The adventure was going well, and the
party's rank had risen from Lower-Intermediate to Intermediate-Intermediate.
And taking advantage of this, the party was visiting a new dungeon.
「I'll lead the way, Al and Mil in the
middle. And Shinji will be at the back」
「「「Understand」」」
Renka started leading the way. Shinji
also calls Freri, his contracted flower's spirit, on his shoulder and entrusts
her to guard the rear. Alvin and Milis also started walking with a nervous look
on their faces.
When the monsters in the dungeon are
defeated, they disappear and drop an energy crystal called “Magic Stones”. The stronger the monster, the more
energy it will drop, but the weight tends to increase in proportion. If the
stones are exposed to the open air for too long, the energy will drain out, so
a special bag is provided for collecting them, and only one person can carry
them. Therefore, it is important to decide who will carry the magic stone.
**a
「Shinji, are you sure you want to
handle this?」
「I don't mind. I mean, it's more
reasonable for a ranger to move quickly than a wizard on the battle」
When Renka is about to take the bag,
Shinji stopped her. After Shinji explained his logic, Renka decided to leave
the bag to him.
Until now, when Shinji was not
around, Renka had been carrying the bag. If she gives it to Alvin, who is in
the vanguard, the weight of the bag will interfere with his movements, and
Renka herself has rejected the idea of letting the younger Milis carry it.
「Honestly, it's a big help. After all,
it was a hindrance when shooting」
「Really, Renka? If you don't mind,
I'll carry it too」
「Thank you, Renka-chan... I'm sorry I
didn’t considerate you」
「You're the vanguard, Al, you can't be
too heavy! And Mil, it's okay, I didn't want you to carry it」
Shinji's impression after spending a
week with her was that Renka often took the initiative, partly because she was
older than Alvin and Milis. He guessed that she wasn’t used to relying on
others.
「From now on, as friends, you can rely
on me. Of course, I'm counting on you too」
Renka stopped and looked back at
Shinji, who spoke in a light tone. Renka's expression was one of embarrassment
and happiness, a smile that was hard to describe.
「You're right, we are friends. I'm
counting on you, too」
With that, she turned and started
walking forward again. Her pace slightly quickened.
「She is embarassed」
「Renka-chan... you're so cute」
「Come on, you two. It's not good to
get too far apart. Let's move on」
Shinji urged Alvin and Milis to move
on, who were whispering to each other. Their response is calm, and even Alvin,
who was trying to make fun of Renka, calmed down. Milis felt that it was very
mature of him to say something that made people embarrassed in a normal state
of mind.
* * *
「Let's take a break」
When the monsters had been defeated
to some extent, Alvin said so, and all three replied in agreement, gathering in
a corner of the room.
「Shinji-san, how deep are we in the dungeon?」
「It's about 60% of the way there. I
don't think there's anything wrong with the pace if nothing happens. I will
check the bag」
「I see... Al, here's your water and
food」
「Thank you! Mil」
Shinji placed the bag in the middle
of the gathered people. Alvin rechecked the contents of the bag, while Milis
prepared water and portable food for everyone. Alvin took the bag and quickly
drank it up and ate it. Renka, on the other hand, did not accept the food, but
continued to look around. So what does Shinji do?
「Renka, you rest first. I'll be on the
watch」
Shinji says that but when he was to
take over the watch, Renka couldn't help but argue with him.
「No. I'll do it」
「You've been moving around more than I
have, haven't you? So, leave it to me」
Renka looked at Shinji, suspecting
that he was just trying to look good. But Shinji is still very normal and
natural. He's not wrong, and Renka's body needs to rest. So, after a few
moments of silence, Renka agreed.
「Then, I'll do it later」
With that, Shinji left the corner of
the room alone.
* * *
「I'm sorry, Renka-chan. I've been
relying on you all this time and I didn't even realize it until now」
When Shinji had left and finished
eating, Milis turned to Renka and apologized. Renka was panicked by this.
「No, it's okay Mil! I was doing it on
my own!」
In fact, without consulting Alvin and
Milis, Renka took the initiative to do the tasks that were hard to notice.
Alvin, too, was unable to use his usual light tone and looked apologetic.
「No, I should have known. I didn't
think anything of it because Renka took it voluntery, I'm sorry」
「Even Al... That's enough! Shinji said
he would do it for me from now on!」
The two of them nodded in agreement
to the words that came out of the panicked Renka.
「Well, I'll do what I can to help」
「Shinji-san, you're an adult. You're
very caring... thanks to you, I realized that I've left a burden to Renka-chan」
「Well... yeah. But, you're not wrong
either」
Sigh… Renka turned away from
them. Seeing that, Alvin felt that Renka had accepted Shinji as a friend from
the bottom of her heart.
- Revised on 29/01/2022 -> Fix some sentence, etc.
