While Rayos and the others were enjoying their Dungeon exploration.
On the second floor of the Dungeon, which Rayos used as his base of operations, a change occurred among the adventurers who were exploring.
Defeating the monsters in the fortress near the center of the second floor was not worth the effort. It incurred significant costs, such as injuries and the consumption of magic power and items, for each monster defeated. If they could bypass them, they would.
They had decided on their exploration strategy, but there was no cave leading to the third floor on the wall almost directly opposite the entrance. Then, was it to the north or south?
There wasn’t one! There wasn’t one?! Where was the cave?!
They searched for the cave leading to the third floor. If they encountered the fortress monsters, they would flee with all their might. If they ran desperately, the monsters wouldn’t pursue them. Were they really monsters?!
Well then, the location of the cave leading to the third floor. One of the multiple swamps would dry up when a certain time arrived, revealing the cave to the third floor, submerged in muddy water. The adventurers couldn’t find it because they didn’t stay in one place; they always moved to avoid encountering the mixed platoons of fortress monsters.
“Damn it! Where is it (the cave leading to the third floor)?!”
“How should I know~? Well, have a drink and forget about it ♪”
“Boss (tears) I tried my best. And yet, my party members…”
“Ah, I know you’re trying your best. Here, drink ♪? Drink it away.”
At the tavern in the village built in front of the entrance to the first floor.
Today too, they were lamenting, cursing the Dungeon and the monsters. Their money was falling into the shop as they drank to their despair.
Rayos had business there. The Yoko Fox sisters, disguised as youths, were also downing drinks to their despair. However, while others were drinking because they couldn’t find the cave to the third floor, the sisters were drinking with the goal of conquering the fortress towering in the center.
“Grrr, that ox beast…”
The wooden cup creaked under the strain.
“Calm down a little.”
The elder sister told her younger sister, who had transformed into someone of the same age, not to break the wooden cup, as they didn’t want to incur unnecessary expenses.
“When can we kill him?”
The fortress guard was always constant. It never thinned out or became more severe. A platoon was always on patrol, taking turns watching the surroundings. If they encountered them, they would howl, sound the alarm, and use gongs to request reinforcements for the fortress in a few minutes. In a few minutes, their numbers would triple. At this point, they would retreat. Though their insides boiled, they endured and retreated.
Recently, they had been executing diversionary tactics. Specifically, one of them would encounter a platoon alone to draw attention, while the other would transform into a small animal and infiltrate the fortress. They would then confront the man who kidnapped their ruler directly. However, the man was not inside the fortress. Although they had searched various rooms, thinking he might be underground, he was not there, except perhaps in the fortress’s courtyard.
“I haven’t checked all the rooms yet.”
The sister said, leaning back against the wall and gazing at the sky of the first floor. It was a field-type Dungeon. Each floor was a miniature world. The environments of the first and second floors consisted of five forests, two swamps, one grassland, one wasteland, and one artificial structure.
“If he isn’t here. He (the ruler) might have gone down to the lower levels. If that’s the case, when can we really kill him?”
The fighting spirit that the younger sister put into facing a strong enemy was, to her own surprise recently, unstable. Every time she went into battle, it was in vain. So, she returned to the village and tried to calm down with drinks, but lately, she hadn’t felt refreshed. She was acting on her emotions without realizing it. Although her elder sister used transformation extensively to smooth things over so as not to cause a major disturbance, it was clear that if this continued, something bad… irrevocable would happen. However, she did not want to let the man (the ruler, the strong enemy) get away.
“…Shall we rest for today?”
“Y-yes, let’s.”
Following her sister’s concern, they went to the inn and slept early.
***
The former Silveren Countship territory, Northern City.
Although they had been attacked by Bug Type monsters, the defense forces somehow managed to protect the city safely. They strongly appealed to their superiors to request supplies that were lost during the siege. However, the upper echelons delivered a stern message.
“You are the ones who repelled *that* many monsters. We (the upper echelons) would like you to request the replenishment of lost supplies (,,,,). Don’t worry, we’re not saying it’s immediate ♪ You can definitely do it. Well then, good luck.”
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! The captains of the defense force left their rooms, filled with internal rage. Returning to the barracks, they prefaced their subordinates with thanks and announced the order from the upper echelons.
“……?!”
The subordinates were equally indignant. The only difference was that they voiced it. Some subordinates uttered dangerous words like, “Won’t you kill the higher-ups?” but they pretended not to hear, waiting for the subordinates to calm down. Then, with unenthusiastic feelings, they gave the order to go out of the city to replenish supplies on a rotational basis.
“………Haa………yes.”
The subordinates also lacked motivation. However, the lack of supplies, especially food, was a real problem. If someone died over a single potato, it wouldn’t be a good awakening. Whipping their still-fatigued bodies from consecutive battles, the captains lined up their assigned groups. The order of the groups was decided by rock-paper-scissors by the group leaders. The first group departed outside the city, looking resentful and hateful. The other groups were tasked with repairing the outer walls that encased the city and patrolling the residents. There was no communal meal. They urged everyone to manage their own food and announced that those who caused trouble would be punished. For those who had finally been freed from the fear of being killed by Bug Type monsters and had indulged a little too much, the remaining food was a stark reminder, and the words shocked them. A disturbance arose. However, they stood no chance against soldiers who had fought practical battles and repelled *that* army of bugs. It was merely a protest, but that was the most troublesome. The patrol groups wanted to delegate the handling of the situation to the captains, but they were ordered:
“You guys handle it.”
It was tyranny. Using their authority, it was dirty.
Oh dear, as they were making a fuss. The protest group started gathering.
“Please, spare us already!”
