On the second day of our dungeon raid, we started early, but strangely, no one approached us with an invitation—
Nina directed her question to Clarice, who had arrived at the Adventurer Guild.
“No one’s coming today,” Nina commented.
“I think it’s because of this,” Clarice replied, showing a pink ribbon attached to her cleric’s robe.
Nina tilted her head.
“Among the thirteen religions, if one is in a party with a saint of a particular faith, they consider it a trial period or an attempt at persuasion, and they won’t interfere for a week.”
“I see. Good. Then you could have helped me sooner.”
“Well, I am also being targeted myself, so I had to be discreet.”
“Ah, you mentioned that. But haven’t they figured you out already?”
Was it risky to join forces beforehand? What would they do now?
“Those who wish to harm me will surely be prepared. I’ll be fine as long as I’m not careless.”
“Are we also at risk?”
“I apologize, but it seems so. That’s why I suggested we get married quickly.”
“Putting that aside, that was amazing earlier, wasn’t it? My level and the saint’s level.”
“Yes! I had already reached level twenty-four!”
Indeed, in just half a day in the dungeon, both of them had gained three or four levels. The guild receptionist was also surprised. What could have been the reason? Was it that mysterious confrontation? It was likely because my level and Nina’s hadn’t increased as much due to the experience being split among four party members.
“Oh, a room has appeared again today. It’s a door. Derus, do you sense anything from inside?”
“Ah, there are two monsters. One is in the front, and the other is in the back.”
“Alright, everyone be careful.”
“I’ll open it… Here goes!”
“…Hmm. It’s strangely quiet in here.”
The room appeared to be a mine shaft. There was a minecart in the front, and beyond it, on a track, was a cliff edge. Across a chasm, three treasure chests were lined up.
“Huh? There are no enemies?” Karna, who had her shield raised, lowered her guard.
To reach the treasure chests beyond the cliff, they would have to ride the minecart. However, the lever to operate it was detached, and the minecart could only carry one person.
“If I ride it, I’ll probably fall,” Nina said.
“Me too. If the track breaks in the middle, we won’t survive.”
“That would make it either me or Lord Derus.”
“Um, everyone, this is difficult to say, but this minecart… it’s a monster.”
Shocked, the three immediately took up combat stances.
“It’s okay. It won’t attack unless provoked. And if no one rides it, it will stay like this.”
“Derus, is this a subspecies of mimic?”
“Yes. And by the way, the left treasure chest among the ones in the back is also a mimic.”
“Boyfriend, you know so much.”
“It’s a Hero’s skill at level 50. It gets better by 10 levels, and I can even tell the enemy’s name.”
Clarice cautiously peered at the minecart, stopping herself from poking it with her staff.
“What’s the name of this enemy?”
“It’s called a ‘Gimmick Train.’ The one in the back is a regular mimic.”
“Can you see their details as well?”
“Yes. When I reached level 70, a bit of commentary started appearing.”
“It’s true, even the same magic increases in power as your level goes up.”
Seeing that the room was spacious enough, Nina drew her Berserk Sword. Karna shielded me and Clarice.
“Alright, let’s do this! Hah!!”
With all her might, Nina slashed the minecart. The Berserk Sword pierced the monster cleanly, and as it dented, spikes emerged! It would have been a disaster if we had ridden it after those spikes came out. The monster thrashed about, stopped moving, and then broke apart. What remained was a large magic stone, a clear testament that it had indeed been a monster.
“Fuu, it’s easier when the target doesn’t move.”
“What about that one? Should I do it?”
“Huh? Karna, can you attack?”
Nina asked, and Karna grinned.
“Even though I’m a tank, I’m still a warrior. I sometimes throw hand axes from behind my shield, and this time, I’ll use this.”
She pulled out a black, round object from her item bag.
“Is that a bomb?!”
“That’s right. I believe the one on the left was a mimic. Step back for a moment.”
She swung it back with all her might and threw it with a powerful overhead motion. It landed at the base of the treasure chest and exploded with a boom! The mimic sprang up and began to pace around the cliff on the other side.
“Hmm, it was indeed a mimic. Clarice, can your magic reach it?”
“Yes, sister! Ice Spear!”
She unleashed multiple ice blades, and after about four hit their mark, the mimic collapsed, leaving behind a magic stone, falling apart just like the other one.
“That’s all the monsters here. I’ll go retrieve them.”
“Are you sure, Derus? There might be traps.”
“I’ll avoid them if there are. Rapid Pace!”
Normally, he cast spells without incantation, but this time he intentionally vocalized the spell on himself for clarity. He then ran along the minecart track on foot. Yes, it seemed there were no monsters up to the track. He retrieved the mimic’s magic stone from the opposite cliff and the remaining two treasure chests. One of them was partially burnt. He placed them in his item box and returned. Fortunately, there were no trap arrows or sections of the track that had fallen, which they had been wary of. He placed the two treasure chests in front of everyone.
“Now, let’s see what’s inside. Please step back, as traps might spring out.”
As she spoke, she opened the first treasure chest. It contained about fifty silver coins. The other, the burnt treasure chest, held a large piece of clothing—a cleric’s robe.
“Ah, this restores magic power when worn. Although it’s weaker than the one I’m wearing.”
“So, Clarice, do you know how much this could sell for?”
“It would be about ten silver coins, enough for a light meal.”
As she spoke, Clarice took out a piece of paper from her item bag, wrote something on it, and placed it into the now empty treasure chest before closing it.
“Dial Lock!”
She cast a spell, and the treasure chest was enveloped in a golden light. Numbers appeared, reading 0000.
“…There. All done.”
Nina immediately tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Clarice, what is this magic?”
“It’s a level 20 Sage spell. Only a Sage can open it. Plus, it has a dial lock, so those who don’t know the number can’t open it. I’ve set it to 0000 now, so any Sage level 20 or above can open it normally. I’ve left a warning note.”
She probably wrote something like, “Beware, a monster disguised as a minecart!”
“How kind of you.”
“Let’s move on. It looks like there’s a hidden door over there to the side.”
“How do you know?”
“I heard a sound when the mimic was defeated.”
“So, it was a door that appeared after all the monsters were defeated.”
…And so, we continued to hunt, sometimes bewildered by the trap-filled rooms. Around lunchtime, in a room so perverse that it might have caused some male readers to become overly excited with a swarm of young succubi trying to tempt them, Nina quickly defeated them all. Afterwards, we took out our lunch from the item box and ate together.
“Still, Nina, it’s a good thing this was the room of Little Succubi. If it had been Little Incubi, it would have been dangerous.”
“What are you talking about, Karna? I have Derus now. I won’t be swayed by such monsters. You were fine too, weren’t you, Derus?”
“Yes, they are monsters, and while I felt a bit guilty for tormenting small children, I just decided to go for it.”
“But I hear that on the Shamanias Continent, there are Giant Succubi, very large ones.”
“J-just how large? I suspect those are the ones that would try to kill you physically!”
Setting aside Nina’s taste for younger boys, Clarice might be suspecting me of having a preference for large women. No, I was simply “devoured” by Nina, a woman; I don’t have a fetish for big women…
“Ah, that’s right. Lord Derus, you were a Hero, weren’t you?”
“Uh, well, yes.”
“Could you hold your hand over this?”
It was the pale purple crystal that Nina had made glow when they first met.
“Ah, I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Come on, quickly, quickly.”
“Alright, just a little bit then.”
Hesitantly, I placed my hand over it, and as I had feared, it emitted a dazzling light! It was about three times brighter than when Nina had done it. My eyes stung.
“W-what is this…?”
“…I found him! Lord Derus, you are the destined person of my fate! Please, will you marry me!!”
The target had shifted to me—!!!
