"Erika, do you have a minute? I have something to ask you."
"Oh, yes, Mr. Delta. It's okay."
About three days after the banquet and the day I was given my new name, Delta, I approached Erica, who had just finished sparring with Claudia in the training hall, and spoke to her in a casual manner.
Erica said she was a little reluctant to talk while standing up, so we sat down and talked. We walked over to the long chairs lining one wall of the training room and sat down on one of them.
In the training ground, Iris and Lize were in full swing training. Ice mixed in between the swirling tornadoes, scattering frost. The ice crystals sparkled in the sunlight.
It was a large-scale sparring match where just two people took up nearly half of the training ground, but what was more shocking was that it wasn't their full power.
The scale was much larger than in the game.
"What do you want to ask? Is it important?"
"If it's an important question, then it's an important question. Do you hate spiders?"
"Spider… … what?"
Erica made a trembling expression. I know this may sound like an absurd question at first, but it was something that had to be confirmed in order to decide the order of the subjugation.
Depending on whether Erica participates in the expedition or not, it will be decided which one to catch first between the Spider Queen Arachnaine and the Burning Golem.
If Erica joins, you can go hunt the Spider Queen first, but if she can't join, you have to defeat the Burning Golem first to obtain a specific magic and then go hunt the Spider Queen.
In vanilla, you could just ignore everything and start by killing the ones closest to you, but that wasn't possible in the Blizzard mode. Going to kill Arachnaine without an area-of-effect attack spell was just suicide.
"I don't hate it, but I definitely don't like it. Why is that?"
"It's nothing much, I just wanted to take you and Lize with me because there's a monster I need to subdue soon."
Since it was revealed at the banquet that I was hiding something secret, I decided to act shamelessly, without any more caution, and openly display my knowledge.
Since these actions were all related to the secret, there was no reason to think of excuses anymore.
'The more that happens, the more curious they will become.'
That's inevitable. I needed more time to melt into this to reveal the truth.
If I reveal the fact that this is actually a game world, that you are just bosses and NPCs that existed in the game, and that I am a user who played it, it will only cause more confusion.
"I understand what you mean. You mean let's go catch some spider-shaped monster?"
The answer popped out right away. The question of whether or not you hate spiders, and the fact that there was a monster that needed to be subdued. Combining these two, it was a conclusion that could be reached without much difficulty.
Erica's expression was slightly contemptuous as she spoke, perhaps recalling the time she encountered a raccoon the size of her in the Rune Dungeon.
"That's correct."
"As I was saying this, I secretly hoped it wasn't true. But somehow, bad premonitions never turn out to be wrong."
Erica let out a small sigh. Thinking about the monster's appearance made her shiver. And since it was a monster, it wouldn't be an ordinary size.
"I don't like spiders at all… … but that doesn't mean I can back out when there are monsters to be defeated. When are you leaving?"
"You can go whenever it's convenient for you. There's no time limit. I've already made all the plans, so it doesn't matter when you go."
"I don't mind when I leave."
"...."
"...."
I guess it was my imagination that overlapped with the image of the family just now saying that it didn't matter to each other that they could eat whatever they wanted while eating out.
"Uh… … Okay, I understand. I'll talk to Lize and let you know."
"Understood, Mr. Delta."
'I can't get used to that.'
It's been almost three days since I was called Delta, but I still feel strange whenever I hear that nickname.
Before I thought about my name, the thought of a child guardian of an underwater city wearing a diving suit and holding a drill in one hand came to mind.
I don't know when I'll be able to adapt.
"Erika, it's your turn."
"Yes. I'll be there soon, Iris. Then, when you decide, please tell me. I'll be waiting."
Erica left, her hands on her waist. Iris was waiting for Erica, looking completely fine, as if she wasn't even tired.
There was a snap, the sound of a Japanese sword being pulled out of its scabbard, and flames began to rise around Erika's body.
"What did you do with Erica?"
The empty seat was filled by Lize. As she flopped down on the chair, her slightly sweaty chest heaved up and down powerfully.
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The white sleeveless top that already fit her body tightly clung to her skin even tighter, and a bit of her bare skin was visible beyond that. It was an even more provocative look than usual.
Strangely enough, there was no smell of sweat, only Lize's characteristic body odor.
"There's one more monster we need to catch. That's what we were talking about."
"You're going to catch a monster? Again?"
Lize looked puzzled. Well, these guys probably don't have the concept of leveling up and increasing their abilities by killing enemies, so you might wonder why they go out to hunt monsters so often.
Just the day before yesterday, I spent the whole day leveling up. If someone saw me, they'd think I held a deep grudge against the monsters.
"You took a day off. It's time to get moving again. This time, something a little bigger."
"Then me? Aren't you going to take me?"
His face was pushed in close. Lize's unique body odor rushed into his nasal passages.
"Don't worry, I was going to ask you anyway when you got here. By the way, do you hate spiders?"
"Spiders? Hmm… … I don't hate them, but I don't like them either. I think Erica would have answered the same way, right?"
I was actually surprised because their answers were almost the same.
"Right. How did you know?"
"She and I have similar tastes. Who would say we're sisters when we resemble each other in such ways? What I don't like, she also dislikes, and what I like, she also likes. She always says that she doesn't resemble me, and our personalities are so different that it's hard to tell, but my eyes can't be fooled."
'… … I didn't expect that at all.'
It was quite surprising that sisters who seemed to be polar opposites in every detail had similar tastes.
"Delta, from what I've heard, it's probably a spider-shaped monster. Is that correct?"
I nodded instead of answering.
"But you know, Delta, there's one thing you need to know."
Lize turned her face back slightly. Her usual playful demeanor was gone, and she was wearing a very serious expression. It wasn't the first time I'd seen Lize with this kind of expression.
"If we're going to hunt monsters, our tastes don't matter. No matter how repulsive the monster's appearance is, or how familiar it is to us, a monster is a monster. Remember, we will never refuse to do what we have to do because of their appearance. Got it?"
A serious voice to match the serious expression.
It was something I had never thought of. I felt once again that Lize was a knight commander. It meant that he valued his duty as a knight more than his own feelings.
I felt something strange, so I reached out and patted his head.
"… … What? Why?"
"Because it's special."
"… … I know what you're thinking right now, but I'm letting you off because it makes me feel good."
I stroked her head lightly, then took my hand off, and then watched Lize being called out to spar with Claudia.
Lize was skillfully parrying a greatsword that was almost as long and heavy as a person with a dagger that was barely as long as her forearm.
The point was to avoid any attacks that could be avoided, and to never engage in a power struggle. It seemed that they had properly exploited the fact that Claudia's greatsword was so heavy that it was difficult to change direction quickly.
'I'm glad I told you in advance that I didn't need to spar.'
Because of the HP adjustment, no matter how hard they hit each other, they would only get a few bruises before their health was completely depleted, but I would die if I was even grazed by an attack. I didn't want to take that risk.
Besides, there was no reason to spar with the knight commanders since I wasn't going to have a boss fight. What would be the point of learning swordsmanship or anything like that for me?
"Let's take a break. Everyone worked hard."
As Iris's words fell, the elements that had been flying around the smokescreen suddenly stopped. The wind died down, the flames died down, the ice melted, and the lightning scattered.
The knight commanders who had finished their training walked towards where I was. They were all slightly soaked in sweat, their sleeveless shirts clinging to their bare skin. The smell of their bodies filled the surroundings in an instant.
I thought it would be natural for Lize to take the seat next to me, but the other knight commanders sat around me as well. For a moment, I wondered why they were doing this.
Aren't they hot?
"That's right, Delta. Since you're resting, explain that monster in more detail. What are you going to catch this time?"
Lize nudged me with her elbow. Iris and Claudia turned to look at me with their ears perked up, perhaps because they were hearing it for the first time, as if they were thinking, "A monster?"
"Well, it's nothing special."
Yeah, it's not much of a boss, except for one pattern.
"I just need to catch about a thousand spiders."