Chapter 12: Our Journey: Travelogue⑤ – Piany and Peril
At the cave at the foot of the mountain—
Piany shook the red-black blood from her golden sword.
Silver ancient runes were engraved along the blade.
It was probably an out-of-place artifact. She slid it back into its scabbard and muttered, sounding bored.
“So… what exactly was that thing?”
In a bizarre space lined with dozens of temple-like pillars placed at even intervals, she stared at the freshly slain corpse of the enormous monster.
Honestly… what was it?
I’d never seen a monster like that before.
Creepy. Just strange, unpleasant, and unsettling.
Even Piany and the Rank-I Witch—both accustomed to monsters—said this was their first encounter with something like it.
Especially the artificial chains attached to its back; there was no precedent for that.
The elemental weapons on its tail were supposedly “common.”
Common… huh.
It felt like a monster that had been tampered with and modified—
my memories from a former life judged it that way.
That only deepened its apparent connection to the ruined city.
Maybe it had been an experimental subject.
The Witch stared at the severed head.
She seemed especially interested in the red-black single eye.
Even in death, it glowed with an ominous, beautiful light—
like a gemstone.
But it was still a living creature… right?
“Hmmm, hmmm. Now how shall I remove it?”
Remove it!?
Was she planning to harvest the eye?
She seemed completely serious.
Well, she was a witch—she’d probably extract it cleanly.
No idea what she’d use it for, though.
Meanwhile, diagonally behind us, Bid had drawn his Flashstep Sword and was cutting down the remaining black dogs.
There were still a few scattered around, but it was safe to say the danger had passed.
How did things end up like this?
It had happened suddenly—on the day we set out for the hideout.
Without warning, a massive pack of black dogs poured out of the forest.
Like a legion from hell.
But we had prepared thoroughly.
At first, we held the line defensively, analyzing the enemy’s nature and tactics.
Once that was clear, we switched to offense and crushed them in one decisive push.
Fighting them revealed that the black dogs lacked coordination.
Their attacks were simple, with no strategy—no match for the battle-hardened Explorer Knights.
According to the Witch:
“Oh my, oh my. It’s as if they were only just born.”
Once victory was assured, a small elite force—including me—stormed the hideout and defeated the enemy boss.
That was the whole sequence of events.
Honestly, we barely did anything.
Piany completely dominated the battlefield.
The commander of the Explorer Knights was overwhelming.
Her swordsmanship gleamed gold and flashed silver—gorgeous and elegant beyond words.
That massive wolf-like thing… it was probably strong.
At least lower Jewel-class, for sure.
And even the black dogs, though poorly trained, were a genuine threat—
probably mid-tier Gold-class.
But they had the worst possible opponent.
Truly the worst.
They were simply unlucky. That summed it up.
Conversely, we were lucky.
Notably, there wasn’t a single trace of the human villains we were originally supposed to fight.
Did they escape?
Or…
Hals, in her black-cat form, was perched on Pianny’s shoulder.
Cute.
“Meow.”
“Hmmm. Another passage deeper in?”
“Meow.”
“You think it leads outside? To the other side?”
“Meow.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
“Um, Piany-san?”
It really looked like she was conversing with a cat.
Piany and Hals both turned toward me almost simultaneously.
“What is it?”
“Meow.”
“Are you… talking to each other?”
“Huh?”
“Meow.”
They exchanged puzzled looks in perfect sync.
So in sync.
Then Piany realized.
“Oh. Conversation. Yes, we are. You can’t carelessly use transformation relics.”
Because you’d be naked.
“And Hals is a girl. You can’t just use it casually.”
“Meow.”
“Exactly.”
Because naked.
“So we trained so we could talk while she’s in cat form.”
“And it actually worked?”
“Yes.”
That’s something you can train!?
They really are close.
I still have no idea what Dagaa is saying, though.
“Meow.”
“Right. Wof, you’re coming too.”
“Eh—yes. Understood.”
With Piany carrying a cat on her shoulder, we advanced down the passage at the very back of the cave.
Suddenly, we emerged outside.
“Whoa—!”
“This is—”
“Meow.”
We were at a great height—like on top of a building.
And before us spread an astonishing sight.
A hole.
A gigantic hole gaping in the ground.
The bottom was completely invisible.
An unnaturally enormous circular pit.
“What is that…?”
“…That’s unbelievably huge.”
“Yeah…”
I understood immediately.
This must have been where that ruined city once stood.
The entire underground ruin must have transferred wholesale to dungeon floor 44.
Why floor 44 specifically, I didn’t know.
But it was clear that something went terribly wrong.
You could tell just by looking at this hole.
“Meow.”
“There’s something near the edge?”
“You’re right… there is. What is it?”
Near the edge of the pit was something glowing white—
a structure?
“Shall we go check it out?”
“We’re going?”
“Investigation.”
“Meow.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll take a look and come right back.”
“There’s a staircase too.”
A staircase nearby extended straight down endlessly.
No signs of interruption.
Still, we descended cautiously.
“Hm. Strong sand-laden wind.”
When we reached the bottom, a fierce wind filled with sand blew at us.
I covered my mouth with my scarf.
“Meow!”
“Stay still.”
“Meow.”
Piany lifted Hals off her shoulder and hugged her lightly.
Her own method of protecting her from the sandstorm.
“Proceed carefully.”
“Yes.”
Peony led the way, struggling forward as sand and wind dragged at her legs—
Then suddenly—
“Nggh!?”
“Piany-san!!”
She sank.
Slowly, steadily, Piany began sinking into the ground.
Sand. Quicksand.
“Meow.”
“I know. The armor’s too heavy.”
Her legs were already completely submerged.
What do we do!?
“Meow.”
“Calm down. I’ll stow it. Shell.”
As she chanted, her armor purged itself and vanished into the gemstone of her pendant.
When it was fully stored, Piany stood revealed in cute red-pink underwear.
A bra with red trim and pale pink fabric— she held her generously sized chest as it bounced slightly.
Her panties matched.
“P-Piany-san…”
“Don’t look.”
“Y-yes.”
“Meow.”
“…Well, I’ve stopped sinking. But now what?”
“Meow.”
The reduced weight stopped her descent.
But she couldn’t move—any movement would make her sink again.
Pulling her up was the only option, but with both legs buried, brute force wouldn’t work.
Vanish wouldn’t help.
Knife Magic was useless.
Vibration would only make it worse.
“Both my golden and silver blades are too powerful. I’d only make things worse.”
“Don’t you have anything weaker?”
“No.”
Instant answer. Somehow confident.
…But there was a way.
A certain way to save her.
But with her current state… no.
What am I hesitating for?
This is a life-or-death situation.
“Meow.”
“…Then we’ll have to pull you out. Rope first. Wulf, do you have one?”
“No. Do you?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t ask.”
“Right…”
“…Then go get the Witch.”
“What if you sink before I’m back?”
“…Then this is as far as Piany Monkshud goes.”
She smiled faintly.
Resolute.
Knightly restraint.
But she’d die while I was gone.
“…Piany-san. There is a way.”
“Oh? There is?”
“Yes.”
I drew my knife.
Its sheath was covered in barnacles, shells, seaweed, and coral— as if lifted straight from the ocean floor.
A knife from another sea.
“That is?”
“Meow.”
The blade was short, chipped, and rust-red.
It didn’t look like it could cut anything.
But this knife wasn’t meant for cutting.
I raised it.
“O Knife of the Other Sea—bind her!”
As I swung it, the knife transformed into three octopus tentacles.
“Meow!?”
“W-what!?”
“Heave—ho.”
Two thick tentacles wrapped around Piany.
“Eeeek!!”
“Meow!”
At that moment, I felt her body through the knife.
The tentacles were another set of my hands.
I could move them freely, and every sensation was transmitted directly.
“I’m pulling!”
“Meow!”
“W-wait—wait a second—aaah! Something—wait—kyaaah!!”
I yanked hard.
Piany was pulled free, lifted into the air while still held by tentacles.
Her cute, high-pitched scream echoed.
The cat leapt away and landed gracefully.
I gently set Piany down and retracted the tentacles, stowing the knife.
“…A-are you okay?”
“…Yes.”
Standing there, drenched in tentacle slime, Piany nodded while looking down.
Her golden-silver hair was soaked, as was her red-pink underwear—
now sticky and faintly translucent.
“…Um.”
“Say nothing. I have… many thoughts. But first, thank you for saving me. Do you have a towel and cloak? I can’t retrieve them yet—Shell has a cooldown. My pouch is stored as well.”
“H-here.”
I handed her a water stone, towel, and cloak.
She cracked the stone, poured water over herself, and wiped off.
After drying a bit, she threw on the cloak and lifted Hals into her arms.
“Shall we go?”
“Y-yes.”
At some point, the sandstorm had stopped.
We reached our destination.
There stood a massive white stone monument, half-buried at an angle.
Black letters were carved into it.
I read them—and froze.
May no one awaken.
May no one see.
May no one know.
May no one hear.
May no one speak.
May all accept that it never existed.
I reread it over and over.
But it truly said that.
These words—
They were the same ones that echoed in my head when I first became [Generous].
That mysterious poem that used to resound—until I got used to it.
Why was it here?
“What is this monument? I don’t understand.”
“…I don’t understand either.”
I answered Piany honestly.
Why was the mystery poem here?
“Meow.”
“I see. Let’s return. Going further seems impossible.”
“Yes.”
The hole was impossibly vast.
Crossing it was impossible—and it didn’t look like anything lay beyond.
As we turned back, she spoke.
“That tentacle knife you used to save me—?”
“It’s called the Knife of the Other Sea.”
“This was the eleventh time I’ve been caught by tentacles… but never did I expect to be saved by them.”
That many!?
“Meow.”
“What? Sixteen?”
“Meow.”
“…Then let’s correct that to sixteen.”
“Ah… I see.”
“It seems I misunderstood you.”
“Misunderstood?”
“Allow me to thank you properly.”
She bowed her head.
When we returned, the Witch was extracting something from the eye.
A red-black crystal.
“Mufufu… mufufu… with this… the gauntlet is complete.”
“…Huh?”
Gauntlet?
Complete!?
I had so many questions—but she looked far too happy to interrupt.
What would happen to my gauntlet?
Well… it had been self-repairing already, so whatever.
Setting the monument aside, learning about the ruined city was valuable.
I’d tell Agaro and the others once we reached Hydrangea.
And thus, our battle ended.
We barely did anything at all.