Chapter 178 New Dungeon Exploration (Part 5️⃣)
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Hiroya’s POV)
”Alright, we’ll take turns keeping watch, so you guys can rest easy.”
Liz called out to Gièze, Sister Karina, Lotta, and Noriss.
”No, we’ll join the watch rotation too.”
The serious Gièze said while cleaning up the dishes, appealing to Liz. Sister Karina, who was helping with the cleanup, nodded in agreement.
”You guys handled all the monster clearing in the hall, so it’s better for you to take a good rest here.”
”B-but…”
”There are plenty of us, so it’ll be fine. ──Come on, Hiroya, let’s go clean up!”
Even while trying to convince Gièze and the others, Kazumi was pulling me toward the curtain.
”I’m going too! ──Liz, Dorothy, and Martina will take the first watch. Rena, Kazumi, and I will take over after that!”
”Got it! Alright, everyone else besides us, go wash up and change.”
With Liz’s voice behind us, we stepped behind the curtain.
* * *
”Well, it is the first floor, and with this many people, we’re not sweating as much as you’d think.”
Kazumi soaked a towel in warm water she prepared with magic in a leather bucket, and Rena and Kazumi started wiping my back.
”Thanks. Just my back is fine.”
”What are you talking about? It’s a wife’s job to wash her husband’s body. Right, Rena?”
”That’s right, Hiroya. I will wipe you down completely.”
”…Got it.”
I let them wipe me down all over while I only wiped their backs in return.
* * *
”…So, what do you think? How’s Gièze’s swordsmanship?”
Kazumi asked as I lay wrapped in my sleeping bag in the corner of the hall.
”Yeah. I’ve only been taught the basic moves so far, but I think I’m doing pretty well since I’m naturally fast with the sword and my movements are good.”
”Karina has protection and healing magic, Lotta is for attack, and Noriss is the thief… If Gorge and Asuka join us, we should be able to explore this dungeon just fine.”
Rena snuggles into her sleeping bag next to me.
”I see. Once we finish exploring this dungeon… maybe I can leave the lower floors to you guys…”
”Right. We can dive deep ourselves.”
Kazumi seems to be getting sleepy, her replies are getting shorter.
”…I’m going to sleep now. I have to wake up soon…”
”Yeah. Goodnight, Kazumi.”
”Mm…”
Alright, I gave Kazumi’s pouting lips a light kiss.
──chu♡
”Thanks──goodnight, Hiroya…”
”Rena is going to sleep too. Mm…”
Alright.
──chu♡
”Mm♡ goodnight, Hiroya.”
”Goodnight, Rena.”
With my childhood friends Rena and Kazumi close by, I tucked myself into my sleeping bag.
* * *
(Aluda’s POV)
”Oh, Hiro is already asleep…”
”Aluda, did you want a goodnight kiss or something?”
I wiped my body and made my way to where Hiro and the others were sleeping──only to find all 3 of them already out cold.
Feeling a bit disappointed, I turned around to see Eluda grinning while looking at Aluda.
”Eluda! I-I didn’t mean it like that!”
”Come on, it’s fine even if you’re embarrassed. You guys are dating now, right? Just go for it!”
Meluda came over too, whispering encouragement.
(…Is it okay to do this while they’re sleeping?)
Even with that thought, I still wanted to kiss him. Following Meluda’s lead, Aluda gently pressed her lips against Hiro’s cute sleeping lips.
”Ah♡ you really did it♡.”
”How nice♡ I want Hiro to do that to me someday too.”
”Stop making noise already. You’ll wake them up.”
I could feel my face getting hot, and I tried to hide it as I crawled into the sleeping bag next to Rena.
”Being in a relationship really is nice.”
”Yeah. I’m jealous. Eluda has already made up her mind, so I’ll confess to Hiro soon.”
”Really, Eluda!? …Meluda still doesn’t really know. I think Hiro is nice, but…”
Listening to the quiet conversation between Eluda and Meluda, Aluda drifted off to sleep with a flushed face…
* * *
(Liz’s POV)
”Gièze, you guys should go to bed soon, okay? After us, it’s Hiroya and the others, then Aluda’s group, and finally Asuka and Gorge. That should be enough to keep things going until morning.”
”Resting when you can is an important job for those who fight.”
Asuka, who had gone to wipe her body, murmured this as if to no one in particular, passing by us.
”That’s right. I’ll take a rest first then. Keep an eye out for me.”
Gorge said that and followed after Asuka.
”…Understood. I’ll take you up on that offer.”
”Please rest well. I think you’re more tired than you realize.”
Dorothy gently spoke to Gièze, who still looked unconvinced.
”Noriss has been on edge and fighting hard too, so make sure to get some good sleep, okay?”
”Got it! Thanks for tomorrow too!”
Noriss replied cheerfully to Martina’s caring words.
(He really respect her, huh…)
Well, having Martina, who was called a ‘genius in the Thief course’ at the training center, guide him is such a blessing for a rookie Thief.
”S-so, we’ll wipe our bodies too… and then, we’ll go to sleep…”
”Guard duty, thanks in advance.”
Karina and Lotta bowed their heads and walked toward the back.
* * *
”Those kids are really doing their best. When I was just starting out, I was way more scatterbrained.”
”Since they’re diving into dungeons with senior adventurers, they’re probably desperate to absorb something and grow more.”
Dorothy watched Gièze and the others with kind eyes.
”Yeah. They’re reliable folks.”
* * *
”So, what do you think? How’s the floor of this first floor?”
I asked Dorothy. Next to me, Martina was summarizing the route we had covered today on paper.
”Ms. Gièze is rank D, Ms. Karina is rank E, Noriss and Ms. Lotta are rank F. It feels a bit tough with just these 4, doesn’t it? …We definitely seem short on numbers compared to the monsters.”
”Yeah. I thought the same. If we had 2 more fighters around rank F or E, it wouldn’t be a problem.”
”And… we definitely need a Porter. Considering we have to collect magic stones and loot…”
”Right. I think having a Thief is just as essential.”
To sum it up──
- A party of at least 6 with a balanced mix around rank E.
- A Thief is a must.
- A Porter is also a must.
”Also… sourcing food locally is impossible…”
”──It’s not like there are wild rabbits or wild boars around, and besides, we’d just get ‘eaten by the dungeon’ anyway. We need to add that to the list.”
Yeah. That seems to be the conditions for the first floor.
* * *
”Big Sister Liz, Doro-Doro, can you take a look at this?”
Martina spread out the map she had made for us.
”──This is what we’ve covered so far… assuming the floor is rectangular, we’ve probably explored about 2-thirds of it. And──.”
Looking at the parts she marked on the map, it indeed seemed like the floor was rectangular. The remaining one-third, the southeastern part, was blank.
”I think there’s probably a staircase or a pit leading down to the lower floor around here.”
Martina pointed to the southeastern edge of the blank area.
”…We should be able to reach there by tomorrow morning.”
Dorothy smiled brightly.
”I’ll finish preparing breakfast for tomorrow, then I will wipe down and go to sleep.”
Suu came over with some tea.
”Thanks, Suu. Make sure to rest well.”
”Yes. Good night.”
Bowing slightly, I dashed behind the curtain.
* * *
”But, you know… if the first floor is this big──.”
As I pointed at Martina’s map, Dorothy and Martina’s expressions tightened as if they suddenly realized something.
”Right──.”
”Exactly──.”
This dungeon, said to stretch all the way to the Raetia Mountains… how many floors does it have…
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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