Chapter 7: Date Disaster!

To cut to the chase, our scheme—the "kill-time-on-a-date" operation—ended in utter failure.

No, scratch that. You could even say the date itself was a disaster from the get-go.

The biggest reason? That thing we stumbled upon in the dungeon.

The sound of water echoing from nowhere could only mean one thing: a hidden passage.

From my past-life knowledge, places like that usually hide treasure or house powerful enemies.

In this world, that much still holds true—but there’s another meaning here.

It means that spot is unexplored, uncharted territory.

And that’s bad. Dungeons, like volcanoes, are living, breathing nature.

No, more than that—nature in this world has a will. Dungeons might as well be living creatures.

If it’s hiding a passage, it’s doing so with intent.

And in cases like that, what’s hidden is usually not something good.

This time, the dungeon was on the verge of being fully conquered.

It was dying—and the only thing a dungeon in that state would hide is something to revive itself.

If you find it, it’s a big deal.

Adventurers are obligated to report it.

Yeah, you can see where this is going. Our little "skip-the-date-and-dive-into-the-dungeon" plan got exposed hard by the party.

As a result, Yous and I are currently kneeling in seiza, sitting on pins and needles.

Ughhh, Leader, hurry up and get back already…

"...Got anything to say for yourselves?"

"I thought if I spun some half-baked story and padded it out, I could bluff my way through it."

"You can’t bluff Leader."

"I’d tell him the truth straight up! I just needed to fool you guys—not that I managed that either!"

—Anna looms over us like a furious guardian deity, while our so-called comrades cheer her on with drinks in hand—Go on, Anna! Knock ‘em dead!

Anna’s fine—she’s worried about us, and she has every right to be pissed.

But those idiots in the back? They’re just here for the show! Shut the hell up, morons!

"...Sigh. Yous, you were okay with this?"

"Well, I mean..."*

Anna shifts her glare to Yuth.

She’s basically saying, You knew she’d try to skip out, so why didn’t you properly escort her instead?

"You should’ve been the responsible one."

"Eyes speak louder than words, huh?"

"What was that?"

"N-Nothing at all."

Scary…

Anna’s eyes are terrifying when she’s dead serious.

Born with the natural disposition to rule her future husband with an iron fist, Anna’s strict side makes her popular among adventurers—regardless of gender.

And yet, she’s still a virgin. At this point, it’s not for lack of suitors—she just doesn’t care.

"Uh, well… y’know..."

"Hmm?"

C’mon, don’t take it out on Yous—he didn’t do anything wrong...

"...I just figured if it was with Rina, I’d rather do that than some lame shopping trip."

"The hell’s that supposed to mean?!"

Oh, so THAT’S what he meant!

This guy’s just as bad as me!

A dating noob? Of course he’d suck—he’s got zero experience!

No wonder his "perfect date plan" was lunch for couples only followed by an ultra-fancy dinner.

"But… it was fun, right?"

"...Well, yeah."

—Now that I think about it, I can’t really deny that.

Going out with other girls usually ends with me being treated like a dress-up doll, and going out with guys means having to act a certain way—it’s exhausting.

But with Yous, someone I’m already comfortable with, maybe this is the kind of date that suits us?

Wait… does that mean we shouldn’t be getting chewed out for this?

"...Sigh. Bon appétit! May you two live long, happy lives and then drop dead!!"

Oh. Anna gave up.

The others start heckling her—hell, they probably had bets going. Anna’s odds must’ve been lower, given the tone of those jeers.

They were probably betting on whether Anna would finish her lecture or if we’d out-argue her first.

That said, if Anna’s odds were lower, it means most of them expected her to successfully talk sense into us.

In that sense… maybe we did worry them a little.

I feel a tiny bit guilty now.

—Well.

"Shut the hell up, you morons!! Line up if you wanna get kicked!"

The losers of the bet obediently start lining up.

Not because they want to get kicked, but because they’re just going along with the mood.

God, what a bunch of idiots.

"Hmph! Hmph!"

"Don’t get too into it now—"

With a series of thwacks, Anna starts kicking the idiot adventurers (male-to-female ratio about 6:4—why are there so many women here?) one after another.

Yous and I exchange glances.

Somehow, we both end up grinning at each other, shaking our heads.

Yeah… this feels like home.

"Hellooo, we’re baaack!"

At that moment, the inn’s door bursts open with a dramatic BANG!

(Well, the sound was dramatic—the door itself was actually opened pretty gently.)

Standing there, hips swaying, is our flamboyant golem leader, Golem.

Judging by his unusually good mood, he must’ve wrapped up the job negotiations smoothly.

"Oh my, getting into trouble again, are we? You really shouldn’t overdo it, you knooow?"

"Well, Leader, it’s just that Rina and Yous—"

A heckler chimes in from the sidelines.

Ugh, drop it already!

"Mmmfufu~ But thanks to this, we’ve landed ourselves another big job! So really, you should all be happy!"

"More like our vacation just got canceled?!"

—A chorus of groans rises from the group, most of whom had been planning to spend the next week drinking, gambling, and fooling around with women.

And yeah, some of them probably do blame us for ruining their plans.

Honestly, finding a hidden passage in a supposedly conquered dungeon could have been seen as a screw-up.

Depending on the timing and the whims of those in power, adventurers often get the short end of the stick in situations like this—forced to take the blame for things beyond their control.

But—

"Rest easy, darlings~! This hidden passage hadn’t been discovered in decades—if anything, the real problem would’ve been if we hadn’t found it!"

"So that means…?"

"We’re completely in the clear! In fact, we’re practically heroes for uncovering it!"

The room erupts at Leader’s declaration.

Whoa. That’s huge.

Normally, these things end in messy negotiations where both sides haggle over concessions.

But this? A clean 10:0 victory where the other side takes all the blame? That’s insane.

And by extension, the rewards for pulling this off will be just as insane.

"S-So, Leader… if we succeed in this mission…"

"—Two weeks."

—Leader holds up two thick fingers with a flourish.

In other words—

"Two weeks of vacation for everyone! And of course, those who shine brightest will get bonuses on top of that!!"

"Ohhh—"

A beat of silence.

Then—

"OHHHHHHH—!!!"

The inn’s dining hall shakes with the roar of adventurers cheering.

---

Nightfall

The hour when their companions had either fallen asleep or clearly wouldn’t return until morning.

A man and a flamboyant golem sat side by side, drinking in silence.

"So? How’d it go, Yous dear?"

"…………Well, you know."

Yousrid and Golem, their leader.

Right now, the usually extravagant golem was watching Yuth with an unexpectedly serene, almost maiden-like gaze.

Yuth, on the other hand, looked vaguely apologetic as he took a swig from his glass.

"It… didn’t work out again."

"Honestly, why can’t things ever go smoothly?"

Their conversation was about today’s failed date.

They had already discussed that matter from last night—back when they were picking out Rina’s outfit.

But still—

"...Though I never expected Rina to black out from drinking."

"She was the one who brought it up in the first place, so forgetting like that… is pretty on-brand for her."

Rina completely forgetting last night’s events had been an unforeseen complication.

She was the one who initiated things—and yet, she just… forgot.

Well, Yous could only laugh. Rina had a habit of spacing out at the worst possible moments.

That kind of thing was part of her charm, he supposed.

"So I thought, this time, I’d talk to her properly—somewhere we could be alone—but…"

Rina suggesting they sneak into the dungeon had actually been a godsend.

There weren’t many places where the two of them could be alone without being reminded of last night.

Restaurants and bars were too public. A hotel or one of their rooms would’ve been too obvious.

The dungeon? It was the only place Yuth could think of where they could talk without the weight of that memory hanging over them.

But—

They failed.

Because Rina found it again.

Discovering a hidden passage in a dungeon was that significant.

As A-rank adventurers, they could handle it professionally—but if some D-rank party had stumbled upon it instead, it might’ve triggered a full-blown disaster.

Adventurers had a duty to report such things immediately.

A date? That wasn’t even on the table anymore.

"...Still, if this keeps happening every time, I am gonna get sick of it."

"That girl was born under a mischievous star, I tell you~"

And this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

Sure, crossing the line was new—but the two of them had tried to change their relationship before.

Sometimes Rina was aware of it, sometimes Yuth was, but the attempts had been made.

They knew how the other felt.

But unless they faced it head-on, nothing would ever come of it.

Rina’s self-consciousness was the biggest wall between them—but Yuth couldn’t blame her for that.

She’d been born with that self-awareness.

Nobody was at fault for that.

No, the real problem was the interference that always seemed to show up whenever they tried.

"The ‘Lucky Fairy’... Heh. She really does take after her mother in that regard."

"…………"

Rina was lucky.

Unnaturally so.

That inherited fortune had a way of attracting incidents—

Too many incidents.

Whether she wanted them or not.

And they always seemed to happen right when things between her and Yous were about to change.

Golem had known the two of them—and their families—long before they became adventurers.

That made him the perfect person to talk to at times like this.

As the golem reminisced, Yous lowered his gaze slightly—then clenched his glass tightly, voice firm as he spoke.

"But Rina said something."

"...Oh? What was it?"

Yous thought back—

To every step they’d taken together.

To Rina that night.

To the resolve in her eyes when she made her choice.

And that choice—

That was all Yous needed to move forward.

"This time, I reached for my fate before it could reach for me."

Remembering the sight of his childhood friend smiling sadly—yet happily—in his grasp, Yous clenched his jaw and glared at his own reflection in the surface of his drink.

"……This time, the fact that we weren’t held at fault was entirely thanks to that person’s help."

"…………I know. Rina probably isn’t fully aware of it, but deep down, she senses it too."

Amid the lively cheers filling the inn, Rina was the only one wearing a troubled expression. Just seeing that, Yuth could tell she understood the situation.

And that was exactly why he could never run away.

"The time you and Rina have left… isn’t much."

"Yeah… That’s why she panicked, I’m sure."

Rina wasn’t the kind of person who could act out of calculation.

She was too honest—too pure. Yet even she had grown desperate enough to take action, mostly spurred by drunken impulse. That alone forced Yuth to acknowledge the direness of their circumstances.

"So…"

——Rinaria and Yousrid.

A couple so perfect that no one could deny it. Yet despite their mutual feelings, they remained unbound—not just because of Rina’s innate aversion to men, but because of another reason, one that made their pure love impossible.

"——I’ll become a man truly worthy of Rina. Worthy of her father’s approval."

Rina’s family standing.

That, alongside her cursed luck and gender identity, was yet another wall standing between them.

The night deepened.

Fate stretched its hand toward the two.

A girl cursed by misfortune, and the man who loved her more than anyone else in the world.

Their long, long journey was about to face a great upheaval————