Chapter 31

"Milk, Ayame and I would like to have a private talk. Is there a place where we can go? Even the bath would be fine."

"Oshino-san, I also request this."

Milk and Ayame looked tense as they asked for a private conversation.

Hime sighed and handed over a card key.

It seemed to be for the next room.

Apparently, she had prepared the room for when I was exhausted from dungeon exploration.

The two thanked her and headed to the next room.

"Are you actually not getting along?"

"…Aren’t we in the middle of a falling out right now?"

Hime spoke as if she had some idea.

It seemed she had some insight into their relationship.

Honestly, personal information is so loose.

The Oshino Group might make more money as a detective agency than a resort company.

"Taiga, by the way, what do you think of me?"

"A motivated kid"

"Thank you for your lovely opinion."

"Also, you’re like Doraemon when I’m in trouble."

"Thank goodness it’s not Suneo."

By the way, I remember that Doraemon is also broadcast in America, but there are some subtle differences in the settings.

I’ve heard that Doraemon’s favorite food is pizza instead of dorayaki, and Suneo is called Suneo.

Well, if I had said I wouldn’t include Milk in the party,

"Sorry, Milk. This party is for three people."

It might have been converted to sound like Suneo, but in reality, it would probably be Bill Money, who is richer than Suneo.

But that’s such a minor character, I doubt anyone remembers him.

"Hime, this is the experience potion I mentioned before."

"You really made it. Do you not need to give it to Milk?"

"At level 10, it’s better to earn experience normally in the dungeon. Also, do you have any extra magic flasks?"

"I do have some. Do you want them?"

"Yeah. I’ll give you these in exchange."

I handed over a quiver and a ring.

Items from the D-can.

"What are these?"

"A quiver that holds a lot of arrows and a mage ring that increases magic recovery speed."

"Again, you have such rare items. I’ll give the magic flasks as a gift, so you can give these directly to Milk and Ayame. They’ll surely be happy."

"I’d like to, but while Milk might be fine, Ayame will probably refuse."

Ayame thinks she owes me a lot.

I saved her life and gave her the Grand Mage’s staff.

If I were to give her a ring that increases magic recovery speed, she definitely wouldn’t accept it.

I thought it would be better to give it to Hime first and have her distribute it as a supply.

"Ayame wants to receive the ring from Taiga, but… I don’t have a hobby of pouring oil on the fire. Alright, I’ll give it to her. I’ll have someone from the company bring the magic flasks over now."

While I was thinking about such silly things, Milk and Ayame returned.

Their expressions were not bright.

"What were you talking about?"

"Status check and… a declaration of war, I guess. Well, it’s more like wondering why we didn’t notice each other before."

Milk said.

Both are mages, and they can use wind magic as a support spell.

They could indeed be considered rivals, but a declaration of war seems a bit much.

Is there another meaning to it?

"Oshino-san, I’ll do my best!"

"Do your best. I’m cheering for you."

"Taiga, cheer for me too."

"Sure, sure. I’m cheering for you, Milk. Work hard on leveling up and improving your magic proficiency."

"That’s not what I meant…"

If it’s not that, then what?

"Let’s have lunch and then head to the dungeon. Come on, let’s go."

Hime clapped her hands and led us out of the room.

After having lunch together, we moved to the Tenshiba Dungeon.

Milk is now a full member of Ushizou’s guild, so she can enter up to the fifth floor.

So, the four of us moved to the fifth floor and hunted cubes as we did last time.

"Release: Fire Arrow"

When I used fire magic to defeat a cube, Hime and Ayame were surprised.

"Taiga, you can use fire magic!?"

Milk said in surprise.

"I learned it when I reached level 30."

"…If you can use fire magic, won’t you be able to use support magic before me?"

"No, I can’t be a support. I need to use Hellfire in emergencies, but that spell can only be used when my magic power is at full."

"Hell… Fire?"

I forgot Milk didn’t know about Hellfire.

"It’s my secret weapon. It can even defeat an Evil Ogre."

"Ah, the spell you used to save Ayame."

She seemed to have heard about it.

"It consumes all my magic power in one hit, so I can’t use it often, but it will definitely be useful in boss battles. Therefore, I can’t allocate magic power to support or healing spells."

"All of it? Does that mean the higher your magic power, the stronger the spell becomes?"

While Milk and I were talking, Hime asked.

Usually, magic consumption is fixed for each spell, and its power is also fixed unless you have a special skill.

However, my Hellfire consumes all my magic power, so it’s reasonable to assume its power increases accordingly.

Magic power doesn’t increase with level-ups.

It increases when your magic proficiency improves, allowing you to use more spells, or when you learn new magic skills.

I use fire magic in regular battles to improve my proficiency, not to take Milk’s place.

"Can you use it consecutively?"

"No, I can’t."

When Hime asked, I firmly said no.

What I showed near Mount Fuji was just me recovering magic power in the PD.

Ayame suspected that the masked man was me, but I explained that Hellfire can’t be used consecutively and that it was a combat weapon developed by the GDC Group.

"Wait a minute. Taiga, you’re already level 30!? Even with the growth ring, isn’t that too fast!?"

"I also explore dungeons privately."

I dodged the question.

"Hime is level 23, and Ayame is level 20, right?"

"I’m already level 25. I explore dungeons privately like Taiga."

"I reached level 21… I’m sorry for being the slowest."

"Then I’m still level 10…"

No, no, it’s unfair to compare me, who has a private dungeon, and Hime, who can use the Oshino Group’s managed dungeon privately.

"Well, cubes are good for experience, and Milk can easily defeat them with both magic and a crossbow. Hime, Ayame, I plan to help Milk level up today. Is that okay?"

"Yes. Milk would still find the fifth floor challenging alone, so it’s fine."

"Then I’ll go with—"

"No, I have the presence detection skill, so I can support Milk’s leveling more efficiently."

Ayame, who cares for her friends, but considering efficiency, it’s best for me to go.

I want to get her to at least level 12 today.

"Thanks for the support, Taiga."

"Sure thing."

Milk and Ayame.

I’ll write about their conversation in detail next time.