"...Hmm, is this a branching path?"
We were greeted with a wide variety of traps, from basic traps to instant death traps that will kill you on your first encounter, and we discovered several forks in the road. In this spacious hall with a high ceiling, there were three tiers of corridor entrances lined up side by side on either side of the slope at the front. There were five on the first floor, four on the second floor, and three on the third floor (the top floor) — a total of twelve options.
"That's perfect. Shall we part ways now?" (Hannes)
"That's right, originally this was a race to see who could conquer it first, right?" (Rena)
Since there was only one straight path when we entered this dungeon, we ended up working together to conquer it...but if there was a clear fork in the road, nothing we could do. It was time to part ways with Hannes and get serious about competing in dungeon conquering.
"Is there only one correct path, or are we just each taking a different path to the same goal... I don't know, but I have no intention to lose!" (Hannes)
I looked up at Hannes, who declared this in an arrogant manner, with his legs spread wide, his arms crossed, and his chest arched back, with one eyebrow raised.
"Please look back on your past achievements before you speak so boldly." (Rena)
"Shut up!" (Hannes)
Seeing how Hannes had fallen for my provocation, I couldn't help but laugh softly, putting my hand to my mouth. It felt a little sad, but we had to wait a while for those easy-to-understand, immediate, and interesting responses. On the way up to this point, it seemed like he had been trying hard in various ways to entertain me, but from here on out, we really were enemies.
"So now —— what's that move?" (Rena)
Just as I was thinking of parting ways and moving on quickly...Hannes silently brought his clenched fist in front of me. His mouth was frowned upon and his eyes were wandering slightly as he performed the action, causing me to tilt my head slightly.
"It's like we're wishing each other the best of luck." (Hannes)
"What do you mean by something like that?" (Rena)
Maybe I could say that for sure...Even though I felt a bit funny, I clasped my fist against Hannes'.
"Well then—" (Rena)
"Yeah――" (Hannes)
A scene unfolded in which the two people bumped their fists together and wished each other the best of luck in a show of sportsmanship — and then Hannes was tied up with string.
"……ah?" (Hannes)
I watched Hannes with a smile as he showed off his goofy side while he was suspended from an icicle hanging from the ceiling with one arm outstretched and clenched into a fist.
"Hannes, the race has already started, you know." (Rena)
"..." (Hannes)
As I said this, looking mockingly at Hannes, who was floating at exactly eye level with me, a look of understanding gradually began to appear on his face. I placed my index finger under his chin, tilting him up, and said just one thing――
"——It's your fault for letting your guard down, isn't it?" (Rena)
"——Huhhhhhh?!?!?!?!" (Hannes)
After laughing at Hannes who screamed incoherently in anger, I filled the hall with paralyzing poison and highly toxic gas and ran through a suitable passageway. In response to the torrent of angry chat messages from Hannes, I simply copied and pasted the emoticon that Maria taught me, which acted to mean "I can't hear you very well."
"...You idiot." (Hannes)
I sent one last message, imitating Hannes and replying with just one word, "Idiot"...I didn't receive any reply from Hannes after that.
——Who's the fool?!
Instead, the only sound that reached my ears was the screams echoing throughout the dungeon and I couldn't help but turn up the corners of my mouth. His reactions were really easy to understand and entertaining.
"...I'm still a dungeon beginner, so this is just a bit of handicap." (Rena)
Well, even people who aren't beginners normally disrupt the game, right?
Author's Note (Preface)
Sorry! I thought I posted it but I didn't!
And it's a little shorter this time!
Author's Note (Afterword)
Today I, Takenoko, turned 21 years old (peace)
I submitted my debut work, Genocide Online, when I was in my third year of high school and it was later published as a book...it's been quite a while...I never thought I'd still be able to write.
All of this is thanks to the support of our readers! Thank you so much!
If you like, please check out my other works!
Translation Note
Thanks to TV.Station for correcting some mistakes.