As Long as You Have the [Shop] Skill, the Dungeonized World Is a Breeze ~The Bullied Youth’s Payback

Chapter 43 – A New Familiar

TL: Sponsored chapter (4/6)

A relatively peaceful time passed, and about a week had gone by since the Tanaka family had perished. According to Jouichirou, Akito still seemed rather depressed, but he was feeling well enough to properly go to work and see patients.

Akito asked me whether or not I could revive the dead, but Jouichirou, who seldomly got angry, scolded him harshly for saying that. I understood how Akito felt, but unfortunately, there was nothing in the <Shop> that could revive the dead.

There were some unorthodox methods like temporarily reanimating a corpse by turning them into a zombie, but there was no way to bring a corpse fully back to life as a regular human being. The most I could do was use an [Elixir] to help, but that could only be done if the person had recently died.

But I understood Akito’s feelings. Yaichi must have been a friend that he trusted a lot. Losing a loved one would be painful for anyone. Jouichirou must have also scolded him because he understood Akito’s feelings too.

When Jouichirou brought Akito over to apologize to me for what he had said, I brushed it off and told them not to worry about it. Just like that, the situation was brought to a peaceful conclusion.

And currently, I was planning on starting a new line of business―as a dungeon-clearing contractor.

It was literally a job that involved clearing dungeons for people. As a matter of fact, many peoples’ homes were being turned into dungeons, and there were a lot of people stuck in a tough spot because of that. This job was mainly about getting homes back for those kinds of people.

I once received an expensive watch for doing so. It was a relatively cheap compensation compared to the value of the house, but from now on, I felt like I could demand more money from clients, which would make this operation even more profitable than other lines of business.

However, it was risky, just like being an arms dealer. Of course, since I had to be dealing with monsters, there was always a risk of death if I wasn’t careful. However, I had devised a plan to mitigate this risk as much as possible.

“Okay, Sol. I’m thinking of getting you a friend now.” (Bouchi)
“A friend…?” (Sol)
“Exactly. I mentioned it to you before, right?” (Bouchi)
“But didn’t you say that would be after you bought the uninhabited island?” (Sol)
“Yeah, that’s not wrong. After buying the uninhabited island, I’m planning to buy some Familiars for guard and maintenance roles. But first, I’m going to add a few friends to our team for work purposes.” (Bouchi)
“Puuu~. But you already have Sol, right? Could it be that you don’t need Sol anymore?” (Sol)
When Sol asked that tearfully with an uneasy expression on her face, I gently laughed and patted her on the head.

“Come on, you know that’s not true. It’s just that I want to increase our combat power so we can do our job more safely. Sol, you’re strong, but with your small body and super fast flight, I want you to focus more on intelligence and recon than combat, if possible. And I’m also going to exclusively assign a Familiar to be my bodyguard.” (Bouchi)
“Ooh, I see! In other words, the right person for the right job, right?” (Sol)
“That’s exactly what it is. Aren’t you clever?” (Bouchi)
When I lightly poked Sol on the cheek, she gave a delightful-sounding ‘puuu~’.

“So anyway, there are several candidates to choose from…” (Bouchi)
I crossed my arms as I opened up the <Shop>. Now that I had a pretty large sum of money, it was now possible for me to directly purchase a high-ranked monster. However, it still had to be a monster that wouldn’t seem unnatural to have as a pet in one’s day-to-day life. Or, something that had the power to not be noticed by surrounding onlookers.

Based on ability, appearance, and a few other factors, I narrowed it down to three monsters.

“The first one is the B-Rank monster, the Shield Book, which costs ¥56,000,000. A defensive monster that can protect against the attacks of A-Rank Monsters.”
With this guy, even a surprise attack could be guarded against. Since it looked like a dictionary from its outer appearance, it wasn’t something that was strange to have in my possession.

Its ability was good, but the only thing was that it looked like a book… If possible, I would prefer a living creature like Sol.

“The second option is also a B-Rank Monster. A Shinobi Mantis, which costs ¥75,000,000. This one has a good balance of attack and defense. Especially the speed, which is top notch. And it looks cool, too. It’s like a cross between a praying mantis and a human being… It’s kinda like something that would appear in a superhero story. The scythes on both hands are really sick, man.”
It was a monster specialized in speed, but it excelled in both attack and defense. However, there only appeared to be males of this species, so I wasn’t sure if it would get along with Sol, who was female. But as a ‘shinobi’, it had ninja-like abilities, which would be very useful.

“The last one is an A-Rank half-dragon. A Dragonath, priced at 650,000,000, which is the most expensive by far. It has the potential and attack power to rival even an S-Rank monster. It also comes with high-speed regeneration, which means that as long as it doesn’t die outright, it’ll be able to heal off any wounds it receives. That’s pretty appealing.”
It would be more than enough to fulfill the role of a shield, and in terms of attacking prowess, it would surely be able to display an unparalleled level of power. There would be nothing more reassuring than having one of these guys as a companion.

However, it looked like a hybrid between a dragon and a human. Taking this guy out for a stroll around town would be like asking for trouble. Well, that could be manageable with fantasy items too, but… then again, the price tag was a whopping ¥650,000,000, unfortunately. Almost all the money in my possession would be gone just like that.

“Hmmm. Sol, which one do you think looks good?” (Bouchi)
“Puuu… It’s hard to say. They’re all different in their own ways.” (Sol)
Right. If possible, I would have liked to bring all of them aboard, but it would be a waste of money.

If I were to pick one that was in my price range and suited my tastes, then…

“Alright, let’s go with this one.” (Bouchi)
I put it into my Cart and bought it.

“Sol, please keep an eye on the surroundings. Let me know if anyone approaches the room.” (Bouchi)
“Got it!” (Sol)
Since I was in my room at the Fukuzawa residence, I needed to be especially careful of the Kanna surprise-attack special. I took out the Familiar that I had just purchased.

Come on out―!

Just like with Sol, this guy appeared with a puff of smoke. He was sporting a reddish-brown armor and a ninja outfit. Its build was a bit smaller than mine, and it stood on two legs, with sharp scythes on both arms. In other words, it had a clearly non-human appearance.

The moment his closed eyes opened and caught sight of me, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

“This one is most grateful for having received your favor, milord.”
“Ah, uh, yeah.” (Bouchi)
He seemed to have a very serious, strait-laced character. But from his gestures and mannerisms, I could tell he was a monster overflowing with loyalty, which made me feel relieved.

In the end, I bought a Shinobi Mantis. I decided to pick it because of its cool appearance and ninja skills.

“First, I’m going to decide on a name for you.” (Bouchi)
“Ooh, that would be much obliged.”
“Let’s see… How about Shiki?” (Bouchi)
I thought up another simple-minded monster name, but…

“Shiki…How marvelous! As expected of milord! From now on, this one will bear the name Shiki and protect my milord for eternity.”
He really spoke a lot like a samurai… No, like a ninja, I suppose.

“Without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to your friend. Sol.” (Bouchi)
“Yes! Sol is Sol, a Sonic Owl!”
“Sol-dono, is it? Together, we will protect milord!” (Shiki)
“That’s right!” (Sol)
Good. It seems that their personalities won’t clash.

“By the way, you can use ninja techniques, right Shiki?” (Bouchi)
“Yes, I am a shinobi, so I can use many ninja techniques. Shall I show you some of them?” (Shiki)
“Yeah, give it a shot.” (Bouchi)
“Well then―<Bunshin no Jutsu>!”
Shiki’s body split into three, then five clones, with the quality of the clones being so good that I couldn’t tell them apart.

“Wow, amazing! You’re really a ninja!” (Bouchi)
“Next up is this! <Wall Climbing>!” (Shiki)
In the next moment, all of his clones were clinging to the wall or ceilings.

Wow, this is also very ninja-like.

“Good, good. You can also do transformation techniques, right?” (Bouchi)
That was written in the description, at least.

“Of course! ―<Henka no Jutsu>!” (Shiki)
A white smoke enveloped Shiki and his clones, and a bunch of Sols stepped out of the smoke.

“Puuu~! There are so many Sols!” (Sol)
Amazing. Rather, this guy was so versatile that he pretty much had all bases covered.

However, Shiki explained that even though he could transform his appearance to look like the target, he couldn’t use the target’s abilities. In other words, it seemed like he wasn’t capable of silent high-speed flight like a real owl.

Shiki reverted back to one body and resumed his original appearance.

“I see. Despite some limitations, it’s still very useful. If you can transform, then is it also possible to make your body smaller too?” (Bouchi)
“Naturally, that is so.” (Shiki)
“Hmm. Then normally, it’ll be no problem for you to stay in my pocket.” (Bouchi)
“We could even do without that―<Shadow Dive>!” (Shiki)
Shiki entered my shadow and disappeared into it. Then, he jumped back out and stood in front of me again.

“It is possible for this one to stay in milord’s shadow, so this could be an option if milord so prefers.” (Shiki)
Uwaahh… This guy is seriously awesome. Convenient. Super convenient, in fact. It looks like buying this guy was the right choice.