We wrapped up our activities in the dungeon and decided to head back.

If we were just returning, we could use the 【Floating Orb】 to ignore the monsters along the way. However, for the past few days, Sera had been assigned to scouting and support, leaving her with little opportunity to hunt.

From what she had told us about her usual hunting style, in large chambers, she would use the poison of 【Purple Wings】 to paralyze enemies before finishing them off.

Since that method took too much time, we decided to handle the monsters in the large chambers as a group, while leaving the ones in the corridors entirely to Sera.

Sera skillfully manipulated multiple Blessed Items and coordinated with the serpents, efficiently eliminating the corridor monsters.

She used magic that reduced its duration in exchange for maximizing brightness, blinding entire hordes of monsters and cutting them down with ease—it was quite a sight to watch. However, I didn’t get to see her use 【Danrem’s Thread】 for a mass hunt.

If she wanted to, she could continuously harass and lure enemies from above to gather them in one place. But that method took time, and since we were all here today, it wasn’t necessary.

Even without explicit instructions, she understood the situation and adjusted her approach. Still, as we approached the last corridor before the chamber connected to the shallows, she seemed to have set up a perfect formation for a mass hunt.

She glanced at us waiting at the entrance of the corridor, mimicked the motion of drawing a bow, and upon my nod, immediately activated 【Danrem’s Thread】.

Supporting the massive bow that materialized from the air through multiple Blessed Items, she assumed a firing stance and—

“Here we go—!”

With that peculiar battle cry, she loosed an arrow.

It was the same arrow of light I had once seen at the training grounds.

The glowing arrow gouged into the ground as it pierced through the group of monsters.

Even if she couldn’t fire in rapid succession, the sheer power of that long-range attack was overwhelming.

The monsters were obscured by the rising dust, but from that single shot, it was clear that everything in the corridor had been wiped out.

“…Looks like a Holy Coin dropped.”

Elena, who stood beside me, spoke while stifling a laugh.

Well… with Sera hopping around on her 【Floating Orb】 in excitement, it was obvious.

“That took out all the corridor monsters. Impressive.”

Not just this fight—eliminating such a large number of monsters in a confined corridor in such a short time was remarkable.

It made sense why she was able to collect Holy Coins at that pace, even considering Sera’s limitations.

“All done!”

Sera beamed as she approached, proudly holding up the Holy Coin for us to see.

…For a moment, I pictured a hunting dog carrying its prey back, but she lacked the ferocity to truly fit that image.

“Good work. I’m starting to get a better understanding of how you usually hunt.”

“That’s nothing compared to what I do in the middle layers! Ow!?”

Sera puffed out her chest proudly as she spoke.

Her middle-layer hunting strategy involved luring large groups of monsters, maneuvering them into a straight line, and then wiping them out all at once.

Judging by how she had been moving these past few days, it didn’t seem overly dangerous. Besides, she wasn’t the type to let her guard down.

Still, just in case, I flicked her lightly on the nose.

“Seems like we’re ready. Let’s move on.”

Turning my gaze back to the corridor, I saw that Elena and the others had finished clearing the dust with wind magic.

There were fewer than 30 monsters in the chamber ahead.

Sera’s arrows wouldn’t be an option, but we could still clear them out in about 20 minutes.

Once we reached the shallows, we could simply ride the 【Floating Orb】 and 【Small Orb】 straight to the surface.

◇

That night, I took Teresa and headed to Liesel’s room.

I rarely came here, but it seemed like the attic guards were still keeping watch as always.

“I wonder if they get cold up there?”

Since the attic doubled as a storage area, it should have at least basic climate control.

But the guards’ quarters were just a partitioned-off section of the attic, so I wasn’t sure if it had any heating at all.

They couldn’t exactly use fire above the room of someone they were guarding. I wondered how they managed to stay warm while working.

“It’s their duty, after all. In winter, they shorten shift rotations and wear extra layers to stay warm.”

Teresa, having overheard my musings, answered casually.

It seemed they had their own ways to endure it, but it still didn’t sound like a comfortable post.

Well, that was something August could handle.

“I see… sounds tough. I appreciate their effort.”

I responded to Teresa before addressing the guard stationed in front of the room.

He gave a brief bow and immediately opened the door.

Inside, only Liesel, Carlos, and Rose were present.

I couldn’t exactly criticize him, but Liesel didn’t like having too many people around in private either.

It wasn’t an issue, but he could at least train a few retainers from his domain.

“Oh? Sera isn’t with you?”

Liesel looked surprised to see us without her.

Even though it was nighttime, it wasn’t so late that her absence would be unusual. But since she had mentioned coming here, it must have been unexpected for her not to show up.

“She planned to, but she fell asleep. I tried waking her, but she wouldn’t budge, so I left her.”

After several days of hunting with a different style than usual, she must have been exhausted.

If I really insisted, I could have woken her, but there were things we could discuss better without her.

As I recalled that, I noticed Liesel smiling at me.

What was so amusing?

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garment】・【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】【Red Sword】・19 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・34 cards

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

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