by Fujino Omori
* * *
Newly-formed jagged rocks were currently occupying, up down left right, all directions within his vision.
The high ceiling also did not help and created a locked-up feeling. The huge rocks that were peeling off the walls from all direction created a suffocating pressure. The faint light source was not the only reason why it made one worry; the dark atmosphere was also one of the reasons.
The ground obviously did not have a path laid out. The rough stone made it difficult to move forward.
Caves, mines, tunnels.
The maze formed from the combination of paths without any rules would cause one to think of a hollow rock stratum.
“It really has been a long time since I would reside once again on this floor……”
Underground Dungeon 17th Floor.
In this area where the Adventurer’s range belongs to Lv.2, a burly beastman, Ottar, was currently exploring by himself.
On the upper part of the walls, fist-sized stones bulged out as if it were a lantern releasing light. It shone upon his burly body.
The surrounding equipment wrapped around his body was actually light armor.
He had a body that surpassed 2 meters and could easily use a super heavy full body armor, but he actually only used light armor to cover the parts that may be life-threatening if a Monster hits it.
Having said that, each armor part had an incredible level of thickness and size, as if a heavy shield was embedded onto the body. If you were to ask whether it was actually light armor, nodding would appear to be an unnatural answer.
The huge and sturdy backpack that is being carried on his right shoulder seems to be unwillingly restrained and was expanding.
(Now that I think about it, the last time I entered the dungeon was already quite blurry)
Every step would cause the huge body to shake. Although it isn’t strange to cause one or two noises, but not even a single footstep sound was made. This kind of movement was wrapped with a strong sense of violation.
However, from the beginning, he had exuded an absolute presence that could not be ignored by the surrounding.
As if they were afraid of Ottar, not even a shadow of a Monster appeared in front of him.
(……Jealousy, is it)
While spreading his awareness to the surroundings, Ottar recalled the conversation with Freya.
Won’t you be jealous, this was what his own Goddess asked.
At that time, Ottar did not lie. No matter what happens, he would not question Freya’s loving embrace and will eternally worship her.
Having a desire and reaching out for it will absolutely never capture it. As if their love was played around like a gentle breeze, it will finally be swept passed the fingertips and suddenly disappear.
Basically, the wind will not seek a partner.
The wind will only roam around the skies by itself. If they discover wandering travelers in the plains, it may smile and tightly hug quietly behind. Then when the travelers turn around, it will have already headed off somewhere else.
Yet at the same time, yes, the wind is equal.
To give the cool blessing towards everybody who stand on top of the ground.
It is sometimes fierce, sometimes gentle. Just like the northern winds, just like the spring breeze.1
The wind will silently touch the ears and softly whisper constantly. It will never be interrupted. The wind is eternal.
As long as Ottar stands above the ground, even if he ran far away, he will absolutely never lose the wind’s grace.
(……Since I decided to come here, I have already made my answer, right)
However, if a sky that the winds will call home appears. If a sky that the winds longed for appears.
He could only stand at the ground and watch, unable to do anything.
If he was to look at that scene from above and felt inferior and grief for himself, then perhaps, there was really jealous.
Then jealous and suspicious will be interlinked.
(Pale blue……)
As if he was to relax the facial muscles, a shallow wry smile was depicted on his face. If someone sees it, they will definitely be surprised.
In the end, from the instant that he could not refuse Freya’s orders, Ottar was already included among them. The Goddess has also seen through him.
Ku, a self-deprecating laughter echoed deeply within the cave.
“……Mmm.”
Ottar’s pace stopped.
From the helmet that was similar to a guard and covered with extremely little black iron, the pig ears that pried out suddenly reacted.
Before the toes that were wrapped by the boots changed direction, from the rocky walls, Vooo, a black and red bull’s head probed out.
“VOOOOOO…….!”
“It came out.”
The huge bloodshot eyes captured Ottar, who was standing in front.
This was the reason why Ottar would remain at a floor that was extremely inappropriate for his own Lv.
That is to capture the violent Monster in front of his eyes.
“VOOOOOOOOOOOO……!”
The Minotaur was extremely excited.
Probably it was using
The axe that was the same size as a hand was soaked with red-color liquid. Did it just fight against Adventurers, perhaps it succeeded in cutting off their heads. Just by the portions seen, there were no obvious injuries.
This is really the jackpot, Ottar thought as he narrowed his tarnish eyes.
Placing his hand onto the strap, ton, the specially made backpack fell down from his shoulders and onto the ground. From the huge bag that could be described as a construction beam of a building, the sound of a sharp grinding could be heard aside from the sound of the earth splitting.
The moment the Minotaur noticed this, its eyes flew out.
“VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”
Stamping on the Dungeon’s ground, he created a whirlwind of gravel. Then he lifted the stone axe high above.
Even when he took the vibrating roar head on, Ottar remained impassive.
His right hand that was carrying the backpack was placed vertically towards the ground, at the same time, his left hand was hanging lifelessly. He did not even carry a weapon and was waiting for the Minotaur to charge in a straight line.
Then just when the Minotaur in front of his eyes used its leg to crush the ground, Ottar slowly raised his left hand.
“VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO……VOOOO!?”
“……Pretty good. I’ve decided, it’s you.”
It was caught. It was a complete defense.
After the stone axe with many cracks was swung downwards, it cracked open. It headed towards the ground.
The attack from the Minotaur using all its strength was withstood by Ottar’s left arm with a hand armor.
Excluding the hardness of the armor, what was shocking was the abnormal
It was almost like a huge tree with roots underground, Ottar did not move. He even evaluated the Minotaur without any hesitation.
Was it instinct, its eyes had a bit of cowardice inside, the Minotaur began to retreat step by step.
Towards the creature that was a Monster above itself, it gradually understood.
“Stop.”
“VOO……!?”
“It’s fine if you rampage……Next.”
The Minotaur, which was shot by the gaze, really stopped.
Ottar’s gaze fell onto the stone axe that was slipping on the opponent’s hand and temporary thought fo
r a while.
Shortly after, he reached out behind. Ignoring the surprised reaction from the Minotaur, he pulled out one of the two swords intersecting at his waist??The size was undoubtedly a Large Sword??and threw it.
“……VOOO?”
“From your actions earlier, there should be no problem. Try to use it.”
While revealing an uncomfortable and amusing feeling towards the people if they see it, the Minotaur looked at the Large Sword in front of its eyes and tilted its head.
Its gaze went back and forth between Ottar and the sword, and it timidly reached out with its hand.
The fingers that were covered by the hoof clasped tightly onto the sword’s hilt.
(Since I already accepted this mission, I will not be merciful. Freya-sama)
Freya had once said. The boy’s, Bell’s major achievement will be spurred by Ottar.
Just like how you were able to understand something from the dialogue between me and you, there was only one so-called policy. She must have understood this basis so that’s why she appointed Ottar.
To place the Minotaur in front of Bell.
The path prepared could be a cruel and thorny path for the boy.
(……The preparations may have gone overboard.)
Until now, Ottar had wrestled with many Minotaurs and repeated his selection.
It was simply in order for Bell to shed a layer of his skin. It was in order draw forth the brilliance that Freya desired.
To a Lv.1 Adventurer, a Minotaur, that belongs to the range of a Lv. 2, may seem to be too harsh. Just by its abilities, there was an insurmountable gap. This was an opponent that is equivalent to suicide if they were to seriously fight. Not only that, now it was even given a weapon.
It has reached the point where it was simply domineering. Ottar was currently preparing acts of abuse for Bell.
He admitted that there was a stupid feeling in the very depths of his heart. Ottar was actually extremely concerned about Bell.
If that’s the case, so, therefore, he wanted to remove Bell from Freya’s sight?
Towards the self-questioning, no, Ottar could make such assertion.
If Bell dies, Freya will definitely plan to chase after his soul. In other words, she will not hesitate to even return to Heaven and to induce Bell towards her chest. If that wasn’t the case, then she would not likely risk the possibility of the danger of death and give full authority towards Ottar.
Bell’s life or death already had no meaning. Whether it was life or death, what lies ahead will be the curse from the Goddess of Love.
This is not jealousy.
This is a baptism.
(If you wish to accept that Goddess’s love, then show me you can surpass this.)
Ottar was searching for the signs of qualification. An evidence that he had the soul, which made Freya fall in love at first sight.
It was fine if you take her care. It is acceptable if you are exclusively loved by her.
However, it is not acceptable to sully the fame of the sublime Goddess.
Since you have already been selected by Freya, this has become your duty. Ottar will absolutely never communicate this, but only mutter it inside his heart.
“VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!?
“……Revised. Swing this skillfully for me.”
He easily bounced away the casually swinging Large Sword.
As if Ottar wanted to give the Minotaur in front of his eyes a mission of achieving perfection, he took a heavy footstep and the training begins.
The sparks flying everywhere did not have means of stopping, the metal screeches echoed in the spacious cave over and over again. No matter how many minutes passed, no matter how many hours passed.
This was all for Freya.
Ottar was only completing his own mission.
* * *
“Bell-sama……Why is it at this time, when we still haven’t entered the Dungeon, you’ve already become tattered?”
“Ha…Haha……There was a slight matter.”
He could only reply with a hollow laugh towards Lili’s inquiries.
It was the second day ……that he had begun to accept Aizu-san’s harsh special training.
Even Lili could not help but be confused towards me, who had barely managed to get to the meeting time for the Dungeon Exploration and was covered with wounds.
But I can’t confess. I don’t want to confess. I do not want to expose my unbearable self……
After that, without any exception, the trend of becoming tattered completely did not stop.
Although I know that a good thing about how I will quickly have progress will never happen……However, the self- confidence I had accumulated so far was completely shattered and disappeared from sight.
Although I already knew, I was not yet on the path.
The place where that person is…and the place where I am standing at. There was an unbelievable distance between us.
I carried a sense of loss as I passed through Babel’s doors.
The spacious space on the first floor. The floor depicted a huge circular array which is mainly composed of blue and white. It made people reminiscent about a stained glass material being split into a flower shape. As always, it was extremely beautiful.
Many Adventurers were entering and exiting Babel’s entrance. Although the vast majority of Adventurers are preparing to enter, there also seems to be people who explore during the night time.
As we passed by them, there were jolly teams. Then the obvious contrast, teams with gloomy expressions also exist.
How much harvest achieved in the Dungeon is indeed dramatic. It caused us, who were heading towards the Dungeon, to stiffen our cheeks.
It is one thing that you cannot laugh at. It is definitely not our business.
“Sorry, Bell-sama. Even though you are so tired, I still made you carry Lili’s bag.”
“Not a problem. Instead, I feel that the reason why I’m tired is all my fault……And since it’s an empty bag, it doesn’t matter.”
Stepping onto the stairs that connected with the underground, Lili seems to feel guilty and shrink back. I smiled as I readjusted my posture of carrying the empty bag. It is light, very light, I said.
Right now, Lili and I had swapped our equipment. In other words, right now I was carrying Lili’s bag, the so-called Supporter’s attire.
On the other hand, Lili took off the coat that she often wears and put on a lightweight, leather suit that seems very sturdy. What’s more is that she also had my hand armor on her back as a sheath for the
If you had to ask why we had to exchange our positions, that is to prevent
Although at first glance, Lili is a beastman child, if you see a petite body carrying a mountain of luggage, the people with good instincts may want to have a closer look at it.
Normally, it was rare for the Hobbits to carry large luggage, there is no need to mention the other races.
As a precaution, we used our brains to hide Lili’s true identity.
“And we can immediately change, don’t worry.”
In the end, it was only just for show. When there are fewer Adventurer’s eyes and ears around them, they will naturally change back. Specifically, it was the area in the 9th floor, right before entering the 10th floor. Because starting from the 10th floor, the Dungeon will be shrouded by mist. Once they reach nearby, there was no need to pay attention to the eyes from the surrounding.
When we come back, I will also split half the luggage with Lili, in order to prevent it from looking strange.
Because the incident had happened not that long ago, being overly caution like this is not excessive, at least I believe so.
“Nnn~, Lili always feel sorry about how she owes Bell-sama……”
Lili slightly lowered her tone and said. The tips of her beastman ears grown on her head deftly curled up.
With a wry smile, I once again looked at Lil
i’s figure.
From what I can see, the Short Sword
Relying solely on the smooth, waist-length hair, her entire atmosphere suddenly changed. It was a bit surprising. It gave an illusion of a mischievous child becoming a noble lady, who enjoys reading book and with a mature atmosphere.
Her other physical characteristics were somewhat changed. In short, she was very different than the usual impression of Lili.
“T…That……Is it really strange?”
Did she notice my gaze, Lili once again issued an uneasy voice and raised her head.
Is it the Adventurer’s equipment, or was it about the beastman transformation? In the end, although I wasn’t clear which one she was referring to, I still revealed a smile and shook my head.
No such thing, I said to her.
“It is different than the usual atmosphere. Anyways, it feels ……a little bit refreshing? I believe it is quite cute?”
“R…Really?”
“Yes. It is very appropriate.”
Her uneasy eyes sparkled up along with her expression.
Her face was flushed as if she had a fever. Although Lili quickly turned around to the other side, her beastman ears were happily twitching. Even the tail that stuck out from her skirt was constantly swaying left and right.
Although, is it unconscious, but how does it move? These kinds of thoughts will often appear. However, when I see Lili, who will sometimes be happy or discouraged towards my words, I felt a comfortable feeling and unconsciously relaxed my mouth.
How should I say, it seems like I have a cute sister. It was the feeling of being cured.
Although we were forced to be aware of other Adventurers’ eyes and ears……but from the other person’s perspective, do we look like siblings with a good relationship?
“Rabbit and a Wolf……”
“Ookami and Usagi……”2
“If the rabbit is the follower (Supporter)……Ahhh, it will be eaten.”
“Emergency spare food (Substitute) is it……How sad.”
“Scary, scary. From the outside appearance’s