Chapter 180: 165

There were monsters lurking everywhere.

The closer we got to the center of the city, the more we encountered and the more we fought.

As she had earlier warned, we fought a series of battles with all kinds of enemies.

Except for the fact that they were horned, they were all monsters that we had fought before. Their attacks, defenses, and speed were unchanged. They even had the same ecological habits and could be defeated using the same strategies.

What gave us problems was the characteristic of monsters who had turned into Horns.

Their ability to regenerate.

Even if their limbs got torn off, they regrew them quickly and didn't care about their vitals being destroyed once or twice. They wouldn't die until they were pulverized or dismembered.

They were extremely hardy, and would attack even if all they had left were their heads.

It was almost like we were fighting other adventurers. They were that troublesome of an enemy.

If the effort required to defeat the monsters before this floor was a『1』, then the Horns would be a『5』. For the bigger ones, the effort required would be somewhere between『10』and『20』.

When things were different from what people were used to, mistakes were bound to happen.

When fatigue set in, it would dull the mind.

After every mistake, a lecture followed.

As she had declared, Evetta-san pointed out a lot of our faults. In between battles, she would politely and courteously give us crushing criticisms.

First up, Rana.

She got into a full-on punching showdown with a monster with countless tentacles. She almost suffered a horrendous fate that I'd like to have on video.

「Madam, you’re placing too much importance on the number of strikes. Decide it with a single blow. At a minimum, or at worst, incapacitate the enemy with that one blow. Using a large number of strikes or a combination of blows to pile on the damage is a poor tactic. I believe it's a way of fighting not befitting a kin of Gladvain-sama」

「………………Got it」

Rana nodded with a pained look on her face.

Next, Shuna.

He was bitten by a winged snake that had been cut in two and was paralyzed by its poison. Although the poison was easily cured by Lys' magic, a mistake was a mistake.

「Shuna-san, you're trying too hard to look cool. The moment you slay a monster, you get drunk on yourself. That creates openings. You're narrowing your perspective. Please try to take a broader view of things. If you look at things from a low perspective(have a narrow perspective/tunnel vision), you won't grow taller」

「………………Got it」

Shuna nodded, completely stunned.

Gladvain-sama was the type who encouraged people through praise, so the two kin weren't used to being criticized.

Next, Ea.

「Younger sister-sama, your ability to detect enemies is impressive. It's as good or even better than mine, and if you're able to maintain it and not let it slip, it's a top notch ability. Your skill with the bow is also beyond reproach. It contributed greatly towards intimidating and distracting the enemies」

「Mm-hmm~. That's only natural」

My sister had a smug look on her face. She was in a good mood because it had been two criticisms in a row before her.

「But」

Well, that’s only natural.

「Your manner of speech oozes the arrogance characteristic of elves. If you care about your party, you need to curb your bragging and self-praise a little. It may be fine in normal times, but when everyone is fatigued, thoughtless words can spark a fight within the party」

「Eh………………okay」

Ea didn't look convinced. But I fully agreed with what Evetta-san had said.

She needs to compliment the others too. They're important party members after all.

Lys went at it.

「Beltoriche-san, please fight seriously. Bring out all you've got. These are not opponents you should conserve your strength against. It would be silly if you died because you were holding back」

「Shut your mouth, monster」

「Hey, Lys!」

How could you say such a thing so lightly?

「Huh, Lys? The name on the registration is Beltoriche, isn’t it?」

「Oh, Evetta-san, about that, she went through some unfortunate times, and because of her difficult childhood experiences, she has two personalities. This is the personality with a worse temperament」

Because of the hassle, her name had been left as Beltoriche on the registration.

Miffed, Lys opened her mouth.

「I'm doing more than enough to support these guys. Someone like you――――――」

I threw a sweet in her mouth to shut her up. It was one of my secret honey candies.

Bel was also the same, but this one is also a girl who can blow up at any time, I see. It's a bit late to realize that though.

As for Otou-san, well……I felt sorry for him.

Unusually, or rather, for the first time, nothing went his way on this floor. Otou-san's swordsmanship was too sharp.

His cuts were too clean and thus, easily regenerated. As a result, he lacked a way to finish off enemies. The finishing blows were all stolen away by Evetta-san or Rana.

「Medimu-sama, I’ll be frank. You've learned a way of fighting that’s easy on you, haven’t you? I understand that, unlike Lys-san, you're doing it because you can't afford not to. You're already getting on in years after all.

It's not wrong to choose a way of fighting that places less of a burden on you. It can't be helped.

However, adventuring is something that requires you to put your life on the line.

With your current fighting style that's as watered down as cheap alcohol diluted with water, the younger ones will die before you do. Please be more desperate. Considering your advanced age, you shouldn't have any regrets even if you die, right? Please show me the bloodcurdling swordsmanship you displayed in the past」

「………………………………」

Stop it! Don't say any more!

I've never seen Otou-san look so distressed before! You didn't have to mention his age twice either! It's something he's really sensitive about!

「Next is Souya, but………」

Oh, I don't have the time to worry about other people right now.

「No problems」

「Eh?」

『Eh?』

Surprisingly, she said that there were no problems.

Otou-san, Ea, Shuna, and even Lys raised their voices in disbelief.

「Offense, defense, enemy detection, and survival skills, you've got a very well-balanced skill-set. Even if the worst should happen and the party loses a member, you can take their place and keep the party functioning no matter who it is. You also don't neglect your responsibilities as the leader. You're a little emotional, but not arrogant. Of course, you're not perfect. There are still some rough spots. But there’s also room for growth. It's hard to believe how quickly you've grown from the pathetic mess you were at first. Please continue to grow into a good adventurer at this pace」

「Somehow~, it feels like you're being really~ biased」

Ea complained,

「Yeah, that's right. It's weird that Souya is the only one who doesn't have any faults」

As did Shuna,

『………………』

But Otou-san and Lys stayed silent.

Or rather, Otou-san, please say something to her.

「Those are just my honest thoughts. I didn't let any other feelings cloud my judgment」

Evetta-san said, simply and unapologetically.

「Dear」

Rana grabbed my hand jealously.

No, no, no, there's no way something like that would happen between Evetta and me.

Person-in-charge and adventurer.

Guardian and child.

Benefactor and incompetent.

Such is our relationship.

It's a relationship that hasn't changed since I arrived in the alternate world. It's a bond that won't break even if one of us dies.

「Well, you've fought a whole bunch of monsters now」

The main street was filled with the corpses of monsters. The post-battle review session was over, and we transitioned from standing by to taking a short break. The party was exhausted.

Not even two hours had passed since we had started to fight on this floor.

If we were up against normal enemies, we would have no trouble fighting for half a day without rest, but these guys were tough. And Evetta-san, who wasn't even sweating, was amazing. Even though she must have fought twice as many enemies as any of us.

「Evetta, what other kinds of enemies are on this floor?」

At Otou-san's question, Evetta narrowed her eyes and asked back.

「Medimu-sama, what are the characteristics of the monsters we've defeated so far?」

「They've got horns. And their ability to regenerate is abnormally high, other than that………」

Otou-san surveyed the corpses and then it hit him.

「There haven't been any humanoids」

「That's right. We've yet to encounter any Horns that are the same type as me. Now, here's a question. What’s the one definitive advantage that adventurers have over monsters? Please answer, Shuna-san」

「Eh, me? Err, umm………」

Shuna shot me a look for help.

No, figure it out for yourself.

「Sword techniques? Oh, adventurers use weapons」

「Too bad. Please answer more simply and in a broader sense. What about you, younger sister-sama」

「There’s no difference between monsters and humans. Advantages and disadvantages are a matter of chance and the tide of events. There’s only the reality of the world as it is and the reasoning of humans as they are」

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My sister said something profound in a way that was typical of a hunter.

「While that is one truth of the world, it doesn't answer the question I asked. Medimu-sama………seems to know the answer, so I'll skip over him」

「Hey」

Ignoring Otou-san's protest, she turned to Rana.

「Madam, what do you think is the answer?」

「I thought of so many answers that it would take me two days to say them all」

「That's a very magician-like thing to say. Wonderful. Well then, Souya」

She splendidly skipped over Lys and turned to me.

「Is it intelligence?」

「Yes, that’s right」

「Monsters are generally driven by habit and instinct. Adventurers are driven by their intelligence. Those who do not act based on intelligence and are driven by shallow desires won’t have made it this far. Now.........the preamble has gone on for a while, but let's talk about the humanoid Horns」

Evetta-san seemed to have sensed something in the air.

She led us off the main street and into a back alley. Clouds drifted across the fake sky overhead. Looking at it, somehow, a sense of déjà vu flashed across my mind.

I couldn't put my finger on what memory was triggering it.

But it was a malice I had experienced before somewhere.

「Everyone, please halt here. Stay close to the wall」

Hearing her instructions, I leaned back against the wall and made myself as small as possible. Ea shrewdly hugged me, much to Rana's anger.

Evetta-san pointed to the main street.

Everyone quietly turned to look, and saw a group of adventurers pass by.

One scout. Two lightly equipped adventurers. One heavily equipped adventurer. One magician.

They looked like a very run-of-the-mill party of adventurers.

「Those use their intelligence. Be it the adventurers' equipment, skills, or magic, they steal and use them all」

All of them had horns similar to Evetta-san's.

The only difference was that they only had a single horn each and that they had unusually cordial smiles on their faces.

It was bizarre.

「Those are……」

「Yes, they're humanoid Horns. They'll approach adventurers directly just like that and then jump them」

How malicious.

Certainly, seeing others who are dressed as fellow adventurers can make people drop their guards, but to think that they even knew to put on friendly smiles.....…

「All who wish to clear this floor are required to hire someone from the Adventurers' Guild. Even the most skilled of adventurers can be caught off-guard and lose their lives. Even the king of adventurers suffered a casualty on this floor」

「That’s true」

We've fought against many unknown enemies so far, but many of the enemies on this floor are the malicious type that are deadly to those who have never encountered them before. If Evetta-san hadn't been with us, we would surely have suffered casualties.

「The adventurers who fall victim to the humanoid Horns make them stronger. Without limit, at that. For now, the Adventurers' Guild of Lemuria has been able to keep them in check, but we cannot predict what may happen in the future. This is a very dangerous floor」

「Evetta-san, I have a question」

「Yes, what is it?」

I'm going to revisit something I've thought about a while ago.

「Can monsters and humanoid Horns go through the portal?」

「That's a good question. However, the answer to it is a long one, so let's take a break first. There's a safe haven nearby」

「That's a good idea」

I lent my right shoulder to the exhausted Shuna.

The sisters grappled with each other for my left shoulder.

They still have a lot of energy, it seems.

Lys looked half asleep.

This is bad, she might switch places with Bel again.

Otou-san's brow was drenched in sweat.

Perhaps it's because of his pride as the eldest, but he didn't let his tiredness show on his face.

Moving quietly, we headed for the safe haven left by the Gastolfos.

The intricate back alleys were very similar to the back alleys of Lemuria that I sometimes explored.

How in the world did they manage to make it look so similar, I wonder.

『Team member Souya, please take a look at this image』

「Hmm?」

Yukikaze displayed an image on my glasses.

It was an image of the humanoid Horns from earlier. A close-up shot of the sword that one of them was carrying was also shown.

『This sword belongs to the person called Arcane that you fought the other day. Yukikaze got a reaction from the tracer Yukikaze put on it just in case, so there's no doubt about it』

「What's going on?」

Those guys aren't supposed to be exploring this floor. According to Evetta-san, they've gotten into a dispute over the hiring of someone else from the Guild and are currently on standby. Like she said earlier, adventurers aren’t allowed to explore this floor unless they’ve hired someone from the Guild.

Also, we're supposed to be the only party on this floor right now.

『Unknown. The reaction from the tracer also appeared out of the blue, so it could just be some sort of glitch』

I struggled over whether or not to tell Evetta-san this uncertain piece of information.

「We're here. ………That's strange, I sense the presence of someone inside」

Before I could arrive at an answer, we had arrived at the safe haven.

It was a semi-underground building. On one corner of its closed door, the crest of the Gastolfos was drawn.

「Evetta, why haven't the Horns found out the locations of the safe havens?」

「This crest is invisible to them. It should only be visible to those who have been granted the regeneration point magic」

After some thought, Evetta-san answered Otou-san's question.

She instructed us to get ready for battle and then opened the door with her weapon at the ready.

「Hey, as I thought, it's you guys, huh?」

Arcane was inside.

「Arcane-sama, why are you here?」

Evetta asked with her weapon at the ready.

Something was wrong.

Arcane didn't have his sword, shield, or even armor on.

He was sitting there in normal clothes with blood dripping from his head.

Putting aside the question of why he was here, I instructed the party to keep an eye on the surroundings. Everyone was tired, but their movements weren't sluggish.

He's someone we've fought with once before. There's no harm in being careful.

Evetta-san stepped into the building first, and I followed after. Everyone else waited outside.

I checked the ceiling just to be safe, but there were no slimes. I didn't see any of his party members either.

「Arcane-sama, please answer my question. If you don't answer, I'll have to incapacitate you first before―――――」

『Team member Souya, Yukikaze is picking up portal activity』

「Onii-chan! It's some sort of trap!」

Yukikaze and my sister outside both gave me warnings.

「Nanassy and Kakyua are being held hostage, you see? If you survive, I'll make it up to you in whatever way you wish」

The despair in Arcane's voice.

It sent a chill down my spine.

「It's a teleportation trap! Everyone, spread out!」

Evetta-san's decision was not wrong. However, the moment we had entered this area, there was already no escape for us.

I quickly threw Yukikaze to Ea.

The trap was teleporting those outside first. They disappeared as if they had fallen into a portal that had opened up beneath their feet.

They weren't all being teleported individually. Those who were close to each other plunged into the light together as a group.

Rana and Lys.

Shuna and Otou-san.

Ea had been by herself, but Yukikaze was now with her.

「Arcane!」

I drew my katana in a rage, but Evetta-san stopped me by throwing her arms around me, and then we fell into the light.

I'm sorry, I heard a tired voice say.

What awaited us at the end of our fall was hell.

Just a brief mention that Lys is a boku-ko(A girl who refers to herself as “boku” instead of more feminine terms like “watashi”). She rarely uses “I” in the original text and Japanese is a language where you can get away without using it in most situations, but she used boku here. Also, does it feel like she’s breaking out of her shell a little recently or is it just me?

Like I said, zero to a hundred at the drop of a hat! And that ominous cliffhanger! Who abducted Arcane’s party members and forced him to set a trap for Souya?! What is this hell that Souya and Evetta was teleported to? Stay tuned!!

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