Chapter 18: Luna’s Savings

The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter — LNCrawler · All chapters

Chapter 18:
Luna’s Savings

IT WAS THE FIRST DAY of a four-day weekend, but there was no time to rest. I guess it was better than being unemployed.

Tigerson and I left the house as soon as breakfast was finished to meet up with the rest of our party.

<So, Noir, where shall I take you?>

“A place called Amon Village. We’ll leave through the south gate and then head southwest. It’s about a three-day round trip by carriage.”

<Hm. I believe I could make the trip in a single day.>

“You’re amazing. But don’t push yourself too hard. I could use the sleep.”

I was in the middle of a growth spurt, so if we could manage it, I really wanted to use Tigerson’s back as a bed to get at least two or three hours of shut-eye.

The other members of our party were already waiting at the gate. Emma, Luna, and—wait a minute, Lola?! I slid off Tigerson’s back and the three of them raced over.

“Hi, Noir! And you, too, Tigerson.”

“Good morning, Mr. Noir,” said Lola. “Keep up the good work today.”

“You came all the way out here to see me off, huh?” I asked her.

“Of course I did! If it were up to me…I’d abandon all my responsibilities and go with you.”

Lola’s smile was full of extra meaning, and Emma gave her the dirtiest look. It was a holiday, but it turned out the guild wasn’t closed. It was actually kind of a busy time for them, and Lola had her own competition to deal with.

“I’ll complete the request to help you out,” I promised her.

“Do your best! But don’t forget the most important thing…” Lola left a dramatic pause.

……

An excessively long one! Just as we were about to tumble over with anticipation, she finally finished: “Is your health, Mr. Noir.”

“What a ridiculous waste of time…” Emma muttered.

“Truly. You overreached there, Lola, I’m a bit embarrassed for you,” said Luna.

“Well, keep up the good fight, Mr. Noir!”

Lola completely ignored the other two and struck a cute, triumphant pose. Her mental fortitude was nothing short of impressive. There was this stereotype that receptionists were meek, but from what I’d seen, they had to be pretty tough to deal with adventurers, many of whom could get kind of aggressive.

“That reminds me, Mr. Noir, do you have a moment?”

Lola seemed to have something personal to talk about, so I lent her an ear. When I did, she whispered that she’d give me an extra special coupon if I completed the request.

Special, huh? I had to wonder what she meant by that. And, you know…it was exciting just to think about.

“W-well then, why don’t we get on and get going,” I said.

“I’m praying for your safe return! You can do it!”

Lola saw us off as we set out for Amon Village. It quickly became apparent that Tigerson was much faster than any carriage. We easily outstripped the other traffic, giving both the drivers and passengers a start. That said, we weren’t really going that fast. The breeze felt just right. I suspected Tigerson was trying to be considerate, and I appreciated it.

“Hey, what’d Lola whisper earlier?” Emma asked, pouting.

“Um, nothing important.”

“If it’s not important, then you can tell me.”

“She just said she’d give me another coupon if I completed this request.”

“Oh, so that’s what threw you for a loop.”

“What? It did not!”

“It totally did! I bet she’s going to give you a sexual one, too. Ugh, you’re such a perv, Noir!”

I tried to explain, but Emma wasn’t hearing any of it. Did I do something wrong?

Thankfully, Luna chimed in. “It’s only natural for a boy his age to have such interests. If there’s anything I can help you with, Sir Noir, don’t hesitate to ask. We’re friends, after all.”

I was touched by her thoughtfulness. Admittedly, I did get the sense that Luna’s words could have been interpreted to mean something a little dirty, but maybe my head was just in the gutter.

“That reminds me, I have something for you, Emma.” I pulled out the treasure I’d found, hoping it’d cheer her up.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“If you eat it, you can learn wind magic. But it only works if you already have an affinity. I don’t, so you should have it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Be my guest.”

“This is what I love about you!” Emma flung her arms around me and gave me a tight squeeze. She did want to get stronger, after all. “But…I would feel kinda bad just taking it from you.”

“Don’t. I owe you for always helping me earn LP.”

Of all the people who’d helped me, I’d earned the most LP from Emma, and I’d never given her any compensation. I’d even earned some LP from that hug she gave me just then.

Emma looked excited as she swallowed the Wind Selection. She clenched and released her fists and looked a little puzzled. “Wow! I feel energy surging within me!”

Let’s see what happened…ooh!

When I checked Emma with my Discerning Eye, I saw a bunch of changes. She’d only had two skills before: B-Grade Dual Wielded Dagger and Wind Strike, but now she had four. Her new skills were Run Like the Wind and Wind Slash. Emma was overjoyed when I told her and her bosom bounced as she punched the air.

Just up ahead of us were a pair of centaurs—monsters that were half-horse and half-person. They might have looked human up top, but their skin had a bluish tinge and the “whites” of their eyes were black. They were truly eerie to behold.

One was Level 20 and the other Level 30. Both of them had the skill Hind Leg Power Kick, and the Level 30 one had learned Fireball.

“Hey, mind if I take them?” Emma asked.

“We’ll join you then,” I said.

“Naw, sorry, I wanna try on my own to test out my skills.”

“Hm, okay, well, Luna and I will help if you look like you’re in trouble.”

“Sounds good, please do.”

Emma hopped off Tigerson and really stuck the landing. The centaurs took an offensive stance as she approached. I readied a Stone Bullet and Luna took out her gun. I was pretty sure Emma would be fine, but just in case…

The new skills Emma had learned were in one of our textbooks, but they also seemed pretty intuitive to use. First, she tried out Run Like The Wind, a spell that used the wind to lighten the user’s body.

When the Level 20 centaur rushed Emma, she drew her daggers and sprinted at it. Just before they crashed together, the centaur reared up on its hind legs and tried to smash her into the ground, but Emma dodged the attack in a gust of wind and got around behind it.

No, you idiot, that was a trick! I thought as the centaur kicked with its muscular hind legs. That skill it had must’ve helped, too. It kicked so hard it made a howl of wind, but it didn’t land.

Emma had actually anticipated the attack. She leapt onto the creature, jabbing her knife into its neck in mid-air.

“Lady Emma,” Luna shouted. “Get away from there!”

“Wha?!”

A blazing fireball hurtled at Emma’s back with immense speed. The Level 30 centaur had fired it. Emma rolled off the centaur’s back and caught herself. The fireball landed a direct hit on the other centaur’s head. Its hair went up in flames, but the creature didn’t so much as twitch. It was already dead.

“Dare try that again?” Luna shouted at the centaur. “Well, how about this?”

“Wait, Luna, I think Emma’s got a plan.”

I stopped Luna from firing off her weapon. Emma cast Wind Slash at about the same time as the remaining centaur launched another fireball. The range of her spell was impressive, as was its size—it had to be at least six feet long. Her wind magic sliced the fireball clean in two and was still going strong as it careened toward the monster.

“Guh?!”

Those were the centaur’s last words. Its human and horse sections separated neatly. Emma jogged over to check if it was still alive, but I was confident she’d already won.

“She’s got a real talent for wind magic.”

“She must have, to be able to use skills she just learned so effectively.”

“Luna, if there’s ever any skill you want, make sure you tell me. I can Bestow it on you.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m not in the same position as Emma.”

“Position?”

Luna looked contemplative. “You have shared your life with her. As someone you’ve only just met, I feel odd receiving the same consideration.”

I didn’t think that was something she really needed to worry about. Luna paused, and brought a finger to her chin.

“No…I know what I need, Sir Noir. Would you make me a savings account?”

I was perplexed, and when I told her so, Luna was all too happy to explain. Apparently, she wanted to save some of the LP she helped me generate.

“You can use twenty or thirty percent of what you earn from me to save up for granting me a skill I might one day need. You can use the rest however you see fit.”

“I feel like that proportion’s a little unfair.”

“All right, then we can discuss that a little more in the future… I know this is a little sudden, but why don’t we make some more right now?”

“Umm…?”

Just as I was wondering how she planned to do that, she snuggled up against my back, snaked her arms around me, and moved them up from my waist to my chest. Then she rested her cheek against my shoulder. “Hm, not bad. Do you agree, Sir Noir?”

“I-I agree, yes,” I said. Of course, getting a hug from a total knockout wouldn’t be bad!

“I-I know this is all for the LP, b-but it’s still a little awkward, huh.”

“Y-you can say that again,” I agreed.

“But we should sit like this for a bit…for the LP of course.”

“Of course.”

I’d actually already gotten the LP, but did I need to tell her that? While I hesitated, I heard an extremely angry voice from below.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing while I’m off fighting monsters?!”

We were watching your back, I swear! But even if I explained, it wouldn’t quell Emma’s anger.

“I hate you two! You traitors!”

“My name isn’t ‘young lady’! It’s Emma! You coulda stopped them too!”

“You can ignore it when I do it!”

“Just conveniently pretend you don’t see or hear it when I do it!”

Tigerson gave up trying. I didn’t particularly understand it either, but the one thing I did know was that this trip wasn’t going to be boring.