The iron statue of Danpol gave off no presence whatsoever.
Yet, Aoki’s Large Mapping still indicated a presence.
Could it be petrification?
If so, petrification kills within an hour, turning the internal organs to stone as well.
But this wasn’t stone.
It might be a metal similar to iron, but it was definitely not stone.
「Maybe it’s like A〇tron. He could’ve turned himself to iron to protect against an external threat.」
Aoki voiced his speculation.
A〇tron was a spell from a certain game that transformed the user’s body into iron—rendering them completely immobile but making them impervious to attacks.
When I hear about turning one’s body to iron, I think of Suzuhara’s Metal Body.
But this was different.
「For now, let’s try dousing him with a Panacea.」
I pulled out a Panacea from my inventory and poured it over Danpol.
Nothing happened.
Even though it was just a low-tier Panacea from a Treasure Box, it should’ve at least been enough to cure petrification.
So whatever this was, it was worse than that.
「Guess we’ll have to carry him back.」
I tried storing him in my inventory—
No luck.
Not surprising, since he wasn’t classified as an item.
Then I tried the item bag—
Still no luck. It couldn’t hold living beings.
Which meant Danpol was still alive.
Maybe I could use the Sparrow’s Big Basket…?
Nope.
Was it because he wasn’t a monster?
So we really had to carry him?
Damn, he’s heavy.
With my current status boosts, I could manage.
But once we got to the surface and those bonuses disappeared, hauling him back home was going to be a nightmare.
Danpol had turned into a dumbbell.
I wrapped him in a cloth and slung him over my back.
-0-
Using Dungeon Warp, I transported us back to the 21st floor.
From there, we took the teleportation circle to the first floor.
The moment we stepped outside, my status buffs vanished—
And I really felt the weight.
He had to be at least 30 kilos.
If he was gonna be a melted bowling ball, couldn’t he at least weigh a reasonable 14 pounds (about 6.4 kg)?
My shoulders were killing me.
After changing clothes, I called a taxi and headed home.
「Alright then, Ichino, Makino. I’ll leave Danpol to you guys. Let’s hit the dungeon together again sometime.」
With that, Aoki took his leave.
「Bye bye, Taira. Let me know if you figure anything out.」
I parted ways with Milk and returned home at last.
I went straight to the garden with the Danpol wrapped in cloth.
To show it to Danpon, I wondered if I could bring it inside the PD.
The conditions for entering the PD are that I or my married partner can enter.
I tried it, but Shiro, an animal, and Tuna, who lives in the same house, could not enter.
As an exception, Kuro has been able to enter since he was an unnamed Darkness Wolf, but I have not tried Danpol yet.
I take a step inside.
I can enter.
What about Danpol?
Oh, it seems I can bring it in.
「You’re not telling me you turned into iron to enter the PD, are you?」
I called out to it, but there was no response.
Well, if it’s Danpol, it doesn’t have to do anything that complicated, since the PD is always set up, so it can enter whenever it wants to.
-0-
I take Danpol and enter the PD.
「Danpon, are you there? I have something to show you.」
「Welcome back! What’s today’s souvenir? I’d like to try a sweet called kaminari okoshi, which is a specialty of Osaka, just once.」
「It’s not a souvenir. And kaminari okoshi is a specialty of Tokyo, and the specialties of Osaka are awa okoshi and iwa okoshi.」
I retorted and took off the cloth to show Danpol.
「This is…not a rock, but iron…no, it’s Danpol!? Huh? What happened?」
「I picked it up on the 22nd floor of the Dungeon Academy dungeon. It seems to be alive, but what’s going on? Can you fix it?」
「Hmm, this is the skill of ironization. Since Danpol used the skill, it should be able to undo it by itself. In other words, it cannot be undone by anyone other than the person who used it (Danpol).」
「Huh? So this guy is pretending to be dead?」
「Hmm, even so…I’ll look into it a little. I think I’ll have the results within a week.」
Danpon said that and used telekinesis to lift Danpol and carry it to the back room.
「Shouldn’t I be here? If I’m here, the flow of time in the PD will have less impact on the outside, right?」
「Even when Taira is not here, I can slow down the flow of time by 100 times if I want to. I just don’t do it because it’s not necessary. However, when I need to contact my friends, I need to return the flow of time, so it still takes time.」
I see.
I feel like I’ve been in contact with my friends normally even when I was here, but maybe you were doing some special processing?
Well, I’ll leave Danpol to Danpon.
I’m sure he won’t melt it in a blast furnace just because it’s his rival.
-0-
The next day.
I told Aoki that I had entrusted Danpol to the appropriate person.
「Ano, please don’t tell anyone else about this.」
「Of course not, right? It seems Danpol sent me the image because he didn’t want other people to know. I can’t betray that trust.」
Aoki changes the subject.
「More importantly! Taira, did you see the Dungeon Newspaper yesterday!?」
「I don’t even know the word Dungeon Newspaper, let alone whether I saw it or not.」
「I’m talking about the announcement on the Dungeon Bureau’s website. They discovered a skill bead that allows you to learn skills. I wish I had known about it!」
Aoki regrets.
Ah, that’s what he’s talking about.
I saw it too.
The internet forums and Discord were in an uproar.
Especially those who have been getting dungeon drops, chewing them, and eating them are in a great excitement.
The article said that the Dungeon Bureau and Yamanashi Research Institute would conduct a joint detailed verification.
「But, you’re the type to lick a candy to the end, right? You cried because you were afraid of getting cavities when you were a kid.」
「What are you talking about! Well, I’m the type to lick it to the end, and I’ve never learned a skill. Look, you bought up all the dungeon drops online and licked them, didn’t you? When I checked yesterday, all the dungeon drops on the online auction were sold out at the instant price.」
I know.
The Dungeon Bureau bought them all up before the announcement.
After school, I have to go check if there are any skill beads.
Also, I have to open the super rare can.
「It’s going to be busy.」
「Really. I contacted Hibiki yesterday and we’re planning to do a project where we can’t go home until we lick the dungeon drop and learn the skill.」
「I see. Well, good luck. I don’t think you’ll be able to learn it though. Brush your teeth properly.」
「I know. Well, I’ll try for about two days and give up if it’s impossible. Also, I’ll take care of my teeth even if you don’t tell me to.」
Aoki said with a white smile.
…Hibiki-san, he seemed a little strange when I met him before, but is it okay for him to stay overnight with Aoki?
I’m worried.
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