“Erica, do you have a moment? I’ve got a quick question.”
“Oh, yes. Delta. I’m fine.”
It was about three days after the banquet and the day I received my new name ‘Delta’ that I approached Erica, who had just finished sparring with Claudia in the training ground.
Since it was a bit awkward for her to talk while standing, she suggested sitting down, and we walked over to one of the long benches beside the training ground’s wall.
In the training ground, Iris and Lize were in the middle of their spar. Amidst the swirling whirlwinds, ice mixed in, scattering frost. The ice crystals sparkled in the sunlight.
It was a match so grand it almost took up half the training ground with just the two of them, and it was even more shocking to realize that wasn’t their full power.
The scale was much larger than it was in the game.
“What do you want to ask? Is it something important?”
“If it’s important, it is indeed an important question. Do you happen to dislike spiders?”
“Spiders…?”
Erica wrinkled her face in distaste. I knew it was a ridiculous question on first listen. But to determine the order of subjugation, I absolutely needed to confirm this detail.
Whether Erica participates or not would decide whether we would tackle the Spider Queen Arachnae first or the Burning Golem.
If Erica joins us, we can go after the Spider Queen first. If she declines, we would need to take down the Burning Golem to obtain a specific spell and then head for the Spider Queen afterward.
In Vanilla, we could just ignore everything and take out the nearest monster, but in the Darkest Light Mod, that won’t work. Attempting to confront Arachnae without area damage spells would be nothing short of suicide.
“I don’t absolutely hate them, but I certainly don’t like them either. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much. There’s a monster we need to subjugate soon. I was planning to take you and Lize along.”
Since it was revealed at the banquet that I was hiding a secret, I decided to act shamelessly and openly share my knowledge.
Since it had already become apparent that these actions were related to that secret, I had no further reason to concoct excuses.
‘The more they know, the more curious they’ll be, anyway.’
There was no helping that. To reveal the truth, I needed more time to integrate myself into this world.
This world is essentially a game, and you are just bosses and NPCs that existed within it, while I’m merely a player. Disclosing this now would only heighten the confusion.
“I understand what you mean. So you’re suggesting we go after a spider-type monster?”
That was spot on. The question about disliking spiders, along with the information that there’s a monster to subjugate, made it pretty easy to reach that conclusion.
Perhaps remembering her encounter with centipedes the size of her body in the Rune Dungeon triggered a mix of disdain on Erica’s face as she spoke.
“Correct.”
“I was inwardly hoping it wouldn’t be true while saying that. But somehow, my bad feelings never miss the mark.”
Erica let out a small sigh. Thinking about the monster’s appearance seemed to make her shudder. Plus, since it was a monster, it probably wouldn’t be a normal size anyway.
“I don’t like spiders at all… but then again, if there’s a monster to subjugate, I also have no reason to back down. When are we leaving?”
“You can go when it’s convenient for you. There’s no time restriction. I’ve already made all the plans, so it doesn’t matter when we go.”
“I don’t mind when we leave either.”
“……”
“……”
For some reason, I couldn’t shake the image from my mind of family arguing over restaurants, when everyone said they didn’t mind what they ate.
“Um… well, okay. I’ll talk to Lize and let you know.”
“Understood, Delta.”
‘Still not getting used to this.’
It had been nearly three days since I was called Delta, but every time I heard that name, it felt strange.
Instead of feeling like it was my name, it brought to mind the image of a child guardian of an underwater city clad in diving gear wielding a drill.
When I’d get used to this, I had no idea.
“Erica, it’s your turn.”
“Yes. I’ll be right there, Iris. So, please let me know once you decide. I’ll be waiting.”
Erica stretched her hand to her waist and left. Iris, looking perfectly fine, was waiting for Erica without a hint of exhaustion.
Clank, the sound of a Japanese sword sliding out of its sheath echoed as flames began to rise around Erica.
“What were you talking about with Erica?”
The vacant spot was filled by Lize. As she plopped down on the bench, her damp chest heaved up and down energetically, glistening with sweat.
The snug white sleeveless top clung to her skin even tighter, revealing little glimpses of bare skin beneath. She looked even more alluring than usual.
Interestingly, there was no smell of sweat; only Lize’s unique scent lingered in the air.
“There’s a monster we need to catch next. I was discussing that.”
“Are we going to hunt a monster? Again?”
Lize looked bewildered. After all, there’s no concept of leveling up by defeating enemies to them, so they might wonder why we keep going out to subjugate monsters.
We had just spent all day leveling up two days ago. Anyone hearing about it might think I held some deep grudge against monsters.
“We’ve had a day off. It’s about time we get back to moving. This time, it’s a bit of a bigger one.”
“What about me? Am I not going with you?”
Her face was suddenly up close. Lize’s unique scent hit my nostrils.
“If you’re coming, I was going to ask you anyway, so you don’t have to worry. By the way, do you hate spiders?”
“Spiders? Hmm… Not enough to avoid them, but I don’t like them either. Erica probably answered the same way, right?”
I was surprised that their responses were nearly identical.
“That’s right. How did you know?”
“Erica and I have similar tastes. Can’t blame us for being sisters, huh? What I dislike, she also dislikes, and what I like, she likes too. She always says we’re not alike, and our personalities are too different to notice, but my eyes don’t lie.”
‘……didn’t see that coming at all.’
These sisters, who seemed to have opposing traits in every detail, sharing tastes was quite a surprise.
“From what you’ve said, Delta, the monster will be a spider type, right? That’s correct too?”
Instead of answering, I just nodded.
“But listen, Delta. You should know one thing.”
Lize leaned her head back slightly. Her usual playful demeanor was gone, and she wore a very serious expression. It wasn’t the first time I had seen her like this.
“If we’re going to hunt monsters, our preferences don’t matter. No matter how disgusting a monster’s appearance is or how familiar we might feel with it, a monster is a monster. We will never refuse to do what we have to simply because of how they look. Understand?”
A serious tone matched her serious face.
It was entirely unexpected. Suddenly, it dawned on me that Lize was also a knight commander. This meant she values her duties as a knight over her own feelings.
I felt a sense of pride in her, so I reached out and ruffled her hair.
“……What’s that for?”
“Proud of you.”
“……I have a rough idea of what you’re thinking, but I’ll let it slide since it feels good.”
I patted her head a bit longer before pulling my hand back and then watched as Lize was called by Claudia and started her own spar.
Lize was effortlessly countering Claudia’s greatsword, which was nearly the size and weight of a person, with a dagger only about the length of her forearm.
The key was to redirect the attacks she could afford to evade without engaging in a direct contest of strength. It seemed she had skillfully exploited the fact that Claudia’s greatsword was too heavy to make swift direction changes.
‘Thank goodness I already said I didn’t need to spar.’
Despite the HP buffs between knight commanders preventing serious injuries until nearly all health was gone, I would die just from grazing an attack. I didn’t want to risk that.
Plus, we weren’t even gearing up for a boss fight, so there was no reason to bother with sparring. What could practicing swordsmanship mean for me?
“Let’s take a break. Everyone worked hard.”
As Iris’s words rang out, the elements swirling about in the training ground suddenly ceased. The winds calmed, flames dwindled, ice melted away, and lightning dispersed.
The knight commanders finished with their sparwalked over to where I was sitting. Each of them was slightly damp with sweat, their sleeveless tops clinging closely to their skin. The scent of their bodies quickly filled the air around me.
I wasn’t surprised that Lize occupied the spot next to me, but other knight commanders also gathered around me. For a moment, I wondered why this was happening.
Weren’t they hot?
“Right, Delta. Seeing as we’re resting, why don’t you give us more details about that monster? So, what are we catching this time?”
Lize poked me with her elbow. Iris and Claudia seemed to perk up, as if hearing about monsters for the first time, turning their ears toward me.
“Well, it’s nothing much.”
Yeah. Aside from one pattern, it’s just a regular boss.
“We just need to take down about a thousand spiders.”
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