Chapter 47 Dimensional Storage

“Erm... hello. Thanks for saving me. I’m Saya. Really. I thought I was going to die there. Well... not really. I mean...” She shyly waved her hand.

The cute gesture went over my head. Our eyes swept the surroundings. The experience of being attacked by the Red Bandits was still fresh in our minds.

She had technically led a monster train to us. It might have been an accident, but we never knew. It could have been an ambush.

“So, what happened?” Yuuno asked.

“Well... my party got surrounded by a monster house and probably died,” she said.

“I’m Noelle.”

“I’m Makoto.” Noelle and I introduced ourselves.

The fact that she had abandoned her comrades was a minus point. Well, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe she had been running to get help. But she didn’t seem panicked now. She didn’t beg us to come with her. Maybe her comrades had already died.

“So, you left your party members to die while saving your own skin? Maybe I should hand you over to the authorities,” Yuuno said after taking the mana stones from the monsters we had killed.

“No! I’m just a lugger. I wasn’t supposed to fight! Trust me. I can prove it with the receptionist!” Saya said. Her desperate voice told me she was telling the truth, but apparently, my teammates weren’t buying it.

“Let’s go then,” Noelle said. “A lugger should have a contract that prevents them from running away with the party’s belongings.”

“Erm...” Saya turned away.

Noelle then brandished her spear. Her hostility was at its maximum.

“Eek! Yes! Yes! Let’s go to the receptionist! I swear I’m telling the truth!”

We escorted Saya out. We were right near the entrance, so it was only a short walk.

“Welcome. Ah, it’s you, Saya. Where are your party members?”

“Um... We got ambushed inside the dungeon. I think they were killed.”

“I see. In that case, according to Article Three of the Lugger’s Contract, you are obliged to surrender all items except those listed as your personal belongings to the guild.” The receptionist wore a sad frown, then recited some law I haven’t heard of.

“...Alright.” She sighed. She then took out several mana stones and low-level weapons. There was even a bow and three potions. It was quite a haul.

“Thank you for your cooperation.” The receptionist bowed politely.

“So she has to hand over everything? What about the mana stones from the monsters she defeated?” I asked Yuuno, our team leader.

“That’s just how the lugger contract works. Luggers aren’t expected to fight, so they’re allowed by the guild to run away at the first sign of danger,” Yuuno explained. “In exchange, all the items they carry belong to the party that contracted them. If the party perishes and the lugger survives, all the items they carried that don’t belong to them are either transferred to the party’s family or returned to the party’s guild.”

“But she’s a blessed person. A real adventurer, right? She wasn’t just some random muscle for hire.” I tilted my head. The contract made sense. If the lugger wasn’t an adventurer, there would be no chance they could win against monsters. All they could do was not get in the way. Since every dungeon only had one entrance, the guild could monitor it. Even if they didn’t and the lugger escaped with the goods, they would never become a lugger again because the contract was recognized by every adventurers’ guild. But we had seen her kill a monster with a dagger. She was an adventurer.

“Well, that’s true. There’s no law saying that luggers can’t be adventurers. But why sign a lugger contract then?” Yuuno asked.

“My primary skills were dimensional storage, basic trap detection, and lock-picking skill. Without any real combat skills, I’m only about as strong as an F-rank adventurer. So I signed a lugger contract with a supposedly C-rank adventurer to hunt here. But they probably died when a teleportation trap was triggered inside the dungeon.”

I must say, good job surviving from the eighth floor. A goblin was F-rank, and I struggled when facing one alone. I don’t even want to know what she encountered on the eighth floor.

“Understood. We will record that as your testimony. Your contract has been fulfilled. You may now sign another contract with another adventuring party,” the receptionist said.

“Um... Why not join a lower-ranked party? You could probably level up normally. Are you pressed for money?” Noelle asked.

“I did. But my party dumped me when I couldn’t keep up after they were promoted to B-rank several months ago,” she said with a sour look.

“Well, join us then,” I said.

Now that her background had been cleared up, Noelle visibly softened. When I offered her the spot, she even nodded.

Saya was also a beauty. Her black hair and well-rounded figure were attractive. The leather armor covered a lot, but I could tell her breasts were just a little smaller than Sakura’s. Maybe a D cup? Anyway, unlike Noelle and Yuuno, I thought I could make her my third harem member. Since I already knew her face and name, she would forever be on my target list. I could Body Swap into her anytime if she ever dared to run off with our stuff.

“Makoto...” Yuuno frowned deeply. I had thought I would get a unanimous vote. The more people we had, the safer we would be, after all. But apparently, Yuuno was against the idea. Maybe she thought we’d be bringing along dead weight.

“She can carry our camping gear, right? Um... How does your Dimensional Storage work?”

“Yes. My storage works by weight. I can carry about 100 kg right now. But if you can spare me some mana stones, I can upgrade it.”

“100 kg, huh.” That’s a lot for a single lugger, but since she’d be carrying gear for three people, it would still limit us.

“How about we camp for three days on the second and third floors tomorrow? We still have about 30 or 40 kg of space left,” I calculated. “A single mana stone hardly weighs 100 grams. We could store about 400 stones.”

The moment I mentioned how many stones we could bring, Yuuno immediately latched onto the idea. But when she took Saya’s hand, she turned to us.

“How are we going to split the stones, then?”

Ah. That’s a sore spot. Right now, we split our mana stone earnings 45-35-20: 45% to Yuuno, 35% to Noelle, and 20% to me. I wanted to complain about the unfair distribution, but Yuuno was struggling financially. We wanted to help her.

“Um... We’re splitting the mana stones 45-35-20 right now, right? I’ll give 10% to Saya,” Noelle said. “Um... How does that sound? Since your main job is being a lugger, you don’t mind receiving a smaller share, right?”

As expected of Noelle. Such an angel. She was willing to reduce her own share to 25%.

“Yes! My pleasure! It’s been forever since I was treated as a party member! Thank you all!” Saya bowed.

“Welcome to our party. It’s already late. Should we meet here again tomorrow at seven? Can I have your phone number? Where do you live, Saya?”

“Um... I live three stations away. Where do you live?”

“We’re staying at an adventurers’ guild motel. Should we meet in the dungeon, or would you prefer to meet in the motel’s lounge?” Noelle said.

“Um... Let’s meet at the motel. The party I was with belonged to a guild, and I think they might harass me for surviving.” Saya looked away.

Ah. I forgot about that.

“The lugger contract is clear. As long as the goods reach the surface, the lugger is free from any guilt. You might not get paid, but that’s as far as any repercussions should go,” Noelle said, reciting the rules of the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Technically, that should be the case. But humans sometimes hold grudges. Losing a C-rank party is a big loss and could be fatal for a smaller guild. They might try to sue her,” Yuuno explained. Whoa. This was a D rank dungeon, right? That sucks. I need to be careful. Just because your ranking was high doesn’t mean you are invincible.

“Ah. Sorry. I thought it was fair. I mean, the goods were returned too. It’s not like she didn’t help at all, right?”

“That’s right. It wasn’t her duty to fight. But some people might see her as a coward and refuse to accept the truth,” Yuuno nodded. She then turned to Saya. “Relax. Makoto here is an independent adventurer, but I’m from the Shadow Realm Guild, while Noelle is from Arcanciel. If anyone messes with you, report it to us. We can testify that you did exactly what the contract required.”

“Really? Thanks!” Saya nodded. “I see. That’s why you wanted to camp. You’re lower-ranked adventurers from another city!”

“We could also use a guide. We’re new to this dungeon,” I said, hoping she would contribute more than just carrying luggage.

“Sure. I’ll tell you everything I know as long as you promise not to use me as bait!”

“Alright. I can sign you up for Adventurer’s Insurance,” Noelle said.

This special insurance meant Noelle would have to pay a set amount every month for years to Saya’s dependents if Saya died. I was hesitant, but Noelle seemed proud to offer it.

As expected, she was different. She wasn’t here for money, but for experience and to find trustworthy allies.

“Ah... but I don’t really have any dependents,” Saya said.

“No parents or siblings?”

“Well, I do have parents and an older sister. But they’re working. I don’t think they’d want to become my dependents. Anyway, I trust that you wouldn’t set me up. And if you did, I’d just run away with your belongings! I’m an adventurer now, not a lugger” Saya said.

“Welcome aboard! We’re glad to have you. Let’s meet at the motel tomorrow. I’ll add your number,” Noelle said.

Then we parted ways outside the dungeon. As we returned to the motel, Yuuno was shocked that Noelle was so willing to sign that special insurance.

“Wow. I can’t believe you’d offer that insurance policy just like that,” Yuuno said.

I nodded.

“Well, that’s proof of our friendship! My brother had four, and our guild had fifteen of those contracts. Making sure our friends’ families were taken care of if they perished would make them fight better, right?” Noelle said proudly.

“Well, that’s a great thought. But we just met Saya today.” I sighed. Yes, we had just met her. We didn’t know whether she was trustworthy.

“Well, I heard we can cancel the contract if we bring both parties, alive and healthy, to the court or a guild receptionist. So I never thought much about it,” Noelle said.

“We shall see tomorrow. I hope Saya is a good girl,” Yuuno said.

I nodded, hiding my malicious intentions toward Saya.