Chapter 27

It seemed like morning came in the blink of an eye. Since it was morning, it had come.

Haru and I both swung our practice swords and worked up a sweat, wiped the sweat off with towels, and headed to the dining room.

Breakfast was already prepared, and we decided to eat together as a group of four.

And so, the four of us had a breakfast of bread and milk.

It did happen, but—whenever I didn’t move, I felt embarrassed thinking about what happened yesterday.

After all, it couldn’t be helped. It was the first time I had climbed the stairs of adulthood, yeah. I couldn’t do it as well as I thought.

Haru, too, was looking down a bit.

And the one who seemed the most embarrassed was Nolun. For some reason, Margaret was grinning as she ate.

"Hey, Ichi-kun, our boarding house has pretty thin walls, you know."

With Margaret’s words, I understood everything.

Everything had been heard... by Margaret and Nolun.

Oh, how embarrassing... I need to be more careful about time and place from now on.

"Don’t make girls feel embarrassed too much. If you like, I can guide you step by step until your departure—"

"I’m on time!"

Please, don’t use that kind of charm. I don’t want to wake up to that.

When I was in trouble, Nolun came to my rescue.

"That’s right, Margaret, Ichi-kun already has a girlfriend, Haruwatato. If he didn’t, I would—"

Nolun muttered as she started drinking milk.

It was embarrassing, but it was a really fun breakfast.

"So, Ichi-kun, what are you going to do next?"

"For now, I’ll go into the intermediate dungeon in the morning, and after lunch, I’ll go to the Adventurer’s Guild to sell items and get some travel money."

"Be careful at the Adventurer’s Guild, okay?"

"...Yes."

I nodded with a wry smile at Margaret’s smiling reprimand.

I never felt like I could match Margaret, even to the end.

Even if I grew stronger with growth cheats, even if I gained the power to defeat a demon king, I would probably still have to bow my head to many people in the future. In fact, I’ve been bowing my head to Mili, who stayed in Japan.

And I think that meeting such people will truly make me grow.

"Then, I’ll bring the laundry from yesterday and the bento when it’s time for the carriage."

"I’ll be in your care until the end."

"It’s fine, I can only do this much."

Margaret winked at me and said she had some preparations to make before leaving. She said the shop would be closed temporarily today.

We also cleaned up and headed to the intermediate dungeon.

Haru was changing into her battle gear in her room.

Five minutes later, Haru, who had finished changing, came into my room.

"How does it look?"

When asked, I looked at Haru’s outfit. The skirt and top were the same, but the skirt, which used to reach the knees, was now shorter, and the socks were longer. They were made of a special material that was hard to tear.

"It looks great on you."

"Thank you."

"However, with it being this short... you know, your underwear might show."

"It’s fine, I’m wearing bloomers inside."

She said this and pulled up her skirt.

Eh, it’s the first time I’ve seen real bloomers... why are there bloomers in this world?

When I asked, apparently a wanderer who came to this world made them as a hobby, and now they are sold in clothing stores all over the world.

Japanese people really do whatever they want.

But, seeing bloomers when a skirt is pulled up, I don’t know, it feels romantic. It’s like the underskirt in tennis.

"Thank you for the meal."

"Thank you."

Haru and I exchanged our thanks. I thought we made a good team.

Then, we headed to the intermediate dungeon in Floren.

"It’s surprisingly crowded."

People were lined up like at an amusement park ride. The difference from an amusement park was that there were no children in line, and there were a lot of burly men.

I thought it would be difficult to wait in line,

"Yes. After the third year, adventurers start with the intermediate dungeon. Well, only about 10% of adventurers can reach the boss room. It’s deep, and there are teleportation arrays, so you won’t run out of monsters to fight if you don’t pick your targets. I’ve been to the 22nd floor of the intermediate dungeon, so I can use the teleportation arrays on the 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th floors."

"There are teleportation arrays?"

I think they’re like warp gates, allowing you to instantly move to another location.

This is definitely a different world.

So, this line is waiting for the teleportation arrays.

It would probably take an hour to get inside.

Just as I thought that,

"Hey, newbie! Over here! Over here!"

"Let’s go together!"

A voice called out from the front.

...It’s Jofre and Elise. They’ve been released already.

"Let’s take you up on that."

It’s common for someone in a party to take the spot in the dungeon.

This is because up to six people can use the teleportation array to the same location.

"Indeed, this is easier than waiting in line."

I went to the two of them.

"Then, I’ll be in your care."

"Don’t worry about it. We help each other out, right? If you get hit on the right cheek, hit them back on the right cheek, right?"

Jofre said with a laugh.

"...No, I don’t know... Is there such a saying?"

"I don’t know it either."

Yeah, there’s no such saying. The context is completely different.

"Travel with a companion, even to hell, right, Jofre?"

I don’t want to travel like that. Why is it a journey that assumes death? If I die, you two should die together.

"By the way, aren’t you guys still mad at me? I did defeat your boss, after all."

"Huh? Ah, don’t worry! We’re friends, right? And you’re strong."

"Right, if you worry, you lose! It’s beneficial to be with a strong person!"

...These guys, they’re stupid, but they’re the type who go along with the stronger one.

Well, they’re the type who never lie, and waiting in line is a hassle, so I’ll go with them.

"So, where are we going? I need to be back by midday, you know."

"Ah, that’s fine. We’ll teleport to the 95th floor and go to the boss room on the 100th floor."

...What?

Occupation

Villager, but it’s strange for someone living in a town to be a villager, so I changed it to commoner.

I know, commoner is a status, not an occupation, but it could be a plot point, so I apologize.