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 - 60

Chapter 60: A True Professional in the Field

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Yoriko didn’t wait for her break time. She took action immediately. It was the middle of the night. On the upper floors where Ryuuto’s apartment room was located, people moving around at this hour was rare, but she couldn’t take any risks. She wanted to eliminate any situation that might put her at a disadvantage. Breaking into a light jog, she pressed the elevator button.

Please, don’t let anyone get on. I’m begging you, let me ride alone…!

She prayed to the heavens that she wouldn’t encounter anyone on the way up. Perhaps her prayers were answered because she reached her destination—the 44th floor—without running into a single person. Feeling a sense of urgency, Yoriko rushed straight to the laundry box. Just then, the radio on her waist started beeping with an incoming call. However, without hesitation, Yoriko turned it off. The last thing she needed was for the sound to alert someone to her presence. And then—she found it.

“I did it.”

She was overwhelmed with emotion. It was her personal handkerchief she had lent to Ryuuto earlier.

In life, there were moments when one had to make a decision that no one else could make for them and for Yoriko, this was that moment. Pressing the damp handkerchief against her face, Yoriko took a deep breath.

“Huuuuh…. Huuuummm.… Haaaahh.”

The scent—a mix of sweat and raw pheromones hit her like a brick. Inhaling deeply, she filled her lungs with the thick, masculine aroma, and a dazed expression washed over her face. A rush of euphoria coursed through her brain, almost as if a drug had been released inside her. Her knees trembled, her legs lost strength.

How exhilarating…

A deep, overwhelming intoxication filled her senses. She nearly collapsed, feeling as though she were lost in a blissful paradise. She barely managed to keep herself conscious.

Ah… No… I think… I think I’m going to come…

Just from the scent alone, she felt as if she were being embraced by him. Yoriko trembled down to the tips of her hair, overwhelmed by the intoxicating sensation. She thanked the gods for allowing her to be born as a woman. This was what she had wanted for so long. 

Ryuuto Sakazaki

To Yoriko, this man was special. She had once aspired to become an explorer after admiring the hero who had saved Japan, but she hadn’t been able to acquire the necessary aptitude to become one. Left with no other choice, she enlisted in the military, gained a variety of skills and certifications, then left to work for a private security company because of the better pay. It was mere coincidence that her company assigned her to this building’s security. But to Yoriko, meeting Ryuuto had been destiny.

That was why she believed her action was justified.  If possible, she wanted to progress from simply exchanging greetings at the entrance to eventually carrying Ryuuto’s child. To conceive the child of a hero and pass on his bloodline was Yoriko’s sacred mission.

During her shifts, she had devised hundreds of plans in her mind—ways to abduct Ryuuto and make him indulge in her body—but none of them were feasible by any common standard. Rushing things would only lead to failure. Then, what was the first step she needed to take?

Right. First, the scent. She needed to claim for herself that exquisite, manly scent that lingered when they passed each other.

I will make Ryuuto-sama’s scent mine.

“What the hell are you doing, you filthy pervert?”

“Wha—?!”

A sudden voice snapped her out of her trance. She turned around to find her fellow security guard, Shuri Sudou, standing there with a bored look with her radio in one hand.

“Wh-when did you get here?!”

“Oh, since you started panting and moaning like a dog in heat over Ryuuto-sama’s handkerchief the moment he tossed it in the laundry box.”

“I wasn’t doing any of that! Absolutely not! That’s slander!”

Shuri lazily played with the ribbon that held back her long, waist-length hair as she responded in a dull voice.

“Yeah, yeah, that excuse isn’t gonna work. But wow, I never knew the oh-so-rigid Yoriko-chan had this kind of hobby. Man, if word of this got out, you’d be in so much trouble, huh?”

“Ugh… You coward. What do you want?”

“Let me sniff it too.”

Shuri’s usually sleepy eyes gleamed sharply, like those of a prowling tiger.

“Absolutely not.”

“Why the hell not?! I just wanna take a nice, deep whiff of Ryuuto-sama’s scent too! Just like you!”

“I never did anything like that.”

“Liarrrr! Fine, then hand over that handkerchief!”

“No way. Besides, this is my personal belongings. I have no reason to give it to you.”

“…Even though you were slacking off to do your little sniffing ritual.”

“Still, I did not act like a dog.”

“You were worse than a dog. Damn it. I was gonna keep quiet out of our so-called buddy connection, but if that’s how it is, I guess I’ll just have to report Yoriko’s little misdeeds to the higher-ups.”

“Do you really think they’ll believe you, Sudou? Considering how often you ditch your post to sneak off to go snacking?”

Shuri’s work ethic was beyond terrible. On the other hand, Yoriko was highly trusted by the company. If it came down to their word against each other’s, there was no doubt that Shuri would be the one suspected instead.

“What the heck! My feelings for Ryuuto-sama are second to none! Come on, please! Just let me borrow it for thirty minutes!”

“Non.”

“I just want to rub the handkerchief against my precious spot!”

“Permission level: zero!”

“Ugh, you’re such a pain! Fine, then I’ll give you this. Add it to your collection. In exchange, hand over that handkerchief.”

Shuri furrowed her brows and reluctantly took out a paper-wrapped package from her pocket.

“What is that?”

“Ryuuto-sama’s discarded gum.”

“Wha—?! Where did you get that?!”

“The day before yesterday, when I passed by Ryuuto-sama at the entrance. He was chewing gum. So I offered to throw it away for him. Genetic material acquired! Kufufu~”

“You criminal!”

“Look who’s talking.”

“Tch. You probably tasted it to your heart’s content first, didn’t you?”

“Well, why don’t you see it for yourself?”

“I need to confirm what’s inside first.”

“Fufufu, you’re so cautious. Here.”

Shuri carefully unwrapped the paper in her hands. Inside lay a hardened piece of what appeared to be chewed gum.

“Kuf—!”

Yoriko’s throat tightened. The gum that Ryuuto had chewed. Yoriko found herself drawn toward it. Her body swayed slightly, but she quickly snapped back to reality. If it was real, then as a devoted follower of Ryuuto, it was a treasure beyond comparison—but was it truly genuine? Was it really Ryuuto’s chewed gum?

“Hmm? Yoriko-chan, you don’t want it? This is Ryuuto-sama’s chewed gum, you know?”

With her almond-shaped, cat-like eyes sparkling, Shuri sang her words teasingly. The possibility that this was a fake, crafted inside Shuri’s own mouth, was extremely high. Exchanging her treasured handkerchief for such a dubious item would be sheer folly.

“What proof do you have that it’s real?”

“…You’ll just have to trust me on that.”

The two locked eyes. Yoriko had no intention of negotiating. She was going to seize the “Ryuuto Gum” from Shuri and put an end to this pointless struggle. As Yoriko readied herself, Shuri tensed up. Both of them had served in the National Defense Force before switching careers, possessing equal experience and skill in close combat.

And then it happened.

The elevator behind them suddenly opened without warning. Both women turned their body in surprise. Standing there was a basset hound, looking somewhat absentminded. This French breed, with its long ears nearly dragging on the floor and a stout, short-legged body, silently stepped forward and let out a small “woof.”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

Yoriko and Shuri both let out dumbfounded noises. What followed was a blur. Without any preparatory movement, the basset hound leapt up and snatched the gum—wrapper and all—from Shuri’s grasp.

“Ahhh!”

Before Shuri could even protest, the basset hound swallowed the gum, paper and all, then swiftly darted past Yoriko’s left side. The sheer speed of that dog’s movement was unbelievable. The dog then snatched the handkerchief from Yoriko’s left hand, kicked off the hallway wall in a somersault, and landed flawlessly—like an Olympic medalist.

With incredible agility, the basset hound sprinted toward the emergency stairs.

“G-give it back!”

Snapping back to reality, Yoriko chased after it. The basset hound glanced back for just a moment, its eyes gleaming with a taunting glint—as if mocking her. Yoriko felt certain of it. She couldn’t let the dog escape. The handkerchief, soaked with Ryuuto’s bodily fluids, had now become an irreplaceable treasure to her. With a burst of speed, she took off, but the basset hound’s short legs moved with astonishing quickness, allowing it to descend the stairs at a rapid pace.

“You gum thief!”

Shuri joined the chase. In that moment, Yoriko felt an unexpected surge of camaraderie toward Shuri—or maybe not. Either way, driven by sheer fury at having her beloved Ryuuto’s discarded gum stolen, Shuri’s eyes were bloodshot as she overtook Yoriko and closed in on the audacious basset hound.

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T/N: Out of all dogs, it’s a basset hound, a breed not typically considered fast or strong at running…