Life as an adventurer had already become second nature.
By the time a month had passed, my bank account showed deposits far beyond what I had earned as a salaryman. Money was no longer a concern. I could even pay Misaki's tuition in full until she graduated.
That day, I was cleaning out my study for the first time in a while—though it was really just a glorified storage room.
From the back of the desk drawer, I pulled out a dusty envelope.
Inside was a bundle of job postings I'd gotten from Hello Work [T/N: Japan's public employment office] a month ago.
Security guard, factory line worker, building janitor.
Jobs I had once looked at with desperate hope. The despair I felt back then, and the shame of sitting on a park bench, came rushing back as if it were yesterday.
I just stared quietly at the stack of papers.
I didn't need them anymore.
I had a new job now. A new "workplace."
Without any emotion, I tore the postings to pieces with a loud rip.
Then I tossed the scraps carelessly into the trash bin.
With that, I had cut ties with my old self.
I opened the study window and drew in fresh air.
Outside lay the familiar view of my town. And beyond it loomed a massive structure radiating an eerie presence—the entrance to the dungeon.
A place I once thought had nothing to do with me.
A deadly wasteland I had stepped into out of desperation.
But it was different now.
That was where I lived by my own strength.
No one to boss me around, no one to bow to. Just me, my wits, and my skill, earning money on my own field.
My new "workplace."
"...Alright."
I muttered shortly and closed the window.
As always, I threw on my jumper and laced up my cheap boots by the door.
Passing through the living room, Misaki called out, "Dad, another part-time job today?"
"Yeah, I'm heading out," I answered with a slight puff of my chest.
On my face there was no trace of the desperation of a laid-off man, no fear for the future.
It was the face of an adventurer who had found his place in a new world and stood tall on his own two feet.
I opened the door and stepped outside.
There was only one place I was headed.
The comeback story of a laid-off old man had only just begun.
My real life was starting here.
(End of Volume One)