That’s Just How This Dungeon Is*2
Alright then.
Within a week, money from the Holy Knights arrived at Edele’s place in Panis Village.
My “Slime Dispatch Service” fee was included too, so she divvied it up for us… Come to think of it, this is the first actual currency I’ve ever gotten in this world! Wow! Kinda exciting, honestly!
There are four coins in total—two kinds, small and large, both silver with different engravings. Guess that means their value differs by size and design.
Since it was Lisas who set the price, I’ll just ask her later, “Hey, how much is this worth again?”
Now, about the thing I was worried about—the Church’s reaction… so far, nothing.
Seems the Holy Knights really did keep their word. Thank goodness for that.
The Church higher-ups are probably like, “Isn’t there something more we can do!?” but when the actual Holy Knights on the ground all start saying, “Nope, there’s nothing in that village,” it’s kinda hard for them to make a move. In that sense, this was the best outcome possible.
Alright. And with the Holy Knights having come and gone, a few changes happened around the dungeon.
First, the village.
“Hey, Asuma-sama! You doing good today? Eating properly?”
“Eat up! I totally eat!”
“Ah, yeah. I’m eating fine. Looks like you’re eating plenty too, huh.”
… The village’s gotten pretty lively. See, after all that business last time, some adventurers realized, “If we’re gonna be working here long-term anyway, might as well just move into the village!”
So now they’re tilling fields, petting slimes, or even opening up little shops selling gems they find themselves.
Honestly, that’s a great thing. Panis Village didn’t have many men to begin with, and if the adventurers settle down here, they’ll be around to help if something like last time ever happens again.
Next, the “Dungeon Reception” area.
“Um, excuse me… I dropped something inside the dungeon…”
“Of course. Please write down its details here. The fee is one small silver coin per day.”
… Edele’s handling adventurers now. That’s for the dungeon’s new service—‘Asuma’s Slime Shop: Lost Item Retrieval Service’.
Naturally, adventurers sometimes drop things in the dungeon. And since I can dissolve and reassemble anything in an instant, it’s no problem at all.
That means I can basically offer a 100% success-rate item retrieval service… Of course, if I actually made it that perfect, it’d look too suspicious, so I fudge the success rate a bit.
“Ah, you over there! Your lost item from yesterday just turned up. Here you go!”
“Wow! Thank you so much! I’m so glad!”
… Seeing adventurers smile like that, yeah, not a bad gig at all. Works nicely as my “secret identity,” too.
And then—
The “inside” of the dungeon changed as well.
… Mainly, I decided to make the carbon dioxide knockout corner a permanent feature. Wouldn’t be fair if it was only “fancy” when the Holy Knights were here, right?
Still, people only ever describe it as “I suddenly got sleepy, blacked out, and next thing I knew, a huge slime was carrying me away all squishy-like.” I wonder if anyone’ll ever figure out how the CO₂ trap actually works. Probably not.
Then there’s the Jewel Tree. Its light-up display was crazy popular.
But… since some idiots tried to take the “shining jewels” (a.k.a. the light bulbs) themselves, I had to move them up near the ceiling. Figures, huh?
Even so, the scene of a delicate waterfall pouring into a little underground lake, with the jewel tree sparkling in the glow—it’s just pure magic. I love it more than the adventurers do.
…So yeah, the dungeon’s seen quite a few changes lately.
“Asuma-sama! Asuma-sama! Asuma-sama!”
“What’s up, Mishisia?”
And the biggest change of all… is exactly what’s got Mishisia so excited.
“The World Tree! It’s gotten bigger!”
… That’s right.
The World Tree Mishisia planted—it was already huge, but now it’s even bigger.
So here we are again, back in the dungeon’s deepest chamber after a while.
As always, mysterious light streams in from the crack in the ceiling, bathing the World Tree in brightness.
“I’m so happy. The World Tree’s growing!”
Mishisia’s looking up at it, smiling wide.
“It really makes you happy, huh? Seeing it grow.”
“Of course! It’s my duty, my other half, my… hmm, I guess the World Tree is kind of the meaning of my life.”
I see. Can’t really grasp that feeling myself, but yeah—it’s something precious to her. I get that much.
“… Back in the elf village, I didn’t fit in too well. Couldn’t find a place to plant a World Tree. I thought maybe I never would.”
She murmurs softly, still gazing at the tree.
“But Panis Village accepted me, and now the World Tree’s thriving here… I’m so glad I sowed its seed in this place.”
“… I see.”
Mishisia lowered her gaze to me and smiled—a bright, genuine smile.
“So, thank you, Asuma-sama! For giving me and the World Tree a home in this dungeon, in this village!”
“I didn’t really do all that much, though.”
Honestly, it was half an accident she even planted it here, so I feel a bit guilty about taking the credit. But hey, if she’s happy, that’s what matters.
“Trees take root in the land, right? Same with elves. Even if I’m only half elf, I wanted to take root somewhere too.”
“I get it. So now, Mishisia-san, you’ve got roots, huh?”
“Yep! I’ve settled down and I’m growing free and strong!”
A life without roots is a lonely one. Glad she’s found her place here as a rooted one, then.
“… Someday, I want to tell the elves back home. That I’ve found my place to live.”
“Maybe write them a letter?”
“Yeah, that sounds nice.”
She looks so happy—it makes me feel happy too.
Even the World Tree seems pleased, its glossy leaves rustling softly as if in delight.
“Still… it’s probably because this dungeon’s full of mana, huh? It’s growing so fast.”
Right.
The World Tree she’s looking up at has grown huge, its branches lush and shiny. Looks healthy as ever.
“Mana, huh… Oh, right—when I dissolved those Holy Knights’ armors, I got a ton of mana.”
Thinking about it, what was that armor made of anyway? Was it just a special material?
“Ah, I heard Holy Knight gear’s made of mythril silver.”
“Mythril?”
“Yeah. Silver infused with magic. Light, strong—great for weapons and armor.”
Huh, so there really is a fantasy alloy like that. This world’s getting too complex for me.
“So when a magic-rich material falls into the dungeon, its mana gets absorbed and the dungeon grows stronger, huh?”
“Seems that way.”
I don’t understand everything about this dungeon, but one thing’s certain—mana nourishes it.
“If more Holy Knights came, would the World Tree grow even bigger…?”
Well, if I got my hands on more of that mythril stuff, the dungeon would definitely flourish. Probably the same for the big slime too—might be affected by the mana levels here.
Mana, huh…
… But wait. Now that I think about it, there was something weird before.
Remember when I first came to this dungeon and dissolved that reference book? I got an absurd amount of mana from it.
I’d been meaning to look into that, so now’s as good a time as any.
“Edele-san! You got any books you don’t mind disappearing?”
“B-books that can disappear!? What on earth for!?”
I went to Edele for help and ended up seriously confusing her. Can’t blame her—anyone would react that way.
“Uh, what do you need it for? Pressed flowers or something?”
“Eh, kinda want to do some dungeon experiments…”
Didn’t know how to explain it properly, so that’s what came out. Makes sense, though—so far even Mishisia and Lisas just think, “Asuma can apparently make or erase things in the dungeon somehow.”
“I see… Hmm, books I don’t mind losing…”
Edele thought for a bit, then rummaged through a shelf.
“Here. This one’s fine—it’s something I wasn’t planning to use anyway.”
… She handed me a fairly thin book. Wonder what it is.
“It’s a scripture. The Holy Knights sent it along with the payment.”
Oh.
Uh-huh.
Right.
“Thanks, Edele-san!”
“You’re welcome. I was wondering what to do with it anyway, so that’s perfect.”
She’s smiling kindly, but… yeah, no comment! Nothing! I’ll put this scripture to good use, I swear! Don’t take it personally, Holy Knights—and the Church!
Alright then.
I immediately dissolved and absorbed the scripture.
… And—
“Oh! Yeah, tons of mana again!”
Interesting—there’s something odd about it.
It’s just a printed book, paper and ink, but the amount of mana in it blows those materials out of the water.
“Huh… books really do have a ton of mana, huh…”
Weird. Maybe the more complex the production process, the more mana it holds? Like, the more value something has, the more magic it carries? Same as how gems have high mana because they’re valuable?
… Hmm. Not sure. But I want to know more.
If I can figure out the exact conditions for gaining mana… maybe, just maybe, I’ll find a way back to my original world.
Above me, the World Tree’s branches stretch ever upward—closer now to the crack in the ceiling.
Mishisia said once, “The World Tree is said to connect worlds.”
Maybe… that’s what it really means.
If I can gather enough mana to make it grow even larger… maybe I’ll be able to pass through that crack, and go home.
What do you think about this chapter?
