These girls were certainly no slouches.
Their movements were clean and efficient, with no unnecessary chatter and none of the queasiness rookies usually felt when drawing blood for the first time.
And beyond that...
Whether it was Sasamori Aya's almost beastlike physical strength...
Or Onigawara Rin's solid foundation in swordsmanship...
Or Kikakujō Mary's precise, lethal techniques and Nemumeno Satori's nearly impossible-to-guard-against assassination methods...
Even the little girl who seemed the most timid possessed considerable fighting ability.
Every one of them had the potential to hold her own.
Which meant...
Since these girls were so capable in a fight...
The original plan would have to be scrapped.
After all...
With strength like theirs, stomping weaklings on the first five floors was nothing but a waste of time.
And so...
For the next stretch of their journey...
Tsubaki led everyone farther down, continuing their advance.
The second floor.
The third floor.
The fourth floor.
As they descended deeper...
Their surroundings began to change subtly.
The walls grew darker, and the air became damper, carrying a faint musty odor.
The rate at which monsters spawned increased noticeably.
Besides packs of goblins, nimble kobolds began appearing, along with dungeon lizards that liked to conceal themselves against cavern walls and launch ambushes.
But...
None of this slowed the girls' advance in the slightest.
All along the way...
Whether they faced packs of goblins, kobolds, or dungeon lizards...
Before Sasamori Aya, Onigawara Rin, and the others...
They did not even qualify as a challenge.
The girls left nothing alive in their wake.
The moment a monster showed its face, several weapons would strike it at once.
Especially later on...
As they fought over kills, a faint air of rivalry even began to develop among the girls.
"That one's mine!"
"Whoever gets it first gets to keep it!"
"Ah! Mary, you're cheating! Little Satori saw that one first!"
"..."
They tore through everything in their path.
Soon...
Before they knew it...
Their surroundings began to change.
They had reached the area near the entrance to the sixth floor.
The light here was dimmer than on the floors above. The glowing moss on the walls had grown sparse, and broad swaths of shadow filled their vision.
"Let's take a break."
Tsubaki raised a hand, signaling the party to stop.
Although the monsters they had fought along the way were weak, the relentless pace had still drained a fair amount of stamina.
The girls each found somewhere to sit and recover.
Tsubaki took a sip from her canteen, her gaze drifting involuntarily toward the figure sitting neatly on a rock.
It was the blind girl with long white hair.
Tsukuyo Inaba.
Tsubaki had noticed something.
Ever since they entered the Dungeon...
The blind girl had not drawn the long sword she wore, called White Heron, even once.
She had quietly stayed in the middle of the party.
Like a mere spectator.
Whenever a monster tried to ambush her...
Before it could get close...
The other girls, or that black bear, would immediately rush over and finish it off.
It seemed to be an unspoken understanding.
Everyone was protecting her, whether consciously or not.
If Tsubaki disregarded the stunning display of locating others by sound back at the Guild...
And judged only by her appearance...
She certainly looked like someone who needed constant protection.
But that was not right.
As a Level 1 Adventurer at Lv. 5...
Tsubaki's instincts told her-
The blade that remained hidden in its white scabbard was probably the sharpest one in this party.
After all...
For someone who was blind...
The way this girl moved...
Was far too steady.
Throughout their journey, the Dungeon's ground had been uneven and littered with loose stones, with all manner of unexpected pits.
Even someone with normal vision would occasionally trip over a rock.
Yet her balance had not wavered even once.
And...
On several occasions...
When the dungeon lizards lurking in cracks between rocks had only just revealed a trace of killing intent, before their bodies had even fully emerged...
Tsubaki had noticed...
That the blind girl's hand was already resting on her sword hilt.
She had been poised to strike at any moment.
That almost terrifying awareness of her surroundings...
And the composure with which she prepared a killing blow before danger even arose...
Rather than saying everyone was protecting her...
It would be more accurate to say...
The others were so eager to act that they simply never gave her a chance to draw her sword.
At that thought...
Tsubaki screwed the cap back onto her canteen, casually hooked it to her waist, and strode on her long legs straight over to Tsukuyo Inaba, who was resting with her eyes closed after the lengthy walk.
"Tsukuyo..."
"May I call you that?"
Tsubaki looked down at the girl, who was as delicate as a porcelain doll, and softened her tone for once.
"Of course, Miss... Tsubaki."
Tsukuyo Inaba lifted her head.
Although her blood-red eyes were completely unfocused...
They gave Tsubaki the uncanny impression that the girl had pinpointed her precisely.
"I noticed you haven't fought at all along the way."
"Is that because you can't see, or..."
"Do you think battles at that level aren't worth drawing your sword for?"
Without beating around the bush, Tsubaki simply sat cross-legged opposite Tsukuyo Inaba, curiosity in her voice.
The question was rather blunt.
But that was how she had always done things.
Chapter 31: Tsukuyo Unleashes Her Strength, Iai: Cloud Gleam-The One-Strike Kill Tsubaki Witnessed
As Tsubaki's rather blunt question fell...
The girls nearby, who had been bickering or wiping down their weapons, all paused what they were doing.
Several gazes quietly turned their way.
After all...
Although none of them said it aloud,
They were all curious about what Tsukuyo Inaba would say next.
Faced with Tsubaki's overly direct question...
Tsukuyo Inaba showed not the slightest discomfort.
She merely adjusted her sitting position a little, gently resting both hands on the scabbard of the sword called White Heron lying across her knees.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"You flatter me, Miss Tsubaki."
"The reason I haven't drawn my sword..."
"Is simply that everyone else's swords are too fast."
"Before those monsters can get within a few steps of me, they've already turned to dust."
"Since everyone is so eager to fight..."
"Why should I compete for the credit and spoil their fun?"
"If you simply don't want to compete for credit..."
"Then what if..."