Axe said, eyes wide.
"Wof, that's a bit much."
"No, no—no way."
"No way, no way."
Rel and Hoss smiled wryly.
The fairial girl, on the other hand, widened her eyes.
"How do you know my name!?"
"Wh—"
"How..."
"You're kidding, right!?"
Ah, sure enough.
"How do you know?! I've been hiding my identity this whole time!"
"That identity concealment—is that from your master?"
"Y-Yes, it is. How do you know so much?"
The fairial girl— Mineha— looked at me with a mix of surprise and wariness.
Axe said.
"That master of yours is my mother."
"You... Axe?"
Mineha looked intrigued.
"Yep"
"Your master's party? Huh, I can see the resemblance. Thunder Fang, right?"
"That's right. Members are Rel. And Hoss."
"Oh, nice to meet you."
"H-Hi there."
"Oh, who's this?"
"I'm just here for this one trip. I'll be doing odd jobs and carrying luggage for Mineha."
Mineha stared at me intently.
What was that about? Her honey-colored eyes were glinting with suspicion.
"Huh. So you're a hireling."
"...Well, something like that."
Strictly speaking it wasn't true, but I nodded anyway.
"Fine. I'll introduce myself. I'm Mineha. Ten years old. Species is fairial. Third-rank delver. I'm joining this dungeon exploration on my master's orders."
"I'm Axe. I lead Thunder Fang. Pleasure to meet you for real this time."
"So it wasn't an anomaly subjugation. I was sure that's what it was."
"No way, no way — we're fourth-rank. That'd be way too dangerous."
Axe scratched his head with a wry smile.
"That's a shame. I would've loved to join."
"You're pretty aggressive. You remind me of my fourth-oldest sister."
"She must be one tough lady, then."
"Oh yeah, a battle maniac."
What kind of sister was that?
"I'm not like that! I want accomplishments. I want to climb higher."
"Same Second Tier as dear old mom?"
"Nope. I'm aiming for the top."
Mineha crossed her arms, brimming with confidence.
"The First Tier?"
"I'm a genius. And I've got a Relic to match."
That moment—just the faintest twitch.
Axe and the others shifted ever so slightly... or I thought they did.
"..."
It might have been my imagination. Maybe it was.
But the atmosphere had definitely changed—just subtly, and in a bad direction.
Mineha noticed it too.
"What's with that reaction?"
"Mineha... did Mom not tell you anything?"
"Master? No, she didn't. What, does she have the same Relic?"
"...Right. So that's it."
This was bad.
Not just me—even Rel and Hoss wore the same expression.
Even Mineha must have picked up on the strange atmosphere.
"What? You're creeping me out."
"Mineha."
I couldn't help but speak up.
Mineha turned around, looking annoyed.
"What?"
"Fairials have one Relic from the start, right?"
"Yes. Fairials always have one Relic."
"What kind of Relic is it?"
"Huh? Why should I have to tell some stranger that? And just asking out of the blue is rude, you know."
"S-sorry."
She had a point, but even so, the atmosphere was unbearable.
Axe finally spoke up.
"Mineha. Did my mother say anything?"
"Not really. She just told me to tag along with you lot."
"...I see. Mineha. I don't have a Relic."
A sudden confession. I was stunned.
Mineha snorted.
"Huh? What kind of joke is that?"
"It's not a joke. I don't have one either."
"I-I don't have one either."
Rel and Hoss confess as well.
I keep quiet for now. Mineha looks shaken.
"What's that supposed to mean? Delvers without Relics?!!"
Ah, that's a bit much... Axe slammed his fist on the table.
"If you don't like it, you don't have to come along."
"That's right."
"That's how we've always done it."
"Wh-what?! What is this, then?! You don't even have Relics!"
"What did you say?"
"Hey. Watch your tone. You sound exactly like our sixth sister."
"That's why I was against it."
And so it devolves into a pointless argument. This isn't going anywhere.
We've barely met and it's already like this... There's no way we can explore a dungeon together.
"..."
While trying to think of how to stop them, I take a sip of my lemon juice.
Actually, the fact that it's like this from the very first meeting... Wait.
Something about this doesn't sit right.
And I realize she's the only one who might have the answer.
Guess I have no choice but to go ask her.
And so I end up at the witch's house.
I feel like I've been coming here a lot lately.
"Oh my, oh my, oh my. If it isn't little Wof."
"I came because there's something I want to ask."
The witch grinned.