The next morning, I was organizing my supplies when the sound of something clanging against metal shattered the still air.
“Good morning! Rise and shine!”
I peeked outside our tent to see Leona banging a pot with a ladle.
“Hey, Sumire. Wake up!”
“Mm, five more minutes...” Sumire was still half asleep.
Apparently, she was the type to sleep in. It took a few more attempts to wake her up. Seeing a girl’s face slack in sleep had made me feel a little shy. After she rose, we ate a breakfast of canned food in our tent. We’d just finished when Leona burst in.
“Hey, Eugene, are you heading back today?” she asked.
Sumire and I exchanged looks before I replied, “I don’t really have a preference between staying or leaving.”
“I’d like to chat with Miss Leona and the others some more!” Sumire said.
“Same here! Let’s explore together, then!”
Thus, with Sumire’s consent, we were roped into a joint exploration with the Martial Arts Club. They were really a friendly bunch. I hurriedly stowed away my tent.
“All right! Let’s move out!” At Leona’s announcement, we set off.
The journey through the dungeon was surprisingly smooth.
“An Orc!”
“Heck yeah!”
“Surround it!”
“It’s too slow!”
“And its attacks barely do any damage!”
“GRAAAAH?!”
Even when monsters appeared, the aggressive members of the Martial Arts Club defeated them within seconds.
Are these guys really the third-string members? The sheer number of teams within the Martial Arts Club surprised me.
“This is how you throw a straight punch, Sumire.”
“L-Like this?”
“Yeah, exactly! Nicely done! And here’s how to do a kick.”
“Oh, wow!”
As we moved through the dungeon, Sumire was learning some martial arts from Leona.
“You’re doing so well, Sumire! What do you think about joining our club?”
They were even scouting her. Her popularity was as otherworldly as she was.
“I a-actually plan on joining Eugene’s club.”
“The Biology Club? You can join more than one club, you know? Just think about it!”
“O-Okay! I will.”
I honestly thought it would be better for her to join the popular Martial Arts Club rather than the much more minor Biology Club. But this was Sumire’s decision, so I held my tongue.
“Eugene! Someone got hurt!”
“Here—Heal.”
I used my magic to heal a Martial Arts Club member who’d been hurt while fighting off a monster. No one was seriously injured. At worst, they’d only suffered bruises and cuts.
“Whoa, that’s crazy! I’ve never seen a Healer close a wound that quickly!”
“Eugene, you’re amazing! Wanna be our club Healer?”
“Hey, you can’t scout him! He’s the vice president of the Biology Club, remember?”
“I know that, Captain Leona!”
So they were trying to scout me too. I’d never explored a dungeon with such a large group before, nor had anyone ever relied on me so heavily. It’s not a bad feeling. I had to thank Sumire for deciding she wanted to tag along with the Martial Arts Club.
The exploration proceeded smoothly. Getting past the 11th Level was a given, but we also cleared the 12th with no issues. Once we reached the 13th Level, we took a break. Then, on the 14th, we experienced a brief scare from a band of Kobolds, but we defeated them without anyone getting hurt. There was a higher level Kobold among the horde, though, and it targeted Sumire.
Sumire fell backward with a shrill scream when the Kobold jumped at her. At the same time, she activated Firestorm, reducing it into charcoal. It had picked the wrong person to attack. The members of the Martial Arts Club, whom I’d warned multiple times to keep their distance from Sumire in battle, were all left speechless at the burst of magic.
Whew, that was a close one. Of course, I had cast a barrier to protect us from Sumire’s flames. Leona, the captain of the third-string members, had a strained look on her face after seeing the danger. Despite that mishap, though, we made it to the 15th Level.
“Let’s camp here!” Leona called to everyone.
Tonight, they served meat and vegetables they’d grilled on an iron plate.
“Yay, it’s a barbecue!” Sumire cheered.
A barbecue? I’d never heard that word before. Perhaps, like the curry, this was a dish they had in Sumire’s world? This “barbecue” was a meal I would’ve never eaten on a solo exploration. It was simple yet delicious. Though we were eating the Martial Arts Club’s food, no one asked us to cough up any money. I supposed healing them with my magic was payment enough in their eyes. Since I’d only had to deal with minor wounds, though, I felt guilty about mooching off of them.
“Sumire, let’s go take a bath!”
“Yeah, come on! ♪”
“Your skin is so smooth, Sumire!”
“What’s your routine?”
Sumire had befriended the girls of the Martial Arts Club. Actually, wait, are we gonna camp together tonight too? I hadn’t expected Sumire to spend two whole nights in the dungeon on her first exploration. I’d known it for a while, but her potential was really off the charts.
Will Sumire stay in my tent tonight? I wondered as I set it up. The very thought was making it hard to concentrate. I don’t think it’s good for a young man and woman to spend the night in a cramped tent together, but hmm... As I was fretting about that, someone approached me.
“Eugene, thank you for your hard work today.”
“Leona, sorry, and thank you for letting us crash your exploration for two days now.”
“What are you talking about? You’re the reason we still have an ample supply of medicine, so really, we should be thanking you,” she replied, drawing closer with a smile. She narrowed her eyes and leaned down to whisper into my ear, “Someone who joined up with us today told me an interesting piece of gossip.”
If she was whispering to me, she must not have wanted the others to overhear us. I asked in a lower voice, “What?”
“Did you really defeat the Boss of the 10th Level all by yourself?”
I thought about it for a bit. But there was no point in trying to hide it. Someone must have seen the broadcast through the Satellite System. “Yeah, pretty much.”
At my words, Leona widened her eyes. “Holy crap! No wonder the headmaster likes you so much!”
“Nah, I just got lucky. I only defeated it because I was able to borrow Sumire’s Ifrit mana.”
“Yeah, but still, most people can’t do such a thing! In that case, Eugene, I have a favor to ask.” Leona’s voice turned serious. Whatever she wanted to ask must have been the real reason she’d approached me. “It’s about this exploration. Could you stick with us until the end of it? I can’t get enough budget to pay you for an official collaboration between our teams, though, so it would have to be, like, two teams moving in the same direction. Pretty much what we’re doing right now.”
She lowered her head with a guilty look in her eye. Unlike the official request for assistance the Blue Sea Union explorers had made on the 10th Level, this would be off the record. However, the Martial Arts Club had helped us progress farther than we could have on our own and shared their food with us. I, too, had been feeling guilty about how I hadn’t repaid them for all that.
“Sure. I’ll have to discuss it with Sumire, though.”
“Really?! Hooray!” Leona threw her arms up in celebration.
I wasn’t too worried about Sumire turning down the request. She was getting along with the Martial Arts Club girls, so I figured she would agree.
“By the way,” I said, finally broaching a subject I’d been curious about for a while, “what floor are you aiming for?”
I had an inkling as to what the answer was, though. Judging by their skills, they were probably trying to get to—
“We’re hoping to defeat the Boss of the 20th Level.”
Leona’s answer was exactly as I’d predicted.