Chapter 79: The Calm Before the Deep Dive!
"Alright, hey there… This is kind of a sudden stream, but today, we'll be diving into the Sapporo Dungeon. It's a city dungeon, so there might be other streamers usually covering it, but I think I can give you a fresh experience today. I'm Kisaragi Tsukasa, thanks for tuning in!"
: LOL
: Sudden stream (lmao), stop it
: Dude, you're acting like this is a regular day, but it's on the news right now?
: I'm laughing
: It's on TV, too
: "We're going to dive into the Sapporo Dungeon" (serious dungeon conquest)
Honestly, I thought it would be a long shot, but I didn't expect to actually get permission to stream. Right now, I'm standing in front of the Sapporo Dungeon, just waiting for the start time. There are a ton of TV cameras here, and they're scrambling to get shots of all the EX-ranked explorers in one frame.
Aizawa-san is walking around busily, Grandma is casually sipping coffee, and—predictably—Kamishiro-san is nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, Aizawa-san, where's Kamishiro?"
"Huh? Oh… She said she forgot something and went to a convenience store."
"Does she have zero sense of cooperation?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
: "Yeah, pretty much," LOL
: Why is this so normal?
: What did she forget?
: Probably a neck warmer or something
: For going into a dungeon's deep floors?
: Sounds about right
: EX problems
: This is too much, I'm dying
Looking at the comments, it seems like a lot of new viewers are here because of the news coverage. In other words, there are a lot of first-timers who usually don't watch my streams. I'd love to try and grab their attention, but I don't really have any tricks up my sleeve for that.
By the way, the Sapporo Dungeon conquest has been widely covered by the media, and apparently, viewers are tuning in from all over the world. It's becoming harder to pick out the Japanese comments among the flood of foreign ones.
"Comments are coming in fast today, so I'll only be picking out the ones I can catch."
: Why do you sound so chill?
: Is it though?
: This seems like the usual for him.
: I'm new here
: First-timer
: New viewers probably don't get it
: Came here from watching Asagao-chan's stream
: Asagao-chan's mirroring this, LOL
"Wait, is Asagao-san really mirroring my stream?"
I don't think it would be fun for anyone to watch a simultaneous viewing stream, but… maybe it's like when I watch Torimomo Sasami's stream and chat while doing so?
: No, a bunch of people are mirroring you
: Torimomo is also doing a chat stream while watching, no video though
: This is huge news, that's why
: There's a lot of mirrors overseas too
: You're famous now
: Duh, of course
"Sorry for the wait! I bought some hand warmers and drinks!"
"..."
: Hand warmers and drinks, really?
: She's something else
: Kamishiro-san, classic
: She's always doing this kind of stuff
: I can't handle her
This person really can't read the room. Hand warmers, sure, maybe you'll need them. But drinks? The Association provided plenty. Then again, knowing her, she probably only cares about having her favorite drink, so whatever.
I didn't have much to prep, so I finished early and just started chatting with the viewers. Then, a swarm of TV reporters started closing in on me.
"Are you Kisaragi Tsukasa, the EX-ranked explorer known as UNKNOWN? Could we ask you a few questions?"
"Uh, is there anything I can really talk about?"
"Why did you suddenly start revealing your personal information recently? What made you begin streaming?"
"Could you comment on the other EXs?"
"Do you have any thoughts on the Sapporo Dungeon conquest?"
"What about your record-setting dive in the Shibuya Dungeon?"
"You're streaming during a serious dungeon conquest—isn't that a bit irresponsible?"
Ugh… I'm about to dive into the Sapporo Dungeon, and I'm being bombarded with questions. This is exactly the kind of thing I was trying to avoid by moving around all the time. Why do I have to deal with this even after coming all the way to Sapporo?
: He looks super annoyed, LOL
: Them saying it's irresponsible is really annoying
: They're probably trying to rile you up
: They think they can push him around because he's 18
: They don't realize he's one of the strongest humans alive
: C'mon, reporters, have some tact
: Ask him after the dungeon, geez
: Gotta love that "freedom of the press," huh?
"Pipe down, will ya? Quit your chirping."
Whoa.
Grandma's mad because they were being too noisy. It seems like even the reporters understood that they'd crossed a line because the tone of the questions immediately softened, and the number of questions dropped significantly. Well, it's no surprise. Even they know how scary Grandma can be.
"We're about to head out, Kisaragi."
"Oh, got it."
: Grandma, mad grandma is mad
: Run, reporters, run
: She's terrifying
: Honestly, understandable
Sorry, media folks, but I'm really not a fan of interviews. If you want to send me a question via SNS, maybe I'll respond. But barging into my space and demanding answers is a no-go.
Even as we prepared to leave, some reporters were still pushing forward for more questions. But the moment I summoned my flaming chariot, Kasha, to draw my sword, they all scattered like cockroaches.
: Scattered like bugs, LOL
: They ran off, LOL
: That flaming chariot will drag you to the underworld, man
: I'd run too
: If a burning car appeared out of nowhere, anyone would bolt
"I'm so jealous… I want an expanded bag too," Kamishiro pouted.
"Please don't call my shikigami an 'expanded bag.'"
"Haha… Well, it doesn't look like we'll have much trouble getting to the deep floors, so this should be easy."
"These brats are gonna go all the way to the deep floors with this laid-back attitude? Did I raise them wrong?"
No, you didn't "raise" me at all, Grandma. You just dragged me through the lower and deep floors of dungeons while I screamed the whole way.
"August 31st, 10:00 AM sharp… We now begin the Sapporo Dungeon conquest."
"Alright, let's do this! Woo!"
"...Let's go."
"Jeez, nobody's joining in!?"
: LOL
: Is anyone here even motivated?
: No tension at all
: Is this really okay?
: This could end up in history books, but… Enjoy new adventures from m-v l'e|m,p| y- r
: Wait, what if Kisaragi's stream ends up in history books?
: LOL imagine the comments section getting written up too
: Hey, future people reading this, what's up?
: Stop
: I don't want that in my history books
: They'd probably censor it all anyway
The comments section seems to be having fun on its own, so that's fine.
Still, an EX team tackling the Sapporo Dungeon… Will we be over-prepared, or will we need every bit of strength we've got? I'm really looking forward to it. It's the first time I'll be heading into an unexplored deep floor—this is going to be exciting.