Chapter 60: The Rabbit Of Revelry II (1/2)

「………………Yes, please」

My heart ached when I saw Rana close to tears. The two of them were on the same wavelength when it came to using magic, but it seemed that being pulled along by Frey was humiliating for Rana. For a prideful elf, especially one like her who had unparalleled confidence in her skill in magic, it was hard to bear.

I’m sorry, Rana.

Just this once, bear with it just this once. Also, my name is not Nutria!

「Souya-sama, Lazarissa is very sorry for the trouble」

「Really~, I’m sorry things are like this~」

Her two attendants, who understood the situation, apologized to me. Rana grabbed my poncho and waved it about.

「Well then, Evetta-san, please register me and Frey-sama as a joint party」

「Understood」

Evetta-san wrote our names down on a document in her binder.

「Then please go to the back of the line. If you cut in line or do anything to disrupt it, I’ll crush you」

Scary.

Since her true strength was unfathomable, I lined up obediently.

But,

Approximately three or more groups had gone in, but none of them have come back. Is the opponent easy to defeat, I wonder? Or are the previous three groups really strong? The second group had seemed overwhelmingly weaker than us though, so that’s something to be relieved about, I suppose.

「Umm, let’s discuss some simple arrangements……」

「Fufu, we don’t need to do something like that. I’ll burn everything up with my magic」

「Ojou-sama, please shut up for a moment」

「Ugu」

Brushed aside(kicked) by Lazarissa, Frey clung to Shuna. Shuna didn’t seem altogether displeased and his face had turned red.

「Shuna, it’s fine if you’re just going to play around with her and then throw her away, but Onii-san forbids you from having a serious relationship with that woman, got it?」

「What the heck are you saying?」

At Shuna’s calm reply, I came back to my senses.

I’m sorry, I thought that a weird bug had clung to you(you’re keeping bad company), so I couldn’t help myself.

「Souya-sama, Lazarissa and Gashuraku will take charge of being vanguards. Is that alright?」

Things were not proceeding, so the maid proceeded.

That’s a much appreciated suggestion, but……

「Yes, I’m counting on the two of you to be the front-line vanguards. Is it okay if Shuna is positioned immediately behind you both?」

「Yes, that’s fine. But poor coordination will lead to confusion. Shuna-sama will go to the front only when Lazarissa and Gashuraku are defeated. Is such a promise alright?」

「Shuna, is that alright?」

「Yeah, got it」

Shuna and Lazarissa had sparred against each other.

Results-wise, Lazarissa had won with one punch. The loss could certainly be attributed to Shuna’s pride of not using swords against women. However, he obeyed her meekly, perhaps because he had felt the difference in strength.

「And Lys, you're next to me. Protect Frey-sama and Rana」

「………………」

Alright, there was no reply. I grabbed Lys’ cheeks, and then squeezed and rubbed them.

「Where's your reply?」

「Shup ut, stot ip」

「Your reply?」

I pinched them lightly. I forced her expressionless face into a smile. She smacked my hands away.

「Troublesome」

「If you don't obey, your next adventuring meal is only dry bread and dried potatoes」

「Tch………got it」

Alright. For the time being, we had sorted out our defense.

「Onii-chan, what about me?」

「Ea, be on standby at the very back in case of unexpected situations. Depending on the situation, you may shoot freely. It goes without saying, but be careful of the line of fire of both enemies and allies, alright?」

「Yeah, I want to ascertain the performance of this bow」

Ea’s bow was the only bow of its kind in the alternate world.

It was a compound bow, the so-called modern bow.

Pulleys were attached to both ends of the bow to assist in pulling the string, which was crossed and pulled taut. Moreover, the power needed to hold the bow drawn had been lowered considerably. It was also made of lightweight carbon.

I had broken the traditional elven composite bow that she had previously, so this was its replacement.

It should be different in various ways from what she was used to, but my sister had mastered it without any trouble.

The power was increased and the burden on the archer was reduced. If there were any problems, it would be how difficult it was to maintain and a decrease in durability due to the increased number of parts.

「Oh, that’s an unusual bow, isn’t it?」

Lazarissa, who had a keen eye for weapons, took a strong interest in the bow.

「Isn’t it an excellent bow? Onii-chan and Yukikaze made it for me. This is the only bow in the world that’s just for me」

The other parties were also eyeing Ea’s bow.

Yeah, the fact that it’s eye-catching is also a problem, I suppose.

There weren’t many adventurers who used bows, but rare objects drew the eyes of everyone. I had also thought about disguising it with a cover, but my sister had hated it as that made it impossible for her to shoot quickly, so I didn’t.

「Dear, what about me?」

「Oh, yup. I’ll make something for you one of these days」

The fact that it makes her elder sister jealous is also a problem, I suppose.

But,

「Did you notice, Souya-sama?」

「Yeah」

I nodded at Lazarissa’s question.

None of the parties had come back.

As could be expected, this was abnormal.

I had watched the moment the doors opened several times, but it was not like they fought the guardian right away. The only thing I could see was a long passageway.

What’s going on? It’s highly improbable that everyone won without any problems and proceeded on. It’s impossible for the guardian to be something this easy.

Before I realized, it was our turn next.

It’s prudent to withdraw for the time being and work out a plan.

「Nutria-san, you're afraid, aren’t you?」

「Huh, that's...……Yes」

I had tried to put on a poker face as best as I could, but I was seen through by Frey, of all people.

「In that case, put your mind at ease. You’re together with this Frey. Moreover, Rarananna-san, who is in no way inferior to me, is here too. It’s impossible for us to lose」

Certainly, both of them are great magicians, but the dungeon isn't so easy that we can advance with that alone.

We had already experienced that once.

「Souya-sama, just this once, it’s exactly as Ojou-sama said. In the worst case, Lazarissa will carry everyone and run away. Lazarissa is confident in Lazarissa’s escape techniques because Lazarissa has stuck with Ojou-sama throughout all of her reckless battles」

When a women said that much, as a man, I can't be shaking in my boots.

An adventurer is essentially a person who fights the unknown. The ones who have the courage to confront that are adventurers. I had forgotten that.

「Thank you, Lazarissa………………But give Agathion back」

「Does Lazarissa have to?」

「Yes, Lazarissa has to」

With natural movements, Lazarissa tried to put Agathion into a leather sheath.

「Come back」

The magic sword flew away from her hand and sheathed itself in my quiver.

It's no use as it’ll come back if I call it like this, alright?

「Souya, please proceed. Each party must use a separate door」

Our turn had come.

Evetta-san opened both doors. Our party went through the right door and Frey’s went through the left one. It was a long passageway and I couldn’t see its end. Feeling muddled, I matched Frey's party’s pace and walked through the door.

We moved in a formation that we had decided on beforehand, with Shuna at the head of the line, followed by Lys, me, Rana, and then Ea.

「Yukikaze, start the pulse and scan the topography. Oh, Ea, your ears are going to ring」

「Okay~」

My sister put on earplugs. I had thought that elves, with their big ears, all had sharp hearing, but there were many of them, like Rana, whose hearing was no different from a Hemu’s.

『Pulse, understood. Counting down, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1』

The A.I. that was disguised as a lantern at my waist performed a scan using sound waves. The map was displayed on my glasses-type device.

There was a wide space at the end of the straight passageway.

There were several small rooms along the perimeter of that wide space.

Mapping using the pulse is convenient, but the sound waves had attracted enemies before. Besides, it consumes a substantial amount of the mini-pod’s power. If I overuse it badly, the pseudo aqueous brain will go into a dormant state, and support such as proximity detection and party management will stop. Choosing when to use it is difficult. I wish that I hadn't lost my portable battery, but things don’t always conveniently turn out as planned.

『No hostiles detected within a radius of 30 meters』

「Hmm?」

That means that there are no enemies in the wide space as well.

No, I don’t need this hesitation. What I need is the grit to defeat whatever appears before us.