Chapter 265: Babysitting
“Ahh ha ha ha ha!”
“What on earth were you doing all the way in the dungeon…?”
As we returned to the inn from the dungeon, chatting about Phonia’s cuteness, a loud burst of laughter and an exasperated voice reached our ears.
“I properly explored the dungeon, you know.”
“That’s right. Right, Phonia-chan?”
I turned to Phonia, who nodded vigorously. It was undoubtedly Phonia who had played the most significant role.
“Yeah! I did my best!”
Since then, Phonia had discovered a path leading to the second layer. Although it couldn’t be found with the Detection Skill, it was marked on the map we bought at the Guild, so there was no doubt about its location. It seemed that each layer transitioned into a different dimension, making it difficult to find the entrance to the next layer with the usual Detection Skills. Perhaps the connection between the Japan where Kaede-san was and the world of the Majin Tribe felt similar to crossing dungeon layers.
“We made it to the second layer, after all.”
“Oh, that’s impressive!”
As I patted Phonia’s head, Ivan couldn’t help but smile.
“But how did the original job go?”
“Nothing on that front. I’ll be visiting the dungeon for a while until I catch something.”
There hadn’t been any suspicious individuals or presences. I didn’t expect to catch the culprit on the first day, either.
“I wonder if I should dive into the dungeon too.”
“Why not? It seems like many of the Adventurer Guild’s requests involve collecting materials from the dungeon.”
“Just make sure you don’t get ambushed during the Newcomer Hunt.”
As Ivan complained about how his day had ended with just wandering around town, Rio and El responded in turn.
“…If that happens, I’ll contact you with this.”
Ivan pulled out his smartphone from his pocket, looking somewhat sullen at El’s retort. Shortly after we discovered that the dungeon existed in a different dimension, I had Ivan test the smartphone I gave him to see if we could communicate. Of course, we could talk without any issues.
“Don’t get killed by a surprise attack or anything.”
“…”
Ivan fell silent at the joking remark. Although he had been improving his skills recently, he was still far from being a seasoned adventurer. He might have graduated from being a complete beginner, but his Adventurer Rank was still E. With a weapon that didn’t match his rank, he was definitely a target for trouble.
“Then I’ll have El accompany you.”
“Oh, that makes me feel better.”
At our suggestion, Ivan’s brow furrowed.
“Ugh…”
It seemed he was grappling with some inner conflict.
“Well, if it’s a command from my master, I’ll provide support.”
El’s dissatisfaction was evident. Although she was a slave, I hadn’t imposed strict restrictions on her behavior. Being treated too formally felt uncomfortable for me, so this level of distance was just right. If she were overly polite, it would be hard for me to treat her casually.
“What’s the matter? If you dislike it so much, you don’t have to come along.”
“What are you saying? A slave can’t defy their master’s orders.”
“Ugh…”
Ivan had a decent physique, and he didn’t look like a complete novice. I could understand why he felt embarrassed about having El as his guardian. After all, he was an E-rank adventurer entering a dungeon that even F-rank adventurers could access, and he had a guardian with him.
“…Sigh, well, I guess there’s no helping it.”
After a while of grumbling, Ivan resigned himself with a deep sigh.
The next day, he would also be visiting the dungeon. Although he was supposed to dive in, we decided to go in separately so he wouldn’t become a decoy.
“Still, it’s inconvenient that we can’t share the photos we take here.”
“That’s true… I wanted to set yesterday’s picture of Phonia as my wallpaper…”
As we headed toward the dungeon, I chatted with Rio about the photos and videos we took of Phonia yesterday. If we had internet access, we could send each other the pictures and videos we took, but here, we were out of range. I had left the photos from yesterday untouched since we couldn’t do anything with them.
“Are you talking about me in that picture?”
Phonia, holding hands with Rio and me, looked at her reflection on our smartphones and murmured.
“Wow, there are so many of me!”
As I showed her, she gazed at it with curiosity. After all, smartphones weren’t exactly commonplace for people from this Otherworld.
“I’m moving!”
“Hehe, Phonia-chan is just so cute!”
Rio snapped more pictures of Phonia, who was gleefully admiring herself. While photos were nice, seeing Phonia in motion was even cuter.
“Oh, it looks like we’re almost at the dungeon.”
As adventurers heading to the same destination began to gather around us, I tucked my smartphone away and prepared to act as the decoy as we entered the dungeon.
The next day, while continuing to capture Phonia’s moments, we finally made our way into the sixth layer of the dungeon.
“The environment has changed drastically here.”
The fifth layer had been a grassy area, but upon entering the sixth layer, we were suddenly in a cave area. While I wasn’t surprised since it was noted on the map we bought, seeing it in person made the difference palpable. The passageways were reasonably wide, allowing four people to walk side by side, and the high ceilings prevented a sense of claustrophobia.
By the way, the map we bought covered up to the tenth layer, and it seemed that layers six through ten were all cave areas. This cave area was also where the most Newcomer Hunt incidents occurred. Dark and narrow, with many forks and dead ends, this layer made it difficult for attackers to be noticed.
“From here on, we should proceed with caution.”
“I’ll do my best too!”
“Woof!”
“That’s right…”
While Phonia and Nil were fired up, Rio’s expression was less than favorable.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t take pictures of Phonia-chan here.”
She sighed deeply as she looked at her smartphone, which displayed nothing but a dark screen, even in camera mode.