Right People in the Right Places -1-
“I got a girlfriend recently. Two of them.”
“...”
Rohan wasn't confessing this to throw up an iron wall and push Lete away.
Of course, if she backed off because of it, there was nothing he could do.
This one line was Rohan's own way of showing consideration and courtesy.
He was giving the girl, raised in the Sepia Archipelago, a choice.
'We started off differently from the get-go.'
His relationship with Lete had a clear purpose from the very beginning.
That's why Rohan couldn't keep his mouth shut. It wouldn't be fair to Sion Testarosa and Clara, the ones he was dating now.
The same went for Lete. If she wasn't ready to accept Rohan's values, they should end things cleanly here—it would be easier for both of them.
Even if emotions shifted unpredictably while surviving the dungeon together, they had to eliminate any lingering regrets as much as possible.
Lete, who had been silent, suddenly bowed deeply at the waist.
The motion was sharp and precise.
“...Thank you for telling me-imda!”
Lete understood why Rohan had brought it up.
A bitter taste lingered in her mouth at the unexpected situation, but she couldn't help feeling grateful that he'd been honest.
“Sorry if that hurt your feelings. If we weren't in a dungeon, I could've explained it more smoothly and calmly.”
“Not at all-imda! I figured someone as great as you, Senior, would have competition like that-imda.”
It had only been one brief meeting.
Even so, Lete was confident in her impression of Rohan.
“I don't have the confidence that I'm as great as you think, but thanks for seeing me that way.”
“...The two girlfriends—are they the ones you were with at the shopping mall-imda?”
“Yeah. That's them.”
As he answered, they crested the sand dune.
The girls in the brick house spotted Rohan and Lete, reigniting their chatter.
Lete slowly descended the slope, her feet sinking into the sand with each step, continuing the conversation.
“I've been hesitating so much that I dragged my feet-imda. I kept waffling about going to Academy City on weekends or breaks, and not acting on it was my big mistake-imda.”
Rohan could only smile, at a loss for words.
Right now, silence and listening were the best response.
“Senior.”
“Yeah?”
“The reason you told me you have two girlfriends-imda.”
“...”
Rohan stopped and turned around.
Lete glanced nervously at her friends in the brick house, then lowered her voice.
“You're not rejecting me—you're saying if I'm gonna make a move, do it knowing the truth... right-imda?”
Rohan flashed a bright grin at her question.
⋯
⋯
Rohan blended into the group more easily than expected.
A few of the guys shot him unfriendly looks, but he managed to settle in.
He had precious drinking water in this scorching desert, after all.
And Lete wasn't the only one who vouched for trusting him.
“Then you're sticking with this big bro, right? Especially you guys! No whining about being jealous!”
“Jealous? What the...”
“Hey, you! Quit grumbling!”
Thanks to the girls who'd been with Lete at the shopping mall speaking up, Rohan entered the brick house peacefully and escaped the sun.
That made him the center of curiosity, inevitably.
“Big bro, have you ever been to the Sepia Archipelago?”
“Not yet. I wanna go, but no chance so far.”
“Why don't you visit our school sometime? Lete would love it!”
“S-stop it...!”
Lete's face flushed red as she tried to intervene, but her friends kept chattering around Rohan without pause.
Rohan smiled at their lively energy, responding as best he could.
'They're all so positive. Nice.'
He admired these girls. Even dropped into a dungeon, they firmly believed they'd get home.
Maybe they lacked a real sense of the situation or info, but it was a good mindset.
“Big bro! Big bro! Are you really stronger than Lete?”
“Lete smashes bricks with her bare hands! She chased off a bear that came down from the mountains once!”
“Well... strength isn't that simple a measure, so it's hard to say.”
“You're making Senior uncomfortable! Don't ask stuff like that! I couldn't beat Senior!”
Lete used normal speech with her friends.
Rohan found it intriguing and fun.
“Big bro! So how do we handle food?”
“...Guess we hunt monsters for that, at least for now.”
Rohan blinked at the odd nicknames but spoke carefully.
Unlike his worries, the girls reacted with interest and amusement rather than disgust.
It felt like they saw the dungeon drop as some kind of camping trip.
“We're eating monsters?! Let's film it!”
“On the way here, Lete smashed a shark—wanna eat that? I never tried shark—who has?”
“It's probably tough and gross...”
“I like chewy meat, so I'm good-roong.”
Rohan listened with a smile, answering their occasional questions steadily.
Because the vibe was positive.
'This is perfect right now. No need for them to know how serious the dungeon is or how dangerous things are.'
Civilians digging into dungeon survival rates would just end up terrified with nothing to show for it.
As long as he made sure they internalized basic precautions without amplifying anxiety, it'd be fine.
Slipping out of the chatter, Rohan approached the one other person besides Lete who properly had mana—the boy with the sword.
“My mouth's so dry. Here, have some water.”
“...”
No response to Rohan's offer.
The boy glared openly with displeasure, then whipped his head away.
'What a pain.'
His lips were visibly chapped, but his stubbornness put Rohan in a tough spot.
Even with mana, they had to manage their physical condition.
'If Lete and I step away, he's the only one who could hold down the fort.'
Rohan already knew. This guy was the center of the boys.
Lete got along casually with her friends and had strong trust among the girls, but this one made the boys flinch and watch their step. A clear hierarchy.
The other boys from his class weren't drinking because they were eyeing him.
Rohan got it—their feelings, that is.
Everyone has that phase where someone your age or a year or two older feels like the scariest thing in the world.
But they couldn't keep this dynamic in a dungeon.
“Hey, buddy.”
“...”
“I get you don't like me. But to survive and get out, we gotta cooperate.”
“...”
Silence. No conversation starter.
He'd been shooting especially sharp glares since Rohan joined, so he'd tried talking, but no sign of opening up.
Being wary of outsiders was fine, but blind hostility without a plan was tricky even for Rohan.
“Leave Tom alone. He's always like that.”
“His name's Tom?”
One of Lete's friends started chattering about Tom.
“He's the son of the sword dojo across from Lete's place. Back when he and Lete...”
Was it a sore spot? Tom, who'd been staring ahead, whipped around with a fierce glare.
Rohan stepped forward, shielding her friend with his body.
“Big bro! See that temper?!”
“He's a fun one.”
Tom gripped his sword tightly as the voice kept going from behind Rohan.
Rohan watched his movements, deep in thought.
'That personality type—beating sense into him would cause more problems.'
It was a familiar trait in people with excessive pride and self-esteem.
Crushing them with force could spark backlash or random trouble.
If you weren't killing them, better hold back on the hardline approach.
A real unexpected wildcard.
Rohan let out a wry chuckle.
'What a troublesome guy.'
He'd planned to scout the area and train skill control with just Lete.
This boy's skills wouldn't help—in fact, they'd hinder.
“Senior. I'll go drag that shark we caught earlier-imda.”
As Lete approached from amid her friends, Tom shot a side-eye and ground his teeth. Rohan heard it clearly.
That wrapped up his read on the situation. Headache incoming.
“How far?”
“Close-imda. Just over one dune-imda.”
“Let's go together. It'll be pretty heavy.”
“Got it-imda!”
Lete beamed, slipping on her sneakers.
They had plenty to discuss outside, so Rohan left a bottle of water by Tom and headed out with Lete.
Sand crunched underfoot. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
They headed to the opposite side of the dune where they'd talked.
Mid-climb, Lete preempted Rohan.
“Don't worry-imda. Tom acts tough, but he'll protect his friends-imda.”
“Good to hear. Bluntly, sometimes people are more dangerous than monsters.”
Like that snake bastard they'd run into on the way.
If even one like that showed up while Rohan and Lete were gone, those kids were goners.
“...I get it-imda.”
Lete's face grew serious at the explanation.
It was a dilemma.
“Sticking around to guard them means we'll never clear the dungeon. But skipping the Monolith search isn't an option either.”
“Hmm...”
If worst came to worst, they'd all move together and cut back on skill training.
He pocketed that plan and reached the dune's peak.
“Senior. See it down there... Whoa?!”
Lete cut off and dropped low.
Two guys stood by the dead Desert Shark.
“...”
But Rohan didn't hide. He stood atop the dune, eyeing the two in Orion Academy cadet uniforms.
A grin tugged at his lips—welcome sight.
— Roooaaar!!! Heaven hath delivered sustenance!
— Cut the crap-im. Monsters might swarm.
— How dare you scold in the face of this bles—!!! To spurn such grace is to court death itself...!
— Why'd I end up with this idiot even after falling...
Gilbert Carniat and Dick Wikitree.
Exactly the friends Rohan needed right now.