I calm the two panicked crying girls, and go see Wil.
‘The magic I used on him is still active, so he’s not dead yet.’
She says with a yawn, as the sun has just come up.
It was her who instigated this, but I’m sure she put every safety precaution in place
I’m relieved to hear it’s not an emergency, and tell the other two to wait.
“I’m going too!”
“And me too, of course!”
Someone important to them is missing. It goes without saying that they can’t do nothing.
That said, I’m pretty sure he was the strongest in the hero’s party, and he still died several times in that dungeon.
I didn’t really have to worry in there, but…
“You’ve never worked as an adventurer, right!? We’ve conquered dungeons, so we should be helpful!”
“I understand that we will hold you back, but we are worried about Arc! Please…!”
I can’t leave them here when they’re pleading this much…
That said, I’m durable, but not a pro at fighting or anything. I’m not confident that I can protect them while exploring the dungeon.
“You can take them with you.”
“Wil…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll use the same magic I used on that hero.”
She says while pointing her finger, and the girls shine with a faint light that soon disappears.
“Now you’ll be revived outside the dungeon if you die. You can die in peace now.”
“We won’t… No, thank you Miss Wilhelmina.”
“Thank you very much!”
“By the way, this only works in the dungeon. Don’t get yourselves killed outside.”
I have no idea how this magic works, but I should be able to use it now that I’ve seen it.
I’ll use it if I really need it…
“Hey, idiot. I know what you’re thinking, but it only works once per day.”
“O-okay…”
That was close. If she didn’t say that, I might’ve ended up casting it on them again to go back to the dungeon.
◇ ◇ ◇
Arc has been going to the same dungeon I went to with Edinburgh.
That’s good, because monsters should notice my presence and run away.
“We need to look around each floor at a time…”
“Arc… Please be safe…”
They sound worried, but I’m not that concerned. Wil confirmed that he’s alive.
Also, there’s a being in the dungeon that sees through all sorts of things.
If the monsters know I’m heading down, they should avoid the path that leads me there, pretty much showing me the way.
I don’t remember the structure of the dungeon, but thanks to that, I manage to find the staircase that leads down without getting lost.
“Arata, we came straight here, but shouldn’t we look around?”
“There’s a demon called Orobas on the fifth floor. We’re heading there first.”
“Orobas?”
“Yes.”
If it was a different dungeon, I wouldn’t have said that so I didn’t get their hopes up, but…
“Orobas should know where Arc is, so you don’t have to be so worried. Calm yourselves first.”
When Snow was missing, I thought my heart would stop. I understand all too well how they feel, but panicking won’t do them any good.
They look a little better after I tell them all this. Having a way to find Arc is reassuring.
“I’ll protect you… Is what I’d say if the monsters didn’t run away.”
“B-but we will be cautious anyway just in case!”
Ceres holds up her staff, and a thin film forms around us.
It’s about ten meters in diameter, and apparently it serves to warn us of anything that touches it.
“Eh, this is handy.”
“It won’t protect us from long distance attacks, but it will at least warn us of approaching monsters.”
“Tell me right away if that happens, and I’ll attack.”
“Then I guess I’ll be a shield.”
I say with a light tone, as the exploration goes smoothly.
It’s my second time here, so I’m more used to it.
This also means we get to the fifth floor faster than before.
“Come to think of it, is the floor boss here again?”
If it is, we have to be careful. It might be dangerous for them.
It jumped at me all of a sudden last time, and I reflexively punched it, but it was really fast.
If it doesn’t target me, that would be pretty dangerous.
But it turns out I don’t have to worry.
I open the door, and the horse demon… Orobas, welcomes us.
“A-a horse…?”
“What’s with the weird pose…”
He has his arms spread, legs crossed, and looks like he’s a figure skater ending his routine.
I guess whether this is cool or weird depends on who you are… But I think most would end on the weird side, when it’s Orobas doing it.
“Not a horse! Orobas! You all hurt Orobas!”
“Ah, sorry.”
Orobas knows what we’re thinking, and undoes his pose with teary eyes.
He silently walks away and sits down, sulking.
I walk towards him, and he gets back up, looking like he’s over it.
“Like I said before, Orobas can read all your thoughts, so you can just say them.”
““…””
“No, not a weird horse! Ah, but Orobas is a demon.”
Erie thought he was a weird horse, and Ceres questioned if he was an actual demon.
“The other way around…”
“Oh, the other way around…”
That’s surprising, but if Orobas says so…
Sorry Erie…
Ceres starts flapping her hands, but since you didn’t say it, you don’t have to worry.
“So Orobas. I’m sure you’re already aware, but I want you to tell us where the hero Arc is.”
“He is doing his best on the lower floors. His goal is the demon on the tenth floor.”
Is that where you get the rings?
I heard he had to ‘do something’ to get them, but I guess it’s going well.
“Where is he now?”
“The eighth! But he is going at quite a good pace, so he should have reached the tenth floor by the time you catch up!”
“I see…”
It’s nice that it’s going well, but I wish it’d take his time.
And this confirmation that he’s alive and where he is makes the girls feel relieved again.
“By the way, why the demon on the tenth floor?”
“Orobas is a gentleman demon! You won’t get that answer here!”
So to get the rings, he has to meet that demon and do something.
But what is it?
Wil didn’t tell him, so Arc shouldn’t know what to do on the tenth floor either.
Miss Miriel might know, since she was the one who taught me about this dungeon…
“Orobas won’t say it!”
“Ah, did you tell Arc?”
Well, I’m sure there was no malice, and he doesn’t look upset.
By the way, why is Orobas covering for Arc? Does he sympathize with him in some way?
“Orobas won’t say it! It was a promise between man and demon! And stop asking leading questions because you know Orobas can see into your head!”
Ah, he figured it out…
Wil’s protective magic should still be active, so at least he’s not in danger. But I’ll have to scold him for breaking his promise to not overdo it and not worry these two.
I turn to Ceres and Erie, who have been watching our back and forth.
“We’re going to increase our pace a bit. Is that okay?”
“Of course! I need to slap Arc for worrying us!”
“I’m all right too!”
“Then let’s go.”
“Be careful!”
Orobas sees us off as we go down to the next floor.
Come to think of it, Ceres is a saint who was falsely charged with forming a contract with a demon, so is it okay for him to be friendly with Orobas?
Oh whatever.
If I point that out as a problem, I’ll have to think of something for them to get along again.
I should just go with the flow and let them talk to each other.
We narrowed down Arc’s location, so we should focus on that.
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Thanks for the treat.