Chapter 19 - The Five Are Met
"Together with Bloom?! Absolutely! Definitely not!!"
Lady Staff shouted as she dove behind my back to hide. She’s completely developed a full-blown Bloom phobia...?!
"Now, now, calm down. We were also just looking for companions to dive into the dungeon with. Don't you think it's a wonderful coincidence?"
"Didn't you literally apply for the dungeon practical training right after overhearing our conversation?"
"There are three on your side and two on ours, making a total of five. Doesn't that perfectly satisfy the conditions for entering the dungeon? This is already fate!"
Ah, the classic type of person who finds "fate" in absolutely anything.
... Hm?
"It's true that there are three of us, but you said there are two on your side? There's only one person here."
"More is right here, isn't she? She's my servant. Have you forgotten her already?"
No, I remember her just fine. She’s Clay More, who came along to serve as the guard for the noble Bloom, right?
"But More isn't actually here right now, is she? Is it really okay to push things forward like this without her personal consent?" "She is my servant. It is impossible for her to go against my wishes. She will simply act in accordance with my decisions. That is all."
............ Well, in that case, I guess I'll try acting like a proper servant too.
"My Lady, what are your wishes?"
"Absolutely! Defi-nitely! NOTTTTTTTTTT!!"
And with that, it seems we simply weren't meant to be.
"Wait, wait, just wait a moment. Are you truly fine with that?" "Well, didn't you say a servant can't go against their master's wishes?"
She doubled down on "definitely," so she must really hate the idea.
"However, if you want to enter the dungeon right this instant, this is probably your only option. If you don't accept us, you'll have no choice but to wait for the upperclassmen's dungeon season to open, wasting several months for nothing."
That was, unfortunately, a completely valid point.
Gnuuu, the Young Lady groaned. After a long agony, she squeezed out a heavy, blood-spitting voice...
"Very well... I shall accept Lady Bloom...!!"
""My Ladyyyyyyy!!""
Moved by her sacrifice, we reflexively embraced our resolved master.
"This practical training is vital for both Sao and Calibur. I cannot allow it to be delayed over a single selfish whim of mine...!"
"My Lady, you are so incredibly kind!"
She cares so much for her subordinates! I wish I could boil down the dirt under her fingernails and make that theatrical beauty drink it as medicine!
"Understood. In that case, I will submit the application for the dungeon practical training with a five-person party consisting of Sao, Calibur, Lady Staff, Lady Bloom... and Clay More."
Instructor Whip processed everything efficiently. Couldn't you be at least a little moved by the Young Lady's selflessness?
"However, there is one issue regarding that."
"What is it?"
"Clay More has not yet completed her compulsory curriculum, so I cannot grant her permission for independent research."
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
"She should be taking the test to evaluate her completion standard right now, so if she passes that, her training permission will be granted. Either way, the results won't be out until next week."
"No problem at all! I will personally make sure More passes so she can accompany me to the dungeon!"
So that's why More wasn't here. While I felt a prick of sympathy for her being dragged around by Bloom's baseless confidence, it made me realize all over again how lucky we were that our master was Lady Staff.
Ultimately, we did have to wait, but cutting a two-month delay down to a single week was a massive improvement.
More passed her test without a hitch and received her permission for independent research. However, she was given absolutely no freedom to choose what to do with that independent research.
And so, she accompanied us as we headed toward the training dungeon designated for students.
"This whole plan moved forward entirely without my knowledge...?!"
"Stay strong out there."
Leaving the Royal Capital, we traveled for less than a day before arriving at a small village where the dungeon was located. It was a small-scale labyrinth.
It was said that the dungeon had been completely mapped out ages ago and its boss monster had already been subjugated, leaving it with zero danger and not a shred of mystique. The Kingdom had bought up the rights to the site and managed it strictly as a practice ground for students.
We had to ride in a carriage to get there, but because Bloom and More were sharing the cabin with us, we couldn't indulge in any sex along the way.
Perhaps remembering how we had vigorously gone at it in the carriage during our journey from our hometown to the Capital, My sister and the Young Lady both seemed a bit restless in their seats, but I had them endure. As long as outsiders were present, the inside of the carriage counted as a public space.
I could still feel a distinct wall dividing the solidarity of our party.
With things playing out like that, we finally arrived at the student practice dungeon, where a man was waiting for us.
"Welcome, you little fledglings! To the gates of the cauldron of hell! I am hired by the Royal Academy to manage this dungeon, instruct the students who use it, and ensure their safety!!"
"We look forward to working with you~"
We had already heard about him from Instructor Whip. She told us to follow the on-site supervisor's instructions explicitly.
"I’ve already received word from Whip! She said another bunch of cocky brats showed up this year and asked me to whip 'em into shape. But I gotta say, it looks like we've got quite a bumper crop this time!"
"A bumper crop?"
"Hell yeah! Conquering the first-year curriculum this early and stepping up to challenge a dungeon—I've got no choice but to admit you've got some real talent! Mind you, there's usually about one prodigy out of every twenty who can manage that much every year!"
Is that so? Well, it makes sense given that they welcome a new batch of students every single year. They've probably mapped out all the typical student patterns by now.
"Even so, it's pretty rare to have a year where enough prodigies gather to actually form an entire party! Usually, it's just one or two kids who can't fill out a roster, so they obediently wait out the months until the upperclassmen open up the dungeon season! To gather enough heads and pull off a false start like this... well, it happens about once every five years!"
"Should we take that as a compliment?"
"Oh ho! Go ahead and let it get to your heads while you can! Knocking that pride right out of you is exactly what this dungeon is for!"
The dungeon manager gave us a malicious grin.
"No matter how many prodigies and geniuses you stack together, you're still just at a student level. Once you step out into the real world, that head start is barely anything to brag about. Realizing that... feeling the harsh reality of society is what this dungeon is all about!"
Even if it was heavily maintained for practice, this dungeon operated in a way that was extremely close to actual combat, which certainly set it apart from our classroom lectures so far. It would be the students' very first baptism by fire in real battle.
"If it looks like you're about to kick the bucket, I'll come drag your asses out, so feel free to go in and get thoroughly beaten to a pulp! Getting your pride shattered during your very first year—you ought to view that as the true harvest of this training!"
"Uncalled-for meddling. It is troublesome when people lump us in with ordinary rabble."
Biting back directly against the old guy's condescension was none other than the theatrical noble girl, Bloom.
"In that case, we shall conquer this dungeon on our very first run, laying bare our brilliance and capability for you to see! When that time comes, you will have no choice but to admit that we are not merely one-in-ten talents, but geniuses that appear only once in a hundred!"
I turned to the dungeon manager.
"So your job is basically to correct the mistakes born of this kind of youthful arrogance, right?"
"Exactly."
And with that, we finally began our descent into the depths of the dungeon.
"Yay, it's a dungeon~!"
A maze! Traps! Tentacles! Aphrodisiac gas! A monster house in a goblin's nest where captured female adventurers get subjected to gang rapes and degradation! On top of that, rounding up the captured women to start a human breeding farm, lining them up to be defiled one by one!
Wall-butt traps! A room you can't escape unless you have sex!
...There was absolutely none of that!!
"It's an incredibly ordinary dungeon..."
Well, it is a practice dungeon for students, so there's no way it would be loaded with such extreme attributes.
We did encounter monsters inside, but honestly, they were all total trash on the level of small slimes at best. They were no match for us since we had secured early curriculum completion, and we annihilated them the moment they came into view.
"Hmph! This doesn't even count as a warmup! Claiming the severity of actual combat based on this level of play is nothing but a cheap scare!"
Bloom was by far the most energetic among us, using her magic to instantly incinerate any slime she laid eyes on, regardless of whether it was charging at us or trying to flee.
"That's because Lady Bloom's 'Divine Calling' is [Mage]," More explained to me.
"Even back in our homeland, she was a child prodigy who completely devoured standard magic tomes by the time she was ten. The Lord is blessed with many children, but Lady Bloom is favored above all of them because her talent is undeniable. When I was assigned as her guard, it was drilled into my head over and over that I absolutely must protect her at all costs."
"I see..."
"Yet, it's pathetic. The moment school started, I lost to you and dragged Lady Bloom's honor through the dirt. Since then, nothing has really gone right, and I was the absolute last one among us to get approved for early completion...!"
"Isn't that still plenty impressive?"
Accomplishing what's normally meant to take an entire year ahead of schedule makes early completion a definitive badge of honor for an honor student, doesn't it?
"No, it's no good! For me, as long as I can't defeat you, I can't consider myself worthy of being Lady Bloom's servant!"
"Why me specifically?"
"Why do you think Lady Bloom is constantly trying to meddle with your master? She’s looking for any opening she can find to scout you away."
Eh? Why?!
My capabilities and talents belong eternally to Lady Staff. And in return, Lady Staff’s breasts, ass, pussy, love, and the right to make her pregnant belong strictly to me.
"It just means she was that captivated by the way you fight. During the exhibition match on the first day, I couldn't even lay a finger on you. Honestly, even if it weren't Lady Bloom, anyone who saw that would want you over me."
"But I am Lady Staff's guard..."
"For me, that's the only saving grace. While Lady Bloom is still hesitating because she doesn't know how to steal someone else's property, I have to somehow get stronger and surpass you. Then, I have to make Lady Bloom acknowledge all over again that I am the one truly meant to serve by her side!"
... More was giving it her all, chasing her own goals in her own way.
A woman working hard is a beautiful thing. Thinking that, for the very first time, More started to look quite attractive to me.
"..."
"Mph-?! Sluuuurp?!"
Before I knew it, I had pulled More into my arms and kissed her. Her lips tasted a bit salty from her sweat.
"Ah, ngah, chupa... gasp?! ...What?! What was that all of a sudden?!"
"You just looked really cute, More, so I couldn't help myself."
"Don't just suddenly kiss me because you think I'm cute! ...Ugh, to think my first kiss was stolen by a guy like this...!"
Hey, you should be glad. Having your first kiss stolen in such a passionate manner isn't a bad deal.
"Lady Bloom... didn't notice, right? She's completely fixated on annihilating trash mobs in the vanguard...?!"
"If that's the case, want to do more?"
Getting carried away, I reached down and firmly grabbed a handful of More's ass, only to get smacked with a solid fist.
"Don't screw around! If you do that again, I'm telling the teacher and getting you expelled!"
"Guegh...?! That would be bad...?!"
She threw a threat that was precisely engineered to work on me. Having just recognized More as an attractive woman, I had no choice but to rein in my lecherous impulses.
"Anyway, I am absolutely going to surpass you! I'm going to train myself to the bone during this dungeon practical training! You better be ready for it!"
I realized that everyone really does have their own struggles to deal with.
On another note, looking at this party again, I realized it was a remarkably solid combination.
Big Sis [Knight] and More [Swordsman] formed the vanguard, while Bloom [Mage] provided covering fire with her magic, and Lady Staff [Cleric] anchored the rear with her recovery spells.
It was a perfectly balanced party that looked like it jumped straight out of a textbook.
"It's not entirely perfect. The sole flaw is that we don't have a Thief or a Ranger class."
More accurately picked up on my internal monologue and pointed it out aloud.
"A Thief who can pick locks inside the dungeon and spot traps is indispensable for a dungeon conquest. Well, it would've been perfect if you could handle that sort of thing with your weird, incomprehensible [Pole Master] class, but I guess that's asking too much?"
Faced with More's teasing smirk, I gave my answer.
"I can do it."
"Eh?"
As luck would have it, there was a locked door directly ahead of us, so I immediately went to work picking it. I had it unlocked in forty seconds flat.
"How on earth?!"
"Because a [Pole Master] is exceptionally skilled at inserting his 'rod' into tight holes."
If we're talking about imitating a Thief, I can do a bit of stealing as well.
Starting with your heart.
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