Kays Translations

Chapter 92 

The next day.
Early in the morning, just after breakfast, the sound of knocking announced a visitor.

When I opened the front door, standing there was the head of the merchant guild—or rather, as I’d recently learned, his real name: Popo.

Apparently, he had come to check whether Same had returned, and also whether Hash was still here.

“Um, Same did come back once, but that was because he had business with the Queen. He seemed busy and left again right away.”

“I see… And what about Hash-san?”

“Hash also rushed back to the brigade in a panic. I think something urgent must’ve come up!”

“Hmm… that’s unfortunate.”

It seemed he had some kind of favor to ask the two of them.
I wondered—would it be alright if I asked about it?

“Nice to meet you. You’re the president of the Pigeon Trading Company, correct? I’ve heard the rumors.”

“Oh, a new face, I see? Judging by the look of you, I take it you’re with the brigade?”

“Something like that. Due to some circumstances, I’m currently staying in this house and working on conquering the artificial dungeon.”

“Ah, I see. The artificial dungeon.”

“Right. So, was there something you needed from those two? They might return soon, and I’d be happy to pass on a message.”

“Yes, well… First about Hash-san—though this is only if you get a chance to tell him. A few job requests have come in for him. Since he’s not registered with the Artists’ Guild, the clients contacted me instead. But since he’s returned to the brigade, I’ll just let them know he’s gone off wandering again.”

“I see. That makes sense. Hash often disappears on solo trips, even within the brigade, so yes, please tell the clients that.”

(I’m sorry… but I really don’t think he’ll be taking on any more of those requests…)

“Now, about Same… Well, if he’s not here, I suppose Melt will do.”

“Huh? Me? You’ve got a request for me, President-san? What is it! What is it?!”

Oh? So it doesn’t have to be Same?

And wow—Melt looks really happy about it!
Probably because most requests so far involved her tagging along with me, or coming to her through me. Being asked directly for once must feel great for her.

“Actually, our trading company has recently added precious metals to our merchandise. Until now, we’ve been cautious about dealing with high-value items. But ever since Same first brought in gemstones, we’ve had a lot of connections in that area. The recent ‘Eye of the Deep Sea’ made quite an impression. It’s made our company known for gemstones, and now we’re getting new business opportunities. We also still have some gems that Same sold to us previously, besides the sapphire. So, we’ve decided to expand our business boldly.”

So rather than holding the gemstones as stock, they’ve decided to treat them as active trade items now.

“That brings us to the main point. For the first time, we’ve secured our own gemstones and precious metals, and we’re planning to sell them directly in the artisan city ‘Isbel’. At the same time, we’ll be buying crafted goods to bring back. However, travel to that city is seen as ‘transporting high-value goods’, which means there’s a high risk of attacks on the road. Of course, there are large camps along the eastern route, and the adventurer’s guild has a temporary branch office there—but even so, incidents still occur. That’s why merchants always hire skilled adventurers or mercenaries.”

So in other words…

“We’d like to hire Melt as a guard. In other words, this would be a direct commission.”

“Whoa! A direct commission, and a guard mission?! This is amazing! I wonder if the pay is good too?”

“Of course. Combat is expected, and the enemies will be humans. However… without Same, it would mean Melt has to go alone.”

“Hmm… Shizuma, what do you think of this request?”

Oh, my opinion, huh?

Being overly protective isn’t good, but this really is a dangerous mission.

Still… I remember how I went along to Silent recently and it ended up being fine.
Maybe it’s time to start trusting that Melt can handle high-level missions on her own.

In fact, Melt needs to complete a guard mission to rank up. If she’s going to take one, it might as well be one from someone we trust.

“I know Melt is incredibly strong, but if real criminals show up, she’ll have to fight with the intent to kill. Melt, can you really do that?”

That’s the big question—whether she can handle a real fight against humans where life is on the line.

“I think I can. I… I’ve been through something like that before.”

“! …Okay. Got it. If you want to take the job, then go for it. Don’t worry about me. Even Same said not to be overly concerned about me.”

That was just me putting on a brave face.

Sure, part of me wants to go with her. That’s the protective side talking.

The other part is guilt over making her worry yesterday.

And at the core, I just enjoy being around her. It’s fun.

“President-san, when would this guard mission begin?”

“Actually, it’s sudden, but… tomorrow. So today, I’d like Melt to come to the company and review the route, the predicted danger points, and the travel schedule. Apologies—it’s just that the adventurer we originally hired was suddenly hospitalized this morning…”

“That is sudden… Melt, can you go to the meeting now?”

“I-I can… but today, I was supposed to go dungeon crawling with Shizuma.”

“That’s right. But… I’ll be fine alone. I think Same would be happier seeing you grow strong enough to stand beside her. And I don’t want to be the one holding you back from your promotion.”

I meant every word.

Melt had been fixated on staying the same rank as me.
After everything that’s happened, I don’t want to be the one stopping her from moving forward.

“Melt, I’ve gotten pretty strong too. Here—watch this.”

Actions speak louder than words.

I drew my sword, sprinted toward a tree in the yard, and used every skill I had to launch a full-power kick-slash combo—something I’d trained up just yesterday.

The high-speed kick shook the thick tree violently, even exposing some of its roots.

Then, as the leaves fluttered down around me…

“Raging Blade.”

I murmured the name and activated the technique.

This wasn’t a move that any of my characters had learned until now.

But I’d trained enough to even master the sub-job techniques.

In other words, I could use techniques that normally only unlock when you make a class your main job.

The one I used was a Warrior-class sword technique granted through the Warrior’s Discipline.

The Warrior class specializes in pure physical damage, with high-powered but short-range attacks.

It’s a close-range, high-difficulty class with limited versatility—but when it lands a hit, it destroys.

Raging Blade
A furious flurry of sword strikes.
“Unleashes 7 high-damage slashes against nearby enemies.”
“Can be used repeatedly, but taking damage mid-technique disarms the user.”
“Reequip cooldown = number of uses × 1 second.”

It was somewhat risky, but with this flurry of strikes, he slashed through all the falling leaves and shredded them to pieces.

This was the strongest of all the techniques he had learned by kicking, slashing, and defeating slimes all day long.

“Pretty impressive, right? I worked hard all day yesterday to master this technique.”

“Wow… I’m surprised… I didn’t know trees could lean just from being kicked…”

“That was truly amazing… You seem quite young, yet you’ve already mastered such swordsmanship… Could it be that you are a high-ranking adventurer as well?”

“No, unfortunately, I’m not registered as an adventurer. Right now, I just have a transit permit from the Explorer’s Guild. I’m unaffiliated, you could say.”

Once I’ve captured my former classmate, I plan to register with both the Explorer’s Guild and the Adventurer’s Guild.

Even if I mainly operate out of Same, I want to maintain a flexible position elsewhere too.

“Hmm… I see you’re strong… When did you get this powerful…?”

“That’s the thing—when I woke up today, I felt this weird surge of energy… though I’m also sore all over with muscle pain.”

Could it be… the excess monster power I gathered seeps slowly into my body while I sleep, helping me grow?

Let’s check my status…

Vitality: 1031
Strength: 587
Magic: 82
Spirit: 247
Agility: 333

• [Growth Rate: Maximum – Fully Reflected]
• [Silver Fox’s Blessing]
• [Observational Eye]
• [Beginner Enchantment Magic]
• [Survival Instinct]
• [High-Speed Movement]
• [Throwing]
• [Gourmet]
• [Rhythm Step]
• [Performance Lv3]
• [Cooking Lv4]
• [Crafting Lv1]
• [Sewing Lv1]
• [Swordsmanship Lv4]
• [Archery Lv1]
• [Hunter’s Insight Lv1]
• [Scholar’s Insight Lv1]
• [Thief’s Insight Lv1]
• [Swordsman’s Insight Lv3]
• [Warrior’s Insight Lv6]
• [Mercenary’s Insight Lv2]
• [Dance Insight Lv3]

Oh, yeah, my stats went up a bit.

No, actually… not just a bit. My strength especially went up a lot, didn’t it?

Don’t tell me… I got muscle soreness while sleeping, and now that it’s healed, I’ve had a super recovery and gained muscle mass?

That wouldn’t be strange in this world—especially since I’ve got [Gourmet] with auto-regen.

Maybe the effect wore off during sleep, which is why I still feel sore?

“Alright, I get it! I’ll trust you, Shizuma! After all, you became strong because everyone helped teach you, right? So I’ll believe in your strength!”

“! That’s right—because everyone helped me grow strong. I won’t get cocky. I’ll fight seriously and take on the dungeon properly.”

“Yeah, okay! Then today I’ll go visit the trade guild president! I’ll get some more ‘Marumetano’ as a souvenir, so be back in time for dinner, alright?”

“Haha, of course. You really like that, huh?”

“Yep! I love bringing it home and eating it later, sandwiched between bread and scarlet frills! It’s super tasty!”

“Ah yeah, that does sound delicious.”

A Marumetano burger sounds amazing.

Alright, today I’ll get home early and customize Melt’s dish to be even tastier. After all, unlike Same and the others, I’ve got [Cooking Lv4]!

Seira’s experience is clearly reflected in me!

“Guildmaster, I’ll take that special request, okay? I’m expecting a good payout!”

“Hahaha, of course! It’s a dangerous assignment, so I’ll add hazard pay, completion reward, and a personal commission bonus on top! Expect a nice sum!”

So… a special request and a dangerous highway escort mission—that must mean it’s a very lucrative job.

Bandits… I don’t think they’ll definitely appear, but since Melt said she could handle it, I’ll trust her.

More than anything… when I asked Melt about her past, she answered awkwardly, “Yeah… I’ve had experiences like that…”

That probably refers to her time living in the dungeon, when the dungeon master took away part of her free will… she must have gone through those kinds of experiences.

If she was trapped in the dungeon, it’s only natural she would have had to fight dungeon explorers.

“Alright! I’ll prepare carefully and finish the job safely! Then I can finally rank up to Ruby!”

“Is that so? Then let’s stop by the central guild on the way and file the special request paperwork.”

“Got it!”

“Well then, see you later, Melt. Guildmaster, please take care of her. Though technically, I’m the one always being looked after by Melt.”

“Heh, leave her to me. But you’re pretty impressive yourself, despite being so young… If you’re still unaffiliated, how about becoming a guild-exclusive bodyguard or something?”

“Ah… I’m part of a traveling troupe, so I can’t really belong to any one organization. Sorry about that.”

“Haha, fair enough. Then, shall we be off, Miss Melt?”

After seeing the two off, I returned home and got ready.

No more tracksuit for today!

I put on the usual traveler’s outfit, then strapped on my leather gauntlets and chest guard.

Anyone would think I’m a rookie adventurer now.

Well, I still look like a high school kid no matter what I wear, so flashy gear just makes me stand out too much.

I took a bite of the cookie that reactivates my [Gourmet] skill and headed for the Explorer’s Guild Headquarters.

“Oh, it’s the kid from yesterday! You didn’t come back after the training session, huh? I was kinda worried, you know!”

“Sorry about that. I got a little too into self-training.”

“Haha, you’re serious, huh? So, the girl from yesterday’s not with you today? Her permit’s already been issued, you know?”

“Oh, she had a sudden adventurer mission come up. She’s actually an up-and-coming adventurer.”

“Seriously? She didn’t look like it at all, though.”

“Yeah, I get what you mean…”

“Alright then, you’re starting from the first floor, right? Don’t push yourself—try to come back by the fifth floor, okay?”

“Got it!”

Leaving the reception desk, I made my way to the teleportation seal that marked the dungeon’s beginning.

As I entered a room similar to the transfer crest room from yesterday, a long line had already formed—people waiting to enter the dungeon.

It seemed like a huge number of people, and I wondered if the inside of the dungeon would be crowded. But then I remembered—it had been said that each floor was as wide as the lower district of Lindblum.

If you tried to fully explore each floor, it would probably take an entire day.

“Hey kid, it’s your turn.”

“Ah, sorry.”

While I was lost in thought, it became my turn. I quickly stepped into the crest.

Bathed in the light rising from below my feet, my vision was swallowed in white for an instant—

“So this is the dungeon… It’s totally different from yesterday’s floor.”

What I arrived at was a vast corridor. There was no sky, no lighting—yet a consistent level of brightness somehow filled the area.

From the corners and side paths I could spot in the distance, it was clear: this place was a massive maze.

If each floor was as wide as the city’s lower district, then simply exploring it normally would be a huge challenge.

“It looks kinda like the headquarters of the Explorer’s Guild…”

The worn walls and ceiling gave the place an ancient temple feel.

The ceiling must be at least 20 meters high, and the corridor was about as wide.

My first impression was that it was a “maze for giants.”

“Alright… let’s give this a shot.”

I activated the “map display spell” I’d used before in the Scorched Gorge.

Apparently, basic spells like these could be used as long as you’d acquired a certain level of knowledge.

Incidentally, running fast or high-speed movement isn’t classified as magic, but as a basic skill.

“Dungeon Analysis” and “Night Vision” are considered basic spells, available to all classes.

“Whoa…! The map is really showing up… and even the exit to the lower floor is marked.”

On the map, a clearly intricate labyrinth structure appeared. Even the path leading to the next floor was indicated.

Which meant—by following that path, I could reach the goal in the shortest time possible.

“I don’t know how well I’ll do right now… but if I want efficiency, the lower floors are better.”

If I could steamroll the small fry along the way, I would. If not, one hit and move on.

Surely, some other party would finish them off later.

With that in mind, I activated my usual high-speed skill combo:

[High-Speed Movement] + [Rhythm Step] + [Rapid Step]—the holy trinity.

Without hesitation, I sprinted at full speed toward the next floor.

“…Target located.”

Right away, I spotted a lone Green Gel in this massive dungeon corridor.

Without breaking stride, I shattered its core with a flying kick, then continued on without losing momentum.

It felt like a real-time attack (RTA), but I still swerved to take down enemies I encountered.

“Alright then… let’s see how far I can get today.”

I had four hours left until the [Gourmet] effect wore off.

For now, I’d aim to reach the fifth floor and return!

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