She had honey-colored hair and eyes the color of the pre-sunset sky. Her thick ponytail was tied securely behind her head, and her skin was notably fairer than that of most Japanese people. Her tall, slender frame was clad in leather armor, with a quiver on her back and a belt around her waist carrying a knife, small pouches, and other items. Her apparent age was the same as Ren and his friends.
What was most remarkable about her was her ears: they were not rounded but pointed, protruding prominently from her hair, instantly drawing attention.
Her name was Airi Morino.
"Please call me Iris."
When she introduced herself with her clear, resonant voice, even Ren felt a flutter in his chest. She shouldn't have any charming abilities.
"I never expected you to be an Elf."
"I'm a Half-Elf, to be precise."
She was a child born to transfer students. Her physical characteristics were primarily inherited from her mother. Iris's mother was an Elf, one of the few people whose race had changed due to the 'Blessing,' just like Ren. In an environment with no other Half-Elves and very few foreigners, her appearance was striking. She must have been constantly courted and teased.
Incidentally, she was twenty years old. Her appearance reportedly hadn't changed much since she was about fourteen or fifteen. Ren and Fuuri had also greeted her mother, but standing side-by-side, they looked exactly like sisters. Fuuri muttered, "I'm so jealous."
"But, Iris-chan, are you really okay with this? We're younger than you."
"Yes. I haven't gone to school, and I have much less life experience than all of you."
After talking for a while, Ren and Fuuri agreed to her joining. They were now walking through the town together. Although townspeople cast glances at them because of the beautiful girl with them, so far no one had spoken to them with bad intentions. Even though they looked like three girls, the barrier for catcalling rose significantly when there were three.
Still, Iris, who seemed unused to being around people, walked partly hidden behind Ren.
"You lived in the forest, right? Wasn't it boring?"
"My family was with me, and I enjoyed hunting, so it was fine. But my father often says he misses Japan."
"I guess that makes sense."
Iris's family were the caretakers of the forest outside the town. The nuts, medicinal herbs, and lumber produced in the forest were very useful for daily life. Hunting animals provided hides and meat. The girl said she had learned her archery skills through daily life. Both her parents were around forty years old, meaning they had spent over twenty years in this world since the transfer. Ren couldn't imagine a life in an Isekai longer than the time he spent in Japan.
"So, Iris-chan, about going into the dungeon—"
"Yes. I want to help my parents return to Japan."
For the girl, Japan was the Isekai. The fact that she would think, "I want to help them return," instead of just staying here forever, was a sign of her kindness.
Although, her parents were extremely worried about Iris going into the dungeon.
"Leave it to us. We've been in the dungeon for a month. We have enough sense not to be reckless, at least."
"That sounds incredibly uncool to say, but yeah. We'll protect Iris properly."
"Thank you, Ren-san, Fuuri-san."
As they talked, they approached their destination: the Temple where the dungeon entrance was located, the place where Ren and his classmates had been transferred and a location they had visited countless times since.
The building stood on a high platform, accessible by stairs built on all four sides. Since it was visible from afar, it was easy for the townspeople to keep track of how many parties were challenging the dungeon.
"These stairs are the first ordeal, aren't they?"
"They're longer than any shrine stairs."
"I'll... I'll do my best," Iris said, pursing her lips in determination when she was intimidated.
As it turned out, the girl climbed the stairs without any trouble. As expected from someone who routinely ran around mountains and fields.
"Here, Ren. Hand."
"Alright."
"...? Um, is there a special meaning to holding hands?"
In fact, Ren and Fuuri were the ones who were looked at strangely. Holding hands was a habit they had developed, but Ren felt a little embarrassed and mumbled, "It's not like I can't climb by myself."
"Of course, it's not a date, either. Ren can perform 'Energy Drain' just by touching someone."
"Ah... so that's the Succubus's special ability?"
"Yeah. I can absorb the HP—life force—of the person I'm touching little by little to restore my MP—magic power."
As for what he did with the recovered magic power, he cast "Heal" three times upon reaching the Temple. The healing power enveloped the three of them in turn. Afterward, Ren and Fuuri chanted "Status" and summoned the glowing text.
"Hm, HP is fine."
"Mine too."
It was essentially a status window, a privilege of transfer students that allowed them to check their HP, MP, Level, EXP, and various abilities. It was believed that this was not proof that this world was a game, but rather the effect of the blessing manifesting in a format easily understood by modern Japanese people. It was said that if someone from the Edo period were summoned, they wouldn't get a status window but would be granted a different kind of power instead.
Iris watched their windows with curiosity.
"So, you two can summon that, too."
"You still can't, Iris?"
"No. My sister and I both tried, but we couldn't."
The 'Blessing' was not passed on to the children of transfer students. Fuuri's Thief and Ren's Succubus were game-like classes. They could grow stronger through leveling up and acquiring skills. Iris's Archer, however, was a genuine profession—she called herself an Archer simply because she could use a bow.
However, a child of an Elf parent was indeed a Half-Elf, and they apparently inherited some of their parent's physical abilities.
"That's one of the reasons it was hard to find people to take me with them. I'd only be a burden if I went with my parents..."
"It worked out well for us, too. We were wondering what to do after the party broke up."
As he spoke, Ren stood in front of the downward stairs. There was a carved number in front of the stairs. It was another Isekai script, but they could somehow read it. The number "5" currently displayed the number of parties currently in the dungeon. When Ren's party entered, it would become "6."
"Since this is your first time, Iris-chan, we'll start on the first floor."
"I'm sorry for the trouble..."
"No, we appreciate it, actually. We hadn't delved very deep anyway, so it's a fresh start."
Ren could cast the "Light" spell for illumination.
"The dungeon passage is about wide enough for three people, but not comfortably. I'll take the lead, Iris-chan should be diagonally behind me, and Ren, will you take the rear, in the center?"
"Understood."
"Got it."
Their footsteps echoed on the stairs. Although the stairs from the Temple to the first floor had no traps, the mere act of descending still created a strange tension.
"The moment Iris runs out of arrows or my MP drops below half, we retreat, no matter what."
"I know. There's no point in being reckless."
Eventually, the stairs ended, and the entrance to the first floor of the dungeon appeared.
--------------------
For Iris, the Half-Elf girl, the dungeon was "just a part of everyday life." Although her parents never went out together, one of them would often be away when requested by the townspeople, and she often heard tales of their past adventures inside. The Temple was even visible from the entrance to the forest. It was that familiar, yet this was the first time she was actually going in herself.
The dungeon she felt and heard with her own senses was different from what she had imagined.
"It's... quiet," she said.
The cold, stone passage stretched straight ahead. There was no sign of monsters or any growling. If they were careful with the light, they could just walk along the path.
"Iris, are you cold?"
"Ah, no. I'm fine."
"Good. Tell me if you need to change. It's better to dress warmly."
Since she was asked, she compared their outfits. Ren, completely covered in his robe, certainly looked warm. Iris, however, was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and leather armor, so she wasn't cold. She was used to some cold since she often hiked in the forest in winter.
She was more concerned about Fuuri. Although her black innerwear covered her wrists and ankles, her top was short-sleeved, and her bottom was minimal, not even covering her thighs. The girl noticed Iris's gaze, smiled, and said, "Oh, me?"
"I can't concentrate if things are bulky, so I have to keep it minimal. Besides, if things get bad, Ren can warm me up."
"Don't say such suggestive things."
The dark purple-haired beauty—that is, the beautiful boy—frowned. Unbelievably, Ren was a male. Though his speech was quite informal, he said,
"Storage. Fire."
He pulled a torch out of nowhere and ignited it, warming the surrounding air. Since they already had a light source, this was clearly for warmth.
"Sorry, and thank you."
"Don't worry about it. This is also a precaution in case the Light spell fails."
Always keep two or more light sources. Ideally, they should be different types. If one is extinguished by water, the other remains. This was basic knowledge written in the books compiled from the experiences of the pioneers. Fuuri explained that while the first floor held no major danger, they were forming habits for future floors.
Of course, this increased their baggage and expenses, but—
"The ability to store items is really convenient."
"If we didn't have this, we'd have to carry big bags on our backs..."
"Damn it. I should have packed spare arrows for Iris."
The dimensional storage, which recent transfer students had named 'Storage,' was incredibly useful for carrying items without feeling the weight, although there was a quantitative limit. Iris, who had no 'Blessing,' was very envious of this. An Archer becomes useless if they run out of arrows, and carrying too heavy a load slows movement. Minimizing luggage was always a major concern, even when hunting.
"As we go further on the first floor, we'll encounter two Goblins. There are no traps until then, but we shouldn't get into the habit of being careless, so let's have Fuuri check ahead as we go."
"Okay."
"Understood."
There were many mysteries in the dungeon. The greatest mystery was that "they never encountered other explorers inside." This implied that each party was sent to a different space. Furthermore, the state of the dungeon adjusted to the member with the lowest conquest progress. Even her parents, who had gone dozens of floors down, would have to start over from the first floor if they entered with Iris.
"Some monsters, traps, and treasure chests respawn, and some don't. Clearing even a little bit makes the next visit easier."
"Iris-chan, you just need to follow our instructions. For now, don't wander off alone, and if an enemy appears, attack without panicking. Got it?"
"Yes."
Ren and Fuuri spoke calmly, but their expressions were serious. It was because they didn't want to die. It was because they wanted to go home. Home, of course, meant Japan, but unlike Iris, whose home was her family in the forest, their real homes were not in this world. And the same went for her parents.
Iris gripped the bow in her hand. The slow procession, led by the Thief, was frustrating, but it was a constant reminder that this was a dungeon filled with danger.
"Alright, the first fight is about to begin."
Fuuri stopped speaking. With the footsteps gone, the echo of sound became clear, and Iris's long ears picked up it. The breathing of living creatures from the passage ahead. Two of them.
Ren sent her a quick glance. She nodded, feeling her heart rate quicken, and the magical light moved smoothly forward. As the illuminated area changed, two small, humanoid creatures lurking in the shadows cried out in surprise and raised their weapons: crude leather armor and knives. Their rough, green skin looked obviously malicious and ugly.
"Target the front one first!"
"Yes!"
It was the first time she had seen a humanoid creature. Yet, the task was no different from hunting animals. Iris took a breath, calmed her mind, nocked an arrow, and fired it at the first Goblin. It flew true, piercing the enemy's right eye as it tried to rush forward. Blood and a scream. Still, it kept running with its knife raised. The second arrow went into its throat. Still, it did not stop. The purposeful look of hatred in its eyes was terrifying.
Just as her trembling fingers were about to nock a third arrow,
"Manabolt."
A burst of magical light shot from Ren's non-torch-holding hand and struck the Goblin. With a sizzling sound, the enemy dissolved into particles of light.
"One more."
"R-right!"
The boy standing diagonally behind her, smaller than her Half-Elf frame, felt incredibly reliable.
============
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