“So that’s the main reason? Yeah, I completely agree with Kaho,” said Yoshino. “But what’s the second reason?”
“It’s actually pretty simple,” I said. “I’ll give you a hint in the form of the dungeon’s name.”
“The dungeon’s name?” Yoshino frowned in response to my vague prompt. “Uhhh...”
Sae was the first to figure it out. “It’s the Summer Resort Dungeon, right? Is that because it’s comfortably cool inside?”
“Yeah, the second reason is very straightforward—the temperature inside the dungeon is very stable,” I said. “You know how in the summer, constantly battling monsters is more comfortable in the woods? It’s a lot more comfortable to spend time inside of the dungeon even if you can’t earn as much money as you could working outside.”
“I completely agree,” said Sae. “I’m sure I would have lost my will to work by now if Yoshino didn’t have the Purification spell.”
“Yeah, in summer, just walking around can get uncomfortable. It’s so much worse when you’re fighting on the front line,” said Touya. “Well, Haruka worked with Yuki and Natsuki to make some actons for everyone to wear under our armor, so that helps, but...”
“R-Really?! I never imagined such a convenience existed in this world!” Kaho exclaimed. “W-Would you be willing to sell some to our party?”
“Sure,” said Haruka. “Just be aware that they won’t provide perfect protection against the heat, and they consume mana to function.”
“Any form of protection against heat is more than enough in itself! We are willing to agree to all of your conditions!”
All three of them nodded. I looked from one member of my party to another. It doesn’t seem like anyone has any objections on our end either.
“Okay, just to summarize everything, your party will pay us ten percent of your earnings and give us a hand when we ask. In exchange, we’ll loan you some magic bags and our second house and give you permission to enter the dungeon. But you don’t have permission to sell any fruits you gather in the dungeon. Those are the preconditions for forming a clan with us. Do you have any objections?”
“Nope!” the three members of Jade wings exclaimed in unison. “Thank you very much!”
★★★★★★★★★
A day after we formalized the creation of our new clan, all of us—the seven members of Meikyo Shisui and the three members of Jade Wings—set out for the dungeon.
“Are you all right, Yoshino?” Haruka asked.
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” Yoshino replied, trying her best to suppress a burp. “I just feel a little bit bloated right now, but it’s no big deal. I should be fine by the time we get to the forest.”
“We were laid low by our own gluttony,” said Kaho. “It had been an eternity since last we were able to sup on white rice and the like. We were overwhelmed by nostalgia and by the skill of your cooking.”
“Well, thank you for the compliment,” said Haruka, “but I still think all three of you ate a bit too much.”
Yesterday, to kill some time before we resumed adventuring today, we showed Edith’s mansion to the Jade Wings party and introduced them to Tomi, and then we took them back home with us for a welcome dinner. We caught up with them while we ate. Because they were unexpected guests, the menu was the same as usual for us; the only additions were fruit, snacks, and three side dishes.
But that might as well have been a lavish feast as far as the Jade Wings girls were concerned. Overwhelmed by hunger and sheer emotion, they ate so much they ended up immobilized. Earlier this morning, when Natsuki prepared a traditional Japanese breakfast, the same thing happened all over again.
Sae hadn’t yet chimed in on the way to the dungeon, but she kept covering her mouth with her hands, so she, too, must have been overfull.
Man, all three members of Jade Wings are cute. Seeing them like this is kind of disappointing somehow.
“I have to say, I’m jealous that you guys get to eat such great food every single day,” said Yoshino.
“I very much agree,” Sae mumbled. “It’s concrete evidence that we’re no match for your party.” She rubbed her belly and stood still for a moment to catch her breath.
“Cooking is one of the things we’re really good at,” said Yuki with a giggle. “If you still feel too full, you don’t have to come with us...”
“I fear we have no choice in the matter,” said Kaho. “We are determined to earn as much money as we can as swiftly as we can in order to afford cool and comfortable actons before summer arrives.”
“Just so you’re aware, we don’t intend to charge you an exorbitant sum,” said Haruka.
“I’m well aware, but we require new weapons and armor as well.”
In her hands, Kaho held a greatsword as long and wide as her own body—obviously not a practical weapon for most people, but she was able to heft it easily thanks to the Peerless Strength skill.
“Holy shit, that’s massive,” said Touya. “Is it iron?”
“Iron of good quality, yes, but still iron at the end of the day. I wish to purchase a sword of white iron.”
“That’s definitely a good idea,” said Touya. “Some of the monsters you run into right outside the dungeon are pretty dangerous—lava boars, for example. We’ve only ever run into one, but it was a pain and a half to beat.”
“A lava boar? What kind of monster is that?” Yoshino asked.
“It’s a boar, but it’s bigger than an elephant,” Yuki replied. “Touya almost died! We ended up being really glad we’d already upgraded our armor.”
“A monster the size of an elephant, you say?” said Kaho. “I suppose that not even I could easily cleave it in twain.”
“Yeah. You have high level skills, but that wouldn’t stop your weapon from breaking,” I said. “Your party’s ability to defeat a lava boar might come down to how effective Sae’s magic is.”
During our battle with the lava boar, I’d been chilled to the bone when I realized how dangerous sheer mass could be.
The Jade Wings girls must not have expected that such dangerous monsters lived outside the dungeon; expressions of unease appeared on their faces.
“Th-That sounds like an awful lot of responsibility,” said Sae.
“Perhaps we were too hasty in agreeing to accompany you,” said Kaho.
“We know we’re no match for you guys when it comes to most stuff, but we were pretty confident in our combat abilities,” said Yoshino. “That said...”
Actually, the primary skills that the Jade Wings girls used to dish out damage were significantly higher in level than our own, but in real combat, other factors contributed to success, including support skills, equipment, and numbers. Thus, I had no idea how strong Jade Wings were in practical terms. From the sounds of things, they had plenty of combat-related achievements, so we’d allowed them to tag along with us on the assumption that they would be able to hold their own, but...
“If you end up feeling underprepared, you’re welcome to head back to town,” said Haruka. “We’ll stick together until the dungeon entrance, so you’ll be fine for now.”
“Yeah. We would feel better if Kaho had a better weapon, though,” said Touya.
He furrowed his brow and thought about it for a bit. He must have been reflecting that Kaho’s combat style and frontline position were similar to his own.
Suddenly, he yelled, “Oh, I got it!” and started rummaging through his magic bag. Soon, he extracted a large two-handed sword that looked somehow familiar. It was about the size of Kaho’s current sword, so not even Touya could have swung it easily.
“Wanna try this on for size, Kaho? It’s white iron.”
“Wait, isn’t that the sword we got from the treasure chest after we beat the mad tauros?” I asked. “Why did you bring something that heavy with you?!”