After getting ready for the search and buying the portable food of our choice in the square, it's time for the second search.

We've seen it before, but it's a lot of work to prepare. I'm glad you're prepared and ready to team up with Arihito.
Oh, please don't call me Ane-san... I'm younger than you, Ane-kun.
'Haha, sorry, I'm sorry. That's a bit of a verbal ayah, isn't it?

　I used to have a complex at the sound of being a younger section chief, but now it's different again. I'm the senior and leader of the team, and I have to show my worthiness to Igarashi-san, who is four years younger than me, in my own way. I won't get beaten up for saying that, but I'm sure he'll be pissed off.

Take care of yourself. You may be able to reach the depths of Akebono's Field today. It's only three layers of depth, though, so you'd better always think about your return.

　Rival-san sees us off and we enter the labyrinth. The plains spread out with the same brightness as yesterday - does the time of day not fluctuate in the labyrinth? Maybe it's just because it's the "Field of Dawn" that it's always the same time of day.

　◆Current Party ◆.

　1: Aricht *◆$□ Level 2
　2: Kyouka Valkyrie Level 1
　3: Theresia, Rogue, Level 3, Mercenary.

Today, Igarashi-san and Theresa will be the two vanguards.
'Yeah, okay. I can't wait to try out my new weapon.
..........

　The first thing I need to do is re-set the formation. As long as Theresia was a mercenary, she had to set it up every time. Just by calling out to her, the license display was also changed in conjunction with her.

　◆ The formation in battle ◆

　1: Aricht, rear guard.
　2: Kyouka Avant-garde
　3: Theresa, vanguard.

　Currently, I don't want to leave the vanguard to Igarashi-san alone, and have the two of us spread out the target. Since both of them are melee weapons, it would be easier for them to coordinate. It would also be easy for one person to receive the attack and the other to attack.

　If there was a position like a heavy armor soldier, specializing in shield equipment, I would ask that person to be a wallflower. I haven't seen anyone capable of heavy armor in District 8 so far, as their physical abilities seem to grow with their level and their equipment weight increases with their level. They don't sell them, and even if they could make them, they would need a large amount of ore.

''Let's walk around for a bit and test out the new formation against the Watadama.
All right. It's such a relief to be around people...

　She says sullenly. I wonder if she was walking around yesterday as an oopsie. I would have been, too, if it weren't for Theresa.

　And within three minutes of walking, Theresia readies her equipment. The rogue seems to have a wide search range due to his skills, and he was quicker to notice it than Igarashi and me.

　◆The demons we encountered ◆

　Watadama: Level 1 Vigilance Drop: ?

(Hmm....what?　Is Watadama itself not in the drop stuff? (What is it that you have in a different frame of reference...?

They're coming!

　After looking at it this way, I realized that I need the vanguard to position themselves so that my line of fire is open, otherwise I can't fire a sling. Normally, the easiest thing to do would be to use a restraining shot, or at least to finish them off with a preemptive attack.

　However, there are some things I have to try. The first one - does my skill only activate against a designated opponent, or is it all the companions in front of me?

''Igarashi-san, I'll 'support' you!
Huh...!

　The moment Watadama jumped on Igarashi-san, I shouted. First, I designate Igarashi-san and activate 'Support Defense'.

　◆Current Situation ◆

　Arihito's 'Support and Defense 1' is activated → Target: Kyouka

　Watadama's fierce body strike was easily blocked by the barrier covering Igarashi-san. Igarashi-san held her shield at the ready, but when she saw the enemy blown up, she judged it to be an opportunity and pushed forward with her spear at the ready.

''--Seyaa!

　Current Situation

　Kyouka's attack hits Watadama for supporting damage of 10.
　Defeat one Watadama.

(You don't have to utter a voice each time to get support to come through. Okay, I can just stay in the back.)

　Lance's attack seems to have gone through, but the support damage rides on, and Watadama is blown away by the invisible force that hit him. It's a strange sight at any time, but what is Igarashi-san's response?

'That was an amazing thrust, Igarashi-san. As expected of a former naginata club.......eh, what's wrong?

　Igarashi-san, who slowly turned around, had an extremely happy - if I may say so - ecstatic face.


'Ha, yes. My job allows me to support the vanguard. It's not like being a wizard or a monk either.

　Igarashi-san stabbed her spear into the ground and held her shield, then put her free hand to her cheek and huffed.

''........Did it feel good, perhaps?''
'Yeah ... that was so good ...'

(No, I mean the invincible mode kind of exhilaration or something like that)

　My supportive skills that make the war maiden (Valkyrie) ecstatic. That's why Theresia would think I might be a good person, too.

'Because when we fought yesterday, I attacked with all my might five times, and she finally collapsed. But this time, Zash!　And then, boom!　He said. It's so refreshing.
Igarashi-san, you said you relieve your stress at the batting center and by hitting all the time.
'I'm not at that level anymore. I think I could be on a show that airs on Sunday mornings or something like that now.

　I've never seen you this excited before and I honestly didn't expect you to be so happy with my skills, so I'm glad to be honest. I wonder if the Sunday morning show is a transformation anime, a sentai show, or a modified human type?

'Hey rear end, let's do it again. Watadama could be worth five copper coins.
Yes, that's what I'm going to do. Then let's look for the next enemy. Since Theresia has a wide search range, Igarashi-san, please step back for a moment. Also, since I'll be providing cover fire as well, next time, just the first time, can you leave some space for me to shoot?
Yeah, okay. It's not going to hurt as much as it would if I hit my back.

　I definitely want to avoid accidental shooting too. As a 'rearguard', I wonder if I can get a skill that doesn't hit my friends from behind - I can't wait to get it up to 3rd level.

　Come to think of it, I still have some skill points left over, should I check the skills I can get at level 2? I only want to take the skills I need and keep the points, though, so three support skills are enough for now.

　As I was thinking about it, I realized that I was about to pick up my watadama to put it in my knapsack. There's something like a stone stuck to my head.

''It looks like this is what you call a drop item.
'You got the treasure?　It's a sparkling, beautiful stone.

　I wonder if this is an ore. It's a green, round stone that appears to be metallic.

　Depending on the individual, ore may be produced on the head - could it be a piece of bone, or something like the secretion of a cotton ball? I feel like I've seen the mysteries of demons.

　◆ ◇◆.

　Then I encountered Watadama again, and when I looked at the drop column, I realized what the green stone was.

　It's called "wind agate". Watadama moves like a gale, so it must be a wind-attribute demon.

　You don't have to dig for the ore to get some of it. I never imagined what kind of ore could be obtained in this plain, but it seems that if we continue to defeat the Watadama, a large amount of ore can be obtained. It's a weak demon, though, so the armor that can be made from wind agate might not be of much value.

''........Hmm?''

　The next thing that came out was a cotton candy and something the size of a fist floating in the air.

''Oh, rear-end-kun........oh, that's a big bee.......aaaaah!
"--Igarashi-san, 'support'!　After defending, avoid the side!

　The demons in the sky attacked Igarashi-san and Watadama attacked Theresa. I watched the movement, praying that I would succeed.

　◆Current Situation ◆

　Aricht's 'Supportive Defense 1' has been activated →Target: Kyouka and Theresa

(Okay ... all of the vanguard will be assisted!

　With a bashin, what looks like a bee and Watadama's body hit the 'Support Defense'. Igarashi-san jumped back to the side with her shield at the ready as instructed, and I fired a "Blaze Shot" at that moment.

''Hit me........!

　Current Situation

　Aricht's Blaze Shot activates and hits the Dokuyari bee.
　The "Dodger bee" is burning.

Jeez!

　I don't know how much of a blow went in, but after being played by the 'supportive defense', Hachitaro's movements slowed down and he was able to hit it even with my aim.

''Yaaaah...!
"-Oh!

　Igarashi thrust his spear at the burning wasp. Teresia silently fleshes out Watadama and flashes her shortsword at him.

　◆Current Situation ◆

　Kyouka's attack hits the bee. Support damage 10
　Theresa's attack hits Watadama for 10 sustained damage.
　Defeat Watadama and Dokuyari bee.

That's a surprise. I heard that bees can die of anaphylaxis if they are stung...

　It was dangerous to be stung twice by the same kind of bee. But poison is not something that can be invaded even once. Louisa-san must have been worried about me getting poisoned yesterday because of this demon's presence.

''Your wings are melted because your rear end slingshot hit it. This slowed him down, so my spear must have hit him. Did you do the math on it, Rear-kun?
'No, it would be cool if it was, but it's just a normal coincidence.
'Oh, I see. But I'm still glad you made a weapon that can do 'Blaze'.

　It's true that I couldn't kill the quick bees' mobility, and I wouldn't be able to see if I got poisoned without being able to hit their attacks.

　Since the weapon was made from the redface that appears on this plain, does that mean it's useful in this area? At any rate, the search is off to a good start so far.

''Shall we go to the second level soon? Be careful of the demons along the way.
'Yes, I'm not tired at all yet, and I want to raise the bar, so I need to get them to keep coming. You just have to be careful with the bees.


　By the time we arrived near the entrance of the second level, we had realized the size of one level of this labyrinth and killed fifteen Watadama and six Dokuyaribachi.

　Even with the maximum use of everyone's bags, we couldn't fit all of them in the Watadama. Watadama are light but large in volume - we should try to bring back only demons that are easy to carry as much as possible and have good conversion efficiency. Or, I'd like to add a companion with material stripping skills.