Leaving the royal capital behind, we made our way to the dungeon.
After greeting the guards at the entrance, we stepped inside.
"Since this is our third time, I'm starting to feel used to it....Though my big bro always said that letting your guard down when you start feeling comfortable is exactly when you get hurt."
"Yeah. Even if we're used to the place, it's still dangerous. Besides, with our new gear, we're probably a bit overly excited, so let's explore more cautiously than usual."
I replied to Alan's comment.
Philia and Leticia-san nodded at my words, and we moved forward vigilantly.
We had gotten a late start leaving the royal capital today.
Because of that, we decided our goal would only be up to the 5th floor.
"Gau!"
"Three goblins ahead."
Monsters were caught in Garm's detection range.
Hearing there were three goblins, we proceeded forward on high alert.
"Tch, a magic stone bearer."
"It really is. We didn't run into a single one yesterday, so we're in luck today."
"Magic stone bearers really come down to luck, don't they?"
Right on our very first encounter, we drew a magic stone bearer—something we hadn't seen once yesterday.
Out of the three, only one carried a slightly heavier sense of Intimidation than the rest.
That was the telltale sign of a magic stone bearer.
"Philia. Are your spells ready?"
When I asked, Philia, who had already prepared her magic, nodded.
At that exact moment, I gave the signal, and she unleashed her spell.
"Gugyaaa—"
Only the dying shriek of the magic stone bearer goblin echoed through the corridor.
All three goblins were wiped out in a single blast by Philia's magic.
"...Um, Philia-san? Did your magic get stronger?"
"I-I'm surprised too. It felt different from usual, but to think it would pack this much punch... Harold-san's staff is incredible!"
"Rather than Harold-san's staff being incredible, wasn't your old staff just a terrible match for you, Philia? The difference is night and day."
"You didn't seem to struggle that much before, but was your old staff actually a piece of junk?"
Regarding the dramatic change in her magic, Philia was busy praising the staff.
However, Leticia-san and I were focused entirely on Philia's raw talent.
"...Come to think of it, was it before she got her old staff? Philia was able to use magic a lot better with the practice staff my big bro gave her. Once she started using that other one, it felt like the power dropped off."
"Couldn't you have realized that a little sooner?"
"Hey, I don't know anything about magic... I just figured she'd had a good day back then."
Hearing his explanation, Leticia-san and I both realized that Alan was hopelessly dense.
"Still, knowing Philia can pull off this much makes reaching the 11th floor look pretty realistic."
"Indeed. Besides, Philia-chan achieved this much almost entirely through self-study, right? If you put a little effort into book learning, you could grow even more as a mage."
"...That involves reading books and stuff, doesn't it?"
Hearing Leticia-san's suggestion, Philia spoke with a faintly terrified expression.
"Hmm, I really don't think you need to be that frightened. Why do you have such an aversion to studying in the first place, Philia-chan?"
"...I think I developed a complex about it when I was learning how to read and write. When I was little and dreamed of becoming an adventurer, my parents taught me how to read and write. They were very patient and polite, but I hated those lessons so much that the memory is still burned into me. My body just remembers studying as something awful."
"Ah, there are occasionally children like that among the nobility as well. It's quite common to grow to hate studying after being pushed into education from a very young age. It's hard to teach people like that by force, so we had to get creative with our methods."
"So there are people like me at the Academy too."
Philia had apparently assumed she was the only strange one, as a relieved smile spread across her face upon learning she wasn't alone.
"As a test, if you have time tomorrow, Philia-chan, shall I try teaching you what I learned at the Academy? If you're this talented, taking in a little foundational knowledge would do you much more good than continuing purely through self-study."
Having witnessed Philia's talent firsthand once again, Leticia-san clearly felt that leaving her to her own devices was out of the question.
And Leticia-san's sincere intentions resonated with her.
"Um, well then... could I ask you to teach me tomorrow?"
"Fufu, I'll be sure to teach you gently, so don't worry."
To Philia, who still looked slightly apprehensive, Leticia-san offered a reassuring smile.
After that, we resumed our exploration.
Though we had gotten caught up in our conversation, we had kept moving the entire time while relying on Garm's detection.
Before long, we encountered five slimes.
Eyeing the group, I called over to Philia.
"Philia. Do you think you can take care of those too?"
"Hmm... I'll give it a try, okay?"
If she couldn't, she couldn't, and we would just fight them the usual way.
Or so I thought, but the moment Philia released her spell, all five slimes were vanquished in an instant.
Watching the scene unfold, Leticia-san and I both knew for certain that letting Philia's talent go to waste simply was not an option.