Chapter 222 – Episode 222 – Date!
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Screeeeeeeech!
“Dieeeee!!!”
Kikikikikieeeeeeek!
“Become my living expenses!”
“Fireball!”
“Slash!”
Kieeeeeek!
Today, the first floor was once again the scene of a fierce battle between novice adventurers and goblins, just like two days ago.
It seemed that three days wasn’t enough to regain their usual slightly relaxed demeanor.
“S-so brutal…”
Melisa, witnessing the scene, quickly hid behind my back.
“It’s because living expenses are on the line.”
“Does Rent… fight like that too?”
“No, I’m a bit more relaxed.”
Because there’s no chance of me getting hurt.
“There are a lot of people here, let’s go a bit deeper.”
I princess-carried Melisa.
“Kyaa! Re, Rent.”
“Let’s go.”
Holding Melisa, I ran until the other adventurers were out of sight.
“This should be good.”
I ran normally for about five minutes, and then for the remaining five minutes, I used my muscle-powered carriage technique, quickly reaching a place where there were no other adventurers.
“U-um, are you sure this is okay? There are a lot of goblins around…”
Kikikikik!
Kieeeeeek!
As Melisa said, there were five goblins surrounding us.
But this was nothing to worry about.
“It’s okay, Melisa.”
I carefully placed Melisa on the ground and created a semi-transparent cylindrical barrier around her.
…Come to think of it, if I apply it like this, I might not need Elsie’s protection.
No, let’s think long-term.
Elsie’s protection allows air to pass through.
Mine is made almost entirely of magic power, so air can’t pass through, and unless I make a hole at the top, it can’t be used for long.
Let’s think of it that way.
“Watch carefully.”
I slowly walked towards the goblins.
Kieeeeeeeeeeek!
Then, the five goblins charged at me at once, swinging their clubs.
“Rent!”
I heard Melisa call my name at the same time.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The goblins’ clubs hit my body.
Kiek?
Kigik?
Kigeggek?
But the goblins’ clubs couldn’t hurt my body.
Kieeeeeek!
Kikikikikiek!
Kekkyagegegek!
The goblins, seeing that I was unharmed, became even more enraged and continued to swing their clubs.
But no matter how many times they swung, my body didn’t budge.
“See, Melisa, I’m okay, right?”
“…Doesn’t it hurt?”
“Not at all. You know how strong I am, Melisa. There’s no way my body, which can withstand that strength, would get hurt by this, right?”
“Oh…? Come to think of it, you’re right?”
“I can probably withstand most monster attacks. Now, I’ll show you how I take them down.”
I created a hammer larger than the goblins’ clubs with my mana weapon and smashed the goblins’ skulls one by one, like playing whack-a-mole.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The goblins, their heads crushed, fell to the ground.
“How was that?”
“Yeah, I know now that you have nothing to worry about even if you go into the dungeon.”
I’m glad Melisa was reassured.
“Are you going to stay in the dungeon, Melisa? Honestly… it won’t be pleasant to stay here for long.”
Melisa grew up in the same village as me, so she’s seen goblin corpses before.
But even if they’re monsters, it wouldn’t be pleasant for Melisa, a regular person, to keep seeing such brutal scenes, unlike adventurers who hunt monsters for a living.
“…I want to go to the second floor. Noah told me. The first time he saw the second floor, it was really… moving.”
“Ah… so you wanted to see the dungeon because…”
“I wanted to see the second floor. And… I was also curious about what a dungeon that four people go to is like.”
“I see.”
Then, I should quickly show Melisa the scenery of the second floor that moved me as well.
“Then, let’s go see it quickly!”
I deactivated my mana weapon and picked Melisa up again.
“Kyaa! Are we going… like this again?”
“You don’t like it?”
Melisa hugged my neck.
“…I like it.”
I sped up and ran towards the second floor.
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“We’re here, Melisa. This is the staircase leading down to the second floor.”
“…It’s pitch black?”
“It looks like that inside, but if you keep walking down, you’ll see the second floor.”
I carried Melisa down the stairs.
Step, step, step.
As we descended the stairs in the dark space, Melisa’s arms around my neck tightened.
“It’s scary because it’s dark…”
“Just wait a little longer.”
As we continued down, I could feel the gentle breeze of the second floor from below.
“We’re almost there, Melisa.”
And after going down a little further, Melisa and I saw the scenery of the second floor.
A gentle breeze, a clear blue sky, a sparkling sun, and an endless meadow.
It was the scenery that made me genuinely want to adventure when I came to Pludan.
“Wow…”
Melisa, held in my arms, stared at the scene with wide eyes.
It was similar to the expressions Noah and Elsie had when they first reached the second floor.
“How is it, Melisa?”
“It’s so… beautiful.”
“Right?”
I was happy that Melisa seemed to understand how I felt at that time.
I continued down the stairs and placed Melisa on the meadow of the second floor.
“It’s really amazing. Is this really… the same place that was a cave just now?”
“It’s amazing, right? I was really surprised when I saw it for the first time too.”
“And…”
“Hey! There’s a slime over there!”
“Got it.”
“Yaa!”
“Unlike the first floor, the people here seem so normal.”
The adventurers on the second floor who were catching slimes seemed to be having a picnic.
“Well, slimes are much weaker than goblins, and they don’t attack unless you attack them first, so they’re not dangerous. Plus, their magic stones are more expensive than goblins’.”
Even if they catch fewer slimes than goblins, they can still secure their living expenses, so they’re much more relaxed.
“I see… If it’s a slime… can I catch one too?”
“You probably can. Do you want to try?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then, let’s go to a place where there aren’t many people.”
I picked Melisa up again.
“…Do we have to do this every time we move? I’m embarrassed because there are people around…”
“But this is faster for moving.”
“There’s no danger here, right? I want to walk calmly.”
“Is that so?”
I put Melisa down again and held out my hand.
“Then, let’s walk.”
“…Okay.”
Melisa touched her hair and took my hand.
We walked hand-in-hand, strolling like we were on a walk.
“Isn’t that the Dungeon Crasher?”
“He’s on the second floor again?”
“Who’s the girl next to him?”
“I’ve never seen her before?”
The surrounding gazes turned towards us.
But they only glanced at us for a moment before the adventurers focused on catching slimes again.
Even if they were curious, it was still morning.
They hadn’t finished their daily work yet, so they focused on hunting to earn their daily wages.
After walking calmly for about 15 minutes, there weren’t many adventurers around.
“The breeze… feels nice. It doesn’t feel like a dungeon full of monsters at all.”
“Only the second floor is special. On other floors, monsters appear soon after you start walking, so you have to keep fighting.”
“Isn’t it dangerous?”
“I’ve never been in danger, even if others have. Besides, unless they’re exceptional, everyone else forms parties.”
After walking for about five more minutes, I stopped and looked around.
There were about three slimes in front of us, perfect for hunting.
“Melisa, let’s try hunting slimes here. I’ll make a weapon for you. What kind of weapon do you like?”
“Then… a sword.”
“Okay. How long should it be?”
“A normal sword is fine.”
I created a sword of a size that was easy for Melisa to hold with my mana weapon and handed it to her.
“Here.”
“…Rent’s thing is really amazing no matter how many times I see it. Does it stay there after you make it?”
“No, it disappears if it’s about 30 meters away from me.”
“So, it’ll stay if you’re next to me?”
“Probably, I guess?”
It disappears if it’s more than 30 meters away, but it doesn’t disappear if I make something larger than 30 meters.
“More importantly, Melisa, try catching one quickly.”
“U-um.”
Melisa held the sword with both hands and carefully walked towards the slime.
“Re, Rent. It’s true that they don’t attack first, right?”
“It’s true. Can you see the core in the center of the slime and the magic stone next to it? If you slash or stab at either of them, it’ll be easy to catch.”
“The core or the magic stone…”
Melisa gripped the sword tightly and just stared at the slime, not swinging it.
Even if it’s a slime, it seemed like Melisa, a regular person, was very nervous.
I didn’t rush her and just watched Melisa quietly.
Melisa, staring intently at the slime and having her own battle of nerves, was cute.
About three minutes passed.
“Hoo… Ya!”
Melisa closed her eyes tightly and swung the sword.
Swoosh!
But the sword, swung with her eyes closed, didn’t even touch the slime and just cut the grass.
“Ah…”
Her face turned red.
Cute.
“It’s okay, Melisa. You can swing it with your eyes open this time. Everyone makes mistakes.”
“U-um…”
Having swung it once, she seemed a bit more used to it, and this time, Melisa immediately got into position and prepared to swing.
“Hoo… Ya!”
Swoosh!
This time, Melisa opened her eyes properly and swung at the slime.
The sword Melisa swung cut through the slime and hit the core.
My Create Sound automatically activated, adding a sound effect to Melisa’s successful slash.
The slime, its core broken by the sword, melted away, leaving only the magic stone behind.
Clap, clap, clap.
“Good job, Melisa.”
“Oh…? Did I defeat it?”
“Yeah. You did well in one go?”
Melisa stared at her trembling hand holding the sword.
“I-it doesn’t feel real. C-can I try one more time?”
“As many times as you want. It’s not dangerous, but if it seems dangerous, I’ll help you right away.”
“Okay.”
Melisa nodded and looked at the slime again.
This time, without looking nervous, Melisa immediately swung her sword at the next slime.
Swoosh!
This time, the magic stone was hit by Melisa’s sword and broke, and the slime melted away, leaving only the core behind.
“Hiyah!”
Swoosh!
Melisa immediately caught the slime next to it as well.
“Hoo… Hoo…”
“How is it, Melisa?”
“I was a bit surprised because it was easier than I thought. But… I don’t want to keep doing it. I guess I’m not cut out to be an adventurer after all.”
Seeing her swing continuously just now, I thought she could do quite well, but there must be some fatigue or tendency that I don’t know about.
“Is that so? Then… what should we do now? Should we go back to the surface?”
Melisa shook her head.
“No, I want to stay here a bit longer. Even if I don’t catch slimes, I really like the scenery here.”
“Okay. Then, should we continue our walk?”
“Yeah. But when I slashed, there was a strange sound… Oh, Rent. What’s that on your shoulder?”
“This is one of my skills called Create Sound. It’s a skill that makes cool sound effects that match any action. For example.”
I punched the air.
Whoooom!
“Like this.”
“…That’s a strange skill.”
“Isn’t it cool?”
“Not really?”
Elsie and Noah loved it though…
I’m a little disappointed that Melisa’s reaction isn’t great.
“Oh, but how does this sword disappear?”
“Like this.”
Snap!
Shoooom.
I snapped my fingers and made the mana weapon disappear.
Of course, the disappearing sound effect was also made by Create Sound.
“Whoa, it disappeared… Does it disappear when you snap your fingers?”
“I snapped my fingers because it looks cool.”
“Rent, you still have a childish side.”
“It’s important to always keep a pure heart, Melisa.”
“Pfft, what’s that? Here, Rent.”
Melisa held out her hand to me.
“Let’s take a walk.”
“Okay.”
I held Melisa’s hand tightly, and we walked together on the second floor with its beautiful meadow.
“I’m tired.”
But after walking for about 20 minutes, Melisa stopped.
“Already?”
“I feel like I’ve lost my energy since catching the slimes.”
She must have used up her energy because she was nervous when she was catching the slimes.
“Then, let’s rest for a bit.”
Walking is good, but sitting side by side in the meadow and spending time is also a romantic development.
“Okay.”
Melisa sat down on the meadow, stretching out her legs.
Tap, tap.
“Here, Rent.”
Melisa patted her thighs and looked up at me.
This is a gesture that Miranda often made.
It’s a lap pillow OK sign.
I immediately laid my head on Melisa’s soft thighs.
“Melisa’s thighs… are so soft, it feels good.”
“Don’t say it out loud.”
For three minutes, I enjoyed Melisa’s soft thighs and looked up at the clear blue sky.
“…”
Whiff!
“Sigh… haaa…”
“…Rent. Why are you burying your face in my thighs and sniffing?”
“I wanted to smell Melisa’s fragrant scent… I wonder if it smells like grapes?”
“Pervert!”
Thwack!
I was hit on the head by Melisa.
I’m sorry.
But burying my face in her thighs and smelling her was really nice.
I’ve decided you’re the one for today’s dream play!
『Should we do it with a naked lap pillow?』
Please, in a maid outfit!
