We went down the hierarchy with no problem at all.
　Then we arrived at the tenth level.
　While descending the stairs that connect the nine and ten levels, I read out the paper that Mea-san took out.

'The boss of this labyrinth is a demon called Poison Snake.
Poison Snakes, huh?
It's a giant snake, to put it bluntly.

　A snake, huh?

Does that mean they're going to launch a poisonous attack?
...I suppose. And I hear it's resistant to poison.

　So, the current attack of poisoning it and then slowly grinding it away won't work, right?　Well, you can try it for now.

"I'll drink this poison resistant potion beforehand against their poison, so there's no problem.
'Poison resistance potions........is there such a thing?'
Yeah. I have ten of them ready. One of these will give you about five minutes of effect. We can fight for twenty-five minutes together.
....

　I turn my attention to the poison resistant potion.
　...can be created, she says, with an F-grade.
　All of the potions she brought me were F-rated.

What's the matter, Relius?
''I was just wondering, is there a case where each potion has a different effect time?''
Yeah, sure. But it's all in about five minutes. Rest assured, it's my own personal choice of potion. All for good effect.

　.........Mea-san.
　Come to think of it, she was dressed in equipment with a negative effect on her whole body.

　I guess she's no good at connoisseurship. No, I would have been on the same level as Mea-san if it weren't for the blacksmith.
　For her to become famous as an adventurer in the future, the first thing she will have to do is to partner with someone who can be a connoisseur.

''Mea-san. These potions, they're all F-rated.
'Wha...?　No way!　.........Oh, by the way, did Lelius can see the ranks too?
Yes...... Maybe, Mea-san. I don't think I'm much of a connoisseur.

　I tell her with a heartbeat, thinking of her future.
　With a shudder, Mea slackened her ears and tail.

'In the future, when you buy something for yourself, you might as well buy something you feel bad about.
Oh, yeah.
Or you can find a fellow connoisseur.
Okay.

　Mea-san said without energy.
　For now, I take the potion from Mea-san and destroy it with my hammer.
　Then, I spend my magic power to create a potion.

　The first one is A-ranked. It's roughly equivalent to a B to S rank.

Come to think of it, Lelius can make potions too!　You've rebuilt it!
'Yes. I think this will all last at least five minutes. All of them have a rank of B or better.
'Really?　That's great, Lelius!　...I'm sorry, I'm sorry to make you have to clean up my mess.
'I don't mind it at all. I've been able to create new potions as well. Also, I'll give you a state recovery potion just in case.

　I quickly handed some of the potions to Mair-san.
　Then Mea's eyes widened.

'I wondered why ... but you can make Relius.
...Yes. What's going on?
There aren't many state recovery potions on the market these days. They're commanding a high price.
...Oh, I see.

　I've only been looking at skilled equipment lately, so I wasn't familiar with those circumstances.
　I'll have to check with Krua-san later.

''Is this what the preparations look like?
Yeah. If anything goes wrong, we'll use an escape ball. We'll have to make our own decision.
I understand.

　However, it will probably be Mea-san who will make that decision.
　I'm just going to repeat the basic mid-range battle.
　After Mair-san uses it, I can use it to escape.

And, you know what? The only thing you have to watch out for is the poison mist that you use when the normal poison snake is weak.
The poisonous fog?
Yeah. That poison seems to be the only one that releases a stronger poison than normal. That's why even a poison resistant potion can't protect against it.
I see. I get it. But since I'm mostly covering you from mid-range, you should be more careful, mea-san, right?
I know.

　Mea-san smiles.
　Taking that as our cue, we went down to the tenth level.


　00


　A huge snake was looking down at us.
　........The snake moved as if it were sliding on the earth. The trees that were caught in it snapped off from the root.
　It was probably about thirteen meters long.

　The poison snake finds us and squints at us happily.
　It reacted as if it had found a bait.

''Well, let's do it!

　At the same time as Mea shouts out, she takes out her divine weapon.
　The flamberge erupts in fire. It's as if Mea-san's motivation has shifted.
　As Mea-san closed the distance in one fell swoop, Poison Snake spat poisonous liquid at her.

　Mea-san received it with her sword. The fire that erupted from the swung sword burned the poisonous liquid in an instant.
　It's still a great amount of heat.

　Perhaps because Mea-san wielding it was the owner, she didn't look hot at all.
　........well, it's too hot to touch the divine weapon, how embarrassing.

　As Mea-san gets closer, Poison Snake swings its tail down.
　I can't watch it forever either.
　I move so that I'm in Poison Snake's line of sight and throw the knife.

　It's a knife with a poisonous attack.
　He said it's resistant and probably won't work.

　Still, it was when I had thrown it a few times as a stall, to get his attention.
　The moment the fifth knife stabbed into Poison Snake, it was obvious that Poison Snake's face became pale.

　No, I'm not familiar with Poison Snake's complexion, so it's possible that it's just my imagination.
　As I carefully observed Poison Snake, he looked like he was in pain every time he moved.
　........After all, was the poison working?

　I slashed Poison Snake and leapt and Mea-san, who lined up next to me, looked at me.
　She has a surprised look on her face. I, too, widen my eyes at Mea-san's inhuman movement.

'Your poison is working!　So that's how good Lelius's poison is!
Did it work?
'Oh, it's definitely working........' With this, it looks like it won't be a problem to focus on evading it somewhat!

　Ms. Mair chuckled and headed for Poison Snake.
　As she declared, her attacker's hand was loosening up.
　The poison, without fail, is eating away at Poison Snake.

　As if unable to resist, Poison Snake opened its mouth wide.
　No way, it was a poisonous fog!
　Mea-san, who was nearby, gives me a look that says she's put away.

　He hadn't thought that Poison Snake would weaken so quickly.
　The poisonous fog that was spewed out attacked Mea-san.

''Mea-san!
...No, I'm fine!

　Mr. Mair raised his voice and swung his sword out to dispel the fog.
　The blow slashed Poison Snake's throat.
　........He must have been caught off guard after the attack. Poison Snake slumped heavily. Mea kicks the earth and follows up with a chase.
　I fire a bone shot and cover him too.

　After receiving Mair's blow, Poison Snake, which had been hit by my bone shot, shook its large body with a tremor and then fell.
　It shakes the earth with a thud.
　All that was left was the material lying on the ground.
　Mea-san was looking in that direction, breathing heavily.

''........You did it, Mea-san.
...Oh, oh!

　Mare happily twitched her dog ears and then grabbed my hand.

'Lelius!　Thanks for helping me out here!　I could have beaten you because of you!

　Mair happily grabbed my hand and bounced on the spot.