by Fujino Omori
“Um, Miss Mikoto, the brown soup in this pot…What is it?”
“It’s called miso soup.”
Bell peeked over the rim of the pot as Mikoto happily answered.
It was a traditional soup from her homeland that combined fish stock with a spice called miso. Normally, Mikoto prepared meals using bread and ingredients easily found in Orario to match her allies’ tastes. However, she thought it might be fun to make miso soup for the first time in a while after finding the spice at a marketplace a few days before.
She explained it was a specialty of her homeland, a taste she grew up with. Then she gave them both a spoonful of the mysterious “brown soup.” Bell and Hestia looked back up, appearing pleasantly surprised.
“The flavor is…I don’t know, relaxing.”
“Yeah, this isn’t half bad. So, this is what children from your hometown would call soul food?”
Mikoto couldn’t be happier that her friends could enjoy flavors from her homeland.
Bell and Hestia smiled, continuing to shower her with compliments.
“Miss Mikoto, you’re a really good cook.”
“Yep, some guy’s going to be really lucky to have you as his bride.”
Then, all the color vanished from Mikoto’s face the moment Hestia uttered those words.
“B-bride?!”
The ghostly white was quickly replaced by burning red as the girl shook her hands and fiercely denied everything.
“Wh-what could you possibly mean, Lady Hestia?! I’m still too immature to even be considered worthy of becoming a brideAh-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
“Miss Mikoto, the knife! The knife!”
“That’s dangerous!”
Beet-red and laughing, Mikoto completely forgot about the sharp utensil still in her clutches as she vigorously waved off Hestia’s words.
Hestia and Bell panicked and desperately tried to ward off her inadvertent attack.
The morning excitement and breakfast came to a close.
Hestia left to go to her part-time job while the others finished cleaning up. Mikoto put away the last dishes and went to join her allies already gathered in the living room.
“H-here you are…” Haruhime’s hands visibly shook as she cautiously placed a cup of tea in front of Bell. He forced a smile as she sat down at the table and their morning meeting began.
“Today, Lilly would like to discuss whether or not to bring Miss Haruhime with us into the Dungeon…”
Lilly took charge of the proceedings as all eyes around the table turned to the renart sitting next to Mikoto.
Still wearing her maid outfit, Haruhime curled her golden tail nervously behind her.
“To be frank, Lilly would like her to join us under any conditions. The incredible strength her Magic provides us doesn’t need to be explained.”
“But Lady Lilly, we can ill afford to have the effects of Lady Haruhime’s Magic be revealed to others…”
“Of course. But even so, Miss Haruhime’s presence will be a valuable asset to our party. Each one of us will be safer for it. As long as steps are taken to limit and conceal the casting of her Magic, Lilly is in favor of bringing Miss Haruhime into the Dungeon.”
Haruhime’s Magic, Uchide no Kozuchi, instantly boosted the target’s Level.
While she couldn’t cast it on herself, the ability to make another adventurer level up for a period of time was very rare. This renart sorcery had nearly cost her her life at the hands of Ishtar Familia as a central piece of their plot. Should word of her Magic spread, it was almost a certainty that many would try to recruit her to assist in their own dark ambitions.
But at the same time, a jewel that never sees the light of day is doomed to collect dust. Lilly’s argument was sound. As long as they were careful, the advantages of having her in the party were too great to be ignored. Lilly’s opinion carried considerable weight because she had become the “brain” of the familia.
The men in the room listened to Lilly and Mikoto’s argument—Bell wasn’t sure whose side to take; Welf decided on a more forward approach and asked Haruhime directly.
“What did you do when you were with Ishtar? Did they ever take you into the Dungeon?”
“I was among them, participating in routine activities as well as the occasional venture deep into the Dungeon…However, I was either forced to ride with the cargo or completely protected during battle…”
“…”
“I have never faced a monster in combat…”
With the exception of Magic, all the Basic Abilities in her Status were below that of the group’s supporter, Lilly. Since she never had to fend for herself, Haruhime couldn’t be counted on to hold her ground when push came to shove. No one questioned that she could be a liability in battle.
Haruhime couldn’t say anything in her defense and stared down at the table. Welf and Lilly looked upon the renart girl with pity.
“…So what’s the call? Have her hold down the fort while we’re gone?”
Welf suggested to have Haruhime stay inside the manor, like a real maid would.
Mikoto looked to Bell almost out of reflex.
Though imperfect, he was the leader, and Mikoto wanted to know the feelings of the boy who had once risked everything to save her friend.
“…I made a promise to Aisha. I don’t know what the best decision is right now, but whether we take Miss Haruhime into the Dungeon or not…I will…protect her.”
He started to blush as his words trailed off toward the end, but his position was clear.
Haruhime also turned a shade of pink as Bell fell silent. Lilly, however, was not amused. As for Mikoto, her expression grew brighter by the moment.
The white-haired human boy couldn’t look at anyone, his eyes shifting between the floor and ceiling. Welf grinned at him and gave him a brotherly slap on the back. It wasn’t long before all eyes returned to Haruhime.
It was up to her to make the final decision.
“…I shall accompany you. I, Haruhime, would like to become an asset to the battle party.”
A few heavy moments passed before the girl spoke up and made her wishes known.
She looked at Mikoto and Bell, determination radiating from her green eyes.
“B-because I am…a member of this familia.”
Her gaze fell back to the table as all confidence left her voice.
Bell, Welf, and Lilly exchanged glances and smiles before looking back at their newest ally, who was anxiously fidgeting next to the living room table. Her golden fox tail never came to a rest as her cheeks turned a slightly darker shade of pink. Even Mikoto was smiling from ear to ear and said nothing against the consensus.
A five-person battle party.
Haruhime Sanjouno had joined the team as a supporter and sorcerer.
The howls of monsters pierced the darkness that dominated the caves far belowground.
Ash-colored rocks and boulders lined the cave walls. Several bats flew high overhead, vicious wormlike creatures bored their way through the rocky walls, and the strong roars of liger fangs filled the air—adventurers called out to one another as they made their way through the monster-filled hallway.
“Weapons and armor all good to go?”
“No problems here!”
“Ready for combat!”
Bell’s and Mikoto’s blades whistled through the air as they prepared to engage the oncoming beasts and answered Welf’s call.
The High Smith had repaired and renovated Bell’s armor, now in its fifth incarnation. The blend of gold and white metals maintained its luster even in the dim light. Light armor was designed to protect the wearer without hindering their speed or agility, and it did just that as Bell unleashed a flurry of knife attacks on the closest beast. Mikoto was quick to finish it off with a thrust from her secondary weapon, a long spear. It broke through the liger fang’s thick fur like tissue paper. The beast’s dying howl echoed through the cave.
The fifteenth floor of the Dungeon.
The party, with Haruhime among its ranks, had gone straight into the labyrinth after the meeting that morning at their home.
Leaning heavily on Bell’s second-tier adventurer Status and Welf’s freshly forged weapons and armor, they quickly and efficiently plowed through the upper levels and arrived at one they had yet to completely conquer: the fifteenth floor.
Haruhime, obviously overwhelmed, stayed close to Lilly as she provided support to the front lines with her handheld bow gun. Meanwhile, the other three members fought tirelessly to keep the never-ending slew of monsters at bay.
“—Minotaurs will appear soon!”
“Incoming howl! Li’l E, cover your ears!”
Mikoto detected the arrival of more monsters on the battlefield thanks to her detection skill, Yatano Black Crow. Welf finished off the dungeon worm with his greatsword as he shouted a warning to the back of the formation.
The front line, consisting of Bell and Welf, and the middle support, Mikoto, charged forward to push back the line of monsters as the looming, two-meder-tall silhouettes of Minotaurs appeared deeper down the cave. Just as Welf had warned, the new arrivals reared back and unleashed a torrent of sound through their throats.
“UooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”
The Minotaur’s howl, a menacing sound that awakened the instinct of fear in weaker creatures and froze them in their tracks, blasted through the hallway.
Lilly was quick to shield her ears as well as Haruhime’s to protect them from the howl. As Level 1 adventurers, the girls would have difficulty withstanding its effects. Welf, on the other hand, shrugged it off with a grin.
He used the strength of his powerful spiritual “container” to overcome the auditory attack and joined Bell and Mikoto in the counteroffensive.
“—Using the Magic Sword!”
Lilly had recovered from the howl’s effects and saw Bell engage the Minotaurs. She realized that even more monsters were moments away from joining the battle, so she shouted a warning to her allies. The others glanced back over their shoulders in time to see Lilly pull a dagger-length scarlet blade from her oversize backpack. Bell, Welf, and Mikoto immediately darted out of its path.
A quick slash of the sparkling dagger sent a massive fireball hurtling through the battlefield.
“!”
The blast of fiery destruction wiped out every monster in its path.
Even the Minotaurs, whose skin was known to be naturally resistant to fire, were laid to waste along with their monster kin as every one of them was erased from the charred rocky hallway.
“Li’l E, don’t be so quick to use that thing! It’s only for emergencies—relying on it’s not going to help us in the long run!”
“The situation was emergency enough! The Dungeon is unpredictable; only reacting to changes is too late!”
“T-take it easy, okay? Welf, Lilly?”
“P-please, both of you—using such loud voices now will only lure more monsters…Ohh.”
“It is exactly as Lady Haruhime says. Calm yourselves.”
The battle over, an argument started among the still-sizzling remains of their opponents. The source of Welf’s anger was Lilly’s haste to use the dagger-length Crozzo Magic Sword.
Welf had forged it and placed it in her care so that the back part of the formation could protect itself, or for an ace in the hole should disaster strike. This particular one might be weaker than the one he had used in the battle against the Black Goliath or the ones he had forged for the War Game, but it was still on par with the destructive power of many high-level magic users.
“Don’t depend on the Magic Sword—you’ll become weaker for it. We would have been fine on our own just now!” he angrily shouted at the prum.
Lilly responded by insisting that casual guesswork could be fatal in the Dungeon.
“It’s better to ensure safety before being overrun.” She wasn’t changing her stance. The Dungeon was not known for its leniency, so she stated with the utmost confidence that it was better not to take chances.
Both views were correct. There was nothing wrong with what they said.
Both Welf and Lilly were thinking in terms of what was best for the party.
Bell and Mikoto could only smile weakly in response, and Haruhime timidly tried to play the mediator between them.
After getting the situation under control, everyone turned their attention to the task at hand.
“So this is a drop item, that’s a magic stone…”
“That’s correct. Drop items will go into Lilly’s backpack, so please collect the magic stones, Miss Haruhime—be sure not to drop any.”
“Y-yes!”
Haruhime listened to Lilly’s instructions as she made her way through the ashes of the Magic Sword’s charred victims and collected the loot left behind.
She was dressed in a Far Eastern–style battle cloth that resembled a priestess’s garb, the same one she’d worn while with Ishtar Familia—forced on her by Aisha—and was equipped with a tubular backpack. She also wore a cloak of salamander wool, the same as her allies.
Lilly had declared that she would train the genuine noncombatant “into a full-blown supporter” for their battle party. Haruhime had bowed over and over, saying, “I devote myself to your teachings,” and accepted her new role without question. A sort of master-and-apprentice bond had formed between them.
Mikoto and the others acknowledged this new development with a soft grin and continued pressing forward through the Dungeon, cutting down all monsters in their path.
“We’ve made good progress through the fifteenth floor and at a very good pace.”
“That should be expected, with Mr. Bell’s Level and the balance of our battle party.”
“Miss Eina—er, my adviser gave us permission to go down to the eighteenth floor as long as nothing major happens.”
Lilly and Bell responded to Mikoto’s remark, nodding as they walked.
Lilly continued with a comment that the front of their formation was nearly perfect. “This party’s weakness is the lack of power at the back where Lilly is. To be blunt, the two don’t match. To fix that, Lilly would like to add a strong healer.”
“And a magic user wouldn’t hurt,” added Welf nonchalantly, almost as if warning Lilly against using the Magic Sword again.
“Lilly’s aware,” she responded with a twitch in the corner of her mouth.
“What about Miss Lyu from that bar? She has great command of healing magic as well, yes? And the magic she used during the battle on the eighteenth floor was most impressive…Would she be willing to join our party?”
“No, I doubt it…A-and Mia is really scary.”
Bell smiled but turned down Lilly’s suggestion. Asking Lyu—an ex-adventurer who worked as a waitress at The Benevolent Mistress—to join them would probably anger the owner, Mia. The thought of her enraged face sent a cold chill down Bell’s spine, so he responded with a flat no.
Their current formation consisted of Bell and Welf on the front line, Haruhime and Lilly at the back, and Mikoto filling an all-around supporting role at the center. The five of them made their way deeper into the Dungeon, all senses on high alert as they passed through the dim, rocky hallways.
While it was true for Lilly as well, a direct hit from a monster on the inexperienced Level 1 Haruhime would spell disaster. Thanks to Mikoto’s Yatano Black Crow, they were able to detect approaching monsters and respond appropriately to defend her.
“After a little more exploration, Lilly recommends we return to the fourteenth floor. As discussed, it would be a good time to find the deserted corner of the Dungeon and test out Miss Haruhime’s Magic one by one.”
“Agreed. We wouldn’t want to be confused experiencing it for the first time during a tense battle…Lady Haruhime, is that okay?”
“Yes. That would be fine.”
“Hey, Bell, you’ve used it before, right? What’s it like?”
“Well, um…There was a big flash,
and I felt stronger, and I could move faster…”
Mikoto was quick to assist all her allies as the group fell into formation and continued traveling through the Dungeon.
It was almost dusk by the time Mikoto and the others returned to the surface.
After stopping to trade their loot for money at Babel Tower’s Exchange, they made their way into Central Park, which was already filled with other adventurers heading out of the Dungeon. While they were excitedly talking and making their way to the bars or back to Guild headquarters, Hestia Familia chose to instead go straight home.
“Oh, you have returned.”
“Lord Takemikazuchi!”
A deity with a bobbed hairstyle was waiting to greet them as soon as they passed through the iron gate and main entryway.
Takemikazuchi smiled at them. Mikoto was so happy to see him that she walked right up to the deity with a smile on her face large enough to rival his own.
“Sorry, Lord Takemikazuchi…Asking you to stay here while we were out.”
“Think nothing of it, Bell Cranell. My own children took the day off from Dungeon prowling and kept me company.”
Through Hestia, Bell had asked Takemikazuchi Familia to stay at their home while they were out today.
Unlike the hidden room under the old church that Bell and Hestia once shared, or the shack of a building where Takemikazuchi Familia resided, Hestia Familia now possessed a prime piece of real estate and the status of a middle-class familia. If all members and their goddess were to leave their home completely empty, there was a very real danger of burglars breaking in to steal items or information. The situation had changed from when they were far less known and recognizable.
That was why they’d asked a friendly familia to step in and keep watch while they were out. They had also asked the same from Miach Familia, and this situation would continue for the foreseeable future. Every member of Hestia Familia was extremely grateful to their house sitters, especially since they were doing it for free.
