Is It Wrong to Explore the Dungeon Even Though I’m Overpowered? (Danmachi SI- WC) (Patreon)

Chapter 57: A Fox in the Labyrinth

“Yuno! Carl! Thank goodness you’re both alright!” Ray yelled happily as she landed before us, relief clearly written across her face.

“Rei-chi! You did it!” Lyd congratulated me with a grin on his maw, slapping my back before letting out a hearty laugh.

“I’m just glad I made it in time,” I said humbly with a small smile as I noticed the rest of the Xenos approaching and waved them over.

A moment later I was taken by surprise when Ray suddenly pulled me into a feathered hug, laughing happily.

“You actually did it, Reinhard, hihihi~”

Blinking in surprise, I looked down at the beautiful Siren currently hugging me before smiling and returning the embrace.

We stayed like that for a moment before Ray suddenly realized what she had done. She quickly pulled away, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of red as she turned her head to the side while Lyd grinned teasingly nearby.

“S-Sorry about that,” Ray muttered shyly.

“Don’t worry, I don’t mind,” I replied calmly with a shake of my head. “Though I do think we should head back quickly, or we risk running into other adventurers.”

I glanced around at our surroundings, silently thanking the dense trees that helped conceal our location.

“Rei-chi’s got a point,” Lyd agreed with a nod before quickly taking charge. He ran back to the others and informed them that we were heading back.

Ranye, who had finally caught up with us, gave me a grudging look of respect along with a small nod before following Lyd.

“I guess you weren’t lying about your intentions. You’re alright… for a human.”

“Let’s go, Reinhard,” Ray said with a smile as she hovered beside me.

“Right. I still have a few things to explain about my plan before I return later for all of you. I’m guessing you’ll also need time to inform the others about it, right?” I said as I followed behind Lyd at a relaxed pace while Ray flew beside me.

“That’s right! With everything that happened, I almost forgot what you said,” Ray replied excitedly. “I still can’t believe you said we’ll finally be able to leave the dungeon and see the light of the sun for the first time~”

I simply smiled as we followed Lyd and the others back toward their hideout.

After all, I still needed to hurry.

Rem and Marie would be waiting for me on the 18th floor.

I will need to investigate this Knossos by myself later… to see if it’s truly safe to use.

=====

Orario — Twilight Manor — Loki Familia

“What the hell are these stats, Ais-tan!? Did you fight a Monster Rex on your own in the little time you and Mama Riveria were away!?”

Loki’s surprised shout echoed throughout the Twilight Manor.

Sitting on the bed, Ais silently adjusted her dress so she was properly covered from the wandering eyes of her perverted Goddess before focusing again on the piece of paper in her hands displaying her status.

If someone looked closely, they would notice the faint hint of satisfaction in her expression.

After months of seeing little to no growth as a level 5, Ais had begun to feel increasingly frustrated. She had clearly hit a wall in her strength.

In fact, if things continued like this for a few more months, Ais had even considered doing something reckless, like challenging the Monster Rex of the 37th Floor, Udaeus, in a one-on-one fight.

Something the others, especially Riveria, would undoubtedly scold her for.

But she would have done it anyway.

“Ais-tan? Heeelllooo? Ais-tan, are you ignoring me!?”

Loki’s voice snapped her from her thoughts as the Goddess waved a hand in front of her face.

“Yes?” Ais asked blankly, tilting her head. She had honestly not heard what Loki said.

“Tsk, so you were ignoring me! Waaah~ Ais-tan doesn’t love me anymore!”

Loki cried dramatically as she wrapped her arms around Ais’s knees and tried to bury her face into the blonde’s lap.

A quick and precise chop to the top of Loki’s head immediately put a stop to that.

“Okay! Okay! I’ll stop!” Loki said quickly, rubbing her head before looking at Ais curiously. “But I was serious earlier. How did you get so much stronger in so little time?”

Ais had already stood up and was heading toward the door.

Just before leaving, she paused and glanced back at her Goddess.

“I sparred with Reinhard.”

With that simple statement, Ais left the room and quietly closed the door behind her.

She didn’t notice the shocked, and calculating, look that appeared on Loki’s face.

Walking through the halls of the Twilight Manor, Ais felt a small bubble of excitement forming in her chest as she thought about her next spar with Reinhard.

She didn’t know exactly what it was about him that allowed her to make such rapid progress.

But she knew one thing for certain.

She would not waste that opportunity.

Since Reinhard had invited her to visit his Familia home whenever she wished, Ais planned to train for a while before heading over tomorrow for their next spar.

From what she had personally experienced, Reinhard was the best swordsman in Orario, bar none.

He was stronger, faster, and wielded his blade as if it were a natural extension of his body.

The title of Sword Saint fit him perfectly and was an apt description of his abilities with a blade.

His swordsmanship was simply beautiful.

Even to someone like her who didn’t care much about things like that.

Ais truly hoped she could improve a little more before their next encounter.

She honestly couldn’t wait.

As she stepped outside, the Twilight Manor was once again filled with Loki’s loud shout.

Ais ignored it completely.

“Damn that Chibi and her golden child!”

=====

Somewhere Else in Orario

“Sorry, but we don’t take in weaklings!”

With a slam of the door, another Familia rejected them outright causing a white haired boy with red eyes to let out a small sigh of dismay and lower his head with sadness and frustration.

That expression only lasted for a second though as a smile lit up his innocent face again as he turned around to his companion who didn’t look surprised in the slightest.

“Don’t worry, nee-san. I’m sure the next Familia will accept us for sure.” The boy said trying to sound confident but failing miserably due to his face giving him away.

“Haah, that was the fifth Familia today. Why don’t we take a break first before continuing?” A girl with similar hair as the boy said with a deadpan expression.

“Great idea! It’s getting a bit late so you must be hungry huh? I bet we’ll find a Familia that will take us in after a nice meal. Come on, I smelled something good in this direction a while ago.” The boy said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him.

“…Tsk, you’re too naïve, Bell.” The girl quietly muttered with a sigh as she followed behind him.

=====

Back With Reinhard

It had taken a few hours to properly brief the Xenos on the details of my plan to move them out of the Dungeon and into my Demiplane. I had to explain it in a way they could understand before I was finally able to leave.

As far as the Xenos were concerned, I would be opening a portal to a personal island that belonged to me, one completely devoid of humans except for us. That explanation did wonders to calm the nerves of some of the more cautious members of the group.

In the end, we came to an agreement that I would return in a few days. That would give them enough time to gather their kin in one location safely, since such a large and varied group of monsters moving together would immediately alarm adventurers if discovered.

Since I was already there, I also took the opportunity to grant my Shroud to a few of the Xenos present, mostly the girls.

Surprisingly, Ranye had asked for it as well. It seemed she had warmed up to me after our first meeting.

Currently, I found myself on the 20th floor, with only two more floors remaining before I reached the safe zone on the 18th floor, where Rem and Marie were waiting for me.

I hope those two didn’t run into any trouble.

I pushed the thought aside as the stairs leading to the 19th floor finally came into view. I picked up my pace slightly, cutting down any monsters that got in my way.

As I approached the stairs, however, I tilted my head curiously.

Coming down the staircase was a group of Amazons.

Leading them was a tall and beautiful black-haired woman with purple eyes. She wore a purple outfit that barely covered her assets, typical attire for Amazonian women. In fact, it looked more like the clothing of a dancer than that of an adventurer, which again wasn’t unusual for their race.

There were about twelve of them, all dressed in similarly revealing outfits.

All except one.

Walking in the middle of the group as if being guarded by the others was a blonde fox girl, or a Renard as they were called here. She had a blonde fox tail with a white tip and wore a veil that covered her face.

Since the girl didn’t appear to be in distress or anything similar, I soon dismissed the curious sight and continued walking.

That was when they noticed me.

“Hooh~ Well, well. If it isn’t the famous Sword Saint everyone’s been talking about lately.”

The black-haired woman leading the group looked me over slowly before licking her lips in a deliberately seductive manner.

I felt a faint blush creep onto my face, which only seemed to amuse her further.

Then, as if some invisible gate had been opened, the rest of the Amazons began reacting in a similar fashion.

“Whoa~ It’s really him!”

“He’s super hot!”

“That’s an understatement, he’s beautiful!”

“Those rumors about him being a hunk didn’t do him justice~”

“That face alone could give me sweet dreams for months~”

“Hey, Sword Saint~ Want to spend the night with me? I won’t even charge you~”

“Count me in! I have a feeling someone like you won’t be satisfied with just one of us anyway~”

With every comment, the Amazons slowly closed in around me until they formed a circle, their eyes roaming freely over my body.

“Huhuhu… so what do you say, Sword Saint?” the woman in charge whispered seductively as she stepped closer.

She lifted a finger and gently tilted my chin downward, meeting my eyes with a heated gaze.

“Would you care to have a little fun with us?”

A little overwhelmed by their affections and very forward personalities, I did my best to remain calm, and most importantly, to keep Est calm, since she seemed particularly riled up ever since the Amazons showed up.

“Ecchi girls bad.” Est practically hissed telepathically as her sword form vibrated lightly at my waist in anger, looking ready to transform back into her human form and beat the girls surrounding me.

“It’s alright, Est.”

Sending her a reassuring mental hug, I thankfully managed to calm her down, though she continued grumbling in the back of my mind, clearly not fully pacified.

Who knew my cute Est held such animosity toward Amazons?

Though, thinking about it more deeply, it was probably because they sounded and acted like prostitutes, which most girls tended to have a problem with.

Refocusing my attention on the Amazons, I prepared to politely decline their offer. I still had Rem and Marie waiting for me after all and a grumbling Est to pacify.

That was when my senses suddenly flared.

All other thoughts vanished as I detected a projectile heading toward us, or more specifically, toward the Renard who stood slightly behind the others. She was currently unprotected and watching the scene with visible embarrassment, judging by her body language.

I also noticed that the woman in front of me seemed to sense it as well, her expression losing its seductive look.

But by then I had already moved.

One moment I was surrounded by a group of overly enthusiastic and horny Amazons.

The next, I was standing directly in front of the blonde Renard, holding the stinger of a Gun Libellula between my fingers.

A moment later my eyes locked onto the monster responsible for the attack some distance away.

Using its own stinger, I flicked it back toward the creature, the projectile piercing straight through its head and killing it instantly.

Once that was done, I relaxed again and turned toward the Renard.

She looked up at me from behind her veil with wide, beautiful green eyes.

Ignoring the excited whispers behind me about how fast I had moved, I focused on the girl.

“Are you alright, Miss?” I asked gently, offering her a small reassuring smile.

“U-Umm… I-I am. T-Thank you so much for protecting me, Goshujin-sama.”

She replied meekly in a soft, refined voice, her manners impeccable as she bowed politely, reminding me of some of the nobles I had spoken with in the past.

I see… my first impression was correct.

This girl is far too innocent.

She didn’t seem like someone who belonged in the same line of work as the rest of her Familia did, which likely meant there was a reason she had ended up there in the first place.

Another clue was her clothing.

She wore what looked like a red yukata, the kind of attire common in Japan, or the Far East, as it was known in this world.

“Think nothing of it,” I replied with a small nod before finally turning my attention back to the Amazons.

Surprisingly, most of them hadn’t lost their seductive expressions. In fact, they seemed even more excited now, with the exception of their apparent leader.

“Huhuhu… it seems the rumors about your strength weren’t exaggerated after all.”

The black-haired woman smirked as she walked up to me again, stopping beside the Renard as if protectively placing herself between us. One hand rested on her hip while the other casually held her greatsword over her shoulder.

“In fact, I’d say the rumors fall far short of what I just saw.”

Her smirk widened as she leaned slightly to the side, causing her chest to bounce within the flimsy wrappings of her outfit.

“The name’s Aisha Belka.”

She gave me a confident smile.

“And thanks for saving a member of our Familia.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Aisha. My name is Reinhard van Astrea.” I said, giving her a small bow, which only seemed to amuse her further.

I then shook my head, dismissing her thanks as I gave her a polite smile.

“And please think nothing of it, Miss Aisha. My body just reacted on its own. Besides, I noticed you also sensed the attack coming, so even if I hadn’t done anything, I’m sure you would have taken care of it.”

“Just Aisha is fine. I’m not a ‘Miss,’ trust me.” Aisha said with a small chuckle, which was quickly shared by the other Amazons listening behind me.

“Still, you just keep getting more interesting, Reinhard~”

Aisha purred seductively before raising a calculating eyebrow as she looked at me in a new light, though her teasing smile never left her face.

“Fancy yourself some kind of Hero then?” she asked casually.

Surprisingly, at the mention of the word Hero, the Renard beside her perked up and somehow became even more shy, fidgeting with her fingers.

‘Hero, huh?’ I thought silently, still not used to being called that in this world. So far the only ones who had done so were Artemis and Rem.

“I don’t think I can call myself a Hero,” I eventually answered after a short pause, causing Aisha’s other eyebrow to rise in curiosity.

“A Hero is a title given by others, not something someone goes around calling themselves. There was someone in danger, and I simply reacted. That’s all there is to it.” I finished with a small shrug.

Aisha remained silent for a moment before letting out an amused chuckle.

“For such a simple question, you sure put a lot of thought into it.”

“Excuse me for my rambling,” I said sheepishly, scratching the back of my head.

Then I shook my head and looked Aisha directly in the eyes again.

“Now you’ll have to excuse me, but I must be going. I have some friends waiting for me on the 18th floor. It was a pleasure meeting you, Aisha, young Miss.”

I gave them a respectful nod.

Aisha merely smirked, while the Renard beside her quickly bowed again, clearly flustered.

“T-Thanks again, R-Reinhard-sama,” the blonde Renard muttered gratefully.

Giving her a gentle nod, I stepped forward—

Only to stop as Aisha’s greatsword suddenly blocked my path.

Turning toward the Amazon with a raised eyebrow, I saw her smirking again, excitement dancing in her purple eyes.

“And where do you think you’re going, Reinhard~?”

She purred seductively, a mixture of amusement, horniness, and battle lust clear in her gaze.