Chapter 5: Sword Lord Dverg’s Arrival

A crowd had formed in a corner of Allen’s classroom.

“We’re thinking of giving the next floor a try sometime soon with our current party.”

“Uster, I think you’re pushing a bit too fast—the next floor might be tough for those in your party who haven’t overcome as many Trials yet. If I were you, I’d put off the new floor until next month. As for your formation...”

It was early in the morning before homeroom, two days after Allen obtained Summoning Lvl. 6. Uster, one of Allen’s classmates, had approached him and asked for advice on his own party’s progress through their dungeon, laying out a sheet of parchment on Allen’s desk. Allen replied as best he could in light of the strengths and weaknesses of the group. Many other students formed a circle around the two to listen in.

Ever since the announcement in early May about the summer break assignment, many students had come to consult Allen. After all, he was the leader of the only party who already had a dungeon clear under its belt. Allen had patiently dealt with all of them in turn, considering the composition and the levels of the members of each group.

Keel was not present within the crowd. Rather, he was sitting all by himself a slight distance away. Despite having received his share of the rewards from the dungeons over the past twenty days, Keel’s lunches—or the lack thereof—had remained the same.

He skipped lunch again. I really ought to have a proper talk with him soon.

As Allen was thinking about Keel, Carlova walked in.

“Go on, get to your seats. Let’s get started with announcements.”

The crowd surrounding Allen scattered, and the sound of chair legs against the floor rang out for a short while.

“As I said last week, Sword Lord Dverg is in town to give y’all lessons. He’ll be teachin’ ya this afternoon. Don’t you dare make trouble for him.”

Carlova went on to explain that Dverg had arrived in Academy City last week and that he was accompanied by not only the Hero Helmios but also another Sword Lord from Giamut. Allen wondered if the battlefield would be fine with so many key assets away, but then figured they would not have come if their absence was so crucial.

On a whim, Allen looked over at Krena, a Sword Lord herself, and almost did a spit take. I know that face! She’s plotting something!

Krena was staring at their homeroom teacher, her eyes sparkling with motivation. That sparkle gave Allen a strong sense of foreboding.

Morning classes came to an end, and Allen allowed his classmates to herd him toward the cafeteria. Because he would head to the dungeons immediately after school every day, the only times his classmates were able to pick his brain about their own dungeon-delving efforts were before homeroom and during lunch. Everyone was understandably desperate, and Allen was willing to be of service. The truth was that he wanted to check up on Keel but decided to put it off until the weekend.

After lunch came their lesson with Sword Lord Dverg. There were three thousand first-year students here at the Academy. In order to get to them all, Dverg was teaching several classes at once each time. The students were free to opt in or out, but even so, that still meant quite a lot of participants for each lesson. Today’s was to be held in the training hall, which was specifically for sparring and practice matches. Allen stood with the throng of students, together with Krena, Cecil, and Dogora. Keel was nowhere to be seen. Before long, a group of three adults arrived surrounded by the homeroom teachers of the classes present.

Oh! That’s gotta be Dverg. This is my first time seeing him. Next to him is the self-proclaimed Hero and a pretty lady.

Allen stared at the white-haired man wearing an eyepatch who bore countless scars on his face. The first time Allen had heard this man’s name was when he underwent his Appraisal Ceremony at five. The fact that his name was known even in such a remote frontier village spoke volumes about his fame in Ratash.

It was said that Sword Lord Dverg was born as a serf and was now over seventy years old. A few other Sword Lords had been born in Ratash after Dverg, but he was the only one still alive. This was a man who had dedicated every part of his life to the fight. He spent most of the year rushing from battlefield to battlefield, with these lessons at the Academy being one of the very few reasons for him to return to Ratash.

One of the teachers proceeded to go on at length about just how incredible Dverg was for the sake of the students who were not familiar enough with the stories of his feats. Because he had to gloss over details that touched on Demon Lord history, the teacher’s account ended up being rather abstract.

Eventually, the teacher moved on to introducing the Hero. Most of the students had believed that the Hero was a fictional being who only appeared within the stories they heard as children. More than a few murmured, “So, the Hero really does exist...” Helmios himself was all smiles as always, even going so far as to do a little wave to everyone who reacted with a doubtful “Is he really the Hero?”

According to Carlova’s earlier explanation during homeroom, the lesson was to be split into three main parts. The teacher-in-charge would first lecture on the three guest instructors’ feats, followed by a question-and-answer session. Then the students would do practice swings and receive pointers. The first part ended up lasting around thirty minutes. Then the floor opened up for student questions.

“Anyone have questions for Lord Helmios, Lord Dverg, or Lady Sylvia?”

“Yes! Pick me, please! I have a question for Lord Dverg!”

Allen’s head whipped around at hearing the familiar voice. The speaker was Krena, of course. The sight of the pink-haired girl boldly raising her hand high from within the crowd of students, who all cowed in the presence of the Hero and Sword Lords, prompted Dverg to raise an eyebrow.

Carlova looked over. “Ah, Krena. You have a question for Lord Dverg?”

“Krena?” Dverg repeated her name.

“She is the Sword Lord who enrolled this year, sir,” Carlova replied respectfully before turning back. “So, Krena, what is your question?”

“Thank you, sir! Sir, how can I use my skill?” Krena asked with an innocent smile.

“What?!” Carlova exclaimed.

As murmurs of “What’s a skill?” spread among the students, Dogora sighed.

“She’s gone and done it...”

Ever since they began visiting the dungeons back in April, Krena and Dogora had been puzzling over how to activate their skills. When Allen visited the classes teaching how to use the sword, the spear, the ax, and other weapons, he found all of them focused on practice swings and strength training. None of them had yet to mention skills.

“K-Krena! I told you that we aren’t teaching skills until next year!” Carlova roared with a red face.

Krena, you’ve already gone and asked our homeroom teacher?

Since she had not gotten a helpful answer from Carlova, Krena had clearly decided to ask Dverg directly. The Sword Lord returned her straightforward gaze with his single eye.

“Your name is Krena, correct? Krena, why do you want to know about skills?”

“Yes, sir! Because Allen has a big dream! And I wanna help him achieve it!”

“Allen? Who’s that?”

Helmios cut in, pointing at Allen. “He’s the black-haired boy that I told you about before.”

After looking at Allen for a brief moment, Dverg returned his gaze to Krena. “Helmios and Sylvia, I’ll be handling this girl named Krena. I’m leaving the rest to you.”

“Sure, sure,” the Hero replied, waving his hands dismissively.

“Krena, if you wish to learn how to use your skill, come with me.”

So he is going to teach Krena. Hey, he’s actually a pretty nice guy.

“Yes, sir!” With an innocent grin, Krena got up from the crowd and headed to the side of the venue that Dverg was gesturing toward. He handed her a practice sword with blunted edges as he lifted his own weapon in readiness.

“Attack me.”

“Huh?”

“Use your skill and cut me down.”

“Yes, sir!”

Contrary to Allen’s expectations, Dverg had chosen to help Krena grasp her skill through actual practice rather than verbal instruction.

Just how much can Krena with her current stats do against a Sword Lord who’s spent the past forty years on the battlefield? This might give me a good idea of just how powerful Krena can get.

Understanding that this was a valuable opportunity, Allen first checked Krena’s Status in his grimoire.

---

Name: Krena
Age: 12
Class: Sword Lord
Level: 30
HP: 1,240
MP: 474
Attack: 1,240
Endurance: 872
Agility: 838
Intelligence: 494
Luck: 595
Skills: Sword Lord {1}, Slash {1}, Sword Mastery {5}
Extra Skill: Limit Break
XP: 14,570/30,000

Skill Levels
Sword Lord: 1
Slash: 1

Skill Experience
Slash: 0/10

---

After the two months of dungeon delving, Krena’s Attack stat had reached four figures. The party prioritized reaching the end of the dungeon, so they kept engaging with monsters to a minimum. Krena reaching Lvl. 30 was largely thanks to their daily rounds of dungeon boss battles.

Upon reaching her starting position, Krena abruptly charged toward Dverg, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye. She brought her sword down from above using every last ounce of strength she had. However, Dverg blocked the attack with ease as if brushing off a fly. This sent Krena hurtling.

“What’s wrong? Go on, use your skill. We’ll do this until you finally get the hang of it.”

Uh, he hasn’t explained how to use her skill at all. Is this really the right way?

Once the question and answer session ended, the students scattered throughout the spacious training hall to practice. Allen had planned on joining them to get pointers from Sword Lord Sylvia, but decided to watch Krena instead. Cecil joined him. Dogora went a ways off to learn how to better wield his ax.

Two hours passed.

“What’s wrong? You’re just doing the same thing again and again. You won’t be able to use your skill that way!” Dverg barked provocatively.

“Y-Yes, sir!” Krena replied, desperately scrambling to her feet once more.

Another two hours passed, with Dverg continuing to send Krena flying without ever giving a single word of advice.

“We can quit if you’re tired. You can dedicate the year to slowly learning how to use your skill instead.”

“N-No, I can keep going!”

So, normally people take a whole year to learn. Considering this is on the curriculum for next year, that means it’d be two years before everyone else can use their skills.

“Cecil.”

“Yes, Allen?”

“Have your magic classes already started teaching how to use your skills?”

“Of course. Many of the others are starting to get the hang of it.”

Keel also said he learned how to use Healing Magic in a couple of months. I guess that’s how long it takes on average to learn magic skills. I mean, they can’t do anything without their skills, after all. In contrast, weapon wielders all have skills they can use, but it takes around a whole year to master them. Seems to me like there’s some balancing going on here. Hard to tell if this is based on Intelligence or class.

Two more hours went by. The training hall was now illuminated by magic tools. Helmios and Sylvia had already finished their lesson and had joined Carlova and Allen’s group watching the ongoing exchange between Dverg and Krena. Allen had already dispatched a Bird G to inform Keel, who did not participate in this class, that they would not be going to the dungeon today.

“What’s wrong? The sun’s already set. Come at me seriously!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Dverg still looked just as fresh as at the start of the day, but Krena was exhausted to the point of growing faint. Once more, Krena was sent flying; Allen had lost count of the number of times. She struggled to get up as her legs gave out on her again and again.

“Is that all that your friend’s dream means to you?!” Dverg shouted at her.

“NO!”

“Look at yourself! You can’t even get up anymore! And what have you achieved? Nothing!”

“NO! Allen’s always worked hard! I’ve gotta work hard too!” Krena was finally standing, her hair and outfit an absolute mess.

“Then come! Show me your resolve with your sword!”

“Y-Yes, sir!” Krena plodded forward one step at a time.

“Come! Think only of activating your skill. Slash me with everything you have!”

Krena was so out of it she could no longer even reply. She wobbled toward Dverg slowly and, still hanging her head, lifted her sword up high.

Fwoosh!

Krena’s sword fell much faster than it ever had inside the dungeons, cutting clean through the sword Dverg lifted in defense. It finally stopped at Dverg’s skin, but the shock of the impact traveled through his body and gouged the ground at his feet.

“Well done. That is your skill. Don’t forget the sensation.”

The girl collapsed, mumbling, “I-I did it...”

“Krena? Krena!” Allen rushed to her side, Cecil and Dogora right behind him. He held her in his arms only to find her fast asleep, an expression of relief on her face.

Helmios, who had been waiting all this time, walked over. “C’mon, Dverg, why didn’t you just teach her how to use her skill? It would’ve been so much faster.”

“Helmios, don’t expect everyone to be as skillful at picking things up as you are. The way I saw it, this girl isn’t someone who understands things with her head. That said, even I’m surprised she figured it out in a day. That’s quite fast.”

Just as Dverg was looking down at the girl in Allen’s arms thoughtfully, the teacher who had lectured at the start of the lesson cried out to him, rushed over and started fussing over the shoulder where Krena’s sword had landed.

“Oh, you’re hurt?” Helmios waved a hand over the gash. “Heal.”

“It’s been a while since I was last cut by a human,” Dverg murmured. “To think that the newest Sword Lord has already grown this far...”

“No way she can cut you with her Status— Wait, huh?!” Helmios shouted in surprise as his eyes glowed, indicating that he was currently Appraising Krena.

“What happened?” Dverg asked.

“This girl’s Status is ridi— Wait, huh? Uh...what? I must have imagined it. Sorry.”

“If you say so.”

What was that about Krena’s Status? Allen checked the corresponding page in his grimoire. Hmm, her HP is back to full, but her MP’s been depleted by two. And...nice! She’s earned Skill XP!

---

Skill Levels
Sword Lord: 1
Slash: 1

Skill Experience
Slash: 2/10

---

Krena had earned Skill XP for the first time. Exhilarated, Allen turned to Dverg and thanked him on her behalf. At her feet rolled the practice sword, its handle twisted and deformed as if it was mere clay.

＊ ＊ ＊

The first day off since Krena learned how to use her skill rolled around. By now, Allen had gotten quite familiar with his new skill, Awakening.

After repeated attempts to use Awakening on Insect H again after the first time, he had finally succeeded twenty-four hours later. It would have been great if the cooldown time was an hour and not a day, but at the very least, he was relieved to find out that the skill could be used multiple times on each card.

Back in June, he had finally run out of both money and Rank C magic stones. However, he managed to reach Summoning Lvl. 6 before then, so his next short-term goal was clear. Once he could enter Rank B dungeons, there would be plenty of Rank C monsters to gather magic stones from, which he could use to fund more requests for Rank D magic stones through the Guild.

At the moment, Allen was on floor three of a six-floor dungeon. This was where the party was currently picking back up from last week.

“Okay, we’re starting here today,” Allen said.

Krena replied enthusiastically, “All right! Let’s blast right through it!”

Although she was usually cheerful by default, Krena had been in even higher spirits the past few days, ever since she had learned how to use her skill. She was practically quivering with anticipation, eager to use her skill. Allen fully understood how she was feeling.

Thanks to their rounds of the Rank C dungeon bosses, her skill Slash was now at Lvl. 2. This brought her Sword Lord skill to Lvl. 2 as well, which subsequently unlocked Flying Slash, a long-distance single-target attack in the form of—well, a flying slash that was visible to the eye. Slash was also a single-target attack, so Allen was hoping that someone in his party would gain a multi-target attack soon. Furthermore, the true power of both Slash and Flying Slash was still unknown, since the No-life Gamers had no problem defeating the Rank C boss monsters with normal attacks.

When Krena gained Flying Slash, she had also gained the understanding of how to use it. The way she put it, the important thing was to focus on and understand the flow of MP. Unfortunately, this advice did not help Dogora very much—he was still struggling to activate his skill.

“You mentioned you’re experimenting with new Summons today?” Keel asked.

“Yep,” Allen nodded. “Before we head in, please give me a moment.”

Although he still felt a distance with Keel, Allen was making an effort to speak normally with him.

“What’re you doing, Allen?” Krena asked.

Allen grinned. “You want to see? All right! Come on out, Fran!”

Five Bird Cs appeared suddenly, crying, “Kweeeee!” in unison. These were cassowaries, flightless birds that towered roughly two meters high and measured two and a half meters from beak to tail. This was considered massive as far as birds went. A large crest crowned their heads, and their muscular legs looked very powerful.

“What huge birds,” Dogora noted. “What’re you going to do with five of them?”

“I’m thinking that we ride them through the dungeon.”

“As in, we get on their backs? Like they’re horses?”

Allen had expected to gain rideable Summons sooner or later. Gaining a mount that made it easier to reach distant places faster was a basic of game design. He thought Bird C was the answer to that need, especially considering that its Ability was named Breakthrough. Today, he was going to put that theory to the test.

“Are these going to be our hearses, Master?”

“That’s right, Maria.”

“Your will is my command.”

The Spirit C that had been sitting on Allen’s head floated over to settle on a Bird C’s crest.

The reason why Allen had Summoned Maria was because she asked him to. This Summon was capable of conversation and possessed a strong sense of self. One day, she had told Allen that she wanted to remain Summoned as often as possible. While Allen’s group was at school, she would remain at their base, but just like today, she accompanied them whenever they hit up a dungeon. The thought of being seen in public with a porcelain doll was a bit too embarrassing, so Allen put his foot down on walking the streets with her.

“Frans, lower your backs for everyone to get on.”

Crying in acknowledgment, all the Bird Cs bent their legs and lay down on their bellies.

To show everyone else how it was done, Allen mounted his first—he threw a leg over its back before telling it to stand up.

“Kweee.”

The Bird C complied slowly.

Wow, pretty high up. But this is fine. Gives me a better view of my surroundings.

The dungeons had ceilings more than ten meters high. Even on birdback, Allen did not have to worry about bumping his head. He proceeded to give Fran various instructions, taking it through its paces.

Whoa, it doesn’t bump or shake at all! And the feathers are so soft to sit on!

Riding on Fran turned out to be a completely stable and comfortable experience. There was no doubt that this was a Summon designed to be ridden.

The sight of Allen prancing about on Fran prompted Krena to cry out excitedly, “I wanna try riding one too!”

“All right, go ahead,” Allen nodded. “Let’s power straight through the dungeon!”

Now that they knew it was safe, the rest of the No-life Gamers also mounted Bird Cs. The hesitation that they showed at the start soon gave way to pleasant surprise. So, without further ado, the party set off in their usual formation—Dogora and Krena at the head, Cecil and Keel in the middle, and Allen bringing up the rear. Two Spirits Cs flanked those in the middle to protect them as one Bird E flew overhead to scout.

Heh! “The cavalry’s here!” and all that. Things are really picking up!

One major issue that the party had been struggling with over the past two months was their movement speed. That issue was now resolved, and the possibilities seemed endless. Now, the No-life Gamers had finished off the dungeon boss and were standing before the wooden chest it had dropped, all before lunchtime.

“We made good time today!” Cecil nodded with a sense of achievement.

Krena cheered, “We were so fast!”

Usually, it took this group a whole day to go through one dungeon floor—breaks included—but today, they had gone through two floors in no time at all and had even reached the boss’s room.

I think I have a pretty good grasp on what Fran can do now. It’s incredibly efficient. I can’t wait to Awaken it. Okay, time to sum up my notes.

• Reaches maximum speed of 50 kph
• When its Ability is activated, reaches 100 kph
• Doesn’t tire
• Can’t talk
• Easy to wield sword and ax even while riding
• Can be commanded to listen to orders from someone other than Allen

As Bird C’s torso was not long like that of a horse’s, the rider was still close enough to enemies to comfortably reach with their weapons. In fact, now that they were higher up, Krena and Dogora found it easier to brandish their greatsword and battleax.

“Now all five of us can apply to become Rank C adventurers,” Allen said.

“It went faster than I’d expected,” Cecil agreed.

“Since we finished before noon for once, what do all of you think about having a party to celebrate our promotion back at the base?”

“A party?” For a split second, a look saying, “I can still go on,” flashed across Dogora’s face. However, he thought better of it. “Sure, sounds good.”

“We haven’t had a welcome party for Keel either. What do you say, Keel?” Allen asked warmly. It’s about time we hear what’s up with Keel. This is a good excuse to invite him to our base, if I do say so myself.

“Huh? Uh, that’s a bit...”

“Is there some sort of issue?”

It was clear that Keel had something going on. Allen wanted to take this opportunity to address it. Silence hung in the room until Keel broke it.

“I...actually have a family.”

So it really was family.

The No-life Gamers had been making the rounds killing Rank C dungeon bosses almost every single day, after which Keel always went home with his share of the rewards in hand. Today, the party had cleared their third dungeon, but even with two dungeons, their daily income came to at least forty silver. As wages went, they were rather high.

So, if that was the case, then why was Keel still always so poor? Allen had thought of three possible answers: Keel was in enormous debt, Keel had a family to feed, or Keel was a miser.

Allen recalled there being quite a lot of gamers who really loved money. They would purchase only the bare minimum in weapons and armor and just hoard the rest, regardless of how much they had accrued, be it billions or even hundreds of billions. Allen’s general impression of these players was, “Ah, they must love money in real life too.”

However, although this was another world from the perspective of his past self, it was undoubtedly real life. So he figured it was more likely either the first or second reason.

“Family? Is it a big family?” Allen asked.

“That’s right,” Keel admitted. “There are seven of them.”

Okay yeah, that’s a lot of mouths to feed. If I remember correctly, it’s only students who are exempt from the head tax. Is he sending money to his family back home? Hm? But then that doesn’t explain why he doesn’t want to move in with us.

“Is your family here in Academy City? And you’re the only one who can earn money?”

“N-No, some of them are working, but...without any connections or guarantors, it’s hard to find any well-paying jobs.”

Huh? His entire family went to the trouble of moving here with him? But why?

“Oh?” Cecil perked up. “They can help us, Allen.”

“Huh? Oh! Brilliant idea, Cecil! Keel, would you be open to moving into our base?”

Keel looked confused. “What? How does that relate to...?”

Allen proceeded to explain that because they were spending so much time in the dungeons, it was starting to negatively affect the quality of their chores and meals. As there were plenty of rooms in the place still, Allen was now inviting Keel to come live with them with his entire family.

“Of course, we’ll also pay them a salary if they choose to work for us.”

“Wh-Why are you going so far for me?”

“Because we’re friends.”

The other three nodded to show their support of Allen’s answer. Keel crossed his arms and descended into his thoughts.

Looks like he’s a pretty stubborn guy.

Even though his family had been in such financially dire straits, Keel had chosen to keep the matter to himself, not having brought it up even once.

“Then how about this?” Seeing how conflicted Keel was, Cecil suggested splitting all future rewards they received from the dungeon into six equal parts, not five, with the sixth going toward maintenance costs for the base and salary for Keel’s family members. In exchange, Allen would keep all the magic stones dropped in the dungeons.

“I see, that is a good idea,” Dogora agreed.

Krena nodded several times. “Cecil’s always so smart!”

All this time, a fifth of the magic stones the party picked up from the dungeons was being given to Keel as a continuation of the terms they had at the start. If his family was moving into the base, however, they would be provided both board and work; the arrangement was presented as an equal exchange for Allen keeping all of the magic stones. With this, there would be no reason for Keel to feel like he was in debt to the rest of the party.

This suggestion finally convinced Keel to look back up. “I’m...sorry to impose, but may I take you up on that offer?”

“Of course!” Allen nodded. “All right, let’s go upgrade our adventurer cards and have that party!”

So it was decided that Keel and his family would be moving into the base. The party headed back out of the dungeon and dropped by the Guild to get promoted to Rank C.

When the receptionist handed them their cards, she said, “Congratulations on reaching Rank C. Please be aware that Rank C dungeons are quite different from Rank B ones. I cannot stress enough how important it is to do your research first before giving a Rank B dungeon a try.”

Afterward, the party returned to the base while Keel took off to fetch his family. Allen and his friends then began preparing the welcome dinner for Keel’s group, who were expected to arrive slightly before twilight. Because there would be young children as well, the party had picked up sweets and fruits in addition to the usual meat and bread on their way back. Along the way home, they had also agreed to take the day off from dungeon delving tomorrow and help Keel’s family move all their belongings over instead. They would also need to buy more dinnerware and daily necessities, among other things.

Great, we’ve prepared the bare minimum of what’s needed. Now Keel is officially a full member of our party!

Up until now, there was a definite feeling of distance that Keel was keeping from the rest of the party; in fact, he rarely spoke directly to anyone other than Allen. Now that he would be living with the rest of them, however, this issue was expected to go away naturally.

Soon, twilight approached. The promised time was near. Allen left the others to make the finishing touches while he headed outside to greet Keel’s family. Before long, a group of eight could be seen in the distance, led by Keel.

Huh? They’re really young. More like, they’re all kids.

Allen had expected Keel’s parents as a matter of course and even anticipated grandparents who had difficulty walking. As it turned out, however, there was not a single adult in Keel’s group. According to appearances, the youngest was around eight years old and the oldest fifteen, give or take. It was true that fifteen was the age of adulthood in this world, but Allen personally still considered fifteen-year-olds children.

“Sorry, we thought to carry as much as we could. Are we a bit late?”

Keel was shouldering a large wrapping cloth bulging with luggage, whereas the other members of his family also appeared to be holding as much as they could.

“No, no, we only just finished preparing for the party on our end,” Allen said reassuringly. “Well then, come on in! I’ll show you—”

Suddenly, a young girl who looked roughly ten years old, or around Mash’s age, came forward. Her hair—the same color as Keel’s—fell over her face as she lowered her head and curtsied gracefully.

“My name is Nina. I thank you truly for your hospitality.”

Caught by surprise, Allen barely managed to reply, “R-Right, glad to have you.”

The girl’s greeting was not that of a commoner, certainly not one that Allen or Krena was familiar with. When Allen looked behind Nina, he realized that he recognized the outfits worn by the other children. The boys wore clothes that bore great similarity to Allen’s own uniform back when he was a manservant. Although what the group was wearing was far from being top quality, it was still markedly nicer than what commoners would normally wear.

“Sorry, a lot’s happened. I’ll tell you more about it later.”

“Of course. Come on in.”

Despite feeling bewildered, Allen still gestured Keel’s family into the base. He directed them to leave their luggage on the first floor for now, then led them into the multipurpose room, which was appropriately spacious for a house designed for twenty occupants.

What a relief the place came furnished.

The long dinner table had enough seats for everyone and was welcomingly loaded with food from end to end. Due to this being an area with lots of adventurers, the majority of readily accessible food tended to seem more hearty in presentation and generous in portion. Sizable meat and bread dishes dotted the tabletop among piles of fruits and sweets.

So began the welcome party that was much more extravagant than Keel had ever imagined.