Chapter 37

“High School Boys and Indoor Adventures” is the 37th chapter of the manga.

Cover Page
End scene of Chapter 36. Hidenori tries to calm Mitsuo down.

Detailed Summary
The main trio are at Tadakuni’s house. Hidenori says that they should role-play Dragon Quest, since they're bored. He asks Tadakuni to choose a save log, and Tadakuni goes ahead with 'log #2'. Immediately, the others get into character. Yoshitake takes Hidenori hostage and tells Tadakuni not to come any closer, while Hidenori’s character yells in fright for their father. Tadakuni remarks that he'd sure picked a great moment to start with.

Yoshitake then takes up another character behind Tadakuni, criticizing him as a ‘rookie’ for provoking the villain. Tadakuni doesn't seem to like the idea of being a rookie. Next to them, Hidenori then pipes up as an ally, addressing Yoshitake as ‘Captain’ and telling him he’ll take care of the enemy. The Captain yells back to ‘Depp’ that it’d be too much for him, and Tadakuni, already struggling with the flow, asks who that is. By this time, Depp has already charged forward despite the warnings, and Tadakuni wonders if it’s still Dragon Quest they’re playing. The Captain then declares it to be the end of training, surprising him.

The Captain then asks him if he'd gotten used to his duties as a castle knight yet, then tells him they should relax with a nice bath, and they head off to look for a bath house. Suddenly, they are blocked by a new character (Hidenori) who glares at them, forbidding them from passing. The Captain asks him who he is, but he shrugs off the question, and the two have a threatening stand-off. The stranger then says that if they absolutely needed to go through, they must pay him the entry fee. Tadakuni realizes in shock that he’s supposed to be the bath-house owner.

The Captain enters the women’s bath, surprising Tadakuni who hadn't known his leader was a lady. Depp joins Tadakuni to enter the bath, but Tadakuni doesn’t remember who he is. This offends Depp, who claims to have always had the knight's back. . Another ally (Yoshitake) shows up and declares himself to be Tadakuni’s subordinate Markovich. He is followed by a guy called Hopper (Hidenori), who also introduces himself. Tadakuni tells them there are too many characters and he can’t keep track.

Hopper then explains that they’re part of an army fighting the demon king. Markovich excitedly adds that they’d be storming his castle the next day. Tadakuni asks him who he is, and he responds that he’s Markovich. In a deep voice, Hidenori remarks that the demon king is no fool, and that there may be an assassin in their ranks. Exasperated, Tadakuni asks who he is supposed to be, and Hidenori says he’s the bath-house owner. Annoyed, Tadakuni asks him why he’s with them.

The Captain then tells his troops to assemble and that they’re setting off. Suddenly, menacing laughter is heard, and a shadowy figure approaches her and Tadakuni, declaring that they’d finally found them. The Captain demands to know who the shadow is. Tadakuni says that even if blackened out, it’s pretty obvious.

Characters
In order of appearance:
 * Hidenori (and his roles)
 * Mitsuo (cover)
 * Yoshitake (and his roles)
 * Tadakuni (and his roles)