Chapter 86
The Approaching Mascot Suit
After lunch, once we'd each had a chance to rest.
We returned to the dungeon.
"Kakakakaka...!"
Something resembling laughter echoed through the cave.
The only light came from the lamps we'd brought with us. In that light, a shadow on the wall raised a sword overhead.
At first glance, it looked like a variant of a skeleton. Its frame was close to human, but it had no skin or flesh, leaving its bones exposed.
It wore simple armor and carried a sword and shield.
But its head was clearly different from a skeleton's.
A dragon's skull. Everything below the neck resembled a human body, but its head belonged to a dragon-person.
"Spartoi."
They were soldiers born from the teeth of a dragon in Greek mythology. According to legend, they had skin and flesh, but... whether becoming a monster had caused this appearance, or whether they had always looked this way in life, there was no way to know.
The only thing I knew for certain was that this monster was raising its sword at me with murderous intent.
In the damp air flowing through the cave, our blades spat sparks. With a shrill clang, they collided, and my strength won out.
The Spartoi's sword shattered, throwing it off balance. Even so, the skeletal soldier tried to raise the shield in its left hand.
But I reversed the tip of the sword I'd swung down from my right shoulder and rotated it around, swinging from my left shoulder this time.
Before the shield could slip into place, I smashed its skull apart. As the impact sent it flying, the bones below its neck scattered in every direction.
I pulled back the sword I'd swung through and scanned the area as I readied it again. A few meters away, Tatsumin-san had just defeated another Spartoi.
She swung her shield like a bludgeon, smashing through both the opponent and its guard. The Spartoi was sent flying as though it had been hit by a large truck, slammed into the wall, and shattered.
After confirming that every monster in sight had turned into black mist, I let out a small breath.
"There don't seem to be any enemies nearby."
"Gao gao~. Good work, gao~."
"Good work."
I retrieved the magic stone from the monster I'd defeated and joined the other two.
Miyu-san, who had been watching our rear and preparing to provide support if necessary, lowered her gaze to her rifle-shaped wand.
"It doesn't look like I'll be needed."
"Just keeping watch behind us is plenty of help, gao~."
Tatsumin-san waved her hand back and forth.
Since the dungeon we'd visited in the morning had contained relatively strong monsters, we had come here in the afternoon to deal with monsters that could be handled without magic or breath attacks, taking our depleted mana into account.
I looked around the dungeon again.
The cave was twelve to fourteen meters wide, with a ceiling roughly five meters high.
It looked as though the rock had been carved away, but unlike the salamander dungeon, the footing was fairly level. However, the center dipped down while the areas near the walls were higher.
It looked as though a gigantic snake had passed through here, which made the place deeply unsettling. Every so often, a strong, humid breeze brushed over my skin, and an unpleasant thought occurred to me: perhaps it was the breath of a monster.
I really didn't want to encounter a boss monster.
Miyu-san nodded at Tatsumin-san's words and swept the surrounding walls with a black light. She quickly discovered some letters glowing blue.
"Our current location is 'I-5.'"
"Then go straight for about another ten minutes, gao-nee~. Turn left at the third crossroads, gao~."
"Understood."
"Yes. ...You really have memorized the entire dungeon map, haven't you?"
Tatsumin-san puffed out her armored chest.
"Of course, gao. I go to some dungeon or other four times a week, gao~."
"That's... an incredible number of times."
Normally, people rested for several days after entering a dungeon once. Some even took a full week off.
No matter how much supernatural power a person possessed, humans were still human. The fatigue from walking around a cave for two hours and fighting monsters along the way didn't disappear easily.
Even we visited dungeons at a fairly quick pace, but Tatsumin-san's schedule was downright abnormal.
"Once you get used to it, it doesn't make you that tired, gao. I do feel a little bad for Mei-chan and Riko-chan, who accompany me, though... gao."
Exploring alone was prohibited, so at least two people had to enter a dungeon together.
Riko-senpai's adventuring experience differed from ours by only a few days, so... that meant Inugozaki-san accompanied her almost every time.
...Huh? While satisfying her desire to serve by taking care of Kinue-san, Inugozaki-san was also coming here this often?
Maidservants really were amazing. If I said that to her face, though, she might strangle me.
"Master comes sometimes too, but Master is busy protecting the local area, gao~."
"Master does too?"
"That's right, gao. Master basically culls the dungeons around 'Alf,' taking Kinue-chan and Mei-chan along. I was shocked when I heard that a spiritual disaster involving skeletons had occurred, gao~."
"I see..."
I'd wondered why Master worked as an adventurer, but it was for the sake of the local community. That was just like Master.
"Still, I don't think there was anything we could have done to prevent the skeleton incident..."
"That's true, gao-nee~. We have to be careful around here too, gao. There are more and more vacant houses, so patrolling is getting difficult, gao~..."
Tatsumin-san's shoulders drooped in exhaustion, but she soon straightened her back.
"All right, enough chatting. Let's resume exploring, gao. We'll take down lots of monsters, gao~!"
"Yes."
"Understood."
I answered with a nod and moved forward with my sword in hand.
As I walked, my boots pressing against the hard ground, my ears caught the clatter of footsteps after about five minutes.
"Enemies. There are five... no, six of them. They're approaching from the right side of the crossroads ahead. They've probably noticed us too."
"Understood."
"Okay, gao~. Kota-kun's five senses are super useful, gao-nee~."
"I'm honored."
"There are a few too many, gao-nee. Miyu-chan, would you mind reducing their numbers at the start, gao?"
"Understood."
Tatsumin-san and I spread out to the left and right, while Miyu-san readied her wand to fire between us.
Ten seconds later, six Spartoi leaped out from the crossroads a few meters ahead.
"Kakak!"
The one in front charged forward with its shield raised. But before it could do so, five fireballs flew into the enemy group.
"Scroll: Magic Expansion."
"Scroll: Fire Bullet."
Three struck the one in front, while two hit the ones diagonally behind it. The shields blocked some of the shots, but the kind of shield a Spartoi carried couldn't cover its entire body.
"Gah, ka...!"
Ignoring their burning comrades, the remaining four came running. In response, Tatsumin-san and I advanced as well.
We each took on two. That wasn't a problem.
"Kakak!"
"Shii...!"
I dodged the thrust of a Spartoi advancing with its shield raised, stepped toward its flank, and swung my own sword.
The thick blade struck the monster's right elbow as though drawn in by a magnet. It pulverized the joint and severed the arm.
"Kah!"
I foresaw another one swinging its sword down from the left and stepped back to evade it. Then I caught the returning slash on my own blade.
The instant our blades locked, the Spartoi thrust its face close to mine. Its jaw opened, and rows of teeth came snapping toward me.
Using the point where our blades touched as a pivot, I swung like a pendulum and slammed the pommel into its face. As the Spartoi reeled back with cracks spreading through its skull, I brought my sword down from overhead onto its face.
The satisfying clang of its skull splitting had barely rung out when the one-armed Spartoi charged into me.
It held its shield forward, its jaw open as well. I dodged to its right and kicked upward, sweeping its feet out from under it. The momentum of its charge sent its skeletal body floating into the air.
Before it could hit the ground, I brought my sword down on its nape. Its skull separated from its torso, and the connections between its bones immediately broke, sending them clattering across the ground.
I pivoted on one foot and spun halfway around with my back to the wall. That let me keep both Tatsumin-san and the two monsters hit by the flames in sight.
She was fine. The Spartoi she'd punched had smashed into the ceiling and been pulverized.
Of the two monsters engulfed in flames, one was still standing. Its entire body had turned black, but it was still staggering toward me with a sword in hand.
"Kah... ka-ka..."
The Spartoi rattled its teeth like a groan, but a flying bola wrapped around its neck. The momentum of the weights spinning at either end snapped the charred bones with a sharp crack.
Every monster fell silent and vanished, leaving only its magic stone behind. After scanning the area with my Demon Eye, I let out a small breath beneath my visor.
"No enemies nearby. It looks safe."
"Gao~. Victory, gao~!"
"Good work."
"You too, Miyu-san. Tatsumin-san as well."
"Gao gao~. This was everyone's victory, gao~."
I raised a hand in response to Tatsumin-san's vigorous wave, then collected the magic stones at our feet.
It was reassuring that I could properly use 'Magic Expansion' even with the 'supply scroll.' I'd tested it beforehand, but this was my first time using it in actual combat.
After collecting the magic stones, I straightened my back and raised my head. At that exact moment,
a full suit of plate armor stood directly in front of me.
"Guh..."
"Surprise, gao~."
No, I was the one who'd been surprised!
I almost screamed. Having a suit of full plate armor suddenly appear right in front of you in a dark cave was a kind of horror story.
"W-what is it? What the heck?"
"Kota-kun, have you really only been an adventurer for two months, gao?"
"That is, yes. I have, but..."
"Young people's growth is amazing, gao-nee..."
I edged a little farther away from Tatsumin-san as she nodded thoughtfully.
She was probably complimenting me, but the sheer pressure of her appearance was intense.
"And you made those scrolls too, Kota-kun, gao? They're more convenient than the ones I heard about during the training session, gao-nee."
"Th-thanks..."
"Is it really true that you might be able to mass-produce those, gao?"
"That's likely, although I can't say for certain until we actually try. I think it's worth testing, though."
The process would be to bring the materials and recipe to a factory, check whether machine-pulverized fibers would work, and then proceed with mass production.
I'd adjusted the ratio of 'Water of Rejuvenation' so that it should work in theory, but there was no way to know for sure without trying it in practice.
"I see, gao..."
After several seconds of silence, Tatsumin-san looked at me through the slit in her helmet.
"I'm rooting for you too, gao. As promised, I'll introduce you to someone from the factory before you leave tomorrow, gao."
"Thank you very much."
"I should be thanking you, gao. You've been a huge help culling the dungeons. Ah, this may be presumptuous, gao, but if you mass-produce them..."
"Of course, I plan to distribute them among my clanmates. Selling them would be prohibited, so we'll trade them for something in one form or another."
"Understood, gao~. I'm looking forward to it, gao~."
Tatsumin-san began walking with heavy, deliberate steps.
"Then let's hurry up and finish culling this dungeon, gao~. We'll turn at the next crossroads, gao-yo~."
"Yes."
"Understood."
And so, our roughly two-hour exploration came to a safe end.
＊ ＊ ＊
"..........."
When we returned to the inn, Riko-senpai was lying dead on the sofa.
"Welcome back, Korin."
Oh, she was alive.
"W-we're back."
"Good work, Riko-chan, gao~! How's Rosso-chan doing, gao?"
"She was dead in her room."
"Dead...!?"
"Calm down, Miyu-san. It's a figure of speech."
I stopped Miyu-san with a hand just as she was about to dash off.
Riko-senpai, who had been lying face-down, raised only her head and looked over at us.
"Don't wake her. She's tired enough to die."
"That's what you say about a dead person."
"No... Rosso-san is...!?"
"I said it's not literal. She's fine. Riko-senpai, seriously, don't joke like that around Miyu-san."
"My bad. But seriously, you guys have way too much energy... Tatsumin aside, what are Otaku-kun and Miyu-chi? Cyborgs?"
Riko-senpai looked back and forth between us with a thoroughly worn-out expression.
Judging by her face, her exhaustion was genuine.
"Well, my Unique Ability means I almost never run out of stamina."
"If I pace myself properly, I don't get that tired."
"Seriously...? Otaku-kun, that's so unfair. And Miyu-chi, teach me the trick later..."
"Understood."
"...Wait. If I drink 'Water of Rejuvenation,' it'll restore my stamina, right? Otaku-kun, give me one of your bodily fluids, please."
"Just because it's called 'Blood of Rejuvenation' doesn't mean I'm directly giving you bodily fluids."
For that matter, did it even work on fatigue?
It probably wouldn't do any harm, and since it was worth testing, I brought a cup from the kitchen, poured some into it, and handed it to Riko-senpai.
"Thanks... Ah, it's surprisingly tasty. It has some kind of peachy flavor."
"You're welcome."
"...And I don't really feel any more recovered. Why not?"
"Who knows? Besides, they say whether healing-type Abilities restore stamina as well depends heavily on the individual."
"Hmm. But I do feel a little better than before, maybe?"
"Isn't that just your imagination...?"
"I dunno either."
Just after I gave a small shrug to Riko-senpai, who had sat back down on the sofa,
I sensed a presence and turned around. A mascot suit was standing extremely close to me.
Déjà vu!
"...What is it...?"
"I hear Kota-kun's Unique Ability, 'Blood of Rejuvenation,' can affect crops too... Ah, sorry. I mean, does it, gao?"
The way this person's speech changed depending on whether she was wearing the mascot suit, not wearing it, or putting on a character was incredible... Which one was Tatsumin-san's real personality?
"Well, yes. I can make plants grow rapidly, for example."
"I see. And how do they taste?"
"They grow fairly tasty. I've only tested it on things like cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, though."
In an instant, the mascot's arm softly landed on my shoulder with a plush poof.
"Tell me everything... everything. I fear I may lose my composure."
"Eek."
The smile on the mascot suit's face was strangely frightening. I could feel an incredible pressure radiating from it.
I tried to turn around and seek help from Riko-senpai.
"Oh, right. It's a little early, but I guess I'll go get the bath ready."
"Riko-senpai? Riko-senpai!?"
You bastard—no, you harlot! She ran off!? Even though you're the one who started this whole mess!?
Damn it! What an idiot I was to rely on that fake gyaru! Miyu-san! You're the only one I can count on!
But she was gone. Where had she gone!?
Ah, judging by the flow of mana, she'd probably gone to Rosso-san's room. She must have been worried about her. What a thoughtful friend.
Hey. Am I not part of the team too...? Am I not a true friend...?
"Um, if possible, could you step back a little?"
"Don't worry, gao. I won't hurt you, gao. I just have a few questions, gao."
"No, it's just... your face is scary..."
"I'm always smiling, gao. There's no need to be afraid, gao."
Father. Mother. How are you?
I'm currently pressed very close to a beautiful woman. But I'm not happy at all.
Please help me.
...Ah, but a cool mascot suit is surprisingly pleasant.