DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Dungeon, 10th Floor.
"Tatsuo-Sama, are you okay?" Haruhime asked as she trotted over to Tatsuo's side once the battle ended. Then, when she reached his side, she took off her backpack, started rifling through it, and eventually pulled out a Health Potion. "Here, take this."
"Thanks, Haruhime-San." Tatsuo said with a smile while wincing in pain. "But it's not necessary. I actually can heal myself. Keep the Potions for an emergency."
As Tatsuo spoke, he raised his hand and pressed it against one of the spots where he was hit by an imp. Then, to Haruhime's surprise, an emerald green magic circle spun into existence over his body. A moment later, Tatsuo's expression eased up, making it clear that his injury was being healed.
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"Wow…" Haruhime muttered while watching Tatsuo.
"Actually, the reason Aislynn had you bring so many Potions was for you," Tatsuo said with a smile while gazing at Haruhime's amazed expression. "Although it hurts my pride to say this, I don't know if I'll be able to protect you completely down on this floor. The imps work together a lot better than I expected."
"Huh? For me?" Haruhime asked in a dumbfounded tone. "But... You shouldn't waste Potions on someone like me."
"Someone like you?" Tatsuo asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Yes… Someone like me whose purity has been tainted," Haruhime replied while lowering her head. "Someone like me does not deserve to be saved."
"Are you stupid?" Tatsuo asked bluntly.
"What?" Haruhime asked with evident surprise on her face.
"Let's assume your, as you put it, 'purity has been tainted.' You're a member of the Aislynn Familia now," Tatsuo said sternly. "And we don't leave anyone behind. No matter what."
Haruhime did not know how to react to that immediately. Thanks to her values, she believed she was not the type that deserved to be saved. But Tatsuo, as the captain of her Familia, told her that was wrong without any room to interpret it in any other way.
"But that is a moot point," Tatsuo said with a shrug. "Especially since your purity is still intact. I mean, you never actually engaged in the work of a prostitute while you were in the Ishtar Familia."
"You have no idea what you're talking about," Haruhime said, suddenly speaking sharply.
"You don't have to believe me," Tatsuo replied with another shrug. "Just ask Aislynn. You know about her [Dream Walker] Ability, right? With it, she's pretty much omniscient. She can tell you anything you want to know. Even the stuff you don't."
As he finished speaking, Tatsuo also finished healing his injuries. Then, without giving Haruhime a chance to retort, he turned away and started walking deeper into the Tenth Floor.
"Anyway, this isn't really the place to be talking about stuff like that," Tatsuo said while scanning the mist ahead. "Letting our minds stray like that is the fastest way to get ourselves killed down here. We can argue about it all you want after we get back to the Dragon's Nest."
Though Haruhime did not agree with Tatsuo, his words about Aislynn's [Dream Walker] Ability made her doubt what she thought she knew. But she did agree with Tatsuo's other point. Getting distracted while in the Dungeon was a sure way to end up in an early grave. So, she took a deep breath, pushed down the unease, and followed Tatsuo carefully.
*Swish!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
Several hours later, although Tatsuo and Haruhime did not speak much due to their disagreement, their cooperation improved dramatically during the fights that followed. As a result, in another open area, Haruhime could be seen shooting a Bad Bat before it could use its concentration-interrupting screech. A moment later, Tatsuo, after using [Blink], appeared above the Bad Bat and dropped a [Void Dragon's Talon] on its back, splitting it in half with [Spatial Energy].
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A moment later, the two halves of the Bad Bat fell to the ground. However, just before Tatsuo landed, he noticed that one of the Needle Rabbits in the group of monsters had spotted Haruhime and was charging toward her.
Without thinking, Tatsuo used [Blink] once again, disappearing from the air. Then, just as the Needle Rabbit leapt to skewer Haruhime with its horn and Haruhime's eyes widened in panic, Tatsuo appeared next to the Needle Rabbit, grabbed it by the neck, spun in place, and released it.
*Swoosh!*
"Rahh!"
*Splatter!*
When Tatsuo released the Needle Rabbit, he did not throw it in a random direction. Instead, he aimed it at the chest of one of the imps that had been waiting for him to land after attacking the Bad Bat. When the imp noticed the incoming projectile monster, it could not help shrieking in panic.
However, before the imp could get out of the way, the Needle Rabbit's horn penetrated its chest, causing a large amount of blood to gush out. Then, the imp was lifted off its feet and flew into a second imp, causing the three monsters to roll across the ground.
*Poof!* *Poof!*
A moment later, the Needle Rabbit, whose neck had broken on impact, and the imp with its chest pierced burst into clouds of black ash. Meanwhile, the second imp was dazed as it stumbled to its feet.
*Thunk!*
*Poof!*
However, before the stumbling Imp could come back to its senses, it was knocked off its feet once again when a crossbow bolt buried itself in its forehead. Then, after twitching a few times, it also burst into a cloud of black ash.
With the Bad Bat, two of the imps, and a Needle Rabbit dealt with so quickly, the other attacking monsters did not take long for Tatsuo and Haruhime to deal with. Then, once the battle was over, Haruhime trotted over and started picking up the drops.
"You're doing well, Haruhime-San," Tatsuo said in a satisfied tone. "*Sigh* For your first time fighting, anyway."
At first, Haruhime's lips started to curl at the compliment. However, when she heard Tatsuo's following words, she could not help but pout a little.
"I'll have to talk to James about adding some situational awareness training to your physical and sword training," Tatsuo muttered.
Despite how quietly Tatsuo was speaking, Haruhime managed to hear his words. As a result, her ears stood straight up, and her tail went rigid as she froze while picking up the magic stones and drop items.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Tatsuo asked after noticing that Haruhime had stopped moving.
"No-Nothing," Haruhime replied in a somewhat desolate tone.
Seeing Haruhime's body language, Tatsuo did not believe the words coming out of her mouth. Even so, he had no intention of prying. At least, as long as her actions did not put anyone in danger, he would not.
"Anyway, I think we should call it a day," Tatsuo said while scanning the surroundings. "We've still gotta go back to the surface, and we've been down here for a while."
"Okay," Haruhime replied with a nod while picking up the last few drops.
With that, the two finished their dive for the day and started heading up to the surface. Along the way, they killed a few more monsters. However, they avoided the monsters on the Tenth Floor, as those battles took too long to finish.
On top of the time the battles on the Tenth Floor would take, Tatsuo also noticed that, despite how she tried to hide it, Haruhime was exhausted. Her arms were even trembling from all the times she reloaded the crossbow. So, around the time the two reached the path leading up to the Ninth Floor, Tatsuo took the backpack from Haruhime so she could get a little more rest as they made their way out of the Dungeon.
DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Dungeon, 7th Floor.
Three days passed after Tatsuo and Haruhime's first trip to the Tenth Floor. During that time, their teamwork improved considerably. On top of that, Haruhime had built up quite a bit of confidence. Though her movements still appeared rather clumsy due to her inexperience.
During that time, after entering the Dungeon, Tatsuo made the decision that Haruhime would be responsible for slaying any monsters they encountered on the First through Fourth Floors. Because of that, and James's training in the mornings, her skill with the katana was growing.
'Her movements are still a little clumsy, though,' Tatsuo thought to himself as he walked through the Seventh Floor with Haruhime after her training ended. 'It's almost like the katana isn't the best fit for her. Then again, she hasn't even been training with it for a month. I should keep watching for a while longer before making a conclusion like that.'
"Huh? Is that Soramoto of the Aislynn Familia?"
Just as Tatsuo and Haruhime stepped into an intersection, Tatsuo was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard someone say his name. As a result, he and Haruhime turned in the direction the voice came from.
When they did, Tatsuo and Haruhime saw a group of Adventurers led by a Chienthrope woman with long brown hair, purple eyes, dog ears, and a tail. Immediately, Tatsuo recognized her while Haruhime took a step back and used Tatsuo as cover while looking at the young woman with a hint of curiosity.
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"Oh, it's Miyal Hound, Naaza Erisuis, Captain of the Miach Familia," Tatsuo said with a small smile. "Are you on the way back from deeper in the Dungeon?"
"That's right," Naaza replied with a nod. "We're on our way back from Rivera."
"The Eighteenth Floor, huh?" Tatsuo muttered with a hint of curiosity. "I heard it's really a sight to see. I wonder how long it will take our Familia to get down there."
"It probably won't take long," Naaza said with a small smile. "At least, if what I saw on the Fourth Floor back then is any indication."
Thinking back to the time when she, along with the members of the other Familias, watched Alfonzo, Elicia, Zelretch, and Akatsuki deal with the Irregular Situation, Naaza could not help but sigh internally. Usually, if a group of four Adventurers who had not even been Adventurers for a month ran into a monster horde like that, they would die… No questions asked. Yet those four Adventurers handled it with little more than some mental exhaustion. None of them were even seriously injured.
'Lord Miach was right,' Naaza thought to herself. 'We really should find a way to bring our Familias closer.'
Little did Naaza know, Miach was not referring to the members of the Aislynn Familia at all when he mentioned that. Instead, because he knew Aislynn's reputation in the Heavens, he had always wanted a reason to get closer to her for his children's sake.
"Oh, by the way…" Tatsuo said while reaching back and patting Haruhime on the shoulder, causing the Renard to flinch and pale slightly. "Let me introduce you to our new member. This is Sanjouno Haruhime."
"It… It's nice to meet you," Haruhime said nervously as Tatsuo pushed her forward.
Looking at the timid Renard in front of her, Naaza smiled softly.
"It's nice to meet you, as well," Naaza said softly. "I'm Naaza Erisuis, the Captain of the Miach Familia. If you're ever in need of Potions, please visit our Familia HQ, the Blue Pharmacy."
"Um… Okay." Haruhime replied quietly.
"Anyway, we're gonna head down to the Tenth Floor," Tatsuo said after noticing just how uncomfortable Haruhime was about meeting unfamiliar people. "We'll see you next time. In fact, we'll probably stop by to buy Potions sometime soon. The mountain of Potions Aislynn bought before we joined her Familia is just about to run out."
Hearing that, Naaza and the other members of the Miach Familia showed a hint of shock. Normally, if they can afford it, Familias usually go to the Dian Cecht Familia for their Potion and healing needs because of Airmid.
"Yeah, I know what you're thinking," Tatsuo said while smiling wryly. "But Aislynn doesn't really get along with Lord Dian Cecht. They both have the greed of dragons, after all."
Although Dian Cecht's greed was well known in Orario, it was not common to hear Adventurers talk about it. So, the members of the Miach Familia once again showed shocked expressions when they heard Tatsuo's comment.
"I… see…" Naaza replied while smiling awkwardly. "Well, we'll be happy to receive you when you make your visit to the Blue Pharmacy."
With that, Naaza gave a little wave. Then, she turned around and led her Familia members toward the surface. Meanwhile, Tatsuo did not start moving immediately. Instead, he fell into a contemplative state while still keeping his senses trained on the surroundings.
'Hmm… Miach is said to be a really nice guy,' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'I wonder if he'd be willing to instruct one of our Familia members in potion making… Naturally, we wouldn't let him do it for free. But still, I wonder if he would do it… I'll have to talk to Aislynn about this. Momo-Chan would probably be a good choice as the Familia's potion maker.'
"Tatsuo-Sama?" Haruhime's questioning tone broke Tatsuo out of his contemplation. "Is everything okay?"
"Oh, yeah." Tatsuo replied casually. "Everything is fine. I was just thinking about something. Anyway, let's get going. We still need to make our way down to the Tenth Floor and get some hunting in. Otherwise, this will be a wasted trip."
Then, Tatsuo turned around and started making his way down to the Tenth Floor with Haruhime following closely.