“He just mocked me.”
Gilbert unhesitatingly reported D’Élysée to Egru. His thick index finger pointedly singled out D’Élysée.
“He sneered that if I stayed still, I might at least come out neutral.”
At Gilbert’s tattling, Egru turned to D’Élysée. His eyes questioned if this was true.
“Brother, surely you don’t believe such baseless slander?”
D’Élysée tilted his head with an innocent expression. His sea-green eyes sparkled with clear and pure light.
“Don’t fall for it!”
Gilbert raised his voice as Egru showed signs of wavering.
“It’s obvious he’s acting!”
“Of all people.”
D’Élysée bit his lower lip slightly and smiled sadly.
“It hurts that you would doubt me.”
“!”
Gilbert immediately seized Egru’s shoulders as he fidgeted anxiously.
“Wake up! Why would I lie to you?!”
“Only the liar himself would know that.”
D’Élysée replied indifferently to Gilbert’s outburst. But when he turned to Egru again, his gaze was as bright as sunshine.
“Aren’t you cold being naked? Come to me, brother. Let’s get you dressed first.”
Gilbert immediately bared his canines defensively. He blocked Egru’s path, preventing him from moving rashly.
W-whose words are true?
Egru couldn’t hide his confusion. He was completely lost amid the conflicting conversations.
If only I knew magic that could reveal lies…
In the end, Egru could only speculate based on what he had personally witnessed.
He hadn’t seen D’Élysée doing anything wrong, but he had clearly caught Gilbert tormenting his manhood. It still stung and burned from the rough handling.
Ugh…
Egru was careful not to touch himself, even by mistake. It would be terribly embarrassing if he appeared to be unconsciously touching that area.
Tap tap, Egru finally touched Gilbert’s arm. He carefully requested to whisper something, as if he had something to say.
Gilbert turned to D’Élysée with a triumphant smile. He already anticipated victory from the moment Egru chose to speak to him first.
“I’ll go finish washing at the lake, Gilbert.”
However, the softly whispered words utterly shattered Gilbert’s expectations.
“I’ll believe that what you did earlier won’t h-happen again. Don’t fight with D’Élysée and go to sleep first.”
“…What?”
Gilbert gritted his teeth. The tip of his black tail trembled helplessly.
“Where did all my words go? I’m telling you we need to drive that bastard away right now!”
“D-don’t talk like that. I’ll be back soon, so please get along. I’m asking you. My body has been sticky all this time…”
“……”
“Gilbert?”
How long had this sudden silence lasted? Egru’s amber eyes grew round and wide.
“Ah, wait…”
“Never mind, I’m done.”
Finally unable to bear the injustice, Gilbert dropped a tear.
Egru hurriedly offered a towel, but Gilbert simply turned away and lay down, just as he had done a few hours earlier.
“I’m never helping you again.”
“That’s what he says, brother.”
D’Élysée approached with a bright, smiling face.
“Don’t worry. I can help you instead. Put on my robe first. You’ll catch cold.”
Egru shook his head. Gilbert was what mattered most right now. At this rate, the relationship between the two might become irreparably damaged.
Egru quickly washed himself and returned to console Gilbert. But it didn’t work at all.
Wh-what should I do? This isn’t good…
Egru became as dejected as Gilbert.
“It’s all right, brother. It’s nothing. He’ll forget all about it in a few days.”
D’Élysée skillfully comforted the disheartened Egru. The night in the forest passed like this.
***
The next day.
Egru’s party arrived at a small dungeon.
“Is this really where the item you’re looking for is located, brother?”
Egru nodded at D’Élysée’s question, while still anxiously watching Gilbert, who remained thoroughly sullen.
<system>
You are near the location of the second [Relic].
<system>
Proceed straight ahead for 500 steps.
According to the status window, the relic seemed to exist inside the dungeon.
“Judging by the lack of any distinct markings, we appear to be the first discoverers.”
D’Élysée remarked while examining the dungeon entrance. He sliced through the densely grown undergrowth in perfectly straight lines in the blink of an eye.
“Unranked dungeons are too dangerous. Brother, it would be better if you waited here…”
Egru had already drawn his triangular dagger and completed his preparations. D’Élysée gave a troubled smile.
“You want to go in?”
Egru nodded vigorously.
He couldn’t forget his first experience defeating the Galley Rabbit. The hunt in the northern forest.
Just like then…
He wanted to impress his younger brother. How splendid it would be to dispatch monsters efficiently with this dagger.
“…Then can you promise me one thing?”
D’Élysée said as he pulled out a light stone covered in thick leather.
“No matter what happens, don’t act alone. Safety comes first.”
When Egru nodded repeatedly, D’Élysée smiled faintly and took the lead. Thus began Egru’s first dungeon exploration.
“……”
Thirty minutes passed. Egru had been repeatedly raising and lowering his dagger the entire time.
Advancing through the uneven passages was much easier than expected.
However, there was not even a hair’s breadth of accomplishment. This was because Egru hadn’t had even a single second to demonstrate his abilities.
Whenever he raised his head with an excited heart at the appearance of a monster, the creatures were already corpses tumbling across the dungeon floor.
D’Élysée would sheathe his freshly cleaned blade, and Gilbert would wipe the blood from his axe on the wall.
<system>
248 steps ahead.
Not even half the distance remained to their destination.
Egru couldn’t suppress his anxiety.
A hero should lead by example.
At this rate, he would clear the dungeon without making any contribution. His plan to show his impressive side to his brother would all be for nothing.
Ah! Finally…!
Perhaps Egru’s desperation was heard. Just then, a frog-like monster about one meter tall evaded Gilbert’s axe blade and leaped out right in front of him.
This opportunity absolutely could not be missed.
Egru immediately raised his dagger above his head and charged forward.
No…!
But events unfolded in an instant.
“The terrain is narrow, so you might get hurt if you come too close. Try to stay at least five steps away.”
Before D’Élysée could finish speaking, the monster’s head was bluntly severed.
Its neck had been cut by Gilbert’s thrown axe. Splat, slippery blue blood soaked the floor.
Gilbert continued to slaughter monsters without hesitation. He seemed intent on fully releasing his stress before returning.
The strength drained from Egru’s hand holding the triangular dagger.
While newly impressed by the two, he couldn’t help feeling dejected. He felt worthless compared to them.
The dungeon clearing continued for a long time.
Monsters poured out from the dungeon core to eliminate the intruders, but they were disposed of much faster than they could be generated. Massive and powerful monsters were swept away like fallen leaves with a single wave of D’Élysée’s blue sword energy.
Egru remained alone at the very rear. Just then, Gilbert abruptly stopped his axe-wielding.
“…Right, I decided not to help anymore.”
D’Élysée seemed unconcerned as he wiped the blood from his chin and continued to handle the monsters alone. The sharp howls of medium-sized monsters continued without pause.
“?”
Wriggle wriggle, Egru spotted something in the crevice of the wall right beside him. A slime-type monster appeared to be trying to escape.
Th-this is it…!
D’Élysée and Gilbert were still focused on the frontline.
Egru immediately gripped his triangular dagger firmly. He intended to deal with at least one monster on his own.
Swoosh—!
But the red blob of jelly instantly rose to the height of the ceiling.
While he hesitated at the unexpectedly large body, the slime spread its torso wide and lunged at Egru as if to swallow him whole.
Huh?
He couldn’t avoid it.
No, it’s fine. The monster would dissolve and disappear as soon as it touched his dagger.
Just like in the north, this much is easy…!
Egru raised his dagger high and squeezed his eyes shut. Did he defeat it? Soon after, when he barely opened his eyes—
Ah…
An angry-looking D’Élysée stood before him. The slime was already being incinerated by a blue aura.
“Brother.”
Egru stiffened at the low call.
“What does the item you need look like?”
D’Élysée closed his eyes gently before asking again in a more composed voice.
“I’ll bring it for you, so would you please wait here?”
Egru hesitantly raised his triangular dagger as if to say he would go together, but D’Élysée shook his head.
“Later.”
At Gilbert’s blunt comment about “the shiniest thing,” D’Élysée walked away without hesitation.
“I’ll be back, brother.”
Egru’s shoulders slumped. He didn’t want to let him go alone.
Far from helping, he was only a hindrance and couldn’t stop him. Just as his brother’s back completely disappeared—
Slither, a creature descended from the ceiling along the wall and crawled across the floor.
“Gasp…!”
Before he could notice, something had wrapped around Egru’s ankle. His light body was instantly lifted into the air.
“Ugh!”
The impact of hitting the wall caused his triangular dagger to fall to the floor, and blood rushed to his head as he hung upside down.
Egru barely managed to look up. The creature was a pink tentacle.
“Nngh…”
Egru folded his body upward as if doing a sit-up. He struggled for a long time to tear away the tentacle with his hands, but it was useless.
“Gilbert! C-could you pick up my dagger? I can’t possibly cut through this with my hands…!”
Egru pleaded for Gilbert’s help, but there was no response. Seeing the black tail swishing, it was clear he was deliberately ignoring him.
“Gilbert, ah…!”
Just then, a moist tentacle wormed its way between his pants.
Egru’s expression stiffened.
He couldn’t even imagine how much more pathetic D’Élysée would think him if he saw him in this state. He desperately reached for the fallen dagger, but it was out of reach.
“J-just once! Gilbert! Help me just this once!”
“……”
“If you just pick up the dagger, I’ll give you my e-essence! I promise I’ll give it to you where D’Élysée can’t see, so please…!”
“I don’t need you to give it to me.”
Gilbert smirked, then crossed his arms and began to watch the spectacle.
“I think I’ll be able to eat soon anyway.”