Saitama Dungeon - Chapter 2

Episode 2: Return

When the dazzling white light subsided, the scene that entered my eyes wasn’t the hall of the Demon King’s castle.

In front of me was a convenience store.

As I stood there blankly in front of the convenience store, Japanese people avoided me and went inside.

From inside the convenience store, Japanese people emerged carrying bags filled with goods.

The convenience store in front of me appeared unchanged compared to my memories from ten years ago.

I suppose ten years isn’t enough time for a convenience store to change.

Did I really return?

Of course, there was no one to answer the voice in my heart, but everything around me seemed to respond.

I’ve returned!

I closed my eyes and collapsed on the spot.

Exhausted.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a 14 or 15-year-old boy collapsed on the asphalt parking lot outside the convenience store’s glass door.

Until a moment ago, I was wearing the hero’s silver full plate armor, Arian, but now I appeared just as I did ten years ago.

I slowly got up and staggered into the convenience store.

I entered the convenience store and took a deep breath.

It smells like a convenience store!

Looking at the clock on the convenience store’s wall, I realized I needed to find out what day it was.

Hastily grabbing the evening newspaper stacked next to the entrance, I checked the date, and it was the same date as that day ten years ago.

Huh?

Was that a dream?

Had I been having a daydream spanning ten years?

Was the grueling half-year training followed by nearly ten years of harsh journey and battle just a dream?

There’s no way to confirm it now, and since my appearance hasn’t changed at all, I have no choice but to think it was a dream.

Huh?

As I tried to put the evening newspaper back, I caught a glimpse of the headline, “Dungeon…”

Curious, I looked at the evening paper again.

“The 3rd Dungeon finally reached the 21st floor!”

What’s this about? An anime promotion? Or a movie?

According to the article, the gatekeeper before the stairs leading from the 20th floor of the Saitama Dungeon, also known as the 3rd Dungeon in Saitama Prefecture, to the 21st floor, was defeated by the adventurer team “Hayate.”

According to the article, a gatekeeper is a powerful monster that guards its position.

Who cares about the gatekeeper, but a dungeon in Japan?

Is this the Japan I lived in?

I felt something cold on my back.

After putting the evening paper back with slightly trembling hands, I looked around.

This definitely looked like the convenience store I knew, and the customers inside were Japanese, speaking Japanese both customers and staff at the cash register.

The cashier’s intonation might be a bit off, so they might not be Japanese, but they were speaking proper Japanese.

In the Japan I knew, there were certainly no dungeons, but in this Japan, there are dungeons.

It’s clearly odd.

If this isn’t my Japan but a different one, then does my house exist?

If my house does exist, isn’t there another me in it?

I worried and patted my jacket.

As I remembered, according to my memories of ten years ago, my wallet was still there.

When I checked the contents, there was a little over 2,000 yen, including coins.

I don’t know how far I can live on 2,000 yen, but I’m sincerely grateful not to be penniless.

Though I had completely forgotten about it over the ten years in my memory, my smartphone was also still in my pocket.

If the smartphone I have is unauthorized in this Japan, it shouldn’t work, but the antenna was up and the search app was working.

That gave me some relief.

Then I dashed out of the convenience store and ran about 500 meters to my house.

What I felt as I ran was that my legs were incredibly fast.

Yes. Just like a hero.

Despite running 500 meters from the convenience store to home, I didn’t even feel out of breath.

And it didn’t take me a minute, I believe.

In everyday clothes and sneakers, it’s 500 meters in 60 seconds.

Simple calculation, 100 meters in 12 seconds.

This physical ability is that of a hero!

Indeed, I wasn’t dreaming when I was summoned to another world, and the nearly ten years of battle were not a dream.

Well, the fact that there are dungeons in Japan is a much more dream-like story.

The appearance of my house was just as I remembered it.

But somehow it felt hard to enter.

If there’s another guy with the same face as me inside, I’d end up being a 2,000 yen homeless unemployed boy A.

What should I do?

In the 20 years of my life in memory, I’ve never been this troubled.

There’s no solution in hesitating.

Even if the worst happens and I can’t overturn the truth, I have to accept reality.

I put my hand on the doorknob of the entrance and turned it, pulling.

The door wasn’t locked, so it opened easily.

Before leaving the house, I remembered my mom was in the kitchen, so I said, “I’m home,” toward the kitchen where I sensed someone.

From the kitchen, my mom answered, “Welcome back.”

It’s been ten years for me.

If I was inside the house, I would have been surprised by my current voice, but for now, it seems like there’s only me inside.

I took off my shoes and threw them into the shoe cabinet.

It felt fresh to take off my shoes before entering the house.

I went up the stairs next to the entrance and stood in front of my room, trying to sense any presence inside.

As expected, there was no sign of anyone beyond the door.

I opened the door decisively, but of course, there was no one inside.