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Chapter 6.1

 

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Translator: Einbedo
Editor: Weasalopes

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「Well ain’t we in a pickle.」

「Why is it always like this…」

Hiroshi was pretty laid back about the unfortunate turn of events that had taken place, while Artiem looked genuinely concerned. Hiroshi made sure to keep his distance from Artiem, so that the situation wouldn’t take a turn for the X-rated.

「Did you manage to get through to them?」

「Aye, ’twas no biggie. From what I’ve gathered we’ve all been politely split into groups o’ two, so there’s that.」

「How can you be so nonchalant about this…」

Artiem looks on in disbelief at Hiroshi who didn’t appear to grasp the gravity of the situation.  Under normal circumstances having the party split in such a fashion usually spells disaster, so there’s definitely room for concern there. However Artiem wasn’t concerned with her own personal safety, in fact she was fully prepared to take on the brunt of anything that came her way, since she was the one to butt in on the dungeon expedition, even if it was under Alan Wein’s orders. What was grounds for concern in her mind was everyone else’s safety, since they had just lost any group synergy they had going in. Granted they were combat experienced but the situation, nevertheless, called for caution, which Hiroshi was severely lacking.

Upon entering the forest dungeon they all got separated through spatial manipulation, which also meant that they had no clue about their whereabouts, yet Hiroshi remained unperturbed. Artiem found this coolness of his baffling. Hiroshi, in an attempt to soothe her nerves, opens his mouth.

「What be the point in getting’ all serious bidness like o’er somethin’ out of our control?」

「I’d like to remind you that we’re in a dungeon.」

「Indeedy.」

「Not only do we not know the way out I’m also nothing but a nuisance, and a complete one at that. The others may have one another to watch over their back but god knows what might happen.」

「Nothin’ outta the ordinary.」

Hiroshi was right, these kinds of traps aren’t an anomaly in the rpg world and walking into them precisely when a low level character is tagging along is also not that rare of an occurrence. The enemy’s deadliness was an unknown variable so throwing some caution to the wind was a good idea but getting overly on edge, however, was not. On the bright side at least they managed to avoid the worst case scenario where Tatsuya, whose close range proficiency is nonexistent, and Artiem get stranded all by themselves, so there was a silver lining to all of this. Understanding this the best they could do at the moment was to act with caution.

Artiem was perfectly aware of this as well, but that didn’t help clear up any of her anxieties. Like how this was her first dungeon outing and dungeon trap experience, and how she got paired up with someone who didn’t do all that good of a job of coming across as a reliable fighter.

Hiroshi, recognizing these set of factors, allowed Artiem to continue voicing her concerns.  After letting her cool down for a while, Hiroshi takes a look around and opens his mouth.

「This might be troublesome.」

「I thought we already went over this.」

「I don’t think you and I are on the same page ‘ere.」

Artiem tilts her head in confusion to Hiroshi’s vague remark. Hiroshi, taking notice of this, explains his reasoning.

「I think this ‘ere dungeon might be one of those that’s in perpetual motion.」

「Eh!?」

「As ya can see the ceiling and the walls are plain ivy vines while the ground beneath us is all weeds, deductin’ our relative location is ’bout as hard as any brick maze out there.」

「Are you sure about all this?」

「Does the pope defecate in the woods?  Even if it wasn’t movin’ it’d be pretty darned difficult to get around in this samey lookin’ sea of green.」

Hiroshi checks up on the walls while explaining a concept about as foreign to an elf that’s lived all its natural life surrounded in luscious greenery as it gets. He would never even consider touching those walls with a nine-foot pole, so he busted out his trusty ten-foot pole and lightly poked them. As expected the vines began squirming.

「Expected as much.」

「They just moved…」

「Are ya willin’ ta trust me now?」

「Yes.」

「’Tis pointless ta even try ta mark anythin’ here to get a feel for our surroundings.」

Hiroshi’s observation was spot on. Even if they were to etch something into a nearby vine it’d just slither away in the blink of an eye.

「Judgin’ from what happened back at the entrance there’s also the possiblity of warp points bein’ scattered ’round the place.」

「Without a doubt.」

「Now that we’ve got that outta the way.」

Hiroshi, having calmly analyzed their predicament, pulls out his pole axe and squares up against the wall.

「Don’t see much of a point in followin’ the path layed out in front of us so how ’bout we directly hack our way through to the source ‘o this miasma.」

「I beg your pardon!?」

「Say ya prayers while ya still can!!!」

He swings the pole axe in a clean horizontal swipe, pushing Artiem’s protests off to the wayside in the process. Hiroshi’s minor strength buff in collaboration with an explosive flame enchantment resulted in the dungeon’s wall being hacked open, burned from the inside and blown into smithereens.

「Less get a move on.」

Says Hiroshi as he offhandedly points at the massive hole in the wall about the width of two grown adults. Despite the impressive showing the skill is next to useless in actual combat, barely able to do significant damage to any monster of the Piaranork’s caliber or higher. However when it comes to environmental destruction it’s second to none and it also had a combat advantage against tree type monsters, which made the spectacle all the more breathtaking.

What was even more impressive, however, was that the performer hadn’t suffered any fatigue to speak of.

「H-how did you…」

「Hmm?」

「How did you do that?」

「I just did.」

Artiem’s ears droop in rhythm with her sigh directed at Hiroshi’s inability to provide a clear answer.  Asides from being completely ignorant in adult matters and an unintentional fan service vehicle to boot, Artiem was remarkably down to earth in all other aspects of life.

「Would ya just look at the sheer density of greenery going’ on in ‘ere, there’s got ta be some rare materials layin’ around ‘ere somewhere.」

「Aren’t you forgetting the task at hand?」

「Let us not delay any furtha, daddy needs a new pair ‘o shoes!」

Yells out Hiroshi at the top of his lungs as he hacks through yet another wall, completely ignoring Artiem’s inquiry. As a wood elf Artiem felt a slight queasiness at the sight of this unadulterated act of desecration but, understanding that their hands were tied on this one, goes along with it out of pure necessity.

 

「Make way!」

Blurts out Haruna as she rushes towards the source of the miasma, making quick work of the beetles in her path. It was clear to anyone at this point that she was on edge, a state very few people have ever seen her in.

「Would you calm down already!」

「You don’t get it!」

「Hiro can take care of himself, he’s been through worse.」

「What did I tell you!」

Haruna cries out in agony as she downs a large hornet without even looking in its general direction. For a lady as emotionally well-contained as Haruna to blow up like that was off-putting to even Tatsuya.

「Look I get that the two being paired up is a recipe for disaster but you have to control your-」

「What if *that* happens again in the middle of battle!」

「Yes yes I get it, now get a grip for crying out loud.」

Tatsuya, being the eldest of the group, is used to quelling any of the party member’s anxieties it’s just that Haruna isn’t usually on the receiving end of such therapy, she’s the one dishing it out alongside him for the most part. Haruna was remarkably mature for her mage but when push comes to shove her lack of life experience reared its ugly head, although that realization didn’t exactly make matters any better for Tatsuya.

「Listen, was there any way we could’ve avoided this predicament?」

「No, there wasn’t…」

「See? If things had went completely south we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now but they didn’t and everyone’s got someone to watch over their back, including Hiro. The guy’s tough, one of the toughest around, but he lacks the raw damage to weather through group encounters and that’s where Artiem comes into the picture, she’s perfect for the role.」

「Is she really?」

「With her newly acquired bow she outclasses Mio in pure attack damage, her positioning and general awareness could use some work but when paired with Hiro specifically they don’t matter as much as damage numbers.」

Tatsuya gives it his all trying to appease Haruna while simultaneously failing to touch upon any of her actual concerns. It wasn’t just a matter of Hiroshi possibly bearing the full brunt of Artiem’s ‘parlor tricks’, any party member that ended stuck with her would’ve likely suffered from the same fate but in Hiroshi’s case it would’ve been particularly debilitating.

「That… wasn’t my main point of concern.」

「Unless lady luck had smiled upon us and he somehow miraculously managed to pair up with me, your main concern might’ve turned into a reality in any other case. Just because Artiem’s prone to getting tangled in such…unfortunate incidents, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen to any one of you ladies as well.」

「Don’t you feel like that’s pushing it a bit?」

「Let’s face it, if you got caught out by something like a hunter tree there’s a pretty high chance you’d end up in a… Less than presentable state so to speak.」

「Fair enough… I suppose?」

Same goes for giant spiders, make one misstep while dealing with their webs and it’s fully possible to get tangled up in some suggestive pose. But it doesn’t stop there – slime’s and tentacle monsters also join the ranks as one of the staples of adult-oriented manga and rpg’s. Fantasy as a whole boasts a wide catalogue of such creatures.

「Now you better start collecting your marbles soon, before we end up in one such predicament.」

Haruna absently nods at Tatsuya’s attempts to remedy the situation. From that alone it was apparent to Tatsuya that his attempts were in vain and that put him in a tough spot. Haruna might not realize this herself but her fascination with HIroshi had already begun to manifest itself at an unconscious level. This wasn’t just limited to Haruna, however, as Aeris also had the same butterflies in her stomach but what they saw in him was up to anyone’s guess, love is blind after all. Tatsuya was hesitant to start a conversation around this since no good would come out of it and at worst his dedication to his marriage would be subjected to scrutiny, therefore he decided to keep his mouth shut on the matter.

If Haruna had lost all self-control and started having an emotional breakdown, however, things would be different. Desperate times call for desperate measure as the saying goes, using up everything under one’s sleeve is a small price to pay for survival.

「That being said.」

「Hmm?」

「Mio I could see breaking down like this but not you of all people.」

「Who wouldn’t get a little bit concerned over the well-being of their longtime companion?」

「The problem’s not with being concerned it’s why you’re concerned that’s taken me aback.」

Tatsuya figured that he may as well get the mushy talk over with now that the opportunity presented itself. Haruna’s a bright one, as long as she can become aware of her own feelings she should be able to harness them to at least some extent. If she doesn’t she might unknowingly drive Hiroshi and herself into a corner and that’s better to be avoided.

「Mind providing some insight into my psyche?」

「Are you serious about this?」

「As serious as a heart attack.」

「Well if I’m being real with you here you’re coming off as a woman who’s afraid of losing in the battle of love.  Actually that’s putting it a bit lightly, it’s more like a clingy woman who’s dead scared of losing her man, or something along those lines.」

「Huh?」

Haruna freezes up upon Tatsuya finishing his sentence.  Despite this, her combat ability was so extraordinary that she managed to split open an insect monster that was heading her way by relying purely on reflexes alone.

「I’m not saying you should feel bad about this, ode to youth and all that, in fact it’s the perfect opportunity to have this conversation.」

「…」

「Your journey isn’t going to be an easy one but know that I’ll always have your back and I sincerely hope you won’t be turning it on me or the group out of blind passion. Nobody, not even you, would want that. This can be said for any one of you but just try keeping in mind that moderation is crucial in any aspect of life and that goes for love as well.」

Tatsuya carries on with the life lessons while Haruna stood there, completely silent, unable to ride the overwhelming wave of intense emotions. This was a first for her, up until this point she would tackle every problem with a cool head and a healthy dose of rationality, but now she found herself face to face with a particularly insidious type of a metaphysical enemy, one that actively goes against all reason.

「Some of the most passionate people who act on that passion do so in a very calculated manner. It’s as they say ‘sucking the marrow out of life doesn’t mean choking on the bone’.」

「Easy for you to say.」

「You’ve managed to remain rational in most circumstances, why can’t you do it now?」

Tatsuya shrugs off Haruna’s emotionally-charged comment while disposing of a swarm of aphid-like enemies with a well-placed fire wall. The reinforcements that were attempting to crawl out of a nearby hole got a taste of a fireball followed up by a grand napalm for good measure. At first sight one might get the impression that he’s just haphazardously throwing fire around without any second-thoughts about it possibly spreading, but Tatsuya was convinced that, it being a dungeon, there was no need worry about that.

「Have you caught on yet?」

「Caught on to what?」

「That really hit home, didn’t it?」

「…」

Haruna, who thought she had managed to get a grip on herself by now, was faced with an unpleasant reality. By no means did she believe she had gotten completely over it, but the realization that she still wasn’t in control of her emotions to at least some extent was devastating.

「Try taking a look behind you.」

「Ok.」

Haruna figures out the answer almost the very moment she turns her head back.

「It’s blocked off?」

「Exactly, the maze is reshaping itself little by little so trying to map it out is pointless.」

「It’s not the monsters that are going to prove the most problematic here, huh.」

「That’s right and a change in circumstances calls for a reevaluation of plans.」

Haruna nods as she stops in place in order to decide on their further course of action. There were no enemies remaining in the nearby area after the carnage Tatsuya had just dished out.

「Changing up our approach might be necessary but there’s really not a whole lot of options to pick out from.」

「And either one of them would still involve us facing off with the core.」

「How about we just stay on the move in that case?」

「That sounds reasonable for the time being but let’s go over this once more after we’ve covered, say, another three diverging paths, maybe something will come up then.」

「As you say.」

The two decide on their plan of action and make their way towards yet another fork in the road. In their wake laid a mountain of corpses, all of which were maimed beyond recognition.

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