Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 95: The D-Team’s Fate
Tauro and his companions searched for Bob’s team while avoiding the monsters they encountered.
“Don’t you think we’re running into an unusually large number of orcs?”
Shin questioned Tauro after yet another report that he had found orcs by combining [Presence Detection] with [True Eye].
“Now that you mention it, the number does seem rather high.”
Aeris agreed.
“…Could there be a settlement nearby?”
Tauro voiced the possibility, but the orcs didn’t seem organized enough for that.
If a settlement existed, he should have sensed a concentrated cluster of presences somewhere in the area, yet there was none.
“I know it sounds impossible, but… there couldn’t be a dungeon here, could there?”
Aeris let her imagination run wild.
“A dungeon?”
Tauro was startled by this long-absent reminder that he lived in a fantasy world.
As he recalled, dungeons were rare in this world. Because of the danger they posed, every country kept them under strict control.
A few high-ranking adventurers entered dungeons on national commissions, but most expeditions consisted of government soldiers sent in teams to investigate them.
The details were classified and little was publicly known.
Tauro had heard almost nothing about dungeons himself, so the possibility hadn’t even occurred to him.
“Oh, I was only guessing. I heard that monsters continually spawn inside dungeons, so I just wondered whether the orcs might be coming from one.”
Apparently recognizing how far-fetched the suggestion sounded, Aeris laughed it off.
“Is it really that unlikely?”
Tauro asked.
“Of course it is. Only two dungeons have been confirmed in this entire country, and both are said to predate the kingdom’s founding, which makes them hundreds of years old. If there were one here, it would surely have caused an uproar long ago. So forget I mentioned it.”
Put that way, the idea certainly did sound unrealistic.
Accepting her explanation, Tauro considered another possibility.
Perhaps the orcs had migrated here individually from somewhere else.
He had heard nothing about food shortages in the surrounding regions, but something might have driven them away.
Still, finding Bob and the others took priority over speculation.
“For now, let’s focus on the search.”
The other three nodded, and the group once again detoured around the orcs and continued onward.
At last, Tauro detected a large cluster of presences.
Using [True Eye], he saw nearly twenty orcs gathered at the base of a steep, bare slope. Several tried to climb it, only to tumble back down.
Unable to tell what they were doing, Tauro informed Aeris and the others, and they decided to approach until they could see the scene directly.
With Tauro leading them closer, [Presence Detection] picked up human presences.
They came from above the orcs, on the slope the monsters were trying to climb.
Looking up, Tauro spotted a hollow partway up the incline. It appeared to contain a cave, and [True Eye] revealed the silhouettes of four people inside.
One lay farther back while another stayed beside the injured person.
The remaining two watched from near the entrance, and their figures were occasionally visible even without [True Eye].
“It looks as though one person is injured, but the other three are safe. I’ll fetch the B-rank team searching the neighboring area. You three keep watch over the orcs, and don’t attempt anything dangerous before I return.”
Tauro emphasized the warning, and all three nodded.
Activating [Presence Concealment], he ran straight through the forest toward the area where the other team should be.
After covering some distance, Tauro prepared a small fire and threw in the red pouch supplied by the guild.
A column of red smoke rapidly rose into the sky.
The signal might alert the orcs, but it was more important for the other teams to see it and come to them.
A short while later, the B-rank team’s scout, a man with the [Thief] class who had been nearby, appeared.
“You found them?”
Once he recognized Tauro, the man emerged from the undergrowth.
“Yes! They’re trapped by orcs above a slope in that direction. All four appear to be alive, but one of them seems injured.”
“Understood.”
With that brief reply, the man vanished toward his companions. After a short wait, he returned with the rest of his team.
“We’ll go ahead. Stay here until the other teams arrive. How many orcs are there?”
“About twenty.”
The B-rank team nodded and, with the scout leading, disappeared into the undergrowth in the direction Tauro indicated.
The other two teams soon reached the place where he was waiting.
“Has the B-rank team already gone ahead?”
Tauro nodded.
“I’ll guide you.”
The C-rank and D-rank teams immediately followed him.