I was reincarnated as bait for the summoned hero
Since we have a banquet planned for the evening, we’ve decided to wrap up today’s dungeon exploration before sunset.
Rei, the golden dragon, has changed to look more like an adventurer… or at least, that’s how it appears.
The equipment is also chosen to match the latest trends, so there’s no sense of discomfort.
There’s no discomfort, but her otherworldly beauty and the aura of pressure she unconsciously gives off are so intense that she gathered even more attention than when I was mistaken for a woman.
“Is that an elf adventurer? How rare.”
“Isn’t she a bit too well-built for an elf?”
“She’s too pretty to approach…”
“She’s with a little dragon, huh?”
“Huh? A dangerous beauty with a guy?! Is he her boyfriend?”
“No way! They’re party members!”
I couldn’t let some of the comments slide, so I made sure to respond.
I’m frustrated by being called a dangerous beauty, but I tell myself that it’s probably better for people to think we’re a tough team, so they won’t tease us unnecessarily.
Still, I couldn’t tolerate the “with a guy” and “boyfriend” remarks.
When I glared at them, the people who had slipped up quickly fled in panic.
“If you’re going to run, don’t say stupid things.”
“Calm down. It’s because you’re so attractive, Tohma , that everyone’s curious.”
Even though Shella tried to soothe me, I wasn’t really pleased.
She was probably talking about my feminine face, right?
“Damn it. I should have been reincarnated with a muscular body or as a rugged old man!”
“No way, that sounds awful.”
But Shella quickly shook her head in response to my heartfelt cry.
“Huh, you don’t want that?”
“No, I don’t. Muscular people give off a scary vibe, and rugged old men… well, that’s just an old man, right?”
“…Old men, not good?”
I cautiously asked, and Shella tilted her head, nodding a little.
“It’s not so much that they’re bad… it’s just, when I first met you, Tohma , and you helped me, I thought you were a woman. If you’d been a muscular, rugged old man, I probably wouldn’t have followed you.”
“What!? You thought I was a woman?”
“Yes… it’s common for women to disguise themselves as men when traveling for self-defense. So I just assumed you were the same.”
“So, you followed me thinking I was a woman…?”
“Ah, I realized you were a man right away! But by then, I already knew you were someone I could trust, so I stayed with you!”
“I see… thanks for trusting me, Shella.”
Even her comforting words somehow hit me right in the chest. Well, if I think about it like this—at least my appearance keeps me from being distrusted by women and children. I can bear it.
Had I been reincarnated with a rugged, muscular body, I might have earned the respect of the men, but I would have probably been kept at a distance by women and children.
(But I won’t give up. I may have a feminine face and look young, but I’ll aim to become a dignified, older man one day!)
Elves are said to live long lives and age slowly, though they’re not immortal.
I’ve heard from the creator god, Kesaran Pasaran , that an elf’s body reaches its peak and stops growing, aging slowly over time.
(So maybe being a rugged old man is out of the question, but I can aim to be a distinguished, older gentleman!)
One of my cousins is a middle schooler who is obsessed with otome games, and while there are plenty of handsome male characters to choose from, she completely ignored them and fell for the mob character, an old butler.
“Kind, mature… and if you look closely, he’s actually really handsome! The best grandpa character who spoils the young mistress—nothing beats that!”
She’d cheerfully gush about it.
I was a bit taken aback, but since Natsuki also nodded in agreement with the idea of a “kind adult” or “spoiling grandpa character,” I figured there must be some demand for it.
“Well, I can’t change my face now, so I’ll aim to be like Sebastian.”
“Huh? I don’t get it, Tohma .”
“Sebas…? What’s that?”
“Mnya?”
Speaking of butlers, Sebastian comes to mind. While the original source is unclear, it’s a term that’s well known in Japan.
I avoided the confused gazes of the two and the one animal, deliberately raising my voice.
“Alright, enough of this chat. Let’s head into the dungeon!”
We reached the transfer door to the dungeon entrance and all transferred to the same floor.
Since we’d cleared up to the 53rd floor, our next target was the 54th.
Rei, the golden dragon, had apparently reached the bottom floor and was accompanying us, adjusting to our floor level.
“The 54th floor, huh? A lakeside field.”
A huge lake stretches across the middle of a swamp.
The surrounding area was a marsh, and just walking through it looked like it would be a hassle.
“How nostalgic. The entrance to the next floor is right across the lake. Adventurers usually have to make a big detour around the lake to reach the transfer door.”
“That sounds pretty tough…”
Shella looked around in a daze, seemingly at a loss. The marshland made the ground very difficult to walk on.
She was wearing leather boots, so her feet wouldn’t get wet, but the mud and muck kept sinking her feet down, which was incredibly depressing.
“By the way, what kinds of monsters appear here?”
“Mostly giant toads. They’re about the size of cows. Their skin is poisonous, and they try to entangle you with their long tongues—really annoying creatures.”
“They’re not that strong, but the sheer number of them makes them troublesome. Plus, their bodies are covered in slippery fluids, so swords and arrows tend to slip off, making it hard to attack them.”
“Great, a toad monster. I really don’t want to deal with that.”
“Other than that, there are giant serpents that prey on the giant toads. There are other monsters in the lake as well, but I don’t know much about them since I flew straight through the sky.”
“Giant serpents… are they like giant snakes, or more like a sub-dragon?”
“If they’re eating toads, I imagine they’re more like giant snakes.”
“Wait, you flew through the sky? That’s cheating.”
“It was right at midnight, and there were no other adventurers around.”
She shrugged casually as if it were no big deal. Cheater.
“I envy you being able to fly. If we could cut through the lake, it would definitely be faster.”
Shella sighed as she looked sadly at her muddy boots.
Cutting through the lake, huh…
“…I think that’s possible.”
“Huh?”
“Wait a second. I remember seeing something like that in an outdoor shop…”
I opened the screen for [Summon Magic Online Shop] and selected the store.
I quickly skimmed through the list of products and found what I was looking for.
“Got it. They were selling outdoor gear there, I remember.”
When I checked my purchase points, I had 75,000 points. It’s a bit painful, but it’s worth it.
I tapped on the item and added it to my cart.
“Alright, let’s summon it!”
The item appeared in my [Item Box]. Half-submerged in the lake, I pulled out a four-person rubber boat.
It was a relief that it came with air already filled into it.
Unfortunately, we’d have to paddle it ourselves, but it came with aluminum paddles, and if we just needed to move, magic would work too.
Shella stared in awe at the rubber boat, her mouth open in surprise.
“Whoa, a boat! This is my first time getting on one.”
Rei, who loves Japanese novels and manga, seemed to understand what a rubber boat was, and was innocently excited.
Being a dragon, Rei probably never used a boat before since she could fly on her own.
“It would be troublesome if other adventurers found us, so let’s set off quickly.”
“Nyaa!”
Kotesu jumped onto my shoulder. Balancing carefully, he was the first to get on the boat.
Rei grabbed the boat to steady it, and Shella, cautiously, climbed on. What a gentleman.
Once everyone was on, we set off.
Rei and I each used one paddle, and we were able to pull away from the shore.
The rest was easy.
I debated using wind magic, but decided to use water magic to push the boat forward.
It was amusing to see the boat glide smoothly over the surface of the water.
The fish in the lake leaped out of the water in surprise.
“Hehe, this is fun. It’s much slower than flying, but it’s an interesting way to travel.”
“Right? We’re in a hurry now, but next time, let’s leisurely float on the lake and enjoy fishing.”
Occasionally, large fish shadows would pass across the clear surface of the lake. There must be some big fish hiding down there.
Since we’d finally reunited with our friends, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try a little bit of slow life once in a while.
