Chapter 17: The Long Road to the Imperial Capital
As soon as the dwarves moved away from the rocks, I called out to my team.
“Alright, let’s get to work. Everyone else, stay on standby.”
“Please be careful, Soushi-sama.”
“I can’t wait to explore the mining Dungeon!”
“I doubt we’ll get permission to enter right away.”
Freinir was genuinely concerned, but it seemed that Larni and Karma were already thinking about the removal process.
First, I aimed to empty my Item Box. As I headed towards the open space to the left of the massive boulder, Geshura approached me, unusually serious.
“Soushi, wait a moment.”
“What is it?”
“Look at that part of the cliff. It appears to have been artificially collapsed.”
“What…?”
The area Geshura pointed to was indeed the section of the cliff that had fallen. To my eyes, it looked like a natural collapse, but…
“There are five marks above, as if magic had been cast upon it. You can see the destruction marks spaced evenly, can’t you?”
Now that she mentioned it, I could faintly confirm that there were indeed traces gouged out by an external force, almost evenly spaced above the collapsed area.
“I can see it too. It’s clearly an unnatural trace.”
If Sfenia was saying so, it was undoubtedly true. It seemed this incident was not going to be as simple as an accident.
If this collapse was indeed caused by someone, the next question was who that someone was.
And if I were to remove that massive boulder, it would thwart that “someone’s” intentions. If that person was present here, they would likely take some action.
However, the priority was to rescue the trapped adventurers.
“Understood. Let’s proceed with the assumption that this incident was caused intentionally. That said, I will continue with the work. Everyone, please stay vigilant. There’s a possibility that the culprit is among us. Also, Grand Master, could you please inform Mr. Gostera about this situation?”
“Understood. But this is what they call ‘Divine Fortune,’ isn’t it? I’m curious to see how it unfolds… though perhaps that’s a bit inappropriate, heh.”
With a knowing chuckle, Lady Dorozitte walked over to Mr. Gostera.
As my team began to scan the surroundings while keeping an eye on their weapons, I made my way to the open area.
First, I needed to unload everything. There was no way I could fit that giant rock in there as well.
I opened my Item Box and began laying out Geshura’s log cabin, the large tree I had stored from Oz Country, and our party’s camping gear in the plaza. At that point, I could already hear the dwarves gasping in astonishment.
And then came the main attraction: the Chaos Flare Dragon. I felt like I was pulling it in and out far too often, but thanks to its sturdy scales, it seemed unharmed.
As I dragged the dragon’s massive body out of the hole, a murmur of awe erupted from the dwarves. A few dwarves attempted to approach, but Mr. Gostera firmly halted them. Unlike his brother Lianos, Mr. Gostera remained calm.
As for me, I was astonished at how incredibly light my body felt after finally emptying my Item Box. The Item Box skill demands a certain amount of stamina based on the weight of the items stored, and it seemed I had been under a much greater burden than I realized.
Now the question was whether that giant rock would fit. Well, there was only one way to find out.
I stood before the rock and opened the hole of my Item Box beneath it. To my surprise, the rock simply dropped into the hole with a thud.
“Ugh… this is… quite the strain.”
A tremendous weight suddenly bore down on my entire body.
But it wasn’t enough to immobilize me. I managed to move about twenty meters and opened my Item Box once more. There was no way I could pull that rock out myself, so I created an angled hole in the ground, and the massive boulder slid out with a resounding crash, sending tremors through the area.
The place fell silent for a moment.
Then, a chorus of “Whoa-oh-oh!!” erupted from the dwarves, a mix of joy and astonishment.
Looking towards the cliff, I could see the entrance to the Dungeon clearly exposed. The ground around it was uneven, with rocks scattered about, but at least the adventurers trapped inside should be able to escape now.
As I took a breath, Mr. Gostera and many dwarves surrounded me.
“You! No, Soushi, was it? Soushi, who exactly are you!? I’ve never seen or heard of an adventurer who could fit such a massive rock into an Item Box! You’re an incredible monster!”
They pounded my back, perhaps a custom among dwarves, just like Lianos.
As the cheers continued, it seemed the adventurers were finally emerging from the Dungeon.
All the adventurers looked exhausted, but they were smiling and appeared relieved. From what I gathered, they had been trapped for over a day, so the mental fatigue must have been significant.
Even as I was being jostled by the dwarves, I remained vigilant for any suspicious movements from the culprit who had caused the rock to fall.
With the atmosphere turning festive, anyone moving unrelated to the celebration would certainly raise suspicion. However, there were already over three hundred people present, making it difficult to distinguish anyone. Logically speaking, it was also quite possible that the culprit was no longer here.
I glanced over at the members of Soul’s Guidance.
They were standing a little distance away, seemingly unaffected by the commotion. Freinir was looking at me with a prayerful expression, while Larni and Sfenia were scanning the area.
“Ah~? Why was the rock removed?”
That out-of-place voice somehow reached my ears amidst the chaos.
“I’m glad I came to check. If I didn’t, Rove would have been a pain in the ass.”
The tone was devoid of humanity, almost broken in its intonation.
Turning to the source of the voice, I saw an adventurer-like figure gazing up at the cliff. He wore a full-face helmet, so I couldn’t see his face, but judging by his build, he was likely a man.
“Well then, shall we drop another rock? This time, let’s make it a big one. And while we’re at it, we can crush the humans here too. Since they’ve gathered so nicely.”
With that line, it was clear he was the one behind this incident. The question remained, though: was he truly human as he appeared?
Regardless, my priority was to stop that man from doing anything further. I pushed through the dwarves and made my way toward him.
I couldn’t raise an alarm; if I did, he might suddenly lash out.
Calmly, yet quickly, I approached the adventurer-like man.
“Soushi~! What’s going on~!?”
Hearing my movement, Larni shouted something, her voice filled with concern.
That caught the attention of the entire team, who turned to look at me.
“That person is…!”
Geshura reacted strongly. If she, a member of the Kin of Twilight, was the first to notice, then the man’s true identity was likely something I could easily guess.