Chapter 11. The Little Girl
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"The weather is nice."
The warm sunlight made Cyd squint his eyes unconsciously. The pattern of the sun extended from the bracer on his left hand, covering his entire left arm. If it weren't for his clothing, it might have drawn a crowd.
"That guy Bell is probably still asleep."
At that moment, Bell, lying in bed, scratched his stomach and turned over.
After being forcibly dragged out of bed by Cyd for so long, he was finally experiencing the rare pleasure of staying in bed.
"Has Miss Ryuu not arrived yet?"
"Hey, mister! White-haired mister!"
Huh? Is someone calling me?
Cyd raised his head and looked around in confusion.
No one was there...
A fairy?
"Down here!"
A small hand grabbed the hem of his clothes and gave it a tug.
"Hmm?" Cyd looked down and saw a little girl, along with a giant pack on her back that was way too big for her small frame.
"Oh, sorry, hello," Cyd crouched down, trying to make it so that the little girl wouldn't have to look up at him.
"Um..." Perhaps not expecting this, the little girl took a step back but quickly smiled brightly. "Mister, do you need a supporter?"
"Uh..." Cyd tilted his head, lost in thought. "What can you do?"
"I can do all the things adventurers don't want to do," the little girl lowered her head. "I can even help divert monsters if needed."
"Then I'll leave it to you," Cyd reached out and patted the little girl's head. "My name is Cyd. What's yours?"
"Lili! Nice to meet you, adventurer mister!" Lili grinned up at him.
"By the way, could you take off your hat?" Cyd reached out to lift Lili's bangs. "You've got such a cute face."
"Um..." Lili blushed, but she still took off her hood.
"This is..." Cyd's eyes widened.
A pair of beast ears appeared in his view, twitching adorably as their shy owner blushed.
"Can I touch them?"
"Can I?"
Ever since squeezing Ata's beast ears, Cyd couldn't resist the fluffy charm. He just had to feel them!
"What are you doing?"
A cold voice sounded from behind. Cyd immediately straightened up as if caught doing something wrong, raising his hands above his head.
"I'm not doing anything! Ata—cough, cough—oh, it's Miss Ryuu," Cyd breathed a sigh of relief and naturally placed a hand on Lili's head, ruffling her hair. "Let me introduce you. This is our new supporter, Lili."
"What are you..." Ryuu narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing with your hands?"
"Hmm?" Cyd, who was in the middle of petting the fluffy beast ears, froze but pretended not to notice as he looked up. "I'm not doing anything~"
"Uh... hello," Lili, feeling flustered by the strange sensation in her ears, lowered her head.
Why is he so experienced at this!
"Is it really okay to bring her along?" Ryuu sighed, rubbing her forehead.
As expected...
Lili, who had been lowering her head, glanced resentfully at Cyd's [Reforged Pandora] behind him.
"Lili can handle it. I won't hold the adventurer mister back," Lili said loudly.
"She says she can handle it," Cyd shrugged.
"Fine, what do you plan to do?" Since Lili insisted, Ryuu had no choice.
"Let's start by taking down a few dozen Minotaurs on the fifteenth floor," Cyd grinned.
Hmm, hmm, hmm... Taking down a few dozen... Minotaurs!!!
Lili's eyes widened.
You two aren't joking, are you?
"Roar!!!"
The Minotaur howled as it was slammed into the rocky wall.
"Why don't you drop more rare equipment!" Cyd, unwilling to let go, grabbed the Minotaur by the back of its head, pulled it out of the wall, and slammed it back in.
"Rare items..." Ryuu twitched as she glanced at the pile of bull horns on the ground. "You've already got plenty!"
"Yeah, Lili's already gathered a lot of rare items," the little girl Lili said with vacant eyes as she tossed out the rare drops from monsters on the sixth floor, then started collecting the bull horns.
She had gone from heartbroken to questioning life, and finally, she was numb.
Even though these were low-level, beginner-zone rare drops, they were still drops! Although their value had depreciated recently, they were still worth money!
[If you big shots don't want them, then Lili won't hesitate to take them.]
Feeling a bit bitter, Lili couldn't help but mutter under her breath.
In the end, she decided to throw them out herself.
Because they were now on the fifteenth floor, those earlier drops were nothing but trash.
Lili would probably never forget this. The lower floors, which were supposed to be more challenging, were treated like a mere staircase by these adventurers. The only difference in the monsters from different floors was their appearance.
So much for the saying that adventurers always face danger. Lili had already accepted that these two adventurers saw her as a mere tool for attracting monsters. At worst, she would just run with the loot she managed to collect. She was making money, after all. But by the time they reached the tenth floor, she didn't dare think that anymore.
However, she did start to sense that something was off.
The stoic-faced elf adventurer always walked behind her, while the white-haired adventurer always led the way. Stuck in the middle, she had nothing to do except collect items.
Surprisingly comforting.
"Boom—"
The Minotaur turned to black ash, and a magic stone dropped to the ground.
"Lili, this one's for you," Cyd bent down to pick up the stone and tossed it to Lili.
"It's already..." Lili pressed down on her bulging pack, feeling frustrated. "It won't fit."
"Then toss it," Cyd shrugged, stretching his shoulders. "I hear there's a floor boss around here. Its drop should be enough."
Ryuu's eye twitched.
That's not something an adventurer can handle alone. Even advanced adventurers need to team up to take it down, except for a few rare monsters.
"A floor... floor boss!" Lili's eyes widened as she let go of her pack and clung to Cyd's leg, shaking her head vigorously. "That's way too much! Lili is only level 1! I can't carry the floor boss's magic stone!"
"Is the floor boss that big?" Cyd looked over at Ryuu.
"It's not about size," Ryuu sighed deeply.
"Then forget it," Cyd licked his lips regretfully. "Lili, how much profit do you think we've made this time?"
"Uh... so much that Lili's afraid to count," Lili scratched her cheek. "Rare drops are already ridiculously valuable, and we've also got dozens of Minotaur magic stones."
"That's enough to trade for a top-tier set of equipment," Ryuu nodded.
"Really? I can already picture that guy grinning like an idiot," Cyd chuckled softly. "He's worked so hard. I'm starting to look forward to the moment he becomes a hero. I wonder what to prepare for his graduation gift?"
"Teacher."