Ch.143 My First Dungeon Stream (The Real One) Part 5

[Live stream where you'll see the screen if you hear a gunshot, an arrow being fired, or a stone being thrown]

[It's helpful because it helps me realize when my concentration is starting to waver.]

[It's best to look up at her stream only once every few minutes.]

[I understand]

[It's a working time stream after all]

[Haru-chan is practically working too.]

There we go... Ah, I see.

As I tried to pick up the crystallized monster, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

Since I've gotten smaller, my physical strength and stamina have decreased... I guess I'll have to be even more selective about the items I get as drops.

But today's earnings... if I subtract the time I was sleeping, it's about 70% of the usual.

I think I could go a bit further once I get used to it, but there aren't many drops worth selling, so I might not be able to go in very deep... after all, I'm just a little girl now.

Yeah, it can't be helped.

If something like twisting ankle or getting hit in the back happened, even if I'm still a man, I'd take about two weeks off.

A slight drop in efficiency isn't so bad, is it?

By believing that, I find myself downplaying the outrageous situation of being turned into a little girl as "not a big deal."

...Things like this are hard to just accept, aren't they?

Oh well.

My backpack has gotten heavy enough that I might stumble if I'm not careful, so I should call it a day...it's already evening.

It took longer because I slept, but apparently, I ended up spending the time I would normally be at the office in a dungeon.

Things like that happen, right?

...Well, it would be really bad to go to sleep without preparation, so I need to be careful.

[Oh, are you leaving work already?]

[Those who work from 9 am to 5 pm have it good, don't they?]

[But now that I think about it, today is a weekday, so what about your work, Haru-chan?]

[Maybe it's a compensatory day off?]

I take a quick look at everyone's comments.

Ah... I accidentally started streaming out of habit, but thankfully no one found out.

What should I do next...? Should I stop streaming?

No, it's become a daily routine to look at these people's comments at the beginning and end of my day, it makes me feel like I'm not alone... Since it doesn't seem like they think I'm weird, I guess it's fine to keep going.

The way back involves going up stairs.

In order to conserve as much energy as possible, this route is different from the one I took on the way here; I thoroughly avoid the monsters I find.

Also, since this is the time when people like me who usually come in after work or school start diving, I'm being even more sensitive to the presence of people than when I arrived here.

And as I was huffing and puffing my way up the next few steps of the stairs... I realized something. Because, you see, being a little girl means your stride is short, which means even stairs are difficult for you.

…… Hang on.

How should I cash these in?

This raises a paramount question.

Cashing in.

This involves exchanging dropped items for money at one of the shops located near the dungeon entrance.

Otherwise, I'll earn nothing today.

So I have to do it.

"................................................"

... I mean, just look at my current appearance.

I think I could manage if I used concealment, but I'd have to use my card when cashing it in, and it would be bad if attention were drawn to me by any chance.

...Well, I guess I have no choice. It's a hassle, but I'll take it home and mail it... It'll cost money for shipping, but there's no other way...

For some reason, I feel like the load on my back has gotten heavier.

That's definitely not the case though.

...Apparently, there are even middle schoolers exploring dungeons these days, so I probably wouldn't get in trouble even in this getup, but I'm sure I'd still be remembered and become the subject of rumors...

Even if I had concealment skills that made me less memorable, they would still somehow see me and remember me as a kid under high school age .

I'm so tiny, and so cute, that you don't see it very often... Maybe in the city, but... no, even in the city, I guess.

At times like these, it would have been nice to have just an ordinary guy like any other...

Ah, I can kind of understand what they mean when people said being a girl is tough.

It must be tough being someone who attracts attention and gets involved in trouble no matter what you do or don't do.

...Oh, that's right, the live stream.

I almost forgot to turn it off, so I'll open it again and just say a bried greeting...

[Haru: "That's all for today, thank you very much."]

[Good work]

[Feeling a bit tired? Take a break.]

[This stream is so soothing, I want you to continue, so please take a break.]

[Haru-chan, do things at your own pace]

"Haru-chan."

Because I do live streams where I don't show my voice, face, or body, people are automatically assuming I'm a girl.

Now that it's actually the case, I feel a little bit... happy about it, which is making take some mental damage.

But... ah, so heavy.

It feels even heavier now... Oh well, I'll use a boost to carry it home... It's a waste of magic power, but I'll get plenty of sleep later so it'll be fine, I'm sure...

...Considering this as well, it looks like I'll have to be more selective about which drops I'm taking back from now on.

Yeah, I guess so...

I've turned into a girl after all...

I turn off the stream with a click of a physical button.

When you need certainty, physical stuff is the way to go.

◇◆◇

I reached the top of the stairs, now at the first floor.

All that's left is to go past the entrance, head to the lockers, put this luggage on my back, and go home... but it's going to be a long journey.

If this were a man's body, I'd still be fine.

Well, things usually work out somehow, so I'm fine with things as they are.

...Is definitely not the case, so can I please turn back soon?

I ended up doing a bit of a comedic back-and-forth in my head.

...Ahh, I wonder if I should go to that spring again.

No, that might not be the cause... Besides, the way I got there was just a coincidence, and it only happened once in over two years of diving... Hmm...

◇◆◇

"...Ahh, so tireed."

Towards the end, I mobilized all my detection, concealment, and reconnaissance skills, and with enhanced physical strength, I moved my body mindlessly. I slammed the door shut, and once I was inside the house, I felt a sense of relief and melted away.

Yeah, I usually cash in the drops immediately and not bring them back, I don't have the stamina or muscle strength...

For one reason or another, this body makes traveling tiring, and trying not to be seen is also tiring.

To put it simply, I'm tired.

Physical fitness... I realize now that even working adults who don't exercise can still have quite a bit of it.

I guess I was a man after all, an adult one at that.

I'm starting to worry if I can turn back into a man...but if I do, I'll go to the gym...because if I keep being a little girl, I won't even be able to go to the gym.

"Phew... I'm so tired."

I leaned my backpack against the wall and threw myself onto the futon.

A soft, light, and bouncy feel.

My hair flutters in the air for a moment.

...Even though I only dove in for a short while, it felt like I'd spent the whole day somewhere.

That's how tired I feel.

In terms of physical size, it felt like I went to a place that was two hours round trip and walked endlessly... like a school trip or excursion.

And on top of that, my luggage was so heavy on the way back.

I'm already feeling extremely worried about my physical condition right from the start.

I actually fell asleep shortly after arriving at the dungeon...that was a bad move.

The wristband will prevent me from dying, but I'd hate to be woken up by a monster attacking me.

My performance was fine, but for the time being, I'll stick to energy-saving, short bursts of activity.

Oh well, let's just enter today's spoils for now.

I rummaged through my belongings and arranged them on the futon, then took a picture of each item with my smartphone and uploaded them to the Dungeon Association app.

After waiting a while, I hear a "chirorin" and get an estimated appraisal result.

"................................................"

...I carefully selected what I would take home, so today's earnings are...

I felt dejected.

I'm disappointed.

Well, I guess if I dive in about 5 times a week at the usual rates, I can make a living, right?

I think so too, but it's still tiring when I have to put in more effort than usual for less earnings than usual.

Ah, I wish they'd drop a bag that can hold a lot of stuff... Those things cost hundreds of thousands of yen, even the cheap ones...

I pushed the annoying things on the futon to the side and relaxed once more.

…… Bur really.

"I've turned into a little girl."

A cute voice reaches my ears.

"...Sniff"

What is this nice smell?

...No, it's sweat...it smells a bit like sweat...and there's dirt and stuff on it too.

I walked for hours carrying a pretty heavy load on my back, so I was bound to sweat even if it wasn't the middle of summer.

...The fact that I don't usually sweat like this means...I must have been taking it pretty easy until now.

I've come to realize that I've been taking it way too easy compared to my physical capacity, all to avoid impacting work the next day.

At the same time, this body would be under a lot of strain.

...First, I need to get used to it.

I don't want to come home smelling of sweat every day.

No, it's not like it smells bad or anything.

Rather,

"Sniff sniff... sniff sniff sniff..."

...Y-yep.

It's my own scent after all.

I don't really notice my own sweat unless it gets on my clothes and sits there for a while, or rather... yeah...

I-it's a girl's body, after all... right...?

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