A Rare Find

Until it was time for Azu and the others to depart, Yohane kept his schedule clear to focus on their care and preparations.

Thorough preparation before heading somewhere new was the key to success.

That held true for adventurers as well.

At the very least, it had never hurt to be well-prepared.

"I feel kind of bad about this."

Alexia said this with a face that showed she didn't feel bad at all.

Right now, Yohane was giving Alexia a thorough shoulder and lower back massage as she lay on the sofa.

Kassad had massage parlors too, but he'd picked up the skill in his spare time because the idea of some other man touching her bothered him.

It had gone over well last time he'd massaged her feet, too. Maybe he could make a living doing this.

Alexia's bare back was exposed, and it was strikingly beautiful.

Her skin was as smooth as silk to the touch, but for now, he focused on relieving as much of her fatigue as he could.

After her, it was Elza's turn.

"That felt amazing. Getting someone else to do it really makes a difference."

"Then it's my turn next."

Elza removed her priest's robes, revealing the thin dress she wore underneath.

The see-through dress let even her undergarments show through, and her more voluptuous figure compared to Alexia was clearly visible.

"Hehe, well then, one massage please. I've been doing heavy labor, so I'm really stiff. Be thorough."

"I know."

He touched a body that could have been a work of art.

But any racing of his heart ended right there.

"Ow ow ow."

"This is really…"

"C-could you be a little gentler?"

Her shoulders and lower back were completely knotted up.

Not quite hard as stone, but this was going to be a challenge.

He got so absorbed in working out the knots that he quickly stopped noticing her skin under his hands.

"Hmm, I was hoping this would be a bit more romantic."

"What's romantic about it? This is why I told you to stretch more often. Your chest and backside are both large, which means your whole body is prone to stiffness."

"I'm not flexible, so that kind of thing is such a chore. Ow."

Each time he pressed, her skin's elasticity pushed back against his hands.

Elza's massage took a while.

By the halfway point there was nothing remotely alluring about it, but he was confident it had done a lot of good.

"I'd like a massage too."

"Let's see."

Azu raised her hand as well, so he tried lightly kneading her shoulders.

He could tell with just a touch. She had an incredibly supple body, completely free of stiffness.

"Doesn't seem like you need one."

"Aww…"

At this point, even Orleans, who spent her time on desk work, probably had stiffer muscles.

That suppleness was exactly what allowed Azu to move so nimbly.

As for Finn, who wasn't here, she was flexible enough to do the splits and lay her torso flat against the floor.

A combination of natural talent and training, apparently.

Right. Finn still hadn't returned.

She'd sent one brief message through the communication magic tool, saying only that she needed a bit more time.

So it seemed she wouldn't be joining them for a while yet.

The tool was one-way only, so not being able to check on her situation was a source of worry.

But rushing off to help would only get in her way.

Still, if she ever called for help, he'd make sure they could move immediately.

They continued their preparations as best they could, and the day of their appointment with Ramiza-san arrived.

She was supposed to come to the house in the morning.

"Having Ramiza-san along is reassuring, but I'd be lying if I said not having Finn as our scout isn't a concern."

"That girl has exceptional senses, so we almost never get caught off guard when she's around. There's no real substitute for her. But basic monster detection can be done with magic too, and that's what we did before Finn joined us. I don't think you should worry too much. We can't always operate at full strength, you know?"

"I'm not the one in danger, you are. I can't help being cautious."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'd rather you trust us and leave it to us. We'll retreat if it gets dangerous."

"I'll leave those calls to you. This is a noble's quest, but there's no need to push yourselves. Worst case, we can hire adventurers capable of conquering it to go in our place. Money matters, but you all matter more."

Money had value because it could be exchanged for things.

If it was in exchange for protecting something precious, he didn't mind losing any amount.

That had always been his consistent stance.

He liked money because it protected the things that mattered.

"I'll try to make sure it doesn't come to that, though."

"Just reducing the dungeon monsters should count as a result. Given that the viscount didn't specify anything beforehand, I think he'd be satisfied with even modest progress."

"That'll depend on how we frame it. In any case, safety first… Oh, Ramiza-san's here."

Ramiza-san arrived at the house carrying an enormous rucksack on her back.

It looked like a hauler's pack… the kind of massive rucksack Kazusa used to carry.

With something that size, she could pack a considerable amount of supplies even without a capacity-enhancing enchantment.

"Hey there!"

"Ramiza-san, good morning. Good job not being late."

"Thank you for those words that tell me exactly what you normally think of me."

She smiled and squished his cheeks with both hands.

Her leather gloves were cold.

"Man, I'm glad I didn't throw out my adventuring gear. Quality stuff stays usable if you maintain it. You can't skimp on equipment."

"In that bag?"

"Yep. Everything's in here. By the way, watch this."

Ramiza-san reached her right hand into the air.

Then, from seemingly nowhere, a ring materialized.

"Ta-da! What do you think?"

"Out of thin air… is it a magic trick?"

"Nope."

"Then it's a magic tool."

"Come on, string me along a little. That's no fun. That's right, this rucksack I'm carrying is a storage-type magic tool. I can freely pull out anything that's inside it. No need to reach in and rummage around. For an alchemist who relies on tools to fight, having this versus not having it makes a world of difference."

… Wasn't that actually incredible?

Normally, both frontline fighters and support casters wore their weapons and armor, so there was rarely a need to pull items from a bag on the fly.

But Yohane had experienced it himself: there were times when you urgently needed an item from your pack.

Being able to produce it instantly would be extremely convenient.

And yet he'd never heard of such a magic tool.

In other words, it was a rare find.

"Here, the poison-nullification rings I mentioned earlier. Don't put them on yet. The effect activates when you equip them, so put them on right before we enter the dungeon. And then…"

After distributing the rings, Ramiza-san's right hand reached into the empty air again.

"This."

What she produced was a black cloak.

It had gold embroidery, was thick and sturdy.

The inside was red.

"A dark-resistance cloak. Wear this and a dungeon of that caliber won't be a problem."

"What happens if you don't have dark resistance, by the way?"

"Depends on the person, but basically your mental state falls apart."

"Darkness does that…?"

"There are physical attacks too, but mental attacks are more common. A priest's purification can treat it, but you can't really do that in the middle of a fight, so prevention is the best approach."

Everyone going into the dungeon put on the black cloak.

The magic automatically adjusted the size to fit each wearer.

Azu looked a bit like the cloak was wearing her.

Alexia and Ramiza-san wore it well.

Elza, maybe because of her blonde hair, looked a touch like a villainess.