The Pillowcase at the Inn Where the Protagonist of a Dungeon Fantasy Stays

"Zzz..."

'Sleeping on a sofa used by a goddess is quite disrespectful.'

"An electric-shock alarm clock really does wake you right up."

'That was a lightning bolt, and all it did was wake you?'

"Once I revive, injuries are no problem. See?"

'So you revived. If you had extra lives, you might lose one, but in a sense, you have infinite lives here.'

"When you put it that way, reincarnating in another world is pretty tough. You only get to die once."

'Some otherworldly reincarnators have the ability to revive or the power to start over, but most become reluctant to use it later on.'

"If you can reset easily, it cuts the emotional impact in half."

'I'm a little worried you might be taking your repeated reincarnations in other worlds too lightly.'

"Don't worry, I always give it my all. I'm a man who never forgets where he started."

'It's true that you always have plenty of enthusiasm. Things usually go terribly when you do, though.'

"I guess it's not a good idea to rush into fighting so easily."

'That's right. Your combat ability usually makes you practically invincible in other worlds. You've had far too much experience.'

"Then this time, let's go with no fighting."

'Why not draw a prompt first? If, by some miracle, you become a Hero, avoiding combat could be difficult.'

"Namoshin managed to do it, so I'm sure it'll work out."

※See Chapter 14: The Bag a Hero Takes on Their Journey. A Hero Who Doesn't Get Involved.

'Do you not have much of an ideal image of what a Hero should be?'

"I do dream of being a harem Hero."

'What a despicable man. I meant in terms of a Hero's principles.'

"Hmm, I guess I'd want to help people in trouble."

'That's admirable.'

"And, if I'm lucky, maybe I'd set a flag with a cute girl."

'Now that's an admirable ulterior motive.'

"But I think it's only natural to expect something in return. Asking for nothing in return means you don't let the other person repay the favor."

'A perfectly kind world only exists in children's anime.'

"Some good people help others because they can't settle down otherwise, so it's all in how you look at it."

'If your own selfishness benefits someone else, then you could call that a good relationship.'

"So helping people to aim for a harem would be a win-win, right?"

'We've just witnessed a third-rate person use a tried-and-true excuse to justify his opinion.'

"That's harsh. It just occurred to me—does Goddess-sama look after me out of selfless kindness?"

'It's my job.'

"A Goddess-sama who's all business is wonderful, too."

'With you occupying someone else's space for this long, I can almost understand how people who work from home feel.'

"Having someone do the housework for you as part of their job sounds like nothing but a good deal."

'If it were a job, I'd prefer that kind of relationship. Now then, it's time for your reincarnation in another world.'

"All righty, here we go. Heave-ho, abracadabra... From naitarou-san: 'The pillowcase at the inn where the protagonist of a dungeon-themed otherworld stays.'"

'Looks like you can avoid fighting this time, at least physically.'

"That's true. In a dungeon-themed otherworld, an inn is about as safe a place as you can get. I guess my role would be to support the protagonist."

'That's right. The prompt specifies the inn where the protagonist stays, so they'll probably use you a lot.'

"Choosing the setting is important, too, not just the options. What kind of world should I pick?"

'Choosing the setting can help cut down on your waiting time just as much as picking an obscure reincarnation target. But with a pillowcase, you should be fine either way.'

"If I make the setting too big, it might get popular, but a little pocket world has its charms, too. This world is a kind of pocket world, and it's comfortable here."

'It would be a problem if you stayed just because it's comfortable.'

"That'll depend on how well I do, I guess."

'You'd better.'

◇

'A pocket world... That's right. This is a world of my own. I'd never really thought about it before, but...'

"I'm back."

'Welcome home. Today, your punishment is to be packed into a box.'

"That's a rough welcome-home ritual."

'You seem awfully calm for someone with just their head sticking out of a box.'

"Aside from not being able to move, I don't really have a problem with it."

'I can't help thinking you time your returns deliberately every time.'

"It's not like I can just pick when I die."

'That's true enough. You could kill yourself, but you wouldn't know what was going on here.'

"Well then, shall I give my report?"

'You were the pillowcase at the inn where the protagonist of a dungeon-themed otherworld stayed.'

"That's right. Like the time I turned into dirt, I reincarnated in a roguelike-game world."

※See Chapter 4: The Dirt in Front of the Dungeon. In the vein of Torneko's Great Adventure.

'The kind where the dungeon's layout changes every time you enter?'

"That's right. It was a world where valuable goods found in dungeons kept the country's economy thriving. Right near the dungeon, there were all sorts of shops: an item shop, an inn, a pawn shop, and so on."

'If the drops refresh every time, it would certainly work as a business.'

"So countries with large dungeons prospered tremendously."

'Hmm, that's a good way to introduce the setting.'

"By the way, I was in the world's largest country, in a region with the world's largest dungeon, naturally. It was called the Starry Labyrinth, a legendary dungeon said to have never been reached by anyone at its lowest level."

'If the protagonist is going to make a name for herself in that world, that's the kind of place she'd go.'

"By the way, I was a pillowcase in a room at the unpopular inn called the Corpse Inn."

'That inn sounds doomed just from its name.'

"The owner said they named it that because adventurers returning from the dungeon sleep like corpses."

'Even if that's true, that's quite a name to give it.'

"And the protagonist of this world was a woman named Raila, an A-rank adventurer."

'So she was an adventurer, not a Hero.'

"Raila had been conquering all sorts of dungeons since she was a child, and now she'd come to take on the world's largest dungeon. She was a drifter, so she ended up at the budget Corpse Inn."

'Hmm, an unpopular inn and a drifter protagonist. That would make it easy to have the room to yourself.'

"I adjusted all sorts of things, like the options and the world's setting."

'And you conveniently ended up with a woman, too.'

"Heh."

'Let's stick a sword into the box.'

"There aren't any tricks or gimmicks to it. Well, I'll dodge it from inside."

'You're quite nimble. As a pillowcase in a woman's room, I bet you'd have gotten up to all sorts of things.'

"That's what I thought at first. But the Starry Labyrinth was pretty tough for Raila, and as soon as she got back, she slept like the dead."

'So you couldn't play any pranks on someone like that.'

"She even changed in the public bathhouse, so I missed my chance."

'Let's add another sword.'

"Still dodging. After waking up, she'd eat, then head back into the dungeon. She'd come back and sleep like the dead again. That went on for a month."

'So even the protagonist didn't start out on a winning streak. By the way, if it were you, you'd probably be happy to have a woman on top of you, wouldn't you?'

"At first, I thought it was a nice perk."

'Let's add another sword.'

"Whoa, that was close. Raila was a pretty attractive woman, too, but maybe because she was so tired, she drooled a lot..."

'That is a little... No, I'm sure you could've enjoyed it.'

"At first, I thought I could work with it."

'Let's add another sword.'

"It's getting hard to move around in here. But drool stinks once it dries. The owner always did the laundry with a suspicious look on their face."

'That's your own fault for giving a pillowcase a sense of smell.'

"I wanted to smell her hair after she got out of the bath, so I have no regrets."

'Let's add another sword.'

"I can still take it. Still hanging in there."

'I've already stuck five swords in there. What's going on inside?'

"I'm pretty confident in my dexterity. But Raila kept failing to achieve the results she wanted, and she got more discouraged by the day. So I finally got off my lazy backside and decided it was time to step in."

'Does a pillow have a backside?'

"It's a figure of speech. Honestly."

'Let's add two more swords.'

"This is getting painful."

'Don't dismiss it as merely painful when I've stuck seven swords into you.'

"First, I activated the option I'd brought with me: 'Staying at an inn fully restores your health.' I gave Raila a refreshing morning."

'In games, you can usually recover from just about any injury by sleeping at an inn for one night. I wonder whether the characters' regenerative abilities are terrifying, or the inns are.'

"In this case, it was the pillowcase. Once Raila woke up feeling refreshed, I introduced myself."

'She must've been surprised to hear a pillowcase talk.'

"She fainted."

'That was more than surprise.'

"I couldn't help it, so I let her sleep one more night and gave her a lively morning."

'Couldn't that turn into an endless loop?'

"I calmed her down with my way with words. Then I told her, 'You might have talent, but you don't have the strength yet. I'll lend you mine.'"

'The strength of a pillowcase?'

"When you sleep using me, you enter a special dream world where you can train with the coaches I prepared."

'That doesn't feel quite pillowcase-like. Pillowcases don't have that kind of power.'

"I forgot to mention, but the pillow I covered was filled with buckwheat hulls."

'Perfect for a cheap inn.'

"It doesn't mean anything in particular."

'Then go on.'

"Since I was avoiding combat this time, I prepared opponents based on people I'd fought in the past."

'Hmm, you've fought all kinds of opponents over the years. They'd be perfect for training.'

"Her first opponent was an evil spirit."

※See Chapter 22: The Locker Used by Protagonists to Hide in Horror Games and the Like. An evil spirit that attacks people.

'That was merciless to someone who's afraid of horror.'

"As expected, she fainted."

'Of course she did. Were there no monsters like that in the dungeon?'

"She was fine with monsters, but real evil spirits were a no-go."

'So monsters and evil spirits were separate categories.'

"Well, I made the difficulty too high right away, so I toned it down for the next one."

'I can't trust you to tone anything down.'

"Her second opponent was an axolotl."

※See Chapter 21: Armadillo. It was kind of like an air purifier.

'It was weak, but it was weak and hard to bring herself to attack.'

"As expected, it hit just the right spot for Raila, so she couldn't bring herself to attack it."

'I didn't expect it to hit the right spot.'

"She complained that she couldn't fight something as cute as that axolotl, so next I brought out Bahamut (the cat)."

※See Chapter 20: The Summoned Beast Bahamut's Breath. A cat bigger than a mountain.

'You brought out someone truly merciless.'

"As expected, she was beaten to a pulp."

'Naturally. I can't imagine your idea of training being a proper workout.'

"The highest difficulty level did have Goddess-sama, though."

'Don't recreate me in another world.'

"By the way, after snorting at you, Raila attacked you without hesitation."

'Oh? Maybe I should go discipline her a little.'

"Well, she was instantly killed, just like I usually am."

'Then that's fine. But she violated my right of publicity, so let's add three more swords.'

"It's getting rough in a human body."

'You can't just call it rough when you're trapped in a box with ten swords stuck into you in a human body.'

"Want to take a look inside?"

'I'll pass.'

"It was all in a dream, so there was no damage in the real world."

'If there had been, you'd literally be a corpse.'

"But when she died in the dream, she twitched and convulsed."

'It must've been a nightmare and a half.'

"It was a turn-on."

'Add a greatsword.'

"That's too much—oh, I dodged it."

'The box is a meter wide, and the sword is eighty centimeters wide.'

"Want to take a look inside?"

'Absolutely not.'

"But everyone she fought in her dreams was stronger than any monster in the dungeon. Even as she got beaten to a pulp in her dreams, Raila kept developing the combat skills she needed to survive."

'When I think about her being made to fight all the monsters you've met, I almost want to reduce your sentence for disrespecting me earlier.'

"You're only reducing it? Raila grew strong enough to reach the deeper floors of the dungeon, and she started coming back happy."

'It's fun to feel yourself getting stronger.'

"She was cute enough to jump on me as soon as she got back."

'Well, you're a pillowcase. I'll add another sword, though.'

"Can I make it? ...All right, I made it."

'I think I just heard a sound that couldn't possibly come from a human body.'

"Want to take a look inside?"

'No matter what, I absolutely refuse.'

"It's easier to develop your talent if you can make the movements you envision in real life. She got good enough to beat Master Red Salmon pretty easily."

'Wasn't he a former Demon King and an otherworldly reincarnator?'

※See Chapter 2: Hermit Crab. The former Demon King, Red Salmon.

"But he was a native of that otherworld, so he was no match for Tanaka-san."

※See Chapter 5: The Second Hand of the Clock Tower. M.

'You really do think Tanaka-san is strong, don't you?'

"He's one of the top five powerhouses in my personal rankings."

'That high? I'd better update the threat level on my list of dangerous people.'

"Goddess-sama is number one to me, though."

'I'll double the number of swords stuck in you.'

"Whoa, that one's too much. Anyway, I successfully escaped the box. The escape trick worked!"

'Clap clap. Wait, why are you doing a magic trick?'

"Huh? Wasn't this the setup for a great escape act?"

'No. It's simply a punishment.'

"Anyway, back to the story. Raila trained her body in the dungeon and her mind in her dreams, and before she knew it, she'd risen to become an S-rank adventurer. Then she finally reached the lowest level of the Starry Labyrinth. Ah, she had such a tense look on her face then."

'You say that as if you were watching.'

"I was brought along."

'Wasn't that an inn's furnishing?'

"Raila was confident she could reach the bottom, so she brought me along. She wanted Pillowcase Jiro, the one who'd looked after her, to see her shining moment."

'Pillowcase Jiro?'

"Apparently, Pillowcase Taro is at her parents' house."

'I see. Then let's hear about the lowest level.'

"They say there's an incredibly rare item on the lowest level, but it was guarded by a being said to be the strongest in the world."

'Well, you'd expect to find something like that at the bottom of the world's largest dungeon.'

"Right. I never expected him to be there."

'Was he someone you knew who'd reincarnated in another world?'

"Yes. His name was... that's right, Yamada."

※No particular reference.

'Who?'

"Oh, you don't know him?"

'I've never heard of him. Though I do remember reincarnating one or two otherworldly reincarnators named Yamada.'

"Let's see, what was the name Goddess-sama would recognize...?"

'A name like Yamada isn't enough to identify someone.'

"Hour Hand Bro."

'That narrows it down. His name was Yamada?'

※See Chapter 5: The Second Hand of the Clock Tower. The hour hand of a kindhearted clock tower made from the World Tree.

"Ah, it was a moving reunion."

'Did he recognize you, too?'

"Yes. We spent ages reminiscing about the old days."

'Don't get caught up in otherworldly-reincarnator talk and ignore the protagonist.'

"Yamada was worked up over the first challenger to appear in thousands of years."

'Was it like the Hero's Sword before, where it was so difficult that no one showed up and it got bored?'

※See Chapter 24: The Torch Mounted on a Dungeon Wall. An otherworldly reincarnator's sword.

"Then the one-on-one battle between Yamada and Raila began. They fought right before my eyes, exchanging thrilling blows in a breathtaking showdown."

'From the outside, it probably just looked like a pillowcase lying on the floor. By the way, what did Yamada look like?'

"He looked like an ordinary salaryman in a business suit."

'What a mismatch.'

"He said it was a trick to cut down on waiting time."

'I see. So that's one way of doing it.'

"After a fierce battle, the match was decided. Yamada was certainly strong, as an otherworldly reincarnator, but then his movements suddenly slowed. Raila took advantage of the opening and won."

'Did something happen?'

"He said that if he missed this chance, he'd have to wait another few thousand years, and he let his guard down."

'That's rough. A few thousand years in a suit must be hard.'

"Actually, he was moved by how desperately Raila was fighting and went easy on her."

'He really was a good hand.'

"And so Raila obtained an item called the Star's Wish, which could grant any one wish. Yamada reincarnated in another world, saying he hadn't enjoyed himself much because he'd been bored for so long."

'Spending most of your life bored would make you feel empty when you looked back on it.'

"And at last, it was time to say goodbye."

'Your final moment came, too?'

"Raila became the world's most famous adventurer, but her thirst for adventure never ran out. She set off in search of dungeons she hadn't conquered yet. That was the end, since the protagonist no longer stayed at the inn."

'Couldn't the protagonist have taken you along? Surely she could afford to buy a pillowcase.'

"I thought it would be strange if she became dependent on me. She understood, too."

'Well, even though she owed you for training her, the rest of her story belonged to her.'

"After thanking me sincerely and giving me a hug with her ample chest, she left looking refreshed."

'Was that last part meant to provoke me?'

"Whoa, please don't put me in the box again. I can't use the same trick twice."

'You dodged it this time.'

"By the way, I had two souvenirs, but one of them is gone now."

'Oh? How did that happen?'

"I used it just now for that great escape act: the Star's Wish."

'You used an item that can grant any wish just to show me a magic trick?'

"Raila gave me the Star's Wish as a souvenir. She said, 'I've already had my wish of conquering the Starry Labyrinth on my own granted. So this is for you.'"

'Was she not very greedy?'

"She was the kind of girl who wanted to fulfill her own desires herself."

'I see. What about you? You're using it for something like this.'

"I'm the same as Raila. Besides, if I was able to relieve Goddess-sama's boredom, then it served its purpose."

'...Well, I'm the type who likes to do what I want on my own, too.'

"And here's the other souvenir: the World Tree's Hour Hand, dropped by Yamada."

'Isn't that a keepsake of his?'

"No. He gave it to me, saying, 'There's no point in looking back on my past with regret when I'm about to reincarnate in another world and end this life. Take this as a token of our friendship.'"

'He really was a good hand. Now we have both the hour and minute hands.'

"Since we have them, shall we turn them into a clock?"

'We don't need a second hand made of dark matter.'

※See Chapter 5: The Second Hand of the Clock Tower. The protagonist's reincarnation destination.