Before further reinforcements arrived, I hurriedly worked on disposing of the monster corpses. At that moment, I felt a strange sensation in my left hand.

I was holding something solid.

“…? …Huh?”

When I looked at it, I realized it was a holy coin.

But why?

I was merely handling the disposal of corpses. No, I wasn’t even directly involved—I had Akame and the others doing the work. There shouldn’t be any way for me to obtain a holy coin… So what could this mean?

“Hm?”

When I glanced over, I noticed Teresa and the others, who were also working on the disposal, had stopped moving. They seemed to be looking at their hands… and glancing around nervously.

Could it be that they experienced the same thing?

Though I was curious, I decided to finish the task at hand first. I left the monsters’ detection to the snakes, but I still couldn’t shake the fear of the unknown.

◇

After ensuring there were no more monster corpses in the area, I approached Teresa and the others. They had also finished their work. Though the surroundings were littered with relics, we had to leave them behind for now. More pressing matters awaited.

“Good work. We’re done here too. That said, I found a single holy coin over there. What about you all?”

In response, they either nodded or held up a coin to show me.

So, they all received one as well. It must have happened at the same time.

“It’s intriguing, but let’s regroup first. The battle seems to be over, and we need to freeze the remains and store them in your 【Hideout】, right?”

Fiora clapped her hands and proposed.

“Indeed. Even though there’s a lull now, there’s no telling when another attack might come…”

Teresa agreed.

“That’s true.”

I nodded in agreement.

Although there were many questions, this was a dungeon. We needed to focus on the tasks here before pursuing answers.

“Are we moving?”

Luban, who had been standing guard nearby, approached. Usually, I handled the monitoring, but I had stopped due to the boss ape earlier. It seemed he had taken over in my stead… Much appreciated.

“Yes, let’s go.”

Remaining vigilant of our surroundings, we hurried toward Alec and the others. Alec noticed us almost immediately and raised his hand in greeting.

“Hey. Is everything all right over there?”

“Yeah, all sorted. You were the shield, right? Any injuries?”

Luban casually exchanged words with Alec. Judging by his appearance, he seemed unscathed and had apparently managed a flawless performance. While the matchup didn’t seem unfavorable, it was surprising how easily they won—even avoiding destroying the core.

Fiora had already joined Zighart and was helping with freezing the dismembered remains of the boss ape.

…Are we really going to store that in the 【Hideout】?

Just imagining it made me a bit uneasy. August approached as well, looking uninjured.

“Good work. Did the captain deliver the finishing blow?”

Glancing at the dismembered remains of the boss ape, I asked how they managed it. I had seen him train and give commands, but this was my first time seeing him fight directly. While I knew he was strong—Liesel trusted him as her bodyguard—I hadn’t realized just how capable he was.

More than anything, wasn’t wielding a glowing blade incredibly cool? Alec had his shield, Elena wielded her dagger like a whip, Teresa was fairly standard, but Zighart, Fiora, and I all gave off more of a boss-monster vibe visually.

“Sera diverted its attention, and Alec and Zighart provided support. My blessing requires a bit of time to reach its full potential, after all…”

Though August downplayed his role, mentioning the “maximum power” of his blessing suggested it was likely a charge-type ability.

There were many things I wanted to ask, but it would have been bad manners. Speculating was fun enough.

“Sera, help over here!”

As I chatted with August, Zighart called me over after finishing the freezing process.

“Got it!”

I responded and headed over.

◇

The remains of the boss ape had been divided into six parts: the head, limbs, and torso. The head and limbs were frozen and packed into prepared wooden crates. Thankfully, the boxes, brought just in case, were the right size.

These crates were then taken to a storage room, frozen further with magic, and left there.

The problem lay with the torso.

Even after dismemberment, the torso measured over two meters in height and nearly the same in width. It was carefully wrapped and propped up against the hallway’s fabric-covered walls. Further cutting would have been ideal, but if the core was accidentally destroyed in the dungeon, the remains could disappear entirely.

Since the monster was a unique dungeon creature, there might be exceptions, but the risk was too high to test.

While trying to move the torso…

“Lower it a bit more! It’s hitting the frame!”

“That’s tough—it’s dragging at the bottom!”

“Forget it! Freeze the floor and slide it in—it’ll be easier than lifting it!”

The three who knew the intricacies of the 【Hideout】 worked like professional movers, doing their best to manage.

“Damn it… We’re short-handed. Sera, grab August too!”

Zighart asked me to call for August’s help.

“He already refused earlier. Good luck, you three!”

August was keeping watch nearby, saying that leaving the 【Storage】 in its current state suited his needs better. While his claim wasn’t false, it seemed he simply didn’t want to help.

Well, I’d leave it to the three of them. It was rare to see them so desperate.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sera・【Hideout】+1 【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】・【Floating Orb】【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy Eye】【Dragon Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Snake Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】・60 cards
Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・28 cards
Elena・【】・【Green Fang】・1 card
Alec・【Heavy Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・2 cards