CH 219

Episode 219 – Pre-Dungeon Present

The next day, by the time I had made my way to our usual meeting spot, the other two had already arrived.

“Good morning. I came a lot earlier than the designated meeting time… I didn’t think you would already be here.” (Lewin)

“G-Good morning. I c-came a bit earlier to try and do some warm-up exercises.” (Rosalie)

“It’s ‘cause we’re finally going back to clearing the Dungeon again. I’m feeling strangely fired up.” (Aruna)

I could feel the brimming vigor coming from the two of them. This was especially true for Aruna, who always seemed to be the most motivated.

“I see. I was also feeling excited, so I came early… But I’m a little glad that I was thinking along the same lines as you two!” I said to them with a grin. Our party was thrown together very quickly so I was rather unsure at the start, but we were clearing the Dungeon well, and we were moving at a good pace.

“So as we discussed before, we’re going to aim for the next layer today. But before we start clearing, there are two things I want to give you two.” (Lewin)

Rosalie tilted her head upon hearing what I had said. I took out the Focus Herb Potion that I had brewed yesterday and handed it over to Rosalie.

“…..? W-What is this?” (Rosalie)

“This is the Focus Herb Potion I made just recently. I tried to slightly dampen the effects and increase the duration to make it easier to use, so please give it a try.” (Lewin)

“A potion made from that plant that boosts your concentration power?! …Y-you went out of your way to make this for m-me?” (Rosalie)

“I didn’t really go out of my way to make it. It didn’t quite reach the level of performance I had in mind, and this one is only just barely sufficient for practical use.”

“B-But you spared the t-time just to make this for me? …Jade-san, thank you so much.” (Rosalie)

Tears lightly glistened from the corner of Rosalie’s eyes as she bowed deeply to me in gratitude, which made me feel a bit shy. Sure enough, I made it for Rosalie’s sake, but the main purpose was to make our Dungeon clearing go smoother. Besides, it wasn’t even a complete product, so it wasn’t even anything worth thanking me about… But seeing her express her heartfelt gratitude like this made me feel honestly glad that I had made it for her.

“We’re in the same party, so don’t worry about it too much. Anyway, the next thing I wanted to hand over…” (Lewin)

The next thing I pulled out of my bag were pouches of money. The funds from selling the Recovery Potions and the plants we had gathered had been split up three-way and placed into these bags.

The instant I handed them over to Aruna and Rosalie, the two of them seemed to notice that it was money. Half of it had gone towards the potions we needed to clear the Dungeon, so the amount was considerably less than planned. However, since it had been earned over the course of several days of work, it was still a pretty hefty sum.

“I just received something, is it really okay for me to be receiving more?” (Rosalie)

“Yes. I didn’t sell anything last time, so what I just handed to you is the entire sum for the plant-gathering we did.” (Lewin)

“U-Um, I said this before, but thank you so much for splitting it with me. We’ve only just started clearing the Dungeon together for a short while, but I’m really glad that I was able to join Jade’s and Aruna’s party.” (Rosalie)

“You spent quite a bit of money at the start to prepare to clear the Dungeon with us. And besides, we have high hopes for you, Rosalie-san! Let’s do our best together!” (Lewin)

“Yeah!” (Rosalie)

To be honest, I didn’t think that I was treating her particularly well, just that I was treating her normally. I wanted to do something about her social anxiety, so I would be glad if the Focus Herb Potion works for her.

“…..It seems that with Lewin here, we won’t have to worry about money,” Aruna looked into the burlap pouch and muttered to herself while Rosalie and I were encouraging each other. I couldn’t help but give a wry smile at Aruna’s blunt words.

“Even if you were alone, I don’t think you would have to worry about money, Aruna-san. Since you’re strong and all.” (Lewin)

“Mm. But I don’t think I would want to party with most people, so I still think I’d have to worry about money. And that’s how it’s been until just recently.” (Aruna)

Certainly, Aruna’s party recruitment conditions were pretty strict. I felt like she had decided that her personality wouldn’t allow her to do without those conditions, so she probably hadn’t been able to form a party for a long time.

“That may be true, but… I’m pretty sure you could clear the Dungeon solo.” (Lewin)

“―Anyway, let’s hurry up and start. I’ve been itching to go all this time.” (Aruna)

“Alright. I’ve already handed over everything that needs to be handed over… Let’s resume our all-out Dungeon clearing! Let’s do our best to not lose focus and avoid injuries!” (Lewin)

“Y-Yes. Let’s do it.” (Rosalie)

The three of us stood in a circle, doing a light team huddle, before making our way to the Dungeon. As soon as we entered the Dungeon, Rosalie took the Focus Herb Potion… And evidently, it was working quite well. She stopped stammering, and her movements were far cleaner than before, perhaps because the effects were better adjusted than the time when she took the Focus Herb directly.

Now that Rosalie was able to display her strength, Aruna provided cover with her bow, shooting and killing monsters. There were hardly any chances for me to provide support, and we defeated the Two-Mino, making our way to the Safe Area on the 10th layer in no time.

There’s nothing wrong, and things are going really well… But the only problem is, watching these two fight makes me want to fight in the vanguard too.