I could only bring one explorer with me using Dimensional Travel. However, contracted beings like elementals and tamed monsters didn’t count. They could come with me similar to how I could bring them to the dungeon from Earth.

I could always unsummon the elementals if things got dangerous, but tamed monsters were a bit more troublesome. Both Plene and Lotte made a fuss about coming with me, but Plene wasn’t suited for this mission. She couldn’t defend herself well, and her ability wasn’t for direct fights. Plus, I didn’t know whether her ability would work against these brain-eating worms. Although I felt sorry for leaving her out, there was nothing I could do.

On the other hand, Lotte didn’t lose to many in terms of strength. Now that she could transform into a human (I was curious about how she obtained that ability), her range of activity had increased as well. She was an all around reliable companion.

For the record, I made sure that she wore proper clothing when she was in her human form. I gave her some elastic leather clothes as a gift. She refused to wear them at first, but when I pouted and acted sad that she wouldn’t accept my gift, she frowned and put them on. Huhu, I was getting more skilled at handling my subordinates!

Lotte looked smugly at Plene when I told Plene that she couldn't come but Lotte could.

“Huhuhu, you see, Fish? This is the Hero’s choice.”

Plene shrieked angrily, “I’m not a fish! I’m a siren!”

I butted in before the two could quibble any longer, “No…Plene, your ability won’t be very helpful where I’m going. Wish us a safe return.”

She replied while sobbing, “Hic…Okay.”

“You’re weak! Do you know why, Fish?” Lotte taunted.

Plene retorted, “I’m not a fish! And I’m not weak! Shin said I was a good singer!”

Lotte replied smugly, “You are weak because you are lacking. In training…!”

“Training?”

I sighed before saying, “Yeah, yeah, let’s go, Lotte.”

After transforming into a human, she had learned lots of weird things.

Regardless, there were only five minutes left until I had to go see Lebuik at the pub. I hurriedly left the resort with Lotte and headed to the First Dungeon’s Residential Area. The first thing I did was accept the Dimensional Mercenary request. Then, while I was making my way to the pub, everyone became focused on me.

“It’s Revival’s master,” one person remarked in a hushed voice.

Another asked, “Earth’s Hero?”

A third interjected, “Did you check the guild rank? It’s already B.”

“Hey, don’t even think about messing with that guild. An administrative guild has its back,” warned another explorer.

We’re different from Desert Scorpion! We have no intention of abusing an administrative guild’s authority! Though I wanted to tell them off, I didn’t. Lotte became angry instead.

She snapped, “Are they cursing at you, Hero? Just to be clear, it’s not that I think highly of you, but it is true that you are strong enough to make me submit. How strong are they that they’re cursing you in the middle of the street? I must test their strength!”

I let out a sigh. “Lotte, please. Also, don’t use words like ‘submit.’”

Lotte continued, “Hero should be proud. Hero made me submit without using force. That shows how grand you truly are!”

Our surroundings became noisy.

One man whispered, “Hey, did you hear that?”

“I was wondering if it was a new woman. It’s as I thought…” another commented.

“Without using force…That must mean…” a third stated hesitantly.

“Gahhhhhhh!”

“Hero?”

I grabbed Lotte’s hand and ran to the pub using Gale Track. There, I saw Lebuik with a solemn expression. She was wearing the same set of upgraded armor from the last time I saw her and she had a large black claymore on her back.

She stuttered, “Y-You’re here. I thought about it for a long time, but if I could see Ren-nim’s face one last time, I’ll have no regr—Kyak!”

“Let’s go!” I shouted eagerly.

If I stay in the Residential Area any longer, my reputation is going to plummet to the point of no return! Lebuik seemed to be giving excuses as to why she was going to Panan, but I was too lazy to listen to her. She should just say she wants to see Ren!

I whooped, “Alright, Dimensional Travel!”

“W-Wait!” she sputtered.

“Too late!” I laughed.

The Residential Area melted down. Gradually, a new world appeared as if someone was painting over a blank canvas. The sky was pitch black with not even a single star in sight. Everything was quiet. We were in a small open area in the middle of a dense forest.

“I said wait a bit, Roo…”

Lebuik was just about to say something to me when she suddenly stopped. She froze and seemed to be staring at something behind me. Then, she fell as if her legs gave out.

I turned around. Ren was there and he was staring at me with widened eyes.

I greeted, “Ren.”

He looked bewildered. “You really…You really came, Crown Prince…? Damn, I told you not to come, so why?”

When Dimensional Travel was used for a Dimensional Mercenary request, the user was naturally summoned next to the person who made the request. Otherwise, the person using the skill would appear next to the person on their friend’s list that was from that world. In this case, I would have ended up next to Ren regardless.

Unlike his usual boisterous tone, Ren’s voice was quiet. In fact, it seemed suppressed as the sound didn’t travel well. I closed my eyes, then opened them back up after a brief moment. I had analyzed the mana in the surroundings.

“Is it an artifact?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes. I obtained an item that prevents sound from traveling far. The dungeon sure is a nice place.”

Ren took out a pentagonal shaped pendant and smiled. Then, he frowned again. He seemed to have remembered what he was talking about.

“Wait, don’t change the subject, Crown Prince. It’s not too late, you should—”

I shrugged. “If I think it’s too dangerous, I’ll run away on my own, so don’t worry.”

“…Now that you say that, I’m hurt.”

Ren’s previously perked up lion ears drooped down. I cringed and wanted to punch Ren for his cute reaction, but I swallowed down the urge.

He took a breath before replying, “In any case, I’ll prevent El Patiz from aiming for you, even if it costs me my life. Crown Prince, I won’t stop you now, but if it gets dangerous please do go back when I give the signal.

I waved a hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

He smiled wryly. “Then first, I’ll introduce you to the children. They haven’t been able to rest for a while, so they practically collapsed when they got the chance. Huhu, you’ll be surprised by how cute they are.”

Ren’s ears danced, showing his affection for the children. At that moment, I fully understood him. I see, so the reason Ren’s trying so hard is… I nodded seriously and lightly tapped his shoulders.

“Ren…Whew, I understand you. It’s understandable.”

He looked at me in surprise. “Eh? Thank you for understanding… But understand what? Rather than that, who’s the beautiful woman next to you? A Dimensional Mercenary?”

Ren didn’t have any immunity against women, so he backed up after noticing Lotte. I introduced her.

“She’s my pet.”

“My name is Lotte, the Hero named me. Don’t trouble Hero, Lion.”

“Pet!?” he exclaimed.

Lebuik interrupted, “Rookie, you’re the worst!”

“… Eh?”

From that, Ren finally noticed the woman sitting on the ground. Lebuik quickly clasped her mouth with her hands, but it was too late. Ren discovered Lebuik and widened his eyes.

“Sir… Lebuik…” he stuttered in disbelief.

“Y-Your Highness…”

Lebuik quickly dusted off the dirt on her armor and greeted him respectfully.

Ren said, “So you really were alive, Sir Lebuik.”

“M-My apologies…Even if I had ten mouths to speak, I have no excuses.”

Lebuik’s ears drooped down and stuck to her hair. To be honest, just looking at their ears moving around was interesting.

However, Ren burst into laughter. His ears seemed to be jumping around in joy.

“I’m glad! I’m extremely happy that you are alive, Sir Lebuik.”

She said hesitantly, “Your Highness…”

He continued happily, “I was worried that Sir would have missed the chance to go back to the dungeon. After all, everyone knew that Sir Lebuik was the most loyal knight in our world.”

She shook her head vehemently. “N-No, Your Highness. I’m just a defeated cat that turned tail and ran in the face of our enemy.”

So she was a cat…While I was musing about the novel image of a defeated cat, Ren smiled bitterly and lightly tapped her shoulder pauldrons.

“Raise your head, Sir Lebuik. The only reason I’m alive now is all thanks to the swordsmanship you taught me. Plus, I’m touched that Sir didn’t forget about me and returned.”

“Ren-niiim….” she said with tears in her eyes.

Ah, her tail is shaking. The tail protruding out from a hole in her armor wagged gently and expressed ecstasy. To be able to show a girl in love just by the movement of a tail, beastmen were amazing!

Worried that Lebuik would jump on Ren, I quickly shoved my hand between them.

I said cheerily, “Alright, while I’m happy about your reunion, let's leave it at that. Ren, when are we setting off?”

He grimaced. “Mm, I want to let the children sleep longer, but we’ll probably have to leave before the sun rises. The assassins’ tracking techniques are truly vexing. Well, the El Patiz that took over the assassins’ brains, to be exact.”

Lebuik vowed emotionally, “Your Highness, I solemnly swear that I shall protect Your Highness no matter what!”

“I’d rather that Sir survives,” Ren replied.

Lebuik exclaimed, “Your Highness, no, I will…!”

“Those beastmen are weird. Why are they so bent on dying?” Lotte asked grumpily.

I replied quietly, “I was just about to ask the same question, Lotte.”

But I actually knew Lebuik was planning on paying the price for abandoning Ren.

To be honest, when I told her about the situation, I only half-expected her to come. I couldn’t really tell if it was love or renewed loyalty that was pushing her to do this. I just hoped that her actions would be good for both of them.

“A fruit.”

Lotte looked perfectly familiar with her human form as she jumped to the perfect height and grabbed a fruit hanging on a tree branch. She then wiped it off with her sleeve and took a bite. Her movements were rather wild. Even in her human form, there were traces of her true body. The biggest giveaway was her sharp canine teeth. I took the fruit she held out after taking a bite and also bit down. Then, I asked Ren, “Is flying a bad idea?”

He explained, “We don’t have a way of flying. Even if we did, the sky is filled with enemies. In fact, we’re in this forest so that we won’t be noticed by the enemy’s air squadrons.”

“Ren, can you draw the path from here to the coast?”

He took out something. “I have a map. I’ll show you.”

“Rookie, you look pretty used to all this…”

“What about you, Lebuik? For a knight, you don’t look used to this at all,” I commented.

“You…!”

Ren interrupted, “Sir Lebuik has little experience on the battlefield. She was my guard knight and sword teacher. Please understand, Crown Prince. You have experience commanding an empire’s soldiers and fighting in wars. It’s not right to compare Sir Lebuik with you.”

For a moment, I seriously contemplated what world’s crown prince he was talking about. I mean, didn’t I make it clear that I wasn’t really a crown prince!? But when I looked at Lebuik, who was tearing up, I lost the will to say anything. I nodded generously and took another bite of the fruit. Then, Lotte exclaimed, “Hero, there’s a worm in that fruit.”

“Kyaaaak!” I shrieked.

“Crown Prince!?”

I trembled for thirty seconds, but thankfully, it wasn’t a brain worm. Thank god… but just when I was trying to show off! If there was a hole, I wanted to crawl into it!