Chapter 4: A Revered Presence

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Never did I think that Shion and Kanade would come here.

Thump, thump.

With my heart pounding, I looked at the livestream screen once more.

They were currently on the first floor.

And I was at the safe point between the fifth and sixth floors.

If I wanted to meet them, I could. The people I admired were that close.

“M-Must be kidding…”

Well, sure, I started a blog hoping that people who read my articles might get interested and come visit, you know?

But I never thought that Shion and Kanade would actually come!

Shion and Kanade—the people I admire.

…For someone like me, who’s already shy around others, that’s too high a hurdle. It’s like stepping out of the starter town only to have the Demon King waiting.

“Aba, abababa…”

C-Calm down. Get a grip, me.

Right, I’m just a fan.

I’ll just watch over them from afar.

“So this is 【Garden of the Gods】… What an incredible atmosphere this dungeon has.”

While I was panicking, Shion-san and Kanade-san’s livestream continued. The familiar entrance scenery was displayed on my smartphone, making my heart skip a beat.

They’re really here… This isn’t a dream, right…?

I pinched my cheek. Ouch. Seems it’s real.

“This is… an amazing view. I understand now why it’s called 【Garden of the Gods】.”

Shion murmured such impressions.

The comments were buzzing. I joined in, following the flow and commenting. The messages were half filled with concern and half with anticipation.

Shion-san recently ranked up to S-Rank, and Kanade-san is an A-Rank who’s almost S-Rank. Though their visuals often get the spotlight, they’re both quite skilled.

Especially S-Rank adventurers—apparently, there are only a few dozen in the entire country. I’m not very knowledgeable, but I recall hearing something like that on the news.

With the two of them, they should be able to proceed through the first floor without any problems.

But the monsters there have some elements that are a bit of a trap for first-timers… If they don’t know about it, they might struggle.

“Ah, but before that, we need to explain why we’ve come here today.”

T-That’s true.

Why did Shion-san and Kanade-san come here?

Even if I say so myself, this dungeon is overwhelmingly unpopular. In fact, when I did a livestream earlier, no one came…

“That Shion-san and Kanade-san sure have insane viewer numbers.”

The number displayed at the bottom-right corner of their screen, showing simultaneous viewers, had surpassed 100,000.

Having streamed myself, I know exactly how monstrous that number is. It’s literally 100,000 times more than mine.

《Is it because Masaru said something?》

《I saw it on the news this morning too.》

《It’s blowing up on the forums right now.》

《Oh, that blog, huh? But isn’t it just a rumor?》

Those comments flowed across the screen.

That blog? What are they talking about? Could someone else be writing about 【Garden of the Gods】 besides me?

“That’s right. Just as the comments are saying, we came to see whether that blog is accurate.”

《Isn’t it just fake?》

《Well, it is intriguing.》

《Isn’t it dangerous…?》

《Be careful, okay?》

“Of course, we’ll take every precaution for safety. We won’t push ourselves, and we’re only stepping into the entrance.”

Shion-san responded to the comments while continuing to explain. Standing beside her, Kanade-san seemed unusually fidgety, unable to stay calm. Maybe she was nervous?

“Well then, shall we get started?”

After answering a few more questions from the comments, Shion-san turned and began walking toward the entrance.

There’s no doubt about it. That’s the familiar entrance to 【Garden of the Gods】. They’re really here… Shion-san and Kanade-san are actually here!

“W-What do I do…?! Should I just wait here?! No, should I go meet them…?!”

Completely ignoring my panicking, Shion-san and Kanade-san headed into the dungeon.

“All right, I’ll head to the first floor for now…!”

I swore to myself not to disturb their stream.

With that resolved, I decided to head toward where Shion-san and Kanade-san were.