CH 55

Chapter 55

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : In The Beginner's Dungeon, Part 3 — Alfiris' Nemesis

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

「Eh— everyone. Today is a beautiful day for…」

「I don’t give a shit, just get started!」

「「「That’s right, that’s right!」」」

「Ssssshhhh…」

「Master, be careful!」

The organizers didn’t even let him give his customary greeting. Poor thing. Still, he did not falter.

「Eh, eh— I’ll get back on track… then! I am Romeo, the person who came up with the idea for this project.」

「Puh! Romeo with that face?」

「Miranda, that’s not very nice.」

Certainly a little or a lot of the short pillar has not been raised…… They would describe him as a man who never goes up at all. Well, he is such a man, but from the costumes he wears, there is no doubt that he is quite rich. Apparently, Alfiris was convinced that the guildmaster was right.

The organizer, a man wearing jagged metal, makes an impassioned speech, gesturing grandly as if to show off.

「This time, we have discovered an ancient document that apparently has hidden secrets in this dungeon! We have had many people try to find the secret method in the previous and the previous two times, but we were not able to find it… Since this is my last attempt, I’d appreciate it! We will give a special bonus of 500,000 pendo to anyone who finds it. How about that, everyone!?」

At that moment, the color of everyone’s eyes changed. 500,000 pents is enough to build a huge mansion in the most prestigious residential area of Mysia. It could be used as a starting point for starting some kind of business, or it could be used to live a life time of fun and entertainment while enjoying a certain amount of opulence. All of them must have come here with the intention of earning pocket money, but they were suddenly motivated after hearing this.

「Now let me explain the search… Ah, huh?」

「「「「Uooohhhh!!!!!」」」」

And almost everyone plunged into the labyrinth without waiting for the signal to begin. And why not?

「Get out of my way, you mooks!!!」

Miranda rushes forward as if she were a housewife flocking to a grocery store at a great discount. Caught in the momentum, Fenna followed suit. Alfiris didn’t even have time to advise her that it was a bad idea since she was dressed as a Sister of the Arnelian Order this time.

But on the other hand, the calm side remained and listened to the explanation that the organizers tried to give. Of course Alfiris, Lisa and Nia listen to it too.

According to Romeo, the search area this time seems to be mainly on the third basement floor. This dungeon, or rather, the ruins—— is said to have three basement levels in total, but when Romeo, the organizer of this project, showed them the ancient documents he had obtained, it seems that there are up to four basement levels. He just did not know where the entrance area was and wanted them to find it.

The rest of them listened to the explanation and took on the dungeon. Just as Alfiris was about to advance toward the dungeon, too, she was tugged by Nia by the sleeve.

「What’s wrong, Nia?」

「Ahh, actually, it’s been bugging me since a while ago…」

Nia drops her voice so that only Alfiris and Lisa can hear her.

「This may be irrelevant now, but I’m wondering if there were beastmen living in the area.」

「Why? In the old days, the beastmen had more territory, and I don’t think that’s surprising.」

「That’s for sure. There’s a lot of nasty little cave-ins on the way here… and, it would be more correct to say that a natural fortress was built around this place. It seems that depressions and vertical holes were made everywhere to make it easier for soldiers to lie down. This is the way the beastmen used to do it. It’s as if they were protecting something…」

「I think Nia is right. More to the point, wasn’t this a little village a long time ago? Lisa’s eyes are sensitive to the undulations of the land, but the ground is much easier to walk on than a mere forest.」

「Now that you mention it…」

They both have a point. Looking at the trees, the closer they are to the ruins, the shorter they are, and the younger they are, the thinner in girth. They must have grown relatively recently. In comparison, on the way here, there were many large trees that were probably several hundred years old.

「Then humans would have lived there.」

「Why is that?」

「No, I’m not proud of it, but beastmen rarely do such a painstaking thing as land preparation. Except in urban centers. The capital of Gruzald was also a city in the first place, because the natural terrain was somewhat modified to make it a city. Well, the awareness of having a framework such as a nation has only recently been created in the first place. It is hard to believe that humans and beastmen coexisted in the past, but…」

「Hmmm…」

「If that’s the case, the elves may have lived there too.」

Before long, Fenna pulled up. Miranda also came out of the ruins.

「Huh, I thought the two of you ran into the dungeon?」

「It’s impossible, the first basement is open, but from the second basement, it’s a maze. I turned back when I realized that the efficiency would be better with Lisa. Plus, I noticed something interesting downstairs.」

「I found it strange and would like to discuss it with you, and.」

「Eh, what did you notice?」

「That was…」

Fenna was about to say something when Lisa reacted with a jerk. Alfiris also notices the reaction.

「Was it an enemy, Lisa?」

「No, it seems that… there are two human beings. It approaches here from the east. I thought we might be able to see it soon.」

「Most likely a latecomer.」

As Miranda said, they are indeed seeing those two people. One is a mercenary-looking guy. He is not very bright or sloppy. His clothes are somehow torn here and there, and his hair and beard are still growing. Her hair is standard brown. He is about a little taller than Alfiris. Because of his lean appearance, they could not tell how old he was. All they could say was that he was probably young.

The other is shorter and still has the appearance of a boy. He has large glasses and a scholarly appearance. He is not a good candidate for a battle. He had the kind of muscle tone that if he and Lisa were to skirmish, Lisa might win.

But as soon as the mercenary-looking man noticed Alfiris, he ran up to her.

「Ohh, Could it be Alfie!?」

「…Geh, you are!」

Alfiris looks heartily disgusted, as if she has seen someone she doesn’t want to see. Miranda was surprised, too, but that was in response to Alfiris calling someone else「you」or something similar. She usually somewhat used to a polite Alfiris than this one.

「Hahaha. I knew we were connected by a thread of fate, meeting in a place like this!」

「…Who are you?」

Alfiris makes a full display of disgust with her jittery eyes. The response is that she doesn’t want to be involved at all, let alone if possible. But the man doesn’t mind at all.

「Hey, hey, hey, did you forgot about me! We had such a hot night together!」

「Eh— Is this the kind of thing Alfie enjoys doing?」

「…Not very good taste, Lisa thinks.」

「Doesn’t sound very strong…」

「Or rather, Alfie has a lot of experience with men.」

They can see by her expressions on her faces that Alfiris’ frustration is quickly building up as they say whatever they want to say.

「Hey, you’re misleading me if you don’t pronounce the important parts correctly!? First of all, it was a hot night! And you were caught in a trap set by a hunter in the mountains on your own, and you got entangled, or rather entangled in a net!」

「Then you tried to save me and got yourself caught in the net. Look, the word tangled is right, right? So we’re tangled up on a hot night.」

「There’s no way to say it like that—!!」

Alfiris exclaimed with great intensity. It is rare to see Alfiris raise her voice this much. Even Miranda, who has been with her the longest of all these people, had never seen Alfiris like this before, and she rolled her eyes.