Chapter 294: Preparing for the Request
Chapter 294: Preparing for the Request
I brought Silvia and Matilda with me to the Arachne Clan House.
It took a while before I was finally ready to leave, only after receiving a proper send-off. Diana fussed over me, meticulously checking my things like a grandmother doting on her grandchild. Leia held my hand tightly, pressing it into her chest as she told me to have a safe trip. And Sara, trying her best not to look anxious, offered the cryptic words, “If you don’t come back in one piece, you won’t be in one piece.”
To top it all off, just before we left, the girls pulled Silvia aside for some reason. They whispered amongst themselves with serious expressions, eating up even more of my time.
Surely they didn’t chew her out just for being the only one coming with me, right?
No, my girls would never do something like that.
They were probably just giving Silvia, who wasn't used to the Dungeon, some advice as her adventurer seniors.
In any case, by the time we finished breakfast and all that, it was nearly lunchtime when we finally arrived at the Arachne Clan House.
Thankfully, the travel time was short since we came by carriage, which allowed us to get here before noon.
We took a carriage because of Matilda.
Even though it wasn't far, it would be a pain if Matilda got tangled up with some weirdo on the street again.
Thanks to her, I ended up getting entangled with Matilda during the ride, but for now, I'm safe.
I'm sure of it, since I checked just before we got out.
“So, I’d like to bring these two with me.”
“I believe I told you that you didn’t need to bring escorts. We are more than capable of protecting you ourselves, you know?”
As expected, Miriel didn’t look pleased.
Well, it was like I was saying I couldn’t fully trust them. I must have wounded her pride.
Her sharp, handsome eyes narrowed slightly.
“Still, my girls are terribly worried. Please try to understand.”
They say you just get more worries as you get older, I thought, but wisely kept that part to myself.
See, Diana? I can be this considerate.
“Besides, aren’t those two from your clan as well? Are they even capable of handling the 5th Floor? It would be troublesome if they just became extra baggage.”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. They might not look it, but they’re quite helpful. One is a knight of the Royal Guard. The other is a Cardinal, one of only twelve in the entire world.”
“A Cardinal… It seems you are finally beginning to grasp your own position. Though I must say, I don’t appreciate the phrase ‘might not look it.’”
Matilda muttered something, but I decided to ignore her completely.
There’s no end to it if I respond to everything she says.
“What? How did you get people like that… No, I suppose with the Supreme Archmage in your party, it’s pointless to even ask. Hmph… Fine. Let’s do it this way.”
Miriel rested her chin on her hand, thinking for a moment, before laying out a few conditions.
First, Silvia and Matilda were to stick by my side and focus solely on guarding me. Her point was that if they tried to jump into the fight, they would only disrupt the team’s coordination.
That was a given.
No matter how skilled they were, it was only natural for problems to arise when outsiders suddenly joined a party that had been fighting together for a long time.
And personally, I wanted them to stick close to me anyway.
There was no need for them to go out of their way to do anything dangerous, right?
The other condition was that the quest fee would remain exactly as we’d discussed. Even if my companions killed more monsters, we wouldn’t take the materials from them. Everything would be collected together, and we would receive our half of the total.
This, too, was perfectly reasonable.
They would be dedicated to protecting me, and even if they did kill a monster, it would only be one or two under the protection of the Arachne Clan.
I had no intention of being petty and insisting that what we killed was ours.
“Okay. Okay. Let’s do that.”
When I voiced my agreement, Miriel nodded as if she had no other choice.
“In the event of an emergency, our top priority will be protecting you. I can’t make any promises about those two.”
Miriel added, her tone a final warning.
Don’t threaten me like that. You’re making me nervous.
…It’ll be fine, right?
“Anyway, good. Now that that’s settled, shall we start getting ready?”
“Could you wait here for a moment? I’ll go gather the others.”
It seemed Miriel intended to set out immediately, without even stopping for lunch.
Or maybe she’d already had a brunch of sorts?
“By the way, a knight of the Royal Guard and a Cardinal, huh? That means they’re nobles, right?” Alicia, who had guided us from the main gate to Miriel’s room, muttered in a voice full of admiration.
Though for someone supposedly impressed by nobility, her attitude didn’t seem to have gotten any more respectful.
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”
“Can’t you tell by looking at me? I’m already done. You have no idea how much Miriel was nagging us since yesterday… You should be careful, too. She looks all cool and composed on the outside, but she’s surprisingly petty and nags a lot. You’ll see once we get into the Dungeon.”
Alicia said, patting a rather large pouch tied to her waist.
She was indeed fully equipped for battle.
But that pouch… it was large, but it didn’t look like there was anything inside. Still, the way she patted it must mean it held all her necessary supplies.
In other words, it was a pouch enchanted with spatial magic. As expected of an executive of a major clan.
It seemed my inventory skill wouldn’t be much to brag about to these people.
“If she’s so petty, is it really okay to be badmouthing her to someone from another clan like this?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. She doesn’t care about stuff like that.”
Then she’s not petty, is she?
“By the way…”
“S-Sir Guwon!”
Just as I was about to ask about the 5th Floor, Silvia suddenly called my name.
“Hm?”
“U-Um… that is…”
“What’s wrong all of a sudden? Is it something hard to say… Ah, the bathroom?”
“N-No, sir! It’s not that… Ah! Right! U-Um, in the meantime, is there anything we should be preparing?”
“No. We already came fully prepared. What are you talking about, all dressed in your armor like that?”
“I-I see…”
“What? You called me just to say that?”
“Yes…”
Silvia replied with a dejected whimper.
What was that all about?
“Anyway, Alicia. About the 5th Floor. Can you tell me about the monsters there?”
I had already heard about it from Diana, but I asked Alicia again.
Diana said it had been a very long time since she’d been in the Dungeon, so it was possible new monsters had been discovered since then.
Besides, there were things I couldn’t hear from Diana.
Apparently, Diana had explored the Dungeon after already hitting level 500, so she’d just swept through with overwhelming firepower, focusing only on researching how to use monster materials and analyzing the skills they used.
So when she explained how to fight them, it honestly wasn’t very helpful from my perspective.
On the other hand, advice from Alicia, who was clearly a warrior type, would probably be quite useful.
“Huh? Right. Well, they’re huge.”
I stand corrected. Maybe Alicia’s advice wouldn’t be very helpful either.
“Hey. I already heard that much. Don’t you have any more specific information? Like the characteristics of each monster or tips on how to fight them.”
“Huh? Tips? Let’s see…”
“What are you two talking about?”
Just then, Miriel returned to the room.
“Hm? Oh, Alicia was just badmouthing you.”
I decided to tattle on her immediately.
This is payback for trying to embarrass me in front of my girls.
“Huh? Hey!”
“Didn’t you say she doesn’t care?”
“That doesn’t mean you should tell her!”
“Hmph, that’s the kind of man I am.”
“You… are you actually proud of that?!”
“Hoh… Speaking ill of me, were you?”
“Ugh. Hey. Wait a second, Miriel.”
“I’ll remember this.”
“Agh! That’s not what I meant!”
It seemed Miriel had no intention of reprimanding Alicia right here and now.
Tch. Too bad. I wanted to see her get taken down a peg.
Well, seeing how flustered she was, it looked like she was in for it later.
“You’re back quick. Are you all ready?”
“Yes. Now I just need to get ready myself. Wait a moment.”
As she spoke, Miriel casually shucked off the clothes she was wearing.
Bravo! Yes! This is it! I knew I could count on you!
Her body was certainly covered in scars, but they couldn’t hide what was still a magnificent figure.
Her beautifully developed muscles, fit for a fitness model, were a masterpiece.
I didn’t look away, openly staring at Miriel’s naked body.
I’m just appreciating it, that’s all. It’s not like I’m cheating. This much is fine, right?
Miriel paid my gaze no mind and began to don the pieces of armor that were laid out in a corner of the room.
Ooh. She just bent at the waist, giving me a perfect view of her vulva. It was a fine-looking thing that suited her toned body, one that looked like it would have a very nice grip.
“Ugh, ah, ugh, hmph!”
Suddenly, something blocked my vision.
Judging by the voice, I figured it was Silvia.
Could it be? The Silvia I know?
Even if she had truly become jealous, I couldn’t imagine her expressing it like this.
She had a tendency to view her own position within our party as much lower than it actually was.
“Silvia?”
“I-I’m sorry, Sir Guwon! But…!”
Sorry? Something was suspicious. Ah, could it be…
“What did the three of them say to you when you were leaving?”
At that, Silvia’s body flinched.
“N-N-Nothing! They didn’t say anything at all!”
Right. As if they’d held you for that long and said nothing.
It seemed my guess was correct.
Silvia had been given another mission by my girls, on top of being my bodyguard.
A mission to make sure I didn’t lay a hand on any of the Arachne Clan members.
No wonder. Now I understood why she tried to interrupt my conversation with Alicia earlier.
“Is that so? Then can I assume you’re doing this right now because you want to hug me?”
“Geh?!”
I turned toward Silvia, who was clinging to my back and covering my eyes, and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Alright. If you want it that badly, we’ll go to the Dungeon just like this.”
“Hyaak! Hieeeuuungh! Guh, heung! Sir Guwooon!”
Whoa! Don’t suddenly let out such a lewd moan!
Startled, I released my hold on her, and Silvia scurried away to a corner of the room.
Don’t look at me with those frightened eyes while panting like that. It makes it seem like I did something to you. All I did was hug you.
“Hey. You’re not wet, are you?”
“N-No, I’m not wet! …Probably.”
When I asked just in case, Silvia answered, her face beet red.
The way she was rubbing her thighs together looked a little suspicious.
Anyway, this meant Silvia could no longer cover my eyes. Now I could freely enjoy Miriel’s naked body…
“Your clan is quite rowdy.”
Dammit! Why is she already fully dressed?! Isn’t armor supposed to be complicated to put on?! Shouldn’t it take more time?!
“Seeing that, I have to wonder if she can really fight properly in the Dungeon.”
“It’s fine. She might be like that, but she fights properly when it counts.”
As disappointed as I was, I couldn’t very well tell her to get undressed again, so I could only reply curtly.
Tch. It’s fine. I don’t need to see that anyway. My girls’ bodies are way better.
Though I won’t be able to see them for the next few days…
Dammit. I was already starting to dread going to the Dungeon.
“Let’s go.”
Miriel, paying no mind to my sullen expression, opened the door and walked out.
When I followed her, I saw a group of five people in various outfits standing there.
Including Miriel and Alicia, that made exactly seven executives.
They’re not living up to their clan name.
If you’re going to name your clan after a spider, shouldn’t you have eight executives? It’s just common sense.
“You don’t have to make that face. One of them is already on standby at the 5th Floor. As promised, all of our executives will be participating in this Dungeon expedition.”
As if reading my mind, Miriel added that explanation.
So there were eight of them. They really were living up to their clan name.
Though they were living up to it well enough even without the number of executives.
In the sense that the male dies after mating.