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

Chapter 87 – Dungeon Attack Complete

Kuroki was coming towards us, dragging along his heavily wounded body. Naturally, everyone took up a fighting stance and Shiki’s killing intent rose rapidly as he approached… But Kuroki seemed to have no hostile intentions as he approached Ryudou directly.

“…Ryudou-san…” (Kuroki)
“…Kuroki…?” (Ryudou)
“Yes… It’s me.” (Kuroki)
“What in the world…are you doing here now… You useless…” (Ryudou)
“I’m… sorry.” (Kuroki)
Kuroki extended a hand to touch Ryudou, but Ryudou, who was battered and bruised, slapped his hand away.

“I won’t… borrow… anyone’s hand.” (Ryudou)
Surprisingly, Ryudou slowly rose to his feet.

“What formidable spirit…!” (Shiki)
In his heart, Shiki voiced his astonishment at the spirit emanating off Ryudou.

Ryudou glared at me and Kuzuhara.

“… I….. am… strong.” (Ryudou)
With the utterance of the last word, the power dwelling in his eyes faded, and he fell forward. Kuroki caught him in his arms.

As an enemy, a man, and a person, he was the worst to deal with. But despite that, I admired the willpower and determination that he showed until the very, very end.

“Farewell… Eiichi.” (Kuzuhara)
As if feeling conflicted inside, Kuzuhara called his name one last time and quietly closed his eyes. Then, Kuroki lifted Ryudou, who breathed his last, over his shoulder.

“Saito-san, they’re going to get away, aren’t they? What should we do?” (Chake)
“….Let them go. They aren’t our enemies anymore. I’m not interested in tormenting that guy.” (Kuzuhara)
“B-But…” (Chake)
I could understand Chake’s concerns. There was always the danger that Kuroki would come and strike back with vengeance. I also thought that it was better to put an end to them here.

But… based on the image I had of Kuroki in my heart, I didn’t think he would do that.

“Oi, where are you guys going?” (Kuzuhara)
At Kuzuhara’s query, Kuroki answered without turning around.

“Before, he said something like this…” (Kuroki)

“Yo, Kuroki. If I die before you, bury my remains. Don’t leave it to anyone else.”

“…I just want to uphold his dying wish. Because I couldn’t protect my promise to him… this is the last thing I can do to make amends.” (Kuroki)
“…..I see… Go on.” (Kuzuhara)
“…Thanks.” (Kuroki)
Kuroki Kenichi. He really was an awkward but overly faithful and righteous man.

A man who had formerly obtained glory followed a man who could only be considered scum… And even after being called useless by him, he still upheld his dying wish.

He must have felt just that indebted to Ryudou. He had saved him from losing everything. It would have been nice if a better man had saved Kuroki…

As they all watched Kuroki’s figure grow smaller in the distance, Kuzuhara suddenly collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

“Saito-san!?” (Chake)
Chake immediately picked him up and rushed him to the car, returning to the base.

—

“Humhumhummm~..”
“…? What’s the matter, Torimoto-san? It’s rare to see you humming to yourself. Did something good happen?”
At the moment, I was at the Fukuzawa residence, cleaning the garden with Kanna. I was sweeping up the fallen leaves. Since they were kind enough to let me stay with them, I would help them with cleaning from time to time.

“Eh? Nothing in particular. It’s just a nice day out, and I feel good, I guess.” (Torimoto)
“I know, right! With this great weather, a picnic would be nice!” (Kanna)
In fact, I really was in a good mood. The first thing was Kuzuhara’s request, which had been completed the other day.

I had received ¥20,000,000 as an advance payment, and ¥300,000,000 for the dungeon attack itself. Frankly speaking, I thought that ¥100,000,000 would be the limit, but Kuzuhara’s pockets were surprisingly deep, and he easily dished out the money.

It seemed that Chake’s information had allowed him to steal the assets that Ryudou had stolen. Ryudou’s subordinates had gathered a bunch of money and valuables in a rental warehouse in hopes that it would be of some use to him.

I had to split some of it with the Apostles of Peace, who had helped us out this time. But even still, it was quite the sum, and I ended up with a sizable amount myself.

The money that I had given to the Apostles of Peace had an important purpose. It could be used in further business negotiations with them through Enjou.

The higher-than-expected profits were one thing, but what was even more significant was the special reward I’d received after clearing the dungeonized Ohsaka High School.

At that time, the words ‘[Dungeon Core] has been obtained’ appeared across my vision. After looking into it now that things had calmed down, I found that it could be used to create a dungeon.

To top things off, it could also be sold for a value of ¥1,000,000,000.

In other words, I was able to earn a total of ¥1.3 billion from this. Although I had needed to spend money on a variety of things, I got back way more than I had put in, which put me in a good mood.

As of now, I still hadn’t decided on whether or not I wanted to sell the Core.

It would be interesting to buy an uninhabited island somewhere and turn it into a dungeon. Or, I could sell the Core for ¥1 billion and buy something that could increase my chances of survival even further.

I was having a hard time deciding on which option to go with, but it was a good problem to have. I figured I’d be better off discussing it with Sol and Shiki.

As for Kuzuhara and the others, I heard that after the dungeon attack, they would be resuming activity as the Inochi-shirazu.

After this time, they had managed to form an alliance with the Apostles of Peace, and both decided to join hands to protect the city.

Kuzuhara was a stubborn guy who still tried to make friends and allies even though he was once betrayed by his own people.

Well… in the end, it seemed that Chake was a genuine friend to him.

It was true that Chake had betrayed him at first, but he still came back to Kuzuhara’s side in the end. In the end, he chose his admiration for Kuzuhara, even if it meant potentially sacrificing his beloved girlfriend.

To humans, making a choice means abandoning the other option left unchosen.

It would have been the worst option for his girlfriend, and if I was his girlfriend, I wouldn’t have forgiven him for making that choice. But Chake was someone who could make his own decisions without being influenced by his surroundings.

The bond between Kuzuhara and Chake would probably last for their entire lifetimes. It was an inseverable bond.

I wasn’t envious of them. I knew that this kind of thing was rare. That was all I was saying.

“Hey, hey, Torimoto-san! Look at me!” (Kanna)
“Huh? What is it, Kanna-chan?” (Torimoto)
“The birdies are flying happily!” (Kanna)
There certainly were two birds flying around, chirping harmoniously as they went. No, there was another one behind them, too. Seeing the three birds flying happily, I suddenly thought of Kuzuhara.

Kuzuhara, Ryudou, and the one they loved, Katsuragi Tomoe. They were probably just like this when they were younger. But then, things fell apart.

However, that which falls apart can be restored once more.

“Really… Human beings can be so troublesome sometimes.” (Torimoto)
“Hm? Did you say something, Torimoto-san?” (Kanna)
“No, it’s nothing. Come on, we were going to roast sweet potatoes over the bonfire, weren’t we? Hurry up and gather some leaves.” (Torimoto)
“Okaaay~!” (Kanna)
I turned my gaze away from the birds and went back to sweeping the fallen leaves.

(TL: This marks the end of Volume 2 – Emerging Skill Users Arc. Thanks for reading! The published volumes seem to differ somewhat from the web novel, so the illustrations on the volumes don’t really correspond with the actual volume number. Regardless, here are the relevant pictures to this volume. Album)