Let's Form a Team
I needed to form a team.
If I'm going to handle the crisis that's about to hit, I'd better have the sacred relic on hand.
Even after the dungeon break event ended, another incident was still going to unfold. And that incident, much to my distaste, was directly tied to Reina.
The so-called Reina Kidnapping Arc.
Reina gets abducted by an unknown enemy, and the original protagonist teams up with Ceryll to fight tooth and nail to save her. Naturally, Reina comes within a hair's breadth of dying, and Ceryll nearly loses an arm. In that desperate moment, the original protagonist finally masters the power of the sacred relic, defeats the enemy, and saves everyone.
That was the gist of it.
Getting kidnapped might be the correct path for the original protagonist's growth, but…
No matter how I looked at it, that was a terrible option.
I seriously doubt the original protagonist — who clearly can't handle the sacred relic properly yet — is going to rescue me in one piece.
The best outcome was simply not getting kidnapped at all. And for that, having the sacred relic would be ideal.
The sacred relic comes with immunity to mental manipulation, after all.
As long as I had it, I wouldn't get abducted or brainwashed by the enemy. That was simply how its effect worked.
Alright.
For my own safety, I decided I was getting that sacred relic. And to do that, what I needed to do was already clear.
The dungeon where the break happens is Dungeon A.
Anin assigned dungeons based on each team's composition. In the original story, Ceryll and the original protagonist had been a team, and they'd been assigned to Dungeon A because a sword-and-bow pairing suited it.
I wasn't the original protagonist. But I used a bow just like he did. So if Ceryll and I formed a team, we would almost certainly get assigned to Dungeon A.
On top of that, Ceryll was talent I absolutely had to recruit if I wanted to clear the dungeon break safely.
…I don't have a choice this time.
I hadn't planned on getting involved with Ceryll either, but teaming up with her was the best option for clearing the dungeon.
I looked over at her. Ceryll came looking for my seat every single break. For reasons I couldn't fathom, she was desperate to get closer to me. So she would almost certainly be the one to propose teaming up first. All I had to do was act reluctant and accept halfheartedly.
Simple enough. Or so I thought — until a problem cropped up.
"Lady Ceryll. D-do you think you might form a team with me?"
The slap girl with the eye-catching drill hair had beaten me to the punch.
Ceryll was the most outstanding talent in the class. Of course plenty of people would be after her. And because Ceryll was kind, she never turned anyone down. Ever. She would definitely accept. Once a team was set, you couldn't change it. I had to step in right now.
"That's not happening."
I shot up from my seat and cut into the conversation.
"Ceryll's teaming up with me."
Someone barging in late while a proposal was already on the table — and someone she wasn't exactly on great terms with, no less. The reaction that would get was easy enough to predict.
"You're saying you'll team up with Lady Ceryll? You?"
The slap girl screeched like she'd just heard something utterly absurd.
"Yeah."
I answered flatly, and the slap girl's mouth flapped open and shut like she'd been struck speechless. Then she turned to Ceryll.
"Lady Ceryll. D-did you really agree to team up with that commoner?"
Even with the arrow suddenly pointed her way, Ceryll looked perfectly calm. She brushed her index and middle fingers lightly against her lips before speaking.
"I only just got the offer, so I'm still thinking it over."
"So that means nothing's been decided yet, right?"
The slap girl's mouth twitched with relief, then she turned back to me.
"Have you ever even been inside a dungeon?"
"Nope."
"I thought so."
She continued in a tone that barely suppressed a sneer.
"I've already cleared ten dungeons myself!"
Long ago, dungeons had been designated as dangerous places. Leave them uncleared and monsters would pour out and run wild. But that wasn't the case anymore. Now they were properly managed by the kingdom, used for harvesting resources or as training grounds.
That doesn't mean they're not dangerous, though.
Monsters still lived inside them. And for academy students who hadn't learned much of anything yet, the achievement of clearing a dungeon might sound incredibly impressive.
"So what?"
It didn't impress me, of course. Having read the novel all the way through, dungeons were nothing special to me.
"W-what? I-I said I've cleared ten dungeons! Do you have any idea how incredible that is…?"
"You went in with your family's knights, didn't you?"
"H-how did you—?"
As if some noble brat who hadn't accomplished a thing yet could walk into a dungeon alone. Maybe she read that thought on my face, because the slap girl's face flushed red as she shouted.
"E-experience matters! And I-I fought a few monsters myself! I'm clearly going to be more useful to Lady Ceryll than someone who's never even set foot in a dungeon!"
Was she trying to prove she was better than me?
"You're number seven, right?"
"What?"
"I'm number six."
There were twelve students in Anin's class total, and every student had been assigned a number. For the record, the numbers were ranked by grades. The slap girl's shoulders started trembling as she grasped what I was getting at.
"Th-the numbers must be a mistake…"
"Teacher Anin. You know, this girl thinks your judgment is off—"
"Sh-shut up!"
The slap girl flailed both hands and yelled. But my voice had already reached Anin's ears.
"My judgment is off?"
"N-no, that's…"
"Number seven. Come here for a moment."
"…Yes."
The slap girl shot me a resentful look. I stuck my tongue out at her, just to be annoying. Who told her to pick a fight?
Obstacle removed.
All that was left was to win Ceryll over. Not that I even needed to. Ceryll was terrible at saying no.
"We're teaming up, right?"
One line was all it would take.
"Of course."
Just as expected.
"Still, this is a little surprising."
"What is?"
"I never thought Reina would be the one to ask me first. I figured you'd team up with someone else."
I followed Ceryll's gaze and spotted the original protagonist. He was teaming up with Zen, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He didn't seem to notice I was looking at him.
"Or did he turn you down, so you had no choice but to come to me?"
Ceryll asked with a playful smile, and I snorted.
"There was never any option besides you from the start."
"Huh?"
"I wanted to team up with you no matter what. (For my own purposes, that is.)"
"……"
Ceryll went quiet all of a sudden. I turned toward her with a puzzled look, but—
"Ow."
—she grabbed my head and held it in place, so I couldn't.
Thanks to teaming up with Ceryll, I got assigned to Dungeon A exactly as planned. We'd be entering the dungeon tomorrow. So if I could just spend the whole day doing nothing and lounging around… that would've been nice.
"I should get ready."
In the original story, there had been two conditions that let the original protagonist clear the dungeon break. The first was Ceryll's presence. Ceryll had the talent to rank first for a reason. And the second—
"Welcome to the weapon shop!"
—was having a good bow and good arrows.
The original protagonist was a commoner, so of course he'd had no money. Under normal circumstances, he would have had to enter the dungeon with the training weapons the academy provided. But—
After he put Zen in his place, Zen's parents gave him a fine bow as an apology.
People say a true master doesn't care what weapon they use. That saying is wrong. The less skilled you are, the better your weapon needs to be. And even skilled people are far better off using good gear.
"Mister, do you have any enchanted arrows?"
The academy was sprawling, and every essential facility was located on the grounds. That meant you could buy weapons without ever leaving campus.
"Of course. Just a moment."
Before long, the shopkeeper came back with a handful of arrows.
"This one has an explosion spell on it, and this one bursts into flame the instant you fire it…"
His explanation continued, but I only half-listened. I'd already heard what I needed about the arrow I was after.
The arrow enchanted with explosion magic.
It was the one the original protagonist had used to take down the dungeon boss. More precisely, it had been the only one he had, so he'd had no choice but to use it. Against a boss that appeared during a dungeon break, ordinary arrows would never bring the thing down. You needed an arrow with a powerful enchantment.
Explosion magic is one of the stronger enchantments you can put on something.
Without that kind of firepower, the dungeon boss never would have gone down.
I have to get that arrow no matter what.
Students enrolled at the academy received a living stipend — roughly two gold. In this world's economy, two gold was about a month's wages for someone with an ordinary job. In other words, I was basically getting paid for doing nothing. It might feel like pocket change to a noble's child, but two gold was roughly two million won in Korean money. Hardly a small sum. Enough to buy at least one arrow, surely.
"How much?"
"Fifty gold."
"……"
Why was it so expensive?