“……Have I picked up most of them now? The monsters have started respawning, so that was pretty close.”

Since I shot them straight with arrows, the relics are mostly scattered along that line from the edges.

It takes some effort to pick them up and place them down again, but at least I don’t have to move around too much gathering them. Somehow, I managed to finish before getting surrounded by the respawning monsters.

Looking down from above, I can see that the newly spawned monsters have merged with the ones that escaped the initial lure and are now staring in my direction.

Are they communicating with each other somehow?

Even though I haven’t done anything to the newly spawned ones yet, they’re already directing open hostility toward me.

“Sorry to disappoint you when you’re all fired up, but… I’ll be making my retreat.”

With those words, I placed two extended fingers against my temple and gave a quick flick downward.

There’s no need to act cool in front of monsters, but leaving just like this feels like running away.

Besides, this keeps my motivation up for next time. That’s important too.

And with that—time to withdraw from the mid-layer!

◇

I’m making great progress flying toward the shallows of the upper layer.

The adventurers have only pushed forward to the very entrance of the upper layer, so the monsters along my return path from the mid-layer are still intact.

But I’ve earned enough today, and I just want to head back, so I’m skipping them.

The people who were hunting closer to the entrance must have already started heading back, meaning the upper layer should be empty now… Oh?

Just as I was about to reach the shallows, Akame and the others were fixated on something up ahead in the passage.

“Looks like someone’s hunting there…”

I focused my senses in that direction and picked up about ten presences.

They were all quite strong, completely overwhelming the monsters in the hall.

Their coordination was solid—not something from a makeshift team. They must be a group that regularly works together.

“Just in case, you guys should hide.”

A party of around ten people…?

I couldn’t recall anyone like that off the top of my head, but waiting here until they finished and returned wasn’t an option.

To avoid interfering with them—and to make sure they didn’t mistake me for a monster—I tucked the snakes under my clothes before sneaking out of the passage and into the hall.

“…Oh, it’s just our own guys.”

I had been nervous about who they might be, but it turned out to be a mixed party from the 1st and 2nd squads.

Spears, swords, and shields—they had properly divided their roles and were hunting without any openings.

Judging by the traces left behind, they had been gradually clearing the monsters from the edges of the hall toward the center.

It seemed they had noticed me as well, raising their weapons slightly in a casual greeting.

Guess I worried for nothing.

Well… I shouldn’t get in their way. I’ll take a detour.

I raised a hand in response to them and continued straight through the hall, heading for the shallows.

I could have chatted with them a bit, but today’s hunting method had left me covered in dust.

I just wanted to get back and take a bath.

I’d ask about their dungeon impressions some other time.

◇

When I returned from the dungeon and went to Seriana’s room, I found that the bath had already been prepared.

Since I’d mentioned what kind of hunting I’d be doing today, she must have made arrangements in advance.

Taking her up on the offer, I got in and washed off.

And now, I was sprawled out on the sofa while Elena tended to my hair.

She used magic to dry it as usual, but the hairbrush was different.

It was a birthday gift she had arranged for me—a brush made from the hair of wild horses that lived in the western part of the kingdom.

Apparently, it was quite popular among noblewomen. Both Elena and Seriana used the same type regularly.

Incidentally, Teresa used a different kind of brush.

Apparently, she adjusted based on hair type.

The pursuit of beauty was truly complex…

“You earned quite a bit. Is it different when the dungeon isn’t crowded?”

Seriana, watching me while I got my hair taken care of, looked at the sacred coins piled on the table as she spoke.

“Yeah. It’s not just that there were fewer people—having all that space to myself made a big difference too.”

I had earned six sacred coins today.

It had been a while since I made that much.

Of course, since the dungeon had officially formed, I had to offer a portion to Seriana, so I couldn’t keep everything…

Still, dungeons made for easy earnings.

Outside, you had to deal with disposing of corpses and all sorts of other issues.

I wasn’t particularly interested in making money, so it didn’t suit me as much.

If I could be picky, I’d love it if weak monsters just kept endlessly spawning… but that was probably too much to ask for.

“But solo exploration is still tiring. I’m going to take it easy for a while.”

That hunting style was efficient, but it involved luring huge groups of monsters and then facing them head-on.

Physically, it wasn’t too exhausting, but mentally, it was draining.

After a bath and some rest, I had lost all motivation to do anything else…

“I’ve never seen you fight in person, but I hear your methods are quite unusual. Make sure to stay safe and not overdo it. …Alright, all done. Seria-sama, how should I style his hair?”

“Let’s see… Tie it up high on the right side. Use that white ribbon.”

“Understood.”

After finishing my hair care, Elena waited for Seriana’s instructions.

It was my hair, so why didn’t she ask me…?

How strange.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind Cloak】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】・19 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・30 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・9 cards