CH 240

Episode 240 – Unknown Adventurer

“…Haah, gaaah. We somehow managed to win. Good work, Aruna-san and Rosalie-san.” (Lewin)

“Y-Yeah… It was that strong of a monster, and we didn’t have any information on it whatsoever. It wouldn’t have been strange for us to have died there, honestly.” (Rosalie)

“I didn’t watch, but it must have been really strong. Anyway… are you alright, Lewin?” (Aruna)

As the conversation was going on, I was on my knees with both of my hands on the ground in front of me, which made Aruna feel concerned. The wound on my cheek was still bleeding, causing blood to drip down my face and dye the ground in front of me red. My knee was also drenched in blood.

And more importantly, the backlash from using the Strength Potion made it so that I couldn’t move one bit. It was a miracle that I could even move my body to finish off those remaining Canyon Monkeys. In my current state, I wasn’t ‘fine’ by any standards.

“…I’m not doing so well. I’m dizzy from the loss of blood, and I have intense muscular pain so I can’t move one bit. Sorry, but can you pour the potion in my belt holder onto my body?” (Lewin)

“Yeah.” (Aruna)

With a curt reply, Aruna poured the potion over my body, which caused my injuries to close up and the pain to lessen. Nothing much could be done about the muscular pain for now, so Rosalie lent me her shoulder, and we made our way from the 19th layer, which was now devoid of monsters, down to the 20th layer.

The Safe Area on the 20th layer was a drafty, wind-swept cavern grotto. It was pretty dark, but it was just like the 10th layer in that no monsters spawned here. There were also several tents set up, and multiple parties were in the area.

I knew from the projections, but there were still quite a few adventurers on the 20th layer. The numbers of adventurers that could reach the 30th layer was drastically lower, but those that could get that far were considered to be among the ranks of the ‘mid-level adventurers’.

“There’s not as much empty space as I had imagined.” (Lewin)

“Should we set up on the edge of the atrium? The wind is a bit worrying since it would be a mess if the tent flies off. But I think it’s at least better than building it in an area where it’s packed with people.” (Rosalie)

“Let’s do that. As long as you say so, there should be no problems, Rosalie-san.” (Lewin)

As we were discussing, we started heading in the direction of the area where there was empty space, when we suddenly heard someone call out to us from behind.

“Hey, aren’t you guys the party that was recently on the news?”

When I turned around to identify the person who had called out to us, I saw a female adventurer who I had no recollection of. She had almond eyes and short black hair with streaks of blonde highlights here and there, hinting that she was conscious about her style. Her equipment was in good condition, and the fact that she was here on the 20th layer meant that there was a chance she was a famous adventurer, but… I’m sorry, but I have no idea who this is.

“U-umm… I’m not sure…? I don’t know if we’re the party that has been in the news lately.” (Lewin)

“Eh? But as far as I can see, you have only 3 people, right? It matches with the description that the boy is the leader, and the members are a rabbitkin and someone with an Adventurer’s Guild employee badge.” (Unknown Adventurer)

“Ah, then that’s probably us. I wasn’t aware that we were so famous that people would approach us like this…” (Lewin)

“I knew it! There’s been a lot of talk in adventurer circles about you guys being promising as rising superstar adventurers. Hey… it seems that you were trying to set up your tent near the atrium, so could it be that you’re planning to rest on this layer? The space next to us is free, so why don’t you come on over?” (Unknown Adventurer)

Faced with her sudden invitation, I was momentarily lost on how to reply. But for them to have an open space for us was the best thing we could ask for. Aruna had a pretty irritated expression, but since I didn’t have any connections with other adventurer parties in Landaust, from an intelligence-gathering standpoint I had a feeling it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get to know them.

“Is that alright? If you have space, we’d be obliged to take you up on that.” (Lewin)

“Great, great. The party that was next to us just left for the 30th layer after all. But in exchange, I hope you’ll tell me all kinds of stories.” (Unknown Adventurer)

“Of course. I also want to hear about the Dungeon from you.” (Lewin)

“Alright, deal. I’m Xenia. I’ll introduce you to the rest of my party members as well.”

“Heeey, come out. There are some people I want to introduce you guys to.” (Xenia)

“Hm? Some people you want to introduce to us? Weren’t you out to get water?”

“Mmm. I’m comfy right now, so maybe you can come back later.”

“Come on, hurry up and get out here.” (Xenia)

At Xenia’s persistent urging, her party members reluctantly came out of the tent. The first person who came out was a man with one eye covered by his hair, and the rest was swept back into a ponytail. The second person was a male with a small stature and a perfectly round bowl cut, which reminded me of Porta. And the last person who came out was a giant, muscular man in a tank top, but he was caked in so much makeup that it was hard to make out his original appearance.

“These are my party members. David, Thema, and Richard.” (Xenia)

“Kyaa, nuuu! Introduce me as Ria, not Richard.”

Richard… no, Ria had such an intense character that my mouth was left hanging open in bewilderment. It occurred to me that it might be rude to stare for so long, so I frantically averted my eyes, not daring to meet Ria’s gaze.

“Ah, I was wondering who it was. It’s that 3-man party that’s been mentioned a lot in the news lately, huh? So you’ve already made it to the 20th layer, is that right? That’s damn fast.” (David)

“I see, so you’ve brought along some famous people, Xenia-san. I’m guessing they came on the conditions that you lent out the tent next to us?” (Thema)

“As perceptive as always, Thema-san. That’s what happened, so I’m going to lend out the tent next door. Anyway, you three can go back inside now.” (Xenia)

With Xenia’s permission, the three of them went back into the tent, but I kept looking at Ria until they disappeared from sight. It seemed that Aruna and Rosalie were also staring at Ria. As the three of us stood there dumbfounded, Xenia started to giggle at us.

“So you’re curious about Ria, huh? They may seem weird on the outside, but they’re not as weird as they appear, so don’t worry about it.” (Xenia)

“S-Sorry for staring.” (Lewin)

“Ria chooses to look like that on purpose to attract stares, so I’m sure they’re satisfied. Anyway, it’s cool for you to use the tent next to us, so once you finish treating your wounds, come on back out.” (Xenia)

“Got it. Thank you!” (Lewin)

Taking Xenia-san on her kind offer, we entered the empty tent and began to get situated. I couldn’t really move my body, so I was pretty grateful that I didn’t have to set up a tent.