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 83

Gamma Team suddenly had to gather materials for the Ring of the New Moon.

This time, it seemed the team needed to split up and obtain three items.

First, they needed to decide which members would split into the three groups.

“I’ll be the one to get the Dark-Armored Giant Fish’s scale” Bernhardt said.

It was decided that Bernhardt, who had gone to the upper floors many times, would go to the eighty-eighth floor.

“Then I’ll go to the Cave of a Hundred Ores” Og volunteered.

Next, Og volunteered to go to the Cave of a Hundred Ores, but Neoro objected.

“No, I think it’s better if the beastman over there doesn’t go to the Cave of a Hundred Ores” Neoro said.

“Huh, why?” Og asked.

“There are ores in the Cave of a Hundred Ores that emit a smell. Many beastmen with sharp noses dislike that scent.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll go to the cave,” Ann said, raising her hand in Og’s place.

“Then I’ll go too” Kachua said, trying to follow Ann to the Cave of a Hundred Ores, but—

Just as Kachua tried to accompany Ann to the Cave of a Hundred Ores, Neoro spoke again.

“The paths in the Cave of a Hundred Ores are narrow. If you want to reliably get the New Moon Stone in a short time, it’s better to go with a small group. I’ll guide you, so just that lady should go.”

As he said this, he pointed at Ann.

“Alright, let’s do it that way” the team agreed.

Next, Neoro turned to Laura and said,

“I think the healer over there should also go along to the eighty-eighth floor. The Cave of a Hundred Ores has traps to keep monsters out and as for the Fire Moles, they dislike the dark and are quiet on the night of the new moon. Right, Kurt?”

When Neoro called out to Kurt, Kurt hesitated for a moment, saying, “Is that so?” but then,

“Oh, right. Yeah, the night of the new moon isn’t dangerous” he remembered and nodded deeply.

So, Bernhardt and Laura would go to the eighty-eighth floor to get the Dark-Armored Giant Fish’s scale.

Ann would go with the dwarf Neoro to the Cave of a Hundred Ores to collect the New Moon Stone.

Rick and Og, guided by Kurt, would head to the nearby forest to obtain Fire Mole’s gas.

The next night, Gamma Team split into three groups and set out to search for the items.

Meanwhile, as for Kachua—

“Hm hm hmmm,” she hummed a tune while waiting in the dwarf village as the contact person in case something happened.

Since just waiting around would be boring, she started preparing a barbecue on the lawn in front of Neoro’s house, so that everyone would have food to eat when they returned—cutting up meat and vegetables.

For the side, instead of bread, she chose the rice she’d discovered was delicious at the detox hot spring village the other day.

Rice cooked with saffron powder goes so well with barbecue!

“I wonder if they’re back yet?”

After finishing most of her preparations, Kachua let out a sigh. Bernhardt and Laura had gone all the way to the eighty-eighth floor, but she’d heard that getting Fire Mole’s gas from the nearby forest shouldn’t take that much time. Still, no one had come back yet.

“Oh, that person…”

The one who appeared before Kachua was Board, the gloomy dwarf rumored to be eccentric.

Board’s steps were unsteady, like a drunkard.

Timid Kachua really didn’t want to get involved with such a scary person.

Even though she tried to hold her breath and hide her presence as much as possible, for some reason he started coming closer…!

“What should I do…”

Board stopped right in front of the barbecue skewers Kachua had prepared.

“Meat…”

Board stared at the barbecue skewers and gulped.

“Huh?”

“Looks delicious…”

Board looked absolutely desperate to eat some meat.

Kachua gathered her courage and spoke to him.

“Um, are you hungry by any chance?”

“Yeah, I got so caught up in my blacksmithing that I haven’t eaten anything all day.”

“What, all day? But it’s already night! Hold on a moment.”

Startled, Kachua immediately put the barbecue skewers she had prepared over the fire.

With a delicious sizzling sound, the meat and vegetables finished grilling.

“Here you go.”

When she offered him the skewers of meat and vegetables along with the saffron rice, Board devoured them at an incredible speed.

Kachua quietly started grilling more skewers for seconds.

After going back for seconds and finally seeming satisfied, Board glared sharply at Kachua.

“Hey, you, are you still in the dwarf village?”

He’d gone back to acting rather high and mighty, but compared to earlier, Kachua didn’t find him as scary anymore.

“Yes, it’s the new moon tonight, right? I’m planning to have Neoro-san make the『Ring of the New Moon』for us.”

Board snorted dismissively.

“Hmph, the Ring of the New Moon, huh. If it’s Neoro, he can make it. But it’s the new moon tonight, right? Getting the Dark-Armored Giant Fish’s scale is a big job, but going to collect Fire Mole’s gas is going to be tough.”

“…Wait, tough? I heard the Fire Moles dislike the dark and are quiet on the night of the new moon.”

The moment Kachua said this, Board looked up, fixing her with a serious expression.

“Who told you that?”

“Neoro-san. Kurt-san also said,『the night of the new moon isn’t dangerous.』”

“That’s wrong! Among mole monsters, Fire Moles are unusually good-sighted. Because of that, they hate the dark, but on the night of the new moon, they become violent!”

“What?!”

“We can’t just sit around—wait for me, Kurt!”

Board hurriedly ran out of the dwarf village.

“I’m going too”

Kachua chased after him.

“You’ll just get in the way. Don’t follow me!”

Board turned and yelled at Kachua, but she didn’t back down at all.

“I’m worried about my friends! Please!”

“Don’t blame me if something happens to you.”

Muttering to himself, Board dashed off.

“Rick-kun, Og-kun, Kurt-san, everyone, please be safe…”

Praying as she ran, Kachua hurried after him.

＊＊＊

At that time, on the eighty-eighth floor, Bernhardt was struggling in his battle against the Dark-Armored Giant Fish.

‘Damn it! Was I too optimistic?’

On the surface, Bernhardt was unmatched wherever he went, but fighting the Dark-Armored Giant Fish, which could swim freely underwater, was a completely different story.

He was forced into an underwater battle in the lake, but the water slowed him down, making both his punches and kicks less effective.

The strength of the Dark-Armored Giant Fish’s scales, which were said to reach their peak during the new moon, was also more formidable than he’d expected.

With no moon in the sky, visibility was poor, and that was a disadvantage for Bernhardt.

He kept losing sight of the Dark-Armored Giant Fish as it moved swiftly through the water.

All Bernhardt could do was defend himself from the Dark-Armored Giant Fish’s charges and attacks with its dorsal fin.

‘I have to do something…’

“…I have to do something,”

Laura, who was watching the battle from the edge of the lake, was unable to support Bernhardt effectively while he was underwater and could only stand by helplessly.

If she used her healing magic carelessly, she would end up restoring the health of the Dark-Armored Giant Fish along with Bernhardt, undoing all the damage he had managed to inflict.

“What am I supposed to do in this situation…”

Meanwhile, Rick and the others, who had come to the forest near the dwarf village to obtain Fire Mole’s gas—

“Nobody told me about this!”

—were in a huge pinch.

Their opponents were Fire Moles, as the name suggested, mole-shaped monsters that breathed fire from their mouths.

To escape the flames from the swarm of Fire Moles attacking them, Rick, Og, and Kurt ran frantically through the forest.

“Hey, Kurt-ossan, weren’t the Fire Moles supposed to be quiet on the night of the new moon?!”

Rick shouted at Kurt as they ran.

The Fire Moles, who were supposed to be docile, were instead extremely aggressive, chasing the three of them while spewing massive flames.

They could retreat from here, but if they did, they wouldn’t be able to get the Fire Mole’s gas.

If you catch a Fire Mole and gently tickle its belly, it’ll let out a fart with a『pffft』and if you quickly catch it in a sturdy, airtight bag, you’re done collecting.

Rick and Og tried to find an opening to catch and tickle a Fire Mole, but in their berserk state, the monsters kept breathing fire, making it completely impossible.

“But Neoro was the one who said so, right? Neoro’s never wrong,”

Kurt yelled back at Rick, gasping for breath.

“That’s your only reason?!”

“Didn’t you agree with him at the time, Kurt-san?”

Og asked, and Kurt scratched his head.

“To tell the truth, I did kind of feel like it was a bit different but Neoro’s never wrong, you know?”

“So Neoro-san just made a mistake?!”

***

During the day, the Cave of a Hundred Ores was lively with dwarves searching for blacksmithing materials, but at night, all of them had returned home, and the area had fallen completely silent.

Ann and Neoro entered the cave, holding up torches.

“This way,”

guided by Neoro, they proceeded to a spot where a particularly radiant stone could be seen.

The stone gave off a faint, creamy white glow, just like the moon.

That must be the New Moon Stone.

The stone was embedded in the rock near the ceiling.

“Ann-san, I can’t reach it. Could you get the New Moon Stone out for me?”

“Alright”

The dwarf Neoro was shorter than Ann.

Ann, for a woman, was quite tall.

“Heave-ho,”

Ann set down her torch and climbed up the wall to get closer to the New Moon Stone.

The stone was half-buried in the rock.

“It’s impossible to get this out by hand,”

Ann gripped the spear she had slung on her back with a shorter hold, using the tip of the spear to scrape away the rock around the stone, gradually freeing the New Moon Stone.

As Ann quarried out the New Moon Stone, Neoro called up to her from below.

“Ann-san, I’ll catch it, so please toss the New Moon Stone down.”

“Alright, I’ll drop it now,”

Ann gently tossed the New Moon Stone down as carefully as she could.

Once she confirmed that Neoro had safely caught the stone, Ann started to climb back down from the rock, when—

“Chains of Gravity.”

“!?”

Suddenly, something black wrapped around Ann’s arms and legs. Her limbs became instantly heavy, and Ann tumbled off the rock.

“Ow…”

She managed to brace herself as she fell, but after dropping from a height of two meters, her limbs were so heavy that she couldn’t lift her body.

Looking down, she saw black chain-like things coiled around both her arms and legs.

They were unbelievably heavy.

As Ann struggled on the ground, unable to stand, someone approached her.

It was Neoro.

“Ah—”

Neoro forcibly snatched the spear from Ann’s hand.

After staring intently at the spear with feverish eyes, Neoro muttered with satisfaction,

“As I thought, this spear is made from Astral Stone, an ultra-rare ore found only on Leda-Ellis Island.”

“…Neoro, what are you doing?”

Ann demanded an answer, but Neoro looked down at her with a chillingly cold gaze.

“It would be best not to move. Each of those chains is a one-hundred-kilogram weight. If you try to use your arms or legs, you’ll break them.”

“I’m asking what you’re trying to do!”

“I just got tired of it. Doing the same thing over and over every single day, trying to go from second class to first class. My blacksmithing skills were meant for greater work than that. If I just had this Astral Stone, I could create a masterpiece that would impress everyone. Not just first class, even special class wouldn’t be a dream anymore.”

Neoro’s eyes shone ominously as he stared at Ann’s spear.

“As expected, it was just as Lord Voracity foretold. With this, I’ll become a first-class blacksmith before Board!”

“The Tempting Serpent, Voracity… Did you sell your soul to a demon?”

“I had no choice. If I didn’t do this, I would lose to that Board. I can’t accept him becoming a first-class blacksmith before me. Lord Voracity will grant my wish. Offering my soul is nothing if it means getting what I want.”

Neoro rolled up his sleeve and stroked a strange mark on his elbow.

The mark was in the shape of a snake.

It was proof that he had sold his soul to Voracity.

“You fool!”

“That’s the end of our conversation. Here, you’ll be bitten and killed by a deadly poisonous snake. Your last wish is for Neoro to use your spear as material to make a magnificent weapon. It’s your will, after all, so I’ll make sure it’s fulfilled, Ann-san.”

“That’s ridiculous! My teammates aren’t just going to let this happen.”

“Is that so? If the whole party is wiped out, there won’t be anyone left to say anything.”

Ann gasped at Neoro’s words.

“What did you do? What did you do to them?”

“It’s nothing much. There were two scrolls for the eighty-eighth floor, you see. Right before they went, I poured an extract into the lake that amplifies monsters’ power. With that, the Dark-Armored Giant Fish’s strength is more than doubled. Even that strong-looking man will have a hard time defeating the Dark-Armored Giant Fish alone.”

“Bernhardt…”

“If he’s not around, I wonder what will happen to the healer who went with him. I hope she can make it back safely from the eighty-eighth floor all by herself.”

Neoro muttered as if it were none of his concern.

“…Laura.”

“The thief and the beastman are probably being roasted black by the Fire Moles right about now. Kurt is with them, so at least he won’t be lonely.”

“You—! You dragged Kurt, someone from your own village, into this too?!”

“It’s their fault for being so easily deceived.”

Neoro spat the words coldly.

“As for that airheaded mom who’s waiting back in the village, I’m sure she’s safe, but do you really think she can do anything?”

Neoro sneered, took a bag from his pocket, opened it, and placed it beside Ann.

“In this bag is a deadly poisonous snake that’s been put to sleep with a sleeping drug. Three minutes after the bag is opened, the snake will wake up. Well then, farewell forever, Ann-san.”

With that, Neoro left, spear in hand.