After defeating the demon king in another world and returning to Japan, a dungeon appeared on the ground. - Chapter 97

Chapter 97

The first thing I did after rescuing Miku was to use a subjugation spell on the kidnapper.

Under my control, I commanded him to turn himself in at the police station and confess to his crimes. The man later admitted everything he had done and was quickly taken into custody. I heard all this from the police when they visited our home to conduct a follow-up interview.

With that, the case was resolved, at least for now.

Reflecting on the incident, I took full responsibility, realizing Miku’s abduction was due to my own carelessness. I decided to move us to a high-security apartment building to prevent anything like this from happening again. Though the rent would be significantly higher, nothing was more important than safety.

Determined to afford the new place, I resolved to work even harder on my dungeon explorations and earn more money.

—

“I’m heading out!”

A few days after Miku’s abduction, a day off finally came.

Committed to earning enough for the move, I planned to spend the entire day in the dungeon and was getting ready to leave early in the morning. As I called out to let her know I was leaving, Miku came rushing over.

“Take care, Onii-chan.”

“Yeah… remember to lock up, be very careful. A burglar could try to break in again.”

“Un, I will… but this time, I won’t be taken so easily again. I’ll fight back… with my skill.”

With that, Miku pointed at her shadow, writhing and moving across the ground.

“You are so incredible, Miku… Just how did you learn to control it like that, that fast?”

Miku’s skill, *Shadow Master,* allows her to manipulate shadows, though she had always avoided using it before, finding it creepy. But, I never expected her to be able to control it so skillfully, enough to even break through the restrains of her own kidnapper.

“Un, actually… I practiced a lot while you dived into the dungeon.”

“Practiced…?”

“I thought it might be useful somehow.”

“I see…”

Looks like she put in a lot of effort to try to be useful to me in her own way.

“You’re amazing, Miku. Marvelous.”

“Ehehe…”

She squinted her eyes happily as I patted her head.

“Alright, I’m off. Be sure to lock up well.”

“Un. Take care.”

As the door shut in front of me, incidentally, I heard the lock click ‘gacha’.

Last time, she had forgotten to lock the door, which allowed the intruder in, so I hoped this would be enough. However there can always be a chance.

So, just in case, I decided to put up a protective barrier around the area.

“That should do it…”

Normally, this type of barrier is meant to keep out monsters and doesn’t repel humans entirely, but it was at least better than nothing.

After reinforcing the barrier with as much magical energy as I could, I began my walk towards the direction of the dungeon.