Volume 3: Chapter 11 - Erina's thoughts
When I returned to the guild, there was some kind of commotion.
At the center of the commotion were apparently the women I had passed on the 20th floor.
「Souka, Yae......I'm glad」
Erina muttered in relief.
It seems that these women are the Valkyries for sure.
Apparently, they had mistakenly thought that Erina had died because she had been left out of the party, and were about to go out to mourn.
So Erina comes forward and lets them know she is safe.
Someone who looked like the leader of the Valkyries was surprised to see Erina.
「See, you were right to clean up the mess early, right?」
「Well, you're right.」
It would have been a big deal if we had taken the long fight with the Minotaur there, but that might turn out well.
With these thoughts in mind, I watched the reunion of Erina and her party members.
I thought they were outrageous people to abandon their friends, but I could tell from the way they worried about the returning Erina that they didn't seem like that kind of person.
Perhaps it was an unavoidable choice.
Even if that's the case, it's not easy for those who are cut off. ..... it was supposed to be, but rather, a scene had developed in which Erina was quieting down the members who were apologizing to her.
What an amazing person she is.
「You must be Haruma-san? For saving Erina, thank you very much」
After the emotional reunion had come to a close, the leader, Souka-san, thanked me. The other members also thanked me.
「Errr, Yumi-san, was it ......?」
「Eh? Ah, yes.」
When I called out to her, the woman with the bow replied with a panicked look.
「At that time, you were looking at me, right?」
「That ...... about that ......」
Yumi-san looks away awkwardly.
「If it wasn't for that, I probably would have turned around.」
「Eh ......?」
She is surprised at my words and her eyes widen.
「I see. Then I guess I was saved thanks to Yumi. Thank you, Yumi」
「Ah,...... uuhh,...... no, I,......」
Yumi-san was puzzled by Erina's words and eventually began to shed tears.
「I'm sorry,......We,......abandoned,......Erina,......Uwahhhh......」
And Yumi-san broke down crying as it was.
「Hey, don't cry. I was safe, right?」
Yumi-san clung to Erina who soothed her like that and kept saying sorry over and over again.
The other members of the party cried and looked down apologetically.
When they calmed down a little, Souka confronted Erina.
「Erina, about the future ......」
「I'm sorry.」
That was Erina's intention to leave Valkyries at this point.
「I guess. Whatever the reason, we have abandoned you after all. ......」
It's true that being abandoned, no matter how unavoidable, isn't very satisfying, is it?
「No, that's not it.」
「...... is it not?」
Eh, is that wrong?
「Err, that would be a lie if I said I wasn't unhappy about being abandoned. But there is a deeper reason.」
「Deeper reasons?」
I wonder what it is, I'm curious.
「I'm not interested in completely conquering the dungeons.」
At Erina's words, the Valkyries members gasp.
Speaking of which, former member Misaki-san said that the current Valkyries members are very hardcore, so maybe they are aiming for a complete conquer.
So Erina agreed and joined the party.
「I don't have the slightest desire to go back to my old world at all.」
Oh, well, there's a rumor that if you fully conquer the dungeons, you can go back to your original world or something like that.
「I enjoyed being with everyone. I was happy to have friends I could count on. I was proud to be depended on. That's why I always wanted to go on adventures with all of you.」
The members of Valkyries are listening to Erina's words with mysterious expressions.
「I'd rather not be able to return to my original world even after we conquer the dungeons. I wish this adventure could go on forever. With that in mind, I joined Valkyries.」
Erina, who had been speaking with a serious expression, smiles weakly.
「I think that this difference in mindset would have been fatal to me later on. So I'm sure the decision I made early on wasn't a bad one for either of us.」
「I guess so. ...... fufu」
After listening to Erina's story, Souka said that and laughed weakly.
「Even so,......」
Souka then turns to me.
「To defeat a minotaur with just the two of you, ...... I think Haruma-san is quite skilled, but I haven't seen you around much, why is that?」
「That's probably because I'm new. I came here the same day as Erina.」
「Eh, really!?」
For some reason, Erina is surprised at my words.
「Wait a minute, you didn't notice? We were in the first room together!」
「Let's see...... come to think of it, I've seen you somewhere before...... ahaha」
Erina says and then covers it up with a friendly smile.
Well, I can't speak for others because I couldn't remember either until I calmed down a bit after the fight, though.
「Well, I only fought a little bit at the end, and most of the credit goes to Erina.」
「I see. Then, I guess we let go of a precious talent.」
Souka laughs as if she has given up.
「Oh, also...」
Then I remembered something and took out the 【Orichalcum Spear】 from my 【Backpack SR】.
「It's thanks to this, too.」
Thanks to the powerful SUR-ranked weapon and the damage Souka had probably inflicted beforehand, we were able to win without a hitch.
It wasn't just the two of us.
「I see. I'm glad I could be of some help.」
「Here you go, then.」
I was about to give her back her spear, but Souka shook her head.
「You picked it up in the dungeon, so it's yours now.」
「Uh, no, it's too much treasure for me.」
「Then you can sell it to me. It should be worth a fair amount of money, you know?」
「No, I'm not short of money.....」
「Whatever you say, I can't accept it. Also ......」
Souka then told Erina that she did not need to return the money for her training or the equipment the party had loaned her.
I told her I would cover the cost if necessary, but she won't change her mind.
「I can't be that shameless.」
In the end, we settled the matter by having me sell the 【Orichalcum Spear】 to the guild and Souka buy it back.
Then, after discussing various matters related to leaving the party, we parted on the spot.
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