Volume 3 Chapter 6

We managed to catch up to Luna and the girls how had departed to Flaregard ahead of us. I had planned to rendezvous with them once we arrived at the city however thanks to Til’s reckless actions, I was unexpectedly reunited with Luna.

[Youya, we finally met.] (Luna)

That Luna was extremely elated after reuniting with me. Her fluffy tail were shaking around energetically, causing Raptor to feel ticklish as her tail continuously brushed his neck.

[Why did you decide to jump over from the carriage? Don’t you know that it’s dangerous?] (Youya)

[Its okay because Youya would definitely catch Luna.] (Luna)

Sigh. She’s a hopeless child.

[Luna-chan, long time no see.] (Phil)

[Uhn. Phil. Long time no see.] (Luna)

Luna is a shy girl who is quite vicious towards strangers, however she had already eaten several meals together with Phil. Furthermore Phil who worked as a receptionist had experience in handling new adventurers. Luna right now was completely familiar with Phil.

[It’s about time for you to let go of me. It’s starting to get difficult to control Raptor.] (Youya)

[Then it can’t be helped.] (Luna)

Luna who had been clinging onto me like a koala finally relented and properly sat on Raptor’s neck, facing forward and leaning back onto me.

[Was there any trouble on the trip this time?] (Youya)

[A little.] (Luna)

[Then I’m relieved. So could you tell me what the trouble was?] (Youya)

[There were several men who tried to bully us, so Luna chased them off! Luna did her best.] (Luna)

[That isn’t a little problem at all.] (Youya)

Although this small girl looks like quiet and gentle, her personality was extremely curious, impulsive and fast. I sympathize with those adventurers who dared to lay a hand on them. The girls were basically level 30 and talented. They were also capable of working together, it wasn’t an equal match at all.

[It’s okay! Just as planned, when Luna couldn’t see their levels she ran away and asked for help.] (Luna)

Before I departed, I had made sure to tell them to confirm their opponents’ levels before engaging, since they would have higher levels if the level couldn’t be seen. Especially at this level, there are very few cases of adventurers who only had high levels relying on their status. Afterall, those adventurers wouldn’t survive very long, making it better for us to expect that everyone is adequately trained. Thus, the moment someone’s level was higher than them, it would be possible for them to escape if it was just to run as the caravan’s guards would cooperate in their protection.

[It’s difficult being pretty.] (Youya)

I began patting Luna’s head. For the cute girl with fox ears, the beautiful elf and the elegant Selene which gave off the atmosphere of a noble, they were all extremely sweet on a person’s eyes. I have never felt awkward being with them, but it does entice a lot of trouble.

[Luna is troublesome. So Youya has to always be with Luna. If Youya is around then everything is fine.] (Luna)

Luna began placing more weight onto her back. This girl is truly too pampered, however it doesn’t feel like a bad thing for now. Let’s be sure not to seperate from her as much as possible.

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We finally arrived at Flaregard. There were many wooden buildings in Greenwood, however the only buildings here are those made of bricks and stones. Wood is difficult to obtain in Flaregard plus it’ll be safer with materials that doesn’t catch fire easily. Since there were many mines here capable of obtaining rare ores and a sacred flame capable of melting all metals, there are many workshops line up in the city and many stores selling equipment. However, it wasn’t just that. There were many people consisting of those working in the mines, blacksmiths and customers who wished to look at their items. So long as there are many stores around, naturally many people will crowd in the area. Furthermore many of the customers here were adventurers whose purpose was to obtain excellent weapons and enter the dungeons.

My first move was to deposit Raptor into a stable, then the three of us headed to the open plaza near the entrance of the city to wait for Til and Selene to arrive.

[Youya, Luna is hungry. Let’s eat while waiting for Til and Selene to arrive.] (Luna)

[Ah that’s a good idea. Since it’s troublesome to look for a store let’s head over to the inn that I arranged from the guild. The food there is definitely going to be good.] (Youya)

[Looking forward~] (Luna)

It was the perfect timing as I was beginning to get hungry as well. Above all, I had a craving for meat. During my journey with Phil, we had eaten all the eel meat I had and continued to eat preserved meals for the rest of the trip, however they weren’t that delicious.

[I support that thought. Luna-chan, the food in Flaregard is delicious, but truth is their alcohol is more famous than their cooking you know.] (Phil)

[Phil, don’t recommend Flaregard’s alcohol to Luna. Luna was already drunk with 5 cups of wine, it’ll be too difficult.] (Youya)

[Ahh. Then it would be better not to do that then.] (Phil)

Luna began scratching her neck.

Dwarfs were natural drunkards, thus it was natural that the alcohol concentration in their drinks would be extremely high. With an alcohol content of 80%, it is too early for the girls to drink it.

[Ah. Youya, Luna, Big sis! We finally found you.] (Til)

Til and Selene finally arrived as they started walking towards us.

[It’s your long-awaited reunion with the cute Til-chan!] (Til)

Til quickly jumped into my chest and looked at Phil’s face before grinning. Then, she let go.

[Youya you’re having it tough ehh. If you have a jealous girlfriend such as my big sis.] (Til)

[Hey Til, what is that supposed to mean.] (Phil)

[Exactly as it sounds like. Getting all jealous with this small bit of skinship.] (Til)

As expected of the sisters. Til was completely dominating and teasing Phil, who although was more experienced was unable to escape and beginning to panic.

[It’s been a long time, Uncle Youya. I’ve missed you too.] (Selene)

[Selene, I heard that you worked hard while I was away.] (Youya)

[Of course. In our evening training I’ll show you by landing a point.] (Selene)

As expected, Selene was much more mature and didn’t jump in like Luna and Til did. She was much more calm as compared to the other two.

[Phil, Til. Let’s stop playing around and head towards the inn.] (Youya)

[Ah just hold on for a moment. I’m in the middle of punishing her] (Phil)

[Oneechan. I give I give. It hurtss. It’s so embarrassing to do this in the middle of town.] (Til)

As easily as she was caught, Til was tossed aside as she held onto her buttocks.

[Til, you should be glad that I didn’t make you take off your skirt and panties.] (Phil)

Looks like even now she had been letting Til off. It wouldn’t had been funny if she had stripped her in public.

[Could it be. Since Luna has been monopolising Youya, you’ve started to become even more jealous?] (Til)

Since I was intrigued by what Til said, I looked at Phil as she turns away. Her elven ears were starting to turn red.

[Just a little. Only a little bit. It’s not like I planned to do anything about it.] (Phil)

It was my first time seeing Phil behave like this as Til saw an opening and fled, hiding behind me.

[Since everyone is here, let’s start heading to the inn. I’ll like to formally introduce myself before joining the party anyway.] (Phil)

[Ah thats right. Let’s hurry then.] (Youya)

Then, the five of us began heading towards the guild as they informed us about the reservation we did using the guild’s connections.

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As we arrived at the inn, we placed our belongings in the room and headed towards the bar in the first floor, ordering their recommended dish. Flaregard’s signature ingredient was beef as they not only had multiple cattle farms, but there are many monsters in the dungeons which dropped Beef (Average) as well. There is even the possible of obtaining Beef (Excellent) as the level of the monsters here were high, however since the price of the meat is so high, it is unaffordable by the common people.

Thus, if we managed to come across the meat, I plan to eat it with everyone rather than sell it. While waiting for our food to arrive, Phil began introducing herself, beginning her introduction as my girlfriend. Then, Til jokingly replied “Ah, Oneechan. Remember to be careful of Selene”. While the atmosphere went on as such, the food arrived.

[Youya, Youya! It’s an incredible amount of meat!] (Luna)

[It’s been a while since we’ve had steak.] (Youya)

Although it was just Average, the beef was still delicious. It was on a different level as compared to the cattle grown in farms. I picked up a knife and cut the meat, however the meat split apart without much effort, showing its high quality. When biting into the chunk of meat, the meat juices just flowed out from the inside. Although it was just lightly seasoned with rock salt, it brought out the deliciousness of the meat.

[It’s delicious]. (Youya)

[Yes, it’s really delicious.] (Phil)

[This is so good! The standard is completely different! Seconds please!] (Til)

[I would like a second helping as well please.] (Selene)

If the meat’s quality was this good at Average, I wonder just how delicious it would be at Excellent. I am definitely looking forward to trying it.

With Luna’s Increased Drop Rate, it is possible for us to increase our chances of obtaining beef (Excellent). Other meat dishes such as stews and stir-fried items were also brought to our table one by one. We continued to enjoy the various dishes as much as we could.

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Luna and Til had their stomachs inflated like a balloon after the meal.

[My stomach is soo full. Luna can’t eat anymore] (Luna)

[Right!? I can’t eat a single bite anymore.] (Til)

Even I ate too much, I got too engrossed in the food after the first bite and continued to eat.

[I had thought about it earlier, but Til and Phil have very similar voices.] (Selene)

[We are sisters after all.] (Phil)

[People say that quite often, don’t they.] (Til)

[Whenever I hear one of you call my name, I usually get lost figuring out who to respond to.] (Youya)

The two of them had similar voices and even similar names.

[It’s not a huge problem in our everyday life but, it may cause some trouble when we are in a battle.] (Selene)

Selene opened her mouth with a serious face, looks like she planned to bring that up from the beginning.

[Then, how about I call Youya Oniichan instead? Since you’re going to get married to my sister after all.] (Til)

[Til. That, suddenly bringing in marriage, it’s too fast.] (Phil)

Although she sounded against it, Phil was smiling while trying to shake the idea of marriage out of her head. I could even see her glancing over at me in that moment.

[Eh? Does that mean you don’t plan to? My sister being taken advantage of.. That’s so tragic.] (Til)

[Ha?Eh? Eh eh? What?] (Phil)

Til began toying with Phil while keeping her head down. It looks like she could be feeling lonely knowing that I’ll be taking her sister away from her.

[Well I plan on getting married with her, then you’ll be able to call me your older brother.] (Youya)

[Got~~~ it. That means that my older brother has a weakness to younger sisters. I’ll continue to call you niisan. In exchange, as your younger sister, please continue to pamper me from now on! Although having sibling relations is a bad hobby, so doing that kind of stuff is a no go.] (Til)

[Til, just what are you trying to say?] (Youya)

I let out a one-liner while Phil was getting tired from being too embarrassed.

This sort of atmosphere isn’t too bad, however it’s about time to move on to serious matters. For our first five-men party, the destination has been decided.

[Remember to prepare your luggages for tomorrow. Our destination tomorrow will be the desert dungeon, the Sand Canal.] (Youya)

Flaregard’s dungeons had various themes, differing between mines, volcanoes and desert dungeons. Sand Canal is a dungeon set in a desert world with an all you can see, sand landscape. It’s recommended level was 31 and is considered to be Flaregard’s most difficult dungeon due to the topography of the desert.

[Youya, what is a desert?] (Luna)

[Hmm. It’s basically a large sandpit. With sand as far as you can see.] (Youya)

[But doesn’t that make moving difficult, and with the hot weather it makes hunting even less efficient. Why are we still heading there?] (Luna)

That was a good question. Originally, we would avoid the desert dungeon just for the fact that it was a troublesome dungeon to hunt in. Given the viability and ease of hunts in other dungeons, it would be much more efficient to head to the other dungeons.

[There is a treasure hidden within the deepest part of the desert. By using that item together with the item we got from the boss, we’ll be able to increase our party limit to five.] (Youya)

That is the reason why we had to challenge the desert no matter what. Our main problem would be if the treasure was already taken by another party. However, the timing was great as the weekly respawn would take place today. Plus, the treasure was held in a somewhat hidden room in that difficult dungeon. It should be fine for us to leave tomorrow and still get the item.

[Uhn. We’ll have to go then. It looks difficult but Luna is excited to go to the desert for the first time.] (Luna)

[It’s probably much more difficult than what Luna is making it out to be, however there is another reason why this adventure will be much harder than before.] (Youya)

Phil began turning her gaze towards me. It will be the girls’ first experience in the desert.

[The Sand Canal is a extremely expansive and harsh dungeon. We would never make it to our destination within the day. It’ll be our first overnight hunt in a dungeon, so be sure to keep your mind sharper than usual.] (Youya)

I revealed the fact that we would be spending the night inside the dungeon. It is an extremely dangerous experience as our fatigue will continue to build up over time. As the difficult of the dungeons become harder, the number of times our hunt will be concluded in the same day will become lesser and lesser. This is a hurdle that the girls had to overcome no matter what.

[Luna will do her best!] (Luna)

[Elves are the hunters of the forest. We often camp out in the forest overnights. Don’t underestimate me!] (Til)

[I’m getting nervous, however it’ll definitely be a good experience.] (Selene)

Looking at everyone’s enthusiasm gave me a peace of mind. With this, we can prepare confidently and challenge the Sand Canal. To prepare for the future, I had the intention to have the girls experience the bitterness of setting up camp without using the convenient Magic Tent however doing that in a harsh environment such as the desert could cause everyone to feel defeated. Hence, I decided to leave that to the next opportunity. Overhearing the two young girls excitement about their first camp, I wonder what kind of reactions they would give after the actual thing.