As Long as You Have the [Shop] Skill, the Dungeonized World Is a Breeze ~The Bullied Youth’s Payback

Chapter 99 – Flower Bud In the Garden

“Dangerous…? For your little brother?” (Bouchi)
Certainly, a seven-year-old boy being abandoned in a strange, foreign place was nothing if not dangerous.

“I’m more concerned about the danger that he might pose to the people that approach him.” (Yofel)
“Huh? What do you mean?” (Bouchi)
“……..You remember how I said earlier that I only knew one person who had a unique skill?” (Yofel)
“…Yeah.” (Bouchi)
“That person is my little brother—Ior.” (Yofel)
“….What?” (Bouchi)
“Ior’s skill is—<Plant>. He has the ability to manipulate and create plants at will.” (Yofel)

—

“You’re finally out of the cast, but don’t push yourself too much, Koine,” my sister, who was driving the car on our way back from the hospital, said to me worriedly. I replied with, ‘I know’.

I had been living with my little sister Mahina at the community center, but the place turned into a dungeon at the worst timing, and I ended up breaking my right leg while trying to escape.

Fortunately, it had been a clean break, so I was able to have the cast removed much sooner.

“Onee-chan, does it still hurt? Hurtiehurt, fly away~!” (Mahina)
Mahina, our family’s little angel, sat next to me, rubbing my leg. She really was the cutest. She had gotten stranded in the community center, but she was safely rescued thanks to a certain person.

I was truly grateful to that person, and I wanted to repay that favor to them one day. So each and every day, I prayed to be able to recover as soon as possible.

“So Onee-chan, are we really going back home now?” (Koine)
“Yeah. I’ll be with you guys from now on, so don’t worry.” (Aika)
“But… it might get turned into a dungeon…” (Koine)
Until recently, older sister had been living in the countryside instead of living with us. After the world transformed, she had been worried about us and rushed over to find us.

(TL: Koine’s older sister’s name is actually Aika, not Airi as it was previously translated. My apologies for the mistake. Chapter 34, which had Aika in it, was changed accordingly to reflect the change.)

Unfortunately, our mom was working abroad, and I hadn’t heard from her yet. I hoped that she was safe.

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As I was worried about living at home alone with Mahina, I had been staying at a community center, where there were a lot of other people.

“In the end, there’s always the danger of dungeonization, no matter where you go. Then wouldn’t it be better to just go somewhere we’re familiar with?” (Aika)
“Well… that might be true.” (Koine)
“Mahina wants to go back home too, right?” (Aika)
“Yeah! Ma-chan wants all of us to be together!” (Mahina)
“Ugh, you’re such a good girl, Mahina! That’s my angel!” (Aika)
“At the very least, I’m not an angel.” (Koine)
“Arara, are you sulking? You’re so cute too, Koine…” (Aika)
“Onee-chan!” (Koine)
“Ahahah, my bad, my bad~” (Aika)
Good grief, Onee-chan always loves teasing me…

But it had been a while since I last returned home. I had spoken to Onee-chan about it like that, but I was actually looking forward to it a lot.

After all, living in one’s own house is the best. But when we were driving around in my sister’s car like this, I could see everything clearly.

The main streets, which were usually crowded with people, were deserted, and there wasn’t a soul in the buildings either. It was like we were roaming about a ghost town.

Who would have thought that the situation would become like this in just the span of a few months?

In the ever-changing scenery that flowed past, there were surely some buildings which had been turned into dungeons, with terrifying monsters crawling around in them.

I shuddered as I recalled the dungeons I had encountered in the school and community center.

Both of those incidents were so sudden that all I could do was run blindly and hide. I was lucky to survive, but many people died, a number of whom had died before my eyes.

I could only realize how helpless humans… no, how helpless I was.

In the midst of it all, one person—my former classmate, Bouchi Hiro, was different.

He went alone into a dungeon crawling with vicious monsters and saved Mahina. I heard from Mahina that he defeated the monsters with his own hands.

How could he be so strong?

Even when we were in school, everyone was against him, and he was always being bullied. And yet, he still came to school everyday and never yielded to anyone.

I wanted to know what was the basis of his strength. I wanted to become as strong as Bouchi and be able to protect my older sister and Mahina.

“Well, we’re here.” (Aika)
While I was thinking, it seemed that we had returned home. The car entered the garage, and I opened the door and stepped out⁠—cautiously, of course.

Apparently, the house hadn’t been turned into a dungeon yet. That said, my older sister and Mahina lived in this house while I was staying at the hospital, so I knew that it must have been peaceful here up until the time they came to pick me up from the hospital today.

I stepped through the front door and was met with the nostalgic smell of my own home.

“Mmm… It’s really been a while~ Onee-chan, I’m going to put my things in my room.” (Koine)
“Will you be okay doing it yourself?” (Aika)
“I’ll be fine. You’re worrying too much. My injuries are already healed.” (Koine)
I took my luggage and went upstairs. Mahina toddled cutely after me like a duckling following its mother.

After entering my room, I noticed that it seemed a bit dusty. It was probably because I hadn’t really cleaned it in a while.

I opened the window to get some fresh air in the room and did a big stretch.

A pleasant breeze caressed my cheeks as I casually glanced down at the garden below. I had an interest in gardening, so I was checking to see if any of the flowers had withered. In today’s world, water was a precious resource, so I couldn’t readily water the flowers whenever I wished.

So… it was no wonder that they were all wilted.

“….Eh?” I unintentionally muttered to myself.

After all, in the corner of the garden, there was an unfamiliar flower bud in the flowerbed. Moreover, the size of the bud was unusual. It was so huge that I thought it might be as large as a corpse lily once it bloomed.

(TL: Corpse Lily – also known as rafflesia. One of the biggest flowers in the world, and gives off a scent that smells like rotten flesh.)

Of course, I had no memories of planting such a flower. I couldn’t understand why this bud was growing there.

“M-Mahina, I’m going downstairs for a second!” (Koine)
Mahina was in my room, playing with a stuffed teddy bear. She then followed up with a ‘Ma-chan too!’ and came down the stairs after me.

“Ah, you two. What do you want to have for dinner tonight?” (Aika)
My older sister called out to us from the kitchen, but I said ‘later!’ and ran hurriedly to the garden.

I caught sight of the bud that I had seen earlier, but…

…I’ve never seen it before. Could it be… a monster?

There might really be monsters like that. Those kinds that disguised as buds and then attacked humans once they got close.

The idea that something like that might have wandered in from a dungeon somewhere sent chills down my spine.

But I wonder why…? After seeing it up close, I started getting the feeling that it wasn’t such a dangerous thing.

The bud was a beautiful cherry blossom pink, and upon close inspection, it was emitting a faint glow. It definitely wasn’t a plant that existed in Japan, which made me suspicious, but…

Somehow it felt like it was giving off a kind of gentle aura.

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“Wooow! Big flower~?” (Mahina)
“Ah, no, Mahina! Don’t get close to it!” (Koine)
Curiosity seemed to get the better of Mahina, and she ran past me, who had been frozen in my tracks. I tried to stop her, but it was too late, and she touched the bud.

Suddenly, a dazzling light shone from the bud.

“M-Mahinaaaa!!” (Koine)
I held out my hand and cried out my precious little sister’s name. If it’s a brutal monster, then Mahina would be…!

Just as these terrifying thoughts passed through my mind, the light suddenly converged to a point.

When I saw the bud again, I stood there frozen, speechless once more.

After all, that huge bud had blossomed, and what lay within was—a small child.