Where should I throw this out?
Don't throw it out
Can I throw this one out?
No, don't
Which ones can I throw out?
Um, they all have a use... Or they may, eventually...
If I can't throw anything out, how are we supposed to clean this place?
Er...
It's so spacious.
That's because we put everything in the third storage room...
Is that really something to cry over...?
Pardon me.
What happened?
Is something wrong? You can tell me anything...
Ms. Clay and I did some cleaning.
That's right.
Listen well. There are some people who can't live without making a mess.
She's one of them.
How do you expect her to keep on living in a room with nothing in it like this...?
Um, what exactly brings you here...?
Will this do for the chair you were requesting?
Thank you. That's a big help.
Did you make this?
That's right.
Amazing.
Hmph, what are you saying?
All that takes is cutting into wood and putting it together.
Anybody can do it.
I wouldn't say that...
Mr. Rangard has worked on pretty much all of the weapons and armor produced here in the dungeon.
That's really something
I suppose...
That's what makes you embarassed...?
The Ice Wolf's Fangs
See you later.
Yeah, thanks.
Thank you very much
Please have a seat.
Thanks.
So, um...
Ms. Beilleheila Langdass.
My full name?
We're going to be working here in this room today?
Er...
Is something the matter?
Ah, no...
Right, we just had a party enter the seventh floor.
We'll be observing them using this three-fold mirror.
Ooh.
When you pour magical power into it, a map appears.
A pinch motion zooms out, and spreading out your fingers zooms in.
How convenient.
The circle represents the explorers, and the number shows how many there are, so it's a five person party.
Five of them... Are they a strong party?
They are. I believe their name is The Ice Wolf's Fangs. Are you familiar with them?
Yeah, they tried to hit on me.
You're that skilled thief girl, aren't you?
I suppose we could let you join The Ice Wolf's Fangs.
No thanks.
That recruitment just now earned zero points, Fen.
Zero points.
Zero.
I see, they must be decently skilled if they can make it to the seventh floor.
Honestly, they're at the top in terms of adventurers.
They hold the record for making it the farthest.
I see...
They aren't moving.
I believe they're having a discussion.
They rarely ever explore, after all.
Isn't that what they came for?
Yes, but each time they make it to the seventh floor, they retreat after the first fight.
They seem to be fighting with all they've got.
Sounds like they're far from making it to the eighth floor.
It wouldn't be possible for them.
Still, they have a good reputation among the monsters.
They say it's really fun, being able to have an exciting fight on equal footing.
Fun... A fun fight...
It looks like she wants to take part in it
Ms. Clay, would you like to try fighting with The Ice Wolf's Fangs?
Oh no, I couldn't possibly clash with explorers...
Of course it wouldn't work with you as you are now.
Er, hold on a moment, please.
The one in charge of prowling section H currently is...
In charge of prowling...?
Ah, it's Mr. Kraitze.
Excuse me, Mr. Kraitze. Can you hear me? It's me, the administrator.
Huh? Th-the administrator?
Is something the matter? Did I do something wrong?
No, it's nothing like that.
I have a request for you.
Really? Thank goodness
What is it?
It's like it's only natural for monsters to be talking...
You currently have three underlings with you, don't you?
Yeah, that's right.
Would you mind if we used one of them?
That'd be fine, but what did you have in mind?
The plan was to control them from here.
I can see them in the mirror... But they can't actually be in there, right?
There's a party of explorers there on the seventh floor.
Uh-huh.
Ms. Clay just started working here the other day, and she would really like to fight them.
There are the maps, too...
So she's using magic to project information onto the medium of a mirror?
Ah, I see. So what would you like me to do?
Are there three of them in order to split up and display a large amount of information at once?
If you can just hand over control, I can take care of the rest.
Still, what tremendous skill. If there were a magic item like this mirror...
Understood
Looks like it's settled, Ms. Clay.
I'm going to place you inside a skeleton so you can fight.
What's that about a skeleton...?
The one in charge of prowling the area near where the Ice Wolf's Fangs are located is Mr. Kraitze, a spirit.
A spirit...?
He happens to have three skeletons with him, so I figured we could ask to borrow one.
My apologies, but I'm not exactly thin enough to fit inside of a skeleton...
Right, it would be rather tough to manage physically.
I've been handed control of the skeleton, so I'll temporarily swap out its operation with that of your copy.
I see.
Ah, that face says she gave up on trying to understand...
Okay, I'm handing it over
Ah, yes, please do so.
Are you ready, Ms. Clay?
Yeah. I don't exactly get what's going on, but that should be fine.
Well then, go have some fun
Ooh, looks like it went smoothly I figured it would
You're...
The name's Kraitze, and I'm in charge of prowling around this area.
I see. I'm Clay.
I was recently hired on at this dungeon. I'm looking forward to working with you.
Yeah, same here
We're in the dungeon, and I'm speaking with a monster.
A monster's treating me like an ally...
Come on, just get used to it, already...
So, we'll be fighting with explorers, right?
What would you like me to do?
Well, you can just go ahead and do as you please.
As I please...?
You won't be able to show off your true power in that body anyway,
so it's best not to restrict you too much, right?
I'll provide some support from the rear. Does that work for you?
Yeah.
I see... It's true that this body feels different than usual.
And what's going on with this shield, exactly? Is it stuck on?
I can't remove it.
That shield's real amusing, isn't it?
Apparently anything the underlings have on them at the time of their creation acts as a part of their body.
Be careful, though, since that's not the case with the sword.
He's right It fell
I'm surprisingly strong...
He said it was part of my body, but it doesn't feel pain.
Maybe it's like a fingernail...?
Actually, would a body of bones feel pain to begin with...? I've got no clue...
Just thinking in terms of combat, it doesn't sound so bad, just using a sword and shield.
Still, is it okay for me to get involved?
Yeah, don't worry about it
Those underlings don't have a will of their own to start with.
I figured this could serve as a point of reference for me.
It's not often you get to team up with someone who made it to the ninth floor.
You know about me?
You're a hot topic of discussion for us.
They say the administrator beat and then tamed an explorer who made it to the ninth floor
I was beaten and tamed...?
Of course, you've gotta take such rumors with a grain of salt
I've never heard of a human being tamed before, after all.
Taming... I guess you could call it that.
It was true?
I think we should run into them soon.
This all feels pretty different, but I think I can make it work.
I'll take you up on your offer and do as I please, but do you have any requests?
Could you stop their vanguard?
How ordinary.
That's what the underlings were here for to start with. But are you okay with that, Clay?
We're going to be going up against explorers, your compatriots.
Can you kill them?
Dad, why do we avoid other people?
Because they're dangerous.
Dangerous?
They can do stuff like killing, robbing, and commiting sexual assault thanks to the dungeon.
Even if they follow guild rules officially, there's no guarantee that's how they'll act in the dungeon.
They're just enemies who can talk. Don't let your guard down.
Look, there's a woman on her own.
Seriously?
What a lucky break
Huh? This is a dead end, isn't it?
Why isn't she here?
Find her
Damn it This is the first time we've found a woman in a while
Right now, I'm a monster.
And besides...
I don't let my guard down, and I don't have any allies.
That's the sort of place the dungeon is.
You've got that right
What's up?
Their thief was scouting and just headed back. They're up ahead.
Huh? But he didn't make a sound, did he?
It was his presence.
Can we fight them? We can, right?
It's in our patrol route, so it's fine... Still, you sure look like you're enjoying yourself.
Three skeletons, and one lich
Got it.
Gaiam and I will take the skeletons.
Latta will back us up, and Ante, you launch right into support magic.
Harmein, you go for a big attack centered on the lich.
Are you ready?
Yeah.
A type of monster that appears frequently on early floors. They generally just use physical attacks. There are no reports of them dropping gems after being defeated, so they're seen as pests. There are reports of skeletons using the
equipment of fallen explorers.
Skeleton
Dungeon People.
Well then, why don't we have you give the seventh floor a try for now,
and if you think you can manage further, we can move you to the eighth?
That's fine.
But the tenth floor is the bottom one, right?
The seventh floor, huh...? Is that all my strength amounts to?
How disheartening...
What are the ninth and tenth floors like, then...?
We've succeeded at splitting the two of them up.
Now then...
Behind this guy there's a thief, and then further back there's a priest and a sorceror.
The priest has already cast support magic.
The thief is positioned behind him, preparing for a surprise attack.
As for the sorceror in the rear...
Oh invisible power that permeates all things, hear my voice and gather.
Once his chant's done, he'll have the front two pull back and launch a wide-range attack, huh?
Become a ball of flame to reduce all to ash...
Right, that's what a chant should be like.
That was abnormal.
Wait... I can make out their movements clearly, even in the rear.
Skeleton eyes sure are amazing.
They say undead have the power to see life. Is this what they meant?
He's going for it soon. Should I invite it...?
He'll wait till my sword is occupied...
But I know that full well
Huh?
Whoa, she's so strong
What was that? She threw them? Why? How? And what was that with the sword?
This thing...
Spin, bundle together, and become a mighty force.
A wide-range attack is coming. What should we do?
Hmm, we should be able to withstand something on that level, but can you do something about it, Clay?
Understood. I'll give it a try.
This body possesses magical power.
The sword won't work, huh?
If I think of it as an extension of my body, the shield should do the trick.
Destroy the enemies I have indicated before you
Magical power...?
It's a sort of spiritual force possessed by living beings.
A force...
And if living beings possess it, we should too.
Magic generally uses stuff like fire and ice, but it's all magical power at its core.
And that got me thinking.
You need the capability and training and all that to use magic.
But if I've got magical power too, then couldn't I use it...
To cut through magic?
Huuuuuuh?
She cut through magic? What's going on here?
This... This is the true strength of one who made it to the ninth floor...
Let's pull back for now.
I'll buy you time.
Latta Keep guard
The stairs are right over there. It shouldn't be an issue.
It's more important to help buy time.
That's true. Let's go all out.
That said, I'm mostly suited to support
A straightforward attack like that doesn't even serve as a diversion.
Ah...
Whoa...
Sorry, I dodged without thinking.
Ah, no, I'm the one who let my guard down.
Now's our chance Run for it
Yeah
Should we chase them?
No, that won't be necessary.
They ran for the stairs, like they said, and that falls outside my jurisdiction.
Do you want to go after them?
No, I'd say I got plenty of good experience already. Thanks.
I see. Yeah, it was a learning experience for me too.
The seventh floor suits me just fine
There's no way I could ever face Clay when she's fighting for real
It looks like you're all done.
You were watching?
That's my job, after all.
I suppose that's true.
So, shall I bring you back?
I'm good What about you, Clay?
I don't mind either.
Okay. Well then...
I see. That was amazing...
I'm sorry I laid you down on the floor.
I was considering going with a lap pillow...
But if I did that, I wouldn't have been able to do my administrative duty.
That's not a problem. It's fine.
So, how were the Ice Wolf's Fangs?
Well, let's see...
Their party was well balanced, and they worked together well.
I can understand how they made it to the seventh floor.
She's being so polite towards opponents she utterly crushed...
It was also a fresh experience being a monster, and it caused me to realize something.
It did?
When you carry out a plan verbally around intelligent monsters, they'll overhear it.
Ah...
What was that sound?
It was a notice that the Ice Wolf's Fangs retreated.
They retreated?
Over a fight like that?
They didn't form a plan to tackle the floor again?
If that's how they're handling it, they'll never clear the seventh floor...
I believe they figured they should start fresh, as they couldn't beat that overwhelmingly strong skeleton.
But skeletons are just...
The one with the shield.
Shield...?
Who, me...?
How did Ms. Clay do, Mr. Kraitze?
She was amazing
Someone that strong shouldn't be here on the seventh floor
I'd never want to fight her, myself
I see...
Well, whatever. Let's get back to work.
Er... Ms. Beilleheila Langdass.
U-um...
Er, about my name...
Ah, sorry. I couldn't quite get it out smoothly.
I hope you'll be able to put up with me until I can learn to say it properly.
No, that's not it...
Oh, you can refer to me by just my name. I'm sorry for not realizing.
Ah, yes. No wait, that's not it either
My name's really long, isn't it?
Is it?
It is
So, well... I'd like a name that would be easier to say...
Like a nickname or something... That would be nice.
A nickname? I'm not so sure about using one with my employer, but well...
Beilleheila Langdass... The usual method is to go with a shortened version...
Be...
What about Beiheila?
Beihe...? Er, I'm not so sure...
My apologies. I realize I have no aptitude for this.
No. I'm the one who asked you, after all.
Asking me to come up with a nickname is too difficult of a task for me.
I would prefer if you would just tell me how you'd like me to refer to you.
That would make it easier for me to use, too.
H-how I want you to refer to me...?
If I make a friend, what would they call me?
The Beille from the start? Or maybe Heila?
I wonder...?
If it were me...
In that case, please call me Belle.
Understood, Ms. Belle.
You don't need the "Ms."
I see... Well then, Mi... I mean...
Belle.
Yes?
So, what's the next job, Belle?
Ah, right. There aren't any more explorers on the seventh floor, so we're all done.
What's the matter?
Belle
Yes?
You should do more work
Like seaweed washed up on the shore, there is no purpose to existing here in town.
Everything plays out atop the palm of someone's hand.
I am not even permitted to turn my back on a life of battle...
Um, Ms. Clay...
How about dancing as you read it? That should brighten things up
While dancing...?
Next time on Dungeon People, episode 4,
The Thieves' Guild and the Dungeon
"The Thieves' Guild and the Dungeon."
Ms. Clay, that was more like gymnastics than dancing...