Chapter 83: What's the Recommended Conquest Level?

Original: Chapter 83: What’s the Recommended Conquest Level?

“Miss Himeka, why are you here?”

Miss Himeka looked genuinely apologetic.

“Ahh, I’m really sorry. A bunch of stuff happened, and our homeroom teacher totally blew up and lost it.”

“Huh, you made the homeroom teacher angry? How on earth…?”

Miss Himeka looked a bit sheepish.

“Actually… I kinda, well, snuck out of school during lunch break to go to the Dungeon. I just couldn’t stand it anymore, I was so fidgety during class, I really wanted to feel the Dungeon’s atmosphere.”

“I understand. That feeling.”

Miss Himeka happily said “Right?!” as if she’d found a kindred spirit, placing her hands on both my shoulders. Her eyes were sparkling.

“Little Sayuki, you really do get it. I like you. I love you.”

I got confessed to. I think I got so embarrassed my ears turned red.

“B-but, did you get in trouble just for going to the Dungeon? Quite a few people sneak out of school during lunch break, right? To go to the convenience store or…”

“Yeah. That’s true. But today, I was late getting back to class from the Dungeon. I got stubborn, thinking ‘I want to poison just one more Monster. Just one more, just one more.'”

“Ahh…”

So she was Leveling Up.

Miss Himeka just shoots arrows to put Monsters in a Poisoned Status, and then Experience Points come in on their own. I thought that method was pretty clever.

“Miss Himeka, how late were you getting back from the Dungeon? About 3 minutes?”

“Well, you see… I was 20 minutes late.”

“Huh, 20 minutes! That’s way too late. Of course you’d get in trouble.”

“Mmm. But, at that point, the teacher was still putting up with it.”

Was the teacher unexpectedly kind?

“But then after that… I was texting a friend on my Smartphone, hiding it behind my textbook. When that got found out, the teacher finally exploded…”

“That’s understandable. No matter how you look at it, if you’re late for class and playing on your phone, even the most mild-mannered teacher in the world would get angry.”

“Ehh. But my phone got confiscated. That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Confiscation might be a bit harsh, but…”

“Right? So anyway, I’m really sorry, Little Sayuki. I didn’t have my phone, so I couldn’t contact you at all. You must have been looking for me, right? But I hadn’t told you my class, and I figured it’d be hard for you to come to an upperclassman’s classroom, and I thought I’d done a bad thing… I’m really sorry.”

“Eh…”

I hadn’t actually been looking for her… I was just thinking she’d probably gotten bored of me and getting all self-deprecating on my own… I actually started feeling sorry instead.

“I have to go to the staff room right away to try and get my phone back… So, I ended up putting you on the back burner.”

“I think that’s understandable… Your important phone got confiscated after all…”

S-so that’s what it was. That’s why I didn’t hear anything from Miss Himeka, and she wasn’t waiting for me in front of my classroom or at the shoe lockers.

I felt incredibly relieved. Thank goodness. So Miss Himeka hadn’t gotten bored of me after all.

Miss Himeka had intended to come to the Dungeon with me today as usual. And yet, I had fallen into negative thinking all on my own and come to the Dungeon alone, feeling down—

I felt incredibly embarrassed. And I started thinking I’d done something wrong by Miss Himeka. If Miss Himeka couldn’t come to meet me, I should have gone to meet her. I just needed to ask, ‘What about the Dungeon today?’

Because I’ve always been alone, I’m really not good at normal communication with people. I decided I really, really need to reflect on this.

“Miss Himeka, I’m the one who should apologize.”

“Huh? Little Sayuki, you didn’t do anything wrong—?”

“No, it would have been better if I had tried harder to look for you.”

“Nuh-uh, no way. It’s my fault. Like I said, I’m really sorry. I must have worried you.”

“I’m fine. I’m just really happy that I got to meet you properly like this.”

Miss Himeka seemed relieved. She looked like the tension had left her shoulders.

“Little Sayuki, to make up for causing you trouble, I’m gonna work super hard, okay? So, right off the bat, the Quest we’re taking today is this one, right? I haven’t read it at all yet.”

“Yes. Preferably. I don’t think I could possibly conquer it alone—”

“The Rewards must be really good if you wanted to take it anyway?”

“They’re amazing. But in return, the Recommended Conquest Level seems to be set pretty high…”

“Hmm, hmm,” Miss Himeka said, leaning forward. She seemed to be reading the contents written on the Tablet.

Wow, I thought, even just leaning forward, Miss Himeka has such an incredible allure.

The way she tucked her hanging hair behind her ear, and how she firmly pressed down the back of her short skirt with the back of her hand so it wouldn’t show from behind.

I wonder if I’ll have that kind of sex appeal like Miss Himeka in a year. I’m pretty sure I won’t.

“Hoho, so this is how it is. I see. This type is a first for me. No matter how you look at it, it’s a special, attractive Quest. Just Subjugating a single target, but the Pon you get is exceptional, and you even get a Rare Weapon on top of that.”

“But, isn’t the Recommended Conquest Level kinda crazy?”

“It is. But if the two of us do it, it should be okay, right?”

“I feel like I’ll just be a hindrance.”

“Not at all. Little Sayuki, your Level is lower than mine, but I think your actual Combat Ability is really high. Watching you move yesterday, I could tell clearly. You definitely won’t be a hindrance to me; in fact, I’ll probably rely on you when I’m in danger.”

I feel like she’s overestimating me. It makes me happy, but I don’t really feel it myself. I’ve had more relaxed adventures in the Dungeon, coming to make Potions more often than to fight.

Well, but, moping around won’t get us anywhere. I really want to take this Quest with Miss Himeka—

“I’ll do my absolute best to keep up with you, Miss Himeka.”

“I’ll do my best not to be a bother to you either, Little Sayuki.”

“Then, this Event Quest…”

“Yep. I’ll accept it for us. Here goes, challenging it together—”

Miss Himeka quickly accepted the Quest for us.

A System Message saying ‘Please wait a moment’ appeared before our eyes.

“Huh, that’s unusual. Maybe it’s Selecting which Monster will be our Conquest Target?”

“Maybe. I’m getting nervous about which enemy we’ll get.”

“Little Sayuki, what Level Monster do you want to fight?”

“I’d like to try defeating a Level 95 one.”

“I get that—! If we’re gonna do it, we might as well fight a strong one!”

Some high school girls who happened to be passing nearby looked startled. Their gazes stabbed into us, like ‘What’s with those people, aren’t they dangerous—?’

“B-but, if we actually have to fight one, I’ll be scared, so if possible, I’d be happy if it wasn’t too strong.””Even so, Little Sayuki seems like she’d bravely face strong opponents head-on if she encountered them.”

Ah… I wonder about that. If she didn’t know anything about the opponent, she might challenge them. There was a time before when she fought a reckless Monster without realizing it was a ridiculously higher-ranked opponent.

Ah, the results are in.

‘Dead Adventurer (Recommended Conquest Level: 85) discovered in Red Zone of Passage 4. Please proceed with Subjugation. ※Target Monster cannot be changed. If not conquered by the end of today, Quest will be automatically Canceled.’

Miss Himeka and I locked eyes. Then we exchanged bitter smiles.

My Level is 50. Miss Himeka’s is 75. We’ve encountered a higher-ranked opponent, haven’t we? From the depths of my heart, I could already feel my Fighting Instinct beginning to surge.