Volume 6 - CH 3.19

Because Sherry intends to stay at home, I pass equipment to Roxanne and Miria: Chainmail, Leather Helmet, Leather Gloves, Iron Shield and Wooden shield.  Although there is only one Iron Shield and one Wooden Shield, they are occupying two separate slots in my Item Box. Was buying Iron Shield not a good decision after all?

Should I discard the Wooden Shield and buy one more Iron Shield for Miria to use as well? Because I have used gold coins to purchase Miria, one slot in the Item Box has been freed up, so that might not be such a bad idea.

「Miria, for the time being you can just observe and learn how we do things. You do not have to take part in the battles if you do not want to.」

After telling that to Miria, I take them to Haruba’s Labyrinth.

「I can smell Minos from over there. The smell is dense, however, which means there is more than one. About three, to be specific, so you should be careful master.」

「All right, got it. Let us head over there.」

Under Roxanne’s guidance, we proceed to go through the eleventh floor of Haruba’s

Labyrinth. Because it takes time to find monsters, it is inefficient to look for lone monsters, so we are targeting groups of them instead. Since Sherry is not here this time and Miria is only observing, a group of four monsters is out of the question, however.

NT Ants are not an option either because Sherry has Antidote Pills with her.

It might seem selfish of me to make so many demands, but this is all for the purpose of maintaining our safety at all times. That is why in our current circumstances, a group made out of Minos or Escape Goats in groups of up to two would be perfect.

It is a vague and selfish request, but I cannot help it. I am really grateful to Roxanne for putting up with me despite all of that though.

Next, we hunt a group of three Minos.

I start off with a 「Rush」 attack on the first Mino. After I dodge second Mino’s body slam, I take first one out with another attack. Roxanne is holding down the third Mino, dodging its attacks by a hair’s breadth, attacking it all the while whenever an opening for a counterattack presents itself to her.

「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X .」

After we take all three monsters out, Miria says something to Roxanne. From her expression, she looks excited.

She is most probably impressed by Roxanne’s godly dodging abilities, and honestly, I do not blame her for it. Watching her as she literally dances between the attacks of everything that wants to inflict harm upon her but cannot do so is always a sight to behold, so I can understand that she feels like that from the respectful expression she has on her face toward Roxanne.

Well, I dodged a Mino’s attack as well, but she did not praise me for it. Well, if you get to see Roxanne dodges, however, you cannot help but to feel in awe, so I kinda get it. That said, you need to be apt at fighting to be able to appreciate Roxanne’s prowess. And so I look forward to see what Miria is going to have to offer on the battlefield.

It is I, however, who takes the monsters out. But it is also true that I have no power of my own. Everything that I have achieved is thanks to Durandal. However, I am not going to admit defeat that easily!

「Can I ask of you to find one more group of monsters?

「Certainly.」

My MP is not fully recovered yet, so I decided to hunt some more until it gets replenished in one hundred percent.

「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.」

On our way to next monster, Miria says something, and then she points to a place ahead of us after we turned the corner. Is there something there?

Oh, it is a Magic Crystal.

When I used 「Identify」in the direction where Miria was pointing, I found out that there was a Magic Crystal there.

「Fish savings?」

「It is a Magic Crystal. Well done spotting it, Miria.」

Empty Magic Crystal are black, so they are often neglected for ordinary pebbles in the darkness of the Labyrinth. This is the first one that I found after a long while.According to what Sherry said, Magic Crystals are found much more frequently on higher floors, so technically, there was no need for me to buy one earlier.

「Her parents told her that she can eat fish if she collects them from the Labyrinths, and that is why she calls them fish savings.」

Roxanne translates what Miria said just now. So her whole family is genuine fish-lovers? Who would have ever guessed?

「I see. So you are skilled at finding them. That is great, Miria.」

「Miria can also see perfectly in the dark!」

Miria proudly sticks her chest out after Roxanne translated yet another thing that she said.

Cats have a reflective layer in their eyes which reflects light back through retinas, and this is the reason why their eyes are sharp and glow in the dark. I wonder if people of the Catkin tribe possess Tapetum in their eyes too? And if so, then maybe the reason I was unable to find any Magic Crystals in the Labyrinths at all is because her kind have swept them all clean? Without 「Identify」it would be impossible for me to find a Black Magic Crystal in the dark Labyrinths.

Miria, on the other hand, found one before even turning around the corner, so I am no match for her in that regard. If other Parties have Catkin people with them, it makes sense that we would not find Magic Crystals too often ourselves.

「Is that so?」

I feel like I have discovered a surprising truth about the Labyrinths today.

I receive the Magic Crystal from Miria, recover my MP and return home.

「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.」

「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X .」

When we arrive at home, Roxanne and Miria start talking about something. Roxanne moves her body in an exaggerated manner as she explains something to her. She waves her body several times in different directions while explaining, so she is probably teaching her how to dodge properly, but I do not think Roxanne’s lecture will help her in any way at all.

Roxanne moves in an exaggerated manner as she explains something. She waves her body several times as well. She’s probably teaching Miria how to dodge, but I don’t think Roxanne’s lecture will help her to improve in any way however. As a fellow ordinary person, I empathize with Miria in that regard.

Eh? But wait, what’s this now? This is strange. Miria is listening to her explanation eagerly, and she even imitates Roxanne and waves her body around exactly like she does. Roxanne’s lecture seems to be effective on her?

「Miria is suited to be a warrior.」

Roxanne seems satisfied with Miria’s effort.

「S-She is?」

Is Miria perhaps not a fellow ordinary person but more of a Roxanne’s fellow?

All Beastkin tribes seem to be like that.

But they can’t express themselves fully because they don’t speak Brahim. I divert my eyes from them and look at Sherry. She has same look on her face as me, which is to say, she’s clearly puzzled.

She is a fellow ordinary person like me after all.

For the time being, I entrust the two of them to Sherry and head back to the bathroom to heat the water again.

Now that the bath has been properly heated, it’s time for lemon to do its job. I toss them in there and leave them to float in the bath, grab two more and move to the kitchen. While there, I take a peek at the soup that Roxanne is making.

「Yes? What is it, master?」

「It doesn’t seem to be seasoned yet. Would you mind if I had a little?」

「Of course. Please, go right ahead.」

Roxanne’s soup is in the stage of boiling meat and vegetables together. At this point, it looks similar to bouillon.

「I want you to tell Miria to squeeze these lemons. Is it alright?」

「Certainly.」

Roxanne then translates my request to Miria.