Story 3-9『Progressing Separately』
So far we progressed on a schedule, nothing good would come about from advancing without thinking.
However, now, there were two transfer magic formations in front of us.
Is this a trap? Are we being invited?
"What do we do, Daichi-sama?" (Shuri)
"Let me think for a moment. Fuuko. Can you examine these with『World Retrieval』?" (Daichi)
"… I"m sorry. I already did that, but it had no response. There doesn’t seem to be any cases of this happening in the past." (Fuuko)
"Is that so… don"t worry about it. I didn"t expect there to be anything anyways. It"s not your fault, there"s just not any info at all." (Daichi)
Having cleared this floor, we"re the first to get this far in the dungeon.
That is to say, this is the first time this has been experienced.
"So getting new information is impossible…?" (Daichi)
In that case, there"s no choice but to decide what to do from now on.
Even after looking around again the stairs didn"t appear as expected.
I came back here, with the two things behind me.
Does we capture the dungeon simultaneously by splitting up? Or do we gamble and choose one?
"… Tamaki, which one do you think is good?" (Daichi)
Since she was nearby I asked for her opinion.
"… I wanted you to rely on me, but Katsuragi. You, aren"t you just deliberately entangling me in this?" (Tamaki)
Tamaki looked at me with jittery eyes of suspicion. She was vigilant and suspected me because recently she suffered through something much worse because of me.
"That"s not it. I just thought that you"d make a sound judgement. Because neither Shuri nor Fuuko would deny my choice right now." (Daichi)
I told the last part to her in a whisper near her ear.
Shuri was affected by Fuuko and lost her composure… No, it"s probably better to say that she is just agreeing with everything I say.
Anyhow, the situation was amusing.
For some reason they didn"t want to damage my mood, and are desperate to please me. Even if she didn"t do that I"d be fond of Shuri.
"… Well, I don"t mind it if that"s the case…" (Tamaki)
Though in her place, the advisor role is being taken reluctantly.
"Katsuragi. What is your main goal?" (Tamaki)
"Killing Samejima." (Daichi)
"Right. Then, spending time here is bad. And if we bet on the wrong side it would be bad, and has the potential of returning from this dungeon after capturing it. On the other hand our status values are stupidly high individually, so the demerits of splitting up are low… Do you understand what I"m saying?" (Tamaki)
"To progress separately… right?" (Daichi)
She nodded in satisfaction to by reply. Her explanation was convincing, and the fact was we didn"t have much time.
"Then, we"ll divide into two pairs. A group of two and a group of three…" (Daichi)
"What are you saying? It should be four people and one person." (Tamaki)
"… Tamaki…! For our sake, you are using your body as a scapegoat…!" (Daichi)
"Yeeeeees? You, are you misunderstanding me?" (Tamaki)
"Eh? Didn"t you say you"d bare the burden alone?" (Daichi)
"No! Katsuragi should be alone and us girls in a group of four!" (Tamaki)
It was easy to understand that Tamaki was mad with her *Muki* sound effect. She had an interesting facial expression on.
"I was joking. Could you tell me the reason?" (Daichi)
"Talking like that is bad, Katsuragi. Honestly, it"s not like it particularly matters if you die, so you don"t need a guard. And it won"t be a problem if you take some elixirs." (Tamaki)
"… Well, that is right." (Daichi)
As far as war potential goes, I think that"s the best. If we split into groups of three and two, I would have tried to be with Shuri.
Leadred"s vanguard, Shuri. Tamaki that specializes in ice magic. Fuuko that has the strongest power so long as she has magic.
I think that they wouldn"t lose to the last floor"s boss.
"Then, it"s decided." (Tamaki)
"Yeah, that"s right. Alright everyone listen up. The left and right will be… wait, what"s wrong Shuri? Your cheek is puffed." (Daichi)
"No, it"s nothing… it"s just that I"ve been thinking that you"ve been on good terms with Yui-chan lately… I"m not pouting or anything." (Shuri)
Bothersome. Shuri has been very concerned about her recently. It became especially obvious after Tamaki and Fuuko became companions. Though, it is cute.
Originally, Shuri was like a flower, so seeing her behave like a spoiled child made me happy.
Usually a part of her was subduing her true feelings, and I had hoped that I could see her honest feelings.
"Shuri. It is Shuri that I like." (Daichi)
"… Then, listen to me too." (Shuri)
"However, at the same time this isn"t the time for that. I want to stay together with everyone here forever. For that reason it is necessary to make the right decision. Please understand." (Daichi)
"… …" (Shuri)
Shuri was silent. During the gloomy atmosphere, Fuuka with red cheeks and the red oni that was unable to read the atmosphere snuggled close to me.
"Katsuragi-kun… I"m so happy. To say that you want to be with me forever…" (Fuuko)
"Yeah. But I said everyone?" (Daichi)
"I know… though if we die, we"ll be together forever in the netherworld… fufu." (Fuuko)
"No, because Hero-sama can"t die." (Leadred)
Fuuko felt a chill on her back from Leadred"s accurate tsukkomi.
I burst out unintentionally.
"W-was something funny?" (Tamaki)
"No, my bad my bad. That"s all." (Daichi)
Fuu— I took a deep breath to change my feelings from Katsuragi Daichi the adventurer to Katsuragi Daichi the avenger.
"… Alright. Then, I"ll take the right one you four take the magic formation on the left." (Daichi)
"Ah, can I get the potions and elixirs?" (Tamaki)
"Yeah. Is this good?" (Daichi)
I took all of the potions and half of the elixirs out of the pouch and handed them to Tamaki.
Potions are for Stamina and Magic. Elixirs have a lasting recovery effect on Magic.
With so many of them nothing should be a problem for the girls. There was also something I added for Tamaki to use in an emergency.
"That"s plenty." (Tamaki)
"That so? Tamaki, what time is it now?" (Daichi)
"11:00. We need to advance the schedule. Samejima"s group will be here in an hour." (Tamaki)
It was three floors per hour right? Taking into consideration our speed until now it should be no problem.
"Using this magic formation, we may not be able to return to the previous floor. So, make sure to preserve a suitable body temperature and stay hydrated." (Daichi)
"Are you my mother? I know already. I’ll do it properly." (Tamaki)
"Then, OK. Let"s not waste time." (Daichi)
We divided into two groups and stood at our magic formations.
"I pray that you will fight well." (Leadred)
"… Daichi-sama should also be careful." (Shuri)
"Well then, see you later." (Tamaki)
"It"ll be lonely for you but… endure it." (Fuuko)
As the four got onto the transfer magic formation, they left parting words.
"… I should also get going huh?" (Daichi)
Seeing off Fuuko last, I also drew my sword and jumped onto the magic formation.
"Is everyone alright?" (—)
We were at the entrance to the【Scorching Execution Ground】. Today, I called out to greet my party members.
"I have no problems." (—)
"I"m also ready to go at any time." (—)
Sajima and Kijima that had been here for the dungeon capture since the beginning seemed to be in a rush.
"I"m also good, Hero-sama." (—)
"… I"m also alright." (—)
The woman I got from this area—Arianne had pink hair and a huge chest. The child with light blue short bob hair was Selen. The two people that rushed to me calling me『Hero-sama』nonchalantly on the first day were locals that had my style and face became my women. [TN: Such a run-on. Two women with faces he liked were from local area. They ran to him on first day calling him Hero-sama. They are his now.]
Since then, they have kept me company every night.
Though that still wasn"t enough.
Because I haven"t laid my hands on Sajima.
The girl who reigned over the academy, Sajima Nanami.
Though I thought that she was ordinary, it seems that she was smarter than I thought.
Even though I"ve planned for it to just be the two of use every night, the girl disappears without telling anyone. I wonder if it"s a coincidence. Or maybe on purpose.
Predicting that was very vexing to me. I"ll have to get information about her from Tamaki next time. Because Hamakaze died.
"… Hm? Is there something on my face?" (Nanami)
"Oh, no it"s nothing. Recently, you"ve been in a good mood." (Samejima)
"… Was it easy to figure out?" (Nanami)
"Yeah. Anyone would figure it out from your cheeks." (Samejima)
"Is that so… You know, to tell you the truth… you know, I hope the wish comes true." (Nanami)
"Wish? Claria"s?" (Samejima)
"Claria-sama, huh… I thought she’d told Samejima-kun… I know the truth." (Nanami)
"Na-!?" (Samejima)
Startled, my voice escaped. I looked around in a hurry, but Kijima"s group was talking and didn"t seem to notice my blunder.
"… Hey, you know something like that?" (Samejima)
I asked in a hushed voice so that we wouldn"t be heard. Then, she nodded her head with a *Kokun*.
"Yeah. A wish will be granted if you reach the bottom level of this dungeon…" (Nanami)
"… Is that true?" (Samejima)
"I think there"s no doubt since I heard it directly from Claria-sama. ……Perhaps, you might have noticed, but me being away at night is related to Claria-sama" (Nanami)
Sajima said so with a smile.
It was unbelievable, but it didn"t feel like she was lying. The story made sense. Perhaps, there was a demon king at the bottom of this dungeon.
To begin with I have never heard talk about a demon king appearing since I came to this world. It might be because the demon king is hidden somewhere. In that case, the dungeon is the most likely spot.
Though I suspected its existence, that G.o.ddess did summon us here.
Though I didn"t believe it entirely, it was necessary to capture this dungeon either way.
It was obvious that I was motivated.
"… Sajima. We"ll advance more than usual today!" (Samejima)
"Al—-right!" (Nanami)
Sajima gave her best smile to date in response to my declaration.