Chapter 22 (1/2)

I’m really sorry, I’ve made you see an unsightly spectacle」

When I was leaving Lydia’s house, she bowed her head in apology.

From the second floor of the (Arms/flowers shop) her father’s voice could be heard.

「Quickly come back inside–」

「I understand already! Father should just clean up and go to sleep already–! 」

What a good relations.h.i.+p they have.

And to think that just a little while ago they were grappling each other and having an argument.

「Well, I suppose we should head off. What should we do to get there? 」

「Is it better if we teleport?」

「Nn〜 But you don’t know where it is, right? Besides we will stand out too much if we use teleport. Let’s just walk」

We went in accordance with Lydia’s proposal.

The 「Secret Place」Lydia was talking about, seems to be on the other side of the cave at the beach.

It was a place you wouldn’t be able to find with a single glance, the kind where you had to creep in from between a small s.p.a.ce enclosed by rocks.

Lydia said that she used to play around here a lot when she was a child, but, now that she’s all grown up will she be able to squeeze in?

If her height was compared to mine, there would be a considerable difference.

If we are seen walking side by side, it would look like an adult and a child walking together.

Well in reality this was a fact.

「I wasn’t able to attend the merchant’s examination, last year or the year before that, but well, it should be fine!」

「………..Will it really be fine? 」

A touch of anxiety was creeping into me as we walked to the sandy beach, and I realized that the amount of people nearby was slowly increasing in numbers.

In their arms and hands were a bunch of weapons/arms.

They were definitely adventurers.

They were hanging around the front of the beach cavern.

They were lying in wait for the large amount of nippers that were supposed to appear.

Were they worried that the other parties would come to steal their prey? The guys here seemed to be a little bit tense.

「Zeph-kun over here」

Lydia whispered to me as she pulled me into a hidden gra.s.sy place, and just like that we were walking along a different path from the main road.

When we went up the slope, we arrive on top of the beach cavern.

The sea breeze which pa.s.sed by felt really pleasant on my skin.

Were they scrambling to take each other’s prey down there? I could definitely see the adventurers fighting/arguing with each other.

「How foolish……」

「Over here」

I looked down on those that lacked the necessary information, and I was soaking in the conceit of having an advantage when…….

Lydia called out to me, so I followed her.

「We will enter from this hole」

「…….This is quite narrow」

What existed here was truly a small crevice.

If it was me or Mill it was likely we could enter, however, for someone like Lydia, wouldn’t it be really difficult?

「Yeah, I guess it was a good decision to leave my wagon behind」

I don’t think that’s the issue here…

「Well anyways, let’s get going」

As she said such things, she was able to easily slip into the crack.

Inside the darkness, I was getting left behind by Lydia.

「It’s a little bit dark…….」

「Shall I make some light appear?」

「Wait」

I was just about to let out my ability “Red Ball” when Lydia stopped me half way.

「If you make a light using fire magic, it will be too bright. We will attract unnecessary attention from the monsters」

She fiddled with her goggles that was on her head, and when she did, light actually appeared out of it.

Although it had a limited range, it was a considerably strong light.

Was it a mechanism that stored some sort of magical energy which could be converted into light, I wonder?

I suppose merchants often made inventions which people can’t understand well.

More like since a while ago, I haven’t been able to contribute anything………

When I’m with Lydia it seems that my rhythm is all out of balance.

It feels as if I can’t get any brilliant ideas.

As expected, is it because of our difference in height? (TL: Not sure how he came to this conclusion haha)

We relied on the light as we advanced.

Although it was not easy to walk in the puddle of water and the rocks that were lying around, if it was just to this extent there should be no problems.

Lydia was also dealing with her own problems.

In this narrow pa.s.sage, we were both walking at the same speed.

Initially I was actually worried about the fact that Lydia may not be able to fit into these narrow s.p.a.ces, but it seemed that my fears were unfounded.