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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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I looked at Elisa upon hearing this new information.
Seeing Elisa trembling as she watched my reaction, I became certain that she had hidden from me the fact that this assignment was actually a group project.
“You said it’s a group assignment. Is that true?”
“Yes… it is. The Dungeon Studies assignment is basically a group project! Even in the easiest dungeon, unexpected situations can occur! Ohohoho!”
She seemed scared when she saw my face just now.
But I was inwardly impressed by how quickly she regained her original expression, perhaps due to her noble pride.
Was this what it meant to be a noble, to be able to manage one’s expressions so easily?
“Who is that gentleman with you? May I ask for an introduction?”
In response to the noble-like female student’s question, I answered with a mix of truth and lies.
“Johann Quartz. I’m a knight. And a former adventurer. I came to help Elisa with her assignment at her request.”
“You’re a knight…?”
A dubious gaze met mine.
The female student quickly averted her eyes, but she still seemed unable to completely abandon her suspicion.
“Will this convince you?”
I showed her the pendant proving my knighthood from inside my clothes.
Only then did the unnamed female student’s suspicious gaze disappear.
“It’s a relief that you’re a knight. I thought Miss Elisa had unknowingly hired some violent adventurer from a tavern…”
I do look quite rough.
I remained calm as it was a fact I already acknowledged.
Really.
By the way, at first I thought she was a typical annoying noble-born female student, but feeling her genuine concern for Elisa in her tone of speech gave me a strange feeling.
Despite her somewhat exaggerated way of speaking, she seemed to be a good person at heart.
The female student apologized to me with a polite gesture, different from before.
“I apologize for my rudeness.”
“It’s fine. I’m used to being misunderstood.”
“I was so surprised that Miss Elisa had brought someone with her that I unknowingly became rude…”
It was frustratingly understandable.
Elisa’s seemingly endless outsider quality appeared to be well-known among the students.
Of course, they would know since they took classes together.
“Miss Elisa.”
“Y-yes?”
Elisa looked at the unnamed female student while shrinking back like a student who had suffered school violence.
The female student spoke with a stern voice that contrasted with her gentle smile.
“It’s not good to try to do a group assignment alone. You need to develop your social skills. Do you understand?”
“B-but, o-other people don’t like me-”
“If you had just told me, I would have included you in my group. Do you know how surprised I was when I found out so late?”
“Ah, well-”
“Making excuses is not a good habit, Miss Elisa. How long are you going to keep doing this? Last time I-”
“That’s enough for now. Your friends are waiting, aren’t they?”
I spoke up, glancing at the group of students waiting behind the female student.
Hearing my words, the female student looked up at me with an expression of realizing her mistake and opened her mouth.
“Ah, I got too excited. I’ll apologize once more. Well then, I’ll be going as my group is waiting. I hope you have a good exploration, Miss Elisa! And Sir Johann, please take care of Miss Elisa so she can complete her assignment safely!”
The unnamed female student soon disappeared into the crowd.
“Whoever she is, she’s quite diligent.”
“Can’t deny that.”
“M-Miss Martina is… v-very popular because she takes good care of people…”
She’s quite meddlesome… that was an appropriate assessment.
Just from her way of speaking, it was clear she was the type to take care of those around her.
But even with someone like that around, Elisa’s asocial nature couldn’t be broken through.
Well, one person’s care alone wouldn’t change others’ perceptions.
Anyway, that was not what was important right now.
“Elisa. I think we need to have a talk.”
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I carefully organized in my head Elisa’s explanation, which came out like a buffering YouTube video with a weak signal.
“…So, there are many people in your department who don’t like you, and you’re isolated because you can’t speak to them on your own. For this assignment, everyone was reluctant to include you in their group, so you had no choice but to do it alone. Is that right?”
“P-people look at me with s-scary eyes… and if th-they find out…”
“Ugh, how frustrating.”
Sif accurately expressed exactly how I felt.
At this rate, she might be accused of being a witch without doing anything.
Not only did she emit a gloomy atmosphere, but her personality was the epitome of gloominess itself.
How should we deal with this female student who was the perfect example of a… no, an antisocial person?
But it was not an area I could jump in and solve.
I was not a fellow student, just a workplace colleague.
It might be more helpful to attach Millia to her to help improve her communication skills even a little.
Millia had the social skills to quickly become friends and chat with even passing students.
…Sigh, let’s think about it after we explore the dungeon first.
We’ve already delayed more than expected.
“Elisa. Sif. Let’s finish the assignment first and then think about this issue.”
“Okay. So where are we going?”
Sif asked, quickly picking up on my words.
I recalled the dungeons in this area in response to her question.
I couldn’t remember all of them, but there should be a few more that no one had touched yet.
“Follow me. There’s a dungeon that no one knows about. Exploring an undiscovered dungeon should get you a good grade.”
“If it’s an undiscovered dungeon, couldn’t we get a reward from the Dungeon Exploration Guild? You found something like that and didn’t report it?”
“It’s more efficient to clear it out completely before reporting.”
That might be true for normal people who didn’t want to risk their lives, but it didn’t apply to me.
To put it bluntly, if I could just dig tunnels to bypass the troublesome sections, there was no need to tell others about it.
While it might not work as a cheat key in all dungeons, it should be nearly unbeatable in the dungeons around here.
“Johann! I think a 20% share would be fine!”
“…Is money all you think about?”
“But there should be a reward for entering a dungeon! The more money, the better, right? So, come on? Just give me 20%~ I do all the scouting after all!”
She wasn’t wrong, so I hit Sif on the head as she looked up at me, trying to act cute.
Why did she fit so well in my hand?
I might get addicted to hitting Sif’s head at this rate.
“Nyaa! Why did you hit me?!”
“Because that’s where your head is.”
“Don’t hit people’s heads with those brutishly large fists!”
Brutish fists?
Where could you find fists as intellectual as mine?
As I raised my fist, Sif panicked and hid behind Elisa.
“…I won’t hit you, so stop hiding behind Elisa. Can’t you see you’re scaring her?”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“You promise?”
Only then did Sif leave the pitiful Elisa and return to my side.
Elisa followed behind us, letting out a sigh of relief.
This made for another strange picture.
I recalled the previous incident and spoke to Sif.
“Sif. Split to both sides. Execute.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you think the current picture looks strange?”
“Picture? What picture… Oh. Got it.”
Seeing my signal, Sif slowed her pace to position herself on the other side of Elisa.
When we took positions on either side of her, Elisa panicked and tried to fall back again, but we wouldn’t let that happen.
Sif took Elisa’s hand and gently persuaded her.
“Come on, we’re comrades, right? Comrades walk side by side. Like this.”
“C-c-c-comrades?”
“That’s right. There’s no need to be afraid of us too. Do we look like people who would harm you?”
“N-no…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you if anything happens.”
I unconsciously reached out to pat Elisa’s head like I would with Millia, but stopped myself.
I’d heard that most women didn’t like having their heads touched, so it might not be appropriate.
Just as I was about to withdraw my hand,
“Ah…”
A clearly disappointed sound escaped from Elisa’s mouth.
Elisa herself seemed startled by the sound she made, blushing and lowering her head in confusion.
Sif, seeing this, looked at me and gave me a knowing glance.
Was there some kind of drug coming out of my hand?
I carefully patted Elisa’s head as if petting a dog.
Her silky smooth hair slid under my palm.
“You’re surprisingly good at charming women, huh?”
Sif, who had somehow moved to my opposite side, whispered in my ear while poking my ribs with her elbow.
Should I hit her?
No, I can’t.
I promised earlier.
“Stop talking nonsense. Let’s hurry to the dungeon.”
We quickened our pace and walked towards the dungeon.
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“There’s a dungeon here? I don’t see anything.”
“Look carefully.”
I took out the shovel I had been carrying on my back.
I had covered the blade part with leather just in case.
When I removed the leather, my shovel blade revealed its beautiful form.
Naturally, Sif, who couldn’t resist anything that could make money, reacted to my shovel.
“Don’t tell me you coated the shovel blade with mithril?”
“Correct.”
“Where did you find a craftsman who could work with mithril…”
“I did it myself.”
“What? Yourself? Even the best craftsmen have trouble working with mithril, and you’re saying you did it yourself? You’re joking, right?”
She had a familiar look of disbelief.
I shrugged off her gaze and asked back.
“Does it look like I’m joking?”
Even hydra bones, while not as good as mithril, were just one grade below it as a material.
Coating a shovel blade with mithril wasn’t that difficult.
After all, it was just a matter of melting it and applying it.
“Why don’t you just change careers to a blacksmith? You could probably scrape up all the money in the world. A blacksmith who can work with mithril would be sought after even by the imperial family, wouldn’t they?”
“It’s not that big of a deal. More importantly, I’m going to open the dungeon, so step back.”
At my words, both Elisa and Sif stepped back.
I relied on my vague memory and stuck the shovel into the ground.
I couldn’t remember the exact location, but if I dug up this whole area, the dungeon entrance buried in the ground should appear.
I started churning up the earth at a crazy speed, like an excavator.
Fortunately, after about 5 minutes of digging, the dungeon entrance revealed itself.
“Wow, someone might think you’re digging a lake…”
“A-amazing…”
I wiped the sweat flowing down my forehead and used my skill.
“Crafting.”
The piles of dirt I had accumulated decreased and filled in the ground.
Then, stairs made of earth formed around the dungeon entrance.
It was satisfying to see what looked like a construction site transform into a plausible dungeon entrance in an instant.
This was why I enjoyed construction work.
“We’re going in. Follow me carefully and make sure not to fall.”
I lit the lamp I had attached to my backpack.
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