ある日のこと。台所に立った晴輝は、床下の貯蔵庫を開いてため息を吐いた。
「しまった。タマネギが切れた」
大量に保管していたダンジョン産のタマネギがなくなった。
なくなった理由は単純。晴輝が食べ過ぎたからだ。
ダンジョン産のタマネギはひと玉のサイズが赤子の頭以上とかなり大きいのだが、晴輝は一度にひと玉まるごとペロリと平らげる。
ひとたび食べれば止まらなくなる。ダンジョン産のタマネギは、それほど美味であった。
「仕方ない。獲りに行くか」
まるで家庭菜園から農作物を収穫するような気軽さで呟く晴輝だったが、向かう先はダンジョンである。
五年前に突如として日本に出現したダンジョンには、様々な魔物が跋扈している。
当然、それらの魔物は地球上のどの生物とも違う。凶悪で、凶暴で、人の命を容易く奪えるほどに強靱である。
油断すればあっさり命を奪われる。そのような場所に赴くには、晴輝には少々緊張感が足りない。
それもそのはず。晴輝は既に自宅にある『車庫のダンジョン』二階までを、難なくクリア出来るほどまで成長していたのだから。
ダンジョン用の武具を装備して、晴輝は『車庫のダンジョン』二階へと向かった。
「さてっ!」
短剣を抜いた晴輝は、口元に笑みを浮かべた。
これから行うのは魔物の討伐。人間を殺す生命体との死闘である。しかしいま晴輝の頭にあるのは、こんがりローストしたタマネギ――今日の昼食のことだけであった。
ずんずんとダンジョンの奥へと進んでいく晴輝の前に、タマネギたちが立ち塞がる。
鎧袖一触。晴輝はそれらをサクッと捌いて鞄の中へ。
果敢に攻めかかるタマネギたちであったが、相手が悪かった。幼い頃から木寅さんに指導され、様々な農作物の収穫を学んだ晴輝にとって、タマネギの襲来など恐るるに足らないのだ。
ダンジョンに入ってしばらくした頃。
これまで順調にタマネギモンスターを収穫――いや、倒してきた晴輝の手が、止まった。
「............んん?」
晴輝の目の前には、三玉のタマネギがいた。そのモンスターはこれまでとは違い、晴輝に襲いかかることはなかった。
襲いかからずに、三玉は互いに身を寄せ合って、震えていた。
晴輝が一歩、足を踏み出した。すると、タマネギモンスターたちは「ピャッ!」と震えて飛び上がった。
飛び上がった拍子に、頭頂部でポンッと花が咲いた。
「あれぇ?」
晴輝は大きく首を傾げた。
通常、魔物は人間を襲う。たとえ圧倒的に人間の方が強くとも、愚直に人間に襲いかかる。そういう生物である。
だが、現在目の前のタマネギモンスターたちは、晴輝に襲いかかるではなく、体を震わせていた。
あたかも『はわわ!』『見逃してくださいおねがいしますぅ!』『コロされるー!』と怯えているかのように......。
彼らが怯えているのは、誰あろう晴輝――人間に、である。
これは、晴輝にとって初めての構図だった。
モンスターが襲ってくれば、なんの抵抗もなく戦える。だがこうして身を寄せ合い怯えられると、戦意が一気に失われる。野菜の収穫に目の色を変えた晴輝でさえ、さすがに収穫しようとは思えなかった。
(うーん、作戦なのかな?)
相手が油断したときに襲いかかる腹づもりか。しかし、タマネギたちの姿は真に迫っている。晴輝はそれが演技には見えなかった。
(これで戦っちゃ、ただの弱い者イジメだ)
晴輝はため息一つついて、短剣を鞘に収めた。
すると、それまで怯えていたはずのタマネギたちが互いに顔を見合わせ、そして一斉に地面に倒れ込んだ。
タマネギたちはそれぞれ必死に手を伸ばし、顔を地面にこすりつけている。
まるで『ははあ!』『見逃してくださり、ありがとうございますぅ!』『神様ありがとー!』と言わんばかりに、彼らの土下座は熱が籠もっていた。
思いも寄らないタマネギたちの行動に、ダンジョンの中だというのに晴輝はついつい呆けてしまった。
もし相手が狡猾なモンスターであれば、大きな隙を見せた晴輝はいまごろ大けがを負っていたか、最悪絶命していたに違いない。
しかしタマネギたちは、そんな晴輝を知ってか知らずか、必死に頭を地面にこすりつけ続けている。
晴輝はぎこちない笑みを浮かべながら口を開く。
「もういいよ。わかったから、頭を上げて」
『なんと!』『冒険家さんは心が広いですぅ!』『ありがたやーありがたやー』
そう言うかのように、うるうると目を潤ませながら、タマネギたちが手をこすり合せた。
相手は魔物。人類の敵だ。それはわかっている。だが彼らの仕草に、晴輝は完全に毒気が抜かれてしまった。
鞄にはすでに大量のタマネギが入っている。これだけあれば一週間は持つだろう。
晴輝はタマネギたちに背を向け、地上に向かって歩き出し――、
止まって後ろを振り返った。
尋ねると、ダンジョンの奥の曲がり角から「ぴゃっ!?」と花が咲いた。
なんの花かは、考えるまでもない。タマネギだ。
晴輝はタマネギの追跡に、始めから気づいていた。ここまで晴輝が行動を起こさなかったのは、彼らから一切の敵意を感じなかったためである。
一体なんのために追跡しているのか、その意図が気になった。だがいつまで経っても彼らは行動を起こさなかった。
故に、晴輝は尋ねた。
尋ねた結果、また、土下座が始まってしまった。
「いやいや、怒ってないから、顔を上げて......」
『ほんとー?』『冒険家さんいじわるしない?』『うるうる』
タマネギ達が恐る恐る晴輝に近づいて来た。
その様子はもはやモンスターというより、怯えた子犬のようだった。
『なんでー?』『冒険家さん、やさしいからぁ』『そうそう』
タマネギたちは互いに顔を合わせてふんふん頷き、手を合わせて晴輝を見た。
その目(?)には、キラキラとした光が浮かんでいる。
あたかも『ついてくー』『冒険家さんと一緒にいきますぅ』『うんうん』そう言うかのように、タマネギたちはおずおず晴輝に近づいてくる。
「うぅん......」
モンスターと人間は、命を奪い合う存在だ。だが彼らの仕草は、まるで愛玩動物のそれだった。
騙されてはいけないと思いつつも、晴輝はその愛らしさに惹かれてしまう。
(さすがにモンスターを連れ帰るのはなあ。連れ帰っても、どうするか......)
考えていた晴輝の視線が、三玉のタマネギの頭から徐々に伸びるつぼみに向かう。
つぼみは感情が高ぶると弾ける。効果は不明。現時点で体調に変化はないので、攻撃の類いではなさそうだ。
(人間の表情のように、花が感情表現の一種なのか)
つぼみを見ていた晴輝の脳裡に、ふと光明が閃いた。
思い立ったが吉日。晴輝は即座にタマネギを抱いて(抱きしめた時三玉のつぼみがポフンと弾けた)ダンジョンを脱出。晴輝の家の隣にある休耕地に、タマネギたちを解き放った。
そこは晴輝が所有する土地の一角で、スタンピードが発生する前までは家庭菜園に使っていた場所である。
「今日からここが君たちの家だ」
『ここが?』『ここでくらすのぉ?』『あれほーだいー』
ことん、とタマネギたちが一斉に首を傾げた。
「そう。この土地は自由に使ってもらって構わないよ。ただし、ここの外に出ちゃだめ。それと人間を襲ってもいけない。それだけは、絶対に守ってね」
『はーい』『わかりましたぁ』『うんうん』
タマネギたちは目をキラキラさせて頷いた。
「さて。これだけじゃ寂しいから、少し整地しようか」
そう言って、晴輝はまず生え放題になっている雑草の処理を行う。
スギナやタンポポを、無造作にブチブチと抜いていく。その様子を見ていたタマネギたちが、晴輝の真似をして同じように雑草を抜く。
雑草が抜けると、タマネギはバランスを崩してこてんと後ろに転がった。
むくりと起き上がり、頭を振り、後頭部を撫でて、タマネギはまた雑草に向かう。
そんな様子をニマニマと眺めながら、晴輝は思う。
(もし彼らが種を付ければ、来年には畑でタマネギが出来るかな?)
夏にすくすく葉を延ばし、秋にはトンボが葉に留まる。大地の香りをたっぷり吸い込んだ広大なタマネギ畑......。
晴輝は木寅さん家のタマネギ畑を、スタンピード以降目にしていない。それは木寅さんの妻が、亡くなったためだ。
スタンピードで失われたのは、命だけじゃない。タマネギも、タマネギの苗も、畑もすべて、すべて失われてしまった。
(以前は夫婦で栽培していたけど、今度は俺と二人で......)
晴輝と一緒なら、木寅さんもきっとタマネギ畑を作ってくれるかもしれない。そんな仄かな希望を抱いて、晴輝はタマネギたちの住み処を整備していくのだった。
この日以降、晴輝の家の前を通った人は度々、草むらで動く未知なる生物に驚いた。
しかし蝶々を追ってころんと転がったり、頭に留まったトンボとにらめっこする、そんなタマネギ達の様子に、
『あらあら、空星さん家の晴輝くんはまた妙なことをしでかしたのね、姿は見えないけど。うふふ』
On a certain day, Haruki stood in the kitchen, opened the underfloor storage and sighed.
"Oops. I'm all out of onions."
The dungeon onions that he had stored in large quantities were gone.
The reason for their disappearance was simple. This is because Haruki ate too much of them.
The size of one onion from the dungeon was quite large, larger than the head of a baby, but Haruki could make short work of them in no time at all.
Once he started eating them, he wouldn't stop. The onions from the dungeon were so incredibly delicious.
"Oh well. Guess I'll go get some more."
Haruki muttered those words as if he was going to harvest some from the vegetable garden, but he was actually heading for the dungeon.
Different monsters have run rampant across the many dungeons that suddenly appeared in Japan five years ago.
Naturally, those monsters were different from any creature on Earth. They were ferocious, savage, and strong enough to easily kill a person.
Being careless could prove to be deadly. Haruki was a little less nervous to go to such a place.
Which wasn't surprising. Haruki had already grown to the point where he could easily clear the second floor of the Garage Dungeon.
Equipped with armor made for dungeons, Haruki headed to the second floor of the Garage Dungeon.
"Well!"
A smile appeared on Haruki's face as he pulled out his short sword.
What he was going to do was to defeat some monsters. He was going to have a battle to the death with these life forms that kill humans. But now Haruki's mind was all about roasted onions -today's lunch.
Onions stood in Haruki's way as he delved deeper into the dungeon.
Each of them were defeated in a single hit. Haruki processed them quickly and put them in his bag.
The onions attacked boldly, but they were poorly matched against Haruki. Someone like him, who was taught by Mr. Kitora from an early age and learned how to harvest various crops, couldn't be afraid of being attacked by onions.
A little while after entering the dungeon...
Haruki, who had been harvesting -no, hunting down his favorite onions so far, suddenly stopped.
"...Hmm?"
Three onions stood before Haruki. The monsters weren't attacking Haruki like they normally would.
Instead of attacking, the three of them were shivering as they huddled against each other.
Haruki took a step forward. Then, the onion monsters quivered and jumped.
A flower bloomed at the top of their heads as they jumped.
"Huh?"
Haruki was very confused by this.
Normally, monsters would attack humans. Even if a human were to be overwhelmingly stronger than them, they would still attack humans. They were such creatures.
However, the onion monsters in front of Haruki were now shaking instead of attacking Haruki.
It was as if they were screaming "Kyaaa!", "Please let us go!", and "He's going to kill us!" out of sheer fear...
What scared them so much was Haruki -or human beings in general.
That was the first time Haruki saw something like that.
If a monster attacked, Haruki could fight without any reluctance. However, seeing them so frightened and getting close to each other made his fighting spirit disappear immediately. Even Haruki, who was on a vegetable harvesting frenzy, didn't feel like harvesting them anymore.
(Hmm, are they trying to pull a trick on me?)
Were they planning to attack as soon as he dropped his guard? However, the onions seemed to be really scared. Haruki didn't think they were acting.
(I feel that if I picked a fight with them would actually make me a bully.)
Haruki sighed and put his short sword away.
Then, the onions, which had been scared until then, looked at each other and dropped to the ground on all fours.
Each of them stretched their arms while touching the ground with their foreheads.
They submitted themselves as if saying "Aha!", "Thank you for sparing us!", and "Thank God!".
Haruki was amazed at the unexpected behavior of these onions, despite being in the middle of the dungeon.
Had his opponents turned out to be cunning monsters, Haruki, who had let his guard down greatly, would have been seriously injured by now, or even dead.
However, the onions had desperately rendered themselves prone against the ground, regardless of Haruki's actions.
Haruki opened his mouth into an awkward smile.
"Okay, okay, I got it, please raise your heads."
"Ooh!" "Mr. Adventurer is so kind!" "Thank you, thank you!"
As if saying so, the teary-eyed onions rubbed their hands together.
His opponents were monsters. They were enemies of mankind. He knew that well. However, their behavior completely deprived Haruki from any ill will towards them.
He already had a large amount of onions inside his bag. They would last him for a week.
Haruki turned his back on the onions and started walking toward the surface.
He stopped and looked back.
When he asked, a flower startledly bloomed from the corner at the back of the dungeon.
There was no need to think about what kind of flower it is. It was an onion.
Haruki was aware that the onions had been tailing him from the beginning. He hadn't taken any action so far because he didn't feel any hostility from them.
He had been wondering why on earth they were following him, but they didn't do anything other than follow him from a distance.
Which is why Haruki asked them.
And the result was the three onions performing another dogeza.
"No no, I'm not angry or anything, so please raise your heads..."
"Really~?" "Mr. Adventurer is not a bad person, right?" "Uuhhh~"
The terrified onions continued to approach Haruki.
More than monsters, they looked like scared puppies.
"Why~?" "Mr. Adventurer is so kind..." "Yeah, yeah."
The onions looked at each other and nodded, and then placed their hands together as they faced Haruki.
A glittering light seemed to be shining in their "eyes".
The onions approach Haruki as if they were saying "Take us with you", "Let's go with Mr. Adventurer", and "Yeah, yeah!"
"Uuuhhh..."
Monsters and humans were struggling for their lives against each other. But these onions' behavior was that of a pet.
Even though he thinks he shouldn't be fooled by them, Haruki was attracted to their loveliness.
(I don't really want to bring these monsters back home with me. What should I do...?)
Haruki's gaze heads for the buds that gradually extended from the head of the three onions, which had been on his mind for a while now.
Their buds bloomed when aroused. It was unclear if it had any effect. Haruki didn't feel any changes, so it didn't look like an attack.
(Are these flower buds a way for them to express their feelings, like a human's face?)
A flash of light burst into Haruki's mind, which was focused on the flower buds.
There was no time like the present. Haruki immediately embraced the onions (when he hugged them, the buds of all three of them bloomed at the same time) and escaped from the dungeon. Then, he released the onions in the fallow land next to Haruki's house.
It is a part of the land owned by Haruki, which was used for the vegetable garden before the Stampede occurred.
"From today onwards, this is going to be your home."
"Here?" "We'll live here?" "This is awesome!"
The three onions tilted their heads to the side.
"Yes. You can use this land as you see fit. But don't go outside this. And you can't attack humans. Can you promise me that?"
"Yes~" "Got it." "Uh-huh."
The onions nodded with glittering eyes.
"Well then. This place looks a bit sad, so how about we prepare the soil?"
With that said, Haruki first started dealing with the weeds that were growing everywhere as they pleased.
He readily pulled out horsetail and dandelion. The onions were watching, and soon started to imitate Haruki, pulling out the weeds just like he was.
As they pulled out the weeds, the onions would lose their balance and fall on their backs.
Then, they would get back up, shake their heads, rub themselves on the back of their head, and head back to the weeds once again.
Looking at this, Haruki started to think.
(If they seed, will they be able to produce onions in the fields next year?)
Their leaves would grow quickly in the summer, and the dragonflies would stay on their leaves in the fall. A vast onion field that inhales the scent of the earth...
Haruki hadn't seen the prosperous onion field of the Kitora family since the Stampede. That was because Mr. Kitora's wife had passed away.
Human lives weren't the only thing lost due to the Stampede. All the onions, onion seedlings and the vegetable production had been lost as well.
(It used to be the both of them growing their vegetables, but now it's just Mr. Kitora and I...)
Through Haruki's efforts, Mr. Kitora may be able to create an onion field. With such a faint hope, Haruki set up a place for the onion monsters to live.
From that day onwards, people who passed in front of Haruki's house were often surprised by the unknown creatures moving in the grass.
However, the appearance of those onions rolling around, chasing butterflies, and staring at the dragonflies...
"Ah, that Karaboshi kid seems to be doing yet another one of his eccentricities again... Even though we can't see him. Uuhuhuhh~..."
Let’s be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~
冒険家になろう！～スキルボードでダンジョン攻略～ＳＳ
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/lets-be-an-adventurer-defeating-dungeons-with-a-skill-board/
Action Adventure Fantasy Harem Mystery Shounen Supernatural
Accelerated Growth Adapted to Manga Adventurers Appearance Changes Average-looking Protagonist Caring Protagonist Chat Rooms Cheats Comedic Undertone Dense Protagonist Depictions of Cruelty Determined Protagonist Dungeons Game Elements Grinding Hard-Working Protagonist Helpful Protagonist Hidden Abilities Hiding True Abilities Invisibility Magic Male Protagonist Modern Day Monster Tamer Monsters Pragmatic Protagonist R-15 Romantic Subplot Secrets Special Abilities Strength-based Social Hierarchy Weak to Strong
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3206fy/
萩鵜アキ