An Old Man Restaurant Owner Is Unparalleled by Relying on His Old Tricks. It Turns Out, He’s the Legendary Dungeon Conqueror. - 5

Chapter 5: As Expected of a Big Entertainment Agency

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Miku Kanamoto. An idol. She debuted as part of the fourth generation of Phoenix Mountain 38, one of the idol groups known collectively as the Mountain Series. This marked her third year in the industry. A top-tier beauty with pure and graceful charm. She was known for her singing and dancing skills, not to mention her amazing passion for her work. All these qualities made her one of the most anticipated members before her debut. Both the company and the fans had high expectations for her, convinced she would make it big in the industry and become a prominent figure in the group. However, two years after her debut, contrary to everyone’s expectation, Miku’s progress had been facing stagnation. Although she had been selected as a participating member several times, but her positions were always at the back and considering her rivals of the same generation were already performing as centers, Miku’s achievement was not very impressive to say the least. While she had a good number of solid fans, but her fame among the general public was pretty low.

Then, six months ago, she discovered that she was Awakened. 

“I want to do dungeon streaming.”

She said when idols were gaining attention through doing dungeon streaming. Miku was certain this was her chance to make a breakthrough. She begged her agency to allow her to do dungeon streaming. Of course, dungeon streaming had the risk of death. The Mountain Series was a top idol group that led Japan’s female idol scene. It was only natural for the agency to find it hard to allow one of its talents to be doing promotion with the risk of death. Her agency was reluctant to approve her request, but in the end, Miku’s fervent passionate persuasion won them over. They provided her with top-tier streaming equipment and an experienced explorer as her manager. They ensured she would have the highest level of security measure as much as possible. The media was in an uproar upon coming to know that a member of a popular idol group was going to do dungeon streaming. 

She easily gained 300.000 subscribers from creating her channel alone. Fortunately, her viral debut as a dungeon explorer wasn’t just a fluke. Viewers were captivated by the sight of a beautiful idol gracefully slaying monsters. Not only was she skilled with a sword, but she had great talent for magic too, especially in ‘light’ attribute. The sight of her wielding a sword glowing with radiant light made her appear like a valkyrie, and her white and blue-themed gear only enhanced that image. Moreover, even though she had to juggle between her idol activities and dungeon exploration, she was still determined to improve her skills. She rose from F-rank to D-rank in just six months and by the time she realized it, she had reached one million subscribers. She always had more than 100.000 viewers whenever she streamed. In fact, today, she already had 50.000 viewers waiting before her stream even started.

“Are you feeling motivated?~ Are you feeling energetic?~ Are you feeling cheerful?~ I’m the idol who will fill everyone with energy, Miku Kanamoto from Phoenix Mountain 38!”

Miku began her livestream with her signature greeting. 

“Today, I’ll be diving into Tachihi Dungeon in Tachikawa! It’s a Class 4 dungeon, so it goes down to the lower levels, but of course! I will only be exploring up to the middle levels!”

The chat quickly filled with messages to support Miku. 

〈I’ve been waiting for this!〉

〈Good luck, Miku-chan!〉

〈You’re as radiant as ever!〉

〈Ugh-! You’re too dazzling to look at directly!〉

〈I love how bright and cheerful you are.〉

Her fan base mostly consisted of female fans, so they were known for being well-behaved. The comments were relatively peaceful without too much chaos.

〈She’s already doing her best at the middle level.〉

〈She’s only a D-rank explorer now, but I think she will reach C-rank soon. 〉

〈As expected of Miku-chan!〉

〈Manager-san! Do your best!〉

〈Having a B-rank explorer as an idol’s personal manager… As expected of a big entertainment agency.〉

The viewers were well aware that Miku had a B-rank explorer accompanying her dungeon exploration as her manager. Miku usually defeated the monsters on her own though. Her manager only had to step in to help her if the situation were to become dangerous.

〈Kaga-san is super beautiful, isn’t she?〉

〈She only appears on screen occasionally, but she’s already so popular. Well, that’s a beautiful woman for you. 〉

〈Of course. It’s only natural for her to have her own private fan club even though she’s only a manager.〉

〈I heard she was part of a famous party. 〉

The female manager that accompanied Miku was Reika Kaga, a woman as beautiful as an idol. Her number of fans were growing rapidly even though she rarely appeared on screen. 

“Haaah!”

“Gyaaaa-!”

The monsters on the upper levels already possessed no challenge for Miku. It didn’t take long for Miku to reach the staircase leading down to the middle levels since she had already memorized the shortest route to reach the middle levels.

“The middle level at Tachihi Dungeon starts from the 6th floor. In other words, from here on, we will be exploring the middle level! The monsters are significantly stronger compared to the ones at the upper levels, so we need to proceed with caution!”

Miku had already explored the middle level several times before, but she wasn’t the type to let her guard down. She planned one exploring the 6th floor, the easiest floor for the middle level, for one hour before wrapping the livestream up. However, the moment she entered the middle level, she immediately noticed something was off. 

“Why aren’t there any monsters around…?”

“…You’re right. This is strange. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Her manager, Reika, agreed with her.

〈Some kind of irregularity perhaps?〉

〈Things can get super dangerous at times like this. 〉

〈Miku-chan, be careful!〉

〈No, I think it’s better if you go back to the upper level for now. 〉

〈Yeah. It’s standard practice to stop the exploration if things are getting dangerous. 〉

〈Oi, oi, oi. Don’t be too stiff. She will be alright. LOLOLOL〉

〈I still want to keep watching Miku-chan!〉

The viewers’ opinions were divided and Reika quickly made her decision.

“Miku, let’s head back. I know you’ve worked hard to get to the middle level, but this is too strange. It’s better to be safe than be sorry.”

“Hmm… But this is my last livestream before the release of the new song. This livestream is really important.”

Manager Reika wanted to go back, but Miku wanted to keep on going. After all, she finally earned a spot as a front member in the next new song. Her hard work had finally paid off. She was determined to make the new song a success. Her wish to make the new song a success was unparalleled. 

“Miku, your safety is my top priority. You know that, right?”

“Manager-san, I understand you’re only speaking for the sake of my own safety, but just for today… Please. I can’t afford to return yet.”

“….Alright. But only just for a little bit. If anything bad happens, we will turn back immediately.”

“Thank you.”

Miku somehow managed to convince Reika and they both continued exploring the middle level. However, it didn’t take long for Reika’s fear to come true. 

“MUOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!”

“Wha-?! A minotaur?! But we’re still in the middle level?!”

A few minutes after entering the middle level, they came across minotaur, a bull-headed monster that was supposed to only appear in the lower levels.

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