Chapter 29

A night illuminated by the moon.

I and Lillisia were exploring a dungeon in the mountains.

However, we didn't encounter any monsters that were supposed to be wandering around, and we kept going deeper underground.

"Monsters haven't appeared this far down. Isn't that a bit careless?"

"Indeed. What could be the reason?"

"Even if there are no monsters to repel intruders, there should be golems for maintenance..."

Despite our doubts, we continued to descend to the next level.

Since it was a passage for collecting materials, there were no traps, and we made more progress than expected.

Then we found a room with a locked door and entered.

It was a vast, empty room.

There were only some stones scattered around.

I went to the corner of the room and put down my backpack.

"It's late. Let's have a meal and rest."

"Yes, let's do that."

Lillisia sat down next to me.

She flapped her white wings and started preparing the meal.

By "meal," I mean tea, bread, and sausages. I wish we had some vegetables.

While eating, I noticed something odd about the color of Lillisia's wings.

"Your wings seem a bit dull, don't they?"

Lillisia extended her wings in front of her, curled them, and wrapped her body.

Her once pure white wings were now slightly gray.

"Ah... You're right... I've been an angel for a long time and have used a lot of holy energy..."

"I'm sorry. Are you tired... Should we have gone back?"

"No, it's fine. I can endure for a day!"

She frowned and pumped herself up.

But her voice lacked energy.

--- We still have to go deeper, and you'll have to do more detecting and exploring than today... This isn't good. If you can't stay an angel halfway, it could be very dangerous.

So I slowly chewed and ate the bread and sausages to build up my strength.

I finished with a drink of water.

Then I leaned in close to Lillisia.

I kissed her cheek as she finished her last bite with a small mouth.

She looked at me with wide, violet eyes, as if the fatigue had vanished.

"Ah!? Master!?"

"I'll replenish your holy energy."

Lillisia blushed and looked up at me with her eyes.

"B-But, Master... This is a dungeon... Inside a dungeon..."

"That's why. I need to make sure Lillisia can use her full power as an angel for the future exploration."

"S-Sure, but... Ahn..."

I silenced her words with a kiss.

As our tongues intertwined, Lillisia let out a hot breath.

"Ah... Master..."

Lillisia showed a shy expression, but her hands moved gracefully to untie the belt of her nun's habit and then my pants.

She spread her wings and descended onto me with an angelic smile, her large chest bouncing in front of me.

After that, we embraced each other tenderly and kissed, becoming one.

But the excitement of making love in a dangerous place made Lillisia more intense than usual.

Her silver hair and white wings fluttered wildly above me.

In the dimly lit dungeon, Lillisia's voice echoed clearly.

Then, not just for a day, but for about a week, I replenished Lillisia's holy energy.

Her wings regained their shining white.

◇ ◇ ◇

At that time, the Chaos Dragon had moved through a passage.

The other side of the passage was also a dungeon.

The Chaos Dragon raised its head and sniffed the air.

It could sense the beings on this floor just by the smell.

--- There are many. There are definitely a lot of creatures to eat.

They don't seem to be very good, but they are worth eating.

It then attacked the nearest group.

Goblin Snipers and Goblin Witches, who were advanced goblins, had their faces eaten off in one strike.

Blood spurted out, soaking the area.

A Great Goblin, standing at least two meters tall, raised a huge axe, but its belly was torn open.

After quickly devouring three of them, it attacked another group of goblins.

It continued hunting until it was full, then lay down in a small room.

Thanks to eating fairly strong monsters, it could feel its stamina recovering.

The Chaos Dragon smiled, curling the corners of its mouth.

--- I'll be more recovered when I wake up.

I'll keep this up.

It curled up in the corner of the room and closed its eyes.

◇ ◇ ◇

The next day.

In the dungeon east of the capital.

With a large amount of supplies and personnel, the exploration was progressing smoothly.

The first 1-20 floors were already well-known to many adventurers, so the progress was quick.

The Knights were also exploring alongside them.

As a result, they had already cleared 18 floors on the first day.

On the second day, the vanguard had reached the 29th floor, which was believed to be close to the bottom.

The floors were made of brick-like tiles, and the passages and rooms were complex.

The monsters that appeared were Sleep Rabbits, which released sleep gas, Bush Trolls with sharp, leaf-like branches, and ugly goblins about the size of a child.

The A-rank adventurer team led by Edgar was advancing through the passage.

Besides Edgar, there were five young boys and girls ranked B to C, using swords and bows to defeat goblins and rabbits.

Children around 10-15 years old were seriously hunting enemies.

"There's a goblin in front of the pitfall."

"Got it!"

Following Edgar's instructions, a young swordsman readied his short sword and ran.

He circled around and slashed the goblin from the side.

Another young warrior used his entire body to swing a long-handled axe with both hands, delivering a powerful blow to compensate for his lack of strength, destroying the Bush Troll.

The rear guard consisted of a young hunter and a young explorer, who shot arrows.

The last line of defense was Edgar and a young healer.

Edgar protected the healer while identifying traps and giving instructions.

The children moved briskly, advancing smoothly.

However, Edgar furrowed his brow.

"Sure enough, the 29th floor is tricky."

"It feels like the goblins' equipment is getting better," the young healer said, grabbing the collar of her white robe and trembling.

The next enemy appeared around the corner of the passage.

One larger Hobgoblin and two regular goblins, with a tall, lanky goblin behind them.

Edgar noticed the goblin with a staff and shouted as he ran from the rear guard.

"Goblin Shaman! Get ready for magic!"

"Roger!"

The young swordsmen and warriors raised the shields they carried on their backs. The rear guard hid behind them and shot arrows.

With two large shields, all the children were completely hidden, providing double-layered defense.

Meanwhile, Edgar ran.

The goblins shot arrows and cast spells.

Edgar kicked the wall and ran along it.

The goblins were surprised.

He then kicked the ceiling and landed behind the goblin party.

At the same time, blood spurted from the Goblin Shaman's neck, and it slowly fell.

Edgar already had a knife in his hand.

The goblins, now surrounded, panicked.

They discarded their bows and attacked Edgar, but he easily cut them down.

The Hobgoblin attacked the children, but they were riddled with arrows by the time it got close.

A young swordsman attacked the Hobgoblin, stopping it and creating an opening.

As it staggered, a young warrior swung his long-handled axe and knocked it down.

Edgar gave instructions in a lazy voice.

"Good job, just like practice. There's probably a safe area in the direction they came from. Let's quickly gather what we can."

"Roger!"

The children moved efficiently.

They extracted the magic cores from the monsters' bodies, stripped their equipment, collected the parts needed for quests, and gathered usable arrows.

After that, they headed down the passage and entered a large room. There were no signs of monsters or traps.

The children sighed in relief.

"We made it, Captain Edgar."

"Let's take a break here. I'll report to the upper levels. If it gets dangerous, use the [Trapezoidal Defense Formation] to escape."

"Roger!"

They immediately contacted the 28th floor, and ten knights descended with supplies.

Edgar led them, disabling traps along the way.

Thus, a base was established on the 29th floor.

For some reason, the hero Marius's party also came with the knights.

"What's up? Are we being relieved?"

Edgar scratched his bangs and said in a lackluster tone.

The children gathered behind Edgar, looking at Marius with stern faces.

Marius spread his hands and smiled brightly.

"I've heard you're one of the best children's parties in the capital. You must get tired more easily than adults, so we'll take over from here."

"These kids are tougher than that. They can probably go a bit further."

"You're a thief from a foreign land, right? I'm the hero of this country. Let me do my part for the country."

"Ah, got it. I'll take you up on that."

Edgar backed down easily.

--- Knowing that Marius was trying to claim the credit for clearing the dungeon's deepest level.

The children looked at Edgar in surprise.

They seemed to want to say they could still fight, but the captain's decision was absolute, so they obediently followed, shoulders slumped.

Marius spoke casually.

"By the way, how strong are the monsters? I assume they're at a level that can be handled by children."

"Goblin Knights, Goblin Shamans, and Hobgoblins. Great Goblins are starting to appear too. Higher-level monsters are likely to appear from here on out."

"Thanks for the warning. I'll be careful—Nephil, I'm counting on you."

Marius smiled, showing his white teeth, and led his party out of the room.

The room's atmosphere relaxed with a sigh.

Edgar scratched his messy black hair.

"This is tougher than protecting our kids."

"Well, he is the hero, so it can't be helped. -- Here, have something to eat and rest."

A knight chuckled and offered a bento.

Edgar, who was keeping watch near the entrance, said:

"Alright, I'll take you up on that—everyone, take a break."

"Roger!"

The children, with carefree smiles, dove into the bento.

They chatted and ate enthusiastically.

The knights also joined in the camaraderie.

An older knight asked:

"I have a son about your age. Why are you doing such dangerous adventures?"

The children answered one after another.

"We're orphans."

"We have nowhere to go, no place to return to."

"The orphanage we were in closed down, and if we went to another, we might have been sold..."

"That's when the captain saved us."

"Edgar's team is our home, our place to return to."

The knight was surprised and looked at Edgar.

"Huh. I thought you were lazy, but you're actually a good person."

"I am lazy. Taking care of kids is a real hassle."

He scratched his head.

One of the children giggled.

"That's what you do when you're embarrassed."

"Shut up."

Seeing Edgar scratch his head again, everyone laughed even more.

Thus, a pleasant time passed.

Until Edgar noticed something was wrong.

Since the daily ranking dropped, I thought one chapter a day would be enough.

But it's in the top 224 overall for the month...

Yeah, got it. I'll update two chapters tomorrow (technically today)...

If you find it interesting, please give it a ★★★★★ rating below!

It will be a great motivation for me (´；ω；`)

Next update, morning or noon.

→ 30. The False Hero Marius