Dangerous Girl
Pure white robe and wavy long black hair.
Skin that is so white to a sickly degree. Deep dark circles around her eyes. The girl who saw me killing a man is smiling with innocence that is unthinkable from someone who has just killed.
Her age seemed to be similar with me. From the amount of magic particles surrounding her, her body must have grown from magic power just like me.
If I have to describe her in one word, it will be……dangerous……I guess.
「……Who?」
「Who cares about something like that……is what I want to say but, I’ll tell if it’s you. You can call me Carla.」
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▼ Carla Race : Human ♀
【Magic Power : 375/395】【Stamina : 31/45】
【Overall Combat Strength : 323】
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Immense amount of magic power and stamina value that is like a little kid. Powerful sorcery that can turn a single human into ash and the abnormality to think nothing of it. ……She is dangerous. Can I kill her? With her stamina value, it feels like she will die easily if just a single hit land on her, but my “instinct” is screaming at me that it’s dangerous to carelessly make a move against her.
I killed for the sake of living but, Carla……it’s strange to describe it like this but, it feels like she 『killed for the sake of killing』.
「As I thought, you’re nice……. You’re different from some random humans. Even after witnessing my strength, your thought is only filled with the question of “can I kill her”.」
「……That’s the reason you came talking to me?」
「That’s right. You have off a “bloody scent” that differed from other people. Or else, are you also someone who likes to prattle about the preciousness of life?」
A bizarre pressure oozed out from Carla who is still smiling. For her she doesn’t need any reason to kill but, depending on my answer, her reason for 『not killing me』 might vanish.
「Regardless of the reason, it doesn’t matter at the slightest for the one who get killed right?」
「……Fufu, you’re nice just as I thought. I want to kill you and yet I don’t want to kill you, don’t you think that’s lovely just like a romantic tale in a story?」
As expected she is that kind of person. Watching her, I stopped applying body strengthening on my body even while I’m still keeping vigilant against her.
「Hey, tell me your name.」
「……Aria.」
「Aria……the name really suit you. I was the one who asked but, what made you decided to tell me your name?」
I took anything that can be used to identify the corpses and threw them down the drain while sending my gaze for just a bit toward the girl who is smiling in enjoyment.
「I realized that I also don’t have any reason to kill you.」
The instant I gave that answer, Carla broke out laughing so hard that she choked. Her low stamina value decreased even more by three points. Her purple eyes are shining fierily with me reflected on them. I don’t know the reason but, it seems that I have passed Carla’s muster. ……At the very least, she is thinking that it will be a waste to kill me right away.
I felt that because I’m also feeling the same.
I have no reason to kill Carla. Carla has obtained a reason to not kill me.
She is an abnormal and dangerous fellow but, for some reason I can understand a single-minded way of thinking more easily than thousands of lip services that are lined up by the decent sort. Perhaps she is also the same. Her talking distance with me has been shortened by half a step compared to the beginning.
「I’m planning to dive into the dungeon after this. I had been doing that alone this whole time but, if it’s with Aria then I want to try exploring with a party.」
「Can you dive into a dungeon with that kind of stamina?」
A kid the same age like me is saying that she has been diving into the dungeon. The dungeon is a dangerous place. Even I who am a scout who has trained my Stealth skill will die immediately if I got ambushed.
That will be even truer for Carla. She doesn’t even look like she has Stealth skill. I can only consider it suicidal for her to dive into there alone, but I also don’t think that she is lying.
Carla is the same like Elena and me. I thought that she is struggling desperately in order to live with the strength that was stuffed into her. I have a reason to become strong and the meaning of fight, while Carla also has a reason to become strong even if it endangers her life.
「It’s fine. If I die, father will grimace from losing his pawn but, I think mother will rejoice from the bottom of her heart.」
Carla laughed cheerfully while saying such thing.
Her offer to dive into dungeon must be nothing more than just a topic to talk to me at first.
From the perspective of a normal person, they would be in disbelief by the girl’s action and they should also feel terribly uncomfortable. But……the way she was acting so free without deceiving herself was worthy of trust far more than the like of Dino who was all talk and approached with fake smile and pretty words.
Carla was honest only to her own principle.
「I’ll leave you behind if you collapse.」
「Of course. I’ll be happy if Aria also die together with me at that time.」
「Die on your own.」
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We were having such conversation while ending up challenging the large scale dungeon that is said to be a dangerous place by ourselves.
Although we have grown bigger physically due to magic power, compared to adult our appearance is still childish. When such pair tried to enter the dungeon, decent soldiers who guarded the entrance tried to stop us, but a knight who came out from the guardroom saw Carla and opened the path in fear.
「So rude. He looked like he had seen an indiscriminate murderer after looking at me, unbelievable.」
「Don’t you have any mirror at your home Carla?」
「Mother is someone who is only interested in herself, so we have a ton of them. You are so pretty Aria……surely you will be pretty even when covered in blood. Whether it’s with your own blood, or other people’s blood.」
Apparently Carla is a noble lady, but she can wander around without even any guard must be because she is a 『dangerous person』 with both strength and influence.
「This is a dungeon of beast demihuman you know. There is a rumor that it has a hundred floors but, the official number of conquered floor is only around fifty.」
「Official?」
「It happened once in the past where a noble used money lavishly to brute force going through the dungeon with outrageous amount of casualties and reached until the deepest floor. You must have heard. There is a spirit of the dungeon at the deepest part of an ancient dungeon.」
「……You mean Gift.」
I had heard about it. A spirit is residing at the deepest part of ancient dungeon. The one who arrived there will be granted a Gift that they wished for as reward.
Is that the reason Carla is diving into a dungeon alone? According to master, you can obtain powerful power that is accompanied with a very troublesome limitation that way. It looks like Carla is unhealthy, but she might be planning to heal herself with that Gift.
「Only goblin or kobolt came out at the first floor. Look, they’re coming.」
「Yes.」
She didn’t even need to say. I sensed three presences approaching us.
「Aria, show me how you kill them.」
「…………」
She “asked” as though she is coaxing someone to pick some flowers for her. I silently pulled out a hidden weapon from my waist and threw it. One goblin that came right from the front got its throat hit and fell backward. It died right away after that.
『Gugyah!?』
The remaining two stood still because they can’t comprehend what happened. I used Stealth while closing the distance silently. The instant the goblins noticed, I cut the two’s necks simultaneously with my black knife and stiletto, ending their lives.
「Just as I thought, you’re pretty Aria……」
When I returned from reaping lives, Carla narrowed her eyes in ecstasy like a girl admiring a plucked flower.
「Don’t make someone else do all the works.」
「Certainly, perhaps I’ll do the next one.」
When two goblins appeared next, they ate the Fire Arrow and Wind Cutter that Carla fired simultaneously and died.
Double Spell huh……Carla mentioned that she can use sorcery until level 3. The sorceries she used were level 1, but their power is incomparable compared to the sorcery that woman used.
If it’s Carla, I got the feeling that she can kill her opponent even if they’re level 4.
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It seems that Carla is genuinely intending to show me around. She chose the shortest course and taught me the path until third floor.
「Hey Aria. Why do you think the dungeon’s trap doesn’t harm monster?」
Carla is unexpectedly talkative. When there is no battle, she will talk to me about a lot of things, whether it’s a meaningful talk or meaningless talk.
A dungeon is a monster. In order to obtain vitality and magic particle from living things that wandered into it, it drew humans and monsters and made them killed each other but, there are cases where ancient dungeon that has obtained intellect put traps.
The traps aren’t that complicated. Pitfall that drop you to lower floor, wall that will cause the ceiling to crumble when it’s touched, and so on. There are traps with simple mechanism, but in exchange it will large size and easy to cause harm.
「Trap doesn’t activate against monster?」
「That’s right. For some reason monster won’t get caught by trap. It’s not because they know the trap’s location, but apparently it’s the trap itself that doesn’t activate. That’s why it’s said that it’s the intention of the monster which is the dungeon. That’s why don’t just charge recklessly. It won’t be pretty if you get crushed and died.」
「I see……」
……An interesting information.
「Hey, Aria, will you listen? I have a 『fiancee』, and just the other day I met him for the first time.」
「Hee」
The topic changed again. I still wanted to hear about dungeon, but I don’t think she will change the topic back, so I stopped saying anything more.
「So indifferent. Well, it’s alright. That person was really adorable. He is to my liking in a different sense with Aria.」
「I pity him.」
「I didn’t do anything so horrible with him you know? I wonder if that person has ever even killed a bug. He is someone whose head is filled with flower field. I can’t wait until the day come he got defiled and dirtied. Ah, but, I’ll be patient until we marry. It will be more fun when he can’t run away from me anymore don’t you agree?」
「If only your partner can also enjoy it.」
「My, I won’t let him die so easily. Despite appearance I’m someone who dreams of keeping an adorable thing as pet. But, that person also has other fiancées than me. But it’s alright. I think I won’t be able to have a child anyway, so I’ll let them live until they give birth to a heir.」
「I see.」
「But, I won’t let him cheat anymore than that. I hate it when other people touch my toy. That’s why you see, if that person look at other woman than us his fiancées, I’m thinking of having that woman die in front of that person’s eyes.」
「It can’t be helped if they have an affair.」
「Right? You also think so aren’t you? I’m really looking forward to that time that I can’t bear it.」
Multiple fiancées huh……. Perhaps Carla is from a noble house with really high status. In that case she might also has involvement with Elena.
……If she become Elena’s enemy──
「Don’t get too wild. It’ll be troublesome if I got a request to stop you.」
Carla seemed to feel something from my words. She stopped walking and looked straight at me.
「Are you saying, that if it’s you, you can stop me Aria?」
Carla’s eyes pierced straight at me. Her purple eyes looked a bit lonely and a bit delighted. I too stared back straight into those eyes.
「If that’s what Carla wish for, I’ll kill you.」
「……Aa, how lovely. If I’m going to die one day, then I want to die from being killed by Aria.」
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The dungeon tour ended when Carla’s stamina can’t be maintained anymore even by recovery medicine or magic. In fact Carla’s complexion is already like a corpse. Her stamina value also only has ten remaining, but Carla’s parents won’t be so worried if she can die so easily.
Why is Carla diving into the dungeon that she went until this far? It’s not just because she want to kill. It’s only because there is something that she want to kill even at the cost of her life that she could obtain her strength. That’s what I felt.
It had become evening when we came out from the dungeon. There is a luxurious black carriage waiting outside for Carla at that time. Perhaps it’s her daily routine.
I parted with her there. I noticed the butler that came out from the carriage to pick up Carla and took a moderate distance from her. There Carla made an innocent smile and secretly whispered to me.
「Say, Aria. It looks like you are being targeted.」
「……I know.」
This faint out of place feeling……it’s Radha. I don’t know whether she is able to sense it but, I don’t think that it’s strange that she can.
「Want me to help you with the killing?」
I quietly narrowed my eyes at her teasing and let out my pressure.
「I’ll kill you if you lay your hand on my prey.」
Carla’s strength isn’t a match against Radha. But, if Carla said that she is going to kill her then she will definitely do so.
「Fufu……that sounds like it will be fun too, but I’ll stop for now. Then see you later, Aria. Don’t die until you kill me.」
「…………」
Carla left behind those ominous words and vanished into the black carriage.
A part of me want to train for a bit more in the dungeon but, there is no need for me to expose my hands to Radha who is watching me.
Besides my Dark Magic skill will reach the limit soon. I stayed in an inn near the adventurer guild in order to make Radha let her guard down, diligently trained in the fundamental of short sword skill and my mind, and two days later──in order to meet Mercenary of Dawn that should be returning from the dungeon, I headed towards the adventurer guild.
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