Chapter 269: News from Ivan
In the end, this group of five was not the rumored Newcomer Hunt. Therefore, we couldn’t drag them to the Adventurer’s Guild proclaiming, “We caught them!” If anyone saw us like that, we would instantly lose our rookie vibe.
“That’s how it is.”
“Those guys, huh… They had a bad reputation even in the Guild, so I figured it was true.”
As soon as I contacted Dorothy through my smartphone, that was her response. It seemed that the party named “Cerberus,” consisting of five members, was already notorious for their misdeeds.
“So, I’m thinking of handing them over, but what should we do? If you want, I could just teleport them directly to the Guild’s conference room.”
“That would be convenient, but we wouldn’t have a record of them exiting the Dungeon, which is a bit of a problem…”
“Ah, I see. Then could you send someone to pick them up from here?”
“Understood.”
“I’ll tie their hands and feet and leave them here, so just take care of the rest.”
After relaying the location and leaving it to Dorothy, I ended the call and tucked my smartphone back into my pocket. I pulled out some rope from the Dimensional Box and bound the hands and feet of the five men.
“Is this good enough? Now, about that Summoning Array from earlier…”
“Right. I definitely recognized it, and I checked the array, but that was indeed a Majin Tribe Summoning Circle.”
Upon hearing the term “Majin Tribe,” Phonia furrowed her brow and let out a thoughtful “Hmm.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I sent a group of monsters after them, but we need to take care of this properly.”
“Exactly. If they’re being summoned this frequently, it’s a serious issue.”
Thinking back, I recalled that there had been a Summoning Array drawn on the floor of the room where we were summoned. It seemed like the Majin Tribe was channeling their magic around it.
“We should at least go and destroy the Summoning Array that was drawn on the floor.”
“Shoukanjin, bukkowasu!”
As I nodded in agreement with Rio, Phonia raised both hands, getting pumped up. It seemed there hadn’t been any additional summons from the goddess, but it would likely take some time before another could be activated. It appeared that quite a bit of time had passed since the last summoning to the Majin Tribe’s world.
However, I had tried to grant Subjugation Resistance on a whim, but I wasn’t sure if it had worked. I had merely focused on it, and I couldn’t tell if I had succeeded. Perhaps I should try again with the monsters here.
“Alright, let’s hurry up and get out of here for now.”
It would be troublesome if anyone saw us with the group of five. We still needed to maintain our rookie appearance.
“Okay!”
With Phonia’s cheer, we exited through a new passage and sealed it off to look like the original dead end. It would be a hassle if other adventurers stumbled upon us, but I had already informed Dorothy, so it should be fine.
“Shall we explore the other dead ends as our main focus?”
“Sure!”
With Phonia and Nil, who were both obedient and attentive, we began to navigate through the dead ends of the Dungeon.
“What’s that?”
When we reached yet another dead end, I spotted a rock protruding from the ceiling like a shrine.
“What is it?”
Phonia’s curious gaze was fixed on the shrine, so I lifted her up and used magic to float her closer.
“I wonder what it is.”
Despite being in a cave floor that received no sunlight, lush green plants were growing there. It appeared that dark, soft soil was spread across the top of the shrine, indicating that the plants weren’t growing directly from the rock.
“Grass.”
“Yeah.”
I couldn’t help but nod at Rio’s blunt observation as she floated beside us. I tried to appraise it, but it seemed to be just ordinary weeds. I had thought it might be a rare plant since it was growing in such a remarkable place, but it turned out not to be the case. Perhaps it was simply that this shallow layer had already been thoroughly explored.
“But are items in the Dungeon usually just lying around like this?”
“Earlier, there was also something inside a square enclosure.”
“I thought there would be treasure chests or something.”
“…What’s a treasure chest?”
I assumed that treasure chests were a staple of Dungeons, but it seemed that Rio, who didn’t play games, didn’t understand. But upon reflection, it made sense that a Dungeon wouldn’t need to provide treasure chests. If people knew there was treasure inside, they would naturally venture into the Dungeon.
“I’ll do my best to find treasure too!”
Phonia, who had been listening to our conversation, suddenly got fired up. She followed me, sniffing the air with determination. It was amusing to see Nil doing the same, both of them sniffing around.
“Go for it, Phonia!”
“Good luck! We’re cheering for you, Phonia-chan!”
“Yeah!”
At our encouraging words, she puffed up her cheeks and huffed with excitement. She seemed to be having a great time, circling around the shadows created by the wall’s unevenness and peering into the narrow cracks.
After wandering through the Dungeon for a while, my smartphone, which I had tucked away in my pocket, began to ring. In the quiet Dungeon, the sound was quite conspicuous. This was the first time I had received a call, and I wondered how to handle it. I realized just how wonderful the silent mode was…
It seemed that everyone else had noticed the ringtone as well, as all eyes turned toward me. I shrugged and pulled out my smartphone to answer the call, hearing Ivan’s frantic voice on the other end.