Chapter 8 - Tracking
On the way to the west tower, Alec warned Ione.
「Ione, in the dungeon, Shin will probably come after us, so it's going to be dangerous after today, okay?」
「Yes. Then, even more so, I have to stay by Alec-san side, don't I? I'm confident in my skills. I'm a licensed swordsman at the Welbard Kenjutsu Dojo.」
Ione smiled, and rather than looking strong, she looked more like a gentle older sister. Her blonde hair is soft and beautiful. She is a swordswoman who wears silvery white steel armor, and is a reassuring ally. She's beautiful, so I'm worried .
「Do as you please. But I have the rare skill of [Charm]. I'm not as good as you think I am.」
Alec told her that honestly. I don't know what the wind is blowing.
「Oh, ...... with that. I was wondering why I was getting more and more attracted to you. Does it work on men too?」
「No, it's only supposed to work on women I like.」
That means Alec also like me, right? Ugh, my face is starting to get hot.
「Oh. Then you'll be fine. My father and Fritz both say that you're a good person, Alec-san.」
Eehh? Yeah, but it's because he helped Ione fight off bandits.
「And ......, I mean, you know, you like me, too, right?」
「Well, yes, I do, but ......」
「Fufu, I'm glad to hear that. I thought I was totally different from your taste. But if that's the case, how come, uhm........ you've never invited me?」
Wow. I knew Ione liked Alec too. I can't believe it .......
「I'm afraid of your father and Fritz.」
「Ehh? Not really, I don't think those two would be offended if we have that kind of relationship.」
「I doubt it.」
「Then, I'm going to leave home and become an adventurer.」
「Come on, ......, think a little more about it. Besides, aren't you the heir to the dojo there?」
「Because Fritz is my father's number one apprentice. My father doesn't seem to want to leave the dojo either. He said he just likes teaching.」
「I see. Well, I guess it's his calling. He teaches well.」
「Yes, he is.」
「Well, okay. Now, follow me.」
「Yes, sir. I look forward to working with you all.」
「Oh, yes, it's my pleasure.」
「P-please take care of me too. ...... and Meena.」
「Yeah, Lily.」
「Mmm, please take care of me too.」
「Sylvie, you are not our party member.」
「Ehh? You're horrible. You put me together and made me your woman.」
「Don't talk to me like I forced to rape you. You're the one who lured me into a pit.」
「Well, don't sweat the small stuff.」
I don't know if it's a detail. ...... Not at all.
「Lily, how it is?」
Alec asked Lily how she was doing, who had been worrying about her back for a while.
「Hmmm, there doesn't seem someone who's following us.」
「Well, that's good. He's already gone to the tower anyway.」
Alec seemed confident and unconcerned.
「Is that so?.」
「Anyway, let's all be careful and make sure we're not alone.」
I said, and everyone nodded.
Walking with caution, we came to the west tower.
Just the thought that Shin might be waiting for us made the red-bronze tower look like a bloody stake.
「Okay, let's go.」
We entered through the half-open door and relied on Meena's nose for spotting.
「It's okay. They're coming through here, but they're not close.」
She even seems to be able to smell Shin, and I'm impressed.
「How can you tell?」
「Because I'm a dog-eared race.」
Meena happily flaps her white tail and waves it. So cute!
「Can you retrace his steps?」
「I'll try.」
Meena leads the way, and we move in our usual line.
We took the shortest distance to the tenth floor and headed for the next staircase, but Meena got a little lost on the eleventh floor.
「Let's see, ......」
「Well, don't be in a hurry. The sun will be setting soon. We should take a break and eat somewhere.」
「Yes, sir.」
Under Alec's direction, we entered a small room in the safe zone and ate some bread and cheese.
「Are they waiting for us in these small rooms?」
I looked around the room and tried to figure out where Shin would ambush us. I wondered where he would lie in wait. A place where there were no monsters would be a good place for him to strike. But Alec did not agree with that idea.
「I don't know. He might attack someone in their sleep, but if he left a trail here, the adventurer's guild would be notified. They'll know he's not a monster. He probably doesn't want to be recognized as a PK, so he'll probably attack us on a floor where there are suitably strong enemies.」
「I see.」
I don't know what he's thinking on his head, but I can rely on him in this kind of situation.
「Let's go then.」
After everyone finished eating and took a break, we set off again.
「Master, I'm not too sure, but it might be this way.」
「Yeah, let's go.」
We might be able to find Shin before he does. That would give us an advantage.
But on the way, Meena twisted her neck.
「What's wrong?」
「Well, the smell is gone here.」
「Hmph. Well, they know we have dog-eared people, so they might have used an item to remove the smell.」
「Yeah, they're tough.」
Shin has a cunning side.
「Yeah.」
Alec seemed to agree, and nodded lightly with an unamused look on his face.
Still, we have reassuring friends here, including Meena. Shin's companions also looked strong, but there were three of them. We have Alec, Meena, Ione, Sylvie, and Lily.
If we're not careless, we'll have the advantage in numbers.
「Okay, the stairs are this way.」
I said after checking the [Auto Mapping].
「Okay, let's go up.」
We've already explored half of twelfth floor of the tower, and it's too dangerous to go any further, so we should ask Alec what we should do. I'm sure Shin won't stay in the tower forever, and he'll return to the city when he runs out of food.
At this point, we just assumed that Shin would be upstairs, and didn't anticipate that we would have to swap places.
We were paying attention to the stairs as we went.
「Guh!?」
I heard Alec roar behind me.
I turned around and saw that he had an arrow stuck in his leg. I immediately realized it was Shin's bow gun.
「「 Alec!? 」」
「Master!」
「Alec-san!」
「P-prepare the battle! Don't break formation!」
Alec shouted while falling. We were about to run at him, but he stopped us.
It was a close call, but it didn't seem to be life-threatening.
『Serina-san, please be careful up there. There's a archer on the stairs..』
Heruko warned me that there was a swordsman and an archer at the top of the stairs.
Shadows also appeared in the passages on either side.
「Damn, a newcomer! They're at the top of the stairs too. Two of them!」
Alec also noticed and said. There's no doubt they're Shin's friends, but I've never seen these adventurers before. And one of them is a dog-eared swordsman. I felt a cold chill in my stomach as I realized that the other side was equally adept at spotting enemies.
It seemed that we had been completely ambushed by Shin.
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