My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon

Chapter 457

Skill Tournament／Ejection 2

After notifying the event staff, we decided to leave the venue early.

The reason I gave was that I wasn't feeling great after the match and that I'd sit out the party since I felt bad for my opponent.

But of course, that was just an excuse. The truth was, I just couldn't be bothered to force smiles at a party full of people I barely knew. Doing something like that, it's way more fun to have a shabu-shabu party with Ruu and the others and laugh genuinely.

So when I suggested we all go to Ruu's place like this, Yuzuki-chan let out a worried voice.

"Um, even someone like me who doesn't really know everyone, I wouldn't be intruding or causing trouble...?"

"It's fine. Ruu-nee and her parents are super nice!"

Shark replied like that.

Oh, right, I remember now. Nina-san's twin brothers, Masaki-kun and Yuki-kun, were staying at Ruu's place for a while. That must be why Shark has been to Ruu's house too.

"It's fine, Hinata-kun. Besides, you and Shark were the ones who brought Masa-kun and Yuki-kun to us, right?""Well, that might be true, but..."

And Shark, even though he often talks back to Serai-san, calls Ruu "Ruu-nee" and looks up to her. Well, Ruu accepts people as they are without being prickly, so Shark probably finds it easy to be around her.

On the other hand, with Nina-san, she gently deflects his remarks and then easily turns the tables on him, so he seems to find her a bit intimidating.

"Fufu, you don't need to worry so much. Besides, delicious food is even better when enjoyed with a lot of people. Right, Shishou～?"

"Yeah, Serai-san's right. Well, if you're still worried, I guess we'll just have you work extra hard helping with the cooking."

"Um, I'm sorry for making you go to all this trouble for me."

"Don't worry about it. ...Oh, Shishan? It's me, Ruri. Yeah, I'm back in Tokyo. But I'm gonna drop by a friend's place to give them a souvenir and have dinner there too. Yeah, Yuzuki will be late too. ...Ah, it's fine. I'll have Jung bring us home on the way back."

What the—Shark, I thought you started making a call mid-conversation, and you called Master Hinata?

But dude, you talk to Master Hinata like that too? I'm surprised you don't get scolded more often. Well, I have other things to say, but I'll make sure to properly see Yuzuki-chan home.

…...

But as we were all noisily heading towards the parking lot like that, when we reached a wider corridor, our path was suddenly blocked by two women for some reason.

As soon as they noticed us approaching, the woman with red highlights in her hair, who had been leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, stepped forward to block our way.

"Hmph... Judging by your build, you must be Gold Insect, right...?"

And then, following her, another woman with blue highlights in her long straight hair also blocked the path.

"It certainly seems so. Fufufu..."

(Hmm, who the heck are these two...?)

Their overly theatrical tone and this seemingly staged situation. Who are they...?

"(Etsuki-san. These two are A-League players...)"

Serai-san whispered to me, informing me about them as I was feeling suspicious.

"Oops, my apologies. It seems I've been remiss in introducing myself. My name is Harii, Harii the Fire Knight, wielder of flames. Will you remember that?"

Whether Serai-san's whisper reached their ears or not, she started introducing herself.

(Hmm..., so the red highlights are the wielder of flames, a Fire Knight. I see...)

Indeed, the woman with the short hair and red highlights was dressed in what looked like a red and white knight's uniform, kind of like a majorette or something. It looked like cosplay, but even with my otaku knowledge, I couldn't identify any specific character it might be.

"And this is—"

"I am the Water Maiden, Hotta..."

When the woman who called herself Harii gracefully gestured towards the woman on her right, the one in the dark navy dress pinched her skirt and introduced herself as Hotta.

(So, the blue highlights one is the Water Maiden. Ho~n, so together they're Harii and Hotta, huh... Pfft!!)

"Oh my, was something amusing...?"

At that point, she noticed the smile I couldn't quite suppress.

"Ahem,... Ah, no. I was just thinking I wish my acquaintances had features as easy to tell apart as yours."

"Is that so..."

Yeah, that's right. If the Katos and Satos from the holistic school were like 'Red Kato' and 'Green Sato,' they'd be so easy to tell apart.

"By the way, Gold Insect."

Then Fire Knight Harii called me Gold Insect again.

But just like when Uncle Mukere called me that, the name Gold Insect just doesn't feel right to me. Still, I don't plan to make a name for myself with my real name either, so I guess I'll just go with Jung like usual.

"Ah, you can just call me Jung."

"Is that so?... Well then, G.I. Jung. The tournament's still going on, so why are you heading home already?"

Huh, G.I....? Oh, right. From Gold.Insect.

But why abbreviate it and stick it together like that? Makes me sound like some soldier fighting to save the world.

"Well, I already lost, and it's not like anyone's waiting for me or anything."

"But there's a party for all the participants after the closing ceremony, isn't there? Are you escaping from that too?"

"I doubt they'd want someone who seriously injured his opponent there, right?"

"Fufu... You're right. But, precisely because of that, we're interested in you."

Fire Knight Harii stared at me, again with that meaningful smile. And both Harii and Hotta seem to be around twenty years old... about the same age as Serai-san and the others?

"That was a good fight... But isn't that a fighting style you could only pull off if you'd been fighting for your life in a dungeon?"

"And you, it's not just that you can handle both front and back lines, is it...?"

Ah, I see. This is it, a recruitment for party members.

"Ah, sorry, but my party's already decided. If you're recruiting, you'll have to look elsewhere."

Hearing my reply, the two looked at each other and took a moment to think, communicating with their eyes.

"...Fufu. Well, this was just a little greeting for today. We might end up working together on subjugation jobs in the future, after all."

"Right, this is just a greeting... for today."

"Hahaha, then I guess I jumped the gun. Well, anyway, I'll remember the names Fire Knight Harii and Water Maiden Hotta."

When I replied like that, they nodded in satisfaction.

"Yeah, we'll probably meet again soon..."

"Indeed. Please treat us well then..."

"G.I. Jung."

I told you to stop calling me that.