Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru-Chapter 110: In Search Of Comrades IV

【133rd day】

After that, I brought the members to the camp.

And deepened our friendships over the food and drinks that had been prepared.

「What a strange group of people」

Said Maria, who gave her impression while sitting on my lap.

The group at the table were certainly nothing but strange people.

「Ha ha ha! You know, Medimu, I'd never have guessed that you were under this guy too!」

「It's called "give-and-take". I doubt a lone wolf like you would understand」

In a complete about-face, Barfuru-sama was in a good mood and was chatting with Otou-san.

「Is this, umm, some sort of shell? Huh, it's not metal, is it? What about the inside??」

「No touching please」

Lazarissa was all over Gunmerry, touching its helmet and trying to get a peek at its insides.

「You must be Souya-san's wife. Err, hi, it's nice to meet you」

「Yes, I'm Oni――I meant, Souya's wife, Rauaryuna. Ho ho ho」

Ea was playing a prank on Rutsuko-san by pretending to be Rana.

「………………」

Lys had puffed-out cheeks as she ate the curry in silence.

「Frey! What do you mean you're getting married?!」

「Haa~ why isn't Shuna-sama here? Haa~」

Rana had grabbed Frey by the collar and was swinging her around. But her mind was somewhere else.

Certainly, it's a strange group of people.

To sum it up.

Me, Rana, Ea, Lys, and Otou-san from my regular party.

Then, Frey, Lazarissa, Rutsuko-san, and Gunmerry.

As an added bonus, Barfuru-sama.

These are the blood-sworn members of our party to fight off the dragon. When several parties team up, the Guild takes the blood of the leader and uses it to draw up a contract. A contract made with blood is a heavy one.

Should the Guild receive any complaints of wrongdoing within this blood-alliance, the leader will be punished accordingly. In some cases, this is a contract that can cost a person their life.

Well, this contract like this is essential in gaining the trust of others.

「Souya-san, can I ask you something?」

「Oh, go ahead」

Rutsuko-san came to me with a question.

I welcome all questions. I’d love to clear up any doubts or reservations anyone may have about one another.

「Who’s the child on your lap?」

「I'm Souya's second wife」

Maria’s words……

「Is what she claims. She’s the child of an acquaintance. Due to some circumstances, she has been left in my care」

……were quickly corrected by me.

The time it takes for an elf to grow from a child to an adult is not much different from that of a Hemu. Once they've reached adulthood, a life of agelessness and beauty follows.

In other words, an elven loli is just as loli as her looks suggest. People are already suspicious of me because of Rana's baby-faced looks, and the suspicions have only grown because of Lanseal's transformation into a child, so I don't want to further compound the suspicions that I'm a lolicon.

（Then, that person there……）

Rutsuko-san suddenly lowered her voice.

（Who's that elf with the huge breasts）

（That's my daughter, Ea）

Ea was getting carried away with her prank.

（Whattt? Souya-san, you have a childdd? Rana-san, how do you have that figure despite having given birthhh?）

（Ho ho ho ho）

I should probably stop her soon.

I'm also tempted to watch it play out because it's funny.

「Dear! What is this about you and Frey getting married?! I demand an explanation!」

I had told Frey to explain it to her, but I'm the one who has to explain it in the end?

「What?! Onii-chan, what's going on?!」

Ea's outcry……

「Onii-chan, she said? Or rather, even if elves are polygamous, just how many do you intend on marrying, Souya-san?! You're too much!」

……caused Rutsuko-san to also raise her voice.

「Souya, I'm the second wife, remember?」

And then Maria chimed in.

「Oof」

I held my head in my hands.

Rather than getting cleared up, the doubts have only increased.

Is this party going to be okay?

It's mostly my fault though.

After the meal was over, I addressed the various questions that had arisen.

Lys, Otou-san, and Barfuru-sama were lounging around casually.

「First」

I put my left hand around Ea's shoulders. My sister hugged me in return.

「This is Ea, my wife's younger sister」

「That’s right」

She didn't look the least bit sorry for causing the misunderstanding. For some reason, she had her thumb, index, and pinky finger extended.

My sister is a bit of an unruly brat. She has the mentality of a child, and according to Rana, just because an elf has grown up physically, it doesn't mean that he or she is an adult.

It’s only after completing certain trials that an elf is finally recognized as an adult.

The trials are also where they receive their education.

Ea was forsaken by the Forest before she had a chance to take the trials, so in a sense, she'll stay a child forever. In addition, Rana's tendency to indulge children also played a big part in this. Misuranika-sama also pampers her in secret. I think I spoil her as well. She's just so cute that I can't help it.

I mean, would it be alright if I educated her myself? I don't want to cause Ea to be unable to return to elven society because of that though.

Putting that aside.

「Which means that she's your sister-in-law……… That's a problem in and of itself though」

Rutsuko-san had a complicated look on her face.

I put my right hand across Rana's shoulders and pulled her close.

「And this is my wife, Rauaryuna」

「Hi, I'm his wife」

For some reason, Rana also extended her fingers into the same gesture that Ea did.

Who taught them that, I wonder? Do they even know what that means?

「And I'm Maria, his second wife and daughter」

Lastly, Maria stood in front of me with her arms outstretched.

It was a lineup of three elven girls.

「So strong!」

I had no clue what Rutsuko-san's impression meant.

「Y, you can do it, me. I can't admit defeat without even fighting」

「That's the essence of the defense-only policy[1], isn't it?」

Gunmerry's impression made it even harder to understand.

「So, dear, after we've defeated the dragon with Frey, please marry her and then divorce her right away, got it?」

「Understood」

That was enough to satisfy Rana.

Yay~, with that, I'll get to be a divorcee too.

「Frey! You're okay with that, right?!」

「Yeah～～～～～」

Frey answered, still lying down on the plain. She was looking like she couldn't care less about the whole thing. Her ringlets had drooped into simple twin-tails.

Is she going to be of any use?

「Lazarissa, please agree to this as well. That my husband and your master will be divorced immediately」

「If possible, I'd prefer that the pretend marriage lasts until Aunt-sama leaves Lemuria. And while we're at it, I'd also like for Souya-sama to divorce Rauaryuna-sama for the time being」

Lazarissa's proposal was unacceptable to me.

Rana also seemed to feel the same way.

「No matter what kind of women Souya has relations with, I have no intention of ever divorcing him, even if I end up being treated like a servant. I will not divorce him until the day I die」

「No matter what kind of woman I end up in a relationship with from now on, even if Rana looks at me like I'm trash, I'm not letting go of her until the day I die」

We both said words that were similar to each other's.

「Haa……………… Well, we'll fake it somehow」

With a sigh, Lazarissa shrugged her shoulders and nodded.

「What's this feeling, I wonder? Somehow, my sister and brother are kinda pissing me off」

My sister grounded her heel on my foot.

「Souya, when are you going to get married with me?」

An excited Maria asked.

「Maybe after you’ve has grown up, Maria」

「Would that be when I've grown as tall as Ea? Or when my boobs are as big as Rana's?」

「Both」

「What a greedy man. Well, just you wait and see. I'm going to grow up all tall and bouncy」

『That so?』

Both sisters patted Maria on the head.

「Wh, what?!」

They ruffled up her hair and turned it into an interesting hairstyle.

It became an upswept twin-tails that looked like the antennae of a shrimp.

「I'm sorry. I feel like I'm about to hyperventilate from other people's blissfulness………………」

Rutsuko-san had collapsed, with both hands on the ground.

「Princess, don't lose hope」

As it consoled her, Gunmerry peeked at her panties.

Shit, I can't see it from where I am.

「Hey, Medimu, is this party going to be okay?」

「Who knows, it might be too late for us」

Of all people, Barfuru-sama was feeling concerned.

Strangely enough, Lys had curled up on Barfuru-sama's lap and was sound asleep.

That’s rather surprising. I mean, she's as guarded as an untamed cat and she hasn’t even let anyone in the party into her heart yet.

「Umm, can we discuss the strategy now?」

To be honest, I'd love to spend the whole day cavorting with the elves, but if I did that, my adventuring and my life would fall apart.

「First, does the magician group have any ideas on how to defeat the dragon?」

Rana was the first to raise her hand.

「What about the "Brinicle" that was effective against the Dragon-Tortoise in the past?」

「Certainly」

Even in its imperfect state, that magic delivered a death blow to the Dragon-Tortoise. I believe it will work on a real dragon as well.

However, there's just one problem.

「Rana, can you hit something flying around in the sky with that?」

「Oh」

It seems that Rana had forgotten about that part.

「Frey, use your magic to increase its accuracy to the point where it can hit an airborne target」

「Huh, an airborne target? What magic am I supposed to increase the accuracy of?」

Half-heartedly, the lifeless Frey replied.

「An ice spear created with Ri?Bau as the medium」

「That's impossible even if you get a hero to throw that. The color of death, Ri?Bau, is the god of ice that falls from the sky. To throw it up into the sky goes against the principle of that god. It would scatter into pieces before it got up into the air」

「Then, any ideas on what magic we can use to hunt the dragon?」

「Hunt the dragon~? If that could be done using magic, all the dragons in the world would have been wiped out and used as materials for weapons and armor long ago. Those damned scales. Neither ice nor flames can penetrate them, and even weapons made of Rmir steel are repelled by them. f𝔯𝒆𝚎𝚠𝑒𝚋𝓃૦νℯƖ.co𝘮

If you want to kill one no matter what, then there's no other way but to bring someone with the blessing of a dragon-slayer.

But this means having to raise up a hero with a large number of followers who worship him or her, and "start" by slaying a dragon first. It's a topsy-turvy paradox where the best way to slay a dragon is to bring a hero who has already done just that. It's not something a magician can just wave their hand and accomplish」

If you want to kill a dragon, you have to kill a dragon first.

Well, that's a paradox indeed.

Gladvain-sama, it’s amazing that you were able to win.

「Then, we’ll summon Lars to throw stones at it. We'll attack with it sheer mass」

「Would a thrown stone even hit a flying dragon, I wonder?」

「What about conjuring up wind to seal its movements?」

「Me and Raunyan-san don't have close to enough magic power to conjure up a windstorm strong enough to bring down a dragon」

「My strongest suit, flames, won't work. Ice won't work either. To begin with, I can't even reach it with either of them. A way to knock a dragon out of the sky using magic………………」

「………………」

Rana and Frey went deep into thought.

Both of them are magicians of the Hohens School, the center of offensive magic.

In addition, they have been bestowed the highest title of "guide of the final flame". In other words, if the two of them can’t come up with a good idea, then we'll have to give up on methods involving magic.

『………………』

They both cocked their heads.

Are we already in checkmate?

「Myself has a good idea」

Right then, Gunmerry chimed in.

「Neither flames nor ice will work against the dragon. In that case, we should use lightning」

「Thunder?」[2]

Frey tilted her head.

「Are you talking about Lyulyushka, the thunderbolt? The magic that god grants is that of light, sound, and shock. I don't believe those are enough to bring down a dragon」

In response to Rana's question, Gunmerry demonstrated it to her.

「The power of lightning, or in other words, electricity」

A small ball of electricity appeared in the armor's right hand.

「Using myself's Maxwell engine, I can convert magic power into electricity. However, as the efficiency of the interlinked Type 2 perpetual motion engine drops drastically when I do it, even with six units combined, a softball-sized one is my limit」

Err, what on earth is this guy talking about?

Did it just say "perpetual motion engine"?

「What is this "perpetual motion engine" that you mentioned?」

Frey seemed to also have no idea what he was talking about.

「What a strange magic. No, could this be the same as Makina’s, I wonder?」

Rana touched the ball of electricity with a finger.

「Oww!」

There was a crackle of electricity and she pulled her finger back.

「Rana! Are you okay?!」

「Oh, I’m fine. I got startled when it shocked me a little」

She seemed unhurt. My heart nearly stopped.

From time to time, Rana does dangerous things out of curiosity.

「If the two of you would channel your magic power into myself, I can generate enough electricity to form it into the size of a lance. By all means, please do fill me with it. Come on, now, do it!」

「………………Dear, somehow, I……I don't want to」

「My my, it’s not often that we agree on things, isn't it? I was just thinking how creepy that was」

Gunmerry was despised all of a sudden.

That's probably because it was seen peeping at Rutsuko-san's panties earlier.

「The one in the armor. Why won't you show your face to the people who are going to be entrusting their lives to you?」

「Oh, about that!」

Rutsuko-san cut in to answer Rana's question.

「Gunmerry has terrible burns on his face, and that's why he doesn't want women to see it」

「That was rude of me. It had slipped myself's mind」

Gunmerry took off its helmet.

Inside was……

「As you can see, it's not a face that people like to gaze upon」

……a face that belonged to a young man. The left half of the face was scarred from burns. Nevertheless, it was a young man with a shy smile who gave off a good impression.

Hey, you're kidding me, right?

What happened to the headless Gunmerry I saw a while back?

「Forgive me, it was groundless suspicion on my part」

Rana bowed her head and apologized.

She had bowed her head low in a manner no one would expect from an elf. This is one of her good points.

「Therefore, I would like you to channel your magic power into myself!」

For some reason, he seems dirty-minded when the helmet is on. [3]

「I don't want to do that」

「Neither do I」

He still got rejected.

「Alright, listen here!」

Rutsuko-san raised her hand.

「How about channeling the magic power into me instead? Somehow, I have a feeling that I'm connected to Gunmerry on a deeper level, and it seems that we’re able to give and take magic power and regeneration point from each other」

「That's a kind of curse, isn't it? It's not the most laudable of methods, you know?」

「Well, this is the only way I can be of any help when adventuring」

Rutsuko-san scratched her hair while looking embarrassed.

「If you're going so far as to say that, then I'm fine with it. We don't have any other ideas anyway」

「If Raunyan-san says so, then I will agree to it as well. Well, I'm also interested in this magic called "electricity"」

The magician group appeared to have come to an agreement.

「Let's give it a try right away. We’ll need to change locations. There’s a target set up just to the north of here」

To the north, we had launched a kite and left it flying in the sky to serve as a target simulating a dragon.

With Rana leading the way, the magicians went over there.

Now,

「So we're in charge of acting as vanguards and scouting for the enemy」

「Huhh? All we need to do is beat up the dragon suitably after it falls from the sky, isn’t it?」

Barfuru-sama came up with a very rough plan.

No no no, you can't even call that a plan, can you?

「Just give up, Souya. This is the kind of man he is. Rather than giving him orders and trying to make him work together with others, he's stronger when left to his own devices. Just in case, I'll stay by him and hold his reins」

「You sure can talk big now, huh? Even though you were just a brat chasing after a woman's ass」

「Good grief, please don't bring up something that's already been settled」

I'll leave Barfuru-sama to Otou-san.

He's someone I can't control.

As for Lazarissa………………oh, she's not here. She seems to have gone with Frey. She's a loyal person who only cares about protecting Frey. When push comes to shove, she'll probably ignore my orders.

I wonder if the fact that she isn't opposed to the marriage that Frey isn't willing to go through with is a sign that she wants Frey to quit the dangerous business of adventuring.

After that,

「Lys, you are to…… Hey, Lys!」

I woke Lys, who had fallen deep into sleep.

「What?」

She woke up in a bad mood.

「You are to protect the magician group from the dragon's flames. You can do that, right?」

「Yeah yeah」

She replied, sounding like she thought it was too much trouble. Using Barfuru-sama's tail as a hugging pillow, she went back to sleep.

She's the same as always, but I feel even more uneasy than usual.

「Onii-chan, what about me?」

「Ea, your job is to predict the dragon's landing spot and tell it to Otou-san. You never know what might happen, so be prepared for surprises」

「Understood」

My obedient sister is even more dependable than usual.

「Souya, what about me?」

「Maria, you're staying here」

Isn't that obvious?

「Ehhh, isn't it about time you took me on your adventures?」

「It's dangerous. You might get burnt to a crisp before you get a chance to escape」

「Ehhh~」

「Don’t you “Ehhh~” me. I'll make you eat a mountain of vegetables if you don't listen to me」

If anything happens to you, I won't be able to face Tortch.

「Other than that………Otou-san, what will the other adventurers be doing?」

「Don't worry. You won't be robbed of your prey. Along the same lines as Gladvain-sama's philosophy, the advanced adventurers won't be participating in the fight to drive off the dragon. Only intermediate and lower adventurers are allowed to participate」

「Well, in a sense, that’s……」

There goes my plan to take advantage of them fighting each other.

Well, this is troubling.

The more I learn about this dragon, the more impossible it seems to defeat. Will this makeshift party be able to deal with it? No, we'll have to figure something out. We must do it. We humans have to play the cards we're dealt.

My job is to give orders that ensure no one goes down. Even without any support, I'll give orders. Even if it is reckless or foolhardy, I’ll raise my voice and call for people to move.

That's the leader's job.

And I can only play it by ear. A foolhardy battle befitting adventurers awaits.

And then……

……I heard the echo of distant thunder.

In the distance, I saw lightning shoot up into the heavens.

Will it be enough to bring the dragon down, I wonder?

First and foremost, that is the question.

[1] Gunmerry is referencing the defense-only policy of Japan’s SDF here. He’s making a jab at them not being able to lose(admit defeat) because they never get into fights.

[2] The kanji that Gunmerry used “雷” can mean either lightning or thunder, or even thunderbolt in Japanese. Hence the confusion over it.

[3] The term used by Gunmerry, “注いで” means channel into, pour, fill up, inject. I cannot elaborate further because it’ll become R18 in an instant…but suffice to say, it sounds pervy af whenever he’s demanding to be filled up or have magic power channeled into him even though the words can be taken innocently.

Could the Maxwell engine be a reference to Maxwell Technologies? Do note that a working perpetual motion engine means infinite energy, though it’s not realistically possible as it breaks the laws of thermodynamics. Also, if you still remember, the company told Souya they wanted the material on the 56th floor for perpetual cold fusion, which is another type of theoretical infinite energy…

edit: A million thanks to my patron Scanner Luce for pointing out that Maxwell most likely refers to "Maxwell's Demon" - a thought experiment created by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell in 1867 in which he suggested how the second law of thermodynamics might hypothetically be violated.

Anyways, no flag raised this chapter…or is there? It would be just like this author to keep talking about flags for the whole arc, then raise a flag secretly in the one chapter that doesn’t mention flags. In any case, it’s the end of this arc! We’re slowly but surely drawing closer to the battle against the dragon! Stay tuned!