ALL NOVEL Chapter 128
128. Because It Would Take Away Their Happiness
――
You’ve reached level 50.
――
Level up. Finally, 50. It feels like I’ve surpassed a major milestone.
As I indulge in a brief moment of reflection, I glance over at Laura, who is staring at us with a serious expression.
“…First, I need to apologize.”
Laura, saying something unexpected, bows her head to us.
“As you said, I underestimated you. I thought I had accepted you as comrades, but—I certainly believed I could solve everything on my own.”
Laura lifts her head. Her gaze is sharp again—or rather, earnest as she looks at us.
“But I need to change my perception. From here on, the floor bosses will only get stronger. I need your strength. …No, that’s not right. I want you to fight alongside me.”
“Of course. We’re comrades, after all.”
I extend my hand to offer a handshake to Laura. She looks at it for a few seconds, then reaches out—
And places her hand on mine with a gentle pat.
…This isn’t a handshake. It’s a ‘paw.’ She definitely misunderstood something.
After performing a flawless ‘paw,’ Laura walks towards the stairs leading to the 31st floor, not mentioning it at all.
“…I think I understand why my sister is fond of you.”
As she leaves, I catch Laura muttering under her breath.
Laura is the middle of the three sisters. So, when she says “sister,” she’s referring to Sierra.
“Did Sierra tell you anything?”
“Not directly. But I’ve heard from Fran. She says you’re on good terms.”
There was a time when Sierra, Fran, and the four of us had dinner together, but for some reason, Laura wasn’t there.
We had theorized that something was going on between Laura and Sierra. Now’s the time to ask.
“Hey, Laura. Why don’t you meet Sierra directly? Why do you get information through Fran? Did something happen?”
“…You could say something happened, but you could also say nothing happened.”
Her response was incredibly vague. It’s typical of her, but it only makes me more curious.
“…Because if I’m around, it would take away their happiness.”
Laura’s face, as she said this, looked somewhat melancholic, suggesting there was a reason behind it.
“What do you mean by that…”
“The chat ends here. The monsters will get stronger from the 31st floor. Stay on your guard.”
Laura quickly cut off the conversation, as if to say there was nothing more to discuss, and descended the stairs ahead of us.
There’s definitely something between Laura and Sierra. The cause is likely tied to what Laura meant by ‘taking away their happiness.’
I want to know what that is… but as long as Laura doesn’t talk, there’s no way to find out.
Once this dungeon exploration is over, I’ll ask Sierra about it. For now, we need to focus on the enemies in front of us.
We followed Laura and headed to the 31st floor.
We found the stairs leading to the 35th floor about an hour later.
The monsters got stronger with each floor, and even Laura showed slight signs of fatigue.
However, her reputation as the strongest in the raid group isn’t just for show. Laura continued to mow down the monsters at a faster pace than us, showing no signs of weakening.
“Next is the 35th floor. The floor boss is a giant ape monster called ‘Mashira.’ Its attack power is formidable, but what stands out is its exceptional speed. I’ll hold it off, so you two focus on dealing damage.”
Raize and I nodded at Laura’s suggestion. After confirming this, Laura descended the stairs to the 35th floor.
“Ukyyaaaaaaa!!”
As soon as we descended, the giant ape, just as described, screamed at us. We’re already used to this kind of greeting.
Mashira, with fur as red as a ripe persimmon, charged at us with rodent-like speed after rising up on all fours.
“――Fast!”
However, Laura moved even faster, stepping in front of us. As she clashed her large claws with its sword, she glanced back at us.
“Arx! Raize! I’m counting on you!”
As if waiting for that cue, Raize and I swiftly prepared our attacks. I charged forward, while Raize rapidly deployed magic circles.
Just as Mashira roared loudly, Laura was knocked back, retreating from the impact. Even she could only buy so much time against Mashira.
But the time she bought was enough. We were already prepared to attack.
“I’ll incinerate you!”
Fireballs generated from the magic circles behind Raize flew toward Mashira. Each time they struck its red fur, small explosions erupted.
When about ten fireballs hit, one of them exploded violently on Mashira’s face. Mashira clutched its eyes, letting out an ear-splitting scream.
“
Mashira, having taken the full brunt of the attack, was now wide open as I closed in.
I drove my sword, clad in flame and lightning, into Mashira’s torso, piercing straight through its heart.
Mashira collapsed onto its back, lifeless. I pulled my sword from its heart and signaled victory to the two watching from afar.
With Mashira defeated, the only formidable enemy left was the floor boss on the 40th floor. So far, we’ve progressed without any major trouble.
――We can do this! At this rate, we should be able to expose Gerda’s crimes!
As I descended from Mashira’s body and moved toward the others, I noticed something.
My sword, Scarlet Blossom, was faintly glowing. It emitted a gentle, firefly-like light, which gradually faded. I’ve never seen anything like this before.
“What’s wrong, Arx?”
“――No, it’s nothing.”
While I was engrossed in observing the sword, the others had already walked up to me.
I thought about bringing it up, but I figured it was probably just the lingering effect of the flames from the battle. I convinced myself of that.