An Unexpected Request
Even though I had dampened my sensory waves, having her stare so intently from right behind me meant I couldn't help but register her condition. The snow-white skin that still held traces of moisture, her slightly damp hair, the flush coloring her cheeks, and that seemingly indifferent gaze fixed on me.
What is she thinking about so hard? She specifically told me not to look back, yet here she is standing like this... Maybe she actually wants me to turn around?
I don't know! I seriously don't get it at all!
Fighting a thousand orcs would probably be easier on my mind. Part of me wanted to whip my head around and startle her, but I held back, worried that scaring her first thing in the morning might negatively affect our dungeon run.
"Tsk..."
Yeonhee shot me a slightly discontented glare before slipping back into her room.
Hmm... Next time I'll just pull her into my arms and toss her inside.
I'd let it slide today. Just once.
"L-let's go—"
When she emerged a few dozen minutes later after changing, she couldn't quite meet my eyes. She was so bold earlier... What am I supposed to do with this little troublemaker?
Even while acting so embarrassed, she still reached out for my hand. It seemed she really enjoyed holding hands.
Squeeze—
"......"
I wondered when those bright red cheeks of hers would finally cool down. Personally, I wouldn't mind if they stayed that way. That faintly shy expression looked incredibly charming.
"We're taking a taxi."
Nod—
We rode a taxi toward the orc dungeon. In the back seat, she spent the entire ride playing with my hand. The driver kept glancing back at Yeonhee as she waved her fingers through the air like she was performing some invisible mime, tilting his head in confusion multiple times.
Thirty minutes later we arrived at the dungeon entrance where Baek A-rin and Bae Jua were already waiting. We reviewed the key points about this dungeon that we'd discussed at the cafe yesterday while waiting for Ham Eun-yeong.
"That sister is great in every way, but she has zero sense of time."
"Why didn't you just bring her yourself?"
"She kept insisting she could handle it alone. She always says that, yet the result is always this. Sigh..."
Still, this particular flaw was something we could accept when weighed against Ham Eun-yeong's capabilities.
A dungeon where orcs took center stage. At first glance, one might think Ham Eun-yeong would have limited utility. But her songs didn't merely remove status ailments. The most appealing secondary effect was how they eased mental overload. This helped not only Bae Jua, who burned through mental energy at an alarming rate, but the entire party. After all, human mental strength depletes faster than most realize.
It wasn't a skill that particularly moved me as an undead, but for my comrades' sake, Ham Eun-yeong was someone we needed to bring along no matter what.
......
My appearance in front of the gate combined with Yeonhee briefly lowering her hood had drawn the attention of the dozens of waiting hunters.
They sure love to run their mouths.
To stop paying attention to the chatter, I turned my gaze toward the gate. Staring at its gentle shimmer, I almost expected a red-haired elf to step out and summon an orc legion. Thankfully that didn't happen, but the sight alone brought back memories that made my shoulders twitch.
Orcs...
We had already experienced their strength firsthand. They were hunters by birth. Their natural five senses far surpassed humans', their physical capabilities held an even greater gap, and they possessed terrifying tenacity when tracking chosen prey.
Of course, that wasn't all.
The most annoying factor was their sheer numbers. The endless waves of troops were a tactic in themselves. Whether they bred like rabbits or something else was at work, I didn't know, but hunters had never once held the numerical advantage against an orc legion.
I should probably abandon any assumption that only close-combat types will appear.
There were variant types—magic users, commanders—and those individuals had always proven stronger than standard orcs of the same rank. But excluding those rare variants, orcs were fundamentally close-combat warriors. Tens of thousands of such warrior-class orcs lived in this dungeon, each in their own tribe. The memory of them swarming in a horde was something we never wanted to experience again.
Still, having already faced the unexpected before, we'd prepared some division of roles in advance.
"If a variant appears, Ilwol will handle it."
"...I could take one sometimes too."
"Arin, we all agreed on this. You should thank Miss Yeonhee for volunteering to shoulder the danger instead—"
"Ugh! Fine!"
"Why are you getting so worked up? This is—"
Baek A-rin seemed upset that she wouldn't get to take point against any unexpected powerhouses. Or rather, she seemed ashamed. Was it because she'd been outdone by a low-grade monster like me? Hmm. That was entirely possible.
After all, she was an elite who'd graduated from the academy and joined the Ilseom Guild immediately. When our eyes met, she lowered her gaze and pouted. Most people would try to hide their feelings, but she was honest. And I liked that about her.
Arin idly poked at the ground with her toes.
Can't have a party member's spirit broken.
Someone like Baek A-rin performed best when she was excited. I'd noticed her becoming slightly calmer since the day we first met, but it didn't seem like an entirely positive development. I needed to find a way to raise her tension. How should I go about it?
Hmm... Would this work?
I asked Ran, who was riding on my shoulder, to relay a message. Yeonhee received it, seemed to consider for a moment, then passed the content to Arin.
"Ilwol says he wants to learn swordsmanship."
"Huh? From me?"
"Yes... From you, Miss Arin."
"Why? Isn't Ilwol stronger than me?"
I'm not so sure about that.
We'd never had a proper spar, so I didn't know why she assumed I was stronger. Especially since her Lightning Step pushed her stats far beyond mine. There was no need for her to concede ground like that. With proper use of that ability alone, there were thousands of ways she could overpower me. It showed she still lacked experience.
And seeing that side of her made it clear she felt somewhat intimidated around me.
As a skeleton, my role in this party had clear limits, but I wanted to correct what I could see.
Coming out of my thoughts, I exchanged several messages with Arin through Ran.
"Well, the Ilseom Guild's swordsmanship is certainly refined. It's been developed over many years by the current family head, so it has a well-established foundation."
In the end, Arin agreed to teach me swordsmanship during the dungeon's spare moments. She hadn't even hesitated. I'd expected her to think about it, but it was a pleasant surprise.
Since it would only involve posture correction and light sparring, it wasn't quite a master-disciple relationship, but such learning opportunities were rare. I bowed my head to her with proper respect.
"...It, it really feels like I've become a master! I'm terrible at teaching people so I don't know if I'll be any help, but I'll do everything I can with what I know!"
"Clack clack clack!"
The dissatisfaction that had been plastered across Arin's face earlier had completely vanished. Now she beamed with a smile that stretched ear to ear after becoming my sword instructor.
Thank goodness. She's so simple.
From now on, no matter what I accomplished, she could see it as her disciple performing well. That should help ease some of the burden on her heart.
"A hunter with a skeleton disciple... That's headline material."
"Puhaha! Right?"
"...That wasn't a compliment—"
"Anyway, it means I'm amazing!"
"...Think whatever you like."
Bae Jua subtly asked Arin if it was really okay. Arin asked what the problem was, and the atmosphere suggested Jua had decided to let it go. She'd probably been asking whether it was acceptable to teach the Ilseom Guild's swordsmanship to outsiders, but Arin didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"It's totally fine!"
"Got it!"
Watching the two of them bicker reminded me of the Helen combo. I'd thought party members like Helen and Jin-gyeong would be hard to come by, but these two were gradually filling that same position.
"Ah, there she is. Sis! Over here!"
Ham Eun-yeong had been slowly weaving through the crowd when she spotted us and began hurrying over in a fluster. By the time she reached us, her clothes were soaked with cold sweat. Had she really ended up like this just coming from home? If so, she seriously needed treatment before worrying about social activities...
"S-sorry..."
"You're seven minutes late. Let's try to avoid being late whenever possible, Sis."
"Mm..."
Bae Jua had cautioned Ham Eun-yeong in a carefully controlled voice. Eun-yeong should really count herself lucky that she was a few years older than Jua.
There was no reason to delay any longer, so after registering at the management office we entered the dungeon immediately.
Right after stepping inside, we headed straight toward the boss area. As we moved, Bae Jua shared some unexpected news.
"Hayun asked me to check if she could join us for just one day."
"Hayun? The ice sorceress No Hayun? Why her?"
"Why would she—why?!"
Bae Jua shrugged as if she had no idea either.
"More importantly, since when have you two been speaking casually?"
"Hayun told me a long time ago to drop the honorifics. I was the one using them because I thought I was sucking up."
When we eventually go back, wouldn't it be safer to keep using honorifics?
"Anyway, think about it. She said she won't take any share of the loot at all. Of course she mentioned she'd grab any runes with decent stats, but this is basically a chance to use a top-tier mage for free."
"...... For free? Why? You didn't ask for a reason?"
"Of course I did. But... she gave a really strange answer."
"W-what answer?"
Yeonhee pressed the question with visible tension while Bae Jua answered calmly.
"'I want to adventure with my old comrades who crossed death's threshold together. Does there need to be a reason?!' That's what she said."
"...... What does that even mean?"
"What kind of nonsense is that? Is she filming some youth drama?"
"Exactly. That No Hayun woman is definitely hiding something. Argh! I can't figure out what it is. Does anyone here know her?"
But neither Baek A-rin nor Ham Eun-yeong had any connection to No Hayun, and even Yeonhee could only tilt her head in genuine confusion.
"Sigh— The main point is that she won't take money and will work for free. So what do you all think about challenging the Dungeon of Nargul right away? Of course, only the first floor! Not the second."
"Wow— I'm totally in favor!!"
"Hmm... I'll need to think about it a bit more."
Yeonhee postponed giving a definite answer, and Bae Jua said it was fine to take her time considering it. After all, it wasn't as if No Hayun had specified only one particular day she could join.