Chapter 106
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Three unconscious people are lying in front of me.
Dead…
No, wait, they’re not dead!!
「Low, what should we do?」
Ash asks. Her question poses a truly troublesome problem.
We can’t just leave them here, but we also can’t form a joint party with them.
「I have an idea. Will you trust me?」
There’s really only one option, but it seems like it might not be a bad one.
「Of course.」
Just as Ash gives her approval, Angelica regains consciousness.
「Mmm… where… am I…?」
She had lost consciousness from the shock of the exploding Giant Fireball (Flame Strike) that was deflected back at her. She seems momentarily confused as she’s just woken up, but when she notices us,
「Ah, you guys!」
She immediately looks around.
I see, she’s checking if Sena is here. Well, that’s understandable given how badly they were beaten.
Seemingly relieved by Sena’s absence, she quickly starts shaking her two companions, calling out to wake them up.
As the three of them finally come to, I decide to ask them a question.
「We’re planning to move ahead. So I want you three to choose. You have three options: ‘team up with us’, ‘let us go first’, or ‘you three go first’. Any of them is fine. Choose whichever you like.」
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「Low…」
Ash begins. I understand well what she’s trying to say.
From the choices I presented, the three of them chose without hesitation to go ahead of us.
「We were sent to this place by the Hero. We will fulfill the mission he gave us to conquer this Sealed Dungeon. So, please take your time and come after us.」
「Yeah, that’s right. So you guys can even go back if you want.」
Saying that, they move ahead of us, leaving us behind.
「Well, I knew this would happen.」
「Huh?」
「You see, Ash. While it may seem that son-in-law gave them three choices, he actually knew they would choose the third option. In other words, son-in-law understood from the start that those three would try to conquer this place with their own power and attempt to go ahead of us.」
「Going back is out of the question for various reasons. Then, team up? With no trust between us, there’s no way we could team up. And there’s no way they would simply fall back behind us. In the end, they had no choice but to choose the option of ‘going ahead of us’.」
It makes me dislike myself, as if I’m using them.
「Still, I couldn’t imagine entrusting our backs to them either. At worst, we might end up caught between enemies and them…」
「I see…」
Ash murmurs, sounding somewhat dejected at my and Sensei’s explanation.
「This is like drafting.」
Ash tilts her head at the unfamiliar term.
Drafting is a technique used in high-speed sports like road cycling.
To explain it roughly, it’s a technique where you stick close behind the leading athlete to avoid factors that hinder progress, like wind resistance.
「Those girls, despite how they act, are top-class in terms of ability. Plus, the fact that we haven’t encountered any Fog up to this point is probably because they’ve already defeated them.」
「I know their abilities firsthand.」
Ash replies, her words tinged with frustration.
「That’s why, by letting them go first, they’ll likely take care of all the numerous weak enemies that should exist ahead of us.」
「I see. I understand your thinking, Low—」
I don’t want to say these things either. But there’s no choice. Those girls are completely unapproachable.
Sadly, there are some things in this world that can’t be helped.
「—and I also understand that you don’t really want to do this.」
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Following Sensei’s appropriate instructions, we resume our exploration, maintaining a constant distance from the Hero’s party ahead of us so they don’t notice us.
There isn’t a single monster in our path. It’s exactly as I had planned.
There’s something I need to tell Ash. The thought weighs heavily on my mind, like a solid weight.
「Um, Ash—」
I begin, having made up my mind.
「Low, you don’t need to rush,」
Ash interrupts, shaking her head.
「Since that day, I’ve been betrayed many times. But you know, I don’t intend to give up on believing in people.」
Ash temporarily removes her helm, letting her strawberry blonde hair flutter.
「If I had to choose between believing in those girls or you, there’s no question.」
With her helm off, her expression fully visible, she turns to me with a strong yet gentle smile that’s uniquely hers.
「When we’re not in a place like this, when everything is over, when we can talk about this Sealed Dungeon incident with smiles on our faces, let’s have tea together, and you can tell me all about yourself.」
Ash’s thoughtfulness touches my heart.
「And when that time comes, I want you to listen to a lot of my stories too.」
We absolutely must conquer this Sealed Dungeon without losing anyone.
Beside us, Sensei nods repeatedly, saying 「Uh-huh」 and 「It’s all about bonds,」 while wiping her eyes with a handkerchief she produced from somewhere. However, whether she was actually crying remains a mystery.
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