Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 68: The Silent Ones (8)
The Great Temple. Southeast.
The single column of rising smoke was, as expected, from a campfire.
It seemed to be set up using a collapsed section of the Great Temple’s outer wall.
Three tents. Barrels and wooden crates. It looked like someone had been living here for a while.
And then, the campfire.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Seated on log stools by the fire were Rell and Hoss.
Across from them, a giant salamander with a pipe in its mouth sat leisurely.
It was a surreal sight.
A large pot was hanging over the fire. The smell was unmistakable—mixed meat soup.
“Y-You guys…”
“……”
“……”
“Took your time, Axe, Wof, Mineha.”
“Welcome back.”
“Are ya hungry? We’ve got plenty of soup. Lots of beans, too.”
While we were still stunned, the two remained completely nonchalant.
The salamander blew a puff of smoke from its pipe. That pipe… it looked familiar.
“I’m glad you’re safe, but…”
“You both seem fine, but…”
“Why are you two acting so calm?!”
“Well, we’re used to it.”
“We got sent here.”
Hoss’ words made us widen our eyes.
We decided to listen to their story over a bowl of soup.
Wait. A giant salamander?!
“Wait a second… isn’t that a Land Catfish?!”
“That’s a monster!”
The others finally noticed.
Well, that’s understandable, but I recognized it.
“Could it be… Alexander-san?”
“It has been a while, Wof-dono. My name is Alexander. I hail from Ipomea Nil, a humble Land Catfish. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Wait—you know this thing? And it can talk?!”
“What the hell is going on, Rell, Hoss?!”
Axe demanded, his breath heavy.
Alexander-san… was the Land Catfish I had once caught in a river. Twice, actually.
Land Catfish resemble giant salamanders.
They’re classified as monsters, but some say they’re closer to animals. It’s unclear.
Once, I found Alexander injured and healed him with an elixir.
That was when he suddenly started talking, much to my shock.
He had promised to repay the favor, though I hadn’t expected to meet him again in such a strange place.
“Calm down. He’s an ally. Or rather, an ally monster.”
“Alexander is amazing, y’know.”
“I am honored by the praise.”
“Enough of that—just tell us what happened!”
“Yeah, talk!”
“Of course. It happened on the second day after Hoss and I reunited. We were exploring the western temple district when we were suddenly attacked by an unbelievably strong monster—a Puppet Mimic Box.”
“A Puppet Mimic Box?!”
That mimic…
“If I remember correctly, Mimics of that level are top-tier Silver grade, right?”
“I heard the Felled Blade Guild took one down recently.”
“Yes. It appeared in the junkyard. I was there when it happened.”
“What?”
“You were there?”
“You saw it?”
“I did.”
“I heard that battle had a lot of casualties.”
“Yes… many people lost their lives.”
And all of them were children. That battlefield had been hell.
Silence fell over the group.
Hoss cleared his throat and continued.
“Anyway, let’s get back to the story. Even for us, fighting a Puppet Mimic Box was impossible. We were surrounded by puppets, and just when we thought it was over, Alexander saved us.”
“He took it out instantly. That Puppet Mimic Box, gone in a single strike.”
“Wait… Alexander-san, you were that strong?”
Since I had caught him twice—both times injured—I never got the impression he was powerful.
Alexander looked slightly embarrassed.
“No, no, just an old warrior’s skills, nothing more.”
“Instantly killing a Puppet Box is not ‘just an old skill’!”
“That level of power puts you at least mid-Gold Grade.”
“If it talks, it’s definitely Gold Grade.”
“That makes sense.”
“Yeah, it does.”
“I suppose so.”
“I see your point.”
“Well, well, you all are rather blunt, aren’t you?”
Alexander laughed.
Gold-Grade…
Monster threat levels range from Bronze, Silver, Gold, Treasure, and Supreme.
Bronze-Grade monsters are the first to use relics.
The more relics a monster possesses and the stronger they are, the higher the threat level rises.
Humanoid monsters or those with speech-related relics rank even higher.
Using that system, Alexander would be classified as Lower to Mid Gold-Grade.
That means he’s strong enough that even multiple Second-Grade Adventurers would need to team up to fight him.
Hoss continued.
“To finish the story—at first, we thought Alexander was an enemy. After all, no way could we fight something that took down a Puppet Box like it was nothing. But then he said, ‘Are you gentlemen unharmed?’—and we were so shocked, we just stood there, dumbfounded. Then we talked it out, and realized Alexander wasn’t an enemy.”
“How do you just decide a monster isn’t an enemy?”
“First, Alexander isn’t a dungeon monster. Natural monsters like him hate dungeons and avoid them.”
“Indeed. We natural monsters despise dungeon monsters.”
“You’re a natural monster?”
“And then we learned Alexander was here for work.”
“Work?”
“Wait—work?”
“Work?”
“Alexander works in dungeon logistics. He sets up Return Teleportation Circles.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
Rell’s casual remark left us all speechless.
“You mean return teleportation? The teleport circles for getting out? You set those up?”
Throughout the dungeon, return teleportation circles had been installed at key locations.
I was sure return teleportation was a relic ability called 【Teleport】 and also existed as a legacy.
And he… had been installing them?
“That’s right. And it was a request from the Explorer’s Guild.”
“Not just any request—this is Grand Guild business.”
“Grand!?”
“Wait a second, that’s the headquarters!”
“The Grand Guild… that’s the central branch of all Explorer’s Guilds, right?”
If each town’s Explorer’s Guild was a branch, the Grand Guild was the headquarters.
Mineha clutched her head.
“Hold on. I can’t keep up with all of this. So, Land Catfish… what exactly are you?”
“As you can see, I’m just a simple Land Catfish.”
“That’s not what I’m asking!”
“Alexander is a former First-Grade Explorer.”
“What?”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
Rell said it so effortlessly, and we all let out strange noises in response.
“F-First-Grade!?”
“What the hell!?”
“……”
A First-Grade Explorer—there were only 27 of them in the world.
They were also known as Kings of the Explorers.
And now, even if he was former, one was standing right in front of me.
Alexander flicked the ash from his pipe into the fire—so effortlessly.
“That was a long time ago.”
“Alexander… I’ve heard about you from my master. They called you the Dungeon Master—the explorer among explorers…”
“That’s right. This is the Dungeon Master himself.”
“We were just as surprised.”
“I remember that name. Once, there was a party made up entirely of First-Grade Explorers—just for a single night. It was called Raven Saga… and its leader had that name.”
“Raven Saga? What’s that?”
“Oh ho… it’s rare for someone to know about that. How nostalgic.”
“That actually happened?”
“You’re surprisingly well-informed, Axe.”
“Yeah, I just happened to hear about it once.”
“It’s a story from a long, long time ago.”
Alexander took another puff from his pipe, the gesture full of meaning. So effortless.
“I understand that’s impressive, but… can monsters really become explorers?”
I asked the question that had been on my mind.
Alexander exhaled smoke and answered. Effortlessly.
“Not anymore.”
“Oh, I knew it.”
“It used to be allowed—even for animals.”
“Wait, animals too!?”
“Now the rules have changed, and only rare exceptions allow monsters or animals to become explorers.”
“Whoa, you sure know a lot.”
“Just like my fifteenth little sister.”
“You’re pretty knowledgeable, huh?”
“I like trivia. Mostly useless stuff.”
“Hey! It was useful just now!”
“—It’s just the way times change. I grew old and retired, but there are far fewer active monster or animal explorers nowadays.”
So… that means some still exist.
There were still animal and monster explorers out there.
“But even now, exceptions are still allowed?”
“There’s a reason for that. Relics.”
“Relics?”
“You’ve heard of relics that allow transformation, haven’t you?”
“Y-Yes.”
Transformation-type relics—they were a known category.
There were those that allowed the user to take the form of an animal or monster.
It was said that those who used them often remained in their transformed state for long periods to get accustomed to their new forms.
“That’s why there’s a special exam for them.”
“I see…”
So they had to take the exam while transformed? Wouldn’t it be better if they reverted back during the test?
Wait—does that mean Mineha was in the same category?
“You. Just now, you were thinking I might be in the same category, weren’t you?”
She hit the nail on the head. Could she read my mind!?
“N-No, not at all!”
“Then look me in the eye!”
I averted my gaze.
Mineha frowned, clearly displeased, and glared at me.
The others laughed, and as our hunger caught up with us, we started enjoying the mixed-meat soup.
It was filled with various beans, which was great. Beans were nutritious and gave us strength.
I wonder if they had any pan beans? It had been a while since I last had them.
Then, Rell casually dropped another bombshell.
“By the way, we can go home now.”
“Oh, that’s right! The return teleportation circle!”
“We can go back?”
“Finally, we’re getting out of here!”
“That’s right.”
“But the setup isn’t complete yet. Also, once Axe and the others return, I’ll be removing it.”
“What do you mean?”
“As things stand, this place doesn’t really qualify as a dungeon. The floors are all jumbled and unstable. This area is technically the ‘Deepest Layer’—or at least, that’s what it looks like.”
“The Deepest Layer?”
“Wait, this is it?”
Axe looked shaken.
Alexander tapped his pipe, letting the ashes fall into the fire.
Still so smooth.
“Yes. From what I’ve observed, this is indeed the ‘Deepest Layer.’ Originally, I was assigned to set up a return teleportation circle on the Lowest Floor of a different dungeon. But after that earthquake, well… one thing led to another, and I ended up here.”
“I see…”
“That’s why there’s a high chance that the floors aren’t properly connected anymore. Return teleportation circles are meant for explorers—it’s pointless to install one in a place no one ever visits. And honestly, it’d be a waste.”
“Yeah… I can see that.”
I knew for a fact that return teleportation circles cost more than twice the price of a return stone.
“But what if someone accidentally stumbles in?”
I voiced my concern.
“I’ll make sure the area is sealed off, so that won’t be an issue.”
“So if someone still enters, it’s on them?”
“That’s how it is.”
“There are always people like that, though. It’s a real problem.”
“My seventh sister is exactly that type.”
“She’s going to get herself in serious trouble one day.”
“Relax. She’s already gotten herself into trouble many times.”
“That’s… not exactly reassuring.”
“But still… what is going on with this dungeon?”
Axe’s words carried weight.
Then Alexander, calmly smoking his pipe, spoke.
“The multiple dungeons that formed after the seismic anomaly… They might have originally been one single dungeon.”
“One single dungeon… Now that you say that, some of them did feel oddly small.”
“It’s like the dungeon was cut into pieces.”
“The anomaly caused by that Relic Earthquake split one dungeon into fragments… and now, another earthquake is trying to bring them back together. That’s my theory.”
“Ugh, again with the earthquakes…”
“……”
Could earthquakes really cause something like that?
But I’d already experienced it twice myself.
Still… in the end, I had to ask.
“Alexander, what exactly is the Dungeon Anomaly?”
Everyone turned their attention to the Dungeon Master, Alexander.
He took another drag from his pipe before finally speaking.
Damn, he’s smooth.