An inn room in the back streets of Exil. Two men were talking inside.

No, to be exact, one man was desperately pleading to the other.

「I absolutely don’t want to get involved with those guys anymore!」

「……Isn’t it possible to use a trap to stall them? At the very least, I had wanted them to stay on that floor for at least the next few days.」

「Of course. Fortunately for me, I had that concealment robe……but if Crimson found me and knew that I was the one who had set the trap, I would definitely die!」

「Well, that would definitely happen since it is Crimson.」

Whether it was due to Rei’s daily deeds or his deeds on the battlefield, the name Crimson seemed to hold some meaning. There were widespread rumours that Crimson never forgave his enemies and would be immensely cruel to them.

That said, it was true that Rei didn’t forgive his enemies and would occasionally be quite cruel to them as well, so the rumours weren’t exactly wrong.

「If the rumours are true, then why are you messing with Crimson? Up until now, you’ve never targeted any specific individuals. You didn’t even do anything towards Canopies’ Edge……」

The man gave the name of the B rank party that currently held the record for the deepest floor explored in Exil.

However, his boss simply shook his head to say it didn’t matter.

「To be honest, it doesn’t really matter how much of the dungeon they’ve conquered. No, it might mean something to the people who live here, but it doesn’t matter to us. The most important things are the experiments he’s conducting and their results.」

「I know that……anyway, I’m not going to mess with Crimson any more. I’m sure you know I’m not the only one either. If you’re going to make any further moves, please do it with someone other than me.」

「……That’s fine. It’s true that it’s dangerous for you to deal with them alone. Considering that, you do have a point.」

「Absolutely! I really don’t want to do this anymore!」

The boss gave a sigh as his subordinate spoke desperately.

He took out a few silver coins from a pouch and handed them to the man.

「Take this for now, grab a drink and change your mood.」

「……I understand.」

At the words of his boss, the man reluctantly received the silver coins before leaving the room.

Seeing the man leave, the boss looked at a robe hanging on a wall.

「So this is the concealment robe? It definitely has its uses, but it’s still a pain that you can’t move when it’s in effect. It’s still useful to us and the the experiments that are being done in Exil though. It was a missed opportunity, leaving it to him. ……Well, first of all, I should go and report this, I guess.」

Muttering that with a bitter sigh, the boss stood up from the chair he was in.

 

 

「……Today was tiring.」

「Yeah. After all, we’ve done a lot of exploring today. I’m also a little tired.」

Elena replied while drinking some cold fruit juice.

It was already night time and the summer sun had long since set.

As it was midsummer, it was still hot and humid.

However, since the Golden Wind inn where Rei and Elena were staying was a high class inn, it was designed such that you could spend your time comfortably with magic items.

The inn itself was filled with cool air, which set it apart from the humid heat outside. In addition, there were services such as free fruit juice, like what Elena was drinking.

However, this was only possible probably due the fact that Exil was a larger city than Gilm and was also blessed by a dungeon.

……That said, the dungeon also brought dangers alongside blessings. In a sense, it had a high risk and a high reward.

Either way, Rei brought a cup of chilled tea to his mouth, fully enjoying the service that was even better than that of the Dusk Wheat inn as he turned to look at Elena.

Elena always held a dignified aura, but right now, it felt like there was a more casual atmosphere around her, along with a sense of subdued sensuality.

Her appearance as she brought her glass of fruit juice to her mouth was eye catching as he saw it.

「Hm? What’s wrong?」

「Ah, no. It’s nothing……tomorrow, what should we do?」

When their eyes met, Rei asked to hide his momentary distraction.

「What should we do? We still haven’t found the magic item we are after yet, and above all, you have hardly collected any magic stones either. In that case, of course we’ll enter the dungeon again.」

「No, that’s not what I meant. Tomorrow we’ll start our attempt on the 10th floor. But, from what I heard from Vihera, it’s a desert from the 11th floor onward, right? I have my Dragon Robe and Set is a Griffon, so he’s not too bothered by environmental changes.」

Although Rei said that, even Set would feel the heat. With regards to that, while not as much as the main building, the Golden Wind inn also had air conditioning magic items installed in the stables out of consideration for horses and tamed monsters.

For a moment, Rei though he could hear Set’s joyful cries, but he decided that was probably just a figment of his imagination.

「……That’s true. Even though I’ve absorbed an Ancient Dragon’s magic stone, it will still be difficult for me to travel through a desert floor in my equipment.」

Elena’s weapon was her sword whip. As for her armour, she wore a pure white suit of light armour, a golden cloak matching her hair, and a pair of Shoes of Sleipnir, the same as Rei.

All of them were magic items and, when fighting against enemies on a battlefield, posed no problems at all. However, if asked if her armour was suitable for a desert environment, the answer was probably no.

「Would you like to go to an adventurer’s shop tomorrow instead of the dungeon?」

「An adventurer’s shop?」

「Yeah. Since Exil is a labyrinth city, it should also sell equipment suited to capture the dungeon. Especially for special floor environments like the desert. They would definitely sell the tools and equipment for it. I have no doubt such shops exist. ……Of course, we’d have to start by finding such a store……well, we’ll manage somehow.」

「I-I see. We’ll do that if you say so.」

Rei was a bit confused as Elena replied with a faint blush on her cheeks.

As for Elena, she was thinking about the two of them going shopping alone. Yes……

(According to Ara, this……can I call it a date?

She thought to herself.

Although the two of them had also gone to the dungeon alone, it was hard to call entering the dungeon a date. However, going shopping together was definitely a date.

「……Elena?」

「Hm? No, it’s nothing. It will definitely be a challenge to enter the desert floors, so it’s best to be prepared. Okay, let’s go shopping together tomorrow.」

Rei nodded as Elena’s words subtlety pressured him.

「Y-Yeah. If Elena is fine with it, I don’t mind. We’ve been entering the dungeon ever since we came to Exil. It’s good to have some breaks.」

The owner of the stall that had sold them Lizardmen skewers did say to Rei and Elena that heading into the dungeon every day was an unusual thing to do.

Rei and Elena were quite different from ordinary humans in many ways, but that didn’t mean they didn’t feel tired at all. Because of that, they decided it would be a good idea to take a break.

(It’s also true that going out with Elena sounds like fun.)

Even for Rei, going out with Elena was a pretty exciting event, as a result, they stayed up quite late discussing how to spend the next day shopping.

 

 

「Don’t mess with me!」

With a shout, a cup was thrown to the floor.

The owner of the angry voice glared at the person standing in front of him with a bright red face.

Originally, he had wanted to throw the cup at the face of the person standing in front of him. But there was a reason he couldn’t do that. After all, the younger person in front of him was someone he was working with……no, he was the leader of their alliance.

「Even if you say that, I’m also confused. After all, the variant……no, the abnormal species, as they called by the guild. Anyway, the abnormal species we’ve raised have been destroyed.」

The man spoke up in a casual and somewhat provocative manner.

In a sense, it was quite unfortunate that the old man failed to see the contemptuous gaze directed at him as he just glared back.

「……Who destroyed what were supposed to be my pawns?」

「Well, I don’t know much about that. But if you’re the head of the Levisor family, you should be able to find out easily.」

「Hmph, I suppose it is hard for you to find out.」

The old man, who had been angry a few second ago, Schaffner Levisor, proudly snorted as if the man before him would not have been able to get any information from the guild without his help.

The man didn’t seem to care for the contempt Schaffner was showing him.

「Then, can I leave the guild to you?」

「……Mm. Seriously, you and my subordinates are all useless.」

Twitch.

The man showed a reaction at Schaffner’s words.

「Your subordinates……did something happen?」

「Hm? Yeah. Because that stupid Crimson came to my Exil, I had to let a subordinate keep a watch on them……I heard he was rejected when he asked to form a temporary party. That’s why young people these days are so useless.」

Hearing the Schaffner’s explanation, who was convinced of his own advantageous position, the man gave him a disdainful glance as he clicked his tongue inwardly.

(What a stupid thing to do. If you do that, they’ll just get suspicious. If you’re watching them, just watch from a distance. ……No, if it’s Crimson, even if someone just watches them from a distance, he should notice? But then, what do I do against him now? Do we use the concealment robe to monitor him? There’s no need to worry about being detected with that, but……)

The disadvantage of being unable to move passed through his mind and he shook his head.

However, Schaffner seemed to misunderstand his response and nodded as if he could understand.

「From what I can tell, it looks like there are many useless subordinates under you as well?」

「……Yeah.」

The man nodded without hesitation at Schaffner’s question.

When Schaffner saw that, he smiled……before realising he shouldn’t show that while the man was looking at him. He poured some wine into a different glass from the one he had thrown to the floor as he took a sip.

「That’s right, isn’t it? You should do whatever you want while you’re still young. That’s what I used to do.」

「You’ve been through a lot.」

While saying that, the man judged that it would be troublesome to have to deal with the geriatric in front of him any longer.

「So, I’m sorry, but I have to devise some measures against Crimson for tomorrow onward. Above all, I also need to observe the condition of the abnormal species.」

「Hm? Oh, I see. ……Remember, the reason why you’re allowed to work in Exil is because of me. As my power grows, so will yours. Don’t forget that.」

「I know, I wish you blessings from the Goddess of Holy Light.」

The man gave a graceful bow before leaving.

Seeing the man leave, Schaffner’s faint smile distorted as he took another sip of wine.

「Hmph, what Goddess of Holy Light. It’s disgusting. The only reason they were able to create such variants was because of the experiments that I had originally done. I don’t think they will be loyal to the Levisor family in any way. It would be better to prepare something in case of emergency.」

Muttering, Schaffner closed his eyes as if thinking of something.

……A few minutes later, when his mansion butler came in, he could only see the Schaffner snoring as he slept.

 

 

「……As expected, it’s necessary to clearly identify who to work with. In any case, working together with someone and using someone are two different things. That’s what it is.」

Looking up at the moonlight as he spoke, the man who had been talking with Schaffner melted away into Exil’s night.

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