Chapter 31: Class I Explorer (3)
Near the entertainment district close to the Hydrangea slums, many buildings lie in ruins.
Shuttered shops left untouched—every city has places like this.
From one of those ruins, faint violin music could be heard.
Following the sound led to a small, three-story, white building—abandoned.
The music came from underground.
Below, there was a ruined bar—unusual in that it still had a small stage.
In its heyday, it had been a lively venue for new bards and musicians.
Now, no one remained.
Or at least, there should have been no one—
Yet, on that lonely stage stood a woman, playing the violin.
Her hair was thin and black, with only the tips of her bangs dyed gold, shimmering faintly.
Her long fringe hid her eyes—a so-called mekakure style, making her look as though she was covered with glasses.
She was of average height, her body frail and twig-like.
She wore a fluttering but modest concert outfit, not gaudy at all.
Her skirt was bright red, spreading out like three flower petals.
To match it, she wore a white flower beret.
And upon her head—white rabbit ears standing straight, with a small round tail behind her.
When her sorrowful performance ended, a voice echoed from the audience seats.
“Hey. It’s so dark and damp in here.”
“……”
“It’s filthy and smells of dust.”
“……”
“I’ve been stuck in a place like this for four days already.”
“……”
“I want to stay at a fancy, clean, beautiful inn.”
“……”
“I want to perform outside, under a bright and sunny sky.”
“……”
The voice came from a small doll sitting in one of the chairs.
It was a deformed, miniature likeness of the woman herself—except with reversed hair colors and wearing a bright dress.
Its rabbit ears and tail were black.
“Why, Dimelo-chan, do you always love being alone so much?”
“……”
“Paprika likes cheerful, fun songs better.”
“……”
Dimelo lifted her violin again and began to play.
The tune was low, heavy, and sorrowful. Paprika sighed helplessly and remembered something.
“Hey, Dimelo-chan. Did you see the Knight Attendant assignment list?”
“…!”
Her performance faltered and stopped. Dimelo glared at Paprika.
“Finally, you look at me.”
“……”
“Paprika’s interested, you know.”
“……”
“In the witch’s apprentice.”
“……”
Ignoring her, Dimelo adjusted her violin and began to play again.
But she was shaken—the melody was the same, yet faintly distorted this time.
“Paprika’s interested in that womanizer who conquered half of the Impenetrable Fortresses.”
At that, the violin screeched wildly, nearly tripping over its own sound.
Dimelo’s glare deepened.
“………”
“Maybe Dimelo-chan should just let herself be seduced too.”
“—!?”
Dimelo stomped her foot, fuming, her breathing rough.
“You should try to be more of an adult woman, Dimelo-chan.”
“……”
Dimelo packed her violin into its case.
“You’re not a little girl anymore, you know.”
“……”
Ignoring Paprika, Dimelo disappeared backstage.
Dimelo Silence — the “Mute Musician.”
Deep within Hydrangea’s forest park lay a small sacred grove—
The Chinju no Mori, home to a sacred Stag tree.
It had been transplanted from the holy city of the Seihou faith, Shuto.
A massive tree, its branches were thick enough for people to walk side by side along them.
Atop one such branch stood a shabby white tent,
with the crude words “Forest King” scrawled across it.
Beside the tent sat a young girl, pulling food from a cloth bag.
She had short, green hair and silver eyes.
Her face was youthful and charming, her ears pointed—an elf.
She wore clothing of green and white interwoven with vines,
and a skirt made gracefully from leaves.
On her head rested a blue-and-white feather ornament—
a feather of the Blue Aurora Bird, said to bring good luck.
“Mochamochya, mochara, muchara, kucharakuchara—”
She noisily munched on fruit gummies taken from the cloth bag.
A chronic mouth-noisemaker.
Her eyes were unfocused as she chewed endlessly, occasionally sipping honey water from a canteen.
It was a refreshing mix of honey and lemon. A crescent moon was engraved on the flask.
Its official name was the Half Moon Vessel.
A relic counterpart to the Full Moon Vessel owned by the Witch,
and the Crescent Moon Vessel owned by Wof— together known as the Moonwater Series.
The girl who possessed this rare relic, Verde, was a master alchemist rivaling even the witch—
though most of her talent was wasted making and eating gummies.
“Ah… right… I heard the Crescent Vessel was given to an apprentice… chomp chomp… An apprentice, huh…”
She murmured softly in her pleasant, dreamy voice.
“You’re still hanging around a place like this, huh?”
A man’s voice spoke.
She looked up to see a figure in a black robe and hood, with a Fairial perched on his shoulder.
“Zyx. Air.”
“Still addicted to nut gummies, I see?”
Her soft pink hair was tied into fluffy side-tails, matching the color of her eyes.
She wore a blue dress.
On her back was a bow, and at her waist hung a strangely shaped knife and rod—
both about the same length. In truth, they were two parts of a separable spear.
“Hoh-rake-fuhi-ho.”
“Swallow your food before talking.”
“Chom-chomp-pacha.”
“And stop eating so noisily.”
“Hahaha, some things never change, Zelena.”
“Nguh—gulp. Zyx. Mom—why are you here?”
“Who are you calling Mom!?”
Zyx pulled three swords from his pouch— each sheathed in red, blue, and green.
Though their form was identical, the gems on their hilts were different.
Zelena recognized them immediately.
“Oh right… I forgot I asked you to make these.”
“Hahaha, I figured as much.”
“But what’s the point of these one-shot elemental swords anyway?”
Air tilted her head in curiosity. Zelena looked up at the sky.
“Well, I’m currently clearing a dungeon, and there’s a three-headed dragon in it. I was thinking of hitting that damned lizard with these—munch munch.”
“You’re unbelievable…”
“Hahaha! Then I could’ve designed them for throwing instead.”
“Moch-cha-kucha-la-tetchara… I could throw ‘em too.”
“You’re not throwing them! And stop talking with your mouth full!”
“Gulp. I plan to reuse them, anyway.”
“They’re not really that durable, though.”
“That’s fine by me.”
Zelena took the swords and stored them in her own pouch.
She had already paid in full—one million Auro per sword.
Three hundred million Auro just to slay one dragon—whether it would pay off was uncertain.
But Zelena didn’t care. If it cleared an obstacle, that was enough.
After all, dungeon exploration was her hobby—
and she was the type to spend lavishly on her hobbies.
“The Green Guardian,” Zelena.
She was one of the famed “Eight Impregnables.”
Each of the Eight possessed beauty beyond human comparison.
Countless men had sought them out, only to be utterly defeated— thus earning the title Impenetrable.
But more than that, they were hard to even encounter.
Most of them—aside from Piany—disliked people, were shy, and lived solitary lives.
They typically stayed deep within dungeons or far from towns and villages.
Meeting one was nearly impossible.
Even Piany, the Knight Commander of the Explorer Order,
was heavily guarded due to her position— even close acquaintances were constantly monitored by a watcher named Hals.
Incidentally, the most unapproachable of the Eight was the Witch.
The Witch possessed an uncanny intuition—
she could sense the slightest emotional stir directed toward her, even the faintest trace of affection or curiosity.
And when she did, she erected an absolute rejection barrier.
Once raised, no one could step within it.
Only one person had ever surpassed that wall— a boy who, despite being her savior,
continued to keep his distance, constantly apologizing:
“I’m sorry. Forgive me.”
Even when he had done nothing wrong.
The Witch couldn’t bear it.
She stepped closer—because if she didn’t, her savior might die.
The boy’s rejection, like a thorn that wounded himself, pained her deeply.
It enraged her that someone who had saved her life could still refuse any connection so completely.
That encounter became the beginning of the story between the Witch and her Apprentice.
But that’s a tale for another time.
After parting ways with Zelena, Zyx and Air continued on.
“By the way, Air—you mentioned meeting a friend, right?”
“If you can call her that… she’s the daughter of Lady Ruriha. She has a name.”
“Hahaha, you don’t sound too eager.”
Zyx noticed her hesitation.
“We had a fight, actually. Her name’s Mineha. She carries an OOPArts spear—it’s a weak one, but it was her father’s memento. She insists on using it in battle. I told her it wasn’t practical for daily combat, and… well, that’s how the fight started.”
“So things are awkward between you two, huh?”
“…That’s one way to put it.”
“Hahaha!”
“Don’t laugh!”
Zyx, “The Six Attribute Elemental User.”
A Class II Explorer, and Air’s partner— Air, the Wind Dropper.