Chapter 15

The two chaperones who invited me to dinner were the serious-looking young man who had sized me up on the first day, named Anthem, and the seemingly frivolous young man named Bernard.

The place they recommended and led me to was a high-class restaurant.

Bernard opened the door with a familiar air and walked in, followed by Anthem and me.

As soon as we entered, a waiter rushed over.

"Ah! Bernard-san, Anthem-san, welcome!"

As he said, it seemed they were regulars here.

"Hey, Nia! I've brought a special guest today. Ta-da! One of the explorers who reached the 94th floor, Orun!"

"94th floor... So you're a hero, sir!? Wow! It's an honor to meet you!"

He grabbed my hand and shook it up and down. He's quite friendly.

It seems he hasn't seen today's newspaper.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not a hero."

"Eh, but, reaching the 94th floor..."

The woman called Nia seemed confused by my words.

"I have been to the 94th floor, but I'm no longer part of the party."

"I see, that's how it is. But you did reach the 94th floor, right!? That's enough! The 94th floor, which no one had reached for twenty years after the 93rd floor, is a place no one had ever been before! You are truly a 'brave explorer'!"

"...You know a lot."

I couldn't hide my confusion at his sudden speech.

"Hehe... I used to be an explorer myself. Ah! I haven't shown you to your seat yet! I'm sorry, I got carried away."

She made a sly face, sticking out her tongue a little.

"Shall we use the usual private room?"

"Sure."

Bernard answered the waiter's question.

The room we were led to was a private room spacious enough for about six people to relax in.

"Alright! Let's drink the night away! Orun, tell us all about it. Of course, only what you're comfortable sharing!"

As soon as everyone was seated, Bernard said this.

"No, drinking the night away is out of the question... We have an exploration tomorrow."

"Hehehe. I have a constitution that doesn't get hangovers. So no matter how much I drink, it's no problem!"

"Still, lack of sleep is bad..."

"Orun is right. Even if it's a mid-level exploration, we also have to educate and protect new members. We should be in top form for the exploration."

"Che. Orun is as serious as Anthem. Got it. Until midnight! We'll call it a night at midnight!"

After that, the three of us talked about each other while enjoying the food and drinks.

As they recommended, the food was of a quality that could be served to nobles.

By the way, in this country, one is considered an adult at 15, so I, at 18, can drink alcohol normally. In some countries, you can't drink until you're 20.

"Being regulars at such a high-class place, it seems A-rank explorers of the 'Silver Hare of the Night Sky' have a good income."

I don't usually ask such personal questions, but the alcohol and the influence of these two led me to ask.

"Being in the hero party, Orun, you shouldn't say that... I don't think we earn that much. But, as an explorer, you never know when you might die. So we decided to enjoy good food without regrets."

"That's right. Weren't you living a life of luxury every day?"

"I've never lived a life of luxury. I also handled the administrative work of the party, so I hardly had time to play."

"Hmm. By the way, are the members of the hero party really on good terms? There are rumors of discord in the public."

You're really digging deep...

I usually wouldn't answer, but since I'm a bit upset about this morning's article, I decided to talk about everything except the really important things.

"It's not that we're on bad terms, but we act quite independently in our private lives. Our hobbies and preferences are completely different, so we rarely had the opportunity to eat dinner together."

"Hey, is it okay to say that?"

Anthem, perhaps realizing it might be inappropriate, checked with me.

"I don't think it's a problem. The party leader publicly claims to be upright and honest, so if there was something I couldn't talk about, that would be a problem."

"...Your words seem to have a hidden meaning. Ah, right, I wanted to ask, Orun, weren't you a bestower in the hero party? The first time we met, you said you were a front-line attacker, and your demeanor is similar to that of a front-line attacker."

"Your observation is keen, Anthem. Orun hasn't fought a single battle yet."

"Since you're a defender, you should pay attention to your allies' movements..."

"Actually, I converted to a swordsman after leaving the party."

My statement made the two of them widen their eyes. Well, changing the position I've been doing for a few years would be surprising.

"...Can I ask why you converted to a swordsman?"

Anthem looked at me with great interest.

"...I was originally a swordsman in the hero party. My grandfather was a former explorer, and one day a monster appeared in the village, which he defeated with a single sword. After seeing that, my admiration for swordsmen became even stronger, and I chose the sword without hesitation when I became an explorer. I thought it was a good opportunity to become a swordsman again after leaving the party."

"I see. But then, why did you become a bestower if you had such a strong admiration for it?"

"...After entering the lower levels, our pace of exploration slowed down. Of course, the lower levels are much larger and the monsters are much stronger, so it was natural for the pace to slow down. But at the time, we didn't realize that."

We, who had been progressing smoothly in the upper and middle levels, hit a wall when we entered the lower levels.

It wasn't surprising. Rather, our previous rapid progress was abnormal.

"We should have built up our strength at that point, but due to certain circumstances, we needed to advance quickly. We turned our attention to the bestowers, who were gaining popularity at the time. And the white feather fell on me, who was originally versatile and could do anything well. I was also starting to see what I needed to become the ideal swordsman, and I had an interest in magic, so I took on the role of a bestower."

"I see. Indeed, there are not a few people who convert due to party circumstances. And you reached the 94th floor, so it turned out to be the right decision."

"No, it was a bad move. Even if I had become a bestower, we should have built up our strength without rushing."

I couldn't tell them this.

The possibility that the hero party could advance beyond the 94th floor was zero.

"Hmm. So, what is Orun's ideal image of a swordsman? You can talk about that, right?"

Bernard, perhaps sensing my mood, changed the topic.

"An ideal image of a swordsman? There are many, but to put it simply—someone who can conquer the lower levels alone."

◇

The next morning, as I walked through the market stalls on my way to the meeting place, I saw people excitedly talking while busy preparing to open their shops.

"Hey! Did you hear? The new hero party is going to dive into the lower levels today!"

"Really!? So they might reach the 95th floor today!?"

"No, it seems they're diving to the 92nd floor. The purpose today is to confirm the coordination of the new party."

They're moving faster than I expected.

I thought they would take it a bit more slowly. Still, diving to the 92nd floor just to confirm coordination?

I hope they don't foolishly try to conquer the 94th floor right away. For the first coordination check, they should at least do it in the lower levels.

—But that's none of my business.

Thank you for reading to the end.

The next few chapters will focus on the hero party.

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