Chapter 62 – Communion

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“What on earth are they all talking about?”

Yuika, who had stayed behind at U.P. because she wasn’t participating in the boss raid, muttered in disbelief at the flood of reports coming in.

Most of them were similar. Stories about bizarre statues being erected on the paths of the first floor, asking for an investigation.

Statues? Why would something like that suddenly appear on the first floor? It was already difficult with most of the main forces down on the sixth floor (they would be on the seventh floor now), and now this suddenly happens.

It was a perplexing situation for Yuika.

‘Going alone is a bit much.’

It wasn’t that she lacked confidence in her combat abilities. She was, after all, active on the fourth floor, and even if it was an anomaly, it was still just the first floor.

However, having to conduct the investigation alone, unlike usual, would clearly take up a lot of time.

But if she didn’t go, reports like this would pile up until it was resolved, given the location of the reported site…

“Haa…”

Yuika looked at the slowly darkening sky and sighed, getting to her feet after contemplating.

What else could she do, even if it took a long time? If she was the only one who could do it, she had to.

[Investigating anomaly. No resident personnel.]

Leaving the building, Yuika placed an “Out of Office” sign at the entrance and headed for the dungeon.

“Oh, Yuika. Going to the dungeon at this hour? Or to the café?”

“Ah, Ms. Miao.”

Miao, who seemed to be closing up shop and was stretching at the entrance, recognized Yuika and greeted her.

“I ended up going to the dungeon. How about you, Ms. Miao?”

“It’s getting late, so I need to prepare. You know I’m nocturnal.”

Yuika chuckled at Miao’s smiling face as she wagged her tail with black spots.

“For someone who’s nocturnal, you open the store in the morning. Aren’t you tired?”

“Even if I open in the morning, there are hardly any customers. I’ll just sleep in by then.”

“Ah, right. You’re always curled up on the counter when I come early.”

“It’s surprisingly comfortable, that position.”

It was a position that one could never maintain if it wasn’t comfortable.

It’s not something a person, not an animal, should do. Yuika thought inwardly and continued her walk.

“See you later then. I have something to do now.”

“Something to do? Ah, come to think of it, Mari seemed to be heading to the dungeon earlier too.”

“Really? Earlier, like when?”

“Hmm… maybe an hour ago? It wasn’t that long ago.”

An hour ago was too late, wasn’t it? Knowing that Mari usually goes to the dungeon early in the morning when there are fewer people, Yuika naturally had questions.

“You didn’t see her coming back?”

“Well, I’m not sure about that. I only saw her briefly while talking to customers. After that, I was busy making clothes inside.”

“I see…”

It was a somewhat disappointing answer, but it meant there was still a possibility that Mari was in the dungeon.

‘I should ask her to have dinner with me if I see her.’

She didn’t know why Mari had gone to the dungeon at this hour, unlike usual, but if she was still there, she definitely hadn’t had dinner yet.

Surely, if she tempted her with dinner, she would look perplexed but wouldn’t refuse.

She acts like she doesn’t care, but she can’t resist being hungry. Yuika chuckled to herself as she headed towards the dungeon.

Anyone who saw her expression might have thought it was sinister, but unfortunately, everyone who could have said that was down in the dungeon.

“Let’s see… do I need to go further?”

Yuika entered the first floor and opened the Dungeon Handbook to check the reported area.

It was just short of the first 0.5km mark, and because the path curved slightly, it wasn’t visible from here.

Kicking away the rabbits that dared to attack her, she quickly arrived at her destination.

Yuika looked at the statue erected by the side of the road and felt a slight cold sweat.

“It is definitely bizarre.”

She had been thinking, how bizarre could it be? But seeing it in person, she understood why everyone had said that.

Well, if you were walking and suddenly saw such a monstrosity, you couldn’t help but say that.

Yuika approached the statue, which was shrouded in shadow and exuded a gloomy atmosphere.

“Huh?”

But this, it looks familiar. Yuika narrowed her eyes and examined it, then widened her eyes.

“It looks like a wooden doll made by Mari!”

It was a bit bigger, but it resembled the doll, Doll 505, that Mari usually carried around.

Could this be a doll made by Mari? Yuika continued to think, then hurriedly looked around.

If it was a doll made by Mari, it meant Mari was nearby, and she might have heard her calling it bizarre.

Of course, given Mari’s sensitive nature, she wouldn’t be okay with hearing such a thing.

She would definitely be tearing up and looking like she was about to cry. Fortunately for Yuika, Mari was nowhere to be seen.

“Whew…”

Thank goodness. She didn’t hear what I said. Yuika sighed in relief, patting her chest.

At the same time, a question arose. If Mari made this doll, where was Mari?

Before that, why did Mari put such a big doll here?

Yuika crossed her arms and racked her brain, but she couldn’t think of a reason.

“…Should I move it somewhere out of sight for now?”

If left alone, it would scare people. Even seeing it before it got completely dark would be startling, so seeing something like this when it was completely dark could cause a heart attack for someone with a weak heart.

Yuika grabbed the torso and lifted it with all her might. Maybe because it was made of wood, it was heavier than she thought.

In concrete terms, maybe about 1.5 Maris? Yuika moved the doll behind a fairly large tree to hide it from view, then stretched and looked around with a sigh.

“By the way, where is Mari?”

The investigation into the bizarre statue was over, now that she knew it was Mari’s doll. The only problem was that the owner was nowhere to be seen.

‘I guess I have to use a skill here.’ Yuika placed her hand on a tree and closed her eyes.

Her race, the Dryads, were mythical fairies who lived in trees. While it was different from the myths in many ways, she had a skill to communicate with trees, just like the legend of the tree fairy.

Of course, it was called communion, but it sucked away her mana every time, so Yuika didn’t want to do it often.

This greedy tree. Yuika sighed as she felt the flow of mana being sucked away as soon as she touched it.

“Tell me where the human who left this here went.”

[…]

With a rustle, the branches swayed and a leaf fell, pointing in one direction.

Not the way the path continued, but inside the forest away from the path. Is she hunting, then?

Yuika thanked the tree and headed in the direction the leaf had fallen.

Of course, it was difficult to pinpoint the exact location with just one question, so Yuika had to try communion with the tree a few more times.

“Hoo…”

Her mana was starting to run out. As a Dryad, a tree fairy, she could replenish her mana by basking in the sunlight, but it was almost night, so it was difficult to get sunlight.

As a result, Yuika felt her mana running low for the first time in a while as she walked. One or two more communions and her mana would be completely depleted, and she wouldn’t be able to move until it was fully recharged.

It was the chronic problem of mana exhaustion for those who used mana. She had to find Mari before that happened.

Yuika looked around and suddenly noticed a swarm of rabbits.

It wasn’t unusual to see rabbits traveling in groups, so she didn’t think it was strange. She was just going to turn around and avoid them because it would be a hassle to deal with them if they attacked.

“…Huh?”

That’s what she would have done if she hadn’t noticed two familiar-looking dolls lying near the group of rabbits.

Yuika hurriedly examined the area where the rabbits were gathered. And as soon as she confirmed that the rabbits were not just gathered, but were sitting on something, she rushed in without hesitation.

The rabbits, who had been huddled together, swarmed towards Yuika, but she easily dealt with them using her hands and feet.

“Mari!”

She hurriedly approached Mari, who was lying neatly on the ground.

Fortunately, she was relieved to see that she was sleeping soundly, making purring noises, with no injuries except for being a little dirty.

‘…But why is she sleeping here?’

Yuika looked down at Mari with an expression of utter bewilderment.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading today!

Apparently, Mari, who went hunting during the dusk, was found to be asleep in the woods?!

The reason will be unveiled tomorrow!!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Starve her to death and give her a good beating.

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