Chapter 162: A Kind of Valuable Commodity

“Today marks our memorable first dungeon attack!!!”

From early morning, Ryu and the others were already bustling about, energetically preparing themselves.

Although Ryu had been challenged to a duel by the Hero the day before, the truth was that the primary reason they had come to the Federation in the first place was the dungeons.

Ryu was not the type of man who would delay or rearrange his plans simply because of a Hero.

So, just as scheduled, they would head to a dungeon the very next day after arriving.

“Is there anyone here who has dungeon experience?” Ryu asked.

Only Stingray raised her hand smoothly.

“While I was traveling alone on my training journey, I stopped by several dungeon cities within the Empire,” she explained. “Though the scale was nothing compared to the ones here.”

“That’s more than enough,” Ryu said. “Then I have a question for you.”

“Ask anything.”

Stingray swallowed nervously.

“…What do we need to do first in order to go to a dungeon?”

—The sound of the atmosphere slipping and collapsing echoed awkwardly.

“Um… don’t tell me you came charging into the Federation’s capital without knowing anything?” Stingray asked carefully.

“Yep. Charging ahead on sheer momentum has always been my specialty.”

“…Then I’ll start by explaining what we should do first.”

According to Stingray, the basic rule was to first speak either with a guild receptionist at the headquarters or with the information brokers standing near the entrance in order to obtain information about the dungeon they wanted.

Surprisingly, she recommended the information brokers.

This was because dungeon information within the Adventurers’ Guild was treated as a valuable commodity.

Receptionists would only provide the bare minimum.

“I guess that’s another reason adventurers form clans—to share information,” Ryu remarked.

“Exactly. That’s why beginners often belong to lower or mid-level clans,” Stingray said. “Also, the number one cause of death in dungeons isn’t monsters—it’s starvation, heatstroke, or freezing.”

“That makes information even more valuable than life itself,” Ryu said. “Let’s head to the guild headquarters right away.”

The group left the inn.

“Ryu-niisama, there’s something I want to tell you,” Lena said.

“What’s up?”

“Yesterday, while we were eating at the tavern, there was a group of rough-looking adventurers sitting at the corner table. If I’m not mistaken… it looked like they were secretly watching newcomers like us—young adventurers who had just arrived.”

“…I see,” Ryu murmured. “That might be a typical case of beginner hunting. If it were just a party, that would be one thing—but if it’s a clan doing it, they can be troublesome. Let’s stay alert.”

“As expected of the holy land of adventurers,” Esther said with a small laugh. “It seems it’s also full of strange characters.”

This was the holy land of adventurers.

The number of adventurers, parties, and clans here was overwhelming.

So overwhelming, in fact, that even the guild headquarters couldn’t keep track of them all.

Naturally, there were countless adventurers with terrible reputations.

Especially since dungeons were isolated from reality—almost like another world entirely.

For those with wicked schemes, they were the perfect stage.

“So clans also serve as a kind of backing,” Ryoma said thoughtfully.

“Well, Ryoma-sama has the support of the Blanc Count family, so there’s nothing to worry about,” Alice said.

“I suppose I technically have the backing of Tosa…” Ryoma muttered.

“So once you’re officially engaged, the Blanc County and the Tosa Domain will become sister cities,” Alice said brightly. “Thank you very much. That helps a lot.”

“…Eh?”

At that moment, Ryu chimed in.

“Then I’ll set up a dedicated trade route between the Arden port town and the Blanc-Tosa connection.”

“As expected of Ryu-sensei… what a genius…!” Alice gasped.

“I’m always indebted to your father, after all. This much is easy.”

Ryu grinned mischievously as he watched Ryoma, who looked increasingly troubled.

(Man, I’m really glad I brought him along.)

(The walls are being slowly closed in from the outside… is this the terrifying method of imperial nobles…?)

Yet despite his complaints, Ryoma didn’t seem entirely displeased.

“By the way, let me explain our formation for this expedition,” Ryu continued.

“The front line will be Stingray, Alice, and Ryoma. The mid-line will be Lena and Esther. I’ll take the rear guard. The two in the middle should stay mounted on Axel at all times. And Homura—you handle the skies. Change your size as needed and act as a roaming attacker when you’re free.”

“Gyau!”

(Understood! At last… at last it’s my time to shine!)

“I just hope Homura’s battle instincts haven’t dulled,” Esther muttered.

“Well, she’s spent the last year doing nothing but eating and sleeping,” Ryu said.

“Gyau…”

(I can still breathe fire… probably…)

Soon, the group arrived at the massive guild headquarters.

First they would gather information from a receptionist, then compare it with what the information brokers outside could provide.

Mini-Axel was being carried in Lena’s arms, while Mini-Homura perched comfortably on Esther’s shoulder as they walked inside together.

After waiting in the long line for several dozen minutes, their turn finally arrived.

This part was Stingray’s responsibility.

“We’d like to know about recommended dungeons around the C to B rank,” she said politely.

“Certainly,” the receptionist replied. “Before providing information, I’ll need to confirm your adventurer tag.”

Stingray handed it over.

“You are Stingray, a C-rank adventurer and leader of the clan Dragon Road, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Are the people behind you your clan members?”

Everyone nodded.

(They’re very young… there’s even a small elf girl among them. I should recommend something easy.)

The receptionist produced a list of dungeons.

“I recommend the C-rank dungeon: Mad Bull Great Plains. The climate is stable, and the open terrain makes it easy to detect enemies, which reduces the risk of monster ambushes.”

“Ryu-sama, what do you think?” Stingray asked.

“Hmm… it sounds a little too ordinary.”

“Then we’ll pick somewhere else.”

“Y-yes…”

(The leader is speaking politely to a member? That’s strange. Maybe the boy behind her is the employer…)

“Hey, this one looks interesting,” Ryu said, pointing at another entry.

The letter B was clearly written beside it.

“That would be the B-rank White Storm Dungeon,” the receptionist explained nervously. “Blizzards appear throughout the field, and at the end there’s a B-rank boss called the Snow King Bear. I can’t really recommend it…”

“Then we’ll go with that.”

“A-all right…”

(These kids probably won’t live very long.)

Adventurers were free to choose.

Receptionists could make suggestions—but they weren’t allowed to forbid anything.

Those were the rules.

“Sounds fun!” Esther said excitedly. “We can have endless snowball fights!”

“And if it gets cold, Homura can just start a fire,” Lena added.

“Gyau!”

(Leave it to me!)

“Ryoma-sama, let’s build a snow hut together,” Alice said sweetly.

“W-well… if we have the time…”

Stingray, the only one who truly understood dungeons, watched their carefree attitude with a complicated expression.

“Ryu-sama… are we really going to be okay?”

“We’ll be fine,” Ryu said lightly. “Look, everyone’s having fun.”

“Well… if you say so…”

Afterward, they paid a fee to one of the information brokers outside and gathered detailed information about the White Storm Dungeon.

The information included:

• Large quantities of food and cold-weather gear are essential.
• The field is extremely vast, so travel straight through the center instead of wandering.
• If you intend to defeat the Snow King Bear, the round trip takes at least one week.
• The boss has extremely high defense, so magic attacks are recommended.
• Beware of a monster called the Snow Serpent along the way.
• Several caves can serve as rest areas during the journey.
• Warnings about certain ill-reputed clans.

The difference in information compared to the receptionist’s briefing was staggering.

“Alright,” Ryu said firmly. “Let’s rely on information brokers from now on.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

At the luxurious inn where Ryu and the others were staying—

A group of people currently considered the hottest figures in the entire country had arrived.

“Why, if it isn’t the Heroes,” the inn manager greeted them politely. “What brings you here today?”

“We have business with Ryu,” Takeshi said. “We’d like to meet him.”

“I’m afraid he is currently out.”

“Where did he go?”

“I apologize, but I cannot disclose that information.”

An inn manager who casually revealed guest information would be utterly unfit for the job.

“Takeshi, let’s search outside,” Amane suggested.

“Yeah,” Kaito added. “If we search for a day, we’ll find him eventually.”

“…Alright. Sorry to take your time, manager,” Takeshi said.

“Not at all.”

The Heroes left the inn.

Watching their retreating figures, the manager murmured to himself:

(Are Ryu-sama’s group acquaintances of the Heroes…? Or perhaps the opposite? I overheard rumors yesterday about a duel involving the Heroes. Could it be that Ryu-sama is the opponent…? No, I shouldn’t speculate. They are all valued guests, after all.)