My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon
Chapter 314

The Value Of The Prey

The battle was over.

After all, it was a 10-meter-class monster crocodile. If I had been bitten by such a ridiculously huge crocodile, I wouldn’t have stood a chance. Plus, who would normally expect something like this to suddenly emerge from the Edogawa River?

But even that giant crocodile was helpless against my super-acid strong zero-range attack. Indeed, the best way to deal with a big target is to attack it from the inside.

So, if it had ended with "and they all lived happily ever after," that would have been great. But I still had a tough opponent left to deal with.

“Confiscate it? Hah? What are you talking about?! You guys didn’t do anything, and now you’re trying to swoop in and snatch the prey away?!”

A fake giant crab origin scandal had turned into an unexpected grand showdown.

The police officer present called for backup in a panic, and before I knew it, multiple patrol cars arrived at the riverbank with their sirens blaring. Then, as if it was a foregone conclusion, the gathered officers started saying they’d confiscate the giant crocodile because it was dangerous.

“This qualifies as a dangerous Special creature, so the police—”

“Dangerous? What nonsense! I’ve already finished it off! This thing is mine! If you want a crocodile so badly, there are enough of you here—go catch one yourselves! The river is right there! You bunch of useless nobodies!”

I was fuming and fiercely protested. Why should the prey I risked my life to take down be snatched away by people who didn’t lift a finger?

“…Don’t you think such remarks are inappropriate?”

"""………"""

One officer, visibly annoyed, retorted, while the others silently tightened their encirclement, applying pressure.

Ugh... This is like something straight out of one of those late-night cop shows. Surrounded by police, I must look like a textbook delinquent.

If I so much as laid a finger on any of the officers, they’d immediately arrest me for obstructing official duties. But I wouldn’t lose to something like that. Even if it was my fault for getting involved in the fake origin scheme, I would never tolerate my prey being stolen.

“Oh, ‘inappropriate,’ huh?! Then tell me this: When someone is being attacked by a monstrous creature like that, isn’t it inappropriate for the police to be the first to flee?! Hey, you! Yes, you over there! Stop skulking around and come here! What were you doing when I was fighting this thing?!”

Target locked. I called out the officer who was there to witness the fight and demanded an explanation for their actions.

“…I was guiding the evacuation.”

“Ha! Nice excuse. With two civilians, two health department staff, and two police officers, one person would’ve been enough for evacuation guidance! Why didn’t you come to help? Thanks to you, I had to fight this thing alone!!”

“……”

An older officer stepped in, trying to calm me down with a “Now, now, let’s not get so worked up.”

But while this was happening, the number of police officers grew, and the encirclement tightened further. Normally, I’d let it slide. But having the prey I risked my life to take down stolen would be a blow to my pride as a fighter.

“That’s why! I owe nothing to people who didn’t fight. Not a shred! If you really want it that badly, I’ll escalate this to the higher-ups!”

Saying this, I pulled out my communicator, snapped quick pictures of the scene, and emailed the Special Labyrinth Countermeasures Division via the adventurer app.

This was in compliance with the rules for the Labyrinth Entry License. If a monster is discovered on the surface, you’re supposed to notify the Countermeasures Division immediately.

So, I wrote, “I took down a 10-meter-class monster by myself, but now the police are trying to take it.” I got a reply right away, saying they’d send someone and asking me to wait there.

“See this?! Look at the reply! The jurisdiction over this matter has just been handed over to the Special Labyrinth Countermeasures Division! Tough luck for you guys! Hahaha!” """………"""

Several officers openly showed their dissatisfaction with my statement.

…What’s this about? Do they have quotas for catching monsters, like traffic violations? They seem to use vague terms like “target goals.”

But no matter how petty it might seem, I’m the kind of guy who fights back against things I don’t like.

Call it being a hated rogue or whatever you want. Still, if the Countermeasures Division ends up trying to confiscate it too, well, I’ll deal with that when the time comes.

I’ll start dismantling it right there and take what I want myself.

……

About 40 minutes later, a white bus pulled up to the riverbank, and a group of people in lab coats stepped out. One of them waved at me.

“Well, well, Egetsu-san. You’ve taken down quite the big one again.”

It was the kindly researcher who interviewed me during the Labyrinth Entry License process.

“Oh, it’s you from back then!”

“It hasn’t been long, but it’s good to see you again. You never fail to surprise me, Egetsu-san. What exactly is this specimen…?”

The researcher looked up at the massive dead crocodile, shrugging in disbelief.

“I wouldn’t know. I’m just as surprised. I was trying to catch crabs, and suddenly, this thing bit.”

Meanwhile, other researchers busily took pictures of the giant crocodile and collected blood samples.

“By the way… your outfit is quite unique again. Is that made from monster materials?”

The researcher eyed my King Insect suit with interest, but I put off that explanation for another time.

“Yeah, kind of. Anyway, what happens with this kind of prey?”

“There wasn’t a removal request, so there’s no bounty. But since it’s in excellent condition, if you’re okay with it, we’d like to take it for research. The specimens taken down by the Self-Defense Forces are usually in terrible shape.”

“Oh, so you’ll buy it? How much are we talking?”

“Hmm, about 700,000 yen?”

“Cheap!”

Come on! With its tough crocodile skin, you could make several top-quality leather armors. Plus, the meat would easily weigh over two tons.

“I understand where you’re coming from, but this is for research purposes. So, what do you think?”

“Well… If it’s for research, you’re not going to stuff it or anything, right? I mean, storing something this huge would be a pain. Fine, I’ll take the 700,000 yen, but I want as much of the outer skin and edible meat as possible.”

It’s ridiculously cheap, but better than having the police take it for free. I added my terms to see how far I could push it.

“Sure, that’s fine. Deal. We don’t have any formal contracts, so I’ll just jot it down on the back of my business card. Here you go.”

The researcher pulled out a notebook from his pocket, wrote on a business card, and handed it to me.

“Thank you.”

(Wait, what? Special Labyrinth Countermeasures Division… Research Department Director, Edahashi Yukio… He looks young, but is he a pretty big deal?)

…Still, 700,000 yen, huh.

Looking at the enormous, orange-tinted corpse of the crocodile illuminated by the setting sun along the Edogawa River, I couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of melancholy.