Chapter 97 To the Dungeon
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I slowly wake up, feeling something soft on my lips.
(Hmm… is that… Martina?)
It’s the soft feeling of her plump lips.
(Sigh… so soft…)
I enjoy the feeling for a bit, then she pulls away and licks her lips.
”Big Brother Hiroya, wake up…”
”…Martina? Good morning…”
When I open my eyes, I see Martina smiling down at me, sitting on top of my blanket.
”Good morning! Everyone is already up!”
”…Thanks. I’ll get up soon.”
”Okay, I’ll go to the other room first!”
Martina jumps off the bed and leaves the bedroom. Seriously, she’s so bold to kiss me while I’m still sleeping. Well, she’s pretty touchy when I’m awake too…
(…I want to held her soon…)
I think about that, probably because of last night’s fun. I shake off those thoughts and sit up.
(Right, I was sleeping in the kitchen area…)
I need to get up quickly; everyone is waiting for me.
”Good morning, young master Hiroya.”
I hurry to get dressed and leave the bedroom, and Ms. Stella hands me a towel.
”Oh, good morning. Ms. Stella, you came!”
”Yes, I’ll be taking care of Ms. Hanna starting today. And young master…”
”?”
”Congratulations!”
”!”
Huh? Is she talking about what I think she is? Wait, how does Ms. Stella know?
Kazumi, Liz, and Dorothy at the table are all grinning.
”Huh? W-What are you talking about?”
”What do you mean? Today is the second day of the Silver Moon, it’s your birthday, young master Hiroya!”
”By the way, I have the same birthday. Happy birthday, Hiroya!”
Kazumi winks at me.
”Happy birthday to both Hiroya and Kazumi!”
”Mr. Hiroya, Ms. Kazumi, congratulations!”
”Big Brother Hiroya, Big Sis Kazumi, happy birthday!”
”Hiroya and Kazumi, happy birthday!”
Even Ms. Hanna smiles and says it.
”Hiroya and Kazumi, happy birthday!”
Liz stands up and starts patting my shoulder.
”…You thought it was about that, right?”
She whispers in my ear with a smirk.
”…I totally forgot about my birthday.”
I reply quietly.
”Thanks, everyone. And Kazumi, happy birthday too! …I’ll go wash my face now.”
I’m happy, but I feel really shy, so I ran to the bathroom.
* * *
After finishing the breakfast that Ms. Stella made, I put on my backpack and head to the stable.
I tie my and Kazumi’s bags to Haya and grab the reins.
By the way, Liz rides a bay horse named Kage, Rena rides a white horse named Shiro, and Martina rides a black horse named Kuro. My horse, Haya, has a pretty simple name compared to the others…
Oh, and since Dorothy couldn’t get her own horse, the innkeeper lent her a chestnut horse.
”Okay, is everyone ready?”
Liz confidently hops onto Kage. At the same time, everyone gets on their own horses. Kazumi is still behind me.
”Let’s head to Aluda’s shop first!”
With Liz’s voice, we set off from the inn at dawn.
”Take care! Everyone, be safe!”
”Leave Ms. Hanna to me! Have a good trip!”
I wave goodbye to Ms. Hanna and Ms. Stella, then kick Haya into a gallop as we ride into the morning light.
* * *
”So, what’s going on here?”
Inside the ‘Blacksmith Freeberry, Razia Village Branch,’ Liz stands with her hands on her hips, looking puzzled at the 3 sisters dressed in leather armor and carrying hammers on their backs.
”Aluda and the others talked late into the night, you know?”
”Yeah! We were deciding who would go with Hiro and the others. It would have been fine with just Eluda…”
”Hey? Sis Eluda is being so stubborn, we can’t decide anything… Meluda is sleepy…”
The 3 sisters are all talking at once, but…
”… So, you couldn’t come to a conclusion, and everyone just decided to go along with it…”
I spoke up for them.
”””Exactly!”””
”… Liz, what are you going to do?”
Rena pokes Liz’s waist armor skirt.
”… If it’s an open field, that’s one thing, but… it’s a dungeon, right? With a big group, we might fall behind against the enemies.”
”Right. The average number of adventurers is about half of this…”
Dorothy calmly says next to Liz.
”Nine… huh…”
That’s definitely a lot. Usually, it’s around 4 or 5 people.
”We’ll definitely be useful!”
”We won’t be a burden!”
”Meluda can even carry stuff if needed!”
The 3 sisters looked like they were about to beg.
”Ugh, fine! I’ll take all of you with me!”
Liz said, pulling at her hair.
”Yay!”
The 3 of them jumped up and down with excitement.
”…So, you all are ready, right?”
”Of course! We loaded everything we need onto the carriage last night!”
”… This is just for this time, okay? I’m only taking the 3 of you.”
Liz’s words made the 3 sisters nod with big smiles.
After a while, Aluda pulled up in a small 2-horse carriage in front of the shop.
Eluda and Meluda hopped on.
”Alright! Let’s go!”
”Let’s go!”
”Well, if you have that much energy, we should be fine…”
Liz laughed as she got on her horse.
”…Are you okay?”
Kazumi asked Liz worriedly from behind me.
”…I’ll think of a plan before we get there.”
Liz smiled wryly.
”I’ll go ahead with Martina and Rena! Aluda and the others will follow in the carriage! Hiroya and Kazumi, Dorothy, you keep an eye out behind the carriage! Got it?”
Everyone replied in their own way.
”Okay! Once we get to the edge of the village, we’ll speed up towards the forest!”
Liz urged her horse, and our journey to ‘Goblin Forest’ began.
Since it was just dawn, the air was cold, and the wind felt sharp against our skin.
I pulled my scarf up to cover my face and adjusted my hood tightly.
”Kazumi, are you okay? Not too cold?”
”I’m fine. I wore a snow wolf fur vest under my cloak, and I have a Flame Stone Warmer too. Plus…”
”What?”
”Hiroya’s back is warm…”
”!”
My face, which had been cold in the morning air, suddenly felt hot.
”My back is warm too. Just hold on tight.”
”Okay.”
We raced across the snowy plains towards the forest.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply