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Chapter 35: A Helicopter Raid For This Swamp!

Part 1

"Ohh…! What's this? You have pixies performing for you in this box?"

Iris said, as she looked at the TV.

She thought that there were tiny, magical performers inside the TV. How adorable.

"No, this is a moving image, those are not real people on the screen."

"How does it work?"

"Well, modern TVs have liquid in them that rearrange to show the images depending on how electricity reacts to it."

I explained it as simply as I could to an otherworlder who had no knowledge of such things.

"Wait, that's how it works?"

Aqua said, tilting her head at my explanation.

"...How did you think it worked?'

"I don't know. I never thought about it."

That seems about right.

Iris had lots of questions about technology, but she was quick to pick up on my explanations. As for me, I was just lucky that I spent all that time as a NEET mindlessly scrolling through Wikipedia articles when I got bored. I knew a bunch of random trivia because of that.

Not to mention how I'd read random scientific articles and papers I pirated from LibGen.

There was something else I noticed about our guest.

During dinner time, I thought that she would want something that suited the palate of royalty, but she was more interested in fast food than luxurious food like lobster and caviar. She cried tears of joy when she ate a burger for the first time.

"What is this… It's so good?!"

Now that I think about it, imagine being someone from a medieval fantasy world and eating a cheeseburger, fries, soda and ice cream for the first time. That must be an insane first experience.

"Just wait until you've had a pizza."

Megumin said, watching with amusement as Iris savored her burger.

"Eh? Peetcha… What's that?"

…The way she pronounced that was too cute.

Aqua lifted a finger and said,

"It's like a burger but you don't put a bun on top, also a pizza is bigger!"

That was the most atrocious way I had ever heard someone describe a pizza, ever.

"Wouldn't she be interested in Japanese cuisine, too?"

Mitsurugi said, as he munched his own fries.

"Would it even suit her palate? In the first place, what kind of food does she even eat?"

Darkness said, looking curiously at the girl who had similar features to her, but came from a different culture entirely.

"Well, back in Belzerg, we ate meals like roasted killer boar, kraken calamari and flying cabbage salad."

…Were all of their meals gathered from monster ingredients?

"It seems that we'll have to start her food journey from the very beginning, huh? How exciting!"

Rin said, enjoying the possibility of tackling a challenge.

"It's not good for a young girl like her to eat so much, though… Yunyun, got any tips?"

"E-Eh? Why me?"

Yunyun said, surprised that I was asking her for advice.

"Well, you tend to eat a lot, but you stay really slim somehow. Do you do some kind of special exercise?"

For some reason, Megumin was staring at her. Perhaps she was looking for an answer on how Yunyun managed to get so curvy while staying slim?

"Um… Well, I tried to join the track team once. I trained really hard and always went on runs, but I couldn't join because I was too anxious…"

I wanted to hug this girl so bad!

I settled for giving her looks of sympathy, since we were in front of everyone.

"...So you did do some kind of exercise, huh? I guess it's not just because of your genetics…"

Megumin mumbled, while staring at Yunyun's chest.

"Then, I guess Iris will have to do some exercise, too, if she's gonna eat a lot."

Iris smiled and said,

"Don't worry, ever since I was young, I did a lot of sword training! I also regularly battle against the demon king army!"

Cecily did mention that the resistance was led by the princess, but I thought she meant that in a symbolic sense.

After all, who could imagine that a little girl like her would fight in a bloody war against demons?

"Hmm… About that, since Iris-chan is from the other world, can she use the app?"

Mitsurugi said, bringing up a good point.

"App…? Um, I use an adventurer card…"

She took out a card that looked exactly like the one Dust showed me.

I suppose it made sense, since she was fighting the demon king army in the other world.

No, more than that…

"What's with your level?!"

I noticed her level, as well as her class, swordmaster.

Iris blushed a little.

"Well… I am the top fighter of the resistance, so…"

Maybe we underestimated this girl.

Soon, a plan started to hatch in my head.

"Hey… Can't we just leave the fighting to Iris?"

I stopped once everyone started to look at me like trash.

However, Iris decided to stick up for me.

"I have no problems with fighting for this world! I intend to fight the demon king army, anyway!"

"Humu! That's what I like to hear, Iris!"

"Kazuma… I understand she's strong, but why are you so eager to send this kid to battle?"

Aqua said, giving me a blank stare devoid of any affection that I thought she held for me.

"...Goku sent Gohan out to fight Cell. It's the same thing."

"Goku and Gohan aren't real! You need to stop confusing manga with real life!"

"Aqua… I almost lost my shit when you said that to me."

I barely managed to keep my anger in control.

There are some things you can't say to any otaku.

Still, I did see that perhaps making Iris do everything for us wasn't a good idea.

After all, if she could have ended the war on her own, this whole conflict could have been resolved by her, before she teleported.

Even if she was as powerful as a queen piece in chess, it was foolish to send the queen out without any support or planning ahead of time.

Besides, having a young girl like her lose her family and country to demons, and fighting those said demons, was way too tragic.

I wanted to give her some fun and peace of mind as much as possible, while the demon king army were still recharging their portals.

Part 2

I said that I was fine with giving Iris some time to recuperate, but…

The next day, after school, I found her lazing around on the sofa, playing a video game with Aqua.

She was wearing the same set of pajamas she woke up with in the morning. Her hair was also uncombed.

"Ahhh! I keep falling off the stage!"

"Bwahaha! You can't compete with your superior nee-chan here!"

"Again! Let me play again!"

Iris said, while reaching below her to pull out a greasy McDonald's bag. She reached in and ate some limp-looking fries.

"...The fries are cold and limp now. Should I microwave them?"

She asked Aqua, who shook her head.

"Nah, that will just make them soggy. Just order some more fries. The government is paying for all our expenses, anyway."

"OK! So I just gotta use the Ubey Eats, right?"

"It's called Uber Eats. And yeah, just make the order and the food will magically show up! Make sure you pay for express, so it's super fast!"

I coughed, getting their attention.

"Aqua… What are you teaching her?"

I feel like Iris learned a bunch of new terms while I was in school, and while she was hanging out with Aqua.

"Hm? I'm just teaching her the essentials of life."

"What kind of life?! Playing games all day, lazing around on the couch, ordering Uber Eats whenever you want?!"

"What a wonderful life, is it not?!"

Iris was so enthusiastic when she said that, it almost made me freeze up.

"Listen, Kazuma. This girl isn't like you. She's a princess who has been through so much. While you were in your room, doing nothing all day but playing games and watching anime, this girl was learning how to be a ruler of a kingdom. If anyone deserves to laze around for a while, it's her!"

I already knew that, but I felt like this was way too much indulgence at once.

To prove my point, Iris picked up a Starbucks cup from the ground and drank it.

"Ah, Aqua nee-san, my cappuccino is cold. Should I heat it up in the microwave?"

"Only peasants do that. Just order another one from Uber Eats."

"Stop it with the Uber Eats already!"

I grabbed the phone from Aqua before she could give it to Iris.

Then, I pulled Iris away from Aqua.

"...Listen, Iris. Aqua over there is a bad influence."

"Eh? Why? She seems really fun and genuine!"

I couldn't really deny that.

"...That's true, but do you really want to spend all your time in this world doing nothing but idle around on that sofa, eating nothing but junk food all day? Even if you exercise, you're bound to gain weight and get bad acne."

"But… Aqua nee-san lives like that, and she's so slim and has perfect skin!"

That was because she was a literal goddess. And even then, I didn't think that her insane metabolism could hold forever. If she wasn't occasionally going to the dungeon, she'd be a couple pounds heavier by now.

"...She's an Arch-Priest, so she has passive skills that let her maintain her beauty."

"Ah… Is that so…"

It was a white lie, but it did its job. It wasn't far from the real truth, anyway.

"So, you'll have to be more careful than she is."

"N-Now that you mention it, I feel like my skin is getting kinda oily…"

"Well, you've been eating burgers, fries and sweets nonstop."

"Maybe I should eat a salad?! I'll order one from Uber Eats now…!"

She learned way too much from Aqua.

When the delivery guy came, I took the McDonalds that Iris ordered earlier and let her have her salad.

I ate the Big Mac and watched them play their game.

"You know… We're not really sure how long Iris will stay in this world, so why don't we enroll her for school?"

I said, which made Aqua stare at me incredulously.

"Hah? Kazuma, are you the type who is normally such a slouch, but once you get kids, you're super strict on them to compensate for it? Just leave the kid alone and let her enjoy a carefree life! Why are you submitting her to the horrors of the Japanese educational system!"

"...Just how bad do you think Japanese schools are?"

I realized the hypocrisy of what I said, considering how I didn't go to school for so long. I went on to say,

"T-The important thing is that I don't want her to rot away here like you. I also don't want her to get hooked on things like social media and become a zombie like the kids these days…"

"Kids these days… Do you even hear yourself talk, Kazuma?! What happened to you?! You're such a sellout now! You're only 16 years old, stop talking like a disillusioned, middle aged burnout! You pretentious prick!"

Perhaps Iris got uncomfortable with us arguing over her, since she raised her hand with a weak smile.

"Um… I do feel like walking outside a little. I also want to see more of this country, if I will live here for a while. Perhaps you two can give me a little tour?"

What a good girl. She read the room and offered a solution that would appease the both of us.

"Sounds good! As long as Kazuma here doesn't insist on sending you to cram school, I'm fine with anything!"

Did she really think that I was developing a strict parenting style?

For one thing, I wasn't aiming to become Iris's parent. I wanted her to see me as her onii-chan.

…Although I suppose an onii-chan would just spoil her rotten instead of nagging her to do something productive.

Perhaps Aqua had a point. Just a little.

Part 3

After finishing a martial arts lesson with Sena, I saw Rin and Darkness preparing to leave the mansion. They were both wearing joggers and sweaters. Considering their casual wear, I said,

"Are you two going to a convenience store? Mind getting me something as well?"

I wanted to avoid my last boss, since I stopped showing up to work without even handing in a resignation letter.

Rin smiled and shook her head.

"Nope! We're heading to the dungeon."

I was a bit surprised, since this was a rare combination. Darkness said,

"I need to clear the lower floors, anyway, and Rin also needs to gain levels. We might as well do it together."

"...I ordered you to clear the lower floors by yourself, though."

"It's impossible for me! I need some support, at least!"

I couldn't really deny that, and Rin needed a frontliner, anyway.

"Fine. Stay safe, you too."

"How about you, senpai? Gonna do some training in the dungeon as well?"

I still haven't reached the fourth floor boss yet. I wasn't sure if I could handle facing it by myself, but I could at least scout out the area.

"I guess I should come along with you."

I thought about asking Aqua to come along, but she was currently drunk out of her mind.

Megumin was also teaching Iris some Japanese, in case we really ended up sending her to school. It made sense for me to go alone.

I went with Rin and Darkness to the dungeon, chatting with them as we rode the train. I thought that we wouldn't really have conversation topics to talk about, but Rin and Darkness eventually started talking about their favorite book series.

"Wait, Darkness, you read books?"

"...What gave you the impression that I didn't?"

"Well, you're a musclehead, so I thought you spent all your time at the gym."

"It's not like I can spend all my time in the gym!"

Rin sighed and gave me a disapproving look.

"Don't be mean, senpai. How come you were so nice to me when we were getting to know each other, but it turns out you're so mean to other girls?"

"W-Well, like I explained to you, it's because we didn't really know each other that much, so I wanted to make a good impression."

"...You were mean to me from the start, Kazuma. What's with the difference in treatment?"

Darkness said, exposing me.

Rin chuckled, placing a hand over her mouth.

"Could it be, senpai had a crush on me from the start?"

I blushed, making the two of them raise their brows and grin.

"Wow, Kazuma, you sure are being obvious about it."

I frowned and turned away from them.

"Aww… Darkness-senpai, he's being all shy…"

I endured their teasing until we made it to the dungeon.

Thankfully, we split up as soon as we entered inside.

Leaving the teleportation circle, I soon came across Mary, who was acting quite suspiciously.

She was whistling an out-of-key tune and avoiding eye contact with me.

"Ah, if it isn't Kazuma-san… Haha…"

"OK, what did you do?"

"...Promise you won't get mad?"

Her saying that wasn't a good sign at all.

"Just tell me what you did, before I assume the worst!"

"First of all, I didn't kill anyone."

"The fact that you're leading up with that doesn't make me feel good at all! Just spill it already!"

"Hah, well, there was this guy who was about to kill me, right? I couldn't just let him do that, so I was forced to defend myself!"

"...You didn't bury him, did you?"

"I told you I didn't kill anyone! I just used my charms on him and lured him into a nice, peaceful conversation, while secretly sapping his energy in case he wanted to attack me again!"

So she used the characteristic of a Tranquility Girl.

But the danger of Tranquility Girls was that they used their charms to keep their victims around and keep absorbing their 'nutrients' until they were completely dry.

"Where is this guy now?"

"I let him go once he was no longer a threat to me."

"...You hid the corpse of your beloved last time, so why should I believe that?"

"You can dig up as much as you want! All you'll find are the bones of my beloved!"

I felt like pursuing the matter more, but I decided to drop it.

"Fine, I'll believe you."

That seemed to surprise her.

"Oh? Does that mean you completely trust me now?!"

"Of course not. But I can't just suspect you all the time."

I was trying to build a bond with her, after all.

"I see… Well, then, I will continue to earn your trust, Kazuma-san!"

"You better."

"I don't like the arrogant way you said that."

Your bond with Mary has deepened!

Mary (Tranquility Girl), Bond Rank: 3

At Rank 3, Mary is slowly understanding that for you to trust in her, she will need to be honest with you and obey your commands. She is reluctant to do both, but is willing to do so for the sake of her survival. She won't give up her beloved's corpse to you, even if you command her. Putting your trust on Mary even more will deepen your bond.

Bond Reward: You learn the [Medicine] skill!

[Medicine] Skill Rank: 1, Passive skill

You are proficient in creating and administering medicines of a 'Basic' make! Success of creating such medicines relies on your Intelligence (78).

Part 4

"By the way, Kazuma-san, you should know something about the dungeon."

Mary said to me, before I was about to head out.

"...Don't tell me some guy is leaving his equipment around again."

That guy caused so many problems last time.

"Ah, how'd you know?"

So it really was that guy again!

"So there may be some lizardmen who are carrying equipment from the higher floors once more…"

I really needed to get a hold of this guy one day. He was making my job harder than it had to be.

I thanked Mary for the information and continued heading deeper into the fourth floor.

With all these obstacles, it was taking forever for me just to reach the boss area.

Just like Mary warned me, when I encountered the first group of lizardmen, I saw that they had some strong looking equipment on them.

In fact, one of them had a dangerous-looking spear.

Instead of risking it, I hid in the shadows with [Lurk, and…

"[Steal]!"

I used steal to take away the spear.

Before they could react, I also stole the rest of their equipment and put it away in my storage box.

As for the spear, I looked at its information in my inventory.

Spear of Thunder (Very Rare)

Magical spear that knocks back targets that are hit with a thunderous force.

Durability: 40/40

Weapon Accuracy: Dexterity modifier [Spear] = 100% chance of hitting

Weapon Damage: 6 piercing damage Strength modifier (8) Bonus (2) = 16 damage

That knockback effect looked like it'd be very useful…

It was also more accurate than my sword, with a 100% accuracy.

I knew there were skills and abilities that decreased weapon accuracy, though, so I didn't assume that it'd hit every time, like my bow when I use snipe. Not to mention things like armor and counter moves.

Still, this was a useful item to have.

I made use of it right away as the lizardmen attacked. I held them at bay with the spear, knocking them back as the thrusts landed.

Then, I had an idea.

"[Create Water, [Freeze]!"

I made the ground slippery with a frozen puddle and knocked the lizardmen back with the spear. This made them slip on the ice.

"[Wind Blade]!"

Then, I finished them off by slashing the spear and making a blade of magical wind shoot out from the spear point.

"Fufu… My genius frightens me sometimes…"

I said, my ego getting quite the boost as I finished off the lizardmen easily.

The fourth floor was probably too low-leveled for me now. I was level 20 now, after all.

As I collected the loot from the lizardmen, I got an idea.

"Hey, Appuri-chan, can I set up some more voice commands?"

"Hm? Like what? You want a voice command for me to take pictures, so you can take creep shots of girls on the train?"

"Why the hell would I want that?!"

What I wanted instead was a command that would let me freely switch between the weapons I had.

After all, the main advantage of Appuri-chan was that she was voice controlled. Other app-users had to manually select the weapons they wanted to bring out from their inventory.

With this new configuration, I decided to try it out on the next monster I encountered in the dungeon.

This time, it was a monster I hadn't encountered before.

There was a singular creature that was covered in green fur. It had two horns and three eyes. It also had big arms and gleaming claws and teeth.

[Lore Reading] told me that it was a creature called a 'Three-Eyed Crusher'.

This monster had three eyes with different kinds of vision. One for night vision, the other a stealth vision that allows them to see hidden enemies and the other one was a mana vision that allows them to see when someone is casting a spell.

Aside from that, it was also pretty strong with those big arms.

I didn't bother hiding since it could see hidden enemies and went to work sniping it from afar.

"Grraaa!"

It roared as I pelted it with ice arrows and chased after me.

However, I was able to safely kite away with the [Orb Walking] skill, shooting while running away with [Escape] boosting my speed.

"Spear!"

"Spear mode!"

Appuri-chan brought out my new spear. I knocked back the Three-Eyed Crusher when it tried to close the distance by leaping at me.

"Unequip!"

Appuri-chan made the sword disappear, then I held Chunchunmaru.

I didn't put it in the inventory, since I wanted to always have it on hand. It was also more effective if I could draw it from an iaido stance.

"[Quick Draw]! [Flash Attack]! [Power Slash]!"

"Graaaa!"

Several ugly slash marks appeared on its body as I unleashed a brutal combo on it.

"[Fireball]!"

I put it out of its misery, launching a fireball and setting its scarred body ablaze.

This was the culmination of all my hard work, unlocking those classes and all those exclusive skills.

"Fufu… I really am a genius…"

"A genius at self-aggrandizing, maybe."

I sold the horns of the monster and the other equipment that the one irresponsible app-user left around.

Then, I advanced through the fourth floor using the voice command method, efficiently gaining exp, money and loot to sell.

Eventually, I came across the door leading to the boss area.

"This is it…"

"Don't get cocky, Kazuma-san!"

Appuri-chan warned me before I opened the door.

"Ugh… What's that smell?"

As soon as I opened the door, an awful smell greeted me.

The previous boss area was a wide desert filled with sand and giant worms.

Now, I was met with the sight of a swamp land.

The awful smell was caused by the murky, disgusting looking water that filled the entirety of the boss area, save for some dry patches of land with dark trees and tall grass. Giant insects flew around in the air. An insect with a long stinger the size of a sword swooped in and hit a peculiar rodent with gills around its chin. The rodent vomited as its skin turned a sickly green, then it stopped moving. The giant insect flew away with its catch and feasted on the rodent with its mandibles.

I immediately closed the door.

"Hm? What's the matter, Kazuma-san?"

"...That place is horrifying."

The environment was never really a factor for the first three floors. Sure, the desert was hot, but since we had [Heat Resistance, the heat wasn't unbearable.

However, walking around in a rodent infested, dirty swamp that looked like I'd contract a disease as soon as I stepped foot in it, with all sorts of giant insects trying to poison me with its stingers…

I didn't want to go in there, at all.

"Well, I did what I came here for, now that I know what the boss area looks like. Time to leave."

"Wait a second, you didn't even see the boss yet!"

"I said it's time to leave!"

I ignored Appuri-chan and headed back to the teleportation circle.

Part 5

"Ah, yeah… The swamp area has toxic waters. You will gain debuffs if you're in it."

Mitsurugi said, when I came back to the mansion after my dungeon run to ask him for advice on the fourth floor boss area.

"As for beating the boss area, you will need to kill 10 Brutal Alligators to fulfill a special challenge."

I didn't know what a Brutal alligator was, but they sounded horrific.

"10 alligators… Wouldn't killing too much ruin the ecosystem?"

Mitsurugi shook his head at my question.

"Real alligators lay about 40 eggs. Brutal alligators lay more than that, about 60 and 80 for really fertile ones. Unlike real alligators, the newborns don't have much in the way of predators. That means that you can kill as many of them, since they have a high population."

So it wasn't like the deal with the Giant Toads or the critters that Megumin caught in the first floor.

With that answered, I asked another question.

"Is there a way to deal with the toxic water?"

"There is a way to purify the water using priest skills…"

When I heard that, I turned to Aqua who was enjoying some after dinner tea.

"You hear that? I'll leave it up to you."

Mitsurugi sighed and said,

"Let me finish… It will take a while for a priest to purify enough of the water for it to make a difference. Besides, you will be attacked by the Brutal Alligators if you try to cleanse the water, since they thrive in that kind of environment."

"You heard the guy. I'm not dealing with something called a 'Brutal Alligator'. Why don't we just blow up the swamp using Megumin's explosion?"

"...Well, there might be chance we'd cause a gas explosion if we did that."

There was methane and other forms of flammable gas found in a swamp that might lead to explosion causing a disaster.

More than explosion usually did.

"Hmm… Well, it's fine if Aqua can purify the water without being in danger from the alligators, right?"

I said, while looking at Mitsurugi dipping a tea bag into his own cup.

"...You have an awful expression right now, Satou."

"Yeah, I don't feel good about this…"

The both of them showed me distrustful looks as I chuckled and got up, going to Sena to ask her to make some arrangements with the government.

…

…

Darkness and I didn't go to the naginata club practice after school, since I wanted to deal with the fourth boss area right away.

The reason was that with midterms coming up, as well as the middle school reunion that Vanir warned me about, not to mention the surveillance of those app users visiting the cemetery at night… There were just way too many things to do. I couldn't afford to procrastinate like I usually did.

"Hold on, Darkness, we need to pick up some stuff from our contact."

I said, as we were heading to the train station.

"Oh… You mentioned enlisting the military's help, right? What did you ask from them?"

"Well, it's kind of complicated. Ah, how many storage slots do you have in your inventory, by the way?"

"Since it's directly related to the strength score, I have a lot of slots…"

"What a slotty girl."

"What do you mean by that?!"

"Also, as expected of a muscle brain."

"...You're back to teasing me again, huh?"

I couldn't help it.

While we were in the train station, a black van pulled up and a familiar face came out. It was Marika-san from my squad.

She gave me a salute.

"Well met, captain!"

"...I keep telling you guys I'm supposed to be a civilian in public, right?"

"Ah, right. Forgive me…"

Darkness looked at the van and said,

"Is the equipment inside?"

"No, Marika-san here will drive us to the facility, where we will pick up the necessary equipment."

Marika-san scratched her cheek in confusion.

"Um, you say 'equipment', but I feel like that's a big understatement…"

Darkness started to look nervous when she heard that.

"Kazuma… What are you up to?"

Did these people really find me that untrustworthy?

With some reluctance, Darkness climbed into the van and we drove off.

She started to get more nervous as we went to the outskirts of town, which was a thirty minute drive from the station. She started pulling on my sleeve when she started seeing 'No Trespassing' signs all around, as well as manned towers and military personnel walking around.

"...K-Kazuma, what is this place?"

"It's a military base."

"What are we doing in a military base?!"

"...It's not that big of a deal. I mean, Megumin's dad works here."

That seemed to calm her down a bit, especially when the car pulled over and I pointed at Megumin's father, Hyoizaburo-san, waiting to greet us.

"Ah, if it isn't my dear son-in-law, Kazuma-kun!"

I got quite the warm reception from him.

Not to mention, he was already calling me his son in law.

"...Just to set this straight, Megumin and I aren't that far into things yet."

"Yet… So you're saying there is progress, huh?"

I couldn't exactly deny that.

"So, did Hyoizaburo-san do as I requested?"

"Yes, although it is an odd request… Please follow me."

He led us to one of the hangars. Darkness looked around warily at all the armed military personnel walking around.

There were a lot of foreigners around. With Japan telling the other world leaders about the threat of the Demon King army, countries all over the world have sent aid in terms of ammunition supply, equipment, finances and, of course, manpower. Since all of the soldiers were privy to the classified information, as well as my involvement, there were lots of soldiers from all over the world looking at me curiously.

"...You're something of a legend around here. A teenager who was promoted to the rank of Captain, as well as the hero who prevented the demon invasion. Your story is like something out of a movie."

Marika-san explained, once I saw the looks of curiosity and something akin to reverence.

There were also some doubtful looks from soldiers who probably couldn't really believe that I really was some big shot hero. Appearance wise, even if I was ripped now, I was still just an ordinary Japanese teenager. I probably didn't look like some hero.

Once we were inside the hangar, Darkness looked in confusion at the seemingly random parts laid out on the ground.

"...What's this? A cage? Are we gonna trap the Brutal Alligators inside? And what's with all of these parts? Is that a rotor blade?"

"The cage… Rather than trapping the alligators inside, it's meant to keep them out. Well, you'll see."

"And what about all this other stuff?"

"I asked Hyoizaburo-san here to disassemble an attack helicopter for me. I brought you here since I need you to put these disassembled parts into your inventory slots."

Since I had the [Smithing] skill, I could piece the helicopter back together once we made it inside the dungeon. I wouldn't say that a helicopter normally qualified as an item of 'Basic make' like the skill describes, however, that was in comparison to magical items and artifacts that could be found in the dungeon. Even something like a helicopter was still considered a mundane item, compared to some legendary sword that could slay dragons in one strike.

Just to make sure, I asked Appuri-chan if it would work and did some experiments with my electronics.

Darkness went about putting the helicopter parts into her inventory. I also put the rest inside my storage box and my own inventory. We did the same for the cage.

"Alright, we're all good to go. Thanks, Hyoizaburo-san."

"No problem! It's thanks to Kazuma-kun that I have such a comfy job~! My wife is so proud of me and makes sure to let me know every night… Hehe…"

I feel like I didn't need to hear that last part. But I did understand that as a guy, you sometimes want to show off about your love life if it's going well.

Part 6

"I'm not going in there! No, no, no!"

Aqua said, when I showed her the cage and told her what it was going to be used for.

Since the water was poisonous to us, the plan was to have Aqua purify the water.

However, she would be vulnerable if we had her purify the water without any protection. At the same time, we would be affected by the toxic water if we tried to protect her. Only Aqua was immune to the effects, due to the effect of her hagaromo.

And so, I came up with the plan of putting her in a cage and dipping her into the swamp, so she could safely work on purifying the toxic water.

As for the helicopter…

The Brutal Alligators would attack Aqua once she started purifying the water, according to Mitsurugi. This was because they enjoyed a filthy environment and would get angry if it was cleaned. With that said, we weren't planning on purifying the entire swamp, only a portion of it.

With Aqua drawing all that aggro, we were going to attack from the safety of the helicopter.

Then, once the water was safe enough, we would go down and fight off the rest of the Brutal Alligators on foot, since Megumin couldn't attack them with explosion without the risk of causing a disaster.

"Hold on, why am I the only one in danger?! You're all gonna be safe and sound flying around, while I'm gonna be stuck in a cage and having alligators try to eat me?!"

"You're the only one who can do this, so stop whining and get in the cage. Besides, this is a titanium cage, so there's no chance of the Brutal Alligators breaking it."

"I don't care how durable or unbreakable it is! I'm not doing it!"

Rin looked at Aqua with pity. We brought her along since she would be safe on the helicopter, so her inexperience and low level wouldn't be a factor.

"Senpai… Isn't there a better way to do this?"

I shook my head.

"I'm afraid not."

Megumin looked at me skeptically.

"...The other app-users managed to get past this floor, and I doubt that they had to come up with such a cruel plan like yours. Surely, there's a better tactic?"

"What tactic? Those cheaters probably just used their OP artifacts and called it a day. We're not blessed like those individuals, so forget it."

Rin raised her hand.

"Um… I have an artifact, though."

With Rin reminding her, Aqua took this chance.

"Yeah! Why don't we just let Rin handle it?! She's got a cheat item, so it's only fair!"

"...She shouldn't even be here to begin with. Besides, her artifact doesn't really help in this scenario."

The problem was the toxic water. The Brutal Alligators also wouldn't just gather in one place unless they had a reason to. Even if we flew around in the helicopter looking for targets, they'd get scared by the noise and skitter away.

Megumin placed a hand on Aqua's shoulder.

"Well, I guess there's no other way."

"...Seriously? Do I seriously have to do this?"

Aqua had a defeated expression as she realized that there really wasn't any other strategy she could think of.

Not that Aqua was capable of making any sort of strategy, anyway.

And so, Aqua reluctantly went inside the cage and I locked it. Then, I had Darkness take out all the heli components, laying them right at the entrance of the swamp area, so there was room for me to construct the heli.

"[Smithing]!"

With the image in mind, I used the skill.

After a flash of blue light, a fully-formed AH-Cobra Attack Helicopter appeared in front of us.

Coming along to pilot the heli was Marika-san. Like Rin, she was also someone who shouldn't be in this high-level boss room, but with the heli, I considered it safe enough to bring her along. Besides, we needed someone to pilot the heli.

"I'll make sure to do my best."

She said, while giving me a salute.

We boarded the helicopter after Aqua was lowered into the swamp. The heli worked perfectly, the rotors pinning as Marika-san lifted us into the air. Rin and Megumin were excited by the flight, looking down as we slowly gained altitude. Aqua spoke into the walkie-talkie I gave her once we were airborne.

"...I guess I'll start purifying the water now. Over."

She sounded so depressed, it almost made me feel bad.

Marika-san flew the heli overhead as Aqua used her purification spell on the water.

Slowly, the water around her started to become clear.

That was when we saw movement in the water, ripples forming as scaled bodies swam across it.

"...Wait, there's so many of them."

Megumin said, as we saw numerous scaly backs emerge from the water, eyes glowing a predatory, mystical green.

There was a brief pause.

Then, the Brutal Alligators all emerged from the water, assaulting the cage and trying to eat the girl inside.

"Kazumaaaa! Help meee!"

Aqua cried into the walkie talkie. We could hear the horrific sounds of the alligators trying to rip through the cage.

"...Some girls just have all the luck."

Darkness said, as if what Aqua was going through was somehow enviable.

I turned to the other item I requested. We couldn't fire a traditional machine gun, since we didn't want to have the flammable chemicals of the swamp react to the gunpowder.

Instead, I had Hyoizaburo-san install a high-powered, mounted crossbow.

Then, I made bolts using ice magic and used [Enchant] on them to further power them up.

"Alright, who wants to take the first shot?"

I said, once the ice bolt was notched into the crossbow.

"Humu… It's unfortunate that I can't use my explosion, but I suppose this will have to do for now."

Megumin said, even though she sounded excited about it.

She took position, lining up the laser sight of the crossbow. Then, she fired the bolt into one of the Brutal Alligators.

The bolt struck cleanly through the scales of the Brutal Alligator and it went limp. I created another enchanted ice bolt and Megumin took her second shot.

She missed a couple, but those ice bolts were pretty cheap to make, although enchanting them took some mana. To refill my mana…

"Eeeek! What are you doing?!"

I used [Drain Touch] on Darkness.

"...? It's not like you ever use mana, so it's fine if I drain you. Also, for some reason, you have a fair bit of mana despite having no magical talent…"

"C-Crusaders have holy spells available to the class, so having a decent mana capacity is a requirement…"

"Ah, but you don't have the proper intelligence and magic power to make use of it. I see."

"M-My intelligence is fine! It's about magic power! My faith is also pretty low for some reason…"

Considering her depravity, I could see why.

After Megumin finished killing ten Brutal Alligators, Rin took her turn.

"...I hate to say it, but this is kind of fun."

She said, treating this like some game at a festival, even though Aqua was crying her eyes out below us.

Megumin smiled at her.

"I know, right? It's very satisfying when the alligators stop moving after trashing around so much."

"You're showing your sadistic side, Megumin."

"Keep it up, Megumin."

Darkness approved of Megumin's behavior.

After Rin finished the requirement, it was my turn.

Boss challenge has started!

Some floor boss monsters have additional challenges associated with them!

For this floor, killing ten Brutal Alligators is the challenge!

Quest Reward: Boss treasure chest

During my turn, I made sure to use [Snipe].

One by one, the Brutal Alligators surrounding Aqua fell as the ice bolts took their life.

Megumin and Rin clapped for me as I efficiently fulfilled the quest.

Lastly, it was Darkness's turn.

"...I'll just wait until Aqua clears up the water and face them on foot."

She didn't even want to try, knowing she'd miss.

Thankfully for her, Aqua managed to clear up a good portion of the surrounding water in about half an hour.

Marika-san lowered the heli and Darkness eagerly jumped down, spear in hand.

"Oh? Darkness is using a spear now?"

Megumin said, since she hadn't seen it before.

Rin, who was practicing with Darkness, smiled and said.

"Yup! Her success rate is about 30% now against completely immobile targets!"

"...I'd say that's horrible, but it's honestly a welcome improvement."

Megumin jumped down as well, using a different staff to fight the Brutal Alligators, since her exploding staff would cause a swamp fire. I didn't bother going down, continuing to snipe from the heli using my longbow, while Rin used the crossbow.

Darkness also used a key to open the cage, freeing Aqua.

She came out with tears in her eyes and started attacking the Brutal Alligators as well, acting tough once she could hide behind Darkness and Megumin.

It was a bit overkill with the usage of the heli and the cage, but a win is a win.

Like this, we beat the fourth floor challenge.