In the storeroom behind Tsubaki's forge.
Jeanne and Rose had received the new gear they'd commissioned from her.
"The main material for the armor is high-grade metal sourced from the lower floors of the Dungeon. After refining, its protection is more than enough to handle most monsters in the middle floors."
"The inner lining is woven from a composite of Minotaur, Al-Miraj, and Bad Bear hides. As for vital areas like the breastplate and gorget, I added something extra. Mixed in some Goliath hide trimmings."
"The overall style follows what you had before, but I made some small adjustments to the details based on your fighting habits."
"..."
Jeanne and Rose put on the armor while Tsubaki ran them through it.
When they heard Tsubaki had used Goliath hide in their armor, a material normally reserved for First-Class Adventurer equipment, both of them looked up sharply.
"Eh? Tsubaki, you... used Goliath hide too? That stuff... isn't that incredibly valuable?"
Rose chimed in beside her.
"Right. Whatever you say, it's still a rare drop from a floor boss. I've heard Leon mention it... because Goliath is the only defense-specialized floor boss, its rare drops can even be used as the main material for First-Class Adventurer equipment."
"Using something this precious on our gear... isn't that a bit much?"
Tsubaki waved a hand at their worried expressions, completely unconcerned.
"Hey, it's just leftover scraps. What's wrong with that? Someone commissioned a full set of armor from me using whole Goliath hide a while back, and that order was already delivered. The bits left over, well, as the smith I get to decide what happens to them."
Jeanne and Rose: "..."
If they kept refusing Tsubaki's goodwill at this point, it would just be ungrateful.
So both of them smiled and thanked her.
"Thank you, Tsubaki. We'll take it then. After all, this is your kindness."
Seeing that they no longer refused, Tsubaki nodded with satisfaction.
"Just so we're clear, I'm not handing out favors for nothing. I just see promise in your future. Once you've grown stronger and you turn up rare, valuable, hard-to-find goods in the Dungeon, you have to sell them to me!"
"And don't worry about the price. I'm not like that money-obsessed idiot Leon. I'll absolutely make sure you're satisfied!"
At Tsubaki's description of Leon, Jeanne and Rose blinked at each other, then started laughing.
"Money-obsessed, huh? My, your description is rather on the nose."
...
The Leon who had just stepped out of the entrance to Babel naturally had no idea his friend Tsubaki was running her mouth about him behind his back.
The three of them sat side by side on a bench beside the stone fountain, gazing at the dusk glow on the horizon, lazy expressions on their faces.
"It's been a long time since I've sat here."
Leon spoke quietly, a touch of nostalgia in his voice.
"Back when I was running solo, every day after I climbed out of the Dungeon, I'd rest here for a while."
"Watching the people coming and going, all sorts of them, always settled the restlessness that built up from fighting in the Dungeon."
Listening to Leon talk about the past, curiosity surfaced on Kureha's and Aura's faces.
"You probably can't imagine how hard it is to be a lone-wolf adventurer, especially back then... I had problems of my own that meant I just couldn't get stronger no matter what."
"You might not believe this, but I spent a full twelve weeks stuck on Floor 5 of the Dungeon. During that stretch... the sight of a Goblin, a Kobold, or a Dungeon Lizard was enough to make me want to throw up."
"That feeling... you probably can't really understand it."
Twelve weeks stuck on Floor 5?
Forget Aura.
Even Kureha, the sword prodigy with her exceptional combat instincts, snapped her eyes wide.
"Twelve weeks? Just... just hunting Goblins?! Th-th-th-this..."
Her words tripped over themselves.
The sight made Leon want to laugh.
"What is it, Sword Saint? Hard to believe?"
He shrugged and spread his hands.
"But that's the truth..."
"Looking back on it now, those days were rough, but they did temper me well."
"At the very least... my patience came a long way. I'm not the kind to get anxious over a single setback anymore."
Listening to Leon's self-deprecation, Kureha's eyes went still for a moment, then a small, striking smile curved her lips.
"Growth of the heart, born from failure... yes, it really is so."
"Without experiencing failure, a life remains incomplete after all."
Leon's brow lifted slightly.
He'd caught the deeper meaning in her words.
In her first life Kureha had spent every waking hour either defending the kingdom or marching to defend it again. Right up to her death she'd never seen through the rot beneath its surface. Betrayed by the very kingdom she'd protected, mocked even as she fell. A complete failure of a life.
The Kureha sitting beside him now didn't take anyone's word at face value anymore. She thought for herself.
...
Seeing that Kureha had fallen into a long silence, Leon sighed, a helpless smile on his lips.
He stood, brushed the dust from his cloak, then casually reached out and caught Kureha's slender wrist. Under her startled gaze, he pulled her up and right into his arms.
Completely ignoring the dangerous narrowing of Aura's eyes beside him, Leon set off toward home, half-coaxing, half-dragging Kureha along with him.
"Let the past stay in the past. We're looking forward!"
He pointed at the brightly lit, bustling street ahead and shot a smile at the Sword Saint blushing in his arms, then back at Aura, who jogged a couple of steps to keep up behind them.
"The skewers and croquettes here are something else! Come on, I'll let you try them!"
As he spoke, he even tossed Aura a meaningful glance, only for the elf girl to ignore him completely.
Hmph! Big sister Jeanne called it after all! Mr. Leon really did make a move on big sister Kureha!
Thoughts tore through Aura's head.
As for Kureha, gathered into Leon's embrace...
The instant that warm arm wrapped around her, a tingling sensation rolled through her entire body and her pale skin flushed scarlet. The strength drained out of her all at once, and her mind went completely blank under the shock of this sudden intimacy.
She slumped against his chest, letting him steer her wherever he wanted.
The townsfolk and adventurers passing by on either side, seeing Leon and Kureha share such an intimate moment as a couple, with Kureha's flushed cheeks on full display...
They all wore knowing, suggestive smiles, the kind men exchanged between themselves.
And Aura, trailing behind, was so furious at the sight her brow twitched.
She glared murderously at every adventurer who passed.
...
...
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