"So then, what did you come here for today, Takumi? A request?"
"Yes, that's right. Though if there isn't a good one, we're not planning to force ourselves to take anything."
"In that case, how about going to the dungeon with us?"
"The dungeon… you mean the Large Animals Dungeon?"
"Yeah. That's the one."
When Natally-san asked about our plans for the day and I told her we didn't have anything specific decided, she invited us to go to the dungeon together.
""Meat? Meat?""
"Yeah. We're planning to go down from the twenty-first floor to the lower levels to restock on good meat. You guys can get there using the transfer device too, right?"
"We can~"
"I wanna go~"
We met Natally-san… was it after the twentieth floor of the Large Animals Dungeon? If so, then he should know that we can use the transfer device to reach the twentieth floor.
"Huh!? Takumi—no, wait, even the kids can move up to the twentieth-floor transfer device?"
"I've already cleared the Large Animals Dungeon together with the kids, after all."
"Hahaha~ I see. So intermediate-level dungeons aren't a problem for you."
It seemed even Rudolph-san hadn't known about that, and he sounded surprised, but since he knew our abilities, he accepted it without much trouble.
"The kids are motivated too, so would it be okay if we went together?"
Getting the chance to go into a dungeon with Rudolph-san and Natally-san wasn't something that happened often. So I quickly accepted to accompany them.
""Large Animals Dungeon~!""
And so, we promptly headed to the Large Animals Dungeon.
"We're getting stared at more than usual."
"Well, you've got kids with you. Of course you'll stand out."
I learned on the way there that Natally-san was actually A-rank as well. A-rank parties always attract attention. Add me and the kids to that, and we were drawing an incredible amount of eyes.
"It's the usual. If we just move straight to the twentieth floor, it won't be a problem~"
I told Rudolph-san and Natally-san that this was just how it was when traveling with kids, and we quickly made our way to the room with the twentieth-floor transfer device.
"Takumi, you can summon your familiars if you want~"
When we arrived, Natally-san suggested that it would be fine to summon Joule and the others.
"Takumi, you have familiars!? Wait—Natally knew, but I didn't!?"
"Ah~ that's because I met Natally-san while I was in a dungeon together with my familiars, so… unavoidable circumstances? I'd like to properly introduce them to you too, Rudolph-san, so may I summon them?"
"Yeah, go ahead. Knowing you, Takumi, they're probably incredible beasts."
Rudolph-san was annoyed that he'd been the only one who didn't know, but in the end he gave permission, so I immediately summoned Joule and the others.
(Oh~ is this a dungeon?)
(There's a transfer device, so it seems like it. Which dungeon is this, I wonder?)
(This is the royal capital of the Kingdom of Guardia, so it's probably the Large Animals Dungeon, right?)
(Yay, a dungeon! Time to go wild~)
(Huh? This time it's not just Takumi Nii and the twins?)
(Who are these uncles?)
The summoned familiars were excitedly bouncing around.
"There are a lot of small ones, but more than I expected~"
Seeing the six familiars, Rudolph-san muttered in admiration.
"There are more than when I met you before. A gryphon cub?"
Natally-san was staring intently at Radian, whom he was seeing for the first time.
"Everyone, the one on the right is Rudolph-san, and the one on the left is Natally-san. They're both people who take good care of us, so be friendly with them, okay?"
""((((Okay~))))""
After I introduced Rudolph-san and Natally-san to Joule and the others, they all replied energetically.
… For some reason, Allen and Elena answered too, but… well, whatever.
"Joule, Feat, please grow back to your normal size for a moment."
(Okay~)
(Got it.)
""Whoa!""
When Joule and Feat returned to their original size, Rudolph-san and Natally-san let out surprised voices.
"They can shrink using the Miniaturization skill. This is their true form—Joule the Fenrir, and Feat the Celestial Tiger."
(I'm Joule. Nice to meet you~)
(I'm Feat. My pleasure.)
(I'm—me! I'm Vector, the Scarlet King Leo! I can get big too! Wanna see? Wanna see?)
(Vector, you'd just be in the way if you got big, so you don't have to!—I'm Mile, a Forest Rat! Nice to meet you!)
(I'm Bolt. A Thunder Hawk.)
(Radian! Gryphon!)
As I introduced Joule and Feat, the others couldn't wait any longer and stepped forward to introduce themselves one after another.
"There's one more, but…"
(Niisama, Kelvin is still asleep. It seems he needs a bit more rest.)
Kelvin, the Black Celestial Tiger (LN only??) who had only recently become a familiar, was still fast asleep, exhausted both physically and mentally.
"Incredible. You always surprise me, Takumi, but this goes beyond anything before. Oh~ getting to pet a Scarlet King Leo is far too rare an experience."
Despite saying how surprised he was, Rudolph-san accepted it right away and started petting Vector, who was the most affectionate.
No, not just Vector, he was petting all of Joule and the other familiars one by one. Natally-san was too.
"I never would've imagined they were small because of a skill~"
"Yeah. You really never know what Takumi's going to do next."
"No, no, no! I'm not the one making them small with a skill, you know!?"
Please don't talk like even that is somehow my fault!!
""Oniichan, you can do it!""
"Eh!?"
For some reason, the kids started cheering me on.
And seeing that exchange, Rudolph-san and Natally-san burst out laughing.
""Hey, hey, are you done with the fluffing?""
"Fluffing… ah, yeah, I guess you're done interacting with Joule and the others for now."
""Then let's go?""
The kids seemed unable to wait any longer and wanted to move on through the dungeon as soon as possible.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. You're right, standing around here right after entering the dungeon would be boring."
"Yeah. We need to hurry and get some good meat."
""Yeah, yeah.""
"Lots of tasty meat~"
"We'll collect a bunch~"
(Meat gathering! Then we've gotta get fired up!)
(Meeeat~)
After hearing today's goal, Vector and Radian were full of motivation too.
"All right then, let's go~"
"Yeah."
"Ah~ Rudolph-san, Natally-san, there's something I should tell you first."
Just as we were about to set off, there was something I needed to say to the two of them.
"What is it?"
"Takumi, what's this all of a sudden?"
"I'm sorry, but I think this is going to end up being just a walk for us."
"… Huh?"
Since the kids were so motivated, there would be absolutely no need for us to step in.
They probably didn't understand what I meant yet, but they would soon enough.