Chapter 10

Title Changed.

A skeleton wielding a sword appeared before Mercedes and the others.

It was the same Gherippe Fetter that Mercedes had previously stolen weapons from.

However, as soon as it stood in their way, Benkei cleaved it in two with a single powerful strike, and it didn't even qualify as a battle.

Whether Benkei was strong or the monster was weak... in any case, it became clear that Benkei would be quite useful in the shallower levels.

This was the fifth time a monster had been dispatched by Benkei as soon as it appeared. Currently, Mercedes was progressing smoothly through the dungeon without even engaging in combat.

They collected the sword dropped by the Gherippe Fetter and then looked at the shield.

"Hey Benkei. You might as well carry a shield too.

It's a waste to have all six of your arms equipped with swords. You should equip different weapons to be more versatile."

"Hmm... I see."

Benkei, with his six arms, had a significant advantage in combat.

However, it was a waste to have all of them equipped with swords.

Mercedes thought it would be better to carry spears, shields, and bows to broaden his tactical options.

Benkei, who didn't seem particularly attached to swords, discarded one of his swords and replaced it with a shield.

The sword he discarded was of better quality than the one dropped by the Gherippe Fetter, so Mercedes switched to Benkei's sword from the one she had been using. The Gherippe Fetter's sword could now be sold.

When you get a powerful weapon, you sell the old one. This is a basic principle of fantasy.

After that, the two of them easily progressed to the tenth floor without much difficulty. The monsters that appeared were mostly no match for Benkei, and even those that withstood his initial strike were quickly finished off by Mercedes' follow-up attacks.

And then, on the eleventh floor, they finally encountered the gray jelly, their other objective.

It was indeed a strange creature, resembling a human-shaped gray jelly with a sphere in its chest, which was hard to miss.

"Jelly, jelly, I'm a bad jelly."

"Then I won't hold back."

Mercedes' blade cut through the jelly as soon as it appeared.

The jelly tried to regenerate immediately, but it stopped moving when Mercedes cut the sphere.

"Why did you know the core was its weakness...?"

"Well, it's a standard for this type of monster. And the jelly talks, too."

There was no reason for it to expose its weakness so clearly.

Mercedes stuffed the now motionless jelly into a bag she had brought along.

Surprisingly, it had a good texture and wasn't sticky.

Still, the request was from a sweets shop, so would they really eat it?

"Well, the request is completed, but... while we're here, let's go to the twelfth floor."

"Is it to capture the Schwarzwolfgang?"

"Yes. Then we'll retreat for today."

The monsters became noticeably stronger after the tenth floor, and some could withstand Benkei's initial strikes.

However, it wasn't at a level where they would struggle. Benkei could easily handle them on his own.

They reached the twelfth floor with almost no trouble and began searching for the wolf.

After wandering a bit, they encountered a wolfman, but unfortunately, it wasn't the one they were looking for.

"Varavolf Rote... a wolfman with the ferocity of a flame and the ability to breathe fire.

Be careful, it's a tough opponent."

"Fire, huh? Perfect, it's a power I can't use.

I'll capture this one too."

The wolfman standing before them was about 190 cm tall.

There was a literal difference in size, but Mercedes wasn't intimidated.

With a relaxed expression, she cracked her knuckles and took a step forward.

But at that moment, something charged from deep within the dungeon, and Mercedes and Benkei dodged instinctively.

The Varavolf Rote, who couldn't react, was hit by the charge and its upper body was torn off, spraying blood.

When they turned around, they saw a black giant wolf that had torn off the wolfman's upper body.

"Is this it?"

"Yes, it's definitely him."

Hearing Benkei's response, Mercedes smiled.

It was convenient that their target came to them, saving them the trouble of searching.

Although the Varavolf Rote was a bit disappointing, she would make up for it with this one.

"Growl..."

The giant wolf bared its fangs and growled, glaring at Mercedes.

As she took a step forward, the black wolf leaped at her like a gust of wind.

Mercedes tried to counter, but the wolf leaped over her, and she felt a shock in her shoulder.

Her clothes were slightly torn, exposing her shoulder, but Mercedes didn't change her expression.

"...Fast."

She immediately regenerated the slightly torn skin and faced the wolf again.

Benkei tried to step forward, but she stopped him with a hand.

She needed to establish dominance, and if someone else defeated the wolf, it wouldn't recognize her.

The black wolf leaped at Mercedes again, and she was scratched.

She turned to face it, but the black wind continued to attack her from all sides.

"..."

Mercedes didn't make a single sound of pain as she was repeatedly clawed on her arms, shoulders, sides, and legs.

Her eyes, cold and devoid of emotion, followed the black wolf's movements, precisely defending against attacks to vital points.

The injuries were negligible. She regenerated as soon as she was attacked, and the frequency of attacks was gradually decreasing.

Initially, she had been accepting the attacks, but she had become adept at defending against them.

After about a minute of this, Mercedes narrowed her eyes and said as the black wolf attacked for the fourteenth time:

"---Alright, I'm used to it now."

She abandoned her defense, moved slightly, and avoided the black wolf's fangs.

She lured it close to her chest and lightly stroked its unprotected nose.

The black wolf stopped in surprise at this unexpected move, but Mercedes didn't follow up with an attack.

Muzzle control... grabbing a dog's nose to show that you are superior and can protect it.

It's a behavior that mother dogs do with their puppies and can be very effective in training dogs.

However, if done forcefully, it can instill fear.

There are many stories of owners who tried to train their dogs with alpha roles or muzzle control and ended up being disliked by their pets.

If done forcefully, it becomes fear, and fear can lead to aggressive behaviors like growling or biting.

Of course, there is a type of training that uses fear to establish dominance, but Mercedes didn't choose that.

The ideal is to teach the hierarchy and power dynamics without instilling fear. That's the basic principle of training.

So, first, she made the wolf get used to being touched, and then gradually reduced its resistance to being touched.

After repeating this several times, the black wolf seemed to understand the power difference and became docile.

At the same time, it realized that Mercedes had no ill intentions and its hostility disappeared.

Mercedes stroked the black wolf with satisfaction.

"Alright, let's head back to the surface. I need to properly train this one."

Thus, Mercedes successfully tamed the black wolf and took it back with her.

◆

When Mercedes brought the black wolf back, she started by making it trust her.

After teaching the hierarchy, the next step was to build a relationship of trust. This is the basic principle of training.

She also decided to name it Kuro, as calling it nameless would be awkward.

At first, she thought Schwarzwolfgang would be a good name, but she reconsidered because naming a creature Schwarzwolfgang "Schwarzwolfgang" would be like naming a human "Homo sapiens."

It sounded like a name that would make you forget you have a Megaton coin and fall off a bridge.

So, Mercedes simply named it Kuro.

Schwarzwolfgang and Kuro mean the same thing. It might sound cuter, but compared to a language where even a ballpoint pen is called a "Kugelschreiber," it's not that bad.

Incidentally, Benkei and Kuro were surprisingly well accepted by her mother and grandmother.

She had them wait in her room to avoid scaring them, but her mother, for some reason, told her to bring Benkei and Kuro to dinner, and served them food as if it were normal.

Her mother certainly had nerves of steel.

The Trainu Trading Company immediately began selling chocolate and canned goods, and was promoting them aggressively.

The chocolate, more popular as a sweet treat than as emergency rations, was selling like hotcakes.

The canned goods were doing well, but their sales were more modest compared to the chocolate.

However, they were gaining attention as non-perishable, long-lasting food, and sales were gradually increasing.

If this continued, Mercedes would make a considerable amount of money.

If things went well, she could buy a much more luxurious mansion than where they were living now.

She could even consider moving her mother and grandmother to a different city and helping them start a new life.

She had never met her father, but he was probably not a good man.

It would be too unfair for her mother to ruin her life for such a man.

Fortunately, her mother still looked young and beautiful. It wasn't impossible for her to start over.

If she could get her mother and grandmother out of this city, she would have achieved her first goal—escaping the bottom.

Once that was done, Mercedes could move on to her next goal.

She had decided not to end up like her previous life. She had decided to keep moving forward.

She resolved to live without regrets and to die with a smile.

But she hadn't decided on a specific goal or even where she wanted to go.

She just wanted to leave a mark on the world. But she hadn't thought about how or where she would end up. She was focused on escaping this life, and that was all she could handle.

She wanted to go "somewhere." But she didn't know where that was.

No, she didn't even know if such a place existed. It might not.

Still, she didn't want to stop.

Even if the road ahead was dark, she didn't want to stand still, regret, and die.

—To end a boring life without ever seeing a full moon.

Mercedes thought. She thought strongly.

I am a different existence from my previous life. I am a different person who has inherited the memories.

Because I want to think strongly that I am different, I won't choose the same path as my previous life.

I don't want to die the same way. I don't want to have the same regrets.

That's why I keep moving... to find a different path, a path that is mine alone. Even if I don't know where it is.

(Once I get my mother and grandmother out of this life, the next step is to find a goal.

My reason for living... the path I should take... finally, I can start looking for it.)

Even if she said she would run full speed, she couldn't run if she didn't know the path.

So, first, she would find it. The path she would run and, when she crossed the finish line, would be able to smile.

But things don't always go as planned.

The next day, after renewing her resolve... she didn't expect that she would be contacted by siblings in the same situation.

Q: How do you move Benkei and Kuro between the dungeon and the city?

1. First, lift Benkei.

2. Cast a gravity cancellation spell and throw him.

3. Mercedes rides Kuro.

4. Kuro jumps and lands on Benkei.

5. Surreal.