The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
Rain brought Chiffon and Stella back to the house.
There, everyone gathered once more to share the information they had and decide on their next course of action.
"Then Rifa, Iris, and I will stay in town in case something happens," Tania said.
They still didn't know what the demon's objective had been, nor who was pulling the strings behind it.
However, it was obvious that they had intended to harm the town.
To ensure they could respond immediately if something similar happened again, Tania, Rifa, and Iris would remain in town as its defensive force.
In addition, Chocolat and Millefeuille volunteered to help.
As members of the Hero's Party, protecting the town was one of their most important duties.
Rain was grateful.
"So our job is to gather information, right? Heh, leave it to us!"
"If it's Sora and us, we can do more than just ask around. We can also use magic to search for all kinds of traces."
Sora and Luna would handle the investigation.
Finia would be joining them as well.
Despite appearances, Finia often noticed the smallest details.
She might pick up on things that everyone else overlooked.
"Leave the house to us."
Tina, Nina, and Ms. Nokia would stay behind.
Because of Kuu and Kou, they couldn't leave the house completely unattended.
At the same time, bringing the children along would be far too dangerous.
So Tina and the others would remain behind to protect the house.
As for the investigation into the place where Mina had supposedly been seen...
It would be carried out by Rain, Kanade, Chiffon, Stella, and Sakura.
The five of them would head there together.
"So this is the dungeon where she was reportedly seen..."
About an hour's walk from Horizon stood a medium-sized dungeon.
An adventurer had reported seeing someone who looked like Mina inside.
Incidentally, dungeons were divided into three categories:
Small, medium, and large.
Small dungeons had ten floors or fewer.
Medium dungeons had up to thirty floors.
Large dungeons had anything beyond that.
Generally speaking, the larger the dungeon, the greater the treasures hidden within.
The rewards increased accordingly.
However, larger dungeons also housed more dangerous monsters and deadly traps, making the risks proportionally greater.
As an aside, there was also a category known as an unexplored dungeon.
These were dungeons where no one had ever reached the lowest floor, leaving their true nature completely unknown.
Such places might conceal immense treasures...
But they could also harbor unimaginable dangers, so anyone attempting them had to prepare thoroughly.
"Nyaa... do you think that rotten priestess is in here?"
"'Rotten priestess'...?"
"Calling her that is being way too nice!"
Kanade must have been remembering everything Mina had done.
Her tail stood straight up, every strand of fur puffing out.
Needless to say, she had no favorable opinion of her.
"Was Mina really that terrible?" Chiffon asked.
"She was! She kicked Rain out, remember? Then she attacked us... and she's done nothing but treat Rain horribly!"
"...She did that to Rain."
"Yeah. Then I can't forgive her. If we find her, I'll make sure she gets the punishment she deserves."
Chiffon smiled sweetly.
But her eyes weren't smiling.
They radiated an icy chill that felt colder than absolute zero.
To be honest...
It was terrifying.
"So, what should we do now?" Stella asked.
"We've made it all the way here. Should we at least take a look around the upper levels?"
"A full-scale exploration would be difficult... wouldn't it?" Rain asked.
"It would," Stella agreed.
"We've made some preparations, but enough for one night at best. A medium-sized dungeon normally takes several days to clear, even under ideal conditions. We'd be pushing our luck."
"But... don't you think it'll be fine?" Kanade said.
"Sakura and I are here. If monsters appear, I'll beat them up. And I'm sure Sakura can find Mina."
"On!"
"...Hmm."
"When you put it that way, you may be right," Stella admitted.
"Two members of the strongest race... plus Rain and the Hero herself. That's more than enough strength for a medium-sized dungeon. Since we aren't trying to conquer it, we might actually finish our objective fairly quickly."
A troubled expression crossed Stella's face.
Rain felt the same uncertainty.
If they were going to challenge a dungeon, proper preparation was essential.
But this time, clearing the dungeon wasn't the goal.
Neither was obtaining treasure.
Their objective was simply to find Mina, if she was hiding somewhere inside.
If they focused solely on that objective and moved efficiently...
It might not take very long.
Still...
Dungeons were inherently dangerous.
There were countless stories of people who underestimated them and paid a terrible price.
Rain couldn't help hesitating.
Chiffon and Stella both turned to look at him.
They were silently leaving the decision up to him.
After thinking it over for a moment, Rain reached his conclusion.
"...All right. We'll start by exploring the upper levels. If we find any kind of trace, we'll return to town, prepare properly, and come back later. If we don't find anything, we'll withdraw and rethink our approach. And if we're lucky enough to find Mina right away..."
"Then we'll have hit the jackpot."
"Nyaa!"
"On!"
Chiffon and Stella both nodded in agreement.
"All right."
"Let's begin the search."
"Yeah!"
Filled with determination, they entered the dungeon.
"Wow... so this is what a dungeon is really like."
Kanade looked around curiously.
"Why are you acting like you've never seen one before?" Rain asked.
"You entered one during the A-Rank promotion exam, didn't you?"
"I did, but that one wasn't exactly a natural dungeon. It was managed by humans, remember? This is my first time inside a real wild dungeon, so it feels completely different."
Rain could understand that.
Still...
A wild dungeon?
Couldn't she have chosen a better way to put it?
"Hmm?" Stella frowned.
"Normally monsters would attack us almost immediately..."
"Maybe they're too scared to come out because Rain's here?" Chiffon suggested.
"Ah... that actually sounds plausible."
"...Just what kind of image do you two have of me?"
Did they see him as some kind of Demon King or something?
As they continued their leisurely exploration...
"Grrrr... ON! ON!"
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