The party continued their exploration. When they entered the second level, the attacks by giant creatures only became more intense. Now they weren’t only facing single enemies; some attacked in packs.
“…” (Little Musashibo cut down a swarm of giant bats with a whirlwind attack.)
“Oh, you’re pretty good.”
“…” (Little Musashibo gave Dece a thumbs up.)
“…Hm? Hey, pal…”
“…” (Little Musashibo tilted his head to the side, as if to say, “What?”)
“There’re a number of little bats hanging off your back, you know…” Dece said.
“?!” (Little Musashibo flailed around.)
“Yeesh… Here, I’ll get them for you,” said Dece.
Allow me to explain. Little Musashibo had no sense of pain, and therefore hadn’t noticed he was getting bitten.
— A few minutes later.
Splish, splash.
“…” (Little Musashibo had fallen into a hole full of water and was thrashing around.)
Splish, splash.
“…” (“Hurry, help me,” he appealed to the party members.)
The sight made Julia and Febral feel warm and fuzzy inside.
“He looks like he’s playing around…” said Julia.
“He does,” Febral agreed.
“Hey, let’s hurry and help him!” Iuno said. “Come on, you too. Grab a hold already.”
Iuno reached out, pulling Little Musashibo up. Having been rescued, Little Musashibo bowed to Iuno again and again.
“…” (“Thank you so much! I will never forget your kindness!” he was saying.)
“Y-You don’t need to thank me,” Iuno stammered. “I owed you for before. It’s only natural for comrades to help one another.”
“…” (“You’re willing to recognize me as a comrade?!” He was overcome with emotion.)
“Wh-Who cares! Come on, let’s go already.”
“…” (“Ah, wait for me!” He chased after Iuno.)
Little Musashibo’s slow, easy footsteps faded into the distance. The remaining members of the party were dumbfounded.
“Iuno… Was she just talking with that kigurumi?” Dece asked.
“That was what it looked like to me,” Febral nodded. “The kigurumi didn’t say anything, though.”
Julia giggled. “If she was, it may have been the power of love…”
““Love?!”” The two men’s simultaneous response echoed through the dark tunnel.
— A few more hours later, the adventurers finally reached the third level.
Perhaps it had been built to be spacious, because the ceilings looked to be twenty meters high, and the paths were wide. This third level was the lowest in these underground passages. Though there had been some little mishaps along the way, their progress down here had been nothing if not smooth.
“This is no challenge,” Iuno said. “I can see why they said it was beginner level.”
“…” (Little Musashibo cocked his head to the side as if to say, “Really?”)
“We’re used to the monsters in dungeons, see,” Iuno explained. “No matter how ferocious they are, we’re not going to lose to some animals.”
“…” (He looked at her as if to say, “You say that, but you were awful scared of that snake…”)
“Th-That one doesn’t count! Everyone has things they’re afraid of!” Iuno burst out.
“…” (He shrugged his shoulders as if saying, “Sure, sure, I get it.”)
“Hey, if you’ve got something to say, say it!” she fumed. “If I got serious…”
The rest of the party looked on dumbfounded as the two argued back and forth in the underground tunnel. (Though Iuno was the only one talking.)
“Seriously, how is that conversation working?” Dece asked.
“I am inclined to start believing Julia’s suggestion of ‘love,’” Febral said.
Then, it happened.
“Huh?! Everyone, be on your guard!” Iuno shouted.
The relaxed atmosphere was blown away, and everyone got into position for battle. The way they could do this like flipping a switch was part of what made adventurers so impressive.
Dece asked, “Iuno, how many are there?”
“One,” she answered. “But it’s unbelievably huge.”
Thieves had sharp senses and could use the slightest sound or vibration to judge the precise number and size of opponents in another location.
“How big’re we talking here?” Dece asked.
“That giant snake was nothing in comparison,” she replied.
“This is just an underground passage, right?” Julia asked. “Why is there something so big here?”
Febral was the one to answer. “I’ve heard that, in underground spaces like this, creatures can grow to sizes that would be unthinkable under normal circumstances. Once they reach a certain size, they have no natural predators and, because temperatures stay about the same here year-round, rather than die, they just keep growing bigger.”
“So, you’re saying there’s one up ahead that got big like that?” Dece asked.
The moment those words left Dece’s mouth, the air shook. It didn’t take a thief’s skills to know that the massive whatever-it-was was almost upon them.
“It’s coming!” Iuno shouted.
The creature appeared. Its massive body nearly reached the ceiling, which was already high for an underground tunnel. It had slimy skin, and, unlike its mouth which looked like it could open big and wide, its eyes were so small they didn’t realize they were eyes at first.
““““A salamander!”””” the four shouted in unison.
Only one person (?), Little Musashibo, said, “…” (“A ridiculously huge salamander?!”), having a different reaction from the rest.
Dece couldn’t believe his eyes. “Oh, come on… Normally salamanders are maybe two meters long, at most, you know?”
“…” (“This world’s salamanders are usually the size of Komodo dragons?!”) Little Musashibo was surprised, but nobody was able to notice.
“This one looks like it’s clearly more than ten meters long,” Dece said.
“So they can grow to become this large…” Febral sounded impressed. “However, it is an issue that it’s a salamander. Their mucus is highly acidic. It would be dangerous to attack with melee weapons, and it’s resistant to heat. On the other hand, if we can freeze it, this could be an easy fight…”
“We don’t have anyone who can use ice magic,” Dece said. “If flames worked, Julia could’ve handled it with her magic, but… How about you, Mr. Kigurumi?”
“…” (“Nuh uh.” He shook his head.)
“Well, there’s nothing else for it, then…Let’s run,” said Dece, the party leader, calling for a retreat. “Our quest was to explore and investigate. There’s no need to overextend ourselves. If we just report that we found that thing, the castle ought to be able to send out a subjugation team later.”
“…I get what you’re saying, but can we get away so easily?” Febral asked.
As Febral pointed out, the salamander had the adventurers firmly in its sights.
Dece ground his back teeth, bringing up his shield and moving forward. “We’ll have to get away. Febral and Julia are fastest, so they go first. Iuno doesn’t have a lot of gear, so she can go next. Mr. Kigurumi, can I count on you to bring up the rear with me?”
“…” (“Okie-dokie!” He gave a thumbs-up.)
“Okay… Split!”
They all moved when Dece gave the order.
Febral and Julia ran back along the path they had come from, while Dece and Little Musashibo stayed behind, keeping the salamander in check. Iuno put her legs to good use, running around nimbly and confusing the salamander. The salamander tried to go after the two that fled but, with Dece and Little Musashibo blocking it and Iuno’s movements leaving it bewildered, it couldn’t make much progress forward.