I swallowed hard. "Ah-haha, what are you talking about? How would I know that?" I said, voice shaking. Their eyes narrowed, observing me.
"Your actions till now say otherwise," Kaguya said, hiding her mouth behind her sleeve. Probably smirking.
"Haa… okay, you got me, I know about it, or rather heard about the monster rex using a sword against a single opponent or a very small group fighting it." All of them went silent.
Finn broke the silence, "How did you know that?" he asked. The others waited as my mind raced, trying to figure out the best way to answer that.
"I heard it when I interrogated a member of the Evilus remnants, one of them told me they'd accidentally triggered this event before," I answered, with the best possible excuse I could make up at the moment.
"Hm... makes sense. They prowled the dungeon a lot," Asfi said. I could tell they didn't fully believe me, but no one pushed further.
"Anyway, we should get back. Gareth and the others are still waiting." Finn changed the subject as he retrieved his spear, ready to head back.
I also picked up the bone sword as all of us headed back to the exit.
"But I am surprised you were able to get that information out of them. I am saying it from experience, but getting any information out of those fanatics was really difficult." Finn said.
"Humph! They don't call me Arin, the butcherer, for nothing!" I boasted, as Kaguya scowled.
"Literally no one calls you that," she said.
"What! They don't?! That's weird." I said.
"You are the only one who is weird," as usual, Kaguya bit back.
"I knew it, you are just jealous of my glory, but that's understandable, I am perfect after all."
"Arin! That's my line!" Alise complained, while Kaguya just sighed before going silent. The others held small smiles, hearing our banter.
Before long, we met the rear guard group standing just outside the passageway to the boss's room.
"What is that, lad? Never seen one before." Gareth eyed the massive black sword I carried
"This is the spoil of war, Old Man," I replied, handing it over to the supporters, who quickly wrapped it.
"We will explain later, Gareth. For now, everyone is exhausted, so first let's set up our camp." Riveria glanced at the exhausted group.
"You heard her, everyone, let's go to the thirty-ninth floor!" Finn gave his command, and everyone started walking along the same passage we had come from. Our party raced through the dungeon until we reached the safe floor of this area, the thirty-ninth floor.
We descended the stairs that led us there. The floor was white like everything else in this section of the dungeon. There was far less vegetation compared to the previous safe floors, and it was mostly made of rocky terrain.
We decided to set up our camp in a slightly elevated area, giving us a clear view of our surroundings.
Flags from all three familias fluttered in the wind. The central banner bore all three symbols arranged in a triangle—the Trickster on the right, the Hat on the left, the Scale below.
"Ne,ne, Arin! What are you going to do with that drop item?" Tiona spoke with her usual energy, showing no exhaustion, unlike most of the others
"I don't think I can make that decision alone, but we will most likely just sell it." Tiona pouted at my answer.
"Eh… but it's a rare find, isn't it? It will be such a waste just selling it." Tiona complained.
"Haha, well that's just how it is. Besides, it's not set in stone," I replied.
"Boring~~" "Tiona, stop slacking and help us out here!" Tione called out from across the makeshift kitchen area, "Looks like I have to go! See you, Arin, and try to hold on to that drop item!" Tiona said as she hurried off towards her sister.
"No promises!" I said, as her form disappeared inside the tent, just then I felt another gaze on me and turned to find Kaguya standing there.
"Something on your mind?" I asked.
Kaguya stared at me for a moment as she spoke, her voice quiet, "That technique you used—Gokou," she said. "You've been practicing it?"
"Of course I have, or rather, do you have the brain of a fish? You're the one who taught it to me, remember?" I said.
"You are an idiot, obviously. I remember." She paused, then added, "But I didn't expect you to use it in actual combat so soon. Especially not against a Monster Rex."
"Are you upset I learn it so soon?" I asked, curious about her reaction.
"No." She looked back at me, and there was something soft in her usually sharp gaze. "Surprisingly, I'm not. If anything, I'm... proud? Is that the right word?" She seemed almost confused by her own emotions.
"But!" she continued, "Don't let it go to your head," she said, but there was no real bite to her words. "You still have a long way to go before you can truly master it."
"I wouldn't dream of it, sensei~~"
"You want a beating?" She scoffed at that but didn't correct me.
"Haha, no thanks, but I know," I assured her. "I won't be reckless with it."
"That's what you always say," she muttered, but let the subject drop.
Before I could respond, Finn's voice called out across the camp. "Everyone, gather around! We need to discuss our plans for tomorrow!"
"Alright, listen up," Finn began once everyone had assembled. "Today was successful, but we're only halfway to our destination. The floors below will be significantly more dangerous."
Riveria continued. "As you all know, the monsters there are stronger, more numerous, and far more aggressive than anything we've faced so far."
"Which is why," Gareth added with a booming laugh, "we'll finally stop holding back! No more letting you young ones have all the fun!"
That drew some tired chuckles from the group.
"How long do you estimate it will take to reach the fifty-eighth floor?" Lydia asked.
"At our current pace? Another three to four days, assuming we don't encounter any major complications," Finn replied. "We'll be taking fewer rest breaks and pushing harder, but not to the point of exhaustion."
"What about the Monster Rex on the forty-ninth floor?" Alise asked. "The Balor—are we planning to fight it?"
"No need to worry about that, we had already taken it down in our previous expedition, so there are still several months remaining before it spawns again," Finn answered.
"Any other questions?" Riveria asked, scanning the assembled adventurers.
When no one spoke up, Gareth clapped his hands together. "Alright then! Everyone, get some rest. We'll be setting out at first light, and I don't want to hear any complaining about being tired!"
As the meeting dispersed, people began returning to their tents or settling down around the campfires as the food was served.
After everyone had gone to sleep except those on the watch duty, I wandered to the edge of camp and stared out at the white expanse.
"Couldn't sleep again, Arin-san?" A voice called me from behind. I turned to see Ryuu approaching me.
"I don't think anyone can sleep truly in peace in a dungeon, and you know how much I like my peaceful sleep," I replied, as Ryuu took a seat beside me.
"Yes, I do, but you should still get as much rest as you can," she said.
"I will, I am just getting my mind refreshed before sleeping in, but why aren't you calling me by my name only? Like you did when we faced the crystal troll," as I asked that, Ryuu turned red.
"Th-that was an emergency! Besides, it's just too embarrassing!" She said, hiding her face with both hands.
"Really? But I liked it a lot when you called my name, but I can't force you, too bad I guess…" Ryuu visibly struggled after seeing my mock-hurt expression. Finally, she took a deep breath.
"Th-then, A-Arin…" she spoke quietly, struggling to form those words.
"Ohh!" Warmth flooded through me at those words.
"But! I will only call you that when we are in private, understood!" she said.
"Um, deal!" I replied, holding her hand. Ryuu jumped at that gesture.
"A-Arin! What are you doing so suddenly?!"
"Did you forget? It's time for your practice."
"Still, you can't do that so abruptly, especially after that embarrassing exchange." Ryuu turned more and more red, trying to release my hold on her hand, but I held on tight.
Since the expedition started, I haven't gotten the chance to spend some quality time with these girls. There is no way I was going to let this chance slip by.
Ryuu squirmed in place, but sensing that I was not going to release her hand, she calmed down, or rather, just accepted her fate. We sat there for a while in comfortable silence until we decided it was time to head back.
"Yup, I am fully recharged now. Let's go back and sleep, Ryuu. We have a long day ahead."
"What do you mean, recharge…" she muttered as she also got up, and we made our way back to the camp.
"Then sleep well, Arin," Ryuu said as she entered her tent.
"Yup, you too, Ryuu," I replied, seeing her off, before I also went back to my tent and slept like a log.