After dinner, I relax in the living room again.
I just sit doing nothing, when Maki sits next to me.
“Shouta.”
“Hn?”
“I officially received permission from my mother. From now on, Unlucky Hall will be managed by you, and adventurers will be punished if they go in without permission.”
“Oh, I see. Thanks.”
Punished sounds harsh, but I really don’t want people to go there, so we have to stop them from going out of curiosity.
I thank Maki, and Aki sits on the other side.
“Also, since we need security other than the association branch, they’re gonna build a simple gate around the entrance.”
“Eh!? They’re going that far?”
“It’s not like the one in the high rank dungeon that was made to stop stampedes, it’s gonna be something to stop intruders, so it’s not gonna be that big of a deal. They have walls that were abandoned mid construction, so they’re gonna repurpose that.”
“But since the original association’s design would leave it without vehicle access, we put in a request.”
“We don’t know if something like Enki bringing a slime back won’t happen again, and it’d be trouble if someone saw it, so we’re gonna have a little space made between the gate and the entrance.”
They show me a simple blueprint.
The area in front of the entrance is covered to stop intruders, and there’s a big gate in the front entrance to fit our car. They said it’s not a big deal, but I can’t hide my surprise over the scale of this
I guess this comes with being an A+ rank…
“Who’s going to pay for this?”
“We’re splitting the cost with the association. Don’t worry, they’re rolling in money thanks to you.”
“I see.”
As I chat with them, Ayane and Aira come here after their bath.
Our bath isn’t small, but not big enough to fit everyone, so we split into two or three groups. I went alone at first, but ever since we got back from our first trip, I started going in with someone. That someone changes every day, so I assume they decided the order.
“We’re back, darling.”
“Yes.”
I look at Ayane and Aira, who are a little flushed. Ayane is wearing pajamas, and Aira wears her maid outfit even at a time like this. I can’t take my eyes off them, but then I’m pulled from both sides.
That snaps me back, and I remember something.
“Aira, what happened with the whole idea to bring a house with us?”
“I placed an order before we left. I made use of your A+ rank privileges to have construction start right away, so it is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.”
“That’s fast.”
“That means we have to receive it tomorrow.”
“Okay. By the way, are you sure it fits in the drawstring pouch?”
“Yes. I used Enki’s block construction ability to make a rock block the same size as a container house, and confirmed that it can be taken in and out.”
When did she… She really is thorough.
“Much obliged.”
“…Aira.”
She looks smug because she read my mind, and I motion for her to come closer.
“What is it?”
“Thanks for everything.”
“…!”
I pat her head while thanking her, and I guess that caught her off guard because she’s frozen in place. She’s always ahead of me when I try to praise her, so I tried to tell her properly… And it looks like it had an immediate effect.
Her reaction is funny too, so I’ll start doing this from time to time.
“Well then, should we restart our explorations the day after tomorrow?”
“Shouta, are you going to continue exploring the beginner dungeon?”
“Yes.”
“Then where to? The third floor? The fifth and last floor?”
“Hn… I still can’t shake the bad feeling I get from it, but I think it’s about time. And I want to see the results of my training, so… The third.”
“This time’s the time!”
“Yes. So how about we do some final preparations tomorrow?”
I’ve been training so I can deal with both physical and magic attacks with the Perception Strengthening and Magic Energy Detection skills even if my eyes are closed. I trained hard to face Lamia, but it’s huge how I can deal with attacks from blind spots without Foresight II to a certain extent.
Also, constantly being conscious of Magic Energy Detection means I can now feel the ripples just before magic is activated, so I can sense it even with my eyes closed.
“Well then, let’s borrow the gymnasium rented by the association.”
“Yes. That place is wide enough to finish Shouta’s training. It’s gonna be hard mode, you know?”
“Yes, I’m ready.”
Hard mode.
That means we’re going to train by having five people attack from multiple directions while I have my eyes closed.
Suffice to say, they’re not going to be full power attacks or anything, it’s training to make sure I can block indiscriminate attacks too.
Enki will act as a close ranger attacker and as a stand-in for Lamia. Ayane and Maki will use Water Magic from afar. Aira and Enril will use Wind Magic. Lastly, Aki will watch from above and throw advice while operating a camera.
Aki had to take that role because she doesn’t have Magic Energy Recovery.
A hard mode set is twenty minutes, and has three settings.
First setting, I keep dodging attacks with a limit of how many direct magic attacks I can take.
Second setting, the same as the first, but I use two wooden swords to counterattack with good hits on Enki.
Third setting is a variation of the second, where I use arrows with crushed arrowheads against Enki.
The last one is the toughest, because I can’t attack or defend, and I have to stop to take aim.
“Nice. Then we’ll do three sets of the first, and then one set of the others. Once in the morning and twice in the afternoon.”
“Got it.”
‘Gogo!’
“I feel like we haven’t been hitting you with magic at all lately, Shouta. That’s a good thing, but I will hit you tomorrow!”
“Yes. You’re going to be soaked, darling!”
“It is quite amusing to see you be blown away by Wind Magic. Ahem. I meant thrilling, so I look forward to this training where I am allowed to hit you with it.”
“Hey maid, what kind of correction was that?”
‘Popo!’
If I had to point out something troubling, it would be how heated they’ve been lately about attacking. They were holding back at first… How did this happen?
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Thanks for the treat.
Looks like all the girls find fighting to be arousing. No wonder they all like you.