Chapter 32
There were three sparring matches in total, and I won the remaining ones without a hitch.
They all underestimated me, so seeing them end up like that served them right.
“Master.”
“Hmm?”
“Is Aris on the short side?”
Back in the tribe when I was young, I was fairly tall.
Not the tallest, but a little taller than average.
After entering adulthood, I was slightly? Very slightly! shorter than average….
But after coming out into the human world, wasn't I much taller than average?
Whenever I walked around human villages, there were far more women shorter than me.
Chris must be shorter than me.
Probably.
Of course, Claude currently had to tilt his head back to look up at me….
“What was Aris's height again?”
“155 centimeters.”
Claude looked around.
There were mostly men, but women were mixed in from time to time.
Then he looked down at me again and said,
“You're cute, so it's fine.”
“That's not what I mean. Everyone underestimates me.”
“Come to think of it, no one treated Aris as an equal in today's sparring.”
He turned me around, slipped his arms under my armpits, and lifted me straight up.
Claude hugged me and buried his nose in the crown of my head.
My feet no longer touched the ground, and I dangled in his arms.
It felt as though the undersides of my breasts were resting on Claude's arms.
“As far as I know, the average height of commoner women is around 153 centimeters, so Aris is on the tall side.”
“Yes! I feel the same way. I'm not short.”
“But even among women, combatants are usually close to 170 centimeters. Just look at Livnil.”
“S-seventy?”
Claude took me over to them.
Since I was being held, I could look down at Chris from a high vantage point.
Livnil… I still can't beat her.
“Mr. Claude, what are you doing hugging Miss Aris?”
“Aris seems to have something troubling her.”
“Ooh~ What kind of trouble is it, Miss Aris?”
The conversation had suddenly veered into a rather unexpected topic.
Was he really going to tell someone else about me, now that I was sensitive about my height?
All I wanted was to consult Claude and act spoiled with him….
Being a mage. In terms of my previous world, was that the science track?
Or perhaps having a “T-type” personality? The kind of people who can't rest until they've solved a problem once one comes up.
I could tell Claude was exactly that kind of person.
It couldn't be helped.
“Do you think I'm short too, Livnil?”
“Your height? Ehehe~ You're cute!”
“I'm not cute. My height is average.”
Then she picked up Chris, who had been standing beside her.
“Eek? Livnil?”
Chris was suddenly caught by Livnil and dangled in her arms.
Is that what I look like right now…?
“Well? Isn't Chris cute?”
“Chris is cute.”
“Huh? Ah, eheh… thank you.”
The girl, who had been looking back and forth between Livnil and me, grew bashful at the unexpected compliment.
Those long blond locks and huge, round eyes really were something.
“But height has nothing to do with it.”
“Hmm? Then, Chris. Isn't Miss Aris cute?”
“I like Lady Aris so much that I want to hug her every day.”
As she said that, she reached out to me.
It looked like she wanted me to take her hand, so I did, and she giggled.
Right. That was how a truly cute girl reacted, wasn't it?
I couldn't do that.
“What are you doing? Did you bring the little ones over here to play dolls with them?”
Griff said that as he returned from the restroom, wiping his hands with a handkerchief.
Then he looked at Chris and me and said,
“They look cute like this.”
“Right? Miss Aris says she isn't cute. Tell her something.”
“Honestly… if you aren't cute, then who could possibly be called cute?”
I pointed at Chris.
“Our Lady Chris is quite the cutie too.”
“Hee… thank you. But how long are you planning to keep holding me?”
“Forever? I'm never letting you go.”
“Kya-ha-ha! That tickles! Livnil!”
What on earth were these people trying to do?
It felt like they were holding me in place so I couldn't move and drilling ‘You are cute!’ into my head.
Hadn't the subject of conversation changed in the first place?
I hated those who looked down on me, and it hurt, so I just wanted some comfort!
“Being cute has nothing to do with height. No, that's not the issue at all.”
“Height? I see. Are you two trying out high places because you want to grow taller?”
No, that wasn't it at all! I had never thought that!
When I shook my head, Griff instead nodded and smiled.
I felt sorry that Chris had ended up being treated the same way.
“Oh, right! I've sometimes wondered~ what it would be like to be this tall, too!”
Oh… dear.
Regardless of my guilt, Chris had gone and self-destructed all on her own.
What could I do? Maybe being treated that way was preferable for an innocent, cute girl like her.
But I was a Wolpi, and I lived by the law of strength.
As a vanguard who charged ahead and smashed enemies, being underestimated was truly something I hated.
“Do you think I'm short too, Griff?”
“Yes.”
A firm, immediate answer. An affirmative that sprang out without a second thought.
Judging by his beaming expression, he seemed completely convinced that he had given the correct answer.
“I'm not short!”
I blurted it out reflexively.
“Griff! That time, you weren't supposed to say ‘yes.’ You were supposed to say I was cute!”
“Huh? Ah… oh dear. I made a mistake.”
“How can you be so clueless about a woman's feelings?”
“Ahem.”
No. Livnil was wrong too. That wasn't the answer I wanted!
It's just that even if I'm short, I can overcome that through strategy and tactics.
Since I'm nimble, I can handle even large opponents.
I'm strong and sharp, so if I move carefully, I should be fine.
The fools are the ones who look down on me because I'm small. Strength isn't judged by body size!
Those were the things I wanted to hear!
“I'm right, aren't I? Giga Wolpi!”
Everyone looks down on me for being small, but I can do it!
I asked my inner self.
And my inner self answered.
[Of course! You know yourself well, so you can accomplish anything. Ulppippi.]
But it feels like even my companions treat me like a small, cute puppy.
I'm a cool and magnificent wolf!
[Oh, you fucking onahole! Ulppippi. Overcoming the weakness of being short is admirable, but ignoring the advantage of being short is another matter, isn't it? Developing your own strengths is a good thing.]
Is that so? Having strengths of my own sounds really good.
But I want to hear comfort from my companions.
[Comfort from your companions would give you strength. But if you know the problem and how to improve it yourself, isn't that enough? If you want comfort, tell them exactly that. Ulppippi.]
That's true. The flow of the conversation keeps getting strange.
Following the advice in my heart, I was able to sort out my thoughts.
I spoke honestly.
“I like being cute too. But I just hate being looked down on in fights because I'm small.”
“Is that what this is about, Lady Aris?”
Surprisingly, Chris responded to what I had said.
Claude hugged me tightly from behind, then set me down.
Livnil set Chris down as well.
The blond girl approached me.
With an innocent expression, she said,
“What does it matter what the enemy thinks? We will never underestimate you, Lady Aris.”
Chris gave me a clear smile, then suddenly began stroking my head.
“As expected, Lady Aris is cute.”
“What…?”
Claude, who had been watching, nodded and began stroking my head as well.
Livnil followed suit, placing her hand on my head too. At this point, Griff naturally had to join in!
“Eeeeee…!”
With all four of them stroking my head at once, I couldn't move.
Even so… I felt somehow comforted, and I suppose my mood improved.
I don't know.
I might as well quietly enjoy their touch and wag my tail as hard as I could.
◇
“The dungeon is opening now! There will be a briefing before you enter!”
A short while later, a guild receptionist approached each of the parties that had been waiting.
They explained the dungeon's measured magical power and depth, along with other details.
The receptionist assigned to brief our party said,
“You all seem to be mostly veterans, which is reassuring. However, this is a newly formed dungeon.”
In a newly formed dungeon, dangerous moments came for veterans and newcomers alike.
The reason veterans are veterans is the seasoned skill that comes from experience.
But newly formed dungeons could also contain gimmicks never seen in dungeons they had faced before.
Of course, that was extremely rare, but it was something they could never afford to overlook.
“Gold-rank adventurers are extremely valuable personnel, after all. Please return safely!”
There were multiple branching stairways in the dungeon.
Stairs leading upward, stairs leading downward, and paths stretching endlessly onward.
Every route led to the boss room, but the difficulty was determined by which path they chose.
“Then let's go~!”
“Livnil! Don't run on the stairs!”
We had been assigned the route leading downward.
That was because the entire purpose was to gather information about the dungeon.
We had to do well as the advance party.
“There are torches placed one by one along the stairs here?”
“There are ways to determine a dungeon's level. The architectural style and the objects placed inside are representative examples.”
Everyone nodded along at Claude's explanation.
Torches hung on the walls, and bizarre bone decorations stood here and there.
These were typically signs of goblin culture.
“Goblins? Then the basic monsters in this dungeon are probably goblins?”
“Yes. It would be best to assume that for now. Of course, there are many variables because it's a dungeon.”
An ogre that preyed on goblins could appear. Or perhaps they could have become undead through a plague.
There were endless other possibilities if you thought about it.
The ceiling was high, and the corridor was reasonably wide. Not a bad place to swing a greatsword.
But goblins in a place built this spacious…?
Sniff, sniff. Sniff, sniff.
“I can definitely smell the distinctive fishy, foul odor of goblins filling the air.”
“Wow, really?”
“Can a Wolpi gather information like this? Wolpis are amazing.”
“Of course. Let's trust our Aris's nose.”
Everyone was reminded anew that I was a Wolpi.
It was a damp, unpleasant place, but holding Claude's hand made me feel safe.
Following him, I slowly descended.