Chapter 10 : A Good Start

In the first floor of the dungeon, Kazuma's party was relentlessly chasing a Jack Bird. After three hours of non-stop running, the Jack Bird was finally cornered in a dead end.

"Wire Trap!"

Kazuma clasped his hands together, then released them. Between his hands, several wires appeared. He threw the wires into the narrow dungeon corridor to stop the Jack Bird from escaping again.

"Haaaaaah, Haaaaaah" 4x

After three hours of chasing the Jack Bird, they were, of course, out of breath. They stopped and took deep breaths. The Jack Bird hunt was finally nearing its end.

"Oii, oii, you cursed bird, there's nowhere left for you to run!"

Kazuma slowly approached the bird with a menacing posture. He cracked his fingers while tilting his head. He looked like a bloodthirsty psychopath with a hobby of eating people.

"Chirp-chirp!"

The Jack Bird reflexively jumped back, startled by the terrifying Kazuma.

"Hey, hey, no need to be scared. I'll finish you off painlessly."

"Bind!"

In a room with no way to escape, the Jack Bird was finally caught by Kazuma.

Standing before the tied-up bird, Kazuma drew his beloved sword, Chunchunmaru.

This was the sword that had been with him through life and death.

"Don't hold a grudge against me, little bird. Blame your creator for making you so valuable. I hope we meet again!"

Kazuma spoke his final words to the Jack Bird, which he was about to kill.

"POFFF"

The Jack Bird's body turned into black smoke. Within the smoke, a small magic stone and the Jack Bird's drop item, Jack Bird's Golden Egg, appeared.

"..."

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"..."

"..."

Kazuma, Megumin, Darkness, and Bell stood frozen for a moment as they stared at the Jack Bird's Golden Egg. It was already certain that killing a Jack Bird would drop a Golden Egg. However, since Kazuma was the one who killed it, the drop wasn't just one—it was two Jack Bird's Golden Eggs.

"UWOOOOOH!!! We're rich!!!"

Kazuma broke the silence, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"We did it, Kazuma!"

Darkness said, giving Kazuma a thumbs-up.

"Alright, Kazuma... Let's head home!"

"Of course, let's head back, sell our loot, and have a huge party tonight!"

"OOOOHH!!" 2x

Darkness and Megumin became excited when they heard they'd be having a party today. But Bell stayed quiet in the back, looking unenthusiastic.

"Oii, Bell, why do you look so down? Aren't you happy we earned this much money?"

Kazuma asked Bell, worried that something was wrong.

Bell looked at Kazuma with a determined expression before opening up about what was on his mind.

"Kazuma-san, of course I'm happy we earned so much money. But after seeing your party today, I've realized how weak I am. I want to get stronger, so I want to stay in the dungeon a little longer. You guys can head back first."

"But Bell, we're a party. How could we just leave you here alone?"

"It's fine. I'll take responsibility for myself. You guys can go back and sell our loot."

Bell's gaze was sharp as he looked at Kazuma. With just that look, he conveyed his strong desire to continue adventuring on his own. As a man, Kazuma understood the unspoken message from Bell.

"Alright then, we'll head back. Let's meet at the Hostess of Fertility tonight, and I'll split the earnings fairly,"

"Okay, see you tonight,"

Bell waved his hand and walked away from Kazuma's party. Once Bell was out of sight, Kazuma's party decided to leave the dungeon.

On their way back to the guild, they couldn't help but think about Bell again.

"Bell-kun, will he really be okay?"

Darkness voiced her concerns.

"Darkness, there's no need to worry. He'll be fine. At times like this, we should trust him,"

Megumin said, patting Darkness on the shoulder to reassure her.

Kazuma walked ahead of Megumin and Darkness, then turned to them and said,

"Yeah, don't worry too much about him. He's serious about wanting to get stronger, and as a fellow man, I can feel that."

"...."

"...."

"Oooii, at least say something!"

"As expected from Kazuma, even I, a member of the Crimson Demon clan, feel embarrassed just hearing your words."

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In the guild hall,

Kazuma's party looked to the left and right, searching for Eina Tulle.

"Ah, found her..."

Kazuma approached Eina, with Megumin and Darkness following behind him.

Eina saw the members of Aqua Familia approaching her.

"Kazuma-san, Darkness-san, and Megumin-san... hmm? Wait, where's Bell-kun?"

"Ah? Bell? He said he wanted to stay in the dungeon a bit longer."

"WHAT?! YOU LEFT BELL-KUN IN THE DUNGEON?"

Upon hearing this, Eina scolded Kazuma's party relentlessly for 30 minutes. Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness could only apologize during that time without being able to offer any explanations.

"So, why did you come back while Bell is still in the dungeon?"

After her uninterrupted 30-minute rant, Eina finally gave Kazuma's party a chance to explain themselves.

"Actually..."

Just as Darkness was about to answer Eina's question, Kazuma placed his hand in front of her. He decided to answer the question himself, knowing that he didn't want to deal with any problems that might arise if he let Darkness or Megumin explain something to Eina.

"Ah, Bell said he wanted to get stronger, which is why he wanted to be in the dungeon alone."

"But still, that's no excuse for you to leave him behind. As fellow party members, you should have stayed with him."

"Honestly, we were really exhausted. Even though we only roamed the first floor, we encountered some really troublesome monsters."

"Huh? Are there troublesome monsters on the first floor?"

Hearing Eina's question, Kazuma responded not with words, but with action.

He pulled out two Jack Bird's Golden Eggs from his pocket and held them up in front of Eina.

Eina's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before her. One of the drop items, the fantastically priced Jack Bird's Golden Egg worth 1 million valis, was right in front of her. And not just one, but two.

"WHAT?!?!?!"

Eina couldn't contain her shock and reflexively screamed.

"Don't tell me, is this a Jack Bird's Golden Egg????"

"That's right! Look at what we got; we have two Jack Bird's Golden Eggs!"

The adventurers and employees in the guild shifted their attention to Eina and the newly established Aqua Familia. They were just as shocked as Eina when they saw a group from a new Familia managing to obtain two Jack Bird's Golden Eggs on their first adventure.

Realizing her mistake, Eina quickly led Kazuma's party to a private room to discuss this significant matter away from the eyes and ears of other adventurers.

[Bell Cranel's Pov]

It seems I am a weak adventurer. No, I really am a weak adventurer.

Since seeing Kazuma-san and his party, I've realized just how weak I am.

I should have known this ever since I was rejected by various familias in Orario. But I tried to ignore it, holding onto dreams of heroes and the stories told by my grandfather.

I'm nobody; I'm not talented. I have no skills, and I don't possess any magic. But precisely because of that, because I'm not gifted, I have to work harder than anyone else.

I must defeat more monsters than others.

Today, I won't go home until I reach the fifth floor.

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[3rd Pov]

In a private room,

Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness sat facing Eina Tulle. In front of them were two Jack Bird's Golden Eggs placed on the table, waiting to be exchanged for money.

"So, a group of new adventurers went into the dungeon on their first day and got two Jack Bird's Golden Eggs?"

Eina adjusted her glasses with her middle finger, clearly excited. She couldn't contain her feelings upon hearing that the adventurers under her guidance had managed to obtain such valuable drop items.

"Hehe, hehehe, hehehe. It seems I have found some future great adventurers!"

"E-Eina-san, you look a bit scary."

Megumin recoiled in fear as she watched Eina laughing to herself while holding the Jack Bird's Golden Eggs.

"Eina-san, can we exchange these two Jack Bird's Golden Eggs for money right away?"

"Aah, my apologies! Let me exchange these two Jack Bird's Golden Eggs for you. Since you're still beginners and your Familia is new, you'll be exempt from taxes for the next 30 days."

"Taxes? By the way, how much tax will we have to pay after those 30 days?"

"Every Familia in Orario is required to pay taxes to the guild each month based on their Familia rank. The Familia ranks range from I to S, determined by the number of members, their strength, and their achievements. The higher the Familia rank, the greater the tax. Therefore, when a Familia member rank up, they must report to the guild so that the tax calculation can be accurate."

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After that, Eina conducted a four-hour lesson without giving Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness a chance to escape.

At this point, they realized just how intimidating Eina could be when she started discussing her teachings. As expected of a half-elf who had earned a frightening reputation among various adventurers due to her seriousness.

"Alright, here is the result from the Jack Bird's Golden Eggs,"

Eina handed them a magical tool that resembled a bank card.

"That is a magical card for Aqua Familia that is connected to the guild system. After all, carrying 2 million valis by hand is too much. Additionally, I'm distributing the 2 million valis evenly. Since Aqua Familia has three members, you will each receive 1.5 million valis, while Bell-kun will get 500 thousand valis. And this is Bell-kun's magical card; I will give it to him myself later."

Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness thanked Eina and prepared to leave the guild. Eina accompanied Aqua Familia to the guild's front door.

At that moment, the four of them saw a figure of an adventurer covered in blood from head to the waist, running down the main road toward the guild with a smile on his face, shouting loudly,

"Eina-san!!!!"

"Please tell me what you know about Aiz Wallentstein-san!"

(To Be Continued)