Chapter 46

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

The statue of the goddess Trailleur, with its sleepy face and twin-tails, was as intricately crafted as ever.

It lacked any trace of dignity.

Trying to wake Jofle and Elise, who were sleeping around the statue,

"Are they your companions?"

"No, just acquaintances."

When Oregairu asked, I answered like that.

I wanted to say they were neither companions nor friends.

It seemed they were just sleeping, not unconscious.

I slapped Jofle's cheek.

"Hey, wake up! Jofle!"

"That voice... are you a beginner!? Sorry, we're done for it seems."

Jofle's unusually weak voice—this guy saying such things.

"What happened?"

"My stomach..."

"My stomach? What's wrong? Are you injured?"

There didn't seem to be any visible injuries, but maybe a bone was broken?

"I'm hungry."

"We haven't eaten anything but mushrooms and grass since the day before yesterday."

...What kind of gag manga characters are these?

Fainting in front of the goddess's statue in the dungeon is no laughing matter.

Well, if they ate poisonous mushrooms, it might be a bit of a gag, but not that much.

"Would you eat some preserved food?"

I bought it in Florenz to get a taste of being an adventurer, but it's not very tasty.

Honestly, I don't need it since I have an item bag.

I took out a leather bag filled with water, along with some hard bread and salted fish from the item bag.

"Wow, is it okay? Elise, eat first."

"Is it really okay? No, Jofle, you eat first."

"No, both of you eat."

They're still the same baka couple. I feel like slashing them.

"By the way, beginner, do you have any food for the donkey?"

"The donkey is hungry too."

Donkey? Ah, it's the name of the donkey.

...Why is a donkey named Centaur?

It's a mythological creature with a human body and the four legs of a horse, right?

I don't think it's a name you'd give a donkey.

"I have some vegetables too..."

Seeing the centaur lying with its back towards us, I thought about waking it up.

"Sorry, Har. Give this to Centaur."

I took a carrot from the item bag and handed it to Har. She took the carrot without any hesitation and brought it to Centaur. Centaur, without getting up, turned its head and ate the carrot.

I tried not to notice when riding in a carriage, but it's still unpleasant, even if it's a donkey.

I've been killed by a horse before, so I don't want to get close to horse-like monsters.

Well, I don't think I'd die if a horse kicked me now.

But there is one advantage. If I make Centaur carry Sebastian, I won't lose a combatant.

However, I'll have two more burdens.

While Har was feeding the third carrot to Centaur, Oregairu spoke from the side.

"What's your name?"

"Ichinojou."

I answered. I didn't think it was appropriate to use polite language with him now.

"I see... the master of Harwatar, right?"

...Yeah, he noticed.

"So what?"

Are you going to kill me? Or make it impossible for me to live as an adventurer?

If you can, go ahead, I thought.

"You seem worthy of being her master, that's all."

Oregairu said, looking at Har.

"...You weren't planning to buy her, were you?"

"Did she tell you? Yes, I was. I rushed ahead alone in the Florenz dungeon and was almost killed by goblins. Harwatar saved me."

It was love at first sight. The sight of her saving him in a magnificent manner was exactly what Oregairu had dreamed of as a knight.

He thought it was a waste to keep her as a slave, so he tried to buy her and make her his knight.

But when he heard the conditions for buying her, he backed down.

"I trained in swordsmanship, leveled up, and aimed to become stronger than Harwatar and buy her... but it didn't work out. In a last-ditch effort, I heard about Carol and decided to train in the dungeon. I ended up relying on Carol and Sebastian... Sebastian's level is 2, and mine is 1 higher. I must have pushed myself too hard."

Just... overdoing it, this noble.

"Seriously, you're summoning monsters into the town, putting Carol and Sebastian in danger, and what are you doing? Pressuring the adventurer guild to prevent Har from being bought is way over the top."

"Pressuring the adventurer guild? I didn't do that—oh, I see."

Oregairu denied it but seemed to have come to a realization.

"Anyway, I didn't pressure the adventurer guild, and I don't oppose Harwatar serving you. I'm a bit disappointed, though."

Ah, this chubby guy is more of a fool than a villain.

There are three fools now.

"By the way, Jofle and Elise, what are you doing here?"

"Well, we tried to save a demon, but the floor gave way and it turned into a slide."

"Our butts hurt from sliding for so long."

"Then we fell here, and this door won't open from the inside, so we were just lying down."

"The place we fell from is blocked, so we can't go back."

I don't understand. I don't understand from the part about saving a demon.

Anyway, you fell here.

And you can't go back.

Well, I didn't expect it, but it seems there's no other way out.

"Let's pray to the statue of Trailleur and try to escape. Have you two already prayed?"

"Huh? What for?"

"You know, you're supposed to pray to the statue of the goddess at the end of the dungeon."

Jofle and Elise paused for a moment.

"Wait, this is the end of the dungeon!?"

"The unexplored dungeon we discovered?"

"No way. It's the dungeon of Velasra town."

They look utterly disappointed. Elise mumbled, "I wrote a lie."

How did they mistake it for an unexplored dungeon?

Anyway, let's pull ourselves together and pray to the goddess's statue.

Then, just like with Kosomare, my consciousness became hazy—

When I came to, I was in a white space.

And Trailleur wasn't there.

"Hey, Lady Trailleur! Are you sleeping? Come here!"

When I shouted, six roulette wheels appeared.

In the center of each roulette wheel was a sign with a name.

The signs read: Ichinojou, Harwatar, Jofle, Elise, Oregairu, Carol.

And there was a piece of paper.

[Too busy, so do it for me]

...Hey!

How lazy is this goddess?

I want to hear about Mili too... but I guess I'll have to wait until I meet Kosomare again.

But, it's a big responsibility to spin the roulette wheel.

I'll start with Oregairu. He's the least important.

I grabbed the ball and put it in the roulette wheel.

It spun and landed on green—scrub.

...Sorry, Oregairu.

Ah, right, I need to boost my luck.

I'll swap the wanderer and the apprentice swordsman and try again.

Next, Jofle and Elise.

They seem to get along well, so their roulette wheels are side by side.

I threw the balls into both wheels at the same time.

They spun and gradually fell, both landing on red—shiny letters.

[Rare Medal]

Ah, the four Rare Medals I have.

It's not a skill, but it seems to be a good result.

Next, Carol.

Her ball also landed on red, [1000 Senses]. 100,000 yen... it's a good result if you think about it normally.

Still, not landing on black four times in a row, my luck must be bad.

Then, it's Har... but I'll do mine first.

I put power into the ball and threw it into the roulette wheel. I thought a professional dealer could aim for a specific spot. I wished for it to land on black, and it did—perfectly.

Finally, after five tries, the main prize! The skill name is... hmm?

[Title: Dungeon Explorer upgraded to Dungeon Explorer II]

[Clear Reward Skill: Obtained Life Magic]

From the system message, it's clear the ball landed on Life Magic.

It doesn't seem very useful. Well, it's probably useful in daily life, but it won't help us escape from here.

Finally, I threw Har's ball.

Har's ball also landed on black.

Finally, things are going well. It's a shame to stop here.

As I approached the roulette wheel to see the skill, my consciousness became hazy again.

It seems time is up... I wonder what Har's skill is. It would be nice if it helps us escape.

With that thought, I let my consciousness drift into the darkness.