After that, dungeon exploration with Agetha proceeded smoothly.
With Agetha and me working together, I felt like we could defeat any monsters that came our way.
"Shall we use this hideout today?"
"Yeah, sure."
I pointed to one of the hideouts that I had learned about from the vampire Judte. Battling monsters was indeed tiring, and while we could push further into the dungeon, it was best not to overexert ourselves, especially since Agetha was with me.
"Wow, it's spacious in here."
Agetha, upon entering the hideout, commented on its size.
Indeed, it was larger than the other hideouts we had come across. It had a sofa, tables, chairs, and other furniture. There was even a restroom. When I curiously looked inside, I found a slime living there. The facilities here were surprisingly similar to a regular home.
In retrospect, Judite had been quite particular about things, such as drinking blood from teacups. It was likely that she had taken great care to prepare this hideout.
"Oh, right, we need to prepare some food."
Saying that, Agetha got up from the sofa and took out some monster meat from her item box.
"Agetha, you must be tired. I'll handle it, so you can rest."
"No, I don't mind at all. Let me help."
She insisted on helping, so we prepared the meal together. This was the second time we were spending time in the hideout and the second time we were preparing a meal, so Agetha efficiently assisted in the food preparation.
Although the cooking was quite simple, using magic stones from the monsters to start a fire, we placed the monster meat on the iron plate provided in the hideout. Then, we seasoned it with salt and pepper, and since we had found an area with medicinal herbs today, we decided to cook those as well.
Medicinal herbs were known for their healing properties, and they were commonly used in both healing and culinary applications. So, we decided to give it a try.
"This might be quite delicious!"
After taking a bite, Agetha remarked.
"Is it? I thought it might be mediocre since the seasoning is quite simple."
"No, it's not like that! Being able to enjoy a hearty meal like this makes me feel pretty happy."
Saying that, Agetha smiled. Seeing her enjoying the meal, it had an inexplicable effect on me. While it was a common dish I had eaten many times before, today it tasted better than usual.
◆
"Having a bath here would make it perfect."
Agetha, who had just finished eating and was relaxing on the sofa, suddenly brought this up.
Certainly, the hideout had a bed and a sofa, and the only thing missing was a bath. When I was exploring the dungeon alone with puppeteer, I didn't bother with baths, just focusing on conquering the dungeon. But when I spent time with the vampire Judite, how did we manage?
"Oh, now that I think about it, there might be a bath."
As I reminisced, I vaguely remembered taking a few baths with Judite.
"Re-really!?"
Agetha's eyes sparkled as she eagerly asked.
"Well, I'm not sure if there's one in this hideout, so don't get your hopes up too much."
I said that while exploring the hideout.
Ah, here's a door. When I opened it, I found a wooden bathtub.
"Yay, a bath!"
Agetha peered in from behind, exclaiming in excitement.
To prepare the bath, I needed to use water attribute magic stones and fire attribute magic stones. Magic stones extracted from monsters generally came in four types: light, fire, water, and wind.
Light attribute magic stones were used for lighting, fire attribute magic stones for starting fires and heating, water attribute magic stones for generating water and ice. Wind attribute magic stones were used as a power source for various tools by generating wind.
So, for a bath or refrigerator, water attribute magic stones were indispensable. With that in mind, I began preparing the bath using magic stones.
"Agetha, you can go in first."
Once I had finished preparing the bath, I told Agetha this.
"Oh, no, that's okay. You should go first, Kiska."
"No, you don't need to hold back. Come on, go ahead."
"If you say so, then I'll go first."
Agetha, still a bit reluctant, agreed and went to the bath.
With nothing in particular to do while Agetha was in the bath, I thought I'd sit on the sofa and relax.
"Aaaahhh!"
Just as I sat down on the sofa, a loud scream came from the bathroom.
"What's wrong!? Agetha!"
I panicked and rushed to open the bathroom door. There, I found Agetha collapsed on the floor.
"Oh, um… the water was just hotter than I expected, so it startled me."
"Oh, I see."
What a relief. I had thought something more serious had happened due to her scream.
"By the way… Kiska, it might be a little embarrassing if you're looking."
"Ah, sorry."
I quickly averted my gaze. I hadn't been intentionally staring, but it was true that I had seen more than I should have. Agetha's delicate figure, and her not overly generous but seemingly soft breasts, and other private parts had come into view.
"Well, even if Kiska sees me, it doesn't make me feel bad."
What a mysterious thing to say. I wanted to ask what she meant by that, but I didn't voice my curiosity.
"Maybe I just misjudged the water temperature."
To change the topic, I said that for now. It was probably due to the fact that I had made a mistake in adjusting the bath's temperature using the fire attribute magic stone.
"If you use the water attribute magic stone, you should be able to get the perfect water temperature."
"Oh, um, can I ask you a favor? I don't really understand how to use magic stones."
"…Of course, that's fine."
I nodded and picked up the water attribute magic stone. By manipulating the magical power contained in the water attribute magic stone, you could create a cooling effect. If you put the magic stone in the bath in that state, it should reach just the right temperature.
However, it wouldn't immediately cool the water, so you needed to wait for a while. The waiting time was quite awkward because, if you looked to the side, there was Agetha, naked.
I tried not to be conscious of it, but I couldn't help but be aware.
"Hey, Kiska."
"W-what?"
She suddenly spoke to me, and I stammered in response.
"Since you saw me naked, you must be feeling excited, right?"
She hit the bullseye.
"So what if I am?"
However, I couldn't just admit it and put up a bit of resistance, so I replied in a nonchalant manner.
"If Kiska wants to see, you can look more if you'd like."
She whispered softly in my ear. In an instant, something within me shattered. I turned around and gazed at Agetha's naked body. Placing my hand on her shoulder, I replied, "You don't care what happens."
In response, Agetha nodded, leaving me wondering, "Is this really okay? I feel anxious about what I just said." What should I do now? Maybe I should steal a kiss? I pondered these thoughts while looking at her lips.
I noticed her lips were trembling slightly. Moreover, her face turned bright red, and it was clear that she was extremely nervous. What am I doing? I thought, trying to regain my composure. Why am I attempting such a foolish act?
So, I lightly pinched her cheek and said, "Don't tease adults too much."
"Ah."
She made a strange sound, and by then, the water was already cold enough.
◆
"That's it, Kiska. Good night."
"Yeah, good night."
I lay down on the sofa after putting Agetha to bed. Despite being tired from our dungeon exploration, I couldn't fall asleep. Perhaps it was because of the strange atmosphere in the bath with Agetha earlier. No, that was a part of it, but there was another significant reason.
I had recalled that nightmare from back then. When I was still new to dungeon exploration, Agetha had tried to attack me. I rejected her, and she fell into despair and took her own life. Now, I couldn't help but worry that as soon as I fell asleep, Agetha might come over and attack me again.
If that happened, I'd probably accept it. After all, if I were to reject her and she ended up taking her own life again, I might lose my mind. Besides, I had found her cute from the moment I laid eyes on her. There was nothing in my heart that I found more beautiful than Agetha.
Our relationship was also excellent. So, there was no reason to refuse. I kept telling myself that, all the while tormented. As a result, I couldn't fall asleep and before I knew it, it was time to wake up.
Yes, in the end, Agetha didn't come to attack me.
"Kiska, now that I look closely, you have dark circles under your eyes. Could it be that you couldn't sleep properly?"
"Oh, yeah, that's true. I was thinking about how to conquer the dungeon…"
"I see. But it's not good to proceed while you're still tired. Maybe you should get some more sleep?"
"Yeah, you're right. Let me sleep a bit longer."
"Sure, that's fine. Good night."
As I lay down on the bed, I contemplated my situation. This wasn't right; I felt like I was getting all worked up for nothing just because a beautiful girl was sleeping nearby. What an embarrassing delusion.
◆
"Yay! Look, Kiska, I did it!"
Agetha expressed her joy by bouncing up and down after defeating the monster. Then, she came over to me and stared, waiting for something. This was her way of asking to be petted.
"Agetha, you're amazing."
"Hehe."
When I petted her, she relaxed and enjoyed it, much like a small animal.
"However, how did we end up all the way to the room with the boss so quickly?"
"Yeah, it's really surprising."
While saying that, we both looked up at the large door where the boss was supposed to be.
"Kiska, are we going to enter the boss's room now?"
"No, there's just one place I'd like to check first."
"A place you'd like to check?"
I was certain there should be a switch around here that leads to a hidden room.
There it is.
"Wow! A hidden room in a place like this! Kiska, you know everything; you're amazing!"
"Come on, you're praising me too much. If you keep complimenting me like that, I'll get full of myself."
By the way, my spirits were quite high too.
"Oh, but Kiska, you really are amazing. I've never met anyone more amazing than you."
"You forget you have amnesia? You can't remember meeting anyone besides me, yet you say that."
"Oh, right. I have amnesia, so I don't know anyone other than Kiska."
"You forgetful one."
While we bantered, we reached the location where the treasure chest was placed. Inside this chest was an item called "Crystal of Wisdom," which grants a random skill when opened.
"When you open this chest, you get a skill. What should we do? Agetha can open it if you want."
I had opened the "Crystal of Wisdom" chest and acquired the skill "Swordsmanship." Ethically speaking, it would be Agetha's turn next.
"I'm good. Kiska, you can open it."
As expected, Agetha offered to let me open the chest.
"You don't have to hold back."
"Hmm, it's not about holding back. I just have this feeling that I can't acquire any more skills beyond this point."
"Is that so?"
Certainly, it's established that one can have up to five skills. Agetha is a hero, so it's not unusual for her to have reached the limit.
"Well, in that case, I'm sorry, but I'll go ahead and open it."
"Yeah, you don't need to hold back at all."
With that said, I opened the chest.
Now, I wonder what kind of skill I'll acquire.
▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽
Obtained the skill "Vow."
△△△△△△△△△△△△△△△
"Hmm?"
What kind of skill is "Vow"?
"What kind of skill did you get?"
"It's a skill that won't be useful in battle."
Well, I don't know what the skill does, but it's safe to say it won't be useful in combat.
"Oh, that's a shame."
"Well, it's random, so there's nothing to be done."
Honestly, I'm satisfied with the skills I currently have. With Agetha by my side, we should be able to defeat the boss without any issues.