Chapter 262: New Adventurers
That day, we spent the night at the Fairy Inn and continued modifying our smartphones the next day. The ones who had underestimated us as mere children were made to understand our resolve through a forceful discussion, and they handed over funds for the search for Kaede-san.
Of course, there might be some who would embezzle the funds without seriously searching, but I had no intention of monitoring them that closely. Frankly, I left all the troublesome details to Mesaria-san.
“Well then, we’re off to the dungeon.”
After finishing all the smartphone modifications in the morning, we returned to the Fairy Inn for lunch. There, we found Ivan practicing with a spear in the garden, which meant the request we had taken on yesterday was likely completed.
“Huh? A dungeon?”
Ivan, who was more muscular than us, looked like a seasoned adventurer when he stood confidently. So, I decided not to invite him along this time.
“Dungeon?”
Phonia, who had been swinging a stick around alongside Ivan, tilted her head in confusion. Upon closer inspection, it was just a wooden stick. Perhaps she was imitating Ivan. Nil was playfully batting at the stick as it swung around.
I took a moment to explain how we ended up diving into the dungeon in Labyrinth City.
“It seems like I won’t have a role this time.”
“…That’s true.”
Rio slowly agreed with Ivan’s casual remark. For a brief moment, I wondered if Ivan had ever had a role in the past, but I decided not to dwell on it for his sake.
“What about me?”
Phonia’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and I wondered if she would be a perfect fit for the role of a novice.
“But it also feels a bit suspicious…”
What would a novice adventurer look like bringing a little girl into a dungeon?
“Hmm… Should we just say it’s safer than leaving her alone in a cheap inn?”
As we discussed Phonia’s fate, her expression gradually fell, and she looked downcast.
“It seems like I won’t have a role either.”
Her lonely words pierced my heart.
“No, it’s okay. Phonia-chan can come with us, right?”
“Really?”
When Rio gently encouraged her, Phonia’s spirits lifted. Her eyes sparkled brightly.
“Yay!”
“…I won’t have a role, but take me to the city as well. I want to see various places.”
Ivan muttered this as he watched Phonia’s joy. Generally, El would stick close to Rio, so he might have felt left out.
“Haha, let’s all go to the city together.”
“Yeah!”
After calming the excited Phonia and having lunch, we all set off toward Labyrinth City Inbrand. I contacted Dorothy in advance using my smartphone, and then we were ready to depart.
After changing into outfits and gear that made us look like slightly more experienced novices, we used dimensional magic to teleport to Labyrinth City Inbrand. As before, we appeared away from the city gates, but this time we entered through a regular gate. Instead of showing our Adventurer’s Certificate, we presented our Commercial Guild Certificate to enter the city. It took some time, but this way, we could enter as ordinary citizens.
“First, we need to secure a place to stay.”
“Right. Should we choose a cheap inn to look like novice adventurers?”
Rio’s suggestion made me frown involuntarily. While it might be the best course of action, I didn’t feel like we needed to go that far. Would those who underestimated us really investigate the inns for novices?
“How about we choose a high-end inn a bit far from the Adventurer’s Guild…”
“Hahaha!”
El burst into laughter at my compromise.
“Especially Shu, with your appearance, you only look like a novice.”
“Sorry for being small.”
This time, we were going to use that to our advantage, but I didn’t appreciate El teasing me. If I was seen as a pampered novice adventurer, it would only increase our encounter rate.
“Big brother is cool, so it’s fine!”
As I felt a sense of injustice, Phonia comforted me.
“Haha, the high-end inn is this way.”
El guided us through the city, having visited here long ago. Although it had been quite some time, the area for high-end accommodations likely hadn’t changed. After choosing a place far from the Adventurer’s Guild, we headed to the guild.
“Good luck.”
“Yeah. See you later.”
From here, Ivan and El would go their separate ways. Nil, in her small form, was cradled by Phonia as we approached the guild.
Once inside, I looked around, trying to appear like a novice. Phonia, seeing everything for the first time, exclaimed, “It’s so big!”
“Let’s just focus on gathering information today.”
Although it was already past noon, we couldn’t just charge into the dungeon without any information. We needed to carefully gather intel at the guild while giving off the impression of being novice adventurers.
“Excuse me.”
Not heading to the second floor, I approached the counter that Dorothy had specified in advance and spoke to the staff.
“Yes, how can I help you?”
According to the staff, who treated us kindly as novices, the entrance to the dungeon was located in the center of the city. The shallow layers had very few monsters, making it accessible for beginners, while the difficulty increased as one descended deeper.
Additionally, there were Floor Bosses every five layers, but it seemed that this dungeon was unique in that there were none on the fifth layer. They weren’t always blocking the entrance to the next layer; some could be found wandering throughout the floors.
Currently, fifty-five layers had been confirmed, but it remained an unexplored dungeon. I wondered what would happen if we managed to conquer it—perhaps there were a Dungeon Core or a Dungeon Master waiting at the very end.
“You can enter the dungeon starting from F-rank, so… you should be fine.”
The staff’s demeanor suddenly became serious as they glanced at Phonia and Nil without even checking our Adventurer’s Certificates. Perhaps they finally recognized us after seeing Nil’s tamed monster tag. I had thought they were good at acting like they were treating novices, but it seemed they were genuine.
“Don’t worry about that. Also, I would like a map of the dungeon, please.”
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
After receiving the map from the now slightly more formal staff member, we began to browse the request board while maintaining the atmosphere of novice adventurers.
Incidentally, there was already a request for information on Kaede-san posted on the board, with her photo pinned to the wall behind the counter, just out of reach.