Volume 4 Chapter 14 The Ogre Guardian and an Unexpected Visit Seeking The Same Change
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
We finally made it to the treatment room on the third stratum.
At the edge of the grassy floor, an iron door was lodged into a massive rock. It felt utterly out of place, an alien thing that didn’t blend with nature at all, yet that was the entrance leading into the treatment room.
”…Is that, like, an Ogre?”
Standing right in front of the door was a monstrous figure, easily over three meters tall. Horned and ridiculously muscled, it was immediately clear that this grotesque beast was the floor boss of the third stratum. This dungeon was set up so the lower you went, the higher the rank of the monsters. This third floor was only classified as D-Rank, lower tier.
”There are no problems, Master. That creature was also born from the magical power of Master and Asami-sama. It is, in essence, like family.” Ecoa’s clinical voice stated.
”Ugh, no, seriously—that’s a bit much! Something about the way you phrased that just gives me the creeps!” Hirose cringed.
Though Asami’s magic made up the bulk of it, a portion of his own power was also used in the monster’s creation. Still, having a creature born from his magic called ‘family’ felt more than a little unsettling.
”Then, let us proceed.” Ecoa directed, and we walked right past the Ogre floor boss.
It didn’t move or do anything, but its eyes, huge and predatory, rotated to track our every motion, gripping us with a fierce glare.
* * *
Inside, the treatment room looked just as they had checked on the monitor before—a space where several treatment tables were neatly lined up. Amidst all this, Hibiki, who had managed to fix her hair somehow, suddenly noticed something.
”I don’t know how many people we plan to treat at once, but shouldn’t these be private rooms? Massages and stuff are usually done in private, you know?” she proposed.
”That’s true,” Koharu agreed, nodding and remembering the previous treatments. “Himari-chan and Kairi-chan were completely visible to each other… privacy’s definitely necessary, yeah.”
Even among close friends, nobody wanted to be seen in a state close to nakedness; it was just plain embarrassing.
”Master, please issue your command.” Ecoa requested.
”Yeah, private rooms are better. Just wall them off nicely.” Hirose decided.
”Understood.”
As soon as Ecoa received the order, it raised its hand calmly, and the ground below groaned… as multiple partitions instantly rose to form several individual rooms. The finished rooms were simple but totally functional, complete with doors and interior locks.
”Ah, right, right. Hey, Ecoa, can you prepare something like this?” Hibiki asked, showing her smartphone screen.
”Yes. I have confirmed the contents. I will deal with it later.” Ecoa responded with a nod. Hirose didn’t really catch the details, but he figured that anything to do with Beauty was best left up to Hibiki.
”—This will be the shower room.” Ecoa announced after they finished inspecting the treatment area.
Opening the door to the adjacent room revealed a shower space without a bathtub. The tiled floor had a working drain, and the design somehow reminded Hirose of his own bathroom at home.
”…Yep, this looks fine too.” Hirose approved.
”All that remains now is the hot spring, but that will require a separate entrance.” Ecoa informed him.
”Oh, right. Hot springs take a while to set up, huh?”
”Yes. I will begin its construction after everyone has left for the day.”
”Sounds good. I’m counting on you.” Hirose sighed.
”Okay, let’s head home already! It’s getting late, ssu!” Hibiki chirped, stretching her arms toward the ceiling.
The group made their way back to Hirose’s room via the Master Room, and from there, they all headed their separate ways home.
* * *
”—Mom, everyone’s gone now.”
”Oh, really? Dinner will be ready in a little while, so just wait a minute, dear.” Honoka replied softly.
”Yeah, thanks as always—wait, what, what, WHAT?!”
Hirose had seen everyone off at the entrance and walked toward the kitchen to talk to his mother, Honoka, but the moment his gaze fell upon the sofa in front of the TV, he totally froze.
”Y-you’re…!” he stammered.
”H-hello…”
Sitting there, cupping a coffee mug with both hands, was Aoi’s best friend: Kozuka Rio.
”Mom! Why is she here?!” Hirose cried out.
”I found her standing outside the house on my way back from the supermarket. I figured she was another one of your acquaintances, Hirose, so I invited her in.” Honoka explained calmly.
”Another one… you say that like it happens all the time…” Hirose groaned, burying his face in his hands.
Honoka was long past being surprised. Beautiful girls kept showing up, one after the other. Even if she could guess who the real romantic target was, after watching this bizarre spectacle for over a year, she no longer batted an eye.
”She was waiting for you to come down. You should keep her company until dinner is ready.” Honoka instructed.
”…R-right.”
He couldn’t just ignore her when she was already inside the house. Hirose held his head, but he couldn’t leave Rio alone.
”Um… Kozuka-san, right? We probably shouldn’t talk down here in the living room, so maybe we could go up to my room for a bit?”
”D-don’t tell me… you plan on doing something horrible to me—?!” Rio instantly suspected, her voice laced with distrust.
”N-no way! I just wanna talk! Mom’s right here, so there’s no way I’d do anything like that!” Hirose defensively snapped back.
”That’s true, I suppose… but let me tell you this: I absolutely will not forgive you if you try anything weird!” Rio declared, voicing a massive misunderstanding in a very public way.
Yet, Honoka, who must have heard the whole thing, just smiled softly and continued preparing dinner.
They moved to Hirose’s room, where Rio sat down cautiously in front of his desk. Hirose deliberately kept some distance, sitting on his bed to speak to her.
”So… why were you standing in front of my house?”
”……” Rio didn’t answer the question, only glancing nervously around the room.
”K-Kozuka-san?”
”—The first boy’s room I’ve ever entered… I can’t believe it turned out to be yours…!” Rio mumbled, a small lament about her shocking first experience instead of an answer.
(But she was the one who followed me here…) he grumbled internally, deciding not to voice the thought.
”—There is nothing about you…!” Rio’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
”Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
”It means that you’re not the terrible person I thought you were. There are lots of girls around you, but… I don’t know, they all just seem happy.”
(Ah… so that was the source of that strange feeling, huh? Aoi-chan mentioned something about this too,) Hirose realized. He now understood that Rio’s actions had been a test to gauge his character. She had been the source of the hidden surveillance he’d been feeling lately.
”I told you, didn’t I? There’s nothing forceful going on with Aoi-chan or anyone else.”
”…I still can’t completely believe that, though…” she retorted.
”I didn’t exactly wish for things to turn out this way, either. If anything, I’m the one being tossed around.”
The side-effects of his skill and Aoi’s transformation—he knew he held some responsibility. But the Aoi of today was cheerful and bright; she seemed to have fewer worries than before.
”—Give me your time this weekend.” Rio suddenly demanded.
”…Huh? What exactly are you suggesting with that…?” Hirose asked, bewildered.
”You did something to Aoi, didn’t you? Then you have to do the same to me! I absolutely refuse to lose to her!” she declared with an intensity that shocked him.
”W-wait a second, that’s not…”
”S-shut up! Just do the same thing to me that you did to Aoi!”
Hirose couldn’t tell if she was being serious or just trying to pull his leg. But Rio’s eyes held absolute earnestness.
”No, no… Kozuka-san, this isn’t a small thing we can just talk about…” Hirose protested.
”You changed Aoi. If she can’t go back to how she was, then I… I want to become the same as Aoi.”
—Because she wanted to understand everything about her friend, Aoi.
Rio deeply cherished Aoi, who had reached out to her when she had no friends. That’s why the growing distance between her and Aoi was something she couldn’t bear.
”…Okay. I get it. I’ll talk to Hibiki about this first. But I need you to think about it for a week. The Golden Week¹ holiday is coming up soon, so I’ll take the time then.”
”……Yes.”
Hirose’s compromise finally brought a slight calm to Rio.
The two exchanged contact information. Rio reluctantly agreed, muttering that she couldn’t let Aoi know about this.
”It’s dark now, so I’ll walk you part of the way.”
”…It’s that kind of kindness that gets on my nerves the most. I hate you, so please don’t be nice to me…” she huffed.
”Even so, I can’t just leave you alone, can I?” Hirose let out a small, quiet sigh of relief as Rio wordlessly stood up.
They walked side-by-side along the night road, and after seeing her off part of the way—
”…Phew. That’s a pattern I’ve definitely not seen before…”
Hirose took a deep breath in the night air, steeling his resolve to consult with Hibiki about today’s events the following day.
—
Summary:
Hirose and the girls finish setting up the new dungeon treatment rooms, making sure to add vital privacy partitions and a shower area, but they still need to build the hot spring. After a long day of urban fantasy construction, Hirose returns home only to find Aoi’s best friend, Kozuka Rio, waiting for him. Suspicious and fiercely defensive of her friend, Rio confronts Hirose about the magical transformation of Aoi. In a desperate bid to understand and stay close to her cherished friend, Rio makes an unbelievable demand: she wants Hirose to use his S-Rank Gift on her too, a shocking new development in the high-schooler’s growing harem life.
—
Character Insight:
Kozuka Rio is clearly motivated by fierce friendship and a deep-seated fear of being left behind. Her tsundere-like attitude and suspicion of Hirose are a shield for her emotional vulnerability. The demand for ‘the same’ treatment shows her desperate need to close the growing distance between her and Aoi, revealing her as a highly determined and intensely loyal friend, now willing to enter Hirose’s bizarre, magic-filled world to keep her bond intact.
—
Behind the Scene:
The setting of the treatment rooms and shower was finished, showing how much the girls are adapting their magic-created dungeon into a functional beauty facility. The Ogre boss being ‘family’ is a dark, humorous touch to the harem setting. Rio’s sudden appearance and bold demand for the Gift treatment marks a major turning point, moving the story from just Hirose’s reactions to the Gift’s side-effects to others actively seeking them out. This decision pushes the plot forward by adding a new, highly volatile element to the character dynamic.
—
T/L:
1 [Golden Week] The long period of consecutive public holidays in Japan near the end of April and early May. A time often used for travel or extended breaks. ↩
Notes:
• Ecoa – The Guardian of the Dungeon Core, a beautiful entity with long blonde hair, slit eyes, and distinctive pointed ears reminiscent of an elf. She initially appears in black ceremonial robes, which instantly transform into a revealing, classic black maid uniform. Her existence was previously undetectable by ‘Appraisal’ Gifts. Her sole purpose is to serve and support the Dungeon Master, Hirose.
• Kozuka Rio – Aoi’s best friend. She has a neat, precise look with short black hair and is slightly shorter than average. She was initially friendless, making her connection to Aoi incredibly important. She is highly suspicious of Hirose and what he’s done to change Aoi, viewing him as a threat.
• Rio – A member of the Beauty Committee who previously worked with Hirose and already holds a negative opinion of him, seeing him as a ‘playboy.’ She has short dark hair and is dressed neatly in her school uniform. She is Aoi’s friend and is currently determined to ‘rescue’ her.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply