Chapter 63: AdvancementAfter stepping into Nordselm’s Labyrinth, I changed my mind.

  “Since we’ll be losing the guys to Rutina earlier than pnned, I’d rather go to Curatar’s Labyrinth while we still have a full party. Also, the monsters of the 22nd floor here have a bad mix of resistances.”

  After Sherry’s briefing about Curatar’s 38th floor, we fought the poorly-named Colge Corals. I mainly used water magic to take care of the remaining spiders and we all tried to watch out for the sleep-inducing sheep. Overall, not much different from the previous floor other than the usual step in difficulty. After progressing through a bit less than half the floor, we went home for lunch.

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  “I think our meeting with Rutina went well. It’s sad to lose the guys, both personally and for practical reasons. Still, it’s important to support Rutina’s new government with people more trustworthy than Brunhild. Hopefully, this will be good for Marcus and Theo.”

  Marcus says, “We understand, Boss. It’s easier to let go of us than the gals.”

  “Easier but not easy. Anyway, what should our new vanguard look like? Any suggestions?”

  Theo answers, “Marcus and I are different vanguard types so the match isn’t perfect. I suggest finding another dwarf or two people like Marcus. Alina and Sherry already fill my role.”

  Sherry adds, “I agree. Between these two options, I’d suggest two rge people. Marcus is better than I am so that’s better for the party. Humans and wolf-kin are good options, but dragon-kin might be even better. They are very big, even taller than you. The only problem is that they tend to attack more than defend.”

  “Thanks, Sherry. Big people in the front would be good for defense but harder for me to see what’s going on. Of course the really important question is, what are dragon-kin like? Can they breathe fire or fly?”

  Sherry says, “They might have some sort of fme breath, definitely not wings.”

  “That’s wonderful! Oh, sorry, guys, if all this discussion of how to repce you was insensitive. I’m just being practical.”

  Marcus responds, “Understood, Boss. Anyway, fire-breathing was one of your first questions for us.”

  Theo quips, “I don’t think we’ll be missed that badly if Boss finds someone who can breathe fire.”

  Best not to answer that. We finished the floor right around our normal dinnertime and went home.

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  “Alina, do you know anything about what we all need to wear to Rutina’s ceremony? I could wear my fancy outfit or maybe the Sacred Robe. The rest of you don’t have formal clothes and anything we get might need to be tailored.”

  “No, David, it would be considered inappropriate for the rest of us to be dressed too well. The clothing you bought for us is at the very limit.”

  “Oh. What about me then?”

  “As a Mage, you’re allowed to dress better than a normal commoner. Since you will receive an award, good clothing is expected. Your fancy clothes are perfectly suitable.”

  “Do you mean that I’ll be given Rutina’s insignia publicly?”

  “Yes, David. It’s written in the invitation. You’ll be up there with the nobles. We’ll be in the general audience.”

  “Yeah, sitting up front sort of makes sense considering our connection. I assumed you’d be with me.”

  “That’s nice of you to say. Even having you up there is highly unusual.”

  “Well, I can trust Rutina not to embarrass me so it should be fine. Do I need to bring a gift or anything like that?”

  “Yes, David, but that’s already been decided. You’re giving her Marcus and he is bringing Theo as his spouse.”

  “Really?”

  “The note says that you’ll be paid for breaking their contracts but allowing even one of them to join her is almost too great of a gift. It’s easier to consider Theo an obligation, um, no offense, Theo. It’s just a formality.”

  Theo responds, “None taken. Whatever works is fine.”

  “Thanks, Alina. I assumed that the invitations would be the same for everyone, not that mine would contain valuable information.”

  “It’s weird how you sometimes seem to be from a high-noble family and at other times it’s like you’re from a remote vilge outside the empire.”

  “Good observation, Alina. That’s pretty close to the truth.”

  That night, Sherry enchanted Alina’s leather cap with Poison Resistance.

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  Day 76

  I forgot to make something to help Sherry run with us. When I mentioned this, she started jogging on her own. I really hadn’t meant it as a threat but it’s good for her anyway. Once she gets used to it, I’ll join her.

  Today we’ll go to Curatar’s 39th floor where the main monster is the cow-boss, Hachinos. Not even Sherry knows where the name comes from. My guess is that the game designer is named ‘Mino Hachinos’. Maybe the third cow will be named ‘Jr’ or something like that. It sucks not being able to look things up. I miss my phone.

  At lunchtime, I took Alina on a lunch date. She was very interested in finding out what I ordered for Roxanne. We went to the fancy store in the capital where they told me that they’re ready for Roxanne to come in for a fitting. They took Alina’s measurements but we agreed to wait until we got Roxanne’s order. Sherry would be much easier because, um, she moves more like a Knight. Of course, I’ll get something for her too and she might actually need it for her heavy armor. Anyway, it’s not like she’s exactly ft, just not in need of a special order.

  In the remaining time, Alina picked out a set of combs and brushes for the three of them. It really does seem that Alina enjoys her role as the senior. Her experience of working as Rutina’s main attendant certainly helps. Roxanne says that she just likes to know where she fits in, though I’m certain she’d be happy to step in as the leader at a moment’s notice. Sherry doesn’t seem to care much about the hierarchy and just enjoys her unique role as the Runesmith. I have to wonder if the talk of getting another dwarf made her a little nervous.

  The afternoon’s shift in the byrinth went pretty much as expected, except for a couple of people getting hit with sleep spells from the sheep. Marcus and Sherry had no trouble holding the line and we took great advantage of our status effect weapons. Well, I’ve started using mine a bit less and just move up to replenish my MP. Anyway, it can get pretty crowded up there.

  The floor boss’ name turned out to be Senmai. [1] Well, that doesn’t even look like the same nguage. Hmm, my new prediction is that the cow monster progression of Mino -> Hachinos -> Senmai -> X means ‘Me know. How’d she knows? Send my X’, where X is the name of the next cow. Now I have a clear purpose in life — solve the cow puzzle. To solve the mystery of X, I need to fight the boss of the 72nd floor of Curatar’s Labyrinth. If it still isn’t clear, I’ll have to hope that the byrinth extends to at least 105 floors. The first emperor is said to have reached the 91st floor so a 105th seems possible.

  I was formuting my cow pns at dinner but decided to keep it to myself for now — I don’t want my party members to think of me as weird. Alina directed me to the baths where I filled and warmed them. I wonder if dragon-kin could help? What about a dragon-kin Mage? Eventually, the sight of the gals snapped me out of my dreams of cows and dragons.

  Sherry used our precious Slime and Kobold crystals for my precious Alina’s Dragon-leather Armor of Free Action. This the same armor I wore in my duel against the previous count, Rutina’s father. The addition of physical resistance makes it incredibly powerful. Sherry didn’t want to use a Kobold crystal with the Slime for her shield, so Identify calls it Sturdy instead of Rugged. [2] We need to find better armor for Roxanne since her dragon-leather doesn’t have any skill slots.

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  Day 77

  “The 40th floor will be full of Rapid Rabbits. They aren’t terribly dangerous but they’re hard to hit. Since this might be a bit tougher than the st few floors, let’s take it slow and aim for two days. I’ll have lunch with Mirable today, assuming she shows up.”

  The rabbits did end up being troublesome, especially in quantity, but the combination with the other monsters made it tolerable. Safe on the back line, I would have been fine going a bit faster but the others had it much tougher. When we fought five or six rabbits at a time, I moved up for melee attacks. Durandal would have done more damage but I was more accurate with the rod.

  We ended up collecting quite a lot of meat so we should drop some off at Nordselm or sell it. If we just stuck to this floor, we would definitely flood the market and still have plenty of Hachinos meat for ourselves. Fortunately, I’ve stopped worrying about the physics of this world.

  I brought the entire party to central Curatar with the promise that they could take a quick look at Mirable, not start stalking us. Besides being intrusive, it’s quite possible that Mirable’s guards are better than they look. In a crowded pce like this, there may even be another yer of protection.

  Ah, she actually came. Good. I hope she’s prepared to share a little. I’ve been so tempted to use Identify on her, but that somehow feels more dishonest than withholding the fact that I’m an alien.

  “Hello, Mirable.”

  “Hello, David. Thank you for being so patient with me. I really wouldn’t have bmed you for not coming today.”

  “I’ll admit that we’ve had a rough start but I still have hope.”

  “Oddly reassuring that you’re a bit less optimistic this time.”

  “Ha, now you’re being weird.”

  “No, just nervous. OK, here it goes. My name is Mirable Varen.”

  “Alright. Tell me something about yourself, Mirable Varen.”

  “My name isn’t familiar to you?”

  “Just the Mirable part and that’s only because of you.”

  “What if I say it properly, ?Mirabel de Varenne?.”

  “Oh, your name is actually ‘Mirabel’. That sounds French, um, I mean, like my second nguage. Whatever, I’ll just try.

  ?I am called ?David Moreau?. Are my words clear to your understanding?? [3]

  ?Your pronunciation is odd, but acceptable. Why did you choose to study this nguage at all??

  ?I possess my own tongue from childhood, and yours is a corrupted hybrid, partly Elvish.?

  ?Your nguage sounds partly Brahim. Am I allowed to ask where you’re from??

  ?I vow to reveal my origins once we become bound more closely.?

  ?Oh, that’s just a tease. I’m gd now. When you said ‘demoiselle,’ I thought you might be from where I’m from but you are not.?

  ?Are you a criminal, restrained by armed keepers??

  ?Something went wrong linguistically, but no offense is being escated.?

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  “Mirabel, maybe we should switch back to Brahim before this gets any worse. It really was fun though. You’re the first person I’ve met here who speaks anything close to, um, Parle.” [4]

  “Yes, I agree, David. I could only guess what you meant with some of those odd words.”

  “So, Mirabel, what’s so special about your family? You made it seem like they are known or possibly notorious.”

  “No, David, it’s just me. It’s sort of a known secret so I may as well tell you.”

  “Thanks, that would be appreciated.”

  “My fiancé died.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss. Do you still have feelings for him?”

  “No, never did.”

  “Then, what’s the problem?”

  “Alright, I’ll just say it. We disagreed about when to start acting married. He won at first and then he lost.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s alright, David, you don’t have to say anything. Just leave and forget we ever met.”

  “No, I meant that I’m sorry you had to experience such a terrible thing. It must have been traumatic.”

  “David, how can you joke about such a thing?”

  “I’m definitely not joking. Anyway, it seems that you may have recovered emotionally. Are you concerned about the social issues involved with losing your first time?”

  “If it was just that, I could have found a husband of a lower rank. Killing my fiancé because he couldn’t control his natural urges is completely different. Clear enough now?!”

  “Yes, perfectly. So, are you currently a fugitive?”

  “No, it was decred accidental.”

  “Good, no problem then.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Because I trust that you’re a good person. As long as you don’t harm innocent people or me, what happened with your fiancé can stay in the past.”

  “I should be worried about how easily you’re accept this.”

  “Sounds like there’s hope for me.”

  “Unfortunately, my foolish father hasn’t lost his hope of finding me a suitable match. He’s unlikely to accept that you’re a commoner.”

  “Even as just a friend?”

  “Don’t be silly, David.”

  “Alright, let’s get this started by having your guard check my Status Card. Your people can take a few days to investigate me and then we’ll meet again to consider our options.”

  “Um, really?”

  Not really expecting an answer, I walk over to one of her guards (I just happened to pick the Knight) and stick out my left hand. He checks it and the other guard takes notes.

  “Mirabel, let’s meet here again in three days.”

  “Alright, David, I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”

  (I’ve shown you mine — now I want to see yours.)

  [Mirabel Varenne][Female, Age: 17][Priest: 12]

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  [1] Our epic journey through cow stomachs continues from chapter 37.[2] The LN is inconsistant with skill names. I favor the names from ter volumes, when reasonable.[3] David and Mirabel are speaking very different dialects of French. The dialogue here simutes what the other person understands.[4] They now use French for each other’s names. To show this, ‘Mirable’ becomes ‘Mirabel’ and ‘David’ becomes ‘David’. Well, ‘David’ is written the same but sounds different.