“Holy Arrow!”
Light arrows shot out from the tip of the staff, one after another, defeating the Shadow-type monsters!
“Whoa, Clarice! Attacking so suddenly!”
“If you let your guard down, you’ll be absorbed by the Shadow!”
“Huh? Whoa, when did that happen?!”
It seemed they had been approached without me noticing. Nina appeared right behind me and sliced it vertically! I was saved; it’s a good example that you can’t let your guard down and show an opening.
“These kinds of monsters don’t have any presence, do they?”
“They’re gaseous, so even their magic stones are apparently gaseous.”
“That’s why the only reward is experience, right?”
We descended to the 224th floor and continued to defeat a large number of enemies without pause.
“Ah, a new face.”
Although it was larger than the others, it was still a black gas. Its name was apparently “Shadow Force Dimension.” While it might be manageable on its own, the number of surrounding Shadows was unusually high.
“Holy Shower!!”
Clarice raised her Crystal Angel Staff and chanted the special magic attached to it. A rain of light poured down on everyone, and all the Shadows in the current space dissolved and vanished. What incredible power!
“Are you sure about your magic power?”
“Well, enough.”
“Clarice, please don’t push yourself.”
Even though the Hero could use Heal, in a party of three, with a Hero, Hero, and Sage, one should conserve magic power.
(Clarice seems a bit off today.)
Clarice, who was always calm and collected, yet possessed a comforting gentleness, seemed agitated or something. I wonder what the cause is?
“Clarice, what’s wrong?”
Nina asked, as if voicing my thoughts. For now, it seemed no enemies were spawning in the puddles of light, or rather, the aftermath of the Holy Shower.
“…Lord Deles.”
“Yes, Clarice.”
“Lately, haven’t you been sleeping with Lady Nina and Anju-chan often?”
I flinched.
“No, well, it’s because they beg, or something like that.”
“I want you to pay more attention to me too! I’m your fiancée!”
Ah, I’ve made a woman say this much. Nina, who naturally stayed by my side, and Anju-chan, who often wanted to sleep with me, were different. Clarice was too understanding, or rather, always held back so much.
(It was jealousy.)
When I met Nina’s eyes, she nodded.
“Um, Clarice.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s go on a date when I level up.”
“R-really?!”
“Of course! So please cheer up!”
Her face lit up with a smile!
“I’m so happy!”
“W-well then, the enemies are about to…”
“Wait, Deles, something’s dropped.”
Huh? Shadow-type monsters shouldn’t drop anything.
“This is… a Collar of Sub.”
What Nina picked up was undoubtedly the mark of a slave, a collar.
“Whose could it be?”
“If we hand it over to the Adventurer Guild, they should be able to investigate, but it’s relatively new.”
“Did they fail at trying to quickly level up a slave?”
I suddenly felt anxious about the fact that we were fighting with two parties consisting only of slaves.
“They must have made a serious mistake, or perhaps…”
“Or perhaps?”
“They used them as a substitute when things got dangerous.”
Ah, as a shield for their master.
“They’re here.”
I noticed enemies spawning at the sound of Clarice’s voice. We’ll deal with the victims of the slaves later; right now, we need to survive this place.
“Alright, let’s raise Clarice’s level.”
And so, we lost track of time, continuing to defeat enemies.
(Clarice is really fired up!)
—Several hours later—
“… aren’t the enemies’ movements getting faster?”
“No, I think we’re getting slower.”
“We still have room to use Holy Shower, though.”
“Hmm, if Anju were here, we’d want some overall enhancement magic.”
“Understood.”
Anju raised her Velvet Devil Rod! Without chanting, everyone’s strength, speed, and magic power increased!
“Anju! When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
“You finished school?”
“I heard at the Adventurer Guild that you were here.”
“Then, for now, I’ll defeat them without using overall attack magic.”
With that, we became fearless, a perfect party of four. Even though fighting enemies we could instantly die from with one wrong step, we were on a winning streak. About two hours after Anju joined, my stomach timer rang.
“I’m sorry, I guess I’m hungry.”
“If Deles is hungry, we can’t help it.”
“That’s all for today.”
“We’re heading back so easily!”
Without any further ado, we teleported to the rooftop of the Adventurer Guild, then to the ground, avoiding the crowds. Anju’s decision was swift.
“It’s night again.”
“Indeed. Let’s get the reception done quickly.”
“If it takes too long, we can pick up the other slaves.”
Hmm, I wonder. Just explaining shouldn’t take too long, but… As I thought that, there were about four Hero Exclusive Reception desks lined up. Sekki and his Smile Handmade party were there too!
“Let’s talk for a bit.”
“Ah, then I’ll go check on the slaves.”
“You’re going to retrieve them? Roger that.”
“I’ll go too!”
“That’s right, Anju-chan, is that okay with you?”
I asked Clarice for confirmation, which was unusual.
“Yes, have a good trip.”
“Then, Anju-chan.”
“Understood.”
We then used Teleportation to arrive at the rooftop of the East E Adventurer Guild, just the two of us. Looking at my feet, someone was sleeping there. I have no idea how they got up here.
“Oh? Who is it?”
“No, it’s nothing, Anju-chan.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah!”
After descending to the ground, we went to the Brown Slaves first.
“We’re going to retrieve the Deru Deru Ecstasy!”
“I told you, that name!”
Maybe I should just go with that name anyway.
