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Tl: Sam

…

　Yuki-san was a first-rate fencing practitioner, a fencer.

　Normally, it’s preferable for the weapons explorers use to be sturdy.
　If you parry attacks from monsters possessing strength far greater than humans, or strike the hardened bodies of monsters, weapons will break in no time.
　The sword I use is exceptionally sturdy as well. If I used an ordinary sword, it wouldn’t even last a day before shattering.

　However, the rapier Yuki-san uses falls into a rather fragile category among swords.
　If you thrust with poor form, it will snap immediately, and it can’t be used to block an opponent’s attack head-on either.

　Yet Yuki-san overcame that weakness with sheer skill.
　By pinpointing the opponent’s weak spots accurately, they minimized the strain on the blade, and skillfully parried and deflected incoming attacks with the rapier to evade them. Thanks to that, even with a weapon like a rapier, they were able to fight monsters on equal or even superior footing.

　My fighting style and Yuki-san’s are quite different, but there was a lot to learn from their skill-focused technique. If I could see that swordsmanship again, I’d be delighted.

“Though… can they really swing a sword again?”

　In the Imperial Palace Underground Dungeon, Yuki-san suffered severe injuries.
　A catastrophic wound where their arm was nearly torn off. Being able to move it normally now can honestly be called a miracle.

　However, no matter how much they’ve regained mobility, whether they can execute delicate movements like before is another matter.
　If the connections of muscles and blood vessels change, the sensation of moving the arm changes as well. Can Yuki-san’s swordsmanship, which demands extreme precision, truly be reproduced with that arm now?

『Buuuu… Baaah!!』

　The giant boar, the Frost Boar, locked onto Yuki-san and charged forward at breakneck speed.
　Its fangs made of ice had enough force to easily pierce metal armor. Even for Yuki-san, taking that head-on would surely hurt.

「Here it comes!」
「Is Yuki-san gonna be okay?」
「They haven’t been in the field for a while, this is scary」
「Can they do it?」
「Slice that monster to ribbons!」

　For Yuki-san, this was their first real combat in several years.
　Yet there wasn’t the slightest hint of tension as they elegantly assumed a stance with their rapier, just like in the old days.
　Right hand and right foot forward, hips lowered, and the empty left hand brought behind to maintain balance. The distinctive fencer’s stance was unchanged from the past.

“I’ll show you something special. My new, beautiful technique…♡”

　Yuki-san aimed the tip of the rapier between the Frost Boar’s brows, then kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
　Then, swinging up the rapier, they flexed its long blade upward, using the recoil to accelerate. Are we finally about to see it, Yuki-san’s swordsmanship?

“Take this! Special Move: Rapier Kick…!!”
“Eh?”

　Yuki-san’s thoroughly trained leg kicked right through the Frost Boar’s face.
　The power was tremendous; the Frost Boar’s massive body was blown away with incredible force, bowling over several trees before rolling across the ground and coming to a halt.
　With that, it won’t be getting back up… wait, there’s something way more concerning right now!

「Eh?」
「Huh?」
「They kicked it lol」
「The rapier had nothing to do with that!」
「The rapier was just for support」
「Is this a tonfa kick?」
「That’s just a regular kick lolol」

　Having landed a magnificent kick, Yuki-san flicked their rapier to the side with a sharp snap and struck a pose.
　It looked stylish, but that rapier wasn’t used at all. If there’s no straight man to call it out, I’d feel bad for the viewers, so I decided to ask what that was all about.

“Yuki-san, what was that just now…?”
“Ever since my severe injury, I became unable to wield a sword like I used to. But I can’t run away from the front lines forever, especially to protect my darling employees.”

　I’ve heard that Yuki-san’s guild employs many people who were persecuted for various reasons, such as their birth or gender. To protect them, expanding the guild wasn’t enough; pure strength was probably necessary too.

“That’s why I came up with a new fighting tactic. Even if delicate sword technique like in the past is impossible, I can still swing a sword dynamically. A new, beautiful technique utilizing the flex of the rapier’s blade and its recoil… that’s the ‘Rapier Kick’!”
“I-Is that so…”

「Shachiken being bewildered lol」
「A severe shortage of straight men」
「The rapier was completely pointless lol」
「No, but it actually makes sense…」
「Does it really make that much sense?」
「Sense-kun is bewildered by this too」
「Wouldn’t kicking normally be faster? lol」
「Idiot. That wouldn’t be beautiful, would it?」
「Everyone’s so distracted by the kick that nobody’s mentioning how strong they are even without a sword lolol」

　I don’t know how true the claim that the rapier’s recoil increases power is, but there’s no doubt that the kick just now was a splendid blow.
　Even if they aren’t as strong as in the past, they’ve definitely returned to a dependable level.

“Now then, with my gorgeous legs, I’ll take on the other monsters too… wait, my. Looks like it’s already over.”

　Looking around, just as Yuki-san said, the monsters that appeared had just been completely defeated.
　Apparently, the Frost Boar that was just taken down was the strongest monster among them.

“Phew, there was an accident, but it ended safely. Still, with this sheer quantity of monsters, we should definitely assume the danger level is higher than other dungeons. There seem to be injured people as well, so it’s probably best to retreat for today.”
“You’re right. We’ve only just entered the middle level, so heading back shouldn’t take much time either.”

　I agreed with Yuki-san’s words.
　If we were a party of a few people, finding a relatively safe spot to take a break might be an option.
　However, right now we were a sizable group of nearly thirty people. No matter how we hid, the probability of being found by monsters was high.
　In that case, rather than lingering in the middle level, turning back through the dungeon carried a lower danger level. We had just defeated the monsters along the path we took, so the chances of encountering monsters on the way back were low as well.

　Having decided on that, Yuki-san and I conveyed it to Kumaiwa-san of Obsidian Bear and the leader of Gold Leo.
　Since we hadn’t explored much of the middle level yet, they looked somewhat reluctant, but both agreed to the retreat.
　Among the explorers, some were quite exhausted from the battle earlier. They probably agreed that coming back another day was better than pushing ourselves recklessly right now.

“Now then, guess I’ll inform Iron Stag too… hm?”

　Turning my eyes toward Iron Stag huddled together a short distance away, I noticed they were investigating something.
　They seemed to be digging into a snow-covered area… what are they doing?

　Wondering what was going on, I approached, when suddenly they raised their voices loudly.

“Found it! It’s treasure!”

　The Iron Stag explorer shouted in a delighted voice.
　Looking over, a treasure chest was indeed poking out from beneath the accumulated snow. Apparently, they found a buried treasure chest during the fight earlier.

　Dungeon treasure chests often contain items of high value. For those desperate for results, this was likely a coveted prize they had longed for.
　However, many treasure chests have traps set on them. Poison, mimics, and the like. Just because you found one doesn’t mean opening it right away is safe.

　Isn’t there anyone to warn them…? I thought, but their leader, Mikami, was right beside them, encouraging them to open it. Guess there was no one to stop it.

“Let’s open it quickly! With that many monsters guarding it, there’s definitely something valuable inside!”
“Hey. It’s dangerous, so sto…”

　I approached to warn them, but…

“Alright! It’s ope… hm?”

　The very instant the treasure chest opened, the entire ground beneath us began to glow.
　At the same time, the bodies of everyone standing atop it began to faintly glow as well. Hey now, are you kidding me?

　Grasping the meaning of that light, Hoshino, who had noticed it as well, rushed over in a panic.

“Tanaka-san! Is this…!?”
“Yeah, of all things, it’s a teleportation trap.”

　Among the traps existing in dungeons, teleportation traps are particularly troublesome.
　As the name implies, a teleportation trap teleports the target to a different location. And that destination is almost always an exceptionally dangerous place.
　While not by a trap, Hoshino and I had experienced being teleported elsewhere by a monster’s attack before. The sensation was identical, which was likely how Hoshino realized it too.

　However, this teleportation wasn’t the work of a monster, but of the dungeon itself.
　It was likely a higher-tier teleportation magic than what that monster had used. In fact, the range of the teleportation extended across this entire middle-level area.
　It could probably choose multiple teleportation destinations, so the chances of everyone landing in the same place were likely low.

“No way, why did this happen…”

　Despairing over what his comrade had done, Mikami fell to his knees on the spot.
　The other members of Iron Stag were in a panic as well, unable to comprehend what was happening.

「Wait, what do we do about this?」
「Tanakaaa! Do something!」
「This is an actual pinch」
「Can even Shachiken not do anything about this?」

　Honestly, I could interrupt this teleportation.
　The teleportation magic laid out on the ground: if I severed it, the teleportation wouldn’t activate.

　However, if I clumsily interrupted the teleportation halfway, there was a risk that someone might get trapped in the space between dimensions. Actually, I was trapped there once before myself.
　Back then, I managed to crawl my way through the distorted space and swim back, but if you can’t swim through it properly, you’d wander the dimensional rift for eternity. With so many other people around, I shouldn’t test that now.

　In that case, what I need to do right now is…

“Hoshino, I don’t know where we’ll be sent, but there’s a chance we’ll be scattered to different places. If that happens… I’m counting on you over there.”

　Hoshino looked surprised for a brief moment, but her expression quickly turned resolute as she answered firmly, “Understood. Leave it to me!”
　To think she’s become this dependable, even though it hasn’t been that long since we first met.

“See you later then.”
“Yes! We will definitely meet again!”

　With those parting words, we were teleported.
　Now then, please don’t drop me somewhere too ridiculous, alright?

…..

Tl Note: Only one chapter today, will get back to more regular releases by next week

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