Chapter 03
A week has passed since Shinji joined <Running Wolves>.
The adventure was going well, and the partyâs rank had risen from Lower-Intermediate to Intermediate-Intermediate. And taking advantage of this, the party was visiting a new dungeon.
âIâll lead the way, Al and Mil in the middle. And Shinji will be at the backâ
âââUnderstandâââ
Renka started leading the way. Shinji also calls Freri, his contracted flowerâs spirit, on his shoulder and entrusts her to guard the rear. Alvin and Milis also started walking with a nervous look on their faces.
When the monsters in the dungeon are defeated, they disappear and drop an energy crystal called âMagic Stonesâ. The stronger the monster, the more energy it will drop, but the weight tends to increase in proportion. If the stones are exposed to the open air for too long, the energy will drain out, so a special bag is provided for collecting them, and only one person can carry them. Therefore, it is important to decide who will carry the magic stone.
âShinji, are you sure you want to handle this?â
âI donât mind. I mean, itâs more reasonable for a ranger to move quickly than a wizard on the battleâ
When Renka is about to take the bag, Shinji stopped her. After Shinji explained his logic, Renka decided to leave the bag to him.
Until now, when Shinji was not around, Renka had been carrying the bag. If she gives it to Alvin, who is in the vanguard, the weight of the bag will interfere with his movements, and Renka herself has rejected the idea of letting the younger Milis carry it.
âHonestly, itâs a big help. After all, it was a hindrance when shootingâ
âReally, Renka? If you donât mind, Iâll carry it tooâ
âThank you, Renka-chan⌠Iâm sorry I didnât considerate youâ
âYouâre the vanguard, Al, you canât be too heavy! And Mil, itâs okay, I didnât want you to carry itâ
Shinjiâs impression after spending a week with her was that Renka often took the initiative, partly because she was older than Alvin and Milis. He guessed that she wasnât used to relying on others.
âFrom now on, as friends, you can rely on me. Of course, Iâm counting on you tooâ
Renka stopped and looked back at Shinji, who spoke in a light tone. Renkaâs expression was one of embarrassment and happiness, a smile that was hard to describe.
âYouâre right, we are friends. Iâm counting on you, tooâ
With that, she turned and started walking forward again. Her pace slightly quickened.
âShe is embarassedâ
âRenka-chan⌠youâre so cuteâ
âCome on, you two. Itâs not good to get too far apart. Letâs move onâ
Shinji urged Alvin and Milis to move on, who were whispering to each other. Their response is calm, and even Alvin, who was trying to make fun of Renka, calmed down. Milis felt that it was very mature of him to say something that made people embarrassed in a normal state of mind.
* * *
âLetâs take a breakâ
When the monsters had been defeated to some extent, Alvin said so, and all three replied in agreement, gathering in a corner of the room.
âShinji-san, how deep are we in the dungeon?â
âItâs about 60% of the way there. I donât think thereâs anything wrong with the pace if nothing happens. I will check the bagâ
âI see⌠Al, hereâs your water and foodâ
âThank you! Milâ
Shinji placed the bag in the middle of the gathered people. Alvin rechecked the contents of the bag, while Milis prepared water and portable food for everyone. Alvin took the bag and quickly drank it up and ate it. Renka, on the other hand, did not accept the food, but continued to look around. So what does Shinji do?
âRenka, you rest first. Iâll be on the watchâ
Shinji says that but when he was to take over the watch, Renka couldnât help but argue with him.
âNo. Iâll do itâ
âYouâve been moving around more than I have, havenât you? So, leave it to meâ
Renka looked at Shinji, suspecting that he was just trying to look good. But Shinji is still very normal and natural. Heâs not wrong, and Renkaâs body needs to rest. So, after a few moments of silence, Renka agreed.
âThen, Iâll do it laterâ
With that, Shinji left the corner of the room alone.
* * *
âIâm sorry, Renka-chan. Iâve been relying on you all this time and I didnât even realize it until nowâ
When Shinji had left and finished eating, Milis turned to Renka and apologized. Renka was panicked by this.
âNo, itâs okay Mil! I was doing it on my own!â
In fact, without consulting Alvin and Milis, Renka took the initiative to do the tasks that were hard to notice. Alvin, too, was unable to use his usual light tone and looked apologetic.
âNo, I should have known. I didnât think anything of it because Renka took it voluntery, Iâm sorryâ
âEven Al⌠Thatâs enough! Shinji said he would do it for me from now on!â
The two of them nodded in agreement to the words that came out of the panicked Renka.
âWell, Iâll do what I can to helpâ
âShinji-san, youâre an adult. Youâre very caring⌠thanks to you, I realized that Iâve left a burden to Renka-chanâ
âWell⌠yeah. But, youâre not wrong eitherâ
Sigh⌠Renka turned away from them. Seeing that, Alvin felt that Renka had accepted Shinji as a friend from the bottom of her heart.
