A crossover anime/manga series, starting with Kaguya's fiancé.

Lynn stopped as soon as he rounded the corner.

Several simple traps made of ropes and stones were cleverly arranged on the ground ahead.

In the shadows not far away, a middle-aged man leaned against the rock wall, arms crossed, quietly keeping watch.

He was well-built, and his face bore the marks of time.

Lynn pulled Chunji along, carefully avoiding the area of ​​traps.

"First time in the dungeon?"

The middle-aged man guarding the trap suddenly spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse.

Lynn shook her head. "No."

Lynn certainly wouldn't tell the truth; it's essential to be wary of strangers in the dungeon.

The middle-aged man glanced at the badges on their chests.

"It's the Astrea Familia? That makes sense."

“Usually, some new members from other clans will casually dismantle my traps when they pass by.”

It's been demolished?

Lynn turned his head and glanced at the traps that had been placed; they weren't blocking his way.

He asked curiously, "Why?"

"There's no reason why," the middle-aged man chuckled self-deprecatingly, "because of competition."

"Don't underestimate the goblins on the first level just because they're not worth much. There are plenty of people who want to make a living off them."

"First of all, those large clans on expeditions would wipe out a large number of monsters every time they passed by."

"There are many cautious guys like me who spend their days on floors 1-3. Even a small mosquito bite is still a bite."

"This has led to a situation where, when some new members of a clan come down to join, there aren't enough goblins to kill."

"Of course they'll be unhappy."

"However, many large clans do not do this, such as your Astria clan."

Upon hearing this, Lynn asked curiously, "Have you encountered members of the Astrea Familia before?"

The middle-aged man smiled upon hearing this.

"Of course."

“I am 47 years old this year and have been on these floors 1-3 for more than 20 years.”

"I'm not ashamed to say it, but in the past twenty years, I've used these goblins to buy a house, get married, and have children."

Seeing that this man was about to begin recounting his glorious biography, Lynn knew that it would never end.

He quickly interrupted, "Have you ever met anyone from the Astrea Familia?"

The middle-aged man wasn't annoyed by the interruption and continued, "I've met a red-haired guy with a fiery personality."

"Don't let her current status as a renowned regimental commander fool you; that girl was incredibly reckless back then."

"Back then, the goblins stole all my swords, so I could only throw stones at them, which only resulted in them chasing me and beating me up."

"If I hadn't run fast, I would have been injured back then."

Lynn's eyes lit up instantly when he heard that.

The leader of the group, Alicia, actually has such a little-known past?

The middle-aged man continued, "And there's that pink-haired little person, named Lyra."

"She even wanted to learn how to make traps from me!"

"As it turned out, Lyra was incredibly clumsy at making traps. She didn't manage to catch a single goblin, but instead pinched her own foot until it swelled up, and it took her a whole week to recover."

"Later, there was another one from the Far East, who now has a particularly cool nickname, something like Yamato Gentian."

Lynn knew immediately that it was Kaguya.

He quickly interrupted, "Uncle, wait a minute!"

He turned to Chunji and asked, "Do you have paper and pen?"

Haruhime shook her head: "I only have the booklet that Lady Kaguya gave me, but no pen."

Lynn looked around, picked up a colored stone at random, moistened it with some moisture from the rock wall, and handed it to Chunji.

"Write lightly, and it's barely usable as a pen."

The middle-aged man chuckled upon seeing this, "Young man, you really enjoy listening to stories?"

Lynn smiled expectantly, "Tell me in detail, I really want to hear it."

So the middle-aged man cleared his throat and continued speaking.

"Kaguya came with Lyra and Alexie."

"When she attacked the goblins, her skills were nothing like those of a novice."

"And guess what happened?"

"She's actually afraid of bugs!"

"At that time, there was a bug crawling on her shoulder. Kaguya went crazy, jumping and leaping, and almost hurt her teammates with her sword."

Lynn almost burst out laughing when she heard that.

Kaguya is afraid of bugs? That's great!

Then, the middle-aged man seemed to have started talking non-stop.

They really told every member of the Astrea Familia their dirty laundry from their first time going down into the dungeon.

"Ryu was sprayed with hallucinogenic poison by a mutated goblin, and she clung to Maru's leg, calling for her mother incessantly."

"Nizzy the werewolf was poisoned and thought she was going to die. She cried and begged to find a man, not wanting to die without experiencing anything."

"Amazonia Iska got goblin slime in her hair and burst into tears. She cried so hard that no one could stop her."

"The bespectacled elf Celty mispronounced the spell when casting magic, and a goblin smashed his glasses with a stick, leaving him with a black eye."

"And then there's that dwarf Astaire, who buried her whole body in her shield and got a goblin sit on her head."

"The healer Maru, in her panic, treated the wrong person and restored the goblin's strength."

"Human mage Leyana failed in her research and development of new magic, and injured herself in the process."

"Human warrior Noin slipped and was surrounded and kicked by a group of goblins."

Upon hearing this exciting news, Lynn laughed so hard she almost fell over.

Chunji covered her mouth, her shoulders twitching as she chuckled.

37. I just love swords.

The middle-aged man smiled as he saw that they were listening with great interest, his wrinkles crinkling into a smile.

He hadn't had such a pleasant conversation with anyone in a long time.

You should know that those arrogant young adventurers,

Most people looked down on him as an "old good-for-nothing" who just coasted along on the first floor and didn't want to pay him any attention.

These two seemingly extraordinary young people were actually willing to chat with this old man for so long.

He was truly happy.

at this time,

A trap he had set not far away suddenly made a crisp "crack" sound.

A goblin has taken the bait.

The relaxed expression on the middle-aged man's face, which had been casually chatting, vanished instantly.

He showed no intention of getting any closer, but instead took a small crossbow from behind his back.

He skillfully loaded a poisoned crossbow bolt and aimed it at the goblin struggling in the trap.

"Whoosh!"

The crossbow bolt pierced the air and struck the goblin's body with precision.

He was very patient, just watching from a distance.

Only after the goblins twitched and fell completely silent did he slowly walk over, carrying a short knife.

This time the harvest was quite bountiful, with a total of six goblins.

The middle-aged man deftly dissected the goblin's corpse and pulled out six magic stones.

He casually stuffed five of them into his breast pocket.

He carefully placed the last remaining stone into a separate leather bag at his waist.

Lynn watched the whole thing, and asked curiously, "Uncle, why did you separate them?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man smiled wryly and explained:

"This last one is protection money."

"Otherwise, do you think I would just sit here peacefully setting up traps and waiting for goblins to come to me?"

Just as Lynn was about to speak, the middle-aged man seemed to know what Lynn was about to say.

He waved his hand, stopping him;

"It's all for making a living."

"Thanks to my old face, they were kind to me and only asked for one."

"I haven't suffered any losses. At least I'm satisfied with the current situation. I can still have five left over every day, so my income is pretty good."

As he spoke, a look of longing appeared on his weathered face;

"My son is doing quite well in the school district."

"Perhaps when I graduate, I'll be noticed by some clan, and then I'll become a true adventurer just like you."