Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Translator: Solo

【83rd day】

I parted with the party and contacted Lanseal.

Rana and Ea seemed to have returned to the camp. After an intense quarrel, the two of them were sullenly sleeping in separate tents.

Lanseal agreed to meet up with me in the city at midnight. The meeting place would be the second floor of the Zavua merchant company. While waiting, I distracted myself by helping the merchant company with some work.

After going through a number of account books, I pondered what I had found.

The sales figures of the pasta that was put on sale a short while back are amazing.

They’re amazing, but according to the numbers I had crunched, the wheat that Libera brought in will be consumed entirely in less than half a year.

Lemuria is also producing the wheat from the left continent, but it would likely be unable to match this consumption. It’s a method that’s frowned upon because it consumes quite a lot of the nutrients in the land, but in the worst case, Lemuria would have to use magic to grow wheat rapidly.

According to Makina's calculations, the wheat was supposed to be enough for three years, but the source of the numbers she had used is questionable to begin with.

It’s something that the merchants understood tacitly, but the figures for food consumption that Lemuria reported to Elysium deviated considerably from the actual food consumption.

However, the Margrave stationed in Lemuria says,『There are no problems』, so both countries are satisfied for the present and the merchants keep their mouths shut. If they stick their noses too deep into these kinds of politics, they won’t survive even if they have nine lives.

It isn’t just a problem about food.

Just by taking a quick look at the organization of its defenses and its trade, the future of Lemuria can be seen. ƒ𝑟𝐞𝗲𝘄𝙚𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝒆𝒍.𝒄𝘰𝓂

Elysium is the largest human nation on the center continent while Lemuria is a small country in a remote region. Though they are allied, the two countries aren’t on equal standing. Using their military might and food as shields, Elysium is exploiting Lemuria.

Among the things being extorted are the materials, armaments, and technologies that were retrieved from the dungeon. And, though it’s no more than a dark rumor that I had heard, talented people too. Using methods like abduction.

It also can’t be said that the reason why the king fell sick a while ago is unrelated to Elysium. Should King Lemuria pass away from illness, the one who would inherit the throne would be that idiot prince.

When an idiot held power, it wouldn’t be "unnatural" for a rebellion to occur. It’s also the duty of an allied nation to suppress it.

If an army was placed in the middle of the country, it would gradually collapse shortly afterwards.

Adventurers are free creatures, is the ideal held up by Lemuria. Who knows what will happen during times of war. What’s certain is that, whether it’s for justice or for revenge, without a new banner of some sort, people won’t gather. They won’t act.

However, something like this is a peaceful method in this alternate world.

At present, a war won’t start. It’s still a ways off. Precautions are also under way.

Elysium itself is a hellish place where people betray their friends and families because of baseless suspicions, hang its citizens, and devote all their time to the power struggles surrounding the seats of the missing Popes. Including the matter of their blood and the beasts, the center continent is filled with the resentment of humans.

The left continent is also far from peaceful.

It has been split right down the middle by the Myriad Kings placed at the head of the black elf’s army and the Myriad Kings who joined forces with Elysium, and has become a war-torn land.

And the one thing that’s certain is that, there's no point in me worrying about such things.

I'm merely a Japanese, a foreigner, and just one adventurer.

I’m an ordinary person who just happens to have the means to fight the beasts of abominable blood. I can fight those beasts on equal or better terms, but that doesn't mean that I can defeat other enemies easily just because of that.

Unless I go mad and become a demon who scatters curses about or something, I've no intention of using Wild Hunt ever again.

No, if a knight of St. Lyridias stands in my way again, then maybe.

I pray that that doesn't happen though.

I had wanted to protect the honor of my friend. I had fought desperately. At the end of all that, the power that I’ve obtained is a power that cannot protect people. Using the curse of death as the trigger, it’s a power for killing heroes.

Consequently, the people around me will die.

It cannot protect anyone. This power can only be wielded after the ones that I should be protecting are gone and I’m fighting alone. It’s a power that’s far too powerless.

Truly, the works of the gods are full of irony.

Knock, knock, came the sound of someone knocking at the door.

「Come in」

After I replied, the door opened and a silver-haired beastkin came in.

She’s a fox beastkin.

She actually works as a knight or something like that. If she keeps quiet, she has the features of a cool beauty. She has a dignified air, and finds the fact that she shows her emotions shameful. I can’t get enough of how she looks when she’s bashfully hiding her smile. She has a shapely and healthy body and is wearing a maid outfit at the moment.

She’s my, umm…………friend, and she works so hard to support us that I feel bad about it. I’ve been relying on her for all the household chores recently. She wasn’t used to it at the start, but she’s a hard-worker and a fast-learner, so she quickly became a valuable asset.

「Lanseal, shall we go?」

「Alright」

I took my things and we left the merchant company behind us. Lanseal helped me carry half.

The two of us walked through the night city. After night fell, the city was illuminated by faint lights and turned chaotic.

Adventurers were drunk on alcohol and women. Their minds and bodies were all aglow with passion. The vibrancy of the night smelled of sex and death.

When I had first come here, I had watched them with a sense of annoyance, but now that I know the reason for their revelry, I can’t disavow them easily.

Adventurers risk their lives. They make merry and talk to their party members boisterously about their joy at having survived. They drink to the party members who had fallen, make fun of adventurers who had lost their nerve, and they talk of their boundless dreams.

Nobody pulls a long face like I do.

Or comes to a halt because of a quarrel.

A female beastkin and a well-build male Hemu were exchanging blows.

In this world, it’s difficult to discriminate based on the differences in gender or race.

As proof, the man ate a nice punch from the woman and was sent spinning into the air.

Cheers roared from the surroundings. The woman turned and smiled at everyone. Money flew.

It was a commonplace and ordinary scene.

「Lanseal, do you like this kind of thing?」

「Huh?」

Startled, Lanseal had a look of surprise on her face.

「No, I mean, your face is……」

She had been watching the fight with flushed cheeks.

「Huh, I……」

She touched her own cheeks.

「Excuse me, I got heated in spite of myself. I’m still incapable of controlling myself. I lack training, it seems」

It became less crowded and a path opened up. The two of us started walking again.

「Have you always lived in Lemuria?」

「Yes, I’ve been in this country since I was born」

「Ever thought that you’d like to see the other continents?」

「Other continents, huh………」

Assuming the worst case, I thought that I should at least ask. I already know her answer, but even so, it's more sincere than not saying anything.

「I can’t swim. The sea is scary. Extremely」

「Pfff」

「Souya! It's no laughing matter!」

Her response was so cute that I ended up laughing.

「Then I'll teach you how to swim. I’ll get permission from Geto-san, and then I’ll teach you in the river beside the camp」

「What?! Souya, you can swim?!」

「Huh, well, passably」

She was super surprised.

Japanese people learned how to, or perhaps I should say, got used to it when they are in elementary school.

「Even though you’re not a sailor or anything? Oh, were you a fisherman in your hometown? Or is it the protection of water gods?」

「I’ve never worked in jobs related to the sea. I was taught in school when I was little」

But I had considered crab fishing after finding out how much they earned.

「You received a good education, it seems」

「You think so?」

But our view of history is completely masochistic. Even now, made-up stories like how the divine wind1 would blow and repel foreign enemies are still being taught though.

「Please teach me how to swim. Please, I'd love to!」

「Understood」

She pressed me.2

Close, you’re too close. Your boobs are touching my arm.

「But well, it would be a lie to say that I don’t long to see the lands outside of Lemuria. I still remember the anecdotes of the valiant Myriad Kings that my mother told me. Even now, I still see dreams of riding a horse through a field of snow that a dragon had left behind it. But I'm sorry. I cannot leave Lemuria right now」

「I guess so」

She’s not the kind of person who would leave her father’s side under such unsettling circumstances.

As for me………my feelings are complicated. I’m having a difficult time gathering my thoughts. What is the best thing for me to do? Is it something like that, do I even have that option? And now that Lanseal has come up and wrapped her arms around mine, my thoughts are even more disorganized.

It would be boorish to pull my arm away here, and it would be unnatural, so I didn’t say anything. I wanted to thank her though.

As was the case with my sister, time passed quickly when in close contact with a woman.

We should have been walking slowly, but we had already reached the front of the castle. Guided by Lanseal, I entered the castle through a back door. Greeting the soldiers on guard as we walked down the corridor, we arrived before the kitchen door.

After knocking and hearing the reply, I opened the door.

「I apologize greatly for visiting this late at night, King Lemuria」

「It’s fine. I have something that I want to talk to you about as well」

I entered the kitchen and bowed to King Lemuria. Lanseal also bowed in the same way. She then stood near the door.

With his permission, I sat down in a chair facing the king, who was also seated, with a worktable between us.

「King Lemuria, this is a bag of high-grade tea leaves that’s currently being sold by the Zavua merchant company. It’s an item of prestige that has been appraised by a Brave from the center continent」

I placed the bag containing the tea leaves on the worktable.

For the time being, I curried favor by giving him a gift.

「Umu, I've heard about that from a while back. It's that noisy Gastolfo girl, isn’t it? I heard that she was having a hard time gathering party members, but she formed a party with you, I see」

「We didn’t form a party. I did refer her for the job though」

「Even though she’s like that, her skill in magic is top notch. It won’t hurt to make her a party member」

「It’s because my wife is against it」

「Aah, Frey-dono and Princess Rauaryuna were schoolmates in Hohens, weren’t they? Do they not get along with each other?」

「They don’t get along. Or perhaps I should say that it’s only Rana who dislikes her one-sidedly」

But Frey likes Rana. Being a strong magician is lonely. She feels a sense of fellowship with the one magician who is on par with her. ƒ𝑟𝐞𝗲𝘄𝙚𝚋𝑛ｏ𝙫𝒆𝒍.𝒄𝘰𝓂

Well, Rana dislikes Frey because of her elven pride and the clashes in their personalities though.

「On another topic, Souya, I heard that you’ve reached the 15th floor」

「Yes. That's why I came today」

「I also have something to talk to you about that」

I heard what King Lemuria had to say first.

「It's about Medimu」

An unexpected name was brought up. Come to think of it, I don’t see him today.

「Do you know the deepest floor that he has reached?」

「Yes, I heard that it’s the 20th floor」

「Don’t you find it strange? That the deepest floor that the man known as the “father of adventurers” has reached is only the 20th floor?」

It’s certainly strange. But according to what the person in question had said himself……

「Otou-san said that it’s a name the people that he had helped gave him in order to hide their shame. He also said that he’s not much of an adventurer to begin with」

「If that guy is not much of an adventurer, that would make most of the adventurers in Lemuria, myself included, dismal adventurers. He’s only being humble. He’s been like that from way back. A damned perfectionist who has never gotten over his one failure.

He’s been held captive by that. By the demon inhabiting the 19th floor………………

Has it already been 33 years since then?

Souya, as someone who has a Heures as your wife, it’s not a story that has nothing to do with you. I've talked about it once or twice before. That the father of Princess Rauaryuna, Melm?Raua?Heures, had adventured together with me. Alma, Melm's sister. Verxina, Lanseal’s mother. And Medimu. Those were the members of my first party.

Medimu was a mercenary who had drifted here from the left continent. His skill with the sword and his ability to stay alive were first-rate, but he was an extremely insolent brat.

In particular, Melm and him fought like cats and dogs, and it would end with swords drawn just because their eyes had met. If Alma and Verxina hadn’t mediated between them, they would likely have killed each other. I had a hard time too.

At that time, the Adventurers’ Guild wasn’t as powerful as it is now. Exploring the dungeon was a rigorous thing. Perhaps it was because of that, but as we tried our best to survive, hate and envy turned into unwavering trust. That's how it is for adventurers.

If they risk their lives for, and entrust their lives to each other, then they’ll have no choice but to accept each other’s strength.

We were quicker to distinguish ourselves compared to the other parties from the same batch as us. There was friction with people outside of our party. We were a rare party that mixed elves with beastkin and Hemus. We attracted attention. For better or worse, that led to unity among us.

I had thought that nothing would shake our unity up till the moment Alma disappeared.

Alma went missing on the 19th floor. Suddenly, while the party was moving.

We searched.

We looked for her, desperately.

But we were unable to find her.

That was the end of my first party.

Melm quit as an adventurer and returned to the forest, I explored the dungeon with new party members, and Medimu is still looking for Alma even now.

The reason why he started taking care of the greenhorn adventurers is probably to serve as a warning because he doesn’t want adventurers to turn out like him.

Souya, I cannot know what kind of adventurer you will live on as. In any case, don’t choose a way of life that’s trapped by obsession like Medimu. At times, the courage to get over sacrifices is needed. The courage to carry on their will and move on is needed. It’s far too warped for an adventurer to come to a halt and get caught up.

That’s the true nature of the man known as the father of adventurers. And, that’s the advice of the king of adventurers」

「Thank you very much. I deeply appreciate it」

It's a difficult story to swallow. For me, who might quit as an adventurer after this.

However, an elf that suddenly disappeared, huh? What’s more, she’s also from the Heures’ lineage. I’ve a bad feeling about this. Coincidentally enough, I have but one possibility in mind.

「Umu, that’s no good. Perhaps it’s my age, but the story went on for a long time. I think that it’s still shorter than your stories about food though」

「Well, sorry about that」

He made a slightly sarcastic remark.

I’ve been told that by everyone, so I've been careful about it of late though. That hurts my feelings, you know?

「So, Souya, what did you want to talk about?」

「Well」

I took a deep breath.

If I’m unlucky, I’ll come into contact with the dark side of this country. I’m prepared for that, but who knows what will come out.

「Today, I asked my wife about the incident where the Heures Forest was burnt down. In front of everyone in the party」

「That’s, umu……」

King Lemuria’s face clouded over.

「Looking ahead, I thought that I wanted to remove the seed of discord」

「Did the princess answer you?」

「She ran away」

「That’s, what I thought」

The king wore a deeply troubled look.

It’s the face of someone who sympathizes with Rana. Now, how will things turn out?

「Souya, I have one question for you. Did you ask that as an adventurer? Or as the husband of an elf?」

「………………」

It's a difficult choice.

「As an adventurer」

So I answered immediately.

There's no use thinking about it, so I’ll make a snap decision and save myself time. I think that I made a very adventurer-like choice, if I say so myself.

「Then I can't answer. It's not something that a greenhorn adventurer should meddle with」

「In that case, how much of an adventurer do I have to be for you to answer?」

「At the very least, the 30th………………No, for you, it’s the 20th floor, I suppose. With a condition attached」

「What’s the condition?」

「Descend to that floor without sacrificing a child of Heures. That’s the condition」

Without sacrificing Rana or Ea? That's only natural.

Oh, of course. The king sees that missing party member called Alma in Rana and Ea. In the king’s mind, there’s probably some kind of meaning to those two clearing that floor.

「I understand. Watch me clear the 20th floor without any sacrifices」

「I'm looking forward to it, adventurer」

In the end, is exploring the dungeon the only way to find out how things come to an end?

It's ironic.