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 79

Book 5 The Dwarves’ Village

Gamma Team had reached the fiftieth floor.

Right after defeating the floor’s boss, the Gold Ingot Golem, the team had gone straight to the Detox Hot Spring Village – Frog Hot Spring, so they hadn’t had much time to think about it then. However, stepping onto the fiftieth floor was one of the long-cherished goals for any adventurer.

Many adventurers quit before ever reaching the fiftieth floor.

Reaching it was not only a test of individual strength but also of teamwork.

Beyond simply the ability to defeat monsters, it required skills such as detecting traps and cooperating with one another.

Those unable to do so found it difficult to advance into the upper layers of the Loa Dungeon.

A person with extraordinary ability might reach the hundredth floor solo—and indeed, Bernhardt himself had once made it alone as far as Acorn Mountain on the ninety-ninth floor.

However, even Bernhardt said,『Going beyond the hundredth floor alone is nearly impossible』.

To conquer the Loa Dungeon, fighting as a team was essential.

It was a commemorative achievement—the fiftieth floor.

Normally, they would have celebrated it in grand fashion, but Ann was still on her diet.

Thanks to the detox effect of the hot springs and the frog girls’ slimming massages, Ann had lost a total of 2.8 kilograms.

Only 200 grams remained before she would reach her goal.

However, that last 200 grams refused to come off!

A feast was, of course, out of the question.

Thus, their celebration was a modest one, held only among team members in the Adventurers’ Guild meeting room.

“Cheers!”

They raised their glasses—but what they drank was tea, not alcohol.

As for food, fried dishes were forbidden. The menu was a healthy one with plenty of salad, and the meat was limited to lean cuts and chicken breast.

It felt a little plain, but it was all for the sake of Ann’s diet.

“Since it’s a good opportunity, why don’t we all check our current status together?”

At Ann’s suggestion, everyone decided to share their current stats.

Oag was now Level 46, Rick Level 47, and Laura Level 45.

The slight difference in levels was due to varying experience gain rates depending on their professions.

And because Kachua’s skill 【Housewife】 reduced her experience gain by one-tenth, she was now Level 24.

“Then, I’ll tell you my level,” Ann said.

At her words, Kachua, Oag, Rick, and Laura all exchanged uncertain looks.

“…Are you sure?”

Until now, Ann had never revealed her own status.

But this time, she nodded firmly.

“Yes. Now that you’ve all grown this much, there’s no longer any reason to keep it hidden.”

Before Bernhardt joined, Gamma Team had been structured around Ann leading the rookie members like Kachua and the others.

Teams like that tended to be centered around a single powerful veteran.

Put bluntly, they often ended up becoming『a leader and their subordinates』type of party.

However, Ann’s policy had always been,『If every member doesn’t do their best and work together, that team will eventually fall apart』.

That was why she had decided not to reveal her own level until everyone had reached a certain degree of growth.

By now, Kachua and the others were no longer rookies—they were mid-rank adventurers, fully developed and reliable.

“So, I suppose it’s about time. My level is seventy-six.”

“Whoa, amazing!”

Even though Og and the others had grown quite a bit, there was still more than a twenty-level gap between them.

“As expected of you, Ann” Kachua said admiringly.

But Bernhardt’s expression had turned dark.

“What’s wrong, Bernhardt-san?”

Bernhardt hesitated for a moment before answering.

“…Back then, Ann’s level was higher than mine. She was Level 124.”

“Eh? One hundred twenty-four!?”

Kachua and the others gasped in astonishment.

They had heard that adventurers who surpassed Level 100 were exceedingly rare—but to think that Ann had been one of them!

It was true that, together with Bernhardt and Jessica, Ann had once fought their way up to the one hundred twentieth floor and nearly defeated the Black Dragon that resided there.

It was said that in the dungeon, the recommended level for each floor corresponded roughly to that floor’s number.

Thus, to challenge the 120th floor, an adventurer’s level should ideally be 120 or higher.

However, once one passed Level 100, gaining even a single level required an enormous amount of experience.

Reaching that point was a feat of extreme difficulty.

Bernhardt’s face twisted in anguish.

“Ann’s level dropped because of me.”

“Eh? Really?” Kachua asked in surprise.

Bernhardt turned to Ann and asked,

“Ann, is it all right if I tell them about what happened back then?”

Ann shrugged slightly.

“I don’t mind. But『that』was something I did on my own. You don’t need to blame yourself for it.”

Bernhardt shook his head with a bitter expression.

“I can’t see it that way. Because of me, you nearly died.”

Kachua and the others didn’t know what『that』referred to, but Bernhardt clearly carried deep regret. After gazing at Ann with sorrowful eyes for a moment, he spoke to Kachua and the others.

“I’ve told you before that we used to be adventurers here in the Loa Dungeon, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“We heard about it.”

“You were in a team with Jessica, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Ann broke the rules to save me and because of that, she was banished from her homeland, Leda-Ellis Island. I was the one who selfishly insisted on going with her after that.”

Afterward, the two of them wandered freely for a while, but at one point, for a certain purpose, they came to this kingdom.

“A certain purpose?”

“After several years, Ann finally accepted my feelings, and we officially became lovers.”

“……”

Kachua quietly turned her eyes toward Ann.

Ann looked away, avoiding everyone’s gaze. Her cheeks were faintly red.

She’s embarrassed! Kachua thought.

“Because I was a prince” Bernhardt began, “even though Ann was my savior, she had been banished from her homeland. To marry her, I needed to achieve something that would convince my father—and everyone else around us—to approve. The accomplishment we came up with, something great enough to earn their recognition, was to defeat the Black Dragon that resides on the one hundred twentieth floor of the Loa Dungeon.”

It turned out that the two of them had come to this kingdom for the sake of obtaining permission to marry.

“We concealed our identities, disguised ourselves, and entered the Loa Dungeon. But just when we were on the verge of success, we failed to defeat the Black Dragon. To make matters worse, my father discovered us.”

Bernhardt, Ann and Jessica had been operating as an unidentified party, but their extraordinary strength had become a rumor that eventually led to their exposure.

Bernhardt had been sending letters regularly, but since he had never once returned to the royal palace, his official status had been listed as『long-term medical recovery』.

During his disappearance, his father, the King, had continuously ordered searches for his whereabouts.

“Under my father’s command to return, we had no choice but to head back to the capital.”

A royal order was absolute; disobeying it was impossible.

“And then? What happened?” Kachua asked eagerly.

Bernhardt continued, his tone heavy as he recalled those days.

“Unfortunately, my father would not acknowledge our relationship.”

“Eh? Really?”

The King was the most powerful man in the kingdom, yet to commoners like Kachua and the others, he was so distant a figure that they could hardly picture him.

While there had been some unrest near the border in recent years, the kingdom remained relatively peaceful, and the people’s standard of living was not poor.

He sounded like a good ruler overall but hearing Bernhardt’s story suddenly made him seem more like a stubborn old father.

“Eh…”

“That’s awful…”

“Well, I mean, it’s not that surprising, right? He is a prince, after all” Ann said coolly, clearly the most level-headed of them all.

Although the King had refused to acknowledge their relationship, he did recognize Ann’s achievement in saving Bernhardt’s life. As a result, she was permitted to stay as a guest in Bernhardt’s private residence.

However, she was not officially recognized as his lover.

Since their relationship hadn’t been approved, there was little reason for them to remain in the royal capital.

Ann had intended to return to the Loa Dungeon as soon as possible, but Bernhardt, being a prince, had royal duties to fulfill.

Now that his supposed『sick leave』was over and he was officially considered recovered, Bernhardt was required to attend several evening banquets.

Driven by his wish to marry Ann, he obeyed his father’s command and attended the gatherings.

“And that’s when… that incident happened” Bernhardt said quietly.