She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (WN)

Chapter 182: Matter of Life and Death (2)

「I remember the coat you mentioned the most. The eyepatch also had a similar design. In a way I felt like he had a rather unique style of clothing. I didn’t get a look at his hands though, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you if he wore gloves or not.」

「It’s alright, what you saw is enough. I’m quite certain he was the man I’m searching for.」

Soul Howl was obsessed with undead girls, but his tastes could also be described as those of an edgy teenager. He always valued the appearance of things first, and an eyepatch seemed like a natural evolution for his behavior overall. At least that was Mira’s conclusion.

「Thank you for telling me. Here, take this as a token of my gratitude.」

Mira thanked Hans and gave him one of the fresh fruits she had picked on her way there.

「Fresh fruit on the sixth floor? Thank you, I really appreciate this.」

「I’m glad you like it.」

Usually it took adventurers a month to reach the sixth floor, that was how difficult the Ancient Underground City was as a dungeon. A large part of that was making sure one carried enough provisions to last them through. There were some fruits and edible plants growing in some places, but they were usually well hidden in the facilities that were still operative in the sixth floor.

All of those facilities were located in dangerous locations as well, which made it hard to justify the risk of traveling there. Considering all of that, getting fresh fruit there left a stronger impression than Mira expected.

「Well, godspeed with your adventures then.」

「Right back at you. I’m assuming you’re heading to the seventh floor if you’re looking for that man, right? I know you’re strong since you made it here on your own, but don’t underestimate the seventh floor either. Be careful.」

「Mhm, I’ll keep that in mind.」

The seventh floor’s difficulty had been ranked as A, and even groups of A rank adventurers could struggle in it. Mira was powerful enough to keep herself safe there, but she could not lower her guard either. She was fully aware of that much, so she took Hans’ advice to heart.

「By the way, it’s even harder to go through at night, are you sure you want to go down there already?」

Hans said that shortly after.

The spike in difficulty at night was much harsher compared to other dungeons in the floors below the fourth one. The monsters there were skeletons, which just like any undead monster gained strength in the dark.

The adventurers who made a living in the Ancient Underground City knew that well, so shortly before the night they would enter a shrine or cathedral where monsters could not follow them. That also limited how far they could go to hunt.

There were multiple groups of adventurers all the way down at the sixth floor, but their area of activity was small.

None of those areas included an active facility, which made fresh fruit even more valuable down there.

That was not an issue during the game days, as one could log out. Back then if there was friction between groups they simply went to hunt in separate areas.

「I’m actually quite exhausted, I think I’ll rest here before I go.」

Saying that, Mira began looking around the chapel, which was more than fifty meters long. A certain idea sparked in her mind then, a teasing grin spreading on her lips as she said 「I’d actually like to enjoy a nice shower,」 making sure her voice was loud enough.

「A shower? I mean, I guess that’d feel nice, but not really possible down here.」

There were no natural sources of water on the sixth floor. One had to bring water themselves, or make it with Concept Magic. The first option was limited by the Item Box’s capacity, while using magic would require a large amount of mana. Just filling a single cup with water cost as much as a medium level spell.

Regular spellcasters did not have much mana available either, so their performance hunting would be hampered if they produced too much water.

There were Magic Arts with water, some of which handled large quantities of it, and required less mana.

The difference between that and water from Concept Magic was permanence. In simple terms, water from Magic Arts evaporated at a fast rate, while Concept Magic water could exist for much longer. That was why Magic Arts were not preferable.

All in all, securing enough water for a shower was a tall order, but that was not enough to erase Mira’s confident smile.

「Not really, it’s actually quite easy for me. I’m a summoner after all!」

Mira had been waiting for that moment, and made sure to put even more emphasis on the word ‘summoner’. Hans seemed to notice something then, muttering, 「Ahh, I see.」

「If you can summon a water spirit it would certainly be achievable, you’re right.」

A water spirit could easily create a shower, and if a summoner formed a contract with one, it was possible to summon such a spirit anywhere while consuming far less mana than Concept Magic required.

「I never realized summoners could do something like that.」

Hans nodded understandingly, sounding quite impressed. But he was quickly shoved out of the way.

「You can take showers in here?!」

「Are you sure?! Can you do it?!」

The two female spellcasters in Hans’ group had been listening in, and could not hold themselves back from jumping out and pushing Hans aside to directly ask Mira.

「Yes, of course. It’s an easy feat for summoners like myself.」

Mira felt slightly nervous by how close the two spellcasters got to her, but she still puffed her chest proudly as she announced the power of summoners.

「Please let me take one too! I’m all out of Sanitary Towel Paper, I can’t take this anymore!」

「Me too, please! I’m sure a fellow girl like you can understand our plight!」

They sounded desperate, clinging closer to Mira as they pleaded. Mira also understood what they meant, as she could feel a hint of body odor.

Their names were Ettie and Colette. They mentioned how their entire group had been in the dungeon for nearly two months, so their Item Boxes only held food, water, adventuring tools, and medicine. They had already used up all non-essential items.

That included Sanitary Towel Paper, which was sold at Dinowal Stores at a price of 5000 Rils for ten sheets. They were wet wipes that could be used to wash one’s body, as well as hair, and the used sheets could be used as fire starters, making them extremely convenient. The two girls had somehow managed to fit some in their crowded Item Boxes, but had used up everything the week prior.

The men also carried Refreshing Towels, which were similar in concept, but only cleaned the bare minimum, with the added benefit of being reusable. Sadly that also made the idea of sharing a Refreshing Towel feel disgusting.

The two girls mentioned how they knew they would have to discard half of their femininity the moment they became adventurers, and had anticipated they would be in this situation one day. But now that it became reality their minds faltered, and the remaining half of their femininity would not stop screaming.

Hans and the rest had planned the trip to last for three days more.

「Worry not, for I’m a summoner. I shall let you shower for as long as you desire!」

Mira had seen first hand the things regular adventurers were subject to, so she could sympathize with them a bit, but more importantly this presented her the perfect opportunity. The loud pleas from the two had caught the attention of the other adventurer groups there, so everyone was looking their way now.

All the adventurers down there were skilled, being able to make a living in a B rank area. Even Bardon’s group had two A rank members.

If all of them saw how powerful summoners could really be, then the bad impression everyone had of that class would vanish into thin air.

「Since you’ve been waiting to shower for so long, a place to enjoy it properly would be even better, right?」

Mira waved her arms theatrically in front of the two girls as she said that.

「You’re right, taking a shower here would be a little…」

「There’s a room upstairs I always used to change!」

The two nodded and broke into a dash for the stairs, but Mira stopped them shortly, telling them there was no reason to go elsewhere.

They looked puzzled at her, wondering what she meant. The adventurers were also curious, their eyes glued on Mira.

She walked with a long stride to an empty corner of the chapel, there was just the perfect spot there.

「Summoners also have the ability to do this.」

Her performance reached its climax as she activated the spell she had held ready the entire time. It was the spirit mansion.

A large magic circle illuminated the floor, which started to mold into shape. Eventually it all fell in place and a building appeared there, almost like it had existed there the entire time.

「Huh? What’s this?!」

「A small… mansion?」

The building was the size of a small hut, but its construction was similar to a noble’s mansion. The two girls were perplexed by that bizarre sight, and the other adventurers were also trying to figure out what they had just witnessed.

「It may be a bit small for the time being, but it’s still plenty useful.」

The spirit mansion’s appeal was hard to fully grasp from the outside. Mira grinned, she had also been slightly let down the first time she saw it, so she swung the doors open.