Chapter 78: The ruins of Avsdrakdu ①

I held Jucy, who had somehow transformed into [Fenrir].

“Um, woof. Woof. Um, um, woof. Wawoon. Wof-sama!”
“Jucy, why? Calm down, calm down.”
“Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Wawoon.”
“No good. She’s completely turned into a dog.”

Well… it’s better than her licking my face. Having her wrap her legs around me and press her chest against mine like this is bliss.
Hmm? Was [Fenrir] a dog? Well, too late to think about that now.

“Impressive, Wof. You really are someone who defeated Alweld.”
“Agaro… isn’t that supposed to be a secret?”
“Ah, crap. Well, just for today, I’ll let it slide.”
“That’s fine.”

I guess it’s okay… she didn’t go spreading it around.
Come to think of it, Agaro was there at that moment too.

“Going all out right away. Well, given the opponent, it’s understandable.”

Narcissus was safe too.
Agaro asked,

“What the hell was that? I thought I was going to die the most just now.”
“I don’t know the details, but probably… treasure-class.”
“Geh, seriously?”

I figured as much.
Narcissus looked at Jucy.

“Still… Tasan, I didn’t expect you to be [Fenrir].”
“Ah, yes. Woof.”
“Why did you bark just now?”
“Woof?”
“Huh~”

Dagaa collapsed, completely exhausted.
Narcissus picked her up.

“You okay?”
“Huh~”
“Wof, this one looks like she’s done for.”
“Can you take care of her for a while?”
“Sure. You’ve turned into a knife, huh? Weaponized relic?”
“Huh~”
“As I thought. What a coincidence. One of my relics is also weaponized.”

I see. So she weaponized [Vanish] into a weapon.
I wonder if the original [Weaponize] relic is meant to be used that way.

“Wof. Is the town safe now?”
“I’ll check.”

I used my relic [Crisis Detection].
Several red points appeared, but no black.

“There are enemies, but no deadly danger.”
“Enemies are still around?”
“They’re scattered here and there.”
“Probably… zombies.”

That’s what it seems like.
Still, Jucy remained in [Fenrir] form, clinging to me.

Yet no one mentioned it.
Maybe to the others, she just looks like a big pure-white dog.

“Um… Wof-sama, it’s ticklish.”
“Oh, sorry.”

I had been unconsciously stroking her head and ears.
When I stopped, Jucy whimpered.

“Um… it feels good. So don’t stop.”
“Hey, both of you, save that for nighttime.”
“Oh… yes.”

No, it’s not a “yes.”

“Let’s go! Town exploration!”
“Jucy, let’s go.”
“Um, yes. Understood.”

Reluctantly, Jucy let go.
I also felt a little lonely.

The town was completely deserted.
We didn’t explore every building, but there was nothing inside.
The only enemies were zombies, and they were easy to defeat.
Thankfully, the three we were searching for were not among them.

“This town is strange.”
“Yes… only narrow, tall buildings.”
“Um… no towers, mansions, or castles.”
“That’s true.”
“No churches or temples either.”
“….”

The town was essentially a cluster of buildings.
It resembled Manhattan or Tokyo from my previous life’s memories.

But it was extremely dilapidated.
Windows were missing, and most buildings looked like broken shells.

Inside, either due to incomplete reconstruction or decay, there was no furniture.
The streets were cracked and hard to walk on.
It felt like a poorly-made open-world game.

It was quiet; only our voices echoed.
No wind.

It felt like these buildings were tombstones—a graveyard town.
Maybe that’s why… something like that appeared here.

But I used [Fortune Wheel].
The point of purple light—at that moment, [Generous] faded.

This put me into a one-day cooldown for [Generous], and the one-week cooldown for [Rave Form] started.

In other words, all my trump cards had been used.

“By the way, Juicy, why did you turn into [Fenrir]?”
“Um… I thought it would be better, so I did.”

Something instinctively wild, perhaps.
If she hadn’t, she might have died.

“Seems like there’s nothing here just from appearances.”
“…Yeah.”

Narcissus looked bored, Agaro disappointed.
The possibility that the three were no longer alive was increasing.
If we were attacked by what we saw earlier, there wouldn’t even be remains.

Yet my relic [Fortune Wheel] displayed a column of purple light.
It was… coming from a huge rift ahead.

“Whoa… what is this?”
“Deep…”

It was also raised, like something had crawled up from underground and torn through it.
As I considered that, realization struck. Perhaps…

“Um… I can see something.”
“What is it?”

I lowered the light orb into the rift.
A door was to the right.

“Hey. Looks like we can enter from there.”
“Agaro!?”
“Wait, ‘Metsuken’!”

Shining the light on the door, Agaro jumped down, followed by Narcissus.
Then Jucy. Only I remained.

“How can you descend so easily?”

I’m just a normal human.
Having used up [Rave Move], I reached the door.
A combination of parkour and acrobatics for the leap.
Watching my usable cards disappear naturally made me smile wryly.

Beyond the door was a corridor, sterile, modern, with emergency lights active.
The purple light was coming from even further below.

“What is this place?”
“Don’t know.”
“Um… woof. Ah.”

Jucy’s [Fenrir] form disappeared.

“Why did you bark just now?”
“Woof?”
“Wof. Any enemies?”
“No… none so far.”

No reaction.
Ahead in the corridor were evenly spaced closed doors.
No way to open them—probably no power running.

“There could be something beyond here…”

Narcissus said frustratedly.
Relax. There isn’t. [Fortune Wheel] detected nothing.
Only the purple light remains.
Then, Jucy quietly whispered in my ear.

“Um… Wof-sama?”
“Yes?”
“Is there… nothing here?”
“Yes. Only one reaction—directly beneath us.”

Jucy knows about [Fortune Wheel].
Since I hadn’t told the two of them, she asked quietly like this.

The reason I hadn’t told them was because I thought Narcissus might get carried away.

Well… I had noticed that she stopped mentioning treasure around Agaro, probably out of consideration.

We proceeded through the corridor, relying on the emergency lights and the orb. It wasn’t a straight path—there were several branches.

We found a stairway going down and descended. Another corridor stretched out.

Along the way, we came across a broken door that looked like it might open at any moment. On closer inspection, it was warped.

I slipped a “simple-handled, straight double-edged knife” into the gap.

After trying a few, this one fit perfectly in thickness.
I grabbed the knife’s handle firmly and wrenched it.

“Eiyaa!”

The entire door shook.

“Deeei!!”

The door moved. This might work.

“Doryaaahh!!!”

I put all my strength into it; the door trembled violently.
Alright, let’s go!

“Yoisshhooo!!!!”

With a snapping sound, the door came off, clattering to the floor.
The knife blade came with it.

“…”

Clink, clatter—the broken blade fell.

I kind of expected it. I really did.
Agaro looked apologetic.

“Sorry about that.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Surprisingly fragile, huh?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”

After all, it was just loot.

“Um… Wof-sama, I’ll buy you a new knife!”
“Thank you, but there are still some left. I appreciate the thought.”

That thought alone is enough. It would feel terrible to break a knife someone bought for me.
Even breaking a purchased knife gives me stomach pain.

With that, we rested in the room.
The room had only a desk; nothing else.
Agaro laid out a rug.

I took out some jerky and, using a simple cooking set, made bean soup.
I served it in wooden bowls.

I also gave everyone a small vial.
The contents were the usual elixirs.

“What’s this?”
“A healing potion.”
“Hmm, I’ll take it.”

Agaro made a complicated expression.

“…I still have the ones I got before.”
“Um… this makes three for me…”
“Really?”

I wasn’t keeping track; I just handed them out one after another.
The vials are cheap and come in bulk from the general store.

The elixirs originally came from zero. There are still many in the pouch.
I thought to myself—maybe I should organize the pouch when we return.

“Well, I’ll take it anyway.”
“Thank you so much.”

You can never have too many.
Then, using the “Crescent Moon Vessel”, I distributed some herbal tea.

It wasn’t witchy or weird—just proper herbal tea.
I had blended it to calm the mind.

“Not bad…”
“This is nice too.”
“Um… it warms my heart. Hoshi hoshi. Hoshi hoshi. Hoshi hoshi hoshi.”

Jucy ate two more jerky pieces—of course, the third was forbidden.
Narcissus added some jerky to her bean soup before eating—an unexpected trick. Must be tasty.

“Good?”
“Nah~!”
“Eat slowly.”

The way she fed Daga in tiny bits looked like feeding an infant baby food.
A surprising sight, yet it suited her.
Eating and drinking eased fatigue.

After the break, we continued along the corridor.
We found more stairs going down and eventually an elevator.

Of course, we got on.
Pressed the bottom floor button, then closed the doors.
The elevator moved; when it arrived and the doors opened, another corridor awaited.
We groaned.

But then something changed.

“Eh? Three red points. They’re approaching the elevator!”
“What?”
“Um… woof.”
“Finally… hmm? Why did you bark just now?”
“Woof?”

We grabbed our weapons and cautiously moved forward.

I found it strange.

Those three red points—too coordinated for zombies.
Zombies wander, so they move randomly.
I thought they might be Sahagin, but Sahagin would make “gyapa gyapa” noises.

Then… what are they?
A strange tension settled.

At the corridor’s corner, we encountered them.
Agaro struck first, swinging Flame-Tan.

“Zeeah!”
“Whoa!?”

Huh? The strike from Agaro’s sword was stopped by a spear handle.
Holding the long shaft with both hands was a male explorer.

He didn’t look like a zombie. Alive. Which means…?

“Y-you… Seed!?”
“Agaro…!?”

We were both utterly shocked.
A survivor…

They were alive.