"It has been a while."
Sakurai-kun takes a seat without waiting for our approval.
His attire is different from the one of before, simple clothing that looks like that of a commoner.
But clothes that don't have a single spec of dust or wrinkles stick out like a sore thumb in this bar with a lot of dirty adventurers.
"L-Light Her—Mgh?!" (Lucy)
Lucy was about to shout out loud, so I hurriedly covered her mouth.
"N-Nice to meet you… I am honored to be able to meet you." (Nina)
Nina-san is letting out a rare nervous voice.
"I am surprised you could tell that we were here." (Fujiwara)
Fuji-yan speaks out the natural question.
"I had a report that the Fujiwara Store had given us Knight Order a great amount of supplies, you see." (Sakurai)
"As expected to fuji-yan... You even doing that stuff." (Makoto)
"It was simply a bribe. The Sun Knight Order is the largest army of the continent. There's no loss in getting along with them." (Fujiwara)
Is 'bribe' something you say while laughing?
I wonder if Fuji-yan seriously is the same age as me.
"There're many members who are big fans of the whisky of Makkaren. This contribution is greatly appreciated." (Sakurai)
Sakurai-kun says with a refreshing smile.
"To think even Takatsuki-kun is here. I am glad I made the time." (Sakurai)
"Y-Yeah, it has been a while. You are looking good." (Makoto)
He is slapping my shoulder like an american, celebrating our reunion.
Each gesture of his really stands out.
He really hasn't changed at all.
"I heard that you came here to subjugate a Taboo Dragon?" (Makoto)
"That's right. They pushed a troublesome job to me just because I am a newbie knight." (Sakurai)
The Light Hero says this with a slightly troubled expression.
"It should be easy for you, Sakurai-kun, right?" (Makoto)
Well because your a cheat...
"That's not true. I just arrived today. Right! If you know Laberintos well, Takatsuki-kun, will you guide us?" (Sakurai)
"Alright! We will do i—MGH?!" (Lucy)
Lucy was about to make a mistake here, so I once again covered her mouth.
"We just arrived today as well. I am sorry, but I don't think we will be of help." (Makoto)
It's true though.
"I see, that's a shame." (Sakurai)
There's no way he was seriously asking for us to guide him, right?
After that, we listened to the stories about his pains as a hero which Fuji-yan pulled out from him with his speaking ability.
It was for around 15 minutes, I think.
At the end, 'I have some other business, so see you later', is what he said and left.
What did he come here for?
He didn't drink one sip.
Did he come here to have a casual talk?
After sakurai-kun left...
We proceed to our leisure talk.
Until we became tipsy.
Fuji-yan offered us to stay in the inn, he reserve.
This time it's two rooms...
*****
Lucy and I decided to go again to the dungeon.
Fuji-yan has a business talk so... He can't come with us.
Although Lucy is complaining about why we going to the water cave again.
But I bribe her that there's a rumored beautiful waterfalls in the dungeon.
They called it.
"The Grand Waterfalls of Laberintos"
It's a popular tourist spot. Especially for couples but... Because of the increasing number of monsters on the surface, the number of tourists is being lessened.
"Hmm, couples, huh…" (Lucy)
"Lucy, what's the matter?" (Makoto)
"Eh? No, it is nothing! If Makoto wants to go no matter what, I've got no choice but to follow, huh!" (Lucy)
She agreed.
While we heading where the grand waterfalls is...
My detection is ringing. Apparently is not a monster but a human...
"Lucy... We are being followed", I tell Lucy.
"Eh?", Lucy looks back.
"What are you saying after so long?" (Lucy)
"Eh?" (Makoto)
"They have been following us all this time since before we entered the dungeon." (Lucy)
Seriously?!
"Tell me sooner!" (Makoto)
"I thought you noticed a long time ago… Sorry." (Lucy)
Lucy got depressed.
"Ah, no, it is my job to detect these kinds of things. Even so, I am surprised you noticed." (Makoto)
"They were saying dangerous things like 'I will kill them' while looking at us after all. They must be the guys that were making trouble for us in the Adventurer Guild. To think they would chase us all the way here, what a malicious bunch." (Lucy)
Hahh... I thought they will be scared if I reveal that we are Lucas-san disciples.
It looks like that's not the case huh...
"They really blow things up just for breaking a Mythril sword." (Lucy)
"Uh, yeah…" (Makoto)
Actually, I asked the price of a mythril sword from Fuji-yan.
'It would be no less than 5,000,000 G', is what he said.
5,000,000G is the average annual income of an Iron Rank adventurer.
Yeah, if I had something broke that is equally worth a year of work, I would pledge vengeance.
"…Let's run away for now."
Actually, we can win against them but... Lucy is the only one who can fight them because we are not in the falls yet and it takes time to call the water spirit...
And if she uses her magic the cave will blow up... So for now let's go with retreat tactics...
"[Water Magic: Mist]." (Makoto)
Mist appears throughout the whole cave.
I also activate Stealth.
What's next is to deal with it somehow.
There's a lot of forks in Laberintos.
I take away their vision, and with Stealth, we should be able to lose them.
"Damn it! Did they notice us?"
"Find them! They shouldn't have gone far."
"Don't separate too much, there's monsters after all."
The footsteps grew further and further away.
"They are gone." (Lucy)
Lucy confirmed with her ears, so it should be accurate.
There's no reaction from my Detection either.
"Haah… I am sorry, Lucy." (Makoto)
"Why are you the one apologizing?" (Lucy)
"It was my failure." (Makoto)
Well, I didn't regret breaking his sword what I regret is...
Putting Lucy in danger.
"What are you saying? I don't mind it." (Lucy)
Lucy says with a dazzling smile.
I am glad Lucy is my comrade.
"What should we do from now on?" (Lucy)
"For now, let's head to our original objective which was the Grand Waterfall. The problem about the hoodlum adventurers of before… It hurts my head a bit." (Makoto)
"Isn't it okay to just ignore them?" (Lucy)
"There's no way that will cut it." (Makoto)
When we return, let's consult with Fuji-yan
◇◇
Grand Labyrinth, Laberintos.
The largest dungeon on the continent, and the place that's said to be one of the most beautiful, the Grand Waterfall.
"It is the Niagaras…" (Makoto)
"Waaah…" (Lucy)
I ended up muttering the number one most popular waterfall of my previous world.
Lucy is also dazed at my side.
A cliff suddenly appeared at the deep areas of the Upper Floor of the dungeon, and an underground lake could be seen.
There was a gigantic waterfall at the surroundings of that underground lake.
This vast underground area that I can't see the full portrait of seems to have this upper area serve as an atrium with sunlight entering from there. It was creating an illusory sight.
Within that sunlight, there were big birds flying around.
"By the way, what's a Niagaras?" (Lucy)
Lucy retorted.
"A touristic spot of my previous world." (Makoto)
"I see. Anyways, below this cliff is the Mid Floor, right?" (Lucy)
"Yeah, it would be bad if we were to fall." (Makoto)
According to the map, this cliff is 200 meters deep.
The underground lake is apparently part of the Mid Floor.
In other words, it may be a beautiful sight, but within all that, there's strong monsters lurking around.
It was at that moment…
My detection rang...
Lucy also senses them...
The hoodlums huh...
So they used stealth and predict that we will go here.
I don't know if they are fortunate or unfortunate.
The one that Lucas-san warned us about is this group of people called Newbie Hunter.
"So all of you is not just a bunch of weaklings but a trash as well huh..."
The man laughs out loud.
"You guys! Surround them!"
The guy that once had a mythril sword gives the sign, and the bunch surrounds us with the waterfall at our back.
Lucy is ready to chant any time and as for me?
I'm not that bothered about them...
What I'm bothered by is the detection is still ringing loudly until it leads to...
Terrible headache.
The headache went away soon, but the noisy alarm continued.
The Detection Skill.
It is originally a skill that detects the approach of Low, Mid, and High-Class monsters.
A skill that rings an alarm inside my head.
But there's a class that's higher than High Class.
They are called the Calamity Designation Monsters, and when you encounter them for the first time…
'Depending on the person, it might lead to a headache, so be careful', is what the guild receptionist, Mary-san, explained to me once.
Calamity Designation Monsters cannot be defeated alone. Because they are considered disasters itself apparently.
Calamity Designations are divided in four: Village, City, Country, and Continent.
If a monster of Calamity Designation Village appears, that village will be destroyed.
When a Calamity Designation Monster appears, there's the need for national armed forces to deal with it.
Like the Sun Knight Order.
I hugged Lucy tightly.
"Makoto…?" (Lucy)
"Oooh, a knight protecting his woman? How gallant."
The hoodlum is saying something, but I am not listening.
Where?
Where is it?
From where is it coming?
"Buoooooooooooh!!!"
A roar that shook the air itself resonated.
*Crack!*
The ground swelled up, and a giant something appeared.
Just in the middle between us and the unsavory adventurers.
"Dra…gon?" (Lucy)
Lucy mutters.
No one of the adventurers could react to it.
"All dragons are Calamity Designations after all. Run away at full force on sight", is what Lucas-san explained to me at the guild stalls