Hospitality! The Dungeon Village*8
A massive slime was glowing. And not just faintly—it was shining with blinding intensity.
“Asuma-sama, what in the world is this…!?”
“I-I don’t know!”
Lisas was trembling, and I had no clue what was going on either. Princess Laperesiana and the others, as well as the assassins, had all just woken up, and the first thing they saw was this glowing slime. Everyone just stood there in stunned silence.
Meanwhile, the slime’s glow only grew stronger. Our shadows stretched long and sharp against the cave walls under its radiance, and the sheer power it exuded made the air tremble.
What on earth is happening!? What is this state!?
Could it be… an evolution!?
… And so, we all stood there watching the glowing slime for five minutes.
“Nothing’s happening.”
Throughout those five minutes, Generic-kun just kept glowing. That’s all. Just glowing. In other words, nothing else happened at all.
“Could it be… it’s just glowing for no reason…?”
… Yeah. Seems like that’s the case.
Generic-kun was simply glowing as hard as he could, doing absolutely nothing else. That’s it. Nothing! Unbelievably, shockingly nothing!
Are you kidding me!? After all that buildup!? This is it!? Come on!
“No… It doesn’t seem that nothing is happening…”
At that point, Princess Laperesiana and the others had started to realize something.
“… My body… it’s moving!”
“H-hey! Your wounds are gone!”
“Look! My arm—it’s back!”
That’s right. Everyone had finally noticed the effects of the World Tree Potion.
“… That glowing slime healed us!?”
They somehow managed to circle all the way around to the right conclusion. Well, technically, yes—the slime did heal them. But the glowing part had absolutely nothing to do with it. None. Zip. You wouldn’t believe it, but that light does nothing at all!
“Now then… since our bodies are moving so well, I think it’s time we enjoy ourselves a little…”
“Yeah. And we’ve got the perfect warm-up opponents right here…”
The knights of the Third Knights Order each readied their weapons—
and charged straight toward the assassins!
“Protect Her Highness!”
“This is a divine chance! Don’t waste it!”
Their morale was sky-high, their condition perfect, and their fighting spirits blazing. Within a minute, the assassins were being completely overwhelmed.
“… It’s fantasy. This is so fantasy…”
I could only watch, trembling. I mean, come on. This is fantasy. It’s way too fantasy!
The knights were way too strong. Like, absurdly so. What was that flying slash!? That random burst of flames!? That inhuman movement speed!?
“I’m scared… Generic-kun’s still glowing too… I’m so scared…”
I was completely useless in battle, so I decided the safest thing to do was to just bury myself in glowing Generic-kun. But, yeah… turns out, glowing slimes aren’t exactly great for hiding in! It’s so bright! My eyes! Someone please give me sunglasses!
… And so, the assassin squad was thoroughly wiped out by the Third Knights Order. Well, yeah. Against that kind of fantasy power, they never stood a chance. Honestly, I think the assassins did pretty well just lasting as long as they did.
“Hmm… is anyone injured!?”
“No, ma’am! In fact, our wounds are completely gone!”
“Our bodies are good as new! It feels like a dream!”
The assassins were all neatly tied up, still yelling “Kill me!” with surprising energy. Wow. People actually say “Kuh, kill me!” in real life, huh? It’s like seeing a rare animal you’ve only ever watched on TV.
“… At this point, continuing the investigation is pointless. We should take these rogues back to the castle. Let’s retreat.”
And so, the dungeon inspection came to an end. Understandably so.
“Princess Laperesiana! What shall we do with this slime!?”
Honestly, the knights seemed more interested in the slime than the assassins. And fair enough—it's a giant glowing slime. It’s still glowing. What is this thing?
“… By the way, boy—or rather, young man. Is this slime your pet?”
“No, it’s not. I don’t know any glowing slimes…”
I made sure to clearly communicate “I have nothing to do with this suspicious slime.” And since the radiant Generic-kun just kept lazily crawling around, glowing away without a single thought in his squishy head, Princess Laperesiana couldn’t really press the issue.
“It’s probably part of the dungeon. We should just leave it alone.”
“Hmm… you’re right. We’ll conduct a proper investigation on our next visit.”
And with that, they thankfully dropped the subject of the mysterious glowing Generic-kun, and we all headed back to the surface.
… Man, the knights are amazing. Now that their injuries are healed, they’re thrilled. They’re carrying the assassins out two-by-two on their shoulders. Straight-up fantasy.
Anyway.
Once we returned to the surface, the assassins were temporarily put in the village jail. Seriously, that jail’s been getting so much use lately…
The knights were in high spirits, celebrating both their recovery and their victory over the assassins. Even Princess Laperesiana looked happy. So, even though it was daytime, the “Congratulations-on-your-healing Party” kicked off.
Well, this is a small village, so entertainment options are limited—but the food’s great. The vegetables, raised in rich farmland, are fresh and delicious. Fresh and delicious. Fresh and delicious!
… Still, I’m starting to crave some meat. Hmm. Livestock farming’s a bit too ambitious right now, so maybe we should just buy some from the city for the time being. Or maybe look into fish farming…
Anyway, as we were eating and drinking and having fun, word of the Royal Third Knights Order’s miraculous recovery spread throughout Panis Village.
… After all, Princess Laperesiana was there in person.
Yeah. That’s right. Her old burn scars—those healed too. Since everyone was healed equally, her scars naturally vanished as well.
Even with the scars, she’d been stunningly beautiful—but now? Now she was almost too beautiful to look at directly. Absolutely divine. I’m not worthy…
Anyway.
Leaving aside Her Highness’s divine face, once the adventurers noticed that the knights’ wounds were healed, naturally they started wondering—
“Wait, did something happen in that dungeon!?”
And of course, the knights all said the same thing:
“There was this massive, glowing slime down there.”
Which meant… yeah. The rumors came back to me.
Naturally, I said, “No, no! That huge glowing slime was totally different from the ones I control!” and even brought along my own giant slime—who’d been helping with lost-item recovery in the dungeon that day—as proof.
That cleared my name regarding the dungeon and Generic-kun’s connection, but then… the adventurers started theorizing.
Someone mentioned, “Come to think of it, there was a mysterious glowing crystal that appeared in the Jewel Tree’s chamber.”
Well, yeah. Of course there was. It was too dark, so I added a light source. Then people started stealing the bulbs, so I embedded them in crystals. Nowadays I just make the bulbs out of crystal. It’s easier.
… But somehow, a few adventurers got really into theorizing about it. Things like:
“Perhaps the dungeon’s mana condensed into healing energy that gathered around the Jewel Tree, creating those glowing stones of light!”
Then some other adventurers—those who’d previously harvested fruit from the Jewel Tree—chimed in:
“Now that you mention it, the potion inside the Jewel Tree’s fruit was a miraculous drink that completely cured our fatigue!”
And from there, the stories just kept snowballing.
“Then that means! The healing power of the Jewel Tree became light, and that light took the form of a slime with immense healing abilities!”
“No, no! It’s the other way around! The healing slime itself is what grants power to the Jewel Tree!”
And so, the wild rumors kept on spiraling out of control.
I mean, it’s fine. Honestly, I love this kind of tall tale myself, so I didn’t mind.
Still… Generic-kun really shot up in the world, huh?
He went from being a random glowing slime to the center of everyone’s fascination. Impressive career growth, buddy.
… Though, I am getting a bit worried. What if he actually did gain healing powers? I should probably investigate that glowing Generic-kun a bit more later.
Anyway.
While those rumors ran wild, the knights were celebrating—
“It’s so great having arms again!”
“Man, it’s nice being able to see properly!”
Everyone looked so lively. It really hit me how much injuries drag down people’s happiness—and how good health truly is tied to human joy.
I’m glad, though. Especially seeing Lisas smiling as he watched his former comrades rejoice.
“Young man. May I have a word?”
… And then, a beautiful, cool, dignified voice called out.
I straightened up in a hurry, and Princess Laperesiana, seeing that, smiled softly with those deep turquoise-blue eyes and said, “There’s no need to be so formal.” … Beautiful smiles are a weapon, I swear.
“There are a few things I’d like to ask you…”
“Ah, of course. Ask anything.”
I steadied myself and waited for her question. Then—
“Young man—or rather, Asuma-sama.”
Princess Laperesiana composed herself, then said solemnly:
“Could it be… that you are the Guardian God of the Dungeon?”
“Eh!?”
That was the bomb she dropped!
What do you think about this chapter?
