SIDE: Sherry.

　I'm always on the receiving end.
　I can't tell you how many times I've sworn that next time I won't just be protected. .......

　The first time Leo protected me was on my eighth birthday.
　The scene of all those black guys coming toward me is still fresh in my mind.
　But it's not quite as scary a memory as it sounds.
　Leo was cool. I have that scene recorded in my head as a memory of how cool Leo was.
　Leo's back swinging his sword at a bunch of people ...... was really cool.

　But ...... at the same time I was often angry with myself for being so protected.
　Normally, a princess like the one in the story would be content to be protected by a brave man.
　Always just a healthy dose of bravery waiting for a brave man to help: ......
　Would you rather be a princess like that than continue to resist in vain?

　Because no matter how hard I try, no matter how hard I practice my magic, I can't handle it at any given moment!
　When I was kidnapped, when I was surrounded by demons in the underground city, when the school was blown up, I ended up being protected!

　No matter how hard I try, I can only be the one being protected?
　Am I doomed to not watch Leo get hurt for me?
　I don't want to!　I don't like it!

...... Lee, Shelly!

Ummm, yeah, .......

'Did you have a bad dream?　You were having a nightmare.

...... Lina.
　Dream or .......
　I was reassured by the worried look on Leena's face as she looked at me and the warmth of Lou's hand in my right one .

'What's wrong?　If you need any help, I'm here for you, okay?

Mm. I'm fine.
　It's been a long time coming.
　Besides, this nightmare isn't going to change by talking to you.

Really?　You looked like you were in a lot of pain?

Thank you for worrying about me. But I'm fine.

Okay. ...... Okay. Well then, let's get some more sleep.
　Then Leena gently squeezes my left hand with her right hand.

'Yeah. . good night.
　Feeling the warmth of my hands, I was back in the dream world.


　It was now well into the day and Leo was walking me to the dungeon entrance.
"So I should pick you up in the evening, right?

Yes. Thank you. I'll let you know when it's done.

Okay. I'll be back to get you as soon as I hear from you.

Please!　Well, I'm off then!

Don't take it easy.


　As soon as we entered the dungeon, I gave my instructions.
'Then we'll go on as usual!

""Yes."

　The usual is that Belle and Lou are the vanguard and I and Leena are the rear guard .
　Lou is the vanguard because I forbid Lou to use destruction magic, not ...... to keep Belle from getting involved in destruction magic.
　Leo is mistaken, we are not relying on Lou's destruction magic to conquer the labyrinth, even though we did rely on it the first time.
　We're hiding in the dungeon to get stronger, so it's not going to be that easy!
　Well, I won't tell him because I want him to be surprised when he's stronger.

　So I've been having Lou fight with a knife.
　Do you think you'll have to give her a level head start to get used to it?　I was thinking ...... I knew that even if I was a slave, the demon race, and even if I gave them a knife, they were still strong.
　The difference between races seems to be greater than we thought.
　The two fighting races (Belle and Lou) slay more and more demons by themselves, so the rear guard doesn't have much work to do.
　If I had let Roo use destructive magic, I'd have more time on my hands, so I'm happy about that.

　Generally speaking, I'm in charge of magic attacks and instructions, Leena is in charge of recovery and recording maps, Belle is in charge of warning traps, and Lou is in charge of cutting down demons for the time being.
　That's how we're going to attack the dungeon.


We'll take the shortest route to the third floor and find the boss's room on the fourth level. Leena, show me the way!

Yes, sir.

　First of all, the one-level boss ...... large number of goblins will be instantly frozen by my magic . I can't wear out Bell and his friends' energy here. Leaving the frozen goblins alone, we move on to the next two floors.

　The second level is dominated by two orcs so big they're almost as big as houses.
　One hit from an orc and we'd be wiped out.
　I can kill them all without letting Belle and Lou attack one by one with magic.

　And the third level boss is the very fast-moving kobold.
　My magic can't hurt her, so I'll let Belle and Lou take care of it.

　It's true that those two...... especially Belle are moving like crazy.
　It's a little scary to see her smile in the middle of battle when she's always so quiet.


　Maybe he doesn't realize it: .......

　And the fourth level in question .
　The fourth level is crawling with slimes that can't be attacked by physical attacks.
　That's why we can't rely on Belle and Lou to attack like we usually do: .......
　You can easily defeat them by using magic, but I'm the only one who can use attack magic and I want to keep Lou's destruction magic out of it.

　So yesterday, I gave up on the attack early and went home to spend the night with my sister Elle and the five of us thinking of a strategy.
　And then I came up with this idea: use the magic gun and sword to kill the slimes.

　Leena and Belle will use the magic gun and Lou will use the knife-shaped magic sword to advance.
Then we must first see if the magic gun works on the slime. Leena, can you try shooting that slime?

Yeah. Oh, that worked.
　Leena shot, and the slime was pierced by magic.
　And the slime turned to light and disappeared.
　Mm. Just as I suspected.

Great. You try to kill it next time.

Okay!　Ei!
　As I asked, Lou snapped the slime in half with his flaming knife.
　That's good. It seems that physical attacks also work well if you're using magic.

Good: ...... So now we can proceed with the attack.
　We're still on the fourth level, so we have to advance as efficiently as possible.

''But I have a feeling we'll be relying on Shelly-san for the next boss.
　As I was relieved, Belle muttered something like that while shooting a magic gun at the slime .
　Surely, if it's still the same as before, it's a strong boss ...... could be something like that?

I hope not: ......


　A few days later.
　And so on and so forth, and then it really happened.
'After all, guns don't work when you're this big.
　The ridiculously large slime that was the boss of the fourth level, the ridiculously large slime, hadn't been injured even when Belle fired her magic gun at it .

''Knives don't work either~''
　Lou, too, was in a hand-over-hand pose, thrusting a flaming knife into the air.

　And .
'My magic isn't powerful enough either.
　Even my sister-in-law's water magic, the only one other than me who could use attack magic, wasn't that effective against the giant slime.

　Oh, come to think of it, recently my sister-in-law also started attacking dungeons with me.
　She can use magic or carry a sword, and her fighting style is just like Leo and Damien's. This reminded me of how great the Forster family is.
　I've always been an adventurer, and having your experienced sister-in-law here for the past few days has been a great help.

The only way to do this is to use high-powered magic to pierce the core at once. So, Sherry!　It's done!

Yes!
　For now, I fired my signature lightning magic at the slime with maximum firepower.

Yes, ...... just one more time. ....... Shelly, give me one more shot ...... Ah, the slime is starting to move!　Everybody get ready.
　The slime, which had been cut in half in volume by my attack, changed shape angrily and spikes protruded from its entire body .

''I have a bad feeling about something ...... .
　As your sister-in-law said this, slime spikes were shot out in all directions .

　Each spike was the size of a person, and if it stung, it would kill them instantly......
Watch out!
　As I shouted that, I unconsciously wrapped everyone in freezing magic.
　And the ice magic firmly protected everyone from the spikes.

　Phew, you managed to save everyone from dying. .......
　I don't want to see Leena and her friends die in front of me even once, even if they say it's okay to die.
　With that thought in mind, I melted the ice.

'Thank you, Shelly!　Quite a feat!

Yes, no: ......

Thank you for protecting me, Shelly.

Hey, don't worry about it.

Good. I'll take over as a shield for you next time!　Shelly, even if it takes a long time to do so, hit that slime with a huge spell and unleash it!

Yes!

'Belle, Lou, we'll get the slime's attention ourselves!

Yes!
　Then, while everyone was getting the slime's attention, I deployed my magic again.
　This time I'll decide. With that in mind, I bided my time and created a large clump of lightning above my head to shower the slime with even more powerful magic than before.

''Everyone avoid!
　I shouted and made sure everyone avoided me before I unleashed an oversized spell at the giant slime.

Wow, you've managed to defeat it. Way to go, Shelly!

'I knew Shelly's magic was awesome!　Boom!　and the walls of the dungeon were caved in!

Oh, thank you. ......


　Phew, have you grown up from being a little bit of a protected princess ......?
　That's what I thought as people praised me.