"By watching what the monsters do, you can understand. When your head suddenly moves, you should quickly pull your body back in response."
Roxanne was teaching Cerie how to dodge.
As usual, it made no sense.
If you could do it with such guidance, it wouldn't be so difficult.
Only those who could do it from the start could follow Roxanne's explanations.
Cerie looked at me with a slightly troubled expression.
Don't look at me.
Well, I understand how she feels.
"Which way should we go next?"
"Ah, yes. This way."
I had no choice but to give her a hint.
Roxanne really is unusual.
I had suspected that everyone in this world had this level of combat skills, but it seems that wasn't the case.
That's a relief.
Cerie is a normal person, an ordinary person.
A companion.
I exchanged glances with Cerie.
'Until now, I've been exploring the dungeon with a partner like this.'
'That must be tough.'
Though no words were spoken, I was certain this conversation took place.
It's the kind of understanding that comes from eye contact.
Right now, Cerie and I are on the same wavelength.
After that, we hunted a few more monsters to recover MP.
I wondered if this amount of hunting was enough.
"Shall we head back?"
I chanted "Warp" and returned home.
"Can the Warp spell also be used to move to the dungeon?"
As soon as we got home, Cerie asked me, pressing forward.
Oops.
There's one person here who doesn't understand common sense.
Cerie's eyes were shining.
However, being short, she lacked the intimidation.
Rather, she looked cute.
If I taught her to look up, she'd be the most dangerous.
"Yes."
"And there's no incantation, right?"
"I guess. There probably is one."
Come to think of it, I've only used Warp with the incantation shortcut.
When I use it at the Adventurer's Guild, I just mumble the incantation for Field Walk that I've heard before.
Probably, if I remove the incantation shortcut skill, there would be an incantation.
"It didn't seem like you were chanting anything just now."
"My lord can use magic without chanting."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it is."
With Roxanne's help, I managed to convince her.
"Why is that possible? No, even if I ask the person, they won't understand, right?"
"I don't understand either."
I'm very satisfied that she understood that even the person wouldn't understand.
Cerie is indeed smart.
Honestly, I don't understand why I can do it either.
If someone asked me why I can breathe or why my limbs move, I could only answer that it's just the way it is, as I'm not a biologist.
It would be confusing to ask a fish why it doesn't drown in the sea.
Fish can swim because they can swim, and birds can fly because they can fly.
Cerie is muttering, "But why," but as long as she thinks about it on her own, it doesn't matter.
"By the way, you were able to defeat them all in one hit. You must be very strong."
"Well, I can do that much."
Despite showing my strength, it doesn't seem to impress her much.
From her muttering, "You can even buy two slaves," it seems she understands that strength is necessary to earn money in the dungeon.
Being smart is also a double-edged sword.
"May I ask your level?"
"The explorer is level 33."
I had just reached level 33.
Lately, the pace of leveling up has slowed down.
It seems to get harder as the level increases.
"Huh?"
When I answered, Roxanne's voice from the side was surprised.
"What is it?"
"My lord was level 27, right?"
"Ah, at that time."
Come to think of it, when Roxanne asked me, I might have been level 27.
"At that time?"
"I, I've been growing every day."
"Growing?"
Roxanne asked me about twenty days ago.
Since I gain experience points a hundred times faster than others, it's inevitable.
Roxanne has also leveled up by more than ten levels since the beginning.
"Still, can an explorer at level 33 really slay monsters in one hit? Or is it the sword's attack power?"
Cerie seems to see through everything.
She glared at Durandal, which I still had in my hand.
"Keep the level and this sword a secret."
I retreated to the bathroom.
Despite the awkward atmosphere, Cerie nodded, and I fled.
"My lord, do you need a fire starter?"
After a while, the two of them came to the bathroom with some branches.
It seems they weren't going to pursue the matter.
Even if they did, the truth is the truth, and there's nothing to answer.
"By the way, Cerie, have you ever made a fire before?"
I asked Cerie.
Usually, a blacksmith would use fire.
Without matches or lighters in this world, making a fire would be difficult.
There might be a possibility that making a fire could grant the blacksmith job.
"Yes, I have."
But she answered easily.
It seems I was mistaken.
Maybe melting some metal would work.
Huh?
Roxanne is looking at me with a strange expression.
Is she wondering why I asked Cerie and not her?
No, no, Roxanne.
It's a misunderstanding.
"If you need a fire, I can always make one for you."
"Yes, my lord."
I used a Fireball to light the branches and handed them to Roxanne.
Roxanne nodded with a smile.
I'm not sure what kind of follow-up that was.
It's tiring.
To prepare the bath, we entered the dungeon a few more times.
Cerie volunteered to watch the fire, so Roxanne and I hunted on the seventh floor of the Vale dungeon.
"Why do you go to the dungeon?"
Cerie asked during one of the times.
"Preparing the bath is difficult, so it's for stress relief."
Roxanne gave a strange answer.
I wonder how I appear in Roxanne's eyes.
Maybe it's my fault for not explaining.
"It's to recover MP because I used magic."
"Does that sword have an MP recovery skill too?"
"No, it's more like MP absorption."
"MP absorption..."
Cerie stared at Durandal.
"Do you know about it?"
"Yes. If you fuse a Kobold monster card with a Venus Flytrap monster card, it becomes MP absorption. It's a rare skill."
I don't understand, but as expected of a dwarf.
She seems to know a lot about blacksmith-related things.
"Do you know what a Rabbit monster card can do?"
"It causes Chant Delay when fused with a weapon."
"Wow. You know a lot. It sounds useful."
This is helpful.
I can't just experiment with valuable rare drops.
It saves me the trouble of investigating.
"Thank you."
"By the way, is Chant Delay a different skill from Chant Interruption?"
Durandal has the Chant Interruption skill.
"Chant Delay delays the completion of a chant. Chant Interruption cancels the chant midway. If you fuse a Kobold monster card and a Rabbit monster card together, it becomes Chant Interruption."
"Chant Delay just delays, while Chant Interruption forces a cancel."
I don't fully understand the difference.
"Is Chant Interruption a better skill?"
Roxanne cut to the chase.
I'm not sure either.
"Generally, yes. However, if all party members have weapons with Chant Delay and surround a single monster, they can defeat it before the chant completes."
If you can apply more Chant Delay attacks than the monster's chant speed, the chant will never complete.
Even if each attack deals little damage, it will eventually defeat the monster.
It's a kind of saturation attack.
"During a chant, the monster can't take other actions, right?"
"Huh? Then Chant Delay might be better."
Considering Roxanne's suggestion, that's the case.
With Chant Interruption, the chant is canceled, so the next action might be a normal attack.
With Chant Delay, the chant remains ongoing, so it won't attack immediately.
If you keep delaying, it won't attack at all.
Maybe Chant Delay is the strongest.
"But it's not always one monster, and monsters can stop chanting on their own. Also, it's difficult to have all party members equipped with Chant Delay weapons. It limits other options. It's an effective strategy for low-level bosses, but for higher levels, Chant Interruption, which can reliably cancel powerful spells, is more advantageous."
"I see. Then Chant Interruption is the better skill."
Roxanne nodded.
There's no easy solution.
And the reason bosses are usually alone is because they're in lower levels.
"But to get the Chant Interruption skill, you need more than just a Rabbit monster card, right?"
"You need a Kobold monster card. Kobold monster cards are special and can enhance skills when fused with other monster cards."
I thought Kobolds were just weak and dropped little, but they have this advantage.
"A Kobold monster card. Hunting Kobolds is tough."
"By any chance, do you have a Rabbit monster card?"
"Yes, I do."
"From this morning, right?"
Roxanne confirmed.
We exchanged glances and nodded.
"The Merchant Guild in Kularal holds auctions for monster cards and skill-imbued weapons. You can sell monster cards there. You might know this, but..."
Of course, it was the first I heard of it.
"...Roxanne, did you know?"
"Well, I heard a rumor that something like that exists somewhere."
Cerie looked at me and Roxanne with a cold eye.
"Well, I'm from a remote countryside. I'd appreciate it if you could tell me things."
"Understood."
I'm sure my favorability just dropped.
But there's nothing I can do about what I don't know.
"Can you buy a Kobold monster card at the auction?"
"Yes, if you have connections with blacksmiths."
Cerie is the connection, but I'll keep that to myself for now.
"I see. I understand Cerie's explanation. Cerie knows a lot and is very helpful."
"No, not really."
"Please, I'll be counting on you."
"Thank you. I'll do my best."
I praised Cerie and headed to the dungeon.
In the dungeon, I didn't forget to praise Roxanne, saying, "Roxanne is indeed helpful" when she found a monster.
I had to be considerate.
Having two companions is more challenging than I thought.
After returning from the dungeon, we filled the bath a few times, and it was ready.
I floated some lemons and went outside.
"Good work."
Roxanne handed me a towel.
I wiped the sweat off.
"Thank you."
"The meal is also ready."
"Let's eat then."
In the dining room, the table was set with dishes.
From the placement of the plates, it seemed Cerie would sit next to Roxanne.
"I made a Dwarf dish called Borscht."
Cerie greeted me.
I thought, "It's borscht," but maybe it's a translation thing.
It's probably a dish similar to borscht.
"Looks delicious."
"I hope you like it."
A red soup was placed in the center of the table.
It seems to be a Dwarf dish in this world.
I sat down, and Roxanne sat opposite me.
I think the table could be used more efficiently.
"Is it okay to sit there?"
"I'm the first."
The first slave, so in front of the master, I guess.
I don't really understand.
"Cerie, sit down too."
"Um, is it okay to sit?"
"Are you going to stand and eat?"
"Is it okay to eat?"
What is she talking about?
"My lord prefers to eat with his slaves. My lord, slaves rarely eat the same meal with their owners."
Roxanne said this and made Cerie sit.
It's not a matter of preference.
I took some Borscht from the pot in the center.
This is something Roxanne taught me.
Serving the soup is the master's job, apparently.
I don't fully understand, but that's how it is.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
First, I placed a bowl of Borscht in front of me.
According to Roxanne, that's how it's done.
Next, I placed a bowl in front of Cerie.
But I felt like I was being glared at, so I placed it in front of Roxanne.
"Here you go."
"Thank you, my lord."
Even though Cerie probably wants to try the Dwarf dish, I placed the last bowl in front of her.
The bread and the meat and vegetable stir-fry Roxanne made can be taken freely, apparently.
I don't really understand.
"Let's eat."
I started with the Borscht.
Mmm.
It's a rustic dish, but it's quite delicious.
It has a very country-style feel.
The ingredients are cut into large pieces.
It might be good to cut them smaller and make it more like a minestrone.
"It's delicious."
"Thank you."
Roxanne and Cerie conversed.
"Indeed, it's delicious. By the way, the Beast Warrior job for Lycans and the Blacksmith job for Dwarves, do humans have a race-specific job?"
I asked.
The Innkeeper job I heard about at the Vale inn was a race-specific job for some race.
It seems unnatural for only humans to lack one.
Maybe the Hero job is a race-specific job for humans.
But that seems too privileged.
"Um..."
"Ah, well..."
Both of them reacted strangely.
Did I ask something weird?
"I'm fine as long as my lord takes care of me."
"I'm prepared."
What are they talking about?
We were discussing jobs.
"What do you mean?"
"Apparently, humans are a race that can have extremely exaggerated desires."
Cerie explained.
I've heard this theory before.
Animals also engage in same-sex relationships, rape, non-reproductive sex, and even infanticide, but humans are the only ones who do all of these.
It's because humans don't have instincts, or something like that.
Maybe the humans in this world are also doing extreme things.
Wars and environmental destruction, for example.
"I see."
"Because of this, when their desires become exaggerated, they can take on the job of a Succubus. This is considered the race-specific job for humans."