My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon

Chapter 463

Encouragement

10 PM. I finally get home and climb the stairs of my apartment alone.

(Haah… how pathetic…)

I got to see Ruu again after a long time, and it was supposed to be a fun dinner gathering, but the atmosphere in the car on the way back was really awkward.

Well, that couldn’t be helped.

After all, they witnessed the older guy who had been confidently giving all kinds of cooking instructions getting gently admonished by her father for being unemployed. It’s not hard to imagine how that must have looked and felt to Shark and Yuzuki-chan.

In other words, I showed a super embarrassing side of myself to high school girls.

So, on the drive back after dropping everyone off, a very delicate mood hung in the air. Well, if there was one saving grace, it was that when I was being admonished by Ruu’s father, Serai-san looked apologetic along with me.

Yeah, Serai-san also felt responsible for me ending up staying in Kusatsu for so long.

But it’s only natural for a father to worry about his daughter. And the fact that he hadn’t said anything until now was, without a doubt, his kindness. And yet, I was the one who disregarded those feelings.Bitter regret, and remorse. Is this what it means to be unable to bear one’s own shame? I ended up paying dearly for getting carried away after obtaining dungeon power.

Still, I don’t think everything I did was wrong.

After all, during the dungeon stampede, there was no telling how things would turn out. So prioritizing self-defense and survival, and building strength for that purpose—even if it led to my current unemployed state—wasn’t meaningless.

Because everyone is alive like this.

And I also saw many people who didn’t survive the dungeon stampede. Some couldn’t be saved, some were left to die, and at times we were the ones nearly killed. That must have left a deep impression on Ruu too, leading her to choose to enter the entertainment world.

Given how serious she is by nature, she was probably troubled by it for a long time.

That said, it’s also true that being an unemployed grown adult well past twenty doesn’t look good. Yeah, that’s definitely not acceptable. Especially from the perspective of a father with a daughter.

(Haah, no point sulking. I’ll seriously go to osteopathy school starting tomorrow. Ah…)

I step into my home for the first time in a while and turn on the light. Then I notice that not a speck of dust is on the floor—it’s spotless.

(I see… Ruu… Ruu cleaned the place even while I was gone…)

Yeah. That’s the kind of girl she is.

When we talked today, she didn’t mention it at all. I had asked her to look after the place since I wouldn’t be able to check the fridge dungeon for a long time, but I didn’t expect her to clean the room this thoroughly.

“Thanks, Ruu…”

There are a lot of things I need to do. But first, I sent Ruu a message of thanks and wished for the success of her debut in the entertainment industry.

……。

11 AM. Having returned to everyday life, I was about to attend osteopathy school seriously again, but before that, I stopped by Mutou Osteopathic Clinic.

“Ahh—right there feels great, Gotou-chan. Your elbow technique has gotten really good.”

“Hehe, really?”

And today, I came as a customer, with a proper reservation.

I mean, you know, whenever I come here, I end up getting in the way of their work. Plus, I wanted to give them souvenirs from Kusatsu and catch up over lunch after so long.

“How long were you in Kusatsu?”

“Yeah, about a month.”

Lying face down on the bed while receiving treatment from Gotou-chan, I keep the conversation going. Even as a stronger dungeon ability user, if you relax your body, a massage from an ordinary person still feels great.

“Still, Kato and Sato aren’t here today, huh.”

“Yeah, Kato-kun will come in the afternoon. Both of them are keeping busy.”

“I see, those two are working hard too…”

Following Mutou-san, Gotou-chan, Kato, and Sato all successfully graduated from osteopathy school.

Gotou-chan works both here and at an esthetic salon, while Kato and Sato are apparently working hard in the visiting style I had planned to do.

“Well now—though they used to complain that they couldn’t borrow money from their parents because of the stampede, now they’re both working hard to save up opening funds.”

At that point, Mutou-san, having finished the morning’s customers, came over wiping his hands with a towel and joined the conversation.

“So that means I’m the only one who hasn’t graduated yet…”

“That’s because you get too distracted with other things, Zukki. When it’s time to do it, you’ve gotta focus more.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m reflecting on that now, Mutou-san…”

“Hahaha! What’s this? Zukki’s unusually humble today. Hope it doesn’t start raining.”

“Rain would be a problem. I was thinking of going to osteopathy school by bike this afternoon.”

Back in the city, everyday life begins again. But lurking within it was the trap of how uncomfortable it is to be unemployed. Even so, I found encouragement in the voices of my former classmates I hadn’t seen in a while.

Her father’s admonishment, and the piercing gazes of the high school girls. Like a blazing red flame, a vivid sense of shame scorches my body. Next time, MM-BS04. Stay with Egetsu’s hell a little longer.