Chapter 280: 【Adventurer Mitran】The Girl Stuffing Her Cheeks with Raw Shrimp and Leseida's Determination

【Adventurer Mitran】The Girl Stuffing Her Cheeks with Raw Shrimp and Leseida’s Determination

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“I am a traveler. Emi Rune.”

Deep underground in the ‘Ahate River Upstream Ruins’.

The black-haired, black-eyed girl we met at the mysterious shrimp farm greeted Leseida-san and I like that.

Right now, the three of us were sitting in a circle under the pale blue magic lamps illuminating the ruins, introducing ourselves.

Why did we fall so deep underground?

Why was she catching shrimp so deep underground?

We both probably had various questions.

I thought we could obtain new information by resolving them.

…That’s what I thought, but.

“…………”

This girl is really quiet and also does things at her own pace…

After saying her own name, she completely fell silent, reached out her hand to the mountain of shrimp she had caught and piled up, and started devouring them again.

Even though they’re raw shrimp…

I wonder if it doesn’t smell fishy eating them with the shells…?

“I-I see. Ah, my name is Mitran… I’m an adventurer. And this person here is Leseida-san, an archaeologist.”

I introduced ourselves with a smile.

Emi-chan stared intently at our faces while stuffing her cheeks full of raw shrimp.

Her expression was expressionless.

I couldn’t read any emotions.

Looking closely, Emi-chan is a beautiful girl with a very well-proportioned face, but… combined with being illuminated by the pale blue magic lamps, her lack of expression looked very eerie.

“We were investigating the upper levels of these ruins, but… we were attacked by a bad guy and dropped down here. Emi-chan, why are you in a place like this?”

“…………”

Emi-chan stared at our faces for a while… or rather, for some reason, she stared intently at Leseida-san’s face, then swallowed the raw shrimp in her mouth and answered my question.

“I was walking in the forest. Then, a hole opened and I fell around here. There were lots of shrimp. So I was eating them.”

Emi-chan said that while pointing above her head.

Only darkness could be seen there, but it seems this girl accidentally fell into these ruins.

Either when Ibrabarleg and the others activated the ruins’ mechanism, or when the large hole we fell through opened up…

Probably due to the impact of one of those, the ceiling of the ruins collapsed.

“I see… That was unfortunate… But it’s a blessing that you weren’t injured.”

“Maybe so.”

As soon as she said that, Emi-chan started stuffing her cheeks with raw shrimp again.

This girl is quite difficult to have a conversation with…

“In that case, it seems she doesn’t know the way to escape from here. Now, Mitran-kun, we must decide how to proceed.”

Sensing that Emi-chan had no intention of talking further, Leseida-san stroked a chin in thought and spoke those words.

“That would be… as before, search for a passage that leads somewhere…”

“That’s true, but the problem is the destination.”

“Destination? Meaning?”

“Whether to escape outside or proceed deeper into the ruins.”

Leseida-san looked at me with a serious gaze.

“As a bodyguard, I’d like to search for an escape route as is, but…”

But Leseida-san dared to ask such a thing.

Leseida-san’s mind is probably already made up.

“You can’t just leave those villains alone, right?”

In response to my question, Leseida-san nodded firmly.

“The Magic Sword ‘Soul Devourer’ that the ‘Ruins Plunderer’ is after is a terrifying relic if it exists as in the legends. It must never fall into the hands of such villains. And there is a high possibility that the magic sword truly sleeps in these ruins. That is evident from the ‘Ruins Plunderer’s’ obsession, and actually, it was also written in the ancient magic characters you found in the upper levels. ‘Soul Devourer sleeps here.'”

“Magic Sword ‘Soul Devourer’…”

That name was passed down as a fairy tale even in my hometown, the village of Pe.

The story of ‘Soul Devourer’ is a scary one.

To put it simply, it’s a story about an evil swordsman who went on a rampage using ‘Soul Devourer’ long ago.

‘Soul Devourer’ eats the souls of those it slashes and keeps getting stronger.

But in the end, the evil swordsman is defeated by a righteous swordsman chosen by the gods, and the matter is settled. That’s how the story went.

“If you do bad things, the evil swordsman with ‘Soul Devourer’ will come to attack you” has even become a common phrase used by mothers when disciplining children.

If such a terrifying magic sword truly exists, and moreover, if it falls into the hands of such villains… that would certainly be a big deal!

“…Well, it’s true that I have an interest as an archaeologist in uncovering why ancient magic civilization equipment is installed in these ruins with clearly different construction periods and why ancient magic characters are left behind, and I wish to continue exploring to clarify that.”

Leseida-san laughed as if joking, then became serious again and stared intently at me.

“Mitran-kun. I’m well aware that this goes beyond the scope of an escort request. However, seeing your combat ability, I really want to ask this of you. I want you to cooperate with me in delving further into these ruins and finding the relics sleeping here before the ‘Ruins Plunderer’ does! Of course, I’ll also increase the reward. What do you say, will you accept it!?”

“…………”

If it were an ordinary adventurer, the answer would naturally be no.

The risk is too high with almost no return other than the reward.

Unknown ruins where villains lurk.

There’s too much danger to one’s life to accept such a request.

…But.

Once again, I stare at Leseida-san’s face.

What is reflected there is an expression of determination.

What burns in those eyes is the flame of justice.

…What am I?

I am a reincarnator from another world.

A reincarnator from another world who has been granted cheat abilities incomparable to ordinary people, albeit with a few flaws.

What do I use these cheats for?

I had never even thought about it before, but.

To use them for justice.

At least here and now, to use them to help Leseida-san’s justice!

That is surely the right thing to do, and above all, it is desirable for this world.

I was convinced of that!

That’s why.

“I understand, Leseida-san.”

“Mitran-kun…!”

“Use my power to the fullest! Let’s make those villains scream together!”

That’s why I decided to accept Leseida-san’s additional request!

“Alright! Now that it’s decided, let’s depart immediately! We have to find the path leading deeper into the ruins!”

“That’s right!”

Leseida-san and I stood up energetically!

“…………”

“Ah.”

Emi-chan stared at that intently while stuffing her cheeks with raw shrimp.

“Um, well… what will Emi-chan do? Um, will you come with us?”

“I don’t want to be with you though…”

“Huh…”

For some reason, it seemed Emi-chan disliked me…

When did she come to dislike me?

What did I do wrong?

I don’t know, but…

“…I’ll eat shrimp… a bit more…”

“I-I see… Well, that makes sense. It’s safer that way, and if you think about it calmly, that’s the natural choice… Then, I’ll come to get you on the way back! Wait here!”

“…………”

Emi-chan silently turned her back to me, walked away, immersed herself in the pool, and started catching shrimp again.

This girl is truly incomprehensible…

“W-Well then, shall we depart?”

“Indeed, let’s do so.”

We bid farewell to Emi-chan for now and started proceeding deeper into the forest of water tanks where the Ebi Eaters were floating.