Attacking Those Who Come
After seeing Meison and Doruki being dragged away, Felice and rest decided to go to the basement.
However, they can’t take guards with them.
“So, what are we going to do about the guards?”
“Just explaining should be good, right?”
“They will be sacked when they return.”
“Elder brother, let’s give up this time.”
“Oniisama, you mustn’t trouble the guards.”
“Even the little sister understands. Adam, it’s no use this time, but we will take you along if you get permission from Lewis and others.”
“We still don’t know what’s in that place.”
“Hahh~…… I understand. I will give up this ti…… ah!”
“”””””Ah?””””””
When they looked at the person Adam was pointing at, they saw Austin walking around.
“N? What are you doing at a place like this?”
“Uncle!? You came at a good time!”
“Uncle, your timing is too poor.”
“Dylan, your brother is a person who has no luck escaping trouble, huh.”
“But, it’s not like he got the permission yet.”
“If it’s Ojisama, then he will allow it.”
“Ahh~ ah.”
“It would turn out like this in the end after all.”
“Just what is going on?”
When they explained the situation to Austin who was tiling his head in puzzlement, he contacted Lewis and others and got the permission.
He informed the guards too and decided to accompany Adam and others.
“Alright~!”
“Elder brother, you are unreasonably tagging along, so I beg you…… okay! I beg you, refrain from selfish actions!”
“I got it, I got it.”
“Ojisama, please take care of us.”
“I can’t tell who’s the eldest one.”
“When the top is like that, the bottom has to be reliable, you know?”
“Is that so? But, even though Miguel Oniisama is reliable, Nathan Oniisama is reliable too, you know?”
Hearing Felice’s words, Miguel and Nathan patted the head of their little sister in silence.
On the side, Albert consulted with Austin.
“Austin, let’s decide our responsibilites.”
“You stay with Felice, Miguel and Nathan, and I with Adam, Dylan, and Grace should be fine, right?”
“Roger.”
Deciding to depart, they put a mantle over Gai and moved to the forest.
Gai said that there are several entrances to the basement, so he guided them to a different one this time.
After a while of walking, he brought them to a cave.
“This is the third entrance. It looks just like a normal cave, but there’s a device in the rock in the innermost part of the cave.”
When advancing deeper while explaining, they came across three rocks that lied side by side at 1m intervals.
“The entrance will open when these three rocks are pressed at the same time.”
Abiding Gai’s instructions, Austin pressed the rock on the right, Adam pressed the rock in the middle, and Albert pressed the rock on the left all at the same time.
“””One, two!”””
Then, gakon three holes opened in the ground near the rocks.
“Ha?””Oh?””Eh?”
The three fell down the holes due to gravity.
“””Wait a moment――――!!”””
The hole closed immediately after the three shouted.
“Ah…… I made a mistake!”
“Made a mistake? …… Oy, Skeleton, you did it on purpose, didn’t you!”
“Hii~!”
While Felice and others were still dumbfounded, they looked towards the threating voice and saw Dylan tightly gripping Gai’s skull.
“Huh? Did I perhaps mishear?”
“You didn’t mishear, Feli. See, it’s often said that “gentle people are scary when angry” isn’t it?”
“He becomes like that only rarely though. Anyhow, let’s stop him before he crushes Gai’s head. We won’t be able to hear what we want to ask.”
“Yeah.”
“But, how do you stop him?”
“At times like these…… Grace, go ahead.”
“Yes! Dylan Oniisama~ please calm down~!”
When Grace jumped on Dylan’s back, the hand which was holding Gai’s skull relaxed.
“Sorry. I forgot myself there.”
“No, you are just worried about Adam Oniisama and rest after all.”
“Elder brother? …… Ah, yeah. Right, right, I’m worried about Elder brother and rest.”
Seeing Dylan avert his gaze to Grace’s words, Felcie looked at her brothers.
“Grace’s safety fundamentally comes first for Dylan, you see.”
“If he dropped the three on purpose, he thought that he might do something to Grace too.”
“I, is that so? Come to think of it, are Al and others all right? Say Gai, are the three okay?”
“Ugh~…… I thought I would get crushed. The guys who well are fine. There are device against intruders, but they don’t have the power to shed blood…… with one exception.”
“””””Eh?”””””
Because it seemed that Gai also didn’t know which one is dangerous, Felice and rest decided to move to the basement first.
As for the three who fell down the holes.
Austin’s side
“To make me fall down again. The guys above and Albert will be fine, but I’m worried about Adam.”
Austin who moved into the dark cave brightened by his magic said.
After a while of walking he heard a clicking sound under his feet, so he stopped.
“Is this…… perhaps a trap!?”
When Austin readied himself, holes opened on both sides of the walls and fired arrows at him.
Austin drew his sword and picked up the arrows to check them after easily striking them down.
“What? It has a…… cloth on the tip? There are some cotton ones too.”
Cloth and cotton were tied at the tips of the arrows.
After that, he encountered several traps, but all of them were more or less painless when hit, so he advanced without minding the traps.
Adam’s side
“Shit~ I hit my ass! Still, it’s quite damp and humid here. There’s water too.”
The place Adam is advancing through is a cave system with an ankle-height water.
Relying on magic as light while walking along a wall, he suddenly felt a squishy texture on his hand, so Adam slowly looked towards it.
What was there was a slug…… a 50cm long slug.
“…… Nnooo――――!”
When Adam ran away while yelling, he slipped on something and fell down.
“Cough! T, the water entered my nose! The hell is this!”
Adam looked towards his feet and when he saw a slug of around 2m in length, he stood up in panic.
“Isn’t it bigger than the one before!? Huh? …… Surely not.”
Feeling presences around him, Adam strengthened his light and he shined upon several large, wriggling slugs.
Adam slowly backed off, the slugs seemed to be approaching him bit-by-bit, but their movements were limited.
Adam tried to leave at once, but the slugs simultaneously sprung at him.
“Stop it――――!! I, I’m not good with slimy, wet, and slippery――――!”
After that, Adam was chased by slippery, touched the wet, and fell into the slimy while running away with all his might.
Albert’s side
“That skeleton, I’m going to smash him in pieces after I return! Rather, you would be instantly cremated if you didn’t form a barrier. Normal humans, that is.”
The place Albert was walking through was a cave blazing with intense flames.
After walking for a while, the flames in the cave were replaced by a snowstorm.
“Death by fire first and now freezing to death, huh?”
Icicles shooting from the walls attacked him on the way, but Albert dodged them without difficulty.
“What will be next…… N? A crossroads.”
There was a crossroads after walking out of the snowstorm, so he was troubled over which path to take.
“Hmm…… right path is misty, I don’t feel anything from the left path. Alright, let’s go right!”
Felice and others would be surely yelling “Why are you expressly choosing that path!?” by now.
Remaining group’s side
“No~ sorry, sorry. My memory is vague and I thought this place to be safe for some reason.”
“Gai, look here…… you have no persuasive power while entrapped.”
“Is that so? Haha…… save me~!”
“””””Hahh~”””””
Gai who was being squished between two walls after leading the group to a place that should have been safe, desperately cried for help.
“You should just get crushed.”
“It would be the same if you were here or not anyway.”
“Indeed. But, wouldn’t it be clever to use save him to avoid further traps?”
“”Ah, there was that option.””
“Cruel! In that case, you don’t have to save me…… save me after all!”
“You guys, he looks pitiful.”
“Can’t be helped then~ Suspension.”
In the end, Felice saved him using her magic.
They advanced with Gai in the front, but fortunately, they arrived at a wide room without encountering any traps.
Looking closely, there were five other entrances Felice and others could take.
“Gai, which way should we go?”
“Who knows?”
“Who knows? …… You idiot!”
Just when Dylan stretched his hand to grab Gai’s skull again, they heard a noise coming from the closest entrance.
When everyone felt vigilant, Austin appeared from the entrance.
“Oh? You guys are safe.”
“””Uncle!”””
“Ojisama!”
“Austin-san! I’m glad.”
“The traps were on a child’s level, so I ran through. Are they perhaps all connected?”
“It looks like it.”
While waiting for the other two for a while, a splashing sound resounded and a giant slug appeared.
“”Kyaa!””
“Calm down Grace, Felice. It’s just a slug. It’s not harmful.”
“I, it might not be harmful, but!”
“It’s disgusting!”
“Let’s burn it.”
When Nathan aimed his hand full of magical power towards it, a voice escaped from the slug.
“W, wait…… it, it’s me.”
“N? This voice, is that you, Adam!?”
“Elder brother?”
“Adam Oniisama!?”
“…… Let’s burn it.”
“Nathan, as expected you should stop there.”
“Nathan Oniisama, calm down.”
Adam was helped by Austin and the slug returned to its original place.
Adam sat down, but no one approached him because of the smell emitting from his body.
Unable to bear it, Felice removed the smell with magic.
While comforting Adam who was saying words of thanks while crying, the group waited for Albert.
And then, for some reason, thudding noises resounded from the ceiling.
“Why is the noise coming from above?”
“I have a bad feeling.”
“Oy, skeleton.”
“I don’t know! I really don’t know!”
“Everyone group up! Felice, we are relying on you!”
“Yes! Space-time Barrier.”
At the same time Felice formed the barrier, the ceiling collapsed and what appeared was a black dragon of about 8m in size.
The dragon who landed before the barrier roared.
“Guraaa!!”
“Why is a dragon here!”
“Oniisama.”
“Grace, don’t leave my side.”
Contrary to Adam, Dylan and Grace who were panicking, Austin, Miguel, Nathan, and Felice were calm.
Gai who couldn’t take his sight from the dragon was rattling.
That’s because the dragon was glaring at Gai while releasing bloodthirst.
Felice was troubled whether to dispel the barrier or not, but she dispelled it in the end.
“Why did you remove the barrier!?”
“It’s fine. That dragon is Albert after all.”
“””Eh?”””
“There’s one person who isn’t going to be fine though.”
“You reap what you sow.”
“Al~! You mustn’t go too far, okay~!”
Albert who returned to his child form with a puff, smiled at Felice, and then glared at the trembling Gai.
“Gai, I enjoyed myself very much. I want to give you my thanks. You will naturally receive it, right?”
“T, thanks you say.”
“I had a lot of time to think in various ways. First of all…… I will crush you to pieces, okay?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”