IBHJ Chapter 902

At this moment, there was a "thud" sound. Shirou turned to see the white-haired girl fall headfirst from the tree, her head plunging into the ground like a carrot.

A number popped up above her head:

-1.

He looked at Chain, confused. "...May I ask what your companion is doing?"

"Uh..." Chain wiped sweat from her brow. "It might be some sort of... traditional custom of hers."

Chain wiped the sweat from his brow, adding, "Also, My Daughter Is Super Cute isn't my companion. But I guess you could say we're kindred spirits..."

Thud. Thud. Thud.

My Daughter Is Super Cute continued to ram her head against a boulder, the rhythmic sound echoing through the forest.

"Pff!" Mordred couldn't help but giggle, covering her mouth with her hand. "That's so stupid!"

Indeed, My Daughter Is Super Cute's behavior was quite ridiculous.

However...

Why did it look so much like a character lagging in a game due to a bad connection? Could it be that My Daughter Is Super Cute was a player from Chaldea?

With this thought in mind, Shirou approached her and spoke softly, "I am Artoria, from Chaldea."

My Daughter Is Super Cute stopped her head-banging and turned to look at him.

His heart leaped with hope. It seemed she really was from Chaldea!

Great! This way, he could contact Chaldea.

But then...

My Daughter Is Super Cute: "Beep beep, bawada$%mofly2%#"

"..."

He turned to Chain, pointing at My Daughter Is Super Cute. "What is she saying?"

"I have no idea..." Chain paused, then said hesitantly, "Maybe she hasn't learned to speak human language yet..."

Shirou: "..."

"Pff!" Mordred burst into giggles again, covering her mouth. "She hasn't learned to speak human yet. That's so dumb."

She clearly found this hilarious.

"You're here at Thunder Cave for the Vampire class advancement quest, right?" Chain asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

"Let me help you then," Chain offered with a smile.

"Wouldn't want to trouble you," he said.

"It's no trouble at all. As a senior adventurer, I'm a bit embarrassed about my fellow adventurers trying to rob newbies like you," Chain replied, still smiling.

"Then I'll gladly accept your help." he nodded. Why turn down a helping hand?

"Hey, auntie, is this idiot coming too?" Mordred pointed at My Daughter Is Super Cute.

"Auntie..." Chain was taken aback. No one had ever called her that before.

Shirou patted Mordred's head. "Don't be rude."

"Oh. Okay, Mom," she replied, looking apologetic.

He looked up at My Daughter Is Super Cute and asked, "Are you coming to help too?"

My Daughter Is Super Cute: "$%...#beep beep."

Shirou: "..."

What in the world was she saying? It sounded like gibberish.

The group entered Thunder Cave, and although My Daughter Is Super Cute was speaking gibberish and no one could understand what she was trying to express, she still followed them inside.

The monsters in Thunder Cave were a bunch of mutated rats and rotting corpses, nothing too scary. Even a group of newbies could've easily taken them down. It was a starter quest, so the difficulty was pretty low.

With veteran Chain leading the way, Shirou didn't need to do a thing. He just took it easy and watched Chain make short work of the monsters.

"Swish swish swish!"

Dressed in gleaming white armor, Chain floated in the air, countless glowing chains appearing behind her. They turned into a flurry of shadows, wiping out the monsters one by one.

This wasn't some skill of a Lv9 human, but rather the power of Chain's equipment and items.

While Chain cleared the path, Shirou and Mordred chilled in the back, soaking up experience points and grabbing any loot that dropped.

Having a total badass carry them felt pretty sweet. They didn't have to do anything except relax and collect the goodies.

Mordred's eyes lit up at the sight of the piles of QP. Not because she was greedy or anything, but because with that much cash, she could finally get all the yummy food she wanted. No more eating dirt with her mom or the weird stuff Aqua's prayers sometimes brought to their dining table.

"By the way, Miss Evil Flower, how old are you this year?" Chain asked, strolling over after clearing out another batch of monsters.

Mordred, who had been daydreaming about all the tasty treats she could buy, immediately snapped to attention and stared at Chain.

"Fifteen. Why?" he replied, giving Artoria's current age in this form.

"Fifteen?" Chain was a bit taken aback.

"Yes, is there a problem with that?"

"Not really, just a bit surprised. Usually, parents don't let their kids become adventurers until they're eighteen," Chain scratched the back of her head.

"My situation's a bit different," he calmly explained.

Chain glanced at Mordred and nodded. "Yeah, I can see that."

This kid looked like she was only three, and she was already adventuring...

Chain's mind immediately filled with tragic tales of troubled kids, and she looked at Shirou and Mordred with a mixture of sympathy and pity.

Then she remembered Shirou's actions at the inn, and her gaze towards him shifted to one of respect.

"Miss Evil Flower, you're really something," Chain said sincerely, deeply moved. "If you ever need help, you can contact me. It's like offering a few coins to someone embarrassed because they forgot their money after a meal - I'll help as much as I can."

"Huh?"

Shirou was completely lost. What was she talking about, and where did that weird comparison come from?

But his confused expression only made Chain more emotional. In her mind, his expression looked as if he had finally found warmth after facing the world's endless coldness.

"I know you're not her companion, but... what's going on with her? And how long is she going to keep bashing her head against the wall?" Shirou pointed at My Daughter Is Super Cute, who was repeatedly slamming into the cave wall.

Ever since they entered Thunder Cave, she'd been charging ahead. Now, even though she'd reached the wall, she was still trying to move forward, her head repeatedly hitting the stone with a dull "thud thud thud" until it started to bleed.

"Uh... I honestly don't know," Chain admitted, looking at My Daughter Is Super Cute with a hint of embarrassment.

To be honest, she'd initially come out with My Daughter Is Super Cute to try and strike up a conversation. She'd long admired the modern hero who'd helped quell her friend's anger.

But after interacting with her, she felt a bit let down. My Daughter Is Super Cute simply didn't pay any attention to her at all.

Thud thud thud.

In the darkness, My Daughter Is Super Cute continued bashing her head against the wall, blood splattering everywhere. The scene was particularly gruesome in the dim light.

"We'll go through that cave next, and after four checkpoints, we'll find the Thunder Blood Bat," Chain said, pointing ahead.

"Seriously, how long are you gonna cling to my mom?" Mordred glared at Chain, clearly annoyed.

Their precious mother-daughter time was already being interrupted, and now this person was hogging her mom. How irritating! She hadn't even had a chance to get close to her mom yet.

"Mordred, don't be rude," he said gently.

Thud thud thud!

My Daughter Is Super Cute kept headbutting the wall, her movements becoming increasingly violent.

Suddenly, with a loud crash, she burst through the wall, revealing a creepy underground chamber.

"A hidden map?" Chain was stunned.

Hidden maps were part of the "Moon Gazing Beauty" dungeon's easter egg system, offering greater challenges and rewards than regular dungeons. But they usually only appeared in high-level dungeons in the Holy Land. How could there be one here in a newbie area?

This was information no one knew, something even the notorious information broker, Fox, didn't know. If this news got out, it would cause a major stir.

The usual price for entering hidden maps was steep, but for this one, it seemed the only requirement was... a thick skull?

Rustle rustle.

Buried under the rubble, My Daughter Is Super Cute stood up, blood streaming down her face, making her look like something out of a horror movie.

"$#%#@@..."

She charged into the cave again.

Shirou exchanged bewildered glances with the others, then quickly followed.

"Wait up!"

They soon caught up and heard a familiar sound.

Up ahead, My Daughter Is Super Cute was headbutting another wall.

Thud thud thud.

Like a ghost haunting the cave.

Inside the new hidden map, Chain scanned the dark area with a focused gaze.

No monsters, no treasure chests, just an empty chamber.

As expected, even though it was a hidden map, it was still a newbie zone, with no rewards inside.

However—

Crash!

My Daughter Is Super Cute broke through yet another wall, revealing yet another dark chamber.

Clearly, this hidden map wasn't a single room, but a series of interconnected tunnels!