Chapter 122: The Dungeon of Art
I next led everyone over to Wide-san’s place.
…Honestly, if I could have avoided bringing them here, I absolutely would have.
“Hey, um… what is this place?”
“There’s, like, tons of stuff I don’t understand at all!”
“So mysterious…”
Yeah. I don’t really get any of it either.
As expected, the place had deteriorated into a state far worse than before—so much so that the previous chaos now felt almost orderly in comparison.
The reason, of course, was simple: all the dwarves who admired Wide-san had come flocking to him… and then, in an act of tragic unity, all became his disciples.
Strange and ominous objects protruded proudly from every corner, crowding the landscape like the remains of alien monuments.
And each one—every single one—overflowed with an “artistic vision” (…maybe?) so incomprehensible that normal people would lose sanity points just by staring too long.
While we stood frozen, shuddering at the sight, Wide-san cheerfully popped into view.
He emerged from inside one of the nearby “objects,” as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Oh! Geo-sama! Behold these magnificent works of art! Thanks to gaining disciples, I can finally draw closer to my ideal!”
“Ideal… you say…?”
Where exactly does this dwarf’s “ideal” lead?
Honestly, I’m too scared to ask.
But Wide-san didn’t wait for questions anyway—he simply launched into his monologue.
“Indeed! My plan is to interconnect every artistic creation here and ultimately complete a single colossal masterpiece! Naturally, one will be able to enter it and travel freely from artwork to artwork! A true Dungeon of Art, if you will! Without doubt, people from across the entire world shall one day flock here to witness it! And for all eternity, they shall remain prisoners to the wonder of art!”
…This place is my home vegetable garden, you know?
“As expected of Master!”
“I knew becoming your disciple was the right choice!”
“We are shaping history with our own hands!”
Apparently, the other dwarves had been listening in, because excited cheers echoed from all over the mass of bizarre sculptures.
“Uh… h-hey, Geo… what’s up with these dwarves?”
“Please don’t ask me…”
“But… they look like they’re having fun.”
Well… yeah, I guess they do look like they’re enjoying themselves, just like Shifa-san said…
“It’s amazing! I have no idea what any of this is, but it’s amazing!”
Unlike me and Anii—who were both stunned into exasperation—Sena’s eyes sparkled with unfiltered excitement.
“Oho! Whoever you may be, you seem to grasp the essence of art!”
Only now did Wide-san realize he had visitors other than me.
…Well, he never shows much interest in anything unrelated to “art.”
“Yeah! You can go inside these, right? Can I go in!?”
“Of course! Everything is made from adamantite, so there’s no fear of breaking anything!”
“Yaaay!”
Sena dove straight into the nearest object without hesitation.
“Wow! This part connects over here! Ah! What’s this!? Something like a little p***s is growing out of the ground!”
…Hmm. Maybe this place actually is a pretty decent playground for kids.
Though seriously—why is that growing out of the ground…?
“These dwarves… they’re clearly not regular dwarves… C-Could it be…?”
“Lilcarlia-san? Is something bothering you?”
“N-No, no, nothing at all—nothing at all!”
In the end, I barely managed to introduce Shifa-san and the others before we fled Wide-san’s domain.
Our next stop was the residence of Bradia-san.
…It feels a little bigger than before. Just a bit.
Shifa-san frowned as she studied the exterior.
“It’s bright red.”
“Y-Yes… well, it’s just the color of tomatoes, so it’s perfectly normal. Really.”
Yeah. If you’re seeing it for the first time, the intense red can be… alarming.
“So, who lives here this time?”
Anii asked, her tone dripping with suspicion.
“Um… the vampires live here.”
“V-Vampires!? Are you sure that’s safe…?”
“Yeah. None of them drink blood anymore.”
Her reaction made it clear that vampires still had a pretty dreadful image.
To be fair, we’d just fought a group of vampires who kidnapped humans and locked them up in abandoned houses…
And Bradia-san had originally tried to destroy an entire town, so it’s not like I can claim there’s zero risk.
Even if she looks like an adorable little girl.
We stepped inside the mansion.
As always, a beautiful woman in a maid uniform welcomed us.
“Welcome, Geo-sama.”
“Huh? Vania-san? You’re already back?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, Geo-sama, we were able to apprehend our kin who had been committing illegal bloodsucking. We are deeply grateful for your cooperation.”
“No, no—thank you for your help.”
As we exchanged polite words, Anii jabbed her elbow repeatedly into my side.
“So this is the Vania you mentioned? She’s insanely gorgeous!”
“Y-Yeah…”
Please stop poking my ribs. It hurts.
“Geo-sama, who are these guests?”
“Ah, right, let me introduce—”
I was about to introduce Shifa-san and the others when Bradia-san appeared.
Perfect timing. I could introduce everyone together.
“Bura-chan, long time no see!”
“Sena, hm? You seem as lively as ever.”
Sena and Bradia-san had lived with us for a while, so they already knew each other well.
…Though personally, I still think calling her Bura-chan is a bit questionable.
“This is Bradia-san. Um… she’s technically the owner of this mansion… I think.”
She doesn’t look like it, but that’s the truth.
“Since thou hast come all this way, thou should partake in my tomato dishes!”
“Really? Ah, but right now—”
“Yaaay! I wanna eat! You all want to, right?”
“Honestly… Fine, we’ll take you up on that.”
She’d invited us several times before, but circumstances always got in the way. We’d never had the chance to actually taste her cooking until now.
“A vampire named Bradia, and a Vania…? That’s… that’s totally like that thing…”
“Lilcarlia-san…?”
“N-Nope! Nothing at all! Forget I said anything!”