The Spearmaster and the Black Cat

Chapter 118

Advancing further, I can see the corpse of a monster, likely the one that fought against the goblin.

I rush over to the corpse which is laying on the ground like trash.

— Geh, it stinks. The stench violates my nose.

I turn my face away, but even in the surroundings, the stench…

It's become a nasty odor, a foul blend of both the corpse and the white feces.

But, enduring it, I bend down in order to investigate the corpse, discovering it's true identity…

A monster resembling a combination of a bat and an ant.

This must be a Bat Ant.

Just as its name indicates, the head is that of a black bat, while the legs and abdomen seem to belong to a dark brown ant.

Strangely, although it had been defeated, the corpse has been left intact.

Its nose was broken and its head was sunken-in, with traces pointing towards it having been hit hard.

The inner area of the chest seems to have been precisely dissected. It indicates the removal of the magic stone.

Black blood flows out from the caved-in section of the ant. Given that the blood has dried at several places, it's likely that quite a bit of time has passed since its death.

Let's leave this stinky corpse as it is.

It might count towards the request completion if I recover it here, but as expected, I want to be the one who defeats it.

I continue forward.

The further along in the passage I go, the more white feces I can see, scattered among the ground.

The floor's surface, that was previously cream-colored, grew dull in color, gradually being replaced by a filthy, yellow hue due to all of the white excrement.

Even the light sources along the wall have become sullied and dim.

The light sources' geometrical patterns have been tainted, as if they were hit by bird droppings from above.

I proceed through the filthy passage, yet I still don't sense any magic sources.

There's only the scattered corpses of the Bat Ants.

The magic stones have all been precisely removed, just like before.

I was too late, huh?

I'm pretty sure that there's an adventurer party ahead of me.

Since this passage is littered with corpses, that also means that there are no traps.

I guess I can raise my pace a bit, then.

"Rollo, let's head to the end of the passage. We'll move up to a place with some monster presences." (Shuuya)

"Nn, nyao."

Rollo purrs as if she were saying 『Got it nya.』, and transforms into her Horse-Lion Mode.

Lifting me up after coiling a tentacle around my waist, she places me on her back.

Following that, she firmly attaches the tips of two tentacles onto the back of my nape.

We share our senses with each other.

Once again, I perceive things through the permanent skill <Divine Beast Serene Mind ・ Soaring>.

As soon as I grab onto the rein tentacle, we begin rushing through the passage rapidly.

If we maintain this speed, even three-dimensional maneuvers become possible.

This is possible because Rollo can make use of her limbs and tentacles to use the walls and ceiling as footholds.

It's Rollo's special technique.

A unique, three-dimensional movement strategy limited to this labyrinth.

But if I were to swing my Magic Halberd from atop her back, it would collide with the ceiling. I need to make sure to only thrust.

We run through the foul-smelling passage as I think about such things.

Passing through two divergences, we take a left turn at a crossroad and continue through the passage.

Just as before, it's littered with corpses.

Perhaps, do all the corpses get absorbed by the labyrinth?

Or maybe they're disassembled by corpse eaters, slimes, and/or mold?

While brooding over that on top of Rollo, we are once more greeted by a split in the path.

I stop RollodeenHorse Lion for a moment so I can make a decision;

Now, I wonder which way we should go next, hmm~?

After contemplating for a second, I pick the front. This time, we'll proceed straight ahead.

I see Bat Ant corpses lying around in this passage too.

"Rollo, I'm gonna get off for a bit." (Shuuya)

"Nya."

Acknowledging my voice, RollodeenHorse Lion stops.

I jump down on the ground to check the bodies in the passage.

There are quite a few traces pointing towards the Bat Ant's skull having been battered by a rod of some sort. Black blood overflows, streaming down from that wound. It's not dry yet.

I try touching the blood.

— Cold.

I lick the blood on my finger.

This one seems to have been defeated within the span of several hours ago, huh?

We might catch up to them very soon if we proceed ahead.

We advance, running through the various passages.

As we move, I make sure to check the corpses scattered across the floor.

The further we advance, the warmer the blood becomes. The Bat Ants' deaths are becoming steadily more recent.

Oh, I can sense several magic sources beyond this.

Did I finally catch up with the adventurers killing all the Bat Ants?

There are also one or two other responses, that are different from those we've encountered until now.

Big magic sources?

From what I'm feeling, I believe it's a monster room, but…

We dash in the magic sources' direction.

The place was a wide room, rather unique compared to those we've seen so far.

Though, rather than a room, it seems closer to a cave?

I can grasp the whole space because of its size. It's at least 20 meters tall and 50 meters wide. Bat Ants are flying around in the air, and several goblin soldiers are crowding the ground.

Moreover, there's a monster I'm seeing for the first time.

Its appearance is like that of a dinosaur's.

And, what's especially conspicuous is… the one adventurer in a wheelchair, single-handedly fighting it out with all those monsters.

Umm… wheelchair? For real? I'm at a loss for words.

I thought that it would be a party, not another solo adventurer like me.

Moreover, they seem quite strong.

Moving the wheelchair like a tank, they shred apart a goblin soldier, using a swarm of blades that flew out from the round wheel part.

I felt mana emanating from the the wheelchair.

I don't know whether it's a magic tool or not, but it's most likely a special item.

"Rollo, we're gonna observe for a bit. Don't make a move until I say so." (Shuuya)

"Nya."

『Your Excellency, the mana manipulation of that adventurer is extremely refined. They release so little mana that it's practically impossible, even for me, to estimate their maximum capacity.』 (Helme)

『Hoo…』 (Shuuya)

While I'm having a telepathic conversation with Helme,

"Gugaaaa."

The dinosaur monster roars.

It begins charging towards the wheelchair-bound adventurer.

Furthermore, the Bat Ants, flying in the air, swoop down all at once, diving at the wheelchair-bound adventurer.

Would it, perhaps, be a better idea to rescue them, rather than watch, in this situation?

Unrelated to my worries, the adventurer glares at the horde of monsters with a frown, their long, black hair moving a little, then proceeds to release mana from their entire body.

Her mana releases a violet gleam around it, swaying along the surface of her black one piece.

In an instant, that violet mana takes the shape of a circle, spreading across a radius of several meters.

The wheels on both sides are wrapped up by the violet mana, beginning to shake as if they were about to burst apart, as single line-like slots appear on the outside of each wheel.

Full moon-like, ring-shaped chakrams fly out of those slots, heading towards the sky, and begin to clash with the Bat Ants raining from above.

The heads and wings of the Bat Ants are all split in half by the chakrams*.

(ED: Chakrams are some of the coolest weapons that I, personally, have seen. You can read about them here!:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakram)

『Oh my, how surprising. It's a power possibly belonging to the same guidance sorcery you use, Your Excellency. Or perhaps it's an unknown power created from a special method of mana manipulation.』 (Helme)

Seeing as the metallic chakrams, dancing in the air, are also covered by a violet mana aura, are they perhaps being controlled remotely?

At that moment, the charging dinosaur monster closes in on the adventurer in the wheelchair.

Big, silver claws extend from both of its hands.

They stretch from below the elbows, just like those on a mantis. They're both probably about as thick as a two-handed sword?

One of the silver claws unleashes a sharp slash towards the adventurer.

The adventurer doesn't lose her composure.

While operating the wheelchair, she extends black, metallic tonfas from both of her sleeves, in preparation for the dinosaur's attack.

The metal tonfas, clad in mana, collide with the approaching silver claw, causing bright, mana-loaded sparks to disperse into the atmosphere.

The adventurer resists the claws, refusing to yield her ground.

She rotates the wheelchair around, attacking the dinosaur's feet with blades extending out of the wheels.

Alongside the clangs of blades being repelled, one after the other, by armor-like scales, she succeeds in repelling the silver claws away with her black tonfas.

Upon doing so, the adventurer takes some distance from the monster.

『Magnificent. She's a wizard who can also ride a special chair? Her feet may be weird, but nonetheless, Your Excellency, I recommend her as follower.』 (Helme)

『Helme, you are way too hasty, you know…?』 (Shuuya)

『Is that so? Your Excellency, since you are my supreme benefactor, I feel it necessary to increase the number of first-class subordinates.』 (Helme)

『Increase my subordinates, and then what?』 (Shuuya)

『That's…』 (Helme)

Helme takes a moment to think.

While we're conversing telepathically, the dinosaur monster, seemingly unable to stomach that its attack was repelled, shifts its fiendish face upwards slightly, spreading its mouth open.

"Guoooooh."

It roars again. Its pupils give off a turquoise sheen of light, and pulse glaringly.

Suddenly, the dinosaur surges into the air.

With one leap, it closes the distance between it and the female adventurer and, taking advantage of its momentum, stabs at her with its glistening silver claws.

The adventurer calmly deals with it, despite the enemy's sudden approach.

Skillfully employing the black tonfas extending from both of her arms, she swings them to her left and right, colliding with the silver claws, causing sparks to fly as they leave claw-like afterimages in their wake.

Neither of her hands are touching the wheels anymore.

Is the violet mana-clad wheelchair moving automatically?

The defending, black steel-colored tonfas appear to be quite sturdy.

Since I'm worried about the adventurer, who's currently in the middle of a life or death struggle, I proceed to launch towards the Bat Ants remaining in the air, in an attempt to back her up.

The chains dance in the air like silver snakes, piercing through one Bat Ant after the other, stabbing furiously their heads and stomachs.

All the Bat Ants flying in the air are dead now, but the battle between the dinosaur monster and the wheelchaired adventurer continues on.

That wheelchaired adventurer is doing her best, yet she seems to be getting overpowered?

I feel slightly sorry, but I want to look at her face.

After going around to see her face… I was astonished.

Isn't she an incredible beauty?

Her straight, long, black hair has a gloss that makes it apparent that she conditions her hair every day.

She has distinct, violet eyes. Even though she doesn't use make-up, her skin is white and fair, like snow. Her nose has a slender shape, and she has small duck lips.

Though a sense of a faint innocence remains in her features…

… her movements have become extremely violent, betraying said innocence.

At the end of the intense exchange of barrages, she crosses with the dinosaur, and as if mirroring each other, they turn their bodies around, with the white silver claws and tonfas clashing, resulting in a cross shaped collision.

At that moment, it turns into a pure contest of strength.

Her frail, slender arms seemingly reaching their limit, the beauty, along with her wheelchair, get blown away, before eventually falling to the ground.

The dino-bastard sneers at her with a smile.

"— Hey! You alright? You need any help?" (Shuuya)

"…"

Although I addressed her, she just ignores me.

While making her long, black hair flutter, the beautiful woman stretches her legs to the left and right, then rotates as if she was doing a break dance.

Making use of her black rods, she swiftly stands back up.

Ah~, those also serve as walking sticks, eh?

However, can she move after standing up?

— Uwaah, the woman handles the tonfas like crutches, and uses them to launch off the ground.

She executes a drop kick against the sneering dinosaur monster.

The silver claws and her leg collide, resulting in a hard, clashing sound.

Those legs, are they made out of metal?

As I look at the arches of her feet, I notice that they have a hammer-like shape.

Launching off the claws, she does a cartwheel, consequentially leaving behind a sharp leg sweep in the empty space, and then proceeds to unleash a chain attack of foot techniques capitalizing on her hammer-like feet.

Wait a minute! Don't tell me that, instead of focusing on attacks with the tonfas, she's a true foot technique user that utilizes capoeira!?

(ED: Capoeira is a form of leg martial arts originating from Brazil. Imagine breakdancing, but with bigger movements, powerful leg windups, and actually kicking people.)

The dinosaur staggers, having fully received her kick technique with its head.

Supporting her body by planting the tonfas on top of the ground, she maintains her body's rotation.

『You Excellency, that adventurer's mana is decreasing at an astounding rate. I'm sure it's her trump card.』 (Helme)

『I see. Thanks for the swift analysis, Scouter Helme.』 (Shuuya)

『What's that scouter you speak of?』 (Helme)

『No, don't mind it—』 (Shuuya)

(ED: DBZ reference: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Scouter)

I put the mental conversation to an end.

As she continues her splendid kick motions, the hems of her long-sleeved, long one piece are torn, making a leather tasset become visible.

Black panties could be seen covering her captivating crotch.

Yeah, I did stare at them instinctively.

A panty observation club was created in an instant.

But, although the chain kicks continue, the dinosaur only staggered at the beginning, her attacks having now lost their effectiveness.

Its scaled body, similar to a reinforced exoskeleton, only leaves hard clashing sounds when struck by her hammer kicks. Either way, it consistently repels the heavy-looking kick attacks using its silver claws, so its defense remains solid.

At the moment when the black-haired beauty's axe kick was blocked, she kicks the side of the monster's neck, as if performing a kick aimed for the monsters' back neck.

She takes some distance, due to the recoil.

As she flies through the air, away from the monster, she fixes her posture by slamming one of her metallic hammer legs into the ground.

In addition, she stabs the tips of her tonfa-like crutches, aka the black rods in her hands, into the floor, which had been flattened a bit.

She supports her body at these three points.

And then, the black-haired woman lifts her other leg horizontally, and points her foot's arch towards the dinosaur monster, like a fixed gun mount.

Seemingly wary of the previous chain kick attacks, the dinosaur monster remains where it is.

Growling on the spot, it proceeds to, as if to express it's irritation, swing it's long, thick tail up and down several times, striking the ground repeatedly.

Even its silver claws hit the ground, as it glares forward in frustration.

The tips of the silver claws easily gouge out the earth, leaving big arc-like marks in the ground.

Rather than that frenzied-looking monster, I'm curious about that beautiful adventurer.

The beauty's raised up one of her legs.

Although she's clad in beautiful mana, she appears somehow odd and crooked.

With her supporting herself on top of the ground, she looks at the dinosaur monster, revealing an angelic smile.

At that moment, the tip of her raised leg repeatedly transforms, splitting and separating into all four cardinal directions.

Eventually, it takes the form of a crossbow with a round, iron-made cartridge attached to it.

Following the crossbow's formation, thick crossbow bolts clad in violet mana successively fly out.

Whoa, metal bolts.

… It's honestly more like a gun.

The monster tries to block the the thick, metallic crossbow bolts with its silver claws, but, unable to defend against the multiple shots, it's tough exoskeleton gets repeatedly pierced, making its torso and face dripp with fresh blood.

White blood gushes out of the places that were struck by the special bolts.

Unable to forgive the adventurer who injured its body, the monster displays a rageful expression.

It holds out its chin, parts it's fangs, and begins focusing mana into its mouth.

As it does so, it forces more mana to converge towards its legs and tail.

Upon doing so,

"Goaaaaaaaa—"

The dinosaur monster howls ferociously.

It spews a lump of cloudy liquid out of its mouth, alongside it's furious roar, towards the female adventurer.

The adventurer undoes her crossbow mode, dodging the approaching cloudy liquid as if she were collapsing to the side.

The cloudy liquid hits the floor's surface, a sticky, wet sound accompanying it.

It's a white solid liquid that appears to work as a powerful adhesive.

Apparently having expected the woman would evade its attack, the dinosaur monster abruptly launches ahead towards the woman.

It dashes forward with a heavy stomp, caving the floor in, displaying the strength of its two muscular, dinosaurian legs. Rotating sideways a bit, it forces it's broad tail to line up with the adventurer woman's torso.

It's tail lands a direct impact against the adventurer's abdomen, taking advantage of her posture having fallen apart.

Her body gets blown away in a く shape.

Ouch, she completely took that hit hard.

I guess she was taken by surprise.

The black-haired beauty tumbles as she collides with the ground.

The two tonfas she held in her hands also fall to the ground.

Her body is moving slightly, but… did she die?

The monster jumps up in order to finish the beauty, lunging at her with its silver claws.

— Can't be helped.

"Rollo, do it." (Shuuya)

"Nyaoa."

I fire <Chain>.

I stop the dinosaur's movement, by making the chain entangle and pierce,through its legs and lifting it intos the sky.

As I do so, Rollo extends her tentacle bone swords with the intention of running through the monster that's currently stuck in the air.

Dull sounds reverberate repeatedly, as her blades are repelled upon impact.

I suppose it's hide is quite tough and scaly, after all.

The surface of its hide shows nothing resembling a wound.

Rollo's bone swords keep getting repelled.

Did it only pierce through since it's my <Chain>?

Then, how about the Magic Halberd?

The monster, that was still hanging in the air due to the chains, struggles, swinging it's leg as if it were paddling in the water.

I manipulate the chains, turning the dinosaur around so it can't spit it's mucus at me.

I continuously stab my Halberd into the monster's back.

I can feel the scales' hardness, but the Halberd easily pierces the back of the monster, stabbing all the way to its belly.

As expected of the special Magic Halberd, created by Zaga and Bon out of the Evil Dragon King Baldok.

Many gaping holes are made in the dinosaur's back.

I also pierce its thick tail, adding to the gaping holes count.

Even after being turned into swiss cheese, this dinosaur's still alive.

Although it's only faintly breathing, it's a tough one nevertheless. White blood gushes out of its wounds like a bunch of waterfalls.

Continuing my offense, I unleash <Thrust>.

The Magic Halberd begins to spin with a violet flash, spiralling at lightning speed—

It pierces the base of its throat, drills further through, and finally makes its head fly.

The head of the raging monster, which has been impaled by numerous crossbow bolts, rolls across the floor.

The monster's headless body feebly slouches in the air, and white blood, which grew dull in color, begins to spew out from the cross-section of the drilled-through neck.

After a little while, it completely stops moving.

Once it does, I erase the chains holding it in the air, letting the headless body fall to the ground.

There aren't any magic source responses that might be monsters in the vicinity.

"Rollo. For the time being, watch the area. I'll check on the woman." (Shuuya)

"Nyao."

Rollo purrs cheerfully and starts slowly walking around, scanning the area.

She's moving cautiously.

It seems like she plans to understand the site completely, patrolling in her own way: as a cat.

Anyways, first comes the beautiful female adventurer.

I hurry to the female adventurer who has collapsed on the ground.

Though I know that she's alive, since there's still a magic source response coming from her, I ask anyways,

"Hey, are you alive?" (Shuuya)

I speak to her while shaking her shoulders, but there's no reaction.

She has completely fainted.

It was a direct hit with her stomach…

Although it might just be a body blow, I should still check for wounds, I guess?

I try to peek at her body through the gaps of her torn and grazed black one piece, but since she was wearing a leather armor below, I couldn't check properly.

『Your Excellency, should I make use of my water?』 (Helme)

『No, I will use a spell I learned.』 (Shuuya)

『Understood.』 (Helme)

If it was a doctor, they might have checked her wounds first, after having torn off her clothes and cutting the leather armor, but there's magic and medicines in this place, so that's not really necessary.

I swiftly take out a healing potion from my item box and pour it onto the female adventurer's head.

I will also try out my healing magic.

Intermediate class: Water attribute, Purifying Water.

Advanced class: Water attribute, Water Cure.

These are the only healing spells I've learned.

Firstly, I will hasten her recovery.

I cast the advanced spell 《Water Cure》, in my mind, invoking the magic.

A transparent water mass, clad in light, manifests in front of me.

That water mass collapses in an instant, turning into small droplets just like a shower, and proceeds to pour down, onto the unconscious beauty.

Her black hair gets wet, and shining water droplets seductively trickle down from her face to her nape.

The shining water soaks into her clothes.

『Your Excellency's liquid…』 (Helme)

Helme mutters with a weird voice, apparently feeling envious.

The water dries at a mysteriously quick speed.

Her hair and western-styled clothing aren't wet anymore.

I think the potion and the spell did their job, but…

A calm sleeper's breathing can be heard.

While she sleeps, I go fix the fallen wheelchair, remove the dinosaur's medium magic stone, and collect the scattered Bat Ant bodies with relatively few scars, putting them into my item box.

I've gathered 20 magic stones, exceeding the guild request's share of 10 stones.

I do wonder, for a moment, whether I should exchange them for an extra reward, but I guess the item box comes first in the end.

I guess I'll offer 10 stones as Elenium.

"Open." (Shuuya)

I summon the item box menu, and press the ◆ mark.

◆: Total stored quantity of Elenium: 50

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Necessary Elenium stones: 100 - incomplete

Reward: Storage +20: Release of Kaleidoscope

Necessary Elenium stones: 200 - incomplete

Reward: Storage +25: Loading Dimension Scan Function

Necessary Big Elenium stones: 5 - incomplete

Reward: Storage +30: Release of Fold One Kareem Gun Set

？？？？？？

？？？？？？

？？？？？？

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――

I toss ten medium-sized magic stones into the big, diamond-shaped mark.

And with that,

◆: Total stored quantity of Elenium: 60

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Necessary Elenium stones: 90 - incomplete

Reward: Storage +20: Release of Kaleidoscope

Necessary Elenium stones: 200 - incomplete

Reward: Storage +25: Loading Dimension Scan Function

Necessary Big Elenium stones: 5 - incomplete

Reward: Storage +30: Release of Fold One Kareem Gun Set

？？？？？？

？？？？？？

？？？？？？

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Finished.

Only 90 more stones left to unlock the kaleidoscope.

I suppose this is the last offering of Elenium, for today at least.

Let's use the magic stones that come into my hands from now on for an extra reward.

However, the black-haired beauty is still sleeping.

I'm surprised that she can continuously sleep at such place…

Should I transfer her to the wheelchair for the time being?

I pick her up, carrying her in my arms.

— How light. But, as expected, I feel a little weight originating from her fake hammer legs.

Since she's already released the crossbow mode of one leg, the bony section below her knee was naked.

It's a leg that invites sympathy once you've seen it.

But, there is also a smooth-looking, pretty, bare section above the knee.

But, this naked, thick bone, mmh? A crest is floating on the bone's surface?

"… W… W-What?"

The female adventurer notices me observing her leg.

She blinks her eyes in surprise. He eyelashes are womanly and a little long.

They're dark violet colored. Her forelocks being short and gathered in one place, as well as her long hair flowing down to the side, suits her.

It gives off a cute impression, but she's a beauty all the same.

I thought about it some time ago as well, but she should definitely be using shampoo. Even those small lips, they make me want to lock them up with a kiss… kiss, I want to kiss her all over.

"… So you woke up. I wonder, are you alright?" (Shuuya)

"…"

Mmh, the reaction is…

Is she still injured somewhere?

Even though I had cast recovery magic on her just now. I'm worried.

"You are conscious, right?" (Shuuya)

"… Ye-s…"

Hmm… I don't know what to say… Her face is red, she's casting down her eyes, and her voice is quiet…

"Excuse me…"

As if having heard my thoughts, the black-haired beauty apologizes with a whisper.

"For starters, I think it will be best to put you back on that wheelchair, right?" (Shuuya)

"…"

She nods silently.

Thereupon, she releases violet mana, and upon touching the wheelchair, it comes over by itself.

It moved in front of my eyes.

Does this child possess an ability enabling her to control it remotely?

『Wonderful.』 (Helme)

Helme praises her, but I consider it as odd.

While harboring such feelings, I lowered the beauty onto the wheelchair.

"You killed… that… the Silver Volck."

After gently looking at me, the black-haired beauty shifted her sight toward the dinosaur monster's decapitated head that's lying on the ground.

So the name of that dinosaur monster is Silver Volck?

"Aah, the head's lying over there. And yes, it was me who defeated that enraged monster. Putting that aside, isn't taking on this many opponents, by yourself no less, a bit too reckless?" (Shuuya)

"… Excuse me. I was… careless. I knew that there are Silver Volcks in the inner part of the mine, but by no means did I expect… that I'd somehow meet one here…"

She apologizes while looking upwards at me.

And, after suddenly averting her eyes downwards, she furrows her brows and looks back up at me.

"Mmh, it was reckless, as you say. You have my… gratitude. But, there's a reason I had to do it…"

Her way of speaking is awkward, isn't it…?

But, a reason, eh?

"Is that so?" (Shuuya)

"?"

She reveals a curious expression, and stares at me with her violet pupils.

"… You don't know?"

"What?" (Shuuya)

"Uh huh, me."

Wouldn't I be a clairvoyant if I knew? I retort to myself.

"There's no way that I would, right? I met and rescued you just now. Besides, I definitely wouldn't forget such a beauty, had I had seen her once before…" (Shuuya)

"…"

As if strongly emphasising "Nothing like that", she shakes her head left and right, her cheeks dyed red.

Her long hair sways left and right.

For starters, I guess I will ask her for her name?

"For the time being, can you tell me your name?" (Shuuya)

She gives a small nod.

"Yeah… Eva."

"Eva-san, is it? Then I'll introduce myself too. My name's Shuuya, Shuuya Kagari—"

Rollo, who's returned from patrolling, climbs onto my shoulder.

"And, the one who got on my shoulder just now is my familiar, Rollodeen. Rollo, for short." (Shuuya)

"N, nya~."

Seemingly surprised by the sudden appearance of Rollo, the female adventurer, who introduced herself as Eva, opens her eyes wide and presses her hand against her chest.

"…"

"Nyao?"

Rollo tilts her head and looks at the female adventurer sitting in the wheelchair.

Well then, I have already gathered all request items. I originally intended to advance to a spot where I can proceed into the inner part of the labyrinth, but I guess I will return to the surface for now?

Let's try asking Eva, too.

"Eva-san, what will you do from now on? I'm thinking about going back soon." (Shuuya)

"… I will go to the mine, ahead of the cave… I want to get some refined demon ore." (Eva)

Is there a place where you can get such ore ahead of this cave?

Her violet pupils are full of strength. She's confident.

So she plans to proceed by herself?

If it's from here, I can't sense any magic sources, but it's still possible that monsters are lurking somewhere inside the cave.

I guess I'll offer her my help. She is a beauty after all.

"… Hee, so you can mine such ores here? A Silver Volk, just like the one from before, might still appear. Do you mind letting me accompany you to the mine, as a bodyguard?~" (Shuuya)

I say in a light, smooth-talking tone.

"… Can you really? I'm grateful…" (Eva)

"Then it's all cool. Let's go. Ah, actually, wait a moment." (Shuuya)

While chatting in a carefree manner, I pick up the artificial crossbow leg and the fallen black tonfas, handing them over to her.

"… Sorry." (Eva)

"No, don't mind it. Those weapons, they may be quite heavy, but you've mastered them nonetheless, haven't you?" (Shuuya)

"Yeah, they're heavy. It's their weakness. But, not only are they powerful, they are also specially made." (Eva)

Eva talks fluently for the first time. She places the crossbow type artificial leg onto her real leg, letting mana run through it.

It returns back to normal, through some sort of gimmick.

She then strokes the black tonfas tenderly, full of love.

Once she traces them with her slender finger, I can see the floating purplish red rune crests vanish from the surface of the tonfas.