"That guy should be mountain training right now. Wouldn't you find him easily if you searched from the sky?"
Based on the Sage's information, Ren set off for the mountains with Huuli and May. Flying made the travel time quite short. Looking down from above at the area, which was mostly covered in greenery, they spotted a small, seemingly handmade hut. There were traces of a campsite in front of the hut. That must be the spot.
They landed in front of the hut, and Huuli canceled her fusion with May. Ren, acting as the representative, knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside.
"Is he out?" Ren asked.
"Seems like it," Huuli replied.
"Or maybe he's just sleeping?" May suggested.
Ren stopped May from aggressively knocking on the door.
"What should we do? It's going to be tough to find him if he's somewhere in the forest."
"Should we just wait for him around here?" Huuli asked.
"That might be best."
The hut wasn't built to be locked, so they could have just let themselves in, but that would be rude to someone they were meeting for the first time. Regardless of whether such consideration was necessary for a person doing something they only hear about in manga, like "mountain training."
"Oh? ...This is unusual, I have visitors?"
Fortunately, the person they were waiting for returned without much delay. In one hand, he carried a basket overflowing with wild herbs. In the other, was a wild rabbit that had been killed. He had apparently gone to restock his food supply. The forest was rich in nature, making a self-sufficient life quite possible.
The man appeared to be in his late forties. He was over 170 cm tall. His arms were about twice as thick as Ren's, and his skin was marked with several scars that hadn't fully healed.
"Hello, Mr. Kent. I am—"
"Ren the Succubus, right? I know you. I was in town until the mountain was built, and I've seen you many times. This is the first time we've properly met, though."
He—Kent—nodded and ushered Ren's group inside, saying, "You got the location from that guy, didn't you? Come in."
The inside of the hut was cluttered, half-storage space. The Sage's house also had a strong "man's house" feel, but this place was different, being wildly disorganized. Since he was alone and this was a temporary dwelling, perhaps he figured there was no point in tidying up.
"I'll butcher this later. I should probably do it right away, but I'm not really good at it. I don't have the confidence to do it well while talking."
"Oh, should I do it?" Huuli offered.
"Is that alright? Then, please."
Huuli eagerly took the wild rabbit he handed her and began to butcher it.
"You're good at that," Kent complimented.
"I've been cooking ever since I came here. We have Iris-chan—the Half-Elf girl—who teaches me a lot," Huuli replied.
"Ah, Anna's daughter, right? She's grown so big. I guess I'm getting old too."
"Haha, come on. You don't look that old."
"No, seriously. I'm almost the oldest person here, you know?"
"Mr. Kent is a transfer student from the 'First Year,' same as that old man—the Sage, right?"
Kent nodded at Ren's words.
"Calling him 'that old man' is quite good. That's right. That guy is just an old man. Since he's acting all high and mighty as the leader, it's fine to treat him casually sometimes."
"The old man complained that 'I was entrusted with the leadership because he wouldn't do it.'"
"Hahahaha. Serves him right."
The man who laughed heartily was Honmei Kent Ishizawa. Since "Kent" in katakana made Ren instinctively imagine a slender white man with glasses, he was surprised to find the person himself was a hearty middle-aged man.
His class was Warrior. He didn't seem to get along with the Sage personality-wise, and Ren had heard many complaints from the Sage, but talking to him, he didn't seem like a bad person. Although there wasn't a rule that the frontline fighter had to be the leader, people were often more inclined to follow instructions from someone who stood at the front and led everyone. In that light, he probably was an option for the leader position. Looking at him now, Ren understood why he hadn't accepted.
"Oh, right. Your wife sent some supplies with us."
"Oh, that's good to hear. Did she say anything?"
"'Take it easy,' she said."
There were five survivors from the first year. The four besides the Sage were all married, and Kent's wife was also a first-year transfer student. Perhaps used to her husband's recklessness, she had made the request to Ren's group with a slight wry smile.
"But why are you living in a place like this?" Ren asked.
"Ah, training, training. If I don't train, my body gets dull."
Mountain training for the sake of physical discipline—it was just like a manga.
"I heard you still regularly enter the dungeon," Ren noted.
"I do. I join up with the frontline party, or sometimes call my old comrades. A lot of people cooperate when I call them."
"Of course they do. You're the strongest warrior, after all."
Huuli, who had been using polite language, reverted to her natural tone. She seemed to have judged that this person was easygoing enough. Ren truly envied his ability to charm people like this.
Ren felt a gaze on her chest.
"Hmm. You really do have a fine physique. Men must constantly hit on you," Kent observed.
"Well, I've been confessed to a few times, but most of the people here are already married."
"By the way, I have an additional message from your wife: 'Don't let your guard down just because you're dealing with a cute girl.'"
"Hahahaha. As if I'd ever go after a woman besides her now. But I'll take the opportunity to enjoy the view."
He was truly a hearty man. It was still better to be looked at so candidly than to be secretly scrutinized. Ren lowered her raised arm, allowing him to look as much as he liked.
Kent pulled out some dried meat from the supplies Ren's group brought, sliced it with a knife, and began to chew. When Ren used Fire magic to lightly roast it for him, he gladly said, "Oh, that's handy!"
"So? What brings you here?" Kent asked.
"Yes. We came to ask for your help in clearing the 46th to 50th floors."
"...Ah, that place."
The strongest warrior's eyes suddenly narrowed.
"That place was definitely tough. ...And wait, you've already cleared the 45th floor? How many years do you think it took us to clear that? I might cry."
"That's thanks to all the information you all desperately gathered. We couldn't have cleared it this fast if we were the first," Ren said.
"I can't say I feel bad when you put it that way," he replied, grinning, even though he had no intention of crying in the first place.
"It's fine by me. I'm used to being a helper, and fighting there again will be good training."
"Really?" Ren asked.
"Yeah. ...However, there is one condition."
Here it comes. Ren hadn't expected him to agree without any trouble. She was already mentally prepared for some kind of unreasonable request. She needed Kent's help, even if it meant accepting some inconvenience.
She waited nervously for the condition.
"Since we're going anyway, I'm taking that guy too. He's probably lost a ton of physical fitness, so he needs some exercise."
-----------------
"...And you want me to go along? You really are unrestrained," the Sage groaned.
"Don't say that. If you don't live a healthy life, you'll die early, Leader-sama."
"If I die, Ren here can take over, so there's no problem."
"Hey, old man, that's a huge problem," Ren retorted with a deadpan stare at the Sage's nonchalant suggestion.
Afterward, Ren's group had helped Kent pack up before returning to town. With Ren and May working together, they could somehow fly and carry the heavy Kent. Kent, who was happy to avoid walking down the mountain, was in high spirits, saying, "Being able to fly is really convenient!"
Then they went to the Sage's house. The "guy" Kent mentioned was, of course, the Sage. The way he tried to drag the town's leader out, treating him like "the beanpole in the corner of the classroom," felt very much like a classmate. The Sage's displeased face at the invitation also looked somewhat boyish, which was surprisingly refreshing.
"Stop preparing to die and eat some vegetables. And get some exercise."
"If you would take over this troublesome role, my stress would decrease, and I would live longer, I think."
"Then I'd die early."
"What is a Succubus saying?"
As they glared at each other, Kent laughed heartily again.
"Don't worry. I'll drag you along, by force if necessary."
"Seriously? Should I resist with magic?" the Sage challenged.
"Oh, go for it. If the two of us fought seriously, this whole area would be annihilated, but should we do it?" Kent challenged back.
"No, no, you two can't fight seriously!" Ren pleaded.
Ren and Huuli hurriedly intervened. They didn't think he was serious, but they felt there was a 5% chance it could actually have started.
"If you are going to fight, please wait until I have evacuated," May requested.
"May, stay."
"Woof woof."
Ren had brought May along, anticipating a challenge like, "If you beat me in an arm-wrestling match, I'll help!" but in the end, it turned out she hadn't needed to bring her.
"Come on, old man, at least be useful sometimes. If we're the only ones fighting, it won't be convincing."
"It's not that I haven't been in the dungeon. I've cleared up to the 54th floor," the Sage defended.
"But your frequency is much lower than mine, right? You just say you're busy and then read books all the time," Kent mocked.
"Don't be rude. My job is primarily negotiation and consultation."
"Hoh. That would certainly go better if you left it to a cute girl."
"Right?"
"Don't you two start getting along now."
Somehow, they managed to steer the conversation away from the topic of successors.
"Anyway, thank you for agreeing to cooperate. We'd like to look for a few more people to come with us."
"Sure. Do you have anyone in mind?" Kent asked.
"A few people we could ask," Ren replied.
People they had met while building the river and the mountain, the cosplay shop owner, Mariabell, and others. If there were people who hadn't cleared the 45th floor yet, they could offer to help, and Ren thought they could gather two or three more people.
Kent then said, "If that's the case," and added,
"Let's make sure they're all beautiful women."
Ren made a dubious face at the strange suggestion, and the Sage made a similar expression, which made both of their faces even more dubious.
-----------------
However, once Ren heard him out, the suggestion wasn't that outlandish.
"I don't mind. Fighting alongside Iris might be a good experience," Iris's mother said.
The people Kent suggested inviting were from the parents' generation of their party members. Specifically, Iris's mother and May's mother. They were an Elf and a Golem. They didn't suffer from age-related decline, and there was no worry of Ren's charm causing problems. Since they were acquaintances, coordinating with them would be easy, making it an all-around win.
When they went to ask, Iris's mother, Anna, accepted with a smile.
"But Mom! What about adventuring with us?"
It was the younger sisters who expressed reluctance, so Ren had to agree to play with them to appease them.
"May's sister is joining too, right? Then you can hang out with someone else for a while... Oh, Shou's group might be perfect."
"Mr. Ren, we don't really like boys because they're childish," the sisters complained.
"But you're not much older than Aina's group."
With the help of their older sister Iris, the two were somehow convinced. Shou's group also agreed to the irregular party arrangement "for a while," and a promising group of native-generation adventurers unexpectedly joined forces.
"All that's left is May's mother. I've somehow never properly greeted her."
"There's no need to greet my mother," May stated flatly.
"No, May-chan. I don't think we can avoid it this time," Ren insisted.
"That woman might express reluctance, saying 'it will reduce the time I have with him.' We should proactively offer some compensation."
"Specifically?"
"I suggest teaching her Master's erotic techniques."
"...I thought you meant money or objects when you said compensation," the serious Shion said, looking appalled.
Ultimately, May's mother agreed to join. Her conditions, besides the "erotic discussion" with Ren, included one more thing: that her husband be kept at Iris's house while she was in the dungeon. The reason was to prevent any "bad bugs" from getting to him. Ren thought that a man wouldn't cheat when a beautiful, non-aging woman was diligently taking care of him, but apparently, worry is worry.
In any case, they now had four new collaborators. One frontline fighter, one ranged fighter, and Iris's mother and May's mother were all-rounders who could change their movement depending on the situation. If there was one thing missing, it was a dedicated healer, but:
"Iris. Are you still having trouble handling the Spirit of Life? Take this opportunity to learn it."
"Uhh, yes," Iris replied.
Although it was the type of magic that was difficult to use during combat, there was healing magic within Spirit Magic. With that, the enhanced party aimed at clearing the 50th floor was officially formed.
============
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