Chapter 86 - Chapter 86: Retreat Battle
We came deep into the dungeon to search for and rescue Iroha's younger sister.
We successfully found and rescued the mole group, but the survivors are exhausted.
There are four of them: Kagari, my younger sister, and three men.
It seems there were two others, but they were killed by monsters.
We picked up items in the first room, but they undoubtedly belonged to the adventurers who were guarding the moles.
It's a pity, but we will use the picked-up items meaningfully.
That is the way of the dungeon.
Everyone is quite exhausted and needs rest, but this is an irregular deep dungeon.
We don't know what will happen.
For now, we decided to head for the safe zone on Floor 6.
"Hee hee!" "Hee hee!"
We started our return journey, but immediately encountered monsters.
We were surrounded by Wraiths.
"Ugh, Wraiths are just fodder -- leave it to me!"
Iroha charged into the enemy swarm and began slicing through the white mist.
"The mages should be out of mana. We don't know what will happen, so conserve your energy."
The Princess's orders flew out.
This attack revealed her terrible sense of direction, but her combat commands were accurate and reliable.
"Yes!"
The corridor is narrow, so there are no attacks from the sides.
Only front and back.
Since the Princess and Iroha are in front, I will guard the rear.
"Hee hee!"
"Here they come!"
It's easy to do, but even if I defeat Wraiths, it doesn't affect my level anymore.
It would be better to let Sana and Koeda do this for experience points.
If it gets dangerous, I'll provide support.
"Eek!"
Koeda is scared.
She always fights at long range using magic.
Mages don't really engage in close combat.
"Sana! Do it!"
"Y-yes! Eeeeh!"
The staff she swung struck the approaching Wraiths directly.
"Gyaah!"
Shouting with flashes of light, the monsters scattered.
I tried it myself and realized -- Sana's staff looks like a magic staff at first glance, but it's actually a blunt weapon.
And with her Luck parameter, it seems to produce critical hits excessively.
"Great, a perfect hit! Sana, you can handle close combat too."
"I-I'll do my best!"
She met the four charging Wraiths one by one.
"Go for it!"
"Eeeeh!"
The staff she swung hit the monsters continuously.
It's normally amazing.
"Gyaah!"
The monsters returned to nothing easily.
"Eh? Isn't that amazing?"
It was so amazing that even the Empress let out a voice.
She's good enough to be an attacker.
Probably, the secret to her rapid rank-ups is this.
The battle ended safely.
"Darling! Hey, aren't you being too partial to that woman?!"
"That's not true? For rear guard defense, it's just me and Sana fighting."
"W-well, I can't do close combat like that~"
Koeda is looking a bit teary-eyed.
"Here."
"Grrr... s-so if I become weak, Darling will protect me, right?"
"Well, yes, but is that okay? Hey, Kaorulko."
"Sakurako-sama -- right now, you have the status of top-ranked dungeon conqueror, but giving that up means your rivals will increase instantly."
"Ugh!"
"That's right! It means I can take Darling too, hahaha."
"Not happening!"
The Princess swung her sword wildly and moved slightly ahead.
"W-wow, amazing." "Is this a top-rankeder?" "Yeah."
"As expected, Big Sister!"
Seeing her sister's cool performance, the younger sister is happy too.
Iroha will be satisfied seeing her good side to her sister.
Then she flexed her muscles and came to me.
"Darling, I'm hungry! Give me something to eat!"
"Well -- how about sausage mayo bread?"
"Good! Give me four!"
"Two is enough."
"Four!"
Well, I know the joke, but she doesn't seem to know and just replied normally.
Eating while walking.
Since there aren't four sausage breads, I gave her that kind of bread, and she opened her mouth wide and took a bite.
She finished one bread in about three bites.
"Darling, give me some too."
This time it was the Princess, and I gave her a meat cutlet bread.
"What is this? Hamburger?"
It seems she has never eaten a meat cutlet.
"Well, it's something fried like a hamburger."
"I see --"
She held the bread firmly with both hands, opened her lips wide, and took a powerful bite.
Her cheeks puffed up slightly, and a tiny bit of sauce clung to the corner of her lips.
Normally, this way of eating would be considered "a bit vulgar," but her dignified face and glossy hair turn everything into an artistic moment.
After taking the bite, she suddenly looked at me, lightly wiped her mouth, and showed an innocent smile.
Even unconscious gestures make a perfect picture; this must be the definitive difference between those born with it and ordinary people like me.
"Will your sister eat too?"
I offered her bread as well.
"Is that okay?!"
"Did you eat a calorie bar earlier? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!"
"Here."
"Yay!"
She happily accepted the bread.
Her gesture seems to still retain some childishness.
"Darling, don't spoil Kagari too much."
"It's fine!"
"You shouldn't say that!"
Kagari easily dodged her older sister's punch.
"Haha, just like Mother."
"We only have Big Sister and me..."
"If you talk about two sisters, Sana also has her and her younger sister."
"What! Is that so! Just like us!"
Since they are in the same situation, Iroha's favorability toward Sana seems to have increased.
"No, we also have a grandfather..."
"Your grandfather isn't old enough to work, so Sana has to earn money for your grandfather too."
"I see, that's tough... If you have any trouble, you can ask me anytime."
"Thank you."
Sana bowed politely.
"Such a good girl! I can see why Darling is taking care of her."
"Haha, well."
"Grrr..."
The Princess looks dissatisfied, but setting that aside -- we give bread to the men too.
"They don't need that kind of thing..."
Kagari looks dissatisfied.
"If they get exhausted on the way and become a hindrance, it's troublesome."
"In that case, just leave them in the dungeon."
Iroha says cold things too.
"Please! Don't say such things! Take us to the surface!"
"Well, if we were left here, we couldn't return. Once we encounter a monster, it's over."
"If we meet the Labyrinth Cult, we'll be captured, modified into monsters, and it's over, hahaha!"
Iroha says terrible things while laughing loudly.
"That's terrible!"
"No, seriously -- didn't you hear the rumors on the net about what happened to the Dancing Darkness executives?"
"..."
The men nodded silently while eating bread.
"Sana fought too, so eat bread."
"Y-yes."
I hand her the bread.
"What about the other mages? If they want to eat, they can eat."
"Then, I will take a little."
"It's been quite a while since we went underground."
"Yes."
We gave rice balls to the two, and then Iroha joined in.
"Koeda, it's dangerous to be in a state of starvation in the dungeon."
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Did Iroha have that experience?"
"Yeah, the battle dragged on a bit, and I had no time to eat."
According to her story -- when you exceed your limits, you are attacked by the sensation of your body disappearing rapidly.
"That's probably because your body is digesting itself to rapidly exchange it for energy."
"When we were thrown to the deep layers, just before meeting Daisuke-san, it was like that."
Back then, the Princess and Kaorulko were truly in a dangerous state.
"High-level adventurers have great power, but their energy consumption is huge -- truly a double-edged sword."
"I think so too."
"Thinking about it, Darling's Item Box is a cheat within a cheat."
The Princess muttered.
"Well, I think so too."
While talking, we proceed down the corridor.
Am I being a bit too careless?
-- I was thinking that, but we arrived at the room where we first descended without any issues.
"What is this?!"
Kagari shouted, looking at the scaffolding installed under the hole opened in the ceiling.
"It's the scaffolding I brought. It was broken by a monster attack, so I was going to throw it away, but it turned out useful in this place."
"Eeeeh? It's really a cheat, Big Sister."
Kagari looked up at the scaffolding stretching upwards.
"Daisuke-san! Someone is coming!"
We were all looking up, but only Sana, who was guarding the rear, shouted.
"What?! Damn! I was careless!"
Everyone turned around and raised their weapons.
In the darkness, the air was cold and heavy, and every breath felt like the coldness pierced the lungs.
There was not a single ray of light around, the darkness swallowed everything, and even sounds seemed to be absorbed.
Amidst this, a vague outline appeared from afar.
A figure wrapped in a long robe -- no, it was hard to call it human, a creepy existence.
In the center of the robe, pale skin shone.
It was abnormally pale and cold, holding a creepy luster devoid of blood.
"The Labyrinth Cult!" "They're here!"
The Princess and Iroha shouted.
Yes, we already knew that.
At the same time, a feeling of anger rose up, shouting "Stop it already!"
"Gyah!" "H-help me!"
"Stop making such a racket!"
The moles were noisy and being hit by Iroha.
To anyone seeing a naked woman appearing in the strange space of the dungeon, I knew what it was and attacked without hesitation.
"Summon Debris!"
Huge scaffolding debris appeared above the woman's head and attacked from above.
The woman seemed surprised by the sudden attack with no mana detected, but as expected --
She seemed to have instantly activated defensive magic -- Protection.
A transparent wall blocked the debris falling under gravity.
"Compressed Light Bullet! Strike my enemy! Magic Missile!"
Responding to my attack, two light bullets were fired.
Light bullets compressed sharply like needles drew lines in the darkness, hitting both sides of the enemy's abdomen.
Thin like tendons, but the power was sufficient.
Blowing off the enemy's abdomen, the defensive magic supporting the debris disappeared, and the debris fell and crushed it.
"Great!" "Ooh!"
This definitely finished it.
Is the conflict with the Labyrinth Cult, built up with grudges, finally ending today?
"Nice combination!"
"Leave it to us." "We did it!"
Kaorulko and Sana's timing was perfect.
We carefully approached the debris to confirm the woman's corpse.
Even if near death, there's a possibility she might use magic in her final breath.
"Hm?"
Since it's scaffolding debris, it's full of gaps.
If it were crushed, we would know immediately -- but it wasn't there.
"Hey, it's not there?!"
Iroha raised her voice.
"She escaped at the moment of being crushed..."
The Princess stared intently at the debris.
The fact that there was no actual corpse meant her guess was correct.
"Ah, let it escape again? I wish you'd stop it already!"
"Darling is right. If those wounds heal, they will target other adventurers again."
"But, the fact that that woman appeared on this floor means she can move to any floor in the dungeon."
"That means she can go to floors we haven't found either?"
Kagari raised her voice.
"Probably."
"Then -- even if we dig a hole and find a new floor, maybe the Labyrinth Cult has already taken the treasure..."
"There is a possibility."
"Damn it, do something about it, Big Sister!"
"If I could do something, I would have done it long ago!"
"Because there are many victims."
Well, the Labyrinth Cult targets adventurers coming to the deep layers and children in the dungeon.
I think it doesn't affect adventurers earning daily wages in the shallow layers...
Children also seem harder to secure now that the Dancing Darkness, their collaborators, are gone.
But guilds blinded by rare items might appear and cooperate with the Labyrinth Cult.
We succeeded in intercepting the enemy and started climbing the scaffolding connected to the upper floor.
"Watch the surroundings below."
Iroha climbed up first.
"Leave it."
I will serve as the rearguard.
For now, I take out that sword that creates lightning from the Item Box and fill it with mana.
This prepares me to cast magic anytime.
If I put it in the Item Box, it won't explode or lose mana.
The Item Box is really too convenient.
"By the way, the Harpies aren't here. As expected, they couldn't enter the hole connected here."
They probably know that once they come in, they can't return.
They seem quite smart.
While waiting for everyone to climb the scaffolding, the air in the room grew cold.
"Hey, they're here! Climb up quickly!"
"Eek!" "Wait!"
The men were flustered.
"Don't panic, hurry!"
The Princess's orders flew out.
"Hee hee" "Hee hee"
What appeared in the room was a swarm of Wraiths, but that wasn't all.
"Mwooo!"
Even the Lich, who could be called their leader, made an appearance.
So, the Lich on this floor is not a mid-boss or anything, just a normal enemy.
"It's a Lich!"
"Kagari, climb up quickly!"
Kagari was pushed by Iroha.
"But, that old man!"
"Darling will be fine."
"B-but!"
"Climb up quickly!"
I raised the mana-charged sword above my head.
"Take this! Namu Thunder!"
Responding to my voice -- in the dark room, a space dominated by silent stillness, light suddenly appeared.
The flash twisted not in a straight line but like intertwined chains, describing complex trajectories while tearing through the darkness.
The lightning strike moved as if alive, circulating through the room while emitting pale blue light.
Attacks slaughtered the Wraiths one by one, and finally hit the Lich.
"Gyaah!"
The light hitting the enemy flickered intensely as if rejecting the darkness, dragging out shadows clinging to the walls and ceiling.
Taking considerable damage, the Lich stopped moving.
"Chance! Here!"
I jumped and slashed the glowing blade in my hand at the enemy.
"Gwaaah!"
With a flash illuminating the room like midday, the Lich disappeared.
At the same time, a treasure chest surrounded by a golden frame fell down, making a glass-ringing sound.
I stored that box in the Item Box.
I returned to dance down below everyone.
"Old man, amazing!"
"See, Darling is fine, right?"
"Amazing, Big Sister!"
"Since I fell for him, it's natural to be amazing, right?"
Eh? I thought it was just a plan to have children, but is she serious?
Well, an old man like me being popular with beauties is the pinnacle of manhood.
The Princess didn't seem to react to Iroha's words.
She reacted strongly to Sana's attitude, but I don't understand the meaning.
More importantly, escaping from here comes first.
"Climb up quickly! Enemies might spawn!"
"Yes, hurry."
"Eek!"
Even though there is scaffolding, it seems difficult to dive into the hole in the ceiling.
Should I bring out a ladder?
I took out an aluminum ladder from the Item Box and handed it to Iroha, who was above.
"You might want to use this."
"Oh, Darling, thank you!"
As expected, setting up the ladder made it smooth to climb, and the withdrawal was completed immediately.
Checking the surroundings, I, the rearguard, jumped onto the scaffolding and ran up the ladder.
Finally, I retrieved the ladder.
"Okay, climb up, climb up!"
"Eek!"
The men are only screaming.
In contrast, the women are tough.
I will serve as the rearguard as is, but Koeda is in front of my eyes.
I can climb up with a slight crouch, so there's no need to crawl on all fours.
Everyone holds the rope lowered into the hole and climbs up.
Having a rope makes it easier to climb.
Even if my feet slip, it should prevent a fall.
"Haa~ if Darling had the Item Box, digging holes in the dungeon would go faster."
"Hey hey, even your sister calls you Darling."
"Just call me Kagari."
"Well, we might meet in the dungeon from now on, so nice to meet you."
Everyone climbs up inside the hole.
I, the rearguard, move forward while guarding the rear, but monsters might still spawn in this hole.
My worry did not come true, and we arrived at Floor 6.
"W-we did it!" "W-we're saved!" "Ugh..."
"Hey hey, you're too early. This is right in the middle of Floor 6."
We pull up and retrieve the rope.
"This hole is too dangerous, so we should stop using it."
"But, monsters spawn on Floor 6 and above? For leveling up more than before, it's necessary, right?"
Iroha seems to want to use this hole.
Well, I understood the structure, and I know where we encounter enemies.
There don't seem to be traps either.
"If we can't reach Floor 7, we have no choice but to use this..."
The Princess also seems interested in this hole.
She leveled up quite a bit, but if she doesn't fight on higher-level floors, her level will gradually drop.
"That Floor 7, Princess."
Looking at Kagari's pickaxe ability, I thought of something.
"What is it, Darling."
"With Kagari's pickaxe, Floor 7 might be conquerable."
"Digging a hole? That would connect to another place."
"No, I'll widen the hole in the ceiling sideways. If it reaches Floor 7's wall, don't you think we can get in?"
I had such a delusion before, but with Kagari's pickaxe, it might become reality.
"..."
The Princess stood still at my words.
"Can't you imagine it?"
"I see!"
"Pyaa!"
She suddenly shouted loudly, so Koeda was startled and jumped up.
"That sounds interesting!"
"Right?"
"Hey hey, include me too."
Iroha joined in.
"If we make a hole in Floor 7's wall, we won't need to use dangerous scaffolding."
"There's no worry of things being absorbed by the dungeon..."
"That's how it is."
While talking excitedly about the conquest method for Floor 7 --
"Fuuhaaa..."
Koeda let out a big yawn.
"Oh, we've been underground for quite a while."
Hearing my words, Kaorulko checked her analog watch.
"It's morning now, around 7 o'clock."
"Oh, we stayed up all night."
High-level adventurers can stay up all night as long as they eat.
The unlimited one-on-one match with the Princess can go on forever if they eat...
How terrifying adventurers are.
"Princess, shall we return to the surface all at once? Or take a nap in the safe zone?"
"Take a nap in the safe zone."
With the Princess's quick decision -- we headed for the safe zone on Floor 6.
Since we are still in the middle of Floor 6, the possibility of encountering monsters is high.
"Gya! Gya!" "Gyah!"
"Oh, Harpies."
"Eh?! Harpies?! Is this bad?!"
Kagari reacted to my words.
"Ah, probably fine."
The Harpies landed near me immediately.
Gigi and Chichi.
"Gya!"
The two landed on my shoulder and head.
"Haha, as expected, you two didn't enter that hole either."
I give them food.
"Eeeee!!? Why are the Harpies tamed?!"
"These kids are tamed for some reason. Maybe because I give them food."
"I can't believe it~"
"They also guide us through the dungeon. They are good kids. We were helped many times."
"Darling is right."
Iroha doesn't seem to think badly of the Harpies...
"...Yeah."
The Princess reluctantly admitted it.
You don't have to dislike them that much.
Guided by the Harpies, we arrived at the safe zone on Floor 6 without getting lost.
Luckily, there were no encounters with enemies either.
We got lucky.