Reporting To Rebecca

I suddenly woke up just as the sun began to rise and jumped out of bed, looking out the window. The city had not yet been trampled by monsters. It was the same peaceful scenery as always.

“…Anyway, I have to hurry.”

I was too anxious to wait until the time I had arranged to meet Rebecca, so I asked the inn staff to prepare breakfast earlier than usual.

Then, when it had properly begun to get bright outside, I rushed out of the inn and knocked on the front door of Rebecca’s house after running there.

“Sorry for coming so early in the morning. I’m Luca, Rebecca-san’s party member.”

I spoke quietly so I wouldn’t disturb the neighbors, and I heard hurried footsteps from inside before the door opened from within.

“Luca, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Rebecca looked surprised that I had suddenly come, but otherwise she seemed normal as always. I was glad Adolf hadn’t become a trauma for her… though I should still keep an eye on her for a while.

“Actually, Lady Seremees told me something important last night. Could we move somewhere else to talk?”

“Okay, wait a moment.”

At the mention of Lady Seremees, Rebecca’s expression turned serious and she hurried back into the room. A few minutes later she came out dressed as usual. In her hand was a large sandwich that she had probably planned to eat for breakfast.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Should we go to your inn, Luca?”

“No, I’m sorry for rushing you. Going back to the inn would be a little suspicious… let’s go to a quiet alley.”

Following Rebecca, who knew this area well, we entered a dim alley and headed together to the Divine Domain. This was the best place for a private conversation.

“Oh my, you brought Rebecca with you.”

“Yes. I thought I should tell her about what happened yesterday.”

After explaining the situation about the Stampede to Rebecca, her face turned pale at the fact that the city where she had grown up was in danger.

“A Stampede from Ant Hell… and it’s being caused by the servant of the God of Earth? That’s unforgivable.”

Rebecca clenched her fists tightly, anger burning in her eyes. Silence dominated the area for several dozen seconds… until Rebecca broke it.

“Luca, please take me with you. I’m begging you.”

“No, that’s impossible. If you come with me, it will be far too dangerous.”

“But the same goes for you, doesn’t it? Luca, you’re a divine servant and very strong, but you’re still human. There’s only so much one person can do. Fighting another divine servant… I don’t know how that will turn out. If I support you with my bow, I think I can help. So please.”

It was true… fighting the servant of the God of Earth was terrifying. Since I wouldn’t have an overwhelming advantage in abilities, the rest would come down to our own strength.

If that happened, having even one companion would be reassuring.

“If I’m not useful, you can just throw me into the Divine Domain. Please… I want you to take me with you. I don’t want Luca to suffer alone.”

I couldn’t shake my head at Rebecca’s serious gaze, so I agreed to let her accompany me on the condition that I would immediately take her to the Divine Domain if things became dangerous.

“Luca, thank you.”

“No, thank you instead. …To be honest, I was feeling uneasy about going alone.”

When I let my true feelings slip out without thinking, Rebecca seemed to understand how I felt and gave me a gentle smile.

“Then maybe I’m already helping a little?”

“…Yeah. Thanks to you, I feel less tense.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Let’s do our best together.”

“Of course. Let’s definitely save this city.”

After strengthening our resolve and encouraging each other, we checked the situation in the mortal world through the water mirror to make sure no one was around, then returned to the alley. From there, we left the city without taking a quest.

The Guild’s quest reception wouldn’t open for a little while yet, so we couldn’t afford to wait that long. Adventurers sometimes entered dungeons for materials even without a quest, so today we would pretend we were hunting ant-type monsters for their exoskeletons.

“Ant Hell is pretty close to the Royal Capital, right?”

“Yeah. The entrance is hidden in a crack between rocks in the forest. That’s why it wasn’t discovered for so long. If we hurry… we should reach it in about twenty minutes.”

We left through the outer gate, followed the main road for a short distance, then entered the forest and walked along the narrow path created for the dungeon. Eventually, what appeared before us was a towering rocky mountain. The dungeon entrance lay within a gap in that mountain.

“There it is.”

“Oh, you’re right. That’s quite a place.”

Dungeon entrances were usually cave-like, and this one was no exception. A large hole had opened in the rock face, forming the entrance to the dungeon.

“Let’s defeat a few monsters inside and gather some materials. Then we’ll hurry back to the Guild and report it like we just discovered something.”

“Got it. Can people really detect signs of a Stampede in advance?”

“There isn’t much information, but apparently a few Stampedes were detected beforehand in the past. Adventurers reported hearing an enormous number of monster footsteps, or the dungeon slightly trembling. There were various signs like that.”

It would be good if something like that was happening this time too… even if the Guild didn’t believe our words, if they sent an investigation team they would probably notice the signs quickly.

“Anyway, let’s go in.”

“Right.”

After exchanging a glance and nodding to each other, Rebecca and I stepped into the dungeon.