In a world of swords and magic, the trade-city of Averl stands above countless dungeons managed by the Adventurers' Guild. Jill, a slim young man who swings two steel blades, and Fina, a girl who wields a bow and enchantment magic, were forced into a partnership through an endless argument over splitting profits. Unable to be honest, they bicker constantly yet fight in perfect sync underground. Fina has fallen for Jill at first sight but hides it behind her sense of duty to her large family back
Each One's "Place to Return To - The Letter That Arrived and Half a Sweet Bread
The first level of the Spiral Labyrinth was, as always, dim, chilly, and damp. Faintly glowing moss growing on the walls barely illuminated the ground underfoot. Jil lightly drew the steel swords at either hip and glanced at the swarm of slimes before him.
" Fina, I'll take the right. The left is yours."
" I know. You just try not to do anything reckless again."
Fina took the elf-made composite bow from her back and nocked an arrow. Her gold hair with red streaks was tied in a ponytail today, and her greenish-gray eyes glinted sharply in the darkness. Her small frame was clad in light leather armor, and her stance was already that of a full-fledged adventurer.
Jil kicked off the ground.
The swords in both hands tore through the air. The slimes, with their semi-transparent bodies, burst one after another like water balloons. Goo splattered across the stone floor. Jil didn't stop. Crossing his two blades, he cut down the slimes closing in from left and right simultaneously. A strength unimaginable from his slender frame. Two steel swords danced as lightly as feathers.
" I told you! Can't you move with less wasted motion!?"
Fina's voice echoed through the cavern. The arrow loosed from her bow pierced precisely through the slime that had been closing in behind Jil.
" ...Sorry. Thanks for the save."
" Don't mention it. I wasn't saving you. There just happened to be an enemy there."
Fina said that while nocking her next arrow. Her excuses were the same as always, but Jil understood. Because she guarded his back, he could fight with everything he had up front. That alone was enough.
It hadn't even been half a month since the two of them had started working as a pair in the Spiral Labyrinth. The trigger had truly been nothing more than a chance occurrence. They'd happened to reach for the same request in front of the guild's bulletin board. They'd argued over the split, and before they knew it, they were diving together. That was all their relationship was supposed to be.
But now, they trusted each other with their backs like this.
" Fina, the ceiling."
At Jil's voice, Fina instantly looked up. Clinging densely to the cavern ceiling was a swarm of rock bats. Gray bodies indistinguishable from stone. But their red eyes all lit up at once.
Kiiiiiii!!
An eardrum-shattering ultrasonic screech. The rock bats took flight all at once. There were dozens of them.
" ...! There are too many!"
" I'll draw them in. You fall back."
" That again!? You think you can handle them all by yourself!?"
Jil flinched for a moment at Fina's angry shout. But the swarm of rock bats was already closing in.
" It's fine. Even someone like me can handle this much."
" That's what I'm telling you—stop saying 'someone like me'!!"
Shouting, Fina pulled magic stone powder from the cloth pouch at her hip. Fine, glittering particles. An enchantment catalyst. She scattered it toward Jil's swords while sharply weaving a spell.
" —O lightning. Dwell within these blades."
In an instant, Jil's two swords were wrapped in pale blue light. Sparks crackled and scattered. A lightning enchantment. Fina's most proficient augmentation magic.
" Can you go, Jil!"
" ...You just said my name."
" That doesn't matter right now! Look ahead!"
Jil hurriedly faced forward. The swarm of rock bats came at him, baring their fangs.
(Right, now I just have to fight.)
Jil reset his grip on both swords. The lightning-clad blades illuminated the dark cavern in pale blue.
" Here I go."
Jil dove into the swarm.
One flash. Two flashes. Three flashes.
The lightning-bearing swords cut down rock bats one after another. The moment they were slashed, small explosions erupted, scattering feathers and blood. Gyaaaa! Their death cries echoed through the cavern. Jil's body didn't stop. He cut down one with his right sword and mowed down two closing from behind with his left.
" Amazing..."
Fina murmured without thinking. But she immediately shook her head.
(What am I getting impressed for? His reckless fighting style hasn't changed at all.)
Fina drew her bow taut and shot down the rock bats closing in from Jil's blind spots one after another. Not a single arrow missed. The sound of the elf-made bow flexing was clearly audible even amid the clamor of battle.
Several minutes later, the last one fell to the ground.
Jil sheathed his swords and let out a long breath. He was breathing hard. Dual wielding was, after all, extremely draining.
" ...Thanks, Fina. If not for your enchantment, I'd be bat food by now."
" Don't mention it. I only did it because if you died, my share would shrink."
Fina turned away with a huff. But the tips of her ears were faintly red.
(She's blushing again.)
Jil smiled wryly inwardly. This side of her hadn't changed from the very beginning.
The two gathered the magic stones from the fallen rock bats. Over a dozen small-quality magic stones. For two iron-rank adventurers, it wasn't a bad haul.
" Let's call it here for today. It'll be dark soon."
" Yeah. You're already out of breath anyway."
" ...I'm ashamed."
" I told you, there's nothing to apologize for! You always apologize right away!"
Fina pouted and started walking ahead. Jil followed half a step behind her. Somehow, that had become their fixed positions before they knew it.
The entrance to the Spiral Labyrinth was beneath the adventurers' plaza in Aervell's central district. Climbing the stone stairs and emerging above ground, the twilight glow stung their eyes. The bustle of the market, the sound of carriage wheels, the smell of baking bread drifting from somewhere. A different world from inside the dungeon.
" Let's stop by the guild first and cash in the magic stones."
" Yeah. Make sure you calculate properly so you don't get shortchanged again."
" ...I'm not good at calculations. Could you do it, Fina?"
" Huh... oh, sure. I guess I have no choice."
Fina blinked for a moment, then quickened her pace as if to hide her embarrassment. Jil watched her back and smiled faintly.
The Iron Road's headquarters was a three-story stone building in the central district. Entering the reception hall on the first floor, the smell of sweat, leather, and cheap liquor hit them like a wave. At this evening hour, it was packed with adventurers who had finished their requests.
" Oh my, welcome back. You two are early today."
From behind the reception counter, a woman with chestnut hair tied in a bun called out with a smile. Mirene. The Iron Road's receptionist, and the one in charge of Jil and Fina. Her amber eyes looked between the two of them mischievously.
" ...We're not early. This is normal."
" Fufu, is that so? Well, fine. Cashing in magic stones, right? Wait a moment."
Mirene deftly appraised the magic stones, counted out silver coins, and lined them up on the counter.
" Alright, fourteen rock bat magic stones, seventy silver coins. After deducting the fee, fifty-nine silver and five copper for the two of you."
" Wait, you already deducted the fee?"
" Of course. The guild isn't a charity."
Fina counted the silver coins and sighed quietly.
" ...I'm taking a little extra today."
" Ah, that's fine. Without your enchantment, we'd have been wiped out anyway."
" That's not what I mean... never mind."
Fina started to say something while tucking the silver into her pouch, then stopped. Jil tilted his head.
" Fina-chan, could you come here for a moment?"
Mirene beckoned from across the counter. When Fina approached, she held out an envelope.
" A letter arrived for you. From Nora Village."
Fina's hand stopped dead.
" ...From Nora Village?"
" Yes. It arrived by carriage post this morning. The sender is... let's see, your mother."
The color drained from Fina's face. She took the envelope silently and slit it open with trembling fingers.
She pulled out the letter inside. On rough, cheap paper, awkward handwriting was lined up.
Fina read it.
With each character, each line her eyes followed, her expression stiffened. Her greenish-gray eyes widened.
" ...Mom."
The letter read:
—To Fina. My condition has gotten worse again. There isn't enough money for medicine. You are the eldest daughter, so please fulfill your role. Please look after your younger siblings as well.
That was all it said.
Fina's hometown, Nora Village. About forty kilometers southwest of Aervell, a small farming village about half a day away by carriage. Population around three hundred. On land that couldn't be called fertile, the villagers scraped by growing wheat and potatoes. Fina's family consisted of her father, mother, and five younger siblings. As the eldest daughter of a family of seven, she had helped with the household work since she was old enough to understand things.
Her mother had collapsed about a year ago.
Her body had broken down from harsh farm work and poor meals, and since then she had often been bedridden. There was no money to buy medicine, no money to see a doctor. So Fina became an adventurer. To earn even a little and send it home.
" Fina-chan? Are you alright?"
At Mirene's worried voice, Fina snapped her head up.
" Ah, yeah, I'm fine! I was just a little surprised. Thank you, Mirene-san."
Fina forced a smile. But it was clearly stiff. The hand holding the letter trembled slightly.
" ...I see. If anything happens, come talk to me anytime."
Mirene didn't ask anything more. But her amber eyes gazed at Fina with a pained look.
" Well, I'm heading back to the inn first."
With that, Fina shoved the letter into her chest and hurried out of the guild.
Jil could only watch her back as she left.
" Jil-kun."
" ...Yes."
" Please look after Fina-chan."
Mirene said quietly. Her face wasn't the usual teasing smile—it was utterly serious.
" ...I don't think someone like me could be of any help to her."
" Oh, that again? You undervalue yourself far too much."
" ...It's the truth."
" Fufu. Well, fine. But you know, Jil-kun. You're more help to someone than you realize."
Mirene said that and began organizing the documents on the counter. Jil, unable to gauge the meaning of her words, tilted his head slightly.
The inn "Silver Spoon" was tucked into an alley in the central district. A cheap inn favored by adventurers, one night for ten copper coins. A shared sleeping room was even cheaper. Jil and Fina each rented their own private rooms.
Once back in her room, Fina locked the door and sat down on the bed.
She opened the letter once more.
Her mother's handwriting was far more disordered than before. Her hand must have been shaking. Just from that, Fina could tell her mother's condition had worsened.
" ...My role as the eldest daughter."
Fina clutched the letter.
Back in Nora Village, Fina had always been "the big sister." Caring for her younger siblings, helping with the housework, working the fields. She hadn't even been able to attend school properly. Even so, as long as her family smiled, she could endure it.
But now.
(I'm actually happy I became an adventurer. Happy I get to dive with Jil.)
Fina bit her lip.
(And yet, Mom is suffering. Are my little brothers and sisters even able to eat? What about firewood for winter? Medicine?)
The calculations began in her head. Today's income was just under thirty silver coins. After subtracting lodging and food, how much was left? Medicine costs? Clothes for her siblings?
(Not enough. Nowhere near enough.)
Fina hung her head.
(What am I even doing? My family is suffering, and I'm the only one having fun.)
Words of self-blame surfaced one after another. Something deep in her chest tightened.
" ...Mom, I'm sorry. I still haven't been able to do anything."
The moment she spoke aloud, tears spilled over.
Hot droplets fell onto the letter. The ink bled. Her mother's writing blurred with tears.
Fina cried, stifling her voice. The inn's walls were thin. She pressed her face into the blanket so the next room wouldn't hear.
(I c
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