Hospitality! The Dungeon Village*2
And so, around noon that day—
“Hey there, boy. I’d like to meet this village’s chief…”
I was riding along on a slime, bouncing unsteadily in the least efficient way possible, when I heard the clink of armor stop beside me and someone call out. I looked up, and…
“Whoa…”
… a stunning beauty was standing there, leading a group clad in impressive suits of armor.
She had flowing silver hair and deep turquoise-blue eyes. Her features were so perfectly refined they almost looked cold. She wore gleaming silver armor and a beautifully adorned sword at her hip… but the side of her face, partially hidden by her sharply parted hair, was marred by burn scars.
“… Forgive me. Did I frighten you?”
“Ah—no, I’m sorry, that was rude of me. You’re just so beautiful, I couldn’t help staring…”
Jeez, so this kind of beauty actually exists… I thought that only happened in fantasy stories. I was genuinely impressed—until I realized I’d made her look embarrassed. She quickly brushed her hair forward again, subtly trying to hide the scarred side of her face.
Now that I looked closer, the whole armored group behind her seemed to have some sort of injury or disability.
Some had burn scars like hers, some were missing an arm, some limped when they walked… kind of like Lisas used to be.
“Uh, the village chief, right? This way.”
I told myself not to stare, but come on—she was that beautiful, it was hard not to. Anyway, I started leading the way. The woman thanked me softly and followed, her knights trailing behind her in orderly fashion.
… bounce, bounce—my slime waddled forward, and she matched its speed, also moving bounce, bounce… the knights too, bounce, bounce, at that slow, sluggish pace.
Too slow!
“Ah, sorry. I’ll hop off. Yeah, riding a slime really isn’t practical after all…”
“I—I see…”
Right, this wasn’t working. I got off and decided to walk instead. The slime, not bothered in the least, just bounced away on its own. Sorry, buddy—you’re cute, but way too slow. Is there, like, a speedy slime somewhere out there?… Nah, probably not.
Anyway, we made our way toward Edele. The beautiful woman glanced around the village as we walked, curious about everything.
She must be here for an inspection, huh? Makes sense—she’s wearing armor, and she’s got that noble aura about her… I was thinking that when we finally met up with Edele.
“Edele-san! You’ve got guests!”
“Yes, yes, I’m coming… oh my!”
Edele emerged from the back of the reception area, and when she saw the beautiful woman, her face lit up with surprise.
“I’m Laperesiana Vis Egnam, Captain of the Royal Third Knight Order. I’ve come to inspect the dungeon today.”
Ahh, I see. What a fitting name—long, formal, elegant. And so, these people were from the Royal Knight Order. Which meant she was Lisas’s former colleague…?
Just as I was thinking that—
“Yes, of course. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
—Edele said that.
Ohhh, so that’s it! A princess! This woman’s a princess!
Yeah, that makes sense. She totally gives off noble vibes. Definitely a highborn lady if I ever saw one!
… Wait, but seriously—why’s a princess in armor, sword at her side, coming out here to inspect some dungeon? Like, what the heck?
So, Edele started explaining the village’s current situation to Princess Laperesiana, while I served tea to the knights outside. They all thanked me—“Thank you, young man,” “This tea is wonderful”—really nice people. Must be true: Lisas had good colleagues.
“It seems quite prosperous here. Perhaps the most thriving village in this region?”
“Yes. It’s still small, but growing steadily. Thanks to the dungeon, we’ve had many adventurers visit—and some even chose to settle. It’s been a great help. We lost many of our men in the war, you see.”
“I see… the war, then…”
The princess’s stern face softened with quiet sorrow. Edele, too, didn’t seem eager to linger on that subject—understandable, since she’d lost her husband.
“… If I recall, Panis Village used to be further west. Was it moved because of the war?”
“No, it was… a few things. Some ex-adventurers scattered salt over the old Panis Village. But right around that time, this dungeon was discovered here… so we relocated and built new homes.”
“Salt…? That’s… hmm.”
Princess Laperesiana fell silent in disbelief. Yeah, I get it—it’s hard to believe people actually salt villages in real life.
“Now we live peacefully again. We’ve had many kind people lend us their help.”
“… I see.”
At Edele’s gentle smile, the princess’s expression softened again. Cold at first glance, but clearly a kind person underneath.
So Edele went on explaining things like, “This is our crop yield,” “These are our main industries,” “This is our current population,” “We’d like to develop more in these areas going forward,” and so on.
The knights and I stood back, nodding and murmuring in agreement as we listened. Sometimes the princess asked questions, which Edele answered confidently—and the princess nodded in understanding each time.
… Man, this was what good governance looked like.
The princess—yeah, definitely a proper royal—had this commanding presence but still made time to visit a small village and listen carefully to its leader. You could tell how much that meant to Edele; she looked genuinely happy.
Meanwhile, I offered some of the bigger slimes as makeshift chairs to the knights. Some of them looked like standing too long was painful, so—hey, might as well help.
“… A chair?”
“Yeah! They’re squishy and comfy to sit on.”
Okay, fine, they’re not technically chairs, but the slimes didn’t seem to mind being sat on. When the knights hesitantly took seats, the slimes’ bodies gently dented and held their weight.
“Ohh…”
“What an incredible seat…”
Yeah, I know. They’re dangerously comfortable. These are the kind of slimes that’ll make a person lazy for life.
By the time the knights were all discovering the joy of slime seating—
“Now then, allow me to show you around the village,” Edele said, standing up.
The princess rose too, then gave her knights a look that clearly said, What in the world were you sitting on? as they scrambled to their feet. Yeah… it was slimes.
Anyway, Edele was about to give them a tour of the village, and I was definitely tagging along. If these people were here to inspect the dungeon, I needed to see what they were up to.
So—
“Edele-san! I can show them around!”
I said brightly, sounding every bit the cheerful grade-schooler I appeared to be. Edele caught my drift immediately—thankfully.
“Oh? In that case, I’ll leave it to you, Asuma-kun.”
“Got it!”
And so, with Edele’s blessing, I energetically began guiding the royal inspection team around Panis Village.
Before we left, I asked Edele to “Please let Mishisia-san and Lisas-san know—and have Lisas-san stay here!”
Now then.
“This is the village’s hot spring! Both adventurers and villagers come to bathe here!”
Our first stop: the hot spring—Panis Village’s proudest attraction.
It’s technically more of a bathhouse than a real hot spring, since it’s just collected water, but since it’s heated by dungeon power, it looks like a naturally occurring one. So yeah, we call it a hot spring.
“It helps with fatigue, old wounds, skin problems, sore muscles—you name it!”
“Oh… so such a miraculous spring flows here.”
“Yup!”
Well, okay, the effects come from the herbal potion essence mixed into the water—but still. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it!
“Boy. I just saw a slime pass through the entrance…”
Right then, three slimes with towels on their heads were bouncing in a little line into the bathhouse. The princess and her knights watched with blank faces.
“Oh, they’re just clean freaks!”
“I see… so slimes bathe too, do they…”
Yup. They sure do.
Probably because the water’s infused with some dungeon mana, I guess. The slimes love this bath—they take it daily, without fail.
But if all of them tried to bathe at once, the place would overflow, so I made a rule: “Only five slimes can bathe at a time!” Then I gave them five towels. For some reason, they took that to mean “Only slimes wearing towels may enter.” And ever since, you can see these towel-headed slimes waddling into the bath in a neat little line.
“… Two have come out.”
“Oh yeah, they probably handed their towels to the next slimes waiting.”
Three went in, two came out—must’ve passed the towels on before returning to their pool.
“Why are there so many slimes in this village? And they don’t seem to attack people…”
“They’re my pet slimes! This dungeon only spawns slimes, you see.”
The visitors were clearly fascinated by how slimes just wandered around the village peacefully. Can’t blame them—it’s not something you see every day. I explained, they seemed satisfied.
“This is where the slimes live! My slimes hang out here when they’re not wandering around.”
“Ohh…”
“What is this…?”
Next stop: the slime pond—originally a reservoir built to keep the slimes from clogging up the pumps.
Nowadays, though, it’s just their habitat. Not much of a reservoir anymore, especially when the big ones pack it full.
“… I see.”
Princess Laperesiana knelt, dipped her fingers into the water, and nodded slightly.
“I understand now. This pond’s water is holy—rich in mana. It must flow here from deep within the dungeon.”
Ah, yeah. Figures she’d know that. I usually have to absorb stuff to sense its mana levels, so I couldn’t tell.
“… But tell me—why are vegetables growing on these slimes?”
“Oh! I planted them!”
“You… planted them?”
Yeah, not a common thing, apparently. Figures. But I wasn’t hiding it. “Vegetables grown by slimes taste great!” I said proudly. The knights all went “Hooh…” in fascination, staring at the vegetable-bearing slimes.
The age of slime farming might not be far off.
“This is the dungeon entrance reception. Everyone entering has to check in here first!”
At last, we reached the dungeon entrance. Edele greeted us with a smile, “Welcome back,” and I smiled back—thanks, Edele. So far so good… though I still didn’t know what exactly these people were after.
“Would you like to see inside the dungeon as well? If so, please sign in here.”
“Understood.”
Perfect. Once we’re inside, I should get a better sense of their real purpose.
“… Tell me, boy. You’ll be our guide through the dungeon?”
“Ah, yes. I’m used to it—I go in often.”
Of course, I’m just a grade-schooler on the outside, so it probably seemed suspicious to let me lead…
“But um, I’m not allowed to go in alone, so—ah, Lisas-san! Over here!”
That’s why I’d asked Edele to call him earlier. He’s the dungeon’s watchman—and my guardian figure here.
And then—
“… Lisas?”
The princess repeated the name softly, her eyes widening.
And sure enough—
“P-Princess Laperesiana…”
When Lisas arrived and saw her, he froze just the same.
… Yeah. So she really was his former superior, huh? Figures.
What do you think about this chapter?
