Eighty: I like girls, but I’ve never had experience, that’s the story.

“Come on, let’s go! Craft-sama!”

Of course, the one who clung tightly to my arms was Shururu, the lizardman.

“Um, Shururu-san? This is kind of hard to walk like this…”

“Then how about this!”

Whoa—suddenly, I was being carried like a princess.

Me.

“Bwah—!”

Jitarou snorted. I’m gonna beat you up later!

“Shururu!? Please put me down!? Please!?”

“This way, you don’t even have to walk!”

“No, no, no! Look! You’ll get tired!”

“I’m fine! I’m drinking Craft-sama’s stamina potion!”

“That’s not the point!?!”

Panicking halfway, I couldn’t even think of how to stop her.

Leifan sighed with a wry smile.

“Craft-kun. Why don’t you just admit you’re embarrassed?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah, right! Shururu! I’m mortified! Please put me down!”

“I’m fine with it.”

“I’m the one who’s embarrassed!”

“Hmm… well, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Reluctantly, he lowered me to the ground.

Shururu immediately tried to latch onto my arm, so I shoved myself as far as I could to Jitarou’s side.

Shururu pouted, sticking her finger in her mouth and looking at me with disappointment.

Wait, Shururu. I don’t hate you or anything, but if you keep pushing like that, I’m gonna run away!

“Raidock! I’m ready—let’s go!”

“O-oh, right. Yeah.”

I edged closer to Raidock, hoping for help—only to find he was already flanked by Solal and Eva on either side!

We’re glaring at each other, sandwiched between them—this is terrifying!

“Solal. I don’t think a Ranger needs to be right beside the commander, do you?”

You don’t gotta stick to me, do you?

My skin prickles under the crackling glare we’re throwing at each other.

“Everyone! Move out! Form up! Solal, you’re point scout. Shurl, you’re with Jitarou—guide the way! Eva, you’re with Craft and Marilyn, and with Raidock—stay in the middle!”

“I’d rather be with Raidock-sama…”

“I’m a skirmisher! I move on my own!”

Raidock yelps, scratching his head.

“Get lost.”

“Craft’s guilty too, you know?”

“Shut up.”

Never had a chance before—totally useless, broke, no magic. No girl ever came sniffing around. But lately? Things’ve changed.

Sure, I’m interested in girls! But I’ve got no experience—none at all—so I don’t know how to handle it!

And picking someone to be with for life? That’s not something you just decide on a whim!

"Wait, you’re actually thinking about getting married, Craft?"

"Leifan... No, not exactly. But if we’re gonna be together, you gotta think ahead, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Guess you’re serious about this."

What’s up with that?

I didn’t say anything wrong, but I got this weird, pitying look from him...

No, it’s just my imagination.

"Craft! Let’s go!"

"Sorry, Raidock! Get everyone sorted and form up the line."

"I’m ready."

Leifan, the magic user and personal guard, pouted slightly.

Eva reluctantly joined us, and we set off.

◆

After walking through the woods for a while, Shurlu bounced back and threw herself into my arms.

"That cave over there!"

"Shurlu! You don’t have to keep running back!"

We regrouped, then took a cautious look from a safe distance.

Soral’s the only one close enough to check the area safely.

“Looks quiet from here.”

“Yeah. But if the lizardman warrior didn’t come back, that means the inside’s otherworldly?”

“Then we’ve got a problem.”

Dungeons linked to the otherworld can’t be judged by size from the outside.

There are different patterns to them—once you go in, you can guess roughly what you’ll find. So we’ve got no choice but to go in.

On the flip side, if the cave isn’t otherworldly, there’s probably some powerful monster inside. Otherwise, why wouldn’t the warriors come back?

Just as Raidock was thinking that, Soral returned.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Yep, it’s otherworldly. Just a cave-type dungeon, though—might be a bit bigger than expected.”

“A cave-type dungeon. Looks like there could be resources.”

“Even if it’s otherworldly, why didn’t you head back to the village once?”

Shurlu weakens her grip on my arm.

"Only a handful of otherworldly dungeons have ever been found before. I heard even those were cleared by warriors. So I figured this one’d be fine too, right?"

Makes sense. The dungeons we’ve found so far weren’t exactly huge or dangerous.

Given how few lizardfolk there are, finding a rift dungeon would be rare.

"Trouble. If you’re not used to dungeon crawling, you might already be caught in a trap."

"Wait—traps in a dungeon? Really?"

"Ah. You’ve never run into one before. Could be urgent. Let’s go in."

"Still, Shurlu, you should head back to the village."

"I can protect myself just fine!"

Raidock scratched the back of his head.

...I’m not sure about leaving you behind alone. There’s still a chance we’ll run into survivors of the Baron. And with how much food the warriors took, it’ll take forever to get back to the village. Fine. Shurlu, you’re absolutely not joining the fight.

I can protect Craft just fine!

Ah, okay. Stay right by Craft’s side.

Yes!

Hey!?

I’m not against protecting Shurlu—just don’t cling like that, it’s hard to move!

Especially with all that soft stuff poking at me!

Craft… we should probably tell Maina about this.

Why bring up Maina now!?

I rub the creepy rabbit plushie Maina gave me, dangling from my waist.

Ah, right—this is just like how Kyle’s useless older brother always tattles on him!

I want to be the dependable older brother, not the one who gets reported!

“H-hey, just stop it, Shururu! This dungeon’s gonna kill you over the tiniest mistake, so cut it out with the hugging!”

“Yessir.”

Shururu untangled her arms and stepped back with a little hop.

Wouldn’t matter if she were as lizard-like as Jurara-san, but she’s practically human—plus, those things on top are impossible to ignore!

Finally, Leifan came to the rescue.

“Shururu-san. The otherworld dungeon’s truly dangerous. No hugging once we’re inside, okay?”

“Got it. I’ll protect Craft-sama instead!”

“Good resolve. Just don’t push yourself too hard.”

She’s really into it—slightly worrying—but she’s keeping her limits clear.

“Alright, close up the formation and move in. Everyone stay sharp.”

“““Yeah!”””

The slack air snapped tight all at once.

“Leifan’s still not used to dungeons, right? Just follow my or Raidock’s orders.”

“Yeah. I’m counting on you, Craft!”

“Got it. Leave it to me.”

And so we plunged into the alienated dungeon.

The dungeon we’d found and cleared on our way here was nothing like this one. The earlier dungeon had been a stone-walled structure, like a building. This one was a cave system.

Cave types are known for poor visibility and easy disorientation.

“Looks like the lizards hit a trap somewhere and fled deeper in.”

Soral spots the trap right away and draws her conclusion.

“Can you track the footprints?”

“Leave it to me.”

We follow the trail deeper in, and monsters start attacking one after another.

No one knows what they even eat to survive, but the sheer number of monsters living there—inside the dungeon that’s been twisted into another world—is the biggest mystery, and the accepted truth.

Of course.

Back in the day, that dungeon would’ve been a nightmare to flee barefoot. But with Raidock’s party, the three Casper sisters, me, Leifan, and Jitarou all here? Feels like a picnic.

"Craft-sama! Aaaaah!"

"Raidock, damn it!"

Can’t you be a bit more serious about this?

In the end, Sorar dealt with the trap, and as soon as the monster emerged, it was wiped out instantly.

Didn’t have to work hard at all to follow the lizardmen’s tracks.

And deeper inside, the cave had an unnatural, massive door sitting there like it was showing off.

Probably the lizardman’s in here somewhere.

Soral examined the trap carefully, then pressed an ear to the door.

“…! Fighting sounds from inside! Pretty heavy-duty!”

“Damn! No time to check! Breaking through!”

“““Yeah!!”””

With a kick, warrior Moda and Raidock burst open the door—revealing a wide-open space.

Of course, a massive swarm of monsters and lizardmen were locked in battle there.

“Everyone!”

“Shurru?! Human?!?!”

Bloody lizardmen turned their heads toward us.

They looked cornered—no time to spare.

Manga adaptation confirmed!

Serializing starting May 29th on MangaUP!

Details to follow in the activity report!

Please support the web, print, and manga versions—thank you so much!