Having decided to rely on Vampire Judite, I continued through the dungeon with Agetha.
"Agetha, could you stay quiet for a while here?" I said.
"Sure, I understand."
Agetha nodded and pressed herself against the wall, trying to hide.
As we turned the corner in the corridor, a werewolf was prowling.
This is going to be tough. If we can't get past that monster, we won't reach where Vampire Judte is.
My only skill at the moment is "Provocation," and I don't have any weapons. In this situation, it's even difficult to take down a single monster. Agetha has amnesia, so she's not in a condition to fight either.
This might be a dead end.
Wait, there might be a way through this. I thought of a good idea and immediately spoke to Agetha.
"Hey, Ageha, can you use the 'Item Box'?"
I remembered that when Agetha and I conquered the dungeon together before, she used the 'Item Box.'
"Eh? 'Item Box'? What's that…?"
"It's a skill you can use, Agetha. It allows you to store various weapons and food items freely."
Even though she had lost her memory, she shouldn't have lost her skills. With that in mind, I tried to convince Agetha.
"Um… wait. Um, um, could this be it?"
Suddenly, Agetha created a magic circle floating in front of her.
That's right, I remembered a similar phenomenon occurring when Agetha used the 'Item Box.'
"Is there any weapon in that 'Item Box'? I could really use a sword right now."
"Um… let me see. Is this it?"
As she said this, Agetha pulled a shining, pale-blue greatsword from the 'Item Box.'
I remembered that Ageha had used this sword before.
"Please, could you lend me that sword?"
"Sure, I don't mind."
"Thank you."
I received the greatsword from Agetha.
It's quite heavy.
But for some reason, just by holding it, I felt a surge of power welling up from somewhere within me.
Alright, with a sword in hand, I might be able to defeat monsters. I'm a bit uneasy because I haven't acquired the 'Swordsmanship' skill yet, but I should do my best.
"Agetha, please stay hidden there for a while."
"Okay, I understand."
Once Agetha agreed, I leaped into the corridor with determination.
"Hey, you little monster. Come at me!"
First, I used "Provocation" on the werewolf.
"Raaawr!"
The angry werewolf let out a roar and charged relentlessly.
Alright, I've successfully lured its attack.
Now, just a counterattack!
With a swift motion, the greatsword sliced through the werewolf's body in a straight line.
"Huh?"
I was surprised to find that I had defeated it in a single strike.
This wasn't my own power. Maybe it was all thanks to this sword that I could take it down so easily.
"Amazing! Amazing! Kiska, you're amazing! To defeat such a powerful monster so easily!" Agetha approached, jumping for joy.
"No, it's not me. It's all thanks to your sword, Agetha. It's not my power."
"That's not true. It's your power! To take it down so effortlessly, Kiska, you're so dependable."
I chuckled at Agetha's unusual praise.
It really wasn't my power at all.
We encountered several more monsters after that, but thanks to Agetha's sword, we effortlessly defeated them.
"I think it was around here…"
"What are you looking for?"
"Oh, I believe there should be a switch around here that opens a hidden passage."
While I was thinking about this, I felt the sensation of pressing a button. Suddenly, the wall that appeared to be empty opened up, revealing a hidden passage with a rumbling sound.
"Wow, Kiska. You even know about secret passages. You're so knowledgeable!"
"Well, yeah," I casually dismissed Agetha's praise. This hidden passage was something I had learned from Vampire Judite, so I didn't feel like it was much of an accomplishment on my part.
"Agetha, I'm planning to meet someone now, but there's something I want you to be careful about before we do."
"Something to be careful about?"
"Yeah, this person is quite temperamental. If we anger her, it might end up with us being killed without much ado."
"Huh… We have to meet someone like that?"
"Yeah, but she's very knowledgeable. As long as we handle the situation correctly, she should be able to help us."
"I see. I believe in you, Kiska."
Agetha, with an anxious expression, still expressed her agreement. It seemed that she trusted me completely. Sometimes, I worried unnecessarily that trusting people so easily might lead to deception in the future. But at the moment, I was grateful that she followed my lead without resistance.
"So, what should I do when we meet that scary person?"
"Oh, Agetha, you just need to stay quiet. In general, I'll handle it."
I explained the precautions for meeting Vampire Judite.
"Hehe."
"Huh? Why are you smiling like that?"
Since I had just mentioned meeting a scary person, it caught my attention that she was smiling.
"Well, it's just that Kiska, I'm really glad you're here, and I couldn't help but smile. If it bothers you, I'm sorry."
"No, I was just curious, no need to apologize."
Well, perhaps this is better than being too nervous.
From then on, we continued walking towards the location where Vampire Judite would likely be.
Along the way, we encountered some monsters, but with Agetha's sword, we easily fended them off.
I think she was around here.
While thinking about this, I saw a figure in the distance.
Ah, is that Vampire Judite?
I felt a little nervous.
Vampire Judite was known to attack without hesitation if you made a wrong greeting. However, I had met Judite multiple times in different timelines, so I should be fine.
"Agetha, please wait here."
"Okay."
I whispered to Agetha, making sure Vampire Judite couldn't hear us, and then approached where she was.
"Great and noble Vampire Judite-sama, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
I knelt and bowed my head in greeting.
If I greeted her with utmost formality, she should respond in kind.
Then, I waited for her response.
…
I continued to wait, but there was no response.
That's strange. In all our previous interactions, she had always responded.
As I thought this, I lifted my head slightly.
"Hey."
It was Agetha's voice.
Unbelievably, she had moved ahead of me and was standing beside Vampire Judite.
I felt the urge to shout, "Hey, what are you doing!" but if I did that, Judite might get angry and kill us. No, there might still be a way to salvage this situation.
For now, I should apologize for the rudeness and then come up with an excuse. Hwever, before I could say, "I apologize for the discourtesy," my words were drowned out by Agetha's voice.
Agetha said something shocking to me.
"This person is already dead."
Yes, Vampire Judite was already dead.