The sunlight that poured into the forest was filtered by the tree leaves as it softly shone down on Rei’s party.

Even though it was midsummer outside the dungeon, the temperature on the 17th floor was closer to spring. It was a lot easier to weather compared to Exil’s 35C.

「……Honestly, if this wasn’t inside a dungeon, it would be a comfortable place to live in.」

「Gururu~」

Rei muttered as he reached out for a fruit on a nearby tree.

It was a fruit that could be harvested on the 17th floor and, although it had an astringent taste when eaten raw, it was surprisingly sweet when cooked.

At Rei’s feet, as he reached for the fruit, lay the corpses of three Kamaitachi, weasel like monsters with scythes on both hands.

「Rei aside, Set would definitely be comfortable. There are plenty of monsters to feed on.」

Replying to Rei’s words, Elena turned to look into the distance where she could sense something watching them from afar.

Were they waiting for an opening or were they just observing? In any case, they were hidden by the many trees and leaves, but Elena could definitely sense their gazes.

It was the same for Rei and he shrugged his shoulders at Elena’s words as he replied.

「It would be a lot better if I knew how to cook more things, but all I can do is skewers and soup.」

Replying to Elena, Rei looked over at Yellow, who was flapping his wings as he struggled to pick a fruit from the top of the tree.

「Kyukyu……Kyu!」

Grabbing onto a fruit one size larger than the one Rei had picked, Yellow managed to pluck the fruit off with a cry.

However, his small wings couldn’t support the weight of the fruit he was holding and Yellow started to fall to the ground.

Fortunately, Yellow managed to flap his wings strongly enough that his descent was more of a glide than a plummet.

「Gururu~」

Set caught the Yellow as he came down in his beak.

Seeing this scene, Rei gave a smile as he stored away the corpses of the Kamaitachi into the Misty Ring.

「……Well, ignoring the monsters watching us, let’s move on.」

「Are you sure?」

Don’t you want to kill the monsters watching us?

Rei shrugged his shoulders at Elena’s question.

「That would have been fine if we weren’t in a forest, but we don’t know the exact location to the stairs down to the next floor.」

Of course, Rei’s Misty Ring held a number of items useful for setting up camp at night.

An example would be the magic tent created with spatial magic and the Dagger of Flowing Water, which were both useful magic items.

However, the magic tent couldn’t compare to the Golden Wind inn, where Rei and Elena were staying at in Exil.

……That said, it would be unreasonable to demand the same level of comfort as an inn where wealthy merchants, nobles, and rich adventurers would stay.

「Anyhow, we should find the stairs to the next floor first, and if we still have time, look for monsters. Even if we don’t have the time today, when we come back to the dungeon tomorrow, we can go up the stairs from the 18th floor. So, we can always come back to this floor for the monsters.」

As Rei said that, he looked down at his feet.

There……he saw ivy slowly creeping towards them like a snake.

Elena must have also noticed the approaching ivy. She unsheathed her sword whip and slashed down sharply. The next moment, as the ivy was cut apart, it slithered back into the depths of the bushes while splattering liquid everywhere.

「Do you want to follow it?」

「No, let’s leave it. If it’s using ivy, it’s probably a Treant type monster. If it’s pretending to be a tree, it will be hard to find it in the forest.」

Set might have been able to find it with his sharper senses, but since they had decided to find the stairs first before looking for monsters, they made their through the forest with some slight disappointment.

(I was told that the wood of Treant monsters could be sold, so it’s a bit of a waste if I think about it.

Recalling what he had previously been told, Rei decided that a Treant would only be worth so much in the end, so they focused on looking for the stairs first.

 

 

As Rei’s party was exploring the 17th floor, two men and two women were having a conversation near Exil’s slums.

「Um……you were a great help. Thank you.」

Essetus said that as he held his spear.

Although he was grateful, his cheeks had gone somewhat red in confusion from Vihera’s dancer like getup.

「It’s fine. You guys are Rei’s acquaintances, aren’t you? Then this can just be considered having him owe me a favour.」

「……You mentioned it just now, but are you an acquaintance of Rei as well?」

「Yes. As far as I’m concerned, I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.」

Vihera spoke those words with glistening eyes.

At first glance, her expression could only be assumed to be one of a woman yearning for a lover, and Essetus, who didn’t think too much about it, just assumed it was the case.

In other words, Vihera didn’t abandon them because they knew Rei, the person she loved.

However……Nakuto, who had been listening in, had the opposite reaction to Essetus.

That was because he was well informed and knew that the voluptuous beauty in front of them was a battle maniac who loved fighting to the point of being called the Mad Beast.

Her appearance and clothes, which would lure men to her, were nothing more than bait to attract people into fights.

It wasn’t hard to judge from her expression that she meant Rei was the best battle opponent for her.

Because of all this, Nakuto’s instincts told him that they should part ways with this dangerous woman as soon as possible. On the other hand, his reason told him that if they could get Vihera on their side, she would be a powerful force, they might even be able to draw Rei and Elena to their side with this as well.

「Huh, but Rei……doesn’t he have a strong and beautiful woman with him, Elena-san?」

「Oh? Am I less attractive than Elena?」

Essetus shook his head in a panic at Vihera’s charming smile.

「No, that’s not the case. You two are about the same……no! Now’s not the time to be talking about this!」

Perhaps the relief of surviving a life threatening situation had worn off, Essetus, who had been conversing with Vihera involuntarily, came to his senses as he shouted.

Yes, they knew that their kidnapped party member was still alive. However, there was no clear answer to how long she would remain safe. In that case, they had to rescue Tivia as soon as they could.

「Um, Vihera-san……that person is……」

Essetus glanced over towards Byune, who was a bit further away.

「Oh, that kid is Byune. Byune Fraut.」

「Hey, Byune. You saved us earlier. Thank you. We’re late with the introductions, but I’m Essetus. That’s Nakuto.」

「Mm.」

After giving a brief introduction and hearing Byune’s response, Essetus tilted his head as if suddenly realising something.

「……Hm? Fraut? I think I’ve heard that name before somewhere……」

「Haah. ……That kid is a member of the Fraut family. You know, one of the four families that used to rule Exil.」

Hearing Nakuto’s exasperated words, Essetus froze as his head turned mechanically towards Byune before speaking.

「T-The Fraut family!? Ah, no……is it okay for us to ask the Fraut family for help?」

「Well, what do you think?」

「Oh? Do you have some dissatisfaction about being saved by Byune?」

The two were discussing in a low voice, but Vihera’s hearing was sharper than the ordinary person and could hear them perfectly fine.

Essetus and Nakuto remained silent for several seconds, thinking about how to answer. Eventually, Essutus made up his mind and spoke out.

「So, that is. Actually, we are under the protection of the Silva family.」

「……Mm.」

The Silva family. The moment those words were said, Byune’s eyebrows frowned, albeit very slightly.

Byuen didn’t really show her emotions, so Vihera nodded slightly at her clear expression before she asked.

「What do you want to do Byune? I helped them because they’re an acquaintance of Rei, but it seems they’re tied to the Silva family.」

「……」

In response to that question, Byune looked at Essetus and Nakuto for a few seconds before turning back to Vihera with her response.

「Mm.」

For others it was just a single sound, but for Vihera, who had a long standing relationship with Byune, that was enough.

「It doesn’t matter. You’re going to have to thank Rei……no, Elena for this.」

「Eh? Eh? Eh?」

Essetus couldn’t grasp the flow of the conversation, but Nakuto immediately understood.

「It means the two of them will will help us in finding Tivia. ……But, is that really okay? Even I know that the Silva family and the Fraut family……rather, the Fraut family and the other three families, don’t have the best relationship.」

「Fufu~, it’s fine because Byune said it doesn’t matter.」

Vihera cast an inviting gaze over to Nakuto, which would undoubtedly captivate an ordinary man. However, Nakuto sensed the true nature of her gaze.

「What do we do? I think these two will definitely be a strong help.」

「That is……」

Normally, Essetus would have nodded withouth hesitation. In fact, he understood that they had been pushed into a corner.

If they wasted their time here, the chances of Tivia surviving would decrease. However, the reason he still hesitated and could nod right away was because Byune was just a 10 year old girl.

Was it okay to involve such a child into their own matters for their own convenience?

Perhaps realising Essetus’ conflict, Nakuto shook his head slightly before speaking.

「Byune may look like a child that you would hesitate in involving in our matters. However, as a member of the Fraut family, there is no doubt she is skilled in combat.」

As the thief of a well known party, Sonic Blades, Nakuto was confident in his skills. However, if asked if he could replicate deflecting away a long sword swinging down with just throwing needles, he would shake his head.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it. However, if asked whether he could deflect the sword’s trajectory enough to stop it from hitting its target, the answer would be no.

「……Also, although it might have fallen now, she is still connected to the Fraut family. Considering the information we need to save Tivia, we should ask her for help.」

「Mm.」

Byune frowned slightly when she heard Essetus say her family had fallen and, having known her for a while, Vihera understood why.

Although Essetus was reluctant to rely on a child like Byune, he couldn’t refuse her offer of help if it was to save Tivia.

Closing his eyes, after reaching a conclusion with his internal conflict, he bowed his head towards Byune.

「I’m sorry, please lend us your strength.」

「Mm.」

Byune nodded as if to say it was no problem.

Nakuto who watched on, wondered why they would stick their heads into trouble so easily.

Of course, one of the big reasons was that they were both acquaintances of Rei. However, he still had his doubts over why they would stick their heads so far in.

「Well, let’s meet up with Rei first. No matter what we do, we’ll need Rei’s cooperation.」

Nakuto came back to his senses after hearing Vihera’s words and hurriedly spoke up.

「Rei’s group said that they wanted to focus on the dungeon. That’s what they told the Silva family.」

「……Well, I’ll talk about it after we meet with him. I’ll also tell you why Byune agreed to help the Silva family. ……But first, we have to make a quick stop, so let’s hurry.」

Vihera spoke with a smile that would draw the attention of others.

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