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Miss Tsubaki was a rather strange person.
Ryoji remembered that when they first met on the 18th Floor, all the blacksmiths had been stunned by his charm and couldn't recover for quite some time. Only Miss Tsubaki had very quickly had her attention stolen away by the Vrring Blade.
Her love for weapons far surpassed everything else, much like a swordsman's love for their blade.
If you put it that way, I'm actually pretty tempted.
Ryoji muttered inwardly.
"Please forgive me, but I must decline. I'm not that casual of a person!"
Still, he righteously rejected Miss Tsubaki.
Sure, they're big, no argument there. If you had secretly come to negotiate with me in private, I might've hesitated a little longer, but what's the meaning of saying that right in front of Ais?
"Is there really no way?"
Miss Tsubaki looked extremely unwilling.
She really wanted it!
She was practically dying of impatience; it felt as if she couldn't get it, tonight would be utterly meaningless!
"It's not that I refuse to lend it to you. The main issue is that my sword is a little shy!"
Ryoji reached behind himself and pulled out a beautiful silver katana.
"...Where did you even pull that out from?"
Miss Tsubaki froze, looking him up and down but unable to find a single pocket on him.
"That's not the important part. Look."
Ryoji glossed over the issue and placed the Vrring Blade into Miss Tsubaki's hands.
Miss Tsubaki's eyes lit up, and she immediately accepted it with delight.
But the smile on her face quickly vanished.
The moment she held the Vrring Blade, it instantly dissolved into particles of light and disappeared without leaving even the slightest trace behind.
If not for the lingering sensation of having held the sword still remaining in her palm, she would have suspected she'd been hit by some illusion magic.
"See? I told you, my sword is very shy. It refuses to let anyone besides me hold it!"
Ryoji explained with a perfectly serious expression.
"...There's even...something like that?"
Tsubaki stared blankly at her palm, taking quite a while to process what had just happened.
"What is this? Some kind of magic? Or maybe a magic item? Why did it disappear...?"
But soon her eyes began sparkling again as she grabbed Ryoji and bombarded him with questions.
"So fascinating! Can you let me study it… wait, no, I guess I can't study it after all?"
Before Ryoji could even refuse, Tsubaki had already realized the problem herself.
"Then forget it... sigh..."
A weapon that got shy, this was her first time ever seeing such a thing!
Her curiosity had been stimulated to the extreme, but because she couldn't study it, her willpower instantly plummeted, making her look like someone who had just gone through heartbreak.
She left with a desolate expression.
Don't leave so quickly! I can let you chat with my sword a little more!
It may be shy, but with enough effort, it'll eventually become more outgoing!
Ryoji really wanted to shout that.
But after thinking about it, he decided against it.
A place like the Dungeon really wasn't suitable for doing perverted things.
If they had been on the surface, he probably could've ended up in bed with Miss Tsubaki tonight.
"Ryoji, what does 'sleeping together' mean?"
After Miss Tsubaki left, Ais tilted her head, confusion appearing on her face.
"It's nothing. It just means playing with cannons."
Ryoji waved his hand dismissively, clearly trying to brush the matter aside.
If he really gave her a detailed explanation, Riveria would definitely come looking for trouble with him afterward.
Ais frowned slightly. Ryoji's perfunctory attitude made her feel like she was being fooled.
She might not be good with words, but that didn't mean she didn't know how to think.
…
The phosphorescent glow above gradually dimmed.
Portable magic stone lamps lit up throughout the campsite on the rocky platform.
The Dungeon was alive, this was common knowledge among adventurers. It could actively give birth to life, and it also imitated the conditions of the outside world, using the glow of phosphorescence and crystals to simulate day and night.
At this moment, night had arrived. With the loss of natural light, the surroundings were plunged into darkness, and adventurers could no longer clearly make out scenery even a few kilometers away.
"Dinner's ready!"
Following a shout from the dinner team, around forty members from the Loki Familia and the Hephaestus Familia put down whatever they had been doing, stepped out of their tents, and made their way to the center of the camp while chatting and laughing.
A large pot was set over a bonfire, with a pot of meat stew simmering inside.
"Whoa, we get meat tonight?"
"Well, we finally made it this far, so of course we should reward ourselves a little!"
"Don't be stupid, this is prepared for the captains and executives."
Amid the scattered chatter, Ryoji and Ais also arrived and sat cross-legged around the bonfire.
"Here you go!"
Line walked over and smilingly handed white porcelain bowls to the two of them.
"Thanks, Line."
Ryoji thanked her and accepted the bowl and utensils.
Most of the food consisted of fruits gathered from the nearby forest and dried meat brought from the surface, plus steaming hot meat soup ladled from the pot. During an expedition, this counted as an exceptionally luxurious meal.
"You'll be entering unexplored territory next, so make sure to replenish your nutrition properly."
Line's smile was as gentle as ever.
Back when Ryoji was still Level 1, she had already been Level 2. Now Ryoji had reached Level 5, while she was still Level 2, once again accompanying the expedition in her role as a healer.
"Alright, let's do one final confirmation."
Finn sat atop a cargo container at the highest point. He took a sip of meat soup to wet his throat before slowly speaking, drawing everyone's attention.
Including Ryoji, everyone's expressions turned serious.
"As announced beforehand, we did not accept any adventurer commissions this time. The purpose is to conserve our strength and unleash all of it on the monsters in the deeper floors!"
"Starting from the 51st Floor, we'll form a strike team made up of designated personnel. The remaining members will stay behind with the Hephaestus Familia to defend the camp."
Ryoji looked toward the flat tunnel in the distance.
The territory below this point was so dangerous that even a First-Class Adventurer entering alone might die without leaving a corpse behind. Because of that, the party needed an even more streamlined formation, venturing forth in squad units.
Even supporters needed to possess a certain level of ability.
"The strike team members are: myself, Riveria, Gareth…"
Finn rattled off the names of all eight executives in one breath, including Ryoji.
To set foot in unexplored territory, they had to give it everything they had. Every executive was indispensable.
"And the supporters are: Raul, Alicia, Narvi, Cruz, Lefiya… those five."
The first four were all executive candidates, each possessing Level 4 strength, responsible for carrying weapons, potions, and other supplies. Lefiya, meanwhile, was Riveria's successor and served as an extremely powerful artillery mage.
Hearing this, Lefiya, seated not far away, immediately tensed up.
But at that moment, everyone was focused on listening to Finn, so no one noticed the change in her expression.
"Aki will stay behind to command the camp. We brought thirty magic swords this time. The strike team will take fifteen, and the remaining fifteen will stay in camp. If those caterpillar-type new species monsters appear again, use the magic swords to engage them."
"Yes!"
The black-haired catgirl nodded with a resolute expression.
"Tonight, I only have one request of all of you: restore your mental energy and gather your fighting spirit. I will not tolerate any of you showing up tomorrow morning sleep-deprived or in poor condition!"
"Understood."
The members of the strike team all nodded in agreement.
(End of Chapter)