Chapter 217: Welcome to the Mining Dungeon
Ryoma was caught red-handed by Alice while Munechika was poking his cheek.
The moment Alice’s yandere tendencies detonated in full force, she drew her sword and rampaged for a short while. Fortunately, after a great deal of frantic explanation, they somehow managed to calm her down and convince her to sheath the blade before anyone actually got hurt.
“So, you’re Munechika-san.”
Alice smiled politely, though there was still a dangerous edge lingering beneath the surface.
“I’ve heard quite a lot about you. It seems our Ryoma-sama was deeply indebted to you. Thank you very much for everything you’ve done for him.”
“Ahahaha, no need to thank me.”
Munechika waved her hand dismissively.
“He already repaid the favor a long time ago.”
The favor she referred to was probably the true name he had given her—the key that allowed her lost memories to be restored.
Or perhaps she was also thinking about something even more precious.
The fact that Ryu and Ryoma had stepped forward and called themselves her friends.
Her very first friends.
“Sorry about earlier.”
Munechika scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“I know this sounds like an excuse, but… I’m a pretty strange person. Ever since I was born, everyone I’ve ever interacted with—even my own parents—kept their distance from me.”
Her voice softened.
“But Ryu and Ryoma called someone like me their friend. I was just so happy that I got carried away. The physical contact got a little excessive.”
She laughed sheepishly.
“I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“As long as you keep it within reasonable limits, I don’t mind at all.”
Alice answered with a gentle smile.
“Anyone who’s Ryoma-sama’s great benefactor is also my benefactor.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you.”
Munechika nodded repeatedly, looking genuinely impressed.
“Yep, yep. You’re a really good girl.”
Then she glanced at Ryoma.
“Your bride is wonderful.”
“My proud fiancée, indeed.”
Ryoma smiled warmly.
Unfortunately, his neck was covered in countless hand-shaped marks.
Apparently, calming Alice down had involved being strangled several times.
And then—
A tiny black silhouette came floating lazily through the air.
“Huh~? Are you the Munechika Ryu was talking about~?”
“That’s right.”
Munechika smiled and waved.
“And you’re Dungeon Master, right? Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too!!”
The little figure spun happily in midair.
“Oh, and I already granted you provisional Master authority, so you can teleport here whenever you want!!”
“You already did it?!”
Munechika blinked.
“Wow, Dungeon Master, you’re incredibly efficient.”
“Ehehehehe!”
The small black silhouette puffed out his chest proudly.
“I heard you’ve lived even longer than the Dragon King.”
Munechika’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“I’d love to sit down and hear your stories sometime.”
“Sure~!”
Dungeon Master nodded enthusiastically.
“I love talking!”
Munechika got along surprisingly well with Dungeon Master.
Perhaps it was because they shared a common wound.
Both of them had spent an unimaginably long time struggling with loneliness.
Maybe there was something they instinctively understood about one another.
After chatting for a while, Dungeon Master remembered he had business to attend to and floated away, returning to the Behemoth Desert in the Gran Federation.
“Well then, shall we head to the Empire as well?”
Ryoma stretched.
“Man, I can’t wait to see that mine.”
Munechika grinned.
Meanwhile, Alice smiled sweetly.
A smile that sent chills down Ryoma’s spine.
“You’re acting as though nothing happened, Ryoma-sama.”
She tightened her grip on his arm.
“But tonight, you’re going to receive a very thorough lecture.”
“Ah… ahahaha…”
Ryoma’s laughter sounded hollow and doomed.
The three of them teleported to the mining dungeon beneath the Second Ardren Estate.
◇◇◇
The mining dungeon was peaceful.
Almost unbelievably peaceful.
No monsters roamed its grounds.
Instead, there stood a small forest, cultivated farmland, a moderately sized mansion, vast grasslands, and an enormous mine that towered proudly in the distance.
A black horse carrying a slime galloped across the plains.
A fire dragon circled lazily through the sky.
And in one of the fields…
There stood a lab-coat-wearing loli elf and a viscount who seemed slightly unhinged.
Ryu immediately pinched his nose.
“Ugh, that stinks.”
He recoiled dramatically.
“What the hell is this herb? It reeks!”
“Stop saying it stinks!!”
Esther snapped.
“It’s a genuine rare plant!! Do you have any idea how much trouble I went through to obtain these seeds?!”
She continued muttering complaints under her breath.
“This is about on par with Axel’s silent-but-deadly farts.”
“Enough already!!”
Esther stomped her foot.
“You’re interfering with my farming!!”
“Nope.”
Ryu folded his arms.
“I was practically born to interfere with Esther’s farm work.”
He looked upward dramatically.
“At this very moment, I truly feel alive.”
“Nuaaaaaaahhhh!!”
Esther looked utterly exhausted as Ryu relentlessly pestered her.
It was such a bizarre sight that one could probably only witness it within this dungeon.
Then another troublemaker arrived.
“Ehhh?!”
A delighted voice echoed from nowhere.
“What’s this adorable creature?!”
Before anyone could react, Munechika appeared beside Esther and effortlessly lifted her by the armpits.
Apparently, the sight of a tiny loli elf had struck directly at her weak point.
“W-What are you doing?!”
Esther flailed.
“Put me down at once!!”
Munechika ignored her completely.
“Hey, Ryu.”
She turned.
“Can I keep this?”
“Sure.”
“You absolutely can’t!!”
Esther shrieked.
“Put me down immediatelyyyyy!!”
She kicked and thrashed with all four limbs.
Unfortunately, Munechika was nearly as tall as Stingray.
The resistance was completely ineffective.
While holding the struggling elf, Munechika observed her more closely.
A loli elf in a lab coat…
So this is Esther. Ryu’s wife.
Then—
She noticed something.
Something critically important.
Wait a second.
Ryu is over a head taller than me.
And Esther is… this size…
Her eyes slowly shifted between Ryu and Esther.
Again.
And again.
Then realization dawned.
“Could it be that you two have a siz—”
Esther instantly clamped a hand over her mouth.
“I refuse to let you finish that sentence!!”
she declared.
“Hmph. Every single person says the exact same thing.”
“Mmph! Mmph!”
Munechika’s muffled protests were rendered unintelligible.
Ryu nodded approvingly.
“Excellent interception. As expected of Esther. Truly Est—”
“I won’t let you say it either, you fool!!”
Esther barked.
“Don’t think you can sneak it in amidst the confusion!”
“Mmph!”
Now it was Ryu’s turn to be silenced.
Once the customary exchange was completed, they finally moved on to introductions.
“I’m Munechika.”
She smiled warmly.
“I don’t think a detailed introduction is necessary at this point. I’ve really wanted to meet you, Esther.”
“And I you.”
Esther’s expression softened.
“The only reason I’m able to remain in Ardren is because of your efforts.”
She bowed her head slightly.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me.”
Munechika shook her head.
“You’ve all saved me just as much.”
Her voice carried genuine sincerity.
“And I’m planning to rely on you all quite a bit from now on, so please take care of me.”
“The one who’ll be relying on others is me.”
Esther smiled.
“Especially when it comes to pharmacology. I still intend to learn much from you.”
Munechika responded with a bright, radiant smile.
“…”
“…”
The two simply stared at one another.
“Um…”
Esther finally spoke.
“Would you mind putting me down now?”
“Oh.”
Munechika blinked.
“Right. Sorry, sorry.”
At long last, Esther was reunited with the ground.
At that moment, Ryoma arrived.
“Ohh~”
He looked pleased.
“Looks like you two became friends immediately. That’s wonderful.”
He said this while Alice firmly restrained his arm like a prisoner’s escort.
“Ryoma.”
Ryu narrowed his eyes.
“Doesn’t it look like there are marks on your neck?”
“H-Hahaha…”
Ryoma laughed nervously.
“Must be your imagination.”
Alice looked around.
“Huh? Are Rena-san and Stingray-san not here?”
“Unfortunately, both of them are out right now.”
“I see.”
Alice nodded.
“In that case, we’ll be taking our leave.”
Then she smiled sweetly at Ryoma.
“I still need to punish Ryoma-sama.”
Ryoma immediately shot Ryu a desperate SOS glance.
Clearly, he wanted some excuse—any excuse—to keep him here.
Unfortunately…
“Got it.”
Ryu nodded.
“Thanks for coming today.”
“Please give Rena our regards.”
With that final farewell, Alice dragged Ryoma away.
Quite literally.
By then, the light had already vanished from his eyes.
“Hey.”
Munechika watched them disappear.
“Shouldn’t we help him? He looks like he’s about to die.”
“Sometimes things are better left alone.”
Ryu shrugged.
“It’d be rude for me to interfere.”
“Well then.”
Esther adjusted her lab coat.
“Shall we head for the mine?”
◇◇◇
The three rode atop Axel toward the mining area.
“You guys are lucky.”
Munechika looked around with a wistful smile.
“You have so many companions. I’m jealous.”
“You’re part of this circle now too.”
Ryu replied immediately.
“Everyone here is your companion.”
For a moment, Munechika fell silent.
Then her eyes began to glisten.
“I’m so happy.”
Her voice trembled.
“Really… truly happy.”
“By the way,”
Esther began introducing everyone.
“This giant black horse is Axel. The slime is Daifuku-kun. And the fire dragon is Homura.”
“Nice to meet you all!”
Munechika waved enthusiastically.
“Let’s be friends!”
“Burururu.”
“Puruun.“
“Gyau…”
(It’s a pleasure to meet you.)
Homura lowered her head respectfully.
(Another dragon species has arrived… Ardren is becoming a force that no one will be able to stop.)
These three weren’t merely gentle familiars.
Whether by fate or coincidence, each possessed abilities that countless people would desperately covet.
“Homura is a fire dragon.”
Ryu explained.
“And Daifuku-kun is an Frost Slime. They help with pharmaceutical production and blacksmithing.”
“High-temperature flames and ice…”
Munechika’s eyes lit up.
“That’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
“And when you’re wandering around Ardren or the capital, ride Axel. He’ll guide you.”
“Understood.”
She laughed.
“Everyone here is so dependable.”
Then she muttered thoughtfully.
“These abilities would probably be amazing for alchemy too.”
Ryu glanced at her.
“…Interested?”
“Very.”
She nodded.
“To be honest, I’ve already mastered most of pharmacology and smithing.”
Her expression became nostalgic.
“Back when I was still human, I was planning to branch into other fields.”
She shrugged.
“Then I evolved.”
“In that case, become House Ardren’s alchemist.”
“Leave it to me!”
Munechika pumped her fist.
“‘Official Alchemist of House Ardren’ sounds incredibly cool, doesn’t it?”
Ryu and Esther exchanged invisible fist pumps in their hearts.
A short while later, they arrived at the famous dome-shaped mineral deposit.
And then—
“Eh…”
Munechika froze.
Completely speechless.
Her mouth hung open.
“Mithril.”
“Orichalcum.”
“Adamantite.”
“Hihiirokane…”
Her gaze darted frantically from ore to ore.
“…And is that meteoric iron?”
Her voice shook.
“Can a place like this really exist?”
To a blacksmith, it was nothing less than paradise.
A dream made real.
And then—
Munechika made her decision.
“Alright.”
She nodded firmly.
“I’ve decided.”
“I’m digging a hole here and living in it.”
“Now hold on—”
Ryu began.
“At the very least…”
Esther sighed deeply.
“Please live in the mansion instead.”