Level Down 9 (Patreon)

Volume 1 Chapter 9 - Encounter With Iseria

RAW

After taking a short nap in the dungeon’s boss room, Allen decided to use the magic circle that appeared after defeating the boss to return to the first floor.

In fact, this would be the first time Allen has used this magic circle, since such things do not appear in the Slime Dungeon. Because of that, he was nervous inside, but since he was wearing a mask, no one else would know about it. Allen is the only one here anyway.

When Allen stepped into the center of the magic circle, the magic circle began to emit light, and the moment the light reached its peak, his form disappeared from the boss room. He had been transported to the first floor.

“Eh!?” (???)

Allen was inwardly surprised by the sudden change in his vision, but then he suddenly heard a voice in front of him, and he froze in that posture.

It was late at night when Allen entered the Demon Dungeon, but a day and a half had passed, and the current time was almost noon. This was the time when ordinary adventurers often came to explore, and the current situation was that Allen appeared before the eyes of an adventurer who happened to be exploring the first floor of the dungeon.

A young female adventurer, barely in her teens or early twenties, who seemed to be exploring alone when Allen suddenly appeared, stared at him.

“Kyuu─” (Woman)

“Ah, oi!” (Allen)

The female adventurer lost consciousness after letting out a mysterious voice and was about to fall when Allen hurriedly supported her.

Allen never thought she’d suddenly pass out, so he was also shaken up, but thinking that she would be in danger if she fell down like this and hit her head, his body promptly moved.

The moment he supported her, a flower-like scent wafted from the female adventurer, and Allen was shaken up in another way.

‘Fuu’ Allen let out a breath to calm his heart down, laid her down on the floor for the time being, and repeatedly patted her cheek, but there was no sign that the female adventurer would wake up.

“Haa, no choice. Guess I’ll take her to the branch office outside.” (Allen)

Giving up on easily waking her up, Allen picked up the female adventurer in a princess carry and began walking out of the dungeon.

Allen had been a long time adventurer in Lilac City, but he didn't recognize the female adventurer.

(Maybe she came from a different city recently.) (Allen)

Thinking of such things in order to cover up the soft feeling on his arm, Allen continued walking towards the exit, kicking away the occasional goblin.

.

.

.

Once again, Allen was in the Guild's branch office. Last time, partly because he came late at night, he had a sword pointed at him, but this time it was daytime and Allen was optimistic that there would be no problem. He was but...

“You, let go of that woman quickly!” (???)

“...” (Allen)

Allen had a sword pointed at him again.

It might have been settled quickly if it had been the guild employee Allen met that night, but the one who was currently pointing his sword at Allen was a completely different guild employee.

Allen secretly let out a sigh, making sure the other person wouldn't notice. ‘Not again’, he thought inwardly.

At this rate, they won’t make any progress, so Allen tried to put down the female adventurer, but he was immediately told, “Don't move!” and he was at a loss.

‘First, you tell me to let her go, now you tell me not to move, what am I supposed to do? Should I just drop her here?’ Allen thought, but the unconscious female adventurer is not responsible for the current situation.

It was precisely because Allen knew this that he was stuck.

“Nn, unn~” (Woman)

At that moment, the woman in Allen's arms lets out that voice. Then, as she was about to stretch her body, her eyes snapped open.

And then, even though it was through his mask, Allen's eyes met the female adventurer's.

“Hiih!” (Woman)

Allen was slightly hurt by the woman's obviously frightened attitude, but he was relieved that the situation would finally be over.

As Allen was putting the woman down, he heard the woman's small voice as she looked around, perhaps trying to grasp the situation.

“It’s my first time being princess carried.” (Woman)

She most likely didn't intend for anyone to hear those words, but because Allen’s stats were so outrageous, he could hear them, so his face inadvertently turned red.

No one else could tell because of the mask, though.

“Are you okay?” (Employee)

“Eh? Yes.” (Woman)

Without a moment’s delay the guild employee quickly pulled the confused woman away from Allen, and Allen couldn't help but smile bitterly at that attitude. ‘Certainly, that’s probably what I would do if I was in that position’ he thought.

Even Allen himself was well aware that he looked suspicious.

‘It would become troublesome if I stayed too long,’ Allen thought ‘For now, let’s get away from the place’ and he started walking toward the entrance. However, there was someone pulling Allen's hand.

Of course, it wasn’t the guild employee, but the female adventurer that Allen had brought here.

“I'm sorry. You were the one who brought me here, right? Thank you very much.” (Woman)

Allen was a little lost on what to do seeing the woman bowing as she said that, so he waved his hand, signaling her not to worry about it.

Allen wasn't used to people honestly thanking him. Seeing Allen like that, the woman smiled.

“My name is Iseria. I recently came to Lilac. May I ask your name?” (Iseria)

“...” (Allen)

Allen was perplexed when he heard that. Allen didn’t intend to speak in front of people when he’s in this appearance. If there’s someone who knows him, there is a possibility that he will be found out just by his voice.

It might not be a problem in this place where there were only Iseria whom he met for the first time and the guild employee who he’s not particularly close with, but he didn't want to make too many exceptions.

“Is that... no good?” (Iseria)

Iseria's face was distorted with sadness. Iseria is quite beautiful, not just among female adventurers, but among women in general.

Many female adventurers, like male adventurers, are muscular or have a masculine personality, but Iseria has a slender body and coupled with her blonde hair, it gives her the atmosphere of a young lady raised in seclusion, at least when she’s quiet.

Allen, who had never had anything to do with such a woman before, was already in the throes of confusion.

‘Isn’t there a good way to do it?’ Allen thought as he looked around, and in an instant he moved to the desk for the guild employee, and in the blink of an eye, wrote on a piece of paper and showed it to Iseria.

“Nera-sama, is it?” (Iseria)

Iseria's face opened up like a flower when she learned the name. For a moment, Allen thought that ‘maybe Iseria likes me?’ but then he remembered how he looked right now and immediately denied it.

This is the result of habitually reminding himself that there is nothing more sad than a nearly 30 old man who gets the wrong idea.

“You are very strong, aren't you, Nera-sama? You must have defeated the boss of the dungeon.” (Iseria)

“Eh, you defeated the ogre king? And by yourself!?” (Employee)

Allen nodded his head at their words. Then, he took out the ogre king's magic stone and horn that he had put in his bag and placed them on the guild employee’s desk.

The guild employee stared at it intently.

“I don't really get this, but if it's this big, I'm convinced it's the ogre king’s. And that horn. It'll be quite expensive, you know.” (Employee)

“That's amazing, Nera-sama. You must be a famous adventurer. I'm sorry, to think I’d faint due to my ignorance, how rude of me.” (Iseria)

Seeing Iseria looking like she's going into apology mode again, Allen hurriedly shook his head. Then he tried to convey something with gestures, but gave up halfway through and started writing on the paper again.

[I'm not an adventurer. I'm just diving into the dungeon to test my ability.] (Allen)

“Eeh, is that so?” (Iseria)

[That's right. That’s why there's no need to mind it.] (Allen)

“Fufu, Nera-sama is so kind.” (Iseria)

Allen's face turned red when Iseria smiled at him. Allen thought once again that he was really glad that he was wearing this mask that hid his facial expressions.

Despite the exchange between the two, the guild employee who was left alone looked a little troubled.

“However, if you are not an adventurer, purchasing them will be a hassle. Nera, was it? Won’t you become an adventurer?” (Employee)

[I refuse. I have no intention of becoming an adventurer.] (Allen)

In response to the guild employee’s proposal, Allen moved the pen, and refused right away.

It's true that there are perks to being an adventurer, such as easy selling of materials and free entry to dungeons, but on the other hand, there are also many fetters that come with socializing with other adventurers and being a part of an organization.

Allen knew all too well that he might be half-forced into trouble as a result.

Now that he had just started a free and fun double life, there was no way he would have bothered to register as an adventurer.

In the first place, the person called Nera is fabricated, naturally, he has no identification. The Adventurer’s Guild card is something that can be used as official proof of identity, so identification is required to register. In other words, it is impossible for him to register.

“Then what’ll you do with these materials? You could bring it to the Merchant Guild, but I think they’ll beat down the price.” (Employee)

The guild employee’s advice was reasonable. Adventurers can sell monster materials at a reasonable price because they go through the Adventurers' Guild.

It’s not impossible for an individual to sell directly to a store or to the Merchant Guild, but it is common knowledge that unless such a person has great bargaining ability, they will be taken advantage of and their material bought for a much lower price than the appropriate price.

But Allen had already thought of a countermeasure to that problem.

Allen took out a document from the shelf next to the guild employee’s desk where various documents were placed. The name of that document was “Consignment Sales Application Form.”

This was an application form for an outsider who is not an adventurer to request the Adventurers' Guild to sell on their behalf. It was a procedure so rarely used that not many people, even guild employees, know of its existence though.

The Adventurers' Guild takes 15% of the sale price as a commission for consigning to them, but it will be less time-consuming than negotiating on your own.

Besides, if the material is as rare as the ogre king’s, the selling price is often higher than if an individual sold it on their own, even after deducting the commission.

After Allen finished filling out the application form with Nera's name, he handed it to the guild employee.

The man examined the document handed to him intently, then slapped his forehead with his hand.

“Now that I think about it, there was a system like this. I forgot about it because no one used it.” (Employee)

[I’ll leave it to you.] (Allen)

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's around here... oh, here it is. I'll give you this profit ticket. The payment will be in one week at the earliest. Don't lose it.” (Employee)

As Allen casually shoved the profit ticket he received into his clothes pocket and left, the guild employee watched him as if he had given up. Then, remembering the troublesome procedure that was about to begin, he let out a little sigh.

Beside him, Iseria looked at the door where Allen had disappeared to, murmured, “Strange person,” and smiled slightly.

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(T/N: Allen being flustered and moving quickly when a girl talked to him is kinda funny, I thought he’d look stupid because of that, but no one probably saw him move.)

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