Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-One: Departure Preparations
“Going to the tenth floor of an unexplored dungeon itself isn’t difficult for us as long as we don’t fight the boss. However…”
Alban looked down at Karen with a stern expression. Having apparently shaved and perhaps having washed and slicked back his hair, he looked refreshed overall. The bearded Alban had looked to be in his late thirties, but the groomed Alban looked only to be in his mid-twenties. With his expressions now clearer, his haggard cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes revealed the extent of his mental strain. It was obvious he was deliberately lowering his voice to sound more imposing.
“However, once we must protect someone unable to fight, the difficulty increases dramatically. For us to protect you without a single injury, we need you to follow our instructions, Miss Karen.”
“Understood.”
To Alban, who spoke with particular gravity, Karen nodded obediently.
She was basically baggage. So following their instructions would be the best course of action.
“Monsters seem foolish but are cunning. When they see a group, they target the weak first.”
“They target the weak? That’s clever. But why call them foolish?”
“Even if the opponent is strong, they come at you without fearing death. Even when the difference in strength is clear. What else would you call that but foolish?”
“Ah… It’s like monsters live to die, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“Um, never mind.”
When Karen spoke, remembering her dialogue with the pegasus from some time ago, Alban looked puzzled.
How much of monster ecology had been revealed in this world? At least Alban had apparently never conversed with a monster like the pegasus.
—For someone around D-rank in ability, that was probably normal.
Monsters that understood human language were advanced. Naturally, they normally only existed on the eleventh floor and below. So high-ranking adventurers might know about it.
“I’ve obtained a riding dragon from Lord Helfried. Now we can bring wine with us.”
“Knight Captain…”
“Knight Captain…”
Gottfried, who had seemed busy making preparations, returned leading the riding dragon by the reins with a pleased expression.
Completely unfazed by Karen’s lukewarm gaze and Alban’s astonished stare, Gottfried said:
“Miss Karen, you should ride in the wagon. Monsters target the weak, but those who are too weak are apparently difficult for them to notice. When monsters do approach, stick close to the riding dragon. The riding dragon’s magical power will mask you, making it harder for monsters to perceive you.”
“So you prepared the riding dragon for Miss Karen.”
Alban said with apparent relief.
Gottfried averted his eyes slightly as he nodded, then cleared his throat and spoke:
“This hiding method is said to be effective even after being visually spotted by a monster. There’s a story of an adventurer on the verge of death being chased by a bugbear. After hiding beneath the corpse of a dead forest bear, the bugbear that had been pursuing him suddenly lost track of him.”
“I’ve heard that. There’s also the story that when an overly strong adventurer is nearby, weak adventurers actually become harder for monsters to notice.”
That was why weak adventurers wanted to be near strong adventurers. But from a strong adventurer’s perspective, they would be annoying remoras.
“Normally, however, the weak just get attacked by monsters and die first. Well, remember this for desperate times, Miss Karen.”
“Yes.”
Karen nodded obediently to Gottfried’s words as well.
“We just need to watch the entrance, right?”
“Lady Petra, Lady Rosine, please.”
Karen nodded to Petra and bowed her head to Rosine as well. She planned to have the two of them wait outside the dungeon.
“It seems Sir Alban and the Third Unit members are being targeted by someone. I don’t know by whom or why they’re being targeted, but it would help if you two could block the entrance so that whoever it is doesn’t follow us.”
“If that’s the case, leave it to me.”
“I shall do so too.”
In truth, she was leaving them behind so the knights wouldn’t have more people to protect besides Karen. Although Petra and Rosine were apparently among the stronger young ladies, they weren’t as strong as the knights. In that case, from the knights’ perspective, they would only be subjects to protect.
“If something happens and you consume your potions on hand, please let me know. I’ll take responsibility and replenish them later.”
“Really!? Then cosmetic water! I want soap and face powder too!”
“By ‘something,’ I meant if an emergency occurs… but well, fine.”
To Petra’s frank demand, Karen nodded.
“If you’ll blockade the dungeon entrance, I’ll present you both with a year’s supply of Lady Waltride’s royal seal cosmetics set.”
“A year!? That hard-to-obtain cosmetic!?”
“Ah, I can’t make it all at once, okay? There’s an expiration date, and I’ll make seasonal adjustments, so it’ll be each time.”
“That’s fine! Totally fine! I’ll guard the dungeon gate with everything I’ve got!”
“I shall show you a perfect defense, Lady Karen.”
While Petra got excited, Rosine’s expression became determined.
Karen made sure to tell them just in case.
“You don’t need to defend it to the death, okay? Value your lives.”
“Beauty is more important than life…! Ow.”
When Karen reflexively chopped Petra, Rosine immediately took a defensive stance to protect her own forehead. Rosine apparently belonged to the same category as Petra.
Petra glared at Karen.
“W-What was that for…!?”
“I apologize for being rude to a noble young lady. But I don’t want you saying things like ‘my life doesn’t matter.’ I told you before, didn’t I?”
Now that Karen had become a B-rank alchemist, chopping a noble young lady wouldn’t immediately end everything. Even so, Petra could certainly have reprimanded Karen for it. However, Petra did not scold Karen and instead eventually looked up at her with a sulky expression.
“…True, you need more than just a pretty face to marry a good man.”
“Why are you saying that while looking at me?”
“I’m not saying it’s bad, but if you ask if you’re beautiful, well, not quite. Oh, but your skin is incredibly beautiful…! How frustrating. Despite the shortages, you’re using plenty of beauty potions on yourself, aren’t you!?”
Karen meekly accepted having her face firmly grabbed by Petra.
“I am using them. My face is like an advertisement for my products, after all.”
“Hmph.”
After staring intently at Karen’s face as if displeased, Petra said:
“…You should value your own life too.”
Saying this, she released Karen’s face with a light push.
“I have to receive the cosmetics set as payment. It’ll be a problem if you don’t come back alive.”
Rosine, who had been watching Petra’s profile closely, covered her mouth and tattled to Karen:
“Lady Karen, Lady Petra seems to be worried about you. Moreover, she’s embarrassed about saying something she’s not used to saying.”
“Lady Rosine! Don’t say unnecessary things!”
“I merely thought it would be terrible if there were misunderstandings!”
Looking down at the girls arguing noisily, Karen chuckled and said:
“I’ll definitely come back, so please take care of things here.”
“Leave it to us, Lady Karen. When you return, I would like to discuss business regarding your potions.”
Karen looked puzzled at Rosine’s words but nodded.
“Understood. I’m looking forward to hearing what kind of discussion it will be.”
Creating several reasons to return, reasons to be wanted back, Karen finished preparing for departure.
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