“Oh! Nice one, Fūsuke!”

“Hoo!”

With my smartphone timer set for two hours, I kept watch while playing with Fūsuke by making small water orbs using water magic and having him chase them.

Even when I moved the water orb at a fairly high speed, he easily caught it. Owls sure can fly fast. Or maybe, since he’s a summoned beast, he’s even faster than regular owls.

As for keeping watch, I’ve extended my Presence Detection skill to just beyond the entrance of the safe zone, so I’ll immediately notice if any monsters or people approach. It’s not like I’m neglecting my duty and just playing around.

“Wait! Fūsuke, stop for a second!”

About an hour and a half had passed since I started keeping watch, leaving only about 30 minutes before the shift change. That’s when my Presence Detection skill picked up something—four human-sized presences, meaning...

“Damn, the monsters here aren’t strong, but there are way too many of them!”

As expected, it was the Swift Thunder party. It had been since we parted at the dungeon entrance. Near the first floor, I saw a few monster corpses they had defeated, but as I moved further in, I stopped seeing them.

Miss Lilith and the others said this dungeon was on the smaller side, but each floor was still quite large, which explained why we hadn’t run into them until now.

“And the monsters here are all useless for materials. If we don’t get the dungeon conquest reward, this whole trip will be a waste!”

“We need money! We absolutely can’t afford to lose this match!”

“Yeah, no way we’re letting those guys beat us. Oh, looks like this is a safe zone. Let’s take a short break...”

The Swift Thunder party entered the same floor. To avoid waking Miss Lilith and the others, I approached the direction they were coming from and made eye contact with them.

“Tch, so you guys got here first. I guess that’s expected of an A-rank team.”

“The rest of them are sleeping deeper inside. What, do they think we’re no threat or something?”

I doubted we’d end up fighting each other, but I stayed on guard. After all, four female adventurers were sleeping defenselessly. Just in case, I sent Fūsuke back to Miss Lilith and the others.

“By the way, my name is Masayoshi. I’m accompanying the Verdant Cats as their support. If you plan to rest, please do so over there.”

This safe zone was as spacious as the other floors, large enough for dozens of people to rest. There was no issue in sharing half of it.

“...Forget it, guys. We’re moving on. No breaks!”

“Got it!”

“Understood!”

The Swift Thunder party turned on their heels and headed for another path. They seemed exhausted but not injured. Still, were they really okay?

“Hey, you guys seem tired. Why not take a short break?”

“Hah? That’s none of your damn business!”

“Yeah, shut up, you rich little brat!”

Wow, rude much?

“Oh, I get it. You’re trying to slow us down by making us rest, huh?”

“Figures. Calls himself a support member, but weaklings sure have to rely on cheap tricks.”

“No, that’s not my intent at all...”

“A weakling like you has no business being an adventurer. Just get a normal job before you get yourself killed!”

“Forget him, guys. Let’s go.”

“Yeah!”

They said their piece and walked off.

I understood. We were in a competition, so my concern probably felt patronizing. My attempt to be considerate backfired. At least they didn’t get so pissed that they attacked me.

There was also the chance that they might try something against Miss Lilith and the others, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Then again, I’d like to believe that high-rank adventurers wouldn’t stoop to that level. That’s not an adventurer—that’s just a thief.

Anyway, should I wake Miss Lilith and the others? It’s almost time to switch shifts, so I’ll ask them about it.

“I see. So they moved ahead.”

“What should we do, nya? Should we wake Nonoh and the others and move forward too?”

After Swift Thunder left, two hours had passed, so I woke Miss Lilith and Miss Nena and explained the situation.

“...If this dungeon is only ten floors deep, they might have gotten ahead of us. But based on my past experience with similar requests, I believe this dungeon extends further.”

“We don’t know how many more safe zones there are beyond this, so we should rest properly while we can. The competition is important, but we shouldn’t push ourselves too hard.”

“...Yeah, no need to overdo it here, nya.”

“I agree. Prioritizing safety over the match is the right call.”

“By the way, Masayoshi, did they say anything to you or give you any trouble?”

“No, I’m fine. Nothing escalated into a fight.”

They were just a little rough around the edges. Honestly, I was the one who misstepped. Nobody wants to be worried about by a rival in the middle of a contest. And the things they said weren’t that bad. I’ve heard way worse back in my old world when I was overweight.

“...Alright then. We’ll take the watch now, so get some rest.”

“Okay. I’ll rest for a bit then.”