My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon

Chapter 233:

Dungeon Stampede 2.0 Guilt

6:30 PM.

Under the light of a small lamp hanging from the ceiling of the mucus tent, Shark was wolfing down crab cheese gratin with gusto.

"Huff huff, mm, delicious! Chomp chomp…ugh!"

"Hey, don't choke by eating so fast. Here, have some water."

I handed Shark a well-chilled ‘mock lemon water' I had conjured up.

Normally, it would be around 20 degrees, but by focusing on heat, I could lower the temperature a bit. Moreover, by magically decomposing the acidic liquid, I could create the effect of evaporative cooling, resulting in cold ‘mock lemon water.'

"Glug glug glug…ah! This is great!"

"Hehe, right? It’s obvious since I made it!"

Serai-san, who was also devouring crab cheese gratin, puffed up with pride at Shark’s compliment, though she spoke with her mouth full, making her sound like a hybrid cat-eared girl.

"Both of you, calm down and eat slowly. If you don't chew well, it’s bad for digestion."

"Okay, Mom."

Oops, I might have picked up the mannerisms of our leader who suits eye shadow.

"Huff huff, chomp chomp!"

"But Shark, you eat so much. Are you short on food?"

"Ah, thank you for the meal! Well, yes. Can't you tell? So many people have gathered…"

Shark sighed, facing the schoolyard from inside the mucus tent, even though we couldn't actually see outside.

"A lot of people have gathered, indeed. How did it come to this?"

"It’s because the heavy machinery guys drove around here and exterminated monsters. Seeing that, the nearby residents flocked to the school for protection."

The schoolyard was packed with cars, evidence of many people sleeping in their vehicles. Moreover, makeshift shelters made of blue tarps and cardboard surrounded the school facilities.

"With so many people, food is bound to run short…"

Serai-san glanced outside through a salt window in the mucus tent and sighed.

"Excuse me! Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Hm, someone’s here."

In the mucus tent were me, Shark, and Serai-san. Since I was the furthest inside, Serai-san, who was on the right near the entrance, lifted the tent flap to reveal the silhouette of a girl on the gymnasium rooftop in the darkening evening.

"Ugh, it’s her…"

As usual, in this girls' high school, there’s hardly any place where we can relax other than here. Yet she had come all the way to find us. Judging by Shark’s reaction, the voice belonged to that prickly Aikido classmate.

"It’s dangerous to climb up here! What if you fall?"

"Sorry… I saw Toga-san heading this way…"

Serai-san's words were a bit of a boomerang since we could handle a fall ourselves. Shark should be fine too. While thinking that, the problematic girl reached the tent, so we reluctantly let her in.

"(What are you doing here? It’s dangerous if you fall!)"

"(You’re here too!)"

Shark and the prickly classmate, now seated side by side in the cramped tent, started bickering in low voices, jabbing each other with elbows.

"Stop it. This tent isn’t that sturdy. If it tears, you’ll fall straight down."

""…""

Yes, the gymnasium at Shark's Girls Highschool is tall. With the second floor being a pool, it’s even higher. Falling from here would be serious.

"Anyway, eat this. You haven’t had much to eat, right?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you…"

Serai-san handed a Tupperware of crab cheese gratin to the prickly classmate, who looked slightly dejected after being scolded. Yes, this is a good big sister move.

"Oh…it’s delicious…"

"Don't hesitate to eat it all."

Upon being told so by Serai-san, the prickly classmate took a bite of the crab cheese gratin and suddenly started crying.

"Ugh…sniff!"

"Hey, what’s wrong all of a sudden?"

"It’s all my fault! Sniff…!"

Shark explained to Serai-san and me, who were puzzled by the sudden tears.

"When the heavy machinery guys brought food, she got really angry. So they stopped. But as more evacuees came, the school ran out of food."

"I see, that’s what happened…"

She couldn't tolerate the food being acquired without proper procedures. But because of that, the food shortage worsened, and she’s now overwhelmed with guilt.

"Hmm, that’s a tough issue."

It's hard to say who was right in this case. As I pondered, arms crossed, someone else approached.

"Excuse me, has one of our students come here?"

Oh, another visitor. It’s a busy day for guests.