(Yozora's POV)

(Yozora): "Mixed subjugation?"

I asked to a panting Wolf-san. In these last five days, I've been teaching him some martial arts techniques. Of course, ten gold coins a class. He flinched when I said the price and complained about the amount of gold. I threatened to raise it to 20 gold coins per lesson, so he shut up. Of course, we are right now on the training grounds of the guild, with Phix watching us from distance.

(Wolf): "Yeah."

He said, panting on the ground, laying on his back, result from the technique that I am teaching him today. After he recovered his breath, he started to explain.

(Wolf): "There's a dungeon that opened recently, and it seems that it has quite a lot of levels. We already got information on the first twenty levels, and it's suited to make rank advancement tests from D rank to C rank."

I frowned as he got up and took instance to punch me. We are both unarmed, meaning that I'm without my daggers and he's without his gauntlets. I'm also not dressed in my usual assassin gear, as I'm taking a break today. I'm using black boots, black pants and a white shirt.

(Yozora): "What does that ahs to do with me? I'm B rank."

I said as he punched me. I took a step to the side and quickly grabbed his hand, my four fingers in his palm, my thumb right on the knuckle of his ring finger. I rose his hand, overlapping the fingers of my other hand with the back of his hand, and applied a kotegaeshi on him, making him spin once and slam on the ground.

(Wolf): "Gah! Shit, what's with that technique?!"

(Yozora): "Shut up, you learned the other techniques easily from being hit as you asked, so get the hang of it already."

I said coldly. He got up, scratching his head and mumbling:

(Wolf): "I know that I asked you to just do the techniques on me, but still..."

I sighed. Indeed, he asked me to just do the techniques on him several times until he got the hang of it by himself. A strange method of teaching, but since I'm being paid, I'll do it. not only that, it works, apparently as he can do the moves on monsters.

(Yozora): "Spill out the stuff about the mixed thingy before I stab you."

He groaned, saying:

(Wolf): "How the hell did you get fame of being a lovable person on the guild with those sharp words?"

(Yozora): "Because Wolf-san isn't a cute girl like Phix-chan."

(Phix): "Nya?!"

Oh, she heard it even from this distance. Taking a glance, I see her face flushing and her cute cat ears twitching. She notices that I'm watching her, and I smile evilly. A blue vein pops on her forehead, and she screams at me with her face still red:

(Phix): "Stop with that, will ya nya?!"

I laughed and didn't answer. Teasing her is too fun!

(Yozora): "Anyway, Wolf-san, talk already."

(Wolf): "Alright, alright."

He said, patting off the dust from his clothes.

(Wolf): "We call Mixed Subjugation when we mix some activities. What we plan to do is to make a Dungeon Expedition together with an Advancement Test."

(Yozora): "So what? I'm not in the mood for dungeons."

(Wolf): "Just hear me, will you? These expeditions generally take a lot of time to set up camp, so we won't dive in the deeper levels at all, we will be on the first twenty levels. The test for the newbies will be to set up a guard post on the entrance of the dungeon, as well subjugate the monsters until the 15th floor."

(Yozora): "So I'll have to chaperone the kids?"

I asked, as the only reason a high-ranked adventurer would be on this kind of quest was obvious. Wolf-san smiled, laughing loudly.

(Wolf): "Yes! You get the hang of the things quickly! It will be four parties of five for the promotion rank, but we don't have an B ranked party on Faye right now to ask this, so we gathered four B-ranks. You're the last one that I was about to ask."

I touched my chin. Truly, I am free these last days, since Laura is doing some stuff where I'm not needed. Although I'm gathering information, I won't be able to get more important stuff until she asks me to. But still, to spend my time chaperoning some newbies...

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(Wolf): "The reward is good."

(Yozora): "Count me in."

When there's money on the play, everything changes! Yes, I'm a greedy bastard! I was poor most of my life and had to carry an orphanage by myself! So what I'm a money hoarder?! Money is love, money is life, not some goddammit green ogre! Wolf-san laughed at my instant reply.

(Yozora): "So, how is it going to work? There's a lot of details in this thing of pairing up with unknown people."

(Wolf): "Don't worry, I invited you because you fit the job!"

He said, attacking with an overhead hand chop. I blocked with my right wrist, sidestepped, grabbed his hand, spun and applied the kotegaeshi again, and he spun in the air before being slammed.

(Wolf): "Oh! I'm getting the hang of it!"

He suddenly screamed while laying on the ground. This guy... even after flipping him several times today, he doesn't show signs of being wounded or tired at all. He just gets up and pats off the dust. This guy is more like a monster than me, who's a slime. He simply doesn't get tired.

(Yozora): “So, how we are going to do it?”

(Wolf): “Well, we are going to promote four parties to D-rank, and a D-rank party will be the guys who will judge if they passed the test. The B-ranks are just to keep guard in the case of something happening.”

(Yozora): “Wait, isn’t it a bit much just for a promotion test? Send four B-ranks just to chaperone some C-ranks.”

Wolf got up, patting the dust from his clothes.

(Wolf): “Well, it may seem much, but the dungeon is brand new. The chance of something unexpected happening is high. We can also pay you guys without any loss, and we’d rather pay an extra price than letting people die.”

I frowned deeply.

(Yozora): “You’re still a hundred years younger to try to fool me. Why the dungeon? If you really wanted, you could just do the advancement on the forest. There’s a catch to send the B-ranks, right?”

Wolf flinched. It seems that I hit the head of the nail.

(Yozora): “After all, it’s reckless and frankly stupid to conduct a promotion test on a dungeon that wasn’t properly explored. I’m not that stupid.”

(Wolf): “Huguh!”

He flinched again. This time, he started to swat cold. This guy… he’s bad at hiding stuff. Phix-chan approached with a worried expression.

(Phix): “Guildmaster, we should just tell him. Yozora-san doesn’t seem the type that will run away after hearing.”

As she was within reach, I started petting her head. Shocked, she didn’t react at all. As I enjoy her soft hair and ears, I say:

(Yozora): “You should learn from Phix-chan, Wolf-san. Well, you can’t turn into someone as cute as she is, but at least try to be sincere. You suck at lying.”

(Phix): “NYAAAAA!!!”

She screamed, slapping away my hand from her head and flaying her arms, angry. Although she doesn’t speaks “nya” frequently, when she’s flustered she says a lot though. It’s cute, so it makes me want to tease her more. I can’t hold back my laughter, so I crack up too. It makes her even more angry.

(Phix): “Yozora-san, you’re so annoying nya!”

(Yozora): “I can’t help it! you’re too cute to not tease!”

(Phix): “Nyaaa!!”

She screamed again, her face red and her state better represented by this emoji: \[>o<]/

(Yozora): “Anyway, what is that thing about running away?”

(Phix): “Don’t change the subject nya!”

She screamed. I extended my arm and held her forehead, stopping her from attacking me. As she wails her arms trying to reach me, Wolf-san says:

(Wolf): “Well, I want you and the other three B-ranks to capture the next ten levels. We have our reasons to believe that an overflow might occur, and the monsters of the dungeon will come out.”

(Yozora): “So you want us to thin out the monster population? Isn’t that a bit redundant? This shouldn’t stop the overflow, right?”

After all, from what I heard, an overflow happens when the mana inside a dungeon reaches critical level, and the dungeon will level up. While that happens, all the monsters are forced out, including the bosses, often causing a disaster. So killing the monsters won’t change anything. Phix stopped flaying and nyaning, and is now breathing heavily with my hand petting her head.

(Phix): “Dammit nya…”

(Yozora): “Don’t worry, just let me pet you and we’re good. You would give in eventually anyway.”

(Phix): “Please, don’t talk as you had planned everything until now, nya.”

She said with her mood ruined and her face downcast as I pet her head.

(Wolf): “Can you stop flirting in front of this single guy?”

(Yozora): “I’ll stab you if you don’t shut up, you lonely old man. You’ll die alone, you old walking muscle mass. Now spill the stuff about the mission before all the ladies in town get disgusted by your muscles.”

(Phix): “…”

(Wolf): “…”

………

……

A heavy silence fell upon us, with the only sound being the petting that I’m doing in Phix’s silky red hair.

(Wolf): “You’re so toxic…”

(Yozora): “I ain’t the monster who was flipped more than fifty times before lunch.”

Wolf-san sighed, and started to explain what we are doing in that dungeon.