Episode 8 - Top Plans to Pass
Two hours after the boss was defeated, Kian and his group returned to the large square at the dungeon's entrance. Of course, there had been no battles during that time, and the group had not been worn down at all except when defeating the boss.
When they went out to the plaza, the receptionist in charge of recording the time of their return and the "proof of subjugation" rolled his eyes and looked at Kian.
「Eh, you've already returned?」
「Yes. This is the "proof of subjugation". It will be Shield Cain's head.」
The receptionist accepts a leather bag containing a head from a beautiful young man with blond hair ― Oswalt.
After checking the color of Kian's examination slip, she turned her sparkling eyes to Oswalt.
「Wow. As expected of your knight! I didn't expect you to come back in four hours ....... You only spent half the average time.」
「I didn't meddle in anything.」
「Eh ......?」
「Mariabelle-sama.」
Friedrich, the Guild Master, came with his cronies from the simple waiting space in the main square.
Looking at him in the torchlight, he looks like an immortal monster because of the shadows. The reason is that his eye sockets are more depressed than usual. His flesh is too thin and his cheeks are too skinny.
Friedrich's eyes glazed over as he looked at the masked girl.
「Were you satisfied with your play?」
「Yes! I enjoyed it very much, Friedrich.」
「Glad to hear that. If possible, I hope you will use the arena inside the citadel next time. ――Staff, there was no problem, right?」
Friedrich's sharp eyes turned to the three martial arts staff who were following behind Kian and his group.
The staff nodded.
「There was no problem.」
「Seriously, the only battle was the boss's one.」
「We just followed them from behind and went along for the walk. Frankly, we were bored.」
「If you weren't bored, you would have been in big trouble. ...... Thank you very much, Oswalt-sama」
Oswalt shrugged at Friedrich's words.
「I told you, I didn't really do anything. Just make sure you're as fair as possible in your assessment of Kian. The man is not of the level to remain the lowliest adventurer. Or rather, if you intend to keep him at a lower or intermediate level, please hand him over to me. I'd love to have him under my command.」
Before he could finish, the area near the stairs to the ground suddenly became noisy.
Soon a group with a torch fell from above.
Oswalt winked at Kian and explained, "These are my men on standby".
「Oswalt-sama」「Lord Oswalt」「Sir Oswalt」
A dozen men and women approach Oswalt in droves.
They were all wearing silver and red armor.
They were heavily armed.
A glamorous silver-haired dark elf steps forward from the group.
She wore a battle skirt that covered her ankles and held a shining white and silver bow in her hand.
From the unusual magic power Kian could feel, that thing must be a magic bow or a divine bow of some kind.
「――――」
The group placed their weapons on the stone floor in front of Oswalt and knelt down on one knee in a knight's salute.
The sound of metal scraping rang out in unison.
It is a trained and refined movement.
(Instead of bowing to the masked girl――Manon―― they bow to Oswalt.)
『I guess they are directly loyal to Oswalt. This handsome man with blond shaved hair, whom they just called "Lord," seems to have the best bloodline among knights.』
Oswalt stood in line with Manon so that the curtsies of his men would reach her as well.
The dark elf in the lead, who had her bow on the ground, looked up quickly.
「Oswalt-sama, did you dive into the dungeon without the "Holy Sword of the Sun"?」
「I gave it back to the "Order of the Sun". I'm strong without it. There is no way in hell I'm going to fall behind the monsters here.」
「You are too careless. The princess is here, too.」
「Aisha, I am safe. We only had one battle in the depth, and it wasn't dangerous at all.」
「Princess too, please stop doing things like this. Even if it is a dungeon for low-level adventurers, it is still dangerous.」
「Ahaha ......, I'm sorry」
「So? Am I finally going home? My whole body hurts from muscle pain ...... Even my robe is white with dust. Even though it was my favorite.」
Christy said this while worrying about the hem of her own skirt.
Kian sighed secretly.
(Turns out, she wanted to leave from the beginning to the end......)
Reading between the lines, she was only brought here by Manon, reluctantly, I suppose.
Oswalt had reprimanded her, and in fact, she was probably the biggest victim of the day.
「Kian, are you not going to ask anything about who we are?」
Oswalt asked, but Kian shook his head.
「There are many things in this world that are better left unknown, ......, especially to a commoner like me.」
「My, that's a good attitude, poor folks.」
「Christy. ...... Kian-sama, Thank you very much for the half day today. I enjoyed it very much.」
「Think nothing of it」
「Now, Princess, Oswalt-sama. We have prepared a carriage to pick you up, so please come this way. It's dark, so watch your step.」
「Thank you, Aisha.」
「Aisha, have you informed the other lords?」
「Yes, without fail. They have all returned to the citadel.」
「Good. Guard your excellency. We're going to leave.」
「Everyone, form up! Withdraw!」
A dark elf with a silvery-white bow shouted.
「Ha!」「Haha!」「Yes, ma'am!」
The knights answered and clustered around Manon, solidifying it so that not a single cat could get through.
「Kian.」
Oswalt turns his golden eyes on Kian.
「Farewell. Hope to see you again soon.」
「Yes, I hope too. Farewell.」
He bows silently to Kian, who says so with a smile, and then slinks off to the ground with his men, guarding Manon.
It took a while after that before the sound of their armor faded into the distance.
Finally, when the great square of the catacombs was quiet, some of the staff of the place breathed an overt sigh of relief.
「Good grief, it's tiring to babysit the nobility」
「Hey, don't do that. You're in front of the Guild Master.」
「Ha, Friedrich thinks so, too, doesn't he?」
「Do not say another word, Gortman-kun. My position is that I am obliged to punish you.」
「'kay, 'kay」
The swordsman escorting him shrugged his shoulders and walked toward the waiting area.
The scouts followed.
「Hey, you――Kian」
The last magician taps him on the shoulder.
「Yes, is something matter?」
「That was some fine scouting.」
The magician man whispers as he glances across at his fellow staff members, who are quickly retreating to a rest area to receive their hot drinks.
「I can't say it too loud, but you were better than our scouts」
「Ahaha ....... Thank you very much.」
「I hope you pass the test.」
The man chuckled and tapped him on the shoulder again.
Then he walked off to his companions.
「That man is the keeper of this labyrinth.」
Friedrich mutters, looking back at the magician who is receiving a cup of tea over there.
He turns his attention back to Kian.
「Today's examination hall (labyrinth) was also prepared by him. Well, to be precise, he and his men did. ――How was the exam? Was it difficult?」
「Yes, well. I think it was a well-made labyrinth.」
「The test for intermediate level and above uses an actual labyrinth. You'll have to keep that in mind because it won't be an attraction like this one.」
Friedrich said, bowing silently and turning his back to Kian.
In his place, the receptionist girl comes in front of Kian, holding a binder to her chest.
「Thank you for your hard work, Kian-sama! This concludes the lower-level adventurer qualification examinations. We will be examining each applicant individually, and the results will be posted at the entrance of the guild in two days' time. Please check the results there. If you pass, you will be promoted to a higher level. We will make you an ID card for an 8th-class adventurer for a fee, so please have five silver coins ready by two days from now.」
「I understand. Thank you very much for your explanation.」
「No, no~, it's my job after all!」
She sound as if she wouldn't even want to talk to Kian if it weren't for her work.
Well, in some cases, her colleague (Sophie) who was working with her was fired because of Kian, and anyone other than those who know the situation well would probably react like her.
Kian smiled softly and withdrew without concern.
『It's still early afternoon, but what are you going to do now? Are you going home to sleep?』
Kian answered Glasses' question, pulling out a piece of dried meat from his pocket.
「I'll wait for Serena to come back. We were talking about having a drink at the bar after the exam.」
× × ×
The second party finished about three hours later.
This was an hour earlier than average.
The party was quite a well-balanced combination of a scout, a swordsman, and a priest from the Western Church. Perhaps the three of them were the luckiest in today's second test.
The two of them were covered in dusty mud all over, and their equipment was worn out here and there.
They had probably engaged in battle not only with boss monsters but also with the monsters that roamed the dungeon along the way.
Although the healer looked slightly blue from overuse of his art, he was happy to reach the goal with his impromptu party mates.
After that, the third and fourth places were almost grouped together at the finish line――
In the fifth, Serena's group finally appeared at the entrance to the dungeon.
However――
「Ughh, my feet ...... my fingers is ......」
「――!! Medic! He's injured! Get him patched up quickly!」
Irina, the head receptionist in command, shouted loudly in place of Friedrich, who had withdrawn.
Serena and her group of three ― were in a far more serious condition than the group that had finished before.
Serena and the magician were covered in blood.
The Mohawk man, a swordsman, had lost his right leg and all the fingers of his right hand.
「Stay strong, hold your nerve!」
Serena called out to the crying Mohawk Man.
On the other side, a female magician, who was lending him her shoulder, threw a biting remark at the guild's healers who had rushed there.
「What the hell is going on here! I didn't hear that the boss is Shield Cain, who needs a 7th-class party to defeat it! This is a promotion test for the 8th class, isn't it!? How can this be ......! ......! If it weren't for Serena-san, we'd all be dead, you know!?」
「You must have gotten bad luck.」
A magician's staff member said to the girls as he walked up to them.
「Adventurers need luck. The kind of "bad luck" that keeps you from being out of the running. You guys were dumb enough to draw the strongest boss monster in this test. With normal luck, it would have been a single Rain Wraith. If you were very lucky, you only had three goblins.」
「That's unreasonable!」
The female magician exclaimed with tears in her eyes.
「I broke my grandma's wand ......! Even though that wand was the only piece of magician equipment my grandma left me. ......! I can't replace it!」
「Feet......, my feet, they're gone. Hey, you, I don't have my fingers either. Do you know where they are ......?」
「――Was the content of the exam appropriate?」
Serena looked up at the magician's staffer, her blue eyes blazing.
The man on staff nodded.
「In fact, you guys managed to come back alive, didn't you? I was monitoring you with a familiar, but that man was distracted in the labyrinth, and the female magician was scared to death in front of the boss. If it had been a real battle, they would have died. We just left you with a weakened Shield Cain beforehand, consider it a warm-up.」
「............!」
「That's absurd! The boss broke my wand, you know!? I can't afford to buy a weapon considering the money it would take to issue my credentials, and what am I supposed to do!? You'll have to pay for it!」
「You are on your own. In the meantime, when you move up to the lower class, they will engrave the magic language on your weapon along with your credentials. Free of charge. You are a magician, but you can have something engraved on a suitable knife as a stopgap measure. You'll have to scout around for a while to save up the money.」
「Cruel!」
The female magician gritted her teeth at the staff's seeming refusal to listen.
But she couldn't seem to bite down any harder than she had to, not when there was a man who had lost a leg, a finger, or something worse than her.
Serena patted the sobbing female magician on the shoulder as if to console her.
「Serena.」
「Ah ....... Kian. You were passed first. ...... That's right. It's been a long time since the test started.」
「You're all red with blood, are you okay?」
「Yeah, it's mostly blood from the return of blood. ...... I'd like to get a quick dip in the water for hygiene reasons, but that's all. What's not okay are them.」
Serena looked back at the weeping female magician behind her and the Mohawk swordsman who had lost a leg and a finger.
She bit her lip tightly.
「......again, I couldn't do anything. I've made my comrades suffer so badly. If only I had been stronger.」
「It's not your fault.」
Kian says this in a hushed voice.
Serena shook her head.
「No. Because ...... if it had been Kian who joined their party instead of me, I'm sure it wouldn't have ended like this. There would have been a different ending. ......It's not enough to be able to swing a sword cleverly. ......I keep doing the same thing over and over again.」
「Serena......」
『I think no matter who you work with, the ones who get hurt are going to get hurt. ......』
(Glasses is right. Worrying about others isn't something you should do unless it's your job.)
Kian nodded his head and said to Serena in the brightest voice he could muster.
「Whatever the case may be, you did a good job on the exam! We'll have a drink at the "Pig's Feet Pavilion" as promised. Today's on me.」
「O-Okay」
「Shall we invite the female magician too?」
「I don't think it's the right atmosphere to invite her., though.....」
「True that. Then let's leave her alone. She needs time to sort out her feelings.」
「Yup.」
「Wait here. I'll get some water from outside. You'll have to deal with that blood back first, otherwise, you won't be able to walk around town.」
「Thanks, Kian.」
Kian replied, "No worries," and after saying no to the staff member, he left the catacombs.
It was already dusk outside.
He had spent so much time in the dim light that his sense of time was becoming confused.
Kian pumped water from the well behind the guild, filled a leather bag with it, and headed back to the catacombs.
× × ×
After that, after a quick body washes and cleanse, Kian and Serena set out for the "Pig's Feet Pavilion" on Central Street.
The sun had completely set, and as usual, adventurers returning from hunting were passing by on the main street in search of a place to eat today.
The air was bright and cheerful.
In the midst of all this, Kian walked along with Serena, who did not speak a word.
Kian was walking by her hand before she knew it.
He did this so that he wouldn't get separated from Serena, who had been looking down for a long time.
「......Kian」
When they came to the tavern "Pig's Feet Pavilion," Serena suddenly put a lot of strength into her hand.
「What is it?」
「Thanks.」
The usually cool girl smiles faintly.
It's a smile that is becoming less and less common these days.
「Did I do something?」
「Nothing special......., but that makes me happy.」
「I see.」
「Hehe.」
Serena lined up beside Kian and intertwined her arms with his.
It feels like a hearty, modest chest hit him.
Their distance is very close ――
『Your crotch is bulging.』
(Give me a break. ......)
Remembering her lasciviousness at night, he can't help but react as a man.
While Kian was feeling as nervous as a virgin, he suddenly spotted a few crowds of people ahead on the street.
It was about time to reach the "Pig's Foot Pavilion".
It is not unusual for an area with a forest of taverns to be crowded, but today there seemed to be more adventurers than usual.
There was a huge traffic jam in front of the tavern.
It was as if they were putting on a freak show.
「What was going on?」
Unconsciously, Serena leans toward the crowd, pressing her chest against Kian's arm. When Kian says, "H-hey," she realizes that the distance is too close, and she lets go of his arm with an "Ah!" sound.
Her face is turning red.
「D-Do you want to take a peek?」
「Yeah. ......」
Serena nodded with a bashful look on her face as she said so.
We're acting like an innocent couple - he thought and Kian stretched out his back behind the crowd.
He looked at the back of the crowd through the men who were letting out a creepy laugh, "Uhehehehe".
In the back was a tavern (no surprise, since the sign above, indicated that this was a tavern), and the serving girls were busily moving back and forth among the customers.
There has been no problem so far, but
「Eh ......」
Kian let out a dumb sound when he saw the way these serving girls were dressed.
「What's wrong? What's going on in the back?」
Serena, a short girl, turns her light blue eyes on him.
Kian looked down at her and muttered in dismay.
「All the girls serving the customers are in their underwear.」
「......Huh?」
Serena, frozen for a moment, asks back with a smile.
Kian blinked and looked through the gap between the men's shoulders into the store.
「Welcome~!」
「Guhehehe!」
「Yahnn! Don't touch my butt~」
(What the hell is going on here ......?)
Kian looked down at Serena once more with a puzzled look on his face.
「No doubt. All the girls who are serving customers inside are dressed in such a compromising manner that they look like they are in their underwear. Is that a swimsuit?」
「What's that ......」
Serena muttered quizzically, then said, "Let me borrow your shoulder for a minute," and perched on Kian's back.
「Whoa, hey」
「Don't move」
Serena said one word and placed her thigh on top of Kian's shoulder.
Her soft but resilient thighs wrapped around both sides of his ears.
The back of his head was burning.
Surely it's because he's in close contact with Serena's crotch.
「No way」
Serena, who was being carried on Kian's shoulders, leaned forward on top of him and muttered something like that. That was our line, according to Kian. No matter how much they are friends, it's bad to carry on his shoulders in shorts. She may have thought it was okay because she wasn't wearing a skirt, but it was dangerous.
Serena looked down at Kian and muttered in dismay.
「Really, a girl is serving customers in a swimsuit ......」
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