CHAPTER 2

What Emerges from the Labyrinth

Part I: Stampede

Once everyone had woken up, we rang the bell to call Millais and ask her to bring us breakfast. It featured eggs from a bird-type monster called a Sweet Bird and was topped with smoked meat from the same monster. Both were quite nice, and everyone in the party enjoyed the food. It came with a salad made from stalks of a plant-type monster called a Goblin Bush, which had a flavor and texture similar to watercress. The salad was topped with a sweet and tangy fruit-based dressing, which also wasn’t bad. Apparently, the root of the Goblin Bush looked like a strange, little goblin face, but it was similar to a turnip and tasted quite nice, though we weren’t served it this time.

We finished breakfast and got ready to head out. Millais and the other Maids were all lined up in the entrance hall to bid us farewell, making me feel like the master of the house.

“See you later,” I said to them.

“Might I ask when you are thinking of returning? A general guess is perfectly fine,” asked Millais.

“Uh, we’ll probably be back around six tonight,” I replied.

“Thank you. I will have dinner ready around then. Have a wonderful day.”

““““Have a wonderful day!”””” chimed the remaining ten Maids in an impressive chorus. It made me think of the one time I’d gone to a maid café just to see what it was like…though these Maids seemed way more professional.

Before we took the rune and ores to a smith, we decided to first make a stop at the Guild. When we arrived, we saw a leaflet with something written in red pinned up to the notice board. A bunch of Seekers were crowded around reading it.

“If we don’t do something about the stampede, then monsters’ll just start coming out of the labyrinth, right?” one remarked.

“The location’s not great… The Sleeping Marshes. Guess everyone’s been avoiding it,” said another.

I squeezed my way through until I was close enough to read the notice.

Louisa…must have a lot on her plate.

I wanted to help out as much as I could since the Guild had put out this notice. Our test was tomorrow, so there wouldn’t be a problem if we went to the Sleeping Marshes today.

“What should we do, Arihito?” asked Elitia. The rest of the party didn’t seem to know much about stampedes, so I wanted to check with Elitia that I was understanding it correctly.

“Elitia, what exactly happens during a stampede?” I asked.

“Labyrinth monsters are living creatures and reproduce as such, but they also spawn in order to maintain the conditions inside the labyrinths. Conversely, when there are too many monsters in a labyrinth, those monsters are forcefully ejected via the labyrinth’s first floor entrance. A ‘stampede’ occurs when there is an abnormally large number of monsters.”

While the entrances to the labyrinths may look like simple stairs, I was aware that you were actually teleported part way down the stairs. Apparently, the monsters could also come out the same way.

“Saying it like that makes it sound like a labyrinth itself is some sort of living thing… Like it has a mind of its own,” said Igarashi. I remembered Ariadne, the 117th Hidden God. If she was the 117th, that meant there were over a hundred of these Hidden Gods.

…A hidden floor completely different from the previous floors—the obvious conclusion would be that the Hidden God sleeping there was closely related to the labyrinth. Like a representative of the labyrinth’s will, maybe… Although, Ariadne didn’t do anything to imply that.

But if there happened to be a Hidden God in a secret floor of every labyrinth, if we could find Hidden Gods other than Ariadne, we could possibly get some clues as to what exactly the labyrinths were in the first place.

“Good morning, Mr. Atobe. I do apologize for the fuss around here,” said Louisa.

“Oh, good morning, Louisa. It looks like things are in pretty dire straits at the moment. Would it be all right if we help to hold back the stampede as well?”

Louisa opened her eyes wide. I seemed to surprise her a lot, even though I thought it was a perfectly normal suggestion.

“I appreciate your consideration. Your party is currently my… No, the entire District Eight Guild’s most powerful party. We would greatly appreciate your assistance.”

“Louisa… You don’t need to be so hesitant to ask for help. It’s normal for us to help each other out in times of need, isn’t it?” I saw her wipe a tear from her eyes with a handkerchief. Apparently, the situation was that bad. The Guild employees most likely had a significant amount of extra work and pressure on them when stampedes occurred.

There wasn’t much they could do about the fact that people avoided the labyrinths that had a lot of monsters, which could inflict dangerous status ailments, and instead went to the safer labyrinths, which were easier to advance in. There were most likely a lot of people who stayed in the easy and scenic Field of Dawn even after they got fairly strong. That’s probably what I would have done had I not found so many companions.

“All right then, I will update you on the current situation. Please come into this room…,” said Louisa as she started to show us to a meeting room—but that’s when it happened.

“—Monsters! There are monsters in the city! Call the guards!”

“There’s too many of them! All Seekers, get in the building now— Gaaah!”

A strange, inhuman something was flying outside the Guild entrance, attacking people. The Seekers had no way to defend against the attacks from above, instead getting brutally injured before scrambling into the Guild and collapsing. Louisa ran over to them, calling out bravely while she checked them over.

“We need a Healer immediately! Everyone, please remain calm—the guards will be here any moment!”

“Louisa, it’s no good! The guards are deployed at front lines across the city. It’ll be some time until they make it here!” replied one of Louisa’s junior Guild workers.

“No… Then, wh-what can we do…?” asked Louisa, her voice shaky. I placed a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her. “Mr. Atobe… I am so sorry; a Guild employee like me should not lose their head so easily…”

“We’ll fight, too. We’ve got some experience fighting flying monsters, so leave it to us… Everyone, are you ready?” I asked, turning back to see that the entire party had already drawn their weapons. I didn’t know what it was like outside, but the ruckus made it sound like there could be ten or even twenty enemies.

“Suzuna, sorry to ask all of a sudden, but take the Salt Laying skill. Louisa, do you have salt? If you do, we can keep them from attacking the Guild,” I said. There were a lot of level-1 and level-2 Seekers in here who didn’t even have any equipment. If we could establish this as a safe haven, then we could go out to fight without worrying about the people here.

“Salt… Yes, I’ll go get some. Mr. Atobe, please, the town…,” said Louisa.

“We’ll protect it no matter what,” I replied. There were people in District Eight who had helped me so much. The only reason I’d been able to live as a Seeker was because Louisa had given me those Mercenary Tickets. Everyone here had been kind to me.

“Arihito, I have the salt!” Suzuna called out.

“Good! First, Elitia, push back the enemies coming this way! Then we’ll rush out together!” I ordered.

“All right. Kyouka, Theresia, follow behind me!” said Elitia.

“We’re on it! Misaki, you follow carefully once we’ve gone outside!” shouted Igarashi.

“Y-yeah… I’ll follow as cautiously as I can!” Misaki yelled back.

Elitia made up our advance guard and leaped out the door. The monster trying to make its way in was strange: It was covered entirely in tentacles.

First, let’s test whether I can still use Attack Support 1 even though I took Attack Support 2… Activate Attack Support 1…!

“—Haaaah!”

“KIIII!”

Elitia ran out, sliding her sword from its sheath and lashing out with a Slash Ripper in the process. The ball of tentacles came flying down, and surprisingly, a gigantic maw opened from where it was hidden by the tentacles. Sticky saliva splattered out as it tried to gulp Elitia down, and—

—the monster was sliced in half with one strike. The two halves still had momentum from when it had tried to swoop down and eat Elitia, so it continued on its trajectory and crashed through the door into the building, causing the young Seekers to screech in fear. I looked at the monster halves on the ground. Its upper and lower jaws were lined with sharp teeth and covered in green blood. No wonder nobody wanted to enter the Sleeping Marshes if it had monsters like this in it.

I’d just used Attack Support 1, but I wanted to test out how effective Attack Support 2 was. But right now, we needed to focus on eliminating monsters, not experimenting with my skills.

“Good. Everyone, stay inside! There will be less damage and injury if you leave things to the more experienced Seekers!” called Elitia. As a level-9 Seeker, her commands held some weight. The Seekers followed her orders, since there were none there above level 3.

We exited the Guild, and Suzuna used Salt Laying around the entrance and windows. Before long, more Flying Dooms appeared in the sky above the nearby buildings and started hurtling down when they saw us. I fired a long-range shot from my ebony sling at one that was coming after me, but the one hit didn’t have enough power to bring it down—!

“Ack!”

“Atobe, watch out!”

“—!”

Igarashi interrupted the Flying Doom’s path with her cross spear, and Theresia blasted it away with a Wind Slash.

“—Suzuna, Misaki! Step in front of me, even if it’s just half a step, then continue the attack!” I ordered.

“Got it, Arihito! Hah!”

“Eat my dice—!”

Suzuna’s arrow and Misaki’s die struck the Flying Doom that had bounced off a wall and was now coming again for another attack. With the twenty-two support damage, they were able to finish it off, even though they weren’t as strong as Elitia.

“They’re just flying all over the place… Arihito, we need to help the support people and Seekers who can’t protect themselves,” said Elitia.

“Yeah, I know. These monsters are the ones that came out of the labyrinth because of the stampede… Which means they’ll be coming from the entrance to the Sleeping Marshes. The guards will most likely head there, so let’s cover a different area.”

““““Right!””””

The sky was full of these flying monsters all across District Eight. There were at least a couple dozen Flying Dooms, with a bigger, vibrant one mixed in—likely a Named Monster, which we’d need to do something about.

Suzuna would continue to lay salt to create safe havens as we kept saving the residents of the city and defeating monsters. It was the start of a surprisingly chaotic day.

Part II: A Flurry of Wings

We finished our first fight after leaving the Guild, and Elitia showed us that our license would display the monsters’ locations when they were in the city. In the labyrinth, you couldn’t tell where a monster was unless it was within your detection range. There weren’t any people other than the party members displayed on the license, perhaps to maintain privacy.

About fifty monsters had entered the city as a result of the stampede. Half of those were gathered around the Named Monster. The blip indicating the Named Monster was pulsing, making it look ominous even on the license.

I realized something looking at the map: There were a number of monsters circling around Falma’s shop.

We need to clear out the closer areas first. There’s a lot around the Mercenary Office in the east, too… But would they be able to send the mercenaries out to fight…?

There were sure to be other Seekers who were level 3 or higher and had gone outside to fight, but the enemy was moving erratically, making it impossible to join up with them and work together. Some places ended up locked in a stalemate. The monsters were flying relatively high, out of range for magic and your average ranged weapon, so there was no way to shoot them down.

We could lie in wait for them to come down. That’d be tough work, but our only other option would be to wait for them to come attack us… No, hang on… There’s that skill…

I could theoretically use Rear Stance on the Flying Dooms in the sky, but it would essentially be a suicide attack. No, I was actually thinking of Auto-Hit, which would make it so that the arrow would hit no matter what, even if the enemy were out of the bow’s range. The problem with that, though, was that Suzuna’s magic was going down every time she used Salt Laying, even if it was only a small amount. I’d asked her to regularly throw salt to create a larger area that the monsters couldn’t enter, so it wasn’t ideal to use up even more of her magic… Which left us with one option.

“Elitia, could you lure the enemy down for us?” I asked.

“Not a problem! I probably can’t take that vividly colored one down in one hit, but the rest of ’em are all mine!”

“All right… Igarashi, use Force Target on Elitia!”

“Understood… Brave spirit of the warrior, draw the enemy’s wrath… Force Target!”

A Demi-Harpy… So those are mixed in, too. I wonder what kind of attacks they have…?

“Guys, we’ve got a new enemy coming! Keep your guard up!” I shouted instinctively.

Just then, I realized something: It was less than twenty-four hours since the party had used their Morale Discharge. Morale Support shouldn’t have had an effect, but everyone’s morale still went up.

So after one night… No. Did staying in the nice lodging improve morale? Will we be able to get the party’s morale to one hundred before we fight the Named Monster?

If a person’s morale reached one hundred, they could use a powerful set skill called a Morale Discharge. Whether or not we had that final trick up our sleeves could greatly influence the outcome of the battle.

Flying Dooms weren’t too much to handle so long as you were capable of catching and landing an attack on a flying enemy. Even a level-3 party could defeat one. I imagined that Named Monster wasn’t as strong as some monsters we’d fought so far, but even if it were a bit of an overkill, I wanted to try and activate Igarashi’s Morale Discharge, Soul Mirage, which would give each of the party a duplicate of themselves in the form of a mirage warrior and double the number of our attacks. That was much better than risking a long battle that someone could get injured in.

Force Target was working on the monsters flying above the Chest Cracker shop; the Flying Dooms started to come down one after another into a street a short way from the shop.

“Makes no difference how many of you there are… You’re too slow!” shouted Elitia, easily evading the tentacle-ball tackles without using any skills to improve her speed. Twice, three times she dodged, then Igarashi and Theresia leaped forward to attack the one that had ricocheted off the ground after Elitia dodged it.

I’ll use Attack Support 1 again… I should focus on using the stable extra damage for now!

“Here I go! Double Attack!”

“—!”

The Flying Doom was pierced by dazzlingly fast strikes from Igarashi’s cross spear. Suzuna’s arrow then struck the monster, finishing it off. The effect of Force Target was still active, wrapping Elitia in a yellow light that seemed to scream caution and pulled in the remaining two monsters. Elitia evaded their attacks, and one bounced from the ground to the wall before coming down to try and swallow Elitia whole, but she readied her sword and slashed out with a killing blow.

“—Fall to your death!” she screamed, even more forcefully than usual, attacking twice even though she was in such close proximity to the two incoming creatures.

What a terrifying skill—multiple attacks on an upward swing… Wait, there’s still the Demi-Harpy… Where the hell is it…?

A chill ran up my spine— That couldn’t mean anything good. Right as the feeling struck me, I heard a song. I couldn’t understand any of the words, but I could feel my consciousness slipping the moment it reached my ears.

“Ah… Atobe…”

“This…song…”

“Arihito…”

“Agh… Get it together, guys! You’ll die if you fall asleep here!” I shouted. I was being completely serious. If we couldn’t locate the Demi-Harpy, it would use Lullaby on the rest of us, and we would never wake again.

These things are really dangerous if they can put us to sleep… I can’t believe this… If I don’t do something…

“—SKREEEEEE!”

It summoned other monsters with its birdlike call. My slumbering friends would be hurt if I didn’t act!

Can Theresia and I handle this alone…? Even if I back her up, things will get bad if we’re surrounded… Dammit, this wouldn’t have happened if I’d gotten stronger…

I heard the sound of flapping wings—bird-type monsters—from far away. Two of them appeared from the sky and saw us, then circled above us before bursting into song.

For these foes to buff their own abilities… They’re way different from the monsters we’ve fought so far!

I needed a way to wake my sleeping allies—if only I had a support skill that removed status ailments. I’d known that was a weak spot in our defenses, but I hadn’t found a way to fix it yet. Being put to sleep would directly result in death here. We needed to find a way to defend against all status ailments that prevented action—before we encountered them.

“KAAAAAW!”

The two Sweet Birds swooped down to attack. They were covered in bright green feathers with a blazing red cockscomb on their head—but the comb pointed forward like a spear…! To make things worse, the two birds weren’t going after me or Theresia, but rather Elitia, who still had Force Target on her.

The only way I could protect her at this distance was if I used Rear Stance to teleport and used my own body as a shield. But if I did that, then I’d—

…Even if I’m left with a single vitality point…that’s better than letting Elitia die!

Theresia used Accel Dash, but she wouldn’t make it to Elitia in time. I activated Rear Stance and tried to be her shield.

The moment after I teleported, I heard the roaring of wind as I watched the two birds dive down. I prayed they would leave me with at least one vitality point and threw myself over Elitia, and then—

“Awooo—!”

—Cion!

The massive dog shot out like a bolt of lightning and placed herself between me and the enemies. Cion got the defense boost from my Defense Support 1 and took the attack of the two Sweet Birds, and then—

“Awooo!”

A one-hit KO, but there was still one more Sweet Bird. It had bounced off the defensive wall from my Defense Support 1, strengthened by Cion’s own defense, and was now flapping awkwardly in the sky as it tried to pull back.

It was then that another massive form leaped from the street that the Chest Cracker was on.

“Grraaaaw!”

I couldn’t believe that beastly howl came from a dog. Cion’s mother leaped at the remaining Sweet Bird, knocking it dead with a single swipe of her massive forepaw.

Incredible… That mom dog has got to be a pretty high level.

“Mr. Atobe, are you all right?!”

It was Falma. Of course—with the two silver hounds, she wasn’t in much danger at all… Actually, that wasn’t true.

If the Demi-Harpy gets them with its status effects, even Cion and her mom… I have to do it, then!

“Falma, please look after my friends! I’m going to finish the last monster!” I shouted.

“Ah… Mr. Atobe, where is the last monster?!” I didn’t know the answer. Most likely, it was hidden somewhere on a rooftop. I’d just have to risk using that skill in order to find and capture it instantly!

Even if I can’t see it, as long as it’s in battle with me… Please let it work!

My senses stopped working for a moment, and then the next moment, I found myself behind a young girl who had wings instead of arms.

“KAAW?!”

It was on top of the roof. I didn’t bother to secure my footing; I just used everything I had to grapple the Demi-Harpy.

“—Cion! Or mom dog even! Catch us, please!” I shouted.

“Woof!”

“KAAAW!!”

Since I wasn’t capable of close combat, the only real option I had was to pin the Demi-Harpy’s wings and jump from the roof. As I plunged down with the Demi-Harpy, Cion leaped from a window ledge on the building, catching us perfectly on her broad, fluffy back.

“Oof!”

We landed, and the impact threw me off Cion’s back. I was pretty roughed up from the fall, but I’d managed to hold on to the Demi-Harpy.

“Well, now… So cute, yet such a giant pain… Nasty little miss monster,” Falma said.

“Cheep…cheep…,” it replied. It’d suddenly become quite cooperative, for good reason. It was surrounded by Falma, Cion, mom dog, and Theresia with her short sword drawn. And Cion’s mom was growling in anger at the Demi-Harpy because Cion had been attacked.

“Grrrrrr!”

She opened her jaw threateningly, wide enough that she could easily swallow the Demi-Harpy whole. Even I thought the sight was scary. The Demi-Harpy must have actually thought mom dog was going to eat her and so stopped struggling. Actually, she seemed to completely lose consciousness out of sheer terror.

“Well, we somehow managed to make it out of that… Uh, T-Theresia?” I said. She was still cautious about the Demi-Harpy possibly waking up, but she moved behind me and wrapped her arms around me. She was shaking. Maybe I made her worry when I jumped off the building.

“I’m all right; Cion caught me. I’m sorry I scared you. I couldn’t think of any other options. The only way to beat it was to grapple it from behind.”

“……”

Theresia silently shook her head. Maybe she was saying I didn’t need to apologize.

“Mr. Atobe, there’s a stampede, isn’t there? That’s why there are monsters in the city,” said Falma.

“Yes. This Demi-Harpy sings a song that puts people to sleep. It’s dangerous if you don’t have anything that prevents you from falling asleep, so you should hide in your shop until it’s over. We’ll make it so that no monsters come into this neighborhood.”

“I have a few accessories in the shop that protect against Sleep inflicted by monsters’ attacks. I purchased them for the store when multiples were found in chests that I opened…”

“Huh? …Really?!”

“Normally, I’d supply them to a specialty shop, but please take them. I think they’re needed now. I’ll go to the nearby Pharmacist to get some medicine that will wake your allies up. Astarte, please carry everyone back to the shop.”

We’d need to gather ourselves and prepare for the fight against the Named Monster and its group of monsters. Theresia and I worked together to place our still-sleeping companions and the unconscious Demi-Harpy atop Astarte—Cion’s mom. I was uncomfortable killing the Demi-Harpy because she looked so much like a human… This wasn’t really the place to be so kind, but it wasn’t a threat as long as we could keep it from singing. My party faced annihilation thanks to this small Demi-Harpy, and I was now very well aware of the dangers of status ailments. I needed to take them as seriously as possible to make sure no one got hurt because of them.

Theresia followed close behind me the entire way. She still seemed worried about me. I wanted to avoid any crazy suicide attacks in the future so that I didn’t make her worry more.

Part III: Battle Interception

We carried our companions into the Chest Cracker shop, and Eyck and Plum came up from the stairs. They’d probably been hiding just in case.

“Welcome back, Mommy! …Huh? Everyone’s asleep,” said Eyck.

“You okay, Arihito? You got a scrape here. I’ll give it a bandage,” Plum said to me.

“Oh, thank you. It’s not that bad, though.”

“I can’t believe you would do something so dangerous… You are braver than I had thought, Mr. Atobe,” praised Falma. It didn’t seem all that extreme from my perspective. I was only able to do it because Cion and the others were there. It’s not like I would’ve done something that reckless without thinking.

“Mommy, can I give Arihito medicine?” asked Plum.

“Ah, don’t; potions are too valuable for that…,” I refused.

“Oh, no, there are things called healing herbs that are used to make potions,” said Falma. “If you dry them and grind them into a powder, you can use those alone to heal minor injuries. The biggest problem is they don’t taste very nice.”

“Oh, I see. Even so, if they’re used as ingredients for potions, they must be valuable…,” I started to say, but Falma put a finger to her lips, like she wanted to keep that part her little secret.

“The Guild provides a number of different medicines to the city people in a medicine kit to keep in their homes. Some people do sell the contents for money, but we haven’t used ours… Please let us help you, especially considering the situation outside.” Falma brought me the healing herbs on a piece of paper, along with a glass of water. She warned me they didn’t taste good, so I braced myself for the worst, but it was sort of like herbal medicine. It was almost spicy, but the taste wasn’t really that terrible.

Oh… My vitality recovered. They were just minor wounds, but I feel better now that I can actually see them heal.

“Ah-ha-ha, you made a funny face when you took it,” Plum observed.

“The worse it tastes, the better it works, you know,” said Eyck.

The two seemed to have taken a liking to me, and they were both watching as I swallowed the medicine. I couldn’t ask for Astarte’s help in the coming battle since Falma and the kids would need her protection, but I was hoping I could ask them if I could take Cion along.

Theresia and Falma were working together to give the rest of the party some pills. Falma came back to where I was once she was done and seemed able to guess what I wanted to ask based on my expression alone.

“Cion is still in your party. She thinks of you as a companion, which is why she was the first to notice that your party had come near,” she said.

“Oh… I’m sorry; I forgot to return her to your house’s party,” I said.

“No need to apologize. I’m the one who asked you to take Cion along with you. Actually, I think it’s quite wonderful that she protected you. Astarte is obviously brave, but Cion’s grown up to be quite the courageous guard dog as well,” said Falma as she petted Cion’s head. Even though Cion was sitting, her head was as high as a grown adult’s, so she had to lower it so Falma could reach.

“…Then, I hope you don’t mind if he helps us again. I would ask her to use Covering while I support her to increase her defense, but…I feel really bad using your beloved dog as a shield.”

“Silver hounds are regularly used as vanguards. They’re bigger than humans and have high vitality… So please don’t worry. Please feel free to put her in whichever position you think would best benefit your party,” said Falma.

I really felt like Falma herself was quite courageous. She might have retired from seeking, but she would need to go into the labyrinth every once in a while to maintain her level and skills, so she probably had plenty of battle experience.

“Mmm… Where am I…?” murmured Elitia.

“Is this Falma’s shop…? S-sorry, it looks like we’ve caused you some trouble…,” said Igarashi. Misaki and Suzuna also started to open their eyes shortly after.

“Ah… Arihito, watch out! That weird song—!” cried Misaki.

“The monster… Did you defeat it, Arihito?” asked Suzuna.

“Luckily, Theresia and I weren’t put to sleep. Cion and her mom helped out, so we somehow managed to defeat them… We actually captured one, too.” I explained about the dangers of Lullaby, and everyone looked warily at the Demi-Harpy. Apparently, many monsters became quite cooperative if you took away their sense of sight, so we’d blindfolded and gagged her and tied her wings to her feet… She’d be dangerous if we hadn’t, but I felt bad for her, so we didn’t bind her up any more than that.

“Mommy, is this feathery girl a monster?” asked Plum.

“Yes. I think it’s safe now, but don’t get too close to her. Mr. Atobe, since you captured her alive, do you intend to hand her over to the Monster Ranch?” asked Falma.

“Monster Ranch…?” I asked back.

“It’s a place that cares for and trains monsters to become allies of Seekers. It’s like a storage facility that houses the monsters until you use a specialized summoning stone to call them to help you,” explained Elitia. I hadn’t considered capturing monsters until now, but if it was like she said, it would be possible to get monsters to help us out… Monsters with special attacks would be particularly useful.

I decided to try putting the Demi-Harpy into the Monster Ranch, partially so I could learn how the ranch worked. Also, the thought of her being dissected was just a little too grotesque for me to think about.

“By the way, what do other Seekers do when they beat a Demi-Harpy?” I asked.

“While there are many humanoid monsters like orcs that attack and prey on humans, Demi-Harpies just disturb humans, allowing other monsters to prey on them,” said Falma. “The Demi-Harpies themselves don’t eat meat. Because of that, Seekers don’t see them as an actual enemy. Many capture them, take feathers, clip their nails, then release them.” That part of the conversation was probably disturbing enough for the children, so Falma leaned in to me and spoke low for the next part. “Some people don’t like to engage in battle with them because of how they look, but it is standard practice to kill them as soon as they’re seen, since Lullaby is such a dangerous skill.”

So there was the option of sending monsters to the Monster Ranch if I had a hard time bringing myself to kill them because of their appearance. Then, when we needed more strength, I could summon them to increase the skills available to us… I decided to think about whether or not I could fight alongside a monster whenever I came up against something in the future.

“Please keep in mind that only a portion of monsters can become allies with humans, since the majority can’t communicate with us,” explained Falma. “It would be best to consider those tentacle monsters in the sky untrainable, for example. Even though there may be people with the necessary skills to accomplish that.”

“Right, I see… Thank you very much for the information. Now, you mentioned some sleep prevention equipment…,” I said.

“Yes, that would be these accessories. I have earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Thankfully, accessories that protect against Sleep 1 are fairly common, so I have enough for the whole party.”

Sleep 1—that meant there were attacks that had even more powerful sleep effects, and we weren’t set for sleep protection from here on out. I filed that information away in my mind, but this should be plenty for now.

I was considering the possibility that the Named Flying Doom was also capable of inflicting status ailments, so I wanted to ask Falma if she had anything else.

“Sorry to ask for more, Falma, but do you have anything that protects against other status ailments?”

“Let’s see… This headband protects against Confusion. Would you like to use this as well?”

“Could we borrow it just in case? I don’t know what the enemy will come at us with, so I’d rather have the insurance.”

“That’s a good mind-set to have. Please take it, then.”

“I think you should wear it, Arihito, since you’re the leader. I want to make sure you have a strong defense since we take our orders from you,” said Elitia, and I accepted the headband and put it on as she suggested. It had a metal plate on it to protect my forehead, so I felt more protected after securing it in such a way that it wouldn’t slide around.

“All right… Let’s keep an eye out for any other Demi-Harpies and go beat that Named Monster,” I said.

“I wish you all luck. Are you certain you don’t want to take Astarte with you?” asked Falma.

“There’s always a chance something might happen here, so I think it’s best if she stays with you. There are other Seekers and mercenaries outside,” I replied. “We’ll definitely be able to push back these monsters if we meet up with some of them.”

“Good luck, Arihito!” said Eyck.

“Be careful! Don’t get hurt!” yelled Plum.

We headed back outside, encouraged by the children—only for the Flying Dooms circling in the sky to notice us and start heading our way, one after another.

“—Let’s keep moving as we defeat these ones! Don’t do anything reckless!” I ordered. I couldn’t forget to activate Morale Support. Elitia and Cion made up the front line of our party, reducing the number of enemies coming at us. Any that made it through the front two were forced back by Theresia and Igarashi, and then me, Suzuna, and Misaki would attack with our long-range weapons.

“Boooowwow!”

“You’re pretty capable… Good girl. Let’s do this!” said Elitia as she ran alongside Cion. The mob of Flying Dooms coming at us from high in the sky weren’t going to be any match for my party.

We fought our way through a number of small encounters and were able to reduce the total number of monsters by a fair amount. There weren’t any more small groups of Flying Dooms left, leaving just the large mass with the Named one. I’d been regularly using Morale Support, building up everyone’s morale, but something happened when we got near the square in front of the entrance to the Field of Dawn.

“Ribault! …Madoka!” I shouted. Ribault spent his time rescuing Seekers who’d gotten themselves in trouble in the Field of Dawn, the labyrinth where most newbie Seekers started out. He’d helped me out a few times as well, and now he was up against the monsters in the city. And then there was the weapons seller, Madoka, hiding in the shadows of one of the buildings.

“Arihito, don’t come any closer! The monster— The monster’s song…!” warned Madoka.

“Take cover! It’ll attack the second it sees you… Agh!” shouted Ribault, holding a shield up as a laser-like beam of heat shot at him.

Based on the Named Flying Doom’s actual name, it would be coming at us with every intent of annihilating us. It had also solved one major weakness of the Flying Doom, which was that it had no long-range attacks. Instead, it was breaking the trend by having a high-firepower attack.

“Gah… Agh…”

“Ribault, pull back!” I shouted.

“R-right… Thanks…”

Ribault was carrying a kite shield he’d borrowed from one of his party members and had rushed out to draw the enemies’ attacks. Unfortunately, the shield wasn’t enough to completely block the attacks, and Ribault’s vitality was getting whittled down.

In the middle of the square were a number of injured demi-human mercenaries and Seekers. Some had taken direct hits from the laser, suffering horrendous burns all over their bodies. They still seemed alive…but we couldn’t waste a single moment. If we didn’t defeat these monsters soon, people would die.

“—Look out!” I shouted as my heart skipped a beat. Madoka had been hiding by a building after her stall had been burned down, but she was now leaping out from cover. She was trying to protect one of the fallen Seekers that a Flying Doom was swooping down to attack.

“Cion!” I cried.

“—Woof!”

Cion followed my command and used Covering to guard Madoka. With my Defense Support 1, a Flying Doom’s tackle at least would be reduced to zero damage.

“Get back into cover by the building!” I shouted. “Elitia, can you draw that thing’s fire to yourself?”

“I can dodge it if I use Sonic Raid… Okay, Arihito! I can draw it with Force Target and then finish it off when it comes down to attack!”

“All right… Everyone, be careful of that laser fire! I don’t know if my Defense Support will be able to deflect it!”

The Death from Above was flying slowly around in the sky, seeking its next target. But like Elitia said, the moment that thing came down, we wouldn’t be letting it fly up again.

Part IV: Protection

Cion used Tail Counter, her big fluffy tail whipping out to knock back the Flying Doom, then she and Madoka ran into cover by one of the buildings. But we weren’t out of the woods just yet.

“Ribault, get out of here! You’ll die if you take any more damage!” I shouted.

“Like hell I will… You’re the ones who should run! That thing’s got its sights on me; I can take at least one more shot! You run. I’ll follow after!” he yelled back.

“But, Mr. Ribault, you’re not even a Shield Knight— What are you saying?!” called Misaki.

“You’re right; I’m a Lumberjack! And that’s why I’m not about to leave without cutting this thing down!”

I understood Ribault’s insistence, but I simply didn’t see a need for him to risk his life here… Although, I empathized with the guy. Ribault was not the kind of person to go quietly when face-to-face with a monster.

“—Elitia, can you dodge that laser?!” I shouted.

“I got this! Let me help you in your time of need! …Kyouka, use Force Target on me!” replied Elitia.

“No, I’m going, too! There’s no way you can handle that many!” said Igarashi.

“Igarashi… I’ll back you up! Just make sure you dodge that laser!”

““Understood!””

The two rushed out, and we could suddenly hear the song of the harpies that were hiding on the roofs of the buildings surrounding the square, almost like they’d been lying in wait for us.

If those monsters use Lullaby now, Ribault and his party will… Wait, no… Oh, if the Demi-Harpy isn’t essentially right overhead, then they’ll be outside of Lullaby’s range. If the Demi-Harpies just come this way…!

But the Demi-Harpies weren’t going to be so kind as to take to the skies and show themselves without getting ready first. The three Sweet Birds responded to the harpies’ song, using their own Flurry of Wings to enhance all their abilities. Two of the Sweet Birds came our way, the last heading toward Ribault, who couldn’t see it coming because the shield was limiting his field of vision. Elitia saw it approaching and went to cover him.

Fights were breaking out across the square, and I was at my limit trying to take in everything and issue orders. The moment I thought that, my field of vision seemed to expand, so much so that I seemed to even be taking in the sky.

I suddenly realized I was looking at the Death from Above almost like it was right in front of me. It had a cooldown period after it shot off its laser. Its entire body glowed white from the heat. After that, its brightly colored, spherical, tentacle-covered body faded to a red-hot color… But considering there were only about fifteen seconds before it could shoot again, we couldn’t waste any time. I also realized it could use Self-Destruct if its vitality was low, which meant we needed to give it everything we had when it got down to half its vitality, in an attempt to kill it in one shot.

“Theresia, push back just one of the birds! We’ll take care of the other one!” I ordered.

“—!”

Theresia used Wind Slash, separating the two Sweet Birds and knocking one back. The other one flew toward us rearguards, but an arrow, a die, and a slingshot bullet mercilessly pierced its head. The three of us long-range attackers were just about able to take down the bird by working together.

Theresia waited until the last second before the other bird’s counterattack to use Accel Dash and dodge. It wasn’t able to slow its flight and ended up crashing to the ground. Only I would be able to follow up with an attack; Suzuna wouldn’t have an arrow ready, and Misaki wasn’t yet used to preparing ranged attacks that quickly!

But at that very moment, something came flying from behind me—a metal ball attached to a long chain. It was a direct hit on the Sweet Bird and bought enough time for Suzuna and Misaki to add in their attacks.

Behind the Sweet Birds came the Demi-Harpies, even though their Sweet Bird cover had been destroyed. They assumed they could still win if they could just put us to sleep.

“Dumb move. We’re pretty good at staying awake!” I shouted at them.

“—Cheep?!”

It appeared they hadn’t considered their song wouldn’t be effective, because both of the young-girl-looking Demi-Harpies seemed shocked. By then, we had all had time to get ready for our next attack.

“Everyone, fire!”

“Dice Attack!”

“—Hyaa!”

“—!”

My slingshot and Misaki’s die hit one of the Demi-Harpies. It took an extra eleven support damage and lost its balance, making it stall in midair and crash clumsily to the ground. Suzuna’s arrow pierced the other’s wing, tearing off feathers. It fell and tried to get control of its flight again, but in that moment, Theresia leaped toward it and launched a Wind Slash. Forced off-balance, it used the last of its strength in one more vain flap of its wings but gave in, falling slowly to the ground.

That got rid of some of the more dangerous enemies here, but we needed to capture the unconscious Demi-Harpies. Afterward, we retreated to the cover of the buildings, where we saw the person who’d helped us out earlier with their chain flail.

“Leila… Good, you’re all right,” I said.

That person was Leila, the assistant manager of the Mercenary Office. She gave the impression that she was fairly strong, but her red hair was in disarray, sticking to her skin from sweat, her leather armor broken in several places.

“You all right, Arihito?” she asked. She’d come from behind us, but now I could see her eyepatch was torn. Below it, I could see her eye… It didn’t look injured, but there was no life in it, like when you looked into a blind one.

“Leila, your eye…,” I said.

“Oh, this… A long time ago, I fought a monster that steals your senses. I took an attack on my sight, and it was lost. I can still fight a bit, though, since I have the other one.”

“All right, want to fight together, then? Do you have any skills to help with evasion? If you don’t, then right now… Igarashi!” I shouted when I looked over and saw the attack.

“It’s all right, Atobe! I can do this three… No, four more times!”

In a flash, the Death from Above’s whole body was cloaked in brilliant light, which then gathered into a single point. The next moment, it shot out a beam of flame toward Igarashi, but she created a mirage of herself and dodged the attack. With her entire focus set on evading, she was unable to attack the Flying Doom that followed as well. She couldn’t use Double Attack, nor could she knock back the monsters coming for her. She knew the risks she faced if she didn’t defeat her enemy with a single hit.

Before the Flying Doom that’d attack Igarashi could return to the sky, Suzuna let loose an arrow, and Misaki took a gamble and threw one of her metal dice at it, doing at least some damage… But without the vanguard’s attacks, there was no way we could take down a monster in one go, and so we couldn’t reduce the enemies’ numbers.

“If they all came at us at once, I could just take them all out in one go… This is so frustrating!” shouted Elitia, dropping them one by one as they took turns coming down. A Slash Ripper or Rising Bolt was a one-hit KO for these things, but it’d be far more effective to reduce their numbers if she could get a large number of them to gather in range of Blossom Blade. Instead, they were coming down in alternating twos and threes to attack. It was almost like they were aware and cautious of area attacks.

“Miss, I can lure them down—,” started Ribault.

“I’m fine—you just run! What do you think your party will do if you die here?!” shouted back Elitia.

“Hmph… All right. I’ll leave it to you, then… Haaaaaaah!”

Ribault was determined. He sprinted toward the buildings on the other side of the square where his companions were hiding, picking up one of the fallen on his way, the whole time with the massively heavy shield on his back.

“Hurry! We’ll lure the enemy!” shouted Elitia.

“—One more hit! I can take one more hit… Haaaaah!”

Cion was guarding Madoka. If I had Cion cover Ribault instead, she could take serious injury if my Defense Support didn’t completely ward against the laser. My mind was racing. There were nine Flying Dooms left; the Named one was uninjured… And then I realized something.

Death from Above hasn’t used its laser… Has it run out of magic? Or is it aiming for something else—?

As a mere ball of brightly colored tentacles, this monster was incapable of facial expressions…but I could’ve sworn it smiled. The remaining Flying Dooms went after Igarashi and Elitia, and Death from Above went for Ribault and the collapsed magic user he was carrying.

Crap—it’s going after Ribault!

Ribault was running with the shield on his back, which blocked his view of the sky. The beast’s mouth was massive enough to consume a person in one bite, and it was flying down with intent to kill.

The name Death from Above didn’t just refer to the laser beam it shot from the air. It literally came from the heavens to kill. I’d been using Morale Support as I called out to everyone on the battlefield, but their morale was still only at ninety-nine. I just needed to pull off one more Morale Support. I could use Rear Stance on Ribault to go behind him, but then I’d just be eaten. Elitia had to use Blossom Blade to kill five of the Flying Dooms. Igarashi was forced to dodge. No one would make it to him in time.

But I wanted to save him. I couldn’t let someone like him die, someone who was so aware that he couldn’t win yet refused to back down. What could I do? If I was going to save him—I’d have to risk it all on one option. There was Ariadne, the being who’d given us her protection. If anyone could do it, it was a Hidden God!

“Ariadne, protect the person I’m going to support!” I said. My license responded to me, showing the page I wanted before I could even swipe my finger. I could only support those in my party…and Ariadne’s protection was likely the same. But I did have one skill available that let me ignore that rule: Outside Assist. I hadn’t thought I could help other parties, but this skill solved everything.

“Ribault, I’ll back you up!”

“Arihito—?!”

“GWOOOOOOOHH!”

Death from Above hurtled down to consume Ribault. I could tell that Defense Support 1 wouldn’t be enough to defend against that attack. That mass, that speed—it was like a meteorite crashing to Earth and bringing death with it.

Would my prayers go unanswered? My throat was sore from shouting. No matter how much I yelled, I couldn’t make them reach her ears.

Can I do this…? Can I protect someone who’s spent his whole life putting others first…?!

I was filled with regret and anger, but the scene in front of me started to change, as if trying to rewrite those emotions. The area around Ribault as I supported him seemed to…twist. I heard her voice in my mind. Before, it had been mechanical and self-deprecating, but now, it was filled with fire.

“I, Ariadne, grant my devotee and his allies my protection!”

If his defenses failed, Ribault would be swallowed whole with his shield—but that didn’t happen.

“What…is that…?” he stammered.

Put quite simply, it was a massive arm. It was like the hand of a giant, stopping Death from Above in its tracks despite it being so much bigger than Ribault. It crackled and shot sparks of electricity as it wrestled with the brightly colored beast. It was the hand of some mechanical person, appearing out of thin air to protect Ribault. I had heard Ariadne’s voice, and then that huge arm appeared. That meant Ribault was being saved by a Hidden God’s protection…and confirmed that the Hidden Gods were extraordinarily powerful beings.

“Wh-what the hell…? There’s a hand comin’ out of thin air…,” said Ribault.

“Ribault… Oh, thank goodness… You idiot! Were you trying to get yourself eaten alive?!” shouted Misaki.

“Shit… You’re not a regular guy, are you? …Arihito, what the hell can’t you do…?” said Ribault.

The Named Monster landed for a moment, but we weren’t going to let it fly away again. I ordered Cion to cover Igarashi to buy us enough time for her, Theresia, and Misaki to use their Morale Discharge.

“Let’s finish this here… Morale Discharge, Soul Mirage!”

“—!”

“Let’s go! Morale Discharge, Fortune Roll!”

“Scatter like flower petals! Blossom Blade!” cried Elitia.

The gigantic hand had flung back Death from Above, and Elitia dashed toward it, raining blows on it along with her mirage warrior. Stealing was successful on the first hit thanks to Fortune Roll, then the attacks piled up with the set damage. Between her and the mirage warrior, they landed a total of twenty-four attacks, shooting past three hundred total damage. Death from Above was a lower level than the Giant Eagle-Headed Warrior had been. The attacks cut down its vitality, and it was unable to float anymore. It crashed to the ground, motionless.

Suzuna, Cion, Leila, and I combined our attacks to go after the Flying Dooms that had encircled Igarashi. With the additional mirage warrior attacks, cleaning up the rest of them wasn’t an incredibly difficult task. I realized how much of a help it was to have a duplicate of Cion.

There were no more monsters left. By the time we’d all caught our breaths, the mirage warriors disappeared, too. I checked the map on my license and saw no remaining monsters displayed.

“Is it…over? Seriously, only you guys could have pulled that off…,” marveled Ribault.

“Yes, it’s all over… We managed to beat it somehow. But we’re not done just yet.”

The people who’d collapsed needed first aid; some of them had severe burns from the laser beam. We were happy to have won but put off any celebrations for the moment to begin helping the injured. The guards eventually arrived and started to lug off the injured to the Healers.

I went over to Ribault and his party of three others. He raised a hand and smiled as he saw me come over.

“We practically just met, and you’re already the one saving me. You’re something else,” he said.

“Look who’s talking… I’m just glad you’re all right,” I replied. He grinned, then looked at his friends. There was a heavy-set man who had lent Ribault the shield and a girl with a bow who seemed fine, but the magic user was unconscious. The person he’d saved was one of his friends.

“We dragged you into our mess… Sorry. And thank you,” said Ribault apologetically.

“You don’t need to thank me; we all fought together to protect the city. But couldn’t you have hidden in the labyrinth?” I asked. One of Ribault’s companions explained that when there was a stampede, you couldn’t enter the labyrinths until all the monsters had been defeated, though they didn’t know the reason why. It would’ve been a huge miscalculation on our part had we hidden in the labyrinth, unaware of this. I made sure to remember that tidbit and turned to help out the rescue squads, when…

“Melissa… And Rikerton!”

“Thank you for protecting the city, Mr. Arihito. We were only able to defeat some of the monsters that appeared near the shop; we couldn’t get near the big one… You really are quite strong,” noted Rikerton.

“…Can I dissect the Named Monster? And the others, too?” asked Melissa.

“Yes please,” I replied.

Melissa was covered in what looked like Flying Doom blood and was holding her butcher’s knife. That meant they were at least strong enough to take on a Flying Doom between the two of them.

I was happy to know some of the people I knew were safe, but the damage to the city seemed quite extensive. I looked around at the square and building walls, which were covered in scorch marks and holes from the monsters’ collisions, and wondered if there was any way we could help out with rebuilding.

Part V: After the Battle

According to Leila, the monsters that appeared because of the stampede had rampaged around, attacking the city’s residents and destroying buildings. When Leila and her coworkers got word, they tried to mobilize the mercenaries but were attacked before they could get everyone ready. They were unlucky in that the monsters were flying right above and started attacking the moment they saw the mercenaries leaving the office, damaging the office in the process as well.

The mercenaries had been taken to the Healers by the guards and were receiving medical treatment. Luckily, the one mercenary who’d taken a direct hit from the laser possessed a skill that improved their flame resistance, so they’d managed to escape with their life.

“No doubt we would’ve seen fatalities had the battle lasted even a little longer… I can’t quite say everyone’s doing fine, but we managed to make it through, and it’s all thanks to you and your party, Arihito,” said Leila. “As witness to your bravery, I intend to report your accomplishments to the Guild.”

“No, that’s not neces—,” I started.

“Don’t be so modest,” she interrupted. “Having seen it in person, I have no doubt of your courage and your party’s abilities.” She’d already thought highly of me for adding Theresia to the party, and it seemed now her opinion was even higher.

“And that strange skill you used when you saved Ribault… Arihito, can you summon?” she asked.

“Summon…? Oh, I mean, I guess it’s similar. Just think of it as a defense-type skill,” I replied.

“Hmm… All right. Guess that’s one of your party’s secrets. I did see something similar once in a different district when I was still seeking…”

So there really were other adherents to the Hidden Gods… Either that or what she saw was some type of actual summoning magic. Although, I didn’t think it’d be possible to summon just a hand like that to defend against an attack with the Summoning Stones that were used to call for actual living monsters.

“Leila, what you once saw summoned before… Was it like a giant, but only a part of it?” I asked.

“No, someone called forth a mud golem and used it as a shield. Golems can shape-shift, so it would be possible for it to change its whole body into one giant hand.”

“Ah… I see. Thanks for letting me know.” So it was something different. Finding a Hidden God wouldn’t be quite that easy, nor would they be hiding in plain sight. Even though I’d requested Ariadne’s protection in front of everyone, I doubted people would be able to realize it was connected to the Hidden Gods. Even Ribault and his friends probably assumed I was just using a skill called Guard Arm.

That said, I’m not sure a human would be capable of using a defensive skill like that… Although, I’d like to believe my Defense Support skill is sort of headed in that direction…

Carriers were called over to the site where we asked them to take care of the monsters we’d defeated. This time, we should let Rikerton handle everything. Melissa had already brought a cart over, and Rikerton was helping her take Death from Above back to the shop. I’d feel better if everything was all in the same place.

“Right, I’m gonna go check on the mercenaries. I also need to think about what we’re gonna do about rebuilding the office… Wonder if we’ll be able to rent a different building for a bit,” pondered Leila.

“Let me know if there’s any way I can help. You’ve done a lot for me; I want to pay you back if I can,” I said. She didn’t reply right away but just stared at me for a moment. She normally looked like a powerful and brave Amazon, but there was something different now with her red hair sticking up as she rubbed her ear… She was a battle-hardened warrior carrying a heavy chain flail, but I think she might have been a bit bashful then.

“…Do the people you fight with always feel this safe? It’s almost like being hugged and protected from behind…,” she admitted.

“Uh, um… I-I’m not really sure…,” I stammered. She had moved in front of me after that first attack with her flail, so perhaps the Outside Assist skill let me support her as well… I wondered if Attack Support 1 felt like that, too.

“Hmm… Never mind. It’s just my imagination. Forget I said anything. I’m gonna head out now,” she said.

“A-all right… Take care, Leila.” She shot me an awkward smile, took a cord that she had on hand to fix her eyepatch, and then walked off. She was probably embarrassed since she’d let me see her sheepishness, which was very unlike her.

I cast a glance across the square and noticed that Madoka was with the rest of the party. I went over to them, and she trotted away from the group to meet me.

“Arihito, thank you for saving me… If your party hadn’t come, I’m not sure what would have happened to me…,” she said shakily, her face pale. It was normal to be afraid after having a group of monsters that big come and attack you. Her stall, which she sold beginner weapons from, hadn’t taken a direct hit, but the laser had scattered and broken a lot of her goods.

“It’s really unfortunate what happened to the equipment. Will you still have enough to supply the new Seekers?” I asked.

“W-well… I can’t say anything for sure without checking what exactly was lost…”

When we’d opened the Black Box, we ended up getting a lot of weapons that didn’t have any pluses, but they were plenty strong enough for the beginners. There were limits to what job could equip which type of equipment, and apparently, there was even strong equipment that you couldn’t use unless you were a high enough level… I hadn’t come across anything that I couldn’t equip yet. I was concerned, though, thinking that Madoka could get pulled into things if a stampede ever happened again like this.

“I know you provide weapons for beginners here, which is important work… But, Madoka, would you like to join our party exclusively and work as a Merchant? I mean, if you’re in some sort of organization, I obviously won’t tell you to leave that…,” I said.

“Hmm… A-are you sure? I’m still only level two…”

“I’m only level two, too, Madoka. How ’bout we level up together?” suggested Misaki.

“Misaki…,” said Madoka.

“I mean, that’s just because I want more party members at my level! Suzu’s one level higher and already doing tons of stuff. I shoulda gone with kendo or something…”

“I’m still trying to catch up to Arihito and everyone else,” added Suzuna. “Madoka, why don’t you try working with us? I’m sure you’ll enjoy your time with Arihito.” Madoka already seemed convinced, and the two girls were basically just adding on more reasons she should come. Madoka started to weep, perhaps finally feeling safe enough that she could, and Igarashi handed her a handkerchief for her to dry her eyes.

“To tell the truth, I was really thinking how much I wanted to level up and learn new skills. But…there were so many of those monsters, and I’ve never even gone to the end of the beginner labyrinth. I thought I was totally useless… So…,” started Madoka.

“Don’t give up. A party’s all about helping each other out, and any job is an asset at higher levels. I wouldn’t be able to do anything if I were alone,” I said.

“…But you’re so much stronger and more capable than me, Arihito. You didn’t even seem scared when you saw all those monsters.”

“Yeah, he does remain surprisingly calm. But that’s why I think it’s a good thing for you to join us. We might be all girls, but Atobe doesn’t do anything weird,” said Igarashi.

On the contrary, I’m starting to suspect they all did something weird to me in the middle of the night that one time… Not that there’s any real way of confirming it, since it’d blow up in my face if I were wrong and it was just a weird dream.

Perhaps someday, I’d find an item that would let me video record while I was sleeping. Like…a record stone. Hey, this is the Labyrinth Country—anything’s possible.

“U-um… Then…if you don’t mind, I’d like to join your party,” said Madoka.

“Of course. Thanks for joining. We might ask for your help as a Merchant, but we’ll look for ways to help you gain levels, too. The more skills you have, the better you’ll be able to assist us.”

“Yes, thank you so very much!” said Madoka, the little Merchant girl with her turban. I’d met her right after coming to the Labyrinth Country, and now we were in the same party. I thought it’d be a good idea to add more people who could do things in town, not just people who were good in a fight.

“All right, now that you’re convinced, I’d like to make a report. Arihito, I was able to steal this earlier,” said Elitia, handing over the dropped loot she got from Death from Above. It was a rose-colored rock, most likely a magic stone. I had some Novice Appraisal Scrolls from when Falma opened that Black Box for us, so I used one here. According to the scroll, this was a confusion stone.

Magic stones often reflect the special attacks of the monsters that have them. In other words, Death from Above had some special skill that inflicted Confusion… I wonder if it just doesn’t use it that often, and that’s why we were able to defeat it before it did. Anyway, we were lucky.

Confusion made it so that the affected person chose their target randomly, regardless of whether that target was an ally or an enemy. It was similar to when Elitia was under the effects of Berserk, but it’d be a horrendous situation if more than one of the party was Confused. There’d be no way we could avoid taking friendly fire.

But if you equipped your weapon with a confusion stone, you’d be able to use a hypnosis-type skill. Magic stones could be removed after they’d been put into a weapon, and you could even equip more than one, so I’d get two status ailments I could inflict if I had both the confusion stone and poison crystal on my slingshot.

I took a look at the Demi-Harpies, hoping they had something like a sleep stone, but I didn’t see any magic stone-like objects on their foreheads. Oh well—we could still have them trained and work together with them, so we’d be able to take advantage of their Lullaby on the battlefield if we summoned them. Also, neither Theresia nor Elitia had acquired new skills this time around, so we could at least use that to our advantage during the test.

“It looks like all the injured have been safely moved. Shall we go back to the Guild for a bit?” suggested Elitia.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” I replied. “We need to let Louisa know everything’s all right.”

Once we were back at the Guild, we saw Louisa running about checking on the amount of damage received with the other Guild workers. She ran over to us the moment she noticed we’d arrived and then bowed her head deeply. She was showing us that both the Guild workers and the other Seekers were grateful for us going out and fighting the monsters.

When Louisa finally lifted her head, she didn’t have her usual lovely smile; her expression was cool and tense.

“Mr. Atobe, you and your party have saved District Eight from danger. This may be overly forward of me, but as a representative of the Guild and as your caseworker, I wish to express our incredible gratitude… Thank you so much.”

“Things won’t be easy after all this, but I’m glad we were able to make it through,” I replied. “I hope all the injured make a speedy recovery.”

“Yes… Thank you for your kind words.” Tears welled up in her eyes now that she didn’t need to remain on alert. We were able to get rid of the stress and pressure she must have been under as the person responsible for handling the stampede. My friends were relieved, as was I.

The party went over to Louisa to cheer her up, except for Theresia, who stood next to me. Perhaps she didn’t join the circle around Louisa because of the lizard mask she wore. Her mouth didn’t show any expression, but the lizard mask eyes were looking at me. She also seemed relieved— But she was shaking slightly, maybe from the memory of the moment when I jumped off the building with the Demi-Harpy.

“We all need to get stronger so that we can keep battles under control. Me, you, everyone,” I said.

“……”

Theresia nodded and brought a hand to her chest, like she was trying to say that she wanted to draw out more of her own strength.

Part VI: Skipping a Grade

The damages in District Eight totaled approximately thirty destroyed buildings. Forty-six people suffered injuries, two of whom were severely wounded.

It wasn’t uncommon for stampedes to result in fatalities. Novices avoided the Sleeping Marshes, which was prone to monster swarms, so higher-level Seekers were regularly asked to clear it out as a preventative measure. This time, however, the labyrinth reached high alert much more quickly than normal, resulting in the events leading to the damages.

The guards didn’t enter the labyrinth and cull monsters because their priority lay in maintaining the city’s peace. They needed to be able to mobilize immediately if someone’s karma went up, yet their numbers weren’t very high, and neither were their levels. The District Eight garrison commander was level 5, and most Seekers within the district were only just below that.

That was one reason why it was so hard to gain levels…supposedly. But my party kept running into Named Monsters, which was how we leveled up faster than anyone would have thought possible. Elitia obviously wasn’t going to gain another level yet, but I looked at my license and saw that five of her experience bubbles were full. She could potentially gain another level if we defeated two more level-5 Named Monsters. We also hadn’t had any experience-point penalties since we’d been seeking without rest. I needed to figure out how much it went down if we did take a break.

The others waited outside for me again while I did my leader duties of reporting to Louisa about the battle.

“Right, please allow me to view your license… Ah, of course…,” said Louisa.

Louisa checked the numbers using her monocle and let out an admiring sigh. We’d run around town, defeating every monster we came across, but we received far more contribution points from quelling the stampede, defeating Death from Above, and saving the injured than we did from all the other monsters combined.

“Louisa, what do you mean by of course?” I asked.

“Since you earned so many contribution points in such a short time, the Guild has already put you into the District Seven ranking, without you having to take the test. Congratulations, you will be able to use the mid-tier lodging in District Seven right from the beginning.”

“Middle-class housing… Does that mean we’ll be able to rent a house?”

“Yes, it’ll be a town house. There are quite a few, though, who prefer communal living and instead choose to live in an apartment.”

“To each their own.”

We’d be renting for the time being, and we’d be able to rest fine as long as the property was nice, but we’d eventually need to think about finding a place in one of the districts to make our permanent base.

“Actually, I’m a little sad about not having to take the test,” I admitted. “There’s a party called Polaris staying in the same building as us, and they’re already waiting for their exam. I was kind of hoping we could take it together.”

“Polaris… Oh! If you’re talking about who I think you are, they left this morning for the Shrieking Wood to take their test,” said Louisa.

“That explains why I didn’t see them around town. Does the test sometimes take a few days to complete?”

“Yes. Starting in District Seven, you’ll need to set up camp within the labyrinth, so the test doubles as practice for that. Monsters occasionally attack during the night, and the test will include how to deal with such situations.”

“That would be good practice. I’ll have to double-check with my party, but would it be possible for us to still take the test tomorrow?”

“Yes, I will prepare the test if you like. Now then, I have a meeting to attend concerning the city’s recovery efforts, so if you would please excuse me.”

“Rebuilding will take a lot of money, I imagine. If it’s too much, then maybe I can help—”

“No, that won’t be necessary. The residents of the city prepare funds for cases like this, so it’s a general rule that no one person should pay out of pocket for repairs. I do appreciate the thought, though.”

“Oh, all right… I feel better, then. The Mercenary Office had been mostly destroyed, so I thought it would be hard to rebuild, and then there’s the other buildings that were damaged when we were fighting.”

“Even so, the damages were relatively small. There have been times when a type of monster that goes around destroying everything in its path appears, resulting in extensive damages to both the city and its residents… We need to make sure to keep stampede risks low at all times in order to prevent something like that happening.”

I’d felt like Louisa was slowly starting to let loose around me, but her formality in answering my questions gave me the impression that she felt personally responsible for what happened in the stampede.

“We also felt that these particular monsters were dangerous, so I understand why people tend to avoid that labyrinth. Is there some way to seal whatever the source of the monsters is away?” I asked.

“Well… There are certain conditions that lead to monster spawning, and if we come to understand those conditions, we can keep them from appearing. Monster Researchers have only published information on a select number of monsters; the vast majority of the information is generally unknown.”

“Which means you can only respond when things get more dangerous. Please let us know if you do hear anything. If we have a good countermeasure, then we should be able to cut the monsters’ numbers down efficiently.”

“Once a stampede occurs, it’s days before another one can happen as long as there’s a swift response. That’s why I want to rework the monster culling schedule so that we can prevent it from happening again.”

There were likely other labyrinths in other districts like the Sleeping Marshes that people just avoided, making the risk of stampede greater for those labyrinths. The Guild Saviors or the guards probably had to deal with those.

Scariest of all would be if a stampede originated from a labyrinth in the higher districts. That was because even though people were trying, they couldn’t manage to keep the monster numbers down. If District Eight could end up taking this much damage, that kind of stampede could lead to extensive damages from just one small mistake.

I suppose another Seeker duty was to venture into the labyrinths that were suited to their strength in order to defeat monsters and prevent stampedes from happening in the districts. But not everyone worked hard or continued to fight and risk their lives.

“…Are you perhaps starting to get the sense that the labyrinths are quite a hassle?” asked Louisa.

“I do, to be perfectly honest. They’re burdensome and mysterious, and if you’re not careful, a stampede can happen. It makes me wonder why in the world there are so many of them concentrated in this country… And that’s part of the reason why I plan to keep climbing the ranks, so I can learn about these things.”

“Mr. Atobe…”

“Ah… S-sorry, I didn’t mean to put on airs. It’s just that I don’t mind doing what I need to do as a Seeker. A part of that is because I have so many friends supporting me.”

“No… I think it’s a wonderful goal. I’m impressed. I want to do everything I can as your caseworker to help. I hope you’ll continue to help me do that.”

“I’m the one who should be asking for your help.”

We stood and shook hands. I remembered I’d been so nervous the first time I met this beautiful woman; I couldn’t believe I’d gotten to a point where I could be this calm with her… Perhaps I’d grown a little since coming to the Labyrinth Country.

Part VII: The Merchants Guild

Once I finished reporting to Louisa, I stopped at the nearby Healer clinic to check on how Ribault and his party were doing. Apparently, their magic user wouldn’t wake up for a few days, but their condition was stable.

“Thanks for comin’ all this way to see us. You must be tired yourself,” said Ribault.

“Yeah, I’m always a bit worn down after a fight, but it’s not too much of a load on me since I have the party,” I replied.

“You really are somethin’ else. It’s only been four days since you started, and lookit how you’ve built a name for yourself since. I bet you won’t even spend much time in this district. I’m glad I got the chance to meet a rookie like yourself. You oughta come visit District Eight every once in a while; I’ll get lonely otherwise.” Ribault had met his fair share of rookies—and seen plenty of them off, too. It was nothing short of an honor to know I’d left that much of an impression on him.

“Thank you, Arihito. It’s because of you that our friends are all still here,” remarked Ribault’s companion with the shield.

“We owe Ribault a lot. He saved us when we were seeking in one of the beginner labyrinths…,” said the woman with the bow.

“All the more reason you should keep going into the labyrinths, find incredible weapons, and aim for the top,” added Ribault. “That’s why you’re such a marvel to us. We’re just gonna do what we can. This might sound overly dramatic, but I want you to fulfill our dream.”

“…All right. I’ll go as far as I can. But honestly, I believe you’re capable of rekindling that dream whenever you want,” I replied. They could pass on their work of looking after the junior Seekers to someone else and go back to seeking. That was an option that any party was free to choose.

“…Yeah. You’re right… What am I talking about? Like we’ve given up. Arihito, you’re just too…,” said Ribault.

“I still wanna go toe to toe with some strong foe I’ve never seen before. I know that sounds weird coming from the guy who lent his only shield to Ribault, but…,” said the man.

“I was so scared; I couldn’t do anything to that super-brightly colored thing. But to give in would just shatter my very core… So I’m going to keep trying—do everything I can,” vowed the archer.

“I get anxious before every fight, too, but I have my friends with me. They’re the reason I just about manage to not run away and get something done,” I said. If we ever met a challenge we couldn’t overcome, we’d work together, or someone in the party would get a new skill, and we’d find a way to get over it.

Rearguard was a job that could cover all sorts of support, so I sometimes felt like there was no limit to what my skills could do, but they also worked together with my party’s skills, and that’d helped us on many occasions.

Ribault and his party seemed to have a new gleam in their eyes, a renewed ambition for seeking. I felt we could likely run into each other someday in another district. That was one thing to look forward to as I continued my life here in the Labyrinth Country, since there were only so many parties among all the ones in the Labyrinth Country that we’d make a connection with.

I left Ribault and his party and headed back toward the square in front of the Guild. Cion came to meet me, too, and she’d brought Falma and Astarte with her.

“Oh… Well done today, Mr. Atobe. I’d like to thank you as one of the city’s residents for saving the city,” said Falma.

“Well, I’m a resident myself. I like to see the city peaceful as well,” I replied. Falma smiled elegantly, then looked at Cion, who was sitting down while Igarashi petted her head.

“I got a real understanding of how Cion feels after everything that happened today. Mr. Atobe… If it’s not too much trouble, would you please take Cion with you? As a member of your party.”

“Huh? …B-but she’s so fluffy and huge and cute—are you sure you won’t mind us taking her?” asked Igarashi.

“…Woof!” barked Cion.

I didn’t understand why Igarashi was so flustered by the idea; I would’ve thought she’d be ecstatic to have Cion as a party member. Cion had saved us with her Covering skill so many times, and I was sure she’d be a great asset to us. Theresia no longer seemed afraid of her, and if she could work as a vanguard with Elitia, our party would become even more impenetrable.

“Thank you, Falma. If you insist, then we’ll be happy to borrow her… Or do you mean you’d allow us to officially add her to our party?” I asked.

“Yes, gladly. It would make her very happy, too… See, look at her tail go!” Cion was still sitting, but her fluffy tail was wagging back and forth—a gentle wagging, not like when she used Tail Counter.

“Astarte, if Cion goes with Mr. Atobe, she’ll come back an even stronger guard dog. You don’t need to worry,” Falma reassured Astarte, who quietly returned her gaze before going over to Cion and beginning to clean the fur behind her daughter’s ear. Once she finished, Cion pushed her head into her mom’s fuzzy chest for a moment, then separated. Astarte narrowed her eyes, then came over in front of me and lay on the ground.

“She’s saying, ‘Please take care of her.’ Would you please pet Astarte? It would let her know you understand,” explained Falma.

“Of course… I’ll make sure Cion comes home safe. I know you might miss her, so we’ll come back to visit regularly,” I said and rubbed Astarte’s head. She closed her eyes, either in a show of obedience or perhaps a sign that she trusted me.

“By the way, Falma, what level is Astarte?” I asked.

“She is level thirteen. She normally assists the Guild by going into the more difficult labyrinths in some of the higher districts.” Astarte was far stronger than Elitia, who was currently at level 9. Plus, I got the impression that she could single-handedly keep the peace in District Eight, but I suppose the strong had to handle things that only the strong could.

“I wonder if Cion will get that big when she’s level thirteen…,” said Igarashi.

“Ha-ha-ha! If level had anything to do with size, then Ellie’d be much bigger than she is!” laughed Misaki.

“Hmph… I-I’m not short; I’m perfectly average for my age!” retorted Elitia.

Falma smiled again as she listened to them joke. She also seemed a little sad to see Cion go as she scratched the dog’s neck when she went over to her master.

Madoka had to take down her normal stall in the square in front of the Field of Dawn because of the rebuilding work going on, so I rented another storage unit, and we put her goods in there while she continued her Merchant work. She was shocked at how extravagant the Lady Ollerus Mansion was, but we sat down in the lounge so she could tell us what she was capable of as a Merchant. Everyone in the party was there as well, so she introduced herself, and we had some tea while we talked.

She wasn’t wearing the turban she normally had on, so we could see her black hair was in a sort of messy bob. Everyone who normally wore headgear had also taken their respective equipment off, and their hair was disheveled in the same way. I guess that was one drawback to headgear.

“Arihito has already introduced me to everyone, but I’d like to take a moment to reintroduce myself. My name is Madoka Shinonogi.” Everyone gave their names in return. Since Cion couldn’t enter the mansion, she was instead staying in the doghouse reserved for guard dogs. There were apparently some rentals that allowed animals, though.

“I selected Merchant as my job, and I am a member of the Merchants Guild. I can use my license to contact other shops within District Eight that are also members of the Merchants Guild. I can also use it to search for whatever specialized equipment you need or workshops that can handle processing various materials, as well as contact them to confirm the schedule and status of any jobs they are working on.”

“That’s…an advantage specific to Merchants, right?” I asked.

“It’ll be nice, since it means we won’t have to go around to each and every shop looking for something.”

“I’d like to find somewhere to attach a rune myself… But would you be able to get quotes for it using that?”

“Yes, though it does take some time to get a response. But I can get quotes from multiple different craftspeople,” Madoka replied. From her little explanation alone, it sounded almost like Merchants had the job-specific advantage of online shopping privileges. Whether or not a party had one with them could change a lot.

“I can also contact Melissa’s shop, so I can get reports on the materials from the monsters you defeated earlier or ask them to process some of them without having to go in person. However, I would require the party leader’s approval. So, Arihito, could you please press this button on the license screen?” she asked.

“Hmm… Like this? Whoa, that is useful,” I said.

I hadn’t expected that the Flying Dooms, which were just balls of tentacles, would really be usable for much, and it looked like I was right. The fact that they couldn’t even be used for food meant they were likely as disgusting to eat as they were to look at. Even so, we killed so many that they found two vitality absorb stones. Based on the name, I guessed they let you steal a small amount of vitality when you attack. The Sweet Birds’ feathers could apparently be used to make arrows, so I asked for them to be used to modify Suzuna’s. The down could be used to make a hat, so I asked them to go ahead and do that, too.

They were able to remove Death from Above’s tentacles and then skin it, which could be used to make armor. They also found a red treasure chest, though it wouldn’t have as much in it as the Black Box did. Even so, there was something fascinating about treasure chests, so I was really looking forward to opening it.

“…The armor you can make from that Named Monster sort of feels rubbery, and it tends to fit very close to the body…,” said Elitia.

“Wh-why are you looking at me? …Do you want me to wear it? I think my Ladies’ Armor is perfectly fine as is. You’re the one who suggested it,” responded Igarashi.

“Yes, I do think your armor can be used for a while longer, but it’s not often you can make armor from a Named Monster, so I think someone should wear it. How about you, Theresia?” proposed Elitia.

“……”

Theresia just looked at me since she didn’t seem to know what kind of equipment it was. What would it be like if she upgraded from her current body armor to rubber armor…? She wouldn’t look like a lizardman from the neck down anymore.

“Well, let’s decide once we know its characteristics. We’ll ask them to make the armor, though, since we have the chance,” I said.

“All right, I will place the order, then. Which blacksmith would you like to use?” said Madoka. Louisa would probably be able to recommend a good place if I asked, but for the moment, I just took a look at the list of available blacksmiths.

“…This one’s the highest level. The same as Falma—level seven,” I said.

“That means even the support people are more powerful than us Seekers…,” observed Igarashi.

“Craftsperson levels range from one to seven, so not all of them are strong. Their level goes up naturally as they improve their skills,” explained Madoka.

“Okay, then we’ll go with this person… Yikes, look at that waiting list! I mean, I guess that makes sense,” I said.

“A two-week waiting list means you’ll be waiting quite a while, even if there are some cancellations ahead of you. What would you like to do?” Madoka asked me.

“Right, I think we need to find someone to introduce us to a place. Maybe I’ll ask Millais, the Maid, after this.”

It was early afternoon by the time we finished, so we decided we’d all go about our own business until dinnertime. I elected to take a short nap, then go try to find information on a blacksmith.

Part VIII: Self-Improvement

I woke from my short nap and went out into the living room to find Theresia waiting outside my door.

“Were you there the whole time? You can relax, too, you know,” I said, but she shook her head and stared at me. Was she saying she was waiting for me to wake up?

Theresia’s magic was down a little bit, whereas Igarashi was quite tired because she’d used her skills to their limits. It’d be great if we had a way to immediately restore magic, but it was hard to get our hands on potions right now. The best thing was just some good, quality sleep.

I went to the living room and saw Elitia and some of the others talking. Suzuna noticed me and stood up as she tried to say hello, but I stopped her.

“No, don’t bother getting up. I’m going out soon anyway. Is there anything you guys want me to pick up while I’m out?” I asked.

“Urgh, I sooo wish we had convenience stores!” lamented Misaki. “But I guess things here can’t be that simple.”

“Everything we need for daily life is provided in the royal suite anyway. I think they refill it every day, too,” said Suzuna. I’d forgotten how women had more necessities than men did. But I guess the problem had solved itself just by us upgrading to better lodging.

“If there’s anything you need, please let me know. I can always get it for you,” said Madoka.

“Oh right, everyone can use a hundred gold pieces as their allowance. We still have over ten thousand after that, so if there’s anything expensive you think we need, let us know, and we’ll decide as a party if we should buy it,” I said. We’d received 9,500 gold from the bounty on Juggernaut and from selling its materials, then we got another 1,600 for the bounty on Death from Above. That alone put us over ten thousand. I didn’t want us to be strapped for cash when we needed to make a large purchase. I had been thinking of putting half our income in a party fund and dividing the rest between the members, but I wanted to be careful with our money so it was there when we needed it.

“Wow… I bet your party is the richest in District Eight,” marveled Madoka.

“Maybe for District Eight, but we’ll see how it is in District Seven. We should get a little more from that red chest, but we won’t know exactly how much until we open it,” I said.

“We get a discount when we buy stuff because Madoka’s in our party. And we can sell things for a little higher than normal. We’ll make a tonnn of cash off whatever we don’t need!” said Misaki.

Not that it would matter for dirt-cheap items, like the newbie equipment that we got from the Black Box, but even a 1 percent increase would make a significant difference for the more expensive items. We’d be dealing with other Merchants, too, so it’d probably be best not to try and negotiate every single time. We should reserve that for the most important transactions.

“Arihito, would you like to take a look at everyone’s skills? I think you got more skills, too,” suggested Elitia.

“Oh, you can do mine later. Too much work for Arihito if we aaall ask him at the same time,” said Misaki.

“Weren’t you talking about chatting with him after dinner?” said Suzuna.

I didn’t actually mind looking at them all at once, but I wanted to make sure I thought through the decisions properly, so each person would take some time. Speaking of, Madoka was in the party now, so I’d be in my own room tonight. Well, I was the only man, so that made the most sense anyway.

“Uh, ummm… You and Kyouka are really close, aren’t you? If you’re a couple, then… I-I’m sorry, it’s too soon for me to ask about that,” said Madoka.

“N-no, it’s okay. Um… Actually, Igarashi used to be my boss. We were always together for work.”

“Oh really… That’s so nice that a man and a woman can get so close through work.”

“Awww, Madoka, you little lamb… You’re just too pure…,” Misaki commented. She probably had her own assumptions about our relationship. Really, though, there was nothing more between us than what I just said.

Igarashi came out of her room while we were talking. Elitia saw her and called over to her.

“Oh, Kyouka. Is something wrong? You should rest more if you’re not feeling well.”

“N-no, it’s not that. I just got the feeling you guys were talking about me.”

“We were discussing how you and Arihito get along so well. I’ve never really interacted much with men, so I guess I just felt a little…jealous,” Madoka admitted.

“Uh… Cough, cough. Atobe, is that what you guys were talking about? L-like, when you say get along, then sure, like as a team… And I guess if I’m honest, Atobe’s become, like, someone I can really rely on…”

I felt like if I responded with Is that really how you see me? then the others might have made this out to be more than it was. In reality, there was never anything remotely romantic between us. The closest thing was that time she accidentally bought hot coffee instead of iced and gave it to me to finish after she took one sip. I remembered how she’d make me come into work on my days off. I’d get there, and she’d be all pumped and ready to go. No one was better suited to that work than she was.

“The fact that you formed a party together and it’s going so well means you must have always matched each other well,” said Madoka.

“…W-well, I guess it’s not too late to change things. But we never would’ve gotten any work done if we didn’t mesh,” added Igarashi.

“That is true. Though, I thought you would’ve been angry if I said it,” I agreed.

“Awww, there’s something sorta bittersweet about you two. Like, one step from an office romance, but at the same time, so close that you’ve gotten used to being coworkers. You see that aaall the time in TV shows,” Misaki remarked.

“That only happens in TV… I’d never get any romantic ideas about a boss of mine. I’d feel bad for Igarashi…”

“And I’m your subordinate now anyway, so you don’t have to feel ‘sorry’ for me anymore.”

“Uh, well… Um…,” I stammered, scratching my cheek as I tried to think of what to say, but everyone just gave me an exasperated smile. I’d always thought of Igarashi as the kind of person who’d blow up at the littlest thing. It was refreshing to see her respond with such maturity and grace.

“…Phew, sorry. I just woke up; I think I’m still a little tired,” said Igarashi.

“You won’t completely recover unless you sleep a whole night, even in a nice place like this… I’ve actually gotten tired, too…,” said Elitia.

“You sleeepy, Ellie? Suzu, wanna take a nap?” suggested Misaki.

“Yeah, my magic’s a little low, too… Yaawn…,” said Suzuna.

Misaki wasn’t tired since she didn’t have any skills yet that required magic, but Suzuna had used a lot for Auto-Hit and Salt Laying. Even so, Misaki apparently wanted to join in on naptime. She, Suzuna, and Elitia all left, leaving me in the living room with just Igarashi and Theresia. Apparently, Madoka used magic when she placed long-distance orders through her license. I checked everyone’s magic on my license and saw that hers had gone down by about a quarter.

“Igarashi, I’m just killing time now that I’m awake. You can take it easy for a little longer. I think I’m going to go out with Theresia for a bit.”

“Oh, okay… Hey, do you want some tea before you go? Although, I guess the Maid would make it for you.”

“Most likely, but I feel bad calling them for every little thing. I can make the tea.”

“No, you sit down. You’re the leader, and that’s a lot of work.” Igarashi went around behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders. Her touch seemed natural, and her gentle tone sounded nice, both easily putting me in a good mood.

“W-well…then. Since I’m your replacement Maid…,” she said.

“Uh… Igarashi?”

“I—I would like to offer my apologies… I still haven’t made up for everything I made you do at work.”

“It’s fine; I’m really over it—”

“I won’t feel right if I don’t. You can laugh; just let me do something for you.”

“A-all right. By do something, do you mean make tea?”

This conversation was taking a bit to get anywhere. Theresia had been staring at us for a while, and Igarashi must have felt embarrassed because she was slowly getting redder and redder. Even her ears were bright red now.

Actually, I was a little off. I never could have guessed what Igarashi was actually so embarrassed about until I heard her utter the next few words:

“…I—I will be back shortly with your tea, m-master.”

“…Um, uh, a-all right! I’ll w-wait here!”

I was a bit slow on the uptake. This wasn’t the kind of service I’d expect from Igarashi— Sure, apologies were one thing, but I couldn’t believe she’d act like a Maid while she went to make me tea. I’d be entirely unable to resist if she started teasing me that I didn’t get Maids like this every day.

“Good, you seemed to enjoy that. You’ll have to tell me what you like later, when we have time,” she said and headed toward the kitchen. I stared after her, utterly dumbfounded, trying to figure out who this charming woman was. The change I’d seen in her was so huge that it left me wondering if I even knew her.

Some might say she’s acting coy, but I’m a simple man. I’m just going to enjoy it. I realized Theresia was staring at me, so I adjusted my tie nervously, even though it wasn’t really crooked.

“Theresia, it’s not what you think…,” I told her. “I know you’re probably a bit tired, but d’you want to go take a walk with me?”

“……”

She nodded, but I felt like there was something else she wanted to say.

“What’s wrong? …Oh right, should we choose your skills now?” She nodded again; looks like I guessed right somehow. She gained a level, so there should be more skills she could take. I wanted to take a look at the new skills while we had time.

I pulled out my license and turned the display to show Theresia’s skills. She didn’t have her own license since she was a mercenary before. Instead, her skills showed up on my license.

“You got both attack skills and support skills… Hmm, Double Throw seems good.”

“……”

Both Double Throw and Sneak Attack looked useful, so I decided to take those. Then we could take Shadow Step so she could get away after using a Sneak Attack… But if we were going to take those, then I’d want to take Hide, which could clearly be used in conjunction with Sneak Attack. Now that Sleight of Hand 2 was available, the other option was to take that and Sleight of Hand 1.

“Theresia, could I ask you to be in charge of undoing locks and traps?”

“……”

She seemed most interested in the battle-related skills, but I told her I was thinking of taking three in that area already, and she nodded. We’ll think about Hide again after the next level she gains.

“We’ll need to get you some throwing weapons for Double Throw. I want you to keep the short sword for melee fighting, so it’ll have to be something that’s not too heavy for you to walk around with.”

“……”

If we got some throwing knives, she’d run out after a couple of throws, but Misaki was using her metal dice as practically one-use weapons, and I was having a hard time thinking of anything else. We could strengthen the weapon with magic stones and runes if it was something that came back to her, which would give us more to work with when trying to increase the damage she could do in one go.

“All right, I’m up next…” I changed the display on my license to my skills. I felt like it was a bit unfair if I could look at Theresia’s skills, but I didn’t show her mine, so I decided to let her take a look. The moment I saw the skills, my eyes opened wide in surprise—there were a number of skills that I’d been hoping for.

“……”

Theresia silently pointed to Rearguard General. The rearguard force was often used as the tail of the army during retreats. They’d handle any enemy attacks, and it was a position that often resulted in death. This skill actually resolved one of the major weaknesses of the rearguard job, which was that I was unable to support myself. Obviously, I could use it as the original meaning intended and improve my own abilities such as defense so that I could protect the others while they retreated, though I’d have to see how much it improved my defense before deciding whether or not that was a valid tactic.

Theresia seemed to be suggesting I should take skills that helped me protect myself. She kept her finger firmly on Rearguard General, not moving it a single inch.

“Like always, I just don’t have enough skill points… Anyway, for now, I’ll take Charge Assist just in case. As for Rearguard General…” There were a lot of skills I wanted more than that—Cooperation Support 1, for example. Used properly, that could bring up the entire party’s attack.

“……”

“You really think I should take it…?”

Theresia answered with an emphatic nod. I thought how upset she would be if I took a different skill. She was trying so hard to express herself, even though she couldn’t do it through words, so I couldn’t very well ignore her completely.

“…Okay. I don’t think it’s a rearguard’s duty to put themselves first, but I do want to acquire it sometime.”

Theresia silently pulled her finger back and placed her hands on her knees, and her lizard mask started to turn bright red. I could tell that she was finally catching on that she’d gone out of her way to give me her opinion on my skills.

“To be honest, I’ve been wanting a skill that strengthens me. This one doesn’t do anything if I don’t have any allies, but it does mean I’ll get stronger just by you and the others being in front of me.”

“You have a skill like that…? Your job really does get stronger when you’re in the back,” said Igarashi as she placed a teacup in front of me. Theresia wasn’t good with hot things, so Igarashi had brought her cool tea that’d been brewed earlier.

“Oh yeah, I want to try a skill I just took. Could you stand in front of me with your back toward me?” I asked Igarashi.

“Uh, sure… Like this?”

Give some magic to Igarashi… Charge Assist!

“Ah!”

Magic left my body and combined with Igarashi’s magic to increase it. My magic went down by about a tenth, but Igarashi recovered twice as much as that. Maybe I just had more total magic than her since I was a higher level, but it looked like the amount she recovered was more than what I spent.

“Oh… I felt a bit sluggish, but now I’m not quite as tired. Was that another one of your skills?”

“Yeah. I use my magic to recharge a vanguard’s magic. I can recharge your magic if you don’t have enough magic to use Mirage Step.”

“Erk… That’s what was on your mind when you picked that skill? Am I too reckless…?”

“I took it because evasion is important. Also, I’m just glad you’re feeling better now.”

Igarashi looked like she was going to say something but couldn’t get the words out and instead just went to sit down opposite us.

“…With a guy like him in our party, we’ll have to give this our all, right, Theresia? He’s not gonna make it easy to repay him for everything,” she said.

“……”

“Huh…? You agree, Theresia? Hang on, is Igarashi just that much better at communicating with you…?”

I was shocked. Theresia looked back at me and shared a nod with Igarashi. Guess this was one of those things where you needed to be a woman to understand. It made me a bit jealous, but I was happy to see how comfortable the two seemed to be with each other.