Unchanged Samurai In Another World

**Episode 36: Adventurer-san, Let’s Make Up**

“Hey… Could you please cheer up soon? I’m sorry for what I did.”

In a clearing in the forest that seemed to say, “Go ahead and camp here,” Cross bowed his head to Franz and the others, his expression one of rare concern amidst the quiet that echoed in the sparse shadows compared to the upper safe zone.

“Um…”

“Uh…”

“No, uh… I’m sorry for what I did.”

There was not a hint of anger on the faces of his companions facing him; instead, a palpable sense of guilt tightened around their hearts.

The reason for this was────

Since the morning after defeating the Ghost Bear, Cross had been handling all the battles on their journey, starting with Mauri’s words, “If you want to fight that much, fight on your own!” He had intended it as a minor punishment and planned to help as soon as he showed signs of fatigue… but due to Cross’s high combat prowess, the journey was exceedingly smooth, and in fact, they had picked up the pace faster than before, currently resting at the midway point of the ninth layer.

In just one day, they had traversed the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth layers at a speed that would make even high-rank adventurers pale. With his incredible search abilities, Cross had dodged all kinds of monsters and instantly defeated even the gatekeepers of each layer alone. He switched between long-range, mid-range, and close-range combat freely, even scouting as needed. It was a stark reminder of just how versatile a “samurai” could be.

Cross wouldn’t know, but progressing through the labyrinth with an advanced player leading was considered “parasitism” and was regarded as shameful in the adventurer community. However, since there were no signs of him grumbling at all, Franz and the others felt they could not address it, and inwardly, they were filled with guilt.

“Well, you swore you wouldn’t do it again, right? ‘A samurai’s head is not something to bow lightly,’ right? Lift your head up.”

“Y-Yeah! If you apologize that much, I might be able to forgive you!”

“Pamela, you secretly thought, ‘This is easier and more comfortable!’ didn’t you?”

“How rude! I-I haven’t thought even a bit like that! Yes! I only wanted you to reflect truly!”

“Honestly, we were just walking behind you the whole time. Cross, did we push you a bit too hard?”

“No, it was my reckless behavior that caused this. Don’t worry about it.”

“Now then, since we made up, we must be hungry. Let’s start dinner.”

Hunger can jangle a person’s emotions, but fullness always enriches the spirit. Given how awkward the atmosphere had been, Franz resolved to make dinner grand tonight. But even so, the range of seasonings he brought was limited, leaving him to experiment with cooking methods and ingredients.

He was getting tired of grilled meat… Perhaps a stew would be better.

He tossed meat and herbs into the pot, also adding edible wild plants that Mauri and Pamela had collected along the way, letting it simmer. While the overwhelming amount of meat left something to be desired in terms of vegetables, fortunately, all the wilderness protectors loved meat. For tonight, taste would take priority over nutrition.

With no side dishes like bread, he carefully adjusted the flavors, finishing up the dish without letting it get too rich.

“Done! This is meat stew made with all the types of meat we’ve hunted so far. Let’s compare them!”

“Wow! It looks delicious!”

He piled the roughly chopped ingredients high and served the bowls to his companions.

“This is pig demon meat. Familiar taste, just like what we usually eat,” one remarked.

“What’s this? It’s light yet delicious,” another noted.

“This is axe bird meat. You know, that big white bird with an axe-shaped beak that ran at incredible speed!”

“Mmm!? This is delicious! Everyone, you must try this meat!”

What Barth pointed to was the meat of the Ghost Bear they had defeated yesterday. He had been hesitant to serve it for fear of causing an awkward atmosphere; he had kept it in reserve. It had a high fat content, with a good portion of red meat.

“It’s amazing! It has a luxurious flavor!”

“The fat melts in your mouth in no time! It’s delicious!”

“I used to eat bear meat that was smelly and tough, but… this is indeed exquisite!”

“This truly is a C-rank catch. We should make sure we keep some for ourselves instead of selling it all.”

“Let’s do that! Perhaps we can try making some bacon with this meat.”

“Yay! Barth’s bacon is delicious!”

At last, the atmosphere was lively once more, and Franz let out a breath of relief as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“By the way, changing the subject, what was in the treasure chests we found up to this point? I was only checking for traps, so I didn’t see them.”

“The spider monkey from the fifth layer had an iron knife, the pig demon horde from the sixth layer had a low-level healing potion, the pig demon king from the seventh layer had a ring that looked like a magic tool, and the magic dog from the eighth layer had a shockwave scroll, I believe.”

“Huh… The ring and scroll are hits.”

Scrolls are magical tools that allow even those without magical abilities to activate a miraculous effect once. While they may be single-use, they are highly sought after by adventurers as a last resort in emergencies, especially attack magic scrolls, which are popular.

“With this, can I use magic as well?”

“Who knows? I’ve heard that those without any magical power can’t use them…”

“Hey, don’t just try it out, alright? It’s pretty expensive if you buy it in a store.”

Mauri warned Cross, who was staring intently at the scroll in his hands.

“Then how about this… ‘ring,’ if I remember correctly? Is it alright to try that?”

“No way! We need to get it appraised first; otherwise, we won’t know what effects it has!”

“I see…”

“Well, it’s likely just a lesser magic tool, but the example of the magic bag makes it hard not to get my hopes up.”

Dreaming of the results of their first exploration, they packed up the meal and prepared to camp. They were just a little away from the gatekeeper’s chamber.

……

“The next gatekeeper is an evil spirit. It’s a lower-tier D-rank monster, but it seems to move quickly, so be careful.”

They shared the notes on the map and cautiously opened the door. Since they had left all the fighting to Cross the day before, it felt like it had been a while since any of them would be in combat.

“Whoaahhh!!”

As soon as they entered the hall, the evil spirit charged at them, waving its arms while letting out a strange cry. It had a fierce-looking face with horns and a muscular body with prominent veins. It was about two meters tall, but its strangely long limbs made it feel larger than it appeared.

“Shut up!!”

The evil spirit came at them faster than they could shoot arrows but was quickly deflected by Barth’s shield as he stepped forward.

“Cross, Pamela! Let’s go!”

As it fell, Mauri, Pamela, and Cross unleashed a torrent of ranged attacks, and the evil spirit lay there without getting up again.

“…That was anticlimactic.”

“Yeah. After facing the life-and-death battle with the Ghost Bear, this feels somehow insufficient.”

“It is a rank above us, but I haven’t done anything this time.”

“After crossing through a bloody battlefield, it’s like that. When facing a half-hearted opponent, you don’t feel a sense of achievement; instead, it just leaves you with emptiness. That’s why a samurai seeks out the deadliest situations to leap into. Do you understand a little of my feelings now?”

“I get what you’re saying, but I still don’t intend to do that myself.”

Mauri cut off Cross, who was speaking with a look of fierce determination.

“By the way, Pamela, your casting of spells has become quite fast, hasn’t it?”

“Hehehe, yes, it has! I grasped some tips when frantically casting during the fight with the Ghost Bear. Plus, I was too scared to use magic near myself until now, but I think I’m getting a sense of what a safe distance is.”

Since the evil spirit had no sellable parts but its horns and magic stone, they quickly butchered it and moved on to check the treasure chest. When Mauri finished the trap check and opened the lid, they found something that looked completely useless at first glance.

“What is this? A magnifying glass?”

“Isn’t it a bit too small for that?”

“…It seems like it has no prescription. It’s just a piece of glass.”

“This is a monocle. It’s supposed to be used by those with poor vision, fitting into the eye socket like this… but it doesn’t change how I see anything at all.”

Barth put the monocle on his right eye and looked around, reporting that it was indistinguishable from the view through his left eye. Other members tried it too, and they reached the conclusion that it was likely just a magic tool, tossing it into the magic bag.

By the way, Cross also attempted to wear it, but due to the lack of contours in his facial structure, it wouldn’t fit on his eye in any way, and they all had a good laugh as it kept falling off his face.

……

“This is quite… The atmosphere changed suddenly.”

“Wow! What a beautiful view!”

“It really is. The wind feels nice.”

“If this weren’t a labyrinth, I would want to have a meal on that hill over there.”

What lay ahead after descending the stairs was a vast grassland as far as the eye could see. There were hilly areas and tall grass patches here and there, but compared to the forest, there were fewer trees, and the passing breeze felt refreshing.

Looking back, there was the usual rocky mountain with the stairs they had just descended, but beside it was a smaller gate. That must be the direct gate to the surface.

“So, what do we do? This next layer recommends D-rank.”

“Yeah. For now, let’s just obtain proof of defeating some kind of monster and head back to the surface.”

To use the direct gate to the tenth layer, they needed to defeat the monsters in this layer and have a permit issued.

“Franz! Isn’t that a monster over there?”

Just in time, Pamela spotted a plant-type monster called the Scream Grass near the stairs. At first glance, it looked like just grass, but upon closer inspection, the leaves were pulsating and writhing.

“There are monsters like that too? Let’s pull it up────”

“Wait, wait! Stop!!”

Cross hunched down to grab the leaves, but Barth hurriedly pulled him back.

“…What? Aren’t we going to hunt it?”

“The Scream Grass lets out an ear-piercing scream the moment it’s pulled out of the ground. They say it can instant-death those who are faint-hearted if they hear it up close.”

“A scream…? From grass?”

“Yeah. But there’s an easy way to take it down.”

Franz tied a rope to the Scream Grass and led everyone back to a safe distance.

“I read in the guild’s reference room that it’s weak to sunlight, so if we keep our distance while pulling it out, it’ll scream for a while and then die.”

“It’s strange for grass to be weak to sunlight. What a nonsensical creature.”

Once he confirmed everyone was covering their ears, he pulled the rope, and an earth-shattering wail erupted. The high-pitched screech echoed like a bird call, penetrating their ears even through their covered ears, but it gradually faded, disappearing in less than ten seconds. They waited a bit longer just in case it might scream again before they cautiously approached.

“Wow… I’ve seen Scream Grass for the first time.”

“Yuck…”

The root that had emerged looked like a withered red baby, made of clumps of soil. It was so creepy that touching it felt daunting, yet they managed to pinch a leaf and place it into the magic bag.

“Alright, that’ll do. Now, shall we head back?”

With Franz’s call, they began to climb the long staircase leading back to the surface. Starting with the bandit ambush during the escort request and experiencing a thwarted investigation request, it had been a terrible expedition overall, but the group’s steps felt light as they headed back home after a long time.

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