Hazure Skill ‘Mapping’ wo Te ni Shita Ore wa, Saikyou Party to Tomo ni Dungeon ni Idomu Chapter 26

Chapter 26
Chapter 26 – Sudden Happenings

The ‘Arrivers’ finished clearing the eleventh floor over ten days ago. This also means that it has already been over a month since the ‘Arrivers’ started lifting Rosalia.

And now, we’ve finally reached it. The sixteenth floor, the deepest floor the ‘Arrivers’ have ever made it to.

After clearing the fifteenth floor, and opening the gate to the next floor, we are met with the view of a night city. House-like buildings are packed in, one next to the other. Being made of bricks, the houses are probably pretty st.u.r.dy. Unlike Puriff, there are a lot of two and three story buildings here, they must have some advanced multi-story construction technology.

The paved roads are spread throughout the city, if there is a house, there is a road in front of it. Even the roads in the King’s Capital cannot compare to the well-maintained flat surface of the pavement here.

However, with no light, the city gives of a strange feeling. Because of that, a city with high artistic and technical value ends up being truly frightening.

Where the gate was opened earlier, there seems to be increased visibility. It looks like there is a fountain in the middle of the city plaza. Then, right in front of our eyes, the Teleportation Crystal appears, floating directly in front of the fountain.

The Teleportation Crystal on every floor has a barrier, dozens of meters wide, where monsters cannot enter, so at the moment, we are not in any danger. However, outside the barrier, 《Enemy Search》 has identified the presence of monsters all over the city.

It seems that the rule where the level of monsters goes up exponentially on every fifth floor also applies here. They seem to be a lot stronger than the ones we met in the fifteenth floor.

After the overnight clearing of the fifteenth floor, the members of the ‘Arrivers’ are not in their prime condition. Seeing as there is no reason for us to continue in this condition, we decide to once more return to town with the Teleportation Crystal, we have to prepare adequately before challenging the sixteenth floor.

From here on out it is not a known battle, it is a fight against the unknown. Even if we are talking about the strongest members of the ‘Arrivers’, if they lose focus even for a second they will die.

This is where our real dungeon exploration begins.

“What is there to talk about?”

“I guess I’ll go first… But I don’t really have anything…”

“Same…”

In the party house’s living room, the desk is surrounded by six people. Everyone carries a serious expression.

It’s to be expected.

It’s the night we returned from the sixteenth floor’s teleportation crystal and we are now discussing our attack plan for the sixteenth floor. It’s a danger infested dungeon. It’s an unknown place. The discussions had been rough going.

So that’s why, without an agenda to discuss, we ended up with very serious expressions. From when Jin said, “So, should we start our strategy meeting?” to when Force said “What is there to talk about?” only five seconds pa.s.sed. The meeting was over in seconds.

The atmosphere is suddenly awkward.

It’s only natural. There are too many unknowns surrounding the sixteenth floor. n.o.body even knew what to talk about.

And that’s why there’s such a worn out feeling.

Well, this is apparently what the ‘Arrivers’ are like when they don’t know what to talk about.

After that each person offered up an agenda item, but in the end it was always resolved with “We’ll handle it according to the situation.”.

It really was just a waste

of time.

What about “This is where our real dungeon exploration begins?”

In the end, isn’t this just the same as always?

“Well, in that case… I haven’t taken a bath yet, is it alright for me to use the bathroom?”

I stayed behind late in order to practice my arts, so I haven’t had a chance to take a bath yet since I came back. Seeing an opportunity to end the discussion, I raised my hand timidly. There weren’t any objections. And just like that, the discussion came to an end. The ‘Arrivers’ members either went to their rooms or stayed in the living room, either way, we broke up.

I also decided to go back to my room, I needed a change of clothes for my bath.

 

I like taking baths. The majority of humans probably do. “The act of bathing is an ingrained human instinct; no man dislikes it!” There are also various bath-lovers who advocate hot bathing.

Then again, I don’t know if it’s completely true. Is it really?

Well, it’s not like I am saying I don’t want to take a bath, I do not want to be mistaken for a filthy human being. I take proper baths every day!

But how can I not get tired?

While taking a bath.

The moment I step into a bathtub, my whole strength seeps to the ground, I also don’t like the feeling I get after a bath.

So, for me, bathing is only an act to clean the body, I disagree with the theory of using baths to rest the body.

That’s what I think anyway, but today after exploring the dungeon and practicing my arts, I am exhausted. Occasionally it is also good to follow the bath-lover’s advice so I tried to relax in the bathtub.

That was a mistake. The bath-lovers had laid a trap. It was a terribly dreadful and intricate trap that not even 《Trap Detect》could find.

In front of me, there is a humming Neme that lathers soap on her body. Naturally, she’s completely naked. Yes, I’m in the biggest pinch of my life. It is currently ongoing.

It’s probably just a disastrous and unfortunate coincidence of overlap.

First of all. I was tired. I was very tired. What happens when you rest your body in a bathtub while you are tired? Sleep, of course. I slept. I fell asleep.

The silver lining of the story is that I didn’t drown. If a member of the first cla.s.s adventurer party ‘Arrivers’ died in a bathtub, it would be an unforgotten laughing matter.

Secondly, I used ‘Stealth’ while bathing. In order to practice my arts, I have been activating 《Stealth》 even in my free time, and so it came about that I had it on while taking a bath.

Thirdly, my 《Stealth》 must have improved more than I thought. My current 《Stealth》 has risen to the extent that Neme, Erin and others cannot detect it unless they are conscious of it. Until now, my presence always ended up leaking out a bit so this ‘happening’ had never occurred before. I have been activating 《Stealth》 every day so it seems that now I can even use it in my sleep.

This is the first time I’m not happy about my progress.

Well, since I’ve somehow managed to keep 《Stealth》 going, Neme still hasn’t detected my presence. Happily humming “Scrubadubdub~~ Yeah~~” she carefully scrubbed her toes.

Actually, I’ve been awake since Neme started was.h.i.+ng her hair. Not knowing what to do, I’ve been watching Neme’s naked body for dozens of minutes.

It’s not s.e.xual in any way.

Neme’s loli body is out of bounds, even for someone like me, who has never experienced a woman’s body. In town I’m the rumored ‘Girl Abductor’, even an accredited lolicon, but it’s completely groundless. The fact that a certain part of my body is not reacting is proof enough.

Neme seems to be the type that washes her hair before her body.

By suddenly saying such a thing, it might seem like I’m looking at Neme through lewd eyes, I’m not.

What I’d like to say is that, as soon as Neme finishes was.h.i.+ng her feet she will be completely done with her body.

At that point, she will be stepping into the bathtub. I was approaching my time limit.

Neme takes the shower hose and starts was.h.i.+ng the foam off her body.

I desperately try to think of a way out, but through my panic I cannot think of a good plan.

I heard the sound ‘Gakon’. It is the sound of the shower hose being clamped to the wall. And that’s the end of it.

Neme was in the middle of lifting her foot into the bathtub when our eyes met. Her eyes widened. She seems to have completely detected me.

I start talking before she gets a chance.

“Erm, Neme-neesan… Why are you here… Are you possibly a pervert?”

“Wait a second! What is happening? Err… Ah…! I can’t understand this situation at all!”

“Well… If you use such a loud voice, someone will hear. And then they’ll find out about Neme-neesan’s perverted acts!”

While he small body still straddled the edge of the bathtub, Neme’s hand quickly went up to cover her mouth. The perfect representation of someone caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“W-Wait a second! Why is it Neme who’s become the pervert? It’s obviously Note!”

“No, no, wait a moment. The person who came in last was definitely Neme, right? In that case I think Neme, who entered the bathroom while I was sleeping in the bathtub, is definitely the pervert…”

“That is indeed…”

It seems like Neme was convinced. Her voice quieted.

Thank G.o.d… Neme was easily fooled… I managed to convince her with something ridiculous.

If it had been Erin, my social reputation would have been obliterated.

If it had been Rosalia, my reputation would have been destroyed in another sense. Given this situation, I doubt she would have missed the chance to come on to me… My social status might have been protected, but my chast.i.ty would have been lost.

“Please don’t speak so loudly, put your hand down…”

She tears her hand off her mouth and I pull her towards myself in order to lean her on my shoulder.

After calming down a bit, she tries to argue back.

“In this situation, Note is also guilty…”

“Well, I wasn’t completely innocent, but…”

No, I think I might be 90% at fault. Carelessness.

But seeing as I don’t want to cause another Neme onslaught, I will of course keep it to myself.

“Well, could you get out of the bathroom now?”

I say to Neme who is sitting on my abdomen as I lay in the bathtub.

Or should I say this position is almost out of bounds.

If Neme was to move just a little lower…

No more. Such wicked thoughts.

“Isn’t Note the one that should go first? Neme still hasn’t soaked in the bathtub!”

“Please consider this more carefully. If I come out of the bathroom you entered, everyone will be shocked! That’s why, please leave Neme-neesan.”

“In that case, I won’t be able to take a bath anymore! For a Neme that came out of the bath to go back in again will be strange!”

“Please put up with it for today!”

“Can’t do it! I can’t give up on my bath.”

Neme-neesan… is a bath-lover I guess.

“Neme-neesan, is something wrong? There seem to be strange mumblings in there…”

There is a sound as the door to the dressing room opens. It’s Erin’s voice. There is only the thin sheet of the bathroom door separating us, this is an extremely dangerous situation. Despite being immersed in hot water, I feel chills running down my back.

I am using 《Stealth》 so Erin still hasn’t detected my presence. Poking Neme, I make a gesture for her to get rid of Erin somehow.

“N-nothing… I was just thinking and I guess some of it leaked out of my mouth…”

“Well, that’s good… Anyway, you’re coming out soon right? Because I also want to take a bath… Well, since it’s only Neme… I might as well go in as well…”

(Come on Neme-neesan! You can do better than this!)

(No, you really can’t! This was completely unexpected!)

In front of me her lips tremble violently.

If this continues, it’s going to be bad. I frantically grab her head and turn it around.

Then, I whisper into Neme’s ear. Even without knowing my intentions, Neme repeats the words I whisper into her ear.

“Erin… I’m embarra.s.sed and I can’t really talk about it… I don’t want to be interrupted right now… I need to be alone for this… And I’m almost there… I won’t let my voice leak out anymore, so can you please wait in the living room?”

“Oh, I see… I’m sorry…”

Erin left, feeling chaste and embarra.s.sed. After making sure the dressing room door was closed, Neme opened her mouth.

“With Note’s words we managed somehow! But what exactly did you mean?”

“Err… It’s better not to tell people who don’t already know…”

For her peace of mind, I will not tell her what it meant. In Erin’s eyes Neme’s reputation might be dead, but my own reputation was safe. There was no other choice.

It would have been troubling to have Erin rush the bathroom halfway and it also would have been troubling to have her waiting in the dressing room for her turn.

And that’s why I had no choice… Yeah…

In order for me to achieve anything, I have to do it myself, I am a man after all…

 

The next day Neme found out what it meant and got mad at me.

(T/N: you have no idea how long it took me to figure out what exactly was happening. *feels worse than Neme*)