The Virgin Hero Who Fought in the Dungeon for 20 Years Returned to the Surface Only to Find the Population of the World Has Dropped Drastically, with a Male-to-Female Ratio of 1:1000 - 23

Chapter 23: The Resurrection of Haruka

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“Da-hah.”

With a strange sound, Shimomura Haruka suddenly woke up. 

Where am I?

Perhaps due to her instincts as an explorer, she reflexively tried to get up, but her whole body froze.

“Ugh…”

A voice that didn’t suit a fine maiden escaped her lips. Her calves had cramped up. The sharp pain made her briefly think, I wish I hadn’t woken up—a thought she immediately found foolish. Gradually, she realized she was not in a cave but in a room above ground. She instantly felt relieved. Then, she could hear the sounds of people and voices around her.

Is this the hospital?

She had been unconscious for what seemed like a long time and her throat was parched. Her body felt much lighter. Most likely, they had stripped all of her dungeon gear off when they rescued her from the dungeon. She must be dressed in a hospital gown. The hospital gown itself felt dull and uninteresting. Then, the image she had seen before her eyes went white… The memories of what had happened suddenly rushed back to her mind. 

Ah, that’s right. 

She had met a prince in the dungeon. His name was, if she remembered correctly, Ryuuto. Ryuuto was a young and sharp-looking man. He had a unique and powerful presence to him, as though he was a ball of energy that would explode once he came in touch with something. 

That’s right… Cerberus. Ryuuto-san saved me and then…

“What?? Haruka, you’re already awake, huh?! You should’ve said something sooner!”

“Shut up, Kyouka. You’re bothering the others.”

The two women appeared, pulling back the white curtain that separated the bed from the whole room. 

“Rion, Kyouka. So you two are still alive.”

“Well, of course! We’re fine! But what about you, are you okay?”

“Haruka, after that incident, we met another party of explorers and were saved by them. I’m glad you didn’t get gravely wounded.”

The tall, Kansai-accented beauty was Kyouka Kuonji and the one with straight, traditional bangs was Rion Nanami. Both of them were friends of Haruka’s, and they had been doing dungeon streaming as a party together. Kyoka was 172 cm tall, while Rion was a petite girl standing proud at 153 cm. Haruka sat up in bed and smiled in relief upon reuniting with her friends. 

“Yeah, I guess I was lucky?”

“Sorry, Haruka. I should’ve been there for you. But it really feels like God’s will that we can meet again like this.  I’m glad I prayed to my ancestors every morning at the altar.”

Kyoka said, clapping her hands together and bowing to Haruka. Rion muttered with a sharp look in her eyes.

“Don’t mix gods and Buddha together.”

“Hey, what’s with you? You’ve been nagging non-stop. I’m savoring our emotional reunion here. Aren’t you happy we get to meet Haruka again, Rion?”

Kyoka asked while rubbing her cheek against Haruka’s face.

“Kyouka, I get it already. Come on, let go. I’m ticklish.”

“Come on, aren’t you happy? This kokeshi doll… Come on, can’t you express yourself in a more straightforward way like me? Come on, how about it?’

“….”

“O-O-O-OUCHHHH! Stop pulling my hair! You’re going to pluck my cute ponytail off!’

“I will pull it off for real.”

“Umm… Both of you, we’re in a hospital, so can you please tone it down a bit?”

“The exit is that way.”

Rion said while pointing toward the door.

“I just got here! Ah, that’s not it. Haruka! There’s a big problem! Our account got banned! Do you know why??”

The three of them had been streaming their dungeon expeditions and sharing the rewards they earned together. Losing their account was a serious blow to them, but it didn’t seem to faze Kyouka too much. 

“Obviously it’s because we have a walking nudist in our group.”

“Oi, Rion. Are you making fun of me? Do you want me to make you go ‘kyan’ for a bit? Huh??”

“Kyouka, you’re an explorer, but you expose too much skin during exploring.”

“Ugh!”

Just like what Rion said, Kyouka had a habit of wearing outfits that revealed a lot of skin whenever she went out. In particular, she liked clothes that highlighted her voluptuous chest, which she proudly displayed in a way that balanced just on the edge of being indecent but not overly so.

“First of all, the main focus is supposed to be Haruka. We’re just staff.”

“It’s fine, isn’t it? Our livestream might get watched by some guy, you know? If that happens and they see a peek of my voluptuous body… Who knows what could happen? You know, I might get a boyfriend… Or I might finally get impregnated or… Marriage! I might get married!”

Kyouka exclaimed while swaying her tall body and moaning in a sultry voice.

“I’m afraid that’s highly unlikely.”

“Well, I don’t think that’s going to happen either…”

“So cruel?! I mean, I can understand if it’s the Noh Mask saying that to me, but not you too, Haruka?! I thought you’re my best friend?! Come on, let a girl dream a little bit!”

“Kyouka, just for your information, if you’re actually aiming to snatch one of the male doctors here, that’s impossible. The doctors at the Explorer Association’s hospital are all female. Most male doctors only work at research institutes run by the government. There’s no chance for regular people like us to ever meet them.”

“Tch. So the chance is practically nonexistent, huh?”

Kyouka clicked her tongue and muttered in frustration. Haruka understood the feelings behind wanting to meet someone in this situation, so she didn’t argue. Meanwhile, Rion sat down on a chair by the bedside and placed a bag containing a gift of sweets down. She then stared at Haruka seriously.

“Haruka, I was watching the stream even though it kept cutting out. How did you escape from the Minotaur and Cerberus? That’s the part I couldn’t figure out. Did the Association’s rescue team make it in time?”

“U-uh, no. That’s not it. This might sound unbelievable, but… Will you two listen to my story?”

“Yeah. Go on.”

“Sure. We’re listening.”

“You see… I met a prince in the dungeon.”

“Okay, we’re done here.”

“Thanks for everything.”

The two quickly moved to the exit, raising one hand in a casual wave.

“Wait! I’m not playing around! This is true! I was saved by a male explorer in the dungeon!”

“Haruka, you must be still tired, huh? Go sleep some more.”

“Hahaha! Haruka, so you’re going to pull those overly exaggerated classic jokes now, huh? I mean, it’s pretty funny, but it’s not quite there, you know? I will give you 30 points for that. Anything more than 30 is out of the question. I mean, a guy saving you when you were about to die? That’s something straight out of a cliche drama! If they aired that on TV, I’d be calling the TV station to complain nonstop.”

“But it’s really true!”

“Come on, Haruka. We don’t want to doubt you. But, a prince? Seriously, you look like you’re on some kind of drug when you look that serious. You know what I mean?”

“I have to agree with Kokeshi-chan on this one. Anyway, look, I brought your stuff from the Association. Here, this is it.”

Kyouka tossed Haruka her smartphone and Haruka’s expression brightened immediately.

“Oh, right! My phone! There might be pictures of Ryuuto-san in it!”

“Ryuuto-san…?”

Rion blinked rapidly at the unfamiliar name, her large eyes wide with curiosity.

“Haaah… Haruka-chin, you’re still a little girl at heart, huh? You feel lonely sleeping alone and now you’re starting to come up with an imaginary boyfriend. Come on, you don’t need to talk about your fictional boy. People who make up an imaginary boyfriend at your age are considered mentally ill, you know? By the way, I just got pregnant with my 13th child with my imaginary Master. ❤️. A little celebration is in order!”

“You’re the one who’s mentally deranged.”

“Hmm… Anyway, I’ll check my phone right- HUH???”

“What’s wrong? Ah!”

“What the—Whoa! This is bad. What are all these notifications on LINE? 999+ NOTIFICATIONS? Your notifications are hitting the maximum!”

“Hey, hey! Rion, Kyouka, I keep receiving these weird messages from strangers!”

“Maybe your account got caught by some weird virus?”

“Huh? Ugh… They’re all women and they’re sending the most in-your-face, explicit selfies like it’s nothing. I mean, look at this. This person’s areolas are almost the size of a teapot lid. It’s so disgusting I can’t even eat dinner now. Haruka, it looks like you’re being targeted by some strange lesbian group. My condolences.”

Kyouka waved her handkerchief and pretended to distance herself from Haruka. 

“I don’t know these people. They’re scary.”

“Just block them?”

“At least turn off the notifications.”

“Yeah, they’re creepy, so I’ll do that.”

Haruka didn’t understand what was happening. It was, of course, the tragedy that occurred because Ryuuto, who had picked up Haruka’s phone, exchanged contact information with the Explorer Association’s rescue team using Haruka’s LINE account.

“So… What about this Ryuuto guy you mentioned?”

“We-Well, I thought there would be a video of him, but… It’s gone.”

“But you know, there were rumors online that a male voice was heard during your stream.”

“That’s just a bunch of baseless gossip.

“No, it wasn’t.”

Seemingly about to doubt her own memory for a moment, Haruka pressed her hand to her forehead, thinking deeply.

“Well, Haruka, don’t get too caught up in it. Something good will happen soon, I’m sure!”

“Haruka, if everything is all god, you should be able to leave the hospital today. We’ll also have a little strategy meeting soon, so let’s have some drinks at home.”

“Oooh~ That sounds great! It’s been a while since we last drank! I will be sure to make you Kyouka-san’s homemade dishes!”

“Ye-Yeah… I’m still confused, but… Thanks, both of you.”

“Well, yeah! Our friendship is eternal after all!”

As Haruka was moved by their encouragement and friendship, her phone suddenly buzzed with an incoming call. After a brief hesitation, Kyouka and Rion gestured for her to answer, so Haruka reluctantly put the phone to her ear.

“Hello, this is Shimomura speaking…”

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