Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

「Hnngaa~」

Uuuaaa~, I said as I fell over inside my tent like a zombie.

The plan……. The plan that took three days to make is…… I’ll have to remake it entirely~. For such an unexpected thing to happen, well, it’s a good thing it’s outside the dungeon though.

I'm glad that I had told Shuna many times the mantra of report, communicate, and consult.*

Who knows what might have happen if we had disregarded Bel’s situation and explored the dungeon.

I had tried questioning the current Bel briefly, but she didn’t answer any one thing.『Other than complying in battle, I won’t answer anything』was what she had said, but that’s the opinion of the person inside Bel.

People like that are tricky.

They seem simple, but have their own unique rules. If those rules don’t match with the party members, it’ll become a big problem.

In the first place, as a go-between with other parties, Bell was exceedingly excellent.

An innocent girl's smile lowers people's defenses.

Rana is disliked by those of the same race, both Shuna and Ea are tsunderes, and my looks and reputation are bad. Bel was our only negotiator. To think that such an asset would disappear for a reason like this……

Things are always not turning out as I wish~.

What should I do from now on? Even though the guardian on the 14th floor had to be defeated jointly with another party…… Will we be able to negotiate with a local party? In the worst case, money?

For the time being, in order to gather information on and to monitor her, I gave Rana, Ea, Shuna and Bel extra pocket money and had them go to the city. I ordered them to get to know one another better for the day.

I probably should go as well, but I have to make modifications to the plan first.

Or rather, I’ll have to remake it entirely.

「FuaaAAAAAAAAA!」

『Souya-san, you’re having a hard time, it seems』

The Makina Pod rolled up the entrance of the tent.

Oh, here’s someone that can be relied on in short order.

「This is exactly the kind of time where you come in, isn’t it?」

『That’s right』

A smile was displayed on the pod’s screen.

『Well then, shall we go?』

「Huh? Where?」

『Just wait until you’re there! It’ll be fun!』

I was taken to a fun place.

Makina had a huge rucksack on her back. I was also carrying a bag with seasonings and tableware.

My clothes and equipment were as usual.

A poncho over the combat uniform. The regeneration point containers and a coral necklace around my neck. Glasses that were an A.I.’s device. A hunting knife strapped to my leg, a karambit in my pocket, an unstrung bow and a great-sword, which was sheathed inside the quiver at my waist along with the arrows.

It was menacing, but being armed was the formal attire of an adventurer.

Both of us walked across the plain.

We were heading in the opposite direction of the city.

I had wondered what it was, but what Makina had proposed was a change of pace.

Some time ago, someone had helped Makina when she got caught between rocks. We were going to express our thanks for that. Personally, I wanted to know the face of the person who had seen Makina. Just in case.

「Say, is it far?」

『No, it’s just round the corner~』

In the neighborhood of the camp was the Heures forest where the elves lived and Lemuria’s farmlands, which were beside the forest. Other than that, a sprawling expanse of grassy plain that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Was there someplace else that people lived, I wonder.

「Hmm?」

I stopped my steps.

『Is something the matter?』

The place where I had stopped was the place where I had fought a certain hero. It was the place where I had fought the magic sword that was currently sheathed in my quiver.

In this place, red flowers were blooming.

They had prickly leaves that pierced the skin when touched and hard stems. The red cylindrical flowers also looked spiny. I had mistaken them for red spider lilies, but these were――

『They’re cirsium, aren’t they?』

「Why only in this place……」

The cirsium were growing in the places that had withered because of the curse. No, not just those places. The red flowers were blooming as if they were a signpost to chase something away.

It looked almost as if the pure red was sublimating the curse as well.

『It’s a marvel, isn’t it? The red color of these flowers is extremely close to the color of fresh human blood. Makina will add it to Makina’s “Marvels of the Alternate World” note』

What’s with that note? ƒ𝐫𝒆𝐞w𝗲𝚋𝗻૦𝘷e𝙡.c𝑜𝙢

I want to read it.

『Please watch out for the spines. There are more clusters growing over there』

Makina went ahead.

Alone and muttering to myself, I followed the cirsium. Dragging the emotions that I couldn’t sort out, I walked a distance of 5km.

Before me was,

「You're kidding」

A sea of red.

Countless cirsium were growing in clusters. It was beautiful, but it was a sight similar to death.

This was where I had fought the beast of abominable blood.

And it was also the place where we had been dropped from the modern world.

It was the place with an entrance to a ruined dungeon that no one in Lemuria knew the history of.

『Gashuraku-san~』

Disregarding me, who was dumbfounded, Makina called someone’s name as she proceeded.

「Hey~. Over here~. So you came~」

From within the red flower garden, a small shadow waved its hand.

It seemed about as tall as Makina, which meant that its height was about 120cm. The hood of its cloak was wrapped snugly around its head, hiding its face. The limbs poking out from under the cloak were thin and its skin was green.

After all this time, I wasn’t surprised by something like skin color, but it was a rare color. Or perhaps I should say that I had an inkling for some reason or another.

I proceeded after Makina.

I moved until I was near the shadow.

『Souya-san, this is the representative of the people who helped Makina』

「I’m Gashuraku?Ozu?Melforuna?Gazzuozumu?Ogyumuzusu」

He was a goblin.

It was that goblin, the number one small fry monster in RPGs.

When he lowered his cloak's hood, I saw a completely hairless head, long pointed ears and a hooked nose. What was absolutely different from games was that there was a strong intelligence in his eyes and facial expressions.

In a sense, that face was so familiar that I greeted him without losing my cool.

「I’m Souya, from a foreign land. Thank you for helping my partner out. Today, as thanks for that, we’ve come to treat you to a humble meal」

「I see. As Makina said, you don’t hold a prejudice due to the difference in race, do you? Is it because you’re a foreigner? But I have to say, differences in appearance become reasons for discrimination, don’t they? To not even have that prejudice, you were either raised by very good parents or had very good teachers. Or your country is tolerant.

In any case, welcome to our little territory. Foreigner, if you look at us with unbiased eyes, then we’ll also do the same in return」

I’m not looking down on goblins, but he’s such a grounded person!

Uwaa, I can't defeat goblins in games anymore!

「Umm, could it be that these red flowers……they’re all your work?」

It was what I was most curious about so I tried asking about it.

「Yea~」

Yea~?!

He became unreserved all of a sudden.

「Tell you what~, it’s tiring, so I’ll talk in a relaxed manner now, alright~? I think you should take it a little easier too」

「Oh, thank you. Yes」

What a friendly race.

Where did the image of being attacked by a depraved group come from, I wonder?

「The shikabana**, huh? A little while ago, above our homes~, there was some sort of commotion, you see? When I took a look the next day, the land was polluted. It was awful, you know~?」

First off, I did a Dogeza.

The flowers hurt! Endure it~!

「I’m the one who did it! I’m sorry! Without even thinking that there would be people living underneath!」

「Yea, I know~」

He knew?!

「Well, I don't know anything about the intrigues between the humans on land. But you were fighting for your life, so I’m not mad」

「Th, thank you very much」

「Even though I said that it’s polluted, it’s not to the level where it can’t be cleansed, so it’s not a problem~」

「Is, is that so?」

I raised my head.

Did the goblin say that he has a way to cleanse the curse? Even though methods of curing curses and such generally don’t exist in the world?

「Umm――」

When I was about to ask the friendly goblin a question,

「Stay away from Onii-chan! You goblin!」

My sister intervened at a troublesome timing.

Before I had realized, Ea was there.

There was an arrow nocked on the bow that she had at the ready. The tip of the arrow was pointed between the goblin's eyebrows. Her brother who was next to the goblin was in a Dogeza.

She certainly may have jumped to conclusions, but why at such a troublesome timing……

「Ea, calm down」

「It’s okay! Nothing has been done to him!」

「It's okay, so listen to what I say」

「These goblins are a scumbag race that abducts people and rapes them until they die! Get away from him immediately!」

「Hey, elf」

Oh, it's bad.

He’s going to get angry. When you make such intelligent people angry, there will be serious consequences!

「Is your race a pervert race that enjoys violating pigs and horses?」

「What did you say?!」

Ea had completely blown her top.

「To us, the way we feel about the appearance of elves and Hemus is no different from how we feel about pigs and horses. I’m telling you, no one other than perverts get aroused for such things」

「Huh?! I don't know what you mean though!」

My sister’s response was like a dumb person’s.

As goblin-san said, if humans don't lust for goblins, then there’s no reason for goblins to lust for humans. If there were any exceptions, then it would only be the perverts, I suppose.

「In that case, elf, can you tell me if there are any among your friends or relatives who were raped by goblins?」

「A friend of my friend was!」 f𝑟𝑒ewe𝚋𝚗૦𝐯e𝘭.c𝗼𝓂

Ahh~ That’s totally a lie, isn’t it?

For the most part, it’s probably something made up partly to draw attention to themselves or to slander others. Besides, the goblins’ appearance seem harsh to the elves’ sense of aesthetics.

「Ea, for the time being, lower your bow. Onii-chan is going to be angry」

「No way!」

From way back, my sister had been intense once provoked.

「Or rather, foreigner, what you mean when you say Onii-chan?」

Came goblin-san’s question.

Well, anyone would be curious about that, I suppose.

「This is my sister」

「A Hemu, calling an elf his sister?」

『Souya-san's wife is an elf~!』

「Foreigner, you do strange things, don’t you?」

「Look over here!」

Ea, who had been disregarded lightly, was furious.

Even though goblin-san had an arrow pointed at him, he wasn’t perturbed one bit.

「Ea, cut it out righ――」

When I was about to suppress my sister by force because she was really being too rude,

My body froze from the chills running down my spine.

Cold air caused the red flowers to sway.

「Well. Our king has come」

In response to goblin-san's voice, black winds came together and formed into a humanoid figure.

It was a skeleton in a black cloak.

Its bones were that of a small-sized Hemu. Blazing blue light gathered in its eye sockets, and around its neck was a necklace of triangular metal pieces. Those metal pieces were parts of a crown. In other words, it was wearing the broken pieces of a crown around its neck.

The proof of a usurper.

It was something that I had heard from Otou-san over drinks. According to the ancient customs of the right continent, a person who succeeds in killing a king breaks the crown and hangs it around his or her neck along with the king’s ears and fingers.

To usurp is to kill a king without honor,

And herald the destruction of the country.

In this world, those who have accomplished that deed,

「Behold, this is the very personage who is the king of goblins and the Demon King of the forbidden area. I present Gormlaith?Melforuna?Gastolfo-sama」

That’s right, they’re called Demon Kings.