Chapter 8

The girl's name is Kasai Yui.

She is currently 18 years old and is about to become a first-year university student in the spring.

A few months ago, she decided to enter university through a recommendation and started working as an adventurer to gather living expenses for the future.

Unlike me, who dives into the dungeon every day, she started with the mindset of a part-time job, forming parties with other adventurers only on holidays to aim for dungeon conquests.

There are many such adventurers.

If you are careful about safety, you can earn money at a decent rate.

However, in this case, she was unlucky.

After listening to her story to the end, I sighed, a mix of exasperation and sympathy.

"…So, what you're saying is that the party you formed today didn't know that only four people can challenge the boss of the Dream Dungeon at once, and they came with five people?"

"Yes. But once they realized that all five of us couldn't challenge the boss, they didn't have the energy to turn back the same way. The leader started saying it would be easier to return to the surface after defeating the dungeon boss. They decided that four of us would tackle it, and the remaining one would join the next party that came along…"

"So, you were left behind because you formed a temporary party? …That's the worst."

If reported to the Adventurer's Guild, this would definitely result in punishment.

Only the people inside the dungeon know what happens within it.

There is no way to know from the outside what kind of criminal acts are taking place (with the exception of a few specific skills).

That's why such acts are severely punished when discovered.

Now, what should we do from here?

The best choice would be for me to go with her to defeat the boss… but I can handle it alone, and to be honest, that's not a recommended method.

This is because the level-up rewards from dungeon conquests are given to the entire party.

Whether you fought with your life on the line or just stood there watching, everyone gets the same reward.

The latter behavior, where someone contributes nothing and still benefits from the level-up, is called "parasitism" and is despised among adventurers.

So, I should probably ignore her and go ahead alone… but that would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Besides, parasitism is particularly despised when someone follows a party into a dungeon that is above their rank.

Given that she is here, she should be at a level where she can challenge a D-rank dungeon.

So, it shouldn't be a problem.

"Um… Kasai, right?"

"Yes."

"The door to the boss room will open soon. Get ready to go in."

"Does that mean…"

"I'll go with you. Just this once."

"Ah! Yes! Thank you so much!"

Kasai's face lit up, and she bowed deeply.

Honestly, it feels good to be thanked.

Just as I said that, the door to the boss room started to open.

The previous party must have defeated the boss.

"Let's go."

"Ah, before that, shouldn't we check each other's levels and skills…?"

Kasai's suggestion was correct.

It's important to align our strengths.

However, in this situation, it might not be necessary.

I turned around, faced her, and declared boldly.

"That's not necessary. Who do you think I am?"

"…Who are you?"

Oops, I haven't introduced myself yet.

"My name is Amane Rin."

"Ms. Amane Rin… I have a friend named Amane, so can I call you Rin?"

"Sure."

"Thank you. If you don't mind, you can call me Yui."

"Sure."

With that, Yui and I entered the boss room and killed the harpy with one strike.