70. The Party’s Importance Lies In Cooperation, Isn’t It?

Three ogres tumble to the ground after a brief skirmish.

Even from my perspective, the Casper sisters’ coordination seems flawless. At that moment, I almost let my guard down, thinking there’d be no need to intervene.

 

“Huh!?”

Eva, about to cast another spell, suddenly loses her balance.

“Gooooahhh!!”

An ogre, previously injured and lying on the ground, grabs Eva’s leg.

“Eva!”

Marilyn shouts involuntarily, but another ogre, who is already safe, rushes to Eva and swings a club down towards her.

Oh no! Magic won’t make it in time!

The giant club looms over Eva’s head like a dark shadow. The sisters all imagine her being crushed like a pomegranate.

But unlike me, our dependable comrades, who never let their guard down for even a moment, are there.

“[Whirlwind Phoenix Slash]!”

I hallucinate a blue lightning bolt streaking by.

“[Godspeed Counter Slash]!! And as a bonus, [Vacuum Soaring Slash]!!”

Of course, the lightning bolt is Raidoc.

With an unimaginable speed, Raidoc reduces the ogre swinging the club at Eva to dust, and in the next moment, the ogre that had grabbed her leg is sliced in half.

As a bonus, Camille swiftly dispatches the ogre he’s facing.

The two ogres that hadn’t died yet, lying on the ground, are shot through with arrows by Jitaro and Solar without them even noticing.

As Eva, who had slumped down, slowly raises her head, Raidoc, shining blue in the backlight, stands with a refreshing smile.

“Are you okay?”

Raidoc gently offers his hand, and Eva, grabbing it back, is pulled to her feet.

In the recoil, Eva ends up embracing Raidoc.

“Ah…”

“Oops, my bad. I might have overdone it a bit.”

“No… I’m okay.”

Eva gazes at Raidoc with moist eyes, and her hand is sneakily resting on the chest of that cool guy.

“Hey! Hey! Wait a minute! Aren’t you okay already!? Come on! I’ll change!”

“Alright, Solar, I’m counting on you. I’ll go retrieve the magic stones.”

Solar rushes out in a panic and separates Eva, who’s feverish, from Raidoc.

“That’s not… that’s not it, Raidoc-san…”

“Weren’t you aiming for Camille?”

“That’s… that’s true! Ahh… the protagonist of a heroic tale! I’m envious!”

“Oh…”

I see, as Jitaro said, that bastard Raidoc really does seem like the protagonist of a saga sung by a wandering bard.

Damn it, just break already!

And Eva, too, what a damsel in distress!

The seriousness from earlier is nowhere to be found as Solar struggles to peel Eva, who’s spacing out, away from Raidoc, and I can’t help but smile wryly.

“Hey, hey, Craft-kun. This is getting interesting! Triangle!”

For some reason, Leafan forms a triangle with her hands, looking oddly pleased, and all I can do is smile wryly again.

Yeah.

Let’s move on already!

◆

“Lord Raidoc, should we start preparing for camp soon?”

Eva, who has suddenly started addressing Raidoc with respect, and Solar, who is wearing a stern expression, but Eva herself seems so absorbed in Raidoc that she doesn’t notice.

“Huh? Oh, right. It’s a bit early, but it’s the first day after all. Jitaro, if there’s a spacious area, let me know.”

“Got it, let’s go, Camille-san! Let’s search together!”

Camille doesn’t seem to mind and follows Jitaro without hesitation.

I wonder if there’s something between them. I can’t tell.

The two of them soon find a spacious area facing a small pond.

“Craft, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Got it.”

I take out two large items from my spatial storage.

“Whoa! Amazing!”

Seeing that, Eva and Marilyn exclaim in amazement. I understand their feelings.

What I took out was a simplified cottage, modified from a carriage wagon.

“W-What’s this!?”

“This is a small mobile lodging facility modified from a wagon by Leafan.”

“Hehe! Isn’t it amazing!”

“Uh, yeah, it’s amazing.”

“Well, I just fixed beds to the wagon, but it has a roof and it’s convenient, right? Let’s split it between women and men.”

“That’s… quite reckless.”

Ignoring Eva’s astonished face, we quickly set up a simple stove. Since everything comes from spatial storage, it’s easy. Of course, we have firewood, water, cooking utensils, and ingredients.

After Leafan finishes setting up, she looks up.

“What does everyone want to eat?”

“I want meat! Meat!”

“Jitaro, you’re a hunter, so aren’t you tired of meat?”

“Not at all! Meat is justice!”

“Oh, I see. Then how about chicken thighs with spicy walnut sauce, Diablo-style?”

“That sounds good! Thank you!”

Leafan’s cooking is delicious. Anything goes.

“D-Di… Diabl… style, walnut… sauce, in camping…”

Eva seems frozen, but wouldn’t you get tired of dried meat every day?

“Well, in dungeons and such, it’s impossible, right? When we can eat outside, we always do it like this.”

“I see… Is it amazing that Craft-san does it, or is it amazing that Golden Dawn adventurers do it…?”

Golden Dawn adventurers are all hard workers!

Everyone is amazing.

I feel good as if I’m being praised. Yeah, yeah. Eva is a good girl! Even though she’s older!

For some reason, I felt like I was being pulled by a miniature doll.

That’s how the days pass by.

◆

“Is that dowsing?”

“Yeah, that’s right! Craft-kun made it for me! Eva-san knows a lot about it, huh?”

As we venture deep into the forest, almost untouched by people, Leafan takes out a dowsing teardrop to search for ore.

Since she’s searching for various rare metals, the precision is low due to the lack of a clear image, but she can at least determine the general direction.

“I’ve only heard of it, not a specialist. Leafan-san, you can do anything, can’t you?”

“Hehehe.”

Leafan blushes like a child. It’s mysterious how she looks her age.

After wandering around for a while, we determine the direction to go.

“It’s faint, but it seems there’s a reaction to rare metals. I don’t know if it’s a vein or an item.”

“Either way, it’s a good enough reason to investigate.”

Raidoc decides without hesitation.

We proceed at a speed that doesn’t seem possible in the forest. Along the way, we encounter monsters, but thanks to Eva obediently following Raidoc’s instructions, our coordination is flawless, and we easily defeat them.

We jot down the types of monsters with me and Leafan, Solar grumbles a bit, but overall, we make good progress without any major issues.

And that’s how we discovered it.

“This is…”

Raidoc confirms it from a distance.

“Yeah, there’s no mistake. It’s a dungeon. I can feel a slight distortion of magic. It’s probably been turned into a different dimension.”

“Hmm.”

Raidoc puts his hand to his chin and ponders.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of dungeons. One is where monsters inhabit natural caves or ruins.

The other is where the inside has become a different dimension.

“Leafan.”

“Yeah, it looks like the dowsing reaction is coming from this dungeon.”

“I see. So it’s not a vein, but an item.”

“What will you do, Raidoc?”

“I don’t mind either way. Craft, do you think this dungeon is large-scale?”

“…No. Probably, but it doesn’t seem that large-scale. What do Eva and Bardack think?”

Bardack is the magician of Raidoc’s party. He doesn’t have a crest, but it’s better to ask.

“Sorry, I don’t know. But it doesn’t seem dangerous… I think.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t seem dangerous… But I don’t know about the level of danger. It seems like the type that’s easy to find based on the feel of magic.”

What Eva calls “easy to find” refers to relics left by an ancient magical civilization.

It’s divided into multiple layers, with a decent boss placed in each connecting room, and a big boss in the farthest room.

And usually, there’s treasure placed beyond that.

It’s not clear why such dungeons are necessary, but they’re found all over the continent.

According to a plausible theory, they were like safes from ancient times, but in terms of cost-effectiveness, it’s not quite convincing.

But for us adventurers, no, for Raidoc and adventurers like him, the details don’t matter. There are monsters inside, and there’s treasure. That fact alone is important.

“Alright, let’s camp today and dive in tomorrow morning.”

Dungeons are dangerous.

So when a dungeon is discovered for the first time, it’s common to report it to the Adventurers Guild and receive a reward.

“Raidoc. I don’t mind, but will you dive in without backup?”

“It’s a dungeon this far out. In the end, requests will only come to our party.”

“That’s true.”

He’s the strongest B-rank adventurer of the Golden Dawn Adventurers Guild. In the end, Raidoc and his party will probably be the ones to receive the investigation request.

“I think Craft, Leafan, Casper, and others should be with us than for other parties to come along.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best! Lord Raidoc!”

“Hey! Eva-san! It’s fine to be enthusiastic, but there’s no need to cling!”

“No! It’s the perfect way for you to feel my determination…”

“Just stop clinging!”

“You guys…”

We start making a commotion in front of the dungeon.

“Triangle!”

Leafan seems to be having fun.