"Good morning, Tsukasa-kun!"
"...Good morning."
As I was walking from the station to school, checking out various recording devices on my phone, I sensed Asakawa-san approaching from behind. It startled me a bit when she suddenly greeted me, but since I noticed her beforehand, it wasn't too shocking... Well, except for the fact that it's kind of creepy to notice someone's presence like that.
Everyone around us, dressed in the same school uniform, was giving us surprised looks, likely because Asakawa-san had greeted me. However, she didn't seem to care, and I was too busy looking at cameras on my phone to pay much attention.
"Oh, are you looking at cameras? They're expensive!"
"Well, the one you're using is expensive too."
"I saved up and worked hard to buy it. But... Tsukasa-kun, are you really thinking of buying that one all at once?"
I am, actually. After all, I have more than enough money, so I might as well go all out and get the best. Of course, I'm not just looking at the price, if I'm going to start dungeon streaming for real, I need something high-performance. I can't afford to hear complaints like "It's impossible to film deep floors with this."
"Are you getting interested in dungeon streaming?"
"Yes. I need a high-performance camera to capture footage in the deep floors... What's wrong?"
"Huh, deep floors?"
Why is she so surprised? If I'm going to film something, wouldn't the deep floors be the most valuable footage?
"If you really do it, it'll be a big deal, you know?"
"Huh? I don't really get it... Are there no explorers streaming footage from the deep floors?"
"Almost none, actually."
Really? While the deep floors are generally accessible to A-rank explorers, with most saying it's for S-rank only, I assumed there'd at least be some streamers.
"Only one person has ever streamed from the deep floors."
"One person?"
"Yeah. It's considered a legendary stream, watched worldwide, and the archive has over a hundred million views."
She's explaining this with such a serious expression. But I've seen S-rank explorers talk about the deep floors on TV, showing photos and such... Well, they probably had to prepare thoroughly before going there.
"And that one person is an EX-rank."
"Oh, the 'Disaster of the Dungeon,' right?"
"...What did you say?"
"Huh? If it's an EX-rank who streams, it must be her, right?"
I was surprised. Please don't shout like that...., it's startling.
"All the EX-rank explorers know each other. We even have each other's contact info."
"Oh, I see... I didn't expect the 'Magical Princess' to have such a nickname."
"That's another name she's called by."
Well, I guess they wouldn't use "Disaster of the Dungeon" on TV. It's nice that she has a cleaner nickname... though I still hold a grudge for the time she tried to pick a fight with me.
We continued our casual conversation while walking into the school and eventually made it to class. It suddenly hit me—I'm usually so bad at talking, but somehow I managed to have a normal conversation with Asakawa-san. Maybe I'm getting used to her?
"So, Tsukasa-kun—"
"Huh?"
Wait, did the atmosphere just freeze over? Did Asakawa-san use some kind of freezing magic when she walked into the classroom with me? The entire class is dead silent.
"Hey, nerd. I told you not to get cocky."
"S-Sorry?"
Of course, it wasn't Asakawa-san who froze the classroom, it was the presence of the class's resident "handsome guy," glaring daggers at me as he walked over.
"You said you understood what it means to get hit by a C-rank, right? So, you're okay with getting punched now?"
"I-I'm sorry... um, Kuribayashi-kun?"
Oh no, he looks even angrier now. Did I mess up his name?
"I'm gonna kill you!"
"Wait, no! Don't, Kuribayashi-kun!"
"Oh, Kurihara-kun! Sorry about that."
"What!?"
"Tsukasa-kun, don't provoke him!"
"Did you just call him Tsukasa-kun!?"
At this point, I'm not even sure who's provoking who anymore.
Kurihara-kun seemed ready to throw a punch, and the rest of the class was pale with fear. Maybe Kurihara-kun is the type of explorer who relies on physical strength? If that's the case, he might actually kill someone if he hits them too hard.
"What's all this commotion about!?"
"Tch!"
Just as I was caught between Asakawa-san and Kurihara-kun, not knowing what to do, our homeroom teacher arrived.
"You, nerd. Meet me on the roof after school."
"Uh, the roof is off-limits—"
"If you don't show up, I'll kill you."
Yikes. He's not listening to anything I say.
But... I've already promised to meet with Asakawa-san after school. If I tell him that, he'll definitely get even angrier. How can I get out of this...?
I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out an excuse to get out of the rooftop meeting, but nothing came to mind. When the final bell rang, I still had no solution, and Kurihara-kun gave me a look that said, "You know what's coming."
But Asakawa-san didn't seem to care at all.
"Let's go have our strategy meeting, as promised!"
"Huh?"
"What?"
Neither Kurihara-kun nor I could react in time before Asakawa-san grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the classroom. Kurihara-kun ran out into the hallway, glaring at me, but it's not like I had a choice here.
We ended up in an empty classroom.
"The teacher said we could use this room during club hours if it was free."
"How did you manage that?"
"I told him it was for dungeon research!"
Well, it's not exactly a lie...
"What's the plan for our strategy meeting?"
"Hehe... First, I want you to teach me everything about conquering the lower floors!"
Armed with a notebook and pen, Asakawa-san grinned at me. Well, I guess the fastest way to tackle a dungeon is to get advice from someone experienced... but does that really count as a strategy meeting?
"And I'll teach you all about dungeon streaming, Tsukasa-kun!"
"Please do."
This is important. I'm not sure if I'll actually start streaming, but it's good to know the ins and outs. Considering she's one of the top streamers, getting information from her is invaluable. And if all I have to do in exchange is share my knowledge of the lower floors, that's a fair trade.