Chapter 67: IntroductionsI like being able to do little experiments like fighting a Pan in isotion. It was always frustrating to read these stories and not be able to direct the MC to look deeper. The Drive Dragon was another useful test, though starting it by hitting another monster with fish liver was way too weird.

  Now that we’re done with the Pan test on Nordselm’s 1st floor, it’s time to move to the real thing on the 43rd floor of Curatar’s Labyrinth.

  Thankfully, the higher-level Pans were manageable. I could feel the hits but took practically no damage. Since everyone else had a shield, it was even easier for them. They just had to be careful to avoid getting hit near their shield arm and not pull their shields in too close. Of course, the Hunt Ants threw poison spikes and the Udo Woods hit with some force so we did take some damage.

  I tried to use Group Heal and failed. Oh, right, I forgot that I switched to High Priest. I need to use Group Protect instead. I haven’t taken any damage so it’s hard to tell if this is helping.

  Theo shouted back, “Boss, their attacks suddenly got weaker.”

  “Good, that must be the new healing skill. Everyone should have partial protection now.” [1]

  I could hear Roxanne mumble, “Amazing.”

  I honestly have to agree. Advanced jobs are awesome. After a bit of observation, it seems that Group Protect is more like a healing field than damage recovery. The end result is that the attacks feel lighter. The spell doesn’t st long but I have enough mana to spam it when needed. I should go for the advanced job of Monk to see what that will give.

  We got through a third of the floor before going home for the evening. Theo started teaching Roxanne and Alina how to prepare one of his specialties and I went out to fill the tubs. It was quite warm outside so I’m looking forward to the baths.

  While zily waiting for dinner, Sherry came to me for the day’s enchanting. Hoping to get better stuff for Roxanne at the auction, I asked her to give Theo’s leather cap poison resistance. Shame on me for neglected the guys. Oh well.

  Goat meat certainly isn’t my favorite, but dinner was tasty. I sure am gd I don’t need to cook often. I think the others appreciate that as well.

  Bath time helped me forget about the crazy nobles. No, I’m just less stressed. Now that I think about it, when the duke ordered me not to talk about their cabal, that would include talking to the baron as well. Fantastic. Now I can truly appreciate bath time and what follows.

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  Day 82

  I should be nervous about having Mirabel meet the gals. It’s possible that Alina will say something obscene, Sherry will compin about Mirabel’s figure and Roxanne will challenge her to a mock duel. Even if all that happens, Mirabel will probably accept it gracefully. Instead, the real problem will be when she sees how close I am to the girls. How can I just call them party members when I take them out on individual dates? Who does that for combat sves? Well, this is still the easy part. Getting past her parents will be the real challenge.

  “Good morning, everyone. We’ll all go see Mirabel at lunch today. As I said, she’s unlikely to join the party and currently knows nothing about my extra skills. Our retionship is far from certain so please avoid any discussion of our tactics or progress in the byrinths. This is just a social introduction so try to keep to the embarrassing, personal topics.”

  Alina asks, “David, is that what you meant to say?”

  “Yes, she asked to meet you so she should be able to accept what she hears. Just don’t ask about her background or babies unless she mentions it first.”

  “Thanks for the trust, David.”

  “Always. Now, let’s get back to work.”

  We used the same strategy as yesterday and eventually noticed that their heads were especially vulnerable. After this, the fights went fast enough that I dropped back to the rear.

  We went home early enough to take off our armor and wipe off before going to Vale.

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  Mirabel was already there so we found a quiet spot to sit and talk.

  David: “Hello, Mirabel. Gd you could come. This is my party.”

  Mirabel: “Thank you, David. Could you please introduce them?”

  David: “Certainly. First, here’s Marcus and Theo, who will soon leave to work for Rutina.”

  Mirabel: “Oh, the demoiselle I met?”

  David: “Yes. Rutina needed someone reliable and the guys were willing. Next is Alina, who used to work for Rutina.”

  Mirabel: “Hmm, you two really are close.”

  David: “Yes, we cooperate. Next we have Sherry and Roxanne, neither of whom are connected to Rutina.”

  Mirabel: “Hello everyone. I hope to keep this as informal as David seems to be. I have a number of questions for you but maybe one of you would like to start.”

  Alina: “Lady Mirabel, how serious are you about our David? He’s easily fooled.”

  David: “Should I give you some privacy? You obviously don’t need to answer their questions, of course.”

  Mirabel: “No, I’d much rather that you stay. I take it that all three are your lovers.”

  David: “Yes, you could say that.”

  Mirabel: “Alright, good to know. Alina, I like David and I have every intention of pursuing a retionship. That said, I don’t know if I will get permission. Does that answer your question?”

  Alina: “Yes, Lady Mirabel, and I’m gd to hear it.”

  Mirabel: “Alina, would it bother you to share David? Or, perhaps, I should ask all of you.”

  Alina: “As long as we still get some of his attention, I’m alright with it. Sherry? Roxanne?”

  Sherry: “I want what’s best for David.”

  Roxanne: “Master needs a suitable wife. If Lady Mirabel can fill that role, I will be happy.”

  Mirabel: “Oh my, the three of you seem very fond of David.”

  David: “Are you sure I need to be here for this? Maybe us guys should give you some privacy.”

  Mirabel: “Marcus, Theo, do you have any questions for me?”

  Marcus: “No, Lady Mirabel.”

  Mirabel: “Then I don’t mind if you wish to withdraw. This conversation may be boring for you. David, please stay.”

  David: “Alright, I guess I deserve this.”

  Mirabel: “David, why do they use different names for you? Is this a matter of status?”

  David: “No, I didn’t allow anyone to call me Master until recently. The guys call me Boss and I asked Alina to call me David since we met before she joined.”

  Alina: “That’s because David didn’t know I had become his sve.”

  Mirabel: “How does that sort of thing happen?”

  Alina: “David doesn’t treat his sves like sves and he’s a bit na?ve.”

  Mirabel: “I’m starting to understand that.”

  Alina: “Lady Mirabel, do you feel uncomfortable about David’s retionship with us?”

  Mirabel: “No, it’s wonderful. I witnessed David’s bravery when we met, his patience while waiting for me and now his kindness through the three of you.”

  David: “I don’t think men are supposed to hear such praise.”

  Mirabel smiled and mercilessly continued. Roxanne bragged about being trusted to avenge my death — I can only hope that Mirabel didn’t catch the implied threat. Alina spoke of how we helped the elves after the floods. Sherry boasted about being entrusted to perform research at the imperial library. The entire conversation was like the opposite of a celebrity roast.

  Mirabel: “David, I’d like you to meet my family.”

  David: “Certainly, Mirabel, anytime.”

  Mirabel: “Thanks, that will make scheduling easier. Can we meet back here in a couple days to confirm?”

  David: “Yes, Vale is certainly quieter. I’m happy that you could meet my party.”

  Mirabel: “Me too. They’re wonderful. See you in two days.”

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  Mirabel departed and we pulled armor and weapons from our Item Boxes. As we walked towards Vale’s Labyrinth, I thought about how convenient this pce is. Sure hope it doesn’t get defeated too soon. Once inside, I opened a portal to our st location on Curatar’s 43rd. I repeatedly cast Group Protection and we casually walked through the rest of the floor to the waiting room.

  “We don’t know anything about this boss except that other parties beat it. My guess is that it will be another spell caster so we’ll split by having a defender and Chant Interruption on both. Marcus and Theo, take the left. Sherry and Alina, on the right. Roxanne and I will move around as needed.”

  We entered the boss room and quickly got into pce around the Faun Lords, which looked very simir to the Pans. As expected, they immediately started magic circles, which we cancelled just as fast. After that, the pitiful fauns didn’t stand a chance against the barrage of stuns. My hypnotic hits were useless since they only sted to the next hit.

  Soon, the battle was over. Theo recovered a piece of chevreau — it’s good that the system didn’t call it ‘kid’. It’s better than normal, though I’d rather have mb. Even better, Alina found a charging crystal.

  We could have allowed a Faun Lord to fire off a spell, but it’ll be a while before meeting these as regur monsters, if ever.

  The next tier will certainly be much tougher than this one, especially without the guys. Still, I expect we’ll be able to beat a younger byrinth next season. I might ask Rutina to pretend she did it. Heck, even the duke might cover for me since he doesn’t seem to mind stealing credit. I might even be able to spin it as doing him a favor and get more goodies from the treasury.

  We exited the boss room and went home with time to spare. Sherry enchanted Alina’s gloves with fire resistance. I filled the baths and rexed while waiting for our goat-based dinner to be prepared. We might need to make another food drop to Nordselm Vilge.

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  “I’ve been invited to attend the auction in Curatar tomorrow morning. [2] Not sure how long it will take so best to assume that we won’t go to the byrinths before lunch.”

  Alina asks, “Are you going to look for sves?”

  “No, Alina, sve auctions are held on holidays. I’m mainly looking for better armor. Roxanne’s dragon-leather can’t accept enchantments and it would be nice to send Theo off with something better.”

  “Really, Boss?”

  “Yes, Theo, your sword and shield are adequate but your armor is weak. I’ve just been relying on your talent to make up the difference. Um, that wasn’t meant as an insult to anyone else. It’s at least partially thanks to Theo’s formal training.”

  Roxanne says, “I agree completely and have benefitted from Theo’s instruction. All of us have.”

  That was really generous of Roxanne. It makes me feel better about getting complimented by her.

  “So, what did everyone think about meeting Mirabel?”

  Alina reported, “There’s no doubt that she likes you. Such a shame that she’s so pretty and pleasant. That’d be fine for the daughter of a baron or maybe even a viscount. A marquis’ daughter who looks this good must have committed murder to be allowed to marry a commoner. Um, no offense, David.”

  “Well, let’s just say that her current status is lower than average for her rank.”

  Roxanne asks, “Does Master actually need the family’s permission?”

  “No, but they could cause a lot of trouble. I don’t want to hurt her retionship with her family.” [3]

  Sherry suggests, “If you can’t get Mirabel, use her as bait to catch a simir woman with lower status. If Mirabel cares for you, she should help you find a repcement.”

  Marcus adds, “Rutina seemed pretty sure she could find wives for us. It should be even easier to find a match for a Mage.”

  “Thanks for the advice. I’ll still try for Mirabel for now. So, what should I expect from meeting her family?”

  Alina answers, “It’s unlikely that they’ll dismiss you immediately. You don’t need to be invited for that.”

  “Yes, that seems logical. I also don’t expect to simply charm them.”

  “If charm would be enough to convince them, they would have already disowned her. Instead, they will probably ask you to do something bothersome or dangerous to prove yourself. If you succeed, it will be easier to expin why you were acceptable. If you fail, it will show that someone was willing to fight for her.”

  “We need more information. While I’m at the auction, I’d like for the rest of you to do a little research. The girls will go to the explorer guild in Curatar. You should at least be able to find information about their byrinths, but check for official compints, etc. The guys will travel to Valois Territory. Have a look around without being too obvious. I mainly want to know if the pce is doing well or full of crime and poverty. Are the people happy or fearful.”

  All nod and Alina confirms, “This sounds really good, David. We’ll find out as much as we can.”

  “Thanks, I’ll go heat up the baths.”

  I’m so proud of the girls for how they treated Mirabel. I’ll do my best to express that tonight.

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  [1] The High Priest’s skill isn’t specified in the LN or WN.[2] The LN’s MC attended an auction near this date to practice for the upcoming sve auction.[3] In a stronger feudal system, the family probably could block it.