#29: Resupply, The Hidden Dragon, And Edgar’s Party — Exiled Hero’s Leisure Life (Slow Life) – I Also Got My Very Own Dearest Angel After Getting Free! (WN)

The night was lit by the moon.

Liricia and I were delving into a dungeon in the mountain range.

However, despite the monsters that should have been roaming around, we didn’t encounter a single one and kept descending deeper and deeper underground.

“To think there wouldn’t be a single monster up to this point. Isn’t this a little too careless?”

“It really is. I wonder what happened?”

“Even if there aren’t any defenders against intruders, you’d expect at least some worker golems…”

Still wondering about it, we continued down to the lower floors.

Since this was a corridor for material collection, there were no traps, and we made better progress than I had expected.

Then we found a room with a lock on the door and went inside.

It was a big, empty room.

Aside from rocks scattered around, there was nothing there.

I went to a corner of the room and took off my pack.

“It’s already late at night. Let’s eat and rest.”

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

Liricia sat down beside me.

She fluttered her white wings as she prepared our meal.

Our “meal” was just tea, bread, and sausage. I really wished we had some vegetables.

As we ate, I suddenly noticed that something was off about the color of Liricia’s wings.

“Hey, aren’t your wings looking a bit dull?”

Liricia stretched her wings forward and curved them inward, as if hugging herself.

Her once pure white wings had taken on a slightly grayish tint.

“Ah… you’re right… I’ve been in angel form this whole time, and I’ve used a lot of the Serâge I was granted.”

“Sorry. Are you tired…? Would it have been better if we’d gone back?”

“No, I’m all right. I’ll endure it for at least one day!”

Liricia knit her thin brows and let out a little huff, trying to psyche herself up.

But there was a faint lack of energy in her voice.

—From here we’ll be heading toward the deepest part, and I’ll need her to do even more detection and exploration than today… This is bad.

If she loses the ability to become an angel partway through, we’ll be in serious trouble.

So I slowly chewed my bread and sausage, as if I were gathering my strength.

I washed down the last of it with water.

Then I leaned in close to Liricia’s face.

As she chewed her last bite with her small mouth, I kissed her on the cheek.

Her fatigue seemed to vanish; her violet eyes went round.

“Eek!? M-Master!?”

“I’ll top up your Serâge.”

Blushing, Liricia looked up at me from beneath her lashes.

“M-Master… This is a dungeon, you know? We’re inside a dungeon?”

“That’s exactly why. If you can’t give your all in angel form, it’ll put the rest of our exploration at risk.”

“Th-that’s true, but… mmm—”

I cut off Liricia’s words with my lips.

As our tongues entwined, Liricia let out a heated breath.

“Ah… honestly, Master…”

Looking shy, Liricia’s graceful hands moved, loosening the sash of her habit—and then the belt of my trousers as well.

She spread her wings with a soft whoosh, an angelic smile on her face as she descended onto me. Her large breasts bounced right before my eyes.

After that, we held each other gently and kissed, and then became one.

Perhaps because the danger of this place heightened everything, Liricia was more passionate than ever.

Her silver hair and white feathers danced wildly above me.

In the dim dungeon, Liricia’s voice rang out clearly.

And I didn’t just give her a day’s worth, but enough Serâge to last her about a week.

Her wings regained a brilliance so white they seemed to shine.

Around that time, the Chaos Dragon had emerged from the corridor.

Beyond the corridor lay another dungeon.

The Chaos Dragon lifted its head and sniffed the air.

That alone told it what existed on this floor.

—They’re here. There’s definitely a lot of meat here.

It didn’t seem like it would taste all that great… but it still looked worth eating.

It lunged at the nearest group.

Elite goblins such as Goblin Snipers and Goblin Witches had their faces bitten off in a single snap.

Blood sprayed out with a squelch, soaking the surroundings.

A Great Goblin, two meters tall, raised a massive axe, but its belly was chomped off with a wet, crunching sound.

In the blink of an eye, it devoured three of them, then attacked another group of goblins.

It continued the hunt until its belly was full, then lay down in a small room.

Having eaten monsters that were fairly strong, it could feel its stamina returning.

The Chaos Dragon curled its lips in a grin.

—When I wake up, I’ll have recovered even more.

It would keep going at this pace.

Then it curled up in a corner of the room and closed its eyes.

The next day.

In the eastern dungeon of the Royal Capital.

Because they were using a huge amount of supplies and manpower for the raid, their advance had been smooth.

Since floors B1 to B20 were familiar territory for many adventurers, they were able to clear them quickly.

The knights and adventurers were diving together.

As a result, they had already cleared the 18th floor on the first day.

On the second day, the vanguard had pushed into what was believed to be the 29th floor, close to the bottom.

The floors and walls were like stacked bricks.

The corridors and rooms formed a complex maze.

The monsters appearing here were large rabbits that released sleep gas, Sleep Rabbits.

Shrubs with leaves as sharp as blades, Bush Treants.

And goblins—ugly fae creatures about the height of a child.

Edgar’s A-rank adventurer party was moving along a corridor.

Besides Edgar, their A-rank leader, there were five boys and girls of B to C rank, cutting down goblins and rabbits with swords and arrows.

Children of around ten to fifteen years old hunted their enemies with serious expressions.

“See that goblin there? There’s a pitfall right in front of it.”

“Yes!”

Following Edgar’s instructions, a boy swordsman dashed forward with his short sword at the ready.

He made a wide loop around, then slashed the goblin from the side.

Another boy warrior used his entire body to swing a long-hafted axe with both hands—a powerful blow to make up for his lack of strength.

He smashed a Bush Treant to pieces.

In the rear guard, a boy hunter and a girl ranger fired arrows over and over.

The last line was Edgar and a girl healer.

Edgar protected the healer while spotting traps and giving directions.

With movements sharp enough that you wouldn’t think they were children, they advanced steadily.

Even so, Edgar furrowed the space between his brows.

“Yeah, the 29th floor really is tricky.”

“It feels like they’re getting smarter somehow… and I think the goblins’ equipment is getting better too.”

The healer girl clutched the collar of her white robe and trembled.

Their next opponents appeared from around a bend in the corridor.

One larger Hobgoblin and two regular goblins. Behind them was a lanky, tall goblin.

Noticing that the tall one was holding a staff, Edgar dashed out from the rear, shouting.

“Goblin Shaman! Magic defense up!”

“Yes!”

The boy swordsman and boy warrior swung the shields on their backs around to the front. The rear-guard classes hid behind them and fired arrows.

Since a single large shield could cover all the children completely, putting two together gave them double-layered defense.

Meanwhile, Edgar charged forward.

The goblins loosed arrows and hurled magic.

Edgar planted a foot on the wall and ran along it, using his forward momentum.

The goblins stared in shock.

He kicked off the ceiling and landed behind the goblin party.

At the same moment, blood spurted from the Goblin Shaman’s neck as it slowly toppled.

Edgar already had a knife in hand.

The goblins, now caught in a pincer attack, panicked.

They threw away their bows and rushed at Edgar, but he cut them down with ease.

The Hobgoblin charged at the boys, but by the time it got close, it was staggering, its whole body riddled with arrows.

The boy swordsman leaped in to stop the Hobgoblin, creating an opening.

As it reeled, the boy warrior brought his long-hafted axe down with a full-force swing and felled it.

Edgar gave instructions in a languid voice.

“Just like we practiced—looking good. There’s probably a safe spot in the direction these guys came from. Let’s grab what we can and move on.”

“Yes!”

The children moved briskly.

They took the magic cores from inside the monsters’ bodies, stripped them of equipment, collected proof-of-subjugation parts, and gathered any arrows that could still be used.

After that, they followed the corridor onward and emerged into a fairly large room. There was no sign of monsters.

Nor were there any traps.

The children let out a sigh of relief.

“We made it, Captain Edgar.”

“Okay, let’s rest here for a bit. I’ll head up and report in. If things get dangerous, use the [Trapezoid Defense Formation] to retreat.”

“Yes!”

They contacted the 28th floor right away, and ten knights descended to the 29th floor with supplies on their backs.

Edgar guided them, disarming traps as they went.

In this way, they established a base camp on the 29th floor as well.

For some reason, though, the hero Marius’s party had come down along with the knight order.

“What’s up? Are we already getting relieved?”

Edgar scratched at the bangs hiding his eyes, sounding completely unmotivated.

The children gathered behind Edgar, glaring sharply at Marius.

Marius spread his arms with a dazzling smile.

“I’ve heard that you’re one of the top child parties in the Royal Capital. Still, compared to adults, you must get tired more quickly, so we’ll advance while you rest.”

“These kids aren’t that soft; I think they could keep going for a while longer.”

“I hear you’re a thief from a foreign land. I’m this country’s hero. For the kingdom’s sake, let me be the one to push on.”

“…Yeah, sure. In that case, we’ll gladly take you up on that offer and rest.”

Edgar backed down easily.

—Even though he knew Marius was trying to snatch the glory of clearing the bottom floor of the dungeon.

The children stared at Edgar in surprise.

They looked like they wanted to say they could still fight.

But perhaps the captain’s judgment was absolute, because they drooped their shoulders and obeyed.

Marius spoke to them in a friendly tone.

“By the way, how strong are the monsters here? Well, I imagine they’re only about as tough as kids can handle.”

“We’ve been seeing Goblin Knights, Goblin Shamans, and Hobgoblins, and Great Goblins have started appearing too. From here on out, I expect even higher-ranked monsters.”

“Thanks for the warning. We’ll be careful—Nefil, I’m counting on you.”

With a flash of white teeth, Marius thanked them, then led his party out of the room.

With a drawn-out sigh from someone, the tense air in the room loosened.

Edgar ran a hand carelessly through his shaggy black hair.

“Looking after my kids is easier than dealing with him.”

“Well, he’s still the hero, so it can’t be helped. …Anyway, eat this and take a break.”

One of the knights gave a wry smile as he held out boxed lunches.

Keeping watch near the entrance, Edgar spoke up.

“Then we’ll take you up on that—okay, everyone, break time.”

“Yes!”

The children’s faces lit up with carefree smiles befitting their age, and they dove for the food.

They ate their lunches while chattering happily.