Chapter 187: The Report and the Agonizing Female Knight

Having successfully conquered the Giant Earth Beast Dungeon, the party split into two groups.

Ryu and his companions returned to the inn, while the Heroes—who had close ties with the Guild’s Grandmaster—secured an audience with him to personally report the details of the dungeon expedition.

Naturally, they kept certain matters to themselves: their newfound friendship with the Dungeon Master, and the incident where they had been caught in a clash between dragons.

After Takeshi finished explaining everything—

“First of all, congratulations on achieving the first-ever conquest of the Giant Earth Beast Dungeon in history.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Now, to get straight to the point… I see. So the Behemoth had, over many long years, evolved into an SS-rank entity. No wonder no one could clear it. Just to confirm—does the First Special Unit Captain share the same assessment as the Heroes?”

“Yeah. That thing was definitely SS-rank. No matter how many standard S-rank parties you throw at it, they wouldn’t stand a chance. At minimum, you’d need an SS-rank adventurer… or someone extraordinary like the Heroes here. Honestly, the fact that we won this time was practically a miracle.”

“…Understood.”

The Grandmaster carefully recorded the report, noting the dungeon’s reclassification to SS-rank, then handed the documents to his secretary.

“This is going to cause quite a stir. The adventurers in the capital will be in a frenzy for a while.”

“Oh, right—almost forgot to mention. Ryu said he doesn’t need the achievement credit for conquering an SS-rank dungeon. He wants the adventurer points properly awarded to Stingray and Alice instead.”

“I see. …But is he truly fine with that? This would be the perfect opportunity to spread the fame of Dragon Road.”

“As you already know, they have no interest in fame.”

“People like that are always… complicated.”

“Haha. That they are.”

“By the way, are the Heroes not interested in joining Dragon’s Road? It seems your relationship with Ryu’s group has grown quite close since the duel.”

“We’ve invited them multiple times. Every single time, they rejected us instantly—no hesitation whatsoever.”

“Hah hah hah! That sounds exactly like them.”

Then, the Grandmaster’s tone grew slightly heavier.

“Speaking of Dragon’s Road… I recently had some intelligence gathered on Ryu and his group.”

“Oh? Did you find anything?”

“Just one thing. That knight girl—Alice, was it?”

“Yes. The one completely attached to Ryoma.”

“Her full name is Alice Blanc. She’s the eldest daughter of the prestigious Blanc Count family of the Empire.”

“…………”

“…That’s a rather muted reaction.”

“Well… at this point, hearing that one of them is nobility isn’t really surprising anymore… right, you two?”

“Indeed. Honestly, it’d be more surprising if they had ordinary backgrounds.”

“I wouldn’t even be shocked if someone told me one of them was royalty.”

The Grandmaster nodded and continued.

“In other words, it’s highly likely that Dragon’s Road originated from the Empire.”

“…………”

At that moment, Lily chimed in brightly.

“Yeah, that makes sense! I had a feeling! Hinomaru—Ryoma-kun’s homeland—just formed an alliance with the Empire recently, right? I bet those two are involved in that somehow!”

“You didn’t try asking Ryu directly?”

“Well… Ryu-kun doesn’t seem like the type who enjoys being asked about his past. So we figured we’d just wait until he tells us himself.”

“I see… fair enough.”

Takeshi gave a wry smile as he glanced at Lily.

“The fact that Captain Lily is being considerate at all shows just how special they are. Also… Grandmaster, I’d advise against digging any further into their backgrounds.”

“…Why is that?”

“Because losing ties with Dragon’s Road would be the Guild’s greatest possible loss. They only formed a clan to enter the dungeon—this connection is something we absolutely must preserve.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

The Heroes rose to their feet.

“Then we’ll submit the materials from the Behemoth and other high-ranking monsters to headquarters tomorrow. Please distribute them through the Merchant Guild as appropriate.”

“Understood. Take some time off and rest.”

“Yes. Excuse us.”

With that, they exited the room, Lily and the others following behind.

The secretary adjusted her glasses with a soft push.

“Ever since Dragon’s Road was formed, every day has felt like a storm.”

“And yet… at the same time, it feels like humanity’s future is brighter than ever.”

“They really are amazing, especially considering how young they are.”

“…Indeed. Makes me wish I could regain my prime and join their adventures myself.”

“Fufu. If that happens, I’ll accompany you as well.”

◇◇◇

Meanwhile, Ryu’s group was relaxing at the inn.

Stingray, however, was quietly panicking.

(Alice-sama started pursuing love at the same time as me… and now her engagement to Ryoma-sama is practically certain. Meanwhile, I haven’t made any progress with Ryu-sama at all…! Well, the fact that he’s already married complicates things, but polygamy isn’t unusual in noble society. And sometimes, I feel like Estelle-sama and Lena-sama are giving me subtle “you’re welcome here” signals… which means… I still have a chance! Actually, I was the first one to sleep beside Ryu-sama… but somehow I’ve fallen behind. …There’s still over a week before we return to the Empire’s second estate. I have to do something! It even looks like Captain Lily is aiming for Ryu-sama too! I refuse to lose‼)

Just then, Estelle approached.

“Oh? What’s wrong, Stingray? Something troubling you?”

“I have a question… Is Ryu-sama a lolicon?”

“…Are you mocking me?”

“No. I’m quite serious.”

“Well… from an outside perspective, I suppose it’s not an unreasonable misunderstanding.”

After all, Ryu’s wives included a seductive petite woman and an adorably youthful younger sister.

To any outsider, he might very well look like a perverted noble with questionable tastes.

But those who knew the full story understood otherwise.

“That idiot once proudly declared, ‘My strike zone is wide,’ or something along those lines.”

“…I see. That’s… somewhat reassuring.”

“Besides, I think Ryu genuinely likes you. Otherwise, that unsociable, aloof, perverted viscount wouldn’t have invited you to join him in a dungeon.”

“Y-you’re right… I’m starting to feel a bit more confident‼”

“Also, just between us… if you want, I could arrange a little opportunity for you at night.”

“I think that might be a bit too soon…”

“Stingray. These things require momentum. If the time comes when you want to make your move, be sure to tell me. I’ll slip something into his drink if needed. Kakkaka.”

“Thank you very much‼”

Stingray’s mood visibly brightened.

(Kakkaka… this Federation vacation is turning out to be quite entertaining indeed…)