'Phew... I survived...'
Once the hunters had fled in panic, my legs gave out, and I collapsed right onto the ground. The sight of armed humans charging at me with clear murderous intent... honestly, it was too much to bear.
If it hadn't been for the incredible power of the [High-Pressure Cleaner], I would've ended up as mincemeat.
'...It didn't have this kind of power in the original game.'
The power of the [High-Pressure Cleaner] at maximum range—I thought I'd summoned a tsunami. An enormous volume of water gushing from that tiny nozzle... whew. Why does a cleaning tool like this even have such devastating force...?
"Whoaaa..."
As I pondered the [High-Pressure Cleaner]'s power, Rio, who'd been hiding behind me, came rushing over with sparkling eyes and clung to me.
"Uncle, you're amazing! You... you used magic... and drove off the hero... and stood there all cool!"
I'd just been standing frozen in fear... but apparently, to Rio, the way I'd stood motionless against the enemies looked heroic.
"Uncle... are you a Dungeon Master?"
"What?"
I was half-listening to Rio's chatter when she suddenly lit up and hit me with something completely out of left field.
"With the power to repel a hero, and this structure right in the middle of the forest... this has to be a dungeon! You're the Dungeon Master!"
Dungeon... She'd explained it to me before. But Rio, Dungeon Masters are from the demon tribe. I'm human. And is this even a dungeon to begin with...? It's the Demon God's Ruins or whatever, so maybe it counts?
"It's not like that..."
"Whoa...! A dungeon! So the way you healed me was a Dungeon Master ability...? Gasp! Does that mean I'm part of the dungeon now?"
"Will you listen for a sec?"
I had no idea how to handle her—I'd never taken care of a kid before. She was muttering to herself, lost in her own world, not even hearing me anymore.
"Sigh... Anyway, Rio. Like I said earlier, I can't leave this place right now?"
"Got it! You have to protect the dungeon, right?"
"...No, that's not it. There are other reasons. Whatever the case, you should escape. We drove them off for now, but those guys might come back."
I decided to send Rio somewhere else. I couldn't leave because of the [Cleaning Zone] or whatever... but it was different for her.
"...C-Can't I just stay here with you, Uncle?"
"If those guys show up..."
"I might run into them outside... And besides, I have nowhere to go..."
"......"
But when Rio mumbled with a gloomy expression, I froze. No... telling a little girl to wander outside right now might actually be more dangerous...
"...But if Uncle says I should go..."
"...Nah, let's stick together."
"Yay!"
Her expression flipped so fast? Was that on purpose?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
We couldn't stay in that spot forever, so I took Rio and headed deeper into the passage. It was the only option anyway, since I couldn't go outside.
—Splashhhh...
"But why are you keep spraying water as we go?"
As we moved along, continuously cleaning the passage with the [High-Pressure Cleaner], Rio gave me a puzzled look. But there was a good reason.
'I'm hungry.'
Maybe because the tension had suddenly evaporated, my stomach started growling fiercely. But with no way to go outside and scrounge food, there was only one option.
⚙ SHOP ⚙- Category: ..... [Meals] ...
The [Meals] category attached to the [Shop] function. In Cleaning Game, there were quite a few types of food for sale—eating them granted buffs like increased movement speed, reduced fall damage, or protection from environmental hazards in cleaning zones before your gear was fully upgraded.
I didn't need buffs right now... just something to eat.
[+10p]
'Good. I've got enough.'
After scraping together enough points for food for me and Rio, I opened the [Shop] window. There were more options than I remembered. Did they apply some update content?
The new items piqued my curiosity... but food first.
[Bread and Jam]: The most basic meal. Reduces damage from [Toxic Waste] by 5% for 10 hours.
I picked the cheapest item. My points were low after buying her the [Cleaning Mask] earlier.
"Here, Rio. Hungry, right? Eat up."
"Huh? Where'd you get that? Don't tell me... subspace magic?"
"...Yeah, something like that."
She already thought my [High-Pressure Cleaner] was magic, so I brushed it off with some vague nonsense about subspace magic even though she had no clue what that was. No way was I explaining the Cleaning Game system to her.
"It's yummy!"
"Good... ah."
Glad she liked it, but the portions were small because of my low points. How do you fill up on a single slice of bread? If I had more points... ah.
Come to think of it...?
⚙ COLLECTION ITEMS ⚙A separate system from the Inventory for collecting and storing trash that can't be cleaned with water pressure alone.
I opened the [Collection Items]. Unlike my Inventory, it was empty except for one item stored there.
-Baikal: [Large Waste], [Toxic Waste], [Metal]
"Why'd this get classified as trash...?"
I only figured it out later after checking the system logs. The spear Rox had thrown—Baikal—had triggered the in-game 'collection' system the moment it tried to pass through the entrance of these 'Demon God's Ruins,' detecting it as a pollutant.
'It's a spear that spews poison, so they labeled it trash... a pollutant? But just casually collecting a spear thrown by a hero...'
It was ridiculous, but it had saved my life. The problem was what to do with this spear now...
'Tsk...'
In Cleaning Game, there weren't many ways to earn points for the [Shop]. The main one was just getting points from cleaning. Or clearing specific maps, or selling items found during cleaning.
So...
[Sell]
...Maybe I can sell this too? No idea why, but it's in the [Collection Items], so...
[Baikal] Sell Price: 12,000p
'Whoa, what the hell?'
Twelve thousand points! Cleaning this filthy corridor for ages only nets me 10 points!
No... is this an insultingly low price for a holy relic used by a hero? But even in the game, points from selling items were pretty meager...
'...Is it okay to sell a holy relic said to be bestowed by the gods?'
From what Rio told me, this spear wasn't just any spear—it was a holy relic wielded by a hero. Was it right to trade something so sacred and important for a measly twelve thousand points?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"I'm stuffed!"
"Good. Glad to hear it."
Of course I sold the damn thing. I was about to starve to death.
After selling the spear and using the points for a hearty meal, I patted Rio's head as she drummed her belly and kept walking deeper along the long corridor.
"When does this corridor end...? Huh?"
Finally, a change appeared in the monotonous scenery of the passage.
"A door...?"
Rio was right—the door blocking the middle of the corridor was identical to the entrance of the 'Demon God's Ruins.'
"Ugh... it won't open..."
Rio stepped up to try opening the door when she spotted it, but after years of neglect, the door was so rusted and corroded that barely any intact spots remained, and it wouldn't budge.
"Step aside."
[Detergent (Rust)]: Excels at removing rust from metal!
I pulled the [Detergent] from my Inventory and loaded it into the [High-Pressure Cleaner]. Gripping the handle and spraying, the grime washed away with the water jet, and the red rust clinging to the door melted off effortlessly.
"Whoa... that's magic too?"
"Something like it."
Luckily, I didn't have to waste points buying detergent. Just like I had max-level gear, opening my Inventory revealed every type of detergent my game character had owned.
...But if they were gonna keep the inventory like that, why start me with 0 points?
"That bit won't come off?"
"Hm? You're right."
Most of the rust was gone after spraying, but a dark red stain stubbornly clung to the door.
-Foreign Substance Classification: Blood
"...Blood?"
"Ah...! Now that you mention it, the color's different from the rust!"
When I touched the stubborn stain, a system message revealed the identity of the red mark.
So much blood on a door... No, best not to think about it. It just makes things feel ominous.
[Detergent (Blood)]
All I had to do was swap detergents anyway.
"Ah! It's coming off!"
As expected, switching detergent types made the bloodstains vanish cleanly. I pulled on the now pristine door like new, and unlike before, it swung open smoothly.
And the scene that was revealed...
"....Urk?"
Red. Everywhere I looked—floor, walls, even the ceiling—it was all red. The spacious hall inside looked like someone had splattered dark red paint in every direction, filling it completely.
'...Blood?'
The color matched exactly the blood I'd just cleaned off the door. Just to check, I lowered my mask for a moment, and a horrific metallic stench assaulted my nose.
'Ugh... what is this? It's all blood?'
And judging by the state inside, this place had been abandoned for ages too... but the smell was still this strong?
"Uncle. There's something over there."
Suppressing a gag, I put my mask back on, and Rio tugged my sleeve, pointing to the center of the vast hall. There...
"....A coffin?"
A single coffin of ominous design sat there—big enough to easily fit a person inside.