My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon

Chapter 423

Ghost Story

Another day has ended.

I worked hard in the fields since morning, repaired the chicken coop that had a hole in it, and went out shopping at the home improvement center, and before I knew it, it was already dusk.

But feeling like time passes so quickly probably means I'm enjoying myself, right?

And to help Masa-kun and Yuki-kun make some fun summer memories, I also bought the biggest bag of fireworks they were selling at the home center.

Hmm, with prices being so high these days, this is quite the splurge.

But, you know, these kinds of happy memories are priceless, right? Since I only have lonely and boring memories myself, I ended up also layering on my own wish of "I wish I had fun memories like these~," and let myself give this present to the two of them.

"Look, I bought fireworks. Let's all set them off after dinner!"

""Wah~, fireworks!""

"Coach, thanks a bunch.""Ah, no, no. It's really nothing."

Nina-san also looks happy, her face breaking into a smile at the sight of the two of them delighted to receive the fireworks. Uh-huh, uh-huh, that's just fine. Doing things like this is also part of an adult's role.

…….

And so, 9 PM.

Grandpa, who usually goes to bed early, and the Twins, who worked hard helping with the farm work since the crack of dawn, are in bed. So, only those of us with dungeon abilities and stamina to spare remained, sitting in a circle in the front yard of the new house.

And in the center, a single thick candle was burning all by itself.

That's right, after the fireworks, we got to talking about doing something even more summer-like, and decided we'd tell ghost stories. So here we are, using logs as makeshift chairs, taking turns sharing our scary tales.

Things like, 'I felt something strange in my room, and when I looked, a scary face was peeking in through the window.' Or, 'One person in a group who went to test their courage in an abandoned hospital heard a strange voice then, and later went crazy and disappeared.' Well, one terrifying yet cliché ghost story followed another, and finally my turn came around.

(Hmmm, this is troublesome…)

But the ghost story I had been thinking of telling had already been shared. Well, these things follow patterns, so you can't deny that even if the details differ, the main points tend to be similar.

"Come on, next, it's your turn, Egetsu-san?"

"Hmm, right~"

"Fufu, Coach, what kind of scary story are ya gonna tell?"

"Hey, c'mon, give us a real scary one, Jung!"

"Wah, I'd rather hear more stories about Pixie-chan than a scary story…"

"Hmmmm, so what story should I tell?"

To be honest, I know a lot of scary stories. That's because as a fantasy-loving nerd, I end up researching that kind of stuff too.

But here, there's one big problem.

I'm not good with words, and my storytelling is terribly bad, so if I tell a long story, it'll probably drag and everyone will get bored. But stories that are scary and interesting mostly have their twists and turns, so they tend to be long.

And yet, if I try to shorten such a story, the potentially scary tale just ends up becoming bland.

"What's the matter, Jung? Hurry up already!"

Saying that, Shark, sitting next to me, starts hitting me. With fist-chops, of course. You, I swear. You probably act like this with your own brothers too, but I'm not your brother, you know?

"Alright…, here goes. Since everyone here is a dungeon ability user, I'll go with this story."

"Oh, you decided what to talk about!?"

Maybe he likes ghost stories, because when I said I'd start, Shark's eyes sparkled happily.

"Hmm… This is something that actually happened to me personally…"

Saying that, I looked intently into the eyes of each person there, one by one.

"When I first acquired my status in the dungeon, my Luck was only 3…"

"Huh…?"

"Eh…?"

Then, after voices of doubt escaped their lips, a few seconds later, a wave of laughter erupted.

"GYAHAHAHA! Y-y-your Luck is 3!? T-that's too low, GYAHAHAHA!!"

"Ehh~ Stop it, oh my god, Egetsu-san! That's not a scary story, that's a joke~!"

"Now, now, Grandpa and the others are sleeping, so don't laugh so loudly."

"B-but 3 is just…! Kuh, kuhihihihihi…!"

"Eh, Egetsu-san… That's not a scary story at all, you know?"

"Fufu, that's right, 'ey."

But, this reaction of everyone laughing… well, it was within my expectations.

"Hahaha, I guess it wasn't scary. But… do you all really think that??"

And this time, with even more pressure in my eyes than before, I slowly looked each and every one of them in the eye once more.

Zugogogogogogo…