My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon

Deepening Fates

And so, we parked the car and headed for the hot springs… but, unsurprisingly, Masaru followed right behind us like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Hey, Masaru. You do realize we’re going to the hot springs now, right??"

"Hmph! Hmph!"

Well, of course, expecting a kangaroo to answer was pointless, so all he did was snort like usual. Seriously, what does he even want?

"At this point, might as well just take him along."

"Yeah, you’re right. It’s not like they’d let him in at the front desk anyway."

The two walking ahead of me casually tossed around those words.

"Sigh… Fine, I’ll at least ask. But if they say no, don’t throw a tantrum, got it?"

…

"Welcome."

"Four adults and one kangaroo, please."

"…Huh!?"

Ah, there it is. Just as expected, the lady at the front desk stared back at us with wide-eyed disbelief.

"Four adults and one kangaroo."

"Wha… HYAAAAH!?"

Then, as her gaze shifted toward the entrance where the shoe lockers were lined up, the woman suddenly let out a shriek.

Masaru, unable to wait, had already wandered inside the building. Yeah… seeing that long neck poke out near the ceiling made him look less like a kangaroo and more like some kind of dinosaur.

But ever the considerate one, I didn’t forget to smooth things over for our impatient friend.

"Ah, that’s him—the kangaroo. His name’s Masaru. Pretty tough and cool, right?"

"Uh… w-well, no! We can’t allow animals in the hot springs—!"

For a second, the woman seemed panicked, but she quickly remembered her job and politely refused.

"See, Masaru? Tough luck. …Hey, wait! Stop! You’ll get us in trouble!"

"Bfft! Bffft!"

I locked Masaru in a full-body hold as he tried to charge into the baths.

"Sigh… I’m exhausted. Look, just go play in the river outside or something. The water’s probably a little warm if you soak in it. Oh, and don’t drink it, got it? It’s not safe—even you’d get an upset stomach!"

It took some effort (and a bit of sweat) to coax the sulking Masaru outside.

"Man, what a hassle…"

"Heh, charging into the baths is your specialty, Egetsu-san."

"Come on, Serai-san. It’s not that much of a habit."

"Eh, you’re two of a kind."

"Now you too, Nina-san? I just figured if I acted confident enough, it’d work."

"No way that was ever gonna fly~"

…

Anyway, we split up by gender and finally soaked in Kusatsu’s famous hot springs. Aaah~ Bliss.

"Back when the drought hit, I had to haul water from the river over and over…"

"Wow, that sounds rough…"

But just as I was relaxing in the bath, listening to the old man’s stories while scrubbing his back, some kind of commotion broke out outside.

Shouts of "Don’t let it get away!" and "Surround it!" echoed, followed by a loud BANG CRASH. Then came screams and yells—completely ruining the peaceful atmosphere.

(What, are some kids fighting or something…?)

I tried to ignore it and stay in the bath, but the old man asked me to check on the ruckus outside. Ugh, fine. Can’t say no when he asks.

So I stepped outside—only to find a bunch of armed young men groaning on the ground, with Masaru standing over them, nostrils flaring.

"Sigh… Of course it’s you. I told you to behave, Masaru."

"Bfft! Bffft!"

"Huh? What? These guys started it??"

Masaru snorted, wagged his tail, and then kicked away one of the guys trying to stand up. I took a closer look at the scattered group.

"Armed" was a stretch—given the summer heat, they were dressed lightly.

They wore store-bought protective gear, the kind you’d use for roller skating, and looked more like rowdy delinquents than proper fighters. Their weapons? Wooden swords and metal pipes lying around.

(Hmm… They’re probably all dungeon ability users, but man are they sloppy.)

The whole vibe was just… weak. No life-or-death intensity, just a weirdly unserious mess.

So, yeah. I was gonna leave it at that.

But then one of the guys on his knees looked up and started mouthing off.

"This damn… piece of shit…!"

"What, you guys tried to capture Masaru or something?"

Idiots. This is a kangaroo that can casually leap over steep ravines. Its jumping power would put a certain mustachioed plumber to shame.

"You some kinda monster tamer!?"

The delinquent, realizing he couldn’t beat Masaru, turned his frustration on me. Ugh, even after getting way buffer, I still attract trouble like this.

"He’s not a monster, just a kangaroo. Though he does have dungeon abilities."

"Bullshit! Look at this freak!! And you named him!"

"He’s just a stray kangaroo. People name stray cats all the time without owning them, right?"

I mean, the old man is still debating whether to officially adopt Masaru.

"Quit screwing around! If you’re the owner, you’re taking responsibility for this!"

Having found a convenient target for his anger, the guy kept pushing.

Meanwhile, the others started getting up. They were roughed up bad, but since Masaru held back against humans, none were seriously hurt.

"Hold up. You messed with Masaru first, right? And now you’re demanding I take responsibility after getting your butts kicked? What kind of logic is that?"

"SHUT UP! Look at all these injuries! You’re gonna pay for this!!"

Ugh, this conversation is going nowhere. If they’d won, what were they gonna do then, huh?

"You’re the one making a scene. Ever think about the people around you? And don’t blame others for your own lack of skill. You are dungeon ability users, right?"

"THE HELL—!?"

Just as tensions were reaching a boiling point—

"Ahhh, that was a nice bath~"

—Nina-san and Serai-san stepped out of the building, perfectly timing their entrance to defuse the situation. Classic Nina-san.

"Tch…!"

And just like that, the sight of two freshly bathed beauties made the battered delinquents awkwardly look away and quiet down. Yeah, I get it. Nobody wants girls seeing them at their worst.

"(…Let’s just go.)"

"(Yeah…)"

One by one, the guys who’d been wrecked by Masaru started sneaking away.

"What’s goin’ on over here~?"

"Ah, it’s nothing."

Nina-san played innocent, even though she clearly knew everything.

(Yeah, she’s totally laughing inside. What an actress.)

I even threw a lifeline to the last delinquent still glaring at me.

"You can leave too, you know? I won’t laugh if you turn your back."

"Pfft!"

Ah, c’mon, Serai-san! Not the time to laugh! Be more like Nina-san and read the room!

"Damn it… I’ll remember this!"

And just like that… another pointless grudge was born.

As the delinquents retreated toward town, I spotted Nemu-kun among the group that came to pick them up.

(Wait, these guys are with Nemu-kun?)

For a few seconds, Nemu-kun’s eyes lingered on us.

But once the battered delinquents regrouped, he led them away. Our eyes might’ve met—was he looking at me, or Serai-san?

Anyway, Masaru. You’re filthy. No way you’re getting in the car like this.