Chapter 43: Sasaki Aya's reunion
TLN: Hey guys, Reigokai here!
Just wanted to talk about the spoilery comments that have been showing up lately. Please refrain from posting any comments that provide definitives and refuting any theory in the comments with information you get from reading ahead. I consider theorizing as part of the fun of reading together, so please don't.
This site doesn't have a spoiler tag that hides the comment till you click it, so even if you say Spoiler Warning, there's people who skim and might end up seeing the spoiler.
TLDR; don't post spoilers. Let's have fun discussing the story together with others without ruining their fun. We are on the journey together :D!
"Takatsuki-kun...?"
Eh?
What did this monster say just now?
The Detection alarm that had been noisy until now stops cold.
"M-Makoto?! The monster...!" (Lucy)
Lucy raises a scream at the Lamia that suddenly appeared.
I haven't allowed a monster to approach me so close until now.
"Takatsuki...Makoto?!"
The Lamia shouts with an expression of joy!
The monster shouts my full name.
The intonation was also like that of a japanese.
This is...
There's no doubt.
This Lamia is a classmate of 1-A class.
But is something like this possible?
(Agh! This is pointless!) (Makoto)
"Hey, is there a place to hide around here?" (Makoto)
I asked the Lamia.
The Lamias have their territory in Laberintos.
She should have a better idea of the place than us.
"Over here!"
"Got it!" (Makoto)
The Lamia pointed at one of the specially bigger waterfalls even within the area.
I assume that she is telling me to go to the back of the waterfall.
"Lucy, grab on tight." (Makoto)
"Eh, g-got it." (Lucy)
Lucy tightens her hold around my waist.
The Lamia for some reason pouts.
Even the Lamia held onto me tightly?!
"Hiih! What's with this monster?!" (Lucy)
"Don't worry, Lucy. It is okay." (Makoto)
I am slightly unsure though.
It isn't trying to get me off-guard like the arachne of before, right?
"Spirit-sans! Please help us! [Water Magic: Rampaging Water Dragon]." (Makoto)
Different from the time with the arachne lair, on the top of the underground lake, I can use water as much as I want.
A water dragon of twice the amount from before rampages.
The monsters that were surrounding us were blown away, and with them getting washed away at the corner of my eye, we escaped into the back of the waterfall.
The back of the waterfall has a wide space, and there's no presence of monsters.
We managed to run away, huh.
"Haah, haah, haah... That was rough." (Makoto)
"Haah, haah, haah, we managed to escape... wait, why is this one here too?!" (Lucy)
"..."
Lucy hurriedly jumps.
The Lamia is looking over here —no, looking straight at me.
"Takatsuki-kun."
"Y-Yes?" (Makoto)
I ended up responding.
But this girl...who is she?
"It is Takatsuki-kun..."
This time she starts touching my whole body.
Uh, hmm.
"Wait, what are you guys doing?" (Lucy)
Lucy was shocked at a slightly separated distance.
From an outside perspective, it would look like I am being hugged by a monster, huh.
"..."
The Lamia is ignoring Lucy.
Or more like, she is only looking at me.
"Uhm..." (Makoto)
I had no choice but to speak to the Lamia.
An acquaintance in 1-A, and a person that would speak to me like a close individual.
Excluding Fuji-yan, there's only one more person that comes to mind.
Her outward appearance is completely different, but...
Well, if I am wrong, I will apologize.
"You are Sa-san, right?" (Makoto)
"You didn't notice?"
Uwa!
She has an incredibly displeased tone now.
"Well, you know, you look completely different now." (Makoto)
"Ah, I see. Here, [Transformation]." (Aya)
Ooh, the Lamia is slowly turning into a human form...wa, wait a moment!
"You, at least wear some clothes!" (Lucy)
Lucy-san! Nice tsukkomi.
The Lamia that had changed to a human form was completely naked.
I hurriedly look back.
"Sa-san! Don't you have anything to wear?" (Makoto)
"Hmm, I am a monster after all." (Aya)
She has lost all sense of shame!
"I will lend you this", is what Lucy says as she gives her a mantle.
Sa-san wraps the mantle around her body like a dress.
"Also, wear this." (Makoto)
I put my coat on her.
What a relief. I can speak to her while looking at her face without any worries now.
"It has been a while, Sa-san." (Makoto)
"Takatsuki-kun!" (Aya)
She hugged me.
"Hey, Makoto. Who is this one?" (Lucy)
"Sorry, sorry. This girl here is Sasaki Aya-san. An otherworldler like me. Sa-san, this girl is Lucy. A party member of mine." (Makoto)
Lucy and Sa-san look at each other.
"...Nice to meet you, Lucy-san." (Aya)
"...Nice to meet you, Aya. For now, get away from Makoto." (Lucy)
"It has been long since we reunited. It should be okay, right? ...Are you Takatsuki-kun's girlfriend?" (Aya)
"I-I am not!" (Lucy)
Sa-san breathes a small sigh of relief.
"By the way, why are you here as a Lamia?" (Makoto)
There's a mountain of things I want to ask her.
"Takatsuki-kun, listen!" (Aya)
She hugs me tighter.
"..."
Lucy is glaring intently.
Now, she must have had it rough, so let's be kind here.
"You know, I..." (Aya)
◇◇
"...And that's what happened..." (Aya)
Sa-san spills all her life as a Lamia out to us.
"Unforgivable, those harpies and the traitor! I will blow them with my magic, Aya!" (Lucy)
"O-Okay. Thanks..." (Aya)
Lucy is a hotblooded girl. It looks like she got influenced by the story and is angry.
"..."
"Takatsuki-kun? What's the matter?" (Aya)
I was shocked.
The story of Sa-san being reincarnated as a Lamia.
Her life in the dungeon.
The daily fight with the many monsters here.
(She has had a far harder difficulty mode than me...) (Makoto)
I learned about how low my Stats were at the temple, and thought I was the one that was having the roughest time in this parallel world.
(Compared to Sa-san, I was having an easy time, damn it!) (Makoto)
"I should work harder..." (Makoto)
"It kinda feels like you have had it hard, Takatsuki-kun." (Aya)
For some reason she looked at me with sympathy.
"You are the one who has had it rough, Sa-san. By the way, we want to go to the Upper Floor of the dungeon. Do you know the way?" (Makoto)
"Upper Floor? If it is about the way to go to the top of this underground area, I heard about it from my older sisters, so I know." (Aya)
"Alright! Lucy, let's go. Looks like we can go back." (Makoto)
"Hey, what about me...?" (Aya)
Sa-san made an anxious expression.
"Let's go together." (Makoto)
I won't be leaving you behind.
"Yes!" (Aya)
She hugged me again.
Lucy, don't look at me with those eyes every single time.
◇◇
We head to the Upper Floor of Laberintos.
"It is here, I think. It is a bit tight, so be careful." (Aya)
"No, rather than tight..." (Lucy)
"It is barely fitable..." (Makoto)
It was a hole.
"It would be easy in the form of a Lamia though." (Aya)
"Uuh, the rocks are all rugged and my knees hurt..." (Lucy)
"Sa-san, how much longer?" (Makoto)
"We should be able to get out soon. There's the exit." (Aya)
The place we came out to was certainly the Water Cave.
"There's no one." (Lucy)
"It is probably because it is early in the morning." (Makoto)
"Eh?! That much time passed?" (Lucy)
Lucy said surprised.
"So this is the Upper Floor." (Aya)
Sa-san was looking around the dungeon restlessly.
"Is this your first time here, Sa-san?" (Makoto)
"Yeah, I heard that up here there's a lot of humans, so it is dangerous." (Aya)
"For the Mid Floor monsters, the Upper Floor is dangerous, huh..." (Makoto)
That's interesting.
"Makoto, around what part of the Water Cave are we in?" (Lucy)
"Probably at the middle point of the entrance and the Grand Waterfall." (Makoto)
I confirm with my [Mapping] skill.
My Detection is only detecting weak monsters.
"Looks like we have safely managed to escape." (Makoto)
We managed to escape from Laberintos in one day.
When we left the dungeon, the night had already gone by, and the morning sun was rising.
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