Kays Translations

Chapter 182

One evening at sunset.

Near the dungeon stood a vast field — an enormous base camp serving as a temporary hub for explorers. Tents were pitched by parties large and small, and makeshift streets were lined with stalls and outposts.

Food vendors, weapon repair shops, traders buying and selling dungeon loot — a whole miniature city had sprung up there, bustling with life and noise.

Among the chatter and clatter of the camp, two returning figures drew murmurs from those nearby.

“…This makes three days straight, right? They’ve been in the dungeon that whole time?”

“You’re kidding. Just the two of them? Not part of any large raid group?”

“I heard from that Mantis Shrimp party earlier — they spotted those two on the 27th floor. The black-haired kid’s apparently some kind of prodigy.”

“Three days, and they made it that deep? The girl’s already famous for being incredible, but the kid too…? Damn, that’s a terrifying pair.”

“Yeah, and thanks to them, material prices have tanked. They keep selling off rare drops like it’s nothing.”

The rumors were all about Shizuma and Melt, who had been diving repeatedly into the dungeon known as The Dead Sea that Devours the Earth.
They’d begun sleeping inside the dungeon itself, steadily pushing deeper each day.

The pair, famous for tackling the dungeon with just the two of them, became well-known almost overnight — helped by Melt’s existing reputation.

“They cut through monsters at ridiculous speed.”

“Two high-speed attackers — and apparently they use magic, too.”

A duo capable of handling multiple combat roles on their own — their effectiveness rivaled that of full parties.
Sometimes they rescued struggling explorers, other times they healed the wounded, and occasionally they even cooked for starving groups during long expeditions.

Their strength, skill, and kindness all combined to make them admired — even envied.

But of course, where there’s fame, there’s jealousy.
Those who resented their success — especially since the two were still young — began to plot ways to bring them down.
It was, in a sense, the inevitable script that fame writes.

“Shizuma, are you going to kill that guy?”
“Why not? People like him are just criminals hiding behind the title of ‘explorer.’”
“Couldn’t we just hand him over to the guards?”
“Hmm… call it a warning example?”

When we returned to the base camp after three days underground, the sun was already setting.
We’d just gone to sell materials when some random thug blocked our way — demanding we hand over our loot, babbling about ‘representing all the other explorers you’re inconveniencing.’

I was tired after days of battle, and my patience was thin.
So I drove my sword straight into his back.

“Die right there. You all saw it, didn’t you? He picked a fight, drew his sword, and tried to rob me.
So I killed him.
Tell me — does that make me a criminal?”

I wiped the blood from my sword and sheathed it, looking around at the silent onlookers.

Among explorers, there’s an unspoken rule — the moment you draw a weapon in a dispute, you accept the risk of death.
And with so many witnesses, it was clear who was in the wrong.

“…You’re not in the wrong.”
“Y-Yeah. He got what was coming.”
“I see. Then that’s fine.”

I finished selling the materials and left the body where it lay.
Scenes like this weren’t uncommon here — not this close to a dungeon.

Normally, clans like the Glory Knights patrolled the area to prevent deaths, intervening before fights escalated.

But Melt was no longer affiliated with them, and I had no intention of forgiving anyone who tried to obstruct me out of malice.
If someone underestimated us because we looked young — I’d make sure they regretted it.

“Next time someone messes with us, let me handle it.” 

Melt said.

“I don’t want everyone being scared of just you.”

“Thanks. But I doubt anyone will try again after this.”

Explorers only gain recognition through visible results — there’s no “client” to sing your praises.
So their reputations spread purely through word of mouth.

That’s why people saw us only as ‘those kind and helpful explorers’.
They’d never witnessed us fighting real floor bosses — those battles usually involved huge parties, not pairs like us.

No one knew we’d already defeated several “reject” floor bosses — monsters dismissed as too troublesome or unrewarding.

We’d harvested rare materials from them, of course —
like Tentacles of the Abyss Dweller, Flesh of the Sea Giant, and Core Meat of the Ocean Fortress.

Or, to put it plainly: giant squid legs, giant tuna, and massive scallops.

All of which had ended up in our stomachs — so no one ever knew we’d beaten them.
Unlike artificial dungeons, this one had no overseers or record-keepers.

Normally, the Explorer’s Guild should manage and patrol this kind of outpost, but they simply didn’t have the manpower.
That’s why groups like the Glory Knights filled the gap.

Still, anyone could see that Yasha Island was overcrowded.
With most other dungeons on the continent already conquered, and the dungeon core from this one now turned over to the government, everyone had gathered here like moths to flame.

“If they’d just finish the artificial dungeon investigation already, things would calm down…”

“Oh, right — Rivana-chan’s still in the capital, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, probably. I really hope she and her team wrap up soon and come back here.”

It had been about ten days since Melt and I started delving this dungeon.
And nearly a month since I first arrived on the island as Same.
Surely by now, the artificial dungeon re-investigation had to be over… right?

“Alright, let’s head back.”
“Yeah, let’s. I want to soak in a real bath at the hotel for once.”

Thanks to Melt, we had makeshift baths inside the dungeon, but they never truly felt relaxing.
Tomorrow, I decided, we’d take the day off — and enjoy some well-earned peace.

We left the campsite, surrounded by people staring at us with fear in their eyes.

…Well, some of that is necessary, honestly. A certain aura — a visible sense of strength and authority — matters.
If you can’t convey that just by appearance, then you have to show it through your actions.

The next day, we were summoned by the Glory Knights.

I braced myself, thinking it must be about yesterday’s incident—but…

“Hm? No, that’s just what happens when adventurers draw their swords on each other.
People like that never even go into the dungeon; they just act like thugs and harass others.
Since Miss Melt hasn’t been around much lately, there’s been a rise in idiots overstepping their bounds. I heard about what happened yesterday, but you won’t be punished. I called you here for a different reason.”

“I see. Then what is this about?”

“Ah, a letter arrived on the night ferry. The Killcrawler crew is scheduled to reach the island this evening. Training birds to cross the sea is tough, so we receive messages by ship from the port town instead.”

So, the main Killcrawler unit was finally arriving on the island.

God, that scared me for a second… When the hotel front desk told me, ‘You’ve been summoned by the security office,’ I was sure it was about yesterday’s killing.

“I understand. Thank you for the information. That means we can finally begin a full-scale dungeon expedition.”

“Indeed. Rumor has it that you and Miss Melt have already reached quite deep into the dungeon.”

“No, it took us three days just to get to the 37th floor. With the hotel contract in place, we decided it wasn’t practical to go on any longer and returned.”

“Even so, that’s an extraordinary result. Honestly, it’s almost abnormal. Hm… as expected of members of that brigade, I suppose. If Same-san joins the two of you, the three of you might even conquer the whole thing.”

“Haha… that’s impossible, I’m afraid.”

Well, maybe not impossible — if I could somehow give my summoned characters independent will.

After all, I do possess every single class character.
I’ve only ever used a handful of them so far.
…Though, most of the rest are just storage characters that I never properly trained.

“Melt, do you think we should end our hotel contract soon?”

“Yeah, I think so. We don’t need a refund, but it feels wrong to have the staff cleaning the room every day when we’re barely using it. Someone else could make better use of it.”

“Then starting tomorrow, we’ll go on a long-term dungeon expedition! We need to restock supplies — and buy Pitch-chan the Third!”

“‘The Third’… Got it. Another little bird for hazard detection.”

Yeah… Melt’s so-called “safety-check bird.” The last two both died heroically.
Not from traps or gas, but from rapid temperature changes and faint toxins in the air.
Even a human would struggle to survive long in those conditions.

Naturally, both birds ended up in Melt’s stomach afterward — fried and served like bite-sized karaage skewers.

Even though it was just yesterday, when we entered the market area again, the crowd parted immediately, making shopping a lot easier… though it also meant everyone was whispering about us.
We’d already been gaining attention lately, but yesterday’s incident had sealed our reputation completely.

“Let’s see… We’ll buy the birds on the day of departure, so for now — five empty bottles, a bundle of dried herbs, and two coils of sturdy rope, please.”

“You got it! You’ve really made a name for yourself, kid. And that girl over there too — she always brings in great materials. Thanks to you two, business has been booming. I’ll probably have to sail back to the port soon just to process everything.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll be entering the dungeon full-time starting tomorrow, so I probably won’t be back for a while — good timing then.”

I bought the supplies I needed from a familiar stall — the same shopkeeper who once told me about Melt.
I usually sell most of my materials here too, mainly because his inventory is the best among all the vendors.

“Melt, if we’re checking out of the hotel, should we set up our tent in the campsite?”

“Hmm? If we’re joining Rivana’s group, won’t we just stay at their base camp instead?
Maybe we should wait until tomorrow to end the hotel stay, just in case.”

“That makes sense! Then tonight I’ll sleep one last time in that heavenly soft bed!”

“Yeah. All right, that’s everything for now. We’re a bit early, but let’s head to the docks.”

“Good idea! We should go welcome them — and maybe pick up some fruit from the pier stalls while we’re at it!”

The fruit stand we’d first seen on our arrival, it turns out, is actually a local specialty of the island.

Apparently, the shopkeeper can use ice magic — thanks to that, all the fruits there are always perfectly chilled.

I tried one myself — a fruit that looked like a small kiwi but tasted like a cold, sweet pineapple. It was delicious.

“Thank you very much, sir.”
“Thanks! Oh, and if you ever get any of those mysterious sticks in stock, keep one for me!”
“Hm? A stick? Uh… sure, understood.”

…Melt is probably hoping for a “shrimp-attracting stick” or something, but yeah, that definitely doesn’t exist.

When we arrived at the docks, there were a lot more people than usual — probably because the next ferry was due to arrive soon.

Originally, the service only ran once every three days, but lately, with so many adventurers trying to get to the island, it’s been running multiple trips every single day.

Still, because whirlpools appear irregularly and unpredictably, they’ve had to alter the route significantly — now it takes a long, roundabout path compared to the original one.

The detour eats up both time and fuel, but the nation is apparently covering those extra costs.

“Hmm, I wonder if Rivana and the others are here yet?”

“You’ve gotten pretty close with her, huh?”

“Yup! We drank together and talked a lot — now we’re friends. Rivana-chan really praised you, you know? She said things like, ‘He’s so young but hardworking,’ ‘He can do anything,’ and ‘He’s polite and easy to talk to.’”

“I—Is that so?”

…Hmm. Some of those reasons don’t make a lot of sense, but, well—
it doesn’t feel bad hearing it.

As Melt and I ate our chilled fruit and watched the sea, the distant sound of a ship’s whistle reached our ears.
Looking out toward the horizon, we could see a vessel slowly drawing closer.

“There! Over there — let’s go welcome them!”
“Got it. Here they come.”

The ship gradually slowed as it approached, then glided quietly into the harbor and docked. The gangplank was lowered.

“Hey! Isn’t that—!”
“They’re back! The group’s back!”
“They withdrew from here just before the war… Are they starting another expedition?”

Voices of surprise spread among the onlookers, all pointing toward the figures visible on deck.

It was none other than the main force of Killcrawler, the largest and most powerful clan under the Adventurers’ Guild — finally arriving on the island.

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