Chapter 171 – Friends (6)
20. Friends (6)
“Promise… Yes, promise. Promises must be kept And as fast as possible.”
**
“Are you leaving now?”
“Not today, tomorrow.”
“I see…”
“Haha. I guess you’ve gotten used to that outfit now?”
“Any.”
A few days have passed since the shocking outing. In the meantime, I spurred on preparations for District 3. I squeezed the money I didn’t have and threw it all into the upgrade cost. Consumables were also taken to the limit. The overall level was updated, and the weapon and armor levels went up once again. All possible preparations have been completed.
Right now, I just washed up and lay down on the bed to rest when Ar came to my room.
Ar has been hired as an employee at this inn since three days ago. Just in time, one hand was vacant at the inn, and Hendrick, who found out about it, proposed it to Ar, and she, fed up with mayflies, accepted it, and the wolf girl, who was good at searching for things, stabbing and scratching, was wearing maid’s clothes and holding a tray. .
At first, I broke a bowl or a glass because I misregulated my strength, but I seemed to quickly adapt to it because I liked my innate sense.
“There are a lot of trash even among the warriors. At least, the inn here is of a mid-level class, so you won’t see a lot of gossip.”
“Anyway, I think I’m better than them.”
“That’s right. How is the owner?”
“It’s blunt, but it’s okay. Rather, there is no interference, so it’s okay.”
“I’m glad.”
“On the contrary, I feel sorry for being able to earn money stably by doing this kind of work.”
“Wouldn’t that be easy? It’s only been a few days now, so the owner must be taking care of things. I don’t know about serving or other chores, but I’m still dealing with customers… Hmm. You can’t say it’s good with empty words, can you?”
“…”
My fact attack made Ar a dumb dumb. Arguably, Ar was deeply indebted to me. It must be because I saved her and even provided a safe workplace for her. She has become, at least now, not a wild wolf purring in fear, but a wolf girl who has become more or less docile. It might be like that only in front of us, but that’s somewhere. In order for her to continue living here in the future, it was essential to completely assimilate with humans. It was a good phenomenon.
“Anyway, it seems like you’re adjusting well, so I’m relieved. I can safely go to the dungeon.”
“…”
“Why are you looking like that? Do you have something to say?”
“… Hey, Hendrick.”
“Uh?”
Ar took something from her bosom and held it out to me. It was a small pocket. In the small pocket where the warmth remained, I felt the weight more than its size.
When I opened the heavy pocket, dozens of gold coins glittered.
“Beautiful.”
“Accept it.”
“This is yours. That I gave you completely I’m sorry. And thank you.”
“I am still grateful for that.”
“But why…”
“I want to really stand alone from now on.”
“Really stand alone? Ar, you’ve been doing well by yourself until now. Who said something strange to you?”
“No. I haven’t been doing well so far. I am… I just held on.”
I tried to respond reflexively, but I shut my mouth after seeing Ar’s expression.
“I realized through this incident. That I’m a lousy being. That you are too weak.”
“Not at all.”
“I have put a lot of effort into it. But that didn’t lead to anything good. After breaking up with you, I thought I could do well as a person. But that was my mistake. I was just a stupid wolf who lived, breathed, crouched, and was led by Shay to imitate people. Without your help, I might have been used and abandoned to the point of ruin or I would have died. After you went to the dungeon again, you must have been thinking about what to do now.”
Ar’s words, which have increased significantly in the past few days, were quite harsh. It occurred to me that perhaps the short answer he had said so far was because of his suppressed and excessive vigilance.
“So, this is a sign of gratitude and a sign of determination. With the gold coins you gave me, I think I will continue to rely on you. What would you do, how would you help… I thought like this. So take it back.”
“… Okay.”
How can I ignore Are’s determination? Thinking about it, I couldn’t deny that the gold coin I handed over contained a lot of ‘sympathy’ in addition to guilt and gratitude. It’s true that I helped her, but she wasn’t below me. She wasn’t even an elderly person I needed to take care of.
“I understand what you said.”
“Huh. Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
I returned the pouch she had handed over to Ar.
“What does this mean?”
“Gift.”
“What?”
“It’s a gift for you who want to truly stand on your own.”
“Hendrick.”
“It is a gift from a friend to commemorate and congratulate you on your decision. I don’t want to be denied this.”
“Chi, friend?”
“Why? Um, aren’t we a bit of a friend?”
Arr shook her head vigorously. A small smile hung on her face as she held her pocket tightly in her arms.
“Friend. Huh. Hendrick is my friend. My first friend.”
Looking at Ar now, who can think of a werewolf that eats humans?
That’s how I officially became friends with the wolf girl. It was the same with Kaya, Shay, and Illumina who came out after washing.
**
The next morning.
We headed to the dungeon with Ar sending us off. It was not District 1, nor District 2, but heading to District 3, I felt strangely light. It seemed like it was because something good had happened with Ar the day before. Ar has told us a few times that she thanked us for her, but it was we who got her help. Entering the dungeon, mental management is more important than anything else, and it was like getting a kind of morale buff.
“How is everyone?”
“I feel good, and I feel good.”
“Me too.”
“It’s scary, but I expect more than that. Our story, because we are continuing to write the latter part. My life is in the middle of the day, but I’m looking forward to it, maybe I… Could it be crazy?”
“Now do you understand?”
“Hey! Hendrick, you shouldn’t say that! You tricked me with that!”
“Is it so?”
The group atmosphere was also good. Since making the appointment with Cestia, she has done her best to make Kaya and Shay feel “Cherished.” I was stupid and couldn’t figure out their feelings beforehand, so I had no choice but to try for them even if it was too late. They were the women I really deserved. Rather, they understood me when I should have understood their feelings.
‘Even though I’ve suppressed my personal feelings for something more important.’
Conversely, it was truly horrifying. To think Kayana Shay is pregnant with my friend’s or superior’s child…
‘Fuck, it can’t work.’
Well, I don’t have any friends or superiors anyway… Damn, that was a crazy idea to me.
I opened my profile to erase this useless thought.
[Eugene]
Level: 7
Max HP: 24
Attack power (6) : 10~22
Defense (5) : 13
Speed: 7(6+1)
Knight Regeneration/Awakening: 12%
Reconnaissance Probability: 45%
Positive Traits: *Wanderer (Speed+1)/Strong-willed (Slight increase in Awakening chance)/Horror Slayer (+10% damage to monsters with ‘fear’ in the name)/Butcher* (+15 damage to humanoid monsters) %)
Negative Characteristics: Extreme (attack power balance is lowered)
At 7th level before entering District 3, the attack and defense were 6/5 up, not bad. Considering it’s the highest difficulty level, I think it’s a bit lacking, but the feature I received from the ‘positive feature’ reward that I received as a reward for clearing area 2 and returning safely filled in that lacking spot. At least what I got was great. If you’re good at humanoid monsters, you’ll be able to put a bamboo spear.
[Kaya]
Race/Gender: Half-elf female
Class: Battle Vestal
Level: 7
Max HP: 30
Attack Power (6) : 17~23
Defense (5) : 16
Speed: 5(3+1+1)
Knight Regeneration/Awakening: 14%
Reconnaissance Probability: 31%
Positive features: Agile movement (Speed +1) / Overcoming fear (25% decrease in all mentality) / New conviction * / Raella’s incarnation * / Transcendence * (Accuracy rate greatly increased)
Negative Feature: One-Way* (affected by Eugene’s condition)
[Shae]
Race/Gender: Human female
Class: Crusader
Level: 7
Max HP: 35
Attack Power (5) : 14~24
Defense (5) : 21
Speed: 5(3+1+1)
Knight Regeneration/Awakening: 17%
Reconnaissance Probability: 34%
Positive Traits: Genius (all values +10%, minimum 1)/Desperate (Ignores death and mortification with chance)/Slayer (Critical Hit Damage +10%)/Descent of Justitia*/Overcoming Trauma* (5 Ignores the following mentality damage, reduces other mentality declining speed by 10%)
Negative Characteristics: Seizures (low chance of lowering mentality) / Sadism (low chance of uncontrollable attacks)
The main was the growth of Kaya and Shay. The specs before entering District 2 and now were incomparable. Her stamina and defense were incredibly strong, even higher than mine, the main dealer, simply in terms of attack power. The traces of the descent of the two goddesses were that strong.
In addition, the new positive traits obtained as rewards were well attached. Kaya, who sometimes makes dizzying moments by blowing up a room, has an accuracy rate, and Shay has a mentality-related characteristic. In particular, ‘Ignore mentality damage under 5’ was huge, and Shay has become strong enough to sleep even in the dungeon hallway now.
‘La Ella! Miss Justitia! Thank you so much!’
It felt like I had eaten two bowls of hearty soup. The feeling that had been tainted by bad imaginations was filled again.
‘I’m sorry, but I won’t be watching Illumina.’
There was no need to be petty with her enlarged breasts. It wasn’t Illumina’s fault at all, but comparing the simple specs, it looked so pitiful… In fact, Kaya and Shay were never at a level that could be called level 7.
“Leader?”
“Uh?”
“What do you think?”
At Kaya’s question, she got out of her mind. Before we knew it, we arrived in front of the dungeon entrance. My colleagues were looking at me. He didn’t even know he was waiting for ‘Last Words in Salem’.
District 3 was, of course, a fucking scary place. I could have carried someone’s corpse in a frenzy, and it could have been me.
But.
‘It’s not the first time I’ve been there, and there’s no need to pick a flag. As always, I will come back safely. Certainly.’
That’s why I say it boldly.
“What are you all doing? I’m not going in.”
“… Yes?”
“Let’s go. Fear bastards George.”
“Yes, chief.”
Kayaga, Shayga, and Illumina laughed and replied vigorously. Anyone who sees our expressions would know that we are not going to that terrible dungeon, but that we are going on a picnic somewhere. It was nerve-wracking to say that the place was the “Longest Horror Zone 3,” But… We were warriors in the face of fear.
[You have entered the longest fear, ‘Area 3’.]
Now, we’re just moving forward.
