“Phew…… Good job.”


  “Good job, Sally! But I thought that you’d have an easier time fighting under the effects of ‘Dedicated Affection’!”


  “Well, yeah. But if I only keep on dodging, I’ll only start to get dull. Besides, it was the kind of monster that could get a lot of distance from us very quickly and use ranged attacks.”


  Since there was a limit to the amount of time they could be active in the water, it was best to defeat it quickly.

  “Everything’s so fast underwater, it’s hard to keep up with monsters like this.”


  “Well, I’ll make sure to take cover behind you whenever things get really dangerous.”


  “Yeah! I’ll be ready and waiting.”


  “That’s a great help. So, I wonder if there’s anything else here? Those scales are shining quite brightly now……”


  Having taken in the light emitted by the boss as it perished, the scales that had been left behind were shining beautifully white, making the visibility considerably better than ever, even under that dim water.

  As they looked all around for anything they could take with them, they found some white scales piled up in a slightly different shape.

  “Can we take these back with us?”


  “Right! Amazing! They’re so big……”


  “Well, the boss was huge after all.”


  “That other time, if they had been this big, I could have gotten a shield made out of them.”


  “Yeah, we’ve already collected scales before. Though you didn’t seem to do too good at fishing, Maple.”


  “Well, I couldn’t dive back then, so I had to try to fish for them…… But this time, thanks to this, I’ve been able to come here with you.”


  Maple pointed at the tight diving suit that she was wearing.

  “.……Hehe, our gracious diving suits, right? I didn’t think you would be able to dive into the water like this. If you need these scales, you can have them. Show them to Iz, she might be able to upgrade your white gear with them……”


  “Is it really okay?”


  “I just got this new gear myself, so it’s fine, really.”


  Since all of Sally’s gear was part of a unique set, upgrading it was far beyond her reach. Because of that, they decided that Maple would keep the scales in her inventory. As they started to remove the glowing scales, they noticed that something else was shining underneath.

  “Is something there?”


  “Looks like it. Let’s take them all out and see.”


  When the two put all the scales into Maple’s inventory, the true nature of the shining thing becomes clear.

  It was a lump of light. It had no particular substance, and their hands would slip through it when trying to touch it. But even then, it seemed to be an item that they could put into their inventory.

  “What could this be?”


  “A rare item, maybe? Looks like there’s only one as well……”


  “Right! Then, you take it, Sally!”


  “Huh, me? I don’t mind having it, but don’t you want it, Maple?”


  “Hmph…… I’ll feel bad if I just take everything for myself. After all, I’m already taking all of these scales.”


  As far as Maple was concerned, Sally didn’t even get that many experience points in this battle. She thought that taking everything for herself wouldn’t be too fair on Sally because of that.

  “.……Really, I’m perfectly fine with not taking any drops from this fight. But alright, first of all, let’s see what kind of item this is. I’ll think about it if it’s some kind of equipment.”


  “Okay! Let’s check it out then.”


  Maple put the lump of light into her inventory and checked it from there.

  “Umm…… It says it’s called ‘Heavenly Light’. Makes it feel a bit weird that we found it in the water, though.”


  “.……I see. What about its description?”


  “Umm…… Something about a light from a previous light from the sky? I dunno. Want to take a look?”


  “Sure.”


  Sally took a look at the item as well, and found that even though there were some things written in its flavor text, nothing indicated that it was either a piece of equipment or something directly related to a quest.

  “Just checking here, Maple, but you have other weird items like this one, right?”


  “Umm…… Ah, you mean the ‘Lost Legacy’?”


  “That one. Both of these items must be used for something. After all, we only got these from defeating secret bosses, and they look like rare drops, too.”


  “Hmm, I see.”


  “It might be connected to something in this 8th Layer. It might be a good idea to look for whatever that is later.”


  “Yeah, yeah.”


  “Look, a magic circle appeared, should we use it to get out of here? I don’t think we can stay underwater for much longer.”


  “Ah! R-Right! Let’s go, let’s go!”


  Maple followed Sally into the magic circle, and the two were teleported out of the underwater temple.

  On the way back to the surface, Maple felt like she had forgotten something, and tilted her head a little.

  “Ahh! The rare item we got a while ago! Sally!”


  “Aw, looks like I’ve been busted…… I still have it on me.”


  “Why you……”


  Seeing Sally take out the ‘Heavenly Light’ she had skillfully “forgotten to return to Maple” from her own inventory caused Maple to puff up her cheeks a little.

  “Sorry, sorry. By the way, should we look for some place where we could use those two items together? Or maybe you think I don’t have as much luck or intuition as you?”


  “It’s nothing like that! Of course that’s a great idea…… But……”


  She had been doing nothing but get helped by Sally all this time. When Sally realized that’s what Maple was trying to say, she started to talk about Maple’s strong points in a more relaxed manner.

  “Look, you’ve gotten yourself quite a nice repertoire of skills, haven’t you, Maple?”


  “Yeah! Thought mostly by chance……”


  “That’s why I thought it would be good to go to look for those places together. We might even find a new skill. There are a lot of strong skills in this game, so I think it would be very valuable for us to do that. Besides, if I were to get a new skill by myself, you wouldn’t be able to use it. But now I can use any skills you learn so I think it’s better that way.”


  Now, Sally had the powerful “Reversal of Lies” in her repertoire. Therefore, if Maple were to earn a new skill rather than Sally, their overall strength would increase considerably. Since it was used to great effect in the underwater temple, Maple could easily understand Sally’s point.

  “Well, yeah…… Maybe you’re right. But why do I get the feeling you’re just trying to talk me into letting you keep that instead~?”


  “Ahaha, you think so? Don’t worry about that. I’m fine like this…… But if it really weighs on your mind so much, maybe you should keep it.”


  “Yeah! Let’s do that.”


  “Okay, okay, here you are.”


  The two of them then returned to the Guild Home, determined to find out how to use those two rare items.