Two days had passed.
The rings I'd left soaking in water in the bowl yesterday numbered twenty-six. Not bad.
Also, those delvers from the other day had been bugging me, so I looked them up.
They go by the party name "Five Sisters" and have been making a name for themselves.
They showed up not too long ago and haven't been registered delvers for very long.
But their exploits have been remarkable, and apparently they're on track for Rank V next.
Given their looks, they stand out as you'd expect, but the people who actually approach them aren't all that numerous.
According to a delver who was willing to talk, they're... unusual.
A wise person keeps their distance from danger... but there's always a certain number of idiots who don't know any better.
There are those who doggedly follow them around.
Though apparently, once those people tail them into the dungeon, they're never seen again.
Well, yeah.
Also, the reason they call themselves "Five" when there are only four of them is that they have a youngest sister who's a shut-in.
So the youngest sister, huh. She's, well... probably not the type to go outside.
I have one big question, though.
Um... Ms. Hydrangea — isn't calling the eldest one "the eldest" a bit of a stretch? Wouldn't "mother" be more like it?
But I'm not the kind of suicidal idiot who'd say that out loud.
For starters, I'm not getting involved.
No way I'm stepping on a landmine that's sitting right there in plain sight.
But how do you even build an incarnated body?
If you work in a dungeon long enough, do you eventually figure it out?
I was a little curious about that.
The next day.
I had fifty rings now. That should be more than enough.
I drained the water from the bowl, then took them out one by one, wiped them down, and lined them up.
Setting aside the original that kept multiplying, I put the forty-nine copied rings into a leather bag.
Well then, let's go see Riv.
First, I'd head through the gate to Torquetam's hideout.
If she wasn't there, I'd try Heizen's place.
"Times like this really make you wish you had a way to reach people, huh?"
As I grumbled, I ran into Bid.
"Wof, what's up?"
"Hey. Is Riv around?"
"Riv? She's probably at the Delvers' Guild. It's a day off, so everyone's scattered doing their own thing. Riv tends to take on solo requests on her days off."
"I see."
Come to think of it, she'd taken on that goblin nest in the Witch's Forest by herself too.
"She just left not long ago, so if you head over now you should be able to catch her."
"Thanks."
I thanked him and passed through the gate back to my den.
Actually, if it's the Delvers' Guild, this way is closer.
Once I arrived at the guild, I looked around.
Oh, there's the "Five Sisters." Still as conspicuous as ever.
Whoa. Better not look too hard.
So where's Riv?
"Yo. That's Wof, isn't it?"
"Huh? Oh, Axe!?"
"It's been a while. My sisters haven't been causing you any trouble, have they?"
"Rel!?"
I was startled. It was Axe and Rel.
They were Rank IV delvers, same as Hoss, and members of Thunder Fang.
Axe had light-brown hair and pale brown eyes. A handsome young man with small white horns sprouting from his head.
He wore a black tunic, a yellow surcoat, and white pants, and had a sword at his waist.
Twenty-three years old, serving as the leader of Thunder Fang. His father was a Rank I delver.
Rel had long silver hair that flowed down to her waist. Sharp gray eyes behind silver-framed glasses.
Her features were well-defined, with a faint resemblance to her older sister Dova. Her ears were pointed—she was an elf.
Her outfit was a black coat, a black vest, and black pants, all in dark tones.
The belt she wore was silver. It had a somewhat high-end look to it.
Twenty years old, a member of Thunder Fang, and the only son in the Tassan family.
"It really has been a while."
"When did you get back?"
"Today. Met up with Axe along the way."
"What brings you here?"
"I took on an escort job to this point, then stopped by to file my completion report."
"I see. Is that so."
"Anyway, have you seen Hoss around? The guy wasn't at the hideout."
"Hoss, you say..."
Wait — does she not know he's in Heizen?
Did he not send her any letters?
If that's the case, does she not know about Luma either?
"No way. Still in Heizen?"
Rel murmurs.
"You know about it?"
"Yeah, it was written in his letter."
"So you two have been exchanging letters."
"That's the thing, though. I left home partway through and all sorts of things happened, so I ended up unable to send letters."
"Same here — all sorts of things made it hard for me to send letters too."
Lots going on, huh.
"R-Right. Um, Hoss is in Heizen."
"I figured."
"Heizen, huh… That's far, isn't it."
"Yeah, it is."
Normally, it really would be far.
I think it took over a week one way?
Now with Etrange, it's just an instant, though.
"That's right. Rel-san, Juicy and Samanya are there too."
"Oh?"
"And Ennea is there too."
"Huh? Why?"
Rel-san's silver-rimmed glasses shifted slightly.
She even let out an unusual voice. It was that much of a surprise, huh.
"You didn't hear anything about any of that?"
"Yeah… Ennea being in Heizen is the first I'm hearing of it."
Haven't been exchanging letters with her, then.
Or maybe it was before any of that.
What should I do about Ruma-san.
Should I tell them? Or should I keep quiet?
"Heizen, huh…"
Axe-san was groaning.
Rel-san had a complicated look on her face.
Now, what about me?
Guess I should ask them first.
"…Do the two of you want to go to Heizen?"
"Well, I need to see Hoss."
"I'm half and half. But I have to go."
The two of them said they'd go to Heizen.
Hoss-san would find out eventually anyway.
Besides, I wanted to get Thunder Fang to help test the dungeon.
"…In that case—"
"Hey… whoa… a rare… trio."
I turned toward the voice and there was Riv-san.
Spotting me, he casually raised a hand in greeting.
"Long time no see, Riv."
"It's been a while, Riv."
"Hey… you two… doing alright…?"
"Ah… yeah, more or less."
"I'm still alive."
"Good… that's all I need…"
Riv-san nodded.
"Riv-san! Great, I was looking for you."
"Hm... what?"
"I've finished preparing the ring. Now we can make a simple terminal."
"Oh... then, let's get right to it... make it..."
"What. You've got somewhere to be?"
"Yes. So, um, the two of you want to go to Heizen, right?"
"That's right."
"But it's pretty far, huh..."
That works out perfectly, all things considered.
"Then let's head out now. To Heizen."
The two of them stared at me blankly at my words.
First, I decided to escort the two of them to Heizen.
I moved to Etrange, teleported to Heizen, and dropped the two of them off.
Right in front of Belk's Diner.
"…………"
"…………"
The two of them had the look of cats that had just glimpsed the fundamental truths of the universe.
Same reaction as back with Torquetam.
"Hoss is inside this Belk's Diner."
"…………"
"…………"
"I've got something to take care of, so if you'll excuse me."
"…………"
"…………"
The two of them didn't move.
Well, it'd probably be fine. I gave a small bow and headed back to Etrangé.
Etrangé's bridge.
Riv had already loaded the 50 rings I'd given her into the simple terminals.
Now she was installing an app on the simple terminals.
"Hey, I was wondering — do guys get rings too?"
Nekia, who'd been watching Riv work with great interest from beside her, murmured the question.
"Huh?"
"You're giving them to guys too, right? So do guys get rings?"
"…Well, that's…"
Her question caught me off guard. I hadn't even thought about it.
No, I mean, guys could get rings — actually, no, that wouldn't work. Guys would need something different.
"Mm… done."
Riv picked up a ring and handed one to Nekia.
Nekia pinched the ring between her fingers and studied it closely.
"Can't tell anything from looking at it."
"Mm… let's test it… Wof… put it on Riv's finger…"
"Huh, like this?"
"Mm…"
"I'll try putting one on too."
"Huh, like this?"
"Mm."
Why, though?
"Mm… Nekia… say 'menu'… and try it…"
"Menu. Whoa, something came out of the ring."
"Mm… first… registration… then… your name…"
Riv was teaching Nekia in her usual flat, unhurried tone.
I watched from the side and thought about it.
What would a man do?