Himajin, Maou no Sugata de Isekai e Tokidoki Cheat na burari Tabi

I closed my eyes and heightened my other senses.

The sound of Nao’s heartbeat, the temperature of his palms, the feeling of his breath on my skin, I felt it all and more.

The details of all my senses were transmitted clearly in my heightened state.

When I heard the sound of rubbing clothes, I gave full attention to my ears.

There was the sound of hard objects colliding.

Ah, it’s already started.

There was the sound of coins falling to the table and something “other” as well.

……You didn’t want me to pass from the beginning?

Okay, I’ll accept the challenge.

“2 gold, 3 silver, 1 copper.”

“……Is that all?”

Yes, the sound that my ears caught matched the size and materials I determined through the transmitted wavelengths.

Indeed, it’s hard to be 100%. But,

“You’d best take good care of those cards. You might not know this because you’re from a different country, but they are the starting point for adventurers.”

“EH!? What are you talking about?”

“It may be an iron card, but adventurers grow from there. Your current behavior can be seen as being dismissive of all adventurers, miss Styria.”

The sound of iron plates falling had been mixed in with the coins.

The only things that could be prepared on such short notice were guild cards.

Well, the reprimanding was a bit much, but it’s called tit-for-tat.

Now, the views should be glaring.

Speaking of which, I occasionally used my SS-rank card as a knife.

It was thin, firm, and convenient.

“Ho ho, you lost, Styria. This man is the real deal.”

“……So it seems.”

After hearing that, the hands were removed from my face, so I turned around and opened my eyes.

The coins and guild cards were there, as I said.

I picked the card up and handed them to the female knight.

“For you, it may seem the registration as a tool for Nao-san’s training. But this card represents Nao’s and your grow together.”

“……Yes, I’m sorry. I apologize for my disrespect.”

The glares faded a little.

This was my first time listening to the sound of coins falling like this, but I did pretty well.

Did 【Luck】 have something to do with it?

Anyway, I managed to join the hero party.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

“So, it’s been decided that I’ll act as their companion for about a month.”

“Hmm〜 Kai-kun is a liberator’s companion. It’s strange.”

“Umm…… it’s only a month, right? Us to…….”

“Are you sure you’ll come back? Here, I’ll fill your cup. Drink it slowly.”

I had returned to the hot spring inn.

Currently, I’m enjoying the long-awaited mixed bath.

A tray with sake cups and a tokkuri (sake bottle) was floating through the bath.

No, this was paradise, wasn’t it?

Flanked by two beautiful women, I was drinking sake in an open-air bath.

“What about your plans?”

“Well, Rue and I have signed a long-term contract to procure ore and monster parts from a recently dungeonized volcanic cave.”

“Wraith is amazing, Kai-kun. She increased the original reward by 30%.”

“Ru-Rue!”

Hoo, was pairing Rue and Wraith together the right choice for a different reason?

As expected of one who lived in a cut-throat environment for many years.

The reliability was on a different level.

“It seems that magically reinforced clay is one of this city’s main exports, and the main materials can be gathered at the volcano.”

“But, the strength of the monsters has increased after the recent dungeon transformation. Maintaining a stable supply has become impossible.”

“So we have to sweep through the dungeon and bring those materials back to a normal cave…….”

Dungeons.

During the game era, dungeons were instances built into the world. But here, they were places where mana had accumulated to the point of warping the local environment into a small pocket realm.

In the deepest layer of the dungeon lay a power monster infused with the accumulated mana, and it had to be slain to restore the dungeon to normal.

Actually, no such convenient solution existed, and even the dungeon boss would respawn after a few hours.

Because the respawn time was fixed, each party ventured into the dungeons separately……

“But I heard this country was peaceful after the liberation of one of the Seven Stars.”

“That’s right. I’ve never heard of a dungeon either.”

“You are familiar with them, though. See, the forest I was in was a dungeon.”

“This is news to me.”

……Were the dungeons formed around the Seven Stars?

No, it’s pointless to ponder this with my current knowledge.

If that was the case, a dungeon wouldn’t have appeared in this country.

However, dungeonization did occur nearby a liberator’s resting place……

“Now, shall we wash our bodies? Kai-kun, I’ll wash your back.”

“……Please.”

To me, the impending crisis was more of a problem.

The feeling of cloth on my back and the soft cloth-covered things came simultaneously.

Was this intentional or natural?

“I didn’t notice when you’re wearing clothes, but you have a good body.”

“Recognize that that is a boomerang.”

“Boomerang?”

Having good bodies was mutual.

Happy balloon fight (meaningful).

“Then I’ll rub your back, Wraith.”

“Kyaa.”

Oh, the soft feeling vanished.

Good job, Rue.

Let’s keep it away.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

The next day.

I woke up one of the three adjacent futons and went to the back mountain to feel the early morning fresh air.

The other two were still off in dreamland.

After a breath prayer for Rue’s and Wraith’s safety, I took a deep breath and took in the small dew-covered yard.

“Let’s do radio calisthenics.”

I twisted my body, rotated my arms, and stretched my leg before a quick jump around.

There were various unexpected movements mixed in as well.

If it could be done, I tried it!

“It’s a full-body exercise that even elementary schoolers can learn.”

A refreshing start to the morning, priceless.

Well, someone had approached me while I was doing that.

When I stopped my eccentric movements and turned around, I saw Nao, my liberator adventuring companion from today forward.

“Ah, Kaivon-san! Are you also training this morning, Kaivon?”

“What do you want from a person in a yukata?”

“Ah, I guess so……well, I’m training this morning. Would you like to see it?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll watch you.”

Nao was dressed in well-made leather armor.

Although leather armor sounded weak when made to fit one’s body and properly processed and layered, it could be stronger than cheap metal armor.

Well, it was still better to combine metal and leather, but it was probably more rigid?

“Then, let’s start with a swing.”

“Which one?”

He had two blades on his waist.

One was a one-handed sword about 60cm long and resembled large a knife, like a machete.

Is that a dagger?

However, the other blade was slightly different.

The sword’s blade was thicker and designed from piercing rather than slashing, and there was a pair of streamlined brass knuckles built into the halt.

Nao held that strange blade in his left hand.

“Fu! Fu! Fu!”

He delivered a sideways slash with his machete while shouting.

The sword in his left hand remained in place.

“Fu! Fu! Sai!”

This time, after two slashes, the left had was swung straight up.

Nao proceeded to repeat that series of movements over and over again.

His long ponytail danced behind him with each step, though he still looked immature.

“Fifisa! Fufussei!”

Oh, he increased the pace.

Okay, let this brother show you the ideal tempo.

Well, the shouts were very haa and heeya.

“Hah hah……Where there any worrisome points?”

“W-A-T-C-H-I-N-G.”

“T-Then……was there anything? Any advice?”

“Well, maybe the timing of the shouts.”

Alright, let’s teach a little seriously.

I was longing for a bit of beginner relief.

During the game era, aside from nurturing my alt-characters come relatives, I spent a decent amount of time mentoring newbies.

“The timing of your shouts and your arm movements should be different. That was the basic exercise, right?”

“Ah, sorry, I’m nervous…….”

“The reason you practice is to not get nervous. You’re still unfamiliar with this, so let’s start with that in mind.”

It seems this would take longer than I imagined.

Well, it’s worth it! Let’s aim to surpass Ren-kun.