The Goodflame Boar breathed fire from its mouth, and Lupinus blocked it.
Riv tried to close in but was stopped by its fangs.
Pakira conjured a tornado, and the Goodflame Boar's flames were pulled into it.
Oh. A fire tornado.
"Incredible."
"You shouldn't be spacing out, you know."
"Sorry."
Shiro scolded me.
Shiro and I were surrounded by a pack of Fire Wolves.
The Goodflame Boar had brought them along. Red, burning wolf monsters.
I did have a somewhat valid excuse for looking away in the middle of a fight.
It was because the Fire Wolves were just surrounding us without doing anything.
They kept their distance, stayed on guard, and growled — but that was all.
When I readied myself to attack, Shiro told me to wait.
"I said wait, but you need to stay on guard during a fight at all times."
"Yes."
"At the very least, don't move until their fight is over. Wait."
"And once it's over, I move?"
"Of course. They'll definitely try to run."
No matter how I looked at it, that Good Flame Boar had to be the Fire Wolf's boss or bodyguard.
And once that went down, they'd run.
"So about not fighting—"
"If they're going to run, there's no need to, right?"
"Yeah, fair enough."
When she put it that way... well, yeah.
Shiro looked up at the Good Flame Boar without a care and said:
"That boar. It's not a monster from this floor."
"Now that you mention it..."
Torquetam wasn't exactly struggling, but he was having some trouble with it.
And the Good Flame Boar was using a Relic.
By the way, what even is a "Good Flame Boar" as a name?
"A stray, huh."
"What's that?"
"It happens once in a while. A monster that's way too strong for the floor just wanders in."
"...That happens?"
"Yes, once in a while. It's a matter of bad luck."
So what she meant was, if you're unlucky right now—oh. It's down.
"Pant—pant—why is this thing here!?"
"Hn... too strong... tired..."
"Pant—pant—... Of all the things, a Hagure! My luck is the worst!"
"Good work, everyone."
I handed small bottles to the three of them.
Pakira made a face when she took hers.
"This is... that stuff, isn't it?"
"Mm. Restores energy... a hundred times over."
"All my fatigue just vanishes in one go!"
"I think this every single time, but... is this really okay?"
Pakira seemed hesitant to drink it.
I sort of understood how she felt.
Lupinus and Riv didn't seem bothered by it, but Pakira probably thought it was cheating.
It wasn't really cheating.
Still, I could see why she'd feel it was unfair to have all your fatigue disappear in an instant.
Pressured by the other two, Pakira finally drank it.
I collected the empty bottles after giving them a light rinse.
I'd fill them up again and hand them over later. Though, I'd already given them some separately.
Shiro tilted her head.
"What's that?"
"Elixir."
"...There's still more?"
"Yes. I have plenty."
There's an infinite amount. I hand Shiro a small bottle too.
I've got a huge stock of small bottles filled with elixir.
Hatching them from eggs takes time, so I've split them into small bottles and carry a massive supply.
Shiro gazes at the small bottle I handed over with great interest.
"Well then, let's head out."
"Someone help us!"
"Somebody—!?"
Suddenly, I hear screaming. Both voices belong to men.
"What's that?"
"Hmm... nearby..."
I activate Danger Discernment.
I see countless red dots. They're surrounding two white dots.
The direction is... that way.
"This way."
"Wait just a moment."
I hurry.
Because I can see the red dots closing in on the white ones.
If I don't hurry— I found them.
Two male delvers are surrounded by a pack of fire wolves.
Both of them were fighting back with swords and had taken down a few, but there were too many fire wolves.
I joined the fight with Agaro's modified knife in hand.
"I'll help you out!"
"Oh, thanks—"
"A kid?"
"Y-yes. I'm a Fifth-Rank delver."
"Same here, then!"
"Whoa, he's taking them down one after another..."
Using [Stillness], I precisely picked off the fire wolves one by one.
At this rate, I probably wouldn't need to use [Knife Magic].
The two male delvers fought hard too, and the remaining fire wolves fled.
"Whew, that was close."
"Man, I really thought we were done for..."
One was a blond elf male, and the other was a black-haired human male.
They looked to be in their early twenties. Just your average delvers, appearance-wise.
The two sheathed their swords and turned to face me.
"Thanks."
"Honestly, we would've died if you hadn't shown up..."
"No, no, I'm just glad you're both safe."
The three of us shook hands.
I'm James.
I'm Johnson.
I'm Wof.
When I gave my name, the two of them exchanged glances.
"The Witch's disciple?!"
"Yep, that's me."
"Oh... first time meeting one."
It was kind of embarrassing.
James was the blond elf.
Johnson was the black-haired common human.
His voice sounded familiar somehow.
James had Johnson in a headlock, laughing.
"This guy's a huge fan of the Witch."
"H-hey, it's not like that!"
"A fan?"
"At the last festival, you bought the Hard-to-Get bromide, didn't you? You were over the moon when you got the Witch one!"
"And you were just as happy when you pulled the 'Immortal White Rose Princess'!"
"...Hard-to-Get...?"
I knew that bromides existed.
And I knew they were pretty much the same as in my past life.
Impregnable?
"You don't know? Or wait—is it because you're the Witch's disciple?"
"Y-Yes. What exactly do you mean by 'impregnable'?"
"They're the eight female delvers among the First-Rank delvers who will never, ever fall for any man."
"............Huh?"
That kind of "fall."
For some reason, James said it gleefully.
"——'The Canopy Witch,' 'The Immortal White Rose Princess,' 'The One-Stroke Severer,' 'Auto Doll,' 'The Sensible Beast,' 'The Silent Musician,' 'The Delver Knight Commander,' and 'The Green Guardian.' Those eight."
"............"
"What's wrong?"
"N-No, it's nothing."
A cold sweat trickled down my back. About half of those eight... are acquaintances of mine.
"Come to think of it—ah, I can just call you Wof?"
"Sure."
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh, so this is where you've been."
Shiro appeared, looking slightly irritated.
"Oh, Shiro."
"!?"
"Wh—!? F-F-F... 'The Immortal White Rose Princess'...!?"
"Who are these two?"
"The ones who screamed earlier. They were being attacked by a pack of fire wolves."
"Oh. If you've been helped, then I don't need to worry about you anymore. Let's go."
"Y-yes."
Right. I turned back around.
"Um, Mr. James. Mr. Johnson. Thanks for the chat, it was fun."
"O-oh."
"Y-yeah."
"Well, see you. Hmm?"
Shiro grabbed my hand and tugged gently, pulling me away as we left.
"H-hey, did you see that?"
"The real thing... first time I've ever seen one."
"They were holding hands at the end."
"Interlacing their fingers, too."
"...Interlacing their fingers... a-ah, so that's the witch's disciple."
"The witch's disciple is something else... huh."
Later, when I ran into them at the Cider Pavilion, for some reason everyone started calling me "Mr. Wof."
"Um... about your hand."
"Do you not want to?"
"It's not that I don't want to, but..."
The hand holding mine was smaller than mine, soft, and cool to the touch — it felt nice.
She even interlaced her fingers with mine, and I could feel her grip holding on firmly.
"Shiro remembers that day quite well."
"That day?"
"The day we ate together."
"The milk cheese rice."
"You liked that."
"You went for seconds, didn't you?"
"It was the first time I'd had a gentle flavor like that."
"Want to go again sometime?"
It seemed like it would be even more crowded than before, and we'd probably end up in the VIP room again.
Shiro giggled softly.
"You. Before being the witch's apprentice, you're a peculiar person."
"R-really?"
"Chaib's face like that… his attitude like that… I'd never seen anything like it."
"Chaib?"
"Munieka too. That iron-faced one became quite expressive."
"Ha ha ha…"
"The witch as well, now that I think about it. She's changed."
Shiro was looking at me, but her gaze seemed to be focused on something far away, somewhere else entirely.
Then she let go. I immediately caught the departing hand.
Shiro was startled. Her snow-white eyes opened wide, cat-like.
"Because... I wanted to hold on a little longer."
I meant it. But even I was taken aback by my own actions.
Clinging to a woman's hand as she pulls away — how clingy.
"You really are a peculiar person, aren't you? The witch's apprentice."
Shiro smiled in delight and laced her fingers through mine.
Floor 10.
The keeper Salamandara was finished off in no time flat.
Lupinus deflected Salamandara's fangs of flame.
Pakira used her wind to blow away all the fire engulfing Salamandara. And then.
"Hmph...
Celestial
Form...
Subaru...
...Maia Blade..."
Riv's crimson slash cleaved the stripped-bare Salamandara clean in two.
For just a moment, the sight conjured up an image of grilled eel.
I didn't want to eat a Salamandara or anything, but the association happened all the same.
The Torquetam combination.
That fight in particular had a flowing, almost elegant quality to it.
Even Shiro praised us.
Things continued to go smoothly after that.
As expected, they'd been there so many times that everything ran like clockwork.
And so we arrived. The thirteenth floor.
It was a labyrinth surrounded by black lava walls. The same walls stretched on endlessly, making it even easier to get lost.
"If only this weren't a labyrinth."
"Mm... complicated... eerie..."
"The labyrinth keeps getting in our way, and we always let them slip away because of it."
"Ah, I see."
"There are quite a few Chimeras too. Well, they don't use Relics like the Pyro Chimeras deeper down, but still."
"...Chimeras... hate them..."
"The Chimera variants are just as infuriating. Their [Evil Eye] is truly hateful."
As we walked through the labyrinth, Torquetam's complaints about Chimeras didn't stop.
Hearing this, Shiro apparently had her own grievances with Chimeras, and it turned into a full-on badmouthing session.
The badmouthing of Frost Chimeras poured out without restraint. Just how much did they hate them?
I nodded along while activating [Danger Discernment]. Just to be safe, I also used [Wheel of Fortune].
Here and there I saw green and yellow lights, and some blue.
Treasure chests, maybe. Hmm. The walls were blocking the way, so they wouldn't be easy to reach.
"Ah! There are a bunch of enemies up ahead!"
Multiple red responses ahead. One black one at a slightly greater distance.
Torquetam, who had been discussing sweets with Shiro for some reason, shifted into battle stance.
In the suddenly open space, there was a flock of chimeras, and in the back, a pure-white chimera could be seen.
An albino chimera. It was a variant.