Excuse Me for Intruding!*3
So, with that decided, we came to what you’d call the dungeon near the town of Lark.
If you exclude mine, this place is technically the closest dungeon to Panis Village. After that would be the dungeon Lisas-san frequented, and the gold mine dungeon in the royal capital.
That Lark Town Dungeon, however, is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of excitement!
“Wow… there are a lot of people here.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be a particularly notable dungeon to begin with, though…”
Even Lisas-san looked perplexed. And that was understandable.
The dungeon entrance is shaped like a stairway leading underground, but around it were tons of people who looked like adventurers. There were merchants who seemed to be selling healing salves and equipment for them, and even food stalls set up… it was extremely lively.
“Panis Village used to be like this too, didn’t it?”
Ah~ yeah. Back when the dungeon-front counter was the village’s biggest shop…
Now we’ve got inns, restaurants, taverns, and souvenir shops too, but yeah… when you put it that way, it really does remind me of Panis Village back in the day.
That said, did Lark Town do something to revitalize itself?
When we came here before to procure Mewmya, it definitely wasn’t this lively. Did something happen?
… Our question was answered almost immediately.
“Yo! You guys too, here to hunt slimes?”
An adventurer called out to us like that.
“Slime hunting…?”
“Huh? Was I wrong?”
With a feeling of “well, yes and no,” we nodded vaguely, while at the same time thinking, Ahhh… so the reason Lark Town Dungeon is so lively is because of us…
“See, this place is close to Panis Village, so a lot of folks come here to hunt slimes. Thought you might be the same. And if you’re gonna capture slimes, those leather gloves like that guy’s wearing are a must, that’s what I wanted to tell you.”
I see.
This adventurer was apparently the kindly, meddlesome type you see in other dungeons too.
We’ve got people like that in Panis Village as well. The kind who say things like, “Weapons are useless if you don’t equip them!” or “Turn back before you run out of potions!” and give all kinds of advice.
There’s also the type who’s always near the village entrance going, “Welcome! This is Panis Village!”
That guy often gets told by other adventurers, “You’re not even a villager, so scram!” Apparently, he’s thinking of settling down soon. Welcome to Panis Village.
“Ah, thanks for the advice. I do plan to capture slimes, but I’m the only one who’ll be touching them, so it’s fine.”
“Ohh. Well, you look pretty capable, mister.”
Hearing the adventurer say that, Mishisia-san and I puffed out our chests.
Apparently, even to complete strangers, Lisas-san looks “capable.” How admirable.
Well, it’s not really our achievement, but if anything, the one who deserves pride is Lisas-san himself, who was fidgeting a bit right now.
After that, we asked the helpful adventurer various questions and even got a simple map of the dungeon.
It seems Lisas-san hadn’t actually entered the Lark Town Dungeon that many times either, so he wasn’t very confident about the routes. All the more reason this advice was helpful. Thank you, Advice Adventurer.
“Still, this is kind of moving, isn’t it? The bustle from Panis Village’s dungeon has spread, and now this dungeon is lively too!”
“Yeah. Well, it’s best if our neighbors are doing well too…”
Mishisia-san seemed to feel something deep about it, but I did too.
If a positive cycle is forming, that’s something to celebrate.
“Well then… umm… let’s go in!”
Since we could be considered the ones responsible for drawing all these people to the Lark Town Dungeon, I want the dungeon itself to hold no hostility toward us. Please! Let’s get along!
Now then—
“Excuse us for intruding~…”
And so, we entered the Lark Town Dungeon.
“… There are quite a few people inside too.”
“No, it’s usually not like this. It must be because adventurers have increased, trying to capture slimes since Panis Village buys them.”
Even inside the dungeon, we spotted adventurers here and there.
This probably means there won’t be a single slime in the shallower levels.
“Well, our goal this time isn’t slimes anyway… Right. Asuma-sama, Mishisia-san. You two, don’t let your guard down. If anything happens, run immediately.”
… Yeah. Right.
This time, we came to observe the state of the dungeon.
In other words… we came to meet the dungeon’s master, who should be at the deepest level.
That’s why we plan to go as far as we can.
“Roger, Captain!”
“Got it, Captain!”
“… What exactly is with that ‘Captain’ thing…?”
Hey, mood matters, right? Right?
So, as the Lisas Squad, me, Mishisia-san, and our Captain Lisas-san, advanced…
There were shockingly few monsters.
“Wow, there’s really nothing here.”
“Yeah… they were probably mostly hunted down by adventurers.”
It must’ve originally been a dungeon with a decent number of monsters, but now there’s just nothing.
It’s surprising how empty it is.
You can really tell it used to be monster-focused from how simple the paths are.
No maze, no traps… in short, now that the monsters are gone, it’s literally an empty dungeon!
“This might be easy to fully clear!”
“No. If that were the case, other adventurers would have already done so. …With Asuma-sama’s that, combat shouldn’t be much of a problem, but we mustn’t be careless.”
“Well, if it’s too easy, Asuma-sama won’t get to use that, right!”
I’d prefer that not to see action at all, personally.
Still, we’ll probably run into something strong eventually. Probably.
… That said, being in someone else’s dungeon feels kind of unsettling.
It’s like that restless feeling you get when visiting a friend’s house.
Though, calling a dungeon a friend’s house would probably earn complaints from both sides…
As we continued forward with that restless feeling, monsters finally started appearing.
“Ah, that’s a Hellhound. It’s fine. I can handle this alone. Stay back.”
“Waaah! This is my first time seeing a Hellhound that’s not the small-dog kind!”
“It’s not cute! It’s not cute at all, Asuma-sama!”
“Stay back!”
… We left monster handling mostly to Lisas-san.
As expected of a former knight of the Royal Third Knight Order, he’s strong. Really strong.
Thanks to that, Mishisia-san and I could relax, chatting about things like, “That one was a medium Hellhound, right?” “What breed was it?” “What does ‘breed’ mean?” and so on…
“Ah. There’s something there, so I’ll take care of it.”
“Huh?”
While chatting, Mishisia-san casually grabbed her bow, swiftly nocked an arrow, and fired it toward some cover.
The arrow traced a perfect arc and struck cleanly behind the obstacle—a ridiculous feat.
Mishisia-san really is amazing in her own way.
“Oh, a goblin.”
Lisas-san went to check behind the cover and beckoned us with a “It’s safe now,” so Mishisia-san and I hurried over.
“Ohh, so this is a goblin.”
“Ahh… used to see them a lot near the Elf village. Takes me back.”
What lay there was a monster well described by the term “little demon.”
Well, no matter how you look at it, it definitely screams “evil.”
“Hey, Lisas-san. By the way, can these be sold as materials or anything?”
“Hmm… the liver can be used as a medicine ingredient, but it’s nothing special. Back when I used to delve into dungeons, goblins were usually just left where they fell.”
“I see.”
It feels like a waste somehow, but it can’t be helped.
Well, may the goblin rest in peace…
And so we kept moving forward.
Occasionally monsters appeared and were dealt with by Lisas-san; occasionally monsters caught by the Mishisia Sensor were suddenly sniped and killed…
I did absolutely nothing. Just kept going, “What was that!?” “What was that!?” over and over.
Well, it can’t be helped.
But still… things couldn’t stay that easy forever.
“… This must be the deepest part.”
Ahead of our tense gazes was a door.
Peering through the gap, we saw a lavish room that screamed “final chamber,” and filling it, a dragon with its wings spread wide.
“Alright. Then after drinking that potion, gas masks on.”
“Understood.”
“Got it!”
… Well, even a dragon should die if it inhales enough poison gas.
What do you think about this chapter?
