15 Travelling to the Human City

Without further ado, Ein quickly began preparing for his visit to the enemy's camp, the nearest human city.

He quickly bought the Illusion Orb (10,000 DP) for his disguise, the Ring of Iron Skin (20,000 DP) for his primary defense, and a couple of Return Stones (5,000 DP) for emergency use. The return stone was similar to the escape stone on Earth, but the effect was the opposite. Using the escape stone instantly transports the user outside the dungeon, while using the return stone will bring the user inside the dungeon immediately, no matter the distance.

Lilith also made a few requests regarding the items that Ein should bring. The items she required were a Coordinate Recorder (50,000 DP), a Dungeon Transceiver & Receiver (150,000 DP per pair), a Remote Dungeon Core (50,000 DP), and an Instant Summoning Scroll (10,000 DP). The Summoning Scroll was registered to Lilith, giving Ein the power to quickly summon her to his side when needed. Ein also didn't forget to buy some basic adventurer's armor, a weapon, and a backpack.

After spending a total of 400,000 DP, he was finally prepared. However, before setting out, he went to where Nayta and Melina were staying. It was already near dawn, so the two should be awake by now.

Reaching the room where the two stayed, Ein knocked on the door. A few moments later, Nayta came out of the door wearing only her innerwear. Although it was innerwear since elves aren't much of a fan of fabrics, the total amount of cloth covering her was so little that it was basically just slightly more coverage than underwear.

Ein blushed a little at this unexpected sight and cleared his throat.

"U-Uhm, Nayta, I'm planning on heading towards the Human City. Can I ask you to be my guide?" Ein quickly said his request.

"Of course, Lord Ein. My daughter and I will prepare quickly; please wait for us at the entrance of the castle." Nayta smiled and bowed her head respectfully as she replied.

"Okay. Don't rush, since we will be heading out an hour later," Ein added. "Also, here."

Ein, who was extremely satisfied with the view, reluctantly passed two new sets of adventurer's armor to her. It was a set that was similar to what he was wearing, although for women.

The armor was called the Swamp Dragon's Armor. It was a set comprising black latex-like innerwear that hugs the whole body tightly. The breastplate was made of grayish-white scales from the belly of the dragon. The wings were turned into armguards, high-rise boots, and short pants of a similar grayish-white color.

When the two elves finally came to the entrance wearing the provided armor, Ein was satisfied.

The armor was plain in design and color; however, it accentuated each and every curve of the two beauties. It was a feast for the eyes of any onlooker. However, the primary reason he provided the armor was for its defense. As it was made of dragon materials, it was able to block attacks from sub-par weapons without any problems. The appearance was only secondary to Ein's criteria for choosing it.

"Lord Ein, thank you for this armor!" Melina energetically called. "The innerwear covers almost the whole body but doesn't feel stuffy; if I don't pay attention, I may even forget that I'm wearing it!" she said while pinching the part covering her belly.

"That's great; it looks like I made the right decision in choosing that." Ein smiled in return.

Ein also knew how she felt, as the innerwear he was donning was of the same design. It felt as if it merged with his skin; he did not feel anything at all.

The only difference between the two attires was that Ein was wearing a light-blue tunic on top of his dark-grey leather armor. He was even wearing long black pants and shoes. The individual armor parts may be different, but the vibe they exude is the same. It was easy to identify them as a party given their similar gear.

Ein hung a normal iron sword on his waist, with a small dagger hidden behind his back. It was his usual equipment set back on Earth when he was still working as a Warrior. Nayta and Melina were both carrying quivers filled with makeshift arrows and the bow that they had made previously on their backs.

As Ein confirmed that they were all completely geared, he quickly used the Illusion Orb and cast an illusion on himself. Although he cast an illusion, he just made himself a few years older, returning to his 40-year-old visage, and turned his ears a bit sharper. Now, he looked like an elf who was at least 600 years old.

Upon seeing his new appearance, both Nayta and Melina blushed. Ein wasn't really categorized as handsome, but he wasn't ugly either. He was pretty average in appearance in general. However, due to his being a Dungeon Master, the aura he exudes is extremely attractive to the elves' aesthetics. Now that he had the same appearance as an elf, both mother and daughter couldn't help but get a little conscious of him, despite knowing that it was just a disguise.

"Ahem."

Lilith, who came before them without anyone noticing, cleared her throat. Nayta, snapping back to reality, quickly shook her head and assumed her usual expression. However, the blush on her cheeks didn't fade. Lilith noticed that the budding sense of love from Nayta quickly doubled in size, earning her a grin. Unfortunately, now isn't really a great time to tease her, so Lilith gave up.

"Master Ein, please be careful in your travels," Lilith said.

"Of course we will," Ein replied. "Even if something bad happens, we can return here in an instant anyway," he added.

Ein called on three wolves as their ride and equipped them with some customized saddles. Ein quickly mounted the wolf and turned to the other two. Nayta also safely mounted the wolf, though her face was a bit pale. Melina, however, was still staring at Ein with slightly out-of-focus eyes.

"Melina? Are you alright?" Ein asked worriedly.

"E-Eh? Ah! Y-Yes, I'm fine!" Melina, snapping back to reality, panicked a little. Upon realizing what she had done, she felt so embarrassed that her face turned red up to her ears.

After all three of them mounted safely, Ein ordered the wolves to run, heading north. Lilith lightly waved to the three figures that slowly disappeared over the horizon.

...

The trip to the north was smooth. Since the wolves can run at 50 km/h steadily, the castle was already like a dot on the horizon by the time lunch arrived. The road they were traveling on was not an animal trail anymore but a proper, beaten, and paved road.

After seeing a small stream by the side of the road, Ein called.

"Let's take our lunch here."

Although Ein and the wolves don't require eating, the two elves do. With how fast the wolves were running, fatigue was clearly visible in their expressions.

"Lord Ein's wolves are so fast. We are almost halfway to the town already," Nayta said as she sat on a flat rock.

As the older of the two, she had more stamina compared to Melina. Melina, on the other hand, slumped by the bushes and emptied the contents of her stomach.

"But I guess the ride was too bumpy for my daughter," she added while smiling wryly.

As the wolves were running at their top speed and the state of the road wasn't exactly flat, the ride was extremely bumpy. If there were no handles on the saddle where they could hold on, they would probably be thrown off the wolves' backs. Rather than comparing their experience to horseback riding, it was closer to a wild rodeo.

"I guess we'll need to slow down our pace to half," Ein considered.

Although it would take more time to travel, they could still reach the city by sundown the next day at the latest. Their speed was more than double that of what a caravan can do.

"By the way, we should decide on our disguise. Calling me Lord Ein in the city would probably not end well," Ein thought.

"From now on, call me Rain. Even if you called my real name by mistake, since the two sound alike, nobody would notice."

"As you wish, Lord—I mean, Sir Rain," Nayta replied.

"Stop the sir, just call me plain Rain," he ordered. "Let's say that you are my daughter and that Melina is my granddaughter."

Upon hearing this, Melina quickly shouted from the bush.

"I object! I think Rain and I should act as a couple instead. It would save us more trouble that way!" she shouted while wiping her mouth with a handkerchief she received from Ein.

Noticing her daughter's aim, Nayta quickly interjected.

"No! I think it's better if Rain and I act as a couple with Melina as our daughter!" Nayta appealed while blushing.

Seeing her mother act like a little girl while competing with her, she couldn't help but feel a bit disgruntled. She approached Nayta and whispered to her.

"(Mother! You should give way for me! You already had a husband; although widowed now, this should be my chance!)"

"(I-I don't know what you are thinking of, but I don't see Lord Ein in that sort of light. I just suggested what fits better for our situation!)"

"(Then all the more reason to pick my suggestion! I had been eyeing Lord Ein since the first time we met inside the cave! Mother should just watch by the side, wishing us happiness.)"

Although Melina said so, she wasn't really interested in Ein at first. However, after seeing his current appearance, she quickly fell for him like a fangirl. Her current feelings for Ein were more "like" than "love."

Unfortunately, Nayta had no way to see through her lie, so Nayta was split on whether to let her daughter chase her happiness or not.

Ein, on the other hand, was in his own world, thinking about their suggestions.

'When we approach the town, I guess all men will be paying attention to the two. If they pose as if they are already in a relationship with somebody, then it can act as an insect repellent at least.'

Ein took out the Remote Dungeon Core from his bag and quickly scanned the catalog. The Remote Dungeon Core is a very useful tool that enables access to the item catalog even when outside the dungeon. However, all items will be charged twice the original amount when bought.

Ein picked two pairs of rings with different designs. After purchasing all four rings, he quickly turned to the two elves that were still whispering to each other.

"I decided that we'll act like the two of you are my wives," Ein declared with a straight face. "Choose one of the two pairs of rings to wear as camouflage."

Hearing this, both Nayta and Melina were speechless.