Oh no.


    I was so focused on watching Asakawa-san fight the Frost Wyvern that I thought it would be bad manners as an explorer to intervene and steal the kill. But before I knew it, she had already defeated it.


    Asakawa-san, thinking she was safe, was lying on the ground, but there were supposed to be multiple Frost Wyverns. As I had suspected earlier, the one she was fighting was smaller than usual. The size difference was pretty obvious. And just as I was thinking that, a familiar-sized Frost Wyvern emerged from the stairs.


    "Raijū, go!"


    Among the shikigami I can summon, Raijū is the fastest, excluding some special ones. Even though there are several dozen meters between Asakawa-san, who''s about to be attacked, and the wyverns, Raijū can close that distance in the blink of an eye.


    "Kyahh!"


    With a sound like a thunderp, Raijū instantly closed the distance and kicked the nearest Frost Wyvern in the face.


    My job was to summon shikigami that could take down the Frost Wyverns as I approached.


    "Mezuki, Gozuki,e forth."


    From the magic circle appeared two oni—one with a horse''s head and one with a bull''s head. Each standing over two meters tall, the oni gripped theirrge axes and charged at the Frost Wyverns.


    In Buddhism, Gozuki and Mezuki are said to be enforcers of hell, punishing the souls of those whomitted sins in life. Though technically not yokai, they are often treated as such in Japan.


    "A-Are those monsters?!"


    "Are you alright?"


    "Eep!?"


    Asakawa-san probably had no idea what was happening right in front of her, but I needed to get her to safety.


    The Frost Wyverns seemed startled by the sudden appearance of Gozuki, Mezuki, and Raijū, but in that moment of hesitation, Gozuki decapitated one of them. Among the shikigami I summon, Gozuki and Mezuki are among the strongest in raw power, so they won''t lose to the likes of a Frost Wyvern.


    "Who... are you?"


    "Hold on tight."


    Her body was frozen all over, and if she moved too much, it could lead to more than just bleeding. We would have to thaw her out slowly and carefully. But first, we needed to get out of the Frost Wyvern''s range.


    "An ice spike ising this way!"


    "It''s fine."


    Something like that can be easily blocked with magic.


    I cast a fire spell, and the ice spike heading our way evaporated into steam. With the wyvern''s attention now diverted, Mezuki split its body in two. Now there was only one left, and before I knew it, Gozuki had pinned it down while Raijū tore into its head, finishing it off.


    "Alright, all done. Let''s start the healing."


    "W-Wait a minute... I need to wrap my head around this."


    "? I''ll continue the treatment."


    There shouldn''t be anything to process here. The Frost Wyverns appeared, your life was in danger, but now you''re safe—that''s it.


    "Onmoraki."


    To help thaw out her frozen body, I summoned Onmoraki. ording to legend, Onmoraki is born from the unofficiated spirits of the dead and is said to breathe blue mes. The Onmoraki I created, based on this lore, breathes fire. Maybe because of that, it has a warm body temperature, making it ideal for thawing the ice.


    "Don''t move. Kasha."


    I summoned Kasha, my usual pack mule, and retrieved some healing ointment from the bag it carried. This ointment, found in the dungeon, works fast but drains a lot of stamina—so it''s a bit risky.


    "Thanks, Gozuki, Mezuki."


    After receiving the magic stones and fangs from the Frost Wyverns, I dismissed Gozuki and Mezuki and handed the items to Kasha.


    I ignored Asakawa-san, who was likely still in shock, and focused on treating her injuries. As Onmoraki''s warmth melted the ice, I applied the ointment to the wounds. This ointment can be used in everyday life, but applying two doses will make you drowsy due to the intense drain on stamina. That''s the one downside.


    "Um... Kisaragi-kun?"


    "Huh? You know me?"


    "We''re ssmates, remember?"


    Oh, right. But this is the first time I''ve actually had a proper conversation with Asakawa-san, even though we''ve been in the same ss.


    "You got here really fast after school, didn''t you?"


    "Huh? Well... I didn''t even change out of my uniform?"


    "Oh, you''re right."


    I did change, but Asakawa-san came here in her uniform. Is she addicted to dungeons or something?


    "Kisaragi-kun, I didn''t know you coulde this far into the dungeon."


    "Yeah, Ie here often."


    Though, I usually just pass through and head straight for the deeper levels.


    As we made small talk while I treated her wounds, Raijū approached us. It seemed there were no more monsters nearby.


    "Your wounds are treated... You should head back now."


    "Thank you... I''ll do that."


    The conversation felt awkward. It''s understandable for me since I''m a socially awkward introvert, but I''m not sure why Asakawa-san isn''t her usual self either.


    "W-Wait!"


    "Yes?"


    As I was about to dismiss Onmoraki, Kasha, and Raijū and head back to make my report, she suddenly called out to me.


    "U-Um... those creatures from earlier... what were they?"


    "Oh, uh... can we talk about it some other time?"


    For some reason, I''m not keen on exining this to others. Maybe it''s because I''m an introvert.


    "Kirin."


    Not wanting to stick around while Asakawa-san searched for more words, I summoned Kirin and mounted it. Kirin, with the head of a dragon, the body of a deer, the tail of an ox, and the hooves of a horse, is a mystical creature, though technically a divine beast rather than a yokai—but that''s irrelevant.


    "Wait!"


    Asakawa-san called out again, but Kirin, following my orders, sped off, ignoring her. Though not as fast as Raijū, Kirin is still incredibly fast, and in no time, it carried me from the middle floors up to the upper floors and finally to the entrance of Shibuya Dungeon.


    "Y-You''re back already? That was fast!"


    "Huh? You mean Kirin?"


    "No, I mean... you''re back so soon."


    "Am I?"


    I thought I took my time on the way in, so I didn''t think it was that fast.


    "Ah, always so reliable."


    "Are you really grateful?"


    I handed over the Frost Wyvern''s magic stones and fangs to the branch manager, who greeted me with his usual suspicious smile.


    "Your shikigami skills are always impressive."


    "Just for summoning shikigami?"


    "I tried it myself recently, but I couldn''t manage it at all."


    He''sughing to himself, but I just want to get this over with and go home.


    I''ve already exined to him that shikigami techniques require a specific innate magic affinity, which hecks, so I don''t know why he hasn''t given up yet.


    "So, three magic stones... Were there three Frost Wyverns?"


    "There were four."


    "What happened to the other one?"


    "Another explorer took it."


    The branch manager squinted at me. What now?


    "A Frost Wyvern, huh?"


    "Is something wrong?"


    "No, I was just wondering if there were any other explorers in Shibuya Dungeon today who could take down a Frost Wyvern."


    "Why are you asking me?"


    "Are you really just a high school student? You should take some time to enjoy life, you know?"


    That''s annoying. How would I know... I haven''t had any free time. I came straight to the dungeon after school today.


    "We confirmed that one Frost Wyvern was defeated."


    "Huh? A stream?"


    He suddenly showed me aputer screen... Sure enough, there''s Asakawa-san and the Frost Wyvern.


    "It''s called dungeon streaming. It''s been popr among young people for the past few years."


    "Oh... Is that so?"


    "You don''t seem interested."


    Because I''m not.


    "Anyway, it seems your face and abilities have been exposed to the world."


    "Is that so?"


    "...I guess you weren''t really hiding it, were you?"


    Well, I left the name field nk, gotbeled as "UNKNOWN," and never bothered to register my personal information, so I''ve never had any trouble with it. It doesn''t really matter to me.


    "Anyway, thanks forpleting the request. The reward will be deposited, so don''t worry about that."


    More money piling up.


    Maybe I should have some expensive weapons or armor custom-made.