It was the day after Rei and Elena’s eventful night at the dinner table.

Nevertheless, the two of them, along with Set and Yellow, made their way along the main street towards the dungeon as usual.

As expected, after yesterday’s events, their attitudes towards each other were still a bit awkward, but at the very least, they no longer gave off an intimidating atmosphere like the previous night.

(I guess that’s the bright side of the situation.)

As they walked along, they exchanged casual conversation in an attempt to lesson the awkwardness. Soon they saw the skewer stall that they had become familiar with. It hadn’t been many days since they had arrived in Exil, but even so, they had always bought skewers from that stall and it had become something of a habit.

Rei had originally felt slightly uncomfortable seeing a Dragon like Yellow, albeit a small one, eating the meat of Lizardmen. However, after realised that he also ate the meat of humanoid monsters such as Orcs, he decided not to think about it any more as he enjoyed his spice heavy skewer.

「You two, are you planning to enter the dungeon again today?」

The stall owner asked as he looked at Rei and Elena with some concern.

On a side note, the meat that he couldn’t normally serve to customers were made into skewers and grilled for Set and Yellow.

「Of course we are, hasn’t that always been what we’ve done? With the exception of the first day we arrived, we’ve entered the dungeon every day.」

「Well, that’s true, but……actually, I heard from a customer who is an adventurer a little earlier, it seems that there is something wrong with the dungeon.」

「……Something wrong?」

Some thoughts popped into Rei’s mind at those words, but he asked the stall owner just to confirm.

「Yes. The guild has put out warnings that powerful monsters may appear on floors they wouldn’t be expected on.」

Hearing the stall owner’s words, Rei knew what he was talking about.

Powerful monsters would mean ones like the Sword Bee queen or the Stone Golem that Vihera had killed.

(They moved fast……no, maybe that should be expected? If you think about it, Exil is a labyrinth city, so it’s only natural to put out information regarding the dungeon as soon as they can.)

As he thought of that, Rei made eye contact with Elena, who was eating skewers beside him, to communicate his thoughts.

It could be said that the two of them were quite good at it. They managed to communicate their thoughts to each other without a hint of the awkward atmosphere from the previous night or when they had left the inn.

「Could you tell us more details?」

Rei asked the stall owner as he ate his Lizardman skewer.

However, the stall owner shook his head.

「I’ve only heard that much, but if it’s you two, you can get more information by going to the gate in front of the dungeon entrance.」

「……The gate?」

「Yes, it seems that the people in charge of checking dungeon cards are handing out leaflets with information regarding what is going on.」

Hearing that, Rei couldn’t help but raise his voice in agreement. It was true that this was important information about the dungeon, so it was good to receive it before going in.

Although Rei and the stall owner didn’t know, the information was also posted extensively at the guild.

As one would expect from a city built on a labyrinth, the guild was quick to react.

「Well then, I’ll go check out the leaflets as soon as I can. Let’s go, Elena.」

At Rei’s prompt, Elena nodded, paid, and thanked he stall owner before heading for the dungeon.

When they were far away enough from the stall, Elena murmured in a voice that could only be heard by Rei.

「I’m curious to know what information is written. ……But, I don’t think there will be more that what we already know.」

「Maybe not. Because it’s a labyrinth city, Exil’s guild is pretty fast on matters regarding the dungeon. Maybe they’ve collected more information from researchers, specialists, or higher ranking adventurers who are familiar with Exil’s dungeon. If so, there’s a good chance that there will be information that we don’t know yet.」

「Can they really move so fast?」

「Yeah. As a labyrinth city, everything in Exil revolves around the dungeon. The economy as well as everything else.」

「……Well, that’s true. In fact, most of Exil’s exports are materials of monsters that appear in the dungeon or magic items. In that sense, they are a rival to Gilm, your home base. ……Ah, I see now, that’s what you mean.」

It seemed Elena realised what Rei was trying to say. Elena gave a small nod in agreement with Rei.

Since Exil was a labyrinth city based around a dungeon, if anything went wrong with the dungeon, it would affect the whole of Exil.

While the two of them were somewhat surprised with their ability to make natural conversation, they eventually arrived at the gate leading to the dungeon.

Unlike when they had come here previously, there were now many more adventurers gathered outside the dungeon, as if to discuss something. Seeing the leaflets in their hands, it was easy to guess what it was about based on what the skewer stall owner had told them.

As expected, the two of them, with Set and Yellow alongside, were given a piece of paper like the other adventurers when they showed their dungeon cards to the gate keeper.

「There are currently some anomalies with the dungeon. We won’t stop you from entering, but you have to understand that it is more dangerous than ever before.」

「We understand.」

Nodding at the gate keeper, Rei immediately read the leaflet.

What was written there was as Rei expected.

Monsters that were neither rare species or higher ranking species could appear and most of them would show up on floors where they were significantly stronger than the monsters that would normally appear. They were tentatively named abnormal species. Rewards would be paid out to those who could provide the guild with more information regarding these anomalies.

That was what was written in the leaflet.

Most of the details were what they had expected. However, there was also some information that Rei and Elena were reading about for the first time.

The most important one was that there were people other than themselves who had also encountered these abnormal species.

It was written that about 10 types of abnormal species had been currently confirmed with one unconfirmed case. The unconfirmed case was the Queen Bee of the Sword Bees that Rei and Elena had encountered. The Stone Golem was probably one of the confirmed cases. That meant that nine other parties aside from Rei’s group, or solo individuals, had run into these abnormal species.

「We couldn’t have been the only ones to run into these abnormal species. Considering that, this isn’t a surprise.」

「That’s right. But, considering that abnormal species are considerably stronger than the monsters that would usually be found on the floor they appear on, it seems that Exil has its share of strong parties.」

「Gururu~」

Seeing Elena say that with a small smile, Set gave a cautionary cry.

Turning to look around at Set’s cry, Rei and Elena saw many of the adventurers in the dungeon plaza looking towards them.

It went without saying what those gazes meant. Rei and Elena were both strong fighters, and about all, there was Set, a Griffon. Many people wanted to join their party.

Up until yesterday, the party requests had mostly settled down, but it was clear that the guild’s information regarding abnormal species had once again put a spotlight on Rei’s strength.

「They really haven’t learned their lesson.」

As Rei gave an involuntary sigh, Elena spoke up as she scratched Yellow’s throat, who was sitting on her left shoulder.

「It’s because their lives are at stake, it’s only natural that they would want to bolster their strength.」

「That might be true, but we don’t have to go along with them, right?」

「Of course.」

Elena nodded at Rei’s opinion as the four of them went over to the dungeon transfer device.

Seeing that, some adventurer parties immediately tried to call out to them……

「I’m sorry, but as I said before, we aren’t accepting anyone except a skilled thief that won’t get in the way when we fight. Only those who satisfy those conditions should come forwards.」

There’s no one like that at all. With that in mind, Rei called out to the adventurers who wanted to reach out to them.

As expected, no one stepped forward in response to Rei’s words……at least, no one should have.

「What about me? Even if I look like this, I’m confident in my skills.」

A young man in his late teens wearing leather armour came forward with a smile on his face. In terms of age, he was older than Rei but younger than Elena.

The expression on his face showed that he believed there was no one better than him. However.

「If you’re going to sleep talk, do that while you’re asleep.」

Even though he was a thief, Rei immediately told the young man that after seeing the sloppy way he walked.

「Wha-! Y-You……do you know who I am!?」

「No, I’ve never seen you before.」

The thief started shouting with a red face at Rei’s words.

He probably hadn’t expected his offer to be turned down. It wasn’t hard to see why since he had been rejected before he was even able to display any of his skills.

The young man had tried to imply that he had some sort of backing. However, what was important to Rei wasn’t backing, but skill.

「I’m sorry, but you’ll have to raise your skill a bit more before trying to apply for the job. ……Elena, let’s go.」

「Umu.」

Nodding at Rei’s words, Elena glanced at the young man disinterestedly before following after Rei……

「Don’t joke around! I’m someone that serves the Levisor family! Do you think you can just make an enemy out of the Levisor family in Exil!? All you have to do is shut up and listen to my orders!」

The man shouted at Rei, Elena, and Set’s backs.

Yellow just stayed still on Elena’s left shoulder.

Rei glanced back at the man.

The man smiled, as if seeing that Rei was finally listening to his words.

However, all Rei had for him was a merciless reply.

「I would tell you to go to sleep if you want to sleep talk……but in your case, your sleep talking would just be a nuisance to everyone around you. If you can’t speak to me with your own strength, then just go cry to your boss about it. At the very least, I wouldn’t put a small fry like you in my party.」

「……」

Elena didn’t add anything to Rei’s words, but she did give a scornful glance towards the man before leaving with Rei. Yes, as if to say he wasn’t even worth any words.

Because Elena was born to a duke’s family, she felt only contempt for a man who tried to push what he wanted with his backing rather than his own strength.

「D-D-D-D-Damn you-! I will remember this! I’ll teach you the meaning of going against the Levisor family! Woman, I’ll be looking forward to you begging for forgiveness on your knees!」

The man spat at the 2 people and 2 monsters entering the dungeon as he left the plaza.

He didn’t notice the contemptuous looks from the adventurers around him.

Adventurers were people who lived by relying on their own skills. Especially in a labyrinth city, where there was a dungeon, this tendency was even stronger than in other cities. Or, it might have something to do with the fact that the head of the Silva family was also a skilled adventurer. For that reason, those who relied on the power of their employers rather than their own strength were looked down on with disdain rather than respect.

Not realising that he was been seen like that, the man, who had been dismissed by Rei and Elena, wondered what to do as he made his way back to the Levisor residence, his employer.

 

 

「You idiot! I told you to follow those two adventurers and keep and eye on their movements! What’s the point of picking a fight with them and then just coming back!」

A wooden cup was thrown by Schaffner, the man’s employer, shattering against the man’s forehead and causing him to bleed.

「That’s right, but Schaffner-sama……」

「Eh-, shut up, shut up, shut up! You incompetent fool! After being refused, you still thought to sell a fight head on!」

The man could only grit his teeth to endure the humiliation of being shouted at loudly.

At the same time, his hatred for Rei and Elena accumulated in his mind.

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