Volume 2 Chapter 8 Expected Top Pass
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Finally, the fifth group, led by Serena, appeared at the entrance of the Dungeon.
But──.
”Ugh, my… legs…, my toes…”
”──! Medical team! We have an injured person! Hurry and attend to him!”
Irina, the head receptionist who was in charge in place of Friedrich, shouted loudly.
The trio of Serena was in a far more serious condition than the groups that had finished before them.
Serena and the magician were covered in blood.
The mohawk swordsman had lost all the toes on his right foot and fingers on his right hand.
”Stay strong, keep your spirits up!”
Serena called out to the mohawk man, who was crying.
The female magician, who was supporting him from the other side, snapped at the healers from the Guild who rushed over.
”What the hell is going on! I didn’t hear that the boss was the Rank 7 Shield Cain! This is supposed to be a promotion exam to Rank 8, right!? How could this happen…! If it weren’t for Ms. Serena, we would all be dead!”
”You drew the short straw.”
A magician staff member approached and said to them.
”Adventurers need luck too. You drew the strongest boss monster for this exam, which is a real ‘bad luck.’ Normally, you would have faced just a single ‘Rain Wraith’ with average luck. If you were really lucky, you would have only had to deal with 3 goblins.”
”That’s unreasonable!”
The female magician shouted, tears streaming down her face.
”I broke my grandmother’s staff…! That staff was the only magical equipment my grandmother left me…! I can’t replace it!”
”My leg… I don’t have my leg. Hey, you, I don’t have my fingers either. Do you know where they are…?”
”Was the exam content appropriate?”
Serena looked up at the magician staff member with her blue eyes blazing.
The male staff member nodded.
”After all, you somehow managed to come back alive, right? I was monitoring you with a familiar, and that man over there was distracted in the labyrinth, while that female magician was frozen in fear in front of the boss. In a real battle, they would have died. Consider it a mercy that I had Shield Cain weakened beforehand.”
”……!”
”That’s outrageous! My staff was broken!? Considering the money needed for the qualification certificate, I can’t buy a weapon, what am I supposed to do!? Compensate me!”
”That’s your own responsibility. When you rank up to Lower-rank, you can have a magic language engraved on your weapon along with your qualification certificate. For free, too. You’re a magician, but as a temporary measure, you can have something engraved on a suitable knife. Save up some money while doing scouting for a while.”
”That’s terrible!”
The female magician gritted her teeth at the staff member’s indifferent demeanor.
However, seeing the man who had lost his leg and fingers, she seemed unable to bite back any further.
Serena gently patted the shoulder of the weeping female magician, who was slumped over and sobbing.
”Serena”
”Ah… Kian. You finished first, huh? …Well, that makes sense. It’s been a while since the exam started.”
”Are you okay? You’re covered in blood.”
”Ah, this is mostly just blood from the battle… I should really take a bath for hygiene’s sake, but that’s about it. The ones who aren’t okay are those people.”
Serena turned to look at the weeping female magician and the mohawk swordsman who had lost his legs and fingers.
She bit her lip tightly.
”…I couldn’t do anything again. I put my teammates in a terrible situation. If only I were stronger.”
”It’s not your fault.”
He said this in a hushed voice.
Serena shook her head.
”No, because… if it had been Kian who joined their party instead of me, it surely wouldn’t have turned out like this. There could have been a different ending… Just being able to swing a sword well isn’t enough… I keep repeating the same mistakes.”
”Serena…”
’I think anyone can get hurt, no matter who they team up with…’
(‘Glasses’, you’re right. Worrying about others isn’t something I should do unless it’s my job.)
Kian nodded once and spoke to Serena in the brightest voice he could muster.
”Anyway, good job on the exam, Serena! As promised, let’s drink at ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn.’ Today, it’s on me.”
”Uh, okay.”
”Should we invite that female magician too?”
”I don’t think it’s the right atmosphere to invite her…”
”Yeah, you’re right. Let’s leave her be. She needs time to sort out her feelings.”
”Okay.”
”Wait here. I’ll go get some water from outside. We need to deal with that blood before you can walk around town.”
”Thanks, Kian.”
Kian replied “Don’t worry about it” to Serena, who murmured apologetically, and then he left the Catacombs after informing the staff.
It was already dusk outside.
Having spent so long in the dim light, his sense of time was becoming distorted.
Kian drew water from the well behind the Guild, filled a leather bag with it, and returned to the Catacombs.
* * *
After quickly washing off, they headed to ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn’ on central street with Serena.
The sun had completely set, and the main street was bustling with adventurers returning from their hunts, looking for a place to eat.
The atmosphere was bright and cheerful.
Amidst this, Kian walked alongside Serena, who hadn’t said a word.
Without realizing it, Kian had taken her hand to keep her from getting lost in her thoughts.
He did this to ensure he wouldn’t lose her, as she kept her head down.
”…Kian.”
As they arrived in front of the tavern ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn’, Serena suddenly tightened her grip on his hand.
”What is it?”
”Thank you.”
The usually cool girl smiled faintly.
Recently, Serena’s smile has become less of a rarity.
”Did I do something?”
”Nothing special… But that makes me happy.”
”I see.”
”Hehe.”
Serena walked alongside Kian and intertwined her arm with his.
It felt as if her modest chest was pressing against him.
They were very close together──.
’There is a bulge in your groin.’
(Forgive me…)
Recalling her lewd behavior from the night before, Kian couldn’t help but react as a man.
As Kian felt like a nervous virgin, he suddenly spotted a crowd up ahead on the street.
They were about to reach ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn.’
It wasn’t unusual for the area with the taverns to be bustling, but today it seemed there were more adventurers than usual.
The front of the tavern was in a major traffic jam.
It looked as if some kind of spectacle was taking place.
”I wonder what’s going on?”
Unconsciously, Serena leaned forward, pressing her chest against Kian’s arm as she peered at the crowd.
When Kian exclaimed, “H-Hey,” she seemed to realize how close they were and exclaimed, “Ah!” as she pulled her arm away.
Her face was bright red.
”Sh-Should we take a look?”
”Yeah…”
Serena nodded with a shy expression as she said that.
Thinking that they were acting like an innocent couple, Kian stretched up from behind the crowd.
He looked through the men who were leaking creepy laughter, peering into the depths of the crowd.
Kian entered the place, which was obviously a tavern as indicated by the sign above, and saw the waitresses bustling about, attending to customers.
But then, he let out a foolish sound “Huh…” as he noticed something unusual.
”What is it?”
Serena, with her light blue eyes, looked up at him curiously.
Kian looked down at her, bewildered, and muttered,
”The waitresses… they’re all in their underwear.”
”Huh?”
Serena froze for a moment, her smile unchanged.
Kian blinked and tried to get a better view of the inside through the gaps between the men’s shoulders.
”Welcome!”
”Hehehe…”
”Hey, don’t touch my butt!”
(What’s going on here?)
Kian looked down at Serena again, his face filled with confusion.
”Definitely. All the waitresses inside are wearing very revealing outfits, almost like underwear. Are those swimsuits?”
”What?”
Serena murmured with a puzzled expression, then said, “Let me borrow your shoulder for a sec,” and hopped onto Kian’s back.
”Hey, wait!”
”Don’t move.”
With that, Serena placed her thighs on Kian’s shoulders, enveloping his ears with their soft yet firm flesh.
His head felt unusually hot, probably from being in close contact with Serena’s private area.
”No way…”
Serena, being given a shoulder ride by Kian, leaned over and muttered that.
According to Kian, that was actually what he was supposed to say.
Even though they were friends, a shoulder ride in shorts was risky.
Although she might think it was fine since she wasn’t in a skirt, it was still risky.
Serena looked down at Kian and muttered in disbelief.
”Really, a girl is serving in a swimsuit…”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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