My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon

Chapter 153.2

On The 3rd Day Of The New year, Kenji Visit

"So… this is the place?"

With his communication device in hand, Kenji looked up at the apartment building.

Toga Kenji's father is a police officer.

Influenced by his father, Kenji chose to become a police officer. However, recently he had been anxiously concerned about his niece, whom his father had been looking after at home, constantly mentioning her [strange behavior].

For Kenji, his younger cousin Ruri is like a precious little sister.

Yet, for some reason last night, Ruri apparently surprised her parents by bringing home a large amount of crab meat.

"How on earth did she get hold of such an expensive item…?"

Sensing something amiss, Kenji's father asked Kenji to [casually look into Ruri's behavior].

Given these circumstances, Kenji, who happened to have the day off, was informed by his mother about the detailed situation and, relying on the tracking function hidden in Ruri's communication device known only to relatives, secretly followed her.

(If it's Ruri's story, then this must be the room.)

He rang the doorbell and waited for a response through the intercom. Soon, there was a reply, followed by noisy voices behind a man's voice.

"Yes?"

"Hello, my name is Toga Kenji. Is Toga Ruri here?"

Though he got told to [casually investigate by his father], Kenji wasn't a detective, so that was out of the question. Besides, if he were to stake out, it would just waste time.

So, Kenji came up with a plan and brought seaweed as a gift.

In other words, he came to check on Ruri's condition in the style of [I came to express my gratitude for the expensive crab meat].

"Oh, it's really Kenji! What's up?"

As the door opened, Ruri showed her face. Ruri seemed to be behaving as usual. No, she seemed more imposing than before.

(Why the sudden change?)

Despite working as a police officer and having trained physically even during drills, Kenji felt a strength greater than his own from Ruri, who was still in high school. He was bewildered. But he kept his composure and spoke without showing it on his face.

"Hey, Ruri. I heard from Mom that you brought some expensive gifts home? It's not good to receive things without saying thanks. I came to deliver a token of appreciation."

"Hmm, I see. You don't have to bring anything. Just lending us a pot would've been enough. Well, whatever. Hey, come on in, Kenji!"

Despite chuckling at Ruri's haughty behavior, Kenji felt relieved seeing that she didn't seem involved in anything strange.

But in the next moment,

(Huh!?)

When Ruri called out into the room, a sturdy man suddenly appeared, causing Kenji's heart to freeze.

(W-Who is this person!? No, is he really human?)

It felt like suddenly being thrown into a cage with a wild beast, or unexpectedly seeing a shark in the sea. Kenji's thoughts were in disarray, filled with fear and astonishment.

"Welcome. So, you're Ruri's cousin, right…?"

"Ah… yes! I'm Toga Kenji!"

His tone got drawn out and soft.

But the pressure from his presence was incredibly intense. Unconsciously, Kenji straightened his back and adopted an attitude reminiscent of facing a police academy instructor.

"You brought a thank-you gift for the crab meat? Huh, you didn't need to worry about that."

"Ah, um, yes! Here? It's nothing much!"

With brisk movements as if receiving an award on stage, Kenji handed the seaweed he had brought as a souvenir to the man.

(Even Sandra-san was strong, but is this man even stronger?)

Despite being overwhelmed by Egetsu inwardly, Kenji was unaware of it. Ruri, in her usual manner, offered lunch to Kenji.

"We just made some delicious crab soup. Kenji, you should try some!"

(Huh? Isn't Ruri afraid of this person?)

"Shark, don't say that. Well, anyway. Kenji, it's cold outside, so you should warm up a bit."

"Um, then I'll gladly accept your offer."

Anyway, since he got invited, it was convenient. [For the sake of worrying parents, I should investigate Ruri's circle of friends a bit], so Kenji accepted the invitation.

"Oh, another handsome guy has shown up."

"Ah, thank you. I'm Toga Kenji, Ruri's cousin."

As Kenji was welcomed into the room, a girl accepted him warmly. This aspect of her was truly admirable.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Serai, and this is Nena, and this one here is Kourhin."

"Pleased to meet you."

"Oh, don't worry about intruding on our gathering. Let's sit down and eat!"

Outside was cold, but inside the room was warm, filled with the appetizing aroma of miso crab soup. It was a homely scene.

"Huh…!?"

However, Kenji stiffened as he faced the bubbling crab soup.

"Huh?… Oh, right. Well, don't worry about the table."

"Huh? Ah! Y-Yes…"

Yeah, well, it's normal to be surprised. I mean, we made a low table using the shell of a giant stink bug.

See, Shark brought this huge pot that he usually uses at his aunt's place for cooking, so I thought we should prepare a big table where everyone could sit instead of the small glass table we had been using.

So, we used two wide stink bug shells as the tabletop, making a hexagonal low table. We even integrated a stink bug stove in the center and used the stink bug's limbs as folding legs.

So, visually, it looks like something you'd find in a demon's castle.

"Hey, Kenji. I helped make it!"

"Oh, thank you…"

"Hehe, that's right. But all Shark did was crush shells for the broth."

"I-It's not like it's not important! It's part of the dish!"

"Alright, let's dig in!"

"""Bon appétit!"""

"Hmm… It's warming."

The rich flavor of miso combined with the broth made from crushing plenty of giant crab shells. The ingredients included not only crab meat but also vegetables such as leeks, taro, carrots, and daikon radishes. Ah, delicious. There's no way this isn't tasty♪josei

But yesterday, when Shark said, [There's a big pot at my aunt's place, so I'll bring it tomorrow!] I thought it would be bad to just borrow it for free, so I made some [boiled crab meat] to take back as a thank-you gesture. I never expected Kenji, whom I met during Dungeon Stampede, to come over to express his thanks.

Sigh… I'm relieved it wasn't Sandra.

"It's delicious…! And how did you manage to get so much crab meat?"

"Oh, well, I have an acquaintance at the fish market who's quite muscular. When that broker acknowledges you as a true muscle, you can get crabs like these at muscle prices."

"I see, is that so!"

Oh, it's really convenient to have muscles♪ Whenever I flex my muscles and explain something, most people tend to accept it♪