Chapter 2 - Jouga's Dream
I want to hire Fianna.
When I told the clerk at Janatha's store this, he looked at the wooden tag hanging on the wall and said,
"She's currently exploring the dungeon, so I'll let you know when she returns. Are you sure you want to make a reservation?"
"Yes, that's fine. How much?"
"She's a cleric with healing magic, so the price is a little high. That's 1,500 gold a week."
It's a small price to pay when you have over 400,000 in your pocket.
I don't know why I can't resist this expense when I've been so stingy with the cost of holy water.
Because, It's my money. so I'll spend it as I please.
The shopkeeper said he didn't know when Fianna would be back, so we decided to go ahead and dive into the dungeon.
"Then we'll resume our search for the second layer."
"Oooh!"
Lily is awfully cheerful, but well, it's better than saying "I'm not going back" because she doesn't want to be a zombie.
However, I'm still curious.
"Why do you look so happy? You've been hissing at the zombies."
I asked.
"I didn't! What can I say, I enjoy the thrill?"
"What do you mean? It's good to have fun, but don't let your guard down."
"Geez! Alec is always doing saying that. Be careful, be careful, be careful! I'm getting calluses in my ears."
Lily complained, but I didn't care.
The first layer takes the shortest path to the stairs. On the way, we ran into a few goblins, but they were only low level, so we had no problem.
On the second layer, if you use fire magic, you can easily get rid of the zombies. I told the two mages to conserve their MP so they wouldn't run out.
It would be a shame if they couldn't use it when the time came.
Besides, in order to gain experience in tactics, I had to dare to set up a 'bind' and increase the difficulty level.
"Oh? It's Alec , we met again isn't it?"
The young slave warrior, or was it Jouga, smiled and said.
You saved me the trouble of looking for you. The others seem to be safe. Fianna is here, too.
"Oh. I negotiated with Janatha's store and hired her myself. Fianna, come with me."
"Oh, really?"
"Wait a minute! If you're just saying that, you might as well be lying."
Jouga stopped her.
"Then, we'll have to go back to the store first. Anyway, let's go back up to the ground."
"So, you know. I'm telling you, I don't need to be ordered around by you, Alec."
He's an incomprehensible bastard. I think it's only natural to ask for confirmation from the top since it's coming from someone who might be a customer.
"There were some guys who tried to pick her up earlier, but don't worry, Fianna! I'm here to protect you."
Jouga says it with style, but does he also have a thing for Fianna? It's a pain in the ass.
Oh, that's right.
"Jouga, I'll tell you something good."
"Oh, what's that?"
"Fianna is a Dillmud's woman. She's has already been penetrated."
"Wha! Whaaaaaatttt!!?"
You're reacting really well. Fufun.
"W-what are you talking about!? I've known him since childhood, but we were never lovers."
Fianna also blushed and corrected him, but Jouga didn't seem to hear her.
"You're lying! No, you said you wanted to help Dilmun, and you went all the way to a different country's dungeon to fall into slavery, that's the only way! Ah, damn it!"
"His name, is Dillmud though ......"
"Oh, so it's Dillmud. It's a difficult name to remember. When I see him, I'm going to beat the shit out of him. No, I want him to switch with me."
"Geez, do you hear what I'm saying? It's not like we're going to switch, but Dillmud and I aren't lovers, and I'm not going to date Jouga-san either way."
"Nugugu"
You've been turned down out of hand. That's because you said it lightly.
"So, what are you going to do? If this guy is really a customer, we'd better check with the store."
The iron-helmeted dwarf said something sensible.
"No, no, no! We're on a mission to explore and pick up items right now, and we can't go off on our own until we get back to the shop, And that's if the slave crest gets sore!"
He's an inflexible guy, but I think he's afraid of the pain his slave crest will cause for violating the orders.
If Jouga agrees with me, I can temporarily rewrite the ownership, but since he is doubting my story, it will be difficult.
"All right. Then you guys can follow me while picking up the items. That way you won't be judged for skipping work and the slave crest won't be triggered."
I offered a compromise. It would have been better if Fianna had been the only one to follow me.
"Oh, you have a plan? That's a good idea!"
Jouga agreed easily, and the other three didn't seem to have any objections either.
"It's settled then. Fianna will be in the middle of the formation, while Jouga, the dwarf and the big guy will be in the front row."
"Oh? Formation? Does that mean formation?" (TN: First formation in Katakana, and the second is in Kanji 陣形 [Jinkei])
"That's right."
"Hmm. - You're all dressed up. Formation, formation, oops! I'll lead the formation! You guys, follow me!"
Simple people are easy to use.
"Alec ......, can you take care of those three properly?"
Serina is worried, but of course she is. I don't care how many slaves you are, I'm not going to use you up. Besides.
"They're vanguards, no matter how you look at it. Don't worry about them."
I'll take Fianna and the others and move on.
"Look! You see that, zombie bastard!"
"Hmm."
During the battle, I observed the four of them to see how they fought.
The first one, Jouga, was a power fighter wielding a two-handed broadsword. He was not dangerous, but his level was 22, slightly lower than ours.
The second one is warrior, a big guy with a club, is level 23, and although his movements are slow, his strength and power are far greater. With a single blow from one hand, he can blow away the zombie.
The third, an iron-helmeted dwarf, is equipped with a hand axe and a circular shield, and often acts as a shield. His level was 32, which was higher than ours.
"I don't see my role in this."
Serina shrugged lightly, but we could take turns fighting.
"Jouga, leave the next one to Serina and the others."
"Ahh? I'm not tired yet."
"Come on, just take turn."
"Murgh......"
"It's better to rest when you can."
Said the Dwarf warrior.
"All right."
As you can see, the more new people we add, the more we'll have trouble figuring out how to do it. Well, these guys are only for the second layer. If only we had Fianna's Turn Undead, we wouldn't need the other three.
"We'll take a break here."
We found a small room at a dead end and decided to rest there.
It's not so much that I'm tired, but I'll have to learn how to rest (...) when I conquer the deeper levels in the future.
Ada, a former A-ranked party member, also tells me such a story while serving me soup.
"In my opinion, the parties that can stay underwater for a long time are the ones that are good at taking breaks."
Food is a secondary concern, you can carry it back and forth or order it to be delivered if it lasts.
But breaks don't work that way.
If you put it off, thinking that you're still okay, that you're at the end of the line, you'll be faced with a series of intense battles.
If you can't swing your sword, you'll be wiped out. Even if you don't get wiped out, you'll have to throw away your belongings and run away.
As a human being, I guess you should always have a margin of safety, especially in dangerous dungeons where life and death are at stake.
"Yeah? I'm not tired yet, and you're not breathing on our shoulders."
"Jouga, we're just going along for the ride. If the leader of our employers wants us to rest, we'll rest, that's part of the mission."
The iron-helmeted dwarves are quick to talk, as if the slaves are old enough.
"No, that's why you haven't been hired yet, ...... damn it!"
Everyone else had already sat down, so Jouga sat down with a bang, as if he had no choice.
Of course, the guards had taken turns, and now Meena was holding the entrance to the small room.
"Alec, have you been to the arena yet?"
Jouga asked me.
"No, not yet."
"What, you haven't been there yet? There's a lot of money to be won over there."
"It often kills you."
The dwarven warrior added.
"Shut up! I'm not going to die. One day I'm going to win a championship, buy a huge mansion, and get rid of my slave status. I'm going to eat all the delicious meat I can get my hands on!"
Well, it's good to have a dream.
"That's person is also supporting me."
"That person?"
"Yeah. He's my owner. He's the guy in the cool black armor."
"You mean Janatha? Support, right?"
It seems to me that the slaves are being used without much time off and are almost disposable.
"He lent me a good weapon when I was broke, and everyone deserves an equal chance."
Perhaps Janatha is motivating him to do so. The owner takes all the rare items he gets, and his wages are not enough to replace his rusty armor, so it's a pretty shabby business.
Well, I'm fine with that, as long as my life is stable. Janatha's methods are worrisome, but it's impossible to save all the slaves.
"Then, let's go."
I finished my break and got up.
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