Chapter 6: The Wolf Sisters

"Whoa, shit, I’m actually falling!?"

The ground had crumbled beneath me. As I plummeted, I fought back the rising panic, channeled my mana, and spat out the incantation.

"[Summon]!"

A summoning circle flared from my hand. Two massive wolves emerged from the light directly beneath me.

The first to appear had fur as blue as the moonlight; she acted as my cushion. The second, slightly smaller but otherwise identical with fur like the sun, landed right beside her.

"Mm... Master, are you safe?"

One moment, I was feeling the softness of her fur; the next, I was tucked firmly into Luna’s arms. She was cradling me.

"You saved me, Luna. Seriously, thanks."

"Hehe. It’s my duty to protect Master, after all."

Being held like a princess was embarrassing, so I had her set me down. But before I could even catch my breath, another voice chimed in.

"Unreliable as ever, Reima... You’re going to get yourself killed like that, you know?"

"Sorry for almost dying, Sol. Actually, I only intended to call Luna. Why the hell are you here too?"

The speaker shifted into a human form. This was Sol, Luna’s twin sister.

They had identical faces, but Sol was about twenty centimeters shorter. At a glance, you might mistake Luna for the older one, but Sol insisted she was the elder twin.

She had golden hair with an orange tint, like the sun, and heterochromatic eyes—one black, one white—that looked like they could swallow the world. There was also a certain... physical difference between her and Luna that she was quite sensitive about. I was glad to see her usual attitude hadn't changed, but her immediate taunting was a bit of a blow to my ego.

"Well, Luna’s too unreliable on her own. Besides, I wanted to play with Reima!"

"Don't hijack a single summoning circle. It drains way more mana..."

"I don't care. It’s Reima’s fault for not calling me in the first place, right?"

"My bad. But I can't just go around summoning you two whenever I want in this world."

She spoke with her usual teasing lilt, treating me like a toy.

Maybe it was the guilt of not seeing them for so long, but I ended up being a bit blunt. We’d always interacted like this, so I figured it would be fine. Or so I thought.

"Huh? I don't care about that. I’ve wanted to see you this whole time, you know? Not calling me for a reason like that... it’s just wrong. Besides, you called Luna. Why didn't you call me? Hey, Reima... do you not need me? Answer me. Hey... answer me."

The light died in her eyes. Her voice took on an emotional weight I’d never heard before as she looked up at me, the words spilling out in a frantic rush.

Wait, what? I don’t know this side of Sol. What the hell is going on?

She’d spent three years teasing me without ever breaking character. I had no idea why she was acting like this now. I didn't know the "correct" way to handle this, but she clearly wasn't okay. I couldn't just ignore her.

A heavy, dark mana began to roil around her. This was bad.

I racked my brain for a solution. Then, I remembered something one of the male Summoned Beasts had told me: If a woman gets like this, just apologize properly.

"I’m sorry, Sol. I was lonely without you, too. And don't say I don't need you. You’re an important comrade. It hurts to hear you say things like that."

"...Really? You need me, Reima?"

"Yeah, I do. I’m going to be relying on you from now on. So please, go back to your usual self. I like that version of you better."

"H-Humph. You like the usual me that much? Reima, you really are a pervert. Fine, then. I guess I’m the only one who can put up with a pervert like you."

Crisis averted?

She was back to her old self, and that dark mana had vanished. I breathed a sigh of relief, only to feel a heavy, judging stare directed at me.

"Master really never changes," Luna muttered.

"What's with that look?"

"Nothing. I just thought you were exactly the same as always."

"I feel like I'm being insulted..."

"Don't worry about it, Reima," Sol interrupted. "More importantly, pat my head later—"

GAAAAAAA!

A roar cut Sol off mid-sentence. It was the same sound I’d heard when I first entered the Dungeon. A moment later, I felt dozens of presences closing in.

"So noisy. These feel like lizards... but they interrupted me. That’s a death sentence."

"Big sister, no fair getting a head start..."

"You’re one to talk, Luna. I can smell it on you. I know Reima was already patting your head."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Whatever. Hey, Luna, let's have a contest. Whoever hunts more lizards wins."

"Fine. If I win, we’re even."

"So you did confess. Fine by me. But if I win, I get Reima all to myself for a day."

The two of them were suddenly fired up. Based on the presences, there were hundreds of Wyverns surrounding us, and every single one of them was locked onto us.

"Hey, listen... this is just a test of my strength, so be careful—and they’re not listening."

They were already in full combat mode. There was no stopping them now, and trying would only lead to more trouble later. I decided to just stand back and stay neutral.

"Uh... good luck, Sol. You too, Luna."

"Here we go!"

"It's a match!"

And so, the battle between the two sisters and the Dungeon's Wyverns—or rather, the massacre—began.