I’ve Been Reincarnated as a Tentacle Slime~ I Want to Live a Comfortable, Secure Life and Do Whatever I Want~ - Chapter 104

[Natalie POV]

“Good to see you, Natalie. And how did Cruz-kun perform today?”

I came to give today’s report after being summoned by the Guildmaster.

“Yes. First of all, Cruz-san and his group reached the 3rd Floor.”

There’s a lot to report today, so this might take a while.

“I thought so. If he’s that strong, he’s probably already devoured monsters from the second layer (Floors 6–26).”

Exactly. That’s how overwhelming his progression speed is! Normally, even if someone has enough strength to move on, it takes three days. Even mid-level adventurers with [Swift Wind] take two. The only one who could surpass Cruz-san would be that top-tier adventurer who’s a slime tamer.

“He mentioned the 2nd Floor being uneventful, so I’m confident in this assessment.”

“Hmm, I see. The noble who let him go must be kicking themselves.”

“On that note, Cruz mentioned wanting to defeat someone.”

“What!? Is that true?”

“Yes. He said, ‘There’s also someone I want to defeat.’ But he wouldn’t say who.”

When he said those words, Cruz-san had a frustrated expression on his face.

“I see. Perhaps something happened and he severed ties with that noble.”

Yesterday, I felt like I shouldn’t mention it, but perhaps I should also bring up the adventurer card.

“Now that I think of it, Cruz-san didn’t seem to know about adventurer cards.”

“I see. If he was only being made to enter the dungeon, there’d be no need for the card. Maybe they purposely kept him uninformed and only had him hunt.”

Isn’t that just like treating him as a slave!? Then it makes perfect sense that Cruz-san would resent them!

“Why would they do something like that? I can’t see what benefit it would bring…”

“True. But we can’t expect to understand the mind of someone who’d do such a thing. So, do you think the Guild could support that revenge?”

“Next time I see him, I’ll try to subtly find out if there’s anything we can assist with.”

“Yes, I’m counting on you. But if he went through that, he might not have good feelings toward humans. Proceed carefully.”

The Guild Master instructed me to proceed carefully. Naturally, this is to gain Cruz’s trust, and we mustn’t make him suspicious.

“In that case, maybe probing too deeply would be unwise?”

“You think so?”

“Yes. If that noble catches wind of him being here before he gains strength, it would only cause problems for him. At worst, he might leave this town. We should probably report this to Lord Spada.”

Since this isn’t Cruz-san’s base, he doesn’t yet see it as a place worth staying. But once he reaches the deeper dungeon floors, he might start feeling reluctant to leave. Each dungeon has separate gate-enabled floors, after all.

“So, were you able to hear what he wants and what he doesn’t want from the Guild?”

“Yes. I was able to learn two things he wants, and one thing he doesn’t.”

“That’s good. Go ahead and give me the report.”

I told him that Cruz-san didn’t want to gather materials from lower floors, and that he wished for information disclosure based on his progress.

“Hmm, we want him to advance anyway, and disclosing information is only fair. No problems there. It does suggest he isn’t asking for much from us though… It’s only the second day, after all. We’ll build trust gradually. Now, what’s the last item?”

“Lastly, he asked where he could buy clothing, saying it was because he wanted to bring some back to the villagers who had helped him.”

“I see, so he’s staying in some village. If he’s traveling by Dungeon Wolf, it’s possible he came from another territory without leaving a trace.”

“Shall I try asking him?”

“No, let’s not. If that’s his base, he’ll want to keep it secret. If he did come from another territory, he might decide to leave this place altogether. It’s only speculation, but we can’t risk it being correct.”

That’s right. A Dungeon Wolf allows for a dramatically wider area of activity. Normally, one can only travel about 25 kilometers on foot per day, but with a Dungeon Wolf, even 250 kilometers isn’t out of reach. He could leave Lord Spada’s domain in just one day. If it’s been two days or more, following his trail would be almost impossible.

“It might be faster to support Cruz’s revenge and then tracking down the vanished noble might be the quicker path.”

“That might be the case. Digging into his origins could lead to unnecessary complications. Is that the end of your report?”

“Ah, right! He brought a female adventurer with him today. Her name was Kurinde. From what I heard, he hired her as a way to pass time through conversation.”

“He did say the 2nd floor was boring. For someone who hasn’t gone beyond the 2nd floor, it might have been a perfect opportunity. Kurinde… doesn’t ring a bell. Probably not a noteworthy adventurer.”

“He gave her five silver coins as payment. The materials this time earned 22 silver and 50 copper coins, so he gave her about a fifth.”

“Five silver coins just for being someone to talk to… That’s a crazy amount for a low-rank adventurer to earn in a day.”

For a low-rank adventurer party, earning around 50 copper coins per person per day is standard. Getting ten times that just for being a conversation partner goes beyond generous.

“You know where she lives, right? Tell her it’s a bonus for the request and bring her a silver coin. I’ll pay it from my own pocket. I want you to look into her relationship with Cruz-kun. Was she just hired, or is there something more?”

“Is that safe? If Kurinde is on Cruz-san’s side, she might realize we’re trying to dig into things. Wouldn’t it be better to wait and see if he brings her along again tomorrow?”

“Hmm… you’re right. Let’s do that, then. I’ll go report to the lord. Natalie, you may go now.”

“Understood. I’ll take my leave.”

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

[At Lord Spada’s Manor]

“Alright, I’m counting on you. You may take them to the deeper floors if you deem it appropriate.”

“Yes. If they seem promising, would it be okay to power-level them a bit?”

“That’s fine. I leave that decision in your hands.”

“Understood. If you’ll excuse me.”

・Even if one reaches the 30th floor in the dungeon where Cruz was born, it’s not possible to teleport to the 30th floor in Spada’s dungeon. The layouts and scale of dungeons differ, to prevent skipping progression.

・Natalie has only been pregnant for a full day, so there’s no visible bump at this stage.

Chapter length 2727 characters.