We got more things on the twelfth floor, and steadily proceeded through the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth floors, collecting a lot of strange things, dyes and other drops, and finally found the Boss room on the fifteenth floor.

  “”Over there!””


  (Oh, yes. I can see something that looks like a Boss room~)

  “N~ this is a good place to end, so this should be our last one.”


  If we get too absorbed in capturing the dungeon, we will miss the time to return to Guardia, so I think I will end it here.

  (Ehh~ we are leaving already~?)

  (It’s unfortunate, but it cannot be helped~)

  (Vector, don’t be selfish now. This was agreed upon from the beginning!)

  (That’s right. It’s not like this is our last time here, right?)

  (That’s right! Endure!)

  (… Okay~)

  As we walked along, soothing the discouraged Vector, the door to the Boss’s room came into clear sight.

  Then I noticed that there were people there.

  “””Ah.”””


  “””””Haah!?”””””


  The “Dawn Star” party we met a few days ago was resting in front of the Boss room door.

  Moreover, they looked at us as if they were looking at something strange.

  “Nonono! How come you are already at this floor!”


  “That’s right! It’s strange!”


  “We only met you at the fifth floor. You have captured ten floors in this period!?”


  Kurt-san, Timon-kun, Hughbert-san shouted one after another.

  We have been capturing one floor a day, so it’s taken us a little over ten days to get to this point. There were some floors that took a little longer to capture, and we took some detours, so I’d say it’s been about twelve or thirteen days.

  Well, it would normally take several months to get here, so I’m not surprised of their reaction~

  “Considering Takumi-san’s team’s abilities, they should be able to capture these many floors in the shortest number of days.”


  “Indeed. They have both the strength and mobility.”


  Brian-san and Rovel-san began analyzing the situation calmly.

  “Are you all resting up before the Boss battle?”


  “Yes, we want to be in perfect physical condition before the Boss battle.”


  “Correct. That is very important.”


  That being said, we have never taken a break before the Boss battle before~

  “Oniichan.”


  “Not going to fight the Boss~?”


  Allen and Elena’s expressions were urging, “Alright, let’s step into the Boss room right away”.

  “Allen, Elena, we have to keep the order and wait for our turn. The people from the Dawn Star were here first, so we will go after them.”


  “”…… I see~””


  Being stopped by me, Allen and Elena became a little dispirited.

  If there are multiple challengers in front of the Boss room, the ones who arrive first have the right to challenge the Boss first.

  This rule seems to have been established because in popular dungeons, multiple challengers encountered each other in front of the Boss room, causing a dispute over who would challenge it first.

  The door to the Boss room is closed during the battle to prevent intruders from entering, but once the battle is over, the next person can challenge it immediately, so I don’t think there’s really any need for such a dispute in the first place, but I guess it’s no use thinking about it.

  “We are resting as you can see, so you can challenge it first…”


  “”Really!?””


  Brian-san gave his permission, and Allen and Elena smiled.

  “But are you guys going to be all right without a rest?”


  Brian-san was worried about us trying to challenge the Boss room as soon as we arrived.

  In the advanced dungeon, the slightest hiccup can be fatal, so you should never overdo it or do anything rash.

  “My children have a lot of energy, you see~”


  “”Full of energy!””


  “But now that we have met everyone again, why don’t we take a break together?”


  “Sure, I don’t mi——”


  “”Ehh~ are we not going~””


  As if to cover Brian-san’s agreement, Allen and Elena raised their voices in frustration.

  “What’s the difference a few hours would make?”


  “Wanna go~”


  “Quickly~”


  “If we go early, we will just end up going home early too, you know?”


  When I reminded them that once the Boss battle is over, the capture of the dungeon will come to an end as well, Allen and Elena stilled.

  “”Got it! Will wait!”


  The two of them changed their opinions.

  “”Can go play?”


  “Don’t go too far from here.”


  “”Okay~””


  (Ah, I’m going too!)

  (Me too~)

  In order to stay in the dungeon as long as possible, they decided to call of the Boss battle for the time being and play at the fifteenth floor.

  And so, Allen and Elena went back into the forest with Joule and Vector.

  “Ta, Takumi-san, you are letting the children go out alone!?”


  “They promised me not to go too far, so it will be fine. They also have proper escort.”


  “Ah, you are right…”


  Probably still worried, the Dawn Star five were glancing toward the forest with concern.

  (Fufu, they are kind people~)

  (Indeed. To be worried about children they just met, they are quite good.)

  (Good people!)

  After a while, the Dawn Star looked relieved when they saw the children returning happily. They are good people after all~

  “”Oniichan!””


  “Welcome back~”


  “”((We have returned!))””


  “Any injuries?”


  “”None! But!””


  “Got.”


  “Souvenirs!”


  Allen and Elena took out stuff from their pouches one after the other.

  “””””Hehh~~~…”””””


  Pelts, horns, feathers, dyes, and more. The Dawn Star party members let out surprised voices after seeing the amount of loot the kids took out.

  “T, this is the stuff you got together with the Fenrir and Scarlet King Leo, right?”


  “”Not really?””


  “This is Allen’s.”


  “This is Elena’s.”


  “””””……”””””


  The representative of the Dawn Start, Kurt-san, checked whether the loot was obtained by Joule and Vector, but the children indifferently denied, so now they were at lost for words.

  (The things I got are here.)

  (Mine are these~)

  Then, Joule and Vector held out baskets of dropped items, saying that this is what they had collected. It seems they didn’t leave it with the kids, but brought it themselves.

  (We were competing over the number of loot we got!)

  (Niichan, count it~ who won?)

  “Eh? You were having a contest?”


  “”Yeah!””


  I see, they didn’t mix the spoils because they were having a contest, so they each had their own with them…


  “Alright, alright. I just have to count it, right?”


  “”Please~””


  I counted the loot and found that Allen, Elena, and Joule had the same number, while Vector had one less.

  “”Victory~””


  (We did it! That means Vector is last!)

  (… Damn it~ Just one? Just by one!? So frustrated~~~)

  Allen, Elena, and Joule were hopping about in delight, while Vector melted down to the ground in dejection.

  “Ta, Takumi-san, is this really what the kids obtained? By defeating monsters?”


  “Brian-san! Rather than that! The number! It’s impossible to collect this much in such amount of time!”


  “It’s both!”


  The Dawn Star was greatly confused.

  “”Said we can fight!””


  Facing the Dawn Star, Allen and Elena puffed out their chest pridefully.

  When they met at the fifth floor, they told them that they could fight, but they didn’t believe them, so they were not happy about it~