!
I had no idea I’d been speaking so casually to someone so important.
I was about to apologize when—
「No, no, you’re mistaken.」
Thank goodness.
「Well, this lady not ‘entirely’ different from what you said.」
Which is it then?
Thanks to her posing as Aoki, my sense of reverence was pretty much gone, so I figured I could drop the formalities.
She was just Danpon’s friend, after all.
「So, are Holy Beasts considered monsters?」
「You could say that, or you could say they aren’t.」
「Can you give me a straight answer?」
「Before that, do you even know what a ‘monster’ truly is, human?」
Mikoto locked eyes with me as she spoke.
Dungeon monsters—creatures that lurk inside, attacking humans.
They’re said to be creations of Danpon, brought from another world.
So… alien lifeforms, I guess?
When you defeat them, they drop D-Coins or items, and you gain experience to level up.
That’s about right, isn’t it?
「18 points. That’s a failing grade.」
「Hey, don’t say ‘failing grade’ to someone who’s prepping for exams! What was wrong with my answer?」
「Almost everything. Especially the part about alien lifeforms. If there were truly otherworldly creatures, wouldn’t there be far more bizarre ones? Two species like Danpon and Danpol don’t exactly make a compelling case, do they? Shouldn’t there be monsters with hundreds of eyes or something?」
She had a point. They are nothing like a hundred eye monster—or rather, Japanese youkai.
Creatures like that would definitely scream ‘otherworldly’ but the dungeon monsters we faced were mostly familiar animals, or enemies straight out of games. Things like haniwa figurines and maneki-neko weren’t exactly alien either.
「So… what exactly ‘are’ monsters then?」
I asked, since I clearly wasn’t getting it.
「Monsters are born from a fusion of this world’s memories and the energy nuclei flowing from other worlds.」
The memories of this world… and energy nuclei from another?
This was getting confusing.
「Ah, right. Think of the otherworldly energy as electricity. On its own, it’s not very useful. To use it effectively, you need electrical appliances. In this case, the ‘appliances’ are the memories of this world.」
「I still don’t get what you mean by ‘memories of this world’. 」
「Perhaps it would help to think of it as the concepts that people of this world hold. Like how slimes are weak, dragons breathe fire, goblins are cunning, and a Medusa’s gaze turns people to stone. These are all ideas deeply ingrained in the people here.」
Yeah, I guess that makes sense.
Especially the bit about slimes being weak—that’s pretty much common knowledge.
「Honestly, slimes used to be quite a menace in Dung〇ns & Drag〇ns, but now they’ve been reduced to weaklings… What a shame. Come on, world, don’t let us down! How are we supposed to witness grand scenes of men drowning in slime goo if they’ve become such pushovers?」
「What are you even talking about, Mikoto?」
「Ah, my apologies. Anyway, the source of that otherworldly power is this.」
「D-Coins?」
Mikoto held up a black D-Coin, the same kind I’d seen plenty of times before.
「Do you know what ‘D’ stands for in D-Coin?」
「Isn’t it ‘Dungeon Coin’?」
「Wrong. It stands for ‘Dimension Coin’. 」
Dimension… like alternate dimensions?
「Yes, it subtly hints that these coins are the source of power from a different dimension.」
「I had no idea…」
「And as for my true nature—wait a moment. Something’s off.」
「What is it?」
「Danpon, did you not notice? There’s an intruder.」
An intruder?
No way, only we should be able to enter the PD.
And if any monster did get inside, the detection system would have alerted us.
「Taira, show me your back.」
「My back?」
I wasn’t sure why, but I turned around to show her.
「Found it. You’ve brought along something strange… Show yourself!」
What? Is something stuck to me?
Am I cursed or something?
What is it?
「Nothing’s happening.」
「Hmm… It seems this one is in trouble as well. I see. It’s unable to revert to its original form. It can’t fully control its skill yet. Taira, take off your clothes.」
「My clothes?」
「Yes, that will solve the problem.」
Following her instructions, I stripped off my shirt.
Mikoto grabbed the collar, gave it a couple of shakes, and—
「Kyah!」
A sudden voice pierced the air.
And,
「Wha—?」
Ayame appeared right in front of me.
Why was she here?
Was this another fox in disguise?
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