An Adventurer Mom, Who Awakened [Housewife] Skill Through a Login Bonus, Is Making the Most of Her Adventurer Life With the Weekly Flyers She Gets! - Chapter 29

Right away, when Kachua next met with everyone, she shared the story she had heard from Grace.

“Dwarves are in the dungeon?!”

“So that means, to meet a dwarf, we just need to get that tool shop card, right?”

Og and the others got really excited over this promising lead, while Ann’s reaction was—

“Ahh, dwarves… now that you mention it, I have seen them.”

“『Have seen them』—wait, Ann, you’ve met dwarves before?”

“If you explore the dungeon normally, you’ll run into them. They love rare treasures. Especially ores. If you’re carrying something like orichalcum, hihiirokane, or adamantite, they’ll pester you to show it to them or sell it.”

[Hihiirokane/ヒヒイロカネ=reference to grand blue fantasy]

Because Ann said it so casually—

“I see. So, it’s actually pretty easy to meet them then.”

Kachua thought that it might not be so hard to find the 『New Moon Ring』that Og was after after all, which was a relief.

However, Rick, the thief who knew a bit about treasure, was shocked and refuted her.

“No, orichalcum, hihiirokane and adamantite are extremely rare ores! You almost never find those!”

“Well, yeah, that’s true” Ann agreed with Rick’s words, but then added,

“But in a dungeon, it’s not unusual for some unexpected event to suddenly land you a rare item.”

What Ann said was true. Strange things that normally wouldn’t happen often occurred in dungeons. It’s things like that that make adventurers dream of striking it rich.

“So I think you’ll run into a dwarf sooner or later.”

“Yeah!” Og looked delighted to have found a lead.

“Umm…”

Kachua suddenly asked Ann something that had been bothering her.

“If you knew, Ann, wouldn’t it have been better if you had told Og sooner?”

“No way. I only just found out Og was looking for dwarves.”

Kachua was surprised.

“Huh, really? But we all heard it together in the Adventurer’s Guild library, didn’t we?”

Ann scratched her head.

“I don’t really remember that. I think I fell asleep halfway through.”

“It wasn’t halfway. It was near the beginning”

Laura, uncharacteristically, cut in.

“Yeah, even I was still awake then, so I remember.”

“So do I”

Rick and Kachua both agreed.

Indeed, while they were reading the book, Ann hadn’t said a single word. She looked like she was just sitting normally in her chair, so everyone assumed she was quietly reading. But apparently, she had been asleep from the very start—with her eyes open.

Kachua and the others were a bit shaken, but Ann herself looked completely unfazed as she gave Og some advice.

“If there’s an item you want a dwarf to make for you, you should gather materials they like before then.”

“Okay!” Og nodded energetically.

“Well, even if you don’t stress about it too much, you’ll eventually find one if you keep going forward.”

“It sounds like if you have some rare ore on hand, the dwarves will come to you.”

“I want the tool shop card.”

“They say you’ll get one if you become a regular at the tool shop…”

“If we keep exploring the dungeon, we’re bound to find it eventually.”

“Then let’s aim for the upper floors and do our best!”

“Ooh!”

And so, the team continued into the dungeon in search of potion ingredients!

＊＊＊

Kachua and the others had now reached the twentieth floor of the dungeon.

To place within the top eight in the tournament, the team had prioritized leveling up, and most members had now reached level 30. (Except for Kachua.)

For floors above the fifteenth, the recommended level is floor number × 1.5, so they seemed to be progressing without issue.

Their next goal was the Moonlight Queen Grass, a flower said to bloom on the twenty-fifth floor.

The next major obstacle standing in the way of Gamma Team was a stone structure on the twenty-third floor known as the『Trial of Strength Gate』 .

It was a massive stone door that could only be opened by physical force.

For a large team with dozens of members, it would be possible to work together to open it. But for a small party like Kachua’s, which also included physically weak members like Laura and Kachua herself, that would be difficult.

Items like the 『Mighty Gloves』 and 『Potion of Strength』, or scrolls that temporarily boost physical strength, could be used to supplement their power. The plan was to use such tools to somehow force the door open.

Which meant what they needed most now… was the money to buy them.

“We’re gonna have to save up some money on the way to the twenty-third floor.”

They passed smoothly through the twenty-first and twenty-second floors and the team finally arrived at the twenty-third floor.

Along the way, they had saved up money and stocked up on strength-enhancing gear but whether they could actually open the gate would only be known by trying.

Today was their first attempt, just to get a feel for it.

The twenty-third floor was what they called a『mine shaft type』 — a series of narrow, rock-carved paths that resembled the tunnels of a mining site.

“Whoa, so this is it, huh.”

“Amazing.”

As they walked forward, fighting monsters along the way, the tight, claustrophobic path suddenly opened up, and they stepped into a spacious area with a high ceiling.

Standing right in front of them was a massive stone blocking the way.

This was the『Trial of Strength Gate』.

Just as the rumors said, it was enormous.

It was a giant boulder over three meters wide and about the same in height. Its shape was round, so it might roll, but it looked ridiculously heavy.

If it were on the surface, it would probably be a tourist attraction — that’s how majestic this stone gate looked.

Can we really do this with just five people?

Everyone held their breath at the thought.

“…………”

Laura stared intently at the『Trial of Strength Gate』.

“Let’s blow it up with a magic bomb”

she said, dead serious.

It certainly sounded like the quickest solution, but it wouldn’t be that simple.

“I heard it’s protected by anti-destruction magic.”

Incidentally, once a party opens the gate, the『Trial of Strength Gate』will『remember』them and let them pass freely from then on.

“Well, for now, let’s give it a try.”

At Ann’s words, Kachua and the others began pushing against the gate.

Ann, Og and Rick had equipped strength-boosting gear. Due to budget limitations, they hadn’t been able to afford any for Laura and Kachua, so the two of them remained as they were.

“…………”

Ann suddenly looked around the dungeon, alert, even though there shouldn’t have been anyone else besides the party.

Monsters typically didn’t approach the area near the 『Trial of Strength Gate』, so it should’ve been safe… but still?

“What’s wrong, Ann?”

Kachua asked, and Ann shrugged her shoulders.

“…No, it’s just… I kind of felt like someone was here.”

“Hmm…”

Kachua also looked around, but the dim surroundings made it hard to see anything clearly.

“I don’t feel like anyone’s here…”

“Yeah, must’ve been my imagination. Alright, let’s begin.”

“Gugugugugu!”

“Funsuu!”

“It’s heavy!”

The team worked together, giving it their all to push the gate.

Though not strong, Laura and Kachua helped from behind the other three.

“No good!”

“This sucks!”

“Hang in there! I think we can do it!”

“Really?!”

“It’s just a bit, but it’s moving, suuu!”

Sure enough, the gate was shifting by millimeters, but the five of them were already nearing their physical limits.

“I… I can’t anymore…”

Just as Kachua’s strength was about to give out—

“…?”

For some reason, all of a sudden, the gate began to move.

With a thunderous『Gogogogogogo!』, the giant rock rolled away and the passage opened.

“We did it!”

“It moved!”

“It opened!”

“I’m exhausted!”

“Yeah…”

None of them could stand. They all collapsed and sat where they were for a while.

Even so, they didn’t know how long the gate would remain open.

The more energetic ones were the first to rise.

“Let’s go on ahead!”

“Yeah, let’s move!”

“Can’t wait to see what’s next!”

And with that, they entered through the gate.

Kachua, still unsteady on her feet, followed after them, and for some reason, glanced back behind her.

“…?”

While pushing the gate, Kachua had been positioned on the very end.

In that final moment—where no one should have been—she had the strange feeling that someone was there, pushing the gate alongside her.

She turned around.

But, of course, there was no one.

“It was just my imagination… yeah.”

Kachua whispered to herself, as if trying to convince herself, and followed after the others.