Hey, guys!

On my way back from praying at the fountain at the save point, I was approached by an elderly adventurer who was standing nearby.
He must be a warrior, for he was wearing full body armor.

Behind him, a group of about fifty people was taking a rest. A multi-party clan.

The old warrior strokes his beard and asks, "What's this?

'By any chance, didn't you fall from the sky just now?

I laugh. Prine slinks behind me.

'Oh, did you see that?
'Well, yeah. Well, I didn't think there were daredevils who would go down the "Grim Reaper Falls". And at such a young age. Hmm, is it because I'm young?
''The guides didn't tell us.
That's a disaster. Hmm, was it luck in the end?'
'I wonder which one it is.

He shrugs.
Uncle Warrior held out his hand.

'I'm Mark. I'm a level 18 warrior. I used to be in the party of the "heroes," but the average level there is higher these days. I left there and now I'm a member of the Green Flame clan.

Ha-ha-ha," laughs the old man warrior.
An old adventurer who left the brave party, huh, I've heard that somewhere .......
No, it's just my imagination, yeah. It's a street play in town or something. I think it was funny.

Since you don't seem to be a bad person and the clan over there seems to be decent, I'll introduce myself without hiding.

My name is 'Rana. Mage level 1'.
I am Prine. I'm a mage level 18.

It immediately hit him, or Mark, who exclaimed in surprise.

'Rana and Prine are ......! You two rookies! Hey, guys! There's the 'Rookie of the Year'!"

They called your friends. Oh, well. There aren't that many of them, so it shouldn't be too much trouble.

It's Mr. Rana! That's so cool. ......!'
'The real Prine! Cute ......!'

Me and Prine, receiving such praise from adventurers of both s*xes. I'm embarrassed.

I spin around and change into a tuxedo.
I take off my hat and bow in the spotlight that my magic trick has created.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. I am Rana Prata.

'Kiaaaaah! Master Rana!
'Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm a real clown!'

Everyone is excited. They're really in the groove.

Of course, Prine joined in with them, saying, "Rah! I'll introduce her as well.

And this is my precious lover and partner, the genius mage Prine!

'Kyaaaah! You look so good together!
'Whoa oh whoa! It's all the more refreshing when it's said head-on! But explode!''

'Ra,rah kuhn ...... I'm so embarrassed ......'

Prine fidgeting with her hood up. Cute.

Then we all exchanged guild cards and shook hands.

I received a few recovery items as an apology for holding them back and as a thank-you for exchanging guild cards.

There was still some time before the river would fill up, so I decided to talk with Mark.

Near the spring, there is a large log house that can accommodate several parties. The water does not seem to rise this far.

We sat on a bench in the front yard, had a light meal, and talked.

'You two made it this far by yourselves. That's really amazing.
''We had a lot of help from many people along the way.
'It's thanks to you, Mr. Ra.

Me and Prine answer.

Mark stroked his beard.

'From here on out, it's tough for parties that don't belong to a clan. ....... Well, you guys might be able to handle it.

He laughs and I ask him.

'Were you in the party of the "heroes", Mr. Mark?
'Yes. But as I said before, I left a while ago.

Mr. Mark looks at me with a faraway look in his eyes, as if reminiscing about those days.

He was a good guy, but he was too good a guy to let me, the slow learner, leave the party. The others were looking at me too, so I quit. I hope he's doing well. ......'

Mark-san, who spoke in a kind tone, looked like a father who was more worried about his "brave man" than about being forced to leave the party.





'What do you think? He was really a terrible jerk, and the old man was just forced to leave the group. He might just be lying because he doesn't want people to think he was forced to quit.

When I mentioned this to him, he did not try to hide his bad mood after waking up from sleep.

However, he suddenly added in a hurry.

I'm not teaching you because I'm worried that you'll be fooled easily! Don't get me wrong!

Easy to understand.

I got some 'pickled cana fish' from Mark and the others.


'Really? Wow, I love this! You're pretty good!

Captain Child jumps at the sake knob with a twinkle in his eye. I wonder if he drinks with this look. And I'm now convinced that 'pretty good' is a compliment in her own way.

Yummy! I think that I can understand his concern as I see Captain Kyu-gyu smiling with his hand on his cheek (he has already eaten?).

My inn was built a little closer to the dungeon at first, but it had to be moved to the current location due to various obstacles like rights of interest and territoriality. The resentment and bitterness of people is a frightening thing. There was even an assassin who turned his left arm into a demon and held a grudge against us.

I am sure that Prine understands this more than I do. She was bullied in an orphanage when she was little, and when she grew up she was envied for her good looks.

Still, to our relief, the adventurers in this dungeon are much nicer than we expected.

The deeper we dived, the deeper we went.

The higher the level, the more good people there are.

Well, maybe we are just lucky.

At the end of the talk, Mark said something like this.



I hate to say this, but be careful with the clan "Silver Wings". I hate to say this, but beware of the "Silver Wings" clan. They have a lot of low-level adventurers and take them deep into the depths, but they only think of them as baggage carriers or shields.

'That's a ...... thing.'

'You guys are at a high job level, so it won't be like that, but it's dangerous. It's their usual method to crush rookies who are just starting to make their mark and bring them into their ranks.

'You mean the stakes are high?
'Not all of them are good guys here, either.



I talked to Mr. Mark.
'Look at this! Okay? You guys just happen to meet a bunch of nice guys, but adventurers are rough guys, you know! And yet, you are the ones who let your guard down and are the only ones who can get together with the other clans and ......'.

They are so worried about me. Is that your mother?

'Ha-ha, thank you very much.'
'What are you smiling so happily! I'm not an idiot!

'Mr. Kugyu is so kind, isn't he?'
'Bubba--! I'm not at all happy to hear you say that!

Captain Ching-mai's face is bright red and he waves his hands in the air. Cute.

Then he shouted with a sharp look on his face.

The water is going to rise soon. You guys better get ready! The river is raging at night, let's break through at once!
''Oh!

Dungeon, 19th level.

Together with the tsundere child captain, let the attack begin!