v2c37 - A Meeting to Sort Out the Members of the Underground Exploration Group and the Aboveground Cultivation Group
“Ahaha! Somehow, it feels so strange!”
Nina had been limping for a while after washing her feet clean, but after she recovered, she was happily stepping on the grapes.
Anyway, I’m glad she’s having fun.
“Miss Nina. If you don’t roll up your skirt properly, you will get grape juice on it.”
“Well, like …… this? Ehehe …… This is so fun!”
“Yes, it is. Let’s just enjoy making wine.”
Nina lifted the skirt of her dress and started to move her legs around so much that sometimes her underwear was visible.
Nina doesn’t seem to mind too much, but if it had been Lydia or Ellie, they would have been pissed at me for looking.
…… No, of course, I’m not staring at Nina’s underwear, I just see it in my vision.
“Now, I’m going to get serious, so lift up my skirt tightly ……”
“M-Ms. Monica. You can’t just roll up your skirt! I might see it!”
“It’s all right. I’m showing it.”
“Even more so!”
Monica, not wanting to get her skirt dirty, tried to roll up her short skirt, but Ellie stopped her.
Then, after a while of grape-stomping, we moved on to the next step.
“It’s about time. The next step is to ferment this …… but, I don’t think we have a room for fermentation, so let’s just leave it as it is for the time being. If possible, I would like to cover it with a wooden board.”
“We have wooden planks, so we can at least enclose the iron bucket. By the way, how long are you going to leave them there?”
“My father would keep an eye on the grapes and let them ferment for about two weeks. Let’s leave it for about the same length of time.”
We covered the bucket with a board as Monica had suggested, and the wine-making process was put on hold.
Then, after lunch, Monica’s luggage arrived, so we asked her to put on her armor, strengthened Monica’s sword with Nina’s skills, and then we were off to the underground cave.
After protecting everyone with the paladin’s defensive skills, I asked her to lead the way so I could see Monica’s strength.
“Ha!”
“[Middle Flame]”
“Kuh …… Taaah!”
The Green Scorpion is defeated by the sword and the Iron Scorpion by magic, as one would expect from a Magic Knight.
Although it took a little time because of Assassin Rabbit’s quickness, she finally defeated it firmly.
Mmm. As expected from a solo A-class adventurer.
“Monica. As you saw before lunch, Lydia’s cooperation is indispensable for the development of the land. So, I will supply Lydia with magical power, and I would like Monica and Ellie to explore the underground cave as the core team, but what do you think?”
“Master. If it’s a monster of this magnitude, I can handle it on my own.”
“No, these are the three types of monsters that appear in this vicinity, but since we don’t know what’s out there, you can’t go solo. And when a large number of monsters appear, it will be hard without Ellie’s magic.”
Perhaps because she has been working solo for many years, she raises her eyebrows slightly when I mentioned her to go together with Ellie ……
On the other hand…
“Alex. I now know what Ms. Monica is capable of. And to increase my safety, you want her to work with me. But if we split up the party, does that mean that only Alex and Lydia will remain on the above? What about Nina?”
“Nina has to collect iron and soil, so I think it would be better for her to accompany Ellie and the others, but ……”
“No! I can’t leave you two alone, Alex will be in danger! If Monica and I are going to explore the underground caves, at least put Nina on Alex’s side.”
Ellie says something I don’t understand.
Is it dangerous above ground if it’s just the two of us?
No, but I can defeat the Shadow Wolf with a single blow …… Well, even above ground, it doesn’t mean that unknown monsters won’t appear, but I think the possibility of that is much higher in the underground.
“But I think you’d better have some of Nina’s skills when it comes to iron and soil extraction, don’t you?”
“No! I don’t care what you say, this is non-negotiable!”
Ellie was so adamant that I was about to ask Nina’s opinion…
“Nina, you’d rather be with Alex, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes! I like minerals, but Nina likes her Mister better.”
“Lik- …… W-Well, anyway, that’s that!”
Ellie was the first to talk to Nina, and she ended up in the cultivating group.
Now that we have agreed to Ellie’s wishes, and have come to an agreement, there should be no more problems.
After defeating Iron Scorpion to some extent and collecting iron, the three members of the cultivating group decided to return to above ground, but…
“…… I wonder if this was a mistake in itself ……”
Ellie was muttering something I couldn’t understand.