Chapter 34: The Elf Gets Caught Again.
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[Master. That elf really is remarkably persistent.]
[A testament to my charm.]
[...You're certain it's charm and not hatred?]
[All I did was pat her once. Is that worth half a year of grudge?]
[I've heard that elves in this world are so particular that they won't allow physical contact from anyone they haven't given their heart to.]
[Simple solution — I just need Ryuu to fall for me.]
Kihara carried on this internal conversation while cutting through the dungeon at pace. He was on the twelfth floor. Ryuu was still following at a distance, still not moving to engage.
His working plan: if she held off until the nineteenth floor, he'd skip giving her the opportunity entirely, shake her, and proceed to the hidden fishing area to collect the ore from the Xenos.
From Ryuu's perspective, the reason she hadn't acted at the planned tenth floor was simple — his combat capability had grown considerably in six months, enough that she'd had to revise her timeline on the fly.
By the time she watched him approaching the fourteenth floor entrance, she made the call. Deeper floors meant less predictable conditions and greater risk of things going sideways. She drew her tachi, and the moment his foot crossed the threshold she became a streak of blue-green motion.
Clang.
The clean ring of metal on metal made her pupils contract.
No one reacts like that without advance warning. He knew I was following him the entire time.
She adjusted instantly.
"Gale Sprint!"
A pale blue wind wrapped around her as she called the technique, and she hurled two smoke grenades at his feet in the same motion, using the boost in speed and the cover to kick off the side wall and put distance between them.
She'd replayed their first fight in her head countless times since. He had a method for exceeding her speed — matching her previous approach would accomplish nothing. So she'd come prepared. The two grenades carried a trace of blue butterfly scale powder mixed in — mild toxin to degrade his condition, plus the embedded mana signature that would let her track his exact position through the smoke.
She emerged from the cloud's edge and raised both blades, eyes fixed on where he'd been.
Crack.
The sound came from directly behind her. The familiar fire across her backside followed half a second later, the sensation of absolute certainty collapsing in one precise point.
After six months, the world blurred at the edges again.
When it resolved, she was on the floor, hands and feet bound with something that had no intention of giving. The mask had been pulled away. A wad of blue cloth had been inserted between her teeth. Her face was fully exposed.
Kihara crouched in front of her, looking puzzled in a way that seemed genuine.
"Miss Ryuu, we don't have any particular history. Why do you keep attacking me?"
"Mmmph mmph mmph—"
If concentrated fury could produce physical damage, the look she was directing at him would have required medical attention.
Before he could continue, a red lizardman stepped out of the shadow behind him, curved blade half drawn, moving slowly in their direction.
"MMMPH—"
Ryuu strained against the bindings with the urgency of someone who has found a purpose. There was a monster approaching his blind spot, her mouth was stuffed with fabric, and he was looking entirely the wrong way.
How are you this sharp when I'm attacking you and this oblivious about what's behind you—
"Lord Kihara. Is this person your enemy?"
The lizardman spoke. In the common tongue. And called him Lord.
Ryuu stopped moving.
"Lido — what are you doing up on the thirteenth floor?"
"You didn't arrive at the agreed time. Fei was concerned, so she asked me to look."
"The poachers have been showing up more frequently in the upper sections recently. You should avoid the middle floors as much as possible."
"I understand. But some of our new kin have been appearing in the upper floors. We can't simply leave them."
"Be careful about how visible you are when you move. Your numbers are still small. Every one of you that's lost is one less part of what we're building."
Kihara rubbed his temple, then hoisted Ryuu onto his shoulder and followed Lido toward the twentieth floor.
The hidden fishing area had changed significantly in six months.
The Xenos, given a stable location for the first time, had done what people do when they have somewhere to stay — they had built. Twenty-odd small structures now stood among the trees, each one shaped by whatever sense of architecture the builder had carried, the whole thing blending into the surrounding forest with an organic quality that no human settlement would have achieved. One of the buildings was dedicated to storing ore.
"Lord Kihara is here!"
"It's Lord Kihara—!"
The sentinels at the entrance spread the word before he'd fully arrived, and within a minute he was surrounded by a loose crowd of forty-odd Xenos in shapes that ran the full range of what the dungeon could produce. The red-feathered half-bird woman named Fei pushed through to the front with a smile that contained mild reproach.
"You're late, Lord Kihara."
"I ran into something on the way. Apologies."
He waved this off, then propped Ryuu against the nearest stone wall and leaned down to speak close to her ear.
"You've been hit by blue butterfly scale toxin from your own grenades. Don't try to force movement — the compound reacts badly to elevated heart rate. Stay still and you'll be fine."
Elf hearing being what it was, the proximity produced an effect that was less like receiving information and more like having warm air poured directly into her ear canal and from there into every accessible corner of her brain. She managed a nod using the small amount of function that remained available to her.
"Lord Kihara — is she an enemy?"
The half-dragon Guros had fixed Ryuu with a look that contained a very clear assessment.
"Nothing that serious. A small misunderstanding. Two of you keep an eye on her — let's go look at the ore."
"I'll take the watch myself. No need for extra hands." Guros settled into position with a finality that discouraged further discussion.
"Lido, Fei — he's yours."
"Leave it to us!"
"Lord Kihara, the ore can wait a moment. You've come a long way — you must be thirsty. Come over here and eat something first."
The Xenos' regard for Kihara was, by this point, something considerably more than gratitude. He had found them a home, outlined a path forward, and returned regularly since. Every one of them understood what that meant for how their situation might eventually develop. The ones not directly attending him scattered to bring the best of what they'd collected.
He accepted the gesture without making it awkward, tasted a little of everything, and then did what came naturally — started a fire and cooked. The things they'd brought became dishes that they hadn't been expecting, and the fire became something that everyone found a reason to sit around.
After dinner, Kihara settled by the coals with Lido and Fei and reached into his storage.
"Lido. Potato seeds from the surface." He dropped the bag into the lizardman's hands.
"Same planting method as I showed you before. If these establish well, I'll bring more variety next time."
"Understood. I'll assign the work immediately."
Fei rose as Lido headed off. "Shall we go to the storage building, Lord Kihara?"
"Yes."
He stood, and something in his expression sharpened with anticipation.
How many ingots will this batch yield? Hopefully enough to cover Pelican Town's mid-development needs.
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Thank you for reading.
(T/N: New translation will be coming tomorrow....)