Sora-san's Dungeon Stream: The Expressionless Girl Is Actually a 38-Year-Old Salaryman - The Encirclement and the Meddlesome Visitor

About ten days had passed since the stream began. It was mid-autumn. Outside the window, dead leaves rustled and tumbled across the asphalt. In his small apartment at Corpo Sakuradai, Souji had his laptop open as usual. The screen displayed yesterday's stream data. Total super chats: roughly 150,000 yen. Subscriber count: 18,000. *(The numbers are growing steadily.)* He thought this matter-of-factly. But deep in his chest, something felt murky and unsettled. The comment section was still flooded with *'poor thing'* and *'where are her parents?'* His streams weren't entertainment. They were being consumed purely out of pity. "Hmm." Still, it was necessary to survive. In terms of pure efficiency, this was fine. Souji put on his usual white half-mask and black cape, then left the apartment. He rode the bus to Minase Hill Park. Today, instead of the usual floor, he decided to head to the third floor of Twilight Hollow. He had already gathered enough data on the second-floor monsters. To find new materials and devise his next tactics, he needed to go deeper. He scanned his license at the Dungeon Agency's management gate. A sharp electronic *beep*. "Oh, you're here again today. Please be careful." The one who spoke was the same young female staff member as always. Lately, whenever she saw Souji, her face showed a hint of worry. "Yes." He answered curtly and descended the stairs. The passage leading underground was even colder, the moisture-laden air clinging to his skin. Pale blue glowing moss faintly illuminated the inorganic rock surface. Upon reaching the third floor, he felt the change in air quality on his skin. It was damp. In the distance, the sound of dripping water. Countless blue crystals jutted from the walls, glowing as if vibrating faintly. Souji set up his smartphone on a tripod with his small hands and started the stream. The viewer count quickly surpassed five hundred. Comments began to flow. *'It's Sora-chan!'* *'A deep floor today? That's dangerous.'* *'Someone stop her...'* *(The usual reaction.)* Souji ignored them and walked deeper into the cave. The air was cold. The rock surface was wet; if he slipped, he could easily fall into the deep subterranean lake. That's when it happened. "Ah! There you are! Look everyone~, we're on the third floor of Twilight Hollow! Hey, wait a sec, you!" An excessively bright, shrill voice that seemed to tear through the dungeon's silence echoed throughout the cave. A trio of streamers approached from behind Souji. Leading them was a petite girl with pinkish-brown hair in twin tails. She looked about twenty years old. Her large brown eyes sparkled brightly. She had a bubbly, excited air about her, as if she were heading to an amusement park. Behind her were two large men. One was operating a camera, the other carrying her luggage. "I knew it! You're Sora-chan, the one who's been blowing up lately, right!? Wow, the real deal! I met a famous streamer! I'm Miotia! Call me Mio!" She hopped like a little bird, planting herself right in front of Souji. The streaming camera in her hand captured Souji's face—or rather, the white half-mask—in a close-up. Souji stopped moving and looked up at her. Expressionless. "...Do you need something?" A flat voice through the voice changer. Mio furrowed her brow for a moment at his attitude, but immediately broke into a beaming smile again. "Need something? Well, I watched your stream a bit! Hey, isn't there, like, a part where you get more hyped up!? Like, looking at the camera! A victory pose when you beat a monster! The viewers want to see your passion! You gotta use a louder voice, right!?" Her cheerful voice echoed off the cave walls. Souji answered flatly. "It's inefficient, so I don't express emotions. Also, looking at the camera increases the probability of missing a monster's initial movement by fourteen percent." Mio's smile froze instantly. "...Huh?" A moment of silence. The large man filming behind Mio gave a wry smile. "Mio, she's not even taking you seriously." "Sh-shut up! And what's that supposed to mean! Fourteen percent! What's fourteen percent!?" Mio puffed out her cheeks. Her movements were constantly busy, her twin tails fluttering back and forth. "A figure derived from past stream data. I don't see the necessity." "Necessity...? Look, you, streaming has to be more fun! Entertaining the viewers is what being a pro is all about!" She put her hands on her hips and leaned in towards Souji. It was a pose like an older sister scolding a younger child. "I stream to earn a living. Entertaining people is not part of the objective." Mio looked dumbfounded at those words. "...Living expenses? You mean the super chats? With that kind of pity-marketing approach?" The bright tone from earlier faded slightly from her voice. "Pity marketing. Hmm, an apt expression. However, that was not my intended result. The viewers interpreted it that way on their own and are sending money voluntarily. As a system, it's efficient." "Y-you... do you even understand what you're saying?" The smile completely vanished from Mio's face. That's when it happened. A *gloop*—the sound of water. The surface of the subterranean lake swelled, and three Aqua Fangs—fish-type monsters about a meter long with sharp fangs—leapt out simultaneously. Their target was the midpoint between the two streamers. The viewers' comments accelerated. *'Dangerous!!'* But Souji was unfazed. He pulled his right foot back half a step. That alone was enough to dodge the Aqua Fang's charge by a hair's breadth. Then, spinning around, he slammed his tonfa into the jaw of another. A dull *thwack*. Without even suffering, the monster stopped moving instantly and vanished into particles. Only its scales clattered to the ground. The remaining two were dealt with just as quickly. As if he were a pre-programmed machine, Souji used minimal movement to knock one into the subterranean lake and lured another behind a rock to finish it off. Combat time: a mere twenty seconds. Not a single wasted motion. Mio watched, her mouth hanging open. "No way... what was that just now..." Her cameraman was also speechless. Souji picked up the fallen scales and put them in his backpack, as if the whole event was nothing. "...She subdued them without hurting them." Mio's voice changed completely from before, turning serious. She was, after all, a popular dungeon streamer herself. She had seen countless streamers. But she had never seen movements like that before. This wasn't just "strong." This was "calculation." Mio quietly approached Souji. "You... could it be... you're just moving as someone tells you? Is someone making you do this?" Those words came from the "meddlesome" nature at her core. Souji paused for a moment. His large gray eyes looked up at Mio expressionlessly. "...I think for myself." It was somehow different from his usual matter-of-fact voice. Just a tiny bit, faintly, it felt like something was trembling. Mio's eyes widened. *(Huh? This kid...)* Inside her, the streamer named Sora, whom she had only viewed with pity, began to transform into something else. That's when it happened. *Beep beep, beep beep.* The streaming terminal attached to Souji's waist pouch emitted a shrill warning sound. Simultaneously, the same warning sound came from elsewhere. Mio's terminal. "Huh, what's this?" Almost simultaneously, they both picked up their terminals. On the screen, an official notice from DeepCast and the Dungeon Agency Inspection Division was displayed in large red letters. **[URGENT: Due to unverified age, account suspension is pending. In accordance with the Child Dungeon Exploration Prohibition Clause, please complete age verification at a public institution within 48 hours. If verification cannot be obtained, the account will be permanently suspended, and guardians will be contacted for questioning.]** Mio's terminal also received another notification. A breaking national news alert. The screen automatically played the news footage. *'Missing Girl Forced to Stream in Dungeon?'* Displayed on the screen was a man in his fifties wearing a suit. Behind his glasses, his eyes were faintly tearful. *'...Yes. We at Veritas Children have been monitoring this stream for about a week now.'* A caption reading **[Makimura Toshihiko, Representative of Veritas Children]** appeared in the corner of the screen. *'She is being forced to fight in the dungeon, unable to speak, trembling. This is clearly exploitation and child abuse by someone. Today, we have formally reported this to the Dungeon Agency and the police. Please... please, everyone, cooperate to save this small life.'* Makimura choked up there, removed his glasses, and pressed his fingers to the inner corners of his eyes. The footage switched to clips from Sora's streams. A small, silver-haired girl, expressionlessly and silently defeating monsters. A storm of comments like *'poor thing'* and *'where are her parents?'* And finally, a close-up of Sora bowing slightly, saying, *'My living situation has stabilized. Thank you very much.'* The color drained from Mio's face. "You... this..." She turned towards Souji with trembling hands. But what stood there was the same expressionless "Sora" as always. The gray eyes peeking over the mask revealed nothing. They just stared intently at the terminal screen. *(Checkmate.)* In his mind, Souji arrived at a calm conclusion befitting a systems engineer. Age verification was impossible. His family registry and ID still showed a thirty-eight-year-old man. It was the same as going to the hospital. Who would believe this situation? He'd end up as a test subject. "Hey, are you okay!? Are you really alone!? Isn't someone telling you to do this!?" Half in tears, Mio placed her hands on Souji's shoulders. Her mind was a mess. *(Were those movements earlier just an act after all? Is someone forcing her, making her move so perfectly?)* Her "meddlesome" nature and her "calculating" side clashed violently in her head. But Sora didn't answer anything. Souji quietly ended the stream. Then, with his small hand, he gently removed Mio's hand. "...I've disturbed you." Saying only that, he left alone down the dark dungeon passage. The back of his black cape grew smaller and smaller. "Wait! Wait up, Sora-chan!!" Mio's cry echoed hollowly through the cave. --- By the time he returned to his room at Corpo Sakuradai, it was already dark outside. Souji took off his mask and slumped down on the spot. His long silver hair fell messily over his face. *(I'm at a dead end.)* Countless solutions floated up and vanished in his mind. Forged documents. Too risky. Fleeing. Not enough funds, he'd be caught immediately. Telling the truth. Who would believe him? The moment he spoke, it was off to a mental hospital or a research lab. All of them were inefficient. *(It's already checkmate.)* He curled up his small body and looked up at the ceiling. Just then, his smartphone buzzed softly. On the screen, a single DM. The sender: Kanata. *'Contact me right away if anything happens. I'll help.'* Those words seeped warmly into his chest. *(Kanata-san... saw my 'calculations'.)* Not pity, not worry. She was the only one who called them the moves of a pro. But. *(This person doesn't know the real me.)* What she saw wasn't a "pitiful girl." It was a "talented streamer." But that, too, wasn't the real him. The real him was a thirty-eight-year-old, just a tired middle-aged man. *(If she found out, this person would surely leave too.)* Thinking that, the part deep in his chest that had felt faintly warm hardened like a cold stone. This was an emotion he shouldn't get his hopes up about. If he got his hopes up, it would only hurt more when he lost it. That's why he couldn't press the reply button. His small finger trembled, stopping just millimeters away. Only the light fro

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Episode 4

Name: Sora-san's Dungeon Stream: The Expressionless Girl Is Actually a 38-Year-Old Salaryman
Author: Novelia

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