And so Ermes and his group ended up clearing the dungeon with just the two of them in practice, under Rose's watch.
Even if Rose would help in dangerous moments, that also meant that until she did, two mages without a single knight escort would have to traverse a perilous dungeon. Naturally, that would force them into a cautious approach, and considerable hardship was inevitable——
——or so one might think, but in truth, that wasn't really the case at all.
"Hyah!"
"Right there."
What I just said only applied to normal mages.
But the ones here were Katia, who had reached the top tier of mages of her generation after the awakening of the Netherworld of Salvation, and Ermes, who wielded the Primal Inscription to use a wide variety of Bloodline Magic with ease.
The close-quarters combat that typically becomes a mage's weakness was handled as well: Ermes had his fast-casting Enhanced universal magic and well-trained bare-handed fighting, while Katia kept several high-defense phantom soldiers stationed around her.
On top of that.
"Katia, three enemies from the front. Hold them back."
"Got it! But in exchange, the ones on the side—"
"The spider-type monsters, right? I'll take them out. Once that's done, herd the rest together. We'll finish them all in one go with the Magic Bullet Archer."
"As expected of you!"
Even in terms of teamwork, these two were flawless.
Katia controlled the field with her high defense and suppression power, while Ermes picked off any monsters she left open with the right card from his hand. Thanks to their fluid information exchange and coordination, they eliminated monsters with ruthless efficiency—and the large horde they had just unlucky run into was ultimately wiped out without a hitch by his Magic Bullet Archer.
"Good work. Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine—you took them all down so quickly. ...Honestly, that magic of yours is just unfair. I knew being able to use Bloodline Magic freely was useful, but I didn't realize it was *this* convenient."
"Katia, your stability is equally unfair, you know. A mage's weakness stops being a weakness. I can really see why the knights were crying, 'Well, I guess we're obsolete now!'"
They praised each other's performance and complimented each other's magic. Between them, there was a genuine mutual trust—and that trust was unmistakably something the two of them had built up since reuniting in the Royal Capital.
Then, Katia happened to glance back toward Rose.
Drawn by her gaze, Ermes looked in the same direction too. Rose's eyes were faintly wide. It seemed Katia's magic and combat performance had exceeded her expectations.
Seeing that, Katia puffed out her chest with undisguised pride. Her expression practically shouted "See? Did you see that?"—and it was, if anything, rather endearing.
"Come on, Erm, let's go! Let's clear this dungeon in no time!"
He didn't know why she was so determined to one-up Rose. It probably had something to do with yesterday's incident, but since she hadn't told him, it remained a mystery.
Either way, she was brimming with motivation and in great condition.
Judging so, Ermes promptly chased after her.
"...I see, I see."
Rose, who had been watching the two of them from behind, murmured softly.
She could understand why Katia was so proud. Their coordination had been even more impressive than expected.
It was clear that Katia completely trusted Ermes, but on his side too, he seemed far more at ease than when he fought alone.
That was surely the relationship the two of them had built here, just for each other.
...Indeed. Thinking about it that way, maybe it wasn't entirely uninteresting. Just a little, though.
"——That aside."
She cut off her train of thought and spoke aloud.
She had seen for certain that their teamwork in battle was practically perfect. No complaints there, and no cause for concern.
Their individual abilities were also higher than she'd expected, so there were no complaints on that front either.
With all of that in mind, she muttered:
"...This might be a problem."
The one her gaze fell upon was Katia.
Ermes was no issue. Given his personality, his mental state during combat barely wavered. In a sense, he was supremely stable.
But Katia was different.
Weighing that fact alongside what was likely to happen next, she came to a conclusion.
She might need to step in—perhaps not on the battlefield directly, but in some other way.
"...Good grief."
Rose let out a wry smile.
"That bastard Yurugen—he definitely didn't plan it this way, but couldn't have picked a better person if he tried. ...Seriously, the guy practically has a magic gift for human resource allocation."
Exasperated at the strange pull her old friend seemed to have, she followed after the two with light footsteps.
***
The dungeon clearing continued to progress smoothly after that.
Though the monsters were numerous, Ermes and Katia's seamless coordination dispatched them one after another. At this rate, they might actually clear the entire dungeon without needing Rose's help at all.
...But Ermes wasn't being that optimistic.
After all, Yurugen had sent Rose along. That meant he had sensed something dangerous enough to deploy her as insurance.
Over the past month, Ermes had come to understand that this old friend's instincts were remarkably accurate. So he stayed on guard, pressing deeper into the dungeon alongside Katia.
And at last, they reached the innermost depths.
"...That's the boss of this dungeon?"
At the deepest point, Ermes spoke as he looked upon the figure seated there.
If he had to describe his first impression, it was a white bear.
Standing well over twice their height, the creature had just risen to its feet upon noticing them, projecting an overwhelming sense of intimidation.
Most notable were its claws—sharpened and developed to a degree impossible in nature, their shape designed purely for slaughter. They left no doubt that this being was a monster.
Most likely a Chimera Beast Species, based on a bear with traits from several other natural animals combined. And among those, this would be quite a strong individual.
Judging from the magic power it emitted, its strength was comparable to the quasi-dragon species they had encountered in a previous dungeon—the Tortoise-shell dragon.
...But.
If that was all, the two of them could handle it without issue.
"Katia."
"Yes, let's go."
They charged forward simultaneously. The white bear spread its arms wide, entering a combat stance. Ermes moved to the front, intending to test its defenses with a close-range magical attack—
—That was the exact moment it happened.
"Erm!"
"!"
The first to sense something wrong were master and pupil at the same time.
Ermes halted in his tracks. And right before his eyes, behind the white bear that had spread its arms—
a second white bear launched itself forward with terrifying force, shooting past Ermes's side.
Its target was Katia.
"—Wh—"
The surprise attack was completely unexpected. Katia froze. The white bear bore down on her.
In an instant, Ermes activated Enhanced universal magic and sent a light attack toward the bear charging at Katia.
That bought him just enough time to reach her side and sweep her up by the waist.
He barely made it in time. The bear's sharp claws grazed his back, but for the price of a first encounter, that was cheap enough.
"Are you hurt—"
"N-No. More importantly—"
In his arms, Katia looked past his shoulder with shock, staring at what lay ahead.
He turned around as well, taking in the scene anew—the monsters gazing down at them.
"...There are two of them. Most likely, both are the dungeon boss."
Katia's eyes went even wider.
A dungeon boss was supposed to exist as a single entity. While there were several known reasons for multiples appearing, this case was probably the simplest.
A boss-class monster only manifested when the dungeon's population had swelled to a critical mass.
In other words—it was a precursor to a Great Flood. Monsters overflowing from the dungeon, the same disaster that had claimed Katia's mother's life.
"...No wonder there were so many monsters along the way."
...In any case.
The reality before them was this: they now had to fight two monsters that they'd judged to be roughly on par with the Tortoise-shell dragon from before.
Ermes glanced back once more, confirmed something, then turned forward again.
"Then, shall we go?"
"What!?"
Katia's voice rose as she looked between Ermes and the space behind him.
He understood what she was trying to say. This was clearly an abnormal situation—shouldn't they be asking Rose for help?
But.
"Katia. Master isn't moving."
"...!? Why—"
"That means she's judged that we can handle it. That even in this situation, the two of us can manage."
...His master, Rose, was in general extremely kind to him.
But when it came to magic—her training philosophy was quite Spartan, and he knew it well.
He recalled how, during their training days, she'd thrown him into dungeons with orders to challenge boss-class monsters solo—memories that had been genuinely grueling.
But.
Her judgment of what he could "defeat" had never once been wrong.
"It will certainly be a tough fight. But—I believe we can do it. With you."
"!"
That last sentence was probably the final push she needed.
"...Understood."
Katia finally steeled her resolve and nodded.
Once they had confirmed each other's readiness, they simultaneously kicked off the ground and charged toward the final battle of the dungeon.