SpiralBaka

Level Down 80

Volume 2 Chapter 38 - Allen’s Slum Countermeasures

RAW

In a room of Lilac's Lord’s mansion, much smaller than the original reception room but still capable of comfortably accommodating about 10 people, three people were currently sitting on sofas facing each other.

One was the owner of this mansion, Count Naveen El Lilac. Behind him were two knights standing with serious expressions on their faces, as if they were on a battlefield, and on the side was an elderly butler standing by with a gentle smile on his face.

And currently sitting facing Naveen were Allen in his Nella form and Iseria.

(Yeah, I told her to tell me how to meet the Lord, but no matter how you look at it, this is different isn’t it?) (Allen)

Allen felt a little at a loss as he thought that.

In order to use the method Allen came up with, he needed permission from Naveen, the Lord. Rather, since it was something Allen couldn't do as an individual, he was planning to make a proposal and then leave everything else, like command to Naveen.

‘Well, the stampede had sold me a certain amount of favor, so I’m sure he’ll let me do that much,’ it was partly that calculation.

On the way back to the city from the Dragon Dungeon, Allen told Iseria about the plan. Iseria's reaction to hearing that wasn't too bad, so Allen became more confident that it would work, but he never expected Iseria to head straight to the Lord's mansion just like that.

When they entered through the east gate, the gatekeeper Iseria talked to suddenly left running, and Allen understood what it meant when they were welcomed into the Lord’s mansion without being stopped. That it was a harbinger.

If that was all there was to it, Allen wouldn't have been so surprised.

Both Nella and Iseria had made significant contributions to the defense against the stampede. So it's possible that they happened to be lucky enough that he was free and had made it convenient for them to be able to easily meet him so that he could return the favor.

However, when the guide led them into the reception room, which was not that big but was instantly recognizable as a room for welcoming distinguished guests, the Lord, Naveen, was already waiting for them. And while standing.

Even Allen, who didn’t know much about nobles, could understand how abnormal that was.

Naveen seemed to be in a good mood as he urged them to sit on the sofa, and that’s the current situation.

“Now then, hero Nella. I heard the outline of your proposal from the soldier who sent me the message, but could I ask you to give me a little more detail?” (Naveen)

“Uncle Nav. Let me be the one to explain that to you.” (Iseria)

Naveen glanced toward Allen at Iseria's words, and Allen nodded in response without saying a word.

Originally, Nella avoided speaking in front of people to prevent his identity from being revealed. Therefore, it inevitably takes him a long time to explain things normally.

Allen had planned to write down the outline to a certain extent in advance and show it to him, but of course he was unable to prepare anything like that since they went straight here.

That's why Iseria's suggestion was more than he could ask for, but Allen had something more to worry about.

(Uncle Nav... what’s more, the Count accepted it as a matter of course.) (Allen)

Allen was the only one who thought this was strange, and neither the two knights nor the butler had any particular reaction. From that, Allen understood that, at least for those in this room, it was considered natural for Iseria to call the Count ‘Uncle’.

(I thought she looked like a noble or something along those lines, so she was the Count's niece. Still, I feel like this turned into something troublesome... aah, so because something happened, she came here to ask the Count to protect her. Uwah, the world of nobles is scary.) (Allen)

Even though he made some strange misunderstandings, Allen’s deduction was roughly correct, and he was convinced by himself. And he once again felt how troublesome the world of nobility was, and once again, vowed in his heart not to pry into Iseria's past.

Iseria ignored such Allen and faced Naveen, and with a smile on her face, she opened her mouth.

“I'm sure you already know the outline, but Nella-sama's proposal is to provide housing to the slum people involved in the construction of the fort and their families. The funds will be from the proceeds from the sale of the monsters Nella-sama defeated during the stampede. The idea is to donate the 600 million zenny to the Count’s house and use that as a capital.” (Iseria)

“That'd be a blessing for us, but are you serious?” (Naveen)

Naveen glanced at Allen, perhaps for confirmation, and Allen nodded his head without hesitation.

Allen's idea was simple.

Since Allen's house was close to the slums, there was a high possibility that Matilda would be in danger. So by redeveloping the housing on the outskirts of the slums in the west district and having those who find work live there, the size of the slums would decrease, and the slums would move away from Allen's house by that much.

Since the housing would be built with the Lord's sponsorship, it would be on the patrol route of the patrolling soldiers, which would make it much safer. 

And Allen was also happy to be able to solve the problem of 600 million zenny that was so big that he had trouble using it.

Allen was fully satisfied with his current Nella equipment he got in the Demon Dungeon, and since he also got the magic bag, he thought he had no choice but to store it.

Seeing that reaction, Naveen returned his gaze to Iseria. Noticing this, Iseria glanced at Allen, and began speaking with a big smile on her face.

“Nella-sama is anguished at the current state of the slums. He hopes that the people who have turned to the ground without looking up at the sky and have lost hope will be able to look up at the sky again. Uncle Nav was also troubled, right? That the people in the slums don't trust you even if you recruit them to help build the fort. From their misgivings that they’ll be thrown away after being used.” (Iseria)

“I'm considering that possibility. I've actually received such reports after all.” (Naveen)

“If you use Nella-sama's idea of providing housing, then you can overturn it. Because anyone can understand that there is no way you would go to the trouble of preparing housing for people who will be thrown away after being used.” (Iseria)

Naveen recoiled a little from Iseria's enthusiasm as she spoke like a performer. However, there was a look of understanding in his expression.

What Iseria pointed out wasn’t wrong. The large scale project of constructing a fort required a large number of people. Naveen had planned to hire the slum dwellers as part of the workforce and use it as the first step to solving the slum problem, but recruitment was not going as well as expected.

Considering the reports from his subordinates, Naveen judged that there was a possibility that this could be improved by using this method.

Even if it failed, Naveen's pocket wouldn’t be hurt as the funds would come from Nella's donation.

Demolishing existing homes may generate resentment, but slum housing was essentially illegal occupation in the first place.

Even if the Lord demolished them with his authority, no one could blame him, and even if he was temporarily hated, it would change once they could continuously live a good life, Navin calculated that much in an instant.

Meanwhile, Allen, who was watching from the side, had to do his best to restrain himself from moving his body that was about to move.

(Nonono, what are you talking about? ‘Anguished at the current state of the slums?’ Well, it’s not that I don't have those feelings at all, but it's not that exaggerated. It's actually for my own sake.) (Allen)

Allen secretly wanted to stop Iseria from talking as if Nella was a great person, but he couldn't do that when he saw Naveen's convinced expression.

If he did something wrong and the story was ruined, it'd be Allen who would be in trouble.

Iseria continued speaking even more.

“In addition, we would like you to consider providing subsidies and loans for residents and facilities in the surrounding area to renovate their homes.” (Iseria)

“Why the surrounding area... no, I see, so that’s how it is.” (Naveen)

Naveen was about to ask back, but he quickly realized what their aim was and looked at Allen with admiration.

There were slums in the western district, but many of the residents near the slums were poor. Providing new housing just for slum dwellers in such a place could lead to a backlash from the general population.

If such dissatisfaction was directed toward slum dwellers, the discord that already existed now would certainly deepen. That was not what Naveen, the Lord, wanted.

Naveen’s opinion of Nella increased. ‘To have not only military power, but also wisdom in matters of ruling,’ like that.

At the same time, Naveen felt a strong desire to take him in, but he managed to restrain himself when he saw Iseria shaking her head slightly even in front of him.

Of course, Allen didn't think that far when he made that proposal.

He did get a bad premonition that if something like that were to happen, his acquaintances in the neighborhood would be jealous, resulting in a grumbling contest that he would get dragged in.

In the first place, the main reason he made such a proposal was because he thought it would also explain how Allen's house was renovated.

After all, Matilda was coming soon, so he thought it would be a good idea to get Nick to repair the exterior since he’d have the subsidy as the pretext.

Allen wanted to keep the exterior as it was because, in addition to not wanting to be found out to be Nella, if his house was clearly newer than the surrounding houses, it’d make it more likely to attract uninvited guests.

However, once this system is implemented, there will be no need to worry about that.

A moment of silence passed, and then Naveen slowly nodded his head and turned his gaze straight at Allen.

“Understood. Hero Nella. Our gratitude to your compassionate heart. In order to live up to such heart, I will definitely make this plan a success. In the name of our Lilac Count House.” (Naveen)

Allen could only nod at those words.

Then, he glanced at Iseria, sending a gaze of ‘What the hell are you thinking?’ and noticing this, Iseria stuck out her tongue a little, and for a moment, showed a smile that said that her prank had been a success.

Seeing that face, Allen hallucinated Rebecca’s appearance.

(Aah, could it be, this girl was influenced by Rebecca? They should have only spent a few days together, what the hell did she do, that girl?) (Allen)

Allen sent such grudging words to Rebecca who had already left the city and was in the middle of traveling.

Although it was different from what he envisioned, it seemed his plan was going to be carried out, and Allen let out a sigh while convincing himself that it was a good thing.

────

(T/N: I feel like Allen’s plans still don't solve the fundamental problem of them not having jobs once the construction finishes, maybe they have a plan for that? Well, whatever, this is fiction, no need to think too much)

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Level Down 79

Volume 2 Chapter 37 - As a Lover

RAW

After finishing their meal in the [Garden of Sunbeams], Allen took Matilda's hand and escorted her through the twilight streets to the guild employee housing where Matilda lived.

Having become lovers, the two held hands with great enthusiasm, and yet their faces flushed with embarrassment and they walked in silence. However, perhaps thanks to the warmth transmitted from each other's hands, their atmosphere was somehow soft.

Looking at the sky blue pendant swaying on Matilda's chest, Allen smiled slightly as he looked at Matilda who raised her face a little as she looked toward him with a slightly embarrassed yet very happy expression.

Allen didn't realize that he had the exact same expression on his face. It was because his head was so full of happiness that he couldn't think straight.

Allen walked Matilda home with such fluffy steps that he thought he was in a dream, and once the two stood at her front door, they stared at each other. Reluctant to part with the warmth they feel in their hands, the two truly slowly let go of their hands.

“Today was fun. And thank you for accepting my confession.” (Allen)

“No, me too.” (Matilda)

They exchanged such words and smiled happily as they looked at each other. Then, Allen slowly brought his face closer to Matilda's, and Matilda, sensing this, gently closed her eyes.

They exchanged a kiss that was just a light touch, and then their faces parted again. Their faces were so red that they thought they might be releasing steam.

“Then I'll come again.” (Allen)

“Next time I'll go to Allen's house. Be careful when you get home. Good night.” (Matilda)

“Ou. Good night, Matilda.” (Allen)

They both smiled at the other's reddened faces, and then Allen raised his hand slightly and left. He was reluctant to leave, but he thought that if he stayed there any longer, his feelings might run out of control.

Allen was sure that Matilda would accept him even if that happened, but Allen thought that such a thing should be done after proper procedures and in a sane state without any alcohol involved.

He didn't quite understand what that procedure was though.

As Matilda saw him off until he was out of sight, Allen walked down the street towards his home in good spirits. He would sometimes tug at his cheeks, thinking that this moment was actually a dream, and he would grin every time. To anyone looking at him from the sidelines, Allen would probably be a weirdo.

That said, few of those who went out at night were concerned about such things.

As he got closer to his house, the lights gradually decreased and the street also became less populated. That said, Allen was so familiar with this street that he had no problem navigating it even if he closed his eyes.

Allen was walking alone in such a dimly lit street when suddenly a hand reached out from the side street and Allen's face instantly changed.

Allen grabbed the hand that was moving slowly, almost like slow motion, and tightened his grip on its wrist.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” (Allen)

“O-owowow! Please forgive me, I didn't do anything.” (???)

“If you didn't do anything, you wouldn’t have needed my forgiveness.” (Allen)

A man wearing tattered clothes was in so much pain that he was screaming as he said contradictory words, which Allen pointed out with a sharp gaze. Then he changed the angle of his hand, and the man fell to the ground as if he had crouched down himself.

Looking down at the man who couldn't move due to pain, Allen asked him.

“You're from the slums, aren't you? Why did you target me?” (Allen)

“Like I said, I didn’t target...” (Man)

“Heeh, so you're saying that the knife on your waist is only for self-defense, right? I know that all too well. Right when I’m in a good mood, you put a damper on it, should I hand you over to the guard just like this?” (Allen)

The man's face turned pale at Allen's words. Then, he looked up at Allen, and perhaps sensing that he was serious, he resigned and began to speak.

“Sorry. It’s as you say. You seem to have a lot of money, so I thought I'd threaten you a little. I know it’s selfish, but please forgive me, I have a family.” (Man)

“I have a lot of money? Aah, I see, I guess you’d think that.” (Allen)

Allen was puzzled for a moment when he heard himself described by a word that had never been said to him before, but then he remembered his current outfit and understood.

Allen was now dressed in the kind of clothes that would allow him to meet with nobles. If such a person were to wander alone near the slums, it would be natural for them to see him as prey.

Allen understood the reason and judged that it wasn't such a big deal, so he let go of the man's hand and moved away a little. The fallen man stood up, rubbed his wrist and shoulder, and turned his back to Allen and was about to run away.

“Wait.” (Allen)

“What is it?” (Man)

The man’s face stiffened as he turned around, and Allen tossed a silver coin at him. It wasn't that much, just 1,000 zenny, but the man's eyes darted around for a while as the money flew right into his hand, then he thanked Allen with just his gaze and quickly left.

After seeing him off, Allen scratched his head.

The reason Allen didn't turn in the man to the guards was because he was a relatively decent man.

Even though he carried a knife, Allen predicted that the man most likely wasn’t planning on using it in the first place, and just intended to threaten him only with his bare hands.

In a sense, that it's for self-defense was not wrong.

It's hard to call him decent when he thought of threatening people to get money or goods, but Allen knew well enough from experience that there were worse people out there.

If that man was gone, there was a possibility that someone like that would come into his territory, and to avoid that, Allen purposely let the man escape. After giving him a small part of his earnings.

“Haa, the security here is really bad after all. Well, this wouldn't have happened if I was wearing my usual clothes.” (Allen)

Allen started walking quickly while muttering something like that. Because if he walked slowly, something like what happened earlier might happen again.

This was not the first time Allen himself was attacked by people from the slums. However, since he hadn’t experienced it in the past few years, his awareness of this had faded.

Because other people knew from Allen's clothes and appearance that he was a resident of the area, so he just wasn't attacked, and the security was the same as ever, Allen realized it once again.

And he noticed the problem.

“Crap, if Matilda comes, won't she get attacked?” (Allen)

Allen's face turned even paler than the man from earlier when he realized this.

Rebecca had always lived here and was used to sensing such dangers. Moreover, her level had risen considerably now, so she was so strong that the likes of those in the slums were no match for her. That's why Allen wasn't worried.

However, Matilda was a guild employee and didn't even live around here. Matilda visiting Allen's house was like releasing a butterfly near a spider's carefully laid web.

“Should I raise Matilda's level? No, if I just tell her not to come to my house in the first place... that in itself would probably cause some misunderstanding.” (Allen)

Allen racked his brain, but couldn't quite come up with a good solution. That’s only natural, since issues such as the deterioration of security caused by slums were beyond Allen's control as an individual.

And then, around the time when he arrived home without any further incident, Allen settled on a solution that did not solve the fundamental problem: when inviting people over, he would pick them up and drop them off and make sure it wouldn’t be late at night.

.

.

.

The next day, Allen was exploring a dungeon with Iseria as Nella. However...

“Nella-sama. Let's stop exploring any further today.” (Iseria)

“My bad.” (Allen)

After entering the Dragon Dungeon, Iseria saw Allen’s state that half wasn’t there in body, and made this suggestion. Surrounding them were lumps of flesh from wyverns that attacked them, and trees that had been mowed down in the aftermath of the attack. All of that was done by Allen.

Today, Iseria was searching for enemies and the likes as part of her scout training, and Allen was eliminating the ones she found, but he misjudged the amount of force at every turn.

There were already no monsters around. Those nearby were frightened by the disastrous scene and ran away. There was no way this could be used as scout training.

Allen apologized and thought ‘What the hell am I doing?’ fed up with himself inside as Iseria stared at his face.

“It seems like you're worried about something. May I hear you out? My  practical knowledge still has a long way to go, but I have a fair amount of knowledge from books.” (Iseria)

“...I guess, so. Can you hear me out for a bit?” (Allen)

Allen was a little unsure whether he should talk or not, but he might find even just a clue to solving the problem, so began to speak.

“I confessed my feelings to Matilda and we started dating, but my house is near the slum and it's not very safe. She said she would come visit me, but I was worried that she might be put in danger.” (Allen)

“That, congratulations. If you're that worried, shouldn't Nella-sama just move out?” (Iseria)

Perhaps thinking of something on her mind, Iseria clearly stated the solution in a slightly cold voice. The answer was something that Allen had already thought of.

It's dangerous because he lived near slums. Now that Allen has more money, it would be entirely possible for him to live somewhere else. But Allen shook his head with a wry smile.

“I know right. But it's an important house where I have fond memories of my younger siblings. But I also want to cherish Matilda.” (Allen)

“Nella-sama is greedy, I see.” (Iseria)

“I didn’t know it myself, but it seems so.” (Allen)

Iseria smiled at Allen's quick answer. Then, she put her index finger on her lower lip, looked up a bit, and searched her knowledge for something that could be used, and then Iseria opened her mouth.

“It is said that the formation of slums occurs when people who moved from surrounding areas to the city in pursuit of improved living conditions do not obtain the income they expected, and their standard of living drops instead and they are no longer able to live there. There are many other theories, but this is the mainstream one, so I'll omit the rest.” (Iseria)

“O-okay.” (Allen)

Although he was a little surprised to see Iseria starting to speak so smoothly, Allen nodded in response.

Just from what she just said, it was clear that Iseria had far more knowledge than Allen, and he thought he could somehow get some hints from that.

“Characteristics include high unemployment rates and the accompanying poverty. Outbreak of epidemics due to deterioration of sanitation. Unorganized construction that makes it difficult for guards to enter, which leads to increased damage in the event of fires and an increase in crime, I suppose.” (Iseria)

“I guess, that's, right. No epidemic outbreaks so far though.” (Allen)

“I see. The effective countermeasures were to support the livelihood of slum dwellers by doing things like building other residential areas and relocating them, and mediating jobs for them. However, there is no precedent where the whole slums were eliminated with this.” (Iseria)

Allen's eyes lit up when he heard about the countermeasures, but the details were far from something that an individual could do.

In the first place, slums are a city-wide problem, so naturally the one who’d taken those countermeasures was the Lord and the likes. There was no way there was anything that could be used as a reference for the individual Allen.

Allen slumped his shoulders, and seeing that, Iseria smiled wryly and added.

“I have heard that the residents of the slums will be mobilized for the project to build a fort to surround the entrance to this dungeon. They will also be paid food and wages, so I think things will improve somewhat.” (Iseria)

“Money and food, huh? That might make things somewhat better, I guess.” (Allen)

Allen's face brightened a little at those words, but he knew that it still wouldn’t be a fundamental solution. Because the job wouldn't last forever, and as long as Allen's house was close to the slums, the danger would remain.

As Allen was thinking about this, an idea suddenly occurred to him.

“Even if I can't completely eliminate slums, it’s fine if it’s just the one close to my house. I was just wondering what to do about it myself anyway, so why not just do it...” (Allen)

“Nella-sama?” (Iseria)

Iseria peered through Allen's mask as he suddenly started talking to himself. When their eyes met, Allen smiled and then patted Iseria on the shoulder.

“Thank you, Iseria. I don't know if it will work, but I found something I want to try.” (Allen)

“Something you want to try, is it?” (Iseria)

“Yeah. By the way, do you know how to meet the Lord?” (Allen)

Even as she was surprised at being suddenly asked such a question, Iseria explained the method and was led out of the Dragon Dungeon by Allen.

────

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Level Down 78

Volume 2 Chapter 36 - Allen’s Decision

RAW

Allen thought for a moment about how to tell Matilda that Rebecca won't be coming. As one would expect, he felt uncomfortable directly telling her the contents of the letter.

“Rebecca-san, what?” (Matilda)

“Aah. Apparently she can't come because she has some business to take care of. Or rather, it seems she already left the city. So, the two of us should have some fun, she said.” (Allen)

“I see. It sure is hard being a peddler. I wanted to at least say goodbye since I've just gotten to know her so much though.” (Matilda)

Matilda looked down, a little disappointed at Allen's words that he extracted only the facts from the letter.

‘No, this situation was all part of that girl’s scheme, so you don’t need to look so disappointed at all,' Allen thought in his heart, but he kept quiet without saying it.

“Well, I suppose it can't be helped. This is a great opportunity anyway, so let's take advantage of her words and enjoy ourselves.” (Matilda)

“I guess so.”

As usual, Matilda changed her mood and smiled as she said that, and Allen also agreed. And as if they had been waiting for that timing, they brought out appetizers and red wine.

The two looked at each other for a moment, laughed, then picked up their glasses and stopped them at about chest height.

“To pray for Rebecca-san's safe journey.” (Matilda)

“To hope that no more people fall victim to that girl.” (Allen)

““Cheers”” (Allen & Matilda)

The two of them raised their glasses a little, and then took a sip.

It wasn't the sour or bitter taste that Allen usually feels, but instead was mellow with just-right sourness, and a hunch ran through Allen's head that, ‘Isn’t this pretty expensive?’

Allen was convinced of this by the long-lasting pleasant scent that passed from his mouth to his nose after he finished drinking it.

“This is pretty good wine, isn’t it? Allen, I’ll pay for it too, okay?” (Matilda)

“No, I made a lot of money from Rebecca's request. Besides, that girl’s not here, so I have plenty of room in my wallet, so don't worry about it.” (Allen)

Same as Allen, Matilda was also surprised by the wine, and she made that offer which he refused. Allen had predicted that Rebecca would say something unreasonable, so he put quite a bit of money in his wallet.

‘I'm sure it’ll be enough, it will, right?’ Allen was somewhat worried, but he didn't show it and smiled as if to say ‘Leave it to me’ to Matilda. In response, Matilda looked a little worried, but still smiled back at Allen.

“Then, shall we enjoy ourselves?” (Allen?)

“Yeah.” (Matilda?)

Allen deliberately declared that and picked up his knife and fork, and seeing that, Matilda burst out a bit as she started eating in the same way.

The calm interior with no noise like in a bar, and the delicious food and with wine to match. The two enjoyed their relaxing time as they continued to engage in conversations.

At first, the topic was mainly about Rebecca. It was natural since she was supposed to be here.

Allen reminiscenced in a way that couldn't even be called complaints about being pushed around by Rebecca, and Matilda smiled wryly at that. On the other hand, Matilda talked about the fact that when Rebecca was looking at the request history, she was entangled with adventurers and she slightly twisted them, and Allen held his head in his hand at that.

However, the topic gradually moved away from Rebecca and turned into casual everyday conversation. It was a series of truly trivial topics with nothing special, but strangely the conversation between the two never stopped.

As the main courses approached, ‘Come to think of it,’ Matilda took her eyes off the aromatic and steaming steak and looked at Allen.

“Allen, your rank is finally going to rise. To iron class.” (Matilda)

“Oh, seriously? Wait, iron class?” (Allen)

Allen's face broke into a smile when he heard the news that his rank would rise, and he almost shouted out loud for a moment when he heard the words ‘iron class’ that followed, but he managed to hold it back.

The gazes of the people at several tables around them briefly turned to Allen, but they quickly returned to their original state. Allen felt relieved at that.

That Allen was surprised was understandable. Allen's current rank was wood class, the lowest in the Adventurers’ Guild. Above that was the bronze class, and the rank even above that was the iron class that Matilda mentioned just now.

If all goes well, Allen's next rank would be bronze class, and it would be impossible for him to suddenly rise to iron class.

Seeing Allen's lack of understanding, Matilda supplemented with a little laugh.

“The contribution point from Rebecca-san's self-requests was huge. It's only natural since you completed that request 461 times with that reward.” (Matilda)

“Certainly, it was the kind of money that would have taken years for a wood or bronze class.” (Allen)

‘I see,’ Allen was convinced and nodded his head.

In truth, the annual income of a wood class who has just joined the guild, or a bronze class who has just gained a little experience, is about 2 million zenny at best. If they want to earn the amount Allen has just earned this time, it will take them at least nine years, and if they don't do well, it will take them more than that.

Of course, before spending those years, those with talent will rise in rank, while those without talent will most likely quit being adventurers.

As Allen was thinking about such things, Matilda looked at him and, with her face slightly red from the wine and looking a little disappointed, she muttered in a low voice.

“I did my best too, you know.” (Matilda)

“Hm? On what?” (Allen)

“Huh? Ah, no. Just now is, how should I put it...” (Matilda)

Matilda thought he couldn’t hear her and immediately tried to cover it up, but seeing Allen's eyes staring at her, she judged that was impossible and decided to confess everything.

“Allen, even though you did quite a lot of requests, you never rose to bronze class, didn't you?” (Matilda)

“That's right. I quit being a guild employee and returned to being an adventurer like that, so, if it’s just a bit, I thought it couldn’t be helped.” (Allen)

“The premise is different. It isn’t ‘just a bit’. You know that you raise your guild rank with contribution points, right? Allen quit as a guild employee in front of a large number of adventurers, against the Guildmaster’s orders. In terms of contribution to the guild, that’s a huge minus. If you just do normal wood level requests, even if you take 10 years, you won’t reach bronze class.” (Matilda)

“Seriously?” (Allen)

Allen's cheeks twitched at the shocking truth he was told.

It was true that Allen himself thought it strange that his rank did not rise. Wood class is like a training period to judge whether or not you have the aptitude to be an adventurer. Even a newcomer can quickly rise to the bronze class after a month or two of diligently doing requests.

And yet, even though Allen continued to complete requests, his rank never rose. That’s why Allen also expected that something like that was having some effect, but in truth, it went far beyond that.

“Allen's actions seem to have crushed the guildmaster’s face. Well, even I didn't know that it would affect the evaluation this much though. Normally, there aren't any adventurers like that after all.” (Matilda)

“That old man’s face looks like it’s been crushed already.” (Allen)

“Pft.” (Matilda)

Matilda couldn’t help but burst out laughing at Allen's words he said with a disgruntled face, and then she hurriedly checked her surroundings. Fortunately, the person himself wasn't here.

‘Haa,’ Allen breathed out a sigh, ‘So that's what happened,’ he realized.

“So, in the end what do you mean you said you did your best, Matilda?” (Allen)

“Uh, since it’s absolutely impossible with ordinary wood class and bronze class requests, I passed iron class requests, even ones with high contribution points to you, Allen. Even the salted or about to be salted requests, I choose ones that seem like you can handle. Of course I got permission from the guildmaster.” (Matilda)

* (T/N: that ‘salted’ part, it means request meant to be punishment, right?)

“I'm surprised he gave you permission.” (Allen)

“‘There's no problem as long as he can complete the request. Rather, it would be better to make people think that he is being punished by forcing troublesome requests on him, so that no one will try to do the same thing again.’ He said.” (Matilda)

Hearing Matilda's words, Allen thought for a moment that ‘Aren’t you just setting an example?’ but then he remembered that the one who had first given him the highly difficult medicinal herbs collection request was guildmaster Orlando and he changed his mind a little.

He realized that if they wanted to set an example, it would be much more effective to keep showing that he could not raise his rank and only get small rewards, and then quietly explain the reason to other adventurers.

Seeing Allen growling with a difficult expression on his face, perhaps realizing that he had an idea about Orlando's true intentions, Matilda chuckled as she supplemented.

“Even like that, it seems he liked Allen quite a bit.” (Matilda)

“I wouldn't be happy even if I became popular with just men. More importantly, thank you. If Matilda hadn't made a move, I'm sure it would have stayed that way.” (Allen)

Seeing Allen expressing his gratitude with a big smile on his face, Matilda looked down, her cheeks that were reddened by wine turned even redder.

Then, Matilda took a deep breath and raised her head to stare intently at Allen. There was a certain power of will in her eyes.

“Um, Allen, you see, I...” (Matilda)

“You know, Matilda. Would you listen to me for a second?” (Allen)

Matilda mustered her courage and was about to speak, but Allen stopped her with a soft smile.

The words that had been stopped once were withdrawn into the recesses of her heart, and Matilda kept silent as she nodded her head.

Seeing that, Allen narrowed his eyes in kindness.

“You see, I was desperate to raise my siblings. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that I lived for that purpose. But you know, when you're young, things get tough and sad. I even thought ‘What was my life for?’ But I can't show that in front of my family.” (Allen)

“Un, I know. Like when you had a falling out with Lionel...” (Matilda)

“I told him to keep me out of it, but that guy was too persistent. Well, putting that aside for now, even then, I liked going to the guild. Do you know why?” (Allen)

When Allen asked that, Matilda shook her head.

There were words that she hoped for. However, there was no way such a convenient thing could ever happen, Matilda thought like that.

At that reaction, Allen smiled a little, and then continued speaking.

“Because I loved Matilda. But that’s exactly why I thought it would be bad to get closer to you than necessary. I'm poor too, and I had to prioritize my younger siblings. Even if I got lucky enough to get together with you, I thought I would make Matilda unhappy.” (Allen)

“What about Kaylee-san and Diana-san?” (Matilda)

“...You remember it well.” (Allen)

“It's about Allen after all.” (Matilda)

Matilda sent a slightly cold gaze to Allen. Receiving that gaze, Allen scratched his head a bit awkwardly, but never took his gaze off Matilda.

The Kaylee and Diana that Matilda mentioned was the name of female adventurers that Allen used to date, albeit for a very short time. If Allen's words were true, his behavior was strange. Matilda wanted to know the reason.

“As for Kaylee, she confessed to me, and I thought I‘d be able to forget you, so I dated her. Well, it was impossible for me to forget you, and since I prioritize my family, she quickly got angry and we broke up. Now that I think about it, I did the worst thing, didn’t I?” (Allen)

“It’s really the worst.” (Matilda)

“Haha, I get told that by the person herself sometimes.” (Allen)

Allen smiled wryly at those merciless words.

Currently, Kaylee had quit being an adventurer and was running an inn with her husband in the city. When Allen passed by when the inn wasn’t busy, she would forcefully pull him into the cafeteria, make him eat food while she annoyed him, and collect his bill. That's how their relationship had become.

“As for Diana... hmm, I want you to keep this a secret, but she asked me to pretend to be her lover.” (Allen)

“Pretend?” (Matilda)

“Yeah. There was a man she was after, but apparently his hobby was women with lovers. So, to get what she wanted, she asked me, who seemed harmless enough, to pretend to be her lover. The reward was food.” (Allen)

“Wait a minute, I don’t really understand.” (Matilda)

“Sorry. Even I, the person involved, don't really get it either. Well, the period was short, but the food actually saved us. It was a time when everyone was eating well.” (Allen)

Matilda was confused, and Allen agreed with her. This was because he just thought that there were all sorts of people with various hobbies in this world and gave up trying to understand any further.

As for Diana, she had already left Lilac, so Allen didn't know how she's doing now. But somehow he’s sure she's still doing well.

Allen lets out a small cough. Matilda stopped thinking at that sound and looked at Allen.

“Well, that's how it is. I do think I was an idiot. But there's nothing I can do about it now.”

“That's true. The past can’t be changed.” (Matilda)

“That’s right. So, about the current talk. My love for Matilda hasn't changed. I don't have to raise my younger siblings anymore, and I've saved up a little money. But I'm still not confident if I'm a man worthy of Matilda. It's pathetic. That's why...” (Allen)

Allen took out the necklace he bought as a present from his chest and gently placed it in front of Matilda.

“I love you, Matilda. I want us to be together on the premise of marriage. From now on, I'll do my best to become a man worthy of Matilda, so if you think I've become that way, please put this on and let me know your answer. Of course, I don't mind if you push me back now. I'll give up once and for all then.” (Allen)

Allen looked nervous as he said that and took a deep breath, and in front of him, Matilda took out the necklace from the bag.

Matilda looked at Allen's face dyed blue through the sky blue pendant, and then she held it out to Allen. Watching Allen's face splendidly turn blue, Matilda laughed.

“Hey, Allen. If you're going to give a necklace as a gift, you have to put it on the recipient.” (Matilda)

“Does that mean...” (Allen)

“I've been looking at Allen for a long time. Allen is the worst, stupid, but also very kind, I know that better than anyone. There's no way you’re no good. Because that’s the Allen I fell in love with.” (Matilda)

Seeing Matilda laugh a little tearfully as she said that, Allen's heart was pierced.

Allen tried to put the necklace he received on Matilda, but his hands were shaking and it didn't go well. Seeing that, Matilda laughed happily, thinking that she wished this time could last forever.

────

(T/N: the ‘pendant’ is actually ‘pendant top’ in katakana, but I’m pretty sure pendant top is different to pendant, so I use the latter.

Also, should I add the ‘romance’ genre to this series’ page in novelupdates? At this point (I’m at chapter 90, or v3c7), this chapter (and maybe one more chapter) is the only one having ‘romance’ so I’m not sure I should add that, and what about action, adventure, slice of life, and comedy? I think I can add comedy, but I'm not sure about the rest.)

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Level Down 77

Volume 2 Chapter 35 - Choosing a Gift

RAW

The morning after receiving the reward for the treant building materials from Rebecca, Allen was walking around the city by himself.

It wasn’t without purpose. He was looking for a farewell gift to give to Rebecca.

Well, Allen didn't come up with the idea voluntarily, rather, the person herself brought it up, what’s more, she sent him out half forcibly, adding ‘Get one for Matilda-san who had been taking care of you as well.’

“No, I was planning to prepare something even if she didn’t tell me, but I guess saying it herself is just like Rebecca.” (Allen)

While complaining about such things, Allen randomly wandered around the shops that were open.

This was almost time for the shops to open, but most of them were serving food, so although he had just eaten breakfast, the smell wafting from the shops made Allen's stomach growl.

Smiling bitterly at that, Allen went into a nearby bakery and bought a light meal of vegetables and meat sandwiched between bread that was sold for breakfast, and munched on it as he resumed his wandering around the shops.

“Hmm, considering that she’s traveling, small ones are better... no, Rebecca has a magic bag, so I guess a certain size is okay. But using it for business is the most important, so something too bulky isn’t good, right?” (Allen)

Allen looked at the products at various stores while mumbling such words.

Allen had little experience buying gifts in the first place. Even the few he had were mostly for adventurers, so he was able to predict to some extent what they might need.

However, this time he was choosing a farewell gift for Rebecca and a thank you gift for Matilda. He lacked experience in that area.

‘I wonder if there’s something good,’ he thought as he searched, but before he knew it, his eyes ended up drawn to only practical things that made him think ‘This seems like it’ll make traveling easier’ or ‘This can be used for things like cleaning’.

Of course, Allen was no fool. He knew that's not what they wanted. But he had no idea what was good.

“Aah, I might as well leave it to the clerk.” (Allen)

Allen, who had been wandering around various shops for nearly two hours since morning and had been hesitating, came out of the shop he had been looking at until just now with a slightly haggard face.

The expression on his face was even worse than the one after going to the bottom of the Demon Dungeon and facing the dungeon's boss, the ogre king.

“Huh, Allen-san?” (Iseria)

“Hm. Iseria-san, huh? Are you going to a dungeon now?” (Allen)

“Yes, I'm planning on doing some light exploration while training. More importantly, what’s wrong? You seem considerably tired.” (Iseria)

When Iseria called out to him, Allen replied lightly. She was wearing her light armor and other equipment for going to a dungeon, so it was clear that Iseria was about to head to one after this.

At that instant, an idea occurred to Allen. The idea that, ‘Being a fellow woman, wouldn’t Iseria have some good ideas for gifts?’

(Iseria seems to be rich, and she seems to have quite a lot of experience receiving gifts. Yeah, isn't this good?) (Allen)

Allen nodded his head once, and when he was convinced with his idea, he immediately tried to ask her... and then stopped himself.

Iseria was trying to do her best to achieve her goal. Of course, given Iseria's personality, Allen knew that if he asked her, she would be kind enough to give him advice. But he restrained himself, thinking that ‘I can’t just take up the time of such a person.’

(Besides, there's no point in giving them if I don't choose them.) (Allen)

Thinking like that, Allen smiled. When Iseria looked at him curiously, Allen waved his hand and responded.

“No, don't worry about it. Then don't push yourself too hard. It's not something I should say to a gold class adventurer though.” (Allen)

“Thank you for your concern. I will do my best.” (Iseria)

Iseria made a strong fist to show her enthusiasm, and then left, and after seeing her off for a while, Allen resumed his wandering around the shops.

In the end, he still couldn't decide even when it was almost noon, he regretted not asking Iseria for advice just a bit.

.

.

.

“I’m going first, she said, isn’t going together fine?” (Allen)

As noon turned into evening, Allen was walking towards the [Garden of Sunbeams], grumbling something like that on the streets crowded with people shopping for food and other ingredients, perhaps in preparation for dinner.

Allen managed to decide on a gift and went home after buying it in the afternoon, but Rebecca wasn't home and a letter was left on the table.

What was written there was,

[I have some business to take care of, so I'll finish it and go first.

Len-nii should dress properly and go to the [Garden of Sunbeams] on time. It’ll feel more special that way.

Also, definitely don’t forget the gift.]

That message.

Following the instructions in that message, Allen was dressed differently today than usual.

Rather than prioritizing ease of movement and comfort, his clothes were crisp and formal, similar to those worn by civil servants.

This was something Allen purchased after much deliberation, thinking that since Eric became a noble, he might not be able to meet him as casually as before.

By the way, the final deciding factor was the store clerk's comment that since it was made of monster material, its defensive performance was guaranteed.

As soon as Allen bought it, he realized that there was no way he would fight in such an outfit, which made him feel a little depressed.

In the inside pocket of those clothes of Allen were gifts for Rebecca and Matilda.

After much hesitation, what Allen purchased for the two of them were necklaces with a small jewel on the top of the pendant.

Allen more or less matched their image and chose the one with a yellow jewel for Rebecca and the one with a sky blue jewel for Matilda.

Of course, Allen didn’t know anything about jewelry, so he didn’t even know what type of jewel they were. He just chose things that looked good for around 50,000 zenny, which would be the same amount as the meal cost.

Allen chose necklaces partly because they were small and didn't take up much space, but the main reason was because he thought they could just sell it if they didn't like it.

Allen also knew that these kinds of jewelry generally don't lose value and are sometimes used in place of cash.

When he was thoroughly lost and exhausted, he suddenly saw a jewelry store and remembered that, and decided that ‘it can only be here!’ Even after he entered, he was confused as to what price range was appropriate though.

Feeling the small weights on his inner pocket, Allen recalled those as he walked, and he arrived at the [Garden of Sunbeams] a little before the appointed time.

Unlike during the day when it was okay to wear casual clothes, the restaurant was filled with people dressed in almost formal attire similar to Allen's, and they were having fun chatting with each other as they ate their meals.

Inwardly giving his gratitude to Rebecca, Allen behaved naturally as if it were a matter of course, and after telling a male waiter his name, he guided him inside and he followed after him.

And at the table he was guided to, Matilda was the only one there. Her appearance captivated Allen. It was completely different from her usual guild employee uniform and from the time when they went to the church to get the bed just the other day.

Although she was dressed in simple formal attire consisting of a deep blue sleeveless dress and a beige back tulle bolero, it greatly enhanced Matilda's adult charm.

The reason why Matilda wore such clothes and no particular accessories was because she thought that Rebecca would be the main character this time, but Allen had no way of knowing that.

“Ara, Allen. You're wearing an unusual outfit.” (Matilda)

“O-ou. I just needed it for something. I didn't expect to wear it today though.” (Allen)

“I see. It looks quite good on you.” (Matilda)

“You too, Matilda, um, it looks good on you.” (Allen)

“Fufu, thank you.” (Matilda)

Matilda and Allen exchanged those words as they sat on chairs pulled by the man who serves as a guide. In contrast to Matilda who was relaxed, Allen was so shaken that he couldn't respond well to her words.

Since he was just told that he looked good, he should have responded in a witty way, but instead he just parroted her compliment, showing how shaken he was.

Even if he wasn't shaken, Allen was ignorant of fashion, so it might be the same though.

After taking a seat and taking a gulp of the water provided, Allen calmed down considerably and he checked his surroundings.

Rebecca was nowhere to be seen, and there was nothing on the empty seat at their table, so it didn't seem like she had just left her seat for a while.

“Rebecca hasn’t come?” (Allen)

“She hasn’t. I was sure she'd come with you, Allen.” (Matilda)

“No, that girl left a letter saying she had some business to take care of, so she went first. Maybe that business just ran long.” (Allen)

‘What a hopeless girl,’ Allen said with a wry smile, at which Matilda smiled. That’s when the male waiter who had just guided Allen to their table came over to them.

“May I get you something to drink?” (Waiter)

“I’ll just get some random one that fits the course, how about you, Matilda?” (Allen)

“I don’t have any particular preferences either, so I’ll get the same as Allen.” (Matilda)

“Understood.” (Waiter)

Drawing on his experience of coming in during the day the other day, Allen finished his order without a hitch, and after listening to it, the waiter took down the knife and fork that had been prepared at the empty seat.

Allen panicked at that and waited.

“Sorry. She’s late, but there's one more person scheduled to come.” (Allen)

When Allen told him this, the male waiter smiled back, and without stopping, he collected everything that had been placed on the empty seat.

Then, he quickly took out a piece of paper from his chest and held it out to Allen.

“It was entrusted to me by Rebecca-sama.” (Waiter)

“T-thank you.” (Allen)

“Now, I'll be bringing your drinks, so if you'll excuse me.” (Waiter)

After saying that, the male waiter left with a smile on his face, then, after seeing him off, Allen scanned the letter he had received, and instinctively crushed it in his hands.

What was written in that letter was completely unexpected by Allen.

[By the time Len-nii reads this letter, I will have already left this city. Just kidding. Are you surprised that I didn't come? Ah, it's true that I’m outside the city.

The letter said I have some business to take care of, so I’ll go first, but I didn't say where, did I? Besides, I never said anything about going to the [Garden of Sunbeams]. I notified them properly, you know.

By the way, I also told Matilda-san that Len-nii was going, but I never said anything about me going. So I didn’t lie. You two just misunderstood this on your own.

With that being the case, there will be no third wheel bothering you, so you can enjoy your meal together. Then, see you later.

To my beloved demon lord, from the considerate and cute little sister.]

Matilda stared at the empty seat at the table for a short while, then tilted her head to the side, not understanding why, and stared at Allen, who returned a wry smile and let out a big sigh.

────

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Level Down 76

Volume 2 Chapter 34 - Rebecca’s Deduction

RAW

Allen thought about it for a while, but he couldn't think of anything in particular, and was about to tell Rebecca, who was looking at him with amusement, wondering if he'd understand, that he surrendered, when he suddenly realized.

“Because they bought it directly from me?” (Allen)

“That meant?” (Rebecca)

When Allen said the words that came to his mind, Rebecca was a little surprised at that and she asked back.

Allen organized the thoughts in his head and began to slowly explain.

“Well, they're a carpenter workshop after all, they probably have a lumber dealer that they usually deal with. Buying directly from me without going through them is an act that would damage their relationship of trust, wouldn't it? I sold quite a lot too.” (Allen)

“...” (Rebecca)

“Even if they risked such a thing, the fact that they prioritized securing the building materials means that they have a legitimate reason that their lumber dealer can accept. For example, they have a request from the Lord, so they can’t miss out on the opportunity to obtain them, like that. How’s that?” (Allen)

Seeing Rebecca continue to stare at him in silence, Allen became a little worried, but he still finished sharing his thoughts.

Allen didn't know much about the world of merchants and craftsmen, but he had a very good understanding of the importance of relationships of trust from his experience as an adventurer.

Because it's not uncommon for a relationship of trust to lead to the next request. Like Gideon's medicinal herbs collection request.

On the other hand, Allen was also well aware of the trouble it would be if it broke. Despite the fact that it’s something that steadily built up over time, it would only take a moment to fall apart, and the deeper the trust, the longer the effect.

A man's face appeared in Allen's mind, but he shook his head slightly to banish it. Because he understood that there was nothing he could do about the relationship that had become twisted after all this time.

After hearing Allen's thoughts, Rebecca nodded for a while with a mysterious look on her face, and then suddenly her expression changed to one of happiness.

“It seems like Len-nii has started to understand a little bit about business. That's mostly correct.” (Rebecca)

“Mostly?” (Allen)

“Un. Because the amount that Len-nii sold, while quite large for an individual, to a specialized merchant, I can’t say it’s just a fraction, but it's negligible. Also, Brandt Workshop didn’t buy the treant building materials from Len-nii for the construction of the fort, but for the craftsmen to practice processing it.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca praised him while clapping, but Allen had a doubtful look on his face as he received it.

“No, rather than mostly correct, isn’t it mostly wrong?” (Allen)

“You're thinking in the right direction after all, and if you can think that far even though you don't have the knowledge or experience, then it’s correct. Len-nii might have a surprising talent for business.” (Rebecca)

As Rebecca said that and smiled, Allen replied with a wry smile.

‘I don't know if I have the talent or not, but if I have to think about such troublesome things for work, I definitely won’t become a merchant,’ he thought inwardly.

Then Allen remembered Rebecca's words again and realized how strange it was.

“Hey, how did you know that Brandt Workshop bought it for the craftsmen to practice processing it?” (Allen)

That's what bothered Allen. The part about transactions of building materials could be explained by the fact that she had general knowledge about the amount of transactions between the relevant workshops and trading companies.

However, there was no way experience could tell her why Brandt Workshop bought the building materials.

And yet, Rebecca was certain of the reason. The conclusion to be drawn from that was...

“You, it can’t be?” (Allen)

“Un. Reason number 3, I bribed Nick-san.” (Rebecca)

“What the hell is that guy doing!?” (Allen)

Allen couldn't help but hold his head at his best friend's appalling behavior.

The construction of the fort has yet to be made public. Brandt Workshop was most likely informed of this, as they will probably receive the order, but Allen could easily imagine that this was information that should not be leaked to the outside.

As Allen was worrying, Rebecca ignored him to rummage through her magic bag, and then she placed several cute frilly hair clips on the desk.

When Allen looked up and saw that, he wondered why she brought out such things, but Rebecca immediately followed up.

“Hair clips that are popular in the royal capital, 1,500 zenny for a set of three! When I suggested that they would look great on Lily-chan, he folded instantly.” (Rebecca)

“So cheap!” (Allen)

“Geez, this is a popular product, you know. This is the product I chose to attract customers with no regard to profit and won the hearts of local girls. While I’m at it, I also made them buy other things and ripped off their parents!” (Rebecca)

“No, don’t rip them off.” (Allen)

When Rebecca said that brazenly while making a nice face, Allen couldn't help but make a tsukkomi.

Rebecca shook her head, looking happy receiving that.

“Ah, I lied about bribing him. I did give him a hair clip to lighten his mouth, and it’s true that I led him to that topic, but Nick-san did hold the line. He didn’t say anything about the construction of the fort.” (Rebecca)

“...Nick, sorry.” (Allen)

Allen was ashamed of himself for even momentarily thinking that Nick might have leaked the information, and apologized to Nick, who was not here.

Allen didn't intend to go out of his way to apologize directly to the person in question, but since he had just gotten some money, he was thinking of offering something or at least buying him a drink.

Until he heard Rebecca's following words.

“Un, but he talked about important things piece by piece, so once I pieced the information together, it was obvious.” (Rebecca)

“That guy's too careless!” (Allen)

Rebecca said those words with a smile, but behind that seemed to be the smile of the devil that entices people, and seeing that, Allen held his head once again.

It's certainly better than taking a bribe and leaking information, but in the end, the information was still pulled out by Rebecca. In fact, since the person himself was not aware of it, this may be a bigger problem.

After enjoying watching Allen like that for a while, Rebecca continued the conversation.

“Although, after that, I also checked to see if the prices of hardware and other things had gone up at the shops in the city, and gathered evidence by slipping in small talk at the lumber dealer. And  the clerk-san told me ‘Geez, if you want durable building materials, a large amount of treant wood will arrive soon, so if it’s just a bit, even you can buy it, you know, Ojou-san,’ I’m grateful to him.” (Rebecca)

“Why is everyone leaking such important information?” (Allen)

“Because of my charm?” (Rebecca)

Rebecca acted flirtatiously on purpose, so Allen dropped a light chop on her head, and receiving that, Rebecca stuck out her tongue and laughed

Seeing that childish gesture, Allen thought with a wry smile that it was probably this part that made the other people less wary.

Like that, once they let their guard down, Rebecca then slips into their guard.

Rebecca's ability to close the distance was innate. It can even be said that she has an exceptional sense of smell for ascertaining the line that people don't dislike.

This was certainly one of the main factors that allowed her to achieve a certain level of success as a merchant.

“That's why you suddenly wanted to go to the dungeon.” (Allen)

“Un. There was still some time until the goods arrived, but I thought there were others in the same industry who were thinking the same thing as me. There were some on the 9th floor after all.” (Rebecca)

“Could it be, Iseria’s request was?” (Allen)

“I don't think it was from a merchant, but I think the motive was similar. I think they wanted to investigate how much treant material they could secure on the 9th floor.” (Rebecca)

The 9th floor is so unpopular that little is known about its actual state. Or rather, its information has not been updated since it was investigated a long time ago.

‘That's probably why they wanted to investigate what the current condition was,’ Allen thought. And that deduction was actually not wrong.

“But if you do that, won’t you get hated... aah, I see now.” (Allen)

“Un. Len-nii also seems to have noticed, but the amount I sold, seen from the whole, is just a small part. I might be thought of as a little uninteresting, but they can make a lot of money from their heavy turnover rate, so I won’t get hated. On the contrary, the worth of being seen as an astute person might be higher.” (Rebecca)

“I see. Merchants sure are tough.” (Allen)

‘Fufun’ Rebecca puffed up her nose at Allen’s compliment as he patted her head, and he stood up.

He was able to hear the general details of the situation, and he learned that Rebecca had done her best and put a lot of thought into it, so he decided to cancel making peanut dishes and just make something that she liked instead.

However, the person who put a stop to that was none other than Rebecca.

“Ah, and Len-nii. I'm planning to leave the city in a few days.” (Rebecca)

“Haa? That's too sudden. Besides, it hasn't been long since you came here.” (Allen)

“Hmm, this is what we were talking about earlier, but there is a possibility that I will get hated normally before the profits come in. See, there are small fries who get caught up in immediate profits, right?” (Rebecca)

“No, well, I won't deny that, but that's a terrible thing to say.” (Allen)

Rebecca bluntly said an insult as though it had nothing to do with her, and Allen smiled wryly at that. That said, Allen also thought that what she was saying was correct.

There were some adventurers like that too. People who get too caught up in immediate things and end up in a big disaster. The direction was a little different, but the adventurer party that escaped the other day using Lionel as a decoy was like that too, Allen was convinced as he recalled them.

“Well, it’ll probably be fine once things settle down, and I'll come again after a little while. And so, tomorrow night we'll have a fancy dinner outside.” (Rebecca)

“That's sudden. Or rather, don't plan it yourself.” (Allen)

“Ee─h, isn’t it fine. By the way, I also invited Matilda-san, who helped me when I checked the request history at the Adventurers’ Guild, so she's planning to come as well.” (Rebecca)

“You're completely ignoring my schedule. Well, I guess it's fine.” (Allen)

Seeing Rebecca's smug face as she ignored Allen's circumstances and spoke as if it's completely decided, ‘Haa,’ Allen lets out a big sigh.

That said, if Rebecca was really going to leave the city, there were things Allen wanted to do for her.

Because he doesn't know when he'll be able to see Rebecca again, as she works as a peddler. If things go badly, it’s possible that it will be several years later.

Though, as expected, even Allen didn’t think that she’d plan it herself.

“And so, Len-nii will be on the wallet duty.” (Rebecca)

“No, well, I'm already planning it from the start, but you’ve got to choose your words better.” (Allen)

At the blunt words of ‘wallet duty’, Allen became fed up and warned Rebecca. However, Rebecca wasn’t discouraged by the warning, on the contrary, her eyes lit up and her face changed to one of ‘I did it’.

Seeing that, a bad feeling ran through Allen's entire body.

“Fufu, I’ve got your word. Tomorrow’s meeting place will be the [Garden of Sunbeams], and the food will be its finest course. That's 50,000 zenny per person! And drinks will cost extra.” (Rebecca)

“Wai-!” (Allen)

“Arere─, a man doesn’t go back on his word, right, Len-nii.” (Rebecca)

The excessiveness of it made Allen almost raise his voice in protest as Rebecca, with a grin on her face, looked at him as if peering in. While politely pointing to the bag containing gold coins on the desk with her finger.

Even though he understood the meaning and understood that the amount was not a problem compared to what he had earned this time, he still couldn't hold back his irritation. So he took a deep breath and smiled broadly at Rebecca.

“Then for today, let's do our best to overcome Rebecca's weaknesses. We have a fancy dinner waiting for us tomorrow anyway, so I’m sure you can do it.” (Allen)

“Ah, I'm going outside for a bit...” (Rebecca)

Rebecca tried to slip out of the chair and run away, but Allen had enough time to firmly grab her by the shoulders.

“It'll be fine. I'm sure it will taste delicious if you help me with the cooking.” (Allen)

“Len-nii is definitely the demon lord─!!” (Rebecca)

Allen slid into the kitchen, dragging a reluctant Rebecca along with him.

And after dinner, Allen secretly smiled at the sight of Rebecca sitting absentmindedly in her chair, as if she was burnt out.

────

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Level Down 75

Volume 2 Chapter 33 - Reasons for Purchasing Building Materials

RAW

“Oo─i, Len-nii. Come back soon─.” (Rebecca)

“...No, this. What do I do?” (Allen)

Allen somehow managed to regain his senses after being called out by Rebecca, and feeling a heavy weight on his hands, he looked to Rebecca for help.

However, Rebecca shook her head with a grin on her face.

“I’d be troubled even if you ask me that. It's Len-nii's rightful share. You should just use it however you want.” (Rebecca)

“No, but it's 18,440,000 zenny, you know. That’s about six years' worth of my old annual salary... huh, I feel like this is a bit light for that.” (Allen)

Allen couldn't hide his turmoil, but as he compared it to his old annual income, he remembered the time when he first obtained a large sum of money from the sale of the ogre king's materials and tilted his head.

Because he realized that the weight in his hands was not much different from the weight he felt at that time.

The initial sale price of the ogre king's materials was 6 million zenny, in other words, 600 gold coins. That weight remained firmly in Allen's memory.

The reward this time is three times that amount. Obviously this was too little. Seeing Allen brooding about that discrepancy, Rebecca was a little surprised.

“Len-nii, you know it well. That one only has 8,440,000 zenny. The rest is still in negotiation.” (Rebecca)

“Hm? Aah, so the money from selling treants hasn't come in yet. No, it’s not like I’m planning to use it for anything, so I don’t really care. But, you say it’s still in negotiation... In other words, this money was originally purely Rebecca’s, right!?” (Allen)

Allen looked at Rebecca with wide-eyed surprise, and Rebecca nodded her head, albeit a little dissatisfied.

“Un. It’s actually my money. Aa-aah, here I was going to have Len-nii count the coins one by one and make you go ‘Wait, there’s not enough money at all,’ in surprise.” (Rebecca)

Allen was astonished when he confirmed that the money he received originally belonged to Rebecca, while Rebecca grumbled about it with a disappointed look on her face.

Hearing those words, Allen imagined himself taking out the gold coins from the bag and counting them one by one, and he let out a deep sigh at the barrenness of it all.

“No, why do I have to do something that sounds like a penance?” (Allen)

“Eh, isn't it fun? That ‘I earned this much money’ kind of feeling.” (Rebecca)

“Eh, could it be, you’ve done it?” (Allen)

In response to Allen's question, ‘Fufufu,’ Rebecca replied with a meaningful smile.

From that alone, Allen realized that ‘Ah, this girl definitely hadn’t done it,’ and once again, he turned his gaze to the bag in front of him.

Allen felt like Rebecca was complaining about something outside of his field of vision, but he pretended not to notice and looked at the gold coins stuffed in the bag as he thought about what he should do.

And he quickly reached a conclusion.

“Alright, for now I'll leave it be until it's needed.” (Allen)

“I thought Len-nii would do that. If you're worried about leaving it at home, you should use the Merchant Guild's storage service. You don't have to be a member of the guild to use the service. Well, there will be a fee when you take it in and take it out though.” (Rebecca)

“I guess you can't replace safety. Thanks, I'll think about it.” (Allen)

Allen expressed his gratitude to Rebecca for thinking of him and teaching him such things, and for the time being, placed the bag of gold coins she had given him on the desk.

Then he headed straight to the kitchen and started preparing dinner. Actually, it was a little early to prepare dinner, but he didn't have enough time to do anything else, so he thought he'd make something a little more elaborate.

It was partly because he wanted to focus on something so as not to remember or think about strange things though.

Rebecca, who was sitting at the table, happily watched Allen’s back profile.

Rebecca loved watching Allen cook. When she still lived here, Allen went to work early in the morning to earn a living as an adventurer, so the still young Rebecca didn't get to spend that much time with him.

When Allen came home, he played with her for just a bit before he started cooking as she sat at the table and watched, which was a very precious time for the young Rebecca.

While listening to the rhythmic sound of knives moving, she talked with the other siblings about what they would have for dinner today, and talked about interesting things that happened today so that Allen, who was cooking, could hear.

Even though there were times when they suffered because they didn't have money, Rebecca was happy enough with just that. That's why she loved Allen, who continued to protect her happiness like that.

As Rebecca was fondly reminiscing about the past, Allen, who had no idea that Rebecca was thinking about such things, called out to her in his usual tone while cooking.

“Come to think of it, Rebecca. Where did you end up selling those treant building materials?” (Allen)

“Hm? It's Lord-sama's place, you know.” (Rebecca)

“HAA!? Uwah, dangerous!” (Allen)

When the unexpected word ‘Lord’ came up in a casual conversation, Allen's hands lost control of the knife and almost swung it at his finger, but he hurriedly avoided it.

The timing was so close that if Allen's reaction was just a bit slower, he might have been cut, so Allen let out a deep breath and was relieved.

Then, when his mind had calmed down a bit, he asked Rebecca again.

“When you say Lord, you mean the one here in Lilac, right?” (Allen)

“Un. Count Naveen El Lilac. Somehow, a lot happened yesterday and I met with the person himself.” (Rebecca)

“No, I don't think he's the kind of person you can just meet though.” (Allen)

“Un, I think so too.” (Rebecca)

When Rebecca responded to Allen's comment with a straight face and folded arms, Allen wanted to reply back with ‘You’re not making any sense,’ but judging from Rebecca's reaction, it seemed like the person herself didn't really understand it either, so he stopped.

And perhaps, that was the reason why she was so tired yesterday, he was a little convinced.

Because Allen knew that meeting the Lord who was a count was extremely tiring, having experienced it himself, although it was as Nella.

“Still, buying that much treant building materials, is he planning to build something?” (Allen)

“There was a stampede the other day, right? It seems they're going to build a fort around it for the future.” (Rebecca)

“Heeh, you sure knew it well. I didn't know that at all.” (Allen)

‘Even I, a local, didn't know it, as expected of a peddler,’ he thought, happy to see Rebecca's growth and was about to start cooking again, but...

“Un, because it hasn't been announced yet.” (Rebecca)

“...” (Allen)

Hearing the words that came back, Allen put the knife down. Then, he headed over to the table and sat down opposite Rebecca, who was looking up at him with a grin.

As she saw Allen do that, Rebecca's smile deepened.

“Areh, aren’t you going to cook?” (Rebecca)

“As if I can! If I make something while listening to your story, no matter how many fingers I have, it won't be enough.” (Allen)

“Len-nii, you only have five fingers. Hah, could it be, Len-nii can grow fingers now...” (Rebecca)

“As if I can! I'll listen to your story before I cook, so hurry up and talk.” (Allen)

“Ee─h, what should I do─?” (Rebecca)

As Rebecca continued to tease him without even trying to hide the fact that she's happy to be cared about, Allen's patience began to wear out just a little.

That said, Allen wouldn’t resort to direct violence. Because as a family, Allen knew how to inflict the most damage on Rebecca.

“Alright, let's change our dinner to peanut dishes. Stir-fried peanuts and rabbit meat, peanut soup, and simmered peanuts are good too. Oh, we have some time, how about making the bread peanut-flavored?” (Allen)

Rebecca's face turned pale at Allen's words.

Peanuts are green vegetables that are about 30 centimeters long and shaped like an elongated face. Although it has extremely high nutritional value and is popular to some as a health food, it is also extremely bitter.

It can be said to be representative of vegetables that parents want to feed but is unpopular with children.

And it's also what Rebecca dislikes the most.

“Len-nii is inhuman! How could you try to feed such a thing to someone, Len-nii must have been possessed by a demon lord. You demon lord!” (Rebecca)

“First of all, you should apologize to the people who grow peanuts. So, what are you going to do? Are we seriously changing the menu?” (Allen)

“I'm sorry, peanut farmers. And demon lord-sama, please be lenient with me.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca did an about-face and started apologizing, and Allen gave a wry smile at that.

And then, ‘So you’ll still treat me as a demon lord?’ Allen thought but he decided to ignore it in order to quickly move on to the main topic.

“So, how did you know about that plan before it was announced? You wanted treant building materials because you knew about that, right?” (Allen)

“Hmm, I guess you're half right. I only heard about the specific plans yesterday. But I did guess they're trying to build something that will require a lot of durable building materials, like treants.”

“Heeh, what made you think that?” (Allen)

To Allen's question, Rebecca returned to her proud face and answered smoothly, and when Allen continued his words, Rebecca held up three fingers and began speaking.

“The first is the requests from the Adventurers’ Guild. Len-nii also accepted one, but did you know that lately there’s been an increase in requests for carpenters like Nick-san to raise their levels?” (Rebecca)

“No, I’ve been taking Nick's carpenter friends along to raise their level pretty often, but were there other requests like that? Lately, Matilda has been giving me a lot of requests, so I haven't been looking at the bulletin board much, so I can’t really tell.” (Allen)

“It wasn't that obvious. But if you look at the recent request history, there was a noticeable change.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca assured him of this, and Allen nodded in return.

The Adventurers’ Guild has a list in the corner of the bulletin board where you can check recently submitted requests.

The purpose of this system is that if you are unsure whether a request posted on the bulletin board is appropriate or not, you can look up the recent request details and their reward amounts and use it as one of the basis to decide whether to accept the request or not.

However, the current situation was that there were almost no adventurers who used it.

“You sure knew it well, the request history.” (Allen)

“I guess so. It's convenient because I can easily see the demand in the places I visit as a peddler.” (Rebecca)

“The guys at the guild might be happy if you tell them that.” (Allen)

Allen muttered, he knew from his time as a guild employee that the idea of abolishing it came up because it was troublesome to compile and update even though it was not used by adventurers.

‘So it can be used like that,’ Allen was impressed, and Rebecca continued to explain.

“Actually, it's possible that the increase in requests was in response to Len-nii raising the level of Nick-san and the others at the Brandt Workshop, so that’s that. So, the next thing that convinced me that there was a plan was the fact that Brandt Workshop bought the treant building materials that Len-nii brought.” (Rebecca)

At Rebecca’s words she said while smiling and bending two of her fingers, Allen tried to deduce why she thought that.

However, from Allen's understanding, even if Brandt Workshop, which focuses on carpentry, bought treant building materials, it wasn’t strange.

────

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Level Down 74

Volume 2 Chapter 32 - Rewards for Completing Requests and the Like

RAW

In the end, he waited for several hours until well past noon when Gideon returned in a good mood and, as expected, he refused the herbs Allen delivered.

Allen complained when the delivery was refused because he had no fault in the collection method or time, but Gideon said, “I've already paid for that share. Besides, even though you accepted the request, you haven't come and delivered medicinal herbs here for the past few days,” and he couldn’t keep speaking any further.

After all, the request had not been withdrawn or revised, so it was certain that he still paid the reward for the several days during which Allen did not deliver them.

Up until now, Allen had been working to deliver the items as soon as he accepted the request, so it didn't bother him that much, but this time he hadn't delivered for four days, including the day he went out with Rebecca.

In other words, he would be receiving 120,000 zenny without doing anything.

This was because of the flow of events in the dungeon, but that still bothered Allen. That's why he sent Rebecca to the city and immediately returned to the dungeon.

It was obvious that he’d refuse even if he offered to return the money, so unable to accept that, Allen headed back to the dungeon, somehow collected the medicinal herbs at one of the designated locations, and delivered them.

Now that he managed to avoid five consecutive days without delivery, Allen breathed a sigh of relief.

“Haa, it's pretty late. I'm glad I heard that Rebecca was going to eat by herself.” (Allen)

Allen bought a random take-out meal at a store on the way home as he hurried home, walking quickly down the streets that were deserted after the sun had already set.

Not long after, Allen arrived at his house and opened the door, and saw Rebecca slumped over the desk, burnt out. Seeing that, Allen panicked and rushed over to her.

“O-oi. Are you okay?” (Allen)

“Ah, Len-nii, welcome back. I’m okay, I’m okay. I'm just a little tired, rather, it's the kind from a great success. Then, now that I've seen Len-nii's face, I'm going to take a rest.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca said that as she raised her body sluggishly, and Allen gazed at her with a worried look. As if to allay Allen's fears, Rebecca grinned a little, and waddled back to her room.

Allen watched her on the spot until her figure disappeared. The worried look on his face didn't change when she saw Rebecca's bravado, in fact, it deepened.

“Don't stay up just to see my face, get some rest.” (Allen)

After muttering those words of worry that could almost be called complaints, Allen ate the take-out meal he had brought home, even though it didn't seem to be very tasty.

.

.

.

The next day, when Allen woke up, Rebecca had already left the house.

However, considering the words written at the end of the letter on the table, which said, “I will give Len-nii a big surprise, so look forward to it,” Allen was convinced that she had recovered from the state she was in last night.

And now that he felt relieved, Allen headed to the dungeon to complete his request.

Allen’s bottleneck for the medicinal herb collection request was not the method of collection or transportation, but the time limit from collection to delivery.

Of course, while that time cannot be said to be long, it takes into consideration the time to leave the collection floor and the time to return to Lilac City. If he collects it from one place at a time, it won't be a big problem.

However, if he wanted to complete the request efficiently, this could be quite an obstacle. Because he’d have to go back and forth between the city and the dungeon many times to deliver the items, and as a result it would take several days to complete the request.

However, Allen had already found a solution to that problem.

During yesterday’s delivery, he didn't have time to check with Gideon to see if there was any problem, so he didn't do it, but during last night’s delivery, Allen had already confirmed that there was no problem with that collection method.

Gideon himself seemed to have doubts as to whether such a thing was really possible though.

“Let’s go.” (Allen)

Allen entered Lilac Dungeon and searched for medicinal herbs that were growing in locations that match the conditions specified in the request.

Allen had many years of experience as an adventurer, and he had recently explored many locations on various floors for the medicinal herbs collection request, so he searched for locations that met the conditions without getting lost, and soon found enough medicinal herbs for the delivery.

“Okay, next.” (Allen)

However, Allen didn't collect them right away, just memorized the location, and began searching for medicinal herbs that met other conditions.

Allen continued the work and gradually moved to deeper and deeper floors, until he finally reached the 10th floor, the deepest floor among the current conditions.

Once he was in front of the medicinal herbs that meet the conditions on the 10th floor, Allen let out a sigh and organized his mind.

Allen clearly envisioned the route he would take, and then he smiled happily.

“Then, let the continuous collection begin.” (Allen)

After muttering that, Allen started collecting the medicinal herbs in front of him.

Although he collected them carefully so as not to damage their roots or leaves, his speed was impossibly fast. Then, after carefully wrapping up the medicinal herbs he had collected and putting them into his bag, he started running along the route he had envisioned earlier.

Then, at his next destination, Allen found medicinal herbs, collected them as before, and ran again. Naturally, medicinal herbs that met the conditions were growing there.

Allen's idea was simple; since there was a time limit, he would just mark it in advance and start by collecting the ones in the deeper floors where the time limit was longer and collect the other ones on his way back, although he would have to take a bit of a detour. With this method, he could deliver all those medicinal herbs in one go.

Of course, there was a possibility that the medicinal herbs that Allen had marked might be collected by someone else, but he still decided to give it a try, thinking it would still save him some time and effort.

As it turned out, it was a great success.

The medicinal herbs Allen had marked on the 2nd floor had been collected, but fortunately, he discovered herbs that met those conditions by chance while heading to the first floor, and with that luck, he succeeded in delivering all the requested herbs in one go.

Allen grinned proudly at Gideon's surprised expression when he delivered them, but soon after, Gideon chased him away, telling him that he needed to do some serious research, and that grin turned into a wry smile.

As Allen was walking towards the Adventurers’ Guild in good spirits after somehow managing to get the request completion proof, he spotted a familiar figure coming out of a side street.

And the same was true for that figure, Iseria.

“Allen-san.” (Iseria)

Seeing Iseria, dressed in casual clothes with a calm impression, approaching him after calling out to him, Allen for a moment thought ‘Don’t come to me, I’m not in Nella form right now,’ but now that he thought about it, he remembered that he had already interacted with her as Allen.

Seeing Iseria so relaxed made Allen’s cheeks twitch a little, but he still smiled at her and replied.

“Yo, Iseria-san, are you on your way back from a request? I guess it doesn’t seem like it.” (Allen)

“Yes, today is my day off, so I was just wandering around the city. Incidentally, Allen-san, what if I told you I was looking for you?” (Iseria)

Iseria bent down slightly and looked into him while blushing, and Allen smiled wryly as he stared at that gesture.

A normal man would have thump’d at that sweet appearance, but to Allen who has known Iseria for somewhat long, he could clearly see that there was a hint of teasing in her expression.

“Rest assured I won't be running off with your magic bag.” (Allen)

“Mu, no effect, is it? It was part 3 of the ‘gesture to captivate a man’ that Rebecca-san taught me though. Putting that aside...” (Iseria)

Allen replied indifferently, and Iseria smiled at him, looking a little disappointed.

And, as if to signal that was the end of it, Iseria tried to switch to another topic, but her words were stopped by Allen.

“No, what the hell is that girl telling you. Or rather, part 3 you say, there other parts?” (Allen)

“Yes, I was taught up to 10, which is the beginner course.” (Iseria)

“What was she thinking, that idiot?” (Allen)

Seeing Allen covering his head with one hand and grimacing, Iseria let out a small sound and smiled. Not the fake smile she had before, but a natural smile.

Iseria watched Allen for a while, but then she remembered what she had to say and called out to Allen again.

“Let's leave that aside for now. It seems like they want you to show up at the guild.” (Iseria)

“Hm, aren’t we going there now... wait, you’re talking about that person, huh?” (Allen)

“Yes.” (Iseria)

Allen implicitly said that he is talking about going as Nella and Iseria nodded.

Allen understood what she's talking about, but he hadn’t accepted any requests as Nella, so he wracked his brain wondering if there's anything in particular he needed to do, and seeing that, Iseria added in a low voice.

“It seems that the sale of the aforementioned materials has been settled.” (Iseria)

“Aah, that, huh.” (Allen)

Allen immediately remembered something when he heard those words.

The aforementioned materials were the materials from the dragon puppies that Allen had frozen and defeated using Ice Coffin spell during the stampede of the Dragon Dungeon.

Allen had intended to leave them alone, but apparently, it was collected properly after that, and after the sale was settled, the money would be transferred to him.

He thought it didn't exist in the first place, and he left everything from retrieval to dismantling up to others, so Allen’s impression on it was extremely thin.

“Yes. The total is about 600 million zenny, so the guild doesn't want to keep it either, so they asked me, an acquaintance, to send the message.” (Iseria)

“!!?” (Allen)

Allen couldn’t help but almost cry out, but he managed to keep his mouth shut and refrain from making a sound.

Of course, it’s because the amount presented was far beyond Allen's imagination.

“No, isn’t that too high?” (Allen)

“It seems that there were some people who bought them at a high price. It seems that the fact that they were defeated by the hero who defended against the stampede and that the materials were undamaged gave them a high rating. Well then, I have conveyed the message.” (Iseria)

Saying that, Iseria walked toward a different direction from Allen, in the direction of her own inn.

After seeing her retreating figure, and while feeling his head drifting by the amount of money that exceeded his tolerance, Allen reported to the guild that the request had been completed, almost forgot to collect his reward, and left the guild.

After somehow managing to return home, Allen found Rebecca relaxing in the room, and that’s when he regained his senses.

For the sake of his peace of mind, Allen decided to postpone the problem for the time being, but Rebecca noticed that he had come home and ran up to him.

“Welcome home, Len-nii.” (Rebecca)

“Ou, I’m home.” (Allen)

“Here, the reward this time. It's Len-nii’s share.” (Rebecca)

Allen took the bag that Rebecca had hidden behind her back, and his cheeks twitched as he felt the weight of it.

Seeing Allen like that, ‘Nishishi,’ Rebecca laughed and said one thing to stop him.

“The reward for 1 set of 10 is 80,000 zenny. This time we achieved 461 sets, so Len-nii's share is 18,440,000 zenny. Geez, thanks to Iseria-san, we made more money than we expected.” (Rebecca)

Considering the amount of 600 million zenny he heard from Iseria earlier, the figure Rebecca told him while laughing with a ‘tehe’ should be much lighter.

However, the strangely realistic figure and the weight of it in his hand accurately pierced Allen's heart, and his thoughts stopped completely.

────

(Translator announcement: my motivation has dropped, so I'm temporarily lowering my release rate of this series to 1 chapter every 2 days until my motivation is back. I know this is still pretty fast though.)

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Level Down 73

Volume 2 Chapter 31 - Rebecca’sTrue Identity

RAW

Rebecca arrived at the large mansion that was the home of the client of the medicinal herbs collection request and waited in front of the gate for a while just like she would when visiting a normal mansion.

However, after confirming that no one seemed to be coming, she opened the gate with a slightly wry smile, and entered the mansion on her own, just as Allen had told her to do.

She passed through the hall of the mansion just as she did when she was with Allen, and then knocked lightly into the deepest room, waited a little while, and then slowly opened the door.

In this room lined with medicinal instruments and filled with the distinctive smell of medicinal herbs was the elderly, sitting at his desk running a pen on a piece of paper, just as before.

Perhaps reaching a good stopping point, his pen left the paper for a moment and stopped, and at that timing, Rebecca called out to him.

“Ojii-san, good afternoon.” (Rebecca)

“Hm? Oh, if I’m not mistaken, you’re Allen's sister...” (Elder)

“Yes, I'm Rebecca. I'm sorry for coming so suddenly. There are a few things I'd like to tell you, and though impudent, a request I’d like to make of you. Ojii-san, or should I say, the kingdom’s special grade pharmacist, Gideon-sama.” (Rebecca)

“...You, who the hell are you?” (Gideon)

When Rebecca guessed his name by herself, Gideon's good-natured smile disappeared and he turned a sharp gaze to Rebecca.

Upon receiving that, Rebecca's easy-going smile from earlier disappeared, and changed to an emotionally unreadable, yet somehow cold, Noh-like expression.

This was something she had never shown in front of Allen before, and Gideon could smell the unique scent of one with a dark background.

“You’re targeting me, huh... Well, it's not like I can’t think of a reason or two, but you're prepared for it, aren't you? The medicines that special grade pharmacists make aren't just for healing.” (Gideon)

“...” (Rebecca)

Gideon took out two long, narrow glass bottles of red and blue liquid from his own chest and showed them off to Rebecca. Rebecca stared fixedly at that, not saying a word or even opening her mouth.

Seeing that calm demeanor, a bead of sweat trickled down Gideon's temple.

Finally, Gideon couldn't take it anymore and swung the two glass bottles, trying to slam them into the ground.

“Please wait a minute! I'm just a peddler. That just now was just an act, an act. I've never heard of someone using such a dangerous-looking drug!” (Rebecca)

Rebecca’s expression quickly changed and she desperately screamed as she tried to stop Gideon by waving her hands from side to side.

‘So what the hell was that earlier?’ Gideon thought as he saw her panicked state, and managed to stop himself from throwing the glass bottle.

Seeing the glass bottles that remained in Gideon's hands, Rebecca let out a deep breath as she put her hand on her chest. Seeing that, Gideon looked at Rebecca with a suspicious gaze.

“Really, what the hell are you?” (Gideon)

“Like I said, I'm just a worthless peddler. I was just asked to give a message to Gideon-san by a valued client. Just to be clear, the acting earlier is also included.” (Rebecca)

“Message?” (Gideon)

Hearing Rebecca's explanation, Gideon wondered why they would do such a thing.

If you want to convey something to someone, you can just send a letter, and even if you want to do it to the person directly, there's no need for that kind of act.

“Would you understand if I said that it was from an ojii-san with a long white beard?” (Rebecca)

Hearing that expression, the image of a certain person quickly appeared in Gideon's mind. And he quickly realized why that person had done this, and sweat dripped off his face, making his complexion grow even paler.

Seeing him like that, Rebecca was a little hesitant to continue, but ‘Well, you reap what you sow, nothing I can do,’ she thought and decided to simply tell him the words entrusted to her.

“You, you've forgotten about the terms of exchange that we made when I let you escape, haven’t you? It’s you we’re talking about, so I'm sure you're too excited about the research you can finally do on your own for the first time in a while, but if you renege on your promise, I'll send you a real assassin to bring you back next time. That’s the message.” (Rebecca)

“What? No way. I don't want to go back to that place where only my social status is so uselessly high that I can't even make time for my own research!” (Gideon)

“Even if you say that to me.” (Rebecca)

‘I changed my tone, but I can’t see the resemblance myself,’ Rebecca thought as she relayed the message, and Gideon’s reaction to that was dramatic. He was clinging to the desk, shaking his head from side to side as if to show that no amount of leverage could move him.

He was like a child throwing a tantrum, with no hint of the age-appropriate atmosphere he had until earlier.

Rebecca was taken aback when she saw this, and her inner voice came out without thinking, immediately cutting him off.

“In that case, how about we made some excuses to Guide Melchizelem, like, let’s see, we say that we are currently conducting an intensive investigation?” (Gideon)

“Umm, it seems that he had completely seen through Gideon-san's actions, so I don't think he'll be convinced unless there's a concrete report.” (Rebecca)

Seeing how pathetic Gideon was, Rebecca naturally downgraded him from ‘sama’ to ‘san’ as she expressed her thoughts.

Because she was convinced that Gideon doesn't place any importance on such things, based on the fact that he went out of his way to obscure his name and then revealed his real name without paying attention to it, and from his previous attitude of letting people enter the mansion without permission.

As for the downgraded Gideon, he was as she predicted, he didn't seem to care about it and just hung his head in a heavy mood.

“W-well, I guess that’s true.” (Gideon)

Rebecca smiled inwardly at his dejected reaction.

Because, although it was quite a deviation from the plan she had in mind, she felt that, if anything, this had a high possibility of significantly shortening the process.

Rebecca approached Gideon with a happy expression on her face and sat down next to him.

“I have good news for you, Gideon-san. I can solve your problem. I have just the thing, with it, it looks like we can do something about it.” (Rebecca)

“Really?” (Gideon)

As if he had met an angel in hell, Gideon looked at her in reverence peculiar to a person who was saved, and Rebecca replied with a gentle smile like a goddess.

That smile might have looked like the devil's smile to some with a hint of delight in it, but Gideon never noticed it.

“Yes, of course. Of course I don't mean for free. I'm a peddler after all, and I think people who do it this way are more trustworthy than those who do something like that for free.” (Rebecca)

“I see. So, what do you want? All I can give you is money or medicine, you know.” (Gideon)

“Aah, come to think of it. Money is also an option, isn’t it? Gideon-san is rich after all.” (Rebecca)

“Umu. Since you’re a peddler, how about enough money to open a shop? If you really manage to deal with Guide Melchizelem, I’ll give you the money right away.” (Gideon)

That statement made Rebecca not sure if he was manly or unmanly, and this time she started to mull it over.

It was an unbelievably good deal and it would make Rebecca's wish to open her own shop in Lilac come true, so there should be no need to hesitate, but Rebecca couldn't decide immediately.

Rebecca's idea to open her own shop here in Lilac was so she could live with Allen.

After Allen quit his dangerous job as an adventurer, she’ll manage the shop with him, and spend her time enjoying just a little luxury with the money she makes.

It might be even more fun if Eric comes to visit once in a while.

Rebecca had been dreaming like that ever since the day she decided to become a merchant.

She wanted to do everything she could to repay Allen, who had raised her with great care.

Even though that long-held dream of hers was about to come true, Rebecca was unable to make an immediate decision.

After returning to this city, meeting Allen again, and learning about his current situation, she became unsure.

Rebecca pictured a smiling Allen in her head and she made her decision.

Rebecca shook her head at Gideon with a soft smile on her face that came from her heart.

“What I would like to ask Gideon-san is to connect me with the accountant and the person in charge of construction planning who work for Lord-sama. Money is not needed.” (Rebecca)

“Are you okay with that? To me, it's like I haven't done anything at all.” (Gideon)

“For peddlers, just being able to connect with these people is valuable enough.” (Rebecca)

Gideon looked like he wasn’t convinced, and seeing that, Rebecca laughed and said that.

In fact, most of the people working under the Count were lower-class nobles. They would not normally deal with Rebecca, a mere peddler. So the fact that just being able to talk to such people is valuable was not a lie.

Of course, that’s not all of Rebecca's true feelings, and she knew that sometimes people would try to connect with her for unexpected reasons.

(It seems like it’s better for me not to be near Len-nii right now. Well, I'll save up the money until the time comes and pay him back with a bang someday. But I wonder what will make him the most happy.) (Rebecca)

Rebecca was a little excited as she thought that, and she overlooked one thing.

About what kind of personality Gideon had. And what was most important to him.

“But introducing you to each of them will be troublesome. Alright, I’ll introduce you to Naveen, and from there you can just ask him.” (Gideon)

“Eh? Naveen? You’re talking about Lord-sama, right?” (Rebecca)

“Umu. Back in the day, when he was working in the royal capital, I sold him a favor. I was planning to ask him to give me priority on buying dungeon materials when he becomes a Lord in the future, but this is just right.” (Gideon)

“This is not just ‘just right’...” (Rebecca)

“Come on, let's go! Getting troublesome things done as soon as possible is my policy. Well, I haven't given any heads-up, but I'm sure we'll get it done by the end of the day.” (Gideon)

“EEEHHH!!” (Rebecca)

Gideon forcibly dragged a shocked and confused Rebecca along with him and began walking from his mansion to the Lord's manor.

Even as Rebecca was confused by the development that was far beyond her imagination, she began to frantically think about how to make the most of it.

.

.

.

And a few hours after that...

“No, why isn't he here? Or rather, he's not even coming back. Is this going to be another failure?” (Allen)

Allen was standing alone in the mansion in Gideon's absence with the medicinal herbs he was planning to deliver, muttering that in the room where the smell of chemicals still lingered.

Then, he looked around his surroundings, and when he reconfirmed that he couldn't feel any presence at all, he dropped his shoulders in disappointment.

────

(T/N: so, Rebecca’s true identity is an errand girl for the court magician? Melchizelem is the court magician right?

Btw, both Melchizelem and Gideon speak in kinda archaic or old man ways, but I don’t know how to sound like that and that’s confusing, so I use standard english.)

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Level Down 72

Volume 2 Chapter 30 - End of Joint Request

RAW

For two days starting the next day, Allen and Rebecca went along with Iseria, who needed to continue defeating treants for several days, and they continued to defeat and dismantle treants.

Thanks to Iseria's cooperation, Allen and Rebecca were able to secure enough building materials on the first day that would take them three days to gather, so in order to repay her, Allen planned to minimize the dismantling and join her in defeating treants.

However, Iseria herself refused, saying that defeating as many as they did on the first day was fine, so as a result, Allen ended up continuing his lifestyle of dismantling treants, collecting their magic stones, and making building materials out of them, just like he did on the first day.

Since they only needed to defeat as many as they did on the first day, that was, about half a day’s worth, in one whole day, Allen was able to continue dismantling treants with plenty of leeway without half losing his consciousness like he did on the first day.

In between, Allen cooked meals for the two of them and created simple toys that could be donated to the orphanage, making it quite a fulfilling lifestyle. This was not what one would expect from the life of an adventurer in a dungeon though.

As Allen was sitting on a wood scrap that had been cut to look like a horizontal bench and was shaving the corners of a toy so that it would be rounded so that small children at the orphanage wouldn't get hurt, Rebecca came back with a treant in tow.

“Len-nii, I’m adding more.” (Rebecca)

“Oh, roger. I'll dismantle it once I’m done with this, so just leave it there.” (Allen)

“I got it─.” (Rebecca)

Hearing Rebecca's reply, Allen was about to resume his work, but a shadow had formed in front of him, so he raised his face. There was Rebecca, bent over, looking at Allen's hands with a nostalgic look on her face.

“Len-nii, you really are overprotective. You did the same thing to the wooden blocks we used to use too.” (Rebecca)

“Ah, come to think of it, I did that, didn’t I? You’re talking about those wooden blocks that Nick gave us, right?” (Allen)

“They have different shapes, so it takes some tricks to stack them.” (Rebecca)

“That guy was still an apprentice when we got them after all.” (Allen)

Allen and Rebecca laughed as they talked about this and reminisced fondly.

It had been more than 15 years ago, Nick had just become an apprentice at Brandt Workshop, and he made wooden blocks from scraps for Allen's family.

However, at that time, Nick's skill was only slightly better than an amateur, so the shapes were irregular, their surfaces were frayed, and the corners were still left as is, so there was little consideration for safety.

As expected, since he received it for free, he couldn’t place an order, so he thanked Nick, and painstakingly shaved off the dangerous-looking corners himself. As a result, the balance became even more unbalanced.

“But he's a full-fledged craftsman now. He's married and the father of a child too.” (Allen)

“Len-nii, are you okay with that? About, um... marriage, and children?” (Rebecca)

“Marriage, huh... well, I guess if I had some luck. I’m fine being alone either way. As for children, you guys were like children to me, so I can’t really tell that now. It was a struggle, but when I look back on it now, it was quite fun, and while I was happy that everyone became independent, I also felt lonely, so I wondered if this was how parents felt.” (Allen)

Allen laughed in response to Rebecca, who was unusually reserved, and stroked her head as he answered with his honest feelings.

Certainly, Allen had to grind his body to dust to raise his younger siblings. But it wasn't all suffering. Just like the wooden blocks mentioned earlier, Allen had many fond memories of the time spent with his siblings.

“I see.” (Rebecca)

As Rebecca was stroked on the head by Allen, she laughed softly, and then stood up. Her face had changed into a refreshed one.

Rebecca then looked at the magic bag that was casually placed next to Allen and looked a little troubled.

“But Len-nii, isn’t Iseria-san's magic bag amazing?” (Rebecca)

“Yeah, even with all the building materials I made in the past two days, it still has plenty of room. Makes you wonder how much capacity it has, right?” (Allen)

“Un. It's something a peddler would be envious of. The price is probably not a laughing matter, though.” (Rebecca)

“I know, right? It probably cost more than I can even imagine.” (Allen)

The two of them looked at each other and let out a deep sigh at the same time at the fact that such a valuable item was placed so casually.

It might be good to hear that they were trusted, but both their common sense agreed that the amount of money they were talking about probably needed more trust.

In fact, if one wanted to buy this magic bag, it would cost well over several hundred million zenny, so their perception was not wrong.

“Well, there’s no point in us worrying about it.” (Allen)

“Guess so. But as expected, does Len-nii also admire this?” (Rebecca)

“Are you talking about the magic bag? Well, it's the mark of a first-class adventurer after all. It also makes exploring dungeons easier, and the amount you can take back increases, so the rewards also increase. Just as it's true for peddlers, for adventurers too, a magic bag is the one item they want.” (Allen)

“I see.” (Rebecca)

Seeing Allen say that, Rebecca grinned.

“I have one, though.” (Rebecca)

“I know.” (Allen)

“I won't give it even to you, Len-nii. No way, I won’t do it even if you make that hungry-looking face.” (Rebecca)

“I’m not making that face!” (Allen)

Rebecca tried to hide her own magic bag strapped to her waist as she put some distance from Allen, so he couldn't help but make a tsukkomi at her. Perhaps satisfied with that reaction, Rebecca’s smile widened as she turned around.

“Then I'll go collect some treants.” (Rebecca)

“At least say you'll subjugate or defeat them.” (Allen)

Allen smiled as he replied with those words to Rebecca, who waved her hand in carefree mood as she left, and then he stood up to begin dismantling the treant that Rebecca had brought earlier.

.

.

.

The day after the three-day investigation ended, the three returned to Lilac City, exchanged words of gratitude and parted ways.

By the way, Iseria's magic bag, which contained a large amount of building materials, was currently in Rebecca's hands. Iseria handed it to her because she thought it would be more convenient that way.

Allen didn't miss the twitch in Rebecca's expression when she handed it to her.

Allen was still relaxed at the time because it wasn’t handed directly to him, but when he heard the place designated as the return address, his cheeks also twitched.

This was because he learned that the return address that was the inn where Iseria resides in this city was the best inn in Lilac, where even the lowest-ranked room costs 100,000 zenny a day.

When he met Iseria as Nella, they basically met up in front of a dungeon, so Allen had no idea where Iseria was staying.

Although the magic bag he received was much larger in value, the fact that he was surprised by the realistic price of the inn spoke volumes about Allen's sense of money.

When Iseria politely said her greeting and left, Allen and Rebecca were half stunned as they saw her off. Then Rebecca let slip a few words.

“I guess that's what they call someone who lives in a different world.” (Rebecca)

“I guess so. If it were me, I'm confident that I'd be happier if I ate delicious food with the money I’d spent staying at an inn.” (Allen)

“No, what kind of confidence is that, Len-nii? Or rather, isn’t the food at that kind of inn top-notch after all?” (Rebecca)

“Isn’t the amount you can eat different?” (Allen)

While having such a whimsical conversation, the two of them continued to see Iseria off until she disappeared, but since they couldn't stay like this forever, each of them began to move.

“Well, now that I've brought Rebecca back to the city safely, I'm heading back to the dungeon. I’m pretty late with the old man’s herb collection request after all.” (Allen)

“Roger. I'll get my own food, so don't worry about me. I have things to do myself anyway.” (Rebecca)

“Ou. Take care of yourself.” (Allen)

“Un, I know.” (Rebecca)

After a short exchange of words, Rebecca saw Allen off as he headed outside the city again. Then she turned around, closed her eyes for a moment, and let out a breath. With just that, her expression changed to that of a merchant.

“Then I guess I'll go too. There's also Ojii-san’s request after all.” (Rebecca)

After muttering that declaration in a small voice, Rebecca started walking. The destination her feet was heading to was the house of the obstinate old man who was the client for the medicinal herb collection request that she and Allen had visited a few days ago.

────

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Level Down 71

Volume 2 Chapter 29 - An Overnight Fort Anyone Can Build?

RAW

“Rebecca-san. What is this?” (Iseria)

“Umm... Is it a fort?” (Rebecca)

Rebecca and Iseria were stunned as they looked up at the huge wooden wall, perhaps four meters high, towering in front of them.

The wooden wall was made from the part of the trunk that was close to the bark of a treant, and looked like a log house with its row of logs.

The two managed to regain their composure, put the treants they had brought on the spot, and started walking along the wall. Then, along the square-shaped wall that was about 10 meters wide on each side, they found what appeared to be an entrance in a part of it.

“I'm kind of scared to go inside. I think Len-nii is there though.” (Rebecca)

“It’ll be okay, it should be.” (Iseria)

“No, Iseria-san. Please be sure about that.” (Rebecca)

“That’s impossible.” (Iseria)

The two of them balked at the strange sight, but proceeded towards the entrance.

Judging by their strained expressions, it was clear that they were reluctant, but as expected, there was no way they couldn't go inside in this situation.

It was certain that Allen was here, and they both understood that he was probably the one who constructed the scene in front of them, but the sight of a fort-like structure that suddenly appeared in the middle of a forest was so unbelievable that they were afraid to look inside.

While pressed against the wall, the two of them peeked out their faces. The sight that unfolded there took their breath away.

Inside was a room. 10 meters in all four directions, its entire floor covered with wooden boards, and one section of it has tables and chairs made from logs placed there.

Iseria, who was standing as she peeked inside, lowered her gaze, and Rebecca, who was crouching down as she peeked inside, looked up. The two looked at each other and silently spoke, ‘What is, this?’ that doubt.

“You guys, what’re you doing?” (Allen)

““HYAH!!”” (Rebecca & Iseria)

Hearing a voice from behind, Rebecca and Iseria jumped up like startled cats. The two then ran away with the same gesture as if they were twins, and watching them, Allen, the person who called out to them himself, tilted his head and laughed.

Seeing that, Rebecca regained her senses and approached Allen.

“Len-nii, what is this!?” (Rebecca)

“Eh, a rest area?” (Allen)

“This isn't on the level of a rest area! It's a fort, a fort. What kind of thing are you building? Or rather, how did you even build this?!” (Rebecca)

“No, this isn't a grand thing like a fort. It looks splendid from the outside, but it's kinda half papier mâché. You'll understand once you get inside.” (Allen)

Saying that, Allen walked inside, and Rebecca and Iseria followed him inside.

Unlike the log-like wall outside, the wall surface inside looked like planks that were cut straight, and Allen approached it and tapped it.

“This is just a bunch of leftover scraps that I stuck on the ground and lined up. I doubled it up to make it harder to fall over, but I didn't think about durability at all, so it's almost like a blinder. By the way, the floor is also just scraps I laid out.” (Allen)

“Blinder?” (Iseria)

“Just scraps you laid out? There’s almost no bumps on the floor, you know.” (Rebecca)

The way Allen said it was too much for her that Rebecca tilted her head further and further, and when she slid her feet to check the bumps on the floor, she was surprised to find that the joint was smooth.

Seeing the two’s reactions, Allen grinned.

“Well, there's a trick to that. By the way, if you intentionally put your weight near the joint or step on it as hard as you can, it will probably slip off, so don't do it.” (Allen)

“There’s no way I’m that heavy. Len-nii, you have no delicacy! Even Iseria-san is lighter than me. Even though she's taller than me...” (Rebecca)

“No, I think what you said is lacking delicacy even more. Or rather, don't get depressed by the things you said yourself.” (Allen)

‘Zuun,’ a dark shadow shrouded over Rebecca, and looking at her, Allen smiled wryly.

He also noticed Iseria blushing in embarrassment at the edge of his vision, but he didn't know what to say to her, so he decided to ignore her.

“Well, Rebecca eats a lot after all. And if you think of it as stocking up on nutrients for a long trip, isn't that the right move for a peddler?” (Allen)

“That's right, as a peddler... wait, as if I'm like that! What the heck’s a stockpile? I'm normal. I might have more muscles than a normal girl, but it's within an acceptable range. Rather, there are even people who say it’s a good thing...” (Rebecca)

“Whoa, whoa. Just calm down.” (Allen)

“What? Is Len-nii saying that I have muscles like a horse?” (Rebecca)

“No, I didn't say anything like that. What do you want me to do?” (Allen)

* (T/N: どうどう - whoa! (command used to stop or quieten down a horse, etc.). That’s the dictionary entry. I translated it as ‘whoa, whoa’.)

Rebecca had developed a complex about the fact that she had gained enough muscle that it was barely visible while working as a peddler and an adventurer, and her rampage was unstoppable.

Looking up at the sky at the situation where no words of any kind could go through her at all, Allen remembered the divine punishment that would occur if he interfered with Rebecca when she was in the god state of thinking about something important.

“Hey, Len-nii! Are you listening properly?” (Rebecca)

“I am.” (Allen)

‘Fuu,’ Allen let out a small breath as he made up his mind and listened to Rebecca's words. Because he knew from experience that if he shut up and listened seriously, Rebecca would eventually regain her senses.

As Rebecca rampaged and Allen listened with a serious but slightly amused look on his face, Iseria watched from a distance with a hint of envy flickering on her face.

.

.

.

“So this is all made from treant scraps, and Len-nii built it randomly, right?” (Rebecca)

“Yeah. Isn’t that what I’ve been saying from the beginning?” (Allen)

“That's, amazing.” (Rebecca)

After Rebecca calmed down, Rebecca and Iseria looked around the interior again before asking for Allen's explanation.

“But why did you build this thing?” (Rebecca)

“No, at first I just wanted to set up the chairs and tables over there so it’d be easier to take a break, but you never came back so I had a lot of extra time, you see. And having so much scrap material left over felt like it was a waste anyway.” (Allen)

Allen answered Rebecca's question while pointing to the table and chairs placed in a corner of the room.

What Iseria needed was treant magic stones, and what Rebecca needed was treant building materials. At first glance, it may seem like an economical deal, but in reality, it was not.

After all, even though it was called building materials, not all of the treant trunks were used.

What was processed into building materials was the center of the trunk of the treants, and parts such as the outside layer and the part of the trunk near the branches had to be cut to make the length uniform, generating a large amount of scrap material.

Allen didn't have time to worry about them while he was dismantling treants, so he threw them far away so that they wouldn't get in the way, but that place became a mountain of treant scraps.

The two returned late, and there was still time left over after building a simple table and chairs for them to rest in with those scraps, so Allen, thinking that they were going to spend a few more days here anyway, showed a spirit of unwastefulness, which resulted in the current situation.

“But, even though we will be working with Iseria-san on her investigation for the next two or three days, isn’t this too much? I feel like it’s so much that it shouldn’t be possible though.” (Rebecca)

Saying that, Rebecca looked at Allen with some suspicion, but Allen didn't care at all, and in fact, he had expected her to say something like that, so he replied with a smile.

“Then, how about you try building one too, Rebecca?” (Allen)

“Heh? Can I even do it?” (Rebecca)

“Ou. Being a peddler and an adventurer, you often use the earth magic Dig, right?” (Allen)

“Un.” (Rebecca)

As he said that, Allen and Rebecca left the room, and Iseria followed after them.

Then, they stopped at a pile of treant bark and trunks about five meters long, shaped like a semicircle stretched out horizontally at one corner of the outside wall.

“Then, Rebecca. Use Dig here. Dig in the shape of this opening.” (Allen)

“Eeh, I don't normally do that. Dig is for things like putting out fires and cleaning up after picking flowers.” (Rebecca)

“Well, it doesn't matter if it's a little big, so give it a try. The depth should be about 1 meter.” (Allen)

“Okay. Dig.” (Rebecca)

At Allen's urging, Rebecca pointed her hand toward the ground and casted the spell. When she did, the soil on the ground swelled up, creating a semicircular depression in the center, and surrounding it was a small mountain of dirt that had been packed from that hole.

“Oh, you're pretty good.” (Allen)

“Eh, really?” (Rebecca)

“Yeah. We need it deeper, so keep doing it.” (Allen)

“Okay. Dig.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca kept digging the hole with magic while looking happy after being praised by Allen.

This magic called Dig was known as a very useful magic for traveling. The effect was simply to dig a hole with magic, just as Rebecca did, but digging a hole was very important when camping.

This magic could be used as a trap and also contributes to hygiene, so it could be said that this magic was indispensable for adventurers and peddlers.

“Alright, this is about it. Now, shove this into this hole. Try it.” (Allen)

“Un.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca easily picked up a 5 meter piece of treant scrap and shoved it into the hole.

It entered the 1 meter deep hole, but the hole was a little wide, so the scrap wobbled, so Allen supported it as he stuffed leftover soil into the gap in the hole and stomped on it. That alone stabilized the scrap considerably and made it look like a pillar.

“Ooh, it really is that easy.” (Rebecca)

“Right? After that, all you have to do is repeat this and the wall will be done.” (Allen)

“Dig. Hmm, this might be a pretty good way to control magic.” (Iseria)

Iseria expressed her impressions as she created a hole with much higher precision than the one Rebecca made. Because it was more difficult than she expected to dig a hole in the shape she wanted.

Iseria picked up a scrap, shoved it into the hole, filled the gaps with soil, and stomped on it, just like Allen did earlier. Seeing this, Allen cracked his neck and let out a breath.

“Then I'll go make some food. You two can just keep that up and make a small hut here.” (Allen)

“Eeh. Why?” (Rebecca)

“I thought you might want to take a bath and refresh yourself, so you should build a hut that can block the view, but if you don’t need it, that’s fine.” (Allen)

“Yosh, Iseria-san. Let's build it strong so that Len-nii can't peep through it!” (Rebecca)

“Like I would!” (Allen)

The two of them made happy faces and laughed at Allen's retort. Then, the two of them chatted happily as they started erecting pillars, and after confirming this, Allen also started preparing for the midnight meal.

────

(T/N: my priority is to make sure the story can be understood, sorry if the talking styles and the likes that are too hard to translate are inaccurate.)

Previous | Next

Level Down 70

Volume 2 Chapter 28 - Three People Joint Request

RAW

Iseria looked at the two as if she was ready to unleash magic at any time, but Rebecca immediately understood the situation and released her stance with a beaming smile on her face and threw the axe in her hand to the ground.

Iseria's wariness diminished a little at that, and sensing that, Rebecca launched a peaceful offensive.

“I'm sorry. The two of us were just fooling around for a bit, so I'd appreciate it if you could stop trying to attack me. Isn’t that right, Len-nii?” (Rebecca)

“Is that true? Dear Sir in the back, I am a gold class adventurer. Even if you are threatened, I can save you, so please tell me the truth.” (Iseria)

Perhaps to show that she was not at all alarmed, Rebecca said that and turned her back to Allen, exposing her defenseless back to Iseria.

Rebecca's smile deepened at Iseria's words that followed, and she tightened her fists so as not to be seen, as if she was thinking ‘How lucky,’ Allen had a bad feeling when he watched her do that. Because he had somehow guessed what Rebecca was thinking.

Nevertheless, Allen decided to clear up Iseria's misunderstanding, as it would be even more troublesome if he didn't do what he needed to do now.

“Yeah, sorry. This guy and I are siblings. I wasn't being attacked or threatened. Sorry for being misleading.” (Allen)

Iseria widened her eyes and froze when she saw Allen suddenly turn up and say that. Because Iseria herself had never expected to meet Allen in a place like this.

‘Oya,’ Allen felt something out of place in this situation, but he couldn't think of what it was.

Then, as Iseria lowered her hand she had been pointing at them and became less wary, Rebecca approached her while talking to her in a friendly manner.

“I'm Rebecca, an iron class adventurer and peddler, and this is my brother Allen. I'm sorry for causing a misunderstanding. Um...” (Rebecca)

“Ah, my name is Iseria.” (Iseria)

“So it’s Iseria-sama. How amazing, a gold class at such a young age. Could Iseria-sama be a member of a famous party?” (Rebecca)

“No, I'm basically alone...” (Iseria)

“Isn't that even more amazing? Being gold class while solo is proof of your masterful ability. Besides, Iseria-sama, you're so beautiful while being so strong, it’s too amazing.” (Rebecca)

“That’s not...” (Iseria)

Rebecca's rave review made Iseria’s cheeks turn red despite her modesty. Already there was not the slightest hint of wariness between the two of them.

Allen marveled at Rebecca's ability to slip into Iseria’s heart and start talking to her as if they were acquaintances.

At the same time, he was remembering how, in the old days, ‘Come to think of it, Rebecca had a lot of random acquaintances, didn’t she?’

As two of them began to chat boisterously and happily, Allen watched over them and left the place. In order to take down the treant who was cut halfway through and left as is in the back.

And the expression on the treant's face that was about to be cut down soon by Allen, was not its usual expression filled with hate, contempt, or other bad emotions, but rather a somewhat peaceful one.

.

.

.

When Allen returned to the two after processing the defeated treant into building materials, he found Iseria and Rebecca there, laughing and talking as if they were old friends.

“But I'm really sorry.” (Iseria)

“No, no. We were also at fault for doing something misleading, and Iseria-san has already apologized many times, so please don't worry about it.” (Rebecca)

While watching Rebecca respond to Iseria's apologies in a casual tone, Allen noticed that she had changed ‘sama’ into ‘san’ before he knew it.

It didn't take that long for Allen to defeat and finish processing the treant, yet Rebecca managed to close the distance so much in such a short time, Allen was honestly impressed.

“I’m done here.” (Allen)

“Ah, Len-nii, thank you for your hard work.” (Rebecca)

“Thank you for your hard work. Allen-sa, n, I'm also really sorry.” (Iseria)

Iseria stuttered in a strange place, and guessing the reason, Allen pretended not to notice and waved his hand to indicate that there was no problem.

“It's our fault for doing something that could be misunderstood. Or rather, it's because Rebecca was fooling around.” (Allen)

“Eeh, Len-nii was also laughing, so you’re also an accomplice.” (Rebecca)

“No, isn't that strange? I just laughed and that made me an accomplice? Are you some kind of tyrant?” (Allen)

“Eh, I’m Len-nii's little sister-kun obviously.” (Rebecca)

“Of course I know!” (Allen)

Rebecca declared that to play dumb and Allen retorted. Perhaps thinking the interaction between the two was funny, Iseria giggled.

Seeing her like that, Rebecca tilted her head slightly, then turned to Allen and began speaking in a voice small enough for Iseria to not hear.

“Len-nii. I'll bring Iseria-san in.” (Rebecca)

“No, as expected, isn’t that bad? She’s a gold class, you know.” (Allen)

“It's okay. She’s such a good person that she tried to stick her neck into trouble on her own, and from talking to her, I can tell she has a good personality. And judging by her equipment, she seems to be rich, yet she doesn’t have the arrogance and stubbornness that are typical of rich people. She was probably some young lady from somewhere. It’s a mystery why someone like that would become an adventurer.” (Rebecca)

Allen tried to gently hide his true feelings and refuse, but that didn't get through to Rebecca.

And hearing Rebecca's evaluation of Iseria, Allen couldn't help but laugh, thinking how well she had come to such a judgment in such a short time.

That was because that evaluation was almost the same as Allen’s, who had some degree of acquaintances with her.

Rebecca turned from Allen to Iseria, and smiled.

“Iseria-san, if it’s fine with you, won’t you accept our request together? We're a bit short on hands and are in trouble, you see.” (Rebecca)

“Your request, is it?” (Iseria)

Allen thought that the way Rebecca talked, emphasizing just the ‘in trouble’ part a bit, might indeed be an effective method for Iseria.

Because Allen knew that, although the main story of the hero Artigald is about defeating the demon lord, it has many scenes where he helps people in trouble along the way. So, Iseria, who admires him, basically cannot leave people in trouble alone.

This was a bad flow for Allen, who didn't want to get involved with Iseria in his Allen form.

But Allen still had some leeway.

“Yes. It’s the request to deliver treants as building materials. The number is quite large, so we are looking for one more person to defeat the treants.” (Rebecca)

“I see. But I’ve also accepted a different request...” (Iseria)

“Ee─h.” (Rebecca)

“No, isn’t that obvious? That’s why I told you to give up.” (Allen)

Allen's smile deepened at Iseria's expected answer, and he roughly stroked Rebecca's hair and urged her to give up.

Rebecca was growling as if she couldn't give up, but Allen thought that she wouldn't make a mistake on when to quit, so he felt like they were done.

The reason Allen felt some leeway from the beginning was because he had predicted that Iseria was here because she had received some sort of request.

He briefly thought that it might be related to the hanging tree, but since that had settled down, he thought it was unlikely.

In addition to that, Allen had directly heard from Iseria that recently, for her future, she was fighting in the Dragon Dungeon, which she had cleared the entry requirement as a hero egg.

Seeing that Iseria went out of her way to come to this place, Allen could only think that it was the result of accepting some sort of request.

Rebecca, who was looking disappointed, changed her mood and looked up. And just before she could open her mouth to utter words of resignation, Iseria clapped her hand.

“That's right. How about you also help me with my request?” (Iseria)

“Your request, is it?” (Rebecca)

“Yes, the request is to defeat as many treants as possible and report the number, but rather than doing it alone, I could defeat more if I had some help. I will need the treants' magic stones, but no other parts are needed.” (Iseria)

“In other words, we will do the dismantling, the magic stones will go to Iseria-san, while the other materials will go to us. Iseria-san will save time on dismantling on top of increasing the number you defeat. And our side can secure more building materials, right? Very well, then, the negotiation has been concluded.” (Rebecca)

“Eh?” (Allen)

Allen froze as the conversation progressed in an unexpected direction, but Rebecca smiled truly happily as she wrapped her hands around Iseria's. In response, Iseria also turned her gentle smile towards Rebecca.

“And so, Len-nii, I leave the dismantling to you.” (Rebecca)

“Allen-san, please take care of me.” (Iseria)

“Eh? O-ou.” (Allen)

When the two of them said that, Allen couldn’t help but reply instinctively, and Rebecca and Iseria each left the place to defeat treants, leaving Allen behind.

“How did it come to this?” (Allen)

Such words from Allen never reached anyone.

.

.

.

After that, a period of uncertainty began for Allen. He was dismantling treants that Rebecca and Iseria dragged in, took their magic stones and made building materials out of them.

The pace at which Iseria brought treants was fast. That's natural, since at Iseria's level, she can defeat something like a treant with a single magic attack.

And in addition to that, the pace at which Rebecca was defeating them was also clearly increasing.

“Or rather, why are you faster than when you were with me?” (Allen)

“Hmm, I guess I got used to it. My level has gone up too.” (Iseria)

“Seriously...?” (Allen)

“Then, please take care of this.” (Iseria)

Saying that, Rebecca left cheerfully, and after Allen saw her off, he continued to work hard on the dismantling.

With Allen's stats, increasing his speed was a simple matter.

But that was only for Allen and it didn’t extend to the tools he used. If he forced it too much, they would break and become unusable like Allen's beloved sword.

Even if he didn’t, it's natural for tools to wear out if he uses them, so he needed to maintain them by sharpening their dull blades with a whetstone, adjusting the angle, and so on.

Allen had learned it at Dolban's workshop, so he was able to perform optimal maintenance at the fastest speed, but even then, when combined with the pace of treants being brought in, it was really just barely.

Once Allen finished dismantling a treant, a new one was brought in. After dismantling it, he found some spare time, so he repaired his tools, but during that time, a new treant was brought in and he started dismantling again.

Allen no longer had any awareness that this was a dungeon. In fact, he was no longer even sure why he was doing this.

Once, Rebecca's magic bag was full and Allen was about to regain his senses, but that opportunity was lost when Iseria suggested that they use her own magic bag.

.

.

.

And before they knew it, the time had turned 10 p.m.

Iseria and Rebecca met up on the way back to Allen, and reported to each other about today's battle results.

The surrounding treants had been completely exterminated, so there was no need to be wary, and the two of them continued walking as if they were taking a normal walk in the forest. They were dragging treants along with them though.

“I knew it, Iseria-san is amazing. You got twice as much as I did.” (Rebecca)

“But isn't Rebecca-san amazing as well? I've seen iron class people fight, but I'm sure they can only defeat half as many as Rebecca-san.” (Iseria)

“I'm trying hard in my own way after all.” (Rebecca)

The two of them complimented each other and gradually shifted  to small talk, their walking pace much slower than when they were carrying treants up until then.

As a result, when they returned to Allen, they both froze with their mouths open, making stupid faces.

────

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Level Down 69

Volume 2 Chapter 27 - Securing Treant Building Materials

RAW

With a ‘koon, koon’ sound, Rebecca was swinging the axe she took out from her magic bag toward the trunk of a treant.

All of the treant's branches had already been removed, and the treant, unable to resist, could only look at Rebecca with resentment.

Nearby, Allen was peeling the bark of another treant and cutting its trunk clean and straight to make building materials.

Seeing the straight, undisturbed result that would be worthy of a craftsman, Allen nodded with satisfaction and stuffed the finished product into the magic bag he was given.

“Ooi, I’m done here.” (Allen)

“Um. I’m just a little bit more!” (Rebecca)

The axe Rebecca was swinging gradually buried itself into the trunk, but the treant did not fall easily. That said, the blade had already reached halfway, so it wouldn't be long before it was defeated, Allen thought.

Up until now, they had fought against several treants, and although the first one was fought with the two of them, it was Rebecca who defeated the treants after that.

This was because of how they split their roles; after they dragged the defeated treant to the next treant, Rebecca would be fighting the new treant, while Allen would be processing the treant she had defeated earlier.

For Allen, he thought it would be nice if this could help Rebecca raise her level, so he decided to watch over her and not touch her treant even if he finished processing his treant first.

Rebecca started swinging her axe from the opposite side, and after a while, the treant’s body slowly collapsed while making a creaking sound.

Seeing that, Rebecca wiped her sweat with her sleeve, and Allen approached her and handed her a towel.

“Good job.” (Allen)

“Ah, Len-nii. Thank you.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca wiped her face with the towel she received, and then let out a deep breath with a refreshed face.

Allen could sense some fatigue in her expression, so, with a worried look on his face, he made a suggestion.

“Should we take a break?” (Allen)

“Hmm, I guess we should.” (Rebecca)

After pretending to ponder a bit, Rebecca nodded, perhaps having calmly assessed her state, and then she sat down on top of the treant she had just defeated. Allen then handed Rebecca a water bottle as he sat down next to her.

Rebecca opened the water bottle she had received, slurping and gulping as she rehydrated herself, then she took her mouth away and let out another deep breath.

“Geez, treants are more incompatible with me than I thought.” (Rebecca)

“After clearing the branches, the stronger ones will have an advantage after all. You’re focused on agility, Rebecca, so it might be difficult for you.” (Allen)

When Rebecca said that while looking tired and dangling her hands, Allen agreed with her while giving her a wry smile.

In reality, Rebecca wasn’t compatible with treants. She had no problem clearing the branches, but the process of cutting down the trunk after that inevitably took a long time.

As Allen said, Rebecca's strength is not very strong.

That said, compared to Nick, a civilian who comes here every once in a while and does the same thing, she’s much faster though.

“If I can't catch up with Len-nii's speed, the efficiency will be,” (Rebecca)

As Rebecca stood up while muttering something like that, Allen followed after her and also stood up, and then he thrust his hand into the open hole that used to be the treant's mouth.

Then he grabbed there, which was easy to hold like a handle, and dragged it, following Rebecca ahead of him.

Rebecca, who was leading the way, was muttering to herself as she gathered her thoughts on what to do. Her face was that of a merchant, not an adventurer.

“It’s not like we’re losing that much time, so isn’t it fine?” (Allen)

“No, it's not. Even if it's just a small difference, if we pile up a lot of them, it'll be a big deal. Hmm, I wish we have at least one more person. But then, we’ll fight over distribution, and I also want to keep the information confidential...” (Rebecca)

Seeing Rebecca placing her hand on her chin as she continued her thought, Allen was secretly impressed even as he smiled wryly. Seeing her troubled by completely different things from him made him realize that she truly was a merchant.

In fact, Allen himself had a bit of a problem, but since Rebecca was in such a state, he felt like this wasn’t the time to express them, so he mulled it over in the back of his mind while keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings.

(This makes it 3 sets. In other words, my share will be 120,000 zenny. Is this really okay?) (Allen)

Allen thought while tilting his head slightly as he kept his guard up with his eyes.

One treant could be made into 4 to 6 building materials of Rebecca’s specifications. As of now, they had defeated 7 of them and finished making 30 building materials, and considering the reward for Rebecca’s designated request, it would be 240,000 zenny. Allen's share would be half of that, which is 120,000 zenny.

It had only been about 3 hours since they reached the 9th floor, yet he had already earned 120,000 zenny.

If they continued this for half a day, he’d earn about 500,000 zenny. Of course, this was a rough estimate that didn’t take breaks into account at all, but it's still an extraordinary amount of money to earn in one day.

This was well illustrated by the fact that Allen's previous annual income was 3 million zenny.

Moreover, Rebecca said that she would repeat this over and over again. Allen couldn’t imagine how much money would come into his hands as a result.

(Could it be, she made a request like this just to give me money... no, there’s no way she’d do that.) (Allen)

Allen immediately dismissed the thought that came to his mind for a moment.

Because, while Allen couldn’t tell for sure if that was her intention, the way Rebecca was thinking about efficiency with a serious expression in front of him gave him a sense of dreadfulness that was the characteristic of one who was seriously dedicated to their work.

Allen put his hand on Rebecca’s shoulder that felt bigger than it looked, and stopped her steps. He then pointed to a treant he had discovered, diagonally in front of them to the right.

“For now, just do your best.” (Allen)

“Un.” (Rebecca)

As he watched Rebecca's back as she enthusiastically broke into a run, Allen began processing the treant he had been dragging along with him.

.

.

.

The two continued to hunt for treants, until the date had already changed and it was almost 12:00 in the afternoon.

Except for a few small breaks, meal breaks, and a four-hour nap between the two of them, they continued defeating treants, netting them a total of 12 sets. In total, the two had completed a job with the reward of 960,000 zenny.

That said, in Rebecca's case, it was a self request, so the money she was going to get was just her own money though.

Allen's condition was much the same as it was in the beginning. In fact, he hardly fought any treant, and even when it came to processing the wood, he was holding back, keeping in mind to lower his speed and be very careful, so he was hardly tired.

Rebecca on the other hand...

“UGAA─H!!” (Rebecca)

“Oooooh, it's piling up.” (Allen)

Her frustration had piled up so much that she let out an incomprehensible scream.

Allen smiled wryly as he looked at Rebecca, knowing that she wouldn't gather any surrounding monsters because of that, as there were only non-moving treants on this floor.

Perhaps noticing Allen's state, Rebecca approached him with an axe in her hand.

The expression on the treant's face as it had been cut halfway through and left alone as if it was saying, ‘Eh, you’re leaving me half-dead?’ seemed sad to Allen, but his field of view was blocked by Rebecca, who was standing in an imposing stance with her axe on her shoulder.

“I know it, it’s impossible for the frail me!” (Rebecca)

“No, frail you say... you’re a lot faster than Nick, you know. Worthy of an iron class adventurer.” (Allen)

“You’re making the wrong comparison. I wish there was another Len-nii.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca started saying that while puffing out her cheeks, and Allen smiled wryly at that. It's not like he didn’t understand what Rebecca was trying to say, but Allen didn’t even want to think about what if there was another one of him.

Partly because of fear of facing an opponent with the same non-standard stats, but mostly physiological.

“If it was Len-nii, it'd just go ‘spaan’.” (Rebecca)

“No, don't take a stance, don’t. And the way you say it makes it feel like I'm being cut with a ‘spaan’.” (Allen)

Rebecca seemed to be imitating Allen swinging an axe at a treant, but Allen held out his hand and tried to stop her. It's obvious that it's a joke because they're both laughing.

But, only those who could see the expressions of the two who were facing each other could tell.

“Put that axe down! If you make any strange movements, I will stop you by force.” (Iseria)

Allen saw the figure of Iseria jumping over Rebecca's body while issuing such a warning.

Then, Allen thought, ‘Why are we meeting in a place like this?’ as he secretly held his head in his hands, making sure that Rebecca didn’t see him as she looked back at him, not understanding what she meant.

────

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Level Down 68

Volume 2 Chapter 26 - Exploring with Rebecca

RAW

Allen had expected to leave the guild and go around the shops once again, but that was canceled at Rebecca's suggestion. So, after a rather early dinner, Allen and Rebecca changed into their adventurer gear and left the house.

Of course, it was to go to the 9th floor of Lilac Dungeon and complete Rebecca's self request.

Rebecca and Allen were walking together in the dusk. The city was gradually becoming less and less populated, and although they were not replacing them, adventurers who seemed to have returned from their request could be seen happily swaggering around the city. They were probably going out for drinks.

Allen looked at Rebecca walking next to him and called out to her.

“Still, those are quite good equipment. They’ve been well maintained too.” (Allen)

“Un. I've never shirk on maintaining my equipment, just as Len-nii taught me. It's a matter of life and death after all.” (Rebecca)

“Good girl.” (Allen)

Allen stroked Rebecca's head as she answered with pride. Her hair became a little messy, but Rebecca didn't really seem to mind and happily accepted it.

Rebecca's equipment consisted of light armor made of monster leather, a steel one-handed spear, and a steel buckler, which was the same type of beginner equipment that Allen gave her when he sent her off out of the city as a peddler while being completely updated.

All of them had faint marks of use, such as scratches, but they were in good enough condition to be usable, which was, more than anything, proof that Rebecca's words were true.

(Aah, but the spear seems to be a bit out of balance. She herself might not even be aware of it though.) (Allen)

Allen thought, having developed an observational eye for weapons that had been tempered to some extent in Dolban's Workshop. That said, their main purpose this time was to defeat treants, so he didn’t have any plans to explore that deeply, so he judged that there should be no problem.

‘It's sure been a while since the two of us went to a dungeon together,’ Allen thought nostalgically as they headed towards the south gate, but when that gate came into view, he realized that he had not asked Rebecca what he needed to confirm.

“Hey, Rebecca. You told me to leave the transportation of treant building materials up to you, but what are you going to do in the end?” (Allen)

“Fu fu fu. I have a secret plan. I'm sure Len-nii will figure it out in just a little bit.” (Rebecca)

* (T/N: the ‘I have a secret plan’. I’m pretty sure it’s code geass reference, but I don’t watch it, so I don’t know the correct wording. raw: 我に秘策あり.)

“What does that mean?” (Allen)

Rebecca didn’t answer the question, and just pushed Allen to walk toward the gate with a wide smile on her face. Then he took out the guild-issued adventurer's license from his chest and presented it to the gatekeeper who was guarding it.

“Good to go.” (Gatekeeper)

After receiving permission from the gatekeeper who compared Allen's appearance with the information written on his adventurer's license, Allen passed through the gate as usual. And then Rebecca followed after him.

The gatekeeper looked slightly impressed by Rebecca's iron class adventurer's license before he glanced over at Allen. With that alone, Allen could roughly guess the gatekeeper's thoughts and his cheeks twitched, then, when the gatekeeper finished verifying Rebecca's identity and was about to give permission, he stopped.

“Fumu, you own a magic bag, huh? Do you currently have it?” (Gatekeeper)

“Yes. The contents are food and spare equipment.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca took out a folded pouch from the backpack she was carrying, and the gatekeeper put his hand into the pouch and checked it for a while.

When you put your hand into a magic bag, the items stored inside it would pop up in your head, so it didn’t take long to check them.

There was no particular problem and Rebecca was naturally allowed to leave the city, and then she came to Allen, who was waiting for her, with a happy look on her face.

“See, you figured it out, right?” (Rebecca)

“Yeah. I see you had a magic bag with you. If that's the case, there's certainly no problem with transportation.” (Allen)

‘I guess Rebecca's full of confidence attitude is only natural if she has a magic bag,’ Allen was convinced and he started walking towards Lilac Dungeon.

However, he noticed that the expression on Rebecca's face in front of him was becoming more and more sullen, so he stopped.

“What's wrong?” (Allen)

“Len-nii, you’re not surprised. It's that magic bag that Len-nii said he admired as an adventurer, you know. Even though I thought I’d surprise you.” (Rebecca)

Seeing Rebecca looking a little depressed, Allen noticed his mistake and began to panic.

It was as Rebecca said. Allen used to talk to Rebecca about the magic bag like that. He even passionately talked about how one was a first-class adventurer precisely because they had a magic bag.

Allen immediately realized that Rebecca had hidden the fact that she had the magic bag to this extent in order to surprise him since he was like that. Because normally, he would’ve gone ‘Why do you have that?!’ in surprise.

However, Allen had already obtained a magic bag as Nella, so he was convinced before he was surprised.

“N-no. I'm surprised, okay? I guess you could say I was so surprised that I became calm. That’s the kind of thing that happens, okay?” (Allen)

“...” (Rebecca)

“That’s why, umm... I guess, I’m sorry.” (Allen)

Allen started to make excuses, thinking that he had to somehow mend the situation, but he stopped and apologized when he saw Rebecca staring at him.

Rebecca watched Allen like that for a while, but then, ‘Fuu,’ she let out a breath and closed her eyes for a moment.

“No, I'm sorry too. Even though Len-nii isn't at fault.” (Rebecca)

“No, I can understand that you were looking forward to it. I think you did it with me in mind too, so I'm glad for that. Still, you're making enough money to buy a magic bag, huh?” (Allen)

“Fu fu fu. That's why I said I’m a first-class peddler. It's an admired item for peddlers too after all.” (Rebecca)

The two walked towards Lilac Dungeon while having a cheerful conversation, as if to blow away the bad atmosphere from earlier. While both of them felt a little relieved in their mind.

When they arrived at Lilac Dungeon, the two of them made their way to the 9th floor at too smooth a pace. After all, Allen clearly remembered the shortest route to the 9th floor, and moreover...

“Yooi-shotto.” (Rebecca)

With Rebecca's unmotivated shout, her sharp one-handed spear stabbed through the torso of an ash wolf, who suddenly jumped out from behind a tree. Then, Rebecca immediately pulled back the one-handed spear and stabbed it into the ash wolf's head as it fell to the ground, finishing it off.

That execution was so brilliant that even Allen, who was watching from the side, could not complain about it.

“You’ve gotten better.” (Allen)

“I guess. Besides, my body has gotten a little bigger, and by the way, my breasts have gotten bigger too!” (Rebecca)

Rebecca smiled proudly as she puffed out her chest as if to emphasize the chest part of her monster leather light armor. Allen then looked at that area that had some undulations.

“Heeh, good for you.” (Allen)

“Isn't that where Len-nii should be surprised and say, ‘Seriously?’ or blush a little and look embarrassed?” (Rebecca)

Perhaps not liking Allen's reaction of lightly brushing it off, Rebecca retorted while making that reaction herself. Seeing that, Allen cocked his head while smiling wryly.

“No, well, but I’ve changed your diapers and stuff, you know. Even if I think you've gotten bigger, I wouldn’t think of you like that.” (Allen)

“Eeehh.” (Rebecca)

“Think about it the other way around. Wouldn't it be disgusting if, after I heard you talk, I stared at your chest and blushed?” (Allen)

Rebecca raised a voice of dissatisfaction, but when she heard Allen's words, she imagined it. Then, looking into Allen's eyes, with a serious expression, Rebecca nodded her head.

“Un, it's disgusting.” (Rebecca)

“Right?” (Allen)

‘Ugeh,’ Rebecca said as she mimicked vomiting. Allen agreed with her, and at the same time, he kicked back an ash wolf who jumped at them from the rear left, thinking that they were letting their guard down from their stupid conversation.

‘Kyain,’ the ash wolf whined as it was blown away, smashed into a tree and fell to the ground, and Allen thrust his sword into its neck.

“Len-nii is also stronger, right?” (Rebecca)

“Well, to some extent. It's been a few years since I taught you after all.” (Allen)

Allen lightly answered Rebecca's question.

Before Rebecca decided to become a merchant and left the city, Allen used to take her to the dungeon whenever time allowed to teach her how to fight and help her level up. Coincidentally, that was the Lilac Dungeon they were currently in.

That's precisely why both Allen and Rebecca could clearly tell that both of their skills had improved. This Lilac Dungeon was also a memorable dungeon for both of them, as they spent a lot of time together here before they separated.

.

.

.

And without anything happening, the two reached the 9th floor, the treant floor. As they descended the stairs, Allen tilted his head slightly.

“How rare. There's a couple of groups fighting here.” (Allen)

Due to his improved stats, Allen's ears were able to hear much better when he concentrated, and he was picking up the sounds of battle coming from three directions. Hearing those words, Rebecca's expression clouded a little.

“Hmm, I guess that means there are people who noticed.” (Rebecca)

“What’re you talking about?” (Allen)

“Yeah. About us. Even if we have rivals, we have an advantage on our side, so we won't lose. But is it really okay to divide the reward equally? Personally, I think Len-nii should get around 7.” (Rebecca)

“No, Rebecca is the one with the higher rank, so it's normal for me to get 3 instead. Wait, we've already talked about this and come to a conclusion. Let's hurry up and get going.” (Allen)

“Ah, wait. Len-nii!” (Rebecca)

Allen started walking and Rebecca chased after him until she lined up next to him.

What the two of them were talking about earlier was about the division of the reward. They talked about it before entering the dungeon, but they both insisted that it was natural for each of them to have the lower share, so in the end they settled on a 50/50 split. Neither of them really accepted it in the truest sense though.

When Rebecca caught up with him, Allen smiled a little and asked her.

“By the way, I haven’t asked you this, but how long do you plan on hunting here?” (Allen)

“Hmm? Of course, until the magic bag is full. I plan to repeat this over and over again.” (Rebecca)

“Ha? Even if you brought back that much, there’s no way you’ll be able to sell it, right?” (Allen)

“Don't worry about that and leave it to me. It’ll be okay, I'll make Len-nii a lot of money.” (Rebecca)

When Allen was surprised by the unexpected amount, Rebecca smiled confidently and said that.

────

(T/N: some of the sentences here, I didn't understand them until I translated v2c34, good thing I didn’t release this before that time.)

Previous | Next

Level Down 67

Volume 2 Chapter 25 - Self Request

RAW

Rebecca headed towards the Adventurers’ Guild, half-pulling Allen, who didn't quite understand what Rebecca meant and had a question mark in his head.

Then, without hesitation, she walked into the Adventurers’ Guild and to the counter where they saw a familiar face.

“Matilda-saa─n.” (Rebecca)

“Ara, Rebecca-san and, Allen?” (Matilda)

“Nn, ou. Good work.” (Allen)

Rebecca was smiling as she called out to Matilda, who responded as she turned toward them, and she tilted her head, her tone changed when she saw Allen walking behind.

Allen’s thoughts also temporarily stopped when Matilda called out to him, and he responded by lightly raising his hand.

Partly because it was the half-assed time of the day, there weren't many adventurers in the guild, and the receptionists also looked a little bored, so when Rebecca called out to Matilda in a rather loud voice, they stood out a little.

“What's wrong?” (Matilda)

“Un, I'd like to make a request.” (Rebecca)

“Umm, if you're making a request, can I ask you to go to the counter over there?” (Matilda)

Matilda pointed to the counter with a partition that was set up separately from the counter where adventurers lined up.

It had three counter windows, two of which were currently in use, and someone who appeared to be a farmer and someone who appeared to be a craftsman were discussing something with the guild employees there.

That is the counter where people make requests to the Adventurers’ Guild, and decide the content and reward.

Allen had never used it himself, but he naturally knew of its existence, so, ‘Well, I guess that was obvious,’ he thought and he tried to take Rebecca there, but Rebecca shook her head and refused Matilda's guidance.

“It’s a self request through the Merchant Guild, so I thought it’d be okay to do it here.” (Rebecca)

“So that’s how it is. Hmm, that should be done there too, but... is it okay if I let other girls learn by observing us?” (Matilda)

“It’s okay. It's rare after all.” (Rebecca)

“Thank you.” (Matilda)

Matilda stood up with a smile on her face, retrieved several documents from the back, and called out to a few receptionists who seemed to be bored at their reception desk before returning to the two of them.

With the receptionists she had called out behind her.

It was as if they were surrounded by receptionists. That strange sight made Allen end up gulping for some reason.

However, Rebecca, the person herself, was wholly unconcerned and started speaking in her usual tone.

“This time is a self request through the Merchant Guild. The content is to secure treant building materials. The type of building materials will be discussed as needed, and the reward is 80,000 zenny for a set of 10. The client is Rebecca from the Merchant Guild. Please nominate iron class adventurer Rebecca for the request, and also register wood class adventurer Allen as the collaborator. This is my Merchant Guild and the Adventurers’ Guild license.” (Rebecca)

“Yes, I will recite it.” (Matilda)

While Allen was surprised at Rebecca who spoke the content of the request as smoothly as water on a standing plank, Matilda repeated that content and confirmed it.

To that, Rebecca repeatedly nodded her head in affirmation, and Matilda transcribed the contents onto the paper in her hand.

The other receptionists watched zealously as the process was carried out so smoothly as if she was a role model, and some were even taking notes.

Allen didn’t fully understand the current situation, so he was completely on the sidelines though.

Then, after a short response to confirm details, Matilda's hand stopped moving.

“Yes, with this, the self request registration is complete. Please deposit money to the guild at any time when the request is completed. This will be a continuous request with no upper limit, so please contact us if you wish to end it. Thank you very much for using this service.” (Matilda)

“We also thank you for your smooth response.” (Rebecca)

After saying that and thanking each other, the two looked at each other and smiled at each other.

Those smiles were different from their previous business smiles, those were natural ones, as if they laughed because it was funny.

“Thank you, Rebecca-san.” (Matilda)

“No no.” (Rebecca)

Matilda thanked Rebecca again in a friendly manner, and Rebecca shook her head a little as she responded with a smile. Matilda then turned to the receptionists who were watching behind her.

“This is how to handle self requests through the Merchant Guild. This time, it went smoothly because Rebecca-san is quite used to it, but in reality, this is often not the case. This is rare after all, and the form is not the same as normal requests and use the nomination requests’ ones instead, so please don't get it confused. If you calm down and do what you normally do, I'm sure you girls can do it.” (Matilda)

“““Yes, thank you very much.””” (Receptionists)

The receptionists said that in unison, and Rebecca waved her hand and smiled in response.

The receptionists then returned to their counters and the place calmed down a bit, allowing Allen, who had been confused by the sudden development, to gradually begin to think normally again.

When Matilda finished writing and arranging the documents, Allen called out to her.

“Hey, Matilda. What’s a self request?” (Allen)

“Ara, you haven’t received an explanation for that, Allen?” (Matilda)

Matilda turned her gaze from Allen, who was nodding his head, to Rebecca, and seeing Rebecca smiling happily like an innocent child, she understood the general situation.

‘You really love Allen, don’t you,’ Matilda thought inside as she began to explain.

“A self request through the Merchant Guild is, as the word suggests, a request you give to yourself. It’s from yourself as a merchant to yourself as an adventurer though.” (Matilda)

“No, I got that when I saw it, but... does it have any meaning?” (Allen)

“From the Adventurers’ Guild's perspective, it's not much different from a normal nominated request. The difference is that we also accept orders along with the request, and the reward payment is special. As for the merchant side...” (Matilda)

“That's my cue.” (Rebecca)

* (T/N: I don’t really get what Matilda said, orders? You can put an order through the Adventurers’ Guild? And the reward payment is special? What does that mean?)

As if to respond to Matilda who stopped speaking and prompted her to continue, Rebecca raised her hand and turned to Allen.

Seeing her look so happy made Allen smile wryly as he listened.

“The advantage is that you can include the request fee as an expense. And the amount received as the reward at the Adventurers’ Guild is already after taxes have been paid, so the Merchant Guild won’t need to tax that income.” (Rebecca)

“But you'll still end up paying taxes, right? Don't you lose money from the handling fee then?” (Allen)

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. That's not true.” (Rebecca)

In response to Allen's question, Rebecca wagged her finger and denied it with a proud look on her face.

“Merchants have two levels of tax rates. If our profits are low, our tax rate will be lower than the tax rate that adventurers pay, but if they exceed a certain amount, our tax rate will be, umm, I think it’s twice the tax rate that adventurers pay. In other words, our tax rate will be higher.” (Rebecca)

“In other words, even if you had to pay a handling fee to the guild, doing that self request would be more profitable, huh. No, is that a good thing?” (Allen)

“Well, this is like a privilege to a peddler who doesn't own a store. And it's not like you'll definitely get a profit anyway.” (Rebecca)

As Rebecca continued to explain, Allen organized his thoughts while listening to her.

The old Allen would have definitely thought It was a troublesome and confusing story about taxes and given up halfway through, but perhaps thanks to his increased stats, he was able to understand the general idea.

Allen himself was a little surprised by this, but since Rebecca had finished speaking, he opened his mouth to verify his answer.

“In other words, legally, there is no problem. It is certainly true that there is a possibility of losing money depending on that year's profits, but if you do it right, you can save on taxes. However, if the request is too far outside the scope of common sense, it may not be recognized as an expense, is that it?” (Allen)

“Un, the reason I went to the Merchant Guild earlier was also to confirm the amount.” (Rebecca)

“And the reason this is allowed is because the tax payment location of a peddler is not fixed due to the fact that they move from place to place. Or rather, there is a possibility that they will die while peddling, so it’s better to have them pay the tax as needed so they don't miss it, and that’s why they allowed it, I can take it like that, right?” (Allen)

“Ooh, Len-nii. Well done.” (Rebecca)

As Rebecca clapped her hands, Allen smiled wryly.

Allen also roughly understood why Rebecca did such a thing. However, he realized that this was just a summary that Rebecca explained in an easy-to-understand manner, and that it was originally much more complicated than that.

Allen then decided in his heart that he would obediently leave everything in the Adventurers’ Guild’s hands.

“Well, there aren't many people who actually do it though.” (Rebecca)

“Eh, why? If you make a request once you have a rough estimate of your profits that year, you'll definitely be able to lower your taxes, right?” (Allen)

“Allen. The Adventurers’ Guild isn't that lenient either. We won't give iron class to someone who doesn't have the ability. It will affect the reputation of the guild.” (Matilda)

Matilda, who had been listening to their conversation with interest, said that as she interjected.

Allen was convinced that these words were true, and his thoughts came to a number of accompanying facts.

“Huh? But even if you can't make a self request, you can just make a request as a merchant, and if you can take it yourself, it’ll result in the same thing, right? What’s more, since you're the client, you can make it into a continuous request and complete that many times...” (Allen)

“It's possible. As a result, their contribution points will accumulate quickly, so some people raise their ranks that way. Well, there's a test to get to iron class, so they have to pass it though.” (Matilda)

“And nobles do the same thing. Well, it's kinda an open secret.” (Rebecca)

“No, I don't care about the idiot nobles who think of adventurer rank as a symbol of strength. Isn't that unfair?” (Allen)

When Allen said that, Matilda and Rebecca looked at each other.

The two then had a mumbled conversation after which, they both turned to Allen at the same time and smiled.

““Because money is also power.”” (Matilda and Rebecca)

“Uwah. What a dirty world.” (Allen)

When the two of them said that in unison, Allen made a disgusted face as he retorted at them. Matilda and Rebecca gushed at that reaction, and then began to giggle.

While watching the two of them, Allen was tempted to try doing it himself in order to raise his rank a little, but he thought it seemed too unnatural and pointless, so he ended up deciding against it.

Then, when the two of them calmed down and were about to go home after completing the self request procedure, Allen noticed something as he was casually looking at Rebecca as she was putting away her guild license.

(Crap, now that I think about it, isn’t my rank lower than Rebecca’s?) (Allen)

Although Allen should have known this from the beginning, he was preoccupied with other things and didn't realize it. So, he left the Adventurers’ Guild feeling depressed.

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Level Down 66

Volume 2 Chapter 24 - The One Who Accepts the Request

RAW

The two laughed for a while, even as Allen looked at them with a sour look on his face, and then the elder let out a cough to smooth things over.

“And so, this request is fine as it is. I'm sure Allen will feel pressured on his own and try to finish the request quickly.” (Elder)

“He even goes out of his way to say that there is a hole in the request after all.” (Rebecca)

“Umu. Allen is a wood class, so I can't nominate him for the request, but if I think of this as a substitute for the nomination fee, it's not that strange. I don't think he would listen to me if I asked him to work for me exclusively after all.” (Elder)

Allen let out a deep sigh as he watched the two of them talking like they were friends.

Certainly, it was as they said just now. No matter how much money he was offered, Allen had no intention of taking on the job of collecting medicinal herbs exclusively for the elder.

And since he was reluctant to receive money without working, he would try to collect medicinal herbs as soon as possible to avoid this.

Everything is exactly as the elder’s reading.

“Good for you for becoming friends. Then, that's all my business. I'll finish the work as quickly as possible for the old man who is old and has a short life ahead of him.” (Allen)

“The ‘old and has a short life ahead of him’ is unnecessary!” (Elder)

The elder turned his head and turned his sharp gaze towards Allen, as if the smile and conversation he had just been having with Rebecca had been a lie. His face was seeping with a quiet anger.

Even while bewildered by his sudden change, Allen continued speaking.

“No, weren’t you the one who said you didn't have time yourself?” (Allen)

“I didn't say that. All I said was that time is more valuable than money. I have more than enough money to burn, and it will continue to increase on its own anyway.” (Elder)

“Uwah, money increasing on its own is one crazy phrase.” (Allen)

“Those are dream-like words for a merchant.” (Rebecca)

Listening to Rebecca's voice agreeing with his words, Allen wondered if that was what the elder had said and searched his memory.

And when he did, he realized that he had never said that time is precious because he only had a short time to live. Allen had just associated his words with his appearance.

(I don't think it's wrong to say that time is valuable because we have a lifespan, but saying that seems like a hassle.) (Allen)

Allen made that decision as he watched the elder continued to stare at him sharply. He then judged that it would be dangerous to touch on this matter any further, so he decided to withdraw quickly.

Because Allen had done everything he wanted to do here.

“Well, let's go, Rebecca. I'll bring the herbs as quickly as I can.” (Allen)

“Hmph.” (Elder)

As Allen stood up while urging Rebecca on, the elder turned away and snorted in response.

Next to Allen, who was smiling wryly at that, Rebecca stood up and looked at the elder with a smile on her face.

“See you later, Ojii-san.” (Rebecca)

“Umu. Come again.” (Elder)

“No, isn’t your response completely different compared to me?” (Allen)

“If you think I’d treat a disrespectful man and a sweet, cute girl the same way, you’re the strange one instead.” (Elder)

Seeing the elder quickly change his expression to a kinder one as he replied to Rebecca, Allen couldn't help but try to argue.

However, the words that came out of the elder’s mouth smoothly convinced him, and Allen was actually impressed instead.

“Ooh, that's certainly true. As expected of you, old man, you've captured the truth.” (Allen)

“Well, it's not like there aren't special exceptions, but most men are like that. Missy is quite a beauty after all.” (Elder)

“Rebecca is certainly cute after all.” (Allen)

Allen was nodding his head in satisfaction at the elder’s words, but Rebecca’s face was red and she grabbed his hand and forcibly pulled him.

“Let's go, Len-nii!” (Rebecca)

“O-ou.” (Allen)

While walking as he was being half-dragged along, Allen raised his hand opposite the one Rebecca was holding and waved to the elder, and he responded with a wry smile and a light wave.

Rebecca briskly walked forward. They left the room, passed through the front door, and didn't stop even after passing through the gate, and just as Allen was starting to think it was time to say something, her feet suddenly stopped.

“Hm, this place is?” (Allen)

Allen was so concerned about Rebecca that he didn't really check his surroundings, but when he did, he recognized the scene in front of him and spoke up.

What was there was a guild. However, it wasn't the Adventurers’ Guild that Allen was used to.

“Then I'll go through the formalities, so Len-nii, please wait a bit.” (Rebecca)

“Ou.” (Allen)

Rebecca let go of Allen’s hand, said that, and went inside as he saw her off.

Allen thought that he might get in the way if he was at the entrance, so he sat on a bench that was set up against the wall of the guild, which was clearly more refined and splendid than the ones at the Adventurers’ Guild.

“The Merchant Guild, huh. Seeing her enter a place like this makes me realize that Rebecca is also a merchant.” (Allen)

Allen muttered something like that as he casually stared at the entrance.

Perhaps because the Merchant Guild had a different mindset from the Adventurers’ Guild, its entrance had a dedicated doorman-cum-guard, and he greeted people politely and helped them enter and exit.

Because it was the Merchant Guild, many who came and went were indeed merchants, but the majority seemed to be employees of merchant houses or servants from somewhere wearing neat clothes.

There were also a few people who looked like adventurers who came and went.

“The Merchant Guild's requests are delicious, after all. That's why the competition for them is fierce.” (Allen)

Allen remembered such things while feeling nostalgic about the past.

Requests sent by the Merchant Guild are popular among adventurers.

Because, the fact that a request comes from the Merchant Guild means that there is a shortage in the supply of the item, and the reward tends to be higher accordingly.

Other reasons for its popularity include the fact that it is less likely to lead to trouble, and that if you apply with a valid reason in advance, they will offer you some convenience, such as paying part of your reward in advance.

However, accordingly, the competition for those requests was more intense. Especially for a poor adventurer like Allen in the past, a profitable request from the Merchant Guild was a request that he definitely wanted to accept.

That's why he went to the Adventurers’ Guild early in the morning when the request was posted on the bulletin board, but other people thought the same way, resulting in a competition.

Well, no one actually got hit or anything like that, but it was normal to get jostled.

(It's all about staking out after all. I even looked for and researched the habits of the employees who posted them.) (Allen)

As Allen was smiling wryly at the memory of his early days as an adventurer, Rebecca had just come out outside.

As Rebecca looked around, Allen waved his hand and called out her name.

Rebecca noticed this and approached, so Allen also stood up and headed over there.

“Are you done with your business?” (Allen)

“Un. Next, we'll go to the Adventurers’ Guild.” (Rebecca)

“So busy. This is about the treant request from earlier, right? No need to go through the Adventurers’ Guild for that. They'll charge you a handling fee anyway.” (Allen)

What the client pays to the guild is not just the reward for the adventurers. Only a portion of the amount paid to the guild becomes the adventurers’ reward.

Allen was worried about that, but Rebecca laughed and shook her head.

“Nuh-huh, I appreciate Len-nii's proposal, but it would make the procedures quite bothersome. Especially with taxes.” (Rebecca)

“Heeh.” (Allen)

‘Bleh,’ Rebecca said with a disgusted look on her face while sticking out her tongue, and Allen was impressed at that.

Up until now, Allen had only worked as an adventurer through the guild, and had done little other work, so it was refreshing to hear about the procedures that the guild took over.

‘Then, I guess it can't be helped,’ just as Allen was about to accept that, he suddenly noticed something.

“Hey, Rebecca. Your request would probably be accepted, but there's no guarantee that I could get it. I don't know about an unpopular request like the old man’s herbs collecting, but normal requests are posted on the bulletin board.” (Allen)

As Allen said, basically, when the Adventurers’ Guild receives a request, they post it on the bulletin board the next morning, and the adventurer who sees it accepts the request.

In other words, it’s unknown at this stage who will receive it.

Worst case scenario, Allen wondered, he would have to stand in line in the morning and fight for it like the old days.

Rebecca, guessing what Allen was thinking from the thoughtful look on his face, grinned and repeatedly nodded her head, as if all had been according to her plan.

“It'll be okay. I'll nominate properly.” (Rebecca)

“No, I'm not iron class anymore, I’m wood class though.” (Allen)

Because only iron class adventurers and up can receive nominations. It was possible with Allen in the past, but it's basically impossible in the current situation.

That was not wrong, but Rebecca's expression did not change; instead, her smile deepened as she opened her mouth.

“Un. The one I’ll nominate isn’t going to be Len-nii, but iron class adventurer Rebecca.” (Rebecca)

“Haa!?” (Allen)

Allen couldn't understand the meaning of those sudden words and let out a stupid voice, seeing him like that, Rebecca laughed happily.

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Level Down 65

Volume 2 Chapter 23 - Post-Meal Visit

RAW

While feeling bewildered by the request from Rebecca, Allen was gradually taken to [Garden of Sunbeams], where Rebecca guided him inside.

As to be expected from the high-class restaurant, even though it was among commoners, that was named [Garden of Sunbeams], the inside was furnished with wooden furniture that gives it a warm atmosphere, making it a calming space.

So much that Allen couldn't help but think the atmosphere was nice, if he disregarded the fact that there were so many couples here.

However, when he saw the prices, he instantly froze.

Allen stared intently at the cooking style that, unlike the one he sees in cafeterias, was so sophisticated that it was as if its purpose was to stimulate conversation by intentionally showing the cooking process to the customers. Out of a sense of duty to at least recover the cost, even just a little bit.

And the food that was served was even more wonderful than Allen had imagined.

It goes to the taste as well but, its appearance was so appealing that it almost looked like a work of art, captivating Allen and causing his hand to stop at it, and it was only after Rebecca burst out laughing and urged him that he started eating.

It certainly rewrote Allen's common sense of cooking.

“Geez, even though I already said I'd pay.” (Rebecca)

“No, a big brother asking his little sister to pay for his meal when she comes home after a long absence is kinda bad, right?” (Allen)

Allen managed to stop Rebecca as she was seriously trying to pay and half-forcingly paid for it himself, but because of that, Allen's wallet became quite light.

Allen had put several times more money in his wallet than he usually carries around because he was going to accompany Rebecca shopping, but even that was still just barely.

That said, it doesn’t change the fact that it was enough. Allen felt relieved at that and inwardly praised himself for his decision to add money to his wallet this morning.

Because he had somehow managed to maintain his dignity as an older brother.

Rebecca puffed out her cheeks a little, and Allen lightly stroked her head, as he had done in the past, and after seeing that her expression had softened, Allen relaxed his cheeks as well.

“So, I couldn’t ask when we were eating, but what’s the request?” (Allen)

“Ah, yeah. You’ll accept it?” (Rebecca)

“Adventurers accept requests after all. Well, it depends on the content, and I’ve still got that obstinate old man’s request... aah, come to think of it, I’ve got to talk to him about that too. Can I hear about it on the way to the old man’s place?” (Allen)

“Un.” (Rebecca)

As Allen started walking, Rebecca was in a good mood as she lined up beside him and talked to him about her request. The content didn't seem to be that big a deal to Allen. Because Allen did that just yesterday.

“In other words, you want me to go to the 9th floor and hunt treants. You also want me to process it while I’m at it, right?” (Allen)

“Un. And in large quantities.” (Rebecca)

“But I can only carry so much by myself. And it's a bit of a hassle to go back and forth to the 9th floor so many times.” (Allen)

If he were to act as the wood class adventurer Allen, the amount he could carry would be no more than the amount he brought home yesterday.

It's not like he couldn’t use a cart, but since the floors were connected by stairs, he'd have to carry it by hand at that time no matter what.

As Allen started thinking about helping Nick and his friends raise their level for free, and asking them to help transport them in exchange for the request fee, ‘Nishishi,’ Rebecca let out a weird laugh as she put her hand over her mouth and shook her head.

“I have an idea about the transportation, so don’t worry about it.” (Rebecca)

“An idea, huh. Well, it's fine. Then all I have to do is defeat treants and process them, right? Then it's fine.” (Allen)

“Yattaa. Now let's get into the specifics...” (Rebecca)

“Before that, I need to talk to the old man first.” (Allen)

Allen stopped walking in front of a house, and beside him, Rebecca turned her gaze toward that house. The house had a magnificent gate and could even be called a mansion.

Without hesitation, Allen proceeded to open the gate. And seeing this, Rebecca hurriedly grabbed Allen's hand.

“What are you doing, Len-nii?” (Rebecca)

“No, I'm trying to see the old man though.” (Allen)

“With a gate like this, it's common sense to wait until a servant opens it. Even Len-nii knows this, right?” (Rebecca)

As Rebecca said that with a panicked look on her face, Allen nodded in response.

Certainly, as Rebecca said, it’s generally the servant's role to open the gate of a large mansion like the one in front of them. If you ignore this and enter without permission, it won’t be strange if you’re arrested for trespassing.

Allen also knew this as common sense. But...

“No, no one will come even if we wait here. The first time I came to deliver medicinal herbs for a request, it ended up being a failure because of that.” (Allen)

“Eh?” (Rebecca)

“Seems like it’s only the old man who lives here, and he told me to come inside on my own, so it's not a problem. Then, let's go.” (Allen)

Even so, Rebecca still hesitated, so Allen held her hand, easily opened the gate, and entered inside.

Seeing Rebecca looking around restlessly, Allen's mouth loosened a little as he reached the front door, and once again, he opened the door without hesitation and without knocking.

“Wai-, Len-nii!” (Rebecca)

“Like I said, it's fine. I told you earlier that I was told to come inside on my own, didn’t I?” (Allen)

When she was told this, Rebecca realized for the first time that she was misunderstanding. When he said he was told to come inside on his own, she realized that he did not mean inside the gate, but really all the way inside.

At the same time, Rebecca changed her mood. Because judging from the contents of Allen's request, this mansion, and everything she had heard about his behavior, she thought that she might not be able to handle it in her current half-date mood.

Allen, who was proceeding through a wide hall, didn't notice the change in Rebecca's state as she withdrew her hand, and he slowly opened the door to the room at the end of it.

Rebecca was no longer surprised and did not raise her voice.

Allen looked around the room, his nose twitching a little at the grassy, slightly acrid smell of medicinal herbs that wafted from behind the open door, and then spotted an elder in the corner of the room running a pen on a piece of paper.

“Ooi, old man. Is this a good time?” (Allen)

“Hm, Allen, huh? What medicinal herbs did you bring today?” (Elder)

“My bad. I had something to do today so I didn't go to the dungeon. Well, that part's why I came to talk to you though.” (Allen)

“I don’t really get it, but in that case, go wait over there for a bit.” (Elder)

“Roger.” (Allen)

The elder with a white beard looked up and Allen briefly exchanged words with him.

As soon as that was finished, the elder resumed writing, and Allen didn't seem to mind and just found a chair and sat down, taking Rebecca along as she had been frozen staring at the elder.

“Ah, Rebecca, are you okay with the smell of medicine?” (Allen)

“Yeah. I handle it as a product. There's always a constant demand for it everywhere, so it's my standard product. Anyway, Len-nii, that person is...” (Rebecca)

Rebecca said as she continued to look at the elder who was writing with his whole heart, and Allen smiled wryly and answered.

“Yeah, he’s the client. His request conditions are extremely strict, and he's an obstinate old man who won't even tell me his name though.” (Allen)

“I can hear you, Allen.” (Elder)

The elder said that while casting a sharp gaze towards the two of them for just a moment, Rebecca’s body trembled at that, and Allen smiled softly to reassure her.

“Well, he’s like that. He's obstinate, but his personality is generally kind... kind? Hmm, he's not a bad person, so don't worry.” (Allen)

Seeing Rebecca nodded repeatedly while still nervous, Allen stroked her hair.

Allen thought it would be impossible to talk about Rebecca's request with her in this state, so he began to jokingly talk about the hardships he had faced with the herbs collecting request he had accepted here.

All of these stories were hard for Rebecca to believe, but being his family, Rebecca knew that Allen wasn't lying.

In other words, everything Allen said was true.

“Then the old man said, ‘If that's the case, you should just go get it again,’ even though he was the one who failed.” (Allen)

“That's a difference of opinion. I wouldn't have failed if Allen hadn't suddenly called out to me.” (Elder)

“No, you look like you were about to spill it, old man, that’s why I called out to you.” (Allen)

When the elder naturally cut into the conversation, the two of them looked toward him, feeling a little surprised.

The first thing that caught their eye was the elder's clothes, which were probably originally white, but they were stained green, yellow, and black in some places.

However, the elder was strangely able to wear it without giving off any sense of uncleanness. The elder looked around a bit, then randomly pulled out a nearby chair and sat down in front of the two of them.

“So, what’s your business?” (Elder)

“No, I got told that there is a hole in your request, old man. Isn't it bad to be paid even if I don't work? I actually didn't go to the dungeon today after all.” (Allen)

“What, it’s that?” (Elder)

“No, don’t give me that ‘it’s that,’ money is important, you know.” (Allen)

The elder quickly lost interest in Allen's talk, and Allen retorted with a bit of a bite. That was because, for Allen, that statement was unbelievable.

However, in contrast to Allen, the elder did not sympathize with Allen's words at all.

“What's important to me is time. I have money after all.” (Elder)

“That’s kind of the opposite of Len-nii. Len-nii has time but no money.” (Rebecca)

“Shut up! Besides, I've already saved up some money.” (Allen)

“It's about your values. Well, it's partly our fault though.” (Rebecca)

As she said that, Rebecca lowered her eyes somewhat sadly, Allen was at a loss for words, and then he immediately tried to tell her that it wasn't true.

However, before he could do so, he was stopped by the elder opening his mouth.

“Missy. Your brother is a man with a lot of promise. He's serious and steady. Above all, he knows what's important. Isn’t it because of you guys that he became that way?” (Elder)

“...” (Rebecca)

“I'm not saying you should be full of yourself. But don't despise yourself for being loved so much. You still have a lot of time, Missy. You should repay the favor.” (Elder)

“Yes!” (Rebecca)

Rebecca rubbed her wet eyes and replied in a loud voice. The elder smiled fondly at such a sight and squinted his eyes as if he were looking at something dazzling.

Watching the conversation between the two, Allen felt left out even though he was supposed to be the person concerned, and he blurted out.

“Somehow, I feel like the old man took all the good parts though.” (Allen)

At Allen's words which he said while frowning, Rebecca and the elder looked at each other and started laughing out loud.

────

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Level Down 64

Volume 2 Chapter 22 - Rebecca’s Sense of Smell

RAW

The next day after listening to [Lionel]'s party members at the bar and taking home a few bottles of liquor, Allen did as promised and went around Lilac City with Rebecca starting from morning.

“Hmm, it’s changed quite a bit.” (Rebecca)

“Is it?” (Allen)

Compared to Allen, who looked a little exhausted after being dragged around the city as part of his peddling duties, Rebecca was looking lively and having fun as they went around the shops.

Allen, who has lived in this city all his life, didn't think much had changed, but Rebecca nodded repeatedly and continued her words.

“Un. The shop just now had the son take over, and there were other places where the quality of their products had dropped, probably because the supplier had changed. The shops that Len-nii looks like you go to haven't changed that much, though.” (Rebecca)

“Heeh, you sure saw it well. As expected of a peddler.” (Allen)

“You're missing the ‘first-class’ part.” (Rebecca)

“Yes yes, first class, first class.” (Allen)

‘Ehhen,’ Rebecca puffed her chest out and made a proud gesture, but although it was clearly physically easier compared to the dungeon exploration he usually did, he felt that his other parts were being scraped away and Allen responded randomly.

* (T/N: ‘ehhen’ is what one usually says (mostly girls and kids, probably) when they’re being proud.)

Seeing Allen like that, Rebecca's expression broke and she started laughing.

“Haha, as usual, Len-nii is not good at shopping.” (Rebecca)

“No, I'm not. I shop normally, okay? Your shopping standard is just strange. How many times do you plan to go around?” (Allen)

“Umm, for today, all the shops in the south district?” (Rebecca)

“Give me a break.” (Allen)

As Rebecca said that while tilting her head, Allen put his hand on his face and lamented while looking up at the sky.

Lilac, being one of the leading cities in the Kingdom of Eliard, has quite a number of shops. Even if it was just in one of the four equal districts of the city, Allen didn't think it was sane to go around them in one day.

“It’s just a joke. I have an objective to some extent. Besides, Len-nii can also enjoy the feeling of going on a date with a cute girl.” (Rebecca)

“Even if you say cute girl, it’s still my younger sister after all.” (Allen)

“Isn’t it fine? It's perfect as a rehearsal for when you get a girlfriend. And if it’s with me, it won’t be a problem even if you fail.” (Rebecca)

Allen was not very enthusiastic about it, but Rebecca, her cheeks a little red, tried to stress it while adding hand gestures.

Seeing that, Allen thought ‘Why are you turning red?’ while having that doubt, but he just casually assumed that she was probably excited since she was going around the shops.

The truth was, Rebecca herself was embarrassed and blushed at Allen's attitude of admitting the fact that she was a cute girl without denying it.

“Then let's go to the next. Next is Len-nii's favorite lumber dealer.” (Rebecca)

“No, rather than favorite, they took care of me when it came to repairing the roof... come to think of it, Rebecca, you didn't ask me about any changes inside the house but, it’s not like you haven't noticed, right?” (Allen)

“Aah, that it was clean? Of course I noticed. What’s more, the wood is a bit nice, isn't it?" (Rebecca)

Rebecca's words had a subtle accent, making Allen wonder if she noticed that he was using treant building materials after all.

Rebecca was a peddler after all, and she was sharp in many ways, so Allen had predicted that she would have gained quite a bit of information while he was away from home, and that was exactly what happened.

“Un, that's also why I wanted to stop by the lumber dealer.” (Rebecca)

“No, I didn't buy those, I collected them myself.” (Allen)

Allen said as he tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but Rebecca laughed and shook her head to indicate that It’s not about that.

“I know that. I asked Nick-san too after all.” (Rebecca)

“Huh, you met Nick?” (Allen)

“Ah! Un. We just happened to run into each other on my way home. He kept bragging about Lily-chan to me.” (Rebecca)

When Rebecca unexpectedly mentioned Nick's name, Allen asked back, his eyes widened for a moment, and then Rebecca answered while giving a wry smile.

“Aah, how should I put it, thank you for your hard work.” (Allen)

“Un. That doting level makes you worry about Lily-chan's future, isn’t it? I think he'll probably mind her too much and will end up being hated.” (Rebecca)

“That's a harsh opinion. Well, I'll tell Nick next time.” (Allen)

Lily is a 5-year-old girl who is Nick's beloved daughter. She has the same red hair as Nick, and loosely wavy hair similar to her mother's that flutters as she moves, making her look like an angel, and her clear, flawless eyes are not inferior to a jewel, giving her a reputation as a beautiful girl.

Well, the one who said all of those was Nick though.

Even when he worked at the orphanage and when he was defeating treants on the 9th floor, Allen was told endless stories about Lily.

In Allen's head, he could see Nick gleefully telling Rebecca about Lily.

After all, although Allen himself doesn't know Lily that well, he still knows her hobbies, her favorite foods, insects she’s bad with, and even her favorite shoes.

He was so sure that Nick was trying to get him to give her a gift, but, having known Nick for a long time, Allen was well aware that Nick had no such intentions. He just wanted to talk about Lily.

If Lily would hate him as Rebecca said, he would be so desperate that Allen wouldn't know what he would do.

That's why Allen decided to get him to listen even if he had to be a little forceful. Because he didn’t want to see his best friend sad.

While Allen was thinking about that, they arrived at the lumber dealer and Rebecca looked at the products with great interest. Allen himself, while exchanging greetings with the familiar store clerk, was looking at the lumber that he would use for repairs.

There's not much need for it for the interior since it has been completely renovated using treant, but if it's left too long the exterior would crumble too much and it could become a problem.

That’s why Allen was planning to come here regularly, so this was just a ‘while I’m at it’ kind of thing.

After looking at some of the things he might need, Allen watched as Rebecca talked to the store clerk about something.

To Allen, the sight of her looked more like a regular resident coming to shop than a peddler. He might needlessly think that because the clerk was also laughing though.

After a while, Rebecca finished talking and approached Allen with a smile. Allen could tell that she was clearly in a better mood than when she entered the shop.

“Sounds like you've got a good thing happening.” (Allen)

“Un. I got a decent harvest. It wasn't the favorite though.” (Rebecca)

“Favorite?” (Allen)

At the way Rebecca said it as if that was the purpose of today's shop tour, Allen asked back. And in response, as if she were making small talk, Rebecca answered.

“Un. I think the favorite is just a bit after this. I just don't have enough connections. In the worst case scenario, I might rely on Len-nii.” (Rebecca)

“No, it doesn’t have to be the worst case scenario, you can rely on me.” (Allen)

“Hmm, I'll pass for now. I want to try my best on my own a bit more.” (Rebecca)

Seeing Rebecca saying that while letting out a huff and flexing her bicep, Allen stopped himself from saying anything further. It would be meaningless to interfere with Rebecca when she was so motivated, and it seemed like it was a matter of Rebecca's pride as a peddler.

That’s why Allen just watched Rebecca with gentle eyes. ‘I'll quit it for now,’ he thought, hoping to be relied on someday. Convincing himself that it’s enough to do his best when that day comes.

“So, what are you going to do? Are we still going to go around the shops? It's almost noon, so I wish we could just eat somewhere and take a break.” (Allen)

When Allen said that a little jokingly, Rebecca gave a big smile, as if she had been waiting for just this.

It was a perfect smile that wouldn’t embarrass her no matter where she showed it, but for some reason, Allen felt a chill run through him and his whole body trembled.

“I want to go to [Garden of Sunbeams].” (Rebecca)

“[Garden of Sunbeams]? You, isn’t that a high-class restaurant that can compete for the number one or two spot in Lilac?!” (Allen)

“You’re missing the ‘for commoners’ part.” (Rebecca)

Allen was astonished when he heard the words [Garden of Sunbeams], but Rebecca added some words while looking like she had succeeded in pranking him.

As Allen said, that restaurant was a high-class restaurant that could compete for the number one or two spot that boasted high prices among Lilac's dining options. Of course, it wasn't a restaurant that nobles would go to, so there was no dress code, it was the kind of restaurant that commoners would go to on special occasions.

It was rumored that all its menu items were well over 10 times more expensive than the restaurants Allen usually went to, so of course there was no way Allen had ever been to such a place.

“No, that might be true... but still. Besides, weren’t you the one who said that my expenses were too high yesterday?” (Allen)

“Well, sure. But getting to know these kinds of restaurants is also an experience. It might come in handy someday.” (Rebecca)

“You say that, but I bet you just want to eat there.” (Allen)

Allen stared at Rebecca with stern eyes. In response to that, Rebecca averted her gaze while pretending that nothing was wrong. There was a smile on her lips, and Allen naturally realized that he was being teased.

“We won’t go there. Rebecca, keep your jokes in moderation.” (Allen)

“Eh, I wasn't joking. It’s true that I was teasing you though.” (Rebecca)

“What about the money? I think I’ve got enough on hand but, not to brag, but I can't guarantee it.” (Allen)

“That’s really not something to brag about.” (Rebecca)

Allen watched intently as Rebecca burst into laughter. The next words that came out of Rebecca's mouth made Allen unable to comprehend her for a while.

“It’ll be my treat.” (Rebecca)

“Ha?” (Allen)

“I have a small amount of money. In exchange, I have a proposal for Len-nii. Would you accept my request with this as the advance payment?” (Rebecca)

────

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Level Down 63

Volume 2 Chapter 21 - At a Bar at Night

RAW

Allen walked through the dimly lit nighttime streets under the starlight.

As he got closer to the center of the city, the number of street lamp magic tools started to increase bit by bit, and although the number of people walking outside also increased, that number was far less than in daytime Lilac.

Although Lilac was relatively safe compared to other cities in the country, it was still possible to get dragged into trouble at night when it was possible to hide in the darkness, so the general public was generally not out and about at this time.

The people who did are limited to those who had a baseless confidence that they would be absolutely fine, those who thought they had nothing to lose if something happened, and those who thought they had the strength to deal with it even if they were attacked. 

The most numerous among them were the last, those who considered themselves powerful, and of course adventurers were among them.

Or rather, the majority of those who went out at night were adventurers who had finished their work and went out to bars. This was evidenced by the fact that such bars were basically the only ones open after the gates closed at 9 p.m.

Allen's destination was one such bar, and a relatively high class one among them.

Allen opened the aged door made of treant wood and entered inside, where the light was intentionally dimmed to create a calm, adult atmosphere.

Then, with slow steps, yet with no hesitation at all, he walked towards the depth of the bar.

When Allen spotted the people he was looking for sitting in special seats set up in the depth that could not be seen from the doorway, he walked up to them.

Seeing one empty seat among the five available at the table, Allen smiled slightly and reached out for it.

“I guess being here means your doubt’s been cleared.” (Allen)

As Allen called out to  them, the four people seated all turned their attention to him. The four people here were Naseem, Percy, Torin, and Pete, all part of the gold class party [Lionel], without their leader, Lionel.

Normally, they would follow along with Lionel and mock Allen, but now they show no sign of that and were staring at Allen with calm expressions.

“There is no point in standing around, so Allen-san, please sit down too. Today is Lionel's treat, so it’s fine no matter how expensive the drink you order.” (Torin)

“Oh, for real? Or rather, the person himself isn't here but, as I thought, still the same as usual?” (Allen)

Following the recommendation of the priest Torin, Allen sat down in the empty seat.

And when he asked about Lionel who wasn’t here, all four of them smiled wryly.

“Rai is weak to alcohol after all. But it seems like he couldn't help but drink today.” (Pete)

“He was betrayed by the person he saved after all. It can't be helped with Rai's personality. Even more so since Torin was also injured.” (Percy)

To the words of Pete, the scout and archer, Percy, the wizard, agreed to it and added a few words.

Allen reacted to the word ‘injured’ and glanced at Torin.

“How about the injury?” (Allen)

“Yes, I only twisted my ankle, so treatment has already been completed. I'm sorry, I let my guard down.” (Torin)

“It's not Torin's fault. What's at fault is those guys who pushed Torin and ran away.” (Naseem)

As Torin apologized apologetically, the swordsman Naseem let his anger at the ones who betrayed them show on his face.

That said, in the current situation where those people were not in front of him, that anger didn't last long, and ‘Fuu,’ Naseem let out a sigh and returned to his expression.

“More importantly, Allen. Your testimony was helpful.” (Naseem)

“Hm? Aah, are you talking about what I heard on the 9th floor? It’s not like I said anything as specific as a testimony. You guys would prove your innocence yourselves when you came back anyway. My little sister is back too, so I wanted to avoid anything troublesome.” (Allen)

“Still. That guy didn’t give up at all and we were in trouble, but as soon as Matilda-san whispered something to him, he calmed down.” (Naseem)

“Sorry, Allen. We forced Matilda-san a bit to tell us. She refused many times, but I thought we needed to know that too.” (Pete)

Even while looking apologetic, Naseem roughly patted Allen on the shoulder, and next to him, Pete apologized as he poured a high-quality liquor that shines amber into an empty glass.

“No, I don’t really care about that. But more importantly, you did something bad to Matilda.” (Allen)

“We also intend to send a gift of apology, but we also ask Allen to follow up on that. I feel bad for Allen, but it's true that we’re saved thanks to Matilda's decision. That guy had been resisting until about two hours ago, you see.” (Percy)

“Seriously? He's more crazy than I imagined, that guy.” (Allen)

Allen's eyes widened in surprise at Percy's words. Allen headed to the Guild at around 3 p.m. Since it was now past 9 p.m, that meant that he had been resisting for over four hours since Allen left the Guild.

‘Of course Matilda would’ve done something about it,’ Allen thought as he chuckled, and decided that he had to do something for Matilda, who had tried to honor Allen's request.

Allen enjoyed the pleasant feeling of alcohol passing down his throat that is typical of high-quality drinks, as well as the lingering mellow aroma leaving his nose.

“But things got tough after that, you know. His party members came to the Guild right after that, and I forgot his name, but the tall guy beat him up. The young woman cried a lot, and the other guy only tried to soothe her and wasn’t useful at all.” (Naseem?)

“Hm? What does that mean?” (Allen)

Allen, not quite grasping the situation, asked again.

‘I have a strong memory of that large man shouting out false claims, but now that I think about it, his other companions might not have been there,’ he recalled after all this time.

If his companions were there, the adventurers' hostility would have turned towards them as well, so Allen should have noticed as well. The fact that didn’t happen meant they weren’t there, Allen thought.

As Allen was thinking about that, Percy began to explain the situation.

“It seems that the man came to report earlier and tried to frame us at his own discretion. The other guys were just trying to keep quiet about what they had done, it seems.” (Percy)

“That guy’s really an idiot.” (Allen)

“This may be because two of his companions have passed away, so he may have wanted to compensate their relatives with the money he would have earned. I think it's a selfish and shameful idea, and it goes against God's teachings but, It's not that I can't understand his feelings at all. Losing a friend is hard after all.” (Torin)

At Torin's words, which he said while glancing at Allen, Allen tilted his head slightly and smiled bitterly.

This may be because he has been a priest for a long time, but Torin had a tendency to overestimate people's good intentions. Regarding this case as well, Allen could only assume that the man wanted the money for their own benefit.

Perhaps, as Torin said, some of the money was meant to be paid to the relatives of his dead companions, but Allen didn’t think that was the main motive.

That said, he wasn’t about to do something pointless like telling Torin directly.

After listening to the story, Allen was able to find out what he wanted to know, so after drinking another glass of liquor that Torin poured him again, he stood up.

“For now, I'm glad your suspicions have been cleared. Well, my business is over, so I'm going home.” (Allen)

As Allen said that and was about to turn away, Pete called out to him.

“Hey, Allen. Since your little brothers and sisters are gone, why don't we party like in the old days? I'm sure Rai really wants that too.” (Pete)

When Allen turned his gaze back to him, Pete said that and gave a small nod with a serious expression on his face. And then, the other three nodded in the same way.

The reason the four people in front of him decided to form a party with Lionel was because of a small incident that happened when Allen accepted a request to teach the basics of being an adventurer to Lionel who was a newcomer.

After that, the six formed a party for a while. But due to certain circumstances, Allen left the party and their relationship became strained as a result.

Allen thought about it for a moment, then shook his head.

“It's too late now. Besides, it'd be better to have someone outside to vent to, in that guy’s case.” (Allen)

“Are you okay with that, Allen?” (Percy?)

“Well, yeah. And it's true that that guy’s irritating to me. Half-ass this, half-ass that, he sure talks about things that others are worrying about. Aah, remembering this made me irritated. Come to think of it, today’s that guy’s treat, isn’t it?” (Allen)

Allen grabbed several bottles of unopened wine from the table. All of them are high-class items that cost over 100,000 zenny each.

“Then I'll take these as souvenirs for Rebecca. And lastly, I’ll say this now, you guys are too soft on Rai. You guys might not want that idiot to see something unpleasant, but you better remember that something like this could also happen.” (Allen)

After saying that, Allen left the bar with high quality wines in his hands. After that, when his figure disappeared behind the door, the four looked at each other and smiled wryly.

“I think Allen is plenty stupid though.” (Pete?)

“He told us to follow along with Rai, but then he’d get really hurt. That’s one bad personality.” (Naseem?)

“That's right. But Allen has a point. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have him gain some experience in preparation for a sudden accident like this?” (Percy?)

“I'm inclined to want Lionel to remain pure of heart, but I suppose it can’t be helped.” (Torin?)

The four continued their discussion. Lionel himself did not know that they were trying to prevent such things from coming near him. But the four of them were working together to keep him from knowing, so that might be natural.

They liked the straightforward Lionel. Ever since the day Lionel saved their lives, they had continued to support him, and they had continued to work hard to be worthy of it.

This could be seen from the fact that in order to break out of the current situation that had started to reach a dead end, they suggested using the level-up trap to raise their stats to some extent.

That said, the idea was rejected by Lionel himself, but that's how serious they were.

They will continue to support Lionel. So that they can see their hero flourish. They continued to discuss what they should do to achieve this until the end of the night.

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Level Down 62

Volume 2 Chapter 20 - Dinner with Rebecca

RAW

After confirming that all members of [Lionel] had returned safely, Allen walked down the road to his home with light steps.

Allen even thought that, in the worst case scenario, someone would be missing.

Allen knew that Percy, who should have drilled the hole in the large boulder, and either Lionel or Naseem, the melee type who had been blocking bullfangs’ entry at the entrance, were definitely alive.

However, he could not determine the life and death of other people from the outside.

The reason why Allen didn't go directly to help them even though he was worried was, in small part, because he didn't want his true identity to be revealed, but the main reason was that there was no point in Allen going.

Allen's means of recovery were basically only items such as potions. If it’s just that, Allen knew that [Lionel] had also prepared a sufficient amount of items of better quality than Allen’s, as they do every time before entering a dungeon, and with the priest Thorin, there would be a way for them to recover through God’s miracles.

In other words, there was absolutely nothing Allen could do. That's why Allen stopped at simply culling a sufficient number of bullfangs before heading for the 9th floor.

Given these circumstances, Allen was in a good mood because his concerns were clearly resolved.

Then he arrived at his house and opened the door as usual.

“Ah, welcome home Len-nii. I'm hungry─” (Rebecca)

“...” (Allen)

Allen froze for a moment when he saw Rebecca leaning lazily on the table and calling out to greet him.

Allen then raised his cheeks, narrowed his eyes, and smiled softly.

“Ou, I'm home. Wait a bit, I'll feed you some delicious food right now.” (Allen)

Allen walked towards the kitchen carrying the cooking ingredients.

While savoring the feeling of nostalgia and happiness that welled up as he heard the words [Welcome home] that greeted him for the first time in a while.

.

.

.

“You've really gotten better at cooking, Len-nii.” (Rebecca)

“Ou, I had a lot of free time when I was a guild employee. So I tried a lot of things.” (Allen)

“Ah, Len-nii is originally handy after all. Ugh, it was delicious, but my stomach is heavy.” (Rebecca)

“Handy, you say, it's hard to know whether you're praising me or belittling me.” (Allen)

Rebecca, who ate all the welcome food Allen had made without leaving anything behind, was unable to move with satisfaction due to her rounded stomach.

Allen looked at Rebecca with a smile as he was cleaning up the dishes in the meantime.

“Handy is a compliment. Especially when I'm traveling around as a peddler, I often think that it would have been easier if Len-nii was here.” (Rebecca)

“Heeh, I guess it's tough being a peddler, huh?” (Allen)

“That’s right. You might be attacked by monsters or thieves while you’re peddling, and you’ll often be camping out, so you’ll end up eating simple food. Even in the city, you’ll have to make a lot of effort and ingenuity to make connections with people. Above all, you must never neglect collecting information about the place or you’ll never be able to sell your products at all. It was a disaster when I went without knowing the route that another peddler took just before me.” (Rebecca)

Seeing Rebecca saying that with distant eyes, Allen thought ‘It must’ve been seriously dangerous at that time,’ and he smiled wryly.

‘As of now, she’s safe and well, and although it may be a bitter memory, it’s probably a good experience for Rebecca as well,’ Allen thought.

Many adventurers also like to laugh about their failures and hardships. He thought this would be something similar to that.

Anyway, since the topic had just come up, Allen decided to ask what he was most concerned about.

“So, are your countermeasures against monsters and thieves okay?” (Allen)

“Un. I properly gather information in the city, and I basically form a caravan with several people. I'm confident in my eye for the adventurers I hire in my caravan. I've been watching Len-nii for a long time after all.” (Rebecca)

“I'm honored to have been of assistance.” (Allen)

“Well, a big part is that we have a fixed party that is permanently following us though.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca stuck out her tongue and laughed as she revealed the real reason, and Allen laughed back at her.

Being a peddler traveling around cities and villages was a high-risk job. As Rebecca herself said earlier, there was a danger of being attacked by monsters or thieves of course, but if you ran into a bad adventurer, there was a possibility that you would be attacked by that person.

Young female peddlers like Rebecca were especially rare. So it could not be said that there was no possibility of being attacked for reasons other than money.

That's why Allen was relieved that there was a fixed party that Rebecca mentioned.

From the way Rebecca spoke, there was no doubt that those adventurers were trustworthy. There were many adventurers like Allen who were based in a fixed city, so it was difficult to form a friendship with a trustworthy adventurer who would follow a peddler around.

‘It might be a good idea to thank them once,’ Allen thought but then a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“Hey, Rebecca. Those fixed adventurers aren't a party of six with five men and one woman and in silver class, right?” (Allen)

“Nn? Why are you asking me that?” (Rebecca)

“No, just a bit, you see.” (Allen)

‘It couldn’t be the party that was trying to frame [Lionel], right?’ Allen was worried and wanted to ask that but, as expected, he was hesitant to say that reason.

Rebecca tilted her head at Allen's evasive words, but after a while she shook her head, thinking ‘Well, I guess it’s okay.’

“Nuh-huh, they’re not. The people following us are two men and two women from the iron class party called [Wandering Fang]. Or rather, silver class is too expensive to hire.” (Rebecca)

“I guess that’s true. So, what are those [Wandering Fangs] bunch doing now?” (Allen)

“It seems they usually take requests in the Guild while we're in the city, so I think it's the same this time.” (Rebecca)

“Hmm, I see.” (Allen)

Seeing Allen's nonchalant reply, Rebecca's face quickly changed color and she hurriedly opened her mouth.

“It can’t be, Len-nii. You're not thinking about going to greet them, are you?” (Rebecca)

“No, I was only thinking about thanking them for looking after my little sister if we meet at the Guild.” (Allen)

“No, you can't!” (Rebecca)

“Then, what about observing them?” (Allen)

“Prohibited!” (Rebecca)

Rebecca crossed her hands to show her refusal, and Allen nodded in response, dropping his shoulders slightly to show that he understood.

(Can't be helped. I guess I'll ask Matilda to gather information on them. This is the party that’s been taking care of my precious little sister after all.) (Allen)

Allen thought it would be okay to ask for someone else's help instead of doing it himself, so he decided to go ask her for help tomorrow.

“Len-nii, you’re still thinking about doing something, aren’t you?” (Rebecca)

“No, I won't do anything.” (Allen)

“Hmm.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca looked at him with complete suspicion and Allen shook his head in response, but it didn't seem like her suspicions were completely cleared.

Allen was cleaning up the dishes while enjoying listening to Rebecca talk about her hardships when, with a smile, Rebecca asked him, “Give me the household account book,” and his expression froze.

‘Finally, the time has come,’ he thought.

He tried to be as natural as possible but still came off a little awkward as he handed Rebecca the household account book and the likes that Allen had prepared.

In the room where the only sound was the sound of Rebecca flipping through the pages, Allen, who was sitting across from her, could do nothing but gulp at the tension and wait.

After a while, Rebecca raised her face and looked at Allen.

“Len-nii.” (Rebecca)

“Yes.” (Allen)

“You're getting some great requests.” (Rebecca)

“Haa?” (Allen)

Allen couldn't help but let out a stupid sound at the completely unexpected words. Then, when he looked at the copy of the request form that Rebecca had handed him, it was a request to collect medicinal herbs that he was currently receiving.

“This, it’s a daily wage of 30,000.” (Rebecca)

“Yeah, it's got quite a special collection method and is pretty difficult. The client was an obstinate old man you see, I can't tell how many times I was turned away at first.” (Allen)

“Un, that sounds like a lot of trouble, but look at this carefully. While you’re accepting this request, you’ll keep receiving a daily wage of 30,000. Even if you don’t do the request, you’ll still get the 30,000. For example, if you come with me tomorrow and spend the whole day going around the city without going to the dungeon, you’ll still get the 30,000.” (Rebecca)

Being told that by Rebecca, Allen checked the request form again. Certainly, the conditions and locations for collecting the medicinal herbs, and the time from collection to delivery were written there, but there were no other conditions for payment, nor was there any kind of daily quota written.

From what he had read, Allen could understand that Rebecca's explanation was correct.

“But, as expected, I won't take that. I can’t just take money when I haven't done any work.” (Allen)

Seeing Allen say that so easily, Rebecca laughed softly.

Somewhere in that gaze, something like a motherly feeling toward her child, as if saying ‘Geez, it can’t be helped,’ could be felt

“I know, right. I thought Len-nii would say that. But I think a merchant would pick off as much as he can from a request with holes like this.” (Rebecca)

“Merchant, scary!” (Allen)

“We just know the importance of money more than anyone else. Thank you, Len-nii. I feel like you should work a little harder on the household account book, but I’ll give it a passing mark. I think your expenses might be a bit too high though.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca said as she returned the bundle of documents that Allen had collected. And just like that, Rebecca stood up, saying ‘Hmm,’ folded her hand, and stretched her body.

“Then come with me tomorrow. Good night, Len-nii.” (Rebecca)

“Wasn't that just an analogy? Understood, I'll make the plans. Ah, I'm leaving in a little while, so make sure to lock the door.” (Allen)

“Un. Could it be, a girlfriend? As I thought, it's Matilda-san?” (Rebecca)

“I─diot, of course not. It’s just the guys I’ve got a rotten connection with.” (Allen)

Allen lightly hit Rebecca on the head when she responded full of interest, smiled wryly when she crouched down holding her head, and he left the house.

Then, as Allen was walking down the dimly lit street toward the center of the city, he noticed something.

(Come to think of it, she didn't ask me about the inside of the room. Why?) (Allen)

Allen tilted his head at such a question and tried to think of a reason for it, but in the end he couldn't think of anything.

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Level Down 61

Volume 2 Chapter 19 - The End of the Fools

RAW

Allen had a wry smile on his face as he watched Joseph the Greatshield disappear into the back of the Guild.

“He really hasn't changed. Old Man Joseph.” (Allen)

“He's certainly a person with very clear standards.” (Matilda)

Hearing Allen's keen words, Matilda agreed with the same wry smile.

Joseph was usually a mild-mannered, people-friendly adventurer with common sense.

Although he was formerly of the iron class, that was because he himself did not aim for the higher rank and stayed there to form a party with new adventurers to train them, and his actual ability was actually comparable to silver class or even gold class, that’s the main rumor.

It's no exaggeration to say that Joseph was the conscience of the Adventurers’ Guild for doing such philanthropic activity, but even he had one flaw.

That was, when Joseph saw someone doing something that they should not be doing according to his common sense that he has established, he’d try to stop them. And not with words, but with his greatshield.

Of course, he wouldn't actually hit them with it. He’d fully demonstrate his outstanding skills and stop right in front of their eyes, but those who received it would experience a great deal of fear.

After all, the shield that was so large that it seemed like it could crush a person's body had just stopped before it hit them, and they felt the wind pressure it produced. Weak adventurers may even felt that their lives were in danger.

Then, when the other person stopped moving, he told them a word or two about what they did wrong, and once he confirmed that the other person understood and had stopped, he became satisfied, readily lost interest, and left.

From the point of view of someone seeing Joseph for the first time, they'd be stunned by his speed of the change.

However, perhaps because of that, it was rare for the problem to arise again after Joseph left, leading some to believe that this was done on purpose.

Joseph never talked about what's on his mind, so everything was just speculation and the truth remained a mystery though.

Although there were some problems with him, the common sense established within Joseph was based on the rules of the Adventurers’ Guild and what a person should abide by, so the fact that he was a reliable presence for ordinary adventurers didn’t change.

He also had many pupils, so there were many who admired him, so in a different sense than [Lionel], he was an adventurer who represented the Lilac Adventurers’ Guild.

It was an understandable choice for the Guild to select Joseph as Allen's successor.

“What the hell, you guys? We’re the victims here! Two of our friends are dead.” (Large Man)

The large man made this claim in a harsh tone, perhaps because the adventurers who had been swarming him had disappeared because of Joseph and he felt some leeway.

As to be expected from a silver class adventurer, he showed no sign of feeling the impact of being swarmed by adventurers who were about to strike him and his voice echoed strongly through the Guild

However, his words were not heeded by the surrounding adventurers who, although they were not about to pounce, were clearly seething with anger.

There were some people who seemed to be calmly observing the situation from a distance, but they just looked at the man with mocking gazes and made no further movements.

At the sight of the man who looked as if he was performing a one-man show, Allen and Matilda looked at each other.

“That guy seems like he’s pretending to be the victim, but what’s the Guild's decision?” (Allen)

“Right now, we're waiting for the Guildmaster's decision. I don't think he'll make a decision that’ll be detrimental to [Lionel], and I think it’ll be difficult to confirm the facts based on just one side's claims, so I think he will hold off for a while.” (Matilda)

“So he’s waiting for Lionel's return? With him being on standby for the meantime.” (Allen)

Matilda nodded her head at Allen's words. ‘There’s probably no evidence anyway, I guess there’s no way he can make a decision right away,’ Allen thought with a wry smile.

Acts such as laying the blame of monsters on other adventurers are clearly against the rules of the Adventurers’ Guild. To put it more plainly, it's a clear crime.

As long as it remains within the Guild as a trouble between adventurers they won't be arrested though.

The common way to resolve such matters was for the parties to negotiate with each other through the Guild. In other words, the victim would receive compensation by claiming money in lieu of the damage done by the perpetrator.

That said, even with the settlement, in addition to paying reparations to the other party, they also had to pay a corresponding fine to the Guild.

If they fail to do so, they will be subject to the harsh punishment of being stripped of their adventurer qualifications and being reduced to slavery, with the proceeds from the sale being used to cover the reparations.

Most of the places where adventurers who have raised their level are taken as slaves are not decent places, so it could be said that the punishment was almost a death sentence.

Furthermore, if negotiations break down, the blaming side will be reported to the authorities as a criminal and arrested, and as a result, will lose everything and become crime slaves. What awaits them is a future with even less hope than ordinary slaves.

In other words, the only real option is amicable settlement.

“We might even send out an investigation team today to confirm the facts. Why don't you volunteer too, Allen?” (Matilda)

“Those guys have some passionate followers, so just leave it to them. The reward isn’t that good either.” (Allen)

Matilda looked at him and asked happily, but Allen shook his head and flatly declined her request.

Perhaps because Allen's response was just what she had imagined, Matilda let out a little chuckle.

“Or rather, those guys will just come back on their own. They're more or less gold class rising stars after all.” (Allen)

“You sure trust them. Now then, let's stop chatting and get your reward for today, shall we?” (Matilda)

“Ou, I’ll leave it to you.” (Allen)

“Understood.” (Matilda)

Matilda lightly winked at him and began processing the request, Allen smiled at that before returning his gaze to the large man who was energetically spouting nonsense. The sight of the man who kept saying things that were obviously not true made Allen tilt his head.

(I wonder why he would go out of his way to tell a lie that would cut his own neck. Even though it would be found out right away once [Lionel] came back... Hm? Aah. So he thought they wouldn't come back and he got greedy, huh.) (Allen)

Allen was thinking about why the large man would lie, but it suddenly came to him while he was thinking about it.

It was because he was at the scene that Allen understood. That there was no way they could survive in that situation where they were surrounded by all those bullfangs, that must be what the large man was thinking.

‘Come to think of it, I feel like they said something like that on the 9th floor as well,’ Allen thought as he remembered the conversation he had heard at that time 

Allen predicted that the large man was planning to blame [Lionel] for the bullfangs and legally take away the assets that [Lionel] would have left up here.

If everyone on one side was dead, the dead have no say. The chance of finding evidence in the dungeon was low anyway, and while it’s not an all-you-can-do, the chance of getting money was certainly high.

(Uwah, what a sleazebag. Should I just reveal everything I've heard?) (Allen)

Allen was convinced that the man's repeated insistence, even in the face of poor reactions from those around him, was based on that kind of thinking. And the reason why the man seemed to have a certain leeway.

“Allen, the reward is ready... that’s one amazing face you’re making. What's wrong?” (Matilda)

“Aah, well, just a bit of something.” (Allen)

Having finished processing Allen's request, Matilda saw Allen making a sour face and she opened her eyes wide in surprise at that. That caused Allen to come back to his senses and then, he took a deep breath, shook his head, and accepted the 30,000 zenny reward that Matilda held out to him.

And at the same time as he received the reward, Allen put his face close to Matilda's ear.

“Matilda. When I was gathering herbs on the 9th floor, I heard their party arguing. It's the complete opposite of what he’s saying right now.” (Allen)

“That’s!” (Matilda)

“That's all I'll tell you for now. When [Lionel] comes back, they'll talk about it, when they do, forget about this.” (Allen)

Saying that much, Allen waved to Matilda and walked towards the Guild's exit.

Just before he exited, he cast a sharp glance at the large man who was still insisting, and just as Allen was about to open the door to the Guild's entrance, the door in front of him suddenly opened inward toward Allen.

“UOOOOHH!” (Allen)

Allen desperately avoided the door while once again protecting the cooking ingredients he was holding. Having avoided so narrowly that he could feel the wind, Allen let out a sigh of relief and was about to complain to the culprit before he shut his mouth.

Lionel himself was there.

Allen and Lionel lock eyes at point-blank range.

Lionel's face gradually turned sour, while Allen's grin deepened.

“Yo, Lionel. I heard you set bullfangs on that adventurer over there.” (Allen)

“Ha? What the hell are you talking about, you half-ass... YOU!!” (Lionel)

Lionel was about to complain to Allen who said that in a teasing tone, but when he saw the large man that Allen was pointing at, he suddenly started running.

Perhaps not being able to believe that the man who was supposed to be dead was standing in front of him, the large man was frozen in shock before Lionel's fist hit the man's cheek and blew him away with a dull sound.

The Guild erupted in cheers at Lionel's appearance, and the adventurers started calling out to Lionel one after another. Allen’s cheeks relaxed as he watched them.

Allen then turned to the four members of [Lionel] who were left behind at the doorway.

“Yo, good work. Seems like something terrible happened, eh.” (Allen)

“Allen...”

“Ask some guys around about what happened in the Guild. Also, I don't think it's needed, but I’ve got some testimony about your situation. Ask Matilda for details.” (Allen)

Saying just that, Allen patted the four on their shoulders and slipped through them and left the Guild.

The four members of [Lionel] saw him off with indescribable expressions on their faces.

────

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Level Down 60

Volume 2 Chapter 18 - The Foolish Adventurers

RAW

Having overran the bullfangs on the 20th floor leaving only a few dozen of them around the hole where Lionel was holed up, Allen hurried to the 9th floor.

That was because it took him more time than expected to deal with the abnormally large number of bullfangs, and if he returned slowly, it seemed like he wouldn't be able to make it in time for the afternoon when he was planning on delivering the medicinal herbs.

Then, once Allen arrived at the 9th floor of Lilac Dungeon, which was unpopular because only treants that are unprofitable to adventurers appear there, he defeated treants and processed them into building materials using carpentry tools such as saws.

Regarding treants, if you tried to take them with you in the state you defeated them, you would be limited to one or two, and it was clear from the unpopularity of this floor that you wouldn't be able to make much money with that.

This time, the main purpose was to show Rebecca how Allen himself is making something using treant wood, in order to show why the interior of their home had changed. By demonstrating his skill, he wanted to prove that Allen himself had done the renovations.

He took a detour because he had some free time and ended up getting involved in something important, but his original purpose hadn't changed.

There was no need to prepare that much if he just wanted to show off his skills, but Allen thought it would be better to show that he could make money by hunting treants at the same time.

Because he thought it would be easier to convince Rebecca that way.

Rebecca was very strict about money, as evidenced by the fact that she became a merchant. This can be seen from the fact that Rebecca, the youngest, was in charge of Allen's household finances until she left.

This strictness can be seen in the fact that even after she left the house, Allen continued to keep track of the household accounts, albeit very simply. He was sloppy enough to only collect copies of the request forms he accepted each month though.

The money from selling treant building materials to Brandt Workshop that Nick belonged to, which Allen intended to use to prove that he regularly went to pick up treant building materials that he used to renovate the interior, was properly recorded there.

That amount of money was much higher than taking home an entire treant.

It was such an amount that Rebecca would accept that it was not unnatural to bring treants if he could sell them for that amount. As for why that would be the case...

“Phew, this is about right. I feel like it's a bit of a waste, but I guess I'll hold back this time.” (Allen)

Allen let out a deep breath after he finished processing the treant. In front of Allen were lined up several pieces of building material approximately 4 meters long that had been precisely cut into 150 mm squares.

This 150 mm square was the standard thickness used for pillars in this Lilac City, and it was the building material that would be most appreciated when delivered to Brandt Workshop.

That's no wonder, as a treant wood, a building material made from monsters, was strong, long-lasting, and extremely resistant to insect damage, but it did have its drawbacks.

That was its difficulty to process. Because it was much harder than ordinary wood, more time and labor was required to process it.

The reason the treant building materials brought in by Allen were bought at a high price was because they had already been processed and were ready for use. In other words, processing fees were taken into account.

“This much should get me tens of thousands of zenny, so there should be no problem. Now then, I guess I'll collect the medicinal herbs and go home quickly.” (Allen)

Allen started walking, carrying the processed building materials, which had been bundled into a bundle about the thickness of a treant, on his shoulder. He had already found the location where the medicinal herb was located, and would be able to return home immediately after collecting it.

The place where the medicinal herbs were growing was near the route from the 9th floor to the 10th floor, so Allen was a little worried that they might have been harvested, so he headed there a little faster.

Arriving near the area, Allen was relieved to find that the medicinal herbs hadn’t been collected, but immediately after that, he heard voices that sounded like they were arguing and he reflexively hid.

(Wait, why did I hide? Well, I guess it’s fine. It smells like trouble anyway.) (Allen)

Allen, who had been hiding behind a tree trunk to hide his presence, gradually began to hear the contents clearly.

The people themselves may have intended to keep their voices quiet, but perhaps letting their guard down because the floor was unpopular, their voices gradually heated up and got louder.

“Like I said, We got no choice! Pierre and Milosh are dead, you know. And you want us to become slaves on top of that?!” (Adventurer 1)

“I don't want that either. But to abandon the benefactor who saved us...”  (Adventurer 2)

“We didn’t abandon them or anything, they're already dead. Don't pretend to be a good guy now, dammit!” (Adventurer 1)

“Calm down, you two. Your voices are too loud.” (Adventurer 3)

Curious about the contents, Allen glanced from behind the tree and saw four adventurers in tattered equipment walking along. Among them, a large man was grabbing a slightly timid-looking adventurer by the collar and snorted before letting go of his hand.

A tall man who was mediating between the two let out a deep breath and looked worriedly at a young woman who was trudging along next to him, looking depressed.

Allen recognized the appearance of those four people. They were the adventurers who had been chased by the bullfangs on the 20th floor, so it was natural that he recognized them.

The moment Allen realized this, a flame of anger against the adventurers lit up in his chest, but he suppressed it by taking a slow, quiet deep breath.

In fact, most of the bullfangs had been taken out by Allen, so he knew that [Lionel]'s crisis had already passed, and he thought it would make more sense to have the returning [Lionel] judge them.

Even so, Allen still felt a little irritated as he watched the four of them leave.

Then, he shook his head slightly to shake it off and let out a deep breath to change his mood.

(Seems like I passed them before I knew it. I hurried back to make it in time for the delivery in the afternoon, so... ah!) (Allen)

‘No wonder I passed them,’ right as Allen thought that, he realized a certain fact and his expression quickly changed to a miserable one.

“I forgot the bullfang's meat. I was planning to freeze it, cut it up, and bring it home too.” (Allen)

Saying that, Allen slumped his shoulders and let out a big sigh.

.

.

.

After delivering the medicinal herbs that he had carefully collected, Allen turned down the client's invitation to watch his potion research today as well, saying that his sister had come home for the first time in a while, so he temporarily went home, and placed the treant building materials in the corner of the room.

The note Allen left when he went out was still on the table, and there was no sign that Rebecca had come here.

“Hmm, if she was here, I thought about showing her how I make something with treant wood or going shopping with her, but... Alright, for now, I guess I’ll go buy some ingredients for dinner to welcome her. Might as well go to the Guild to get today’s reward.” (Allen)

Allen was a little nervous when he entered the house, but Rebecca wasn't there, so his nervousness disappeared.

Allen was a little disappointed that Rebecca wasn’t at home even though he went out of his way to come back, but he quickly changed his mood and left the house again, thinking that Rebecca probably had a lot going on since she had become a merchant.

Allen walked through the city and visited the shops, thinking about the food that Rebecca liked for the welcome, and bought some good vegetables and other things that were a little more expensive than usual, and headed towards the Adventurers’ Guild with light steps.

That was to receive his daily wage of 30,000 zenny for the medicinal herb collection request.

As usual, Allen opened the door to the Adventurers’ Guild and headed towards Matilda.

At that moment, an adventurer came flying from the front, as if aiming for Allen.

“UOOOOH!!” (Allen)

Allen avoided it while protecting the ingredients he bought. Perhaps thanks to trying so hard to avoid it that he reflexively screamed, the ingredients he bought for Rebecca survived without a single scratch.

“Oi, what the hell are you doing?” (Allen)

Allen, who couldn't help but yell, tilted his head slightly when he saw the fallen adventurer's face ahead of his gaze. It was one of the adventurers he had seen several times today; one of the people who was chased by bullfangs, it was the large man who grabbed his companion by the collar during their argument on the 9th floor.

Allen glanced left and right to assess the situation, and immediately noticed that there was an unusually murderous atmosphere within the Guild.

Then he spotted Matilda beckoning him behind the counter, and quickly left the place to avoid getting involved.

“What’s going on?” (Allen)

When Allen arrived at Matilda's side and asked her this as the first thing he said, Matilda unusually furrowed her brows, and while looking like she was reluctant to speak, she opened her mouth.

“That adventurer just now was from a silver class party that came to Lilac a week ago, but it seems that bullfangs killed some of his friends on the 20th floor.” (Matilda)

“They were probably just getting majorly carried away, weren’t they? They reap what they sow.” (Allen)

“He was saying that other adventurers provoked the large herd of bullfangs. And that party, from what I’ve heard, was [Lionel].” (Matilda)

“Aah, so that’s how it is.” (Allen)

Matilda's words gave Allen a general idea of what was going on.

It wasn't that Allen wasn't angry, thinking ‘How dare they lie?’ but even more so was the feeling of ‘They sure are completely digging their own grave.’

And a scene that seemed to prove it was unfolding before Allen's eyes.

“There's no way Lionel-san would do something like that!” (Lilac Adventurer 1)

“That party is the admiration of every adventurer from this city! If you’re trying to blame them for monsters... even if you’re a silver class, I won’t let you off, you bastard!” (Lilac Adventurer 2)

The adventurers inside the Guild started punching the large man who was trying to stand up.

Fighting within the Guild was supposed to be prohibited, but the atmosphere didn't feel like it could be brought up.

“What do we do with this?” (Allen)

“I don't care. Besides, aren't you worried, Allen? Isn’t Lionel your friend?” (Matilda)

“At least call it a rotten connection. Or rather, I’m a wood class, there's no point in me worrying about them.” (Allen)

Allen and Matilda watched the one-on-many brawl while having a conversation as if it were no one else's business. ‘Really, what do we do with this?’ as Allen began thinking that, the door to the Guild slowly opened, and what appeared from there was a man in his prime equipped with a large shield.

That man looked around, then turned his gaze to the men who were continuing to brawl.

“Old Man Joseph, he’s come at a good time.” (Allen)

“He has a job of guiding the ones who’ll use the level up trap at night starting today after all.” (Matilda)

“Oh, so that talk’s been sorted out, huh. But it's still early, you know. Being way too serious is so like the Old Man though.” (Allen)

Ignoring the two who continued their conversation, Joseph held up his greatshield and dashed toward the men who continued to brawl.

His movements were so light that you wouldn’t feel his age of 46 or the weight of the greatshield, and even at such speed, the shield hardly wavered, showing his masterful technique.

Then, Joseph suddenly stopped the greatshield he had pushed out in front of the brawling men.

The wind pressure caused by the greatshield shook the men's hair.

“Fights within the guild are prohibited.” (Joseph)

Hearing those words that were short but with the weight characteristic of an elder, the adventurers who had been attacking the man reluctantly pulled back, perhaps because the blood in their heads had cooled.

Seeing this, Joseph nodded twice in satisfaction, relaxed his expression, and went straight into the back of the Guild as if nothing had happened.

────

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Level Down 59

Volume 2 Chapter 17 - Behind the Scenes of [Lionel] and the Others

RAW

As Lionel and his friends moved to the large boulder and prepared to begin the battle, Allen rushed into the middle of the large herd of bullfangs.

“Here you go!” (Allen)

Each of Allen’s hands grabbed a bullfang by the horn, lifted them up, and then hurled them at different bullfang.

Those gigantic bodies weighing more than 1 ton each were hurled at a considerable speed, dragging in the bullfangs around them as they were blown away, leaving a gaping space in the middle of the large herd that seemed to fill the ground.

Allen then rushed there, grabbed two bullfangs that came attacking him by the horns, pulled them, then threw them again toward other bullbangs.

“This is surprisingly troublesome. That said, I can't just use flashy magic, and when there’s this many of them, if I cut them with a sword, there will be blood coming back at me, or even if it doesn't, I might step on the spilled blood.” (Allen)

While grumbling about that, Allen continued his task of throwing bullfangs.

When Allen first rushed into battle, he was a little worried that it might be difficult for him to fight against such a large herd even with his increased stats, but as he fought, those worries of his disappeared completely.

This was because the bullfangs were weaker than Allen thought. No, it would actually be more accurate to say that Allen had become too strong.

The reason why Allen deliberately exposed himself and rushed into the herd was to draw their attention to himself. If he just wanted to defeat them, he could just shoot magic from a distance or throw a large boulder at them.

However, if he did that, he would stand out and everyone from [Lionel] would know that someone was fighting. That wasn't what Allen wanted.

And another reason why he fought like this was...

“Or rather, if it weren't for the herb collection, I'd be prepared to have the smell of blood on me when I defeat them, but that obstinate geezer's standards are ridiculously strict. I've never done it before, but I bet he won't accept it.” (Allen)

Allen smiled wryly as he remembered the client to whom he delivered the medicinal herbs.

At first, Allen was indignant, thinking ‘Don’t mess with me!’  when he kept being told to redo it every time he delivered some herbs, but as he continued to do it many times, he began to understand his standards, even if only roughly.

Then, perhaps coming to trust Allen for his stable delivery, the client half-forced him to see what kind of experiments the medicinal herbs he had been collecting were being used in, and when he learned of his obsessive research mind, he found it somewhat difficult to hate the obstinate client.

The fact that it was a troublesome request hadn't changed, and since it took a long time to complete it, for Allen who wanted to quickly rank up, it wasn’t something he’d really want to accept, but he had changed his mind to the extent that he’d be willing to accept it if asked to cooperate.

And, having the belief that an adventurer should act according to the request of the client if he accepts a request, Allen went out of his way to fight in a way that would not affect his ability to collect medicinal herbs.

“Well, even if I say it's a hassle, it only takes a few minutes of patience after all.” (Allen)

While saying that, Allen hit a bullfang.

Since it had already been about a minute since the battle started, Allen expected that the escaping adventurers would have already joined up with [Lionel].

No matter how good [Lionel]'s skills are, with the enemy being such a large herd, annihilation is inevitable.

Lionel, the leader, was, in Allen's opinion, an idiot who would risk his own life for others, but he was not foolish. Allen was convinced that he was fully aware of the difference in strength between them.

Therefore, he could naturally predict the choice [Lionel] would make.

The first bottleneck was the escaping adventurers. Until now, they seemed to have been running for their lives, but all of them were injured and their equipment were in tatters. To put it bluntly, if they escape as they were, they'll probably fall prey to the bullfangs before they reach the stairs leading to the 19th floor.

Therefore, their top priority should be healing them.

Fortunately, there was a skilled priest named Torin among [Lionel]. If he offered a prayer in advance, he should be able to heal them without wasting too much time, Allen thought.

After that, it was necessary to exterminate the alarm birds in order to prevent bullfangs from gathering from any direction other than their rear during their escape, and just as Allen himself saw earlier, Pete's bow skills should be enough to deal with it.

It would probably take about 10 to 20 seconds to complete these two tasks. It should have been possible for Lionel, Naseem, and Percy to work together to hold back the bullfangs for that long.

Then, as soon as they were ready, everyone should simultaneously climb up the large boulder and escape. What they must not make a mistake here is that no one should fall behind.

Allen had only read about it in the documents, but one of the characteristics of bullfangs is that if there is a person in a high place such as a large boulder, it will pinch its companions between its horns and start spinning and send it flying like a cannonball.

Its speed was quite considerable, and a direct hit would be impossible for a normal person to withstand.

There is some time before it is sent flying, so they could just escape before then, but once it starts, it is practically impossible to avoid it as it comes flying at you from all directions.

It will take a while for that state to cool off, so if you try to climb the boulder after that, a bullfang will fly at you immediately. In other words, if you don't escape all at once, any escape after that will be hopeless. That's why it was important that no one fell behind.

On the other hand, the bullfangs spinning on the spot and throwing their companions made their pursuit slow, albeit temporarily.

In other words, if they could get through that, they would almost certainly be able to escape. Because of that advantage, Allen predicted that Lionel would go to take up a position in front of the boulder.

“Oh, it's begun, huh?” (Allen)

A dull, weighty sound echoed from the direction of the large boulder where Lionel and the others were, making Allen look over there and be a little taken aback. After all, three-meter-long bodies were flying toward the large boulder one after another.

Allen knew this in his knowledge, but seeing it in person was a big difference. As Allen watched the reddish-brown boulder dyed black one after another at an incredible rate, he realized that ‘They will certainly die if they fall behind during this.’

“Now then, should I just keep at it for a while before calling it a day? It'll probably be okay even if I don't, but just in case.” (Allen)

Returning his gaze from the large boulder, Allen resumed his fight with the surrounding bullfangs.

After continuing this for a few minutes, Allen thought that there should be no problem as long as he did this much, and after securing one bullfang as a souvenir for Rebecca, he was about to leave from the middle of the large herd when he noticed something unusual.

“Why are those guys still surrounding the big boulder?” (Allen)

What was reflected in Allen's eyes was the scene of a large number of bullfangs surrounding the large boulder where Lionel was supposed to be a while ago.

If they were chasing Lionel and the others who had run away, the herd should have extended in the direction of the stairs leading to the 19th floor, and if they were too far away, there would be no alarm birds chirping, and they would return to their herd and then move away naturally.

As Allen watched the scene in doubt for a while, a bullfang near the large boulder flew into the air and slammed into the ground a short distance away. That bullfang didn’t rise up and disappeared into the shadows of the other bullfangs.

Watching the scene, Allen didn't miss that there was a hole leading deep into the large boulder where the bullfang had been blown away from.

“Don't tell me, someone fell behind?” (Allen)

‘Impossible,’ contrary to that expectation of his, Allen once again looked at the bullfang that had been blown away, and at the hole opened in the large boulder, and let out a sigh.

“I told you that not everyone you save is a good person, idiot Rai!” (Allen)

There's no way people who mishandled the alarm birds and were chased by a large herd of bullfangs would know about this floor's emergency evasive maneuver of opening a hole in a large boulder, so Allen was convinced that the ones over there were the members of [Lionel].

“Did the adventurers prioritize saving themselves and run ahead? Or did they get the better of them? Either way, they're good for nothing.” (Allen)

Allen made a bitter face as he clicked his tongue.

In a sense, this result could be said to be Lionel's own fault for continuing to ignore Allen's warning, but that didn’t mean this would be the end, that's not even in the back of Allen's mind.

“Well, I'll wipe your ass this time. You better learn from this and start using your head a little... Aah, I feel like it’s impossible. Well, whatever. Those guys are deep in the hole, so they probably won't be able to see what's going on outside, so let’s just quickly settle this and go home.” (Allen)

Allen randomly threw away the bullfang he had been carrying with the intention of dismantling it and taking the meat as a souvenir, and broke into a run again.

There were still the large herd of countless bullfangs in front of him, but there was no fear in Allen's eyes, and soon his magic began to overrun the area.

────

(T/N: there’s the explanation. Translating the previous chapters without knowing this explanation is just too confusing, I’m glad I don’t immediately release the chapters I translate, as I can edit them when I release them several days (or weeks) after that.)

Previous | Next

Level Down 58

Volume 2 Chapter 16 - Bullfang Battle

RAW

When Lionel and his friends arrived at the large boulder, they prepared for battle, looked at each other, nodded once, and began calling out loudly to the adventurers being chased by the large herd of bullfangs.

Watching the adventurers notice them, change their direction of escape, and then head towards them, Naseem muttered.

“They don't look familiar.” (Naseem)

“They might’ve just come from another city. Then I'll start firing my attacks now. I leave the ground to you.” (Pete)

Pete voiced the same opinion while beginning to draw his bow when Lionel called out to him.

“The escape signal is the same as always. Don't concentrate too hard, you hear.” (Lionel)

“Roger, oops!” (Pete)

As if the carefree expression on his face from earlier was just an illusion, Pete’s expression disappeared from his face as he nocked and fired arrows one after another. His movement was fixed, like a machine, and his aim remained the same, piercing the alarm birds in the sky.

“Then, I will also begin preparing for God's miracle. After that, I will distribute potions and ask each person to perform their own treatment, so I don't plan to take my eyes off everyone that long, but please be careful.” (Torin)

“I’m counting on you. You have 30 seconds. The goal is 10 seconds.” (Lionel)

“I will try my best.” (Torin)

Torin smiled at Lionel's words and began to pray to God. God's miracle is a recovery method that does not use potions, and is sometimes called healing magic.

The fact that praying to God can heal wounds much more quickly than by using potions and the like can truly be described as a miracle, it was one of the main factors that increased the authority of the church.

“Fumu. They sure are slow. It’s not like I can let them get dragged in it, so just assume some of them will go through.” (Percy)

“Leave it to me. I'll never let them pass behind me. Isn’t that right, Naseem?” (Lionel)

“Sure is.” (Naseem)

Percy calmly analyzed the adventurers while looking at them as they got closer and more clearly visible.

Inwardly, Percy thought it would be safer and more efficient to use magic and not worry about dragging in the adventurers, but he knew that Lionel wouldn't allow it, so he didn't voice it out.

When they heard Percy begin reciting the formal chant instead of just yelling the name of the spell as he normally does in order to expand the power and range of the spell, Lionel and Naseem put strength into their hands holding the sword.

“Hey, Rai.” (Naseem)

“What?” (Lionel)

“You better treat us all when we get back.” (Naseem)

“Yeah.” (Lionel)

In front of the two of them as they exchanged short words were the figures of adventurers who kept running for their lives. And further behind them was a huge black wall following after them.

“...Stop my enemies in their tracks, Sand Pool!” (Percy)

As Percy's chant ended, the movement of the bullfangs, except for a few in the lead, slowed to a crawl as their feet were caught in the ground that became like quicksand due to the activation of his spell.

Naseem grinned as he saw the trailing bullfangs hit one after another, unable to cope with the sudden slowdown, and making a series of noises that could not be described as screams or complaints.

“Nice timing.” (Lionel)

“We're all competent bunch after all.” (Naseem)

“Then I guess I’ll show my skill too.” (Lionel)

Glancing at the adventurers as they passed by, Lionel and Naseem's gazes met for just a moment.

They both then gave each other a small smile and nodded, and dashed towards the bullfangs who had escaped Percy's Sand Pool spell.

“I'll take that leg.” (Naseem)

Snorting at his new prey, Naseem dodged the huge body of the onrushing bullfang and swung his sword as they passed each other. The sword sliced precisely through the base of its right foreleg, but without seeing the result, Naseem moved on to his next prey.

Seeing that defenseless back, the bullfang, even with its movement impeded, bent its neck to attack, but that spot was immediately pierced by a sword.

“You’re being too excited.” (Lionel)

Lionel was about to follow up, complaining a bit to Naseem, who was running and swinging his sword around as if toying with the bullfangs, when it happened.

“No. You mustn't!!” (Torin)

At the urgent voice of Torin, the priest who was usually gentle and rarely raised his voice, all members of [Lionel] couldn't help but turn their gaze toward that direction.* (T/N: other translation: At the urgent voice of Torin, the priest who was usually gentle and rarely raised his voice, all members of [Lionel] couldn't help but turn their gaze toward that direction. The members of [Lionel] couldn't help but turn their attention to the urgent voice of Torin, as the priest was usually gentle and rarely raised his voice.)

There was Torin, collapsed on the ground, half raised and reaching out with his hand, and beyond that hand were the adventurers he was supposed to have saved, trying to escape by climbing the large boulder.

“YOU BASTARDS!!” (Naseem)

“NASEEM, STAND BACK. PERCY!” (Lionel)

“Roger that.” (Percy)

Lionel shouted, admonishing Naseem, whose face was bright red, anger laid bare, and calling out to Percy, who was standing behind.

Understanding his role just by having his name called, Percy ran towards Torin with Pete in tow.

All the members of [Lionel] knew that since someone had climbed the boulder, there was very little time left to escape.

The fact that you must fight on the ground when dealing with bullfangs is information that Lilac adventurers who come to this wilderness must know.

Naseem and Lionel, who had been fighting on the front lines, rushed to their friends.

Torin, who was drinking a potion to treat the ankle he had twisted and hurt when he was pushed by the fleeing adventurers, also stood up to run away, though he grimaced a little.

“Torin, get on my back. If it’s just someone of your weight, I can...” (Lionel)

Lionel’s words he said while bending down were stopped by a ‘zun’ sound accompanied by a tremor, as if something heavy had hit something.

Then, at the sound that began to echo intermittently, the faces of all of [Lionel]'s members turned pale.

“Too late, huh? No choice, plan B. We’re shutting in.” (Lionel)

“Yeah.”

After a short exchange of words, Lionel and his friends ran towards the large boulder.

On top of the large boulder about 10 meters in size were the fleeing adventurers, the last few of them having been crushed between the huge body of a bullfang that flew like a cannonball and the large boulder, turning into corpses.

.

.

.

Percy used magic to open a hole in the large boulder, and Lionel and his friends hid deep inside it, continuing to fight against the bullfangs that occasionally tried to rush in through the entrance.

It was not a very big hole, so they only had to deal with one or two at a time, and at first glance it seemed like the situation has gotten much better compared to the previous situation where they were surrounded.

However, the expressions on the faces of [Lionel] remained grim.

“Rai, like the Guild data says, even Percy can't get deeper.” (Pete)

“Is that, so!” (Lionel)

Pete returned to Lionel and Naseem from Percy who was working deeper in the hole, and briefly reported the results of trying to see if they could get through the large boulder and get to the other side.

Lionel grimaced at that even as he thrust his sword into a bullfang in front of him and defeated it, and after confirming that the entrance was blocked, he took a breather.

“Also, a message from Percy, if we want to maintain this current state, we could do it for about a day considering the current number of magic potions in stock. Haha, that's a big deficit.” (Pete)

“We'll just make those guys who ran away sell all their equipment and pay for it. Damn, you've got to be kidding me. They're fucking with us. They even hurt Torin.” (Naseem)

As Naseem couldn’t rein in his anger, Pete just shrugged his shoulders, while Lionel lowered his eyes a little as he looked at him. Because he was thinking that he could be said to be the reason why Torin got hurt.

Even if they failed and were chased by the group of bullfangs, these adventurers were capable of making it to the 20th floor. Lionel had assumed that they had a certain level of ability and discretion.

And that if they cooperated, it would be entirely possible for everyone to escape safely.

However, that was too naive a perception.

As a result, those adventurers betrayed Lionel and his friends and escaped on their own, and because of that, Lionel and his friends who were too late to escape had no choice but to hide themselves inside this large boulder.

This large boulder was also recognized as part of the dungeon, and although it was possible to temporarily make a hole in it, it would gradually return to its original state.

That force became stronger the deeper you went, so if you made the hole as far outside as possible, the repair force would be weaker and the cost of maintaining it would be lower.

This was something that Pete had previously researched as a method taken by a party that was once forced into a hopeless situation like Lionel and his friends were now.

None of them expected they would actually use it though.

However, this was only a temporary measure. Because in the current situation where they were trapped and unable to get supplies, the hole would eventually close and they would have no choice but to go in front of the group of bullfangs.

(That's why being an adventurer is all about survival. No matter how good or strong you are, no matter how many people you save, if you die, it's all over. Rai, your beliefs will someday kill your friends, and then yourself. Think about what's really important.) (???)

‘Tch,’ Lionel clicked his tongue, remembering the words he was once told. Because, even though he thought he would never accept it, he found himself sympathizing with those words, albeit only a little.

“Hah, guess that means I'm getting old too. I can't believe I can understand the meaning of Allen's words. But...” (Lionel)

The body of the bullfang that was blocking the entrance was thrown away by another bullfang’s horn, and the new bullfang pointed that horn at Lionel.

“Even if I understand it, I won't accept it. I will stick to my beliefs. I will stick to it without leaving behind even a single one of my friends. That's what I swore to myself when I decided to become an adventurer!” (Lionel)

Lionel swung his sword. As if to demonstrate his unwavering belief, the bullfang's head was cut straight off.

────

(T/N: I don’t like this kinda mysteries, well, it’s not too bad since it’ll be explained in the next chapter, but I still don’t like it, as a reader, and even more so as the translator.)

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Level Down 57

Volume 2 Chapter 15 - Lionel

RAW

Hiding behind a rock, Allen was watching the battle of [Lionel], a gold class party made up of people of the same generation as him from Lilac.

“Aa─h, it's been a while since I last saw them, but they’re as stable as ever.” (Allen)

As Allen had commented, [Lionel] progressed through the 20th floor without any danger.

[Lionel] was a party of five adventurers centered around Lionel, the leader. In terms of composition, it was a very well-balanced party with two swordsmen, one scout/archer, one magician, and one priest.

Their strong point was that they had a magician who could use intermediate level magic, so they could aim for big games, and they also had a priest who could use healing miracles, so they could expect a stable battle.

Currently, perhaps because they were on their way to lower floors, they only stopped for defeating alarm birds with the male scout/archer firing his bow without ever missing, and others were not just walking around either, they were relaxed but still alert to their surroundings.

The high level of their ability was evident from the way they were having a conversation with a slight smile on their faces.

‘Haah,’ Allen let out a breath and lightly moved his body to loosen up.

In truth, everyone recognized [Lionel]'s ability, and even Allen himself recognized it. As the same local, Allen knew enough about [Lionel]. He even partied with them once.

A certain incident caused their relationship to deteriorate, and they become nothing but a pain in the ass though.

“Could you please stop walking around? I want to go home quickly.” (Allen)

While complaining about such a thing, Allen leaned his back against the large boulder he was hiding behind. This was the only place in the area to hide, so Allen couldn’t even take a detour to avoid being seen.

Allen continued to monitor the situation with some irritation, but after a while he heard a faint noise and looked in that direction and realized that something was wrong.

To the right of [Lionel], a large number of alarm birds were flying in the sky a little away, and they were raising their voices.

And the members of [Lionel] seemed to notice as well, and their movements suddenly became hurried.

Confirming that all of [Lionel]'s eyes were directed towards it, Allen ran up the large rock he was hiding in, crouched down on top of it, and looked in that direction.

“Are you for real?” (Allen)

Directly below the alarm birds, a party of six adventurers was running frantically. Their equipment was in tatters, and no one was unhurt. The worst of them were bleeding from the head and half their faces were stained in blood, but they kept moving their legs.

That's no wonder, after all, they all knew that if they stopped, they would be swallowed up by the black mass that was moving behind them.

That black mass was a herd of monsters that appeared on this floor; bullfangs.

Bullfang was a bull-shaped monster that boasts a huge body of nearly 3 meters long and over 1 ton heavy. It attacks adventurers using two sharp horns on its head and long, sharp fangs that give it a part of its name.

Even just one of them is a threat, but they often move in groups, so if you fight one of them, you have to deal with their whole herd, they are that troublesome monsters.

However, what was reflected in Allen’s eyes was a number so large that it could no longer be described as a herd.

If one were to use the word herd, it would probably be a large herd. But even that may not be enough to represent the current situation.

Allen turned his gaze to [Lionel]. It's clear that the party currently running away had messed up somehow.

Adventurers are supposed to help each other as much as possible, but only to the extent that their own safety can be ensured.

It was no fault of their own, and in the current situation, even [Lionel] would die if they faced this large herd, so the best thing for them to do was to run away.

It may seem cold-hearted, but it would be the right decision for someone who lives as an adventurer.

But [Lionel] didn't do that. They ran to a large boulder nearby, called out loudly to the fleeing adventurers, and began preparing for battle.

Allen gritted his teeth at the sight.

“Tch, he did that after all. That idiot. He hasn't changed at all since the old days.” (Allen)

The fleeing adventurers changed their running direction towards [Lionel] with a face that seemed to say ‘We’re saved’, and the herd of bullfangs also changed direction to pursue them.

There were only a few tens of seconds left until that black mass swallowed [Lionel].

Allen stood up and jumped off the boulder. It was clear that the members of [Lionel] no longer had the luxury of worrying about Allen's unrelated direction, so there was no longer any need for him to hide there.

Allen let out a single big breath as he landed on the ground, and then smiled a little when he saw Lionel standing in the lead and giving instructions.

“I needed some meat for Rebecca's welcome anyway, so this is just perfect. While I’m at it, I’ll be repaying my old debt, Rai.” (Allen)

Mouthing the name he had once called him, Allen took a sharp detour so that he was out of sight of every [Lionel] member, and plunged towards the large herd of bullfangs.

.

.

.

Time goes back a little to when [Lionel] reached the 20th floor of Lilac Dungeon.

As a party was made up only of adventurers from Lilac, what’s more, as the only gold class among them, [Lionel] was very familiar with Lilac Dungeon.

In the first place, most of the requests from the Adventurers’ Guild were related to this Lilac Dungeon, and the same was true even when clients made nominated requests to [Lionel], who had a proven track record locally.

Of course, that didn't mean they never left the city for escort requests and the like.

This time, as usual, the job that [Lionel] received was to subjugate the monsters that appear on the 25th floor of Lilac and collect their materials.

The difficulty level of this request was quite high, and even gold class adventurers might not be able to complete it unless they were familiar with this Lilac Dungeon, but accordingly, the reward was much better than the average request.

Currently, the upper limit of the requests that [Lionel] could complete while ensuring their own safety was the 25th floor, the same one as this request.

That was because the atmosphere clearly changes from the 26th floor onwards, and the monsters also become much stronger.

Even on the 26th floor or beyond, it was possible to fight a few monsters if you fight as a party, but if you ask whether you could fight stably, that was not the case, and for [Lionel], this had been their worries for many years.

“Hey, Rai. When we get our reward this time, are we going to update our equipment and try again?” (Party Member 1)

“Yeah, because, even if you can stably hunt on the 25th floor, it's more efficient to fight strong monsters in order to level up. Are you dissatisfied?” (Lionel)

“No, you're the leader of this party. I'll follow your ass wherever you go.” (Party Member 1)

“Quit that phrasing. There are seriously people who’ll take it in a different meaning.” (Lionel)

The sight of Lionel covering his butt with his hands and making a disgusted face elicited laughter not only from Naseem, the swordsman who spoke to him, but also from his friends around him.

In fact, everyone had witnessed Lionel being hit on by a man at a bar before, so they couldn't resist.

Lionel also laughed softly as he watched the reactions of his friends.

After laughing for a while and calming down, the male magician walking in the middle of the party called out to Lionel with a serious expression on his face.

“I'm all for going further down the floor, but in addition to improving the equipment, won’t you also consider the other proposal I made?” (Percy)

“Percy.” (Lionel)

Sensing his determination from the calm tone of his voice, Lionel frowned for a moment as he thought about it. Percy's proposal benefited Lionel personally, so it would be a lie to say that he wasn’t swayed by it at all.

But Lionel quickly pushed that thought out of his head and shook his head.

“There's no point in just me being special. We're [Lionel]. We're all [Lionel].” (Lionel)

“I see.” (Percy)

“As expected from the leader, oops!” (Pete)

Percy silently replied to Lionel's words, followed by the scout/archer Pete, who agreed as he fired an arrow at an alarm bird in the sky.

The arrow accurately pierced the alarm bird's torso, robbing it of its life.

‘Great skill as always,’ Lionel was feeling impressed when Torin, the male priest who was keeping an eye on the surroundings, called out in a panic.

“Lionel, it's strange. The alarm birds are so crowded together...” (Torin)

“What?” (Lionel)

Everyone looked in the direction that Torin was pointing, and some clicking of tongue could be heard coming out of some people's mouths.

Lionel, Naseem, and Pete, who had good eyesight, could clearly see what was moving on the ground. The other two also knew what it was from experience though.

“Pete?” (Lionel)

“Un, a lot of a lot. It's like a bullfang carpet spread all over. And unfortunately, the fools are still alive. The direction’s a bit different, but they’re running this way.” (Pete)

“They’re alive?” (Naseem?)

Naseem frowned upon hearing Pete's report and looked at Lionel. After confirming that his eyes didn’t waver in the slightest, he took a deep breath and prepared himself for what was to come.

“We will get the running adventurers in front of a boulder and make our defense there. As soon as Torin recovers them, we will look for an opening and withdraw by going over the boulder. Pete will take out the alarm birds as the top priority while considering those. Better time it well when we go over the boulder. Those guys will be quiet as long as we’re on the ground after all.” (Lionel)

“As usual, you don’t give an option to abandon them and run away.” (Percy)

“That's the good thing about Lionel, and the bad thing about him.” (Torin)

“Shut up, let's go.” (Lionel)

Face twisting slightly at Percy and Torin's words, Lionel ran in the lead. Naturally, the other four followed after him.

Even though all four of them knew that the battle that was about to begin could be their last, they had no shred of intention of betraying the back of the man who was running in the lead.

────

Author’s Note:

Thank you very much for reading.

Just a little announcement.

I wrote this story quite a long time ago, and I started posting it thinking ‘Might as well get it out into the world,’ but thanks to all of you, I was able to receive this much unexpected positive reviews.

Once again, thank you very much.

However, I have been told again and again in the comment section that there were contradictions or insufficient explanations, so I've been correcting them as they come but, I'm planning a full-scale revision.

That the crucial mechanism of leveling down and leveling up was difficult to understand was fatal. I've already supplemented it now.

I plan to continue with the daily update, and the general outline will not change, so there is no need to reread it.

Well then, I suppose we will begin with excel management. We will notify you once the correction is complete.

That is all for the announcement.

(Currently revised up to Volume 1 Chapter 9)

────

(T/N: Lionel → Raioneru → Rai. I thought about using ‘Li’, but that’ll sound like ‘Lee’, so I just use Rai.)

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Level Down 56

Volume 2 Chapter 14 - Wasteland Trap

RAW

Having descended to the 16th floor, Allen looked around.

The earth was reddish brown, as if it had been baked by the scorching sun, and there were countless stones the size of a pinky finger to the size of a fist lying around, as well as withered grass and bushes no taller than Allen's knees in places.

There were also boulders that were more than twice the size of a person lying around, and some of them were huge monoliths in the shape of rock mountains that were well over 10 meters tall, so it couldn’t be said that there was no place to hide, but even so, the visibility was much wider than before.

Such a wasteland was the terrain of the 16th to the 20th floors.

“Aah, if the monster in this terrain is like the data says, no wonder they call it a scout killer.” (Allen)

Allen muttered to himself as he finished observing his surroundings. Although it was Allen's first time coming to this floor, he had grasped the situation to some extent from the knowledge he had obtained in the Guild's reference room.

Because, it was precisely that knowledge that made him give up on going here as it was too risky.

Among that knowledge was what was called the scout killer on this 16th to 20th floor wasteland.

Of course, it didn't mean that scouts could easily be killed on these floors, but it meant that their role as scouts was almost meaningless.

The role of a scout was extremely important in an adventurer party. The scout's role was to follow up on things that weren't straightforward battles, such as spotting monsters, choosing routes where they wouldn't be found, and disarming traps that couldn't be avoided.

This required a good knowledge of the dungeon's terrain and monsters, and most of the adventurers in the Guild's reference room were acting as scouts.

Its value was such that it was said that having a skilled scout gave a higher survival rate than having a first-class swordsman, but on the other hand, the reality was that the number of such scouts was by no means large.

Especially when it came to young adventurers.

Generally speaking, the image of an adventurer was one of bravely fighting monsters. This tendency was especially strong among people who became adventurers because of their aspirations.

From such people's point of view, although they understood that the role of a scout was important, they themself did not want to play that role.

In fact, it was this role of scout that Allen played most often when he was called upon to assist other parties.

Allen had the fundamental knowledge drilled into him by a male scout in a party led by a hero egg who employed Allen in the past, so it may have to do with the fact that he had a certain amount of knowledge and skill though.

Although scouts had such an important role to play, things were a little different in this wasteland.

First, when it came to detecting enemies, visibility in this wasteland was quite wide. As long as you don’t go out of your way to walk near the large boulders where things can hide, anyone can notice monsters' approach.

Next, in regards to traps, although there were standard traps such as pitfalls, there were no traps that could be life-threatening between the stairs that connected the floors.

This meant that most of the roles that scouts had to fulfill had almost disappeared in the wilderness.

But that alone wasn’t enough to warrant calling it a scout killer. The biggest cause was...

“Oh, so that's the biggest trap on this floor, huh?” (Allen)

Allen looked up and saw a bird monster flying far above.

The monster's name was Alarm Bird. It resembled a condor with its bald head and black and white feathers, and it wasn’t that large, only about 1 meter long.

It never descended below 50 meters from the ground, and it didn’t have any means to attack from long distances, so it couldn’t attack by surprise or directly, but it was the monster to be wary of the most in this wasteland.

At the same time that Allen spotted it, the alarm bird also seemed to find him, it flapped its wings as it approached him.

When it reached the sky above Allen, the alarm bird began circling.

As it continued to capture Allen in its sharp gaze, the alarm bird opened its mouth and tried to vibrate the air in its chest.

But it was not to be. Because a stone the size of a fist flew and hit it directly in its bald head.

With its wings still spread ungainly, the alarm bird’s body fell to the ground.

Carefully watching its state, Allen confirmed that the alarm bird had fallen on the ground, completely still, and when he was convinced that he had defeated it, he threw away the stone he had been holding for a follow-up attack just in case.

“Hmm, like the information said, it can be defeated with one hit. But it's pretty far, and the target is small, so it seems like it’ll take a lot of skill to target it with a bow or magic. Back then, if I had forced myself to come here, I wouldn’t have any way to deal with it and it would probably have summoned monsters.” (Allen)

While making such an objective judgment, Allen went past the alarm bird and moved on.

This alarm bird was the reason why these floors were called the scout killer. When an alarm bird discovered an enemy, it flew around in the air above them and raised its voice to summon other monsters.

Surrounded by monsters that have gathered from the surrounding area, a hard fight was inevitable. In other words, this alarm bird could be said to be a trap that summons monsters.

Of course, it would be possible to deal with it if you defeated it before it could raise its voice like Allen did just now, but bringing down the alarm birds flying around high in the sky was not so simple.

At the very least, you need a way to attack from long distances in addition to the appropriate skill.

Of course, there were some scouts who possessed such skill, but their number could not be said to be large.

The most likely case was a person who originally used a bow for hunting or other purposes becoming a scout, but few of them would be skilled enough to hit an alarm bird flying high in the sky.

Alarm birds were such troublesome opponents, but they weren't such a big enemy for the current Allen.

After all, he could defeat them just by throwing a stone he picked up somewhere. Since arriving on this floor, Allen had never used magic or even touched a weapon.

Allen moved down the floors smoothly without anything happening. As expected, in the wasteland with almost no cover, Allen was unable to avoid being seen by the alarm birds flying above.

However, since he had avoided all other battles, Allen was satisfied that he had done the minimum job as a scout.

“Still, it finds enemies and calls for allies, isn’t this guy more of a scout?” (Allen)

Allen let out a small breath as he looked at the alarm bird lying on the ground.

A thought popped into his head that maybe they were called scout killers in that meaning. It was too long ago to be sure though.

Allen had already reached his goal of reaching the 20th floor. Although he still had time to spare, Allen had no intention of going any further.

Because Allen's only knowledge of Lilac Dungeon he had crammed in his head was only up to the 20th floor, and with limited time, he was not about to go into a floor he had no prior knowledge of.

“Now then, I guess I'll go back. This seems perfect for Iseria's training, and considering I was able to prepare the lesson in advance, it was a good decision.” (Allen)

Allen muttered and was about to turn back when a small party of several adventurers appeared in front of his line of sight. Allen promptly hid behind a large boulder.

Then, while hiding, Allen carefully checked the adventurers and twisted his face in disgust.

“Geh, it’s Lionel? So unlucky.” (Allen)

Allen let out a deep sigh as he looked at Lionel, an adventurer with whom he had a lot of history, and decided to keep hiding and let them pass.

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Level Down 55

Volume 2 Chapter 13 - Unplanned Exploration

RAW

Allen came to Lilac Dungeon right the instant he was thinking of doing it, but while he was going through the procedure to enter the dungeon, he suddenly noticed something.

“Now that I think about it, isn't it impossible to deliver medicinal herbs when the gate is closed? What the hell am I doing?” (Allen)

Allen scratched his head, smiling bitterly at his own inadequacies.

Allen had indeed accepted a request to deliver medicinal herbs today. And among the locations listed, the 9th floor contained some of the medicinal herbs that could be collected, so Allen's idea to collect medicinal herbs while defeating treants and making building materials out of them was not wrong.

The problem was that the time from collection to delivery was strictly regulated. For the medicinal herbs on the 9th floor this time, it was 4 hours.

It would take a normal adventurer about two hours to walk to Lilac Dungeon from the city, and if you go straight to the 9th floor while ignoring the monsters, you can get there in about an hour and a half.

That's why it's not an impossible time for a request, but the gates are closed at night, so you can't enter the city, making it impossible to deliver them within four hours.

It's not like he couldn’t collect them early in the morning and then make the delivery as soon as the gate opened, but as expected, Allen wasn't thoughtless enough to make the delivery at just past 6 a.m. According to his past deliveries, Allen knew that the client would be happy to receive the goods in the early afternoon.

In other words, even if he left the city first thing tomorrow morning instead of today, he would still be able to make it in time to collect the medicinal herbs.

“Even if I go back now, I'm not sure if I can make it back in time before the gates close. No choice, I guess I’ll dive randomly to kill time.” (Allen)

Having made that decision, Allen entered Lilac Dungeon alone.

While feeling a little amused himself that he’s going to go into the dungeon to kill time even when he basically goes into dungeons to earn money.

.

.

.

Allen moved forward ignoring the monsters, watching with a smile as adventurers who appeared to be beginners fought goblins and one-horned rabbits on the 1st and 2nd floors.

Basically, it was a tacit understanding that high-level adventurers avoid fighting in shallow floors.

Since it was a path that everyone had taken at least once, few adventurers would break it, which is why it worked so well.

As they were still young and new adventurers, from Allen's point of view, their fighting style was shoddy and unrefined.

However, Allen could see in their eyes that they were determined to rise to greater heights.

This dazzled Allen and made him a little envious.

This was because Allen remembered that when he was around the same age as those new adventurers, he didn't even have the leeway to think about such things.

“Aah, enough, enough. It's not something I can do about after all this time. Besides, if I want adventure, I can do it now. Age doesn't matter.” (Allen)

‘Fuu,’ Allen let out a breath and with it, the murky feeling in his heart, then slapped himself in the face to change his mood.

Once he thought about it, the new adventurers were just trying their best. Then he realized that all he had to do was try his best as well, that's all there is to it.

“Hmm, just moving forward is pointless, isn’t it? But it’s not like I’ve brought Nella's equipment, so I can't do anything flashy, and my time is limited anyway.” (Allen)

Perhaps thinking that he was letting his guard down because he was muttering to himself, a one-horned rabbit rushed through the grass and charged at him, which Allen easily dodged.

The one-horned rabbit which Allen avoided came to a halt as if mowing down the grass, and it began to rush at Allen again, trying to pierce him with its sharp horns.

Since it only charges in a straight line, you can dodge its attack even if you close your eyes as long as you know where it is, so Allen grabbed its horn and stopped it as he continued thinking.

It was simply because it was a pain to avoid it over and over again.

“Yosh, let's see how far I can go during the night using scout style. I’ll avoid battles as much as I can and make sure other adventurers don't find me. For now, the goal is the 20th floor.” (Allen)

Nodding his head and deciding on a course of action, Allen threw the desperately struggling one-horned rabbit into an area where he couldn’t see any adventurers and started running.

The one-horned rabbit deftly adjusted its posture in mid-air, landed firmly on both feet, and scanned its surroundings. However, there was no human figure anywhere in its field of vision.

.

.

.

The environment of Lilac Dungeon changed every five floors. The 1st to 5th floors were grasslands, and the 6th to 10th floors were forests.

Starting from the 11th floor was the mineshaft field, which was much darker than the grasslands and forests that one had progressed through up until now.

The ground and walls were bare earth, with some passageways wide enough for five people to walk side by side with room to spare, while others so narrow that even two people could barely squeeze through.

Such a maze-like network of passageways of various sizes was the mineshaft field.

Allen was moving carefully but without slowing down through such a mineshaft field of the 15th floor.

Allen had progressed to this point with his scout-style training, but after entering the 11th floor, he had not been spotted by other adventurers and had only had one battle with a monster, when he was caught between front and back by monsters about 2 meters in height with body made of rock that appeared in the tunnel field, rock golems.

“Alright, seems good.” (Allen)

He started it on a whim, but Allen was satisfied that things were progressing as expected, and he smiled.

“That said, I’ve been here before, so that might be natural.” (Allen)

Allen realized that he was a little excited, and spoke these words as if to admonish himself.

In fact, before Allen became an employee of the Adventurers’ Guild, he often came to these mineshafts when exploring Lilac Dungeon with other adventurers as a party helper.

As the name suggests, these mineshafts have places suitable for mining here and there, and if you dig in these places with a pickaxe, you can extract various kinds of ores.

Rarely, some of them may contain rare ores such as mithril, and if you were lucky enough to find them, you could obtain a considerable amount of money. That’s why there were many adventurers who worked hard at mining while subjugating monsters.

Allen proceeded without incident and arrived at the stairs leading to the 16th floor, a place he had never been to but was familiar with, and took a deep breath to calm himself down.

In truth, based on his experience fighting in the Demon Dungeon and Dragon Dungeon, Allen was confident that there would be no problems at all even if he went to the floors beyond this.

Still, Allen's mind was stirred by the strong impression that Lilac’s 15th floor was said to be the limit for iron class adventurers, and that only a select few adventurers could advance to the 16th floor and beyond.

Actually, today was not the first time Allen had come to these stairs. He had seen it many times when he came here with other parties, and he had never been able to proceed.

It was a fateful place where he was faced with the reality that he could not advance further than an iron class adventurer.

For the sake of his younger siblings, Allen had to put safety first, and he had to suppress his desire to aim higher. This place could be said to be a symbol of that.

Allen, remembering his past self who couldn't go on adventures, took a deep breath and smiled radiantly.

“Then, shall we go? To an adventure.” (Allen)

Muttering such a thing to himself, Allen stepped towards the stairs.

With that light step, the place that had bound Allen's heart until now turned into an ordinary staircase leading to the lower floor, as if it had been a lie.

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Level Down 54

Volume 2 Chapter 12 - Unexpected Pitfall

RAW

After returning the cart to the orphanage, Allen returned home in a good mood and started cleaning the rooms. Allen's house wasn’t that big, so there couldn't be a room for each of the five siblings.

In addition to the relatively large room where the kitchen and living room were connected, there were only three small rooms; the room where Allen was currently sleeping, the room used by the boys, and the room used by the girls.

Allen getting a private room was not because he was the eldest son, but because he often came home late from work, he didn't want to disturb his younger siblings' sleep.

Allen once suggested that since he would only sleep after returning home, he could just do it in the living room, and that they could use the remaining room as they pleased, but his younger siblings unanimously rejected it.

Allen was usually very organized and relatively diligent about cleaning, so he quickly finished preparing the room where Rebecca would stay, even though it wasn’t usually used.

As expected, it was already evening so he didn’t hang the bedding to dry, but if he did it tomorrow morning, it would probably be in time for an overnight stay, Allen thought with a satisfied smile.

“Rebecca would be surprised to see the room this clean... Ah!” (Allen)

Allen involuntarily froze as he looked around the room. As Allen said, the room had indeed become clean. However, it might become a potentially fatal problem.

“Crap. What am I going to tell Rebecca?” (Allen)

Allen considered while muttering something like that.

Currently, the exterior of Allen's house remained the same as before and was in tatters, but the interior had been completely renovated by Allen using treant lumber, so the inside looked like a newly built house.

Normally, he was the only one who came and went, and he rarely had visitors, and even if he did, he rarely let them into the house, so the matter had completely slipped out of Allen's mind.

Allen searched for the best way to do this.

It would be easy to say he had renovated the inside of the house. It was originally a worn-out house with drafts coming in, so it wasn't unnatural to renovate it to make it more livable. Even the part about leaving the exterior looked the same, Allen thought he could make up a reason.

“Meaning, the problem is definitely the funding. Even if I use ordinary wood, if I renovate it this much, the material cost alone will be quite expensive, and Rebecca is a peddler, she’ll be able to tell that this is treant material. In the first place, how much would it cost to renovate this much using treant materials?” (Allen)

Allen did a quick calculation, remembering the prices of building materials sold at the lumber dealer he had gone to buy to repair his roof. Of course, there is no way treant building materials are available for the general public, so he used ordinary wood as a basis.

Allen knew a little about the price of treant building materials when sold to workshops and the like, but he had no idea how much it would cost if an individual tried to buy them from a lumber dealer.

The result he worked out was...

“Hmm, if it’s just building materials, it’s about 1 million zenny, huh. It’s surprisingly cheap... but that’s only if you look at it as Nella’s income. I haven’t even included carpenters’ wages, and if I add buying treant materials on top of that, I guess the price will skyrocket.” (Allen)

Allen paced around the room, mumbling to himself.

If it was just 1 million zenny, even the previous Allen could have paid it. Leaving aside whether or not he’d do it, all the money he had in his savings after his younger siblings left was still left untouched after all.

However, if the price jumped up several times over, he could definitely say that he wouldn’t do it. Rebecca would probably make the same decision.

“Hmm, I wonder if there’s any good idea, well, if I can come up with it that easily, I wouldn't have any troubles.” (Allen)

‘Haa─’, Allen let out a deep sigh as he looked up at the ceiling and plopped down in his chair. His old, worn-out chair would have broken if he did that, but the one made of treant took Allen's weight without even a creak.

Allen smiled a little at that, and suddenly looked at the table and chair in front of him.

“That’s right! Nick.” (Allen)

Shouting that, Allen stood up. This chair and table were things he had received when he helped Nick raise his level in Lilac Dungeon. There were also other treant furniture and plates scattered around the room that were given to him by Nick and his friends.

Ever since becoming an adventurer again, Allen had received several requests to help Nick and his carpenter friends raise their level. At those times, those carpenters made some things during breaks that Allen was half-forced to accept separate from the request reward.

Allen himself only thought it was lucky since those were made by professionals.

And after finishing raising their level and receiving the things Nick and his friends made to adjust their ability, he also brought home something else.

Lately, their level hasn't gone up that much, so Nick and his friends no longer create things for adjustment, so in exchange, Allen brought back something in large quantities, those were...

“Treant building materials. I should just pretend that I did what Nella did. It’s kinda strange, but then I’d have a valid excuse, right?” (Allen)

A path began to emerge within Allen.

It was impossible for Allen, who was not supposed to have a magic bag, to carry a large amount of treant building materials at once, as Nella did.

However, if it was the result of carrying it many times, it wouldn't be strange if Allen did it.

Fortunately, there were many people who saw Allen entering the city carrying a large amount of treant building materials. Well, he sold them all to Brandt Workshop, which Nick and his friends belonged to, so Allen didn't have any building materials on hand though.

However, the fact that Allen was transporting treant building materials should still remain in people's memories.

And Allen regularly went to Brandt Workshop to sell treant building materials left over from logging for the renovation.

He couldn’t sell hanging tree building materials, so he left them in the basement, but there wasn’t enough space in the basement to store a large amount of treant building materials that he had no way to use, so as a result, it ended up taking up space in his magic bag.

He could have just thrown it away, but Allen demonstrated his unwasteful spirit, and chose to sell it to Brandt Workshop as a way to kill two birds with one stone; solving the problem and also receiving a pretty good amount of money.

At the time, Allen never imagined that this would prove that he was bringing treant building materials on a regular basis, but now it’s convenient.

“After that, I just need to show her how much my carpentry skill has improved. Aah, come to think of it, I sold out all of the treant building materials the other day. I’m fine with buying some regular wood, but... All right, let’s go to the dungeon now. Completing the request to collect medicinal herbs at the same time might be good too.” (Allen)

Having found a solution to some extent, Allen's expression brightened, he ate a lightly prepared meal, put on his equipment, and left the house.

Allen then passed through the south gate before it closed, and slowly ran toward Lilac Dungeon.

────

(T/N: I’m having trouble with this whole chapter, a lot of vocabulary doesn't make sense here.)

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Level Down 53

Volume 2 Chapter 11 - Siblings’ Get-Together for the First Time in a While

RAW

The district surrounding the Lord's mansion in the center of Lilac City separated from the rest is where the residences of nobles holding court rank are gathered, it is the so-called noble district.

By creating such a separation, they will be able to tell immediately if a suspicious person enters, saving the guards the trouble, and in the event of an emergency, they can be contacted immediately.

Another reason for this clear separation is to avoid trouble between commoners and nobles as much as possible though.

Although it is the noble district, the closer you are to the Lord's mansion in the center, the higher the resident’s court rank and the larger the mansion, and the closer you get to the outside, the lower the resident’s court rank and the smaller the mansion.

In other words, the ones that live on the outer edge of the noble district are knights, and although their houses’ size was much larger than that of an ordinary household, it is clearly inferior to that of a large merchant.

In a corner of that outer edge, in a mansion that had been recently renovated yet is not new, but was relatively clean compared to the surrounding mansions, the figure of a man and a woman could be seen.

In its not-so-large garden was the man holding a sword with its blade resembling a thick club and was practicing with very slow movements, he was the one who had been knighted just the other day, Allen's younger brother, Eric.

He has received a court rank, and is now Eric Zem Falx.

The movement wasn't particularly strenuous, but sweat dripped from his entire body, and his clothes clung tightly to his body, emphasizing his well-trained muscles.

It was clear that the training was extremely tough contrary to what it looked like, but Eric showed no signs of resting at all.

The one looking at him from time to time as he trained and watched over him with gentle eyes was his wife, Julia.

She is a former daughter of a baron, and at first glance, with her gentle blue eyes, loosely wavy dark blond hair, and thin white slender fingers turning the pages of the book placed at her knees, the term ‘sheltered noble daughter’ seems to be appropriate for her.

However, she is actually a strong-willed woman who fell in love at first sight with Eric, who was still a commoner and just a soldier, pushed past the opposition of those around her, and even gave up her nobility to marry him.

After a while, Eric stopped moving, and noticing this, Julia put down her book and approached Eric.

“Thank you for your hard work.” (Julia)

“Yeah.” (Eric)

With an angelic smile, Julia held out a towel to Eric, and he accepted it. Eric lightly wiped the sweat running down his face with the towel, and softly smiled back at Julia.

“Thank you. I feel refreshed. I thought about this every time but, do you enjoy watching me training?” (Eric)

“Yes, very much.” (Julia)

“...I guess it’s fine then. But our house is bigger now, so housework is difficult, isn’t it? I think it's time we hire a servant.” (Eric)

“Eric, you don't like being alone with me?” (Julia)

Seeing Julia look up at him with her eyebrows furrowed in trouble, Eric panicked and quickly shook his head.

“No, I'm a former commoner after all, so having a servant feels a bit strange, but I'm worried that I might be giving you a hardship.” (Eric)

“I don't think it's a hardship if I'm doing it for you. In fact, I'm the one who is giving you hardship.” (Julia)

“I’m not having any hardship. I was the one who decided to love you." (Eric)

“Eric.” (Julia)

“Julia.” (Eric)

The two looked at each other in a sweet atmosphere, and then Eric bent down and brought his face closer to Julia as she closed her eyes.

And then, just a few centimeters before their lips meet, the sound of a knock can be heard from the front door.

Julia opened her eyelids right in front of Eric, who stopped moving with a frown on his face.

“Ara, seems like a guest. A shame.” (Julia)

Julia stuck out her tongue and laughed innocently. Then, she brought her face a little closer to Eric's and turned the distance between their lips to zero, and leaving a mischievous smile on her face, she quickly walked towards the front door.

Eric didn't move for a while, still feeling the soft touch on his lips, but when he heard a voice coming from the entrance that sounded like had heard it somewhere, he went inside the mansion to change his clothes while feeling a bad feeling in his heart.

.

.

.

Having washed himself and changed his clothes, Eric headed to the only reception room in the mansion, where he found the person he was having a bad feeling about chatting with Julia.

“Ah, Eri-nii, it's been a while. I heard you got knighted. Congratulations.” (Rebecca)

Sitting in a chair while saying that carefreely as if they were making small talk was his youngest sister, Rebecca.

Seeing Rebecca's innocent smile, Eric sat down across from her, his bad feeling growing inside him.

“Rebecca-san gave us some celebratory wine. She said she hasn’t decided on a place to stay yet, so I thought she could stay at our house today.” (Julia)

“Aah, okay.” (Eric)

Eric sent his gaze at Rebecca, thinking in his heart that ‘You planned to stay the night here from the beginning, didn’t you?’ but she returned the gaze with a tilt of her head as if she had not noticed anything.

“We have gotten some good wine, and I want to give you our hospitality, so I’m going to go out for a while.” (Julia)

“I'm very grateful for your consideration.” (Rebecca)

“No, you’re the family of my most important person after all. You’re also my sister-in-law, and more than anything, it is what I want to do.” (Julia)

“Then I will take advantage of your words. As a thank you, I'll secretly tell you about Eri-nii in the old days later.” (Rebecca)

“Oi!” (Eric)

When Rebecca said that on purpose so that he could hear it, Eric couldn't help but shout at her. However, seeing Rebecca not caring at all, and Julia leaving the room with a happy expression on her face, Eric himself understood that that future is certain. 

Ignoring Eric who let out a big sigh, Rebecca listened for a while for the sound of Julia leaving, and when she was sure that Julia had gone out, she erased the smile she had put on.

“Eri-nii, sit down.” (Rebecca)

“No, aren’t I already sitting?” (Eric)

“Not on the chair, the floor!” (Rebecca)

The force of those words that didn’t allow any refusal made Eric immediately get off the chair and sit down on the floor.

Normally, it would be strange to say such a thing to a noble, and it was indeed strange for Eric to hear it, but the habits of a family that had been together for many years were not easy to change.

While sitting in her chair, Rebecca looked down at Eric as he seemed to be shrinking his large body.

“Hey, Eri-nii. You remember your promise to me, right?” (Rebecca)

“Yes.” (Eric)

“When I was hesitating whether I should leave the city or not, Eri-nii was the one who told me to rest assured, that you would watch over Len-nii from the shadows to make sure he was happy and that he wouldn’t get involved in anything weird.” (Rebecca)

“It’s as you say.” (Eric)

Eric hung his head and became smaller and smaller at Rebecca’s words, and she let out a deep sigh.

“I know Eri-nii went through a lot of trouble. It was also written in the letter from Len-nii, so I think there were some parts that couldn't be helped. And after talking to her, I know that Julia-san is also a good person, so if you were fiercely attacked by someone like that, I think it's only natural that Eri-nii would fall.” (Rebecca)

Eric looked up, feeling a little bit saved by those words that seemed like a follow-up.

Such Eric suddenly had a finger thrust in front of him by Rebecca.

“But this and that is a different story! I came to celebrate when I found out that Len-nii became a guild employee, so why did he quit? It was supposed to be the first step to his happiness after being freed from us, yet... it’s Eri-nii’s fault!” (Rebecca)

“No, the stampede wasn't my...” (Eric)

Eric stopped there after saying that much. Because he noticed that tears were dripping down from Rebecca's eyes.

Even though the intelligent Rebecca should have known that the stampede was not Eric's fault, he could sympathize with her heart that made her want to find fault with him.

Eric stood up and hugged Rebecca tightly as she continued to cry.

“Why, why is it always Len-nii that’s struggling? Len-nii, he’s worked hard enough already. He’s done nothing wrong. And yet, why!” (Rebecca)

While patting Rebecca's head as she sobbed in his chest, Eric was thinking.

It's true that Allen had spent most of his life working hard for them, and when he was released and finally obtained the stable job as a guild employee, that job too, was lost.

If it wasn't for them, Allen would have had an easier life, and if Eric hadn't been a soldier and was on a mission to stop the stampede, Allen probably wouldn't have quit being a guild employee.

Once he thought about that far, ‘However,’ Eric thought...

“Hey, Rebecca. Since it’s you we're talking about, you've already met Aniki, right?” (Eric)

“Un.” (Rebecca)

“Did he look unhappy?” (Eric)

“Uun.” (Rebecca)

Eric felt Rebecca shake her head in his chest at his question, and his expression softened.

“Aniki has changed a bit recently. That’s why, I don't think he's unhappy even though he quit being a guild employee.” (Eric)

“Changed?” (Rebecca)

“Yeah. As for how he changed, you should go see it for yourself.” (Eric)

Eric was convinced that Allen is Nella, but he would never say that Allen has changed because of that. Even if it's toward an important family member.

After a while, Rebecca's body stopped shaking, and she pressed her face into Eric's clothes, shaking it from side to side, before pulling away.

There were no tears left on her face as she had wiped them with Eric's clothes, but her slightly red eyes didn't seem like it’ll go away for a while.

Rebecca stared into Eric’s eyes with a serious expression, and seeing that he was completely unperturbed, she suddenly relaxed.

“If it's a lie, I'll tell Julia-san that Eri-nii once wet the bed because he was scared of a ghost in a story.” (Rebecca)

“Please don't!” (Eric)

“It'll be okay. I'm sure Julia-san will still love you.” (Rebecca)

“That's not the problem.” (Eric)

It would be some time before Julia returned from shopping to the sight of the two of them messing around with each other as if the serious atmosphere from earlier had been a lie.

────

(T/N: Rebecca calls him Eri-nii, lol.)

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Level Down 52

Volume 2 Chapter 10 - Youngest Child

RAW

While feeling impressed by the orphanage's quick decision to sell the bed on the same day, prioritizing the cash needed to live a better life than a comfortable bed, Allen disassembled the bed to transport it.

“You sure are used to it.” (Matilda)

“Well, I did help with some carpentry for requests, and I've been doing house repairs for a long time, so I guess I’m decent.” (Allen)

As Allen worked without hesitation, Matilda was a little surprised and called out to him to which he replied without any concern.

Inwardly, he was quite flustered about Matilda's point, but since he was working with his head down while disassembling the bed, Matilda didn't notice that it was showing on his face a little.

In the first place, this bed was something made by Allen. The combinations and order in which they were assembled were already all in Allen's head. All he had to do was follow it backwards, so it was too easy for Allen to do now.

However, Matilda's words made Allen realize that there was no way a mere amateur could do that.

(It’d be unnatural if I lower my skill now, so I think I'll just do it carefully and take a little more time.) (Allen)

Thinking that, Allen slowed his pace a little, but he still finished disassembling the bed at a speed that was hard to believe for an amateur.

.

.

.

Allen had put the disassembled bed in a cart lent to him by the orphanage and pulled the cart to the Adventurers’ Guild employee housing where Matilda lived.

Once there, Allen took his time assembling the bed, taking care to do it slowly and carefully.

The employee housing that Matilda lives in that can be rented by guild employees is a small house that is mainly inhabited by single people.

It has a kitchen that has enough space for simple meals, in addition to two rooms large enough to be used as bedrooms.

The Adventurers’ Guild is not the only guild that provides housing for their employees.

Because this has the advantage of being able to contact all employees at once if something happens, and for the employees, they can rent rooms at much lower rents than the market rate.

Allen himself was not concerned with such things because he had his own house, so this was the first time he had ever been in such housing.

Also, the thought of entering the room of a woman living alone made him strangely nervous, and if he didn’t have the job of assembling the bed, he might have started acting suspiciously.

Somehow managing to complete the bed without any problems, ‘Would like to have some tea?’ Allen was invited by Matilda, which he declined and left her room in haste, citing that he wanted to return the cart they had borrowed.

Perhaps because she has a principle of not keeping a lot of things in the room, Matilda’s room was clean and tidy, yet Allen could feel the femininity here and there, such as the decorated flowers and the lace tablecloth. Above all, he noticed a smell that was different from his own house, and as soon as he thought that it belonged to Matilda, Allen felt a strange feeling of embarrassment.

“You don't have to come with me, you know. It's close to my house anyway.” (Allen)

“I'm the one who bought the bed after all.” (Matilda)

While having such a conversation, Allen and Matilda walked down the street. As daytime turned to evening, the two of them slowly made their way through the main street toward the orphanage, giving sidelong glances to people passing by as they shopped to prepare for dinner.

The closer they got to the orphanage, the fewer people there were, until finally they could no longer see anyone around them, that was when it happened.

“Um, Allen?” (Matilda)

“Nn?” (Allen)

Matilda called out to him in a reserved manner, and Allen nonchalantly looked at her. And when Matilda looked at him with a serious expression even as she was hesitating, Allen felt something shiver down his spine.

In a low voice that only the two of them can hear, Matilda began speaking.

“I have something I want to ask Allen...” (Matilda)

“Arree─, Len-nii is walking with a woman─!!” (???)

““Eh?”” (Allen & Matilda)

Hearing that voice interrupting Matilda's words coming from behind, the two of them turned around while raising their voices at the same time.

Ahead of their gazes was a girl who appeared to be a cheerful teenager, wearing a hooded cloak over a shirt and pants that looked easy to move around in.

Even with a body that wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call delicate, the girl was easily carrying a large backpack as she was walking towards the two of them. Her big and round brown eyes full of curiosity.

“Ah, I remember you, Matilda-san, right? The receptionist at the Adventurers' Guild.” (???)

“Eh, yes.” (Matilda)

The girl suddenly guessed her name, but even as Matilda was bewildered, not recognizing the girl at all, the girl started talking with a big smile on her face.

“Could it be, are you two in a romantic relationship? Well, saying it myself is kinda meh, but Len-nii is a good bargain, you know. He doesn't make a lot of money, but he's serious, kind, and good at taking care of others. He can do a full range of household chores like cooking and laundry, and he'll probably shower his love on the kids as well. As an ideal husband who takes care of the house...Ouch!” (???)

As the girl started promoting Allen so smoothly as if it was water running down a standing plank, Allen swung a chop at the girl's head, forcing her to stop talking.

The girl crouched down holding her head with teary eyes, and Allen let out a big sigh with a tired expression on his face as he looked down at her.

Unable to grasp the situation, Matilda looked back and forth between Allen and the girl, and asked Allen.

“Hey, this girl is...” (Matilda)

“This is my youngest sister, Rebecca.” (Allen)

As Allen said that with a frown on his face while putting one hand on her head, Rebecca, who was supposed to be crouching down with her head in her hands, ignored him and cheerfully stood up.

“Yes. I'm Rebecca, a little sister and a traveling merchant. By the way, I'm currently 18 years old, single, unmarried, and in love with work. My dream is to open my own shop in Lilac. Please patronize me.” (Rebecca)

“Eh, y-yes. Nice to meet you.” (Matilda)

Rebecca held out her hand with a broad charming smile, and Matilda, bewildered, put her hand on top of hers and shook it.

While receiving glances from the somewhat troubled Matilda, Allen smiled wryly as Rebecca had not changed at all.

“Rebecca. Leave it at that.” (Allen)

“Eeh, I want to talk more with my future sister-in-law.” (Rebecca)

“I-I’m not sister-in-law, yet...” (Matilda)

“Don't just jump to conclusions. I just went along with Matilda’s shopping today. She’s not even my lover, much less your sister-in-law.” (Allen)

At Rebecca's outlandish statement, Allen and Matilda opened their mouths at the same time, with only Matilda stopping mid-sentence.

Rebecca looked at Allen, who was smiling bitterly, and at Matilda, who had a somewhat complicated smile on her face, and then she raised the corner of her mouth just a little and beckoned Matilda over.

‘Me?’ When Matilda pointed at herself, Rebecca responded with a big nod, and when Matilda came closer to her, Rebecca put her face close to her ear.

“If you want to get Len-nii, you'll have to make a move yourself. Personally, I recommend telling him clearly that ‘I like you, please go out with me,’ like that.” (Rebecca)

“Eh!?” (Matilda)

“If you say it in a roundabout way, he will interpret strangely and it probably won’t progress. It might be because he avoided getting involved in love or anything like that up until now, but his self-evaluation is extremely low, you see.” (Rebecca)

When she heard the words whispered in her ear, Matilda's face turned bright red.

Seeing that, Allen guessed that ‘Rebecca is probably saying something unnecessary again,’ and approached the two in order to stop her.

Allen swung another chop at Rebecca's head, but just before it hit her, Rebecca turned aside and brilliantly dodged it.

“As always, you're good at just dodging.” (Allen)

“Evasion ability is essential for a peddler after all. Both physically and mentally.” (Rebecca)

“I feel like I'd want to hear more about that statement, but I guess I’ll do it later.” (Allen)

Allen looked away from Rebecca, who was proudly puffing out her chest, and turned towards Matilda, who was looking at him with somewhat timid eyes, and smiled wryly.

“Matilda, you should think that more than half of what this girl says is a joke. Especially when it comes to me, it's 80% a joke.” (Allen)

“Eeh, nothing but the truth always comes out of my mouth. Outside of business negotiations that is.” (Rebecca)

“No, you shouldn't do that in business negotiations.” (Allen)

Rebecca quickly denied Allen's statement, to which he responded with a tsukkomi.

Matilda looked at the coordinated exchange that only siblings who have lived together for many years can make, and then smiled softly.

“Rebecca-san. Thank you. I will think about it myself.” (Matilda)

“No, no, you're welcome. This is an investment in someone who is likely to promote my shop when it opens.” (Rebecca)

“I'm looking forward to it. Then, Allen, I'm sure you have a lot to talk about with your sister, so I'll excuse myself here.” (Matilda)

“I'm sorry about all this. See you at the Guild.” (Allen)

“Yes.” (Matilda)

The two watched Matilda's back as she left for a while. Then, as Allen pulled the cart and started walking towards the orphanage again, Rebecca shrewdly rode in it.

“She sure is a good person, Matilda-san.” (Rebecca)

“Ou. She's beautiful, good at her job, and has a lot of trust from people around her. I wonder why she's not married.” (Allen)

In answer to Allen's response, Rebecca laid down on the cart and secretly sighed. Various words came to her mind, but Rebecca never said them.

Because she knew that if a third party interferes unnecessarily, things tend to get complicated, and that's the same in love and business negotiations.

“Ah, now that I think about it, Len-nii, I heard you become a guild employee. Congratulations.” (Rebecca)

“Aah, I guess I did become one. I’ve already quit though.” (Allen)

“With this, you can live the stable life you've always... ha! You quit? Why!?” (Rebecca)

Rebecca jumped up and leaned forward so much that she was almost thrown off the cart, so Allen supported her with one hand to keep her from falling and then, with a troubled look on his face, he pushed the cart with the other hand and continued walking.

“I don't know if you know this, but there was an attempted stampede in the Dragon Dungeon recently. Something happened at the Guild at the time, so I quit my job as a guild employee and went back to being an adventurer.” (Allen)

“Why... no... then.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca began muttering to herself in a low voice, and Allen continued walking while supporting her.

This state of Rebecca’s is called ‘god state’ within the family, and if you touch Rebecca before she has finished organizing her thoughts, you will suffer severe damage. The so-called divine punishment.

After a while, when they almost reached the orphanage, Rebecca's god state ended and Allen let out a sigh of relief. Because he had been thinking that he would have to take a detour if she didn't get back by the time they got there.

“Rebecca, are you okay?” (Allen)

“Un. I'm going to Eri-nii's for a bit. I think I'll stay there for the night.” (Rebecca)

“Understood. Aah, Eric's hard work has paid off and he has finally earned a knighthood. Congratulate him, will you?” (Allen)

“I will. Ah, that's right. I'll be staying at Len-nii's place tomorrow, okay?” (Rebecca)

“Ou, I'll have a bed ready for you by the end of the day.” (Allen)

“I’m counting on you.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca put her large backpack back on her back and jumped out of the cart, waved and left as Allen saw her off.

After a while, Allen realized that he had forgotten to tell him that Eric had changed where he lived since he had been knighted, but by that time, Rebecca could no longer be seen.

“Well, if it’s Rebecca, she can probably take care of it herself.” (Allen)

Thinking of Rebecca, who was the most resourceful of his family, Allen muttered these words as he pulled the cart and entered the orphanage.

────

(T/N: ‘smiled wryly’ and ‘smiled bitterly’ is actually the same word; 苦笑い - bitter smile; wry smile; forced smile; strained laugh.)

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Level Down 51

Volume 2 Chapter 9 - Outing with Matilda

RAW

Shortly after 1 o'clock in the afternoon, Allen was waiting at the back entrance of the Adventurers’ Guild where guild employees go in and out, and Matilda finally came.

Instead of the uniform worn by the Adventurers’ Guild’s internal workers such as receptionists, Matilda was wearing a calm brown pleated dress with a cute waist ribbon and a small bag slung over her shoulder, and Allen couldn't help but gasp at the sight of her casual outfit.

“I made you wait. I'm sorry, Allen. ...Allen?” (Matilda)

“O-ou.” (Allen)

“Isn’t that where you’re supposed to say ‘Don’t worry, I just arrived here’? Well, this one is so like Allen though.” (Matilda)

As Matilda said that and laughed, Allen smiled back while getting panicked inside.

(Crap. Even though I was used to seeing her in the Guild, Matilda looks ridiculously beautiful. Come to think of it, how long has it been since I've seen Matilda in casual clothes?) (Allen)

Allen thought about that, trying to escape reality, but even when he searched his memory, he couldn't immediately recall it.

Seeing Allen like that, Matilda tilted her head to the side with a little bit of mysterious look on her face, but she quickly regained her composure and started walking while calling out to Allen.

“Then let's go. I think it's probably open at this time.” (Matilda)

“Understood. Wait, where are we going?” (Allen)

“A restaurant I recommend. It's popular among the female employees of the Adventurers’ Guild, so I can guarantee the taste.” (Matilda)

“Heeh, I guess that kind of talk would happen when you work indoors.” (Allen)

As Matilda started walking, Allen walked next to her. When Matilda then nonchalantly brought up some Guild talk, Allen, who had been out of sorts, regained some of his composure.

The two of them continued to walk while they got excited talking about common topics such as about the Adventurers’ Guild and badmouthing the Guildmaster, and then they stepped into a shop with a calm atmosphere just one street down from the main street.

Allen was a little daunted by the chic structure of the restaurant, which was clearly of a different rank than ‘the’ diner he normally frequents.

However, Matilda took a seat without seemingly bothered about anything, so Allen covered up his feelings somehow and sat down across from her, pretending to be natural.

“As promised, you can order whatever you want. I recommend the daily lunch special.” (Matilda)

“Then, I’ll go with that.” (Allen)

“Are you sure? There should be some pretty expensive menu items here. Look, they even have a charge boar steak, you know?” (Matilda)

In contrast to Allen, whose cheeks twitched when he glanced at the menu and saw that the prices were more than twice those of the diner he usually went to, Matilda was laughing as she spoke to Allen in a teasing tone.

In the end, the two ordered the daily lunch special, and they were delivered shortly after.

Soup, salad, bread, and the main course, meat, were arranged in a well-balanced manner, and from the looks of it, Allen could tell it was going to be delicious, which made Allen's throat growl.

“Ah, you can get more bread for free. Well, I said that, but there’s going to be a limit though.” (Matilda)

“Understood, I'll take two or three.” (Allen)

“I guess the option of not getting more doesn’t exist for you. Well, that's fine. Let's eat.” (Matilda)

After a short prayer before the meal, the two began eating. At first, Allen was a little overwhelmed by the atmosphere, but once he felt how delicious the food was, he got used to it, and was able to naturally exchange conversation.

It was obvious to those around them what kind of relationship those two have from the way they happily exchange conversation, but Allen was completely unaware of it.

That was due to his prejudice that there was no way he could be the target of a beautiful woman like Matilda in the first place.

“Heeh, so the level-up trap has calmed down a bit.” (Allen)

“Yes. We're still fully reserved, but there isn't as much enthusiasm as there was in the beginning. To begin with, he spread it too much all at once, that greedy Guildmaster.” (Matilda)

Saying that, Matilda stabbed the fork into her meat as Allen pacified her.

Allen knew that Matilda was so busy at one point that she had dark circles in her eyes, so he could fully understand her feelings.

“The employee in charge of monitoring and explaining is saying that it's easier now because there are so many repeaters, you know.” (Matilda)

“Aah, that sure is a tough job. It’s easier to take them to the dungeon and then stomp on slimes.” (Allen)

Allen said that with a weary look on his face.

What Allen used to do when he was a guild employee was to take people who’s going to use the level-up trap to the dungeon.

After that, the guild employee who was on standby for monitoring and explaining duties will take over, but from Allen's point of view, the job they’re doing that is explaining the way to do it every time and intently monitoring them to make sure nothing strange happens is like a penance.

“Unlike on the road where you take them into the dungeon, there’s only slime inside the dungeon, so it’s safe, and since the work is still technically inside the dungeon, they get hazard pay and a higher salary, so it’s popular with some people.” (Matilda)

“Is that how it is? By the way, what happened to my successor?” (Allen)

“It seems that Joseph-san is going to retire from being an adventurer and is applying, so they are making arrangements.” (Matilda)

“Heeh, Joseph the Greatshield is finally retiring, huh. Well, that old man that’s like a walking seriousness might be the right guy for the job.” (Allen)

Allen brought the food to his mouth, feeling a little relieved inside.

Allen was concerned about the guild employee who would manage the Slime Dungeon as his successor.

It was a place that a normal adventurer would never go to, and Allen could definitely say from experience that unless one was a skilled scout, they wouldn't be able to find that hidden passage.

However, he thought that it might be dangerous if his successor was a former adventurer scout.

That said, Allen thought that that possibility was low. It's true that being an employee of the Adventurers’ Guild could be said to be a stable job, but a scout who's capable enough to discover that hidden passage would be in great demand in other jobs that have much higher salary than being a guild employee, such as being a guard at a large mansion.

With their keen eye for alertness, detection, and surveillance, scouts were the best security personnel, and some even go on to work in noble houses, depending on their skills.

As for Joseph the Greatshield who came up when they talked about his successor, he was a 46-year-old iron class adventurer who wields a greatshield. He was the oldest human adventurer in Lilac City, and Allen had also been in his care many times.

His personality was serious and gentle, but was a bit clumsy, and was someone who focused all his attention on his job of protecting his friends using a large shield, and while he did it perfectly, he was not good at anything else, a typical professional adventurer.

Well, there were quite a few adventurers like that, and adventurers like Allen who could do everything averagely were the ones in the minority though.

(It should be fine if it’s old man Joseph. His job is to defeat slimes, so he might not even go to the boss room.) (Allen)

As he was thinking of that, Allen swallowed the bread he had been chewing, enjoyed the aftertaste, and then, feeling a little hesitant, asked the clerk for a second helping of bread.

.

.

.

After finishing the meal and expressing his gratitude for her treat, Allen was walking towards their destination with Matilda.

Without hesitation, Matilda headed west in the direction of Allen's house, and just as the slum was about to come into view, Matilda stopped.

Right in front of a place that was very familiar to Allen.

“The orphanage?” (Allen)

“That's right. Ah, just in time. Excuse me, I’m Matilda who bought the bed yesterday. I came to pick it up.” (Matilda)

When Matilda spotted a man coming out of the orphanage, she immediately called out to him. As Allen watched the man who had been called out to, the director of this orphanage, approaching them, he became vaguely aware of what was to come.

“Ah, so it's Matilda-san. I've been waiting for you. Oh, I believe that person over there is Allen-san. Thank you for repairing the orphanage before.” (Director)

“It’s been a while, Director.” (Allen)

“You all have been a big help to us. Since that time, Nick-san has been caring for us too, he comes over to check on us from time to time.” (Director)

“So that’s how it is.” (Allen)

Seeing Allen being dragged along by the Director's polite tone, Matilda secretly smiled.

As for Allen, he couldn't help but imagine his best friend doing this without saying a word to him, bringing toys for the children while saying ‘I’m just passing by, that’s all,’ and his face almost broke into a smile.

“Ah, that's right, the bed. It's ready inside.” (Director)

Saying that, the Director led the two into the orphanage, and when they arrived, they saw a bed that looked very familiar to Allen.

That's no wonder, after all this was something Allen had made to put Iseria, who had passed out, to sleep in, and had donated it to the orphanage the day before yesterday as Nella.

(No, I did tell them that they can do what they like with it. Aah, but I guess it’s better for the orphanage if they sell it instead of using it themselves?) (Allen)

Allen had never thought that Matilda would buy the bed he had made and that he would have to carry it himself, and he smiled bitterly at the thought.

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