Chapter 337: Guwon's Counterattack
Chapter 337: Guwon's Counterattack
“Alright, alright. Calm down. What do you take me for? It couldn't be helped, could it? Besides, you came right back to my side, did you not? I won't get angry over something like that. There was no need for you to lie.”
To my surprise, Diana seemed willing to be magnanimous about the fact that I had slept with Sara on her turn.
Ugh. As expected of our Archmage! She's on a completely different level!
“A-And…”
“Hm?”
“I just… I don't want to see the girls I like fighting with each other.”
But even if she forgave me, that forgiveness was limited to me, who had done nothing wrong.
She was probably still furious with Sara.
No matter how drunk Sara was, the problem was that she had been drinking in the first place.
I said that to defend Sara as well.
“Hmm. This one speaks thusly. Miss Sara, do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“Eek! I-I’m so sorry! A-And…”
“And?”
“Ugh… M-my next turn… I-I’ll give it to Diana…” Sara stammered, her voice trembling as if she were forcing the words out of a mouth that wouldn't move.
“I-Is that so…”
That answer seemed to catch even Diana off guard, as she stuttered for a moment. But she quickly recovered, let out a cute little cough, and continued.
“That’s a given. You deserve a much harsher scolding from me. What you did was that serious. Do you understand?”
“Y-Yes, I understand…”
It was a little refreshing to see Sara, who usually fought head-on with our Archmage without a hint of fear, looking so weak.
“However, since my dear has spoken up for you, I will say no more. But. Be careful with alcohol from now on.”
“Ugh. I-I will.”
In the end, it seemed the matter was settled with Sara giving up one of her turns to Diana, and Diana forgiving her.
“Diana. Thank you.”
I was so moved by Diana forgiving her much more easily than I’d expected that I pulled her into a tight hug.
“H-Hmph. If you understand, then you’d better treat me even better from now on.”
“Okay. How about you eat on my lap today?”
“Do you think me a child?”
What was she talking about? She was usually the one subtly trying to climb onto my lap.
Of course, she was just saying that. When I lifted her up and sat her on my lap, Diana offered no resistance, simply snuggling into my embrace.
“Miss Sara, you can lift your head now.”
“Ugh. Yes…”
“There’s no need to be so down. It’s all over now, isn’t it?”
Seeing Sara so dejected must have been a bit pitiful, as Diana tried to comfort her.
Not that it did much to improve Sara’s expression.
“It’s okay, Diana. The look on her face isn’t just because she feels sorry toward you.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Guwooooon! I love yooou!”
“Kyaaaaaa! Hwaaah! Reallllyyy!”
At that, Sara finally burst into tears.
“Ack! Sorry! That was too much. Don’t cry.”
“Hic… I-I’m not crying…” Sara mumbled, wiping her eyes with her hands and trying to force her usual cool expression back onto her face.
“I-I see… So that’s what it was. You should tease her in moderation.”
“Right. I’ll restrain myself.”
I reached over and patted Sara’s head, then looked around the table again.
Leia, Silvia, and Matilda were all staring at us, their faces asking what in the world was going on.
Right, I guess we just aired all that out in front of everyone.
They must have overheard the conversation and figured out what happened.
This just makes me feel even worse for Sara.
Then again, none of this would have happened if Sara hadn't suddenly started apologizing here.
“Alright, alright. What’s everyone doing? Let’s eat. Let’s eat before it gets cold. Wow. This looks delicious. I can’t believe we can get proper food inside the dungeon. Ah, but I guess it doesn't matter since they can just teleport the ingredients in.”
I started eating, trying to forcefully change the subject.
“Here, Sara. You should eat something too.”
“Okay…”
I brought a spoonful of soup to her lips, and Sara ate it with a downcast expression.
I know it’s not the best time to say this, but a dejected Sara was cute in its own way.
Of course, her usual cool demeanor suited her best.
By the time we finished our meal, Sara had returned to her normal self, at least on the surface, and we hurried to prepare to enter the dungeon again.
Thanks to the little commotion in the morning, we were running a bit behind schedule.
Well, it wasn't an urgent matter, so being a little late wasn't a huge problem.
Just as we had geared up and come back downstairs, a person entered the inn and shouted loudly.
“Excuse me. Your attention, please. A new rescue quest has just been issued by the Guild. For details, please refer to the bulletin board in the town square. Thank you.”
With only that, the person left the inn in a hurry.
They were probably off to deliver the announcement elsewhere. I wonder if they’re from the clan that manages this town?
“What was that about?”
“It seems some adventurers have been stranded on this layer.”
“You can tell that? We were stranded once, too, but…”
“That time, none of us were defeated, were we?”
With that opening, Diana began to explain.
Normally, an Adventurer’s ID Plate only shows who defeated you when you lose to another adventurer. However, there was another way to know if an adventurer’s life was in danger.
It was when their ID Plate disappeared.
An Adventurer’s ID Plate is linked to the adventurer's own mana and updates their information in real-time, so if the adventurer dies, the contents of the plate disappear entirely.
This way, the Guild could know the life-or-death status of adventurers, even if it wasn't due to a fight between adventurers.
And if some members of a party that entered the dungeon together died, the Guild would determine that the survivors were stranded and issue a rescue quest to other adventurers on that layer.
That was why it was necessary for party members to show their faces to the Guild receptionists before entering the dungeon.
The Guild wasn't just a place that managed adventurers.
The cost of such a rescue quest was, of course, paid out of the rescued adventurer’s pocket, but the Guild also covered half of it.
After all, the money taken from the pockets of adventurers on the same layer wouldn't be enough to motivate other adventurers to actively conduct a search.
And this wasn't entirely a loss for the Guild, either.
For the Guild, having even one more adventurer was beneficial to them. And since adventurers knew the Guild would go to such lengths for them, they didn't complain about settling all their Magic Stone sales through the Guild.
The Guild provided various other conveniences for adventurers as well.
Well, apparently some people settled their Magic Stones directly through personal connections, but they were a tiny minority, so the Guild turned a blind eye.
In any case, we decided to head to the square, just as the person had said.
The bulletin board was already surrounded by so many adventurers that it was hard to see the notice properly.
It was such a crowd that I thought most of the adventurers in town had turned out.
“Excuse me! Coming through! Please let me pass for a moment!”
And breaking through that crowd of adventurers, a familiar face popped out.
“Huh? Elder Sister Rachel?”
“Oh! Guwon!”
It was Elder Sister Rachel, the receptionist I always saw at the Guild’s front desk.
The moment she saw us, she approached with a genuinely happy expression.
“Have you already made it to the 3rd Layer’s town?”
“Yes. We were thinking of heading to the 4th Layer while we’re at it.”
“What?! So soon?! You shouldn’t be so hasty. If you’re going to show us the legend of the Saint, you can’t die in a place like this, can you?”
Her receptionist instincts kicking in, Elder Sister Rachel began to chide me.
“It’s fine. With our skills, it’s more than possible.”
“Ah, L-Lady Diana. Hello. Y-You’re right. It was presumptuous of me when you’re here, Lady Diana.”
But when Diana said that, Elder Sister Rachel’s face flushed red with embarrassment.
This big sister is surprisingly cute once you get to know her.
When I first met her, she was an impregnable fortress who'd reject all my advances without even batting an eye.
“No, thank you for your concern. But Elder Sister Rachel, what are you doing here?”
“Ah, right! Guwon! If you’re heading to the 4th Layer, you’ll be going to the 3rd Layer’s boss, right?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, could you possibly take me with you?”
“Huh? What’s going on?”
“Some adventurers have been stranded on this layer. It’s these people… Ah.”
As she spoke, Rachel reached into her clothes to pull out a piece of paper, but she suddenly clamped her mouth shut as if she’d just remembered something.
“Elder Sister? What’s wrong?”
“N-N-No! I-It’s! Don’t worry about it! I’m busy, so I’ll be on my way. You don’t need to worry about it at all, Guwon. Just head straight for the 3rd Layer boss.”
“Huh? But you just said you wanted to come with us…”
“N-No! On second thought, I think it’ll be fine! Well then, goodbye!”
With only that, Elder Sister Rachel hastily left before I had a chance to stop her.
She’s an Elf, alright. So fast.
Then again, looking at Diana, it didn't seem like all Elves were like that.
Come to think of it, Diana was the pure-blood.
Maybe it’s just a trait of Elder Sister Rachel’s.
Anyway, what was that all about? My best guess was that Elder Sister Rachel knew the stranded adventurers.
They could be old friends, or maybe they were adventurers she was in charge of at the reception desk, just like us.
In any case, it felt like she couldn't just leave their rescue to other adventurers and had come down here herself.
And she was about to ask for our help.
But if that was the case, she should have just asked.
Why did she stop mid-sentence and just leave?
Did she think we wouldn't help her?
I didn't think I had the image of being that heartless.
Besides, if my guess was right, Elder Sister Rachel was now heading out to find those people all by herself.
Of course, given the skills I’d seen from her before, I didn't think she’d have much trouble.
As long as her goal wasn't hunting, she could just use her quick movements to escape from monsters instead of fighting all of them.
In any case, thanks to Elder Sister Rachel, we were now more concerned about the rescue quest. I decided to be the one to push through the crowd of adventurers and check the notice on the bulletin board.
It listed the reward for a successful rescue, an explanation of the areas the adventurers usually hunted in, and finally, sketches of their faces.
Before looking at the pictures, I read the text. Out of a seven-person party, four were dead. The survivors were a mage, a rogue, and a bard—a combination that seemed to have a tough time surviving.
They usually hunted in the latter half of the 3rd Layer. At this level, it wouldn't be strange to call them veteran adventurers.
The faces of the three survivors were drawn using a composite sketch technique that captured their features well. All three were Beastkin.
One was a female Rabbit-kin rogue, another a male Tiger-kin bard, and the last a female Dog-kin mage.
The Rabbit-kin and Tiger-kin looked mostly human, with just a pair of ears perched on their heads like Leia, but the Dog-kin had a full-on puppy face, completely covered in fur.
The Rabbit-kin was one thing, but I had the impression that Tiger-kin and Dog-kin were more physical races. It was a strange mismatch.
Why on earth would Elder Sister Rachel hesitate to ask for my help in rescuing these people?
The more I thought about it, the more puzzling it was.
After memorizing the faces in the drawings, I pushed back through the crowd and returned to where my party was waiting.
“I checked it out. A Rabbit-kin rogue, a Tiger-kin bard, and a Dog-kin mage. Even without memorizing their faces, a combination this unique should be recognizable on sight.”
“I see. So, are we going to prioritize their rescue?”
Honestly, the reward alone wasn't that tempting, but it was hard to just ignore people in the same line of work whose lives were in danger.
Plus, I was worried about Elder Sister Rachel.
“Well, there’s no guarantee we’ll find them even if we go looking. But it says they often hunt in the latter half of the 3rd Layer, so we might run into them. Let’s keep a sharp eye out on our way, and if we find them, we’ll rescue them.”
“Yes. Let’s be sure to save them!”
Matilda, who had been wearing an expression of pure disgust for the dungeon, agreed strongly, as if filled with a sense of mission.
As expected of a Cardinal.
The thought of saving people must have overcome her dread of the dungeon.
With Matilda, who had been the biggest problem for our dungeon exploration, now properly focused, we checked our equipment one last time and stepped back into the monster-infested depths of the dungeon.