Chapter 9

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I ran into an old acquaintance inside the dungeon—would you mind if they joined us? No additional escort fees will be necessary at this point.”

“I-is it okay if I come along too?”

“Oh, but of course! Even though this area is relatively safe, more escorts are always welcome. Still, I must say—you returned rather quickly, didn’t you?”

“Yes, we found what we were looking for sooner than expected.”

After leaving the dungeon, we were officially able to enter the territory of Lendia.

In other words, Melt could finally remove her hood and joyfully twitch her proud ears.

Looks like there really isn’t any prejudice against beastkin here. The caravan members didn’t react strangely or anything.

“S-so… did you manage to find anything valuable?”

“Yes, I suppose you could call it a little treasure…”

“Oh ho! If you’d like, I could appraise it for you—what do you say?”

I took out two raw gemstones—same kind as the one I’d handed over before—prepared in advance as decoys.

They looked a little larger than the previous one. Maybe some natural variation?

Still… this could be bad. These things fetch quite a high price, but I have almost a thousand of them in my menu inventory. That could seriously crash the market. Better hold off on selling more.

With his usual smile, the guild master took the raw gems in hand. I told him I’d hold off on selling them for now, then officially informed him that we’d be joining the caravan again. With Melt now part of the group, we set off toward Lendia’s capital city—Lindblum.

“Same, did you find some amazing treasure? Are you going to buy a house with it?”

“That’s the plan… But before that, I want to show that dungeon core to someone important in the government. If I’m lucky, I might get a house or a job out of it.”

“Ooh! I want a house with a big kitchen! I’ll work too and help with money, so let’s find a nice one!”

“Haha, sounds good. Also… the core is still a secret, okay?”

“Secret, got it. Shhh…”

Ugh… she’s such a good kid! Her overflowing innocence is purifying my jaded heart!

“What kind of house did you used to live in, Melt?”

“Hmm… way up in the mountains, there was a hidden valley where our tribe lived. I lived there with my grandmother in one of the houses—everyone else had already left, so we could use whichever house we liked. But before she passed, grandma told me: ‘You can’t stay here. One day, for the sake of living, you’ll have to reach the human world.’ I’d heard some things about humans… but it seems we didn’t get along with them as well as I’d hoped.”

“Hmm… I wonder why anyone would hate someone this cute.”

“Cute? You think I’m cute?”

“Honestly? Really cute. I want to touch your ears.”

“No waaay~ ♪”

Saying that, Melt twitched her ears rapidly.

Ugh… she dodges every time I try to touch them!

Just as we’d heard, the area near Lendia’s borders had a military presence—not exactly a tense standoff, but they were definitely on alert for any movements from the neighboring Golda Kingdom.

Would it be a bad idea to bring the dungeon core straight to the capital? Maybe there’s a proper place to present it.

And so, we continued our journey smoothly toward the capital city, Lindblum.

Naturally, I was in charge of cooking along the way. Man… cooking is really fun when you can actually do it…

Meanwhile, as Shizuma—aka Same—made his way to Lendia, his former classmates were on a carriage heading back to the capital of the Golda Kingdom, discussing Same’s parting words.

He had taken down an opponent none of them could even touch—alone. Now, that very person had left the country, dungeon core in hand.

Faced with this reality, they looked at each other with serious expressions, anxiety creeping in.

“What are we supposed to do? Our whole mission was to get the dungeon core, right!? We couldn’t even find Silent, and now someone else has the core!”

“I know, stop shouting. …We could’ve handled that if we’d had proper training. It’s the king’s fault for sending us out so suddenly to chase Silent.”

“Yeah, I kinda agree. Still, it was reckless to push into the dungeon without even finding him first.”

“Silent might have been deeper inside. And now that guy has the core. If he’s strong enough to take it, he might try collecting more.”

“But in the end, he lost it to someone else. Dungeon Masters aren’t supposed to be that easy to beat, right?”

“I don’t think a random adventurer could defeat one… maybe it was already weakened from fighting us?”

“Oh! So that would mean he just swooped in and got the reward? So it’s kinda like it’s our prize after all?”

The kids began spinning the story in a way that was most convenient for them.

Isaka continued to act like he was somehow special, looking down on others. Inami followed his lead, agreeing with everything he said. Muraki sat with a sour expression, gripping his weapon uneasily, while Kazunuma tried to calm him. Meanwhile, Samie paid no attention at all, simply fixing her makeup.

And… among them, one girl looked around at the group with a deep, weary sigh.

“…Sigh. Maybe I should drop out. Maybe I’d have been better off just hiding away in that mansion like Shizuma did.”

“Eh? Wha—are you serious, Shu? Don’t joke about turning into a shut-in like him.”

“It might actually be the smarter move. This isn’t a world where we can just goof off like before. If we keep pretending everything’s fine, something terrible is bound to happen.”

“…Then what do you think we should do, Shu?”

“Me? Let’s see… I still don’t trust the people at the castle, so maybe I’ll go back to that mansion in the forest. They said we couldn’t return, but if Silent defeated the one who supposedly owned the place—it means he’s the owner now, then Shizuma should be safe too. I’ll meet up with him and find somewhere peaceful to lay low. Besides… I want to ask him directly about what Silent meant when he said we ‘betrayed’ him.”

“Right, he did defeat the Dungeon Master of that mansion. So Shizuma’s definitely still out there. But the whole ‘betrayal’ thing was already ruled a lie, wasn’t it?”

“…I thought leaving him in that mansion might be the safest option, but if he’s really out there in the forest alone, maybe we should go pick him up. Just in case. I want to hear his side of the story too.”

And so, the group began to remember the other classmate they had left behind.

But—

“I-I think I’m fine! Because if Silent defeated them… then Shizuma-kun must have been there too, right? Maybe he secretly slipped out with him and went somewhere so neither we nor the country’s people would find him?”

“Why would he do something like that?”

“W-Well… I don’t know…”

“Hmm… It’s possible he was really accompanying that obviously strong guy. But I heard Silent came out of the forest alone… maybe they got separated on the way, or took another exit… or maybe was attacked by monsters.”

“T-Then, maybe he got attacked by monsters…?”

Inami was anxious about everyone trying to find Shizuma.

You see, she had arranged for Shizuma to be excluded from their group by her own will.

She desperately tried to hold everyone back, fearing that if they found him, it would be trouble.

Perhaps it was because she had disliked him from the start as a ‘nuisance who intruded on our nice school trip,’ or simply because she didn’t like him.

In any case… her true ugly feelings were clearly visible.

“At least he might become strong like us when he grows up. Maybe it’s worth trying to look for him even if it’s a long shot. We need more strength… It’s a bit of a shame we couldn’t make that girl an ally, she was quite dependable.”

Though it wasn’t spreading widely yet, a little ‘discord’ was beginning to sprout among them.

When I was in that other country, the temperature was just ‘a little chilly,’ but after coming here, I clearly feel the temperature has dropped. It’s honestly cold.

Why is it cold when we came south!?

…Ah, right. This isn’t Earth, so it’s not necessarily warm.

“Melt-san… bring your tail closer here, it’s cold.”

“Eh—again? Okay, but don’t mess it up too much.”

While being rocked in the wagon, I held Melt’s warm tail for warmth.

So fluffy and warm, I’m happy.

“Are you both alright? There are no signs of monsters, but honestly, we can’t protect you from the cold here.”

“I honestly underestimated it… The temperature change is this noticeable.”

“That’s right. That’s actually the cause of the conflict between this country and the Golda kingdom. This side has very little continental power and magic, so the land easily becomes barren and the temperature is low. That’s why the harvest is small and most of the livelihood depends on trade with other continents. Fortunately, magic technology has developed, so profits come from research products, but research doesn’t fill people’s stomachs.”

“I see. So the harsh magical environment drives research.”

“Yes. Meanwhile, Golda, resting on fertile land, was gradually left behind by the outside world. To put it bluntly, they stagnated. So sooner or later, merchants like us had to leave that country.”

“So, what’s the specific reason for the war…?”

“Lendia proposed to Golda a joint dungeon exploration, so that the power of the harvest would also benefit Lendia. If the power of the harvest is released, Lendia should become richer. Therefore, Lendia offered to provide weapons and mages powered by magical technology to assist the exploration.”

“And Golda rejected that. …Is the Golda king stupid?”

“He’s probably greedy. As a merchant, I don’t deny desire, but as a king, there are priorities beyond greed. Therefore, people without patriotism like us have left the country.”

I see… So if I give the dungeon core from the border that I have now, will things improve a bit here? Maybe I’ll get a good reward? Honestly, I can do anything with money, but maybe they’ll give me a peaceful land, a house, and some form of protection.

“I don’t get it! Did you understand what the uncle said?”

“I did. Basically, the country we were in earlier and the one we’re in now are just a bit hostile to each other.”

“Because it’s cold? Then if they light a fire, everyone gets along?”

“Yeah… I hope that’s true.”

Melt is truly a pure and cute kid. The merchant looks all warm and fuzzy.

“Ah, so if we clear the dungeon and give the core to the country, what would happen?”

“Well, strong dungeon cores have been researched and found to create new pathways for magic power to spread in the land, so the climate would improve a little. However, such strong dungeon cores can only be obtained by defeating powerful dungeon masters that create ‘natural large dungeons’ like the one on the border. Here, the main industry is producing and collecting small dungeon cores from artificial dungeons, but the results are minimal.”

“Wow! There are artificial dungeons?”

That sounds interesting. I want to visit sometime.

But natural dungeon cores are such grand things… I’m starting to look forward to presenting it.

Enduring the cold, we head toward the main city of this country, Lindblum.

Well, I’ll keep cuddling this fluffy tail a bit longer… wake me up when we arrive.

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