After reuniting with Jeanne, we decided to check our loot before leaving the labyrinth.

Today was our first ever labyrinth exploration. While we could just sell everything off haphazardly, it's important to verify exactly what we've gathered and how much.

"This is all I've got. Black stones don't come out very often."

Jeanne had defeated skeletons, skeleton soldiers, and bone knights.

Skeletons and soldiers dropped pure stones.

Bone knights dropped both pure stones and black stones.

"This is a shadow spirit stone. I've never seen a shadow stone before, but I'm certain of it."

"Really? You're using shadow spirit magic after all."

"There are no monsters in the second and third floors that drop shadow stones..."

Since the Shadow Stone can be used in "Create Undead," I'd like to keep it if possible. I also want to improve my proficiency with the spell itself, and even if it's just a wall in an emergency, the Bone Knight could come in handy. Honestly, undead being undead feels kind of mysterious.

"I've gathered quite a bit already."

Now it's my turn to pull out the spirit stones I looted from the Shadow Storage.

Stones from goblins and orcs are 80% transparent. Ogres yield a 50-50 split between transparent and earth spirit stones.

Mantises drop either wind or chaos spirit stones. Maybe transparent ones appear too, but as far as I know, I've never seen one.

There are over a hundred in total, but fewer colored ones than I expected.

Still, the fact that I got a Chaos Spirit Stone from a Manticore means it's worth quite a bit on its own. I don't really want to sell it, since it's my trump card.

"……incredible. You did all this in just one day?"

"I'm used to two layers now."

"Even so... No, you were the guy with the number one viewer count. You'd probably do something like this."

"Please stop. I wasn't gathering viewers for myself—I did it to bring Nanami back. It wasn't something I actually wanted."

"I didn't mean it negatively. I just wanted to reaffirm that you had the ability to do something like this."

The first transfer involved 1,000 people—certainly not a small number.

To rank first among them, it was undeniable that battling monsters and winning those battles was the most effective way to attract viewers.

I'm a combat type, and so is Jeanne, so in a fantasy game world like this, it goes without saying that fighting monsters would be the main content.

"So, how much will all this come to? It won't be enough to live on if it's only around three silver coins."

"Jeanne didn't know the market price of spirit stones either?... Well, I'm not exactly sure myself. Probably around one gold coin total."

"W-wait, one gold coin!?"

One gold coin is roughly equivalent to forty silver coins at today's exchange rate. That's more than the rent of twenty-eight silver coins—basically, I've just earned more than my monthly rent in one go.

　

(Jeanne being shocked is understandable.)

One gold coin is probably worth around 8 million yen in Japan.

...Of course, the value depends on what you're basing it on, so it can't be directly converted, but in any case, a single gold coin is worth more than enough to live on for a month.

After confirming the loot, we exited the labyrinth.

To the guild located about a five-minute walk from the labyrinth.

Since they offered to handle the exchange of spirit stones, I left the shadow spirit stone and the chaotic spirit stone obtained from the mantis in Shadow Storage.

The rest we decided to sell and split evenly.

--shh--

--hey, isn't that...--

--shh--

Upon entering the guild, it was nothing short of packed compared to the last time we came.

It was crowded with adventurers, and the line for exchanging items looked like it would take forever—

(Did something get spread around...?)

I could feel eyes on me.

I feel like someone else is watching me… Probably just my own paranoia

. Am I becoming like someone with scopophobia

? Even without straining to listen, I hear familiar words… —That guy,

the one who teamed up with Reflaira… —Now with

another woman…? —Said he

defeated the Demon King too…

—So they’re a lovey-dovey twin bird, huh…

? —What’s that

even supposed to mean? —That’s their party name

, lovey-dovey twin

bird… —No way… Seriously

? I clearly heard the rumors: "He’s famous, Cro. We should’ve made the new party name 'Lovely Twin Bird' too. With a name this

well-known… —Stop it… I didn’t even know… Why am I being put through this…?"

Even though I was speaking in a very quiet whisper, for some reason I could hear every word perfectly—probably because my rank has increased and my physical abilities have been enhanced.

Actually, I’ve always relied on Refrea to handle exchanges, so I never actually entered the guild, but maybe I stood out more than I thought.

After all, being partnered with Refrea, I can understand why people might notice us, but being famous for an odd party name is a bit too much.

Feeling awkward, I joined the line and, after a while, reached the counter to exchange my spirit stone for coins.

The transaction went smoothly (I ended up with thirty silver coins), so we quickly left the guild.

Meeting up with Grapeflour, who had been waiting outside, we headed off to have dinner.

It's obvious that my appetite has increased since coming to this world, with my food intake nearly doubling, and dining out after exploration has become a quiet pleasure.

Today, I'll have meat.

After finishing my meal, I'll say goodbye to Grapeflour and head home.

As usual, I gave Flour five silver coins. Technically, I should have paid the initial fee upfront, so giving extra might not be proper, but Links' reward ratio for earnings is far too low.

Still, having money means I can buy gear and supplies, and being properly equipped should improve my chances of survival.

So as long as we're employed, we should be relatively safe. It would be even better if we could secure a contract with the Great Spirit sooner.

Back home, I'll stow my belongings and head to the bathhouse.

The house we rented doesn't have a bath.

Water can be drawn directly from the irrigation channel, and bathing is no problem, but still, both Jeanne and I are modern people. If there were a bath, we'd definitely use it.

When I came out of the public bathhouse, Jeanne was already waiting for me at the entrance.

"Sorry, did I keep you waiting? You could've gone back first."

"Don't say such a lonely thing. There's nothing for me to do back at the house anyway."

"I suppose that's true."

There aren't many entertainments in this world.

Jeanne was quite the gamer back in the real world, so the fact that there's no electricity here—let alone games—must be incredibly dull at night.

Still, we can't just stay holed up in the dungeon forever.

If we could exchange points for games, that'd be different, but so far, there's no such item.

"Well, alright. Let's take a walk and chat a bit."

"Yeah, the night breeze feels nice."

Though it was a somewhat unexpected suggestion from Jeanne, I had things I wanted to talk about, so it was perfect.

"How was your first dungeon?"

"Yeah, it was fun. Still in the training phase, but by the end I could take down Bone Knight with a single strike."

"A single hit? That's impressive. You know about the spirit energy's vital point, right?"

"Yeah, I heard about it through a message. Anyway, he's wearing armor, so cutting off his head is the quickest way to take him down."

Bone monsters like the Bone Knight have the same weakness, of course, but they can be defeated in other ways too.

Cutting through the spine means death on the spot. Breaking the skull will bring them down. In that regard, they're no different from humans. Just because they're undead doesn't mean they're invincible.

Still, unlike humans, they show no pain even when an arm is severed—something unique to the undead.

"So, starting tomorrow, we'll go to the second floor?"

"No, I'll still train alone for a few more days. Getting cocky after just one day is dangerous... and I have time. Besides—"

"Besides?"

"I don't want to be a burden."

Those words were unlike Jeanne, who had always appeared so confident.

They were a rare glimpse of vulnerability from someone who had never shown weakness before.

"You're the one who's stronger than me, Jeanne, not the other way around."

"You're talking about that battle, huh? ...In truth, I lost. When your blade was at my neck, I should've admitted defeat. I didn't because I just didn't want to lose."

"But you're stronger than me, whether it's defense or offense."

"That's irrelevant. What matters is the result. I only managed to defeat twenty monsters. You killed over a hundred. Do you get it?"

"Well, I've been diving into the labyrinth many more times than you..."

I can understand what Jeanne is saying, but it's just because that's my specialty.

If it's just about how fast we can hunt monsters in the labyrinth, I'm definitely faster. It's not just because I'm used to it—my ability to use spirit magic lets me adapt to various situations as well."

Above all, hunting on the second layer matches my own abilities perfectly.

Yet, whether this should be categorized as "strength"……

Explorers who've long specialized in the third layer found almost no effective means of attack against that irregular monster—the Demon King.

Perhaps hunting on the third layer allows for incredible speed and stable progression, but that "strength" is, in reality, quite limited.

It's something different from true strength.

"But I don't intend to keep losing forever. I'll catch up soon. I'll spend about three days exploring the first layer, then move to the second. After that, I'll practice fighting as a party."

Jeanne is determined.

She's facing her own desire not to be a burden head-on.

I wonder how I'd react. I might say something like "just pretend they don't exist."

"Besides, I want to get strong enough that they won't be able to touch us before the next transfer arrives. Right now, we're still relying solely on gifts from the gods."

Jeanne understands about "ranks" too.

And that's precisely what makes it the fastest path to our goal.

Just as I fight by ambushing enemies from the shadows and striking them down in one blow, Jeanne must have her own most efficient way of combat. She undoubtedly wants to figure that out during her battle with that Bone Knight.

I'd actually benefit from fighting a Mantis or two to train, but unfortunately, those are rare monsters that don't show up often.

"Got it. Then I'll try to regain my instincts a bit more over the next three days."

Anyway, I want to raise my rank.

To do that, it seems quickest to just get through a lot of them.