Off to the Dungeon!
To the dungeon!
The dungeon entrance.
In my hand, a cheap longsword bought from the shop!
I'd sent Dambi home. If she got lost down in a dungeon, that would be a disaster.
Mm-hm, everything is perfect!
"C-rank warrior Bread, C-rank thief Cyan — confirmed. And..."
Cha! I struck a confident pose in front of the gate captain.
"Lady Eliana..."
"Ahem, I have companions with me this time, so you'll let us through, right?"
"Tsk. You'll be registered under the same alias as before — Elna."
"Yay!"
Heh heh, go ahead and make that face, Captain! You're just going to sigh and step aside anyway!
"Please do try not to get hurt, my lady. I'd like to live a long life."
I waved a casual goodbye and entered the dungeon with the two of them.
Boing! A little hop is mandatory when entering a dungeon!
Whoosh.
Once the faint queasy sensation of motion passed, a dim, shadowy space opened up before us. It was nothing but brick walls and torchlight, but still — surprisingly clean? It had the feel of a classic adventurer's rest stop, I supposed.
First things first — a nice deep breath!
"Huuuuumph— *kheh*! Cough, cough... Yep, confirmed. Air's this bad, so this is definitely a dungeon."
"What in the world kind of test is that?"
"It's how you really feel like you've arrived at a dungeon, okay?"
I gave the cheap longsword a light swing to loosen up. Hmm, no problems here. I couldn't wait to run into some monsters and fight!
"Um, my lady?"
"Yes?"
"Weren't you supposed to be our mage?"
"Nooope?"
I said I'd fill in for someone. I never said I'd play the mage.
Well, come to think of it, they'd never actually seen me swing a sword at the guild either, so from their perspective, I could see how they'd be nervous.
"If it really comes down to it, I'll use magic too, so don't worry."
"...A-ah, yes, my lady."
Only now did they look somewhat reassured. Did they really distrust me that much? I'm a little offended.
We walked up to the crystal orb at the center of the room.
"Which floor are we going to?"
"B5F, my lady."
"Eh, nothing much down at that depth."
For the record, I've been down to B20F before! Although, admittedly, my companions at the time panicked so badly we came straight back up.
"That's... surprising, actually."
"What is?"
"The gate captain letting you through, my lady. The Adventurer's Guild never allows that sort of thing."
"Ah, that. Well, you see..."
Heh heh, come, have a seat. This lovely princess has an entertaining story for you.
"A while back, I challenged him to a duel — and won."
"...I'm sorry, what?"
"I fought him on the condition that if I won, he'd let me into the dungeon with no restrictions from then on. And I won."
"The gate captain... surely he's at least a Sword Expert?"
"I just did that thing where you hang back and spam spells from far away. Easy win."
"...What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know — staying way back and only using magic."
All you have to do is float in the air and dodge the flying sword auras, and it's completely doable. Honestly, the way he kept charging at me all fired up was so much fun to watch.
"...I was taught that when a swordsman and a mage fight one-on-one, the mage is usually at a disadvantage."
"Then you were taught wrong."
"Or perhaps you're simply the unusual one, my lady."
"Hmmm, maybe~?"
I've never properly studied magic, so I wouldn't know — but about half the stuff written in those books simply didn't apply to me.
"Anyway, let's get moving! My body's itching to fight something."
"Understood. Activating the teleport now."
The moment he channeled the crystal, my vision flashed white, a brief weightlessness washed over me, and then — thud. When I came to, it was so dark I couldn't see a thing.
"Light!"
As soon as I lit up our surroundings, a cave-like space came into view. The walls and floor were slick and sticky with the slime trails oozed all over them.
I'd just gotten up and was shaking the goo off when the thief's voice rang out, urgent.
"Ahead! Slimes!"
"Hm? Already?"
A fair number of slimes were oozing their way toward us. No need to wait for them, though. We come to you!
"Hyaaaaah!"
"W-wait, my lady! Slimes are supposed to be handled with magic—!"
Thwack! BAM!
Splat!
Okay! One kill!
"Huh? What was that?"
"...Did you just kill it with the sword?"
I swung at another slime.
Swish! THUNK!
Splat!
"It works?"
"...It's not supposed to."
Hm, really? I vaguely remember hearing something about slimes having high physical resistance.
"No, look closely. You plant your feet exactly like this, and then — swish-SMASH! That's all there is to it!"
"...My lady? I don't know what a 'swish-smash' is, but normally no one can swing a sword that fast."
Oh, come on! Dad's always grumbling that young swordsmen these days have no grit. Now I sort of understand what he means.
"You can feel the mana inside your body, right? Right?!"
"...Roughly, yes?"
"Close your eyes and breathe. Feel the mana circulating through your whole body."
"Yes."
"Now gather it all into your arm."
"...How, exactly?"
"You just gather it! Like, boom!"
Grr, I got it on my very first try back then. Now, what did Dad say at that stage again?
"Huuuum... He told me to dam up the flow of mana like a levee, and then, uh, that-and-this."
"...And after that?"
"Hm? What, you got it?"
"I believe I've managed, more or less."
Huh? Is he actually more talented than I thought?
"Okay, good. Next, you swing the sword and, at the same time, you pop it! Like it's bursting!"
"Burst it, like popping... So, something like this?"
Whoosh.
He definitely swung at something, but nothing changed.
"Nope, try again!"
"Haaah... It's difficult somehow. The timing, holding it steady — all of it."
Sticky, sticky. The slimes had crept up on us while we weren't looking and were prodding at my feet. Ugh! You little nuisances!
"Thunder Bolt!!"
Crackle-crackle-CRACK!
Electricity arced out in every direction, wiping out the surrounding slimes in one clean sweep.
"...Wow."
"Don't gawk — get back to practicing!"
"...Y-yes, my lady."
Tap tap. The thief, who'd been quietly keeping to himself this whole time, was tugging at me. What's this, all of a sudden?
"Um? What is it, Cyan?"
"My lady, me too. Want. Teach me."
"I don't know any thief skills."
Maybe if he'd asked a mage. Thief techniques? I genuinely know nothing about them.
Though if I did learn them, I'm quite confident I'd be good at it!
"...Pity."
"My family's a swordsmanship house, you see."
"...Understood."
Aw, this one's cute too. She looks so disappointed! Believe me, I'd love to teach you.
"Hup! HAAAH! Hnnngh!"
"...Yelling louder isn't going to make it work, you know."
He'd been trying so earnestly, but no success yet. Dad called this the basics — is it supposed to be this hard?
Shweeeng!!
"Huh?"
"Oh?"
That sound was different, wasn't it? A bit slow, sure, but still.
"Did I do it?"
"Wha— huh?!"
"See? Nothing to it once you try!"
He'd just succeeded and was staring around in a daze, completely bewildered. Well, now that he's done it once, he'll get the hang of it in no time.
"...But, my lady."
"Yes?"
"Isn't this your family's sword art? Are you sure you should just be teaching something like this to a commoner like me...?"
"It's fine, it's fine. Dad said this part is just the basics."
"...Is that so."
Well, if it were something you could pick up this easily, it wouldn't have been a family art in the first place, would it? Honestly, without anything like a Namuwiki or NewTube around, people live their whole lives not knowing even the most basic stuff. When this happens, it really hits me how inconvenient a fantasy world can be.
"All you have to say is 'Thank you, my lady!' Any problem with that?"
"N-no, none at all. Thank you, my lady!"
"Good! Then let's keep going, just like this."
From there, the dungeon crawl went remarkably smoothly.
The thief, our specialist in disarming traps and finding the way. The swordsman, diligently practicing his swish-SMASH! And then, me!
BAM!
A single stroke of my sword, and the skeleton's bones came clattering apart.
"How does such a small body produce that much strength?"
"Because I'm cute."
"...I beg your pardon?"
"Just accept it. I'm strong because I'm cute. Got it?"
"..."
"Answer me."
"...Yes, my lady."
He absolutely did not look like he'd accepted it.
Still, though — the sword isn't as great as I'd imagined. It's not boring exactly, but swinging it over and over makes my arms ache, and when you cut down slimes or zombies, blood and goo go flying everywhere...
Hmmm... It's really kind of so-so. Would it get better if I learned Aura?
"My lady! A golem!"
"Hm? Since when do golems show up on floor five?"
I thought only undead spawned down here. Some kind of mid-boss, maybe? All right, let's go, go!
"Hyah!"
KA-CHING! CLANG!
"...Huh?"
MY SWORD BROKE!!! Nooo! My beloved Sword #1!
"...My lady, golems are supposed to be fought with magic."
"Can't you kill them with a sword?"
"You'd need to be at the level where you can wield Aura, at the very least."
"...Seriously? Why are there so many restrictions on everything?"
I'd only ever fought with magic before, so I'd never known. This sword thing is completely garbage?!
Tch, fine. Playtime as a swordswoman ends here.
Plop. I tossed the broken hilt onto the floor and raised my hand.
"Magic Missile."
Bolts of light streamed from my fingertips and hammered into the golem, one after another.
Whooosh—
BOOM! KRA-KOOM! KRAKAKAKOOM!
"Grrr... grrraaaagh..."
Yep, this way is definitely flashier and easier. Great firepower, too.
"Should've just done this from the start."
The two of them had been watching the whole spectacle from behind, dumbstruck.
"Harmless, right? Let's finish up and head back — we need to be home before dinner."
"Y-yes, my lady!"
"My lady's magic. Amazing."
And their reactions were better this way, too. Magic really is more my style, after all.
"Thank you for your hard work today, my lady. But are you truly certain you won't accept payment?"
"Yep. You two need the money, don't you? Put it toward your debts."
Both of them had the faces of men deeply moved. Not that I had any particular use for it, anyway.
"Thank you so much, my lady!"
"My lady. An angel."
"Bye-bye then! Let's come here together again sometime."
Bread and Cyan, was it? I'll have to remember those names.
Whoosh. I hopped through the portal and landed back in my room. Dambi, apparently having arrived some time ago, was sprawled out fast asleep, claiming my bed as her own.
"Aha!"
"...Squeak?!"
I dove straight onto the bed. Belly rubs for Dambi!
"Squeee...! Squeeee!"
"Bear with me just a little... I worked my poor body to the bone today, you know."
Mmm, ahh... So healing. Is this what they call animal therapy or whatever?
Knock knock.
"Miss, it's Eria. Are you in?"
"Yep, come in."
Creeeak. The door opened and Eria stepped inside.
Brown hair cut in a bob, orange eyes. Yep, adorable as always today too.
She's the maid of our house, technically, but she's close to my age, so somehow she always feels more like a friend.
"Dinner is ready, Miss."
"Gotcha~"
I hopped off the bed and toddled out the door. As I passed Eria, I paused for a moment and smiled.
"Eria, you look cute today too!"
"...Th-thank you."
She's usually so composed, but the moment you compliment her, she turns into a blushing mess.
"Umm... You look... cute too, Miss..."
"Hm? I what?"
"..."
Ah, adorable. Cute really is justice, isn't it? Yes, yes.
"Did you just say I'm cute?"
"...Y-yes."
"Thank you~!"
I gave Eria one big warm hug, then giggled my way down toward the dining room.
Creeeak.
When I opened the door to the dining hall, Mother and Father were already seated, deep in conversation.
Careful not to interrupt, I quietly slipped into the empty seat.
Plop.
"Hm? Eliana, when did you arrive?"
"Just this moment, Father."
"You were nowhere to be seen all morning."
"Yep! I stopped by the Adventurer's Guild, had a little sparring match, and played around swinging a sword."
"Splendid. Practice and real combat must always go hand in hand."
So Father really is that delighted about me swinging a sword. Even though he's the one who's forbidden me from actual combat experience...
"Your talent is remarkable — I was thinking it may soon be time to move you to the next stage. Once you've finished eating, change and come to the training grounds. I shall begin teaching you the family's secret sword art..."
"Dad, I want to quit learning the sword."
"..."
A silence settled over the table. Father's face wavered, visibly flustered.
"...Then you'll need to return to your studies. Will that be all right?"
"Mm... yep!"
"Oh my, Eli! What a wonderful idea — wherever did you come up with that?"
Joy and sorrow crossed my parents' faces in turn.
Hmmm, seeing Father crumble like that — and he's usually so dignified — it seems the time he spent teaching me the sword was reeeally a lot of fun for him.
Mother's face, on the other hand, positively lit up. Not that I decided to study out of any particular love of learning.
"...Eli. Might I ask why?"
Why... hmm.
Truthfully, it's because the sword seems worse than magic. But if I say that, won't Dad be sad?
"It just doesn't really suit me, so I'd like to keep it as a hobby."
"Ah, ahh...!!"
And above all else —
I can run away from Mother.
But I can't run from Father.
Yep, come to think of it, studying really is the better fit for me.
Om nom.
Dinner is delicious. Our chef really is the best.