Day 41 – Morning, on the way.
It seems with the increase in speed from leveling up I will be able to easily reach the destination even without flying, which is nice since I don’t enjoy crash landings.
And since unusually there are no carriages under attack, we are moving at a steady pace.
As a result of the meeting, it was decided that both for the sake of experience points and the peace of the town it would be better to proactively enter dungeons. So today we are going for an inspection. Later on, we will gather parties, and depending on the circumstances, go for a raid, but first, we split, and are going to check the nearby dungeons acting in parties.
There are only two of us. We are all on our own, but I won’t do anything strange. Yes, I was categorically warned against that. I won’t do it, okay? Probably?
Yes, I won’t. That’s why I’m walking in front.
Even geeks and idiots agreed that this sight is too tempting. Well, naturally, I crushed the eyes that were looking at her with weird thoughts.
After all, those hips visible from time to time through the gaps in her cloak are… No, it’s nothing. I didn’t look at anything! I was just reminiscing!
Looks like Armored Pres-san is getting along with the girls, and is now often called for their girls-only gatherings. They are taking baths together, probably making a lot of noise there as well, and it also seems to me that she is gradually getting better at speaking.
She also seems to want to cook with me, but it looks like even Armored Pres-san can’t cook at all. Which is not surprising. Some of the girls were from the cooking club, but apparently, their cooking over here isn’t good at all. That being the case, it is entirely possible that just like jobs give positive adjustments to combat abilities, they also could be giving negative adjustments to crafting-type actions. If that’s the case then my classmates, all of whom have combat-type jobs, are doomed… Grilling a fish or cutting a salad seems to be their limit.
If so, it would be incredibly difficult for Armored Pres-san to learn how to cook, since she always had a combat-type job, and basically got to the apex of it. I’d like to teach her cooking, but I don’t understand the mechanics behind negative adjustments…
Even so, she seems to be happy surrounded by the girls, smiling and laughing in delight, so the small details don’t matter. She spent so long in the darkness, all alone. It’s fine if she just has fun without concerning herself with difficult stuff. Even the girls are desperate in their laughter, trying to recover… They are doing their best to smile, since there is no way that now, when things finally calmed down, they won’t think about their families, homes, school, and friends.
But when I tried to ask what exactly tongue-tied Armored Pres-san could be telling the girls, I received 『Girls’ secret』as a reply? Well, they seem to be having fun, so whatever.
Though still awkward in her speech, she is fully enjoying conversations with everyone. If she is happy, then it’s all good… Though I wish she’d spare me some of the details of their bathing scenes. After all, I’m having trouble walking, in a highschool boy sort of way… I mean, apparently, those of a certain B-san… were floating.
「Oh, a village? Or more like, a settlement? A farming commune?」
Farm fields are stretching along the river, and beyond them stands a group of buildings, with some more structures scattered around it. I guess it is safe to assume that this is a village. Well, since they are farming, I guess calling it a farming village would be more accurate?
Looks like there is no fee to enter the village. Well, all they have is a low wooden fence with gaps here and there, no wall or gates or anything, so it’s not like they can stop anyone from entering as they please. Or rather, aren’t they too careless? Don’t they have monsters lurking around?
Should I call out to someone? I wonder if their first line will be 『This is ○○○ Village.』? Hmm, it would be pretty scary if it turns out to be their only line.
「Hello? Hello? Ehm, I heard that there is a nice dungeon available around this area?」
I asked a villager beside the fence. Just a normal villager without any special equipment like that of Villager A-san, or rather, a farmer.
「Aye, good day. I don’t know if it’s nice or available, but there is a dungeon downstream, on the right side. Young man, are you an adventurer?」
It’s not nice it seems. As expected, information from the locals is crucial. There could be issues that would be known only to the people living in the area. Looks like I’d better ask around for more information.
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「Eehm, sort of an adventurer-like kind of something? I guess? Well, we heard about the place at the guild and came from there?」
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「That’s much appreciated. To think the guild will send people our way. With how close that place is to the village it’s very scary.」
Scary, it seems. Could it be that the foundation is weak? Since it’s close to the river there also could be a danger of flooding or erosion? Riverside might sound nice on paper, but in reality, many properties of that sort have some kind of issue, thus going for an extremely low price. Now that I look at it, the ground level seems to be too low compared to the river’s water level. Which means the area is vulnerable to water damage. Thanks to that the area must be rich in nourishment, well suited for farming, but rising waters can be a problem for housing in the area.
「Hmm? For starters, I’ll inspect the dungeon, thank you.」
It doesn’t seem like a good property, but since we are already here let’s take a look. If it’s a jackpot then I can just perform some flood-control works. So first of all, let’s check it out.
「Looks like a cave? Is this really a dungeon?」
It turned out to be shabby. The entrance is narrow and inside it resembles a limestone cavern. This is no good at all. There is nothing to even check out, no rooms, no layout, no point to even waste efforts on remodeling. But The humidity level is also uncomfortably high, probably because the river water is leaking into the cave from somewhere. Not suited for living.
Aah, I don’t care anymore. The moment I saw the entrance I lost all interest. That’s not how it was supposed to be. It’s far worse than my forest cave. I wouldn’t compare it to 1F of the great dungeon, but this just won’t do.
Even if I expand the entrance, if the interior is too narrow then it’s all for nothing. The shape also lacks appeal. Even the floor seems like it can hardly be leveled.
「This dungeon is useless, right? No problem with destroying it? We can come for treasure boxes at a later date?」
It seems Armored Pres-san doesn’t quite get it but she is nodding anyway, so I guess it is fine to destroy this place. Since ex-Dungeon Emperor-san is saying that it’s fine, then even the current dungeon master of this place won’t be able to complain.
Since it’s useless then there is no point in exploring it. Let’s go with the siege of Takamatsu route. The humidity is too high anyway, so it should be fine.
[1]
A carefree barbeque by a riverside. BBQ with a beautiful girl by my side. Although she is wearing full-plate armor, it can be said that one of my highschool boy dreams came true.
When I handed her skewers with grilled meat she began happily eating them. Since she had to take off her helmet for that, she looks like a proper beautiful girl. Though it’s still a mystery for how many eons she is 17 years old, but a beautiful girl. Yes, since she is cute there is no problem at all!
Now, it’s been 2 hours since the dungeon went underwater. I wonder how much time it takes for monsters to drown? The great dungeon had frogs and sharks. I think even a lizard would probably be okay? And now that I think of it, I’m not sure if I ever heard of skeletons dying from drowning?
And as I continue munching on a barbecue with those thoughts, the presence coming from the dungeon disappeared. Did it die?
Well, that can wait until we finish eating. The next is grilled fish on skewers.
Armored Pres-san, who was giving me a flat gaze since I began flooding the dungeon, was now engrossed with eating grilled meat, so the dungeon can be left for later. And it’s damp there…
And looks like the dungeon master was neither a fish nor an amphibian. But if by some chance they are a reptilian, would they come back once the water is drained? Along with the dungeon?
[TL Notes:
[1] Siege of Takamatsu (1582), during the siege, Toyotomi Hideyoshi resorted to flooding the castle by diverting a nearby river.
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