Chapter 24

At the entrance of the PD, I faced a black wolf.

I never thought a monster would enter the dungeon.

I had thought that if things got bad, I could just hide inside the PD, but this was completely unexpected.

Why is a monster coming in!?

Didn't Danpon say,

"You can't enter by normal means."

...Huh?

Other people?

He never said anything about monsters not being able to enter!?

"It's a Darkness Wolf! A monster equivalent to level 80!"

"Twenty levels higher than an Evil Ogre. Danpon, can you help me?"

"I can manage the dungeon, but I have no combat ability. This monster was created by Dampur, so I can't interfere."

"So it's no good, huh."

The Evil Ogre that appears on the 13th floor is equivalent to level 60.

That's twice my level, which is level 30.

The Darkness Wolf has already taken a hit from Hell's Flame and has a cut on its leg, which I didn't notice until just now.

It's not from my Swallow Return.

My sword's edge is useless.

It's not from the Self-Defense Force's attack either.

If so, there's only one possibility.

(Cowzou-san...)

It must have been him who inflicted the wound.

If it weren't for that wound, the Darkness Wolf would have entered the PD before I came up the stairs.

If I had been caught off guard by that attack, I would have died.

It seems I've been saved by him again.

And now, the mystery of the monster's movement is solved.

This Darkness Wolf was heading straight for the Shizuoka Prefectural General Hospital.

It must have been chasing Cowzou-san.

This battle with the Darkness Wolf should be seen as a relay from him.

It's not an opponent I can't defeat.

The Darkness Wolf has already taken a direct hit from Hell's Flame.

It also has an injury on its leg.

I have no magic power, but neither is the opponent in perfect condition.

"Taiga, you don't have time to be leisurely! The Darkness Wolf isn't attacking to recover its strength!"

"Damn, I know."

My magic power won't recover until I can cast Hell's Flame again.

So, I have to decide this before its strength recovers.

I raised my sword and approached the wolf.

"Sure-hit Sword!"

It hit, but the Darkness Wolf's body didn't budge, like a huge rock.

Then—

"Swallow Return!"

I slashed upward in a flowing motion.

I had knocked it back with this before.

This time—

"!"

The Darkness Wolf jumped to the side to dodge.

Then it lunged at me, trying to bite.

I quickly took out a D-can and pushed it into the Darkness Wolf's mouth.

But I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder.

I thought it had been slashed by a sharp claw, but it had only grazed me.

Even a graze hurt this much.

The Darkness Wolf's claws are far sharper than my sword.

But I can't retreat.

If I give it time to recover, I have no chance of winning.

I threw the D-can.

The Darkness Wolf, aware of its hardness, dodged.

It seemed to be dodging more dramatically than usual.

Looking closely, I saw that the Darkness Wolf's fangs were broken.

It must have bitten the D-can.

The D-can deflected the impact and passed through.

Biting the D-can, its teeth couldn't have survived unscathed.

That's enough to make it wary of the D-can.

Don't let it rest.

Wear it down as much as possible.

I used the Throwing Stone skill to throw the D-can.

I threw it.

I threw it.

I have a mountain of D-cans.

I'll give it my right arm.

Show me your best dance.

Maybe I got this skill for this very moment.

But this won't solve the problem.

The D-can is hard but light.

Even if it hits, it won't do much damage.

The Darkness Wolf can't fail to notice this.

Soon—

(Here it comes!)

The Darkness Wolf charged at me, ignoring the D-can.

I threw the D-can.

Immediately after, the lid opened, and something flew out.

"Growl!"

For the first time, the Darkness Wolf let out a cry.

Good cry.

What I had thrown was a potion I made.

Not all potions are beneficial.

It was a poison potion.

Among the mushrooms, there were poisonous ones.

And there were various types of poisonous mushrooms.

Those that cause poisoning, paralysis, and so on.

What I threw was one of them—something that stinks.

I thought that if I threw this when a monster approached, it would change its course, but I never thought I'd use it inside the PD... Damn, I stink too.

I think Danpon is tearing up.

"You think it's cheating—cough, hack, ughhh"

I can't even say my catchphrase.

The stench is entering my mouth.

It smells like a hundred packs of natto, kusaya, and surströmming concentrated together.

I don't know what surströmming smells like, but I'm in this state.

Of course, it must be even more painful for you, Darkness Wolf, with your sense of smell hundreds of times better than a human's.

I endured the smell and gripped my sword.

Even so, the battle wasn't easy.

The leg wound from Cowzou-san, the hit from Hell's Flame, and the intense stench from the poison mushrooms.

If any one of these were missing, I would have lost.

"Ah... right, this is it."

I remembered a line from a manga my father let me read and said it.

"I don't even have the strength to pick my nose."

Saying that made me laugh.

The power of manga is amazing.

"Danpon, I'm going to sleep. Wake me up in two hours. I'll cast the next spell."

"Understood. But I don't think you need to cast another spell."

"What do you mean?"

"Hmm, you'll understand in two hours."

Right, in two hours.

I'll take a short nap then.

Ah, I want to go to the bathroom before I sleep... Slimes will eat waste, but there's no toilet paper.

Thinking that, I wrapped myself in my sleeping bag.

Danpon was casting Fairy's Touch everywhere.

Ah, right, it's full of foul odors.

I had gotten used to it during the battle.

I don't care about the smell anymore.

I just want to sleep.

***

When I was woken by Danpon and went to the ground, I saw a group of retreating monsters.

It was as Danpon had said before we went to the ground.

The Darkness Wolf I defeated was the leader of the monsters.

With its leader defeated, the monsters are returning to the dungeon.

It's over safely.

The Self-Defense Force members cheer.

I raised my hand in response.

I waved to the helicopter where the princess was.

She must have understood.

The helicopter descended toward me, landing in the middle of the road again.

The door opened, and the princess came down.

"Taiga, you're amazing! You really... stink!?"

"Eh?"

Instead of praise, I got an insult.

"What is this smell? It's worse than the Epoisse cheese I ate in New Zealand!"

"I used a very smelly poison to defeat the Darkness Wolf. It's not harmful to the body, so it's okay."

"There's no way something that smelly is okay! I'm going to take a bath! There's a hotel in the Oshino Resort chain nearby. The other guests should have evacuated, so use the bath there to clean yourself!"

"I want to go home and sleep properly—"

"There's no way I can let you on the helicopter in that state."

I had gotten used to the smell, but it would be cruel to the princess and the pilot.

We had no choice but to move to the hotel.

We walked there.

One of the Self-Defense Force members ran over to us.

"Explorer, please wait. I want to hear your story—"

"Move aside. Haven't you heard from the Minister of Defense? Don't get involved with us. I need to give him a bath. Do you want to make King Campbell and the United States your enemies?"

The princess said firmly, and the Self-Defense Force member stepped back.

"This is my personal opinion."

He prefaced and saluted.

"Thank you for saving us and the lives of the citizens who were in the path of the monsters. I don't know who you are, but you are a hero of this country."

A hero...

It's embarrassing.

Well, it's time to go.

"Ah, and this smartphone has been ringing non-stop."

The princess handed me the smartphone.

75 missed calls!?

From my mother, father, Milk, and Ayame!?

I called my mother first.

"Taiga, do you know what time it is? No matter how much of a boy you are, you should at least contact us. Where are you now!?"

"Um, Shizuoka?"

"Shizuoka! What were you thinking—"

"Sorry, I'll explain everything tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Today is Mother's Day—"

"Sorry, Mom. I got a call. I'll talk to you tomorrow—"

Then I answered the call from Milk.

"Taiga, Dad woke up. It's thanks to you—"

"Ah, yeah, that's good."

"So where did Taiga go? Did you come back? Dad wants to see you."

"Sorry, I'm going to the bath with the princess. I'll come over when I'm done."

"Princess!? Who? The girl you said you were going to the dungeon with!? Going to the bath together, that's unclean!"

"Unclean, I know. That's why I'm going to the bath. Ah, I'm getting another call."

I thought it was my mother, but it was Ayame.

"Oshino-san, is that magic on TV yours? Your face is completely different, but the Oshino Group's logo is on the helicopter."

"Ah, yeah. It's just a coincidence. I'm at home, not in Shizuoka."

"Really? But the masked person on the phone is on TV."

"Eh? On TV!? Sorry! I'll explain everything next time."

"Wait, Oshino-san! Osh—"

The call ended.

Sorry, Ayame.

There are no TV cameras nearby.

So, it must be a telephoto lens from a distance?

"Princess, I'm on TV. We need to escape quickly."

"Understood. Self-Defense Force member, this person doesn't want to be seen. Please tell the TV stations not to show this person. Of course, no chasing either."

The Self-Defense Force member said, "Understood. I'll pass it on to the higher-ups," and started communicating via radio.

We headed to the bath again.

"Returning to the hotel's bath."

The first chapter will end in the next part.

The princess, who was supposed to be a minor character, is in the most heroine-like position.

After the first chapter, I'll introduce the characters and start the second chapter tomorrow.