“A Dungeon?”
I thought I’d misheard, but it seems Aria-san is serious about heading to a Dungeon. And what’s more, she intends to take me with her.
“I’m still recovering from my illness, you know?”
“You’re better than before, aren’t you?”
Well, it’s true that I’m feeling considerably better compared to when I had all those attributes. I hadn’t noticed it myself, but according to Aria-san, I’ve been eating more too.
Oh dear… What will I do if I get fat?
The color in my skin seems to have improved quite a bit too, and while it’s a modest trade-off for a single Level 5 attribute, I suppose I should be glad.
“What’s the reason for going to a Dungeon?”
Then, I asked the most important question. I had a vague idea, but Aria-san casually voiced such an outrageous thing.
“We’re going to receive the Dungeon’s Divine Protection.”
“…Are you serious?”
I couldn’t believe it, but to think she’s planning for just the two of us to conquer a Dungeon…
“It’s not just two of us. Nero is here too.”
“Oh, is that so?”
As if responding to Aria-san’s words, a growl echoed from her shadow.
Still, that doesn’t change how reckless it is. I’ve challenged Dungeons since I was young, but there were limits to what I could do alone, and I’ve only ever managed to clear them partway.
Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. I’ll humor you until you’re satisfied.
When I went to say goodbye to Serejyura-san, who had taken care of me last, she waved me off with a look of annoyance.
“I’m too old to be thinking about reducing my attributes now, but if it doesn’t work out, don’t push yourselves. Just tuck your tails and come running back… you reckless disciple.”
“…Yes. I’ll do just that.”
They’re all really too kind.
And so, I ended up leaving the forest with Aria-san and Kitty-chan.
We headed through the forest towards a town in the Seyles Barony. It wasn’t just me; Aria-san was also hiding her face with a hood because, apparently, there might be people who knew us.
In that case, wouldn’t it be better not to stop by the town? I thought, but Aria-san told me she planned to arrange for a carriage, considering my health.
“You still look pale. It’ll be a problem for me if you don’t get your strength back by the time we reach the Dungeon.”
“In the first place, which Dungeon are you planning to go to?”
The Dungeon on the remote island in the Fuderu Dukedom where I obtained my Gift (Divine Protection) is nearby, but you can only encounter a spirit once in any given Dungeon.
In this country, there’s also a large-scale Dungeon in the Duke Laxton Territory, but not only is it quite a long journey, it’s a high-difficulty Dungeon where lesser dragon-kin appear, one that has never been conquered. I hear even the royal family has given up on clearing it.
In Dungeons of intermediate level or lower, you can clear them, but there are no spirits. I wonder if there’s a Dungeon where a new spirit has been born?
As I asked this while having a proper meal for the first time in a while at a cheap food stall in town, Aria-san, also eating a vegetable stew, told me.
“The one we’re heading to is the large-scale Dungeon managed by the Count Lester Family.”
“…Are you serious?”
I inadvertently muttered the same words again, and this time, when I placed my hand on Aria-san’s forehead, the black cat perched on her shoulder swatted my hand with its tail. …So even illusions have a sense of touch.
The reason I used to delve into that Dungeon was because it was the least difficult among the state-owned large-scale Dungeons.
That’s precisely why the former Crown Prince’s party conquered that Dungeon. Only a few years have passed since then, so there’s a chance there are fewer Monsters and the difficulty has decreased.
But—
“I think there are still many people there who would recognize my face, though?”
Having based myself there since I was young, my face is known both openly and in the underworld.
If I were to be found, never mind me, but I think Aria-san, who is known as a famous adventurer, would have her reputation tarnished.
“That’s why it’ll be a problem for me if you don’t get your strength back a bit more. Here, this.”
“…”
Aria-san said, handing me a pungent-smelling medicine in a copper flask. Despite having just had a proper meal, I grimaced and swallowed the medicine.
“…There are also rumors that the spirit of that Dungeon isn’t very friendly towards people, you know.”
Or rather, perhaps I should say it doesn’t quite understand humans. That’s why wishes get misinterpreted, and Amor and Nasanitar ended up with powers like that.
“This will be your third attempt at clearing it, right? Negotiate well. You just need to focus on healing your body. You can use my wish too.”
“What shall I do, I wonder…”
Having been made to drink bitter medicine, I used slightly mischievous words, and Aria-san glared at me with just her eyes.
“I’ll get seriously angry.”
“I wouldn’t be able to bear it if you increased my bitter medicine.”
Aria-san’s eccentric actions are probably the result of her thinking things through logically in her own way before taking action, but because Aria-san is a woman of few words, those around her end up getting swept along.
The journey to the Royal Capital proceeded as I pondered such things.
We could arrive much faster by taking dangerous roads, but choosing a route safe for a carriage seems to take over three weeks. On proper highways, there are no bandits, so it’s boring.
It would be nice if I could read a book, but my assets are frozen. As expected, a dead person can’t withdraw money deposited at the Adventurers Guild.
I think there might be something left if I could return to my hidden base, but in that case, being forbidden from using Soul Thorn is tough.
My Shadow Storage had several large gold coins stored along with clothes, but everything inside had vanished.
Is it because I died once…? I thought it was just expanding space, but it might be something closer to spatial transfer.
It’s a frightening thought, but I can only think it’s better than it exploding inside my stomach.
And so, I’m currently penniless. My clothes and travel are all up to Aria-san, and though I’ve borrowed about ten gold coins, I can’t afford to waste them. That’s why the only thing I can do to kill time is write in a blank book like this, as a diary.
Bypassing the Royal Capital, we headed south and arrived at the town with the Dungeon, feeling no particular emotion.
Management is still by the Count Lester Family, but according to Aria-san, Mother, who lost her entire family, was sent back to her parents’ home, and a distant branch family member became the new Count Lester.
It doesn’t really matter to me, but I suppose I can’t read forbidden books anymore. Still, I remember most of them, so eventually, I’ll turn them into books and spread them around.
“We’re going to the Adventurers Guild.”
“…Alright.”
It’s a pain to question everything, but what does she intend to do?
When we entered, perhaps because it was obvious we were a pair of young women even with our cloaks on, many eyes from the adventurers inside the Guild turned towards us.
“How may I help you?”
Aria-san deliberately went to a counter manned by an older man and removed her hood there. The man blinked.
“Oh my, it’s been a while. Do you remember me?”
“Of course. Do you remember me?”
“We don’t get many young people here. Are you planning to delve into the Dungeon after a long time?”
Apparently, this man was an acquaintance of Aria-san, and he had a kind expression, as if a relative he hadn’t seen in a while had come to visit.
“Yeah. We’re going to be in the Dungeon for a long time, so I want to register the one behind me as an adventurer.”
“For a long time, you say… Understood about registering that person as an adventurer. There’s a rank test, but…”
“That’s to be done at the Royal Capital’s Guild. For now…”
At that point, Aria-san glanced at me, so I created ice on the spot and placed it on the counter. The receptionist man looked surprised.
“Ice… Are you a Magician?”
However… seeing my ability to produce ice without an incantation, the man seemed to recall something and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“…Is this your first time here?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then, could you please remove your hood and show me your face?”
I don’t remember, but… perhaps he’s met “me” before.
Showing my face is fine, but what should I do? Reversing our earlier exchange, I sent a glance towards Aria-san, and when she nodded, I resigned myself and removed my hood.
In the worst-case scenario… perhaps I’ll have Aria-san kill me.
“This is… My apologies. It seems I was mistaken…”
The man, looking at my face, wiped sweat from his brow and bowed his head.
“Aria-san…?”
Wondering what was going on, I looked at Aria-san, and she silently pointed behind me.
There, adventurers were staring at me with dumbfounded expressions, and one of them muttered under his breath.
“Whoa… like snow.”
He might have come from somewhere far to the north.
My black hair had turned a white close to silver, and my sallow skin had also become white. Not only that, but my face, too, seems to have changed its impression considerably now that my circulation has improved.
“So then, miss. What will your name be?”
Hearing the man use language as if addressing a young lady from somewhere rather than an adventurer, Aria-san’s lips curved slightly as she spoke.
“…’Snow’… it is.”