Chapter 9: "The Lucky Cupids" – Rinaria

"Still, you know... we’re actually a little relieved."

The Poke-Poke couple said this without paying any mind to our flustered shrieks.

Relieved? What do they mean by—

"It’s all thanks to you two—Rina and Yous—that we ended up together like this. But you two still hadn’t officially become a couple yourselves."

"...We were worried."

Paraleya added quietly.

Ah... now that she mentions it, that’s true.

The Graph couple met after becoming adventurers and eventually married.

They’ve always been a great match—her as a skilled healer, him as an enchanter—but the reason they actually started dating and got married in the first place was because of me and Yous.

Well, mostly because of a certain incident I caused.

"Thanks, but you really don’t need to worry about us. Yous and I have been together a long time, y’know?"

"But still! The fact that you’ve gotten to the point where you can make babies is huge progress, don’t you think?"

"...C-Can we not jump straight to baby-making, please?"

Ugh, here comes the embarrassment again.

These two have a very different view on procreation, which is exactly why these accidents keep happening.

I never expected us to be on the receiving end of this, so for a second, I was completely thrown off.

I’m usually the one teasing them, so this is some painful payback.

"Besides, we really want our little Cupids to be happy too, you know~"

"...Not just us."

Mmm... now I’m feeling kinda shy.

"That’s right~ Rina, Yous, I think you two have every right to hold your heads high!"

"L-Leader..."

Yous gives a wry smile, and I can’t help but force a polite grin of my own.

—Just another moment during our break.

Somehow, a warmth spreads through my chest.

...Nah, must just be the cocoa. So nice and hot...

---

—Our party, Bronze Star, has its very own lucky Cupids.

I, Sonariya Graph, became an adventurer to send money back to my family, but at the same time, my parents never stopped nagging me to "find a good man."

My family’s pretty big, and with so many younger siblings to support, every extra pair of hands counts, you know?

Of course, I also dreamed of meeting someone wonderful.

Honestly, it’s a little embarrassing to admit, but the reason I first heard about Bronze Star was because of rumors that there were ridiculously handsome men in it.

And when I actually joined, sure enough, there they were—two of them!

Paraleya and Yousrid!

Especially Paraleya... he was just so cool. The moment I saw him, my heart started racing.

Not that Yousrid isn’t a total heartthrob too—he’s like something straight out of a painting!—but to me, Paraleya is the most wonderful person in the whole world!

Ehehe, I said it~

Besides, Yousrid—Yous—already had someone much better suited for him than me, so I never even considered falling for him.

Rinaria.

Like me, she’s petite and cute. In my case, my great-grandfather was a dwarf, but Rinaria’s mom had some elven ancestry, apparently.

Her speech is a bit boyish, but she’s got a will as strong as any man’s—the kind of girl other girls admire.

And yet, despite that, Rinaria and Yous are famous in our party as matchmaking Cupids.

If someone in the party wants to get closer to another member, these two naturally step in and help things along.

It’s amazing—with them around, no romance fails.

Honestly, I’d go so far as to say they can even turn unrequited love into a graceful farewell. Doesn’t that just make you proud?

From the start, Rina-chan has always had a knack for attracting trouble—but that very tendency often becomes the catalyst for improving or advancing the relationships of those around her.

Sometimes, it’s not just romance—she’s even saved entire villages and towns. But in every incident Rina-chan gets involved in, the people around her always end up happy.

Of course, that means Rina-chan and those close to her go through a lot of hardship. But for me, being able to help people like that is incredibly fun and rewarding.

Still, I can’t help but wonder if Rina-chan holds herself back out of consideration for others.

There was an incident that became the reason we rose to B-rank adventurers. At the time, Rina-chan—though she bore no responsibility for it—ended up putting a lot of people in danger.

In the end, she saved twice as many as she’d endangered, and thanks to that achievement, we were promoted to B-rank. But Rina-chan was so weighed down by guilt that she tried to leave the party.

Luckily, thanks to Yous’s persuasion and an incident that happened just as she was about to leave, she ended up staying.

But why should Rina-chan be the only one to carry that burden when she did nothing wrong?

I suspect this wasn’t the first time for her.

Every time something happens, Rina-chan is at the center of it.

No one blames her for it—in fact, they usually cheer her on and praise her—but how Rina-chan herself feels about it is another matter entirely.

Of course, she never shows it outwardly, and most of the time, she probably doesn’t dwell on it.

That’s why there’s an unspoken rule among us:

Never call Rina-chan a troublemaker.

Because Rina-chan is, first and foremost, just an ordinary girl and our irreplaceable companion.

This is an absolute, unbreakable rule—even for Yous.

If he ever brought it up, no matter how gently he phrased it, the core of the matter would still be something deeply important.

Judging by how the two of them have been acting, I’m pretty sure Yous’s attempt failed—again.

It’s obvious, especially since this whole incident was triggered by something Rina-chan discovered. That’s probably why she’s been looking more troubled than usual lately.

Rina-chan has a lot of problems.

Her struggles with her own identity are one thing, but so is being bound by this so-called "luck" that makes her a magnet for trouble.

On top of that, though she hasn’t told the rest of us, it seems Rina-chan and Yous share some kind of secret.

This doesn’t seem like a simple issue either—the two of them have been agonizing over it.

Our leader, who knows the details, told us to wait until Rina-chan and Yous are ready to talk about it themselves.

Paraleya and I both agreed.

Actually, we only happened to find out by chance. The two of them have been careful to keep it a secret, so hardly anyone else knows.

At the very least, Anna-chan seemed unaware.

If even Rina-chan’s closest friend doesn’t know, then within the party, it’s probably just me and Paraleya who do.

That said, it’s a fact that Rina-chan and Yous have taken a step forward!

Yes—they made a baby! The two of them made love, just the two of them!

Making a baby is amazing. When you do it with someone you love, your heart feels all warm and fuzzy.

Someday, I’d love to have a child with Paraleya properly, but for now, just sharing that warmth together is more than enough happiness for me.

If Rina-chan and Yous have also shared that happiness, then that’s a wonderful thing—so why are the two of them so embarrassed about it?

Of course, I have enough sense not to bring it up in public, but among our party—who are practically family—there’s no need to hide it, right?

Ah, but still, seeing Rina-chan flustered like that was adorable.

That said, as soon as the topic changed, she went right back to her usual self.

When Rina-chan and Yous made the baby, Yous apparently went as far as to prostrate himself and apologize, but Rina-chan didn’t seem bothered by it at all.

That’s just how quickly Rina-chan moves on from things.

For better or worse, she doesn’t dwell on what’s happened.

Or rather—she can’t afford to.

She once told me that if she didn’t let things go, the weight of the past would crush her.

That’s probably a big part of why she’s acting so normally after all this.

Rina-chan’s struggles are many.

Both she and Yous have spent a long time trying to overcome them.

I don’t know if making a baby will change anything—but it’s undoubtedly a huge step forward.

If that’s the case, then what kind of change—

—will this incident bring to their relationship?

---

"——There it is."

"Yep, there it is."

Peering out from the shadows, we confirmed the creature’s presence.

To put it simply—it was a snake.

A giant serpent. An orochi. Call it whatever you liked, but the fact remained: it was an enormous, serpentine monster.

Though honestly… that thing was clearly this dungeon’s boss.

"...Strange. We already defeated this dungeon’s Core."

The leader crossed his arms, frowning.

These creatures were known as "Cores"—the central entities that formed and sustained dungeons. Defeating them marked the dungeon as cleared.

And yet, despite having slain this dungeon’s Core just days ago…

What the hell was that thing doing here?

"When we explored this dungeon before, the monster population had clearly dwindled. Post-clearance investigations by other adventurers also confirmed it—this dungeon should be inactive."

"Meaning it’s in that transition phase where monsters stop spawning, and it just becomes… a regular cave?"

Anna’s words prompted me to add a small correction.

"Well, some monsters can still pop up. Think of a dungeon like a volcano—what we’re seeing now is just leftover heat from the magma."

"...It’s still unfair how Rina can casually drop educated metaphors like that."

Heh. Of course. My foundation was different.

Anna was just an ordinary village girl—she hadn’t been exposed to the same depth of knowledge.

(Not that I ever used this useless trivia for anything but flexing on her.)

"S-so… what do we do, Leader…?"

"...We’re prepared to engage."

The leader’s expression darkened as the married couple voiced their concerns.

Eliminating it was the obvious choice.

The problem?

Every monster in this area had ranked up since our last clear.

Meaning that serpent’s strength was a complete unknown.

That said, if we treated this as a scouting run rather than a full assault, we could retreat and regroup for a proper fight later.

A sound strategy—which was exactly why I spoke up before the leader could finalize the decision.

"Leader. One second."

"Oh? What is it, Rina?"

I took a breath.

"...I’ve read about that thing."

For once, the leader’s composure cracked—his eyes widening in genuine surprise.

That alone spoke volumes.

This man was an immovable boulder. Seeing him react meant something was seriously wrong.

But then again…

The truth I’d just revealed warranted that reaction.

Only the leader and Yous knew my real identity.

When I shared knowledge like this, it wasn’t trivial.

Unlike my petty flexes on Anna—stuff anyone could learn from a library—this was different.

This was—

"That thing is a Country Devourer. No mistake—it’s a sub-S-rank monster."

—classified state intelligence.

The only people in this nation who knew of its existence were my bloodline and those one rank above us.

Mentioning it was taboo.

And yet, I’d just named it aloud.

Which meant—

"If we don’t kill it here… it’ll start a war."

—we had no other choice.