Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 42: Tomb of Death ① – The Truth of the “That Forest”
Whenever something feels off, I brace myself and use the relic [Crisis Detection].
There are no enemies. Nothing at all. Just an abandoned village. I let out a sigh of relief.
The witch looked at a black stone—the Day-Night Stone.
It’s a stone that tells you whether it’s day or night on the surface while inside a dungeon.
It’s not a Legacy or Legendary item, just a naturally occurring mineral.
Since it’s black now, that means it’s night on the surface.
“Well then, shall we rest over there today?”
“That’s an abandoned village, right? What if there are zombies?”
“There aren’t any.”
I replied.
Agaro brought a gourd bottle to his mouth. Wait, I’m sure he finished that earlier… Did he refill it?
“How do you know that—ah, right, you have that thing.”
“Yes, I checked with my relic. There are no enemies in that village. Huh? Where’s Juicy?”
“She ran straight into the village.”
“Wha—?”
That was too direct. I mean, if you saw her, you could’ve stopped her.
The witch chuckled. Koff-fufufu. What kind of laugh is that?
“Good grief. What a little puppy she is. Wof-boy, as her master, you need to discipline her properly.”
“Wait, what? That’s how it is? Impressive.”
“It’s not like that at all!”
What are these two even talking about—the drunk and the witch?
“But, but… I think she sees it that way.”
“Ugh…”
Well, I have had a vague sense of it.
But why is she so attached to me?
She’s been clingy since the moment we met.
She’s a total beauty, so it’s not like I mind the attention.
But still, it nags at me. Maybe I’ll ask her about it later.
“Go on. She’s waving her hands and tail waiting for you.”
“Yeah, okay…”
I ran over to Juicy.
Even here, in the Tomb of Death, her eyes sparkled as she spoke to me.
“Um, um, Wof-sama! It’s safe here! There’s no one around!”
“No enemies anywhere.”
“Um, woof! Also, I think that house over there looks the most usable.”
The house Juicy recommended certainly looked better than the others, structurally.
I opened the door and stepped inside.
“…”
Just past the entrance, there was a fire pit. A small kitchen with a hearth and washing area.
On the left, a raised area with two rooms. A toilet at the back.
The front room had fallen shelves and scattered junk.
Scrolls, broken ceramics and bottles, rusted lamps—lots of unidentifiable stuff.
I tried using Wheel of Fortune, but there were no treasures.
“See?”
“Just junk.”
The back room had wooden materials and several jars of varying sizes. I peeked inside—empty.
A rusted axe and farming tools. Seems it was used for storage.
“Not much sign of life here.”
“See?”
“Well, at least it’s a place to rest.”
“Woof!”
Maybe this was a storeroom or something.
Perfect timing—I sneak an Elixir.
“……?”
No noticeable effect. Doesn’t feel like it worked.
Elixirs work on undead, but maybe not on curses.
Eventually, Juicy brought the witch and Agaro over.
Agaro grumbled, “Well, guess it’ll do,” and lit the fire pit.
He tossed on some leftover wood, then added more from his pouch.
The witch set a ward stone at the front door.
They even set up a black sofa and a red sofa in front of the fire.
Wait, black and red sofas? Aren’t those from that living room?
The witch sat down as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
“You brought those?”
Of course—her pouch is a storage-type Legendary item.
Not sure how much it can hold, but apparently sofas are no problem.
“Oh, oh, this is a spare. I’ve got six more of the same kind.”
“That’s way too many.”
“Um, um, this sofa is super soft and comfy!”
“Yup yup. It’s kind to the tail, too.”
“Woof! Woof! That makes me so happy!”
So that’s why she likes it so much. Makes sense.
Feeling hungry, I prepared a meal.
I used the kitchen to make something simple:
Two types of bread beans: black and hard, white and soft.
The usual mystery meat stew—meat, water, vegetables, a bit of seasoning.
Some dried meat. Agaro also brought out some nuts and dried fish snacks.
That’s it.
Agaro and I sat on the red sofa. The witch and Juicy on the black one.
Didn’t plan it that way, but we ended up sitting guy-guy, girl-girl.
“Ooh, this dried meat is great. Goes perfectly with booze.”
“Tasty, tasty. So good!”
“Um, um! Woof woof! It’s really tasty!”
I appreciate the compliments, but could they eat a bit more quietly?
I munched on bread beans, thinking that.
After the meal, we sipped tea and relaxed.
The witch tried my tea and told me I was getting better. That made me happy.
Then…
“Well, now that I’m a bit buzzed, time to ask. Hey—witch. What are you scheming?”
Agaro shook his gourd and glared at the witch like he could kill with his eyes.
The witch took a sip of tea before responding with a faint smile.
“Knew it, knew it. You saw through me, huh?”
“Of course. Depending on your answer… Not that it’ll help you, but I will cut you.”
“What are you planning, witch?”
Agaro stared menacingly. I sighed and added my question. The witch gave in.
“Okay, okay. I’ll talk.”
“Um, um, talk about what?”
Juicy was still hugging Dagaa, clearly not following the conversation.
Agaro took a gulp from his gourd and said:
“She’s known about the Tomb of Death from the beginning.”
“Um… Witch-sama, is that true?”
“Yup yup. It’s true.”
“…Even about the Death Offering?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll explain that now. The root of all this is that old geezer, Abramelin. The large-scale purge? It actually failed.”
“Failed…?”
“Yeah. What do you mean?”
“Woof?”
“See? The Grave of Death is still here.”
“Now that you mention it, it is. Was the Grand Guildmaster… Abramelin… part of it?”
“He’s lived way too long, that old man.”
“Right. And in the critical moment, they failed to seal the Tomb of Death. They didn’t have the forces left to finish the job. But they couldn’t just leave it alone either. They also didn’t have the strength to properly deal with it now. So that old man used the Grave of Death’s system to create a dungeon’s deepest level—‘That Forest’—on the surface. He placed the Chalice of Yomido’s Offering there. The offerings would then sustain the dungeon’s core defense mechanism.”
“And the offerings were… the idiots who wandered into the forest?”
“Yup yup. They were warned to stay out, so… you know. That’s on them. Their own fault. Their foolishness was part of the design. Thanks to that, the system’s energy supply never ran dry.”
“Horrible, but… it worked, I guess.”
Yeah. It worked—flawlessly.
Tragically.
“By the way, by the way, the one who designed it was Alexander, you know.”
“Ah, that old guy. He used to be called the Dungeon Master.”
Alexander. A former First-Class Explorer, a creature swaying between animal and monster — a land catfish.
Appearance-wise, he looks just like a giant salamander.
Currently, he works behind the scenes for the Explorer’s Guild.
Still, this is a shock.
The black knight and that horde of skeletons… they were all part of the defense system sealing the Tomb of Death?
Even if I didn’t know, I feel like I’ve done something wrong.
“So, so, the old man Abramelin put in a request saying the Tomb of Death might activate, and he wanted it unsealed. And since the only nearby First-Class explorer was Kon, he asked me.”
“So that’s why we got this lineup? Even dragged in your apprentice?”
“Why Juicy-san, of all people?”
Leaving myself aside, why Juicy-san?
I haven’t told them anything about Fenrir…
“Well, well, that’s due to some very political reasons.”
“Politics?”
“Waf?”
“Yes, yes. The Tasan family commands large-scale extermination battles and has strong ties to this matter.”
“Really, Juicy-san?”
“Um, uh, yes. Woof. I’ve definitely heard about it.”
“Also, also, the Tasan family is a major sponsor of the Seihou religion. Even the marquis family are devout followers. Right, puppy girl?”
“Um, uh, yes. I’m a follower of Seihou.”
“…Huh.”
“……”
Those sisters are Seihou followers? Even Shesh-chan?
Making rotten meat pies while hiding in the crypt?
From what I’ve heard, they seem more aligned with Yomido.
Seihou religion must really have a broad tent.
“And, and, Seihou advocates for the eradication of Yomido. So based on all those factors, they chose puppy girl. There were two other candidates — one was non-combat, and the other, although very skilled, declined.”
“Very skilled? Who?”
“Oh, oh, now a rare mercenary.”
“Ah, I see. Got it.”
Agaro nodded right away.
He’s probably talking about Shesh-san.
“Um, uh, Shesh-chan… dungeons, especially undead, really aren’t her thing.”
“Ah, ah, makes sense.”
“No wonder she refused.”
So Shesh-chan is bad with scary things. I’ll remember that.
“So basically, this girl is the representative of the Tasan Marquis family.”
“Um, uh, yes! I represent the Tasans!”
Juicy-san raised her hand high.
I shot a comment her way with a sigh.
“Witch. That representative of the Tasan family is carrying a cursed relic — the Sacrifice of Death. I think that’s a serious problem.”
“Waf!”
“Well, well, even Kon didn’t know such a curse would be attached.”
“You’ve never been in the Death Dungeon before?”
“Of course, of course. I have. But in the Castle of Death that Kon entered, there weren’t any curses like ‘you die in four days.’ Old man Abramelin probably doesn’t know either.”
“I see.”
“So this curse only exists in the Tomb of Death? Or is this specific tomb just that unique?”
“Who knows, who knows. But, but, if you defeat the King of Death within four days, there’s no problem.”
“We’ve already used one day. Can we really do it? With this group?”
Agaro’s doubt is understandable, but the witch wouldn’t have moved unless she was confident.
She only accepted the long-pending request to unseal the tomb because she saw a sure chance of success.
“Of course, of course. We can beat him.”
“…Well, then that’s fine.”
Agaro downed his gourd flask in one go after a bite.
“Um, um, Witch-sama, I have a question.”
“Oh my, what is it?”
“Um, um, why didn’t Abramelin-sama take care of this himself? He should have the power.”
“Good point…”
It is strange to go through all this roundabout trouble and leave it alone.
The witch paused a bit, closing her eyes before speaking slowly.
“Well, well, there were two mistakes that old man made. One — he incorporated his son, who died in a large-scale extermination, into the defense system.”
“His dead son?”
“Yes, yes. He became a dungeon monster maintaining the defense system by burying intruders and offering them to the sacrificial chalice. The Phantom Lord.”
“A dungeon anomaly…”
Agaro swigs from his gourd.
The Black Knight I fought and lost to… was the Grandmaster’s son?
“And, and, the other mistake — the First-Class Explorer he ordered to defeat it never returned. Regret kept him from doing anything further, so the defense system was left intact.”
“……”
“…I see.”
“Also, also, he’s in a position where he can’t freely move.”
Even if his son died, he used him for the greater good and sent someone to defeat him — but they failed.
That’s… so sad.
And the Black Knight even defeated a First-Class Explorer. No wonder I couldn’t win.
“Um, um, I’m sorry.”
Juicy-san droops her head.
She seems to think she asked something she shouldn’t have. The witch chuckles.
“Hehe, hehe, no need to apologize to Kon.”
“Na?”
Dagaa perks up and starts licking Juicy-san’s cheek.
“Um, um, Dagaa-chan, I’m okay.”
“Now, now, maybe Kon should wash off a bit. Young Wolf, want to join in?”
“Uh, no thanks, I’m good.”
Wash off?
“Oh my, then how about puppy girl?”
“Um, um, washing the body… but there’s no bath.”
“Hehe, hehe, if there’s no bath, we’ll just make one.”
Saying that, the witch stood, and Juicy-san followed with Dagaa in her arms.
They went into the back room — which only had wood, jars, and farming tools.
“What does she mean?”
“Who knows? Just let her be. It’s the witch, after all.”
Fair enough.
Agaro stared into the fire, drinking his liquor and gnawing on dried meat.
I drank tea from my crescent-shaped flask. Ahh, warm. It soothes the heart.
Just then, we heard startled voices from Juicy-san and Dagaa in the back room.
What the—? A bath suddenly appeared?
Come on, witch. That’s overkill.