Chapter 51

The inside of the cave was a mysterious place.

Occasionally, large tree roots would be exposed, and when I thought they were part of the wall, Mr. Narcissus explained that they were tree roots, which surprised me.

I had never seen such large tree roots before.

Moreover, in the cave, there were places where the ceiling was open, and light shone through.

Plants grew there, making it a good resting spot.

"Hey, something's coming from behind. It looks like a centipede."

In this dungeon of Alzelle, as expected, there were monsters.

When I turned around and aimed my rifle, Zirk also got ready.

Julius and Chris drew their swords and got ready,

I put my smartphone-like device back in my pocket.

Looking through the scope of the rifle, I could see the enemy clearly even in the dark.

When I pulled the trigger, the sound of gunfire echoed in the cave, and I shot the monster.

The monster disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

As more kept appearing, I aimed and pulled the trigger again.

Then, Zirk must have spotted them too, and quickly fired, taking down three in an instant.

"Good job."

"Thank you. I'm good at shooting, you see."

After the battle with the rifles ended, I took out my device and scanned the surroundings.

"It's safe. Let's move on."

Julius sheathed his sword and said,

"Leave one behind. You guys have been handling everything yourselves, haven't you? Considering the number of bullets, you should share more with us."

Chris also looked dissatisfied.

"I haven't fought since we entered."

I, carrying the rifle, was exasperated by the two of them.

"Just save your strength. When I need you, I'll work you until you cry. Come on, let's go."

As we resumed moving, Mr. Narcissus looked as if he had given up.

"This place should be tackled with more people. Are all the adventurers from Holfort so aggressive?"

Aggressive or rather... fundamentally, their perception of adventurers is different.

"In Alzelle, adventurers are mainly divided into two types: those who investigate like scholars and those who simply mine."

"Yes, that's true. While guards do fight monsters, there are few adventurers as combative as this. Most aim for the magic stones excavated from the dungeon, but there are also many who have a scholarly disposition."

I laughed.

"Adventurers in the kingdom are more like plunderers. Taking is more fundamental than investigating."

Hearing this, Mr. Narcissus looked a bit dissatisfied.

Those who enjoy investigating and entering dungeons would probably dislike our type.

Julius warned me.

"Balthfort, stop making statements that cause misunderstandings. Mr. Narcissus, we try not to destroy relics."

I laughed and asked Julius.

"Julius, what would you do if you found a door with a hidden treasure? But the door can't be opened. What would you do?"

"Of course, I would investigate first."

Mr. Narcissus looked at Julius with hopeful eyes.

"That's right. If there's such a door, the first step is to investigate—"

"Destroy it!"

Mr. Narcissus was disappointed.

I laughed.

"This is what kingdom adventurers are like, Mr. Narcissus. These guys are brainless, so if you leave them alone, they'll try to destroy things. Please be careful."

Chris looked at me suspiciously.

"Are you saying you're the smart one? Let me tell you, smart ones don't enter dungeons alone. I heard you almost died when you entered a dungeon alone before coming to the academy."

Hearing about me, Mr. Narcissus showed interest.

"I'd love to hear about it. You entered an ancient ruin? What was it like?"

He took out a notebook, and we talked while moving.

"It was an ancient ruin. There was an airship."

Julius joined the conversation.

"The dungeon where you found your partner. It was a good ship, but it sank in the battle with the principality."

Mr. Narcissus exclaimed.

"Wait, it sank! And you used such an important lost item in a war!?"

I laughed and deflected.

"Oh, we need to climb this cliff."

I took out tools from my bag, and Mr. Narcissus grabbed my arm.

"That's not something to be taken lightly! Leon, why do you use ancient treasures for war! Treat them with more care!"

If Luxion were here, he might say, "That's right. You should treat them with more care."

I prepared the rope, and Chris put down his bag. Equipping the tools, he started climbing the cliff.

"I'll go first."

We watched Chris ascend happily.

"Thanks."

Chris prepared the footholds and other things for us.

We could follow slowly.

Seeing this, Mr. Narcissus was exasperated.

"You guys are tough. I would use magic, though."

Zirk held his rifle and kept watch.

"This is a basic skill. Also, save your magic."

Inside the cave.

At the top of the cliff, light could be seen.

There must be a hole in the ceiling.

I looked at my device and muttered.

"Almost there."

◇

Marielle's mansion.

Lelia visited and was talking to Carla, who was holding an old dog.

"It's not here!?"

Carla, holding Noel, looked at Lelia with a slightly suspicious gaze.

"I was walking this one in the garden for some fresh air."

Feeling anxious, Lelia asked Carla, who looked annoyed.

"Where did it go!?"

"It said it was going to the dungeon. A cave, I think?"

Why didn't it come to the academy and went to the dungeon instead?

Lelia didn't stop questioning.

"There are many cave-type dungeons. Which one? What's its name?"

Carla narrowed her eyes.

"What do you plan to do with that information?"

Lelia was internally anxious.

(No good. She's on guard, and I can't get the information. I want to tell her we're on the same side, but she's not a reincarnated person.)

I tried using words that a reincarnated person would understand, but Carla only tilted her head.

"...I, I understand. If it comes back, tell it I visited."

She decided to leave for the day.

(Bad. This is bad. There might be other reincarnated people besides us—)

◇

The Republic's library.

Marielle was frantically researching.

"Damn! Another unreadable text... Greg, please."

Greg, who was forced to accompany her, looked like a delinquent but was originally a rich kid.

He was also taught the Republic language.

"Marielle, I'm not good at this. Let's see... the Sacred Tree... No, it's full of technical terms I don't understand."

All the books in the Republic's library were written in the Republic language.

Thus, it took twice as long to research.

"This is important!"

Why was she researching?

She was writing down the game knowledge she remembered.

To gain more achievements, she thought she had to find them herself.

Desperate to avoid being killed by Leon, Marielle was reading through the books with intense focus.

It wasn't like she was doing it to show off her language skills.

She was studying to survive.

Greg was worried.

"You've been in the library for so long. You should take a break."

"No, I can't. While I'm doing this, others are in the dungeon—"

Greg probably thought he was worried about everyone who went to the dungeon.

"Right... I can't fall behind Marielle. I'll work hard too!"

But his true feelings were different.

(If my brother comes back from the dungeon and thinks I did nothing, I'm in trouble. My life will be over! I need to find something useful.)

Marielle was working hard.

◇

The Respinus Cave.

As we moved forward, we gradually approached our destination.

Chris swung his sword, and the monsters were cut down one by one.

Julius, protecting Mr. Narcissus, called out to me.

"Hey, are we on the right track?"

I put my device back in my pocket.

I stabbed the bayonet part of the rifle into the ground, pulled out a sword-like object from my waist, and pressed a switch.

Pressing the switch increased its sharpness.

"We're on the right track. It's this way."

Facing the monsters that kept appearing, we were pushing forward.

After cutting down the monsters that attacked, Zirk was changing the magazine of his rifle.

"There's no end to them. Should we fall back?"

"No, we're almost there."

The monsters seemed to be guarding something.

Mr. Narcissus noticed.

"This phenomenon... I read about it in a book. Could it be that—"

Chris fell back, breathing heavily.

Most of the monsters were gone, and Chris's abnormality was evident.

"Good work."

Chris, wiping his sweat, replied to me.

"I'm really tired. But it was fulfilling. Training is important, but so is actual combat."

...He seemed to have enjoyed it.

Mr. Narcissus called out to us.

"Everyone, be careful! If it's like in the book, more troublesome monsters will appear!"

Chris got ready again, but I patted his shoulder and told him to fall back.

"Not yet. Let's take a break after clearing the remaining enemies. ...The troublesome ones are ahead."

Hearing this, Mr. Narcissus was wary.

"Leon, do you know something?"

I took out Marielle's notebook from my bag.

It contained information on how to obtain the sapling of the Sacred Tree.

Her knowledge is useful too.

"It's a secret."

Saying this, I attacked the remaining monsters.

◇

The path ahead led to a dead end.

However, in the large room where light entered from the ceiling, a sapling emitting a divine light existed.

However... in front of it was a large monster.

Its body was bear-like, but its face was terrifying.

An elephant's trunk.

The monster, with two horns, stood on its hind legs and faced us, growling.

Mr. Narcissus was flustered.

"Why is it here? This is a Chimera Beast. A troublesome monster with multiple features. Everyone, fall back—"

Mr. Narcissus's words were cut off by the sound of Zirk's rifle.

He quickly aimed and shot the monster's eyes.

The Chimera Beast, with its eyes shot out, writhed in pain.

Zirk smiled.

"Everyone, I'll provide cover."

Chris, holding his sword, looked excited.

"It feels good. I wanted to fight such a creature!"

He eagerly attacked.

Julius, who was late, drew his sword and said,

"Chris! Don't hog all the glory!"

Perhaps he wanted to show off to Marielle, and the three of them fought the strong enemy with enthusiasm.

I shook my head.

"Really, they're all idiots. Mr. Narcissus, please fall back. You guys! Leave some for me!"

I put down my rifle and switched to a shotgun, circling around to the Chimera Beast's back and pulling the trigger.

The Chimera Beast, hit in the back, turned to face us but was then shot in the legs.

Surrounded by us, the Chimera Beast let out a roar.

The eye that was shot out regenerated, and it lowered its body to charge at Julius.

"Your Highness!"

Zirk quickly fired, but the Chimera Beast ignored it and aimed for Julius.

However,

"I chose me! —Well done!"

Julius, holding his shield, prepared a magic barrier and blocked the Chimera Beast's charge.

The Chimera Beast, stopped in its charge, hit its head against the magic barrier and staggered.

Chris's strike aimed at its neck hit.

"Take thisssssss!"

Chris's slash was visible with a magical glow.

The light from the crescent-shaped slash dissipated, and black blood spurted from the Chimera Beast.

Zirk, holding a grenade, and I, firing the shotgun, moved back.

"You guys, move back too!"

Julius approached Chris, raised his shield, and a magic barrier appeared.

The grenade was thrown at the Chimera Beast, and it exploded, turning into black smoke and disappearing.

As the smoke cleared, Mr. Narcissus looked at us.

I brushed off the dust on my clothes.

"You guys are so flashy in battle."

When I complained, Chris countered.

"Balthfort, why don't you use a sword? You could have circled around and attacked from behind. Then, we wouldn't have needed the grenade."

"I prefer to fight from a safe distance."

Julius, with his shoulders slumped, said,

"Damn! I just ended up holding the shield."

Zirk, who performed well, comforted Julius, but it sounded a bit sarcastic.

"There will be another chance, Your Highness."

"You did well, but I didn't. Balthfort, next time. You must include me in the next opportunity."

We won't be entering the dungeon that many times.

Mr. Narcissus muttered.

"...Kingdom adventurers are scary."