Hospitality! The Dungeon Village*3
When Lisas arrived, the knights stirred.
And then—
“Lisas Eques. It’s been a while.”
Princess Laperesiana said that with a small smile. In front of her, Lisas immediately knelt down.
“I trust Your Highness has been in good health…”
“Ah, enough of that. No need to be so formal. We once charged through the battlefield together, didn’t we?”
Princess Laperesiana waved her hand lightly with a wry smile. Lisas, seemingly expecting that response, gave a slightly awkward smile of his own and stood up.
“… You’ve been well? I imagine… a lot has happened?”
“Yeah… well, yes. A lot.”
The two of them shook hands, sharing a bitter smile.
Yeah, well… I guess she already knows what that “a lot” entails.
Maybe she even knows that after everything, Lisas became kind of a broken man, hanging around with washed-up adventurers and getting mixed up in shady stuff.
Even if she doesn’t know that part, she must at least know about how he’d hit rock bottom after losing so much.
That’s probably why Princess Laperesiana looked genuinely relieved to see him now.
Well, of course—seeing someone who once seemed on the verge of death now living a stable, decent life… that’s enough to make anyone happy.
“I’m living peacefully now. I serve as Asuma-sama’s guardian and make a living patrolling the dungeon…”
But as soon as Lisas said that—everyone’s eyes turned to me.
I mean, that’s fine. Really, it’s fine.
But, y’know, the fact that Lisas is my “guardian” is supposed to be part of my cover identity! So, uh, yeah, this is… fine, but awkward!
“Asuma… you say?”
“Ah, that’s me! Nice to meet you!”
For now, I just smiled and greeted them, hoping to play it off.
No way did I want to be the center of attention in front of a princess!
“… He’s a boy with… some circumstances.”
“I see. Circumstances, you say…”
Time to distract! I started dancing on the spot.
Heave-ho! Heave-ho! Soran! Soran! Yasaee—Enyaa—Saa—no—Dokkoisho!
“… I’ll refrain from asking.”
“… That would be appreciated.”
Ah, dodged that bullet? Yeah. Thanks. Sorry about that, really.
Then Princess Laperesiana stepped forward to handle the registration at the dungeon reception.
Edele-san was explaining the dungeon’s safety rules and selling antidotes in the meantime.
And while that was going on…
“You bastard… you made us worry sick! I only heard later that you’d left the order!”
“Yeah! You could’ve at least said something before you left!”
With that, the knights suddenly surrounded Lisas, voices rising in good-natured outrage.
… Lisas looked kind of happy, though. Yeah. Good for him.
From the sound of it, he must’ve quietly resigned without telling anyone.
And considering he’d just lost an arm, an eye, and his wife and comrades had suffered terrible fates… he was probably at rock bottom when he left.
… So now, seeing him looking healthier again, surrounded by old comrades—it actually made me happy, too.
After a while of being jostled around by the knights, naturally, someone noticed.
“Hey… your arm—Is that a prosthetic? Nice craftsmanship.”
Right, that arm. The one that shouldn’t exist anymore, but somehow does!
“Well, this is…”
Lisas glanced at me out of the corner of his eye—asking silently, Can I tell them?
… Hmm. I’d rather not reveal the World Tree just yet.
They’re his old comrades, sure, and they don’t seem like bad people, but I still don’t know the real purpose of this inspection trip. Better keep that secret for now.
But there’s no denying what’s right in front of them. It’s healed.
No way to cover that up.
… Alright then, guess I’ve got no choice.
“That arm—he healed it with medicine from an elf lady!”
Mishisia.
Mishisia-san… I’m sorry! I need to use you as cover! Forgive me! Really, I’m sorry!
“Medicine from an elf…?”
“Yeah, apparently she made it with ingredients she brought from her homeland.”
The knights nodded thoughtfully. “Ahh, elven medicine, huh…” “Well, that would explain it…”
Yeah, from what Mishisia told me, elven settlements aren’t exactly friendly to humans, so it’s not like their medicine circulates widely.
“I see… it must be precious medicine, then. There probably isn’t much of it around…”
… Yeah, I get why they sounded disappointed.
Most of them probably have old wounds or missing limbs, just like Lisas once did.
“Ah… well, maybe not regrowing limbs, but I’ve heard the hot spring in this village helps a lot with old wound pain. The adventurers who visit this dungeon swear by it. You should try it.”
“Oh yeah? That’s something to look forward to!”
“Yeah, my arm’s fine, but my knee still aches. If that helps ease the pain, that’d be great.”
Ah… this is getting kinda hard to watch.
Maybe I should just make medicine for all of them…
“And, uh—Lisas. That elf woman, if she’s that good with medicine… maybe she could make something to help with scars, if not limbs or eyes…”
… Just as I was thinking that, one of the knights spoke up.
“Could you introduce us to her? While we’re staying in the village, maybe she could…”
“Huh? What do you mean by…”
The knights lowered their voices, whispering among themselves, while Lisas tilted his head.
And then—
“The procedures are complete. We’ll be entering the dungeon now.”
Princess Laperesiana had finished at the reception.
At once, the knights straightened up and fell silent.
“As you all know, this dungeon only contains gentle slimes. However, there are still traps aplenty. Be vigilant—no one’s to add to their injuries.”
Her voice carried authority, calm and commanding.
Everyone responded in unison—and Lisas, out of habit, joined in too, earning a playful jab from one of the knights. “What, thinking of rejoining?”
… Seeing them like that, Princess Laperesiana smiled again.
But this time… she looked just a little lonely.
All right.
And so, to guide the inspection party, Lisas and I led the way into the cave.
Well, “led” might be overstating it. The knights were all over the place, freely exploring and murmuring, “So this is what kind of dungeon it is, huh…”
… Still, I realized something right away.
These people were completely different from those holy knights from before.
“Hmm? That wall’s odd… no, the floor. Could be a pitfall trap.”
“Let’s stay clear of that area, then.”
Despite moving around freely, they never tripped a trap.
Especially the big, obvious ones like pitfalls—they spotted them instantly.
“The air current’s strange here… maybe a dart trap or something. Stay alert.”
There weren’t any dart traps, but yeah, there was a ventilation shaft I’d hidden in the wall. And they’d noticed even that.
“Ohh, gemstones! So these are what the adventurers earn their living with, huh?”
“Hey, mister, aren’t you going to pick those up?”
“Hm? Ah, no. We’re only here on inspection. We already draw a salary, so it’s better these go to those who need them.”
… And they’re not even greedy about money!
But it’s fine! Really, take some!
I made today’s dungeon spawn extra gemstones specifically to welcome you guys! Let me host you! Be hosted! Come on!
“We’re already fortunate enough as it is.”
… Man, they’re way too different from those Holy Knights.
What’s with this? They’re all such good people!
But as I watched them examine the dungeon, I quietly asked Lisas,
“Hey, Lisas-san… are all these knights dealing with some kind of health problem?”
I mean, yeah, I was curious.
Some of them stood out more than others, but… every single one looked like they had some physical issue.
I mean, seriously—an entire knight order made up of people with physical impairments?
And led by a princess? That’s… strange, right?
“Ahh… yes. Well…”
Lisas thought for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh.
“… They’re men who had their bodies ruined by the war. I fought beside them—I know them well.”
“All of them? Then this knight order is…”
“Yeah… as you’ve probably guessed. The Third Knights Order was likely formed from those who could no longer fight on the front lines.”
… Yeah. That makes sense.
They can’t exactly fire knights, so they grouped together those who couldn’t fight anymore and reassigned them to this “Third Order.”
A rough fate for veterans, honestly.
“Uh… but is it really okay for a princess to be leading such a group?”
That’s what bothered me most.
If a princess is commanding them, you’d think she’d have at least a few able-bodied guards with her, right?
“Well… Princess Laperesiana is incredibly strong. They say she could fell a thousand enemy soldiers on her own.”
A thousand, huh.
In this fantasy world, that might not even be an exaggeration. Kind of terrifying, honestly.
“But still… it is concerning.”
While I was silently pondering just how much “fantasy power” this world held, Lisas was wearing a serious expression.
“… For her to be conducting an inspection in a place like this, at this particular time… I just hope nothing happens to her.”
… Wait. Something’s going to happen, isn’t it? What’s going on here!?
What do you think about this chapter?
