Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Handicapped Fight

Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations

At dinner that night, I was sitting on Marle’s lap, wearing a frilly dress as we ate.

“Okay Yuuri, say ‘aaah’.”

“A-aaah…”

I bite down on the stew she brings to my mouth and chew.

As for why things turned out like this…

~*~

“You said you would tone it down, didn’t you?”

“… Yes.”

“You even hurt Marle.”

“I’m sorry.”

I was forced to sit on my knees in front of Haster.

I had been listening to his scolding for nearly two hours.

That just makes sense though. I lost all self-restraint and unleashed a secret spell, developed for large-scale destruction, at the slightest provocation. Even I can only see my actions as idiotic.

“Why did you do something like that?”

“That’s… Well… I’m sorry.”

It’s because I’m immature.

He’s probably more angry than the time when I blew up the cottage.

I trust him, so I don’t think he’ll toss me out like I thought back then, but… I got frustrated with how pathetic I am, and the tears started welling up.

“I’m… Sniff… Sor…”

“Umm, Mister Haster, I am perfectly fine now, so maybe you could stop—“

“No. What if Yuuri were to run wild in the labyrinth at some point? It may be harsh, but she needs to realize the importance of self-restraint.”

“I believe she is well aware of it! So…”

Marle putting on such a threatening look was so unusual that Haster faltered for a moment, and then looked at me.

Me, who had gotten all sloppy with tears and snot.

I don’t really want him to see me like this. But since I’m sitting on my knees and being scolded, I can’t really go hiding my face right now.

“Haa… Fine. Then you get to give Yuuri her penalty. After that I’ll chastise her, and this matter will be over.”

“Eh?! Y-you want me to…?”

He breathed a sigh and decided on my punishment.

For some reason he looks like a boy playing a prank right now though.

“Yes, but it has to be a real punishment, okay?”

“Sis can take most anything, so no need to hold anything back.”

“But… Oh, but? Hmmm…”

She appeared to be having trouble deciding something.

With a quick peek she looked over to me, held down her nose… Hold on a minute. That’s the pose Haster usually takes when he gets excited, isn’t it?

Why would she… I have a bad feeling about this.

“In that case… I’ve always wanted a doll, so…”

“Oho?”

“W-wait…”

“You have no right to speak at the moment Yuuri.”

“Ughu?!”

“I want Yuuri to play doll for me.”

‘For’? Not ‘with’, but ‘for’?!

“M-meaning?”

“Dressing you up, doing your hair… Oh, I’d like to feed you too.”

“That’s… Perfect.”

“No it isn’t!”

“It is a penalty.”

“Augh?!”

“Come to think of it, sis doesn’t wear a lot of fancy dresses, huh? Plenty of simple ones and rougher outfits though.”

Enjoying rough clothes is a carryover from when I was a man.

I wear simpler dresses because they’re comfortable, but… Fancier ones are annoying, cramped, and I just don’t like them.

“Outfits that stay tight around the body are… I don’t like restrictive clothes.”

“Really? I think they would look good on you though.”

“All the more reason if you don’t like it. This is a “penalty” after all.”

“Haster, your true motives are showing through.”

“Th-they most certainly are not. Probably…”

He averted his gaze in a cold sweat. And that’s when his reinforcements arrived.

Miss Levy and Miss Remy.

“Hey, ya’ll let me join in coordinatin‘ the outfits.”

“No fair! Let me get in on this too!”

“When did you two even get here?!”

“C’mon we’re a party. I’ll still let ya take the lead, Marle.”

“I’ve got a bunch of good outfits on hand. If you like, we could even buy new ones…”

And so I was used as a dress-up doll for all sorts of costumes before eventually ending up on Marle’s lap, eating.

~*~

Groan…

My butt fidgeted around as I sought some stable comfort.

Even though I’ve mostly gotten better in these five years, I still can’t relax when coming in bodily contact with anyone other than Haster.

If it wasn’t her, I probably would have already turned into the puking heroine.

Describing it in different levels, Haster is at the “touch me more” level, while Alec and Marle are at the “can’t relax” level.

Moreover, I would put Miss Levy very clearly at the “get away from me already” level.

Going even further, a complete stranger would be at the “I’ll fucking kill you, asshole” level.

“Hey, Yuuri, that tickles, you know? Hold still.”

“I just can’t seem to calm down like this. And these clothes are constraining.”

“Eeeh~? But Miss Remy went out of her way to give them to us. And besides, you’re going to spill your food if you don’t stay put.”

“She told Haster, “you can get them dirty,” so I’m sure it’s fine.”

As for why she would say that to him… Okay, yeah, I know why. We’re probably going into extra innings tonight.

“You know it’s okay if you can’t take any more? You don’t need to push yourself.”

“I-I’m fine. This is a punishment, so I’ll give it my all until I can’t any more.”

“I guess you’re still not okay with me, huh?”

Her expression turned a little sad.

It’s been two years since meeting her. In that period, I can count the number of times we’ve made physical contact.

Maybe she wasn’t satisfied with that?

“That’s not how it is. Aside from Haster, you’re number one, Marle.”

I tried making a little excuse why patting Marle’s head.

Well, it’s true she’s the one I’m most calm around besides Haster though…

With a young girl comforting a young girl, the mood in the restaurant turned warm and comforting.

“If this was Alec’s lap, I’m sure I would puke.”

“Wow, harsh much?!”

“Then do you want to test it?”

“No, thanks.”

Surely he didn’t want to be covered in puke while eating. He refused in haste.

And so I was turned into Marle’s “doll” for a week.

Also, the long nights were even more fierce than usual.

Nights are harsh when your husband is a total demon.

~*~

Well now, a week passed since then. Marle stepped out of the party, and Miss Levy joined us in her place as we began searching floor two and above.

“Seriously though, are ya’ll really beginners…? I ain’t never marched along this easily before.”

Miss Levy’s grumbling is understandable.

We’re already at the fourth floor. Normally this would be the farthest we could reach in a day.

And we already got there before two in the afternoon.

This is the result of using [Sonar] to find enemies, avoid them or otherwise intercept them, and advancing at a ferocious pace.

With this spell’s effects, the positions of enemies aside, I can even figure out the entire landscape within 300 meters, so we hardly even get lost.

“I’d like for us to try beating the guardian on the fifth floor if we can, but…”

“This pace is perfect if that’s the goal, isn’t it?”

“We didn’t tell Marle we would be camping in here, and if we wanted to get back today we would only barely make it.”

“This ain’t the conversation of a party on their tenth day in the labyrinth, y’know…? I was gonna keep all quiet since it’s ya’ll’s first time this far along, but there wasn’t no point in that by the looks of it.”

Riding along at our current pace, we climbed further along to the fifth floor. Following practically the shortest route possible, we arrived in front of what looked like a boss room.

“An’ we really went an’ made it…”

“Which means this is the boss room?”

“Yeah, but… If I go on in, nothin’s gonna appear.”

“Huh? Why?”

“‘Cause I done beat it once already. Some reason, any boss ya beat once don’t come back to fight ya again.”

So that means something like individual flags are set up?

But that means we’ll have to fight it without the support of someone, like her, who’s had experience with the boss.

“Well, it’ll be fine. Probably.”

“Heck, we’re aiming for the top floor. We should each be able to solo the first boss.”

Alec is as optimistic as ever.

It’s already four o’clock.

If we wrap this battle up nice and quick, then take the shortest route back… Maybe we could get back by eight o’clock?

“Alright, all members, begin weapon inspections. If all is well, we’ll head right in for the attack!”

“Riiiight.”

“Got it.”

While I was inspecting my weapons, a short bow and Third Eye, Haster called over to me.

“Yuuri, no [Body Reinforcement] this time unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Hm? Why?”

“Because it’s not fair. We wouldn’t get any actual training out of this.”

I can use it about three times a day, so I figured using it against the boss would be appropriate, but…

If we’re talking unfair, then how are Haster with Cleaver and Alec with Sentinel any better?

“Well, it’s not like we have any other weapons. Even so, I’d like for us to get experience fighting as close a battle as possible. To do that, we need to restrict ourselves a bit.”

“Hmm~ a slowroll, huh? But isn’t the boss here weak enough that I could make it kick the bucket if I just use a [Wind Blade] on it?”

“Roll…? Er, yeah, I know you could take it out in one hit and all, but…”

“Well, if you really want to have a tough fight, then I’ll keep my magic sealed away. How about you try using your long sword, Haster?”

With either [Body Reinforcement] or “reinforced weapons,” the battle would hardly be very battle-like.

Even the fights on the way here were all practically like chasing off bugs.

He seemed either unsatisfied or, more likely, anxious about something when I said that. Possibly a sense of danger that comes with letting our guard down.

“As for Alec… He needs his gift, so I guess there’s not much we can do there.”

“Yeah, probably not. I use Sentinel for defense too, so I would actually be worried about getting any bad habits from using other weapons.”

“Then you focus on defense, Alec. The main attackers will be me and Yuuri with her bow. Levy, we’ll call for you when the battle’s over, so just wait here for us. I’d like to see how far we can get like this.”

“Got’cha.”

She should be fine on her own for a bit with her “Recognition Blocking.”

Heck, she went solo before anyway, right?

Well then, no magic, Third Eye, or Cleaver, plus Sentinel is essentially sealed off. We’ll have our first boss battle with hardly any of our main fighting strength?

Even I’m a little worried about this, you know…? Actually, I feel like this doesn’t make any logical sense.

“I feel like we’ve been getting a little slack lately. Don’t you think getting some feeling of tension back might be good for us, now that we’ve come this far?”

“Hmmm… I’m getting more of a “you’re going that far?” kind of feeling.”

“That’s fine. Levy, do you have information on our opponent?”

“‘Course I do.”

According to Levy, the boss is the Kobold Lord, along with some kobold archers.

Apparently it’s a larger version of the kobolds that were on the first floor. The archers are just like they sound; they’re a bunch of them equipped with bows.

I guess its large hatchet attacks are strong enough to be comparable to a troll’s? And it’s as tough as one well.

Are the long distance attacks from the archers going to be a problem?

“In other words, we may as well think of it like fighting a troll…?”

“It ain’t got the same regenerative abilities as them, so actually it’s a little weaker.”

“That would be a little rough for most novices… And that’s why this is the first hurdle for beginners, huh?”

“Keepin’ hold of a vigilant attitude after spendin’ a long time here in the labyrinth ain’t somethin’ some skill-less idiot relyin’ on strength alone can pull off so easy. So it’s the wall any ol’ novice has to climb if they wanna become a beginner.”

“It is pretty normal for enemy monsters to be physically stronger than humans, after all.”

A breakaway from fighting by relying on strength alone. That’s a point any adventurer will have to reach eventually.

“Okay, are we ready?”

“All set.”

“Watch out for the bows, Yuuri?”

“Just leave it to me.”

My reflexes are one of my strong points. I’ve got more than enough agility to dodge a few arrows. Probably.

“Yeah, counting on you. Right then… Let’s go!”

With a trace of apprehension on his face, he placed his hand on the door.

And so our first boss battle in the labyrinth, a handicapped match, began.

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Author’s Note: The detailed reason for the handicap is in the next chapter…