111-Episode 110




The mining city of Novan was developed from the mining center of Norvania.
As a result, there are many entrances to the mines in the city.

And the one we're at now is one of those entrances.

'Wow, ...... do we have to go down this ......?

Satsuki looked into the entrance of the tunnel and shuddered at the sight.

I followed Satsuki and looked into the tunnel.
The diameter of the hole was a little larger than a man's outstretched arms, and as we got closer to the bottom, the light from the outside did not reach us, and it was pitch black and we could not see anything.

Above the hole, there was a triangular roof shaped like the ceiling of a hut, with a pulley and a rope for ascending and descending, and the rope was hanging down toward the bottom of the hole.
The end of the rope was probably connected to a hanging basket at the bottom of the pit, and the pulley system was used to lift the mined ore.

On the other hand, the only mechanism for people to go up and down this pit seems to be a ladder set up on one wall.
If you descend carefully, it is unlikely that you will fall down, but the fact that you have to descend through this hole is indeed somewhat frightening.

'...... The miners who work here go up and down this every day, don't they? Isn't anyone going to slip and fall?'

Cyril asks, clutching the chest of his priest's robe, as if he feels the same way I do.
The person he asks is the Dwarf miner who led us here.
The dwarf miner replies, rubbing his magnificent beard.

'Every few years or so, a dolt falls off. If you're careful, they don't fall off that often.

'So there are people who fall once every few years.

The dwarf miner replied to Mee's question as if it were nothing.
And then,

'But it was a rockworm, wasn't it? That creature has eaten and killed many of our people in the last week or two. I heard that one of the dwarven vigilantes who went to kill it was killed by surprise. They must be driven out of this mine at all costs.

His eyes blazed with hatred.

'But we're not strong enough to fight and defeat that monster. Please, avenge your people.

The dwarf miner bowed to us.
I looked at Satsuki, Mee, and Cyril, and we nodded at each other.

'Yeah, I promise we'll do the best job we can. By the way, I heard that Rockworm was found in some tunnels.

'Yes. I'm sure they're guiding the other adventurers who came with you to the other tunnels now.

I asked for confirmation, and the answer came back as I expected.
In other words, two parties of adventurers are trying to conquer the two tunnels at the same time.

'If the monsters in the tunnels aren't eliminated, we miners won't be able to work. The mayor has banned all miners from entering the tunnels.

I guess that's fair. If rock worms have been found in several tunnels in this mine, it is inappropriate to assume that the tunnels where they have not yet been found are safe.

'Yeah, that's what the mayor said. But if it goes on forever, we'll dry up. The mayor is giving us some time off now, but he says that won't last forever. Our lives depend on it, as well as the lives of our people. I'm counting on you, adventurers.

'Yes, sir. I'll do my best.'

I replied, and the dwarven miner bowed to us again before leaving.
He must have gone to report to the mayor that the tour was over.

'Well... let's go, then.

I said, and Satsuki, Mee, and Cyril nodded.
Then, Mee suggested the following.

'Is it okay if we go down in the order of Mee, Satsuki, William and Cyril?

'Yeah, that's good, right? That's the order if you think about danger detection and combat power.

Since I agreed with Satsuki, I nodded my head in agreement.
But...

'Wait, can you wait a minute? The ...... can I go down before William?

It was Cyril who had the temerity to say such a thing.
She fidgeted in her priestly robes, her cheeks tinted in some way, and she glanced at me, then looked away shyly when our eyes met.

'......? Why, Cyril? I don't think there's anything wrong with swapping the permutations, but I don't understand why.

'No, it's not that I don't trust that ...... William. It's just that ...... I'm more concerned about ...... it would be bad if it caused me to lose my footing on the ladder. ......'

'What are you talking about ......? Oh, you mean that thing.'

That's when I finally remembered.
That was, I believe, the third quest after I started adventuring with this party.

The Count of Goldert's court sorceress, Alice, was conducting research on the undead... and we invaded her experimental site.
And that was when we tried to descend to the underground testing ground through a hole in a lodge halfway up the mountain.

At that time, we tried to go down the shaft in the same order as I just described.
But at that time, I made the mistake of looking down at the inside of Cyril's robe, which was coming down after us.

'...... I'm sorry, I forgot about that blunder. I guess it's true that the victim remembers, but the perpetrator forgets. I'm sorry.

I bow my head to Cyril.
But as I did so, Cyril denied it, looking flustered and flustered.

'No, no. It was my fault, but the order in which I go down is a matter of my feelings. ...... As I said before, I'm just uncomfortable, but William is not bad and I trust him.

For some reason, Cyril was desperately trying to find an excuse.
And then Satsuki interrupted him from the side.

'Oh, I wondered what you were talking about. You mean the one where William saw Cyril's pants before?

'...Hey! Don't call me pants! I was trying to wrap it up in an offhand way!

'...... Oh, really? But it's okay, right? I'm sure Cyril likes William too. So it's okay for him to see my pants.

'Of course not! If that's the case, Satsuki, why don't you pull them up right now and show them to him? Can you do it?

'Oh, ......, that's certainly not good. Well, that's not good. But you don't have to be so angry.

'...... I mean, what are you two talking about out loud? We're in the city, after all.




She looked around and was relieved to see that there was no one nearby.

Then she coughed, her cheeks reddening, and said.

'...... Well, since that's the case, can I go down first?

But then Satsuki, with a grin on her face, interrupted.

'But then, Cyril, you'll get to see William's pants... Ouch! Cyril hit him!

'Of course he didn't! Are you stupid? Hey Satsuki, are you stupid?

'What, it's just a joke. You don't have to be so angry. ...... But when I saw you get so angry, I thought you meant it... Ouch! You hit me again!

'Don't you ever open your mouth again!

'Oh, my God. ......'

...... Cyril was somehow broken. She even violated Satsuki, albeit mildly.
She is usually a quiet girl, so I found her appearance to be a bit refreshing.