Chapter 408: Strengthening Surveillance
The hot spring facility was already connected through Dimensional Magic, allowing both the residents and staff of the mansion to come and go freely. It was also linked to the base on the distant Eastern Island, and information from there had started to trickle in regularly. According to Mesaria-san’s periodic reports, it seemed certain that those who had come to this continent were indeed aiming for new lands.
“By the way, I almost forgot that I had a request for an investigation from the lord.”
“Don’t forget something that important…”
Iwan’s exasperation was understandable. Given the incident where a child from the orphanage was injured, and now that I knew how dangerous these people were, I had no choice but to report it.
“Well then, I guess I’ll head out quickly now.”
Seeing Phonia’s sad eyes, I decided to wrap up any troublesome matters today so that I could move as planned tomorrow. It was still before dinner, so I should be fine.
The next day arrived, the day for Phonia and me to venture into the Dungeon. Of course, Iwan was coming along as well. The last dungeon we explored together had been of a deadly difficulty, so I hoped this time would be more manageable.
By the way, my report to the lord had gone smoothly. He was surprised to learn that we had a visitor from the Eastern Island, but upon hearing the details, he immediately initiated a report to the kingdom and called for the mobilization of defensive forces. The master of the Adventurer’s Guild had also been alerted to exercise caution regarding adventurers speaking in dialects. Although the request had been completed, information gathering about the Eastern Island was still ongoing.
“…If anything, we should be monitoring the active units right now.”
Realizing this, I had also dispatched Bird TYPE scouts over the Eastern Sea. So far, there were no signs of them heading toward the town, but we needed to be prepared for any potential attacks. The adventurer who had kicked the orphan and was sent flying by me seemed to have returned to a large ship anchored offshore after receiving treatment.
“More importantly, it’s time for the Dungeon.”
As planned, the four of us and one companion arrived at the Dungeon discovered by the Spider TYPE.
“I hope it’s a normal difficulty this time.”
“Ahaha…”
“Dungeon, dungeon!”
“Wafuhun, wafuhun!”
While Iwan appeared to be on high alert, Phonia was cheerfully singing a nonsensical tune. Nil was also joining in, but their rhythms were completely out of sync.
“Could it be that the Dark Elf settlement is over there?”
“Yeah, it’s closer than I thought.”
“Oh, really?”
As Rio pointed out, it was about ten kilometers from the settlement. It was within the cautionary range, and there might be Dark Elves who regularly ventured into the Dungeon.
We stood in a dense forest, where two sizable trees stretched toward the sky, about five meters apart, merging into one trunk partway up. This archway formed the entrance to the Dungeon. On the other side lay the interior of the Dungeon, revealing what looked like the entrance hall of a massive building. Peering from behind the trees, I saw that the forest continued normally, and passing through did not allow entry into the Dungeon.
“So this is what the entrance to a Dungeon looks like.”
“Interesting, isn’t it? …Oh, look!”
As I marveled, Rio opened a Dimensional Rift and peeked through from the other side. I had never looked at the back before, but it appeared to be just a normal view of the other side.
“I wonder what’s going on there?”
“Ahahaha! This is so fun!”
Phonia’s head popped out from the Dimensional Rift, playing around. It looked a bit alarming, like a disembodied head emerging from the rift.
“Well, enough playing around. Let’s head into the Dungeon.”
“Okay!”
The entrance clearly indicated that the Dungeon was a world of its own. Once inside, a hall reminiscent of a stone mansion spread out before us, with a red carpet laid straight ahead.
“Let’s just head straight for now.”
“Right.”
There were paths extending to the left and right, but we decided to proceed straight ahead without overthinking it.
Unlike the Dungeons in the Forest of Enchantment, which were filled with deadly traps, this one was quite ordinary. There were a fair number of Monsters, and Phonia and Nil joyfully led the way, exploring with excitement until the day came to an end.
Unless there was a special occasion, we usually had dinner at home, so we wrapped up our exploration around evening and returned. We had found a treasure chest, which was a decent haul for the day.
Recently, I had been dining with Rizelade, and upon entering the dining hall, I found her quietly seated. Normally, she would rush over to chat, but today she seemed unusually subdued.
“…Is something wrong?”
As I watched her intently, Rizelade slowly turned her face toward me, her movements almost creaking.
“Y-you’re back… You all went to the Dungeon, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“I see…”
When I confirmed her suspicion, she gazed ahead thoughtfully, as if pondering something.
Come to think of it, did I even mention to Rizelade that we were going to the Dungeon? Perhaps she heard it from one of the staff?
At that moment, I didn’t think much of it, and we all gathered around the dinner table.